Tag: "relapse records"

Five years after the release of Phantom Limb, Pig Destroyer are about to make a whole bunch of grindcore fans really happy with their new album Book Burner. Just as ferocious and unforgiving as ever, this album is going to receive a lot of attention in year end lists, as it should. Of course, the second we heard about the new album we had questions, and Blake Harrison (electronics) came to the rescue with some answers.

OS: In the five years it’s been since Phantom Limb, Pig Destroyer has seen a lot of change surrounding the band, including a new drummer—what of these things do you think had the most pronounced effect on the material on Book Burner?

BH: Well, I think the most pronounced influence on Book Burner was the time, we felt like we wanted the record to be lean, stripped down, fierce. Continue reading ‘Metal Monday: Pig Destroyer Q&A’

2012 has proven to be quite a year for extreme metal vocalist Travis Ryan thus far. With the latest Cattle Decapitation album, Monolith of Inhumanity, released back in May and the debut full-length of his side project/pseudo-super group Murder Construct — Results —coming at the end of August, ‘busy’ doesn’t begin to describe Ryan’s year in full. His work (and that of his respective bandmates) on both Monolith of Inhumanity and Results, will likely doubly cement his place on many year-end metal lists, and rightfully so. We had some questions for Travis about how things worked with the two bands, seeking to clear the air of things circulating on the rumor mill, and he was kind enough to give us all of the dirty details.

OS: First off, you must be one busy guy since you have two bands putting out huge releases this year. How is the year working out for you so far?

TR: It’s been a whirlwind of activity but kinda just hit a dead spot because the Shockwave tour Cattle Decapitation was supposed to be on got canned at the last minute. [This] was kind of a blessing in disguise for my personal life because I had proposed to my girlfriend like two days before I was supposed to leave, so we’ve been able to hang out instead of be apart, which is cool. Got to go to Comic Con, party with Dethklok and various Adult Swim TV personalities, and was miraculously able to shoot a Murder Construct and Cattle Decapitation video with director Mitch Massie from Indiana. He came through on tour with Retox so both bands seriously lucked out. With him in Indiana and us in California, it’s a nightmare trying to come up with enough elbow grease to make it work. Last year was a brutally busy point in my life writing both MC and CD full length albums’ worth of lyrics as well as busting my ass off hustling to pay bills and take care of business.

Check out the full interview after the jump

When it comes to metal, it’s hard to argue against tried and true traditions. Heck, there are still bands emulating the godfathers of metal, Black Sabbath. Though some bands may be treated as pariahs for being unoriginal, many bands are given the exact opposite treatment, being ostracized for changing from their beloved ways (Morbid Angel, anyone?). Dying Fetus don’t really have to worry about that. For about 20 years, Dying Fetus have been putting out strong metal albums, and the metal world has been moshing right along with them. The band’s latest release, Reign Supreme, isn’t looking to change that mold in any way, but does that matter?

Continue reading ‘Metal Monday: The Supreme Reign Of Dying Fetus’

On May 9, 2012, Josh Weaver was just about two weeks out from the release of CVI, the first full-length with his band Royal Thunder on Relapse Records. That evening he took some time out of his day to have a chat with OurStage to answer questions about the new album and summer touring plans. Royal Thunder are one of many doomy, sludgy, heavy rock ‘n’ roll bands hailing from the south, and they have already received some great press from the likes of NPR, Paste Magazine and BrooklynVegan. Going on their first full national tour this summer with Holy Grail and Valient Thorr, the band faces an eventful season.

OS: You’re quickly approaching the release of your first full-length with Royal Thunder, how are you feeling about it?

JW: I’m super excited to get it out, man. We worked really hard on it so from the time we got done with it ‘til now we’ve been anticipating it. We’re all really excited.
Continue reading ‘Metal Monday: Royal Thunder Interview’

One of the more anticipated albums in the metal community at large this summer has to be Revocation‘s upcoming album Chaos of Forms, set for release on August 16th (Relapse Records), a follow-up to 2009′s excellent Existence Is Futile. Technically, Chaos is the band’s fourth album, but third under the Revocation moniker and second release on Relapse. Having been named the Number 1 modern metal guitarist by MetalSucks earlier this year, David Davidson shouldered some pretty high expectations alongside his Revocation bandmates but, boy, did they ever deliver. Chaos of Forms is certainly one of the strongest metal albums of 2011 so far. David was nice enough to answer some of our questions regarding the new album and Revocation in general amidst their busy summer touring schedule.

OS: You guys play a lot of hometown shows in Boston, how do these gigs usually compare with gigs in other cities?

DD: It’s always great to play in your hometown since all your friends come out and it feels like one big party. Plus, if we’re doing a local one off show, we know that we don’t have to do an eight+ hour long drive the next day so we can hang out and rage all night after the gig!

OS: Have you ever thought about having guest spots on your albums? If you could have anyone guest on a Revocation song, who would you choose?

DD: We’ve had guest spots on our records before. On Empire of the Obscene we had our buddies Pat Henry (Swashbuckle) and James Delahanty (Random Acts of Violence) do guest vocals on the title track. It would be rad if we could get someone like Phil Anselmo or Mike Patton to do some guest vocals on a song. I really admire both their styles a lot.

Revocation, looking grim

Continue reading ‘Metal Monday: Revocation Q&A’

For those who have followed the OurStage blog for awhile, you may remember my Resurgence of Thrash post back in May. Well, here comes Part Two. Thrash has been on the upswing since this last post, with thrash legends writing albums and planning tours and baby bands popping up left and right. In the seven months since Resurgence of Thrash appeared, this trend has exploded in the Bay State (reminiscent of the 80s Bay Area). The thrash scene is just the latest addition to the collection of microcosms found around the Bay State, including the metalcore, hardcore and punk scenes.

Continue reading ‘Metal Monday: Is the Bay State the New Bay Area?’