…eir thoughts. Singer Philly Byrne of Irish thrash act Gama Bomb starts our Skype conversation chuckling at a recent review he came across regarding his band- which according to him states ‘Municipal Waste are running out of inertia … Gama Bomb, another band who haven’t hit the same caliber of popularity, have even less of a reason to exist.’ He follows it up by telling me, ‘if you couldn’t laugh at it, you’d be in the wrong business. You give up a…
…terfully written as anything else they’ve accomplished. Sitting down for a Skype chat with vocalist Elize Ryd, whom this scribe has had the honor and pleasure of chatting with on multiple occasions, the opportunity arose to go a bit deeper than the norm. Some talk of Helix ensues, but there’s also some honest talk about the stresses of finding a new vocalist, Ryd’s thoughts about Avicii’s suicide and how changes are needed within the industry, hav…
…lives for the genre and loves playing for his fans. Reaching out to Udo by Skype the week after this album’s release, we catch up on the work of the record, the contributions of producer Jacob Hansen and Udo’s son on drums Sven, where Udo sees the state of heavy metal today, and the possibilities of documentary/autobiography work down the line. Dead Rhetoric: Steelfactory is the latest U.D.O. studio album. Given the three years since the last reco…
…ou have the makings of a power metal effort for the ages. Reaching out via Skype, vocalist Andy B. Franck appears quite excited to discuss this latest effort. We tackle everything from how Seeb was the perfect choice for producer to the quest for the perfect take, special memories surrounding changes in sound during the Memorial Roots and On the Spur of the Moment records, and a bit of talk over how festival organizers struggle to let some of the…
…as you can expect, aiming for as live a vibe as possible. Reaching out via Skype to guitarist Steve Ramsey, he seems pleasantly surprised by the worldwide buzz surrounding the band these days. Read up on the new label deal, their relationship with their cover artist, thoughts on new bands versus veteran bands as far as the studio – and even some comedian talk. Dead Rhetoric: Cruel Magic the latest Satan album sees the band stepping up to Metal Bla…
…may even bridge things for people into Avenged Sevenfold. Reaching out via Skype to drummer Lefteris Moros and guitarist Ilias Andritsos, you’ll learn more about the history of the group, specific lineup changes that caused delays in future output, their thoughts on opening for an iconic group like Accept in their home country, plus thoughts on how they handle the work/music balance. Dead Rhetoric: Null’O’Zero started in 2012 – what can you tell u…
…t down Sting…he is singing for me!’ This opens the conversation before our Skype interview with bassist Mat Sinner of Primal Fear. It proves the man’s wide-open tastes in music – which shouldn’t be surprising given the man’s long musical career himself. Like clockwork every two years or so, veteran German act Primal Fear release another studio record for traditional/power metal fans to treasure. Apocalypse is the latest collection of songs that fe…
…dpoint. We grabbed mainman Steffen Kummerer for a round of conversation on Skype just prior to the album’s release date to discuss putting the finishing touches to this cycle and what’s next, his interest in astrophysics and philosophy, and some further discussion of U.S. visa issues. Dead Rhetoric: Diluvium completes the 4-album cycle. How do you feel that it ties things up? Steffen Kummerer: First of all, I’m very happy that we finished it after…
…cades (“Fire & Forgive” coming most to mind). Reaching out to the band via Skype after a couple of early summer festival appearances, organist Falk Maria Schlegel seems quite excited to talk about the activities of Powerwolf. You’ll learn more about the differences in The Sacrament of Sin compared to previous discography, where he sees his role as an organ player in the foundation of the band’s sound, plus some discussion of World Cup soccer (foot…
…ars. It’s called Zero-G the video game, it’s a small game. It’s not a huge online, MMO game, it’s a nice spare time little game. Dead Rhetoric: After two albums on Mighty Music, you decided to release this one independently. Do you believe this is the best route for Ripe to pursue – especially given your higher profile role within Artillery that can turn people on to your work for Ripe? Dahl: As it is right, I’m not sure that the independent idea…
…piano and slide guitar strains. Reaching out to guitarist Ken Straetman on Skype, this is an engaging conversation into the longer process behind the new album, their outlook on what makes the band unique, thoughts on social media and videos in the modern age, as well as some discussion on the NFL outside of learning more regarding this fine quartet. Dead Rhetoric: Boon is the band’s latest album, nicknamed the ‘red’ album for its striking red cov…
…Hot from Bosnia who is an incredible guitarist. He recorded his solo over Skype while drunk- so I got to watch him do that live and send it to me, which was incredible. Matt and I will trade off solos live- we already do anyway. One of the songs “Lost in Space” on the album, that’s a tradeoff between him and I, and hopefully we will be playing that one on tour. Even all the covers we do tradeoffs- I couldn’t live without that. Dead Rhetoric: How…
…ing the need to catch up on all the man’s activities, we reached out for a Skype interview on a Sunday and this is what he had to say about all of his musical activities – past, present, and future. Plus a little talk about Accept, Metallica, and honest outlook on the importance of playing live these days to sustain any sort of presence. Dead Rhetoric: Why did it take so long to finally have a Nils Patrik Johansson solo album release? Was it more…
