GBHBL Interviews

For UK alternative metal band, Acres, 2025 has already been a significant year, and their momentum shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. Not only are they due to head back to the US for a massive tour with The Devil Wears Prada but they will release their brand-new album, ‘The Host’, on May 2nd. 2025, via Solid State Records. The US is becoming a bit of a second home for the band, as not o...

Born out of persistence, the crossover group Headcount blend the speed and articulation of the thrash genre with the undisputed no-BS approach of hardcore. In the short time they’ve bene around, they’re released two singles, the first of which ‘Powertrip’, we described as: Fast, furious, and freaking fun, Headcount’s crossover sound will be very familiar to those who enjoy a bit of thrash and hard...

Two years since the release of their debut album ‘MCLXXX’, it’s time for the Kraken to rise once again. The new album, ‘March of the Gods’, will be released on April 18th, 2025. A staggeringly good and hugely addictive chunk of hard rock heaviness and groove, King Kraken have outdone themselves here. March of the Gods is an album of the year contender, and a must listen for just about everyone. Re...

Hailing from Turku, Finland, Svarta Havet are set to release their sophomore album, titled ‘Månen ska lysa din väg’, via their new label home Prosthetic Records on May 9th. On ‘Månen ska lysa din väg’, the self-described dyster (gloomy) post-hardcore group cast a critical eye over the negative effects of Western colonialism, capital greed and convenience at the cost of sustainability, presenting a...

For over two decades, Caliban has stood as one of the defining forces in metalcore. With their upcoming album ