Band Interview
Beyond the Boys’ Club: Brittney Slayes of Unleash the Archers
Beyond the Boys’ Club is a monthly column from journalist and radio host Anne Erickson, focusing on women in the heavy music genres, as they offer their perspectives on the music industry and discuss their personal experiences. This month’s piece features an interview with Brittney Slayes of Unleash the Archers. Canadian power-metal band Unleash the Archers present a hard-charging sound coupled with creative songwriting and storytelling. Early in their career, the band was often lumped into the symphonic metal genre, simply because they have a female vocalist, but they’re really straight-ahead power metal act, with vocalist Brittney Slayes roaring from song to song. Unleash the Archers recently released a new album, Abyss, featuring stunning guitars and Slayes’ powerful vocals. Slayes chec...
Dark Tranquillity’s Mikael Stanne Talks New Album Moment and Recording During the Pandemic
Dark Tranquillity have experienced a different 2020 than most bands. The Swedish melodic death metal pioneers spent most of the year recording their 12th album, Moment (out today), as they watched the world cope with the devastation of COVID-19 from the confines of their recording studio. The band’s homeland of… Please click the link below to read the full article. Dark Tranquillity’s Mikael Stanne Talks New Album Moment and Recording During the Pandemic Jon Hadusek You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share o...
Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta on Weight of the False Self, Adjusting to the Pandemic, Podcasting, and More
Like many musicians, Jamey Jasta thought he had his 2020 plans set. He was gearing up to release a new album with Hatebreed in the spring, plus the band had two tours booked with the likes of After the Burial, Havok, Creeping Death, Parkway Drive, Knocked Loose, and Fit for a King. Then, COVID-19 hit. Right as the band was set to begin promoting their new album, the concert industry shut down, and the album’s release date was pushed back indefinitely. Now, Jasta and Hatebreed are set to unleash their eighth LP, Weight of the False Self, on November 27th via Nuclear Blast Records. The album is one of the veteran Connecticut metal outfit’s most aggressive to date, with heavy riffing and powerful themes of self-reflection, loss, and the state of the world. While the concert industry remains s...
Myles Kennedy Talks New Alter Bridge EP, Solo Music, Slash, and the Pandemic’s Effect on the Music Industry
Myles Kennedy, photo by Antonio Marino Jr. Alter Bridge were into the touring cycle for their 2019 album, Walk the Sky, when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down their plans for 2020. With no concerts on the horizon, band members Myles Kennedy, Mark Tremonti, Scott Phillips and Brian Marshall decided to release a live EP from their most recent tour stops, as well as record a new studio track, “Last Rites”. The band’s Walk the Sky 2.0 EP has just arrived, and the collection features six live performance along with “Last Rites”. The studio track was conceived during the Walk the Sky sessions, but was was completed and recorded during the pandemic. Kennedy sat down with Heavy Consequence to talk about the new EP, as well as the status of his upcoming sophomore solo album, the effect of the pandemi...
Puscifer’s Maynard James Keenan and Mat Mitchell on Existential Reckoning, Alien Abduction, and More
In the midst of a pandemic and a truly bizarre year, it somehow feels like an ideal time for Puscifer to release a new album. The experimental rock act is back with a new LP, Existential Reckoning, and it’s a fitting document of the times, even if that wasn’t intentional. Led by a core of Maynard James Keenan (Tool), Mat Mitchell, and Carina Round, Puscifer have often thrown out the rulebook when it comes to rock ‘n’ roll. Each album is surrounded by eccentric characters, while the music is equally unconventional. Existential Reckoning is no exception, picking up on the story of the fictional characters Billy D (apparently now abducted by aliens) and his wife, Hildy Berger, as it had left off with 2015’s Money Shot. The new album is shrouded in a cloud of alien activity, from its init...
Mike Patton on Reuniting Mr. Bungle, Navigating the Pandemic, and More
Mr. Bungle (Mike Patton center), photo by Eric Larsen Prior to the pandemic, Mike Patton had countless irons in the musical fire. While his touring plans came to a standstill, the singer has soldiered on with his many creative endeavors. One of those projects is the first album in 21 years from his reunited band Mr. Bungle. Mr. Bungle reunited earlier this year for a handful of shows in February, featuring a lineup that included original members Patton, Trey Spruance, and Trevor Dunn, along with thrash titans Dave Lombardo (ex-Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies) and Scott Ian (Anthrax). In addition to the concerts, news came that the same lineup would re-record Mr. Bungle’s 1986 demo The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny. The re-recording, due October 30th, features the songs from original trackli...
