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Amon Amarth Jomsviking

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              Amon Amarth  Jomsviking Metal Blade Records 25 March 2016 Arriving to shores around the world soon, the newest viking metal onslaught from Amon Amarth, Jomsviking, is a battleaxe of battering tunes.     Epic in scale like a viking charge, and yet clearly there is a tempered method to their steel. Amon Amarth is hands down one of the biggest and best flag bearers for the viking metal genre. Raise your cups of mead and shout skol!!           For make no mistake “Jomsviking” is an epic album full of tales of blood and brotherhood. Tracks like “First Kill”, and “wanderer” split open your skull like a viking axe. But it is clear to all that “On a sea Of Blood” is the standard by which all other members of the genre will judge themselves. This song has it all. Other stand out tracks include “At Dawns light”, “One Thousand Burning Arrows”, and “A Dream That Cannot Be”. But it is on the epic 7 plus minute song that Amon Amarth truly begin

Interview with Biff Byford of Saxon

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      Biff Byford, of Saxon Interview A preface. This was originally published for the Ripple Effect Magazine during the bands "Sacrifice" tour. With the new album, "Battering Ram" doing so well I thought I would re-publish this. Enjoy.        Once in a while in this music business you get to speak to a person that you admired from day one. It's a one in a million shot that you just have to breathe deep and go for.   The chance to speak with the singer from one of my favorite bands is just that. I still have my vinyl Saxon albums and I remember hanging their posters on my wall. They were "my band". The band that I discovered and brought to my metal friends. They had the coolest album covers and the best song titles. "Denim And Leather", "Crusader", "Midas Touch", "Wheels Of Steel"...the list goes on.   Anyone who knows me well, knows I count them as one of my primary musical influences. I spoke

Charlie Daniels

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            Off The Grid...Doing it Dylan The Charlie Daniels band Charlie Daniels has an enduring legacy that is iconic in the american music pantheon. Now his musical attention has turned to Bob Dylan. His latest album is a tribute to some of Dylan’s classic songs like,..... “Tangled Up In Blue”, “ I Shall Be Released”, and “ Mr. Tambourine Man”.   As you would expect this is some serious music making. The energy he commands is unprecedented. Powerful renditions of These songs as only charlie daniels could produce. Dylan’s legacy is a monument to a lifetime of classic american folklorish storytelling. His is the lyrical dream of backroad americana, a thought in lyrical digestion tangled up in the histrionics and the very soul of who we are collectively. Daniels takes his songs and brings them back home with his soulful country flavoring. Who better to cover the great master than the architect of modern southern country rock and roll. Each track is a brut

Interview with Laina Dawes

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        “What Are You Doing Here”?  A Black Woman's Life And Liberation in Heavy Metal,by Laina Dawes, Bazillion Points Books     This was an interesting interview. Many of us have never given much thought to what it must be like to be a minority that loves heavy metal. For most of us the idea of race as an issue simply doesn’t come into play. But there are always those people who judge skin color over character. Now add into that stereotype a female minority and you have people turning their heads. This is the world that Laina Dawes found herself. Growing up as a metal outcast is one thing, surviving in a brutally real racial and gender divide is another. This book is her wake up call. It is our wake up call as well.  It screams at you the reader to change your perceptions. It is an honest and solitary journey that reveals itself in the end to be the story of us all. I found Laina to be down to earth, friendly and fiercely proud of her heritage and pure love of th

Jon 5 Backstage interview

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Here is my interview with guitarist Jon 5 backstage at the mayhem fest a few years ago. My second face to face interview and during our conversation, who walks by but rob zombie himself...so cool. anyway it's a little outdated but they are touring with korn this year. Jon5 Rob Zombie guitarist Mayhem fest, Backstage Comcast arena, Mansfield mass. Ladies and gentlemen, Jon5:    How is the Mayhem tour going? Tour is going great so far. I can't complain. Good shows, nice weather. We had a power outage in Scranton. Everything is going really well. Looking for more in the future. Are you happy with the production and the stage on this tour? Oh yes. So huge. It can't get much bigger. As   a matter of fact we can't even use all of it today. People are going to watch a really cool show. The album is doing great and is really an excellent hard rock album. Yeah the album. It's great. We recorded it at Rob's place and we had no distractio

Doro Pesch Interview

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The following was originally published with the ripple effect magazine. It was my first ever interview and lucky me I got to speak with the metal queen herself, Doro Pesch. I'm going through my archives re publishing relevant interview from the past and other outlets. Doro is currently on tour. An Interview With Doro Pesch      Years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Doro Pesch at the New Jersey Metal Meltdown.   She rocked that stage, sandwiched in between a host of death and new age metal bands;   she stood her ground and played from the heart. Doro is one of the metal community's shining stars. A veteran musician she has been on tour in some form or another almost her entire life. That dedication and passion comes through, not only with her music, but also her personality. She is metal.   You can hear her love for the genre in her voice as she excitedly speaks of music she has created and plans for the future.   Her latest album, "Raise Your Fist" is

Azrael's Bane

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                                                                        Azrael’s Bane     HIghvolmusic has unleashed a sleeping giant on the metal world. They have brought us Azrael's Bane and this is true metal for the masses. Expect big things from this band and this label.            Here we have a proper progressive metal act. These guys know how to tear it up and when to let the music do the talking. Blistering but tasteful leads intertwined with soaring vocals. In terms of getting your moneys worth this band and this album is worth it's weight in gold. You have a ton of good, solid, searing, thundering metal classics. Azrael’s Bane has released an album chock full of all the power and passion any metal head could ask for.     “Breathe”, and “Brother” are two of the strongest tracks on an album that features nothing but strong tracks. But for me, it is the cover of Savatage’s “Edge Of Thorns” which really makes this album and this band sta