Album Review & Interview: Bloodhunter – Bloodhunter

Label:  Suspiria Records

Release Date:  6 May 2014

Songs:  11

Length:  45 Minutes

Genre:  Death / Extreme Metal

Studio Albums:  This is their debut album

Location:  Spain

If you are looking for a dose of the hard stuff, look no further than Bloodhunter, whose guttural vocals behind the throat of Diva Satanica will make your ears bleed…in a good way.  Their debut album, released in May 2014, is a fierce dose of death metal on the more extreme side.  Blast beats – yes, quick riffs – check, all around viciousness – of course.  The First Insurrection opens with a sound clip from the movie The Shining which is one of the best parts of the movie where “Jack” breaks open the door with an ax trying to kill his wife.  It’s a cool start to an album laced with violent melodies. The rest of the instrumental track sets the album up nicely as its speed intensifies and the blast beat kicks in. 

Interview with Pete of Baroness/Concert Review: Baroness & Royal Thunder at Tunnel Club, Milan Italy Oct. 15, 2013

Spending many years crafting, evolving, and honing one of the most original sounds in music today, Savannah, GA band Baroness have carved quite a niche for themselves that transcends musical genre barriers and deeply appeals to fans of all styles of rock music.  If one can say anything about Baroness, it would have to be about how incredibly hard-working and determined its members are in bringing their love of music to their fans and delivering it at the highest quality possible.  Even a terrible tour bus accident which could have easily killed any member of the band couldn’t hold founding members Pete Adams (guitars/backing vocals) and John Baizley (lead vocals/guitars) from powering through serious injuries, healing themselves up, and reforming their rhythm section after Allen Blickle (drums) and Matt Maggioni (bass) very understandably took leave of the band.  Just a little over a year since the tragic accident Baroness have once again jumped onto the tour bus and returned to Europe to continue putting audiences in awe with their stellar live shows.

On Oct. 15th I was fortunate enough to be able to catch up with guitarist Pete Adams when they stopped in my city of Milan, Italy to play a show at Tunnel Club with Royal Thunder.  After witnessing my first live experience with a band I have followed for over 10 years and my chat with Pete I have found myself with an even deeper respect for the lads in the band.  All of the passion Pete put into his responses to my questions was reciprocated ten-fold when him and the band took the stage and the amount of smiles and good vibes the band exuded off-stage came with them onto the stage in a very uplifting way of saying ‘we’re back’.

Interview With Havok’s Reece Scruggs

Havok is a band on the rise, and far from jaded by their achievements this four-piece metal band is enjoying their rising popularity. Denver’s Havok just wrapped up their extensive North American tour.  Their two-month expedition launched on the 20^th of July in Juarez, Mexico and looped its way from coast to coast, north to south and culminated in front of a hometown crowd in the mile-high city.  I had an opportunity to catch up with guitarist Reece Scruggs to chat about the band’s rise in success, their tour, and future plans.

On September 14, Snowboard on the Block was the place to be in Denver, CO. Technically, it’s called the 2013 North American Snowboard Film Festival which served as the official kick off to the snowboarding season.  Two city blocks were closed off to traffic for a snowboard expo, skate demonstrations, food and drink, and snowboard sales and giveaways.  More for my taste, were three stages featuring over 20 (mostly metal) bands from the local area and from around the country.  Some of the bigger names of the day were sludge/occult/doom masters Pentagram, Austin Texas’s Scorpion Child, Kadavar, and I believe Mothership played though they aren’t listed on the official website’s list of bands.  However, they were selling t-shirts anyway.  But, the reason for my trip down there was to interview Denver’s own thrashers Havok.

Interview: Unleash The Archers

Unleash The Archers is a genre-fusing metal band from Western Canada who should appeal to your senses. If you haven’t had a chance to check them out I am not surprised because they haven’t really left Canada yet. Once you check out their video below, I think it is safe to say that will soon change. I had a chance to catch up with one of the vocalists, Brittney Hayes, to talk about their music, road experience, and what we can expect from Unleash The Archers in the near and not-so-distant future. Check out the interview below and enjoy!

An Interview with Dario of Drakkar

After a near ten-year hiatus of releasing full length records Italian power metal band Drakkar have come back in full force with the release of When Lightning Strikes.  Complete with a rocking sci-fi narrative the record delivers on every aspect.  I was able to catch up with founder and guitarist Dario Beretta and ask him a few questions about the past, present, and future.  Check out the interview, and if you have yet to do so, dig into some Drakkar, they kick some major ass!  Enjoy!  Peace Love and Metal!!!