Ronnie: вЂњWe thought, вЂWeвЂ™re going to go out on the road now, letвЂ™s build a big stage set.вЂ™ So thatвЂ™s what we did.

So we go up there and come showtime there are 3,000 people stuffed into this place.вЂќ Vinny: вЂњWe played a warm-up gig in Antioch, California a few weeks after the album came out. In hindsight, I like to think we were right about who we put in the water.вЂќ But the idea was to reverse the question of, вЂHow come youвЂ™ve got a monster drowning a priest?вЂ™ We wanted to be able to say, вЂHow do you know itвЂ™s not a priest drowning a monster?вЂ™ And I think thatвЂ™s kind of been proven out in the last few years with all the problems weвЂ™ve had in the Catholic Church. Ronnie: вЂњI seem to remember a little bit of, вЂAre you sure you wanna do this?вЂ™ from the record company. The image of a demon drowning a priest stirred up some minor controversy вЂ“ something the band didnвЂ™t shy away from. Its striking album cover was designed by Ronnie and Wendy and illustrated by Randy Berrett. We were like, вЂFuck, man, this sounds fucking good!вЂ™вЂќ Vinny: вЂњWhen the album was finished, we smoked some pot and started listening to it at ear-deafening volume in the studio. ItвЂ™s a very honest record in that way, and it features very raw and very real performances.вЂќ Vivian: вЂњIt really is a simple record, there was not much going on in terms of production. Ronnie: вЂњThe song Holy Diver is really about a Christ figure, who on another place, not Earth, has done exactly the same as weвЂ™ve apparently experienced or were supposed to have experienced on Earth: dying for the sins of man so that man can start again and be cleansed and do it properly.вЂќ HeвЂ™d step up to the mic, and heвЂ™d start singing.вЂќ Vivian: вЂњRonnie always had books with lyrics вЂ“ heвЂ™d sit down and listen to what we had, and weвЂ™d play it for him a couple of times. Ronnie: вЂњThe opening song, Stand Up And Shout, was a negative statement of my own disenchantment, and I was projecting it out to anyone whoвЂ™d listen.вЂќ Vivian: вЂRonnie would come in in the evening, and weвЂ™d play him what we had, and sometimes he would say, вЂNo, I donвЂ™t hear thatвЂ™ or other times he would say, вЂOK, that sounds good.вЂ™вЂќ We rehearsed in the Sound City complex and then right across the parking lot was the studio, so weвЂ™d write four or five songs, drag all the stuff over the parking lot to the studio, and then weвЂ™d record.вЂќ

Vinny: вЂњWe went in just having a good time.

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