Where Did Mary Go?

When she attended Back to the Beginning in Birmingham as a fan, the star-studded farewell concert organized to celebrate Black Sabbath, Becky Baldwin thought it would be the last time she would ever see any of the performers in person and felt a need to bear witness to their greatness in her own backyard.  After all, Sabbath was one of many bands on that legendary bill that inspired her to pick up...

Though the paths of their careers have led them to the ends of the Earth playing in their respective bands, when it comes time for Down to reconvene, every road leads back to NOLA.  And while the Crescent City is where each of the band members to a man will tell you they’re from, and it’s where their fabled first writing session occurred in the early ‘90s, that’s not just a reference to the place...

Growing up in Mississippi during the 1960s, Ty Tabor can’t recall the exact first time he was exposed to the blues because in that era and setting, that style of music permeated so much throughout every setting that he knew it before he was likely conscious of it.  Born into a musical family, Tabor played bluegrass from a young age with his mom and dad, which gave him a peek into the world of blue...

The first thing that comes to mind when you hear the name Dave Lombardo , especially if you’re reading it here, is undoubtedly his iconic drum work for thrash metal legends Slayer on their groundbreaking, seminal albums throughout the 1980s.  And that’s for good reason – those records revolutionized thrash in a way that still resonates throughout the metal world today.  But to think the story of D...

When the boys from Blind Channel were starting out in Oulu, a city seven hours north of Helsinki, dreams of becoming an internationally successful band, lead vocalist Niko Vilhelm recalls how many people around them told them not to do so because it would never happen.  Rather than be discouraged, the group set their sights on accomplishing their lofty goals, with a common aspiration amongst most...

During a rare heavy metal show in coastal Norway, an 11-year old Ivar Bjørnson’s dream of playing in a band took a fateful step forward, as opportunity seemingly fell from the sky for him while watching Witchhammer perform at Slaktehuset in Haguesund.  Or, maybe it just seemed that way from his vantage point.  As the story goes, Grutle Kjellson , four years Ivar’s senior and his bandmate of over 3...

At the depths of his battle with alcohol and other bad habits, Kenny Hickey recalls isolating himself in his garage drinking with an acoustic guitar, developing the riffs and song ideas that would become Silvertomb’s second studio album, The Interpretation of Nightmares , due out November 13th through Steamhammer.   Though he recalls this as a perhaps the darkest period of his life, he’s thankfull...

Metal fans might be hard-pressed to find someone in the realms of heavy music with a more diverse and impressive resume than Insomnium’s Ville Friman .  Though many may know him for being an original member and songwriting force for the Finnish melodic death metal masters, as well as one of their clean vocalists, some may be surprised to learn that despite the tremendous skill he displays in all t...

If there’s a testament to the old maxim of doing one thing and doing it very well in today’s metal world, look no further than Amon Amarth .  After briefly exploring more classic metal tropes in their early demos, the group made a conscious decision to focus their lyrical content on Norse mythology and history, which set them apart in early 1990s Sweden the melodic death metal was expanding rapidl...

Japanese black metal legends Sigh have become synonymous with some of the most creative, eccentric, and truly avant-garde metal releases over their thirty-six years in existence, but according to band leader Mirai Kawashima , it never would’ve happened without help from halfway across the globe.  After starting as a band playing Venom covers and then starting to create a brand of black metal inspi...

For Unleash the Archers lead singer Brittney Slayes , the world of science fiction, comic books, and the like has always been a source of inspiration.  As an avid reader of the genre and a self-proclaimed lover of all things nerdy, those stories have guided her own writing as the primary lyricist for Unleash the Archers , leading to top-notch storylines for their six studio albums, most of which a...

For Samy Elbanna , his destiny was clear from an early age; 7, to be exact.  That’s when a young Samy set the goal for himself to become a professional musician.  From that moment, pretty much everything he has done has revolved around achieving that dream.  He started playing guitar around the time he was 11 , and if you listen to him talk about how often he practices, I don’t think he’s put it d...

