HÜRLEMENT: Positive energy and unity


hurlementAfter a somewhatmediocre debut released back in 2009, Hürlement from Paris in France showed real signs of improvement with the follow up “Terreur Et Tourment”from 2013. Fast forward another four years, and  the band is  ready with their third full length release, “La Mort Sera Belle”, another fine album destined to appeal to everyone into honest, classic heavy metal in the vein of Running Wild and Manowar. I got in  touch  with singer Alexis who put a real effort in  to  shed some light  on both the history of the band as well as the brand  new album, out since early January on  Emanes Metal. Continue reading

ATTACKER: An improved band


 

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I did an interview with Attacker when they released their excellent album “Giants Of Canaan” early in 2013. When the new one, “Sins Of The World” arrived and proved to be just as good, the need to do a more indepth article  on the band with main songwriter Michael Benetatos felt really strong.  After a couple of weeks with questions and answers bouncing back an forth between us, with Michael doing and oustanding job, this feature has finally come to its conclusion. It’s an indepth article focusing of course, on the period since Michael joined the band back in 2001 with emphasis on the last two albums, both releases being among the very best metal albums released in this millenium. Continue reading

VULTURES VENGEANCE: A personal sound


vultures-vengeance_1After the really promising demo “Rising”,  Italy’s Vultures Vengeance secured a deal With Gates Of Hell Records and released the mini album “Where The Time Dwelt In” last October. It took some time to finish this interview, but in the  end, all band members contributed to what can be viewed as a follow up to the chat we had back when the band  first sprang onto the scene. Continue reading

ETERNAL CHAMPION: Not driven by praise


13912812_881792828592612_4290266508977752038_nA lot of the background and history of Eternal Champion were covered in the first and second interview we did with the guys. This Third one could and probably should, have been published earlier, but singer Jason Tarpey is a busy guy, and it has been a tough couple of months for me as well, not being able to devote as much time as I like to the site. However, patience is always rewarded, and here is chance to get some information on “The Armor Of Ire”, clearly one of the very best releases of 2016. Continue reading

STEEL INFERNO: Danish dynamite


 

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After a rather mediocre demo tape, the multinational Steel Inferno just released their first album, “Aesthetics Of Decay” through the French label Infernö Records. A band with members from France, Poland, Greece and Denmark sounds like an interesting story, especially on paper, but I guess noone moved from the country they were living in just to be part of Steel Inferno. If it was VolBeat maybe, but Steel Inferno is for sure another story.  Guitarist and main songwriter Lars has the answer to this as well as my other questions about the past, present and future of Steel lnferno. Continue reading

ROAD WARRIOR:No festival metal


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Two tracks might seem like little to judge a band on, but I have to say I was very impressed with the pair of songs Road Warrior presented on their debut tape release, “Ignition” a few months back. I soon established contact with main man Denny “Denimal” Blake” to get some vital information on this promising new act who already has plans for further releases. First, please let us in on the story of Road Warrior. When was the band formed and under which circumstances? I believe that you and Darren have been in at least one band together, but what made you want to perform heavy or power metal together? Continue reading

INIQUITY: Not another clone band


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There has been a lot of quality stuff released as demos this year, and one of the huge suprises, was “Demo 2016” (se review here) from Iniquity, a brand new band from Athens, Greece. I was one of the lucky ones that managed to grab a copy of the demo before it sold out, but do not worry, I am pretty sure these recordings will find their way into other formats as well. By the way, the band is a good example of what can happen when you contact Metal Squadron, as I probably would have missed out on the initial tape run if the band hadn’t made me aware of it. I immediately got hooked on the material and suggested an interview so that I personally, and others that care, can gain some insight into this very promising act. Bass player P. V. and guitarist J. M. gathered to answer my questions.

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DEMON BITCH: Collective insanity


Demon BitchLet me be honest with you, 2016 hasn’t been the most exciting year when it comes to new heavy metal releases, and the first six months haven’t really been able to reproduce top notch quality as the two last years delivered. The first full length from Demon Bitch from Detroit, Michigan, titled “Hellfriends” is right up there with the top quality releases of the last few years though, and together with Ravensire’s “The Cycle Never Ends” and Stone Magnum’s “Holy Blessings To None” it represents the definitive highlights of the year in metal so far. We conducted a pretty extensive interview with the band when they released the excellent EP “Death Is Hanging…” back in 2014, and when the band got in contact again to make sure I had access to the new album, I didn’t hesitate to suggest a new interview. Four of the members helped out answering my questions. Enjoy! Continue reading

MOROS NYX: From side project to full band


Moros Nyx Promo PicIt’s been a few quiet months here over at Metal Squadron, but let’s get to work again, and why not start with an American newcomer who released their first full length through the excellent German label Underground Power back in April. “Revolution Street” is the title, and it’s well worth spending three quarters of an hour with. I got in touch with founder and bass player Pat Gloeckle to get the full story on the band that debuted with the demo “Rite Of Rebellion” back in 2014. Continue reading

DEXTER WARD: A real band now


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I recently called singer Mark J. Dexter from Dexter Ward to speak about the band’s new album “Rendezvous With Destiny”. Since it was the first time the two of us had a chance to speak together, I started by asking Mark some personal questions, the first about his experience as a singer. Continue reading

