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Interviews & Features

Matthew C Whitaker: ‘It is sentimental, yet understated!’

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We chatted to the incredible Matthew C Whitaker the it her day about his latest solo album, current UK tour and future plans with HENGE. Check it all out below!

Is there a certain story or theme around Songs for the Weary, or is it more each track is its own, individual thing?

The lyrics are not necessarily linked by a theme. Rather, the eight gentle songs that make up Songs for the Weary are threaded together sonically and through a shared mood, a lightness of touch, a soothing whistfulness…

It’s been ten years since your last solo album — what prompted a return to this project now?

I am always making lists of the songs that I haven’t yet recorded and dreaming up albums out of the material. This never stopped during the decade between solo albums. My first album, The Man with the Anvil Hat, came out in 2016 just as HENGE were on the cusp of going full time. Four albums of cosmic, rave-infused prog rock and a tour schedule of 100+ shows per year soon followed.

Then 2020/2021 came with all of its cancelled plans, so I approached my dear friend and neighbour Alan Keary (who makes his own music under the name Shunya). He is a brilliant producer and string arranger/player. When I showed him the list of songs on the latest album I had dreamed up, he got really excited about putting string arrangements on them. And so we cracked on…

How does writing your solo work differ from working on stuff like HENGE?

It’s not actually as different as it might seem. Nearly all of my songs start with chords or groove and end with lyrics as the last element to be added. The pmusic is often highly developed in the middle of this process. This is partly because I find writing lyrics to be the hardest part, so I need to be sure the music is good enough before I go to the trouble… combined with a little procrastination around the most toilsome part of the job.

The main difference in the process is that there is usually a longer period of research for HENGE lyrics, as the songs often have scientific subject matter.

Do you have a favourite track on Songs for the Weary?

Yes, I think “Mind How You Go” is my favourite song on the album. It is written from the perspective of a worried mother as her loved ones embark on a car journey in icy, foggy weather. The simple elegance of the melody and loving concern in the lyrics are set against an extremely sparse arrangement. It is sentimental, yet understated. I am particularly happy with how it sounds on the record.

Is solo writing still going on after the release? Or is it back to focusing on HENGE or other projects for a bit?

Yes, I am always knocking around musical ideas. I have a couple of guitars hanging on the wall of my living room (one of them — a ¾-size antique Italian classical guitar — makes a cameo on the front of the album cover). So I only have to pluck one off its stand and see if anything comes out.

That said, there is always some HENGE going on. I also manage the band, so there is a constant slew of emails to answer. Between starting Songs for the Weary and releasing it, we released the HENGE album Alpha Test 4 and wrote/recorded/released and toured Journey to Voltus B.

My solo stuff has to fit around HENGE, not the other way around. So these solo albums might take a bit longer to make it from conception to release. However, I think it’s healthy to have contrasting musical projects running in parallel. I can always find a few hours to work on solo ideas.

You’re right in the middle of your UK tour to support the album — how’s it gone so far?

It has been wonderful!

As Alan was so deeply involved in the album, we decided to tour the record as a duo, with Alan playing an opening set of his Shunya material.

I wasn’t sure how many people would turn up to the shows, but so far each one has either been sold out or packed out. The audiences have struck the perfect balance between being attentive and up for the craic.

Do you have a Busy year planned for after the tour?

Yes, HENGE are touring Europe in the spring and then we have a very busy festival season. Plans are shaping up for the autumn but that is all top secret!

Do you have a dream tour lineup you’d want to be a part of? Anyone you’d want to support or friends you’d want to bring along?

It would be great to tour my solo show with a full band including a string quartet. With HENGE I’d love to open for The Prodigy.

If you could have written one song from history, what would it be and why?

Sorry to be boring but I don’t really think about this kind of question. I wouldn’t want to write someone else’s song. They have their songs and I have mine. I’m happy with that.

Interviews & Features

Barrel: ‘Some of us love slow proggy buildups, while some of us want to blast out thrashy riffs!’

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We had the pleasure of chatting to the amazing Finnish metal band Barrel about their recent debut album, the general scene and live plans. Check it all out below!

How would you describe the bands sound?

I rather wouldn’t but would let everyone decide for themselves. I find it increasingly difficult to describe our sound – where to begin, when no genre feels like home. There’s thrash, there’s heavy metal, there’s even a dash of black metal and some cello solos thrown in, so you tell me. Music is an artform and unless you as a musician set out to replicate a certain sound, it escapes verbal definitions. The more it does so, the better, as music speaks its own language.

Let’s put it this way: Barrel is the amalgamation of five sometimes very different musical tastes and interests. Some of us can’t agree on bands, but can work together seamlessly. Some of us love slow proggy buildups, while some of us want to blast out thrashy riffs. We arrange the songs together and our individual areas of interest seem to fit together, mostly without conflict.

Very often listeners seem to find elements of Judas Priest in there, but at least one of us strongly denies the allegation. Some evoke hallowed names such as King Diamond, while others speak of Black Sabbath in whispered tones. None of the aforementioned have had cello solos on their albums though, nor too many sections where the listener is picked up by desert winds or cast into the vastness of space.

What prompted the release of an album now, after a couple of EPs and singles?

The original idea was to release EP’s, since audiences seem to move away from the longer format and towards ever-shortening attention spans. Why concentrate on ten songs for two years, when you can release four on a tighter schedule and people will only listen to two?

Some of us also questioned the whole concept of an “LP”. The format was born out of the limitations of a vinyl disk, but that limitation does not exist anymore. So why do we stick to it? Think what you will of the digital world, but at least it has liberated art from such physical constraints.

Then again, art shouldn’t follow the whims of market forces, and what consumers want should be anathema to an artist. I guess an album was just a natural progression – a move forward – and since the material was there and a concept formed out of the creative maelstrom, why not?

