Olof Wikstrand (Enforcer) interview

Swedish heavy metal act Enforcer released their 6th album Nostalgia earlier this month. I caught up with vocalist/guitarist Olof Wikstrand to discuss the album, being pioneers of NWTHM, their upcoming festival dates, and more.

Disclaimer: The audio on Olof’s end is not the best as he was in a train during the recording.

Tracks played on the episode 

Amogh Symphony – Ares
Enforcer – Coming Alive

Favourite albums of 2022 – Part 1

This year I thought I’d do something different, before releasing my list of favourite albums of the year, I asked my friends what their favourite albums of the year were. 

Here are the albums (in order of appearance on the episode)

Anurag Tagat + Seth Werkheiser – Ithaca – They Fear Us

Adnan M – Machine Head  Of Kingdom and Crown

Andy Dowling – Idle Ruin – Valley Inferno.

Gautam K – Sigh – Shiki

Deepak aka Chuck – Playgrounded – The Death of Death

Joel – Kardashev – Liminal Rite

Alex from Undeath – Sedimentum – Suppuration Morphogénésiaque 

Abbas Rizvi – Psycroptic – Divine Council 

Aditya Rao – Gaerea – Mirage

Peter K – Wormrot – Hiss

Part 2 coming up soon!

Adnan Mryhij (Unmuted)

Adnan Mryhij is one of the few people I have met who is equally passionate about the underground metal music scene.

Adnan has worn multiple hats over the past decade and in the past couple of years, he has built a Tribe across the world with this podcast, Unmuted. 

Earlier this year, Adnan also started releasing music under the banner of Unmuted. I spoke to him about the evolution of Unmuted, how 2022 has been for him, upcoming plans for his band Svengali and more. 

Tracks played on the episode

Nervecell – Vicious Circle

Unmuted – Creation

Svengali – Freight Train

Unmuted – Earth, Hell and Heaven

Adnan on Horns Up – https://www.hornsuppod.com/the-podcast/episode/2375e701/193-or-kill-marry-fuck-or-feat-adnan-from-unmuted

https://www.unmuted.show/

Garry Brents (Cara Neir) interview

Garry Brents is one half of Black metal scientists Cara Neir and part of many others. Cara Neir released their 8th LP Phantasmal via Zegema Beach Records last month. 

I first came across Cara Neir through Metal Twitter and noticed how prolific a musician Garry Brents was. In this chat I tried to tap into his mind through his recent release Phantasmal and also upcoming album from Gonemage. We also spoke about how he manages multiple projects. Tune in to find out more.

Songs played in the episode :-

Cara Neir – Damnation

Cara Neir – Unkindness

A video clip of the chat

Check out Phantasmal

Links to all of Garry’s projects – https://linktr.ee/yerbacaster

Ian Blurton interview

Ian Blurton has been described as the “elder statesman of Toronto rock” by Canadian journalist Alan Cross. In a career that spans over 3 decades, he has been a part of bands like Change of Heart, Blurtonia, Bionic, C’mon, Public Animal and more recently Ian Blurton’s Future Now. 

Last month, Ian Blurton’s Future Now released their 2nd album, Second Skin via Pajama Party and Seeing Red Records. 

I caught up with Ian Blurton and spoke about writing and recording Second Skin, his production, Canadian metal and much more.

Here is the audio version

Listen/Download Second Skin – https://ianblurton.bandcamp.com/album/second-skin

JJ Tartaglia (Thunderor) interview

This week I am mixing things up on the podcast with some heavy metal.

 His guest is JJ Tartaglia, frontman and drummer of Canadian heavy metal act Thunderor. The band released their debut album “Fire it Up” earlier this year via Boonsdale Records. 

JJ shared how the band came together, the experience recording “Fire it Up” during the lockdowns, recording their music videos and some Canadian metal recommendations.  

Put on that denim and leather and tune in. 

Audio version of the podcast

Listen/Buy a copy of  “Fire it Up” from the links below

https://thunderor.bigcartel.com/

https://thunderor.bandcamp.com/album/fire-it-up

Working on a video episode for next week. Stay tuned!

Conor Marshall (Conjurer) Interview

There has been a lot of buzz around the 2nd album from Conjurer, Pathos and I wanted to find out more about the album.

Last month I caught up with Conor Marshall bassist of Conjurer ahead of the release of the album. Conor spoke about the making of Pathos, signing to Nuclear Blast Records and even about their sound. 

Fans of Curse these Metal Hands still around till the end of an update on the project. 

Video version here

Here is the audio version

Check out Pathos on all platforms – https://conjurer.bfan.link/rot-single.ema

Stay tuned for more episodes.

Bandcamp Recommendations – 3rd December 2021 #BandcampFriday

Last #BandcampFriday for this year, a slightly longer list this time around.

The Danish quintet take forward their sound from JORD. One of the highlights of the year for me.

The grindcore veterans are back with a ferocious new album. It features the dual vocals of Kevin Sharp & Tomas Lindberg.

Well written brutal death metal that keeps the listener engaged throughout the 35 minutes play time. Great way to end the year for Transcending Obscurity.

Moar grindcore! This time from the Japanese grandmaster. 6 tracks of rent less aural assault.

Stunning release from the progressive masters. An album to listen to from start to end. I’ve had it on repeat for the past week.

More treasure from the Nasum vault. This is from first US tour, live at the legendary punk venue.

Gloomy 4 tracks of post metal from the Australian quartet. Perfect for this time of the year.

A sublime mix of melodic death metal and and folk metal from the UK couple.

Fistful of Metal # 32

My guests are Rohan Stevenson aka I Built the Sky and Jake Howsam Lowe (Plini/The Helix Nebula). I spoke to them about their friendship, their collaborative EP Coalesce and much more.

Tracklist

The Last Martyr – Afterglow

Mirage

Ascendant (feat. Andre Nieri)

Lord – Moon and Back (Savage Garden cover)

Bandcamp Recommendations – 1st October 2021 #BandcampFriday

It’s #BandcampFriday again! Here are my picks for this month

6th album from one of India’s oldest metal acts. Put on that denim and leather, pour a drink and hit play!

https://kryptosindia.bandcamp.com/album/force-of-danger

Stoner rock from Norway with the right amount of fuzz.

New music from the Scottish maniacs that seamlessly blends hardcore and electronica.

2 tracks of drone performed by Mel and Topon from Fuck the facts. Trippy stuff!

Reissue of 2008 release from India technical death metal act. Sounds massive thanks to the remix and remaster.