By Andrew Bansal

Megadeth bassist David Ellefson will perform at an exclusive, one-off event at the Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood on Wednesday April 24th. In a rare jam, he’ll be performing with Sal G (Staind), Troy McLawhorn (Evanescence), Neil Godfrey & Pete Murray (Lo-Pro) and the band Eye Empire. This event will benefit the Boot Campaign for the support of military veterans, and will also celebrate the April 24 release of ‘Battlefield Of The Mind’, a documentary based on the same subject. These guys will be playing songs off of the documentary’s soundtrack. In addition to his musical contributions to this project, Ellefson serves as the narrator of the story. To talk more about the event, the documentary and other things, I had a chat yesterday with David Ellefson himself. Read it below, and if you are in the LA area, come and check out the special event next week! Continue reading →

Interview by Avinash Mittur

Los Angeles’ very own traditional metal outfit White Wizzard have been around since 2007, releasing two EPs and two full-length albums in the process. The latest of these was ‘Flying Tigers’ which came out in late 2011, and showcased the band in a different light, with some classic prog rock influences blended in with the good old fist-pumping, head-banging traditional metal that was typified on releases like ‘High Speed GTO’ and ‘Over The Top’. The current lineup of the band consists of Joseph Michael on vocals, Jon Leon on guitars (studio) and bass (studio and live), Jake Dreyer and Will Wallner on guitars, and Giovanni Durst on drums, and will release a new album called ‘The Devils Cut’ later this year on Earache/Century Media. On April 13th, they played at the Whisky in Hollywood, as main support act in Lizzy Borden’s 30th anniversary celebration show. A couple of hours before they hit the stage, Jon, Joseph, Jake and Will sat down with our man Avinash Mittur at the Rainbow, first to give him a rather exclusive peek into the new music (including the songs ‘Forging the Steel’ & ‘Strike the Iron’) and artwork, and then did an interview with him. Enjoy the great conversation below! Continue reading →

By Andrew Bansal

Based out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Beatles-Metallica mashup masters Beatallica are well known for their craft all over the world. With EP releases like ‘A Garage Dayz Nite’, ‘Beatallica: The Grey Album’ & ‘Winter Plunderband’, full-length albums ‘Sgt. Hetfield’s Motorbreath Pub Band’ & ‘Masterful Mystery Tour’, and the maxi-single ‘All You Need Is Blood’, they’ve garnered themselves quite a cult following, and their live shows only enhance the level of fun that’s generally had by the listener while he or she indulges in Beatallica’s music. Today, on April 16th 2013, they are all set to release their third full-length album ‘Abbey Load’, via Oglio Records. I’ve enjoyed their previous releases and the two times I’ve seen them live were indeed great, so I for one was looking forward to new music from them. Last night, I had a pleasant chat with lead guitarist Grg Hammetson III, and you can enjoy that below. Continue reading →

By Andrew Bansal

Longstanding Swedish extreme metal heavyweights Dark Tranquillity have been around for a while, and their fan-base continues to grow even today, reaching out to newer territories rather rapidly. They  released the face-melting ‘We Are The Void’ album in 2010 and backed it up with some rock-solid touring all over the world. Now, they have completed work on their 10th studio album ‘Construct’, and it’s set to release via Century Media on May 27/28 in Europe/North America. Last night (April 15th 2013), I had the pleasure of talking to vocalist Mikael Stanne to discuss the making of this album, the band’s past and future tours, vocals, and more. Enjoy the chat below, and prepare yourself for the upcoming Dark Tranquillity onslaught next month! Continue reading →

By Andrew Bansal

Bristol (UK) based hard rock quintet BlackWolf was formed in 2010, and came through various nationwide competitions to earn their place on many prestigious venues in the UK. Their music has an instantly catchy, no-bullshit, honest quality to it that makes fans of heavy music take notice straightaway, and that was the case with me too. The band released their debut EP ‘Taking Root’ in 2012, and have now launched a Pledge Music campaign for their debut full-length. I caught up with vocalist Scott Sharp and bassist Ben Webb to discuss in detail the debut album, band’s history, the UK scene, and lots more. Enjoy the chat below and get a taste of their music. Continue reading →