You touched on the story/theme to the album in the presser, what inspired the idea?

Good question, which I had to actually stop and think about.

Ultimately, I can’t really say. When we wrote the songs, there was no concept, so they weren’t composed to fit a narrative or a given mold. The narrative came later and the preludes were composed to move the narrative forward. The theme – the metaphysics of Satan – probably arose from an interest in the dark side of humanity, the left-hand path, or the myriad of other names humanity has given to certain phenomena in ourselves over millennia. In a way, the theme was given to us by those forces and materialized by cryptomnesia, as the opening track suggests.
Talking about the concept almost feels to me as a post hoc explanation or rationalisation, where the concept only announced itself after it was completed and I find myself describing what became of it instead of the intention behind it. Perhaps one of those forces worked in the universe and manifested itself as an album for whatever purpose it has. Then again, perhaps it was just a product of electro-chemical processes in almost entirely mechanical meat puppets.

You also mentioned the Comic-books for the release, how did that idea come about?

We got acquainted with the artist Juha “Wuorlock” Vuorinen at a gig in his hometown. We had an afterparty (complete with sauna & beer, obviously) and stayed the night at his place (cheers again, Juha!). Sometime during the night, he showed us some of his work and the connection was there right away. Also sometime during the same night we agreed on a shirt design, the price of which none of us remembered the morning after.

Visualising our art in collaboration with another artist outside the mainstream has always interested me and music videos feel somewhat cliché, so working with Juha was an obvious path to take. A path we’re extremely glad to have taken.

What is the writing process like for the band?

The usual one, I think. Either Janne or Joonas, our guitarists, come up with a riff, and we jam together at Barrel HQ. That’s pretty much it. The jam sessions take a direction of their own with hardly any planning, so what you hear on the album (and especially the first two EP’s) is quite raw – no producers, no computer files getting polished, just a band playing together. Creativity, channeling whatever is the source of such a force.

Having said that, we actually did some pre-production with this album. We recorded demos and got together to just hang around and listen to them outside the rehearsal space. Some arrangements were made in that session, but it was just that one session. The vocals were also pre-produced in the sense that we recorded them in a separate session, altered some phrasings, developed lyrical themes, arranged backing vocals and such.

Do you have a busy year planned supporting the album through live shows?

Kinda. We’re at a stage where we still book our own shows and all of us still need to work those pesky day-jobs, so there are no huge tours or anything like that in the cards. Yet. We do about one or two shows a month for now. Live shows are the thing most of us do this for, and the world desperately needs more of them (not necessarily ours though), so we’d love to play more. It’s not an easy equation though, since the post-covid TikTok-plagued scene is a high-cost, low-pay environment.

Any hopes/plans to make it out to the UK?

Hopes? We’d love to. Plans? Not at this moment. Any promoters out there, take note.

Do you have a dream tour lineup you’d want to be a part of? Anyone you’d want to support or friends you’d want to bring along with you?

As there would be five very different answers to this, four of us named one band each:
– Mayhem, as the theme of the album would be a good fit and their dark energy would certainly force us to perform on a new level
– Primal Fear, since Ralf Scheepers is our vocalist Valtteri’s vocal coach
– Judas Priest, just because
– Megadeth, especially now that they are calling it a day
We’d also bring some of our friends from the New Wave of Finnish Heavy Metal alliance along, so this one seems to turn into a festival. Go check them out at https://www.instagram.com/newwaveoffinnishheavymetal/.

If you could have written one song, what would it be and why?

It would be the song that changed someone’s life in a truly profound way. It’s yet to be written.

Interviews & Features

The Trousers: ‘The rule is that there always has to be a riff!’

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We had the pleasure of chatting to the amazing Zoltán Kőváry of The Trousers the other day about their latest album release, their sound and plans for the year. Check it out below!

How would you describe your sound?

It’s classic and vintage-based but not retro. We are starting from 70’s hard rock and garage rock like Sabbath, AC/DC, Motörhead or Iggy & The Stooges but also influenced by later bands like The Hellacopters, Alice in Chains, Queens of the Stone Age or Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

You’re seven albums deep now; how would you compare last years Necessary Evil with your early work? 

The sound is more professional and heavier, all the instruments have weight on this album. The songwriting got more mature and the melodies are catchy. We always try to create a “ten single record”, no fillers, no self-serving experimental pieces… Each song contains a hook in a different way. The rule is that there always has to be a riff, as AC/DC and Black Sabbath taught us, and a catchy melody in the refrain as Thin Lizzy showed.

Is there a particular theme or story around Necessary Evil, or is it all individual tracks?

As the songs were composed in the same period, they somehow relate to each other. Let me tell you an example. The Stones’ top albums between 1968 and 72 were Beggars Banquet, Let it Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street. Beggars and Exile were done within a session, that is why they are very coherent in style and sound. Let it Bleed and Sticky are just a collections of extraordinary songs, but these albums are not more then the sum of their parts. The spirit of “Necessary Evil” therefore is closer to “Beggars Banquet” than to “Sticky Fingers”, if you know what I mean.

What is the writing process like for the band?

In The Trousers I am the songwriter. The boys: Pete Locke on guitar, András Lázár on bass and Samu Gulyás on drums, put their parts in the songs when they are fully composed. Usually I write albums within a few months, most of the time during the summer break. Necessary evil was different. The influence is coming from different directions; music, movies, relationships, crises. For example the death of my late brother, Peter, who was also a musician, influenced several songs on Animal gun (2022) and Necessary evil.

Do you have a personal favourite track off the latest album, and why?

