19 Sep 2024 - Thorsten

Listening to Mack Chami’s project God is War can be regarded as overwhelming, but if you listen carefully, trying to look past the harsh stuff, you will find a special kind of flow, one that the average metalheads do not come across very often. Talking to Mack is a pleasure as he clearly and poignantly articulates his experience as a Christian Lebanese-American, his position in US society, how that hardened him up. His music tries to disturb you, just like when he talks his mind about why he sometimes takes his art to places that purposefully do so. In that sense he becomes the Boogeyman, which is also part of God is War’s new record out on Profound Lore Records. Enjoy our interview with Mack and please listen to his latest power-electronics masterpiece Boogeyman, Inc. with an open mind and attitude!

Continue reading >

14 Sep 2024 - Thorsten

You will be hard-pressed to find a release in 2024 whose sound is heavier than Norna. Dark, bleak, industrial, sludgey, doomy aka heavy as f… Their new, self-titled record was released two weeks ago through Pelagic Records (what a run these guys are having, by the way!!!) and if you thought that the trio could not get any darker than on their already amazing debut then you will find yourself proven wrong. Nevertheless, do not mistake Christophe, Marc and Tomas as a trio that just try to go as heavy as possible, they are trying to layer several elements on top of each other to create a sound that is much more multi-faceted than you would imagine at first listen. Of course we talked about some technical details but Tomas and Christophe also disclosed a lot about their songwriting process, which is of course very difficult for a band with its band members several hundreds of kilometres apart from each other. If you like it dark, repetitive, melodic and YES HEAVY, then you’ll enjoy Norna; and maybe this interview will provide you with the background knowledge to enjoy the record even more!

Continue reading >

08 Sep 2024 - Thorsten

Sometimes there are bands whose magic is hard to describe. They might not be virtuosos like the polyrhythmic Tech-Death masters we might feature or the heaviest of riffsters seen here. But they can weave sound carpets you just simply want to bathe in, because it all sounds so soothing - and Salt Lake City-Post-Rock band I Hear Sirens surely is one of them. Their songs have warmth but also strength, are not pushy nor lulling. All of that can also be said of their latest record Acheron released on August 23 via Post.Recordings and dunk!records and the record is so enchanting that we just needed to talk to them. Here you can hear our talk about the new record, an ominous movie, the journey of the band and much much more! Enjoy!

Continue reading >

01 Sep 2024 - Thorsten

YES WE ARE BACK! Our summer break is over and from now on you will get one interview every Sunday and maybe some in between as well. Of course we wanted to kickstart our now fourth season of interviews with a bang and we are very sure, we have one for you that fits that bill! God is An Astronaut, one of THE Post-Rock bands that more or less everybody can agree on will release their new record Embers on September 6th via Napalm Records, as is five days from now. Fortunate as we sometimes are, Torsten Kinsella joined us to talk about the new record, the painful death of his father, who was also the band’s biggest fan, some of the finer details and technical elements of the record, football and folk, Irish music movies and much much more. Listen to Embers when it comes out and till then, get yourself a bit more hyped about it by watching our interview!

Continue reading >

22 Aug 2024 - Thorsten

A few months ago we gave you the premiere of a video by Death by Gong, one of these newcomer bands from Germany’s vibrant capital Berlin. We (aka me, the Beavis and Butthead of our little blog here) saw parallels to METZ but with two more videos under their belt, they show a much wider variability. References from Radiohead to Slut, the Beatles and the Mamas and the Papas jump to my mind. Man, that’s show widespread array. So, why not gather those three visuals and talk to the band about their work and what we can expect from them? Exactly, we should, we did, we deliver. Enjoy our special on Death by Gong!

