Archive for the ‘Frontpage Feature’ Category

Melbourne’s Be’lakor have gone from unknown, unsigned band to one of the scene’s most respected and consistent bands. Having just released their third critically acclaimed album in Of Breath and Bone, the band is now entering pastures that find the tiny dependent Australian band playing doomy, melodic death metal mentioned in the same breath as the like of Insomnium, Opeth and other European luminaries. And I’ve watched and listened the whole time, seeing the band grow and become one of metal’s elite acts. All the while I’ve stayed in pretty consistent contact with the band’s founder and keyboardist Steve Merry who was once again, more than willing to answer a few questions about Be’lakor, the new album and what the future holds for Be’lakor…

Teeth of the Divine’s battle-worn assault squad is back for the last time to recollect the experiences and ordeals they went through on the last day of Tuska Open Air Metal Festival — held in Helsinki, Finland for the fifteenth time. Sunday provided quite possibly the festival’s brightest highlights with Overkill storming the stage and Huoratron blinding everyone with their over-the-top strobo-lights. This is Sunday and the end of our epic three-part quest to TUSKA OPEN AIR 2012.

Teeth of the Divine’s battle worn assault squad is back to recollect the experiences and ordeals they went through on the second day of Tuska Open Air Metal Festival — held in Helsinki, Finland for the fifteenth time. Saturday not only saw heavy metal’s more empowering side, but its blackest as well. Thus, our report of epic proportions continues with the last day of June 2012. This is Saturday.

The fifteenth Tuska Festival was held for the second time at the Suvilahti-area, only a short distance away from the very center of Finland’s capital, Helsinki. The ever-changing and unpredictable weather saw almost fifty or so bands (including Ministry, Megadeth, Behemoth, Anaal Nathrakh, Sabaton, Trivium and Horna to name a few) play for around 28,000 metalheads during the final days of June (and first day of July) 2012. Teeth of the Divine’s task force was sent to investigate and muster up a report of epic proportions. This is Friday.

The ever busy and resolutely dedicated warrior of Heavy Metal Chris Black is a talented songwriter and versatile musician, as one can hear with clarity in his work with bands like Superchrist, Dawnbringer, High Spirits, and Pharaoh. He’s also one hell of a nice guy and a true supporter of Metal on multiple levels, not the least of which includes his past work as journalist Professor Black for the [now defunct] Metal Maniacs and as owner/operator of Planet Metal Records. But the primary topic at hand warranting exploration and selective dissection concerns Dawnbringer and new Profound Lore album Into the Lair of the Sun God, the follow up to the equally spectacular Nucleus. As pigeonholing is for the birds, we’ll just call the Dawnbringer style well written, heartfelt, and dynamic Heavy Metal. This time around Black took on the ambitious task of writing a bona fide concept album into which we shall delve in short order. We’ll also be shedding some light on the new Superchrist album, which is titled Holy Shit and can be obtained for a paltry sum via Hells Headbangers Records. It is a grand example of no frills, catchy Metal, which deserves some virtual ink and your hard earned trinkets. Dawnbringer headlined this year’s Alehorn of Power Fest VI at Reggie’s in Chicago and as I can attest personally, the faces melted were many and the reverberations from the decibels dealt can still be felt. Incidentally, this interview was conducted the week prior to the show, as you’ll soon realize. In any case, allow us to bring it so that you may consider it brought upon completion of this full meal of the written word.

Hämeenlinna is a city (with a population of 60k) some 100 kilometres north from Helsinki. A somewhat of a beautiful place during summertime (for example, the national park Aulanko). The city’s name stems from the iconic castle of Häme, built around the beginning of the 14th century. In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, the city was also the home of a long-defunct festival, Giants of Rock, which saw acts such as Dio, Sepultura, Suicidal Tendencies, Helloween, Motörhead, Anthrax, Obituary and countless others play live — some could argue that some of those bands were in their prime at that time. (Check out Sepultura’s gig on YouTube.) But enough with history lessons…

Aside from the bragging rights associated with attending a Swedish metal show, I was genuinely excited to see some “real” metal after spending the last two weeks lavishing in the cheap thrills of Turntable.fm’s Metalcore/Deathcore/Nintendocore room.

Even though it was on a Sunday night, and I was violently hung over and sleep deprived, I packed my camera gear, put on the tightest pair of black jeans I could find, and drove down to DNA Lounge in San Francisco, California, to see an awesome lineup of bands.

