Roy Mayorga might be one of the most versatile drummers out there today. He is the current drummer for the critically acclaimed rock band STONE SOUR (and recently sat behind the kit for SEPULTURA on their 2006 European tour with IN FLAMES after Igor Cavalera's departure), though many of you may know him for his hard hitting, tribal-influenced drum work in NAUSEA and SOULFLY.

In the recent weeks Roy found himself travelling to the Scottish highlands where he performed and recorded with the legendary AMEBIX, who to the ecstatic glee of many have reformed after 20 years! We recently got a chance to catch up with Roy to ask him a few questions about the jam session and here's what he had to say...

You've gotten to take part in some pretty amazing bands, still I bet being asked to play with Amebix came as a suprise. How did you hear the news and what was your immediate reaction?

Yeah Definitely a surprise (more like...HOLY SHIT!) and an old punk rock wish. I was put in contact with Rob (aka The Baron) through a mutual friend. Her name is Alicia (singer for 13). We knew each other for years. She contacted me out of the blue and told me that Rob was looking for someone to drum in Amebix, but only for the new live video footage. They weren't planning on reforming really until after we got together... the chemistry between us all was very undeniable so we just decided from there on to take it a step forward. If it wasn't for Alicia puttin us in touch this never would have happened... So Alicia, many hugs and kisses to you.

You played for Nausea who are considered to be a very influential crust band. Amebix no doubt pioneered a large part of that genre, how much of an influence do you think Amebix might have been on Nausea? Were you nervous at all meeting Rob and Stig for the first time?

To the first part of the question, Amebix was definitely a huge influence on Nausea right down to the style of writing and drumming along with other bands like Discharge and Crucifix. Amebix had such style about them that no other band in that scene of music have had. It was very eerie and dark and powerful in sound, look and vibe... the artwork on the records is what attracted me to the band. As far as I can remember the first record that I purchased was Winter, which in fact is the first song we recorded together a few weeks ago and it was the first time Rob and Stig have played it in 27 years. Basically they recorded it then and forgot about it... they never preformed it live in fact. The new version we did is pretty intense and it was a 1 take in the studio. We all looked at each other (with big smiles) and knew right then there was magic. When i first met Rob, I have to say. It's like we knew each other for centuries and the same with Stig. They are great, warm and giving people. On another note... Rob taught me how to forge my own sword... his work as a blade smith is absolutely amazing. In a way me learning from Rob about sword forging was almost like an initiation into the band if you like. I spent 4 days with Rob and his family prior to recording... I think just being around them and the surroundings out in the highland regions of Scotland definitely lent a hand in the vibe in that recording in a spiritual sense... its pretty amazing.

How much of the Amebix catalogue did you go through and how comfortable were you playing the material?

We didn't go through much. Rob and Stig picked a song from the last 2 records being Arise and then Chain Reaction which is off Monolith and I picked Winter because that was the first song and record I got of the band... a monumental track for me.

You recorded this as well and you are currently in the mixing phase, how pleased are you with the results and how do you think the fans will react?

I think the mixes sound pretty strong and big sounding. The band and myself are very happy with it. These recordings were made original from the video footage of us playing live. Just to get the facts straight, these recordings were made in a way to show people what would Amebix would sound like today if and when they were to perform again. How do I think fans will react? Well some will hate some will love and thats ok. Everyone has there opinion. I'm personally proud of what we've done together and can't wait to get together again to write new songs. We have some ideas floating around right now as we speak, so expect to hear some new songs from AMEBIX in the future.

NO GODS NO MASTERS!