Total Fucking Destruction Interview

Pennsylvania has thrown out a grinding act worth your wild. They're known as Total Fucking Destruction, and features former drummer/vocalist Richard Hoak the band has been through a twisted amount of performances and recorded numerous albums getting their name out for everyone to witness. But that?s not all in 2006 the band donated their rendition of "Kill Your Boss," to raise funds for the Eyehategod musicians on Ernetic Records. Which assembled a benefit CD entitled "For The Stick - A Tribute to Eyehategod." Moving onward to donating exclusive material; to Relapse Records 7 Slimewave Series that collaborated efforts got shared with Machetazo. Down the line Total Fucking Destruction was signed and unleashed their debut "Zen and the Art of Total Fucking Destruction," a mixture of studio and acoustical live tracks that will blow your mind away! Once 2008 came around they released another album "Peace, Love, and Total Fucking Destruction," of which has been given reviews unlike anything they've done or released thus far into their musical career. I conducted an interview with the drummer/vocalist Richard Hoak and this is what he had to say about the whole process.

1. Introduce yourselves, what do you do in Total Fucking Destruction and how long has the band been together/when did you guy?s first start?

Total Fucking Destruction is been together forever, we began in the art of all humans, we live in the wave link of modern day, military, techno, satanic complex.

2. What concept came to mind when you recorded "Peace, Love and Total Fucking Destruction??

Emptiness, nothingness, nonsense, our songs are true stories of life, and modern day world, and peacefulness of when we are gone.

3. What are some of your influences and do they take part in any of the albums you've released?

Yes, Total Fucking Destruction is a crazy fucked up daily life.




4. What are your views on metal music as of right now compared to when it first started out?

Metal is the message and the message is the music.

5. What made you want to become a musician/was it because of family tradition of just your own thing?

I became a musician as my way to celebrate, as we watch this unfold all around us, so as we as individuals can all come together as a style of Balalong.

6. Any ideas for Total Fucking Destruction's future plans?

Ummm?.. No.

7. What do you think of this current album, compared to your previous works or what you may do in the future?

Total Fucking Destruction is of presentation and our message so far of execution and production.



8. What is your most favorite place to tour/play? Have you guys been to the US yet?

Balalong, *laughs* we?re from PHILADELPHIA.

9. Is there any concept behind the CD title or album artwork?

Well it?s not about the music, it?s not about lyrics or about the words or space between the words, or what's been forgotten its not trance parent, its all about the attitude.

10. It's been awesome talking with you any other thoughts or comments you?d like to make?

I would like to send the message to all energy and strength to all the interesting individuals.

http://www.myspace.com/totalfuckingdestruction

National Product Interview

1. Introduce yourself and what you do in National Product, and when and how long has the band been together?

My name is Danny I sing in the band National Product and we all grew up together in Hawaii playing music and stuff and then went off to college and came back in 04 we moved out to California and started touring and ended up getting signed and releasing a record.

2. What were the band's reactions when your keyboardist Dan Niles left the band? Why did he make this choice?

Ya know Dan came in after that guy, he wasn't apart of the song writing and didn't play anything on the record, he didn't even perform on the record, so Dan has always been a friend of the band, and we wanted to try a piano and keyboardist player live, and we as a band just felt like we didn’t really need him. So he left and got to live his dream of wanting to be a graphic designer and got to be home and a lead a normal life with his girlfriend and be a graphic designer while we got to play music and do that thing.

3. Are we going to be seeing a new album anytime soon?

Ya know I think so, we've been talking about it, when we recorded Luna, and we had enough music for 2 albums and had a EP which was recorded before Luna, and we didn't release it because we wanted to release a full record instead. We're thinking of re-releasing Luna with new artwork, DVD and new songs and everything. And then going in and recording a full length so kids have something to listen too.

4. What's this tour been like with 1997?

We've been going up against bigger acts such as Trapt and Finch and Scary Kids, and We've been battling kids to come to our show, we've had a few sold out shows Bakersfield, and today we're playing Los Angeles and Orange County and those have been jammed packed full of kids. And 1997 are a bunch of awesome people.

5. Is there any story or concept behind your CD title "Luna"?

The whole concept behind Luna was basically the story of the record is the story of our lives but has a much deeper router meaning and how the moon goes through its stages and goes through a sliver of life and beaming brightly and then what we go through our highest stages of our lives while we're beaming bright. We have our moments and have a shiver our lives and a moment of what we all go through whether its battling death ot our own personal lives is what Luna is all about.

6. Who did the artwork on the new CD and how much input did you have on it?

Uhmm Dan Niles did the actually artwork but the whole concept was by the band, so National Product was responsible for the concept but all artwork was done by Dan Niles.

7. What are your future plans for National Product?

Right now been on the road for 8 months straight we’ve been to Mexico to Hawaii to Alaska we're finally home and get to sleep in our own beds and take a much needed break and kind of regain a sense of living at home and enjoying our dogs, friends, family, and putting out more music for you guys.

8. What do you think of this year's presidential election? Do you like any of the candidates?

Umm yeah I would really like to see Obama win, that’s my feeling on that.

9. Have you guys ever done a mosh pit at any of your gigs? Or is your music not meant for those events.

No we've actually had a lot of people it just depends on the environment where we’re playing. We’ve had it all. We've had mosh pits to kids just rocking out. Do you think we might see some moshing at the Knitting Factory? I hope so you never know, you’ll definitely see it at the Chain Reaction.

10. What is the music scene like from where you're from?

In Hawaii its awesome it’s very open and wide range and keeps it really fresh and interesting.

11. Would National Product ever go on tour with a metal band/are there any metal acts out there that you enjoy listening too?

National Product would go out on tour with any band, we just love music and we’re down to tour with any band really.

12. How was the gig on Valentine's Day at the Knitting Factory? I was at that gig by the way....

Oh cool I had a lot of fun at that show honestly, and that was another day where we just got home and just couldn't wait to be home.

13. Would you guys ever consider performing on ABC TV show Jimmy Kimmel Live?

Oh we'd love to be on Jimmy Kimmel, I love that guy's show!

14. Any other thoughts or comments?

Uh naw that’s it I really appreciate you doing the interview and if you make it out tonight definitely say "Hi".

http://www.myspace.com/nationalproduct

Last Mile Interview

An interview with Jacob Bredahlz:

Please introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Last Mile, and how long the band has been together?

Hey, my name is Jacob Bredahl, and I swing the axe, write the riffs and sing back-ups in the hardcore band, Last Mile. We started the band in November 2007. It was Michael and I, who decided we wanted to make a new band that was more to the point than Barcode. We did 4 songs pretty fast and I already knew that I wanted Laurits to sing on the 4 songs. We recorded the demo in 1 day, and started sending it to people. Did a MySpace site and started getting good response. After a while we got a deal with a small German label, and we continued to make new songs. Recorded the album in 1 week and now it's out and we are all proud of the result. We play old school hardcore with a twist of metal. Punk meets metal or whatever you want to call it. Now that we have played shows we are more strong and feel like a unit. In the beginning we had to see which way it should go. But as said - we feel good and strong about the whole Last Mile thing.

Where is the band from and what is the hardcore scene like there?

We are from Denmark. I live in Aarhus. Our new drummer and our singer lives in Copenhagen, and Lennart, our bass player, lives in Odense. The hardcore scene here is small and almost not exciting, compared to Germany, Benelux and other countries.

Is there any story or concept behind your CD title "Last Mile"?

Not really. I mean there is some kind of symbolic stuff in it for us. I think the name fits to this: since we all played in lots of bands before, this could might be the band we walk the line with, and don't stop until we drop dead. And the guy on the cover is walking the last mile with us.

What do you know and think of Romania?

Actually it's one of the countries I have never been to. I would love to go there soon.

Who did the artwork on the new CD and how much input did you have on it?

One day I walked into a photo studio in Köln. And when I turned around I saw this picture hanging on the wall, with that guy's face. And in the very same second I saw the picture, I knew that this was going to be the front cover for the Last Mile album. I found out who took the photo, and it was a guy called Pascal Bünning. We talked about it, and he gave me the permission to use it. Christof, who I've been knowing for many years now, did all the rest of the stuff in the booklet, except for the live photos, which were done by our friend Peter. The guy on the photo is some dude, who Pascal met in the streets of Paris.

