Winter: If You Book It, They Will Come

I’ll admit it: when it comes to black metal, I don’t know my ass from my arm gauntlet.  I listened to an Agalloch song one time, and spent a Vital Remains show in the parking lot having a heated discussion with some dude.  (Is Vital Remains even a black metal band?  Or do they just… Continue reading Winter: If You Book It, They Will Come

The Bair Truth: Crossing Rubicon on Videos, Eyeliner, and Being Fed Beers on Stage

  The guy in the Slayer shirt says it’s not heavy enough. The guy in the Dream Theater shirt says it’s not proggy enough. The guy in the Death shirt simply walks to the bar for another beer. Meanwhile, they sold out of their own t-shirts, they worked with Hollywood production to make their premiere… Continue reading The Bair Truth: Crossing Rubicon on Videos, Eyeliner, and Being Fed Beers on Stage

Maelstrom: Metal Never Dies, It Just Grows Up and Has Kids

In the late 80s and early 90s, a young Long Island band named Maelstrom made waves in the northeast with their unique blend of thrash and power metal.  Inevitably, though, members went off to college, started families, and cut their hair, and Maelstrom joined the graveyard that so many good bands end up in. But… Continue reading Maelstrom: Metal Never Dies, It Just Grows Up and Has Kids

Interview with Kevin Keegan of Barn Burner

  Over a decade into the new millennium, there are few young bands that embody the sweaty, beer-soaked essence of old rock and roll – and one of those bands is Barn Burner.  If Phil Lynott was born twenty-five years ago in Canada, this might be the band he started.  Barn Burner is kicking off… Continue reading Interview with Kevin Keegan of Barn Burner

Interview with Gregg Rossetti of Suspyre

  This June, I was presented with the opportunity to interview Gregg Rossetti of the New Jersey progressive band Suspyre (suh – SPY – er).  He had a lot to say about the origins, influences, and writing behind some seriously genre-bending music. The first track of what was to become Suspyre was pioneered on June… Continue reading Interview with Gregg Rossetti of Suspyre

On Fame, Sex Shops, and Venus Doom: An Interview with Ville Valo of HIM

Originally posted to Shoutmouth Music Community in 2006. Pixie: Congratulations on debuting at #12 on the Billboard charts [with new album Venus Doom]. Ville: Thank you… Pixie: Were you expecting that kind of success to happen? Ville:  Well… no. Obviously, we were hoping to get higher on the charts than with Dark Light, but you… Continue reading On Fame, Sex Shops, and Venus Doom: An Interview with Ville Valo of HIM

Valient Thorr: On Earth to Help

  In a world where rock music has devolved into coiffed dudes with tribal armbands crying about their girlfriends, Valient Thorr is a blast of Thin-Lizzy-Lynyrd-Skynyrd-Motorhead kick-ass telling those dudes to wake the hell up. Since their Venusian spacecraft crashed in North Carolina in the early 2000s, they’ve been bringing true rock n roll to… Continue reading Valient Thorr: On Earth to Help