Search - 3 Legged Dog :: Frozen Summer

`Super group' is a phrase usually linked to the late `60s and early `70s. But it's also a fitting description for the newly launched 3 Legged Dogg, who have issued their debut album, `Frozen Summer,' via Perris Records. Comprised of quite a few renowned names of heavy metal (ex-Quiet Riot guitarist Carlos Cavazo, ex-Rainbow/Dio bassist Jimmy Bain, ex-Black Sabbath/Dio drummer Vinny Appice) and a pair that have been linked with headbanger hitmakers (ex-Bonham singer Chas West and David Lee Roth guitarist Brian Young), 3 Legged Dogg is certainly not your average, up-and-coming rock band. No siree, especially when its band members have garnered a combined 15 million albums sales worldwide. "The way it came about was we were doing this thing called the Hollywood Allstarz," explains Appice. "It was me, Jeff Pilson on bass, a different guitar player, Chas West on vocals, and a friend on drums - we had two drummers playing. And then people wanted to start booking the band." With West and Appice staying put and the second drummer exiting, Pilson was replaced by Bain, and Cavazo and Young signed on. As result, a solidified 3 Legged Dogg line-up was in place, and recording sessions began in 2005 at a few different studios, including the home studios of Appice and Pilson. Appice: "There's actually two different sounds, they're mixed up. Three of the songs were recorded in one place, four songs in the other place, and then there's one song that we left that's recorded at my house." And unlike some bands in which members bring in completed demos of songs, all of the tracks on `Frozen Summer' were written together - from the ground up. "Everybody has a riff, nobody came in with a full song. So what we do is jam on the riff a little bit, listen back, and see where the riff really comes together well, and then take it from there and build upon that. Nothing was written before." Surprisingly, the style of music is not your average `80s-esque metal, but rather a tough and lean style that recalls such modern day rock acts as Audioslave, Velvet Revolver, and Staind. However, as Appice explains, this was not done on purpose. "We don't sit around and go, 'Hey, let's sound like Soundgarden, let's sound like Audioslave.' What happens is once we develop a riff that we like or a couple of riffs that work, since we've all been doing this for a long time - especially me, Jimmy, and Carlos - it becomes 'us,' basically. It becomes what we sound like. It just becomes a sound of what we always do - like our personality, I guess." Although tough to choose favorite songs, Appice has a few in mind, for specific sonic reasons. "I like the effect we did on 'Give and Take Away' - the distorted intro, and then right in the first verse, it becomes pretty massive sounding. On 'Frozen Summer,' there's some weird keyboards - just little parts here and there, I think it's after the choruses. Little things like that, when you don't have to overdo it, and put a million guitars on the song. It's just little embellishments that make the songs come alive." While supporting live gigs for `Frozen Summer' may be few and far between due to Appice recently accepting an invite to join Heaven and Hell (a reunion of the `Mob Rules' and `Dehumanizer' era Black Sabbath line-up), the drummer is hopeful that 3 Legged Dogg will make their live debut at some point in 2007, and that sessions will begin soon for a sophomore effort. "I think we'll probably end up doing some shows, because Heaven and Hell won't go all the way for eight or nine months - there will be breaks here and there. As long as it's not interfering with Heaven and Hell's schedule, then it's cool."