Talks To… | The Metal Asylum | Page 2

• Skip to primary content Skip to secondary content Can you tell us about the origin of the band name, a history of the band and a little bit about the various members? Quasars are some of the most mysterious objects in the universe. A merging of two black holes, you can imagine just the sheer amount of energy. So the name Quasarborn is essentialy – born of a quasar. The band was founded in 2016 after we (almost the entire line-up) decided to leave the Serbian thrash machinery Space Eater due to creative differences. The band consists of me, Luka, I sing, play guitar and produce our records. Tihi, the band’s drummer is also the designer and the one behind our visual identity. Tomas is the bass player, even though he was originally a drummer, and Dimitrije (guitar) is our youngest one. Are you all from the same area? How did you get together as a band? As I mentioned, myself, Tihi, Tomas and Đorđe (our original guitar player) previously played in a Serbian thrash band Space Eater. The band leader Karlo was very strict about Space Eater playing old school thrash, and we wanted to explore different genres, so we decided to form a new band. We all live in Belgrade and have gotten to meet each other in the scene. Who are your favourite artists/bands and how have they influenced your own sound? The list is huge and very diverse. I love old school thrash metal, a band here & there from other metal genres, but I really like some pop artists too (especially vocal-wise). I also really like some nu-metal & hip-hop stuff. Just to name a few, Anthrax, Agent Steel, Avenged Sevenfold, Dark Angel, Sodom, Dying Fetus, old Slipknot, Bijelo Dugme, Wu-Tang Clan… Tihi is into technical death metal/fusion stuff, but he really likes jazz, and many forms of experimental & instrumental music. He likes things fresh. It’s stuff like Cynic, Cannibal Corpse, Jojo Mayer, and bunch of stuff I can’t remember. Tomas is probably the most metalhead guy in our band, he listenes to a lot of black & death metal, as well as modern metal too. He loves stuff like Decapitated, Gojira, Megadeth, but also Jinjer.. Dimitrije loves hardcore, especially the more progressive & esoteric stuff, but he also likes metal, classic rock, hip-hop, pop… His favorite bands are probably Converge & Voivod, but also stuff like Uriah Heep, or Onyx. It’s this crazy merge of styles that led to “Novo oružje protiv bola”. Did you always have the ambition to be a musician and in a band or did you originally have other plans? I originally wanted to be a video game designer… When I was a kid in the 90s, the gaming industry was rapidly evolving and things were very creative. That came to an end very soon, in my opinion. By the mid 2000s, games started to be very stale and boring. I kinda discovered music when I was 11, and metal when I was 12, and by the age of 14 I knew I wanted to play in a band. When I was 16, I knew this would be my main calling in life. What songs or albums are on your current playlist? I’m currently going through an old school New York hip-hop phase. So it’s Wu-Tang Clan’s “Wu-Tang Forever”, GZA’s first three albums, Raekwon’s “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx”, Method Man’s “Tical”… Before that I was really listening to a lot of Dying Fetus, old Slipknot, Guano Apes, Hatebreed, The Cult… And some thrash classics are literally always there. I often go back to Anthrax’s Among the Living, Dark Angel’s Tome Does Not Heal, Toxik’s Think This, Vio-Lence first two records, lately some Testament… As you can tell my music taste is quite schizophrenic. Do you sing in the shower? I used to! Now I just sing all the time. Even in the street… Randomly… Do you have any plans for the band for this year and into next year? We’re planning on playing as much shows as we can promoting the new album! We already have two concerts in Germany, Siegen on 15 th and Backnang on 16 th of September. Then there’s gonna be some shows in the ex-Yugoslavia region. Do you currently have any new songs/albums ready to be released? Nope, it’s all about the recent “Novo oružje protiv bola”! If you could play at any venue in the world where would you choose? I guess it would be some large stadium in Japan, or some uncommon place like, a village in Africa. Do you have a favourite album? If so, what is it? Anthrax – Among the Living, since I first heard it to this day, nothing can match it in it’s entirety. Do you have any guilty pleasure songs/albums? When I was younger, I used to call all this non metal music I was listening to “guilty pleasures”. I don’t do that anymore, I just listen to whatever. It was stuff like Paramore, Guano Apes, Avenged Sevenfold, Lady Gaga… I’ve been listening to this really talented young Serbian pop singer Tam these days, most of my metalhead friends get a headache when they hear it, but I really like her music. If you were putting together the greatest show on earth, who would be playing? For me personally, it would go something like this: Anthrax with both Belladonna & John Bush, Dying Fetus with Kevin Talley, Agent Steel with both Cyriis and Bruce Hall, Bombarder with guests from the old line-up, Bijelo Dugme with a full band, Wu-Tang Clan, and of course, Quasarborn! Can you remember the first