Monday, November 4, 2024
Destiny's End: Wrong place, wrong time
Sunday, May 26, 2024
Phantasm: Blown to oblivion
After leaving Hirax in 1986 Katon De Pena founded Phantasm, a new band together with Ron McGowney. “The band of ex-Hirax and ex-Metallica members” — that would be a real titbit for fans, press and labels. And after hiring Gene Hoglan Phantasm became a real super-group of thrash metal. I think a lot of people would sacrifice their right hands if the band had recorded a full-length album. But Phantasm exploded after just one demo and a short tour. Why? Guitarist Nathan Williams reflects on the band’s history.
NOTE: this interview was done in 2017
Monday, May 20, 2024
Darkness: Always look on the dark side of life
German thrashers Darkness come back with "Blood on Canvas", one of the best albums in their career! "Oh, yeah, yeah. The press and labels always say that", may think a metalhead. But let's face it — Darkness have delievered raw, straight in your face, aggressive but yet melodic and memorable thrash metal. Somehow they managed to revitalize the genre that is 40 years old but still remain true to their own music legacy! Here we are talking with Arnd Klink, the guitarist and one of the founders of Darkness, about "Blood on Canvas" and some other stuff.
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Protector: The return of thrash and madness
Monday, May 13, 2024
The Troops of Doom: Poetry of death metal
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Stygian Shore: A place for the lost souls
"Wichita s the most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas", says Wikipedia. "Points of interest: the Exploration Place science and discovery center, the Mid-America All-Indian Center, the Old Cowtown living history museum, and..." And to hell with that! The real points of interests for us metalheads are Manilla Road and Stygian Shore who put Wichita on the map of heavy metal. They were close friends and it was Greg Marshall, the Shore's bass player/singer, who christned Mark Shelton as Shark. But even without that Manilla Road connection Stygian Shore deserve your attention. They played that rare brand of metal which takes you by the throat from the first note and leaves you breathless in the end. The band remained unnoticed by labels but carried on despite everything. They worked hard and kept gigging and recording even when Greg Marshall lost his right arm — he just started playing bass with a hook. So here we are talking with Greg about all the ups an downs of his career wit Stygian Shore and other bands.
Friday, May 3, 2024
Malice: Godz of Thunder
Malice. This band still means a lot to me. I remember how happy I was when I discoveerd them and how I almost wrecked my neck banging my head to "Air Attack", "Stellar Masters" and "Godz of Thunder". They had everything: awesome songs, cool image, incredibly talanted musicians, a deal with a major label. And yeah, they rocked like the greatest bands of the era. But after two outstanding albums they split, and it is probably the most unfair thing in the show business. There is also a very personal story. Some 15 years ago I was offered a chance to write an article for a printed music magazine. That was my very first attempt in writing. Of course, Malice was my first choice. That was the time when Myspace rulled the music world and I contacted Mark Behn via that platform to get some information about the band. He was very kind and answered my questions. Imagine, how happy I was! The article was done in time and I even got paid for it. 15 years later I decided to bother Mark once again to do an in-depth interview about Malice and to pay a tribute to the late Mick Zane. And here is the result — almost 3 hours long interview !