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Volbeat Interview

Volbeat

Volbeat's latest album Outlaw Gentlemen and Shady Ladies has something for everyone. There are radio-friendly singles, a little rockabilly flavor, and even a guest appearance from metal legend King Diamond. I spoke with Volbeat singer Michael Poulsen about the writing and recording of the new album, how King's appearance came about, his memories of Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman and other topics.

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5 Questions With Surgeon

Saturday May 25, 2013

5 Questions With... is your chance to get to know a new or up-and-coming band. Surgeon are a Philadelphia based progressive metal group whose latest album is Chemical Reign. Vocalist/bassist Sean Bolton introduces us to his band.

Give us a brief history of Surgeon.
Lid (Lydia Giordano, guitar) and I have been rocking together since high school. We were in a couple of bands together, one of which was a three piece punky/thrash band. Later, with the addition of a second guitarist, Surgeon formed. We recorded a record with Steve Albini that was more of a lo-fi heavy/prog rock album. Our current lineup is the future. We are bit quirkier and heavier, and super excited for what the future holds for Surgeon.

Describe the songwriting and recording process for Chemical Reign.
The song writing process was pretty organic. We always try different ways and approaches when it comes to writing music and by the time the song is done it's really hard to remember how it started. One thing Lydia did a lot of was to layer multiple guitar tracks over each other until she's created an almost symphonic wall of sound. We then took that and translated it into a four piece band setting.

How did you style/sound evolve from your debut to this one?
We have definitely gotten harder and delved into the technical side of things more; letting our inner nerds have more play. Working with Steve Albini was cool, but engineer/producer Kevin (Antreassian) really embraced all of our quirks and helped turn them into our strengths. Before heading into the studio, we laid out the album and its themes. We then came up with ideas for interludes (marching boots, explosions etc.) to help tie together some of the themes of the record..

What has been your most memorable Surgeon live show, and what are your upcoming tour/show plans?

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Retro Recommendation: Extreme - Waiting For The Punchline

Friday May 24, 2013

Every Friday I turn the blog over to Dan Marsicano for his Retro Recommendation, giving you a chance to learn about underrated and overlooked gems from metal's past. This week, Extreme are in the spotlight. They had some huge mainstream radio hits like "More Than Words" in the early '90s, but Extreme was a harder-edged band than many people realized. They shifted their musical direction a bit for 1995's Waiting For The Punchline, which is this week's Retro Recommendation.

Retro Recommendation: Extreme - Waiting For The Punchline

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Richard Christy Interview

Thursday May 23, 2013

He's the drummer/composer for Charred Walls Of The Damned and a staffer on the Howard Stern Show, but Richard Christy also works in the visual arts. He has developed a new animated web series Majestic Loincloth, a metal based fantasy cartoon. I spoke with Christy about the new project, the status of the next Charred Walls album, the Death To All tour (Christy used to be in Death), the passing of Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman and other topics.

Read the complete Richard Christy Interview

New Heavy Metal Album Reviews: May 22, 2013

Wednesday May 22, 2013

Once a week we collect a bunch of the latest metal releases into one article of short reviews. Get the quick lowdown on the latest from Burning Rain, Enshine, Extrema, Fact, For The Broken, Gaytheist, Hybrid, Masteroid, Negator, The Poodles, Satan, Svart Crown, Thinning The Herd and Zed.

New Heavy Metal Album Reviews: May 22, 2013

Also check out these recent full CD reviews:
Delain - Interlude
Immolation - Kingdom Of Conspiracy
Timo Tolkki's Avalon - The Land Of New Hope

(CD cover courtesy Frontiers Records)

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