Sonic Perspectives

Released last June 14th, Baroness newest album Gold & Grey has catapulted the band to a whole new level of attention, both in musical and popularity terms. Press and followers have praised the release – the final chapter in their chromatic-themed albums – as a cohesive and very diverse album, encapsulating everything the band is about, while still covering new ground. The band is currently in the middle of a North American tour, and will hit Europe in the fall. 

Contributor Rodrigo Altaf was tasked to review Gold & Grey, and his article was praised by the band as one of the best chronicles about the release. Not happy with that alone, he also caught up to Baroness‘ drummer Sebastian Thomson and they chatted at length about the compositional dynamics in the band, the reasons behind the controversial mix of the album, the recent and future touring plans, their common love for Stewart Copeland drumming and much more. Watch or listen below and remember to subscribe to our Podcast in several platforms to listen and be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on a daily basis.

The post BARONESS Drummer SEBASTIAN THOMSON Weighs In On Claims of Excessive Distortion in New Album: “We Didn’t Want ‘Gold and Grey’ to Sound Like A Slick Metal-Sounding Record” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

JOHN 5‘s resume is staggering. He has worked with a varied range of artists, performing as guitarist for some of the biggest headlining rock bands in the world such as Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson, as well as playing session with Paul Stanley, Rod Stewart, Lynyrd Skynyrd and more. Slash has called JOHN 5, “one of the most mind-blowing guitarists around” and Rob Zombie has dubbed him “a f**king shredder”. JOHN 5 has released seven solo albums to date, as well as a remix album, and has written music for the likes of Avril Lavigne, Garbage, Ricky Martin and others.

JOHN 5 has just released his full-length album Invasion last July 31, 2019, under the moniker of John 5 and the Creatures. The lineup is completed by bassist Ian Ross and drummer Logan Miles Nix, and Invasion proves to be a diverse progression of the sound that JOHN 5 fans have grown to expect from the eclectic virtuoso. We recently review the album and you can read our opinion about it at this location.

Repeating interview hustler Rodrigo Altaf recently talked to JOHN 5, and the two discussed the band’s upcoming touring plans, his opinion regarding working with David Lee Roth and John’s love of Telecaster guitars among other topics. Watch or listen below and remember to subscribe to our Podcast in several platforms to listen and be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on a daily basis.

The post JOHN 5 Talks ‘Invasion’ Solo Album: “Everything On This Album Is Who I Really Am” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Most commonly known for his work with progressive metal stalwarts Haken as well as Nova Collective, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress, Richard Henshall is now about to release his debut solo album, The Cocoon, which drops next August 9th via The Burning Shed. We recently published a detailed review of the record, which you can read here.

Consisting of tracks that range from dense polyrhythmic passages to delicate minimalistic interludes and everything in between, The Cocoon features Henshall’s trademark guitar and keyboard playing throughout, and marks his debut performance as a lead vocalist. An impressive collection of tracks that shoot in every direction stylistically, the album is a unique product designed to impress the most demanding of prog-metal fans. With high caliber guests such as Marco Sfogli, Jordan Rudess, Ross Jennings and many more, it is a testament to Richard‘s evolution as a musician over the years.

Perennial Sonic Perspectives contributor Rodrigo Altaf had the chance to talk to Richard about several aspects of The Cocoon, as well as the upcoming Haken plans, his love of Strandberg guitars and much more. Watch or listen below and remember to subscribe to our Podcast in several platforms to listen and be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on a daily basis.

Slideshow images courtesy of Norrsken Photography and Design

The post HAKEN’s Guitarist RICHARD HENSHALL Reflects On His Solo Album: “The Cocoon Is About Those Watershed Moments That Make You Perceive Things In An Entirely Different Way” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Thrash Metal legends DESTRUCTION‘s upcoming musical manifest Born To Perish will certainly create a furor when it hits the shelves next August 9th. The brand-new line-up featuring the Canadian drum animal Randy Black and Swiss shred-master Damir Eskić, together with veterans Schmier and Mike, is here to bring you musical destruction. This is a new chapter in the long, impressive history of the band.

Born To Perish starts like a thunder clap, immediately hitting you with the title song – skipping any intro or frippery. This is classic thrash metal, like the following bone breaking “Inspired By Death”, the heavy but catchy tune “Betrayal” and the raised middle finger “Rotten”. Since 1982 when DESTRUCTION was first founded, they’ve never once lost their aggressiveness. On the second part of the album one can expect some surprises like “Butchered For Life”, which starts out like a rock ballad ending up as a real Thrash Metal monster. In “Fatal Flight 17”, outstanding with its exceptional riffing, Schmier both tells a personal story and pays tribute to his old hero Gary Moore.