Continue reading >

21 Aug 2024 - Thorsten

Surprise, Surprise! Well, yes, we said there will be no interviews published by us in August, but hey, if we can give you an interview with Shane Embury, who would complain, right? In this interview we focus on Shane’s project Dark Sky Burial which released a great record back in July on his own label Extrinsic Recordings. We talk a lot about the new record Solve et Coagula, his interest in Jungian psychology, the collaboration with Mirai from Sigh, life on tour and of course we also touch on Napalm Death in general. If you want to know more about the guy behind the guitar in one of the most important Grindcore bands ever (maybe THE most important!), then enjoy our conversation with Shane!

Continue reading >

31 Jul 2024 - Thorsten

As we already told you on Sunday, sometimes one has to reschedule - therefore we leave for a month and yes, we want to go out with a bang, and which band and record could be more suitable for that than Thou, their new record Umbilical (out on Sacred Bones Records) and their singer Bryan Funck? Right, probably none! So, let’s dive deep into the new record, its meaning and theme and where to place it within their discography. Our man Hunter has already shared his ideas about the record and we want to supplement that with a detailed talk with Bryan, who is one heck of a laid-back interview partner, very open, clear and dedicated to his band. Even though those might not be the adjectives to describe the sound on Umbilical as the record is rowdy, noisey and yet melodic and positively dark. In our mind, this record is one of these people should be listening to now and for years to come - thus we jumped at the opportunity to do this interview. Hopefully you like it and maybe you give us a subscription, leave a comment and tell your friends about VoS. We will be back in September with the next interview and, my god, it’s gonna be a great one! So if you do not want to miss out - remember to keep twiddling these dials!

Continue reading >

22 Jul 2024 - Thorsten

Joe Clayton is a good man, with an obviously big heart. The man is a progressive thinking man as you can see by his dedication to the idea of bands as collectives. Joe is an aspiring producer, who loves to check every detail of his own records. He is a great guitar player loving to nearly overthink his songs. Why we list these things and traits? Because we are so enamored with From Low Beams of Hope, the new record of his band Pijn. The record is the first one on their newly-formed label Floodlit Recordings, has been in the making for nearly five years, has seen line-up changes and re-recordings, heck it has even seen some delay because of a prison escape! We are very happy to give you this interview with Joe and hope you enjoy it, as it is one of the last ones before our little August interview break - we got two more for you before then, so keep twiddling these dials! Now enjoy From Low Beams of Hope and our interview with Joe Clayton!

Continue reading >

14 Jul 2024 - Thorsten

Personal records can be pretty difficult, if they rely too much on own experience, for all of that can sometimes be difficult to comprehend in full. When one then adds telling the story that’s not your own but of a close relative or friend it may become even worse as there is always the danger of creating something only valuable to a handful of people. Thus, the basis for Clouds of War, the magical story of Yishai Sweartz’s grandfather which Mona Mur has woven into music, is a difficult terrain to say the least; added onto that is the fact that Moshe, Yishai’s grandfather witnessed the death of his family at the hands of the Nazis, had to flee his home, seek shelter in the forest, became a Partisan and then went to what became the country Israel - there are many traps in that line to fall into a too obvious admiration-mode. However, Yishai, Mona and several friends - e.g. En Esch from KMDFDM, Anja Huwe from X-mal Deutschland or Yossi Sassi from Orphaned Land - created a record that is an excellent example of how to tell personal stories without becoming neither too distant nor too cheesy. The music is a miracle brew of Post-Punk, New Wave, 80s Industrial sounds and many other elements associable to that decade. By this description it surely becomes noticeable how many things we had to talk about and we are more than proud to present you with this audio-interview as it weaves so many things we love about music into a cohesive, thrilling ride that everyone who is into this kind of music and also who wants to know more about the Shoa from a very personal point of view - Moshe’s. Enjoy our conversation with Mona Mur and Yishai Sweartz!