I would pick ‘On the river again’. It is very special, because it doesn’t contain three parts as usual  – verse, bridge, refrain – but four, as it has two refrains. I would consider it as one of the best songs I have ever created. Heavy riff and melodic vocals – the way we like it. I really love an 80’s US metal band called Dokken because their songs are based on the same idea, although the style is different. But Thin Lizzy and Alice in Chains are also similar from that point of view.

Is there new writing going ahead, even though the album is still recent?

I usually do not write for a while after an album release. I am waiting for the new inspiration. Maybe in the summer!

Do you have a busy year planned in terms of touring?

In the spring we will have several concerts in three countries including ours, Czech Republic and Slovakia, and will play with bands like Konflikt, Degradace, Zakazan Yovoce and Asphalt Horsemen. Can’t wait for it!

Any plans to swing by the UK for a show or two soon?

We have friends in a UK band called New Generation Superstars, and we have been planning a tour together for a while; I hope it will happen sooner or later!

Do you have a dream tour lineup you’d want to be a part of? Anyone you want to support or friends you want to bring along?

There are some awesome bands we would happily support like The Hellacopters or Gluecifer… These are bands with similar aesthetics and attitude, they are our heroes so it will be awesome. But we would play with anyone who has the rock n roll attitude! Formerly we have played with MC5, Black Stone Cherry, Tygers of Pan Tang, Dirty Honey, Atomic Bitchwax, Peter Pan Speedrock… Great memories!

If you could have written a song from history, what would it have been and why?

Maybe WW I; it really changed the landscape of modern Europe in a very tragic way, and we still bear the cross of it… It’s never enough to talk about these dramatic events that shaped our word. Of course there are events in our current culture that are similarly dramatic, but it’s too easy to fall into politics and I don’t want to.

Interviews & Features

Sons of Town Hall: ‘It is an uncanny, almost magical collaboration!’

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We chatted to the awesome Americana/folk duo about their sound, upcoming album and touring plans! Check it all out below!

How would you describe your sound?

It’s a mix of British and American folk influences–put Nick Drake and John Martyn in a crock pot with Bob Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel and you get close. 

Quite an interesting name for a band, given that both parties are from seemingly different worlds. How did it come about?

We wanted to name ourselves after a boat that had crossed the Atlantic, given that we’re from England and America. We stumbled upon the story of a man named Poppa Neutrino who built a raft of junk called The Son of Town Hall (because those words were carved into a piece of wood toward the bow).  We studied the man and became increasingly fascinated by his story, which we incorporated into the mythic world we created for ourselves.

The single drops next week, what can you tell me about it? Is there a certain story around the track? 

There are stories behind all our tracks, many of them are found in the podcast Madmen Cross the Water. Sirens recasts the Greek myth onto the American frontier and plays upon the idea of mirages and false hopes, which all too often lead the weary, desperate traveler astray.  More generally, though, it’s a song about looking for some kind of comfort and kindness in the world, wherever that can be found.

It is part of a wider release, Of Ghosts and Gods, releasing at the start of next month. How does the track fit into that? Is it all of a similar vein in terms of sound and story, or is it more focused per individual track? 

Sirens is unique in that it features the Canadian trio The Pairs singing the part of the sirens in the choruses. So sonically, this song stands out a bit as no other track features any other vocalists. But the production is similar. There is a gorgeous string quartet on this track who play on much of the album. And conceptually, this song is very much part of the album’s story cycle, which follows the two protagonists around the world in adventure after adventure, managing to maintain their optimism and friendship no matter the trial or the setback. 

What is the writing process like for the band?

We have a great deal of respect for each other’s gifts as a writer and trust in the other’s artistry. Often one of us has the start, but as we sit together and begin play and sing, the song very quickly transforms into something that sounds like us. It is an uncanny, almost magical collaboration, which I think can be sensed simply in the blend of our voices, which makes the writing process move very quickly once an idea is there.

Do you have a favourite track on the upcoming album?

That’s like choosing between children! It’s a tough one. ‘Antarctica’ is one of the more epic numbers on the album. At the start of it, you’d have no idea how soaring the song was going to end up. The production is a metaphor for the message of the song, which is about believing in a dream despite the odds and obstacles. Every great journey begins with a single step, as they say, and so too with this song, as it starts plaintively in unison and ends with strings and brass and percussion and lots of voices. I think the song is particularly relevant at this moment where so many feel unhappy with how the world is and want to be able to believe in something bigger and better. Our project creates a space for that.

Had quite the busy year of touring already in the leadup to the release, right? Does the business continue throughout the year? 

Pretty much, yes. We’ve been getting more and more offers to play. The issue now is how to honour them all!

Any plans to play the UK again any time in the future?

Yes, we have a string of dates in June that we’re very much looking forward to.

What brought the idea for doing a podcast around?

Our show has always merged storytelling and song. And the stories we’ve created aren’t the typical singer-songwriter earnestly telling you how they wrote this or that song. We take audiences to New Orleans and talk about working in the circus or describe the storms at sea that nearly killed us. We’ve always been interested in how far we could take a tale. During Covid, we were unable to tour and so we began writing more elaborate versions of the stories, which ultimately became the podcast. If you see us in concert, I think you’ll find the pod to be a really beautiful way of going deeper into the fiction and turning us, ironically, into more real characters.

Do you have a dream tour lineup you’d want to be a part of? Anyone you’d want to support or friends you want to bring along with you? 

If Tom Waits asked us to jump on his bus, we wouldn’t hesitate!

If you could have written one song from history, what would it be and why? 

We love so many songs. But we’re pretty happy with how all of them turned out. We’re more interested in continuing to craft our music together and push the performing genre in as interesting and moving a way as we can.

Interviews & Features

Stone Sea: ‘Ad Astra is quite stoic in the sense that it observes these struggles from a more distant perspective!’