Is MySpace the great Satan of the 21st Century?

I guess it is in someway. I was never into the whole MySpace thing. I am a bit too old for that. I am into Satan though.

Where did you get ideas and inspirations for some of the lyrics on "Last Mile"?

Well, Laurits write all the lyrics, and it is very personal subjects. But still it's about everyday life. Things that happens to everybody during your life. Ups and downs - stupid people - and so on...

What are your future plans for Last Mile?

There are lots of shows in the future. All is being worked on right now. We have some festivals and shows around Europe in the fall, and then we have a tour in the winter, also in Europe. Then we do a Denmark Tour in February, every weekend all over the country. More on that later. So tour as much as possible, that's what we want. Then we will do an EP early next year. And then another full-length album fall 2009.

What do you think of this year's presidential election? Do you like any of the candidates?

I must admit that I don't follow the president elections. But I am happy that it is not in Denmark these things are happening.

What would you compare your music too, out of the varitey of bands out there?

Allways tough to do that. We, of course, think that we have our own sound. But I guess we play plain and simple hardcore. Like in the old days with a touch of harder sounds in it.

What bands have you toured with? Are there any that you would definitely want to tour with?

So far we have played shows with Madball, Wisdom In Chains, Agnostic Front. But those were just single shows. Right know we are playing a Denmark tour with some Danish metal bands: Mercenary, Raunchy and Pilgrimz. We would love to tour with Sick Of It All and Madball and the before mentioned bands. Would be great. But of course we are open for other possibilities as well.

Describe your music to an elderly church lady.

Hehe! Hhhmmmmm... Probably like a heart attack to her.

Any final words of wisdom, thoughts or comments?

I hope that you all will check out the debut album of ours. It's short, hard and to the point. No triggers, no samples, no fucking around with computers. And then I hope to see you all out there in the clubs in the fall 2008 and winter 2009. Thanks for your time and your support!

http://www.demonsrunamok.de/
http://www.lastmilehardcore.com/

Daybreak Ends Interview

1. Introduce yourself; tell me what you do in Daybreak Ends, and how long the band has been together.

My name is Greg Daybreak and I am the vocalist of Daybreak Ends. The band has been together since October of 2004.

2. Where is the band from and what is the metal scene like there?

We are from Hollywood, CA and the scene here is not that great.
There are a lot of bands and the market here is very saturated.
There is so much to do here that going to a show is low on priorities
for a lot of people. Its too bad because there are a lot of great bands
but when venues try to make bands pay to play it makes it hard to
weed out the poor bands from the great ones.

3. Is there any story or concept behind your CD title "Perfect Tragedy"?

All of the lyrics to the songs are very open ended so that people can
get what they want out of the song. Sometimes relationships can be a Perfect Tragedy
in that the entire relationship seems to be damned at the start but something still
draws you close to the other person and that one thing outweighs the bad.
It can be a very tragic situation.

4. What do you know and think of Romania?

I know about Bran Castle and that Vlad III The Impaler was imprisoned there. I dont know much else except it was a former communist country.

5. Who did the artwork on the new CD and how much input did you have on
it?

Our buddy Spotty did our CD artwork and you can find more of his stuff at
http://www.myspace.com/aburninghollywoodromance

We told him what we wanted and he exceeded our expectations. He is awesome!

6. Is MySpace the great Satan of the 21st Century?

I wouldn't call it Satan but it is definitely a technological version of crack rock
its super addictive and takes control of a persons live in a way
Its a great thing for artists though and we have met a lot of great people on it.

7. Where did you get ideas and inspirations for some of the lyrics on
"Perfect Tragedy"?

Life in general forms the songs. I listen to the songs and then open my mind and the
lyrics come out. It is a sort of subconscious way of writing and it has worked out well for me

8. What are your future plans for Daybreak Ends?

We are going to be recording a new EP in November and then we will be touring again
and supporting the CD. We hope to keep building our fan base and getting more recognition for
what we do!

9. What do you think of this year's presidential election? Do you like
any of the candidates?

All of Daybreak Ends supports Obama. I hope he wins because we need a new direction
for the US. The world sees us in such a poor way and electing someone who wants change
will show them that we are trying to make amends for the poor choice the US made 8 years ago and
4 years ago.

10. Would you ever want to do an all acoustic show, like most bands
turn to from time to time.

Yeah we would have to rework our songs but I think acoustic is very heartfelt and
means a lot. Hopefully someday.

11. Currently all over the news is the out-raging gas prices, what are
your thoughts on that issue?

Well the US is in two wars right now and the people in charge of the country are involved in
big oil combined with the fact that speculators are causing the prices to fluctuate so much.
The US has a lot more issues than gas prices though.

12. What bands have you toured with? Are there any that you would
definetely want to tour with?

We have always toured by ourselves but we have played with many great bands that
we had a great time with. We have played with The Fall of Troy, Lower Definition, Catherine, Endwell,
Powerman 5000, Scarlet Grey, Cage 9, Bella Morte, and many more and would love to play with
any of them again!

13. What do you think about all these different sub cultures such as
"emo kids, scene kids, metal-heads, punks, goths, etc?"

Its all rock and roll to me. I think its great that a person can try to find their
identity and if they are happy with the group they are in then more power to them.
I listen to all types of music so I think I am a part of all groups.
You have to keep an open mind in life. You see so much more if you do.

14. When you look back on when Daybreak Ends first started out, what do you think of you guys now?

We are a lot better band with more focus. We have found our direction and after lineup changes
we have the guys that will make the band successful.

15. Any final words of wisdom, thoughts or comments?

Thanks for listening to us and supporting us. New CD will be coming soon and check us out
at myspace.com/daybreakends!

Belphegor Interview

1. Could you tell us more about the history of the band, how things started?

Helmuth: Our masterplan has been since 1992 to do what we like. If you like it, super. If not, fukk off. We are not here to be everybody's darling.
It is Belphegor to the bone - anti humen - antilife. I don't bother with categorizing, we make the music we want to make. Experimenting a bit with sound is important for a band to take the sound further and to keep things sounding fresh.
We always blasted the brutal Metal of Death, with aggressive Black Metal influences, and everyone knows what to expect from this band. Love it or leave it.

2. What's your opinion on your previous albums nowadays? Where did you record it? Are you still satisfied with the songs on it, the production, and the artwork? How were the reactions on this album?

To becoming mightier, more intense with every opus has always been our aim since 1993, we all have exercised a lot on our instruments the last years, to improve our playing and compositorical abilities, raise intensity and dynamics, to just get better in all musical aspects,…stagnation = death. The most important thing is, that when you play a BELPHEGOR album - song, you immediately recognize that it is BELPHEGOR.

3. You've recently released your new killer album "BONDAGE GOAT ZOMBIE"," where did you record it, who produced it, and are you still satisfied with the songs, production and artwork? Can you tell us more about the recording process? How are the reactions on this one so far?

Yeah, things are going infernally. BONDAGE GOAT ZOMBIE crushed the German and Austrian top charts here in fukking Europe, i mean its not important to me, i don´t give a shit u know, cause charts are for fashion, trendy assholes. But hey, it definitely is a breakthrough for extreme Metal in general, a triumph for the devil and a stigma for moralizers...
The 9 sound collages on BONDAGE GOAT ZOMBIE reached a higher level of complexity and structured brutality. I´m totally blown away by the diabolical atmospere, its like a crushing extra punch in your face.

4. Who writes the lyrics, what are they about? Is there any concept in them? Are the lyrics an important aspect of the band or are they just there to guide the music?

SEX, SATHAN, ART. I really dig that damn shit.

Basically the lyrical concept of this BONDAGE GOAT ZOMBIE deals with the fascinating life of the Marquis De Sade, the topics are bite wounds, flagellation, all the cool fetish/ nylon stuff and the devil. First u have to realize the word "sadism" comes from Marquis de Sade's name. I'm more than impressed since 1997 by De Sade as i get my hands on 120 Days Of Sodom, Justine or Julliette etc. I really recommend this scripts, his work was a battlefield full of perverted sex, violence, humiliation, but on the other hand his writing is pure poetry...its amazing.

