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By Andrew Bansal

Mega-influential power/speed metal veterans DragonForce have been in existence for more than a decade-and-a-half and besides entertaining audiences with their exploits in the studio and antics on stage, they’ve inspired a generation of fans to become musicians. In 2011, they went through a major change with singer Marc Hudson replacing ZP Theart, but during the past four years they have emerged out of that transition to be actively touring again. The second leg of their North American tour with Kamelot begins on November 13th 2015, and follows the recent Metal Blade release of their debut live DVD/Blu-Ray ‘In The Line of Fire … Larger Than Live’. On November 9th, I spoke to guitarist Herman Li about the Kamelot tour, the transitional phase, the live DVD, Japan, crazy fans, the power/speed metal genre, and more. Enjoy the conversation below. Continue reading “In Conversation With DragonForce Guitarist Herman Li”

By Andrew Bansal

English band Satan emerged as the comeback kings of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal with the 2013 full-length album ‘Life Sentence’, their first in 26 years. Making up for lost time, they quickly recaptured the imagination of old-school metal fans worldwide with sold-out shows everywhere, including their first ever US tour in 2014. On the strength of this rekindled fire, Satan released a follow-up album called ‘Atom By Atom’ via Listenable Records in October 2015, and are now plotting for even greater global dominance. Last week, I spoke to guitarist Steve Ramsey to discuss the band’s comeback, the new album, the collaboration with Angel Witch’s Kevin Heybourne, touring, the NWOBHM genre and more. Enjoy the conversation below. Continue reading “Satan Guitarist Steve Ramsey Discusses Band’s Comeback, New Album ‘Atom By Atom’ & More”

By Andrew Bansal

Experimental/doom supergroup Corrections House features in its ranks prolific and revered heavy music luminaries Mike IX Williams, Scott Kelly, Sanford Parker and Bruce Lamont. They came together and started out as a group in 2012, and released a bleak, punishing debut full-length album called ‘Last City Zero’ in 2013. Following the release, the band orchestrated some mind-bending live rituals whenever their ever-busy members collectively found the time out of their main projects. Now in 2015, Corrections House have released the follow-up to the debut, the nine-track slab of dark despair titled ‘Know How To Carry A Whip’. A few days ago, I spoke to Mike IX Williams to discuss the album and more. Enjoy the conversation below. Continue reading “Mike IX Williams Talks About New Corrections House Album ‘Know How To Carry A Whip’”

By Andrew Bansal

New Orleans hardcore punk/sludge/groove heavy hitters Superjoint formed in the early ’90s and put out two albums in the early 2000s before splitting up, but are now back and rejuvenated with three original members Phil Anselmo (vocals), Jimmy Bower (guitar) and Kevin Bond (guitar), along with Stephen Taylor and Joey ‘Blue’ Gonzalez from The Illegals on bass and drums respectively. In 2015, Superjoint toured for the first time in more than a decade, first completing the ‘It Takes Guts’ summer headline tour with support act King Parrot and then the recently concluded ‘Blackest Of The Black’ run as main support to Danzig. Now, they are gearing up for their participation in the Housecore Horror Fest, slated to take place at the Aztec Theater in San Antonio, Texas, November 13-15. The Danzig tour came to an end in downtown Los Angeles at the Microsoft Theater (formerly Nokia Theater) on Halloween night, and before the show I sat down with Jimmy Bower to discuss all things Superjoint, his other projects, life in New Orleans and more. Enjoy the conversation below. Continue reading “Jimmy Bower Discusses Superjoint, New Orleans & Other Projects”

By Andrew Bansal

San Diego-based Tristan Shone, better known as Author & Punisher, is a one-man industrial doom project and a true musical innovator that redefines the implications behind the word ‘industrial’, composing music through his self-created set of drone/dub machines. Although clearly portraying an eclectic blend of heavy music, Author & Punisher has garnered a fan-following in heavy metal circles, as evident from his newfound association with Phil Anselmo’s Housecore Records, and the subsequent Housecore release of his latest album ‘Melk En Honing’, which was produced by Anselmo. Author & Punisher toured the US West Coast in September 2015 and played a show at Complex in Glendale that was exceptional even by his typically spellbinding standards in live performance. I recently spoke to Tristan Shone to discuss all things A&P. Enjoy the conversation below, and catch him on the second leg of his US headline tour this November. Continue reading “An Interview With Tristan Shone, The Man Behind Author & Punisher”

By Andrew Bansal

New Jersey-based instrumental progressive rock/metal guitar virtuoso Angel Vivaldi’s solo career has already lasted more than ten years, and on the strength of albums such as ‘Universal Language’ (2011) and ‘Away With Words: Part 1’ (2014), Vivaldi has earned several accolades in the realms of prog music and guitar playing. In October 2015, he embarked on his first full North American tour, wherein his band was promoted to the headline spot after co-headliners The Algorithm bowed out due to visa issues. Vivaldi and his band arrived in Los Angeles for a gig at the Mystery Box in the Arts District on October 27th, and enthralled a crowd of dedicated, enthusiastic fans with a sparkling exhibition of musicianship. Before the show, I spoke to him about the tour, his demographic, the live show, songwriting and future plans. Enjoy the conversation below. Continue reading “In Conversation With ‘InstruMetal’ Guitarist Extraordinaire Angel Vivaldi”