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!

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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!

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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!

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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?

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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?

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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24 Mar 2024 - Thorsten

Black Metal from Quebec is a pretty relevant scene, if you ask us. There are many awesome bands from the only French-speaking region in Northern America such as Nordicwinter, Spectral Wound, Misere Luminis and many others, amongst them: Givre. Man what a band, maybe my favorite Canadian band at the moment. Nevertheless, one must admit, that we normally do not know that much about Quebec. We might know about Montreal as its biggest city, might know where it’s located and a few tidbits, but not too much. So we combined that lack of knowledge with an in-depth interview about Givre’s new record Le Cloitre, out on Friday via Eisenwald. There is so much to talk the record: The concept of talking about six famous women all connected to the Christian faith, the artwork, the roots of the lyrics but also the difference of their hometown Rouyn Noranda compared to Montreal, the importance of that village for their sound and the impact of the local scene there. As you can imagine, all of this made up for a pretty long interview with many topics to discuss and much knowledge to gather. Enjoy our 90 minutes with Givre!

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17 Mar 2024 - Thorsten

It isn’t always fun to see what people really look like behind their masks, because sometimes they simply disappoint and are not scary enough (think of many wrestling fans) or not sexy enough (Kiss) or some other things. With Tommy Meehan that’s not the case - the guy is as hilariously funny as the masks of his project Squid Pisser. And he is now a (touring) member of a certain small masked extreme metal band from Virginia that you might have heard about - GWAR? On the eve of the Super Bowl (a few hours before kick-off) our head honcho Thorsten sat down with Tommy and talked about everything related to his new project - be it artwork, the live-band and much more including the question “Why the heck release two very closely related things on the same date?!?!” Enjoy our talk!

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10 Mar 2024 - Thorsten

Wanna hear an interview that I loved and hated at the same time? The conversation with Mirza from Arms and Sleepers was awesome. Deep and personal, funny and entertaining, technical and detailed. We talked a lot about Mirza’s latest record What Tomorrow Brings (out since March 1st via Pelagic Records) and how it is a reflection of his life and all the tragic things he encountered ever since leaving his home in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He has been playing shows as Arms and Sleepers for years now and has also been to the Ukraine in war times twice, once during the first Russian attack on Crimea, ten years ago, and also after the second attack that is still going on. Of course that experience also influenced his song writing and will do so in the future. Why I hated the interview? Because my connection broke down all the time, chopped up a lot of interesting thoughts and resulted in this only being an audio-interview. Nevertheless, this conversation is one of the most interesting I was allowed to do this year, so I hope you enjoy it despite the technical difficulties.

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03 Mar 2024 - Lucia

A year ago, we started a series which, by its design, was hard to keep going so we were aware that there would be bigger gaps between the editions of this “series” but here we are now with its fourth installment - our “Bands interviewing Bands” - series. This time we have the pleasure of getting Aaron Charles and Jordan Guerette together, who play together in Falls of Rauros but who interviewed each other on their side projects - Aaron’s Psychedelic Black Metal project Rhûn and Jordan’s apocalyptic Chamber music ensemble Forêt Endormie. Of course, head honcho Thorsten also had a few questions for both guys but each came up with mighty cool questions for the FoR-bandmate. In our interview, we also talk about the importance of these projects for Falls itself, about Game of Thrones and Wheel of Time and about Stephen King, the literary icon of the guys’ homestate, Maine. Enjoy the reviews on both outfits’ recent releases as well as the interview!

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28 Feb 2024 - Thorsten

Crystal Coffin is one of these bands that many of us can automatically fall in love with. A really good punch, some gnitty-gritty crunch and (maybe most important) something to say in the form of food for thought. A few months ago we told you about their latest record The Curse of Immortality and we are still so intrigued by the record that we arranged for an interview with Lenkyn about the record, the band’s history and much more, including the modern desire for immortality.