The opening track to one of Nachtmystium’s most well-regarded albums, 2008’s Assassins: Black Meddle, Part I, contains only one lyrical line: “One of these nights, I’m going to fucking die.” Though when it was written it was an homage to Pink Floyd , that phrase could easily apply to the lifestyle frontman Blake Judd was living not too long after the album’s release.  The U.S. black metal legends...

When Dark Funeral released their debut EP in 1994, it came as a bit of a surprise to the unsuspecting Swedish metal scene – and for good reason. Mikael Svanberg , better known as Lord Ahriman , and his bandmates kept the formation of Dark Funeral a secret for well over a year before arriving to Unisound to make their now legendary first recording with Dan Swanö.   Eschewing the idea of a tradition...

Jon Schaffer is the founding member, chief songwriter, and driving force behind Iced Earth, Demons & Wizards, and Sons of Liberty .  Jon was also the first person to plead guilty to the charges brought against him for his role in the breach of the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021 in the largest prosecution in the history of the United States.   After a wide-sweeping pardon in 2025, he retur...

When Matt Barlow announced that he was leaving Iced Earth in 2003, fans and the metal world in general were stunned by the decision.  Iced Earth had risen to international acclaim since he joined the band prior to 1995’s Burnt Offerings , ascending with each subsequent release to become one of the most well-known entities in the realm of heavy metal on the back of the powerful combination of Jon S...

Chris Caffery was always meant to play guitar for Savatage, even if the route he took to becoming a permanent member of the band was anything but linear.  From his first gigs with the band in 1987 at only 19-years old while they toured for Hall of the Mountain King , there was a new role carved out for him as second guitarist in a band that had never utilized one before.  Having connected with Sav...

If you’re familiar with Håvard Ellefsen , better known as Mortiis , then you know that his musical career has evolved and changed many times since he was a member of Emperor in their founding years.  Since departing the legendary black metal group in 1992, Mortiis embarked on a solo career in the early 1990s that featured several releases which would heavily influence the dungeon synth genre, befo...

Though it may seem that Lex Legion took the metal world by storm a few months ago by announcing their debut album in late March, the project boasting four of the five members of the classic late 1980s King Diamond lineup that created Them and Conspiracy had been in the works for much longer than that.   According to guitarists Andy LaRocque, King’s legendary axeman for more than 40 years, and Pete...

From a young age, everyone around her seemed to know that Tarja Turunen would have a future in music due to her incredible voice.  What many didn’t see coming though, was the way in which that voice would become part of a groundbreaking style of music that essentially created an entirely new genre of music.   After years of training in her youth and teenage years as in classical music, Tarja was s...

Though they’ve been together since 1982, you might be surprised to learn that Armored Saint has only released 8 studio albums to date despite their long history as a band.  When it’s released on May 22nd through Metal Blade Records , Emotion Factory Reset will become the 9th record in their 44-year history.  While most would consider that a low total for a band that’s been at it for as long as the...

For over thirty years, Russell Allen has had one of the most powerful voices in heavy metal music.  Through his work as frontman for progressive metal titans Symphony X , performances with Trans-Siberian Orchestra , solo work, and a number of collaborations, Allen has come to be known the power, grit, and versatile nature in which he delivers his vocals.   Those vocals are usually for lyrics based...

How do you describe something that you never thought you’d see?  That’s the task I’m faced with trying to explain the performances I witnessed on February 26th and 27th at Tavastia in Helsinki as the surviving members of Children of Bodom reunited for the first time in nearly seven years to celebrate the band’s music and the legacy of Alexi Laiho in front of fans who traveled from all over the wor...

Call it cliché, but the namesake of the first record Zakk Wylde ever performed on back in 1988 with Ozzy Osbourne could very easily be used to define his illustrious career to this point.  When Black Label Society releases Engines of Demolition on March 27th, it will mark the longest gap between albums for the group since they formed.  In that time between records, Wylde has toured the world with...

Throughout the long and storied history of American heavy metal legends Corrosion of Conformity’s existence, Woody Weatherman has been the only consistent member since the group started way back in 1982 in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Being the sole constant in the band, he’s been witness to a number of changes and transformations.  Bandmates have come and gone, and then come back again.  The musical...