ASTRONOID: Into The Noid
There are few bands as varied in sound and audience as Astronoid. Having spent the better part of the last two years opening for unholy metal champions Ghost and Zeal & Ardor, as well as prog heroes Periphery and Tesseract, the Lowell, Massachusetts quartet is gearing up to hit the road with Between the Buried and Me.
SEPTEMBER MOURNING: Collecting Souls
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.
ALIEN WEAPONRY: Never Been Burnt
New Zealand’s very own Alien Weaponry have found their way back to California soil to kick off a tour with Black Label Society. A band heavily influenced by Māori, Alien Weaponry has quickly made a significant splash in the metal world. From playing all of the biggest festivals in the world to touring with legendary bands, this group is hard to ignore.
Between the Buried and Me: Interview with Tommy Giles Rogers, Jr.
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.
COMBICHRIST: Burning Inside
As one of the most highly anticipated metal albums of the year, Combichrist’s One Fire is only weeks away from being released. This album brings forth a new cycle for the band, along with a new lineup and even new management. We had the opportunity of picking the brain of Andy LaPlegua of Combichrist on all of this and so much more.
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY
Though Pepper Keenan rejoined Corrosion of Conformity back in 2014, it’s taken some time for the band to drop a new record. With No Cross No Crown, the first Corrosion of Conformity release to feature the vocalist since 2005’s In the Arms of God, they have returned…
DEVIN TOWNSEND: Mental Hopscotch
Everything Canadian oddball Devin Townsend touches turns to gold. From his nomadic beginnings as frontman for guitar wizard Steve Vai to industrial hooligans Front Line Assembly to the brutal Strapping Young Lad to the Devin Townsend Project and now with his current solo band, Townsend continues to walk his own musical path.
MORTIIS: Behind the Mask of Mortiis
Mortiis has gone through various changes in musical direction throughout his career, starting in Emperor and then going on to have an incredible solo career first with dungeon synth (a genre he helped create) before moving to a more goth industrial sound for the past 15 years. Now, Mortiis is digging back into his Era 1 material, performing and reinventing classic songs from his second album, and even considering potential re-recordings in the future.
CARNIFEX: Full Metal Jacket
This summer sees the release of World War X, the seventh and most ambitious outing yet from San Diego’s Carnifex. Delivering all of the neck snapping riffs and pulverizing tempos that have become the band’s calling card, World War X sees the death metal five piece conceiving a war themed modern metal epic that’s as emotional and evocative as it is brutal. We caught up with vocalist Scott Ian Lewis to get the story behind the new record.
LEAVES’ EYES
Norwegian/German folk metal band Leaves’ Eyes has overcome several obstacles in the past year and a half. From the divorce of husband/wife bandmates Liv Kristine and Alex Krull (keyboards) to new powerhouse singer Elina Siirala and the band’s latest release, Sign of the Dragonhead, Leaves’ Eyes has been rejuvenated.
