GBHBL Interviews

A band, and a man that should need very little introduction, Devildriver's Dez Fafara can rightfully be a called a legend. Having delivered iconic music from iconic bands over many decades, conducted countless live shows and made countless festival appearances, and all with the kind of personality and attitude that has helped made him a beloved figure in the rock and metal scene. On July 10th, 202...

Katerina Nicole returns to haunt you with her crushing ethereal rock melodies and soaring vocal skills with her new single 'Ladybug'. The alternative rock and metal artist is an inspiring and exciting new voice in the scene and this new track sees her exploring heavier territories, while not losing the intimacy that makes her music so potent. In this interview, we talk with Katerina about the new...

London heavy rockers Okay You Win will release their long-awaited and much-anticipated debut album, ‘End of Days’ on June 26th via Blues Funeral Recordings (Elder, Acid King, Castle Rat, Lowrider). Drawing heavily on Seattle grunge, California desert rock, 90s alt-rock, and classic British metal, the four-piece have been turning heads since their arrival in 2023. Everywhere they play, people talk,...

Released on May 30th, 2025, ‘Sorrows’ (New Heavy Sounds) is the debut album of rising ‘doomgaze’ band, Cwfen (pronounced ‘Coven’). An album that proven to be very successful, something that has resulted in Cwfen touring extensively with Paradise Lost and Faetooth as well as playing Desertfest London 2026 and Download Festival 2026. We loved the album, summing it up as: An album that will haunt you...

Eight years on from the release of the highly-acclaimed Hexenhammer album (2018), British doom and metal legends Witchsorrow are back. Entering their twentieth year with even more fire, they will release their fifth offering, ‘The Devil And All His Works’ on July 3rd, 2026, via Church Road Records. From the mighty, organ-infused opener Omnia Finiuntur, to Bacchus’ celebration of sin, the fist-rais...

'Every House We Built' is the debut album from Exploring Birdsong, out 26th June via Long Branch Records. At its core, Every House We Built is an album about relationships, friendships, family ties and romance. Using the metaphor of houses to frame the fragile and evolving nature of these bonds. As an album, it’s not a complex metaphor but it works well as everyone can relate to it in some way or...

Exile-born, Venezuelan prog-rock/post-metal act Changing Places In The Fire will release their self-titled album on the 24th of July 2026 via Wild Thing Records. Formed by five Venezuelan musicians - Daz Medrano (vocals), Alfredo Ovalles (keyboards), Javier Landaeta (guitar), Antonio Silva (guitar), and Miguel Ángel Moliné (drums), all of whom are now scattered across Europe and South America, out...

Shooting Daggers, the London-based genre-fluid, queercore, punk-loving and hardcore-embracing band, are back with ‘The Real Life Thing’. A seven song mini-album that will be released on June 5th, 2026, via New Heavy Sounds on limited edition shiny black vinyl and digital. It’s all about variety. About showcasing their expanded range, innate ability to genre bend, and how emotion can be used in pow...

Canada's progressive sci-fi metal innovators Voïvod return with ‘Symphonique’, a special live release together with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, coming out on 5th June 2026 worldwide via Century Media Records. Just when you thought you knew Voïvod, they go and do something like this. A wholly unexpected idea, yet one totally in keeping with their innovative ways, and one that feels so natural. T...

Tooms, the Irish progressive sludge metal, are back with their brand-new album, ‘Karst’. Out May 29th on CD by Road to Masochist, vinyl by Cursed Monk Records, cassette by Fiadh Productions and on all major digital platforms. A phenomenal step up in all departments, the evolution of Tooms will be clear to all who spend time with this record. Not only sounding more comfortable, but braver in regard...

Bristol’s progressive sludge quartet Urzah, are back with their much-anticipated sophomore album ‘A Tranquil Void’. It is the follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut album ‘The Scorching Gaze’ (2024, APF Records). The band’s sonic world draws on both the intensely personal – rage, loss, grief and self-doubt – and a profound awe and vulnerability in the face of the celestial and natural world...

Swedish modern rock unit Self Deception is set to unleash their Napalm Records debut, One of Us, on May 15th, 2026. A lot of people are going to love this album and I’m 100% convinced that they’re going to blow up even more once it has properly landed. How f**king cool is that!? Read the full album review here: https://www.gbhbl.com/album-review-self-deception-one-of-us-napalm-records/ We spoke to...

