Photo by Van Leclair
I caught up with Toronto hard rock outfit Biblical after their set amidst the trees on Heavy Montreal’s Forest Stage. Their debut album Monsoon Season dropped in March and they’ve been touring with a variety of heavy bands, grabbing attention from both critics and fans with their personal take on the old-school Southern groove. I sat down backstage with vocalist/bassist Nick Sewell and guitarist/organist Andrew Scott to talk about the “stoner” genre and how the best crowds come from playing on different kinds of bills.
SPOILER: The big news they mention at the end? They’ll be hitting the road for a US tour with Death From Above 1979 in November.
Icelandic metal band Sólstafir have attracted a lot of attention in the last few years due to their metamorphosis from a harsh black metal band in the mid-nineties, to their current eerie combination of noise and shoegaze rock. Many have taken to describing them as the “Sigur Rós of heavy metal”. Their sound definitely echoes the scenery of their homeland, a delicate balance between the bleak and beautiful.
Much of the attention comes from their 2011 album “Svartir Sandar”, meaning “black sands” in reference to Iceland’s famous beaches. On a brief visit to Iceland I ventured in to a big-box bookstore in Reykjavik, and I was a bit surprised to find the album displayed prominently at the checkout counter. Between that and the nature of the some of the imagery evoked on the album, I made an assumption that they’d been readily embraced at home.
But when I sat down with vocalist/guitarist Aðalbjörn Tryggvason and drummer Guðmundur Óli Pálmason on the eve of their first North American tour, I found out that like many of their contemporaries, Sólstafir’s increased profile is a result of attention from the rest of the world (Oh, and I learned a pretty amazing Icelandic word).
Sólstafir’s new album “Ótta” will be released in North America on September 2nd.
Korn drummer Ray Luzier finds himself in a unique situation. While the band is currently on tour celebrating a reconciliation with bassist Brian "Head" Welch, he's been taking pot-shots from original drummer David Silveria. But Luzier is no slouch having made a name for himself in David Lee Roth's solo band and playing on a slew of records. I had a chance to sit down with Ray at Toronto's Sound Academy on September 30th, 2013 to discuss how he fits into the Korn family.
Don Landry of NewsTalk1010 interviews me about Headbanging For A Cure - January 12, 2013