RATT Guitarist Talks About Making Of 'Infestation'

Chris A. of Hardrock Haven recently conducted an interview with guitarist Warren DeMartini of Californian rockers RATT. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Hardrock Haven: I would imagine the advances in technology over the past 10 years, not to mention the band's experience and maturity, were positives for recording [RATT's new album] "Infestation".

Warren DeMartini: It was very comfortable and very cool. We enjoyed the advances in recording technology and our production team were just the best. We really enjoyed the time savings that digital recording afforded us. I mean, we were able to knock out things in a week that used to take three weeks. We went into the studio with only one rule — we wanted our stuff to sound as authentic and real as possible. We had no time limits or restrictions other than that one rule because we wanted our stuff to be alive and filled with energy. We didn't want to put out some sterile stuff to save time. I mean, we used to record on tape and I remember cutting and pasting this reel-to-reel tape and it took forever. Today it's much more efficient and cost-effective. As for our recording process, we recorded all the tracks live in the studio. Two guitars, bass and drums, all of us in the room playing together. We wanted it to be very natural a sort of "what you hear on the record is what you get live."

Hardrock Haven: How would you say "Infestation" stacks up in comparison to RATT's earlier work?

Warren DeMartini: Again, we went into the studio with only one rule, that being try to play it in the studio like we'd play it live. We were looking for energy. "Out of the Cellar" is a very different kind of album than "Infestation" is. On "Out Of The Cellar" we laid the tracks down quickly hoping that we'd get a great take and we didn't spend a lot of time in the studio. On later albums we took a lot more time in the studio and experimented with sounds and recording but that's an entirely different animal. Overall, I think "Infestation" is a great record with tons of energy.

Hardrock Haven: I understand that playing the guitar comes relatively easy for you? Is that true and if so what do you chalk that up to? Do you practice playing at all?

Warren DeMartini: I do practice all the time. Once I got over the cliff of learning things, playing got easier and easier. But no, it wasn't like I was automatic. I failed on guitar a couple times over they years as I tried to take up the instrument. I remember wanting to play since as early as six or seven years old but I didn't think I could. I tried it a few years later and it was still alien to me and I just wasn't getting it. A few years later, I was involved in an accident and was bedridden for a month and a friend brought over a guitar to help me while away the time. That's when I started to figure it out. But yes, I do play all the time. I think it's fun to do and I'd be doing it as a hobby if I wasn't doing it professionally.

Read the entire interview from Hardrock Haven.