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We had the pleasure of chatting to Elvis of the amazing Stone Sea the other day, talking about their newest album, the Irish music scene and their plans moving forward. Check it out below!

How would you describe your sound?

Groovy stoner blended with grunge grit and a hint of world music.  

What caused the relocation from Brazil to Ireland back in the early days of the band? 

It was a personal decision. Initially, I was only going to stay in Ireland for a year on an exchange program to learn English properly and experience new cultures. But I ended up loving it too much and stayed for ten years. I did miss the sun, though — so I eventually moved to Spain (laughs).

How would you compare the scene in Ireland compared to back home? 

Brazil is huge — you could probably fit Ireland inside the state of São Paulo. For being so big, filled with people and rich in cultural diversity, I feel the rock scene is quite scattered. Venues are often far from each other, especially considering there are only so many that welcome original music. That makes it hard to organise and to really feel like there’s a cohesive scene. Ireland, on the other hand, is small, and venues are much closer together. That makes it easier to organise shows and for bands to know each other. I think it was much easier to get yourself seen there compared to Brazil.

You’re finally back with a sophomore album at the start of the year. What’s it like having a decade between LPs? How would you compare your debut to Ad Astra? 

The difference is quite considerable! Origins was way rawer composition-wise. I think the experience of diving deeper into other cultures, being curious about harmony theory, and being open-minded about adding and experimenting with other elements made the songs more mature. I think the first songs were way more to the point, whereas now I like to really taste all the nuances of a feeling or a mental state, and you can clearly notice that in Ad Astra.

What is the writing process like for the band? 

It usually starts with a musical idea — a riff that comes to mind and starts to develop by itself. I record these ideas on my phone, then at some stage I develop them further by adding additional sections or vocal melodies, for example.

Then, when I have the song done — or at least a chunk of it — I bring it to rehearsal and they help me shape it further by developing other sections or adding their flavour and influences on their instruments. The end result is always something that everybody’s happy with, unless I’m very stubborn about something specific (laughs).

Is there a certain story or theme running though Ad Astra? Or is it more individual stories? 

They came about more as individual stories. Some songs date back to 2017, when the first ideas appeared — like Ad Astra itself. A few took a long time to fully develop, and they reflect different aches I dealt with over the years. Ad Astra is quite stoic in the sense that it observes these struggles from a more distant perspective, which is why I chose it as the album title. Also, because in a way we’re sending these experiences out into the universe.

Do you have a favourite track from Ad Astra, and why?

Pff… I don’t know. They’re all my babies — I can’t say I love one more than the others. But I can say that ‘Stain’ came out very punchy in the studio because Connor and I were very in sync. Musically, ‘Age of Tears’ is heavy as hell and super fun to play. I love how the production of ‘Alien’ turned out — it feels great to listen to. The solo in ‘Left to Be’ is probably one of my favourites I’ve written so far, and the lyrics of ‘Ad Astra’ are the ones I like the most. 

The only one that doesn’t stand out as much to me personally is ‘Time to Change’. Don’t get me wrong — I love playing it live. But weirdly enough, it’s the one getting more and more streams. I guess because it’s more easily digestible, whereas I tend to prefer the more complex ones.

Busy rest of the year planned?

We’re currently in a writing phase. We already have seven new songs that we plan to record at some point this year. There are also some international shows being discussed, but we can’t confirm anything yet.

Do you have a dream tour lineup you’d want to be a part of? Anyone you’d want to support or friends you’d want to bring along?

I’d love to tour with Down — that’ll probably be my dream tour at the moment. Although that can change every time I think of it (laughs).

If you could have written one song from history, what would it be?

‘Wolf Moon’ from Type O Negative. I think Peter Steele was a genius to talk about the menstrual cycle in such a poetic way (honestly!)

Interviews & Features

Tailgunner: ‘The marks we leave on this world last longer than we do, and that’s okay!’

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We had the absolute pleasure to chat to Tom of the incredible Tailgunner in between tours to talk about their brand new album, all their touring, and shoot the shit about great bands! Check it all out below!

I imagine the last couple of years have been a whirlwind for the band, right?

Yeah, it’s so wild! It started three years ago and it’s really not stopped at all. It’s getting faster and faster, we have to keep one foot on the ground or it will spin out of control!

What’s it like to be signed to Napalm?

It’s great! I think we’re very fortunate. We had a label put out the first album, someone at that label believed in us. We had a great debut album with them and we made that album for no money at all. We went to them like ‘okay, we’ve proven our worth, give us some money’ and they were basically like ‘well you did it for no money last time, can’t you do it again?’. We said no, fuck you!

Napalm was the label we wanted to go to, I think they’re the world’s biggest metal label for a reason. The thing that’s really important to us is they don’t just have legacy bands that have made a name for themselves elsewhere 40 years ago. They have bands that they’ve taken from club bands to arena bands. I mean just look at Powerwolf! We’re a little different, but if we can have a career trajectory the same way, I’d be extremely pleased! With Napalm it feels like we’re in a place that we can grow, and we’re really happy with that!

You’ve just gotten home from touring Europe, right?

Yeah! We were out with Hammerfall, playing Spain, Portugal, Switzerland. Had a really amazing time with them! A fantastic band to tour with and the nicest guys, the crew, the tour manager, the bus driver, everyone! And the great thing about that tour was that us and Hammerfall are cut from the same cloth, it was just this rolling caravan of heavy metal nerds, basically! We could talk to them about all these artists and they’d be like ‘wow, this is a young band that are coming from the same place that we are’.

What’s the scene like over there compared to here?

