Interviews

ORIGINALLY FEATURED IN OUTBURN ISSUE #44 / JUNE 2008 Eager to get back on the road, vocalist and guitar whiz Alexi Laiho offers his thoughts on the band’s sixth studio release and what keeps Children of Bodom going strong.

Swiss all-female, classic heavy metal quintet Burning Witches has been on a tear lately by releasing four full-length albums in six years. On the band’s newest Norse mythology themed opus, The Witch of the North, the band executes some great storytelling and tight compositions on its 14 tracks.

Since making their debut with Pain Again in 2017, it’s been quite the ride for the hardcore outfit. For Mitchell Rodgers, there was a time when the vocalist had different visions of what the future of Varials looked like moving forward.

ManiaCult has all of the usual traits of an Aborted album—brutality, technicality, and absolute craziness. Even with some newfound diversity, Aborted is still a classic gore and guts band. We spoke with Sven de Caluwe about writing and recording the album during the pandemic, the sound behind ManiaCult, and his best music business advice.

Parody bands have come and gone over the years. Weird Al Yankovic, Dread Zeppelin, and Beatallica, among others, made their mark in pop culture. Phoenix based death/punk band Okilly Dokilly…

Shattered Sun has been through a lot in the past year, with the departure of two longtime members, separating from Victory Records, and narrowly missing out on opening for Metallica. As with all things, the pendulum swings back, and it swings back just as hard as the band’s new music.

The rise of Copenhagen quartet Konvent has been astronomical. When bassist Heidi Withington Brink got the idea to direct her lifelong love of music towards actually creating and playing it, she didn’t let her inexperience get in the way. Teaming up with a collection of fellow exuberant amateurs from the local scene, Konvent was born, and in four short years, the doom/death quartet—Heidi, guitarist Sara Helena Nørregaard, vocalist Rikke Emilie List, and drummer Julie Simonsen—has gone from nervous newcomers to Danish festival regulars, a band with European tours under its belt, and a deal with Napalm Records, who are issuing the band’s debut, Puritan Masochism.

Inspired by Swiss metal band Celtic Frost’s iconic 1985 album, To Mega Therion, Swedish symphonic metal forerunners Therion has successfully carved out its own niche within the metal world since its 1988 formation. On the band’s 17th full-length record, Leviathan (released through Nuclear Blast Records), all the Therion trademarks are represented.

Heavy metal duo, Ashes of Ares, consisting of ex-Iced Earth alumni—vocalist Matt Barlow and bassist/guitarist Freddie Vidales—has created a project that they can truly call their own. Formed in 2012 with the impetus of starting fresh after both musicians left Iced Earth, Ashes of Ares has carried on its brand of heavy power metal with honesty and passion for the genre.

September Mourning has been busy touring and working on a follow-up to Volume II and the September Mourning comic book. With fate on the heels of Emily Lazar, both literally and figuratively, we find out from the enigmatic Lazar and guitarist Rich Juzwick what the band has been up to.