Continue reading >

07 Jul 2024 - Thorsten

Melvins. ISIS. Neurosis. Khanate. Southern Lord, HydraHead, Neurot. A miniature excerpt from Seldon Hunt’s work as a visual artist doing posters, covers and so much more. Seldon, an Aussie-native who moved to New York City decades ago, must be considered to be one of the most popular visual artists in our realms of nerds and outsiders since the mid-90s. His importance can only be compared to people like Derek Hess, Frank Kozik or Arik Roper. Seldon never established THE Seldon-Hunt-style, which might be one of the reasons, why he seems a bit less known nowadays, but on the other hand that was also one of the reasons, why he was so sought after as hew as able to cater many different needs and wishes. We were very very fortunate to continue our little irregular journey into the visual side of things which we started way back in the early days with our talk with Aaron Edge and then we had Jacob Bannon and Aaron Turner. Seldon is a really great person to talk to who can share some stories on Khanate (also watch our interviews with Tim and Stephen from Khanate), on his work for many different artists, Aussie Football and even on working with a tobacco company some time ago. Enjoy our talk with Mr Hunt.

Continue reading >

30 Jun 2024 - Thorsten

The Promise of Rain. The Promise of Rain! THE PROMISE OF RAIN!! If you like Progressive Death Metal with a lot of atmosphere, mighty powerful songwriting, vocals to feed your brain and an overarching red threat that can be looked at from several different angles and interpretations - then you must listen to the upcoming record by Scarcity. This is already the second interview with Scarcity we are giving you, the first one was more or less exactly two years ago (see link below) and back then this was already one of the best records of the year. This one might become the best Death Metal this year. When talking to Doug Moore (Pyrrhon, Weeping Sores, Seputus, Glorious Depravity) and Brendon Randall-Myers (Glenn Branca Ensemble), it becomes clear how much time they spent on the record and how intentionally multi-faceted the songs and themes are. We spoke about a walking thesaurus, the deserts of the western USA, the upcoming tour (dates below) and so much more. Enjoy our interview with Scarcity - and do not forget to listen to The Promise of Rain, out on July 12 via The Flenser!

Continue reading >

23 Jun 2024 - Thorsten

Don’t we all know some of these bands and artists which have been doing it for a long while and which have delivered time and again with multiple bands and that still have not seen the success they deserve? Thalia Zedek is one of these (for me at least), and she has been around for 40-some years. Maybe her most popular band was Come, one of these under-valued Indie Rock bands from the late 80s and 90s. However, even after the end of Come, she has been releasing music constantly (as she had also been doing before) and one of the continuous projects has been E. They have a new record out and we were fortunate enough to talk to all three members of the band about the record, which is wonderfully channeling the harsher side of Indie Rock. A few weeks ago, they released their latest full-length called Living Waters and one must admit, that it is still experimental in nature but also has a lot of punch. It is really tight, because Thalia has taken on some bass duties which she does by using two strings of her guitar to provide the accompaniment to Ernie’s drums. That of course also changed their songwriting, but that also became more necessary because the band is now spread across the US and that makes it much harder to come up with new tracks. Harder but not impossible as the new record shows, which might be their most poignant up to now. We were talking to Thalia, Ernie and Jason about the new record, the different soundscapes, Thalia’s new way of playing the guitar, the guys’ songwriting process and much more! Enjoy our interview with E! And by the way - the band is on tour right now, so if you have some time - go to one of their shows which you can find below!

Continue reading >

16 Jun 2024 - Thorsten

There are big bands that not enough people know of and very often these bands, in hindsight, are referred to as bands’ bands because they have a much bigger influence on the scene than their “success” really implies. McLusky or Mother Tongue would be two prime examples from the 90s for that, and a pretty good more recent example would be Insect Ark, which consists of 50% Swans and 50% Khanate, but the sound of Insect Ark is neither here nor there, when comparing it to these two mega-acts. Nonetheless, one usually cannot but listen to the IA-songs and be amazed at not having discovered this band before, for their soundscapes are capturing and mesmerizing (in the original sense of the word), inviting and pulling you in for a deep dive. When allowing this, one quickly loses track of time and that surely is a great thing for any musician to achieve, and their new record Raw Blood Singing (out via Debemur Morti Productions) does just that. Therefore we had enough reasons to catch up with Dana and Tim, talk about the record, the uselessness or usefulness of genre-descriptions, their way of writing the eight new tracks and why they never once jumped into the ocean when recording! Enjoy!