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25 Feb 2024 - Thorsten

We usually have guys here on the show, whose music is based on riffs and guitar work. But sometimes we also feature people with a slightly different approach. Interestingly, when talking to James from Gost it becomes clear that his songs, and therefore also the songs on his forthcoming new album Prophecy (out soon via Metal Blade Records), can be based on both, either a guitar OR some electronic work. He also explains a lot about the way he composes his tracks, his patience deficit, the way the mask he is wearing on stage makes it difficult on the one, but interesting on the other side. And he also proclaims a love for a certain kind of country music, which one might not expect him to have. All in all, a mighty interesting talk which maybe can sparkle the interest of some of you metalheads out there to give Prophecy a spin! Enjoy!

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18 Feb 2024 - Thorsten

A few years ago, Chris (Heads., formerly also in The Ocean), Nic (Heads., formerly also in Eisenvater) and Felix (Hansen Band, Home of the Lame, live-keyboarder for Einstuerzende Neubauten) formed a new band which after a few days was named ZAHN and who struck us (especially Stephan and Thorsten) with their instrumental sound somewhere between Post-Punk, Krautrock (only in attitude), Noise-Rock and many highly delectable elements. Their first self-titled record already received high praise by our head-honcho, but their second record Adria even more so, both records are out via Crazysane Records. Therefore, of course we needed to get an interview with the band and Felix took an hour off (on a Saturday!!) and spoke with us about the band, the records being different stages of a love-relationship, the development of the band and the sound. If you want to know why Morricone is (again) a major influence on a band and much more, then you will enjoy this interview!

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14 Feb 2024 - Thorsten

We know that many music nerds out there like to gather knowledge and go down rabbit-holes so what would be better than let this be the basis of our special today? So here we go: A few months ago we gave you a book special for Alex’ Anesiadis’ book Heroes of the Metal Underground and as we think there is much more that we could talk about than “only” giving you an excerot from the book, we talked to Alex and are now very happy to give you this as our little Valentine’s Day Present!





