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By Andrew Bansal

Instrumental progressive metal band Animals As Leaders just concluded a North American headline tour to coincide with the release of their third full-length studio album ‘The Joy Of Motion’, which came out on March 24th via Sumerian Records, an album that musically moves the band forward from the previous release ‘Weightless’ but at the same time revisits themes and vibes that fans of the debut album might enjoy. Animals As Leaders played the last show of their month-long headline tour at the Roxy in West Hollywood on Sunday March 30th, and a few hours before they took the stage to deliver a typically excellent performance, I sat down with guitarist Javier Reyes for a chat. Enjoy the conversation below. Continue reading “Interview With Animals As Leaders Guitarist Javier Reyes”

By Andrew Bansal

Los Angeles-based guitarist Steve Stevens has enjoyed a prolific, multi-faceted 35-year career in rock ‘n roll thus far, and is still going as strong as ever with no sign of stopping. Known primarily as guitarist for Billy Idol, Stevens has also collaborated with musicians such as Vince Neil, Slash, Sebastian Bach and several others. Currently he’s getting ready to go on another huge Billy Idol tour, but before doing so he took part in Franky Perez’ monthly residency show at the Viper Room as a guest guitarist on Friday March 28th, and before the show I sat down with him over a cup of coffee for a detailed interview to discuss his current musical endeavors, the Sunset Strip, his gear setup, his beginnings as a guitar and his love for the acoustic guitar, impromptu jams, his take on rock vs metal, and a few other topics. Enjoy the insightful conversation below, along with a couple of live videos from the Viper Room. (Photos and videos by Joe Dolan) Continue reading “In-depth Interview With Steve Stevens”

By Andrew Bansal

Kevin Estrada is a veteran photographer based out of Los Angeles who’s been taking spectacular photos of rock and metal bands for a number of years, some of his earliest work now seen as legendary because of the era they represent. He continues to work with bands for live shoots and studio session gigs, but besides his still burning passion for photography, he feels strongly about the issue of human trafficking, and for that reason he’s putting together a ‘Rockers Against Trafficking’ benefit concert at Paladino’s in Tarzana CA on April 11th, featuring an all-star lineup of musicians. A few days ago, I sat down with Kevin to talk about this show and his photography career. Check out the deeply insightful conversation below. Continue reading “Kevin Estrada Discusses ‘Rockers Against Trafficking’ Benefit Concert & Photography Career”

By Andrew Bansal

Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica have been in existence for 15 years, releasing seven studio albums and touring worldwide in the process, and garnering a sizable fan base that admires their musicianship and on-stage energy in the live setting. Vocalist/keyboardist Tony Kakko has played an integral role in the band’s popularity with his high-pitched traditional metal style of vocals, whimsical lyrical themes and a dynamic personality. He spoke to me a few weeks ago to discuss the band’s impending eighth studio album “Pariah’s Child”, released in Europe on March 28th and set to hit the market in North America on April 1st via Nuclear Blast Records. Enjoy my conversation with the ever-insightful and humorous Tony Kakko below. Continue reading “Sonata Arctica Frontman Talks About New Album “Pariah’s Child” + More”

By Andrew Bansal

Known for her work as lead vocalist in the Dutch symphonic metal band After Forever and now the new frontwoman of Nightwish, Floor Jansen formed her own band ReVamp in early 2010, following the split of After Forever, and through the two studio albums ReVamp has released so far, she has explored different facets of her singing and musicianship that weren’t evident in anything she did previously. ReVamp’s sophomore effort ‘Wild Card’ was released in late 2013 via Nuclear Blast Records, and now the band is ready to embark upon their first ever North American tour as opening act to Iced Earth and Sabaton through April and May. A couple of weeks ago, I spoke to Floor about this tour and lots more. Check out the conversation below. Continue reading “Floor Jansen Discusses ReVamp’s North American Tour Debut + More”

By Andrew Bansal

After delivering a fantastic album called ‘The Devils Cut’ and showing much promise and potential, White Wizzard’s 2013 lineup sadly fell apart when it all got ugly during a European tour mid-summer. But as always, founder, principal songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jon Leon has picked himself up and carried on creating new music under the White Wizzard name, this time taking the helm as the lead vocalist as well. A new track called ‘Marathon Of Dreams’ has been released, giving us a taste of the new incarnation of the band. A few days ago, I did a comprehensive interview with him to address all things White Wizzard. Check out conversation along with the new track below.  Continue reading “In-depth Interview With White Wizzard Mainman Jon Leon”