Continue reading >

02 Jun 2024 - Thorsten

One of the bands that do not need any words to lay out all human emotions in front of us is MONO, the band which has now been mesmerizing audiences for 25 years - in our interview he also tells us how many more years the band will continue to do so. MONO has perfected the Post-Rock formula with their own tuning and expansive sound. As soon as we heard that the band was to release their next full-length record Oath we twiddled all our knobs and we are so lucky to have spent 30 minutes with mastermind Taka on the record, on the role of instrumental music as being able to go beyond words, and also on the effect that Covid had on the record. We also dive into some humorous moments and we are happy to give you this wonderful interview with a man so in peace with himself and everything around us that it was a humbling but in no way condescending experience. Enjoy our interview with Taka and tell us which MONO record up to now has been your favorite?

Continue reading >

27 May 2024 - Thorsten

“Kevin Hufnagel is an American musician, based in NYC. He is known for his solo guitar works, for forming the progressive instrumental rock/metal band Dysrhythmia, and for being a member of Gorguts, Vaura, Sabbath Assembly, Veldune, and Byla. He also is a full time guitar instructor, teaching both in-person and virtually.” (source) That’s what Wikipedia has to say about our guest today and it sounds soooo boring, as if a sheer enumeration would be able to show how important Kevin is for today’s Progressive Metal scene as founding father of Dysrhythmia and as a member of so many other bands that transcend that realm by so much (also that enumeration is not even complete!). Dysrhythmia will be releasing a new record (Coffin of Conviction) in a few weeks (pre-orders are already up at their Bandcamp page, link below) and it is Dysrhythmia at its best - even though they changed their songwriting approach a bit this time, in order to keep it fresh. We talk in detail about the new record, we also talk about some of the bands mentioned above AND we have a big surprise in store for you! Enjoy!

Continue reading >

19 May 2024 - Thorsten

Being part of one of the bigger metal bands of our age from the old continent is not easy. Being the band’s frontman is even more difficult. But Colin H. Van Eeckhout from Belgian Blackened Post-Metal veterans Amenra does a brilliant job of it and he is still able to participate in many other collaborations or - as on May 19 - release his next solo venture as CHVE which Relapse Records will publish. Kalvarie is the name of the release which features one 15-minute long Ritualistic Drone track called “Eternit”. The track has a long history before its finishing and the upcoming release and that process is one of the topics that we talked with Colin about. However, we also had a lot to talk about concerning his recent appearance in the movie Skunk and how he got into and out of the complicated character. Other topics are touring - sorry for all the folks in the US, we thought they’d still be performing once more in the US today, May 19, which is wrong, but we do hope you enjoyed one of their shows. Furthermore we also talk about the difference between an hermit and a monk, our shared Hardcore background and much more! Enjoy!

Continue reading >

12 May 2024 - Thorsten

Ever wondered how that ominous Denver Sound evolved? The new kind of American Country or Folk music that exploded at the beginning of the 90s? Much of it revolved around certain clubs of the Mile High City and a number of bands, one them was The Denver Gentlemen, which was the core for two important bands - 16 Horsepower and Slim Cessna’s Auto Club. Why we are telling you this? Well, as you already have seen, we had the opportunity to talk to Slim Cessna and his fellow band-leader Munly J. Munly and we talked about a lot of things. We also talked about cars (of course), about where to place the band, the American Folk tradition and of course the new album which is the second part of the “Kinnery of Lupercalia” trilogy. The subtitle of the record is “Buell Legion” - and which role the record has in said trilogy, well, Munly gives us some hints. Which ones? Well, see for yourselves! And don’t forget to listen to their new record, which will be out May 31!

