Exclusive Interview - Jamie Saint Merat (Ulcerate)

Crafting their unique, dissonant brand for nearly 20 years, Ulcerate should be considered a crucial member of extreme death metal's vanguard. Weaving melody throughout a chaotic blend of cavernous growls, spastic guitars, and dizzying drum-work is a monumental task, but one that the band's latest release, Stare Into Death and Be Still, accomplishes flawlessly. I was fortunate enough to be able to talk to drummer Jamie Saint Merat about the new album, his personal influences, and reflections on the band's history. I understand that this type of death metal doesn't resonate with everyone, but I cannot emphasize enough how, at the very least, this is a drummer who's among the best in his craft and one that you'll want to follow.

Exclusive Interview - Horrendous

 We have always been big fans of Horrendous, dating back to the release of The Chills. The band is now on album #4 with the 2018 release of Idol. They have become increasingly well known for their appearance on the 2017 Decibel Magazine Tour as well as having been critical darlings for quite some time. After all of this I had yet to see them live so when they announced a string of east coast album release shows I had to make my way down to Saint Vitus Bar in Brooklyn to see what they had in store. We talked this short tour, Horrendous in general, Idol and what the future would bring.

Interview after the jump.

Exclusive Interview - Mike Scheidt (YOB)

It was with great pleasure that Durf and myself moseyed our way to down to Chicago's Thalia Hall this past Tuesday evening to talk shop with a true legend, Mike Scheidt of YOB.  While our interview was limited due to Mike needing time for vocal warm-ups, we were able to chat about the current tour, YOB's latest album, and Scheidt's positive approach to song-writing.  

Check out the interview after the break!

Exclusive Interview - Brett Campbell (Pallbearer)

This past Thursday in Chicago, I made my way down to Subterranean on a solo mission to interview one Brett Campbell from the critically acclaimed Pallbearer.  The band was playing a sold out headlining show with Solstafir and Mortals as opening support.  It should go without saying that the concert itself was amazing in every sense of the word.  The interview also happened to turn out really well.  Despite the comedy of everything that was happening around us, we went deep into the essence of Pallbearer's sound and other fun topics.

Be sure to check out the interview after the break!

Exclusive Interview: Wildness Perversion (Mortuary Drape)

Mortuary Drape are one of Italy's finest metal exports and a band that is about as obscure and revered as it gets from the Mediterranean. Their occult black metal has garnered them much fanfare in the past and their first album in 10 years; Spiritual Independence, seeks out to tell fans of old that they haven't changed one bit. This old school outfit operates by many ideals that have existed since tape-trading, like getting local fan support and even handling their own mail orders across the world. So what has this revival been like? I asked founding member and vocalist Wildness Perversion for his take.

Exclusive Interview - Tony Foresta (Iron Reagan/Municipal Waste)

I interviewed Tony Foresta (Iron Reagan/Municipal Waste) and we talked about Iron Reagan's new album Tyranny of Will, Oderus Urungus, GwarBQ, politics, touring in NJ, and celebrity deaths. All in all, it was a fun time had by all.

I hope you enjoy our rambling down below after the break.

Exclusive Interview - Martin Van Drunen (Asphyx)

We didn't want to go overboard interviewing tons of folk at this year's Maryland Deathfest, but it was certainly hard for Jack to not chat with Tomas Lindberg and Tom to not chat with one Martin Van Drunen from Dutch death metal legends Asphyx. Much like our interview with Tomas, our second and final interview from MDF features plenty of entertaining tidbits. Tom's brilliant back and forth with Martin may only be matched by certain easter eggs; namely BadWolf, from No Clean Singing, trying to start a turf war with us Brutalitopians and Jack's classic sign off at the very end. 

Listen to these moments and more in the interview after the break!