I don’t know, honestly I don’t pay too much attention to what was going on in each individual country. There’s plenty of bands around in the scene! I think there’s more of a love for heavy metal in mainland Europe than in the UK. We’re fortunate to be from the UK as it allows us to have a fanbase here; if we were from the mainland I don’t think we’d do as well here as we do. But I think sometimes because the UK gets credited with making heavy metal music, it maybe gets given more credit in terms of quality and ingenuity. I think mainland Europe aren’t so proud. If it’s good, they don’t care if it’s been done before.

The album’s out on Friday [time of recording], right? Is there any overarching story to it in terms of writing, or is each track its own thing?

With our debut, that was written largely by myself and it was the first time I’d ever written songs. I never expected to be a songwriter. With Guns for Hire’s success it proved to me that maybe I can write songs, maybe people want to hear them, so I felt more confident. Also, we’d been out on the road, played over 100 shows, shared staged with legends. I think it’s very difficult for that stuff not to rub off on you. It made me more collaborative and more focused. The first album, I almost look at it as album zero, like a pilot episode, almost.

In terms of the overarching theme, there’s a theme of the album lyrically of dealing with your own mortality. It’s certainly not a concept album but there’s a lot of that theme. And to put it as more of a positive message, that through heavy metal and through art, you can live forever. The marks we leave on this world last longer than we do and that’s okay!

Has the rest of the band been involved in the writing this time around?

Yeah, absolutely! Because I’d wrote most of the first album before the band existed, that’s just how it all fell. This time we have the lineup; it’s been a hell of a lot more collaborative. I’m really proud of the others for stepping up! Zack [guitar] has four or five co-writes on this record. That’s amazing! And the album is all the better for the fact that Craig, Zack and Rhea have all wrote for it.

I imagine it’s cool to get everyone else’s inspirations in there, too!

This is it! You listen to Iron Maiden, for example, it’s Steven Harris band and all that, but some of the best songs for me are written by Adrian Smith. It would be crazy for me to tell anyone ‘hey, sit this one out’!

What was it like working on it with KK Downing?

He made us think twice… or 200 times… about everything. But that was the one lesson for me is that every single second, every single note, counts. He made us really consider every single thing we put down on track. Nothing was throwaway or ‘that’ll do’. We considered every last thing, sometimes to the point of madness!

Exactly, it’s having a fresh set of ears on it, especially from someone who’s been doing this as long as KK!

That’s it! If we couldn’t quite decide on something, having KK Downing as the final say, is not a bad person to have in that position!

Have you got any thoughts on the current state of the UK music scene?

I think there’s some really great bands coming through! A band that are doing great things currently are Rattlesnakes. Their singer Rowena, she reminds me of a young Dickinson or Dio or something! I’m really impressed by those guys. They said to us that having Guns for Hire come out and be successful showed them that actually you can be from the UK and play heavy metal and actually do well. Hopefully the success of us and those guys and other bands coming through will have even more bands continue to come through!

There are definitely more bands doing it, it really feels like a renaissance of the sound! Wailing Banshee are another great one coming through!

Love those guys! They supported us in the first show we played in Manchester! Great band!

Have you heard of Ominous Moon, from Essex? They’re like a blackened speed metal, definitely worth checking out! Really cool band!

You’ve got quite the busy rest of the year planned, right?

I leave tomorrow! I’ve been home for four days, just got back from Planet Rock Winters End, then the UK tour starts on Friday. That’ll run until the end of February. Then hitting the festival season really hard! Just announced two dates with Accept. Then there’s a lot more for the rest of the year that is booked and set to be announced. I think a lot of people will be very happy!

I don’t know how you find the time. If I was at home for just four days I don’t think I’d be able to move to do a full months tour!

Yeah, I mean I’ve not guilt tripped myself too much. Your pattern goes so far wrong that you come home like you know what, I’m not even going to try and sort that problem out until I’m up. If I’m honest, my days have consisted of waking up at like 11, having something to eat, doing press for like five/six hours, smoking a joint and then just chilling out for the rest of the night!

You said you’ve played with some legends already, is there any other dream tour lineup you’d want to be a part of?

Oh for sure, there’s so many bands we’d love to play with! I know Megadeth are doing their farewell tour, we’re hoping to talk to the right people about that! Obviously Iron Maiden. Whether that would happen I’m not sure. Priest is maybe more realistic, I’d love to play with Priest. I think one for me which could be a real possibility, at least I’d like to think so, is Helloween. I’m a huge, huge Helloween fan, they’re the reason I started playing, so if we could open for them that would really feel like a full circle moment for me. And, we’ve played with them before, but I’d love to do a full tour with Airbourne, love those guys!

Interviews & Features

Chuck Norris Experiment: ‘We find the UK audience to be more alert and into the music!’

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We had the pleasure of chatting to the awesome Chuck Ransom the other day about the release of their new B-Sides collection album, as well as their upcoming trip back to the UK! Check it out below!

How would you describe your sound? 

Action hard rock! That is a good name for what we do.

What made you put out a B-sides release, let alone a number of them? Is there any reason as to why some of the tracks didn’t make it on a full release?

This is actually the third album with B-sides, covers and unreleased material! Many of the songs are taken from tribute albums to different bands and artists that we are honoured to have been a part of, and some songs are simply taken from singles and B-sides from singles. All these songs are recorded in between album sessions.

Have the tracks changed since they were first written/performed?

Yes a bit, we usually start up with an almost finished song, and then add some tweeks & hooks. It is usually the solo parts that gets some extra love and changes.

Is there writing going on for the next full release, too?

Yes, we got 7 out of 12 songs ready for our next album. We aim for a 2027 release!

Got a pretty year so far for festival appearances, including coming over here for Call of the Wild, right?

Yes, we hope to be able to book a few more shows in the UK around the Call of the Wild festival, we love playing the UK!