Alex, thanks for doing this! Can you tell me what exactly raised your interest in the heavy music in general ? American heavy-music as the second raw and American metal underground in the third row ? What made you go down that rabbit hole?
Oh, thank you so much! It was actually a hard job to do it, but definitely intriguing. Well, my interest in heavy music in general derives mostly from NYHC and crossover-you know, bands like Agnostic Front, D.R.I., Cro-Mags, stuff that blew my mind when I was a kid. As for metal, what I found so amusing was the DIY aspect of the 1980s underground, independetly-released US metal bands. It must have been an extremely fascinating era to be a kid, living in the USA, and releasing your own music.
>As far as I know, you’re a Greek descent. Do you see any special foreign elements in the American heavy-metal underground music ? Are there bands that are specifically “non-American” ? Are there any bands specifically trying to come up with ideas and sounds and soundscapes that aren’t American in your opinion?
That was a question that I didn’t expect! Yeap, I’m of Greek descent (even though I have lived many years abroad). There are so many foreign elements in so many greatl American metal bands, and I will name some of them: Manilla Road (they had a huge affinity for Black Sabbath, Rush as well as UK progressive rock). Ruffians (like a Maiden/Priest proportion of 50/50). Brocas Helm (so many European 1970s rock influences). Cirith Ungol (obviously European-styled, even though their rockier tunes were based on the US 1970s rock). Street Child (mix Iron Maiden with Accept and there you go!). There were so many US bands that were influenced by European metal, and this somehow is reflected to one fact-they didn’t make it in commercial terms in USA.
What’s underground for you ? How do you define it and where you’re drawing the line ? Is Metallica underground ? No. Have they ever been underground ? That’s the question we might have to answer in this context. If you could specify your definition of Underground?
Well, I guess that being underground for me is based on releasing your first (or all) records in small labels (or in your label), driving a mini-bus to tour all over crazy places to play, releasing music that is non-commercial. Metallica were in the early 1980s the epitome of underground, however they are by no means considered to be an underground band post-Ride the Lightning (at Master of Puppets they were already huge). However, the definition of Underground relies on one word: Authenticity. And you can’t be authentic, when you have a huge major backing you up, and forcing you to release music that they consider to be profitable.
Do you see the difference between the rural areas of the US or more urban areas of this vast continent ? Did you see any kind of parallels between certain cities and the differences ? For example, East and West coast ? Mid-America ? Did you see any specifications concerning those parts of the countries ?
Huge differences. On East Coast, bands sound rougher, nastier, and I guess that this is due to the massive Hardcore/Punk scene that was thriving on that days. In Chicago, you can hear the sound of the wind in every band-they are all melodic but not cheesy, they have a melancholic mood. On West Coast-especially in California-bands sounded more professional, more controlled. And only in mid-America you could find bands like Destroyer, Salem’s Wych, Iron Cross or Crowhaven, bands with huge differences in musical terms, but all under the true, real metal tag.
How difficult for you to get together all that information, the interviews ? Tell us about, how did you collect your material ?
Chaos. First of all, I had to find a great majority of the bands that at least self-released one of their records. Then, I had to hunt down members or ex-members that were still alive. It was an eternal quest into a sea of information. To my mistake, I forgot to include around 350 bands, because they were lost in Word files (that were everywhere)-however you should expect them to be included in the second edition!
After you collected your material, how long did the writing process take ? And how long did it take to work on this book ?
It took me around 1 and a half year, but it was a daily process, since I’m on a Ph.D and on a FT job. A little every day. Overall, in was 3 long years.
Did you experience any form of appreciation and, on the other spectrum, denial of your endeavour ? Did you find support ? What were your experiences ?
Everybody was supportive and super kind! Actually, in all three books of mine, there was only one musician that was negative (and he banged his head against a wall when he saw that a book is actually out). Even more, I have only the best experiences to mention regarding chatting with, or interviewing American musicians. Some were so happy about that book, that even sent me presents (records, CD’s, t-shirts)!
>What were the most impressive revelations you’d found while doing your research ? Or did the stereotypical WASP-image of the American heavy-metal find its confirmation ?
The most impressive revelation was that there were so many East Coast bands that had connections with the Hardcore/Punk scene. And as far as I can say, the “stereotype of WASP” was maybe the exception to the rule! There were so many people in the underground interested only in creating great music, with great artwork.
Which of your interview partners were most surprising for you ?
Kenny Burcke of Destroyer, Rob Origlio of Street Child, Craig Berhost of Ruffians, Scott Beasley of Wombat, Cliff White of Shadow; the common denominator is that they exposed so much enthusiasm in the interviews.
As this book came out via Feral House how do you feel being on the roster on the publication that is turning more and more and more being an epicenter of heavy/extreme/metal kind of literature ?
Unbelievably happy. Feral House is one of the most notorious publishers in the world, regarding heavy/extreme music. But I’m also very happy that I also belong to Earth Island publications in UK-check them out, just amazing stuff released.
What comes next for you ? What comes next to embark on ? Which journey do you wanna take ?
I already started writing for a new book (that’s gonna be on melodic punk of 1990s, another great favorite of mine), that’s gonna be published on Earth Island, but I’m really slow…the Ph.D is killing me, and my FT work is extremely demanding-sometimes it even takes 13 or 14 hours a day. But I will do it. The plan is to finish my Ph.D, and drop the day job. Hopefully this happens soon!
And a dream: to create a documentary out of my books.
And of course, I can’t leave you without asking to name your top 5 American heavy-metal underground records of the 80s ?
This is a question that can change daily of course! OK, here we go:

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11 Feb 2024 - Thorsten

This week we somewhat go full cycle as we talk with the first person to give us an interview (a written one that is, or was back in 2021) - Josh Graham. The focus of our conversation is his new band Guitless with Sasha from Intronaut, Billy from Generation of Vipers and his bandmate from A Storm of Light, Dan. Interestingly, one of these guys was willing and keen to switch instruments and even funnier is the fact that the four guys haven’t been in one room at the same time. That again, naturally, has implications for their songwriting process. Their debut EP Thorns will be released via Neurot Recordings on February 23. We also talk about the name of the band and the question whether people are guiltless or not, so you see there is also some really deep talk going on here, which is a result of Josh being such an easy person to talk with and him giving such well-versed answers. We also talk about ideas for a tour which at first glance seems unlikely given the schedule of these guys, but as the first full-length is already in preparation nothing seems unlikely for Guiltless! Enjoy!

