AN NCS INTERVIEW: ERIC CLAYTON (SAVIOUR MACHINE, ERIC CLAYTON & THE NINE)

 Exceptions to the Rule, Interviews  No Responses »
Oct 012019
 

 

Editor’s Note: Our occasional contributor from Greece, John Sleepwalker, conducted this interview of Eric Clayton shortly before the recent performance of Eric Clayton & The Nine at the Demon’s Gate Festival 2019 in Athens, Greece. Clayton is perhaps best known for the band Saviour Machine that he formed in 1989 with his brother Jeff, which has reunited following an extended hiatus and is at work on a new album, as well as Eric Clayton & The Nine.

John Sleepwalker also asked us to specifically mention that, as the following interview began, Eric first wanted John to tell him some things about himself before the questions began, so he could get to know the person behind them, which seems to be an uncommon occurrence in interviews.

This interview was first published (in Greek) at Avopolis. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DOOMSWORD

 Exceptions to the Rule, Interviews  1 Response »
May 172018
 

 

(Greek writer John Sleepwalker returns  to NCS with an in-depth interview of Deathmaster, frontman of Italy’s DoomSword, shortly before their appearance at Greece’s Up The Hammers Festival. Themes in the interview span the band’s entire epic metal career, as well as the status of DoomSword’s work on a new record. A Greek version of this interview originally appeared at Avopolis.gr.)

 

DoomSword haven’t released a new album since The Eternal Battle (2011). A wait that has been quite long, I must say. When should we expect the new opus? Have you been writing/rehearsing any new material?

Hi John, I hope you are well. To your first question I can answer that I do not have a precise timeline for the release of a new album, but works are underway. The guys in Italy are rehearsing and I am continuing with the songwriting. Therefore, I expect that completing the album is a matter of months. As for the long absence: I had in fact an album ready (and enough ideas for 2 albums, I would say), but if you let compositions sit for a while, then when you go back to them, you may feel dissatisfied with what you had. It may be because your mind has evolved, or because you are not in the same mood and want to express other emotions on your next album. Either way, what you have is unsuitable. Continue reading »

SHOW REVIEW: 5 SHADES OF BLACK (SAOR, THE GREAT OLD ONES, FEN, DRAWN INTO DESCENT, SORROW PLAGUES) — ANTWERP, OCT 21, 2017

 Concert Reviews  2 Responses »
Nov 282017
 


The Great Old Ones

 

(Greek metal writer and occasional NCS contributor John Sleepwalker attended the 5 Shades of Black show in Antwerp, Belgium, on October 21, 2017, and provides these thoughts about the performances by Saor, The Great Old Ones, Fen, Drawn Into Descent, and Sorrow Plagues. And we are most grateful to Kriss Wolf for kindly giving us permission to use her wonderful photos from the show, which appear throughout this review.)

 

5 Shades of Black stands as the type of an event that is a rare occasion in the lands of Greece. To the point that it seems more hopeful to dig for water in the desert than to expect names such as these to ever visit the capital city of Athens. Since the brand of old-school names is typically what tends to attract the majority of local interest, the few listeners dedicated to different aesthetics often need to travel to enjoy the related gigs of their choice. Continue reading »

INTERVIEW: SIN QUIRIN (MINISTRY, REVOLTING COCKS)

 Interviews  1 Response »
May 302017
 

 

(Greek writer John Sleepwalker of Avopolis.gr brings us this interview of Ministry guitarist Sin Quirin in advance of Ministry’s first appearance on stage in Greece on June 1.)

 

First of all, I’m glad I get the chance to speak with someone who was a part of the latest Ministry line-up, before the band split up in the late ’00s. I was fortunate enough to see you at Hellfest during the tour you did for The Last Sucker and what I’d want is to compare your live setting at that time with Ministry’s present stage show.

When I saw you, you were playing behind bars, as if you were inside of a cage. Do you present the same visual on your current tour?

No, no more fences! Thank god for our faces! Even though this fancy scenery looked cool, it often ended up falling on our faces. So, no fences this time around. Continue reading »

INTERVIEW: CIRITH UNGOL

 Exceptions to the Rule, Interviews  1 Response »
May 222017
 

 

Originally formed circa 1972, the California heavy metal band Cirith Ungol released four albums between 1980 and 1991 before disbanding, and in the process amassed an ardent world-wide fan following. The band reunited in 2015 for the Frost and Fire festival, and are continuing to forge ahead with festival appearances — and writing new music as well.

Greek writer John Sleepwalker of Avopolis.gr returns to NCS with this interview of Tim Baker, Greg Lindstrom, Jimmy Barraza, and Rob Garven leading up to Cirith Ungol’s performance at the Up the Hammers Festival in Athens, Greece, on May 27, 2017.