Lyric wise, Born To Perish is a statement against power-hungry politicians, senseless hate, and all the world’s madness. Schmier explains: “The vulture on the cover is something like an “anti-eagle” that symbolizes the insatiable greed of people. I always wonder what drives these people: wealthy people want to be millionaires; millionaires want to be billionaires, and so on. This seems to be an endless spiral.”

Lifelong DESTRUCTION follower Michael Francisco spoke with Schmier about their new drummer, the advantages of having a twin guitar assault, the album recording sessions, the plans for an upcoming North American tour and many other topics. Listen to their chat on the links below, and remember to subscribe to our Podcast in several platforms to listen and be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on a daily basis.

The post DESTRUCTION Leader Marcel “Schmier” Schirmer: “DESTRUCTION Is My Band, My Life and My Destination” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

If being a member of one of the biggest thrash metal bands of all time wasn’t enough, MEGADETH‘s Dave Ellefson is doing so much more nowadays that one guesses how is he pulling it off. A Christian preacher and recovering drug addict, Dave owns his Ellefson Coffee Co. to EMP Label Group, manages artists like the all-female rock group Doll Skin, just wrote his second book entitled More Life With Deth and is actually on tour, promoting his memoir. The Basstory – More Life With Deth shows feature a question-and-answer session/discussion with co-author and partner Thom Hazaert, and a full live-band set including songs from the companion album Sleeping Giants.

Performing with Ellefson is Hazaert, who handles vocals on the newly recorded tracks from Sleeping Giants, along with “Basstory” vets, DEAD BY WEDNESDAY guitarist Dave Sharpe and drummer Opus Lawrence, and HATCHET guitarist Clayton Cagle. Featuring cover art by Melody Myers (ALTITUDES AND ATTITUDE, MARC RIZZO, ESCAPE THE FATE), Sleeping Giants is a retrospective featuring several new tracks recorded by Ellefson and Hazaert, plus a collection of demos and unreleased material, from F5 and David‘s other projects, including the unreleased demo “If You Were God“, featuring John Bush (ANTHRAX, ARMORED SAINT), plus several unreleased demos featuring HOUSE OF LORDS/GIUFFRIA vocalist David Glen Eisley. The CD version also includes a second bonus disc, featuring a compilation of EMP and Combat artists.

Collaborator Michael Francisco took a car ride with Ellefson prior to his show at Englewood and they spoke about the book, how he got his life back on track after the MEGADETH‘s breakup in the early 2000s, the future plans for Megadeth and Dave‘s treatment and several other topics. Check out the interview on the link below, and remember to subscribe to our Podcast in several platforms to listen and be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on a daily basis.

The post MEGADETH’s Bassist DAVE ELLEFSON Talks Band Future: “We Have Plans Well Into 2020, We Just Need to Clear The Deck For 2019” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

NANOWAR OF STEEL (Formerly know as NANOWAR) is a comedy heavy metal band from Rome, Italy. Everybody thinks their name is a pun on the metal band MANOWAR, but if you stick around and listen to this interview you’ll find out that is not the case. Their music, mostly in the early days represented their tendency to satirize the “True Metal” attitude made famous by many power-metal bands, often parodying the way in which these bands are perceived to take themselves very seriously. 

In November 2018 NANOWAR OF STEEL released their 3rd full-Length album  entitled Stairway to Valhalla, produced by Alessandro Del Vecchio (HARDLINE, REVOLUTION SAINTS) at Ivory Tears studio. The album was presented at the 2018 Edition of the Lucca Comics & Games festival, where they shared the stage with Italian TV legend Giorgio Mastrota, who made a surprise appearance. This release was followed by tens of club shows and festivals all around Italy, some of which were sold out. In June 2019 the band released a new single, entitled “Norwegian Reggaeton” which became an instant hit worldwide, hitting 2 million views on YouTube in the first two weeks of publication.

Longtime fan of the band, collaborator Michael Francisco took the chance to sit down and talk to the band bassist Edoardo Carlesi aka “Gattopanceri666” to expose many aspects of the band’s history, what their goal was with the recent single, the chances of getting signed by a major metal record label and much more. Check out the interview on the link below, and remember to subscribe to our Podcast in several platforms to listen and be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on a daily basis.

The post NANOWAR OF STEEL Bassist: “We No Longer Want to Just Write Silly Songs. We Put Out Some Serious Good Music and It’s Hard For People to Take Us Seriously” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Drummer Dobber Beverly of Oceans of Slumber minces no words about the issues the band has faced during their brief but rapid climb. Singer extraordinaire Cammie Gilbert, the target of the unwarranted and uncharitable criticism her bandmate and companion Mr Beverly references, takes it in characteristic stride. “There’s a lot of societal variables that affect what people expect to see a black woman doing in music. They expect Nicki Minhaj or Cardi B.”

