Promoting metal as art and culture

Wovenwar

All rise, As I Lay Dying join forces with Sleeper to form Wovenwar   When Grammy-nominated rockers As I Lay Dying released their 6th album, Awakened, late in September of 2012 everything looked to be on the up and up. With almost 13 years under their belts, multiple awards in their trophy case, and legions…

Corpus Hermeticum

Perhaps no other term in the study of Western Esotericism is as messy as the term “Hermeticism.” Roughly speaking, the category has at its base a collection of texts preserved together, called collectively the Corpus Hermeticum. This collection is part of a series of texts that have come down through the ages from late antiquity…

Dave Lombardo – Philm

DAVE LOMBARDO: CAUGHT ON PHILM He’s one of the most prolific and well-recognised faces in the metal world – and all the more unique because he is a drummer. You can tell when Dave Lombardo’s playing whether it’s the breakneck double bass and avalanche-style fills of Slayer, crazy experimentalism with Fantomas or quirky bombast with…

Dragon Design

The World of Mike Dragon The art of German visual provocateur, Mike Dragon, could be described as a cross between horror, fantasy, folklore with touches of dark humor and explicit irreverence. For years, he’s been creating visions that are both unsettling and alluring at the same time. On top of that, ventures like producing fine…

States of Panic

Revolution through Art You might remember them as PEEPSHOW, a band that stepped into the spotlight during the peak of the new wave of glam and sleaze rock. Unlike a lot of their peers however, the boys from PEEPSHOW stood out as worthy songwriters, not just pretty boys with overcharged libidos. A fact no one…

Hellyeah

In conversation with legend Vinnie Paul of Hellyeah Hellyeah is back with a new line up, a new tour and a brand new record ‘Blood for Blood’. Just over a month after its release, there is no doubt this is their heaviest album so far. It is pure raw power and showcases Hellyeah’s real identity,…

InMe

Sport, Gardening, Decorating Dave Mcpherson is a wee 31-year-old, and already a veteran musician of 18 years. A prolific composer and lyricist, he fronts the alternative-metal (sometimes) band ‘InMe’ as well as performing as a solo artist, and with the ‘other’ InMe band – ‘Centiment’ (described as some sort-of electronic tech djent thrash rock prog…

Augustinas Naslenas

Northern Oak Discuss ‘Of Roots And Flesh’ Art In just over one month English progressive folk metallers Northern Oak will release ‘Of Roots And Flesh’ and without a doubt one of the definitive highlights of the album is the cover artwork. The band comments: “When discussing the concept for the album artwork, we wanted to…

Angra

Reaching horizons with Angra After the release of “Angels Cry: 20th Anniversary Tour”, Brazilian power/progressive metal Angra returns to the UK. Guitarist and founding member Rafael Bittencourt, talks to HMA about the band’s interest in art, literature, the music industry and Rhapsody of Fire’s own powerful singer, Fabio Lione. We couldn’t be happier to see…

Amberian Dawn

New label and singer, Amberian Dawn appear as focused as ever After 6 years together, Amberian Dawn announced to the world they were parting ways with 3 of their band members, including original singer Heidi Parviainen. Two familiar faces were then brought in to fill the voids left on drums & guitar by way of…

Sebastian Bach

Voice of Legends: Sebastian Bach! Oh jeez, really? How do you even start? It’s Sebastian Bach. As in Skid Row Sebastian Bach! As in some of the greatest ballads in rock history Sebastian Bach! It’s the guy whose music I blasted loud enough to drive the whole neighbourhood insane when I was growing up. It’s…

Red Fang

In conversation with David and Aaron of Red Fang “The record sounds very excellent and professional, you can tell that they’ve been practising their instruments. Their songs sound more thought-out and trippier. Bryan and Aaron sound like they’ve gotten better at singing. Every song has a riff you like. Mike Scheidt from YOB sings on…

Grave Digger

Don’t fear the Return of the Reaper Metal scene in Germany has kept its strength since the early 80’s with many big bands flying the flag. Not all of those who started the scene are still among us but some are. One of those survivors is Grave Digger who started their pounding metal journey from…