Also his live was very impressive, I used many of his original verses for the new album, he was a rebel and was in jail about 25 years for his art, ideals and even that long he took refuge, he always refused to kneel down.

The flagellation at the end of the track THE RUTENMARSCH is not fake and we used original verses from Donatien Marquis De Sade ( 1740-1814 ) and as always, one very important sentence from F.W. Nietzsche ( 1844-1900 ). The last spoken words "...drown me in your fukk, drown me", are perfect and blackest poetry to me.

5. How did you get in contact with "Nuclear Blast?" For how many albums have you signed to them? Are you satisfied with their work? Why did you signed with them?

Sure, Nuclear Blast is up to now the best and most professional label which we’ve had the pleasure to work with, its an important thing to have a good company behind you who gives support.
We have been in the scene since 1991 and we are continuing to do what we have always done: to play intense concerts and unleash fukking Metal.
BELPHEGOR never was a commercial band, followed a trend nor changed their style drastically. So what should i say, we´ll do what we always do, to keep the evil spirit in metal music alive,....to give the die-hard brothers and sisters ultimate hell har har.

6. When it comes down to writing a new song or an album whats the process like? Like is it alright here! And you go and quickly write it down or it comes to you when it does?

It was challenging to create this album and we gave everything of our energy to explore our sound and take it to the next level. That has always been the masterplan. U know, we always want to offer ourselves an monumental opus, and also the demons who buy our albums and who support us with that,
they deserve the best, only the best, its our damn resbonsibility to give hundred percent.

7. Have you played live a lot? What tours have you done in the past? What tours are going to take place or are there plans for a tour as a support for a "bigger" band?

For me, its the best to play live, u know, we are always exited, each show is beyond amazing for us and a huge challenge, we have done so many brutal concerts the last decade, unforgetable good times, and met so many dedicated ppl worldwide. Preaching the blast-beat in a live situation is our mission, we concentrate on the faster songs har har. Everywhere the maniacs are in a good mood,they go crazy, scream their lungs out, begin to bang, to have a good time.It is always great for the band and lets you unchain more and more energy in a live situation.

8. Tell some of your experiences playing live.

BELPHEGOR in a live situation is TNT har har, i think we are fukking intense and always concentrate on the blastbeat tracks, u know, people should come to our live shows, to experience the real shit firsthand.

9. What are your expectations for "BELPHEGOR " in the future?


I expect and you should expect more machine gun blasting hellfire in the musical form in the future.

10. What do you guys do when you're not out on the road? Do you guys work or school?

We are busy all the time with the band- on the road, in the rehearsal room, or creating new "soundcollages".
Privately, I do some weight training here and there, band management. I'm also into drugs and love alcohol and to get fukked up and wasted...especially on the road, but never before the show.

11. Are there any cool touring/ recording experiences or other bizarre stories you would like to share with us?

We are known for boozing hard. It is always fun to meet dedicated metal people on the road and to have some drinks with them. We just returned from an amazing Europe run with NILE and GRAVE. These four weeks were full of chaos, loud Metal and alcoholic excess. In two few days we are heading over to USA again and doing a cool US/ CAN tour with AMON AMARTH a.o.. I am looking forward to shredding North America again, and to meet all of you sick motherfukkers.

12. What do you think of metal music as of right now, to when it first started out?

Metal will always be here and live forever, fukk the trends.

13. What's your opinion on the whole music industry scene right now? Like do you think they're trying their hardest to get albums out on shelves and not seek their way onto the net?

I don't really care about the industry. Many people listen to Rock and Metal again and they realize that it is the only real, honest music. It is definitely a good time for six string assaults...

14. Currently all over the news is the out-raging gas prices, what are your thoughts on that issue?

Fukking Zombies...

15. What do you think about this recession we're currently dealing with? Any thoughts?

Um, I am not an economist. I play Metal. Thanks.

16. Going back to the music business, what do you think of everyone downloading music, possibly even your music?

People should buy records if they want good sound quality and supporting the band. Otherwise, I don't care so much what people do.

17. Have you ever thought of doing a full blown black metal only tour with other acts Dimmu Borgir, Behemoth?

We did many tours the last decade with great bands, and traveld the world a few times now.

18. Do you think the world is going to come to an end come 2012?

I´m prepared...

19. What do you think about all these different sub cultures such as "emo kids, scene kids, metal-heads, punks, goths, etc?"

U know Natalie, it seems like everyday there's a new subgenre of Metal. But while trends come and go, Death and Black Metal is forever, real Metal in general. BELPHEGOR always try to bring something interesting to an already oversaturated, commercial Metal market I saw so many bands come and go the last 15 years, especially that shitty overnight-hype-sensations har har har, fukk them. Nowadays Death/ Black Metal rules the world and is the strongest, the most archaic of all kinds, we always have to search for evolution and explore the music, and bring it a bit further each time, thats the goal.

20. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview, any thoughts or comments?

Thanks for teh space Natalie. Regards to ya readership and all metal demons worldwide, see ya on the road to hell and, check out our album BONDAGE GOAT ZOMBIE. Throw thy horns Metal brothers and sisters, BELPHEGOR are back to skull-fukk you.

www.belphegor.at 
 www.myspace.com/belphegor

Carpathian Interview

An interview with Martin Kirby:

Please introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Carpathian, and how long the band has been together?

My name is Martin. I sing for Carpathian and the band has been around for 5 years with too many member changes.

Where is the band from and what is the hardcore scene like there?

We're mainly from the coastal towns of Melbourne, Australia. Our bass player is from Cardiff, Wales originally. The hardcore scene in Australia and Melbourne especially right now is awesome, shows are huge, there's some great new bands, touring is wild and there's a bunch of international bands touring here either recently or soon.

Is there any story or concept behind your CD title "Isolation"?

There's no huge story or concept behind the record, it is just a hardcore record. Some of the issues I touch on lyrically in the album are understanding human existence and purpose, vegetarianism, straight edge etc.

What do you know and think of Romania?

I think the Carpathian Mountains are in Romania, right? I guess it's an eastern European country with wild mountains and scenery and vampires. If what I know and think is true, then I think the place is awesome and I hope we get to tour there one day.

Who did the artwork on the new CD "Isolation" and how much input did you have on it?

The artwork on the new record was done by my good friend Adam. We lived together until early this year when he moved to Tokyo, Japan and I had a big input on the art direction. We would video chat almost every day for a month and send countless e-mails about the record, the Australian release has a new style of packaging from Sweden called a "jakebox" which is pretty unique, also artwork for the Deathwish Inc. and Resist releases are different, so there was definitely a lot of time spent on the artwork.

Is MySpace the great Satan of the 21st Century?

Yes. For real life it is the devil. My ex-girlfriend would spend too much time on the internet hunting down girls I would talk to on tour, it always ended in huge fights even though I was completely faithful. Haha! It was insane. At the same time it is an extremely intuitive invention, it's obviously revolutionized the way bands, musicians, artists, labels etc. promote, market and distribute their music and has definitely played a big part in Carpathian's small success as a touring band.

Where did you get ideas and inspirations for some of the lyrics on "Isolation"?

There are a few Joy Division references with the record, 'Isolation', 'Ceremony', 'Permanent', etc. are all Joy Division song titles. The writing style of Curtis and Morrissey I guess played an important part lyrically in this record as I wrote in a more personal, self deprecating fashion than I previously had. Modern hardcore bands we have toured with such as Down To Nothing, Have Heart and Blacklisted especially I take huge influence from as they are great musicians, different and inspiring people and great friends.

What are your future plans for Carpathian?

As I am writing this, we are flying to New Zealand to take out Shipwreck AD for a week there. We get home and tour with those guys in Australia for most of October. In December we go to Europe with Have Heart and Cruel Hand. The band is going to Dubai on the way to Europe to go to Wild Wadi which is apparently the worlds largest water park and that is important to us. In 2009 we want to tour as much as possible hopefully in the US, Japan and South East Asia, Europe, anywhere that will have us.

What do you think of this year's presidential election? Do you like any of the candidates?

To be completely honest I don't follow news and international politics as much as maybe I should. I don't have a TV, a radio or read newspapers. I have a rough idea of the candidates and what they stand for and personally I hope Obama is elected as from the small amount of media I have seen or heard, he sounds pretty cool. Australia is still in the early stages of a new Prime Minister in Kevin Rudd, who so far hasn't been very pro-active, but no doubt will make better choices for Australia as a country than our last Prime Minister.

