Metal Shop's Backstage Pass

Ensiferum is a folk-metal band from Helsinki, Finland that's gearing up to release their 8th album "Thalassic" in July. I spoke with Petri Lindroos from Ensiferum via skype about video games, releasing an album during a pandemic, some of his favorite Finnish metal bands, his early metal inspirations and much more.

Anthonie Gonzalez is a musician living in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. Anthonie's band Constrict recently released an awesome EP called "No Eden." We chat a bit about the band, some of his inspirations, his new harsh noise project, the future of his other band God's Hate, Kickback and much more. Stay tuned til the end to hear a new Constrict song. 

This is a short, but fun one. Unfortunately due to my internet connection being weak, this conversation was cut a bit shorter than I hoped, but it was RAD to catch up with Despise You vocalist Cynthia Nishi. Cynthia is a hairdresser, so we chatted about how she's filling her time while being out of work, some of the shows and movies she has been binging, some of her favorite bands and musicians to keep her smiling and more. Enjoy!  

Vince Edwards wears many hats at Metal Blade Records - he works in radio promotion, digital media, video editing, social media and much more. I chatted with Vince about what it's like to work at Metal Blade, his journey from college radio to record label life, some of his favorite current artists and he gave some advice to up and coming bands looking to gain some traction with labels. 

Aborted is a Belgian brutal death metal band that is celebrating their 25th anniversary! I spoke with vocalist Sven de Caluwe via skype to chat about their new ep, how he's staying sane, some of his favorite death metal bands and more.