Continue reading >

08 May 2024 - Thorsten

One of the most enigmatic yet really friendly people on the Belgian scene is Nicolas van Meirhaeghe - but please do not make me pronounce his family name. Tongue twister. However, his music is sometimes also enigmatic. Also in the sense of - what will we be getting now? His musical range is very wide even though, when listening carefully to it, one might decipher the influences that sparked the love for music in young Nicolas. Some of these influences might come as a surprise and if you want to know more - check out our interview with the man that might be partially blind but believe me, when talking to him or listening to his music, you will soon forget about that because he has a lot to say and he does so from some pretty interesting perspectives. Enjoy this interview with Nicolas van Meirhaeghe, or if you do know him by his stage moniker Empusae!

Continue reading >

05 May 2024 - Thorsten

Sometimes life can be pretty hard, sarcastically hard. When preparing this little text here, I was reminded that I wasn’t able to see Inter Arma live at Roadburn this year due to personal, family reasons, which made me cancel my trip on the literally last minute before leaving for Tilburg. And even though it hurts a little to know all the stuff I knew about Inter Arma and their sets at Roadburn and not having been able to go - this interview was so much fun and their new record is so amazing that I can smile while looking at TJ and me throwing balls back and forth. Albeit we talk about a lot of difficult topics from the bombing of Israel at the hands of Iran, the damn bad state of the world and much more - we also get a lot of great intel on New Heaven (which we reviewed for you here), the new record by the Virginia-boys. How some of the songs came about, how Mr Childers is the mastermind behind the drums and behind many of the songs, how the amazing vocals of Mike hold some tracks together and much more. Enjoy the interview and if you have seen one of their sets at Roadburn - which one did you like the most?

Continue reading >

28 Apr 2024 - Thorsten

METZ from Canada have now been a household name for everyone who loves Indie-Rock with an emphasis on ROCK, or maybe even Punk and their latest record “Up on Gravity Hill” was released two weeks ago through their regular full-length home Sub Pop Records. The record is a bit more relaxed and chill on an initial spin, and offers some really hauntingly lovely melodies - and in that sense represents a lot of what Sub Pop stands for. METZ have become not only a residential band for the Seattle label, but also for its sound - and of course, as we got the chance to talk to guitar player/singer Alex Edkins we took it and talked to him about the new record and its development and sound, their position at Sub Pop, the differences between their original home Ottawa and their base Toronto. Enjoy the interview and maybe tell us, which other Sub Pop bands we should try to get an interview with?

Continue reading >

21 Apr 2024 - Thorsten

Constellation Records. Badabadoom. That name rings heavily in many people’s ears because of their awesome roster of great bands that have pushed the boundaries of modern music far beyond the known universe. By now CST is like a big family business in Montreal with diverse and famous acts like Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Jessica Moss, The Silver Mt Zion Memorial Orchestra or Joyfultalk but also some more unknown ones like Jersualem in My Heart, Siskiyou, Saltland or now FYEAR, which is a new project between Jason Sharp and Kaie Kellough together with several more members oscillating between Free Jazz, Electronica, Drone, Post-Rock, Neoclassical, Conscious Rap, Post-Hardcore and so much more. When we then consider the instruments involved in this record, it is even more amazing. We already gave you a thorough review of the record, now we are able to present you a deep dive in the form of our interview with Jason & Kaie. Enjoy the talk about setups, the Pandemic, the question of ownership of one’s future and so much more. This record should be listened, this project should be put on as many stages as possible and - for you - this interview should be enjoyed!

