Interviews

Escape the Fate has had many ups and a few downs over the years, and now with the band’s strongest and most solid lineup yet, the quartet is celebrating 10 years of This War Is Ours.

It’s been an eventful year for Southern California metalcore kings Of Mice & Men. Despite the departure of their founding vocalist Austin Carlile, the band has soldiered on as a quartet, with bassist and clean singer Aaron Pauley taking over full vocal duties.

From the first spin of BPMD’s American Made covers album via Napalm Records, it’s easy to tell that the group—featuring vocalist Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth (Overkill), drummer Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater, The Winery Dogs, Sons of Apollo), bassist Mark Menghi (Metal Allegiance), and guitarist Phil Demmel (Vio-lence, ex-Machine Head)—are having one hell of a time.

With so many fads and trends coming and going in heavy music, it’s not always easy to keep your integrity and stick to your guns while maintaining a fan base. In August Burns Red’s case, this has never been a cause for concern. Remaining true to its core sound while progressing naturally with each record, the band has built up one of the most admirable catalogs in contemporary metalcore.

The Greeks may have invented mythology, philosophy, the Olympics, and ridiculously delicious yogurt, but Athens based heroes Rotting Christ are a true Grecian success story. When Sakis Tolis and his younger brother Themis formed the band in 1987, the world was a larger and less connected place, and the isolation facing a politically motivated grindcore band was daunting…

You can’t say “legendary thrash metal band” without mentioning Destruction. We spoke to Destruction vocalist and bassist Schmier to discuss Born to Perish, writing and recording with new members, the band’s history, and his views of the German Big Four.

In today’s modern metal climate, the melodic death/thrash that emanated from Sweden back in the 90s and mid millennium is looked at quite differently depending on the age of the fan in question. For those who remember, the sound from Gothenburg, Helsingborg, and beyond…

Coming off the heels of its magnificent 2017 comeback album, Woe to the Vanquished, California thrashers Warbringer have upped the ante with its sixth full-length album Weapons of Tomorrow, released via Napalm Records. After 2013’s underwhelming IV: Empires Collapse, Warbringer literally collapsed, leaving sole original member and vocalist John Kevill to rebuild the band.

“We’ve never pandered to what people want, trends, or fashion. We write songs with the same principle we had before we even had any fans—we please ourselves first. If we like something, then there’s a possibility other like-minded people will.” These are the words Paradise Lost frontman Nick Holmes…

Heaven Shall Burn guitarist Maik Weichert remains one of the best interviews in metal-dom. He’s always dripping with insight, has a riotous sense of humor, and never presents like it’s a pain in the ass to be yapping on the horn, even if it’s after a long day in the trenches at his legal eagle day gig or after bringing the sounds of melodic death infused metallic hardcore over the course of nine studio albums, including latest Of Truth and Sacrifice.