Who On Earth cut its teeth through relentless gigging across the New York tri-state area, with founding members Coosh and Pete previously tearing up stages as MadHaus. During 2020, the longtime collaborators shifted focus from covers to original material, quickly writing ten songs and entering Sonic Stomp Studio with producer Mike Orlando (Category 7, Adrenaline Mob). Joined by drummer Joe D’Aqui,...

The five-piece technical death metal band that is Infected Dead are reborn and this rebirth is heralded by the release of their brand-new EP, ‘Invicta’, out now. Impressively blending death metal rawness with expressive and mature progressive detail, Infected Dead’s modern incarnation is delivering some of the band’s strongest tracks to date. Where instrumental complexities meet the appealing soun...

Chicago based metalcore band, VCTMS, return with their brand new EP, Pain Processing II set for release on the 1st of May independently. Often described as metalcore, or Nu Metalcore, VCTMS incorporate splashes of hip-hop, darkwave, industrial, post-hardcore and more into their sound defying genre boundaries. At their core though, no matter how experimental they get, they are angry, delivering dev...

Texas death metal force Frozen Soul are back with their new release, ‘No Place of Warmth’, which drops on May 8th, 2026, via Century Media Records. A blunt and bludgeoning release that not only showcases the band’s death metal prowess, but it's got some unexpected tricks and curveballs too. Some of those twists come in the form of the guest vocal appearances from Devin Swank (Sanguisugabogg), Rob...

Haze is Silo’s debut album and a document of internal collapse, survival and uneasy acceptance. Written collectively in the room rather than assembled in isolation, the record captures moments as they happen, instinct over refinement, emotion over perfection. Across thirteen tracks, the album traces cycles of addiction, disillusionment, therapy, love, loss and identity, never offering easy resolut...

On neverland [CHAPTER II], SINCE 2000 complete the story they began with chapter I, closing the curtain on a coming of age narrative that confronts the darker corners of growth, identity and healing. Out now via Easy Life Records. Darker, heavier, and more intense, this second chapter of neverland is the yang to the first chapter’s yin. Not only complimenting the latter’s poppier side but evolving...

Takedown Festival 2026 is now well and truly in the rearview mirror, and the general consensus is that it was the best one to date. Not just because of an incredible bunch of bands, but because of how well organised it was. It is fast becoming one of the most unmissable events of the year. You can read our full review of the festival here: https://www.gbhbl.com/takedown-festival-2026-the-review/ T...

Australia has long been a powerhouse for heavy music, but the Melbourne-based outfit ANA is currently carving out a niche that defies traditional categorization. Identifying as a couture symphonic metal band, the group seamlessly merges high-fashion aesthetics with the grandiosity of melodic metal. On May 29th, 2026 (Eclipse Records), they will release their brand-new full-length album ‘Motivated...

Cork-based alternative rock trio, The Last Vinci, will release their new album ’15 Minutes at a Time’ on April 17th via Narrow Door Records. A powerful, deeply personal chronicle of resilience, transformation, and gratitude. At the heart of ‘15 Minutes at a Time’ lies a phrase that frontman Alex Vinci never expected would change his life. Two years ago, after being diagnosed with a chronic illness...

Bristol-based experimental outfit, Sugar Horse, will release ‘Not a Sound in Heaven’, the band's 3rd studio album, on 10th April 2026 via Fat Dracula Records. As indefinable as ever, somehow sounding simpler and more complicated than ever in equal measure, this new Sugar Horse album is unlike anything they’ve ever done before. A punishing, cerebral, and enthralling dive into the world of experimen...

Nervosa, the Brazilian modern thrash and death metal, are back with their sixth album, ‘Slave Machine’, out April 3rd, 2026, via Napalm Records. It’s time to thrash… but with a fresh twist! Nervosa are back, settled (thanks to founding guitarist Prika Amaral establishing herself as the vocalist with 2023’s Jailbreak), and in a riotous mood. Delivering an album that expertly blends old-school thras...

Plum, the legendary South African alternative rock band (formed in 1996), known for blending trip-hop, acid rock, nu-metal, and funk, make their return in 2025 with the single ‘Don’t Stop Believing’. This, following a 17-year hiatus, got the ball well and truly rolling, and their latest single, 'How The West Was Lost' is out now. The future for the band, now featuring Kevin and Waz Leicher, alongs...

Over half a decade on from the release of their debut album, 'The Smothering Arms of Mercy', Melbourne progressive-death outfit Growth have re-emerged with their sophomore album 'Under The Under', the first new music from the long-awaited second chapter of their planned trilogy aimed at going beyond expressing emotion, illustrating pathways of recovery while acknowledging the most dread-filled asp...