And yes, we got some nice shows booked in Finland, Spain and Germany too for 2026.

You were last out here back in March, right? How does the scene in the UK compare to back home?

Yes, we played Hard Rock Hell in Great Yarmouth, which was a exellent event, very well organized!

The Swedish scene is a bit different from the UK scene. We find the UK audience to be more alert and into the music, Sweden is a bit more posh.

And in Sweden a nice hotel, food and drinks are standard, which is not always the case in the UK!

Have you got a busy rest of the year planned outside of the festivals announced?

Yup, we will spend this year on finnishing album no. 12.

Do you have a dream tour lineup you’d want to be a part of? Anyone you want to support or friends you want to bring along?

A Hellacopters / Gluecifer / Turbonegro tour is something we would love to support! It is so weird that they are not doing this.

If you could have written one song from history, what would it be?

Money wise I would go for “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby and personally since it is the best song ever written I would go for “Honey Bee” by Tom Petty.

Thank you for having me!

Interviews & Features

Eye of Melian: ‘In this age, I feel like connection is something that can never be emphasised enough!’

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We sat down to chat to the wonderful Martijn and Johanna of symphonic band Eye of Melian ahead of the release of their brand new album this coming Friday. Check out us talking about it and their touring plans below!

How would you describe your sound?

Johanna: I think we have created a new genre. It’s a combination of symphonic music, Hollywood music score, combined with ethereal pop music. That’s what it is in my mind!

The new album is out soon now! How does it compare to your debut?

Martijn: Yep, February 20th! I think with the first album we really established like… ‘what are we going to do?’, you know? Discovering yourself as a music entity. The second album, you can walk deeper into the forest, so to speak. You’ve discovered the forest and now you can go down deeper alleys and run. That’s the big difference, I think the second album deepens that sound; makes it a bit more happy, a bit more sweet, more contrast. It’s been a wonderful process making this album, very organic.

What’s the songwriting process like for you guys?

Martijn: I wish we could say we have a garage where we can all chip in together on a weekend, but that’s not how it’s going! How it starts is I simply start playing piano and I just play away what I feel like. It sounds a little flat, but it’s actually very pure, you really play what’s in your heart. I let myself be lead by the music, and it grows from there. Then I give what I’ve got to the rest of the team. We’re really blessed, I think we have a dream team, everyone has exactly the same idea of what it is that you need. There’s so much faith and respect and trust for each other so it’s really like Christmas to give the songs away and unpack what comes back. I’m never nervous, it’s always excitement!

It goes to Mikko for the arranging and orchestral stuff. I do some already but he can do it way more refined than I can! Robin writes lyrics and of course Johanna sings and plays violin, and also does vocal arrangements! I have melody lines they sometimes follow but sometimes they’ll have their own melody lines or alterations. It’s a very organic process and I love it!

Do you take a different approach to writing for Eye of Melian compared to your other work?

Martijn: Yeah, it feels very different! This is vacation! I love writing for Delain, I’m writing for Delain right now, but it’s a different animal, I really have to come up with more. Imagine two dogs; you have a German shepherd and you have a golden retriever. Eye of Melian’s more of the retriever, I just let the dog do its thing and I follow it. Then you have the Shepherd who’s like ‘I wanna go out, let me run!’. They both have their charm but are very different!

Is there a theme running through the album or is it more separate stories?

Johanna: I would say each are individual tracks, but they all fall under the umbrella of ‘forest of forgetting’. That’s the essence that wraps them all together! It’s tapping into your souls, the serenity that’s in there underneath all the worry and the noise of the world.

I Know you have a release show and then a tour after. It’s a lot of theatres as opposed to rock venues, right?

Johanna: Yeah! I used to be a solo artist for 10 years, a pop career, so those venues are really familiar to me, my home base. For me it feels very familiar, but for you Martijn I hear that it’s different.

Martijn: It’s new! It’s very different. I think this type of music really fits well in theatres; you can sit down and allow yourself to float away with the music. I’m very excited for this new experience. And I’m very happy that Johanna knows this scene, it comes very natural!

It’s your second run of shows, right? You did some last year too?

Johanna: Yes, we started out actually with a few support shows for my other band, Auri. One show in Finland and three in Europe. It was a wonderful way to get our feet in the water, y’know! Also, I think we’re still at the starting stages, trying to figure everything out. There’s a lot of novelty still, but it’s a wonderful journey we’re all very excited about. We can’t wait to see where it goes. But some things you learn along the way as you start doing it!

It must be cool to be able to bring these songs to life on stage, too!

Johanna: That’s what I’m most looking forward to, for sure!

What can people expect from an Eye of Melian show?

Martijn: It sounds a little bit hippy, but I hope we have a really wonderful exchange of energy. When we see people enjoy the music, that gives us energy as well. We hope people will experience the music in a really intense way. Johanna sings but she also plays violin. We have piano, we have Kai Hahto (Nightwish/Wintersun) on percussion for the upcoming shows. For the release show in the Netherlands Troy will join us, who is also I’m Johanna’s other band. There are so many connections happening musically that are really exciting. I hope people will enjoy the ride and, together with us, discover what we can do by taking this on the road.

I was curious to see how much of a band you were bringing with. I imagine you can’t tour with a whole orchestra all the time!

Martijn: That’s the big dream! But we have to start somewhere, so we have some orchestral parts on tracks, but we also play a lot of stuff too! Mikko will play the keys, I have my piano, we have acoustic guitars and backing vocals and Robin and also Johanna’s brother will join us onstage for backing vocals. The vocals are there and we tried to build it up. But eventually, an orchestra would be the best!

It sounds like an almost family ordeal though which is great, getting people from bands you’ve known for years involved!

