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By Andrew Bansal

Canadian progressive metal quartet Anciients have made rapid strides as a band in the past year or so, releasing a fantastic debut album called ‘Heart Of Oak’ and following it up with some high-profile touring. Now, they’ve been able to add another feather to their cap with a nomination for Canada’s prestigious Juno award. Guitarist/vocalist Chris Dyck spoke to Metal Assault to discuss this nomination, the band’s upcoming Euro tour, and more.  Continue reading “Anciients Guitarist Chris Dyck Discusses Juno Nomination + More”

By Andrew Bansal

Despite being much revered and respected for the long career they’ve had, British heavy metal legends Saxon are not a band that rests on their laurels and have gone from from strength to strength in recent years. Their juggernaut rolled strong in the year of 2013 in particular, with the release of a fantastic new album called ‘Sacrifice’, a world tour that unanimously received a positive reaction from fans everywhere, and the release of an interesting collection of tunes called ‘Unplugged And Strung Up’ via UDR Music to close out the year. The album consists of orchestrated, acoustic and re-recorded versions of older Saxon gems. Yesterday, February 5th 2014, I spoke to frontman Biff Byford to talk in detail about this particular release, among other things. Enjoy the conversation below. Continue reading “Saxon Frontman Biff Byford Discusses ‘Unplugged And Strung Up’ + More”

By Andrew Bansal

Lara Gladstone is a Los Angeles-based promoter who’s been highly active in the local scene, having done a string of shows at Loaded Hollywood and the ‘Metal Mondays’ series at Skinny’s Lounge in North Hollywood in the past few months. I attended a few of these shows and couldn’t help but recognize the diversity in the band lineups and the overall work ethic involved in putting together these shows. Her biggest show yet is coming up at the Troubadour on Saturday February 15th, and she is leaving no stone unturned in making it a success. Last evening, on January 20th, I sat down with her at Loaded to talk about this show, her origins as a promoter, the LA scene, and other things. Read the conversation below. Continue reading “Interview With Los Angeles-Based Promoter Lara Gladstone”

By Andrew Bansal

Los Angeles-based musician Monte Pittman is known for his stint in heavy metal band Prong and as the guitar teacher and touring guitarist for Madonna, but his solo career began in 2009 and now has reached a point where he’s ready to release his third full-length solo album called ‘The Power Of Three’, his first on Metal Blade Records and slated for release today, January 21st. It’s most certainly the heaviest solo material he’s ever created, and has found an apt home at Metal Blade. He performed at the Whisky-A-Go-Go last month and debuted a couple of the new songs to a great response from the audience, and a similar reception should be expected from listeners once they get hold of the whole album. A few days ago, I did an interview with Monte to talk about all things ‘The Power Of Three’, Prong, Madonna, teaching, and more. Read the conversation below. Continue reading “In-depth Interview With Monte Pittman”

By Aniruddh ‘Andrew’ Bansal

The fourth edition of the annual Trendslaughter Fest is set to take place at the No Limmits Lounge in Bangalore, India on Saturday February 1st. Organized by Cyclopean Eye Productions, the gig promises to bring together the best of Asian underground extreme metal, and with an enticing lineup of bands, it should serve to be a special treat for metalheads in India. Sri Lankan black metal band Serpents Athirst will be partaking in the activities as a support act. Formed in 2011, they have just one release to their name so far but have been actively performing local shows in Sri Lanka. This happens to be their first ever gig overseas, and they’re raring to go. I caught up with drummer Obliterator to talk about TSF, the band’s local fan base, and more. Read the conversation below. Continue reading “Interview With Sri Lankan Black Metal Band Serpents Athirst”

By Andrew Bansal

Steve Tucker is known to extreme metal fans for his two stints in Morbid Angel, from ’97-2001 and then briefly in 2003-04, but since his departure from that band, he has been largely absent from the world of metal, save for his collaboration as a vocalist and writer in the Nader Sadek project. But now, he has formed a new band called Warfather and is back to being a death metal frontman again, with the Warfather debut album ‘Orchestrating The Apocalypse’ set for release on Tuesday January 21 via Greyhaze Records. The record gives Morbid Angel fans what they’ve known Steve Tucker for, but also infuses additional elements that might take some by surprise. A few days ago, I spoke to Steve to discuss this new band. Read the conversation below. Continue reading “Ex-Morbid Angel Frontman Steve Tucker Discusses New Band Warfather”