Rob caught up with Luke from Panic Cell before their headline show at the Academy 3 in Birmingham to talk about their time as a band, having Jagermeister as a sponser and much more.

Thanks for taking time out to do this interview.

Can you give us a brief history of the band such as how you came together as a band and came up with the name Panic Cell?
Sure, Some of the band have been together in various guises for a number of years now, Panic Cell started in 2003, but Harsh Line have been a band for 10 years before that, we did local stuff , nothing special but with Panic Cell we decided to get serious about it, record an album, put it out, do a music video, and it worked out well. Harj came up with the name, but were not sure how!

Who would you say your main musical influences are?
We like our old school rock and metal, im a huge Metallica fan, all that bay area thrash metal from the 80s, Slayer, Megadeath etc. were kids of the 80's

You have had some great reviews in the past from the major press, are reviews something that you take a lot of notice of or are just happy to be out making and playing music that you love?
We read the reviews we get, theres only so much you can take from, we try and take a blance from the positive and negative comments, For the new album, we've had some negative reviews, but you can see the reasoning behind it, Someone said that were like Disturbed, but used it in a negative context, but we like disturbed, theyve sold millions of records, so it aint such a bad thing for us.

You have just released your third album ‘Fire It Up’ how would you say the album compares to your previous albums?
Luke)Production Wise, it sound alot better Will Mayer did a great job,weve found our sound, its how the band should sound. The songs are more organic, they flow better, the last album was abit disjointed, but the songs flow into each other better.

What stories and themes do you cover within the songs of ‘Fire It Up’?
This one was didfferent to the last two, they involved lyrics involving my ex wife, this album its more about world events and current affairs, but theres still songs about relationships in there.

If you had to choose a favourite song from ‘Fire It Up’ what would it be and why?
Splitting Skulls is a favorite. I really enjoy singing it live.

You are a band who have clocked up an impressive amount of live shows and have shared the stage with some great bands, are there any shows that you look back on more than others and think wow that awesome?
Playing download in 2005 and 2007 was pretty good. Touring with Disturbed was cool, there great guys.

You are currently doing a joint tour with label mates G.U. Medicine how have the shows been so far?
Luke)Yeah there going pretty good, I like them as a band, there a dirty rock band, i really enjoy that kind of stuff.

The festival season is quickly approaching; can we expect to see you at any of the festival across the UK this summer?
Download, Sonisphere and some european festivals.

You have been teamed up with Jagermeister for some time now, how would you say they help you and other bands within the music industry?
Jager run a roster of bands in the UK, we love them, they give us free Jager, they work really hard for bands though, help bands out with merch, pay for ads for the tour. A band Like Bullet for my Valentine, doesnt have to worry about getting £500 for a backdrop, but for smaller bands, the people at Jager really help us out!

Do you find yourself having Jagermeister partys often during long tours?
Luke)The last time I went on a real bender with Jagermeister, I ended up in a hotel room with two ladies and then the Police kicking the door down, thats how good Jager is! One of the police officers said they got a call from a man that was being held against his will in this hotel room, I said to him' Do I look like I need saving right now'? the copper said 'I guess not', and then left!

What would you say your biggest highlight as a band has been so far and why?
Everything really, doing the albums doing the tours, touring with bands that we love. Its a great life to have, its all highlights

Where would you like to see yourself this time next year?
Doing bigger shows, and keep doing this.

Thanks for your time; do you have a message for your fans reading this?
For those that come out to the shows, thanks very much,

Interview By Robert Lawrence