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By Aniruddh “Andrew” Bansal

Swedish heavy metal trio Grand Magus recently released their sixth full-length studio album “The Hunt” on Nuclear Blast Records, an album that sees the band get stronger in their musicianship and move successfully forward from previous albums such as “Wolf’s Return”, “Iron Will” and “Hammer Of The North”. ‘Heavy Metal’ is just about the best way to describe their music, because it’s hard to put a finger on a particular style and label them like that. The music contains elements of stoner, doom and power metal, but more importantly, it boasts of great vocals and extremely solid riffs, which is what makes “The Hunt” an album all heavy metal fans can relate to instantly. A couple of days ago, I caught up with vocalist/guitarist Janne “JB” Christoffersson to talk about this album. Read the conversation below, check out the title song off of “The Hunt” using the YouTube player, and visit the band’s facebook page for more info. Continue reading “Grand Magus Frontman JB Talks About New Album “The Hunt””

By Aniruddh “Andrew” Bansal

Swedish all-female rock act Crucified Barbara have been around since 1998, even though their actual album releases came about much after that, as “In Distortion We Trust” and “Till Death Do Us Party” were released in 2005 and 2009 respectively. Since then the band has performed various festival shows in Sweden and toured across European, and subsequently they signed to Nuclear Blast Records. Their third studio album “The Midnight Chase” marks their debut on the label, and is slated for a July 31st North America release. In my opinion, it’s their most definitive rock ‘n roll album till date, and their honest, straightforward and no-bullshit approach to musicianship should find them a new legion of fans worldwide. Last night, I had the pleasure of speaking to guitarist/vocalist Mia Coldheart, to discuss the album, her musical background, gear and a few other things. Read the conversation below, check out the band’s single “Into The Fire” using the YouTube player, and visit their facebook page for more info. Continue reading “Crucified Barbara’s Mia Coldheart Discusses New Album, Musical Background & Gear”

By Aniruddh “Andrew” Bansal

Longstanding death metal band Nile are ready to release their seventh studio album “At The Gate Of Sethu”, which comes out on Nuclear Blast Records on June 29th in Europe and July 3rd in North America. Boasting of a more organic sound as compared to the previous couple of albums, along with some different vocal approaches, and a killer cover artwork to go with it all, this one promises to be an instant success among fans old and new. A couple of weeks ago, I caught up with Nile mastermind Karl Sanders to discuss this new album, the recent India tour cancellation, and a couple of other things. Read the conversation below, and check out the band’s facebook page for more info on the album and tour dates. Continue reading “Nile’s Karl Sanders Talks About New Album, India Tour Cancellation”

By Aniruddh “Andrew” Bansal

Los Angeles-based occult-themed traditional heavy metal band Huntress have been around in the LA underground music scene for a number of years, but 2012 has truly proven to be their breakthrough year, with the release of their debut album “Spell Eater”, followed by the Paganfest North American tour and another run with DragonForce. Recently, I caught up with singer Jill Janus to talk about the band’s rapid progress, the debut album, her interest in occultism, among various other topics. Read the in-depth conversation and check out the band’s facebook page for more info on the album and the upcoming tour dates. Continue reading “In-depth Interview With Huntress Singer Jill Janus”

By Aniruddh “Andrew” Bansal

Veterans of the Indian death/doom metal scene, Dying Embrace started out in 1991, and despite being absent for nearly 10 years between 2002 and 2011, the band has maintained a strong underground following, not only in India, but in other parts of the world as well, through the circulation of their demo and EP releases. In 2011, they made a much-awaited comeback by performing at the Undergrind Fest in Bangalore, and followed it up with a appearance at Trendslaughter Fest II in the same city in early 2012. Now, they are ready to take the stage at Bangalore Open Air next Saturday, and a few days ago I had a chance to catch up with vocalist Vikram Bhat to talk about the band’s comeback, the upcoming BOA gig, among other things. Read the conversation below, and check out Dying Embrace at Bangalore Open Air. Continue reading “Dying Embrace Frontman Talks About Band’s Comeback, Bangalore Open Air & New Material”

By Aniruddh “Andrew” Bansal

Canadian death metal band Kataklysm celebrated their 20th anniversary with a massive headline show at the Summer Breeze Festival in Germany last year, and filmed the entire event. This year, the band is releasing “Iron Will: 20 Years Determined”, an extremely detailed story of the band’s career, along with the entire 20th anniversary concert, and other bonus material. This package is set for a June 19 release date on Nuclear Blast Records. Last night, on June 6th 2012, I had the pleasure of talking to frontman Maurizio Iacono, and we discussed this DVD in detail. We also talked about Maurizio’s future plans, both for Kataklysm and Ex Deo, as well as his booking agency. Enjoy this very in-depth conversation, and check out the Kataklysm facebook page for more info on the DVD. Continue reading “Kataklysm Frontman Discusses Iron Will DVD, Future Plans”