Interviews

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…

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.

Azusa is a special and unique band. Featuring Extol drummer David Husvik, former Extol guitarist Christer Espevoll, ex-Dillinger Escape Plan bassist Liam Wilson, and Sea + Air vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Eleni Zafiriadou, there is obviously no shortage of talent and experience comprising the Azusa’s lineup.

Demons & Wizards, the power metal side-project featuring Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer and Blind Guardian vocalist Hansi Kürsch, has returned after a lengthy hiatus. The band kicked off its A Magical Encounter with Demons & Wizards Tour—its first tour in nearly two decades—in Europe last summer in Saarbrücken, Germany, including a headlining show at Wacken Open Air, while their North American headline tour began in Los Angeles with Lizzy Borden and Tyr as support.

Metal musicians from all different types of bands and backgrounds came together in 2017 to form Bad Wolves, a Los Angeles based supergroup that blended pounding yet accessible hard rock with some of the most infectious melodies around. Recently, drummer John Boecklin spoke with us about Bad Wolves’ new album, N.A.T.I.O.N., acting as a producer as well as a musician, and the various ways he likes to think outside the box.

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.

For Mother’s Day, we wanted to do something special with one of the most supportive moms in music. We had the pleasure of speaking with Judith White-Gluz, mother of Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy) about Alissa’s history with art, music, health, rescuing animals, some funny stories, and, of course, the amazing bond between Alissa and her incredible mom, along with advice we should all take to heart.

Umeå, Sweden’s Cult of Luna is one of the few bands that has been able to emerge from the post-metal morass with an identity intact. Having roots that go back to 1998 have been helpful in the band being one of the scant few to be mentioned as overarching influences and genre leaders not followers (the others being Neurosis and Isis), as has creating awesome music with individuated and defining characteristics.

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.

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.