Would you ever want to do an all acoustic show?

Definitely. It's something I've been working on lately in my studio at home, just recording acoustic versions of "Isolation" with more melodic vocals, it's been cool so far.

What would you compare your music too, out of the varitey of bands out there?

I want to say Joy Division. I'm sure people have compared us to bands such as Modern Life Is War, Blacklisted, Have Heart etc.

What bands have you toured with? Are there any that you would definetely want to tour with?

We have toured with so many bands, it's impossible to name them all, I guess some of the bigger festival tours in Australia we toured with 35+ international bands. Some of my favourite tours were with Down To Nothing, On Broken Wings, and Bleeding Through. In the next few months we are taking out Shipwreck AD, Verse, and Comeback Kid in Australia and again going to Europe with Have Heart and Cruel Hand which we are super excited for.

What do you think of the genre of music you choose to do?

I love it and can't imagine being anywhere but where I am right now!

http://www.deathwishinc.com/
http://www.myspace.com/carpathian

Trap Them Interview

An interview with Ryan McKenney:

Please introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Trap Them, and how long the band has been together?

My name is Ryan McKenney. I do the vocals and write all of the lyrics. Trap Them has been a full functioning band for about two years at this point, maybe a little longer. You tend to lose track of time when you're doing what you enjoy.

Where is the band from and what is the hardcore scene like there?

The band is split up between the east and west coast. Two of us (myself and Steve Lacour) live in Seattle. Brian and Mike live in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, respectively. Seattle has a great scene. Everyone likes to talk shit and act better than everyone else, so it's basically your typical underground scene. I can't say much about New England's scene because I'm not living out there anymore, but I will say that both our areas have some great bands that I highly respect and most of those great bands don't get half the appreciation they deserve. Do I sound bitter yet?

Is there any story or concept behind your CD title "Seizures In Barren Praise"?

There's no story greater than everyday life, and that's what these songs are about.

What do you know and think of Romania?

I want to go there. I'd also like to drink a human's blood. I think playing a show in Romania is more plausible than becoming a vampire, but a guy's gotta have a dream, right? Eastern Europe has always been a spot where I'd like to visit and I'm glad this band has given me the opportunity to see a few of the countries I've always read about.

Who did the artwork on the new CD "Seizures In Barren Praise" and how much input did you have on it?

Jake Bannon did the amazing artwork for the new record. The cover art is absolutely beautiful. Jake asked for a little of my input, but when you're working with an extremely talented artist, you feel more comfortable letting him allow his own wheels to turn and incorporate his own ideas into the finished piece. Jake was very respectful in hearing my vision and I think it shows. We wanted the artwork to replicate the music: dark, epic and iconic. The final creation is flawless.

Is MySpace the great Satan of the 21st Century?

Who cares? The 21st Century is the Satan of the 21st Century. We're all bound to fuck each other over anyways. Whether or not MySpace has a part of it has no bearing on me.

Where did you get ideas and inspirations for some of the lyrics on "Seizures In Barren Praise"?

All of the lyrics are directly influenced by real life, whether it's mine or someone else's. It's all fiction, yet, it's all non-fiction. There are no barriers when you are spinning stories, because at some point, it will all be truth.

What are your future plans for Trap Them?

To touch every possible continent, reach as many people as we can, and to continue writing albums we enjoy so that the blue-facers have something to talk shit about. Basically, this band just want to rage.

What do you think of this year's presidential election? Do you like any of the candidates?

I'll vote when my option is better than choosing the lesser of two evils. I'll let everyone else get the political bug. I stand firm in saying they're all crooks and the outcome of these elections has no bearing on my life. Fuck 'em all.

What would you compare your music too, out of the varitey of bands out there?

We're a heavy band. I don't want to compare us to other bands, because we're not trying to emulate any other bands. We enjoy the music we make, and there are influences taken from every facet of the distorted globe. I think kids get too caught up on trying to compare one band to another. You know what? I'm no fucking jock and I'm not making music to compete. Leave that shit on the high school football fields. If you like a band, you like a band. Quit looking for faults or reasons to pick the songs apart or relate them to other bands of past or present. It's just stupid.

What bands have you toured with? Are there any that you would definetely want to tour with?

In the past year, we've had the pleasure of touring with many bands we enjoy and respect. Disfear, Rotten Sound, Victims, Extreme Noise Terror, Modern Life Is War, and more I can't think of at the moment. We'd love to tour with Entombed (of course), Young Widows, Dismember, Coliseum, etc. The list goes on and on. We're music lovers and enjoy every tour we go on.

Describe your music to an elderly church lady.

Everything wrong with the world today wrapped up in one tightly distorted little package that will send you back to the confession booth just for speaking to me.

When you look back on when Trap Them first started out, what do you think of you guys now?

It's what I've always wanted to do, and I'm thankful to be given the opportunities we have. We've worked hard, and now in our (older) age we've had the chance to experience it all paying off. I'll do this til my back gives out and I have to hang up the mic. How can you complain about going to work every day doing exactly what you've always wanted?

Any final words of wisdom, thoughts or comments?

Thanks very much for the interview. Let's fucking rage. Don't vote!

http://www.deathwishinc.com/
http://www.trapthem.net/

Brother Von Doom Interview

1. Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Brother Von Doom, and how long the band has been going?

Hey this is Matt. I'm the drummer. We have been going about 2 and half years now.

2. How does it feel to have "Relentless," finally out?

Feels great after all the hard work put into it to have it coming out Oct 14th. Anticipating hitting the road harder than ever!

3. Who did the artwork on the new CD and how much input did you have on it?

The almighty Dennis Sibeijn @ Monument Studios. We kinda had an idea of an dark epic feel. Then he did the rest and blew us all way. Better then we imagined it would be!

4. Is MySpace the great Satan of the 21st Century?

MySpace helps bands in a great way. On the other hand it's a free singles website, so yes it's Satan.

5. How does it feel to be apart of the Thrash and Burn Tour?

It was great to play with bands we look up to. Had an excellent time and made new friends.

6. Is there any concept or story beind the band's name?

Yes, just think Castlevania and Conan the Barbarian when you check us out.

7. How did you guys get involved with Deathcote Records?

Carter from Deathcote came and hung out with us and basically offered more of a personal committment to the future of the band than anyone else we spoke with. We could not be happier with their dedication to the band!!!

8. What are your future plans for Brother Von Doom?

Heavier, faster albums with more emotion and relentless touring.

9. What are your impressions of the upcoming Presidential election?

Vote NO!

10. What do you think about the death metal and thrash metal music scene going on right now?

There is a HUGE misinterpritation with death and thrash metal today. First and foremost straight billed hats and furlined coats says a lot to me. It has no place in metal. This shit is a way of life, not a passing trend or fad.

11. What's your favorite state/town/venue to play at that really gets the crowd hyped and excited?

St. Louis was really cool for us. The kids there knew what they wanted to hear and really made us feel at home for being a newer band.

12. Currently all over the news is the out-raging gas prices, what are your thoughts on that issue?

GREED

13. How did your summer go? Do anything fun or crazy?

We raged all summer. Met a lot of new people, saw a ton of the country, and raced go-carts.

14. Are there any future idea of what you plan to do once the Thrash and Burn Tour is through?

Play shows as much as we can and hopefully get to hit up Europe and Japan here in the near future.

15. Lastly any other thoughts or comments you'd like to make?

Thanks thrashmag.com for your loving support!

http://www.myspace.com/brothervondoom

Tokio Hotel Interview

1. Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Tokio Hotel and when the band got together?

Tom: Well, Bill and I started doing music when we were about 7 years old. I got into playing the guitar...
Bill: And I wanted to become a singer since I was 6. So Tom and me started writing songs and performing at little parties, birthdays, weddings and in little clubs.
Tom: And there we met Georg and Gustav.
Georg: I met Gustav at music school.
Tom: That's like eight years ago and we all went to school back then.

2. How can you compare your German albums "Schrei," and "Zimmer 483," to your American album "Scream"?

Bill: "Scream" is a mixture of "Schrei" and "Zimmer 483". After fans all over the world started to pick up our music we started to think about doing an English album. Our lyrics are really important to us and we wanted people to understand them right away. So we decided to do it and picked our favorite songs from the first and second German album and translated them.

