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By Andrew Bansal

American heavy metal stalwarts Iced Earth unveiled a new chapter in their career with the recruiting of new singer Stu Block in 2011, followed by the release of their latest album ‘Dystopia’ and a subsequent world tour. During this tour, they played a show at the Kourion Theatre in Cyprus, and filmed it for their new ‘Live In Ancient Kourion’ DVD and Blu-Ray which was released recently via Century Media Records. It’s a fairly accurate representation of Iced Earth the band in its current incarnation. Now, they are ready to record the next album ‘Plagues Of Babylon’, and are performing festival dates this summer including Bangalore Open Air in India this coming Saturday. Shortly after the DVD release, I had a chance to catch up with guitarist and principal songwriter Jon Schaffer to discuss various aspects of the video and the world tour in detail, along with other topics like the new singer and future plans. The always outspoken, frank and honest Jon Schaffer does not hold back whatsoever in his responses to my questions. Enjoy the conversation below, check out a song from the DVD, and visit Iced Earth online using the links at the bottom. Continue reading “Iced Earth’s Jon Schaffer Talks New DVD, Recent World Tour + More”

By Andrew Bansal

English post-punk legends Killing Joke have been around since 1978, and their recent performance at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Hollywood proved the fact that they’re still going as strong as ever, legitimately giving their fans a good time at their shows. Often heavily cited as major influence by a multitude of hard rock and heavy metal bands, Killing Joke’s music was far ahead of its time in the band’s early days, and only continued to strengthen and diversify with every album. Now even as they are 15 albums and 35 years deep into their career, frontman Jaz Coleman, guitarist Geordie Walker, bassist Youth Glover and drummer Paul Ferguson are hungry and eager to record a new album soon. A few hours prior to that memorable Los Angeles show, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Geordie to discuss the tour, his hollow body instrument, his rant on smoking rules, and more. Enjoy this highly candid and entertaining conversation below, read my review of the LA show here, and visit Killing Joke online using the links at the bottom. Continue reading “Interview With Killing Joke Guitarist Geordie Walker”

By Andrew Bansal

Although primarily known as the guitarist of the Brazilian power metal band Angra for the past two decades, Kiko Loureiro has done quite a few other things in his musical career, including collaborations with various artists both within and outside the heavy metal realm, and four solo albums. The latest of these solo albums is called ‘Sounds Of Innocence’, which released on iTunes a couple of weeks ago. It’s a very diverse presentation of Kiko’s skills on his beloved instrument, and should be a worthwhile listen for prog/power metal fans worldwide. Last week, I sat down for a chat with the now Los Angeles resident to talk about this album and lots more. Check out the 15-minute conversation below, and visit Kiko online using the links at the bottom. Continue reading “Angra Guitarist Kiko Loureiro Discusses New Solo Album ‘Sounds Of Innocence’ + More (Audio)”

By Andrew Bansal

If you’ve been around Los Angeles’ local metal scene for any length of time, you probably already know who Eddie Solis is. But for those unfamiliar and/or based outside LA, let me make an attempt at doing justice to this guy’s repertoire. Currently in two bands, the hardcore punk duo It’s Casual and the Spanish-language hard rock quartet Matador aside from being a host of his own radio show ‘Los Angeles Nista’, Eddie was a freelance journalist for a long time and subsequently worked at Southern Lord Records. The man has lived and endorsed a car-free lifestyle for more than a decade now, which is what his radio show is all about. Last evening somewhere in Hollywood, Eddie and I met up and sat down to talk about his bands, the radio show, our beloved LA metro public transportation, LA metal scene, the new Sabbath record, and more. This is one of the most eccentric interviews I’ve ever done, focussing on things I usually don’t get to bring up. Grab a drink, sit back and listen to the 29-minute chat below, and after you’re done check out Eddie Solis, It’s Casual and Los Angeles Nista using the links at the bottom. Continue reading “Eddie Solis Talks Music, Car-Free Lifestyle & Lots More (Audio)”

By Andrew Bansal

Four years after the release of their third album ‘Tales From The Grave In Space’, an album which they toured very extensively on around the world, Irish thrashers Gama Bomb put out their newest studio effort ‘The Terror Tapes’ on May 7th in the US via AFM Records. They began the touring cycle for the new album with the ‘Speed Of Sound’ European run last month, and just before they departed for that, I caught up with vocalist Philly Byrne and bassist Joe McGuigan over Skype to talk about the album, the touring, what they went through in the past four year, and other topics. Check out the conversation below, along with some music off of the album, and visit the band online using the links at the bottom. Continue reading “Gama Bomb’s Philly Byrne & Joe McGuigan Talk ‘Terror Tapes’, Touring + More”

By Andrew Bansal

Hailing from Israel, Orphaned Land have gained a reputation around the world for the audacious message they convey and their efforts towards making peace with some of Israel’s enemies in the middle-east through their music, but at the heart of it all lies a talented and unique progressive metal band that continues to deliver compelling albums. Their fifth studio effort ‘All Is One’ takes a step forward and strengthens the music as well as lyrical message, and is set to release via Century Media Records on June 24th in Europe and June 25th in North America. Recently, I had the pleasure of talking to the eloquent and articulate vocalist Kobi Farhi to discuss this new album and many more topics. Check out the conversation below, along with some music off of the album, and visit the band online using the links at the bottom. Continue reading “In-depth Interview With Orphaned Land Vocalist Kobi Farhi”