album you bought with your own money? What was it and do you still have it? I think it might have been Megadeth’s Killing is my Business, which is still one of my favorites! Yes, I do still have it! As your fans will be reading this, is there any message you would like to send out to them? Stay strong in today’s insane world, and keep the great music alive! Finally, let us know all your social media sites so your fans, old and new, can find and follow/like you! https://www.instagram.com/quasarborn/ https://www.facebook.com/quasarborn101 Tweets by quasarborn101 We, at The Metal Asylum, would like to thank you for your time. Is there is anything further that you would like to add? Thank you for the chance to present ourselves! This interview is the property of The Metal Asylum Can you tell us about the origin of the band name, a history of the band and a little bit about the various members? The name actually started out as “Housewife Reliever.” That changed after a few months to “Reformation”, because in August of 2020 I had made the decision to get sober. At that point I had quit doing drugs for 13 years but replaced them with alcohol. Without going into a long story about that, I was basically dying from my alcoholism. I would later learn that I was days or weeks (at best) from dying. My body was shutting down. Reformation, is not a religious reference, but what I was experiencing getting sober and learning to live sober for the first time in my life. The 8-sided star Logo (actually 8 triangles) represents hope which is also tattooed on my right wrist. Are you all from the same area? How did you get together as a band? Reformation consists of myself only. I am from Mount Pleasant, SC in the US. I write, perform and produce all the music for Reformation. I currently have a small home studio that consists of 6 guitars, 2 basses, and a keyboard. Who are your favourite artists/bands and how have they influenced your own sound? Favorite band of ALL Time…Rush. Geddy, Alex and Neil are all masters at their craft and the tones Alex gets using different reverbs was the first “Wow” I ever had as a kid. Next would be 80s and 90s Pink Floyd. The way David Gilmour’s guitar sounds in those later records blew my mind. The delay and reverb through that Strat was the tone I had always been looking for. I love the use of the synths in those later records also. Dream Theater for the musicianship and precision. Currently I like listening to Riverside, Porcupine Tree and If These Trees Could Talk. Did you always have the ambition to be a musician and in a band or did you originally have other plans? I have actually played in a band since 2003 (still together) but it was always more of a hobby than anything else. I have a full-time, blue-collar job (18 years) that I like, but can’t do forever. The technology advances in all aspects of music have allowed me to discover the sound that has always been in my head. What songs or albums are on your current playlist? Some bands that are on my Spotify Playlist “Inspiration” are Collapse Under the Empire, Pineapple Thief, The Last Sigh of the Wind, Exxasens, God is an Astronaut, Meniscus, Glasgow Coma Scale and many others. Do you sing in the shower? No singing in the shower even though I am vocally trained. Only business in the shower. Get in, Get out. Do you have any plans for the band for this year and into next year? The only plans I have this year is to try and get my music out to people that would share it and enjoy it. There isn’t much a market in my region for it. Most people here listen to country or pop. Europe seems to be the most viable for my style. Do you currently have any new songs/albums ready to be released? Right now, I have 4 songs finished since my last album “Crop Circles” from earlier this year. Three of those songs have been released on all platforms, but I think I am going to sit on the next 4-6 songs and release a full-length album around April or May 2024. We’ll have to see. If you could play at any venue in the world where would you choose? Any venue in the world…that’s a tough one. The Acropolis or Red Rocks on a very dark starry night for both. Do you have a favourite album? If so, what is it? Favorite Album would have to be “The Division Bell” by Pink Floyd. I just love all the music in that album. Do you have any guilty pleasure songs/albums? Guilty pleasures album would have to be “Angel Dust” by Faith No More. That shit never gets old. If you were putting together the greatest show on earth, who would be playing? Greatest Show on Earth would have to be Steven Wilson (vocals, Guitar), John Myung (bass), Neil Peart (drums), Michal Tapaj (keybords), Jeff Kalal (guitar) Can you remember the first album you bought with your own money? What was it and do you still have it? The first album I ever bought was “Presto” by Rush. It was a used cassette for $5. I wore that thing out in a week. As your fans will be reading this, is there any message you would like to send out to them? Well, I don’t think I have any fans yet, but I would say to them: “This is only a beginning. I don’t know what life is going to present me, but I do know that I will continuously write new music for as long as I can. Experimenting with different ambience and textures. Trying