DORO The Metal Queen On Hitting The Road With Metal Church And More!!

Once again yours truly got to sit and chat with The Metal Queen DORO, and once again yours truly was walking on air the rest of that day. Hot on the heels of 2018 which saw her release not one, but TWO fantastic records (Forever Warriors, Forever United…DUH!), the announcement came that she would embark on a spring co-headlining run with none other than METAL CHURCH. So when the opportunity presented itself to discuss that, as well as everything else happening in DORO-land of course I jumped in with both feet.

Amps: DORO, it is so nice to talk to you once again!

DORO: Yeah Damian, I saw your name on the list today and I was all happy and excited! You always make this fun! I love talking to someone with a real, true metal heart. So, I’m a happy camper right now (laughs).

Amps: Thank you, that means a lot. And I feel exactly the same. This is actually interview number eight for us!

DORO: Oh, wow! I hope we do this 80 more times (laughs)!

Amps: So do I! First thing I have to ask you is whose idea it was to have a DORO/METAL CHURCH tour? Because whoever it was give them a medal!!

DORO: Oh yeah, you like? Good, good. This idea has been floating around for a couple of years, and now we are doing it. I am so excited, it will be old school metal shows.

Amps: Both bands are supporting killer albums. METAL CHURCH’S Damned If You Do was great, and your double disc Forever Warriors, Forever United was an absolute home run.

DORO: Yeah, I can’t believe it did so well. Remind me, what are your favorite songs from the new album? Which ones would you like to hear live?

Amps: Well, I’ve said before that you could do both albums start to finish and I’d be thrilled! But my favorites are still “Bastardos”, “All For Metal”, “Don’t Break My Heart Again”, and a few others.

DORO: Well, we’re doing 75 minutes, so I will be sure to include the best new songs along with the classics.

Amps: How hard is it at this point to put together a setlist? You have so many songs and albums to choose from.

DORO: It’s really, really tough. And usually we play every day a little bit of a different setlist, because we know people travel with us and see more than one show. I love all the songs for different reasons, but usually in the live show I want to play heavier stuff, the anthems, not as many ballads as we have on the records. Sometimes it’s nice to play the ballads, though. But sharing the stage with the METAL CHURCH guys I will probably stick to the anthems!

We like to play what the fans love, though. Songs like “Love Me In Black” and “Fur Immer”, you know? And of course we’ll pay some songs off the Triumph and Agony album. Tommy Bolan (guitar) will play guitar on the first leg of the tour with Bill Hudson, and then Chris Caffery will join Tommy for the second leg. Unfortunately Bas Maas and Luca Princiotta won’t be able to get their work visas in time for this tour, especially with the government shutdown.

Amps: You’re gonna be at Reverb on May 8 and it looks like I’m bringing Mini-Amps to that one.

DORO: YES! Please do! I really want to meet him!

Amps: The second half of 2018 was The Year of DORO. You released a universally praised double album, you had your highest chart positions worldwide; I guess life’s pretty good for you right now, huh?

DORO: Yes, yes, it’s great. We did a great tour last year and the fans loved the new songs live. I was in Anaheim at the NAMM show and I got to see my old friend LITA FORD. I got to induct her into The Hall of Heavy Metal History, and I said, “Let’s do something together!” so you never know, maybe we’ll do a song together or a mini-tour, who knows? Something’s cooking.

Amps: How’s it feel knowing you put out a record that’s been drawing such rave reviews from the fans? It was definitely a Top 3 album of 2018 for me!

DORO: Oh really? Thank you! That brings tears to my eyes, it’s so moving. You just hope people love it when you do something. I’ve never done a double album before but it felt so good, and live the songs are going over really well. I don’t know if I’ll ever do another one in my lifetime, but the ideas were just pouring out this time.

Amps: I can’t say enough great things about Forever Warriors, Forever United. I gave it a perfect 10/10.

DORO: Oh really? A 10/10?? Oh wow, that’s fucking awesome! That’s so nice!

Amps: What are you listening to now?

DORO: Oh, all my old-time heroes like WHITESNAKE, MOTÖRHEAD, and some old PINK FLOYD. Newer stuff I like GHOST, and we went to see them in  a theater in France. I like STONE SOUR, I saw them live last year. I’m really excited for the new AMON AMARTH album, whenever that comes.

Amps: Speaking of AMON AMARTH, I loved it when Johan Hegg (vocals) joined you at Wacken Open Air for the two songs from your albums respectively. That was fucking awesome!

DORO: Both songs sounded great and it was an awesome time. Doing “The Ballroom Blitz” with the guys from SWEET was another great moment from that day.

Amps: Much like your contemporaries in metal, like KREATOR, OVERKILL, and ACCEPT, is there a reason as to why you’re doing some of your best writing and creating some of your best work at this point in your career? Can you pinpoint what it is?

DORO: I think all these great bands you just mentioned, we are still saying, “Hey, we wanna show you what we’ve got, and what we’re made of, and this is why we started in the first place!” I think everybody has even more energy, because times are pretty rough. For me, I wanna do extra good, and that’s why this became a double album. I always want to give it my all, but this time I wanted to give them extra, and hope to make them happy, and give them songs that have staying power.


And I’m sure Blitz (Ellsworth, OVERKILL), Mille (Petrozza, KREATOR), and the guys from those other bands probably feel the same way. Everything is in turmoil right now, and it’s harder to be safe in this world, so I just want to celebrate the metal with everyone.

Amps: We’ve never talked about this in all our conversations, but what are some of your favorite movies to watch either at home or on the tour bus?

DORO: When I first came to America in the 80’s I was amazed at all the movies on HBO. One of my favorites is Revenge with Kevin Costner, Madeline Stowe, and Anthony Quinn. That movie I love so much because of that whole desperate love affair. I also love Deliverance with Burt Reynolds who sadly just died. And one movie I watch that always gets to me is Midnight Express. It’s so intense I almost throw up, but it’s such a great movie. And of course Heavy Metal, the animated movie. I love Taarna, she was like a role model, the beautiful warrior with the white hair.

Amps: Have you finally settled into a home, or are you still doing the hotel thing? I know you had the issues with flooding back in NY.

DORO: I found a place in Florida, believe it or not. It’s in between Miami and Fort Lauderdale. I still have a little place in Long Island, but my main thing is now Florida. I always, ALWAYS get sick after a tour, so I wanted to live somewhere warmer, you know?

Amps: Will you say something to Mini-Amps like you always do?

DORO: Hey Corey, it’s me DORO! I’m so excited that your Dad told me you’re coming to the show live!! And we will play “Bastardos”, “All For Metal”, and of course your favorite, “Earthshaker Rock”!! I wish you all the best, and I will see you very soon!

Amps: And lastly, what would you like to say to all your fans out there?

DORO: All you metalheads, my dear friends and family, I love you with all my heart, Für Immer. And you keep on rockin’, stay metal, I’m gonna keep doing this till the day I die, and I hope I can always make you feel good, empower you, and give you good metal energy. Can’t wait to see you all on the road with METAL CHURCH! Big hugs and metal kisses!!



As if I haven’t said it a thousand times already, you will never find someone as kind, true, and generally thankful to the fans, our family of metalheads as DORO. She always says the nicest things to me too, and reiterates how much fun we have doing these interviews. Because it’s the truth, they ARE a lot of fun. This tour is gonna rock like no other, and I am so very excited to finally be able to bring Mini-Amps to see this in action. You can find tickets for all dates HERE. And as long as our Metal Queen DORO keeps going, Amps and Green Screens will be there, flying the flag for her every step of the way.