I’ve seen the name of the band mentioned more than once over the past few months, but as my schedule has been heavy, I’ve not had time to check out the music of NIGHT DEMON until recently. When I first started listening to the trio’s EP, I had a hard time putting it away, as I often have with these new bands’ enthusiastic and intense take on the NWOBHM-sound. Continue reading
When it comes to seventies inspired hard rocking stuff, in the vein of UFO and Thin Lizzy, Vanderbuyst have already proved their worth by releasing three albums, ranging from solid to very good. Sweden’s DEAD LORD, which tested the waters with a 7 inch last year, is ready to unleash their first full length, and it’s a damn fine one. The title? “Goodbye Repentance”. Continue reading
Some things simply have to be done. You need to get them out of your system, out of your thoughts, or else you simply can not move on. In my life, a lot of these things are related to heavy metal. For instance, I would have loved to spend a couple of hours with Rolf Kasparek of Running Wild, talking only about the time from when the band was formed until the release of their last great album, “Black Hand Inn”. Another German band, SCANNER from Gelsenkirchen also played a huge part in my life when I was a teenager. Continue reading
Gerrit P. Mutz, the singer of SACRED STEEL, is surely one of the nicest guys in the business. I first met him in Dublin, it must have been in 2004, while I was at work for Scream, covering the recording of Primordial’s “The Gathering Wilderness”, while Gerrit then was working for their label Metal Blade. My love for the first three albums were great at the time (it still is), and I remember almost feeling a little starstruck back then. Since then, SACRED STEEL has put out three studioalbums, some a little disappointing, while the new one, “The Bloodshed Summoning” is the best they’ve done for quite a while. This long interview covers the new album of course, along with some news on Geritt’s involement in Battleroar. Continue reading
Ever since I managed to grab one of the 100 tape copies of “Journey To The Unknown”, released by Felipe of Procession on his Burn Records last summer, I’ve been looking forward to the debut album of the Chilean quartet. The album was meant to be released towards the end of 2012, but after some delays, “Eternal Flame Of Deception” is finally out. We got in touch with bass player Christoper Falk and singer/guitarist Bastian Velásquez to get to know the band a bit better. They answered all the questions, apart from the one regarding the vocals, together. Continue reading
With “Giants Of Canaan”, New Jersey based veterans ATTACKER has delivered what might be their best album to date. A killer slab of old school metal topped with the awesome vocals of newly recruited singer Bobby Lucas. Metal Squadron hooked up with original drummer Mike Sabatini to get the latest information about a band that recently performed at the Metal Assault festival in Germany. With limited playing time, was it difficult to find the right mix between the old classics and the fresh and exiting material from the new album? How do you feel about the idea to release a brand new album at festival like this? Continue reading
I was kind of surprised when the news about RAVEN BLACK NIGHT having signed for Metal Blade reached me. Don’t get me wrong, I hold Metal Blade in high regard, even though they were pushing the metal core-thing way too hard some years ago, and I also enjoyed the first RAVEN BLACK NIGHT-album a lot, but nevertheless it didn’t feel like a marriage made in heaven. Continue reading
A lot of bands are approved by Fenriz, others are Oliver Weinsheimer-approved. Oliver who? you might ask, if you’re not familiar with the main guy behind the Keep It True-festival. Over at the highly recommended German message board, “Sacred Metal”, he recently vented his enthusiasm for EVIL INVADERS, a Belgian newcomer performing old school speed metal. I hooked up with members Joe (vocals and guitars) and Alain (bass) to learn more about this band who just put out a self titled EP, following up a demo released about four years ago. Continue reading
As I mentioned before, I grew a bit tired of doing interviews and often have to wait for a month or more to have it published. One of my aims with this site is to be the first (or at least among the first) to present interviews with new and exciting metal bands. My main interest has always been discovering bands, both old and new, and having a pretty good view of what’s happening in the metal world, I finally have the chance to make my interviews available ASAP. TERMINUS from Northern Ireland is a band I discovered only a few weeks ago, after downloading their demo off their bandcamp-site. I then got in contact with drummer David Gillespie, and here is the finished interview, just about two weeks after their demo went online. Continue reading
Presenting up and coming bands have always been a motivation for me. Sadly, when you have wait for a magazine to go to press, interviews with the same bands are all over the internet when the magazine finally hits the stores, even if you conducted them weeks before the rest. Therefore, I have decided to some interviews which will only be published here at Metal Squadron. If you enjoy this feature, done with Jeff Black, guitarist and main man in Canadian newcomers GATEKEEPER, please click “Follow” on this blog, cause there are lots more to come if I know I have the readers to justify it. Continue reading
This pretty extensive feature is a combination of two interviews I conducted with guitarist and song writer of VANDERBUYST, Willem Verbuyst. We hooked up for the first part when “In Dutch” was released back in November 2011, while part II was done when the band did promotion for their brand new effort “Flying Dutchmen” back in November this year. I thought it was a good idea to piece these two together to present the story of VANDERBUYST so far… Continue reading
With their own brand of working man’s heavy metal, ZÜÜL caught the eyes, or should we rather say “ears”, of many heavy metal-fans with their debut “Out Of Time”. Now they’re back with more down to earth, straight up and honest heavy metal. Bobby Lungoat, bass player, songwriter, and as he calls himself “no-talent, shit-faced, fuck up”, is the man answering our questions. Continue reading
This is an interview I conducted with Richard West (keyboards/production) from THRESHOLD this autumn. It was published back in Scream issue 169. My affair with THRESHOLD goes a long way back, and I remember purchasing their cracking debut “Wounded Land” after reading a very favourable review in Rock Hard Germany, which at the time was my main source for checking out new releases. Remember, this was some years before the thing called Internet took off. More than five years have passed since the last THRESHOLD-album, which is an unusually long period of time for this band. Why did it take so long to get this album finished? Continue reading
This interview with HOUR OF 13-singer Phil Swanson, was published in Norwegian when “333” was released on Earache during the summer. What is the status on your other band/projects at the moment? If I remember correctly, Vestal Claret was on ice for awhile, but now it seems like you have put Upwards of Endtime (which was the first Phil Swanson-band we featured with an interview in Scream) on hold. Is that right? Will you continue working with Seamount and Briton Rites as well? Continue reading
This is not exactly a new interview, but one I conducted when “The Golden Bough” was released. The interview was published in Scream magazine back then, but has never been available in English. Here it is, to shorten the wait for the highly anticipated next album, “The White Goddess”. Continue reading
“After The Fire”, “The Longest Night”, “Be Gone”, “Ten Years” and “Bury The Light”, albums ranging from great to brilliant. This is a chat I had with PHARAOHs guitarist Matt Johnsen when they put out “Bury The Light” earlier this year. A bit old as you understand, but Matts answers are simply too interesting to not make this available in English. First Matt, you have signed a new contract with Cruz Del Sur for another three albums. Personally I thought that “Ten Years” was to be your last for them, as this was the kind of release that bands often close a chapter with. Did you consider other options, or was it an easy decision to continue working with Enrico? Continue reading
After a couple of short ones, it’s time for a longer interview. Long serving German thrashers DEW-SCENTED is back with a brand new album called “Icarus”. As usual you get lots of killer riffs and the devastating vocals of mr. Leif Jensen. Of course, Leif is also the one answering our questions. Last time we spoke together, you told me that you did record 18 songs during the sessions for “Invocation”. Have all of these been released? Did you record any additional material apart from the songs that ended on “Icarus”? Continue reading
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