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By Andrew Bansal

Led by guitarist and main songwriter Esa Holopainen, Finnish melancholic dark metal band Amorphis have never shied away from trying different things and defying genre boundaries on each of their previous ten albums thus far in their career, and the upcoming eleventh studio album ‘Circle’ will continue this trend, and comes out on April 19th in Europe and April 30th in the US via Nuclear Blast Records. With a slightly darker and more incisive sound, this is another interesting piece for extreme metal enthusiasts, Amorphis fans as well as non-fans. A few days ago, I spoke in detail with Esa to discuss the making of the album, working with Peter Tägtgren, touring plans, and other projects. Read the conversation below. Continue reading “Amorphis Guitarist Talks About Making Of New Album ‘Circle’”

By Andrew Bansal

Former Anthrax guitarist Dan Spitz has been an active supporter of the Autism Speaks organization for a few years now. More recently, he teamed up with Megadeth mainman Dave Mustaine for a new music project called Red Lamb. Mustaine and Dan Spitz co-wrote the lyrics and co-produced Red Lamb’s self-titled debut album which came out in early 2012. Dan wrote all the music and played the lead guitar parts. The current lineup of the band consists of Dan on guitar, Don Chaffin on vocals, Kevan Roy on drums and Alan G on bass. This quartet has been doing a North American run of dates under the title ‘Anarchy For Autism’ in March and will continue to do so this month as well. As the title suggests, the main aim of the tour is to raise awareness about Autism. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dan himself to discuss the tour, the Red Lamb album, Dave Mustaine’s involvement, Dan’s future plans and custom guitars. Check out this intense and insightful conversation below. Continue reading “Dan Spitz Discusses ‘Anarchy For Autism’, Red Lamb & Friendship With Mustaine”

Interview by Avinash Mittur

Pasadena-based classic metal flag bearers Holy Grail released their sophomore album ‘Ride The Void’ earlier this year, and are now out on the road with the likes of Anthrax, Exodus, High On Fire and Municipal Waste as part of the lineup for the third edition of the annual Metal Alliance Tour. On Thursday March 28th, this tour made a stop at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, and after Holy Grail finished their short and powerful set, our man Avinash sat down with guitarists Eli Santana and Alex Lee for a detailed chat about all things Holy Grail, including this tour, the new album, the writing process, past tours and weird experiences, future plans and lots more. Check out the highly entertaining interview below. Continue reading “In-Depth Interview With Holy Grail Guitarists Eli Santana & Alex Lee”

By Andrew Bansal

Based out of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, black metal outfit Neldöreth was formed in 2004 by vocalist Oz Bloodcurse, and despite several lineup changes they’ve stuck to their guns and continued delivering relentless extreme metal through two demos, one EP and two full-length albums, as well as live rituals in Pennsylvania and beyond. Their new full-length album ‘The Saints Of Blasphemy Part 1 – Baptized In Blasphemy’ comes out on April 2nd, and will be followed by a US tour in May. A couple of days ago, I caught up with Oz for a detailed and insightful chat about all things Neldöreth. Listen to the 22-minute interview below, and check out the band using the links at the bottom. Continue reading “Interview With Neldöreth Vocalist Oz Bloodcurse (Audio)”

Interview by Avinash Mittur

British stoner rock giants Orange Goblin have been around since 1995 and have been consistently putting out hard-hitting heavy music over the years. Led by singer Ben Ward and ably backed up by guitarist Joe Hoare, bassist Martyn Millard and drummer Chris Turner, Orange Goblin released what turned out to be one of the best albums of 2012, their seventh studio effort ‘A Eulogy For The Damned’. North America is getting its first taste of these songs in a live setting, as the band is currently on a North American tour with Clutch, Lionize and Scorpion Child. To coincide with the tour, they also put out a live CD/DVD called ‘A Eulogy For The Fans’ on March 12th via Candlelight Records. Their tour made a stop at the House of Blues in Hollywood on March 21st, and our man Avinash sat down with Joe and Martyn to talk about the tour, the live album and more. Enjoy the fun conversation below! Continue reading “Orange Goblin Bassist & Guitarist Talk North American Tour & New Live Album”

By Andrew Bansal

French old-school death metal band NecroWretch started out in late 2008, and after releasing two demo tapes and two EPs, they have now come out with their debut full-length album ‘Putrid Death Sorcery’, which hit the European markets on January 28th and and the US on February 5th via Century Media Records. All in all, the band has an interesting backstory, and a few days ago, I caught up with vocalist/guitarist Vlad to unveil some of it. We discussed the making of the album, talked a bit about the band’s history and musical style, their future plans, and a few other things. Read the conversation below, check out a track from the album via the YouTube video embedded within, and visit the band online using the links at the bottom of this page. Continue reading “NecroWretch Frontman Talks About Debut Album ‘Putrid Death Sorcery’, Band’s History + More”