Interviews

Nightwish’s highly anticipated album, Human. :II: Nature, has been released into the ears of fans all over the world. We had the grand opportunity to pick the mind of Nightwish singer Floor Jansen, from the album’s concepts, the hidden sentimentalities in the music, and all the way to the band’s partnership with nonprofit organization World Land Trust.

Killer Be Killed has returned after a six year hiatus to release its second full-length album, Reluctant Hero. Speaking with Cavalera during a recent phone interview from his home in Phoenix, Arizona, he talks about the band’s new album, the songwriting process, and the chemistry between the band members.

Wolves In The Throne Room, whose mesmerizing blend of Norse black metal and gripping atmospherics has cast them as vanguards of modern metal, has released Primordial Arcana, its seventh and most ambitious outing yet. We spoke with Aaron Weaver to discuss their experiences through the pandemic, the challenges they overcame on the new album, and the deep spiritual energies that flow throughout its music.

CELTIC FROST WAS A ONE OF A KIND BAND. The formative first wave black metal artists experimented, broke boundaries, and influenced generations of heavy groups in their wake. We checked in with Tom G. Warrior to discuss Danse Macabre.

It’s one thing to take online fire from social media trolls that aren’t actually interested in your music, but it’s a bit thornier when your own fans are coming at you. That’s precisely where Motionless in White found themselves after releasing its sophomore album, 2012’s Infamous, which alienated some of their longtime supporters…

Metalcore mainstays Killswitch Engage was born in 1999 out of the ashes of two prominent Massachusetts metalcore bands—bassist Mike D’Antonio from Overcast (which also included future Shadows Fall vocalist Brian Fair) and guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz (who switched to drums) and guitarist Joel Stroetzel from Aftershock, as well as vocalist Jesse Leach from Nothing Stays Gold.

“New music sucks, new music sucks, new music sucks.” That refrain cries out from every corner of Posehn’s new album, Grandpa Metal. The genius behind Grandpa Metal is comedian Brian Posehn, who’s enlisted the help of his famous and super talented friends to round out the best comedy/metal record of all time. Scott Ian, Corey Taylor, Joe Trohman and Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, need we go on?

Vancouver Island based progressive metallers Spiritbox have catapulted themselves to the forefront of the genre, despite playing only a few shows in their home country of Canada and a slew in Europe supporting After the Burial before the tour was cut short due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The band, comprised of metal power couple Courtney Laplante and Mike Stringer (both formerly of avant-garde metalcore act Iwrestledabearonce) and Bill Crook has been making waves since their self-titled debut in 2017.

As a means of promoting Jylhä during the era of no shows and tours, Korpiklaani has taken to the editing suite in order to lens videos for five of the album’s 13 tracks. We caught up with bassist Jarkko Aaltonen on a rare day off set and from in front of a camera to discuss how to consistently surprise oneself, the mystery of their new album’s title, and the curious world of Finnish pride.

On its 15th full-length optimistically titled album, A View from the Top of the World, the talented quintet is sure to win back those fans that dismissed The Astonishing. Expanding on the sound Dream Theater helped create, the band also retained its roots of the elements that have garnered them worldwide devoted fans.