WYTCH HAZEL: Otherwordly and magical


WytchHazel-EsterSegarra-9804“Prelude” is the first full length from Britain’s Wytch Hazel, and band that has been around for a while now, contributing a two song demo, an EP as well as a split single with Metal Squadron favourites Borrowed Time. The new album represents a big leap forward for the band, and is one of the pleasant surprises of the year for me personally. I got in contact with songwriter, guitarist and singer Colin Hendra, and this is what came out of an hour long conversation on the phone. Continue reading

STONE MAGNUM: Still dictating the doom


 

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When it comes to traditional doom metal with a strong heavy metal-influence, there are really not many better bands than Stone Magnum around. “From Time…To Eternity”, released in the summer or 2013 was a killer album, and already then I spoke to Dean Tavernier in an interview you can read here. The new album is called “Holy Blessings To None”, and as always Dean was more than willing to answer my questions about what is without doubt one of the stand out releases of the first three months of 2016.  Continue reading

TAROT: Just a hard rock band


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With their three excellent demo tapes, first released separately throughout 2014 and then collected onto “The Warrior’s Spell”, available both on CD and LP last year, Tarot is one of the most interesting acts to pop up during the last few years. Their strongly seventies influenced brand of hard rock, might not appeal to all the metal heads, but it seems like most of the people that show an interest in the band, end up loving the dreamy sounds of Tarot. Main man Will, also the guy behond Heavy Chains Records, have always been a supporter of Metal Squadron, and this extensive chat sums up what has happened with the band since the last feature we did back in August one and half years ago. The main focus of course, is the band’s brand new album, “Reflections”.  Continue reading

SATAN’S FALL: Dedication and passion


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With projects and bands like Tyfon’s Doom, Legionaire, Angel Sword and Satan’s Fall coming through more or less at the same time, on top on already established, but still kind of “new” acts like Ranger and Speedtrap, Finland suddenly doesn’t seem like such a miserable place to be. While I was a bit more lukewarm towards Angel Sword as you can read in my review elsewhere, Tyfon’s Doom really caught my attention, which in turn lead to an extensive feature. Now the time has come to get to know Satan’s Fall a little better. Most of the questions are answered by guitarist Tomi Mäenpää, but for parts  of the interview he was helped out by the other members.  Continue reading

TYFON’S DOOM: From speed metal to hard rock


Tyfon's DoomAs I have mentioned several times already, one of the main intentions with Metal Squadron from the very beginning, was to present some new and interesting bands. Even though there is space also for the bigger, established acts, the demo bands will always be a vital part of this webzine. At the moment, it seems like Finland is one of the places to be, as finally there are some pretty good acts coming through. One of these is Tyfon’s Doom, a one man project who just put out their second recording “Yeth Hound”.  Continue reading

RAVENSIRE: Unleashing the beast


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For me, personally, “The Cycle Never Ends” is one of the most anticipated heavy metal releases of 2016. I love the raw, barbaric sounds of Ravensire, and I thought the songwriting on their previous effort “We March Forward” was rock solid. So good in fact, that I awarded the album with a 85/100 rating here at Metal Squadron, which in turn led to a place on my top five-list for 2013. So, is the new album worth the wait and the anticipation? For sure, “The Cycle Never Ends” is another highlight of pure and crushing heavy metal, at least as good as it’s predecessor. Guitarist and main songwriter Nuno Mordred was happy to answer all our questions. 

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ICE WAR: Not a Strat-metal band


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With no less than four (!) new releases, Ice War, a one man project by Joe Capitalicide, formerly of Iron Dogs, has really made a mark on the start of 2016. One 7” as well as three different tapes are the physical formats available so far, all released on different labels. Just as the split of Iron Dogs after two well received full length releases, this seems to be a little confusing. We spoke to Joe to get all the necessary information on his new project.   Continue reading

MORTALICUM: Consistent deliverer of doom


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With “Eyes Of The Demon”, their fourth full lenght release, Mortalicum from Sundsvall in Sweden confirms their position as one of the more reliable doom/heavy rock outfits out there. We got in contact with bass player Patrick Backlund to get all the lastest on the Swedes who had their last album released on Metal On Metal towards the end of last year. We also managed to get a small update on Patrick’s other band, Quicksand Dream.  Continue reading

VULTURES VENGEANCE: The first step


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Towards the end of last year I got the chance to listen to “Rising”, the debut demo from Vultures Vengeance, an Italian band dealing in surprisingly heavy, obscure and dark metal. A really nice surprise, and something different from all the retro acts occupied by trying to replicate the sound and feeling of the NWOBHM as perfect as possible. More or less the whole band got together to answer my questions, for what is one of the first (if not the first) attempt at an in depth interview with the Italians.  Continue reading

LETHAL STEEL: Harsh and heavy


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Just like they did last year, with Trial, High Roller is once again supplying us with one of the early highlights of the new year. This time the band in question is Lethal Steel, and the album is called “Legion Of The Night”. Even though the band has existed for something like five years now, this is the debut album from the Swedes. Metal Squadron spoke to guitarist Johan Frick to get all the background info on what is yet another very promising heavy metal act from Sweden. 

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