ELECTRIC CALLBOY: Rebirth
Electric Callboy’s new release Tekkno is the band’s most genuine and fun release to date. For keyboardist and singer Kevin Ratajczak, as he sits in his home in Germany after touring, it’s been a humbling time for the artist over the past few years.
SHATTERED SUN: Reinvented / Exclusive Shades of Melodie Video Premiere
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.
ANNIHILATOR: Looking Forward, Not Back
In the interest of full disclosure, my Annihilator fandom goes back to 1986 and the Phantasmagoria demo. Back in the day, the four track demo may have had the most ridiculous looking piece of headgear for its cover art, but it set my home and native land ablaze. Annihilator ended up being placed in a stead with Sacrifice, Razor, and Slaughter to often be referred to as The Big Four of Canadian Thrash…
THE USED: Embracing Imperfection
It’s a warm and breezy Friday morning. Jeph Howard, the bassist for The Used, is standing outdoors wearing black sunglasses during a tour stop, and he’s getting ready for a show. He’s smiling with youthful exuberance, radiating with over-caffeinated joy and excitement.
SKINDRED: Bringing Two Worlds Together
As one of metal’s most successful hybrid acts, Skindred came onto the scene in 1998, and their mixed arsenal of metal, punk rock, reggae, and hip-hop has been one of the trailblazing soundscapes that many other bands have emulated.
THE HU: From Mongolia to the World… Who Are The Hu?
The Hu is taking North America by storm, from the band’s headlining tour to their innovative style of “hunnu rock”—a captivating blend of modern heavy rock and Mongolian folk music sung in their native tongue and using traditional Eastern instruments. Gaining viral international success from their debut music videos, which are comparatively epic to a scene from Game of Thrones, The Hu was quickly scooped up by Eleven Seven Music and recently released their debut full-length album The Gereg.
LUCIFER: Image of Defiance
Lucifer IV is an album you can imagine being played at everything from a seance and a 70s key party to being featured prominently in Mark (Grand Funk Railroad) Farner’s record collection and as the centerpiece of a stoner film soundtrack. We spoke with Johanna Platow-Andersson about the importance of proximity, growing up in Germany, and how to say fuck you to the patriarchy without actually saying fuck you to the patriarchy.
Angel Vivaldi and Nita Strauss Interview Each Other
Guitar heroes Angel Vivaldi and Nita Strauss go head-to-head and interview each other while on the first date of this year’s The Guitar Collective tour, which is also Strauss’ first solo show and live debut of her new record Controlled Chaos.
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.
ACCEPT: On A Mean Streak
On its 16th full-length album, Too Mean To Die via Nuclear Blast, the newly founded sextet—featuring vocalist Mark Tornillo, original guitarist Wolf Hoffmann, drummer Christopher Williams, guitarist Uwe Lulis, bassist Martin Motnik, and guitarist Philip Shouse—has crafted 11 classic trademark Accept anthems.