I am the virus Formed in 1978, Killing Joke is a post-punk band which provides a unique combination of punk, metal and industrial gothic music. HMA spent some time in Brighton with legendary frontman Jaz Coleman for a deep chat about ‘Pylon’, symbolism and spectrum dominance from the corporate world HMA: Hi Jaz and welcome…
Crowd-funding “Bloodlines” An interview with Vincent Castiglia and John Borowski. Many people know that the “And Justice For Art” book was printed thanks to a crowd-funding campaign. That’s why we understand the importance of being supported by the public in order to put together projects that otherwise could be difficult achieve. The promising documentary “Bloodlines:…
Californian extreme metallers, Cattle Decapitation, and irreverent American illustrator, Wes Benscoter have an uncompromising attitude towards art. That’s probably why their longtime collaboration have proven to be so successful. The first time the band used one of the artist’s twisted visions was for their 2002 opus “To Serve Man.” That was followed by the iconic,…
A cold new misery My Dying Bride’s ‘Feel the Misery’ sees a notable return to the band’s own trademark heavy, dark and majestic. Featuring the return of original guitarist Calvin Robertshaw to the fold. The band comments on the themes of ‘Feel the Misery’ “Contained within are all the grandeur and mastery of the melancholic…
The dynamics of life and the universe Over the course of the last six years, TesseracT has been at the forefront of the ever-evolving metal scene. Originally formed as a studio project back in 2003 by Acle Kahney. The debut album ‘One’ received widespread critical acclaim, not least due to the album’s staggering six-part centrepiece…
Elvenking are an Italian folk/power metal on the AFM Records label. ‘The Pagan Manifesto’ is their eighth full length album. Artwork and design for the album comes courtesy of Rhett Podersoo of Machine Room Design. “This album is not just a collection of songs, it’s a piece of life – our fan’s and ours. It…
Venom: Vehicle to Tempation IMPELLITTERI is a heavy metal band based in Los Angeles California. IMPELLITTERI is one of the first bands to combine energetic heavy metal with shred guitar soloing, screaming vocals, strong melody, and big production. To date, the band has sold a few million records worldwide, played to audiences as large as…
A British/Ecuadorian Visual Opus Earlier this year, British black metallers, Ethereal, unleashed their newest collection of sonically-depraved tracks, titled ‘Opus Aethereum’. The album comes accompanied by an elegant, highly symbolical mixed media artwork spawned by designer, Santiago Francisco Jaramillo of Triple Seis Design. Jaramillo already has in his resume imagery created for bands like Pestilence…
A slideshow of a cold, dark and desolate soul When Juha Raivio and Pasi Pasanen formed Swallow the Sun their ambition was no wider than writing a few tunes inspired by veterans My Dying Bride. “All I wanted is a channel to put these demons and make music that matters, who cares if its doom…
The clip was directed by Sam Scott-Hunter and the song is taken from the groups latest tome of horror and romance, Hammer of the Witches. The director commented: “There’s dark madness in this video. ‘Blackest Magick In Practice’ is a deeply tragic tale of lost love. It’s the grief stricken insanity of trying to bring…
Steve Dickson, the creator of the Brighton festival Mammothfest catch up with HMA to tell us more about the history of this growing festival at their 5th edition and the plans for the future. HMA: Mammothfest, how did it start and what’s the reason of this name? Steve Dickson: Mammothfest started when I recognised a…
Commissioned by Chioreanu Costin who has worked with Roadburn Festival, as well as Ivar Bjornson and Enslaved on various projects, the pieces perfectly capture the essence and imagery of the periods they represent. What’s more, Costin’s involvement could not be more appropriate considering Ivar’s involvement as a curator at Roadburn Festival earlier this year. March…
Hard Rock for Thirsty Dogs Tracer, formed in Adelaide South Australia, has just released new album Water For Thirsty Dogs. ‘Water…’ is the third Tracer album and the first to feature new bassist Jett Heysen-Hicks alongside frontman/guitarist Michael Brown and drummer Dre Wise. The album was recorded at Echo Bar Studios in North Hollywood, LA…
Back and uglier than they used to be Ugly Kid Joe have risen again from the Californian sunshine! They are back bringing you good vibes with their brand new album “Uglier than they used to be”, coming out on the 16th of October (via Metalville/UKJ Records). This is their first record in 19 years, containing…
Italian symphonic-death metal masters FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, have revealed the cover artwork to their upcoming album ‘King’. This stunning visualization was created by acclaimed contemporary artist Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, ICED EARTH, KATAKLYSM, HATEBREED). Comments the band:“This work of art is nothing more than the picture of an old world coming to an end.The author, Eliran Kantor,…
The Gondoliers of Doom Fresh from winning Metal Hammer’s Best Album of the Year and embarking on their European Tour of that Album “The Plague Within”, HMA talk gothic mystery and new sounds avoiding a mid-life crisis with Aaron Aedy, rhythm guitarist of long-standing doom and metal merchants Paradise Lost. HMA: Welcome to HMA Aaron,…
The Rules of Grindcore Napalm Death is a band that doesn’t need much introduction, they are without question the ruler of grindcore and they have been for more than 30 years. Their 16th album released this year (by Century Media) ‘Apex Predator – Easy Meat’ is loaded with brutal and extreme sounds and in your…
Incendiary rock’n’roll fury to ignite the rebel heart Danko Jones is a Toronto trio of hotter-than-hell rockin’ rollers led by the shaven-headed Danko Jones, a man with so much stage presence and attitude you half expect him to run up to Ozzy during a performance and bite the Prince of Darkness’ head off. The band…
I can’t begin to tell you how much I enjoy watching it over and over again. The creative consistency of both music and visuals are impressively strong. How was the concept approached and at what level was the band involved? Zev Deans: I was approached by Ghost around late July. They had a loose idea…
Ireland Thrash Untouchables Thrashers Gama Bomb formed in Newry, Northern Ireland in 2002 and set out their agenda immediately; NO ballads! NO clean sounding guitars! NO synths! They cut their teeth playing backroom shows on the UK punk and hardcore circuit and self-released their debut album (Survival Of The Fastest) in 2005. The band; Philly…