Continue reading >

14 Apr 2024 - Thorsten

There are many ways to spell Black Metal (no not in the literal sense!) - it can be done in a rather classic way, a somewhat Trve Scandinavian version, maybe a bit more Atmospheric or Folkloristic and it can also be spellt in a very Psychedelic manner. Examples? Fluisteraars, Ultha, Iskandr or, on the new record “The Mother”, Verwoed. Interestingly all four bands come from the regions along the Rhine, either in the Netherlands or Germany. Verwoed’s latest record is a prime example of how that kind of Psychedelic Black Metal can be done - mixing Post-Punk, Shoegaze and of course Black Metal with a pinch of classic Psychedelic song arches thus turning a modern song into a kind of voyage through the last 50+ years of heavy songwriting. While talking to Erik, the mastermind behind Verwoed, we learn a lot about his process of songwriting and the difference to recording. This record proves to us, that the Dutch Black Metal scene is one of the most interesting and promising ones worldwide. Enjoy our interview with Verwoed!

Continue reading >

07 Apr 2024 - Thorsten

There are people who accompany you musically your whole life, maybe they are even of the same or a similar age. You might lose contact to that person’s music once in a while but as you soon as you “re-connect”, there is the same kind of close-ness, of connection, yes, of intimacy. For me, one of these voices is Jonah Matranga’s, whose various projects have always resonated with me, mostly because of his voice which to me is the epitome of Emo, the good kind of Emo, not the shitty stuff that came in the late Aughts which bands who were more into mascara and stupid breakdowns than into making quality music - in his words and his songs there is always that ray of honesty. Now he has lent his skills for a new album with English Post-Stoner-Post-Hardcore veterans Sons of Alpha Centauri. Their first collaboration in 2021 was called Push and this new one is named Pull and believe me there are many pull-factors on these nine songs. Released again via Exile on Mainstream Records, this new record is a bit closer to Jonah’s former combos and therefore the comparisons are obvious. But there is much more to talk about - his collaboration with the Deftones, Star Wars, his work with Far, hair, his connection to Sons of Alpha Centauri and much more. There is even a little quiz and a chance to win something for you all out there! So sit back and enjoy our latest interview!

Continue reading >

31 Mar 2024 - Thorsten

Locrian is not your average band, these three guys are some of the most striking genre-hoppers I have ever encountered. So many genres are on here that many different people attach many different tags to it. Many call them Post-Metal, others label them as Avantgarde Noise but when you talk to the guys and get a grasp of their vast musical influences and tastes it becomes clear that they do not care about labels, they do not restrict their listening habits to any specific genre and thus their music should not be seen that way. There is just so much to find out on their upcoming new record End Terrain (out on Friday, April 5th, via Profound Lore Records) that if you try to find out all the elements on these songs you might have to start thinking about mindmaps and spreadsheets in order to organize your thoughts and analyses. However, talking with Andre, Steven and Terence about the record then shows a trio that is not dead serious but really easy to talk to. We hear about their love for Shoegaze, Post-Punk, Experimental sounds and so much more! Enjoy our interview!

Continue reading >

28 Mar 2024 - Thorsten

There is always that one guy in anyone’s circle of friends who doesn’t care about being called names or displaying vulgar signs of anything. In CNTS there are several of these guys because they are guys who care mostly about one thing - the music they make and the people they make it with. In this case, two of these guys are vocalist Matt and guitarero and mastermind Michael Crain (whom we already interviewed some time ago about his other band Dead Cross with Justin Pearson, Mike Patton and Dave Lombardo). The guys are having a new record out in less than 48 hours, so it’s about time we give you this interview with both - you will get to know a lot about the band itself, the moment, when Matt was told he’d not be able to sing again, more importantly the moment when it came back and how he and the others went about getting new songs together, get them recorded and now out via Ipecac Recordings. The interview shows two men who at first glance do not take themselves seriously (“Ay, c’mon we were panty hoses over our faces!”) but who sure as hell take their music seriously. And there is much more depth to these songs than you might think at first listen - I am sure, you will be surprised when you hear about the meaning of the title track “Thoughts And Prayers”! So, enjoy this interview and make sure to listen to the record on Friday!

Continue reading >