3. What's the fan base comparison to Europe and U.S.A. ?

Tom: It's not about countries; you can't differ by where our fans are from.
Bill: Yeah, every fan is individual. But what they all have in common is that they are very engaged and committed, they live this live with us, travel with us. They are very energetic and loud - what we love!
Tom: Yes, and that's what they all have in common!

4. Where did you get some of the song lyrics and ideas for "Scream"?

Bill: Everything can inspire me to write a song. Things out of our lives or the lives of our friends or letters of our fans. Especially the second German album "Zimmer 483" is inspired by our fans.

5. What's it like be nominated for a MTV Video Music Award?

Bill: That was incredible. I mean, we just started in the States and none of us expected something like this ever. So being nominated was the best thing ever - being nominated twice was already unreal. Winning the MTV VMA for "Best New Artist" is just crazy. (Laughing) We're still trying to realize that it really happened, that our fans made this happen for us - they are just incredible!

6. What are your expectations for "Tokio Hotel" in the future?

Tom: At the moment we are in the studio to work on the third German album which will also be translated into English. But we're not about expectations or plans. There is no pressure on us or already a set release date. It will be ready when we think it's ready - it always went this way. All we ever wanted was to do our thing, playing live and travel the world. (Laughing) Whenever had a masterplan to conquer the world. Whenever we heard, that we have fans in another country, we went there to see what's going on there and to give it a try.
Bill (laughing): Yes, and none of us ever expected something like this. We ask ourselves all the time: Is that it?! And it's going on and on and on. We just hope that we can continue and keep on doing this as long as possible. We want to be on stage as long as we can stand up ...
Tom (Laughing): Yes! A world tour would be nice as well...

7. What do you think about performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live?

Bill: That was great! We really love the show and it was two days after the VMAs, so we were really glad to play live for our fans after getting the award and before traveling back to Germany!

8. Any other thoughts or comments you'd like to make?

Bill: We want to thank all our fans for your incredible support we are really overwhelmed by your engagement. We see you guys soon!

http://www.tokiohotel.com/us/

Escape The Fate Interview

1. Introduce yourself; tell me what you do in Escape The Fate, and how the band got together.

This is Robert I am the drummer and on tour I am the locater of the hive. What's the hive? Dude... That's where all the honeys be swarming.. But seriously. Escape has been together for almost four years. But I met max and our old singer when I was in high school... We played around in different bands. All the while our guitarist was doing the same thing. And our old guitarist was in LA doing the same thing. One day all of our paths just met and we became Escape The Fate. Not through MySpace like many people have heard.

2. What is the Las Vegas music scene like and how does Escape The Fate fit into the scheme of things?

It’s hard to say what it’s like since I'm never really home anymore. But like anywhere else, there's a lot of ambitious people some have. More drive than others. So there's bands that achieve moderate. Recognition and a lot that you'll never hear. Our band is one that. Many people envy. Panic at the disco and the killers blow up so big and so fast those local bands find it hard to relate to them. But they look at us and say they did it, so can we. Because we came from the same shitty clubs and had the same fans.

3. Is there any story or concept behind the CD title "This War Is Ours"? Where did you get some of the lyrical ideas this time around?

The album itself isn’t a full out concept record. Each song sort of has. Its own life. However they all seem to be based around the idea that we’ve been constantly battling just to stay alive. Craig being the new member had some issues eating him inside that fit perfectly into the situation that the rest of the band was going through. We looked around at everything around us. It felt like a war. But it’s a war that were going to win.

4. How does it feel to be on your second record and have it come out? Did you ever think that Escape The Fate would last this long?

I know escape the fate will be around forever. Its going to last as long as we live and longer. I never gave up on it. Even in the darkest hour when I reached the breaking point and said no more, I stopped and turned around to work it out. The same goes for the rest of the band. But truth be told. The odds were against us. To make it work things would have to change dramatically. We were in a shit hole. Everyone hated us. And worse yet, we hated ourselves. There were times when I would go to sleep hoping I wouldn't wake up just so I wouldn't have to deal with it. But the difference between someone who is successful and someone who never gets anywhere is you've got to do something about it. If this record were to absolutely just tank. I wouldn't care. I already made the biggest achievement of my life by just making it. This shows me that I can do whatever I want in life.

5. What's one of your most favorite songs to play live?

I have no idea... They all have a certain thing about them that feels great.

6. What did you think when you performed at the Troubadour in West Hollywood in June 2007?

I was at that gig by the way. Guns n roses played on this stage and so am I... Insane…But it was a bit smaller. But I had fun.

7. How do you compare yourselves today to when you first got together as a band and toured?

Were professionals now. As musicians it’s night and day. Were so much better now. And just showing up. We might be a little late.. But we show up... When we first started we were ambitious and we were kids. We didn't know how to handle things. And as some of us grow up. Others didn't. So we had to weed out the bad seeds.. And now were way better for it. Back then it was a 'we can do this, were taking it to the top' attitude. Now its. Were actually getting there and we know what steps to take to get there.

8. Are the tracks on "This War Is Ours," more heavier to "Dying Is Your Latest Fashion" or are both albums even?

This album is a lot more of everything. Yes some of the songs are a lot heavier. And yes some of the songs are a lot more straight forward and catchy. We are just a lot more focused. And with John Feldmann on board, there was no room slacking. As for heaviness.. I would say it evens out. We had to do it all. We love metal, we love pop. We could just do one.

9. What was it like when Radke left the band? And how does it feel to have a new replacement the former singer of Blessthefall on your line-up?

When who left? What? That name sounds familiar.. But I can't quite put my finger on it. Well.. It sucked it was like my whole life was crashing in front of me.. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. But it wasn’t because he left. It was because my dream of being a musician was falling apart. It felt good to put that aspect of my life to rest. It felt good to not have to be around Ronnie. But the reality was that I had to get it together and get it going because at that point I had nothing. So that's when Craig came in. It was hard at first because emotionally, we were wrecked. So to bring someone else into that was bad. But as enough time passed and when it came time to buckle down, we got passed out emotions and made it happen. And I absolutely love him. He blew me away vocally and as a performer I don't think I’ve seen anyone better. And he's my party buddy too so it’s a bonus.

10. Have you guys ever thought about going on tour with hard rockers Story of the Year?

I noticed you guys are both on Epitaph Records.Yeah. They were a huge influence on our first record. So we thought it would be great to do it. But it’s not something we've actually pushed for. But I would do it.

11. What happened that made you get kicked off the Bullet for My Valentine tour in 2007? Have you guys thought about touring with them again?

I would love to tour with them again. I liked those guys. We didn’t really connect to them, but they were really nice and I looked up to them. They had their shit together. That was the first band we toured with that were totally pro. They partied. But they took care of business first. Only problem for us was, their vocalist had recently had surgery and took a lot of days off between shows. So when you're in strange towns with nothing to do, you start to go crazy. And sometimes at the expense of venue bathrooms. And sometimes crazy fathers come around after years of absence and try to force their way back stage by fighting security. I would've kicked us off too.

12. What are the future plans for Escape The Fate? Anyone tours this year or anything?

In the fall were touring with Silverstein and Chiodos. It’s going to be huge. and of course were unleashing the new record. I'm so excited. I can't wait for 09 though. This is going to be our year

13. How did this tour with Chiodos, Silverstein, Alesana, A Sky lit Drive, and you guys come about? How you guys been planning this?

Originally we were planning on going to the UK and doing a headlining tour. But the timing for this is much better. It’s a chance to for us to reach out to new fans and perfectly in time for the new record. But were bummed about the UK.. Hopefully early next year we'll be there. I can't wait to tour with Chiodos. I hung out with their bassist on warped tour. I just remember him offering me a drink. The next day sucked. But that night was fun.

