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Toxic Holocaust Frontman Joel Grind Discusses New Album, Modern-Day Punk + More

By Andrew Bansal

Portland, Oregon’s crossover thrash masters Toxic Holocaust have been around since 1999 and through their insane live performances and solid studio material they’ve garnered quite a loyal fan base for themselves. Following the musically adventurous 2011 release ‘Conjure And Command’, the Joel Grind-led trio put out their relatively edgier fifth full-length album ‘Chemistry Of Consciousness’ via Relapse Records on October 29th, and are now gearing up to hit the road proper. On the day of the album’s release, I spoke to Joel Grind about the making of this new album, the musical direction on it, his lyric writing process, his thoughts on modern punk, touring and more. Enjoy the conversation below, along with the title track off of the new album. Continue reading “Toxic Holocaust Frontman Joel Grind Discusses New Album, Modern-Day Punk + More”

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Interview With Malaysian Death Metal Band Kathgor

By Andrew Bansal

Based out of the Malaysian city of Kajang, Kathgor is a death metal quartet that has been active since around four years ago, releasing two demos ‘Descendants From The Depth’ and ‘The Lord Of Infernal Blasphemy’ in 2009 and 2011 respectively. Currently they are getting ready to partake in the upcoming ‘Banish The Posers’ Fest in Dhaka, Bangladesh on November 16th. A gig put together by local promoters Primitive Invocation, this gig will unite Kathgor with the best of Bangladeshi underground extreme metal along with fellow Malaysian band Lobotomy and bands from Thailand and India as well. A few days ago, I caught up with the band to find out more about their story. Read the conversation below, along with a taste of their music. If you’re in Dhaka, make sure you catch Kathgor at the gig later this month. And for extreme metal fans elsewhere, this is a band worth checking out. Continue reading “Interview With Malaysian Death Metal Band Kathgor”

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In Conversation With Twelve Foot Ninja Guitarist Steve MacKay

By Andrew Bansal

Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, Twelve Foot Ninja is an incredibly eclectic hard rock band that blends a plethora of musical styles ranging from modern prog to jazz, latin, reggae and 90s rock. They formed in 2008 and following two EP releases they put out their full-length debut album ‘Silent Machine’ last year through Volkanik Music. This album is was released physically in the US with a couple of bonus tracks on October 15, and currently the band is on a North American tour with Periphery, Born Of Osiris and fellow Australian band Dead Letter Circus. I saw this lineup play at the Roxy on October 24th and was absolutely blown away by Twelve Foot Ninja’s performance, so much so that I thought they were the best band of the night and the weirdest band I’ve seen in a long time. I contacted them immediately to ask for an interview. Sure enough, a week later I got a chance to speak to guitarist and producer Steve MacKay about the visa problems the band faced in the initial part of the tour, their musical style, live shows, and more. Enjoy the conversation below, with a couple of music videos.  Continue reading “In Conversation With Twelve Foot Ninja Guitarist Steve MacKay”

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In-depth Interview With Ihsahn

By Andrew Bansal

Primarily known to metalheads for his work with the black metal band Emperor, Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Ihshan has also had a very intriguing and diverse solo career, which he started in 2006 with the album ‘The Adversary’ and followed it up the ‘AngL’, ‘After’ and ‘Eremita’ albums in the next six years. On October 22nd, he released his fifth solo album ‘Das Seelenbrechen’ in North America Candlelight Records, an album that dares to step away from what he’s been known for, while still carrying the trademark Ihsahn vibe. A few days ago, I had the privilege of a conversation with this very outspoken musical genius, and we talked not only about the the new album but also about topics like musical creativity and his recent adventure in India. Enjoy the in-depth interview below, along with a taste of the new Ihsahn album. Continue reading “In-depth Interview With Ihsahn”

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In-depth Interview With Matt Harvey & Michael Hamilton Of Exhumed

Interview by Jason Williams

Prior to and post the release of their sixth studio album ‘Necrocracy’ via Relapse Records this year, Northern California goregrind masters Exhumed have been on a relentless touring run through North America, Europe and other parts of the world. They’ve just concluded a North American tour supporting Dying Fetus, and it was during this run that they played at the Constellation Room in Santa Ana on October 15. A few hours before the show, our man Jason Williams sat down with guitarist/vocalist Matt Harvey and drummer Michael Hamilton to discuss tours past, present and future, amongst many other things like the new album, the government shutdown, and basically all things Exhumed. Enjoy the light-hearted conversation below, along with a taste of the new album, and use the links at the bottom to read a review of the Santa Ana show or to visit Exhumed on the web. Continue reading “In-depth Interview With Matt Harvey & Michael Hamilton Of Exhumed”

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Thailand’s Savage Deity Talk About ‘Banish The Posers’ Fest & More

By Andrew Bansal

Based out of Bangkok, Thailand, Savage Deity is a new entity in extreme metal, having started out in 2011 and garnering rapid acclaim in the South-East Asian underground metal scene with a rehearsal demo tape released in 2011, the ‘Icons Of The Wicked’ split EP with the band Goatchrist666 in 2012, and some crushing live performances in the local circle.  Right now, they are preparing to play the upcoming ‘Banish The Posers’ Fest in Dhaka, Bangladesh on November 16th. A gig put together by local promoters Primitive Invocation, this gig is all set to bring Savage Deity together with the best of Bangladeshi underground extreme metal along with bands from Malaysia and India. A few days ago, I caught up with the band to discuss this fest, and all things Savage Deity. Read the conversation below, along with a taste of their music. If you’re in Dhaka, make sure you catch Savage Deity at the gig later this month. And for extreme metal fans elsewhere, you’ll do yourselves no harm at all in checking out this promising band’s music and story. Continue reading “Thailand’s Savage Deity Talk About ‘Banish The Posers’ Fest & More”