So back in April I attended a show featuring All Shall Perish, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Carnifex, The Contortionist and Conducting From the Grave. Admittedly, the main attractions were All Shall Perish and Fleshgod Apocalypse, as while I own all of Carnifex’s albums, they aren’t a band I really crave — being a solid if unspectacular deathcore outfit. That being said their last CD, Until I Feel Nothing, as with many of their contemporaries, upped the death metal ante and in the case of Carnifex, a very slight symphonic element was added, giving the band a more dramatic, epic feel. So before the show, I hung out with amicable drummer and founder Shawn Cameron to discuss, Victory Records, fans and the dreaded D word…

Normally the thought of female-fronted metal is enough to induce gagging. The disgusting combo of sickly sweet pop melodies over watered-down power metal has been done to death and back in recent years, with each group generally sounding as equally boring as the next. Thank goat for Nexhymn and the evil throat of Holly Wedel. No sweet melodies to be heard on the band’s Black Horizon EP, only sheer, unadulterated brutality and rage (but no monotony). Read on for an interview with the voice of Colorado’s underground DM gems.

Dear fans of traditional U.S. Death Metal, were you aware that Kentucky’s Abominant has released nine full-length albums and just recently self-released the Battlescarred EP? You’re weren’t? I guess I’m not surprised since Abominant has never gotten quite the level of recognition as many of their peers, including some that haven’t released half as many albums. But as you’ll read, fame and fortune were never priorities for the veteran act. And if you start a death metal band because you think it is your best bet to achieve worldwide recognition and sacks of loot, then a head examination would seem to be in order. In any case, what is most important for you to understand is that Abominant are in it not necessarily to win it, but to make the best albums they can make and have a great time doing so. Mission accomplished. If you love USDM, then you really must grab some Abominant albums, perhaps 2010’s Where Demons Dwell or 2008’s Warblast for starters. You could also begin your journey into the abyss with the brand spanking new Battlescarred, which features two new songs (“Pile of Flesh” and the title track) that are pretty damn representative of the Abominant sound, and two covers (Black Sabbath’s “The Mob Rules” and Pestilence’s “Out of the Body”) that are impossible to dislike. How could you go wrong? Bassist Mike May is the man with the answers and without the turntable.

I’ve seen God Forbid in a variety of venues on several different tours, beginning with their opening spot on a tour in 2001 supporting Determination that featured Nevermore, Opeth, and Angel Dust in front of 30 people in Topeka, KS, and then most recently on the 2012 Overkill tour stop in Kansas City. Musically, the band has come a long way between Determination and new album Equilibrium. It was 2004’s Gone Forever that established God Forbid as a melodic sort of metalcore act on par with the likes of Killswitch Engage, yet never reaching that same level of popularity even with an output since that has been far more ambitious. Concept album IV: Constitution of Treason saw the band expanding musically, but it was Earthsblood on which God Forbid took things to a whole new level, one on which soaring melodies met rich, progressive arrangements. After that the band’s contractual relationship with long-time label Century Media came to an end and the search for a new label began, ultimately ending with God Forbid’s signing to Victory Records. New album Equilibrium sees God Forbid reining in some of the over-the-top dynamics of Earthsblood without abandoning its progressive flair and throwing in some new twists (as they always do), but more than anything else writing several quintessential God Forbid modern melodic thrash metal anthems for a new generation to enjoy.

The band is Stonehaven, the location is Kansas City, the style is black metal, the record label is Horror Pain Gore Death Productions, the album is Concerning Old-Strife and Man-Banes…and it is magnificent in terms of compositional depth, lyrics, and pure fucking sonic terror. Any questions? Now let’s get down to the nitty gritty of Stonehaven. We asked vocalist/lyricist Stephen Holdeman and guitarist Nick Van Walleghem to satisfy our curiosity and quench our thirst for knowledge in that regard.

ACID DEATH’s reunion is, without a doubt, an event of considerable proportions in the Greek metal scene. Hailing from the depths of the 80s thrash scene, this band has known chaos and havoc throughout the years, fighting their asses off to get heard, and to live for their craft – they reunited in the 2000s with one venomous and vengeful packaging with ‘’Eidolon’’, an essential of a record that meshes elements of the thrash of yore with bullet-spitting and kickass grooves, coupled with progressive death metal of the finest kind. Diversity and dynamics certainly don’t lack, and Savvas Betinis (bassist/vocalist) sure as hell gets very animated when talking of the thought-process throughout the evolution of this disc, and the context of his band’s (and the scene’s) development in the Greek scene from the 1980’s right towards the present day. Not long after giving a strongly apeshit rating to ‘’Eidolon’’, I conducted an email interview with Savvas, who eagerly responded to my elaborate and very interested questions with top-class honesty and humble appreciativeness.

It was a quintessentially awesome May evening with good weather blowing and good beer flowing when Chicago’s Bible of the Devil hit Kansas City’s Riot Room on their “In Raw We Trust” tour. Though it was arguably their worst stop on the tour for attendance and merch sales, the dudes of BOTD were in fine form and put on their show as if they didn’t notice. I got to shoot the shit with drummer Greg Spalding and bassist Darren Amaya over a few beers before they took the stage and below is the result of that meeting.