14. Lastly thanks for taking the time to do this interview, and any other thoughts or comments you'd like to make?

This war is ours.

http://www.myspace.com/escapethefate

Thy Bleeding Skies Interview

Answered By Claudio A. Enzler (Vocals/Guitar):

1. Could you tell us more about the history of the band, how things started.

After I quit the guitar section in my other band SACRIFICIUM to be just a singer I had the thought of a band called THY BLEEDING SKIES. I asked my close friend JJ KONTONIEMI, who is living in Helsinki (Finland), if he is willing to be the drummer in a German band and he agreed. I have met the first time WOLFGANG NILLIES and ROBERT KRIZEK during my time as a session singer in a German Black Metal band. PATRICK UHLMANN I have known for many years, cuz he is doing the booking for SACRIFICIUM with TRAMP AGENCY. Since 2 months we have a new member: OLIVER GROSSHANS (EX - SACRED STEEL, MY DARKEST HATE).

2. What are your views on metal music as of right now compared to when it first started out?

Nowadays the whole metal scene seems to have a new boom. It is pretty difficult to get known in the scene, cuz so many pretty good bands exist (also in the underground scene). The scene seems more open minded, cuz we have many subscenes that are mixing for example the rap music with metal, so the whole music is getting more interesting to common people that are normally not listening to metal music.

3. You’ve recently released your new killer album "Chapters Of Downfall," where did you record it, who produced it, and are you still satisfied with the songs, production and artwork? Can you tell us more about the recording process? How are the reactions on this one so far?

Vocals, guitars, bass and mixing by OLIVER TESCH at BREAKSTUFF STUDIO (Germany). The drums were recorded at C.C.P.C. STUDIO (Finland). The mastering was done by PLEC at CRITERIA MASTERING (Sweden). So far we are pretty satisfied with the whole record, cuz the people seem to like it.

4. Who writes the lyrics, what are they about? Is there any concept in them? Are the lyrics an important aspect of the band or are they just there to guide the music?

I have written all the lyrics on CHAPTERS OF DOWNFALL. They are dealing basically with things that are going wrong in this world (from my point of view), mixed with topic/melancholic thoughts. Lyrics should have a message and guide the feeling of the song. For me lyrics are important, cuz as a musician you have the chance to tell the people something. I don’t like those records were the music is brilliant and the lyrics are nonsense.

5. How did you get in contact with "Dark Balance?" For how many albums have you signed to them? Are you satisfied with their work? Why did you signed with them?

Kim the owner of DARK BALANCE contacted us, cuz he had listened to our demo songs on MYSPACE. We are satisfied with his work, cuz he is always trying to push you as a band forward. Our current deal is for one record.

6. When it comes down to writing a new song or an album whats the process like? Like is it alright here! And you go and quickly write it down or it comes to you when it does?

Mostly I have just an idea for a guitar line. This idea I record in my home studio and work it out.

7. Have you played live a lot? What tours have you done in the past? What tours are going to take place or are there plans for a tour as a support for a "bigger" band?

Well, we released our first record in May 2008, so far we toured through Europe and played a couple of shows in Germany. Our plan is to record in the end of 2008 a new record (we have 13 new song ideas right now). After the release we want to try to play as an support act for a bigger name, but we have to check the options first.

8. Tell some of your experiences playing live.

I really love to tour and play live, it is always like coming home for me, cuz that is the best thing of beeing in a band. I don’t like to rehearse, but I know that it is part of my job (and without rehearsing and writing new songs there would be no tour).

9. What are your expectations for "Thy Bleeding Skies" in the future?

Well, we will try to get as famous as possible, but finally it is no different to me to play in front of 50 or 5000 people, as long as there are people that enjoy our music.

10. What do you guys do when you’re not out on the road? Do you guys work or school?

Sure, we all have our daily jobs in normal live, cuz it is nearby impossible to earn enough money from music in Germany.

11. Are there any cool touring/recording experiences or other bizarre stories you would like to share with us?

On our last tour we drove through Poland and our driver had to stop at a crossroad. For some reasons the guy behind our van didn’t liked that, cuz he jumped out of his car and smashed his fist a couple of times at our drivers door window. I think it must have looked very funny for a third person: 5 huge rocker + crew sitting in their van, holding their beer cans + an "what the hell is going on"-face, while one person is smashing their car. Finally I have to say that this polish guy must have a real small penis;-)

12. Could you give me a top 5 of your favorite albums of all-time and a top 5 of your current favorite records?

Oh, that is difficult, but I think there should be something of BOLT THROWER (maybe: For Victory), DEATH (The sound of perseverance), BRUTAL TRUTH (Need to control), DEEP PURPLE (Perfect strangers) and QUEEN (A night at the opera). Well there also should be GUNS ‘N ROSES, OZZY OSBOURNE, MOTORHEAD,SUFFOCATION, AMORPHIS + the mighty AT THE GATES in my all time favorite list.

In my current list are:
KATATONIA - Viva Emptiness
OPETH - Deliverance
WEDNESDAY 13 - Fang Bang
HYPOCRISY - The Arrival
MORBID ANGEL: Altars of madness

13. What’s your opinion on the whole music industry scene right now? Like do you think they’re trying their hardest to get albums out on shelves and not seek their way onto the net?

Today it is really hard for labels to sell their CDs, cuz of the internet. I think that we are right now in a process that is changing the market a bit, labels will use the internet more an more to spread their music.

14. Currently all over the news is the out-raging gas prices, what are your thoughts on that issue?

I have no clue how high the prices are in the USA, but in Germany the prices have grown to a triple of the price that it was ten years ago. First companies have to close their doors because of the fact that everything is getting more expensive. The sad thing is that our government and also the people are still watching what’s happening next. We will see were it will lead us to.....

15. What do you think about this recession were currently dealing with? Any thoughts?

 No comment.

16. Going back to the music business, what do you think of everyone downloading music, possibly even your music?

Well, I can understand that people download music from the net, cuz of the high prices for CDs. On the other hand this is ruining the music industry. Finally it is the only way for the people to show the companies that we are at maximum level of CD prices.

17. Which MP3 device do you own? How many songs/videos does it have on it?

I don’t use any MP3 device, cuz I am one of the persons that has to have the original if I like a record, video or dvd.

18. Do you have a favorite holiday, what/why?

The last 6 years I’ve spent my holidays for playing live, so I think it is my favorite holiday to be on stage;-)

19. What do you think about all these different sub cultures such as "emo kids, scene kids, metal-heads, punks, goths, etc?"

Well, as long as people can identify themselves with a scence I am fine with. The main problem is, that you have always people in scences that think that they are more "true" than others. I think if someone likes metal but looks like a hippie (just an example) then it is fine for me, cuz he is how he likes to be. You are not more metal, goth, emo, punk etc when you are wearing clothes that belong to the scene. Anyway, depending on the music: each scene has good and worse bands. I prefer persons/bands that are authentic and don’t have to act just for an image.

20. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview, any thoughts or other comments?

Thanks to everyone who has read this interview. The new record of TBS will be out in the beginning of 2009, so watch out!

http://www.myspace.com/thybleedingskies

War Of Ages Interview

An interview with Leroy Hamp:

Please introduce yourself, tell me what you do in War Of Ages and how long the band has been together and got started?

This is Leroy Hamp lead vocalist of War Of Ages. War Of Ages was formed in 2003 though our line up has changed a little here and there. We initially got started because I met Steve, our lead guitarist, at Wal-Mart where we both worked. I wanted someone to play music with and he shared the same passion.

What is the band currently up to?

We just got off the Live Dominance Tour, with Hatebreed, a few days ago. We're now taking some well-deserved time off to recoup from being out on the road since late January.

Where is the band from and what is the metal scene like there?

We're from Erie, Pennsylvania and there really isn't much of a metal scene here in Erie. I think for the most part we're it, haha!

Is there any story or concept behind your CD title "Arise & Conquer"?

Absolutely. Quit pissing and moaning about your life and how your past screwed you up. Most people complain about how bad they've had it or have it. They're stuck in a hole in the middle of a storm screaming for help, yet they fail to see the rope sitting next to them. Why don't they climb out? What's their excuse? Maybe it's due to pride, anger, or seeking attention, etc. It's different for everyone, however one thing remains the same they all end in fear though not one of them will admit it. Let me sum this up in one sentence: Get off your poop ring and fight for your life!

Who did the artwork on the new CD and how much input did you have on it?

Dave Quiggle designed our artwork on this album as well as the past three prior albums. They've all followed the same basic concept: a warrior fighting through adversity. I wish I could say it was my idea, however this was all Dave's idea. He knows what kind of guys we are and felt like it would fit with us musically and lyrically. Can we say good call?!

