#11: Guy Kozowyk (The Red Chord)
MetalSucks recently polled its staff to determine who are The Top 25 Modern Metal Frontmen, and after an incredible amount of arguing, name calling, and physical violence, we have finalized that list! Writers were asked to consider vocal ability, lyrics, and live presence when casting their votes; the only requirements to be eligible for the list were that the musician in question had to a) play metal (duh), b) be a frontman or woman (double-duh), and c) have recorded something AND performed live in the past five years. Today we continue our countdown with The Red Chord’s Guy Kozowyk…
If any single metal frontman embodies the spirit of MetalSucks when he struts out onto the stage it’s The Red Chord’s Guy Kozowyk. The way Kozowyk fucks with audiences on a nightly basis and regularly makes a mockery out of the genre we know and love is near and dear to our hearts.
To wit: that time at New England Metal and Hardcore Fest when he said “This is your last chance to dance!!” towards the end of every single song in the band’s set.
Or the time he told an audience of Underoath fans (when The Red Chord were opening for Underoath on Mayhem Fest off-dates) that The Red Chord celebrated the devil, and thanked the crowd for supporting religious diversity.
Or the time he invented a dance move called the Panteradactyl, instructed the audience to do it, and they unquestionably followed suit like the sheep we all know them to be. (8:20 in the below video interview)
Clearly this is a fellow who likes laughing, appreciates the fact that metal doesn’t have to be so f’ing srs all the time, and gets our sense of humor (or, more appropriately, we get his).
Like us, Kozowyk also doesn’t hold back his opinions even when they might make people uncomfortable. In a now legendary interview with Metal Injection at the 2008 Rockstar Mayhem Festival he talked smack about pretty much every band on the lineup, albeit in an older-brother-poking-fun kind of way. And he went on a lengthy rant about the then-burgeoning deathcore scene, especially as it related to up-and-comers Suicide Silence (who he may have been poking fun at in a less friendly way). Kozowyk’s got plenty of thoughts on plenty of topics and he’s not afraid to share them.
Of course none of this would matter if he wasn’t a captivating, enigmatic frontman capable of commanding the attention of thousands and stirring them into a frenzy. This Guy’s got charisma to spare.
Guy, will you marry us?
The List So Far:
#12: Trevor Strnad (The Black Dahlia Murder)
#13: George “Corspegrinder” Fisher (Cannibal Corpse)
#14: Chance Garnette (Skeletonwitch)
#15: Vincent Bennet (The Acacia Strain)
#16: Mike Patton
#17: Tony Foresta (Municipal Waste)
#18: Joe Duplantier (Gojira)
#19: Oderus Urungus (Gwar)
#20: Nergal (Behemoth)
#21: Jens Kidman (Meshuggah)
#22: J.R. Hayes (Pig Destroyer)
#23: Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed)
#24: Travis Ryan (Cattle Decapitation, Murder Construct)
#25: Chino Moreno (Deftones)