******

First of all, what made a Cirith Ungol reunion possible after all these years? I think there was quite some interest from Greece too, for quite some time, but the band was very negative until now…

Rob: Jarvis Leatherby from Night Demon lives in our home town and he told me that when they traveled to Europe on tour they would see many fans wearing “Cirith Ungol” shirts, and patches, and many there knew of our band and music. I had sworn a blood oath that I would never play drums again, so I had always told him very politely that I was not interested. Everything changed at the “Frost & Fire” festival in 2015. Oliver Weinsheimer from the very famous and exclusive “Keep It True Festival” had come over for the show. Jarvis and Oliver asked to speak to the band alone. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: CHELSEA WOLFE

 Exceptions to the Rule, Interviews  1 Response »
Apr 202017
 

 

(Greek writer John Sleepwalker of Avopolis.gr returns to NCS with this interview of Chelsea Wolfe conducted in advance of her appearance in Athens on April 29 at the Smoke the Fuzz Fest with Amenra, Oathbreaker, and Skull & Dawn. )

 

Your style has reached out to audiences unfamiliar with experimental sounds, thanks to its remarkable accessibility. Do you believe diversity can be an obstacle when aiming at new horizons, and how much do you see your sound further developing? When should we expect a new full-length release?

CW: I think sometimes being difficult to define can hold an artist back from certain opportunities, but I’ve been really lucky to still have support from a lot of really great people despite being sort of in-between genres. When I’m writing a new album I just follow my instincts and pay attention to what my bandmates and I are writing naturally, and then we hone in on that and refine it. We actually just finished recording a new album and if all goes well, it’ll be out later this year. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SYLVAINE

 Interviews  No Responses »
Mar 292017
 

 

Last spring we had the pleasure of premiering the opening song on Wistful, the second album by Norwegian composer and multi-instrumentalist Sylvaine. On that album, Sylvaine again composed all the music and performed vocals and almost all instruments, with Alcest’s Neige and Stephen Shepard splitting the drum performances and with additional guests Coralie Louarnika and Thibault Guichard performing violin, viola, and cello on the title track.

Aided by Sylvaine‘s ethereal voice, the album is entrancing and enthralling, a beautifully layered atmospheric work that’s capable of transporting listeners far away from the mundane aspects of daily existence, though the places it may take you are deep inside the crevasses of your own memories and emotions.

In this post we bring you an interview of Sylvaine by John Sleepwalker of the Greek web zine Avopolis.gr, which has also recently been published at that site. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: MEMBERS OF VIRUS, DØDHEIMSGARD, VED BUENS ENDE, THORNS, THE DEATHTRIP, AUDIOPAIN, BEYOND DAWN

 Interviews  1 Response »
Oct 132016
 

vvirus-2016-photo-by-kim-solve

Virus 2016 – photo by Kim Sølve

 

(John Sleepwalker of Avopolis.gr returns to us with this rare interview that occurred at Blastfest 2016 in Bergen, Norway, last February. And the timing of this publication suits the upcoming performances by Virus in Greece this month — about which you can find info at the end of the following transcribed discussion. )

What happens when key members of Virus, Dødheimsgard, Ved Buens Ende, Thorns, Audiopain, and Beyond Dawn sit around the same table?

Admitting how unexpected this meeting was would be a reasonable mention, but I think I should better state it turned out into one of the nicest memories an avant-garde fan could cherish. This interview took place during my stay in Bergen for Blastfest 2016; I remember I had to go to a hotel for some press activities and I found there two members of Virus and Dødheimsgard enjoying a cup of coffee. While we were talking about gigs and music, we thought that was a good chance to turn this into an interview (or keep it like a pleasant discussion, taking into account its overall flow).

However, what we didn’t know at that moment was that more people would sit down and join our company, while the interview was still taking place. You could easily tell this resulted in a meeting with a scene, and not with a band, even if some mandatory subjects are unfortunately missing. Needless to say, of course, Czral was a bit too kind — he felt quite sick and his cough was intense, but still wanted very much to participate. This, of course, is one of the rare occasions you don’t really encounter, so I think it is time you should grab your own cup of coffee, for it is quite an interesting read. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SARA TAYLOR (YOUTH CODE)

 Interviews  No Responses »
Sep 222016
 

Youth Code-photo by Nick Fancher

 

(John Sleepwalker of Avopolis.gr returns to us with this interview of Youth Code’s astonishing frontwoman Sara Taylor. The band’s latest album, Commitment To Complications was reviewed on this site here.)

Youth Code is the most unconventional, yet simultaneously accessible, EBM band that would break into your house and smash your TV in pieces. By drawing their inspiration from old industrial to hardcore punk music, their blend of influences deliberately exhales remarkable amounts of intensity in ways rather provoking to all human senses. Sarah Taylor, however, was kind enough to answer our questions on the band’s not too distant past, as well as their current goals and creative focus on their music. Without denying, of course, how the internet is partialy responsible nowadays for a big loss of magic in our music. Continue reading »

INTERVIEW: ANDREAS VINGBÄCK (GRÁ, DARK FUNERAL)

 Interviews  4 Responses »
Aug 292016
 

Gra-Photo by David Kareketo
Photo by David Kareketo

 

(John Sleepwalker of Avopolis returns to NCS as we share his interview of Andreas “Heljarmadr” Vingbäck, mainman of the Swedish black metal villains known as Grá.)

Sweden’s Grá is a notorious black metal outfit that makes no compromises in aesthetic, despite a subtle evolution unfolding one step at a time. They form the kind of entity that’s hopelessly marked for Death, but Death is only a part of their evolution, according to a rather interesting interview with their mainman Andreas “Heljarmadr” Vingbäck.

It is now obvious that their latest opus, Ending, simply marks the final part of their Charon suite, as well as a crossroad towards new, unexplored territories. The band is already looking forward to hitting the road to promote their latest album, by scheduling a short European tour consisted of seven dates in total. Here is the schedule, followed by the interview: Continue reading »