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Testament Interview

Testament

Testament are touring with Megadeth and Exodus now, and later this summer with Slayer and Megadeth. I chatted with vocalist Chuck Billy about the tours, the status of the band's next studio CD, his other project Dublin Death Patrol and other topics.

Testament Links

Chad's Heavy Metal Blog

Landmine Marathon Interview

Thursday March 18, 2010
Landmine Marathon vocalist Grace Perry commands the stage with fierce growls and powerful screams. But offstage you're likely to find her enjoying a science fiction book (she even works as a librarian). Landmine Marathon's third full-length is Sovereign Descent, and their first for Prosthetic Records. I spoke with Perry about the band's new CD, her pop punk past, a misspelled tattoo and a few other topics.

Chad Bowar: How did the end result of Sovereign Descent compare to the vision you had going in?
Grace Perry: I honestly don't think we had a vision. We just knew we wanted to up our game. We knew that we wanted to do something that we hadn't done before. I really think we succeeded in that, especially lyrically. I wanted to have more of a cohesive theme throughout each of the songs, instead of going on a whim. I planned out the lyrics more, I planned everything more, on my part at least. I think musically Ryan did the same.

What does the CD title signify?
I came up with many album titles. We went out to dinner and all decided this would be the best one. "Sovereign" is one rule, one power, and throughout the entire album I had the theme of overthrowing theocratic government, oligarchy and all those types of government that oppress and dictate people's lives. Sovereign Descent is the descent of that dictatorship and that rule that essentially rules the world in a lot of places. It came out even more through Dan Seagraves' artwork.

Read the complete Landmine Marathon Interview
Landmine Marathon - Sovereign Descent Review

(photo courtesy Prosthetic Records)

Best Heavy Metal Albums Of 1995

Wednesday March 17, 2010
1995 was a pretty good year for heavy metal, with Death topping the list. My choices for the best of the year includes a wide variety of artists in genres like melodic death metal, death metal, power metal and others. There's also a wide geographic representation, from Sweden to Germany to Norway to the U.S. Take a look at my list of the best metal albums released in 1995, and then post your lists and comments below.

Best Heavy Metal Albums Of 1995

Here are my other lists of the Best Heavy Metal CDs of the 1990s:

Fates Warning - Parallels Re-Release Review

Tuesday March 16, 2010
When it comes to melodic and mature 80s metal, progressive icons Fates Warning seem to eternally be cast in the shade of their peers in Queensryche, while also being forced to rail against the stylistic clichés of the genre as a whole. 1991's Parallels seemed to change all that for the Connecticut quintet, however, bursting through preconceived barriers of style versus substance, and running with the marked 'n measured intensity showcased on the album's 1989 counterpart (pun intended), Perfect Symmetry.

Enter 2010: Metal Blade Records does fans the service of reissuing this classic piece of cerebral metal to the masses, complete with copious demo tracks, live footage, and an additional DVD, further driving home the point of how classically excellent Parallels still is, almost twenty years later.

Read the complete Fates Warning - Parallels Re-Release Review

(CD cover courtesy Metal Blade Records)

Kreator, Voivod, Nachtmystium, Evile and Lazarus A.D. Concert Review

Monday March 15, 2010
Even metal fans with the most diverse taste will find something to fault with almost every tour package. However, when Kreator came back to The Trocadero in Philadelphia on March 4th for their 25th anniversary tour, they brought along with them the perfect combination of bands. With Voivod, Nachtmystium, Evile, and Lazarus A.D. providing support, the thrash metal titans celebrated a major milestone in style. Even under a strict curfew, each band took advantage of the limited time they had on stage to deliver a well-rounded night of head banging and furious moshing.

Read the complete Kreator, Voivod, Nachtmystium, Evile and Lazarus A.D. Concert Review

(Kreator photo courtesy Dan Marsicano/About.com)

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