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."