Built to Destroy introduces N.Y.C. as a band with history behind it, but with its own reason to exist now. Tommy Bolan, known for his work with Warlock, leads the line-up on vocals and guitars, with Stet Howland of W.A.S.P. and Metal Church on drums, and Steve Unger of Metal Church on bass.
The names carry weight, but Bolan does not frame N.Y.C. as a project built around résumés. He had already written the music and was producing the album when he brought Howland and Unger in. Their friendship, shared background and rhythm-section force helped turn the songs into something that felt like a band.
For the Beyond Africa section of AFRICA.ROCKS, Tommy Bolan spoke about Built to Destroy, the N.Y.C. line-up, “Heavy as Hell”, and the band’s place on the first AFRICA.ROCKS sampler CD, which is being distributed in South Africa.
“This album contains a lot of my blood.”
“Built to Destroy” is the title track, so it clearly carries a lot of weight for the record as a whole. What made that song the right one to stand at the centre of the album?
It really captured the mood of what I was feeling and what was going on in my life at the time. It naturally grew to become the theme and feel of the album: “I am fed up and disgusted with it all, and I have returned to do it my way. If you get in my way, I will run you over and drop a building on you.” A feel-good song for those who have had enough.
N.Y.C. brings together Tommy Bolan, Stet Howland and Steve Unger, which gives the band a serious amount of history before people even press play. Once these songs started taking shape, what made this feel like its own band instead of just a meeting of familiar names?
I have been friends with Stet and Steve for a while, as Warlock and Metal Church recently toured together before this. I had already written all the music and was producing the album, then I invited them to come down and record with me. I knew that, with their history and our friendship, they would be able to put their energy into the songs. That is what I now call “The N.Y.C. Rhythm Section From Hell”. This combined energy made it feel like a band.
The album runs across 13 tracks and covers a fair bit of ground, from hard-driving cuts like “Heavy as Hell” to something more reflective like “Lyin Eyes”. When you were putting Built to Destroy together, what gave the record its shape?
This album contains a lot of my blood. While many people have stories to tell, if we are telling mine, then this one is my apex of self-sacrifice, pain and endurance, balanced with an unrelenting tenacity for life. The songs on this album, for me, reflect that.
You are part of the first AFRICA.ROCKS sampler CD, which is being distributed in South Africa. What made that worth joining for N.Y.C., and what do you hope someone there picks up first when they hear “Heavy as Hell”?
I think this CD sampler for AFRICA.ROCKS is an awesome idea, and I am always down for getting N.Y.C.’s music to all parts of the headbanging world, as metal is a worldwide universal language. “Heavy as Hell” is a song about actually playing live and on your own stage of life with the intensity we all crave. I hope everyone feels that energy. I cannot wait to bring this to the stage, and I hope the fans dig the album. I thank any and all of them ahead of time for their support.
To help AFRICA.ROCKS produce its first sampler CD dedicated exclusively to African bands, with free distribution planned in Europe, you can support the campaign here: https://gofund.me/6675eef0d
Listen to Atlas Vol. I on Spotify, and grab your physical copy in South Africa through Emalyth Events.
