Radiance Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

Federica:
Nowadays we are settling down new ideas for the composition of new tracks. We are metabolizing what we have done until now, trying to channel the experience gained so far into new ideas, along with present inputs. Furthermore, these are very exciting days  for us,  full of a continuous news. Finally “Undying Diabolyca”  is about to be released, and naturally we have very happy.


2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from previous releases?


Federica: We could describe our sound in terms of a multi-sided view of metal music. We adopt a personal approach to music because we are trying not to be somebody else’s clone and also because it is inevitable, due to the different stylistic backgrounds of each of us. We do not want to level off the different musical styles we have, but rather exalt them. The genres that have most influenced us include heavy metal, the technical death metal,  the progressive rock and metal, as well as a pinch of black metal and gothic. Compares to the previous release, the creation of this album has been very long and difficult. The songwriting process took about a year. The band, boosted by the consensus encountered with the first EP, pursued this new challenge with great seriousness and determination. Our intention was to make a more personal proposal in relation to our gained stylistic experiences.


3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?

Karin: The peninsula (Sicily, our beloved region included) contains countless stories and fantastic legends, sometimes poorly understood; my intent was to get them out of their towns of origin and make them known at least in the world of music. I basically did a long historical research,  going to find the most appealing stories and those which in my opinion, would have fit Radiance’s sound best. As was the case for "... and the night comes down", our first self-produced EP,I cited and gave life to several female figures characterized from an ambivalent flavour. I have always been fascinated by the duality of things, especially in religious or mythological figures.


4. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?


Fabio: I could not tell you exactly what.. certainly every performance was unique. We have in high consideration the live perspective, and everything that is prepared is finalized for high audience participation. Surely, two women in line up do not go unnoticed, just as a fretless bass player in a metal show!

Karin:  I think stage presence is important for a band or artists in general as well as the technical or musical proposal. Of course I take inspiration from theatre, trying  to visually represent the songs and  interpreting the events or characters.
Radiance had the opportunity to share the stage with bands already known in the field of metal: Thy Majestie, Ancestral, Bunker 66, Noble Savage, Disasterhate and others. I have wonderful memories of We Rock fest, a metal festival which takes place every summer in Catania. We really rocked over there in summer 2011!



5. Do you have any touring plans for the future?


Federica: Not at this time unfortunately. We currently live very far from each other, between Sweden and Sicily. We will arrange something during the summer, when we gather again.


6. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to the newer music by fans of metal?


Fabio:
Generally, the metal fans  have a dual approach to the new metal releases: who excludes  “a priori “every new album, because it is not similar to the rest of the metal music, and, fortunately, who appreciates the efforts of a bands trying to do something new. We love the latter of course and  we are obtaining good responses in general, both by the press and by individual metal fans; and this makes us proud and satisfied.



7. Are there any other musical projects going on these days?

Federica : Radiance takes all our time and energies!




8. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

Fabio:
Probably the new songs will be a bit different from those we are presenting in this release. And this is because it is our way of seeing the music, and life in general. Things change. In addition, at this time we are having a lot of new inputs, that certainly will produce new suggestions in our way of composing.


9. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?


Fabio:
As mentioned before, the genres that have most influenced the band are surely the heavy metal of Crimson Glory and Queensryche ,the technical death metal of bands such as Cynic,  the progressive rock and metal of bands such as Dream Theater, Rush and King Crimson, as well as the obscure and experimental atmospheric themes inspired by avant-garde bands such as Arcturus . Currently, I am expanding my  knowledge of the world of film music, Federica is listening mostly to doom nowadays, Karin at this moment is very into thrash metal (Forbidden and Annihilator), and Elio is listening to Fleshgod Apocalypse and Nile.


10. How would you describe your views on Occultism?


Federica: If the occultism is something aimed at giving power to those who practice it, with the goal of subjugating people to someone else’s will, well it is wrong. But this seems to be the definition of nowadays politics, isn’t it?
Karin: All texts Undying Diabolyca deal with occultism: The Accabadora  woman of  Behind the light that brings life but also death, the alchemical secrets of   “poison à la mode”, the sabbath of the witches in whirl's criterion and other demonic women and  deals with the devil. All of the women mentioned in the songs have huge hidden powers and seduction skills.
The occult is a subject present in many stories and legends since the dawn of times. I think it's interesting to describe the different facets of it in music.