Last year, Italy’s Fleshgod Apocalypse unleashed ‘Agony’, their second full-length album. After delivering a debut album (‘Oracles’) and an EP (‘Mafia’) that injected classical instrumentation and symphonics into brutal death metal, ‘Agony’ fully merged the two elements that created a divisive collision of sounds. Some trumpeted it as chaotic, noisy mess while others (me included) hailed it as one of the year’s best death metal albums. When I found out that the band would be touring the US, and hit a relatively close venue along with my favorite deathcore band, All Shall Perish, I had to make the three hour trip and see them live. As a bonus guitarsit/vocalist Christiano Trionfera was kind enough to visit with me a little bit and talk a little further about, Agony’, the current tour and the future of Fleshgod Apocalypse…

As one of the few metal bands out of Romania to have achieved international recognition, Negură Bunget have developed their sound from a traditional, atmospheric black metal into something quite original. Parallels may be drawn between this band and others like Opeth or Enslaved; with each album, this Romanian act have pursued an increasingly progressive and experimental direction. Having done a couple of my favourite black metal albums in ‘Maiastru Stefnic’ and ‘Om’, I was very excited to hear what Negură Bunget would sound like when they played Vancouver. Catching up with drummer and band leader Negru a little while before the show, he gave me the scoop on what this band is all about.
Also on the bill were Toronto black metallers Eclipse Eternal, Romanian neofolk duo Din Brad, and blackened openers Desecrate Scripture.

It has been fabled that the Australians are an extremely friendly bunch of people, and that myth was put to rest when this writer interviewed Psycroptic a day before (25th April, 2012) their first live performance in Singapore (26th April, 2012); an island famed for being one of the world’s smallest countries, one of the world’s foremost educational hubs and probably the most well-known Asian metropolitan after Tokyo and Hong Kong.

Having been on Nuclear Blast’s roster for 4 years, it is surprising to see that the band is still as down-to-earth as your average Joe (or perhaps even more than that) and don’t dabble in the sophisticated art of breathing with their noses pointing skyward. Main founding member and drummer David Haley met this writer outside the hotel, exchanged some very normal greetings, and then casually led this writer right into the band’s hotel room to conduct the interview. It was a modest room that only barely had room for two, but Jason Peppiat (vocalist) and Joseph Haley (David’s brother and Psycroptic’s only guitarist) were both in it as well to join in the fun.

Clad in casual T-shirts and shorts, all three members of the band looked as at home as a kitten in a 9gagger’s arms. David looked around for a while, seemingly searching for something, before he pulled a seat out from under the humble coffee table and invited this writer to have a seat. Thus began the friendly interrogation of Psycroptic regarding issues ranging from their thoughts on Singapore, why they don’t consider themselves to be a “technical death metal” band, meat pies, beer and more.

So back in April I took my annual trip to Lawrence, Kansas to witness a pre chosen metal show, drink some beers, watch hippies and eat at the Pita Pit. Differing from the last two trips, where Between the Buried and Me were the headliner, this year’s show was a varied bag featuring The Contortionist, Conducting From the Grave, Fleshgod Apocalpyse, Carnifex and headliners All Shall Perish. The two bands I was most interested in were All Shall Perish who released one of deathcore’s best albums in 2006’s The Price of Existence, my favorite album of that year, and Fleshgod Apocalypse, who released my favorite album of 2011, Agony. Interviews with both were set up, so after a growler of ale in a dingy back alley like a hobo, I finally got to visit with All Shall Perish guitarist Ben Orum and vocalist Eddie Hermida. [image courtesy of Jeffrey Krenzer].

As former drummer for the legendary Gorefest, Ed Warby went through his shares of ups and downs; breakups, reunions, classic album, reviled albums and more breakups. But nothing compares to the emotions that he conveys on his doom side project, The 11th Hour. While playing on Hail of Bullets keeps his death metal steel wet, it’s doom metal that remains Eds deepest love. With his second effort, Lacrimosa Mortis, his emotions and influences are not just worn on his sleeve, they are exposed by a gaping, tearstained hole in his chest showcasing the pulsing heart underneath. I visited with Ed to dig a little further into his more doom laden music and finally lay to rest any Gorefest rumors.

The two bald and rather unkempt dudes at Clawhammer PR and Germany’s Apostasy Records have teamed up with teethofthedivine.com to give away 6 Apostasy Records CDs. Two lucky winners will each get 3 Apostasy releases and all you have to to is fill out the form below. It’s that easy.