Beyond the Boys’ Club: Orianthi
Beyond the Boys’ Club is a monthly column from journalist and radio host Anne Erickson, focusing on women in the heavy music genres, as they offer their perspectives on the music industry and discuss their personal experiences. This month’s piece features an interview with acclaimed guitarist Orianthi. Australian guitarist, singer, and songwriter Orianthi has performed with some of the biggest acts in the world, from Michael Jackson to Alice Cooper. Back in 2009, Orianthi was knee-deep into rehearsals for Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” tour, but sadly, Jackson passed away before the tour could come to fruition. That same year, she scored a solo hit with “According to You”, and she went on to join Alice Cooper’s band for two world tours. Now, Orianthi keeps busy with her own solo music and ...
Lamb of God’s Willie Adler Talks Coffee, Bill & Ted, and Livestream Shows
Lamb of God’s Willie Adler, photo by Antonio Marino Jr. During a pandemic that’s drastically altered the day-to-day operations of the music industry, Lamb of God have forged ahead. The metal veterans released their new self-titled studio album in June, despite not being able to tour in support of the LP. And the decision brought much-needed joy to metal fans everywhere, as the album ranks among Lamb of God’s finest works. Upon completing the album, the band was then commissioned to write a song for Bill & Ted Face the Music. The film’s music supervisor handpicked the Lamb of God, who delivered “The Death of Us”, a crushing anthem to friendship that cemented 2020 as a veritably productive year artistically for the band. With one full-length and a major soundtrack appearance in the...
Marilyn Manson on WE ARE CHAOS, Pandemic Life, New Wave Influences, and Favorite David Bowie Album
Marilyn Manson is set to unveil his 11th studio album, WE ARE CHAOS, this Friday (September 11th). In advance of its release, the rocker checked in with Heavy Consequence to discuss the new LP, and more. Following up his critically acclaimed 2017 album, Heaven Upside Down, Manson recruited Shooter Jennings to produce WE ARE CHAOS. While the recently released title track is an infectious mid-tempo, glam-rock number, the rest of the album explores the heavy and melodic extremes of Manson’s canon. Manson was set to support Ozzy Osbourne on tour this year, but those dates were canceled in order for the latter to seek medical treatments for various health issues. As it turned out, the tour would have been nixed anyway due to the pandemic. During our conversation with the Manson, he spoke of his...
Avatar’s Johannes Eckerström Talks Hunter Gatherer, Pandemic, and Corey Taylor’s Musical Assist
Even when the world is turned upside down, we can count on Avatar to churn out an opus of groovy, melodic metal that sings and soars. That’s just what you’ll find on the Swedish metal band’s eighth studio album, Hunter Gatherer, due out Friday, August 7th. Spearheaded by lead single… Please click the link below to read the full article. Avatar’s Johannes Eckerström Talks Hunter Gatherer, Pandemic, and Corey Taylor’s Musical Assist Anne Erickson You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of In...
The Sword’s J.D. Cronise Talks New Compilations, Bootlegging Rare Clutch Tracks, and His Band’s Future
Modern stoner rock owes a major debt to The Sword. Formed in 2003 in Austin, the band’s propensity for Black Sabbath-influenced doom and desert grooves predated the subculture that suddenly emerged from the stoner rock scene in the 2010s. Suddenly, remote fans of bands like Sleep and Electric Wizard were connected by the familiar churning sounds of these bands. The Sword played a vital role in this movement, with their 2006 debut album, Age of Winters, and its lead single, the now legendary “Freya”, cementing their place in doom metal lore. It was a time of resurgence for classic rock, a new era of teenagers were discovering Led Zeppelin and Sabbath, and “Freya” garnered The Sword a cult audience of eager rock fans. Their music even reached Lars Ulrich of Metallica, who would eventually ta...
Beyond the Boys’ Club: Maria Brink of In This Moment
Beyond the Boys’ Club is a monthly column from journalist and radio host Anne Erickson, focusing on women in the heavy music genres, as they offer their perspectives on the music industry and discuss their personal experiences. This month’s piece features an interview with Maria Brink of In This Moment. In This Moment reinvent themselves from album to album, so it’s no surprise that the band’s latest record, Mother, has a fresh style and feel. Their previous LP, 2017’s Ritual, was a concept album of sorts, centering around the Salem Witch Trials. Mother is a deeply personal and serious album lyrically, with solid rock riffing, experimental electronics, and singer Maria Brink’s soulful vocals. Mother was released in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the band choosing not to postpone ...