to immerse you in sound.” Finally, let us know all your social media sites so your fans, old and new, can find and follow/like you! My website – Reformationchs.com Instagram – @Reformation_Band Facebook – facebook.com/profile.php?id+100077967551218 Band Camp – reformationsc.bandcamp.com This interview is the property of The Metal Asylum Can you tell us about the origin of the band name, a history of the band and a little bit about the various members? Well the band name we came up with as a group. We decided on phantom power because Phantom Powder was too in the pocket. Are you all from the same area? How did you get together as a band? Gregg the guitarist in the band and I have known each other and been friends since 1998 when we met in Hollywood through my now sister in law. He and I have been recording and making music for years. He found Jedd and Felipe through acquaintances of ours from the past as we went through several iterations of the band before the album entitled 2. (ii) Who are your favourite artists/bands and how have they influenced your own sound? Definitely Ozzy and Black Sabbath for me and Eddie Van Halen for Gregg. Most of our collective influences included (obviously) Alice in Chains, Sound Garden, Jane’s Addiction, STP and some other grunge. But Police, and Primus, Rush, Genesis with Gabriel. Peter Gabriels solo career and we cannot rule out some thrash acts like Slayer and Gojira just to name a few. Did you always have the ambition to be a musician and in a band or did you originally have other plans? Yes, I have always and since my earliest years wanted to succeed at a recording career in the entertainment business. Fact is that I work in Tv and Motion Pictures instead…. In double fact each member of the band for this record was all part of the entertainment business, mostly commercial production. We play and record because we love it and are driven to create. We acknowledge that the music business is broken and probably will be for the rest of time. What songs or albums are on your current playlist? I love Slayer, Amplifier, Simon and Garfunkel and splash some Paul McCartney and the Wings on there and I’m a happy spotifier. Do you sing in the shower? Who doesn’t? If you say you don’t, you’re probably lying. Do you have any plans for the band for this year and into next year? We have a release planned for late 2024. We are currently in the writing stages before we lay down the bass and drums to 14 new songs. Do you currently have any new songs/albums ready to be released? Not yet. If you could play at any venue in the world where would you choose? Ozzfest. Just because I think people would like our stuff. Do you have a favourite album? If so, what is it? I guess if I had to state one of my favorite albums I’d have to still go with Diary of a Madman. It is the perfect record. Do you have any guilty pleasure songs/albums? Funky Divas by En Vogue… yep… you read it right. If you were putting together the greatest show on earth, who would be playing? I used to think a reunited Genesis / Peter Gabriel thing but I guess today it would be Taylor Swift beneath the Eiffel Tower in Paris or something like that. Haha Can you remember the first album you bought with your own money? What was it and do you still have it? Diary of a Madman and Blizzard of Oz on the same day. And Yes I still have the vinyl. As your fans will be reading this, is there any message you would like to send out to them? Fans? God bless anybody who likes this stuff and we hope you live a long and rich life. Finally, let us know all your social media sites so your fans, old and new, can find and follow/like you! We don’t use Twitter. Twitter is dead. we have Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4QRkZlTpLWHwlfil6RbYXQ Hatebook: https://www.facebook.com/phantompowerla Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfYGfw9XOmXNEPe2apKUjYg/featured?view_as=subscriber Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/phantom-power-los-angeles Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phantompowerla And of course our very own website: https://phantompowerla.com/ We, at The Metal Asylum, would like to thank you for your time. Is there is anything further that you would like to add? We’d like to add a special thank you to the Folks at The Metal Asylum for reaching out and asking questions from the group. This interview is the property of The Metal Asylum Can you tell us about the origin of the band name, a history of the band and a little bit about the various members? We are all gamers and geeks in Tessia and so the band name is a planet in the sci-fi video game series Mass Effect, but in the game it is spelled Thessia. The band was officially created in 2016, releasing our first single ‘Fight For the Lost’. From there we started to hone our craftsmanship as musicians and more importantly as songwriters. After our EP ‘As Above, So Below’ we decided to produce and record everything ourself, but getting outside help with the mixing and mastering. Being in a professional studio is really nice, but having the clock tick and payment by the hour does not spark creativity and experimentation, because of that we bought the recording equipment and set to do it ourself. After the album ‘Burn The Sky’ We