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Author: Chelsea

Interview: Marc Okubo

ChelseaInterviews

Veil of Maya dropped their latest single “Viscera” earlier this year, and the band is on the way to releasing a new album. I had the chance to speak with guitarist Marc Okubo about the new Veil of Maya tracks and upcoming record, his lockdown experience, his work with other bands including Dance Gavin Dance, the partnership with Kiesel Guitars, and more. Check it out below.  First of all, how have things been for you handling everything that’s been going on for the past year? Well, I’m up and down. I’m in Los Angeles right now writing and recording a […]

Concert Review: Burning Witches Livestream

ChelseaConcert Reviews

On May 28th, 2021, the Swiss/Dutch Heavy Metal band Burning Witches staged an official album release show for the world via livestream in celebration of their latest record, The Witch of the North, out now on Nuclear Blast. Burning Witches, with their current lineup consisting of Laura Guldemond (Vocals), Romana Kalkuhl (Guitar), Jeanine Grob (Bass), Lala Frischknecht (Drums), and Larissa Ernst (Guitar), showcased live performances of songs off the brand-new The Witch of the North, while also revisiting previous albums, Dance With The Devil (2020), Hexenhammer (2018), and the self-titled 2017 debut, Burning Witches. The eerie yet ancient entrance music […]

Interview: Biff Byford

ChelseaInterviews

Saxon released their new album Inspirations, a cover album featuring the artists and songs that influenced and inspired them, via Silver Lining Music this spring. I had the chance to speak with frontman Biff Byford about the story behind the new album, his solo work, music production, social media, and more. You have the new Saxon Inspirations record which was just released, and of course Saxon has been unstoppable for years, releasing studio album after album, so I’m curious what made you want to go into a covers direction this time around?  Well, the main reason was as something fun […]

Interview: Simon Wright

ChelseaInterviews

Holy Diver Live and Evil Or Divine: Live In New York City are two new Dio live album reissues that were released last month via BMG. I had the chance to talk with iconic drummer Simon Wright about the reissues, his memories of the tours and some stories of Ronnie James Dio, the Dio Returns hologram tours and Dio Disciples, as well as some new side projects and albums Simon recently recorded on. Check it out below:  The main topic that brings us here today is of course the Dio album reissues, Holy Diver Live and Evil Or Divine: Live […]

Interview: Jef Rhodes

ChelseaInterviews

Jef Rhodes is the mastermind behind Them Damn Kings, whose debut album Rise Up is set for an early 2021 release. Though it may be a debut album, this is far from Jef’s debut in the music industry, with plenty of road years and experiences under his belt, including long runs as a Front of House Engineer and Backline Tech for bands such as Lacuna Coil, Cradle of Filth, Opeth, Mayhem, and more. I had the chance to talk with Jef about the new album from Them Damn Kings, how Jef got his start in the industry, memorable road antics […]

Interview: Jess Hartley of Häxan

ChelseaInterviews

Häxan is a three-piece bringing their classic-tinged modern hard rock out of the UK, with Jess Hartley (drums), Sam Bolderson (vocals/guitar), and Harriet Wadeson (bass). Shortly after their debut full-length, White Noise, was released, I had a chance to speak with Jess about the record, the music videos and the drive behind Häxan. Check it out below.  I want to dig right into White Noise, you guys are awesome and this is a killer new record, and it’s also your debut full-length. It’s still kind of strange times to be releasing an album in, so my question is, how has […]

Interview: Bobby Blitz

ChelseaInterviews

BPMD is a supergroup on Napalm Records, featuring Bobby Blitz, Mike Portnoy, Mark Menghi, and Phil Demmel (whose initials all form the band name). This summer, BPMD released American Made, and I had the honor of chatting with Bobby Blitz about the new project. We covered the concept and ideas behind BPMD, and also had a lot of laughs talking about Bobby’s origins and influences as a vocalist, the early days at clubs like Sundance, Roxy, and L’Amour Brooklyn, and the latest on Overkill’s 20th album on the horizon – plus took a few digs at each other for the […]