Is MySpace the great Satan of the 21st Century?

MySpace has been a great help with bands allowing free and equal promotion. In theory it's great, however people have abused it. Some may have gained status due to lying on their MySpace. It all comes around in the end. So I feel it can be bittersweet depending on how you use it.

What do you think of this year's presidential election? Do you like any of the candidates?

WOW! This is a loaded question. It's hard to say right now. I always like to wait for the debates before deciding on a candidate. It's not just about policies or dirt from the past, lets face it we all have dirt in our past, none of us are clean. Call me old fashioned, but there's just something about taking your gloves off and saying "now what" that I like. Ask me after the debates.

What would you compare your music too, out of the varitey of bands out there?

I'd have to say Unearth meets In Flames with a dash of Hatebreed.

What bands have you toured with? Are there any that you would definitely want to tour with?

We've toured with a number of different bands in different genres of music, Hatebreed, Bleeding Through, Soilwork, Throwdown, Terror, Through The Eyes Of The Dead, and Full Blown Chaos to name a few. We'd love to tour with As I Lay Dying, In Flames, Slayer, and Children Of Bodom someday.

Describe your music to an elderly church lady.

Hummm! Pissed off Christians screaming angry and loud aggressive music! Enjoy!

When you look back on when War Of Ages first started out, what do you think of you guys now?

When we first started we were boys looking for acceptance or fans who enjoyed our music. Now we're men playing to glorify our creator and we only care about His acceptance.

What do you know and think of Romania?

To be honest I don't know much about it, however I'd love to see it someday.

Any other thoughts or comments you'd like to make to your fans?

Stay strong and don't use your past as an excuse to destroy yourself. Instead use it to strengthen you and find how you fit into this world. We hope to see you all very soon!

http://www.facedownrecords.com/
http://www.myspace.com/warofages

Marionette Interview

An interview with Mikael Medin:

Please introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Marionette, and how long the band has been together.

My name is Mikael Medin and I'm the bassist and band leader of Marionette. We started out in October of 2005 so it's been three years. Things are going very well, we started by playing a lot of concerts, we will do our first major showcase at PopKomm in Berlin, and then tour Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Czech Republic with Die Apokalyptischen Reiter. So things are moving fast!

Where is the band from and what is the metal scene like there?

We are from Göteborg, Sweden. This is a really band friendly city. It's easy to start up a band and get a few gigs. This, together with our metal rich history, has flooded the city with metal bands. You really have to be creative and come up with something extra to stand out, which I guess is a good thing in some ways, and Marionette has certainly done just that so far.

Is there any story or concept behind your CD title "Spite"?

"Spite" is the red line that ties all the songs together. The main concept of "Spite" is to go your own way, powered only by yourself. In spite of all the social rules you've been brain washed with your whole life and in spite of all the shit you get from not doing what you're expected to. That is "Spite" in a nutshell!

When do you think you guys will cross the ocean to the US and start touring? What do you know and think of Romania?

The US will probably have to wait a while since it's so expensive to go over there. Romania will not have to wait as long. Hopefully we can go there on our next tour in the spring. We can't wait to play for our friends and fans in Romania!

Who did the artwork on the new CD and how much input did you have on it?

Axel, our vocalist, does the artwork for all our cds and almost all other things that need designing too. It's great to have someone in the band to do it since it gives you almost complete freedom to do whatever you want. For the artwork of "Spite" we wanted something clean and stylish, like our visual style. It came out great and we all still enjoy it now, we loved it from the moment we started seeing drafts of it.

Is MySpace the great Satan of the 21st Century?

No, not at all. The internet is the future and full of possibilities, most people just don't know how to use it right. We found our management company, Pivotal Management through MySpace. Pivotal then hooked us up with our current label and booker. If it wasn't for MySpace we would not be where we are today.

Where did you get ideas and inspirations for some of the lyrics on "Spite"?

Axel writes all our lyrics. The inspiration comes from all the confusion, anger and powerlessness you feel while growing up in a society filled with social rules and judgment, the feeling of never being at the right place and never understanding the meaning of things. But it's not a sad album. We don't want people with these feelings to feel sorry for themselves. We want everyone to break free from these rules and say "fuck you" to anyone who wants to control you and tell you how to act.

What are your future plans for Marionette?

We are going to tour through all of the fall and after that we are going to start working on our next album that will be released in 2009. We want to tour all over the world. For me playing live is the most addicting drug in the world and I can never get enough of it. The insane rush you get from getting on stage and becoming one with every single person in the audience is irreplaceable and cannot be duplicated.

What do you think of this year's presidential election? Do you like any of the candidates?

Marionette is not at all a political band and as of yet we have not written a single political song. But we are all interested in the political development in Sweden and the US and have strong personal opinions about it. I don't like the two party system that the US uses. It seems to me that both parties are pretty much the same. I want to see more third parties getting thrown in to the mix and I would personally vote for Ralph Nader from the Green Party. Though he has millions of votes to catch up with the two bigger parties so I don't really care who you vote for as long as you don't vote for McCain, he's insane.

Would you ever want to do an all acoustic show?

I don't think that would work very well for us since we're such an aggressive band that wants to give the listener an adrenaline rush from the first second you put on our CD until the second it's over. But of course I'm always up for experimenting and trying new things, so we will see what the future brings, we aren't ruling it out at this point.

What would you compare your music too, out of the varitey of bands out there?

We get our inspiration from a vast variety of bands. Everything from Japanese rock to movie soundtracks. But I guess I'd say we sound something like a mix of Raised Fist and Strapping Young Lad.

What bands have you toured with? Are there any that you would definitely want to tour with?

We are going on our very first tour in October and November. We are opening for Die Apokalyptischen Reiter, an awesome German band. We are really looking forward to it and we guarantee you that every single show will be like nothing you've ever seen. If I could pick any band to go on tour with it would probably be In Flames or Dir en Grey cause they're two really great and popular bands that I like a lot and hopefully their fans would like us too.

Describe your music to an elderly church lady.

We are everything bad in the world. We are alcohol, sex and breaking the rules. We are a big middle finger to the face of those who want to shape and control people by fear and social boundaries. We are everything you hate. Only we're disguised in nice, classy clothing so your kids can hang our posters on their walls without you ever knowing what horrible messages they're listening to in their headphones. We are fucking Satan, bitch!

When you look back on when Marionette first started out, what do you think of you guys now?

I think it's incredible how much progress we've made. We have gone from being just another melodic death metal band from Göteborg to actually making something that we're proud of and effects peoples lives. And I think it's incredible at what speed we've done it, all thanks to all the wonderful support from our fans. If we keep this up who knows where it'll end.

Any final words of wisdom, thoughts or comments?

Check out our debut album "Spite" and in 10 years you can tell people that you were one of the first to discover us. You haven't heard the last from us. Thanks for the interview and see you in the mosh pit!

http://label.pivotalalliance.com/
http://www.marionette.se/

Sylosis Interview

An interview with Josh Middleton:

Could you please tell us more about the history of the band, how things started?

We started as friends at school jamming out some metal when we were like 15. Since then we've undergone a lot of line up changes due to finding capable musicians. We didn't start touring or just playing outside of our local area for a good few years.

What concept came to mind when you recorded "Conclusion Of An Age"?

We just wanted to make a classic metal album, something that will stand the test of time. The album's theme is about the world today - in terms of the state of the earth and society.

When do you guys think you'll be getting to the US and what do you know and think of Romania?

Hopefully we'll be out to the US next year and hopefully the same with Romania. We want to play everywhere.

What are some of your influences and do they take part in any of the albums you've released?

Our influences are mainly stuff like Death, Forbidden and Metallica, but also melodic stuff like Soilwork and Symphony X. There's not too many modern bands we're influenced by apart from Gojira who're awesome. I think our influences aren't really hidden which we don't mind.

What are your views on metal music as of right now compared to when it first started out?

It's definitely better now than it was ten years ago but I don't know if it will ever be as exciting as it seemed to be in the 80's - not that we personally know as we were all babies then, haha!

What made you want to become a musician? Was it because of family tradition of just your own thing?

Just being surrounded by music all the time in car journeys with my family, etc. None was that musical though. I just thought the guitar was always a cool instrument.