Exclusive Interview - Ryan Wenzel (Tempel)

Yesterday, Durf and I sat down for a little skype chat with Ryan Wenzel, guitarist for instrumental duo Tempel. Durf wrote a review for their debut self released album, "On the Steps of the Temple," in September, but this black metal oriented act has enjoyed some well deserved recognition as of late. After the break, take a listen to our interview with Ryan where we dig into everything you'd possibly want to know about Tempel and more.

Exclusive Interview: Luc Lemay (Gorguts)

This past Sunday in Chicago, Durf and I were fortunate enough to interview legendary death metal frontman Luc Lemay. With the recent revival of Gorguts, we had plenty to chat about. Conversation topics included the circumstances around Gorguts' comeback, the inspiration behind their new album, personal musical influences, and much more. Check out the interview after the break!

Exclusive Interview: Mario Duplantier (Gojira)

Gojira opening for Slayer is a show that Durf and I felt, as metal fans, we were obligated to go see. Luckily enough, we were also able to catch up with Mario Duplantier, Gojira's drummer, beforehand. We chatted with Mario about his thoughts on the current tour, their latest album, the French metal scene, and much more. Check the interview out after the break!

Exclusive Interview - Chris Letchford

This past Wednesday, Mick and I braved what the local meteorologists said could be the worst storm to hit Chicago in years to make it down to the Double Door and see a fantastic tour: Mouth of the Architect, Scale the Summit, and Intronaut.  Check out my thoughts on the show and our interview we had with Chris Letchford after the break!

Exclusive Interview: Mikael Akerfeldt

This past Saturday, I had the extreme, lifelong dream come true pleasure of sitting down and talking with the one and only Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth.  Opeth has long been my favorite band, and they were in the Chicago area on tour with Katatonia, so it was a great opportunity to sit down with Mikael and chat about a myriad of topics, like the state of metal music, his thoughts on working with his musical heroes, and even what the new Opeth record (!) might sound like.  Check out the interview below; I'm pretty sure it's awesome and you'll enjoy it, although I may have blacked out from too much awesome while actually speaking with him.

Exclusive Interview - Trevor de Brauw (Pelican)

This past Friday, personal favorites and hometown band Pelican dropped by Lincoln Hall in Chicago to put their instrumental post-metal/sludge/post-apocalyptic tangocore on display for an enthusiastic crowd.  The band certainly didn't disappoint, ripping energetically through favorites like "Ephemeral," "The Creeper," "Embedded in the Moss," along with tracks from their newest EP Ataraxia/Taraxis, in front of a roaring crowd.  Before this hour of awesome, however, Mick and I were lucky enough to sit down with Trevor de Brauw, guitarist of Pelican, and talk about the band's plans, their recent tour experiences, and some of the joys of being an audiophile.  He was a really cool dude, and really great to chat with, so check out our interview, embedded below.

- Durf

Exclusive Interview: Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth)

Meeting legends within the metal community is always a humbling experience, as was the case about a week ago when Nathan and I were lucky enough to land an interview with Opeth frontman, Mikael Akerfeldt.  I regret that it took us so long to get this interview up, but hey better late than never.  Mikael was a very humble guy and was extremely interesting and fun to chat with.  While I could've sat there forever talking to him about stuff, I also tried to stay concise and cover as much material as possible within the interview so enjoy.


- Mick
 

Exclusive Interview: Robin Staps (The Ocean)

Last Wednesday, Nathan and I were fortunate enough to have made it down to Reggie's Rock Club to see The Ocean / Devin Townsend tour that's been going around.  Needless to say, it was a fantastic show.  After the show, we ran down The Ocean at their merch booth and from there went upstairs to have an interview with their founding member/guitarist, Robin Staps.  He was a great guy to talk to and gave us pretty good insight into The Ocean's past and what they're going to be up to past this current tour.  Be sure to catch them on tour now while they're still in America!  Enjoy the interview.