moved two floors up and started recording, producing and rehearsing in an actual studio created in an old paint factory that have been closed down. ‘Shadows and Dust’ was created there and it improved our sound tremendously. We feel that we are just getting better and better, and can not wait to show the world our newest releases, especially after getting such good feedback on our newest singles. Lets introduce our band members, Julie, Dennis and Matias are all original members from the start in 2016. I (Julie) am the vocalist of Tessia and make all the vocal melodies and writes lyrics. I love being creative and aspire to challenge myself a bit further with my vocals each time we make a new track. Dennis is our rhythm guitarist, producer and creative mastermind. He has created many of our songs and written many of its lyrics. He is also the one producing our albums and takes care of recording. His job also includes telling the rest of us what to do haha Matias, our bassist of course loves Steve Harris from Iron Maiden, even playing his signature bass guitar and is finger style exclusive, not only is he an incredible bassist, he got such amazing pitch, and have so many smart tiny ideas and inputs that changes the entire song or part to a new level. Eirik our new lead guitarist started out with helping out the band with numerous projects like making armor for our music video for ‘Frostfall’ or whatever we else we needed, he is an creative force and a incredible guitar player, so the decision for him to join the band when we needed a new lead guitarist was not a hard decision. Sindre our new drummer, is originally from Stavanger and as everywhere drummers are really hard to come by, so when Dennis saw he was posting on a musician Facebook group if someone wanted to jam along with some Lamb of God, and Slipknot we managed to rope him in. He is such a talented and amazing drummer exactly what Tessia wanted, an aggressive heavy drummer! Are you all from the same area? How did you get together as a band? ⅘ of us is hailing from areas just outside Bergen, Norway and our drummer is from a bit further south on the west coast of Norway. Who are your favourite artists/bands and how have they influenced your own sound? I have drawn a lot of inspiration from bands in the melodic death metal genre with how they combine clean vocals and growling. In Flames, Soilwork and The halo Effect are great examples. I have always loved female fronted bands such as Lacuna coil, Arch Enemy, In this Moment and Within temptation and gotten a great deal of influence from there. Did you always have the ambition to be a musician and in a band or did you originally have other plans? Sort of. I have been singing my whole life and had an ambition as a child to sing in front of a crowd whether it be as a opera singer or a pop star in a big venue or with a guitar at a pub. As i got older, my music taste changed and I got into heavier music and the urge to create a band grew larger. What songs or albums are on your current playlist? Our previous albums and songs I have primarily been singing with clean vocals, but in our newest release and upcoming releases I am doing a lot more growling and heavier vocals. I have always worked towards pushing my vocal capabilities to the max, while being classically trained it took some time to “unlearn” how to sing squeaky clean, but going into growling peaked my interest about what my voice can actually do, I am currently taking inspiration from other vocalists that pushes it to extreme so I’ve been listening to a lot of Cattle Decapitation, Lorna Shore and Slaughter to Prevail lately. And the album ‘Twilight of the Thunder God’ by Amon Amarth never stops being on the current playlist. Do you sing in the shower? Actually no, i’ve always been to scared someone might hear me haha Do you have any plans for the band for this year and into next year? We just released 2 new singles ‘The Fall of Divinity’ and ‘Voidwalker’ and we plan to release 1 more during the fall. They are going to be part of part 1 of an album set to release somewhere in the first half of next year if all goes to plan. Do you currently have any new songs/albums ready to be released? Yes! 1 more single are getting released this fall. A long with part 1 of an entire full length concept album. If you could play at any venue in the world where would you choose? That is a tough one since there are so many legendary venues out there. Royal albert hall is definitely one of them and any stage on Wacken Open Air would be awesome. Do you have a favourite album? If so, what is it? Isn’t it an unsung rule to never ask a metal head about their favourite album? Its like picking your favourite cat.. or child. Wintersun Forest seasons are definitely high up there together with Amorphis’ Queen of time that I think is one of the best albums ever. I also have to mention Sabaton` ‘Great War’, I love that. Do you have any guilty pleasure songs/albums? Lady Gaga – Born this way, that was my jam back when it came out. I still love it! If you were putting together the greatest show on earth, who would be playing? Wow! The greatest show on earth.. It would have to include Metallica and Iron Maiden, those guys are of course metal legends. I would love to have Machine