11. Outside of music what are some of your interests?


Federica : The quest of knowledge ant truth beyond the veil of Maya. I fight every day for animal rights, trying to do my best and sharing information. Love vegan cooking.
Karin: I am interested in art in general, ecology, and humanities (that I teach). I deal with small video editings for other bands and musicians that I think deserve success, also managing their pages on facebook. I manage also pages about emerging musicians, mostly women and also a page on renewable energy. I love cooking and eating.


12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?


We thank you very much for the space granted us, and we invite you to visit our pages:

http://www.facebook.com/Radiancemetalband

http://www.mykingdommusic.net

Birth A.D Interview

 1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

We have our debut LP, "I Blame You", coming out on April 2 via
Unspeakable Acts/Dark Descent Records. It was produced by Alex
Perialas, and it is the antidote to the retro-thrash malaise. We'll
also do a series of shows on the east coast with Evil Army on the
first weekend of April, so get ready for that!

> 2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it
> differs from previous releases?

It's crossover thrash, pure and simple. It sounds exactly like the
last release except this time with more horsepower on all fronts,
along with several new songs.

> 3. I know that the band members has a background in black and death metal,
> what was the decision to go back to your thrash and crossover background and
> reform the band?

I said everything I could about black metal with my former band, and I
didn't want to have to try it again on my own. Also, I had been
planning to recreate Birth AD since 2001 but Averse Sefira started to
gain momentum and there was never time for both.

> 4. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with
> the new release?

Frustration with the world at large is the primary theme. My lyrics
aren't political as much as they are sociological, so they run the
gamut from standard complaints to outright advocacy of mass murder.

> 5. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

My original band was called Afterbirth, but I didn't want to use that
name again, so it was a marriage of ideas. Birth AD references the
classic Misfits album Earth AD, but it also means "Birth After Death"
in effect, or "Afterbirth". Got it?

> 6. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how
> would you describe your stage performance?

Our stage performance is aggressive and high-velocity, though
sometimes I'm known to throw in a joke or two between songs. Probably
the best shows were some of the ones we played in Japan, along with
the pleasure of doing a sold-out show with DRI.

> 7. Do you have any touring plans for the new album?

Yes, like I said for now we will play Boston, New York, Philadelphia,
and Baltimore with Evil Army in April. After that, we'll see. My hope
is that the album gets us the attention we need to tour more.

> 8. The new album came out on Unspeakable Axe Records, which is a sub label
> of the well known death/black metal label Dark Descent Records, can you
> tell us more about this sub label?

It's a brand new label dedicated to more traditional thrash and speed
metal. It's fun to think we will be the debut release for them. Eric
and Matt are both great guys and I am looking forward to the results.

> 9. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of
> crossover and thrash?

I've been pleasantly surprised with the response. We sell shirts and
albums all over the planet, though I've noticed Australia seems to be
a hot spot for us at the moment. I'd love to play there!

> 10. Are there any other musical projects going on these days?

Nope.

> 11. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

With Birth AD, my mission is to keep it frozen in place. There will be
new riffs, new ideas, but the sound will remain the same. I don't like
it when bands change too much. I want our band to be the Motorhead of
crossover!

> 12. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your newer
> music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I'm mainly just blasting the usual suspects when it comes to stuff
that inspires Birth AD, including Death Strike, DRI, SOD, Dr. Know,
Excel, and so on. Dr. Know has new stuff in the works, which is
exciting, and I recently re-discovered the German band SDI, so I'm
having fun with that at the moment.

> 13. Outside of music what are some of your interests?

Standard stuff - reading, traveling, and I'm fascinated with film
making. I've started working as an extra in bigger Hollywood
productions, so we'll see if I show up in anything.

> 14. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

Kill hipsters and cause problems!

Loading Data/Double Disco Animal Style/Deadlight Entertainment/2013 CD Review

  Loading  Data  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  mixture  of  stoner  rock  and  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Double  Disco  Animal  Style"  which  was  released  by  Deadlight  Entertainment.

  Drums  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  playing  with  no  fast  drumming  or  blast  beats  being  present on  this  recording,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  with  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording,  as  for  the  harmonica  which  is  only  used  briefly  they  bring  a  blues  music  feeling  to  the  recording  along  with  a  brief  use  of  psychedelic  sounding  keyboards.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  riffs  that  combine  stoner  rock  and  metal  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  along  with  some  melody  and  grunge  influences  being  thrown  into  the  riffing  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  old  school  sounding  hard  rock/metal  guitar  solos  and  leads  with  some  slides  being  utilized  at  times.

