Interviews

AT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MIX THE MUSIC of slave spirituals with black metal and give it a satanic twist? Originally conceived as a challenge to combine two vastly different genres of music, Zeal & Ardor quickly went from an internet sensation to a critically acclaimed band atop countless best-of lists, performing at almost every major festival across the world.

Primal Future: 2019 may be the sixth Toxic Holocaust full-length, but six albums is just the tip of the discographic iceberg for the Portland crossover thrash institution. Numerous EPs, demos, splits, live albums, and compilation appearances, in addition to those six albums, round out and comprise the 20 years of Toxic Holocaust’s recorded history. Ironically enough, Primal Future: 2019 has the most in common with the band’s earliest releases…

Everyone's favorite goblin-centric band has been busy with a new album, a cruise, a hit YouTube show, a sponsorship from Chili’s, and even a book deal for their hype man John Goblikon.

We spoke to multifaceted shred queen Nita Strauss (Alice Cooper, Iron Maidens) directly after her first solo show and the live debut of Controlled Chaos to talk about guitar technique, The Guitar Collective tour, balancing life on the road with Alice Cooper and her own material, and, of course, all about her new album.

THE BANDS THAT WE STILL CELEBRATE DECADES after their debut are the ones that ignored the rules and the prevailing wisdom of their day and instead challenged listeners to reconsider all that music might achieve.

Today, there are two iterations of the Cro-Mags touring out there on the road, but that’s definitely not the case if you speak to band founder, bassist, and songwriter Harley Flanagan. For him, there’s only one Cro-Mags, and it’s the band with him set firmly in the creative driver’s seat.

This fall, The Infernal Pathway sees the legendary black metallers returning with an absorbing 11 track odyssey that showcases some of the band’s most aggressive and ambitious efforts to date. We caught up with 1349’s founder and frontman Ravn to discuss the songwriting process and the unique creative directions within the record. He also shared one of his favorite US television shows, and there’s no way you’ll guess which one it is.

“GWAR lives motherfucker!” says new frontman Blothar after every show as the band leaves the stage. And it’s true. Not even the death of original frontman Oderus Urungus (Dave Brockie) in 2014, as well as their fallen brother guitarist Flattus Maximus (Cory Smoot) in 2011, can stop GWAR.

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…

Strange as it may sound to say, what stands out most about Liverpool based trio Dawn Ray’d is that the black metal sound is all that’s really attaching them to the black metal scene. Hailing from the same boundary pushing outskirts as outfits like Wolves in the Throne Room, Alcest, Panopticon, and those who dare weave other genres around black metal’s DNA helix—in their case, classic folk and protest music—Dawn Ray’d has found kinship with the DIY scene, squat and underground independent venue touring circuit, and make no bones about their far left politics.