Head and Gojira there too and definitely Tool. And then I would say humbly that Tessia could be the first warm-up band or even just entertaining the people that were hanging up their coats haha Can you remember the first album you bought with your own money? What was it and do you still have it? I can actually. I bought Led Zeppelin Mothership together with Tool 10000 Days, I still have and love them both. As your fans will be reading this, is there any message you would like to send out to them? Never let anyone say that you can’t do something just because you are who you are. When I say this I think about being a woman in a man dominated music genre. It is definitely getting better but there are still people out there who actually believe that being a female singer and growler is a joke. Finally, let us know all your social media sites so your fans, old and new, can find and follow/like you! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tessiaband Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TessiaBand YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tessia2021 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2qB2dNnA0tnNNX72gn5VnW?si=rElO5 GQaQPirvb8cd3OeYg We, at The Metal Asylum, would like to thank you for your time. Is there is anything further that you would like to add? Hmm… We want to thank The Metal Asylum for showcasing us and giving us a platform to speak, and thanks anyone who read this to the end, we are grateful and appreciate you more than you could imagine. We create music we love ourself, and love to blend metal genres and Tessia are better and stronger than ever and hope people are willing to check us out! This interview is the property of The Metal Asylum Can you tell us about the origin of the band name, a history of the band and a little bit about the various members? Since I was 18 years old I played in all kinds of bands as a drummer. Being able to play guitar was an unfulfilled dream I had since I was 12 years old, so about 10 years ago I just picked up the guitar, learned how to play and decided to record a solo album. Why solo? After all these years I just had enough of ‘ band democracy’ and decided it would be best if I would be completely in control of recording my album. I did however need other musicians for the album, since I can play various instruments, but not all of them. So I hired singers for lyrics & vocals and guitarists to play guitarsolos, since I’m not that confident about my own solo-ing skills. Are you all from the same area? How did you get together as a band? We’re not a band, but I work with guest musicians who come from all over the place, mainly from the US and Europe. They all record their parts in their home studios and we co-work completely online. Who are your favourite artists/bands and how have they influenced your own sound? My ultimate favourites are AC/DC and Van Halen. I’m not trying to sound like them, but I listened so much to them, especially when I was younger, that their music was hammered into my DNA. I guess that a good listener will hear elements of their style, music and playing in my music. Did you always have the ambition to be a musician and in a band or did you originally have other plans? I always had that dream since I was a kid and admired all the great bands with my jaws open. In hindsight I’ve been dreaming way too long….the ambition came about 10 years ago when I actually turned that dream into action mode. What songs or albums are on your current playlist? Very few actually, I’m soaked up by my own music at the moment because of the recording of my new album (release date December 1 by the way). If I have to mention one, then I’d say Eric Steckel. He’s a phenomenal heavy rock blues guitarists. I discovered him not too long ago and he is one of the best guitarists around! I can listen to his music for hours. Do you sing in the shower? Eehhhh…..no……my singing sucks, even in the shower Do you have any plans for the band for this year and into next year? Yeah sure, I recently released 2 singles from my upcoming album, called ‘Here to Stay’, which will be released on December 1. I wrote the music together with singer Keith St John whom you may know from Burning Rain, Kingdom Come, Montrose and many more. And there are guest solos from Gus G., Christopher Amott, Timo Somers, Per Nilsson, Joey Concepcion, Satchel and George Lynch. I am really proud of the album and I hope the fans will love it! If there is enough interes, both Keith and I are very eager to bring this music on tour! Do you currently have any new songs/albums ready to be released? See my previous answer If you could play at any venue in the world where would you choose? I like playing in smaller clubs and venues, since I really love to “feel the crowd”. The Marquee in London is such venue from my memory as a kid. I don’t know if it exists anymore. The Paradiso in Amsterdam is a legendary venue as well Do you have a favourite album? If so, what is it? I’ve got many favourite albums, mainly old school ones. Here’s a few of them: AC/DC – If you want Blood You’ve got it
• Van Halen – Women & Children First
• Thin Lizzy – Thunder & Lightning
• UFO – strangers in the Night
• Lamb of God – Killadelphia
• Arch Enemy – Tyrants of the rising sun