Johanna: It is like a family, and that’s the best thing for me about all this. It’s so heart-connected, and that’s the sort of energy we want to bring to the audiences.

Have you got a busy rest of the year planned after the tour?

Martijn: Well, this is our second album but it also feels like the first as our first album was more like trying out the water. We just signed a deal with an international agent, as well as a Dutch theatre agent, so we’re also working on theatre shows for next year. Hopefully we can do festivals too. We would love to tour everywhere, but we’re going to see what’s possible. We will be on the road much more, that’s for sure!

Fingers crossed we can get a UK show at some point!

Martijn: Absolutely! We both love touring the UK!

Johanna: It’s like my second home, there!

Do you have a dream tour lineup you’d want the band to be a part of?

Martijn: Good question! What do you think, Johanna? Hans Zimmer, maybe?

Johanna: Oh, that would be amazing! Really any composer gurus who are out there touring at the moment, I think that would be the ultimate dream! But just to share this experience with kindred spirits, people who feel like family to you, is what is most important to me! Making indelible memories with the people that you love! And also connecting with the audience through the music and getting to meet the people out there in the world. In this age, I feel like connection is something that can never be emphasised enough. Things seem so fragmented, awful things are happening in the world, so to hold onto that connection that we’re all part of this universe, all part of this magical planet earth that we get to breath a few breaths on and then continue on our journey in another form, is truly special. Remember what truly matters in this world.

Interviews & Features

UUHAI: ‘Mongolia gives us roots and authenticity. Europe gives us reach and opportunity!’

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We had the absolute pleasure of chatting to the mastermind behind the Mongolian metal band, Otgonbaatar Damba, about the bands recently released debut album, and tour with the ever-amazing Nanowar of Steel. Check it out below!

How did you come up with your sound? It seems rather unique even with a few bands coming out with a vaguely similar style!

For us, the sound of UUHAI did not come from trying to invent something “unique.” It came naturally from who we are.

We grew up with traditional Mongolian music, throat singing, morin khuur, and the sounds of nature, and at the same time we discovered rock and metal and felt the power of heavy rhythm and distortion. When we started UUHAI, we simply brought these two worlds together. This is our natural musical language.

Our band leader and producer, Ombo, had been carrying this idea for many years before UUHAI was formed. He wanted to express Mongolian spirit through modern heavy music, not as a concept or experiment, but as something honest and alive. Once the full lineup came together, with traditional musicians and rock players in the same room, the sound began to shape itself.

Even if there are other bands exploring similar directions, every group carries its own history, energy, and emotions. UUHAI’s sound comes from our connection to the land, our respect for tradition, and our experience of the modern world. That combination is what makes it feel different.

How would you compare UUHAI to Hurd? Is it a different approach to writing between the bands? 

Yes, it is a very different approach. Hurd played a huge role in shaping Ombo, our producer and leader, as a musician. He joined Hurd as a drummer at a young age, and that experience helped him grow inside the music industry, understand songwriting, stage performance, and composition. Hurd was an important school for him, both musically and personally.

UUHAI comes from a different place. With Hurd, the focus was classic heavy metal songwriting and performance. With UUHAI, the starting point is cultural expression. The writing process begins with Mongolian spirit, traditional melodies, throat singing, and rhythm, and then the rock elements are built around that. It is less about following metal structures and more about telling stories through sound.

So while Hurd was essential for development and experience, UUHAI is about identity and purpose. It is not just another band project. It is a way to carry Mongolian culture onto the global stage through heavy music.

The album has been out a few days now, it seems to have gone down well! Is there a particular story through it? Or is each individual track its own tale and theme? 

Thank you, we are really grateful for the warm response so far.

Human Herds is designed as a complete journey rather than just a collection of separate songs. Each track has its own story and emotion, but together they form one larger narrative about humanity, nature, history, and responsibility.

Some songs draw directly from Mongolian tradition, rituals, and landscapes. Others reflect on modern life and the choices people make today. Tracks like “Uuhai” and “Secret History of the Mongols” connect us to our roots and ancestors, while songs like “Human Herds” and “Dracula” speak more about the present world and human behavior. So every song can stand on its own, but when you listen from start to finish, you hear a wider story about where we come from, where we are now, and where we might be going. That journey is the heart of the album.

Is there more writing going on already?

Yes, creativity does not stop just because an album is released!

We are already sharing ideas on the road, recording small melodies on our phones, and talking about new concepts between shows. Touring gives us fresh inspiration every day, through new places, new people, and new experiences.

There is no pressure or fixed direction yet. Right now, our main focus is bringing Human Herds to life on stage. But at the same time, new music is slowly beginning to take shape. We prefer to let it grow naturally and honestly, just like UUHAI did from the beginning.

You are currently out on tour to support the album, how’s it gone so far. You guys and Nanowar seem like a surprisingly good fit! 

So far, the tour has been an incredible experience for us.

Every night we meet new audiences, many of whom are hearing Mongolian throat singing and morin khuur for the first time, and the response has been very warm. Seeing people from different countries connect with our music, chant “Uuhai” with us, and share that energy makes every long travel day worth it.

Touring with Nanowar of Steel has been a great surprise in the best way. Even though their approach is more humorous and ours is more spiritual and cultural, the contrast actually works very well. Their fans are open minded, and our audiences enjoy their fun energy. Backstage, there is a lot of respect, laughter, and mutual support. It feels less like two separate bands and more like one traveling community.

Overall, the tour has confirmed something important for us: music really has no borders. Different styles, cultures, and personalities can come together on one stage, and that shared experience is powerful.

Do you have a busy year planned after the tour?

Yes, it is shaping up to be a very busy year.

After this tour, we will continue promoting Human Herds while preparing for more live shows and festivals. There are already discussions about additional touring in different regions, and we are very open to new opportunities worldwide. At the same time, we will begin slowly developing new music, taking inspiration from everything we experience on the road.

