Promoting metal as art and culture
For the Sake of Heaviness HMA: You have a book out ‘For the Sake of Heaviness: The History of Metal Blade Records.’ How does the book have a central message, or in other words, what do you like for the readers to take in? Brian Slagel: It’s the history of a record company kind of…
Death Blues By Grand Master Oh to the Zee Born in the frozen north of Wausau, Wisconsin, fuzz-driven duo 20 Watt Tombstone has made a career out of loud rock n roll mixed with blues, metal and at times influences like roots and hip hop even shine through. Not quite stoner rock, not quite blues,…
Your favourite Stoner Rock, Doom, Psych & Sludge bands are coming back to London once again this year for the 7th edition of Desertfest. The event, taking place May 4th to May 6th is ready to jumpstart the festivals season with another colossal and solid line-up of bands playing on stages in six different venues…
Ruin By Dmitriy Ignatyev Tantal was formed in 2005. In the beginning band’s music style defined as a mixture of Progressive and Melodic Death Metal, through the years it has transformed to modern-prog-gothic-dark-metal with female vocals. At the beginning of 2007, the band recorded promo-cd ‘Emotional Distress’. Music on this album was a mix of…
The New Mythology Vol. 1 by Andrew Bailey With the intent of bringing together technical thrash metal and gritty groove riffs, Revenger was born in 2012 through the hands of guitarist Jean-Pierre Poulin and drummer Chris Warunki. Their first independent album ‘To the Wolves’ came out in September 2014 with Jordan Knute (lead guitar), Greg…
Odal By Anatoly “Shaman” Pahalenko The magic of the Ancient North. Music, skillfully balancing on the brink of ritual ambient and the traditional folk of Northern Europe is born in the heart of Siberia. The instruments created by the musicians of the band awaken something sacred, long forgotten. And the beats of the drums, amplified…
Drug Cult By Aasha ‘High!’ our self-titled debut will be released on Ritual Productions this June Solstice, a heavy celestial journey cultivated during jam sessions of 2016 in the mountains of Mullumbimby. The writing process was a natural connection for us, starting with a riff, pulsing and drifting in and out of time, all our…
Through the Void, Above the Suns by Adres Deadly Carnage was born in 2005 from an idea of Adres (bass) and Marco (drums), after the first few periods of militancy in the Black/Thrash Metal scene, the intentions of the band begin to change; the sounds become more atmospheric and introspective. In 2007 Deadly Carnage began…
Metal thrashing geeks The thrash movement of the 1980’s was without a doubt one of the most glorious and significant periods in heavy metal history. The aggression, the speed, the politically, violent and gory themes, the anger and the power, changed the metal music world forever. Warbringer, the quintet from the LA area, bring all this…
Apex by Brittney Slayes Those that choose to listen to it make it real; the fans, the ones that dig deep into the albums they love and find the stories written there or make up their own. It doesn’t matter what you write about so long as it means something to you, and so long…
Fantasy and reality by Marco Heubaum Metal is as real or unreal as music just is. And it´s a big mixture of themes anyway; you find everything in metal. And a big part doesn’t have anything to do with fantasy topics. For example, I would name Pantera as one of many influences for Xandria (for…
March of the vegans Cattle Decapitation, the San Diego extreme metal- death metal giants have been realising brutal metal albums since they formed and started spreading their message of animal rights and compassion through their lyrics and images to raise awareness. Their music is a solid wall of brutality, aggression, rawness and extreme grindcore. Their…
Handful of Stars By Woody We all come from different backgrounds, for sure we all evolve from the seventies and sixties rock n roll but going more in-depth we all have different preferences about specific kind of genres. In my case I listen a lot to jazz music not always related to guitar playing, I…
Progressive rock, metal, atmosphere and skill are fused with almost pop music flavoured melodies in what becomes the perfect marriage of inspiration and history of the great progressive and rock bands from the seventies until today. Novelty and experimentation that also manage to grant the pleasure of familiarity. Such drive will see the birth, in…
Return of the Babies: Rock hellions Backyard Babies are best known for their seven studio albums, two Swedish Grammy Awards, numerous collaborations with legends like Michael Monroe, in addition to a classic reputation for hardcore partying and on-the-edge living. What’s it like returning to the stage after a five-year hiatus? What new materials have the seasoned…
Costa Rican band Nostoc was founded in 2010 by Freddy L. and Ariel J. They were looking to create groovy music that would be groundbreaking and unique. They soon found comrades in Leonard C. and David M. In 2011, Ariel departed from the group, but they found a new face in Emmanuel C. With this…
Agostino Arrivabene from Rivolta d’Adda, Italy. Graduated at the Accademia di Brera in 1991, he dedicates himself to the study of past masters such as Leonardo, Dürer and Van Eyck, maturing a surrealistic and visionary style. He participated in the exhibitions of the Sunnis Surrealism: from De Chirico to Foppiani (Piacenza, 2002) and Visionaries, primitive,…
Born in Poland and now residing in the United Kingdom, Kuziola began his career as a dentist before switching his focus to creating art. His style is distinct and surreal, with a stylized texture often resembling sculpted clay. His illustrations are filled with eerie elements like skeletons, twisting vines, medieval armour and fanciful characters. Specialize…
Christophe Vacher is a two-time Emmy Award Winner and two-time Annie Award Nominee who has provided artwork for the Animation industry and most major Hollywood Studios since 1989 as a painter, designer and Art Director. He worked on movies such as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Tarzan, Fantasia 2000, Dinosaur, Treasure Planet, Shark Tale, Enchanted, “9”,…
“Tonight We Stand is a 5-piece melodic-metalcore act from Venice, Italy. Each member of the band comes from different musical influences, ranging from Avenged Sevenfold to Trivium. In this way the sound of their songs is really particular, creating a unique form of metalcore music. Their unique sound can be heard already in their debut…