Do you have any guilty pleasure songs/albums?

Despite it’s controversial title I always loved the Adolescent Sex song by a band called Japan in the 80’s. Kind of New Wave style. I don’t know why I liked it since I was into Hard Rock already, but it has just a great groove

If you were putting together the greatest show on earth, who would be playing?

Pffff…..difficult to choose from all the musicians I admire…… first of all I want John Sykes back in the spotlights, so John would play lead guitar with myself on rhythm guitar. As a singer I pick Keith St John, since he is so good and we’ve worked together for so long without playing on stage. Ray Luzier is the drummer, I love his style! And on bass a French guy called Franck Hermanny. He has a very groovy, funky style and would make a perfect fit with Ray I’m sure.

Can you remember the first album you bought with your own money? What was it and do you still have it?

That must have been Boston – Don’t look back, and yes I still have it and cherish it!!

As your fans will be reading this, is there any message you would like to send out to them?

Please take some time and listen to my music, that’s the best reward I can get from making music. On a more inspirational note I’d say: whatever your dream is, stop dreaming and just do it! Action!! Anything is possible if you have the drive and the will to do what you love !

Finally, let us know all your social media sites so your fans, old and new, can find and follow/like you!

If you visit my Linktree profile there you find all the links to all my profiles:

https://linktr.ee/roncoolen

and please let me know what you think of my music, I love to communicate with fans!

We, at The Metal Asylum, would like to thank you for your time. Is there is anything further that you would like to add?

Thanks guys for having me here!

I’d say we’ve talked enough now, let’s look at some of my music: ‘HEAVY METAL TILL I’M DEAD’

This interview is the property of The Metal Asylum

Can you tell us about the origin of the band name, a history of the band and a little bit about the various members?

Well, everything began when I become to get bored of the new music, nothing interesting to hear but what I find the worst; without any meaning to give to the listener, that’s why I decide to make the music I wanted to hear. The Project’s Name it’s an invention of what could be an ancient entity living inside us all, and it’s only objective is make us think. I’m the only member of this project, who I’m it’s not relevant, I want the focus to be in the music.

Are you all from the same area? How did you get together as a band?

Since it’s a one-man project, yes, I’m from Chile

Who are your favourite artists/bands and how have they influenced your own sound?

This one is hard to answer; I listen almost everything: from classical music to extreme metal. If I got to pick my favourites I can say Claude Debussy, Anorexia Nervosa, Rage, and King Crimson. I can say that how they influenced my sound it’s not their sound, but the originality that I found in them.

Did you always have the ambition to be a musician and in a band or did you originally have other plans?

Sure, but what I wanted more was to give something to think. Many find a way to do it, some are painters, others are writers, I choose to be a musician (or at least try it).

What songs or albums are on your current playlist?

Currently you can find Mind Labyrinth, my first EP, and there’s 3 singles: Libera Me!, Take my Heart and Oscuridad Abismal

Do you sing in the shower?

Do you have any plans for the band for this year and into next year?

Just keep making music, if it’s possible, maybe a video.

Do you currently have any new songs/albums ready to be released?

If you could play at any venue in the world where would you choose?

Ancient Roman Coliseum at night.

Do you have a favourite album? If so, what is it?

Chaining The Katechon by Deathspell Omega

Hahaha, sure, Talking Heads – Girlfriend is Better

Was In the court of the Crimson King by King Crimson, sadly I don’t have it anymore.

Stay with Syrkander travelling the boundless corridors that compose the labyrinth of the mind.

As social you can find me on Instagram, as platforms in all the usuals (Spotify, Bandcamp, YouTube, etc)

Thank you so much for your time as well and for contacting me, hope you enjoy the journey Syrkander is making.

Heretoir is a post (black) metal band from Germany, that combines the raw energy of black metal and the melancholic emotions of post rock with the rhythmic power of modern melodic death metal. David, our singer, alternates between screaming and clean vocals and our lyrics are about personal experiences, melancholy, urban life, nature and what it’s like to be human living in a dying world. The bandname is a coinage, its basis is the word heretic. For us the bandname means something like “finding your own way” or “chosing your own path in life”. The band was founded by David in 2006. A few years later I joined, since David and I knew each other for quite some time and we realized, that we are very much interested in the same music. A bit later the line up was completed and we played our first live shows. To this day we played shows with Katatonia, Killswitch Engage, Enslaved, Alcest, Agalloch, Der Weg einer Freiheit and many other bands and we released more than four records. Our new full-length called “Nightsphere” will be released on October 6th.

Three of us live in the area around Munich in southern Germany. Our drummer lives in Hamburg and one of us comes from Belgium. We met in local metal clubs and at shows, that we played with different bands of ours.

For me it would be Ulver, Katatonia, Alcest, Agalloch, Wolves in the throne room, Darkthrone, Fall of Efrafa and In Flames. I listen to a wide spectrum of different genres, but of course black metal, melodic death metal and crust punk have been major influences for me. I love the atmosphere of old school black metal bands, but I also like the emotional intensity of more modern black metal acts. I am a huge fan of the frailty of post rock and the power of death metal. I grew up listening to In Flames and Dark Tranquillity a lot and I love those bands to this day. They formed my love for melody, atmosphere and darkness and I guess you can hear that on the upcoming Heretoir record.

When I discovered metal in high school I immediately wanted to learn to play guitar. A few weeks later I bought a bass and a guitar and shortly after that I started to write songs. So I didn’t think about being a musician a lot, for me it was just the natural thing to do and I consider myself very lucky to have found other great human beings with whom I can share this passion.

“A thirst for summer rain” by Lustre, “We are the apocalypse” by Dark Funeral and (as always) “The great cold distance” by Katatonia and “Damage done” by Dark Tranquillity.