  Vocals a re  all  clean  singing  stoner  rock  vocals,  while  the  lyrics  cover  everyday  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  with  some  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.    

  In  my  opinion  Loading  Data  are  a  very  great  sounding  stoner  rock  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Give  The  Rat  A  Name"  "So  High"  "Round  And  Round"  and  "Armageddon".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Gamma Ray/Skeletons And Majesties/Armoury Records/2012 Double Live CD Review

  Gamma  Ray  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  has  a  very  long  history  with  them   starting  more  than  20  years  ago  with  the  founding  member  having  a  history  going  back  to  the  70's  with  the  music  in this  group  being  old  school  power  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  double  live  album  "Skeletons  And  Majesties"  which  was  released  by  Armoury  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  no  blast  beats  being  present  on  this  recording,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  they  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them,  as  for  the  keyboards  when  they  are  utilized  they  bring  a  very  atmospheric  and  symphonic  sound  to  the  music.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  old  school  power  metal  riffs  that  utilize  alot  of  melody  in  the  riffing  and  they  dont  go  for  any  modern  sound  as  well  as  some  soft  and  clean  playing  being  utilized  at  times,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  traditional/power  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  they  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  to  bring  a  power  ballad  feeling  to  the  recording.

  Vocals  are  all  clean  singing  power  metal  vocals,  while  the  lyrics  cover  Fantasy,  Science  Fiction  and  everyday  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  with  all  of  the  songs  being  recorded  live  and  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  as  well  as  some  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  great  sounding  live  recording  from  Gamma  Ray  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Men,  Martians  And  Machines"  "Wings  Of  Destiny"  "Dethrone  Humanity"  and  "Hold  Your  Ground".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Corsair Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

Paul: We are in the practice space putting things together. We are currently keeping some old material tight and tidy and also writing some new material.

Marie: Pretty much totally focused on writing new riffs with plans to be in the studio recording an album for release late fall this year. We also have plans to do an U.S. east coast tour in May/June to get out and support the S/T release.

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from previous releases?

Marie: It’s definitely more focused and even a little more straightforward, less progressive than the previous EP, Ghosts of Proxima Centauri. I think we really got into writing catchy riffs and then harmonizing them, Paul and I really dig getting into harmony world. This album has its’ roots in the classic hard rock and prog sound from the 70’s, the rest is our interpretation of riff orientated harmonic rock, so it’s a bit of the past with the present thrown in the mix with the lyrical additional of mythological themes.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

Marie: We tend to explore different elements of greek and roman mythology through our lyrics, human stories we personify to various mythical creatures or the inverse, tales of beasts being adapted to a person's plight. We have delved in epics tales of love, war and isolation. You know, the usual stuff.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

Paul: When i was a little kid i was really into WW2 fighter aircraft. My favorite was the Vought F4U CORSAIR. It was a beautiful plane with what they called "gull" wings. It had grace. I wanted our name to be graceful strong and adventurous. Upon looking on the internet we found there were a few other bands with the same name but we thought long and hard and decided we deserved that name. Since then, most of those bands have dropped off the radar, thank goodness. Side note: Corsair was almost called “Banger.” I think we might’ve turned out a little more AC/DC if we'd kept it. Also a cool name, in my opinion.

Marie: Yeah, I liked Banger too but I think Corsair has more puissance.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

Marie: Our best shows are always the ones we play to a front row of fist-pumpers and headbangers. The crowd often can make a show go from “ok” to “killer” just by their enthusiastic participation as an audience. Stage wise, Corsair is laid back and relatively non-chalant. We’re just regular people, like anyone else, lucky to be doing something we love in front of people who love hearing it. Paul does have great stage antics though, I need to take some notes from his stage book.

6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?

Marie: Yup! We’ll be hitting the road in May/June, up and down the east coast, sprinkling the S/T where we can. We also hope to make it to Europe next year, late winter, for some touring so keep eyes open for that too.

7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of metal?

Marie: Worldwide, it’s been really amazing. I would guess ¾ of our cd sales are to people overseas, mainly Europe and of that, at least ½ is to Germany and the nordic countries. It’s pretty wild. The bloggers and reviewers in Europe have really enjoyed our music, from the first EP, Alpha Centauri, we’ve consistently been encouraged and supported by the Europeans. There are perhaps a handful of less-than-glowing reviews which we read with our critical hats on and use the comments as rough guides for our future writing. It can be used as a very helpful tool actually.

