“III” is the title of the brand new album by the Greek/Italian constellation Dexter Ward, an album that sees the band venturing into music as well as lyrics that are even more epic than before. As Metal Squadron did back when the band released their second album, “Rendezvous With Destiny” in 2016, we once more hooked up with singer Mark Dexter for a chat about the what’s happened in the camp since then. Continue reading
I have had the chance to speak to Niklas Stålvind, singer and guitarist in Wolf a few times already, but a quick search through the archives here at Metal Squadron reveals that none of those interviews are to be found here. Well, time to do something about it, as the band just released a new album “Feeding The Machine”. The following interview was also the title story in the March edition of Scream Magazine.
With the album “Poltergeist”, released earlier this year through Pure Steel, Mindless Sinner has really upped their game. The album is a big improvement on its predecessor. I made an appointment with singer Christer Göransson and phoned him to get some details about both the past, present and future. Continue reading
If I tell you that «The White Goddess» was my favorite album of 2013, you don’t need to be a genious (although I know most of my readers are) to understand that I had high hopes for the follow up. After some turbulent times and lots of delays, the album is finally here, and I am delighted to say that Atlantean Kodex delivers once again. I called guitarist and main song writer Manuel Trummer and we had a pretty interesting chat about the more than six years since the last album, the pressure the band felt while making it and the power of social media.
Some time ago, the Michigan-based label, Dystopian Dogs released a two and a half way split release featuring the bands White Magician, The Great Kaiser’s White Magician and Prelude To Ruin. While I was impressed with pretty much all the 19 minutes of music included, I decided to do a feature on the latter. Members Victor M. and David Ruiz and Sean Cyriis Sethi all contributed in answering my questions.
Since we have covered almost everything there is to cover about the history of Ravensire before, let’s catch up with the happening after the release of “The Cycle Never Ends”. How would guitarist and main songwriter Nuno describe the reception this album got and how satisfied is he with the coverage the band got in the press and the opportunities to play live this album generated?
While their new, and fifth studio album “Zenith”, are being received with what seems to be mixed emotions, I found myself enjoying the diversity of it a lot and got in contact with Olof Wikstrand for what I think is my fourth chat with the band. The last interview we did, can be read here, and looking at it, it’s already been four years since “From Beyond” came out. What does Olof think of the album when he looks back at it today?
I never used the opportunity to speak with Witherfall in the wake of their self released debut album, “Nocturnes And Requiems”, neither did I bite when Century Media re-released the same product a bit later, but when the follow up, “A Prelude To Sorrow” was ready, in November last year, I finally got a chance to speak to the band. Usually it’s just one guy you get at the other end, but this time, both guitarist Jake Dreyer as well as singer Joseph Michaels contributed to this interview. Continue reading
A lot has already been said about the Fifth Angel comeback album, “The Third Secret”. While I don’t share the view of the most euphoric ones out there speaking about album of the year, the Americans have produced a decent comeback album for sure. I got on the phone with bass player John Macko for a chat about the past, present and future.
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
I’ve covered Dark Forest before, both when “Dawn Of Infinity” and “The Awakening” were released. The result of those two email-conversations can be read here. Even though Christian Horton is one of those musicians that put a lot of effort into his answers when he does interviews via the internet, I really wanted to speak to him personally this time in an old school phone interview. Christian accepted, and here you can read the result of our hour long chat about past, present and future in the Dark Forest-camp. The main focus however, is the brand new album “Beyond The Veil”, to be released through Cruz Del Sur towards the end of this month. Continue reading
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.
Let 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
It’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
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
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
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
As 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
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.
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
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