This is one of those special sort of interviews for me since guitarist “Fast” Eddie Clarke’s contributions to one of my all-time favorite bands, Motörhead, had such a huge impact on me growing up and still does to this day, not to mention his work in Fastway, particularly that brilliant first album. I still recall purchasing Motörhead’s No Remorse cassette at a record store in San Antonio, Texas during a visit one summer, a consumer product decision that changed my life (grabbing a copy of Celtic Frost’s To Mega Therion didn’t hurt either). But enough with all that nostalgic blathering and on to the business at hand. It’s taken two decades, but Clarke is back in a big way with a fantastic new Fastway album, one that should blast any remaining memories of the questionable material that followed All Fired Up right out of your head. Clarke is joined by vocalist/bassist Toby Jepson and drummer Matt E on what is without question a great hard rock album called Eat Dog Eat. Welcome back Eddie and welcome back Fastway. Read on.

Regular readers of the site more than likely know that I’ve got a HM2 pedal sized boner for old school Swedish death metal. It’s my first love of the vast metal genre going back to Entombed’s Left Hand Path. So the genre’s massive recent revival has me pretty giddy. Especially when bands from all over the world are delivering very impressive take’s on the classic sound. and even more vital to the genre seeing as the genre’s fore bearer’s are now defunct (Dismember), wheezing into the end of their career (Entombed, Grave) or simply overlooked nowadays ( Unleashed). Luckily the mantle has some worthy carriers. Whether it’s the Fin’s like Winterwolf and Cryptborn, Eastern Europeans like Morbider and Brutally Deceased, Americans Fatalist and Horrendous or home grown talent like Entrails, the genre is in safe hands. And there are no more impressive hands than Germany’s Revel In Flesh, who with their debut album Deathevokation have arguably jumped up to the top of the heap with Entrails. A mysterious duo comprised of Maggesson (drums/guitars) and Haubersson (guitar/bass/vocals), Revel in Flesh makes no bones about their chosen influences, so I visited with Haubersson to revel in the old school even more….

Is Manilla Road a cult heavy metal band? Who cares? You shouldn’t. What you should care about is the fact that this superb Wichita-based group has been raising the flag and saluting since 1977 in spite of a music scene that has been far too indifferent in the United States, at least outside of a rabid core fan base. As usual, Europe has been a different story for Manilla Road, a region in which the act has no trouble commanding a festival audience. It seems all Europe sees is a forward thinking band with lyrical themes that run deep and a style that is musically progressive, yet firmly based in classic heavy metal, rather than “cult.” All cynicism about America’s fickle attitudes aside, the fact is that Manilla Road is a celebrated, highly influential Heavy Metal institution with an impressive body of work that has been given a boost this century through CD and vinyl reissues by Shadow Kingdom Records in North America and High Roller Records in Europe. The last album, Playground of the Damn, was released last year and since then the band has brought in a great new German-based drummer in Andreas Neuderth and is planning to release a follow-up album before 2012 becomes a memory. In the interim the self-titled debut from Hellwell, the side project of guitarist/vocalist/composer and founding member Mark “The Shark” Shelton, will be released through Shadow Kingdom Records. All that and more awaits your prying eyes in this interview with the ever genial and always interesting Shelton. Read on and Up The Hammers!

If you’re choice of metal falls squarely into the Brutal Death Metal camp, then surely you are familiar with North Carolina based Comatose Music and its Chairman, CEO, and Overlord Steve Green. Steve is certifiably workaholic and selective about releasing only those albums in which he personally believes and to which he can provide the proper support/promotion. Having personally ordered from www.comatosemusic.com (including distro items), as well as reviewing Comatose titles (Thirst of Revenge, Bloodsoaked, Face of Oblivion, and others), I can state without equivocation that Mr. Green runs a tight ship and offers quality products at great prices. He also deals in decibels as guitarist in his own bands Atrocious Abnormality (current) and Lust of Decay (on hiatus). Steve’s story is one of dedication, determination, attention to detail, and above all else customer service. Read the interview and for the love of all that is brutal and unholy order something from Comatose Music!

Pick a random European kid off a random street in Europe and ask him/her what music instrument they picked up first. Chances are, you will get one of these three answers: (1) Piano (2) Violin (3) Clarinet. It is no big secret that European metal musicians often start out with Classical music before moving into heavy metal territory, and the converse is often true for American metal musicians. Stéphan Forté is European and started out the European way, but as neo-classical metal tradition would have it, he has mastered the electric guitar very skillfully (and beats many Americans at this staple instrument of theirs). The suave shredder may not be a household name like George Lynch or Yngwie Malmsteen, but watch out; the frontman and lead guitarist of French progressive neo-classical metal band Adagio is off to a great start with his fairly new solo project! His virtuosic skills and penchant for mid-paced Romantic-inspired solos might just set him apart from the speed-crazed and “djent”-obsessed contemporary metal crowd. I smell a new guitar hero from France.