Meat Loaf Talks ‘Mad, Mad World’ Tour

We told you Meat Loaf has a new record out, and we told you he was hitting the road this summer. Now it's time to let the man himself tell his side of the story, via an in-depth Q&A with Raise the Question that offers a peek behind the curtain of the 'Mad, Mad World' Tour.

"If you’ve never been to a Meat Loaf concert, you should go because you’ve never seen anything like it," promised Meat. "After my show, you’re going to leave saying, 'How the hell does he do that?' and 'I'm tired.' Anyone who attends will leave excited and worn out because of the amount of energy coming off that stage."

He continued, "I fight for every moment of passion and truth you can get out of those songs. I only know two speeds: 'Don’t go' or 'Go.' Either I rehearse at the same speed I play a show or I don't rehearse." Meat went on to discuss his commitment to his fans at the expense of his own health, ruefully recalling, "I’ve done so many shows where I shouldn’t have gone on. The audiences mean more to me than anything."

As for what makes this tour different from the rest, Loaf said he'd be performing songs from the new album 'Hell in a Handbasket' as well as "a couple songs from other albums that we’ve never done live before...I’m always trying to increase the drama and tension."

And if you're still on the fence about springing for tickets? "There is not an audience in existence that I won’t rile up," promised Meat. "It doesn’t exist. They may start off slow, but they’ll never stay there." To read more of Meat's pre-tour thoughts -- including which books he reads on the road, which period in history he wishes he could have been alive to see, and the time Billy Joel watched him whip a convention crowd into causing $50,000 worth of damage -- click here.