Interviews

After eight years of relative silence, Naglfar has reemerged from the darkest depths of Sweden to once again grace us with their distinctly chaotic brand of blackened noise in the form of their seventh studio album, Cerecloth, released by Century Media. Recently, we had the privilege of talking to guitarist and founding member Andreas Nilsson about Naglfar’s return, his thoughts on Cerecloth, and the future of the band.

Ahoy! If the coronavirus hadn’t worked its deleterious magic on the planet’s seven billion-plus inhabitants, the originators of pure Scottish pirate metal—none of whom are actually based in Scotland any longer, ironically enough—would just now be blasting from the starting blocks for the promotional and touring cycle for Curse of the Crystal Coconut, their latest album of metallic swashbuckling.

“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…

Triptykon has just released the band’s live performance of Requiem, a project that has been in the works for over 30 years. Performed at the Roadburn Festival in 2019 with the Metrople Orkest, this recording brings Requiem to life and is released in memoriam of Martin Eric Ain and HR Giger. Requiem (Live at Roadburn 2019) consists of three tracks: “Rex Irae,” which was released on Celtic Frost’s Into the Pandemonium, the newly written “Grave Eternal,” and “Winter,” which appears on Celtic Frost’s Monotheist album.

Firewind guitarist Gus G (real name Kostantinos “Kostas” Karamitroudis) is ushering in another new era of the band in 2020. With longtime collaborator and keyboardist Bob Katsionis exiting the band recently—as well as vocalist Henning Basse—Gus has reconfigured, re-examined, and rebuilt Firewind’s hard rock meets power metal hybrid sound.

It’s a great time to be a Testament fan. The band is arguably creating some of the most original and dynamic music of its career, taking aim at their classic material from the 1980s with a fresh ear and the willingness to go all in with modern technology. It hasn’t been an easy road, however, as break ups, roadblocks, and personal tragedies have all stood in Testament’s way.

Diamante stormed the scene in 2018 with her first album Coming in Hot. Now two years later, Diamante reflects on the trials and tribulations of working with a record label as she announces her amicable split with Better Noise Music, a new single and video “Obvious,” and gives us an idea of what her future looks like as an independent artist.

On the eve of the release of album number 13, Solitude in Madness, we caught up with guitarist/vocalist/lone original member Piotr Wiwczarek via a one star worthy Skype connection to discuss shifting worldviews, how the need for speed translated into one of the fastest albums of the band’s discography, and looking at the bright side of a global pandemic.

“It started as an internet project with all kids from Connecticut.” After going through lineup changes and unplanned sound adjustments, the band Half Hearted from Hartford has finally found its voice. They have gone from a local band to being streamed all over the country. Their short career has been quite a journey, but every part of those experiences is what makes them who they are today.

Set your stopwatches boys and girls because Australia’s Werewolves are breaking all accomplishment records with the same land speed quickness as a suicidal Fun-E car pilot tearing up the Bonneville Speedway Salt Flats powered by a combination of nitrous oxide and Usain Bolt’s fast-twitch muscle fibers. It’s not that the band (drummer Dave Haley, guitarist Matt Wilcock, and bassist/vocalist Sam Bean—with umpteen years of combined experience playing in the likes of Akercocke, The Senseless, The Berzerker, The Antichrist Imperium, Ruins, King, Abramelin, and more) was able to…