Ms Gilbert is neither Nicki nor Cardi. She’s content to let the music and her voice do all the talking, and we’ll be damned if this Houstonian progressive-black-doom band’s monumental sound doesn’t benefit greatly from Ms Gilbert‘s unorthodox approach. Rather than borrowing from the classical and death metal traditions many of her contemporaries cite, Ms Gilbert is “bringing iconically black things into metal, like soul and gospel elements.” She pauses to reflect on the simplicity of what outside observers often see as a bold move, nonchalantly adding that “it’s not as familiar right now, but music evolves every day and changes pretty rapidly.”

Recently home from a tour with Swallow the Sun, Oceans of Slumber introduced new band members Semir Ozerkan (bass) and guitarists Jessie Santos and Alexander Lucian to their first Texas audience at Austin’s Come and Take it Live on July 19, 2019. Cammie and Dobber were kind enough to sit down with Sonic Perspectives Texas Bureau Chief Gonzalo Pozo to talk about life, the universe, racism, and the singer/bassist certain Houston-area trio you may have heard of… 

Also enjoy some pictures I took of the night in the picture gallery below.

The post OCEANS OF SLUMBER On the Diversity of Their Lineup: “There’s A Big Difference In the Acceptance You Get With a Black Frontwoman Versus a Non-Black Frontwoman.” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Swedish metallers Hammerfall have a new album in the bag. Entitled Dominion – you can peek at our review here – it features their traditional brand of power metal with Scandinavian roots, which has produced many excellent bands over the years. And they’re not shy to acknowledge their roots. Actually quite the opposite – they chose to celebrate it, with new single “(We Make) Sweden Rock” referencing many of the Swedish metal stars. From Malmsteen to Europe, from In Flames to At the Gates, the lyrics and video are a who’s who of Swedish metal stars. A new video, this time for the song “One Against the World” was also recently unveiled, and Dominion is set for official release on August 16 via Napalm Records.

Frontman Joacim Cans took some time to reflect on the 12 tracks of the new album, Hammerfall‘s touring plans, his influences as a singer and much more on an interview with Sonic Perspectives’ ever-busy collaborator Rodrigo Altaf. Check out the interview on the link below, and remember to subscribe to our Podcast in several platforms to listen and be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on a daily basis.

The post HAMMERFALL Singer JOACIM CANS: “Our Motto For the New Album Was ‘Good is NOT Enough. It Has To Be Great!” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

New York-based heavy metal band DAMN YOUR EYES may seem new to the scene, but they are anything but green. The band – formed by former members of We Are The Enemy and Bonesmith, plus current members of Black Water Rising – came together in 2015 and immediately hit the ground running. As respected musicians in their local scene with extensive recording experience, the band quickly recorded an EP, released it to local acclaim, and rapidly returned to the studio to record their upcoming international full-length debut, Kill The Outside.

DAMN YOUR EYES isn’t about clickbait or gimmicky metal. The band performs pure American heavy music – blending influences of 90’s heavy metal with grunge, stoner metal and sludge to create a potent mixture of candid aggression. Kill The Outside showcases a mixture of styles, making for a truly dynamic and emotive collection of tracks. The record will hit digital retailers everywhere in full on August 2, 2019, with pre-orders available beginning next week. Kill The Outside will be available in physical CD and vinyl formats upon release date. 

In addition to the metal radio-ready “Ascension”, mellow head-bobbers like “Burn” echo grunge and stoner metal influences, while standout track “Low Road” kicks off with a Type O Negative-esque intro riff before quickly transitioning to full-on antagonistic southern groove metal. Slow and low, grooving “Dirty Viper” tells the intense and personal story of a friend who committed suicide by heroin overdose. Tracks like “Punk f**k” kick it up a notch, while another standout track, the heartfelt “Slower”, brings the tempo down while telling the opposite story of “Dirty Viper” – an uplifting tale of wonderful results after making the decision to change oneself. 

Band’s founder and guitarist Artie Alexander reflects: “In the bed of all of these songs lies personal experiences. Experiences that every person on this planet can identify with, having either lived through them themselves or watched someone they love go through them. The album is about being human and the images seen through our eyes. Moments of anger, frustration, sorrow, loss, redemption, hope, recovery, revenge, survival and healing.”

Sonic Perspectives collaborator Austin Kokel had the pleasure of talking to Alexander, and the touched upon several aspects of the album, including the songwriting, lyrical themes, band members and more. Find all about this and much more in the audio below, and remember to subscribe to our Podcast in several platforms to listen and be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on a daily basis.

Follow DAMN YOUR EYES and get regular updates on their Facebook page.

The post DAMN YOUR EYES’ Guitarist ARTIE ALEXANDER: “We Don’t Write About Dragons Or Fantasy, But About Stuff People Can Identify with As Happening In Their Lives” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.