Any ideas for touring with any big name bands?

Nothing planned but we'd love to tour with as big metal bands as possible.

What are your future plans for Sylosis?

We've got an European tour with A Life Once Lost and War From A Harlots Mouth in September/October and we're trying to line up as many tours as we can. We'll continue to keep writing for the next album too.

Tell some of your experiences playing live.

We recently had a great headline show in London. We've been in the studio for months and it was our first show back and it was insane. One of the best shows we've played. I think our popularity is always on the rise in this country even when we've been away from playing live for a while.

Are there any cool touring/recording experiences or other bizarre stories you would like to share with us?

Not many I'm afraid. Whilst we were doing the drum tracking for the album we stayed in a tiny caravan which was hell. The first night we had no heating and it was freezing cold. We had to cover the "beds" (more like small seating area) in newspaper because they were damp and stank of piss! It sucked!

Is MySpace the great Satan of the 21st Century?

We're grateful for MySpace - we wouldn't have got on our first label or Nuclear Blast without it. Also it completely regenerated an underground music scene in the UK so it's been awesome - but there are tons of douchebags on it.

What would you compare your music too, out of the varitey of bands out there?

Old school thrash metal with epic influences. We just like loads of types of metal and try and mix them up!

What bands have you toured with? Are there any that you would definitely want to tour with?

We've toured with Cryptopsy, Suicide Silence, Abigail Williams, Pitchshifter. We'd really like to tour with Gojira as we're all huge fans.

Describe your music to an elderly church lady.

Haha! Loud, fast, heavy, aggressive, but still mature and melodic.

It's been awesome talking with you guys! Any other thoughts or comments?

Thank you! We'd just urge everyone to pick up our album "Conclusion Of An Age". If you're into metal in general then you'll probably dig it! Cheers!

http://www.nuclearblast.de/
http://www.myspace.com/sylosis

All Shall Perish Interview

An interview with Matt Kuykendall:

Please introduce yourself, tell me what you do in All Shall Perish, and how long the band has been together?

I am Matt, I play drums and we have been a band for about 5 years.

Where is the band from and what is the metal scene like there?

We are from the Bay Area of California and the scene there is thriving. The Bay has a lot of bands and a lot of different scenes all around. Metal, hardcore, punk, posi, everything is doing well somewhere around there.

Is there any story or concept behind your CD title "Awaken The Dreamers"?

It's a two part meaning for our title. One half is our call to all the people of our world who dream of a better society, a better life, a better world to wake the fuck up and do the things, it's going to take to achieve our dreams. In the second part we are playing with our music, we are tired of every band coming out sounding exactly like another band and we want this record to stand as a torch to light the way for the people in our scene not to be afraid to experiment, create and do things that really showcase their musicianship and write anything they want, not just what is safe.

What do you know and think of Romania?

It's beautiful, I would love to go there some day! Hopefully we can rock your fucking socks off sometime soon.

Who did the artwork on the new CD and how much input did you have on it?

It was done by two people. Skylar from SkyGraphX and Colin Marks. Skylar came to us with the main image and we just loved it, it fit so much of what we were doing perfectly. Colin Marks went in and made the image colorful and eerie as well as doing the whole booklet.

Is MySpace the great Satan of the 21st Century?

Well, now that it is basically owned by Fox News aka Rupert Murdoch, yes! Because it is a huge community of people who are a lot of the time using MySpace instead of E-Mail and slowly being fed enough advertising to choke a mother fucker.

What do you think of your newest accomplishment "Awaken The Dreamers" in comparison to your older material even the very first demo recordings. How much have you guys changed or is your music style still the same?

Our new record is a logical progression for us and serves as the most competent piece of music we have ever written. We have added a lot more elements on this new record and are allowing ourselves to not be chained down to our genre. Our style has evolved and at times it's the same, but overall it's a new beast these days.

What are your future plans for All Shall Perish?

Tour the world, and proceed to take it over!

What do you think of this year's presidential election? Do you like any of the candidates?

Obama, Obama! This is a historical election for the US as this is the first time we have ever had anyone nominated for the presidency that was not a white male from the South. I can't wait to help Obama get into office and try to reverse the damage George Bush has done.

Would you ever want to do an all acoustic death metal show?

Fuck yea! We have always talked about doing an acoustic show, I think it would be really fucking awesome and interesting to hear the music like that.

What's your opinion on these out-ragous gas prices?

It is a perfect example, at least in the states, of big business fucking average people and the government not doing shit about it. Exxon and others are making record profits while we all pay record prices. Clearly they could be making less so we can pay less, government needs to step in and stop this outrage.

Describe your music to an elderly church lady.

It's like a beautiful horror movie set to music. Sung by Satan himself and played by his demon minions.

When you look back on when All Shall Perish first started out, what do you think of you guys now?

We have come a very long way. We have traveled the world and done almost all the things we ever wanted to do as a band. It's all overwhelming sometimes to think of all the time and effort I've put into this band over the years but it has definitely paid off.

Any final words of wisdom, thoughts or comments?

Thank you for the interview, everyone please go buy our new record, you will love it and our DVD is hilarious... we are clowns!

http://www.nuclearblast.de/
http://www.allshallperish.com/

Bleeding Through Interview

An interview with Brian Leppke:

Please introduce yourself!

My name is Brian and I play guitar for Bleeding Through.

How long has the band been together?

The band has been aroung since 1999, I have been in the band since 2001.

Have you guys ever thought of doing a tour based on how long you've been going strong? Like Bleeding Through has been together for 10 years now and are you going to go on tour and celebrate that?

No, not really, I think it just hit us that we have been a band for that long, time flies. That's a good idea though.

What's it like being apart of the No Fear Music Tour, alongside Bullet For My Valentine, Cancer Bats & Black Tide, what do you think?

This tour is cool, there are a lot of people that don't really know who we are and that is a good thing, reaching out to new people is something that we always strive for. All the bands are cool, everyone gets along, it is a very long tour though and a lot of the days seem to blend together.

Is there going to be a new live DVD in the works anytime soon?

Yeah, I really want to do another one, we haven't really talked about it, I think that we are going to try and figure out all of our label stuff right now and then take it from there, but yeah it will probably be in the works. It's always kinda cool to see yourself live and to hear what you really sound like.

What idea and concept came to mind with your new record "Declaration"? How do you compare it to your previous works? Is it a much grown up album or in the same space?

The idea with "Declaration" was just to do a really heavy record and say fuck it, do whatever we wanted and not worry about what people said, to write songs that we would enjoy listening to. It is a much more mature record from our previous works, our past albums all had a lot of potential but was never executed properly, with this album we actually had the time and an atmosphere to acheive potential. I'm still listening to it six months after the fact, I can't say that about "The Truth" or "This is Love, This is Murderous".

What are the future plans for Bleeding Through?

Europe/UK tour with Bullet For My Valentine November/December, 4 shows in Russia December, Austrailia January, US headliner February/March! That's all that is set in stone right now

What do you know and think of Romania?

The only thing I really know about Romania is that Dracula is from there, that is pretty sweet. We have never played there, would like to.

What was it like to go out on tour with HIM?

That tour was actually really good for us, I think that we turned a lot of heads. I think that if people are really fans of music and if the music is good then why not like it if its a little different, you can't always listen to the same shit all the time.

Have you guys thought about doing the Taste Of Chaos Tour?

Have thought about it, it never happened, oh well.

What's your most favorite place to perform or go when out on the road?

Austrailia, UK, California, Spain, Japan those are my favorites for shows, good vibes, everyone seems to have a good time.

What do you think of this year's presidential election? Do you like any of the candidates?

All I know is that whoever does get elected has a huge ass mess to deal with thanks to Bush, so whoever is more commited to doing that, more power to them.

Would you ever want to do an all acoustic show?

I would like to and we actually practiced one but our music doesn't tanslate well to acoustic, maybe we could do something like that in the future.

Are there any bands that you would definitely want to tour with?

We've already toured with Slayer so I could care less about touring with anyone ever again.

Describe your music to an elderly church lady.

You wouldn't like it.

Any other thoughts or comments you'd like to make?

Greetings to Romanina, hopefully we will see you soon!

http://www.nuclearblast.de/
http://www.bleedingthrough.com/