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?
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.
Herzel is a new band from the region of Brittany in France, and like most good French acts, they use their native language. Their first demo, “Unis Dans La Gloire” was released earlier this year, and we invited one of the guitarists in the band, Kevin Le Vern to shed a little light on the history of Herzel as well as the recent developments in the band in the wake of the demo-release. Continue reading
I hope some of you took the time to read the first part of this special about the newly released split featuring Eternal Champion and Gatekeeper. This second part focuses on the the Canadians in Gatekeeper. Judged by the quality of the new material on this release as well as the forthcoming split with Funeral Circle, the guys have taken huge strides since we last caught up with them here at Metal Squadron, when the EP “Prophecy And Judgement” was released. As always, guitarist Jeff Black is the one answering our questions, and you can always count on him putting his heart into it. Continue reading
Similar to the feature I did when Convixion and Wrathblade released their split-EP “Alive Aftershock” via Eat Metal towards the end of 2013, I decided to hook up with Eternal Champion and Gatekeeper to discuss both bands contribution to the recently released “Retaliator/Vigilance”-split on No Remorse Records. This first part, focuses on Eternal Champion, and all the questions are answered by singer Jason Tarpey. Continue reading
While everyone seems to be waiting in anticipation for the new album by Sacral Rage, the debut album from War Dance, in a completely different style of course, is also slowly drawing some attention. “Wrath For The Ages” has been out on the reliable Eat Metal records for a few weeks now, and we got in touch with guitarist and main songwriter Tassos Pananoudakis to get some more information on this act. Continue reading
So, yet another year has passed, and it’s time to look back and reflect on what was. In this first of two parts where I look back at 2014, I will focus on Metal Squadron. Part 2 will dwell around the year in metal, with of course, my top 15 list for the year that is soon coming to an end. Continue reading
1. DEMON BITCH “Death Is Hanging…” (Dying Victims)
– So far only available on tape.Not that far away from the sound of fellow Detroit-outfit Borrowed Time. Unique vocals and a nod to bands like Mercyful Fate and Helstar too. Four really cool songs!
2. STONE DAGGER “The Siege Of Jerusalem” (Electric Assault)
– With the release of this 7″ inch, finally the tape can get some rest. One of the most promising new epic metal bands for a long time. Believe the hype!
Albums like Slough Feg’s creative “Digital Resistance”, the melodic bliss of “The Awakening” by Dark Forest or Nocturnal’s relentless ”Storming Evil” are all among the early highlights of 2014, but come April 25th, and they are all surpassed by Battleroar’s new opus, the magnificent “Blood Of Legends”. A more than good enough reason to hook up with guitarist and original member Kostas Tzortzis for a chat about the new album, the new singer and all the latest happenings within and around the band since “To Death And Beyond” was released. Continue reading
Ever since Realmbuilder released their first album, “Summon The Stone Throwers” during the spring of 2009, I have considered the band to be something really unique in today’s heavy metal scene. Call them epic metal, call them doom metal, or call them heavy metal, it really doesn’t matter, as long as the duo, consisting of Czar and JH Halberd continues to carve out their own path, far away from most contemporary acts. Continue reading
1. REALMBUILDER “Blue Flame Cavalry” (I Hate)
– Their best effort so far. Still weird and original, but also a bit easier to get into.
2. STONE DAGGER “Demo” (Self released)
– Epic metal with the singer from Magic Circle. Tape only, 7″ coming up!
1. SOLSTICE “Death’s Crown Is Victory” (Self released)
– EP with two killer long tracks as well as two cool instrumentals. Long enough to convince, short enough to leave you wanting more.
2. RAVENSIRE “We March Forward” (Eat Metal)
– What an improvement on the EP! Raw, epic and heavy. It doesn’t get more metal than this! Continue reading
Some people tend to believe that the interest in pure heavy metal represent some kind of resurgence indictating that the genre was dead and buried until Earache, Nuclear Blast and Metal Blade (again) started signing new heavy metal-acts. The fact is, heavy metal was never dead in the first place. It never died during the nineties, it just went pure underground, many hundred meters below the point where it is at today. There were some terrific stuff released during the early nineties, some killer releases, self financed or on small, independent labels that never were heard by the masses since the once great publications (Metal Hammer, Rock Hard, Metal Forces and so on) suddenly started dissecting garbage and the big breakthrough for the Internet was yet to happen. So what does all this have to do with Assembly At Dusk, a quartet hailing from New Haven, Connecticut in the US?
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If you haven’t read the interview I did with Manuel Trummer when Atlantean Kodex released the acclaimed debut, “The Golden Bough”, you should visit https://metalsquadron.com/2012/11/02/atlantean-kodex-maybe-frazer-was-right/ for an insight into the early days of the band as well as all the details on the first album. For this new interview, conducted by phone, once again with Manuel, the focus is mainly on the brand new album “The White Goddess”, but I also tried to catch up on some of the questions and some of the themes from the last interview. Continue reading
First, I might come off as a bit self-centered starting an article this way, but I promise, I’ll get to the point. Soon. After listening to mostly bigger bands, and especially the Noise Records-acts during the late eighties and early nineties, I slowly started digging into the underground stuff during the mid to late nineties. 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
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