Hello! Thanks for getting involved in our My 2017 thread – it’s a pleasure to have you onboard. First off, before we get into the questions, could you please identify yourself, and your role in the band? “My name is Drew Creel, I am one of two guitarists in the band Masqued“.

What was the best album you bought this year? “The best album I bought was Ayreon‘s The Source. Arjen Lucassen never disappoints, and this album was a big improvement over his last one. And Paul Gilbert, Guthrie Govan, and Marcel Cohen as guest guitarists – awesome!”

Yes indeed. It’s probably my fave Ayreon album! And what was the highlight for you personally in the last year? “2017’s highlight for me was finishing Masqued’s debut album, The Light in the Dark, signing with Sleaszy Rider Records, and releasing the album to the world. The response has been great so far!”

And rightly so! Here’s a track from the album for our readers who might not have heard Masqued yet:

Now back to the questions. On a more downbeat note, what about lowlights? Who stunk the place out musically in 2017? “The only lowlight I can think of personally is all the waiting we had to do in between finishing the album tracking, mixing, mastering, pressing, et cetera. Ultimately it was worth the wait though! Biggest musical disappointment of 2017 was Geoff Tate’s new album that came out recently. It wouldn’t be so bad but he insists on calling the band Operation: Mindcrime and tarnishing the name of one of the all-time best metal albums ever made”…

I don’t know anyone who really, truly likes that project. Aside from those directly involved with it. It’s a great shame. Staying with the negative side of the ledger, what have you found disappointing about the wider world in 2017? “It may be a more US-phenomenon than worldwide, but It seems like people are more divided against each other than ever before. Everyone feels like they have to take sides on every issue, and you’re either a “winner” or “loser”. Hopefully people get tired of this crap in 2018”.

It’s not just the US I can assure you! Let’s get back to more pleasant thoughts – what’s on the cards for you and Masqued in 2018? “We’ll be promoting the The Light in the Dark album and working on completing the writing on our follow-up (hopefully we’ll even start recording). We’re looking at some tour and festival opportunities as well to get out there and play for as many new fans as possible!”

Great news! We’re coming up to the party season – what’s the better night – Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve? And what will you be drinking? “new Year’s Eve, for the fireworks! I have an unopened bottle of Macallan eighteen year old scotch I’ve been saving and hopefully that will be it!”

Go easy on that! What’s the first thing that springs to mind if I say ‘Australian metal’? “AC/DC of course! The second thing would be the band Voyager, one of my favourites and one that I had the fortune of seeing live a few years ago when they came to the US”.

A very good band to be sure. Now, we’ve just started Sentinel Daily Radio – what five songs should every metal radio station have on it’s playlist? “Tough to pick just five songs but every metal station ought to play the classic metal bands that have influenced all the others, like Black SabbathWar Pigs, Metallica‘s Master of Puppets, MegadethHangar 18, Slayer‘s Angel of Death and The Trooper by Iron Maiden“.

There’s a definite pattern emerging with the answers we’ve been getting for that question! Finally – is the anything else you’d like to say to the readers of Sentinel Daily? “Check us out on Facebook and thanks for listening! Happy holidays!”

Thanks again for taking part!