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Interview by Taylor Younani

In the last year or two, British progressive/experimental metal quintet Monuments have transcended into becoming a full-blown entity and a full-time band, enjoying  a much larger existence than what guitarist and founder John Browne initially expected it to. Also featuring the talents of vocalist Chris Barreto (ex-Periphery), Monuments released their sophomore album ‘The Amanuensis’ via Century Media Records on July 8th and are about to complete a US tour supporting Glass Cloud, Scale The Summit and others, and have announced another tour with Devin Townsend and Animals As Leaders for later this year. On their Los Angeles debut at the Lyric Theatre on August 4th as part of the Glass Cloud/Scale tour, our man Taylor Younani was in attendance to witness a fantastic performance from them, and after the set he caught up with Browne and Barreto for an in-depth chat about the tour, the lineup, the conceptual story behind the lyrics, and more. Enjoy the conversation below. Continue reading “In-depth Interview With Monuments”

By Aniruddh ‘Andrew’ Bansal

Hailing from Mumbai, India, Albatross is a horror-themed traditional heavy metal band that’s released two EPs ‘Dinner Is You’ and ‘The Kissing Flies’ in their 5-year existence so far, and have been featured on this site plenty of times in the past as they truly stand out amongst an ever-growing plethora of Indian bands in a fledgling metal scene. Having completed their first ever tour of Australia and expanded their wings within India to newer pastures in the past year, Albatross are ready with material for their next release ‘Fear From The Skies’ and with the addition of a third guitarist, are presenting themselves in a whole new incarnation. Yesterday on August 20th 2014, I caught up with bassist and principal songwriter/lyric writer Riju Dasgupta a.k.a. Dr. Hex to talk all things Albatross. Enjoy the conversation below. Continue reading “Albatross Bassist Talks About Three-Guitar Lineup, Next Album & Lots More”

By Andrew Bansal

Eugene, Oregon-based trio Yob have perhaps been one of the most unanimously appreciated bands in the stoner/doom realm in the last few years, through great studio albums capturing the doom genre and beyond, and powerful live performances to present this material in front of audience all over. Fast approaching the two-decade milestone in their career, the Mike Scheidt-led Yob are now ready to release their seventh full-length studio album ‘Clearing The Path To Ascend’ on September 2nd via Neurot Recordings, an hour-long sensory onslaught that’s grim, punishing and thought-provoking all at once. On August 8th, I spoke to Mike Scheidt about the making of this album, his thought process behind the songwriting and recording, the current state of the stoner/doom genre and his views on the possibility of a Roadburn-like doom fest in America. Enjoy the conversation below, along with a video of Yob performing the song ‘Unmask The Spectre’ off of the new album at this year’s Roadburn. Continue reading “In-depth Interview With Mike Scheidt Of Yob”

By Andrew Bansal

Proudly representing the American heavy metal genre and wearing it on their collective heart and sleeve for the past 15 years, Massachusetts-based group Unearth celebrated the 10th anniversary of their seminal 2004 sophomore effort ‘The Oncoming Storm’ by playing it in its entirety on a North American headline tour two months ago, along with a taste of every other album and a little dose of new material. The quintet has completed work on their as-yet-untitled next album, slated for release later this year. This recent Unearth tour visited Los Angeles for a tremendously successful gig at the Whisky-A-Go-Go wherein longtime Unearth fans were reminded of years past. A few hours before the band took the stage, I sat down with vocalist Trevor Phipps for a candid chat about ‘The Oncoming Storm’, the next album, the metalcore genre and a few other topics. Enjoy the conversation below. Continue reading “In Conversation With Unearth Vocalist Trevor Phipps”

By Andrew Bansal

Washington DC based progressive metal quintet Wings Denied began merely two years ago but with the release of their stellar debut full-length album ‘Mirrors For A Prince’ this year, they have taken a giant stride towards staking their claim as a force to be reckoned with in this genre. Hands down the finest prog metal album of 2014 thus far, ‘Mirrors For A Prince’ was recorded under the expert guidance of producer/engineer Jamie King, who has worked with the likes of Between The Buried And Me, Scale The Summit and Tesseract, and the five members of Wings Denied along with a few talented guest musicians combined to create one of the catchiest yet musically proficient albums of recent times. Wings Denied successfully completed a US tour in June, and a week or so after their fantastic performance at the free-of-cost Metal Monday show at the Down ‘N Out bar in downtown Los Angeles, I spoke to bassist Rob Moore to discuss the tour, the album and more. Enjoy the brief but insightful conversation below.  Continue reading “Interview With Wings Denied Bassist Rob Moore”

By Andrew Bansal

Hailing from Brooklyn NY, Unlocking The Truth is a three-piece teenage metal band that has gained praise and acclaim in their already seven-year long career. Playing at the Coachella Valley Music Festival, sharing the stage with Motörhead and Graveyard to put on an impressive performance at a sold-out Club Nokia in Los Angeles, opening for Guns ‘N Roses in two of their Las Vegas residency shows, touring with Queens Of The Stone Age, and partaking in Heavy Montreal are their achievements from the year 2014 alone, and besides, they’ve made numerous high-profile public appearances over the years. The band is now slated to go on a short run of tour dates with Living Colour. I recently spoke to drummer Jarad Dawkins about all things Unlocking The Truth. Check out the conversation below. Continue reading “Interview With Jarad Dawkins Of Teenage Metal Band Unlocking The Truth”