- Mick

Exclusive Interview: Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater)

When it was announced that Trivium and Dream Theater would be touring together, I immediately knew that was an experience that I couldn't pass up. Walking backstage running into members of both Trivium and Dream Theater was probably the most surreal experience I've ever had. It also only seemed appropriate that the first time I saw John Petrucci was when he was getting ready for a photo-shoot and was assuming the ever famous Petrucci power stance. Needless to say, an in-person interview with Dream Theater's keyboardist, Jordan Rudess, only made the experience that much more epic. Jordan was a fantastic guy to chat with and gave us plenty of insight into what's been going on with Dream Theater as of late.

Also, after the interview, Jordan showed us his apps that he uses on his ipad during shows and gave us a rather thorough demonstration of their capabilities. I'll be sure to throw up a post soon going into more details about them. But for now, enjoy the interview.



- Mick

Exclusive Interview: Sacha Dunable

Intronaut have been making a quite a name for themselves since Valley of Smoke dropped last year, and this can be greatly attributed to the sheer volume of work guitarist and vocalist Sacha Dunable produces  Whether it's making records with Intronaut, writing blog entries (at his own site and at MetalSucks) or starting side projects, he seems to be endlessly working. This, of course, lends itself to great interview material. Mick and I made it to the Animals As Leaders headlining tour date in Joliet this past weekend, and I caught up with Sacha and asked him a variety things, from Intronaut's plans for the future and... well, let's just say I inquired about some shit that is considerably more off the wall than basic interview content.

Catch the interview with Sacha below!



-Jack

Exclusive Interview: Evan Brewer

With Evan Brewer's recent solo release of Alone, Jack and I were super excited to see the live performance of the material.  It should go without saying we weren't disappointed at all.  Even though Evan played extremely early in the tour's lineup, he still drew a big crowd that was super into the music.  It's pretty refreshing when a true musician (that can play stuff like this and this extremely well live) gets a truly appreciative crowd.  Later, after his set, I managed to catch up with Evan and just talk briefly about everything he's been up to.  He's really great guy to chat with (both on and off the camera).  Even though it was a little shorter of an interview than I've been used to, we did manage to address things about his solo material and what's been going on with The Faceless.  Definitely check out his solo album if you haven't already.  It's really amazing how all that just comes from a bass guitar.

Enjoy the interview.



-Mick

Exclusive Interview - Devin Townsend

Yeah this pretty much sums up how awesome Devy is live.

It's been a while since we've had an exclusive interview, but we've sure come back with one in style.  Two nights ago I wandered on down to the House of Blues in Chicago to catch Devin Townsend since he was coming through on his tour with Children of Bodom, Obscura, and Septicflesh (weird lineup for him right?).  With his new albums, Deconstruction and Ghost, having been recently released, there were plenty of things to talk about.  Needless to say, Devin is a really fun guy to chat with.  His live performance was also really awesome.  If you've never seen him live, the picture above should be your indicator that you need to. His stage presence can only be described as purely energetic and fun.

Be sure to check out his new ablums, Deconstruction and Ghost, if you haven't already.  They are pretty incredible.   





-Mick        

Exclusive Interview - The Dillinger Escape Plan

It was with great pleasure that I was able to interview The Dillinger Escape Plan's lead singer, Greg Puciato, as they came through Chicago on their current tour with Deftones. Greg was a blast to talk to and is a really great guy. Be sure to check out this band live if you never have before. They have an energy in the live setting that is unparalleled to anything I've ever seen. After their performance was over at the Deftones show, they played another show in the same night here in Chicago. They took the stage around 12:45am and tore the place apart. I've never seen a concert with such raw energy and emotion. Between the guitarists leaping off of the amps mid-song, Greg climbing up the poles on the ceiling, and the whole front row of the crowd getting up on stage with the band and moshing with them, I think it's safe to say no one quite brings it like Dillinger does.

Be sure to check out the clips I got of their Deftones performance and their headlining show that took place later that night after the break.  That later show, by the way, was tweeted by Greg the next day as being one of his "top 10 favorite DEP shows of all time."