We have a lot of plans! We will play together with Alcest in October. Shortly afterwards our new album “Nightsphere” will be released. We will promote the record and tour Europe from October 20th to 28th. We will play some other shows in November and play our first South America Tour in march of 2024. In the meantime we are already working hard on new material for upcoming records. So we are quite busy at the moment.

Our new record called “Nightsphere” will be released on October 6th. You can already preorder it and watch the music video for our first single called “Twilight of the machines”.

If you could play at any place in the world where would you choose?

Ashes against the grain by Agalloch. It is an atmospheric masterpiece and I really love the fusion of black metal, post rock and doom. The melancholic darkness, that can be found on this record, is just perfect.

Katatonia, Alcest, Wolves in the throne room, In Flames, Agalloch, Harakiri for the Sky, Der Weg einer Freiheit and of course it would feature the reunion of Fall of Efrafa.

I am not 100% sure, but it must have been either Soulfly or Metallica.

I want to thank every single Heretoir fan from the bottom of my heart for supporting this band. It makes me really happy to know, that there are people out there who enjoy the music we write and it really means the world to me to meet so many lovely people at our shows. Thank you.

https://heretoir.bandcamp.com/album/nightsphere https://evilgreed.net/de/collections/heretoir https://www.instagram.com/heretoir_official/ https://www.facebook.com/heretoir

Thank you very much for the interesting questions and the opportunity to talk about Heretoir.

This interview is the property of The Metal Aylum

I am actually a solo musician, as a multi-instrumentalist I write, perform all the songs in the album. Name is actually man original name, which is a very unique one, I decided to use it as my artist name as well. Only the vocalists are participating as featured artists, but I also write most of the vocal lines as well.

no answer to this as I am a solo musician 🙂

Meshuggah, Dream Theater, Pantera, Periphery, Animals as Leaders, Architects

It was my childhood dream, dream is coming true now 🙂

Meshuggah – Obzen, Monuments – In Stasis , Humanity’s Last Breath – Ashen

Oh sometimes, who doesnt 🙂

This year my first EP will come out, and next year I am considering releasing another EP, with more collaboration and featured artists

Yes album is ready, and the next single will be out on 22nd of September, it’s called Battlefield.

Definitely Wacken Open Air Main stage!

Dream Theater Metropolis Pt2 Scenes from a Memory – never gets old

Nope I don’t think so 🙂 I love to listen all types of songs as long as they emotionally influence, affect me.

All my favourite and inspired bands as mentioned before, but as well as I would add Metallica, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, The Beatles, Guns’n Roses, Rammstein (for some massive live sound and experience)

Oh it was a very small, a local rap band. Album is called “Cartel – Cartel” (name of the band and the album is the same). I still have it but as a cassette 🙂

I love them all, and deeply appreciate the support they give to me

IG : @cevret_music Facebook, Spotify, and all other platforms @cevret as well as my homepage is a good way to reach all these : https://www.cevret.com/

I would like to thank The Metal Asylum team for giving me this chance, you guys are awesome 🙂

J.P. KROM, I sing and I play the guitar. This is a soloist project, I started it years ago when I was really bored with singers and their egocentrism. I decided to sing, but it took years to “discover” my own voice. I was in a male choir and after that with the speech therapist in that process. After recording two self-made albums of covers I decided to record an album with songs that I composed. Gothic influences were on me at that moment, but I decided to do the album with many influences as Zakk Wylde, heavy and a bite of progressive metal. I studied astrology and the path for the lyrics naturally channelled in that. The music had the same inspiration in a more abstract way. I decided to call the style “astrological metal” (after called AstroMetal) after a conversation with a classmate who called my music like that when I told her that the lyrics and the composition were based on that. To play live I called some musicians and the ones that were with me almost from the very beginning were Braulio Morales on the keyboards and Reynaldo Catalán on bass. In drums for the albums were session drummers, and for playing live the one that spent more time on the project was Patricio Orellana. Now Braulio Morales is part of the management of this project with me.

Braulio is from Coquimbo and we knew each other through a metal group on Facebook and with Reynaldo we knew each other when I was looking for a bassist, I asked a front woman if his bass player was interested in playing with me.

It is a very difficult question for me. My header bands are Slayer, Dream Theater and Guns N’ Roses, but what I do it’s not similar to that. But if you listen very carefully, you will find those influences. I really love Bloody Kisses and October Rust from Type O Negative, but they are not my favourite band (maybe if they just released those two albums). I love that style and I found it in other bands as well with songs that sound like that, but that the band don’t cultivate it. At the same, I love songs from bands that are gothic, but I don’t like most of the songs of the bands.