8. Are there any other musical projects besides this band or is this a full time line-up?

Marie: Jordan and I are both in another band called Borrowed Beams of Light. Jordan plays bass and I, lead guitar. We have done some touring and released a couple albums as well, it’s a different genre entirely, pop-rock with a 60’s Kinks kinda vibe. Paul is the singer in a band with some friends called Megaphor, heavy, hard, math style rock. Paul, Jordan and I also appear in some Manscout songs which is a sorta spoof rap group we created with our recording engineer, Nate Bolling, whilst recording the S/T. We’re a little crazy.

9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

Paul: Well hopefully we will return to the more non 4/4 riff writing we had on our first EP but also I would hope to get a bit heavier and more precise with our riffing.

Marie: I hope to see us evolve and grow, get smarter with our writing and playing, get more adventurous and challenge ourselves without limiting our listenability to our audience.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Paul: Metallica's first four of course. Mastodon,  Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy. Right now I’m listening to the first The Sword record, Age Of Winters and also listening to the Bon Iver record from last year. What a surprisingly weighty record.

Marie: What Paul said plus Iron Maiden, Yes, Steely Dan, Bowie, Pink Floyd, Scorpions... anything from the 70’s basically. Today, I’m listening to Tame Impala, Kadavar and Graveyard, their new albums are killer.

11. How would you describe your views on Greek Mythology?

Paul: We are definitely fans of greek mythology. It interests me because the stories of the gods are like soap operas. Some gods are crappy gods, they're just not good at their jobs. Some gods are slutty gods, some gods are bad ass gods. I guess it interests me because at one point, polytheistic religions were the dominant religion. They were as real as some deities seem to some people these days.  Not only that but these are just good stories. Gods used to do all kinds of crazy stuff. I’m gonna turn into a goose and have sex with this chick so my god-wife wont’ know. But god-wife knows and she’s gonna getcha!

Marie: Great stories with more likely than not terrible outcomes. What better reading is there?!

12. Outside of music what are some of your interests?

Paul: I enjoy shooting my bow on occasion and my girlfriend has a daughter who is very much an inspiration to my imagination. Cute little wretched gremlin. I work as a carpenter/Masons apprentice for my day job.

Marie: I am a graphic designer and screen printer by day. I love working with my hands, no matter the project, in the dirt, with wood, food or paper. I screen printed all the Corsair cd arigato packs and all the t-shirts, you can check them out in our store at skykrakken.com/store

Apart from that, Jordan and I are devoted and obsessive Barcelona FC fans.

13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

Marie: Thanks so much for the interview, we really appreciate your support of Corsair and interest in our music. Cheers!

Birth A.D/I Blame You/Unspeakable Axe Records/2013 CD Review

  Birth  A.D  are  a  band  from  Texas  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  crossover/thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "I  Blame  You"  which  was  released  by  Unspeakable  Axe Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  utilized  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  they  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  hardcore,  punk  and  thrash  together  with  the  end  result  being  80's  style  crossover  and  there  are  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording.

  Vocals  are  all  hardcore/thrash  style  shouts  and  yells  with  some  gang  style  back  ups  being  utilized  at  times  as  well  as  some  samples,  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent,  hateful  and  political  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  old  school  sound  with  the  album  sounding  like  it  could  of  easily  come  out  during  the  80's  and  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Birth  A.D  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  crossover  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Equal  Opportunity"  "This  Scene  Sucks"  "Wrong  Again"  and  "Parasites  Die".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.  

Mother Susurrus/Maahaavaa/Ektro Records/2013 CD Review

 
Mother  Susurrus  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  psychedelic,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Maahaavaa"  which  was  released  by  Ektro  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  drumming  with  no  fast  playing  or  blast  beats  being present  on  this  recording  while  there  are  some  tribal  elements  being  utilized  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  with  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  riffs  that  combine  sludge,  doom  metal  and  psychedelic  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  while  also  mixing  distorted  elements  in  the  riffing  which  brings  a  70's  feeling  to  to  recording  as  well  as  some  soft  and  clean  playing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  psychedelic  and  distorted  sounding  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when t hey  are  utilized  they  use  full  chords  to  add  some  avant  garde  elements  to  the  recording.

  Vocals  range  from  clean  singing  stoner  rock/doom  metal  vocals  with  some  sludge  style  screams t hat  are  utilized  on  a  cople  of  songs  as  well  as  a  brief  spoken  word  part,  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Finnish  and  cover  philosophical  and  psychology  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  dark  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  with  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Mother  Susurrus  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  psychedelic,  doom  metal  and sludge  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Superposition"  and  "Uniema".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.