Interviews

Amorphis Interview 2013

AMORPHIS are the Finnish band that opened this interviewer’s eyes to the Scandinavian metal scene in the 90s with that legendary album ‘Tales From The Thousand Lakes’. While the band’s initial recordings were steeped in death / doom their music has never stopped evolving and over the years has come to embrace atmospheric, progressive and even folk rock genres. On the 2013 album ‘Circle’ they’ve done it again by throwing elements of black metal into the mix. Frontman Tomi Joutsen is here to tell us more about the new recording… Read More…

Coheed And Cambria Interview 2013

Following the release of an epic double album The Afterman: Ascension / Descension, prog rockers COHEED AND CAMBRIA are heading back to New Zealand for a one-off show on 17 April 2013! NZRock caught up with drummer Josh Eppard to discuss his recent return to the band, the theme of spiritual meets sci-fi, what makes the COHEED’s music so unique… Read More…

Soilwork Interview

Swedish melodic death metal legends SOILWORK have never done things by halves… this time they’re back with something double! ‘The Living Infinite’ goes down in history for being the first double album in it’s genre. With 20 tracks in total this album expands SOILWORK’s musical horizons even further while still remaining inspired by that classic SOILWORK sound. Bassist Ola Flink provides us with all the details about ‘The Living Infinite’ including the story behind his lyrical contribution to the track ‘Owls Predict, Oracles Stand Guard’… Read More…

Galactic Pegasus Interview

Hailing from BC, Canada GALACTIC PEGASUS started out as the solo project of Andrew Baena in 2011. Since then the band has built a built a loyal following via Youtube videos such as the tongue-in-cheek ‘How To Get Signed To Rise Records’ (viewed an impressive 430,000 times and counting!), covers of mainstream artists like SKRILLEX, and original tracks. Read More…

Depths Interview

Palmerston North based Death Metal band DEPTHS have gained notoriety on the New Zealand metal scene with their relentless touring and punishing live sets. Formed in 2010 the band wasted no time recording an EP and following up soon-after with a mimi-album ‘Resurgence’. Friday 26 September 2012 marks the release of their debut full-length ‘Revelation’ via New Zealand label Deadboy Records. Having just returned from an Australian tour with DEPTHS, frontman Josh Bain checks in with NZRock to discuss the ‘Revelation’ music videos, and where to from here… Read More…

The Darkness Interview

UK glam rockers THE DARKNESS are back after several years hiatus! Actually, they’ve been reunited since about march last year, but now they’re back with ‘Hot Cakes’, a new album that features lashings of surpy glam goodness. It’s the classic DARKNESS sound. We caught up with frontman Justin Hawkins to find out more about the new album, and the possibility of seeing THE DARKNESS in New Zealand soon… Read More…

Down Interview

There’s a reason why Jimmy Bower is also known as the Godfather of Southern Metal. He plays – or has played in – so many of the most notable bands in the genre including EYEHATEGOD, SUPERJOINT RITUAL, CROWBAR, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, and DOWN. The latter of those bands is about to release the first of four EPs which by all accounts will cover everything from the acoustic to the mightiest doom riffs you can imagine. DOWN IV Part I – The Purple EP hits NZ stores in September 2012 and Jimmy’s on the phone from New Orleans to tell us all about it… Read More…

Grand Magus Interview

There’s something magic about GRAND MAGUS’ new album ‘The Hunt’ and it goes far beyond the epic album cover. While the band’s previous album ‘Hammer Of The North’ treated us to heavy production ‘The Hunt’ revisits Heavy Metal’s roots paying homage to the classic NWOBHM style. At the same time acoustic, orchestral and even piano sections keep the album unique. But make no mistake, this is METAL! On the phone from Sweden, frontman Janne “JB” Christoffersson talks about ‘The Hunt’, magickal inspiration and more… Read More…

New Way Home Interview

Formed from the ashes of bands such as DAYONE and SOMMERSET, Auckland’s NEW WAY HOME have won fans worldwide with their mix of heavy, complex, technical and ambient metal. Read More…

The Heavy Metal Ninjas Interview

A cacophonous cosmic instrumental buzz inspired by the stars and ancient aliens, THE HEAVY METAL NINJAS are led by guitar virtuoso and KORA sound engineer Richie Allan. Read More…