I don’t know. What I really like in life is creating, and the most abstract thing and complete thing in life that I found was music. Maybe it was the environment in which I was raised, with a lot of classic rock and alternative music, while the other families were listening to popular music, this different music was been injected into the depths of my mind. Also the art in general was very appreciated. I think in my youth I was shocked by rock stars and after that the metal, and their divergent thinking. Music was always my company and drug, a world that I can travel anytime: to different places and through the time.

Delain, Shadowside, Liv Sin, Adrenaline Mob, Moonspell, Type O Negative, Masterplan, Charon, Samael, Beesech, and a lot of more bands.

I just think in how to resolve some problems of the day and I try to project myself.

I would like to work with a publisher and play live in festivals in Europe. And prepare my next album.

Yes, Astrometal is an EP that is going to be released soon. Luna Plutón is a single that has been released on August 17th.

I really need to play and know the Netherlands. Their constructions and their people.

I have no guilt for the music I like. But if I can talk music that is not metal, I would recommend to you “Corazones”, from the Chilean band “Los Prisioneros”. What a great album is it.

Guns N’ Roses, Dream Theater, Slayer and Type O Negative.

It was the Cowboys from Hell from Pantera. Yes! I still have it, but I don’t know where!

The message would be two questions: What do you like the most from what I do? What ideas do you have for me to do in this project?

WEBSITE: https://jpkrom.com/ SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2yKNU… YOUTUBE: / @jpkromofficial INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jpkrom/ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/J.P.KromMusic

Just thanks to The Metal Asylum for your space for this gothic metal artist from Chile who makes Astrometal!

Well, Augurium’s been technically active since August of 2015. We’ve gone through a few line-up changes throughout the years for each different record of the band and it’s always been an interesting experience w/ each line-up. I personally think each release reflects who we were as musicians at the time and shows both musically and quality-wise how much each line-up grew. I think our current line-up is the strongest and most mature music-wise. The history of the band name? Growing up I always loved horror movies, in particular Omen. So, being cool and wanting to stand out from the crowd – we decided to look up words in different languages and we landed on Augurium which is Latin for Omen.

Actually no, 3 of the members are from Saskatchewan and the other 2 are from British Columbia! I and Logan were a part of Augurium before it dissolved and we decided to get it back up and running in 202. I had previously played alongside Yianni when I first started out in the metal scene back in 2013 so that was an easy addition. Reid (our bassist) actually filled in the role of live bassist for a few shows shortly before we dissolved the band back in August of 2019 so it made sense to get him back into the fold as a permanent member and Taylor (our drummer) had actually played alongside a show with us back on tour in 2018 and we’ve remained in contact since. Although the distance made it quite difficult, we powered through and created what I believe is our strongest release to date.

Mental Cruelty, Septic Flesh, and Belphegor to name a few. We’ve always had a blackened death sound but the ability to add orchestration to our sound was a game changer and brought EVERYTHING we’ve wanted to life.

Honestly, no. Growing up I wanted to be a police officer or in the military but as soon as my mother put a guitar in my hands, it was game over. I’ve been playing since I was 12 years old and it won’t be changing any time soon, haha.

The Pain Remains 1 – 3 by Lorna Shore, Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light by Woods of Ypres, and Virus of the Mind by Starkill.

I mean… I do.. but is it good? Absolutely not. I think we all pretend to be Celine Dion or Axl Rose in the shower.

Yes, Augurium is touring western Canada this summer and we intend to do festivals across Canada and another tour in 2024.

Yes! Augurium has released two singles “Ancient Grimoire and Phantom Parallax” off our upcoming album “Unearthly Will” which comes out on August 25th, 2023!

Wacken open air, for sure. Those festivals in Europe are definitely a bucket list.

I do, Rust in Peace by Megadeth. It was the first album that I fell in love with and it’s been a fuel source of inspiration and power since I first heard it back in 2007.

I have a few.. I LOVE Celine Dion, “My heart will go on”, “I drove all night”, etc. Gotta mix it up haha.

Well, I believe Augurium, Megadeth, Mental Cruelty, Possessed and Hypocrisy. That would be THE show for myself.

That’s tough but probably Killing is My Business… and Business is Good.. by Megadeth. And yes, I have many copies!

I hope everyone enjoys and welcomes this new era of the band and loves it as much as we all do.

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/AuguriumSK Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/auguriumband/?hl=en Bandcamp – https://augurium.bandcamp.com/

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about Augurium and myself, it was a pleasure!