Interview: Cameron Byrd of Veio

ChelseaInterviews

Portland, Oregon Rockers Veio just released their new album Vitruvian via Silent Majority Group last month. I spoke with Veio frontman Cameron Byrd shortly before the release, about Vitruvian, the Veio Legion, working with Sylvia Massy, their time at the Happens convention, and more. So let’s dig right in, you’ve got the new album, Vitruvian, coming out this month – so I want to ask, how did you first approach following up on the Infinite Light, Desperate Shadows record? So, we followed up Infinite Light, Desperate Shadows kind of with an approach that we wanted to write songs that were […]

Interview: Paul Martin of Devilskin

ChelseaInterviews

New Zealand Hard Rockers Devilskin released their new album Red via Devilskin Ltd. this spring, and I recently had the chance to talk with bassist/songwriter Paul Martin about the record, and his background as a musician and radio personality. Just want to make sure, first of all, Paul, that you and your family are safe and healthy during these crazy times. Yes, pretty crazy times, we’re all well, thank you. New Zealand’s been one of the luckiest countries over this whole COVID crisis, so far it’s pretty low. It’s been crazy, been locked up and just the way things are […]

Interview: Edward Warren of Ironstone

ChelseaInterviews

Ironstone is a progressive metal band out of Melbourne, Australia who just released their first EP, Prophecy, on May 29th after making their debut with two singles in 2019. The band had a switch-up of vocalists in the past year, but have locked in a lineup as they showcase their metal musicality and impressive skills to the world with this 6-track debut. Ironstone founding guitarist/songwriter Edward Warren (second from right in band photo) took the time to give some great answers via email to my questions about the band and the new EP. Check it out below. Talk about some […]

Interview: Kjetil Nordhus of Green Carnation

ChelseaInterviews

Metal Magnitude recently got on the phone with Kjetil Nordhus, frontman of the band Green Carnation to talk about their new album, Leaves of Yesteryear, out now on Season of Mist. Kjetil discusses some ideas behind the new album, some Green Carnation history, a look into Tristania, and virtual livestreams that Green Carnation has lined up in these pandemic times, all from a socially distanced bar in Norway. Check out the audio via YouTube below: Subscribe to the Metal Magnitude YouTube Channel For more on Green Carnation, visit: https://www.facebook.com/GreenCarnationNorway/ and https://www.instagram.com/green2carnation/. 

Album Review: Kansas – The Absence of Presence

ChelseaAlbum Reviews

The iconic level of musicianship associated with the name Kansas has never wavered, and the band has evolved with the times as they produce their latest album that fits the Progressive Rock idiom while venturing into modern Hard Rock elements. Vocalist Ronnie Platt has said that “The Absence of Presence shows the band firing on all cylinders”, and there’s no mistaking the truth of that statement from the very first song.  The title track opens the album, and its verse and chorus has Platt delivering the message of “reaching for connection to break the silence”, noting that “The Absence of […]

Interview: Dave Wanless of Sven Gali

ChelseaInterviews

Sven Gali made their debut on the Canadian music scene in the early 90’s, with a self-titled debut that went gold and launched the band to hit music videos, Juno nominations, and world touring alongside the likes of Def Leppard, Foreigner, Pearl Jam, and April Wine. Life took the band in different directions, and they split in 1996, but Sven Gali is back this year with a new EP, 3, set to be released on June 12th via RFL Records. Sven Gali frontman Dave Wanless took the time to answer some questions about the band and the new EP.  When […]

Interview: Raider

ChelseaInterviews

Canadian Death/Thrashers Raider have just unveiled their debut full-length album to the world this month, following up on the 2018 demo Urge To Kill with the release of Guardian of the Fire. Raider’s frontman, Angelo Bonacorso, answered a few questions about the band and the new album.  Guardian of the Fire is actually your first full-length, what are some ideas that went into the making of this album? Musically: we wanted this record to introduce something fresh to death-thrash. What we came up with is something heavy, catchy, and original. We wanted to pay homage to our forebears but the only way […]

Interview: ZouZou Mansour of Soraia

ChelseaInterviews

Soraia is a hard rocking band out of Philadelphia who have just released their latest full-album, Dig Your Roots, and recently took to a new platform with StageIt to do a livestream record release show for fans during this time of social distancing (and concert cancellations). Frontwoman ZouZou Mansour sat down for an interview to discuss the roots of Dig Your Roots, songwriting and influences, and the near future for the band.  Dig Your Roots is an awesome album with catchy, clever tracks and a versatile range of styles – can you start by talking about some ideas you went […]