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04 Feb 2024 - Thorsten

Our 150th video of course demanded for something special, something broadening our horizons and so we were happy to broaden our knowledge of the scene in Singapore and Malaysia by talking to Singaporean heroes Paint the Sky Red whose new record Tamat (out via Moment of Collapse Records), and the title means “finished” in English. It is also to be their last record. Why? Well, the guys have a very good reason for that and we can be happy, because it does not imply the end of the band. How can that be, you ask? Well, you only have to listen to this short but really good interview with the guys! You will witness a band that is serious about their band but that also likes to laugh and give us a good impression on the Post-scene in (Southeastern) Asia. Enjoy the interview!

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31 Jan 2024 - Thorsten

Marthe and her version of Black Metal meets Stoner Doom is a force that has an undeniable pull-factor, slowly taking you in and not leaving you until you are lost in her world full and always on the look for a way out of the downward spiral that we call life. Her full-length Further in Evil was proof of an artist who knows what she wants to say, doesn’t stray from saying it and that is anything but done. Having given life to this record she is now the radiant example of how to use music for your own cleansing, self-imposed healing. Therefore we are so proud to give you another special thing today - our written interview with Marthe!

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28 Jan 2024 - Thorsten

Welcome to Part II of our Vægtløs - week! We promised you a lot for this week and we will keep our promise. We were very happy to talk with lyricist and vocalist of the band and admittedly this might not have been the happiest of conversations that we have had here on our VoS channel, this honestly ranks very high on our head honcho’s list because of the depth of this talk. “Enjoy” while you get to know a lot more about the depth of this record!

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21 Jan 2024 - Thorsten

There are some bands that take pride in playing 100 shows a year. Some 150. And there are bands like Hexis, who usually play somewhere around 200 shows a year. On more or less every continent. With tours that seem to take forever, their last one took them across the Americas, with only a few off-days here and there. We talked to Filip and got to learn a lot about their touring ethos and their general DIY attitude. How difficult it is to let go of control and some help from people outside the band. Who to trust and what these persons have to bring to the table. Enjoy this highly interesting interview!

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14 Jan 2024 - Thorsten

We always try to give you something different here on the VoS, so we are very happy to have this interview with Thomas Alkärr for you. Thomas who? Thomas is a scholar who has curated a very important exhibition in Oslo called “Bad Vibes” which focused on the Norwegian Black Metal scene of the early 90s and how it affected Norwegian society and how it was affected by it vice versa. In this interview we talk about the exhibition, the surprises Thomas encountered and also how the exhibition was laid out. Of course we also talk about the music, its sources, influences but also the effects it had on the global (Black Metal) scene. To make it clear, we also talk about the artist formerly known as Kristian and the crimes connected to the scene back at the beginning of the 90s, so if you do not want to listen us talk about those topics, you might want to skip this interview and enjoy one of our many other ones. At the end Thomas also has to through our infamous quickfire round which is centered around Norway and its bands, projects etc.

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07 Jan 2024 - Thorsten

Well, well, well - didn’t we tell all you American Post-Rock aficionados to check back soon with us? Anyway, we are incredibly proud to have Shipwreck Karpathos here on the show for our first regular interview of the year. The guys have released a miraculous release called Being Human a few weeks ago through A Thousand Arms and dunk!records one couldn’t be happier about it. It is one of these records which provides a lot of things to talk about and talk we sure did.

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