So it will be a balance between performing, traveling, creating, and staying connected to home. It is busy, but it is exactly the kind of life we dreamed of for UUHAI.

What’s the scene like back home compared to Europe?

The scene back home is much smaller and more intimate compared to Europe. In Mongolia, there are passionate fans and talented musicians, but fewer venues, fewer shows, and limited infrastructure for rock and metal. Concerts do not happen very often, and most bands work independently, driven mainly by love for music rather than industry support. When shows do happen, they feel very personal, because everyone knows each other.

In Europe, the difference is scale. There are many festivals, dedicated venues, and a long history of live music culture. Audiences are larger, touring is more organized, and there is a strong network supporting bands on the road.

Both have their own beauty. Mongolia gives us roots and authenticity. Europe gives us reach and opportunity. For UUHAI, bringing those two worlds together is part of the journey.

Do you have a dream tour lineup you’d want to be a part of? 

Of course, like any band, we dream big. For us, a dream tour lineup would bring together artists from different cultures and heavy music backgrounds, bands that carry strong identity and emotion in their sound. We would love to share stages with groups that respect tradition while pushing modern metal forward, whether they come from Europe, Asia, the Americas, or anywhere else.

More than specific names, our real dream is a tour where music becomes a cultural exchange. Different styles, different histories, one stage. If UUHAI can be part of something like that, where audiences discover new sounds and artists learn from each other, that would already be perfect for us.

Interviews & Features

Gitika Partington: ‘There are people everywhere doing wondrous things and making extraordinary creative work without ever proclaiming it to the world!’

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Ahead of the singer-songwriters incredible, world-record-breaking feat on Friday of releasing a huge 13 albums simultaneously, we sat down and chatted to Gitika about such a task! Check it out below!

What inspired such a huge release undertaking?

It wasn’t really inspired in the traditional sense. It was more a recognition of what was already there. The songs had been written week by week over several years as part of a regular practice, without any plan for release. At some point I realised I wasn’t sitting on a handful of albums, but on a body of work. Releasing them all at once felt like the most honest way to present them, without reshaping the story after the fact.

Would you say there is a wide variety of sounds throughout? How did you decide which album to put each track on?

There’s definitely a wide range – partly because the songs span different years, moods, and phases of a five-year stretch of my life, and partly because the prompts often pulled me into unexpected places. There was no genre box to stay in, so I burned the box. There is no box.

That freedom gave me the chance to explore without worrying about an audience, as long as I enjoyed making the song – and usually enjoyed listening back to it. When it came to sequencing the albums, I kept it simple: I listed the songs in the order they were written and recorded and let that chronology do the talking.

Each track was created from a weekly prompt — did you find that basis to build on helpful? Would you encourage others to try it, as well as writing from their own experiences?

The weekly prompt was incredibly helpful because it took me out of my own head. Instead of asking, “What should I write about?”, I could simply respond to what was in front of me that week.

The prompts from iheartsongwriting.com are as diverse as Camel, Virginia Woolf, Equinox, Camber, Spark, Eurovision, X— and I’ve followed nearly 300 of them now. Interestingly, the songs almost always ended up being personal anyway — sometimes poignant, sometimes very quirky.

I’d absolutely encourage others to try it. Prompts don’t replace lived experience; they give it somewhere to land. They’re especially useful for getting unstuck, finding an alternative path, or quieting the inner editor.

Were there some songs written that didn’t make the cut for the albums?

Yes- 159 to be exact. And 160 next week. And 161 the week after.

The albums represent a curated selection from a much larger pool of songs. Some didn’t fit the arc of the albums, some felt unfinished, and some simply needed to stay behind the sofa a little longer. When I decided to add a thirteenth album of The Ones That Got Away, I was delighted to discover how many gems were still hiding there. Not everything you write needs to be released for it to have done its job.

It must feel pretty cool to know you’re about to break a world record!

It’s more of a fun fact than anything. There are people everywhere doing wondrous things and making extraordinary creative work without ever proclaiming it to the world.

The record isn’t really the point -it’s just a side effect of turning up consistently over time. If it helps draw attention to the value of sustained creative practice, that’s lovely. But the real satisfaction comes from having honoured the work properly, rather than drip-feeding or diluting it to fit expectations.

Where do you go from here? I imagine at least a small break from writing, right?

Actually, no. Being a songwriter feels a bit like being an athlete – you have to practise regularly. I’ll continue writing a song a week with a word prompt from iheartsongwriting.com, the fabulous songwriting club based in Australia.

Writing has become a way of knowing my week rather than something I switch on and off. I need to do it now. What has changed is the sense of space – the shelves are a little clearer. That makes room for something new, though I don’t yet know what shape it will take. I’m happy to let that reveal itself slowly… or quickly, if it wants. I’m ready.

Any plans on taking the albums on the road, and doing some shows around them?

Possibly – but not in a conventional “tour” sense. I’m more interested in intimate, context-rich performances where the songs can be heard properly and in relationship with each other.

I’m also drawn to mixed media. I love music and image together, so I’m excited about creating videos, and about making a book of handwritten lyrics – hopefully written out by friends, old and new. And perhaps other artists might take the songs on themselves. That would be the best outcome of all.

If you could have written a song with anyone in history, who would it be and why?

Historically, it would have to be Bowie – without question. If anyone gave people permission to be kooky, to experiment, to burn the box, and even to fail, it was him. I also suspect he’d have been very good company.

If we’re talking about living people, it would need to be someone I’d actually like to hang out with and realistically get a bus or a train to see — probably Nitin Sawhney or Amy Wadge. Any chance of putting in a good word?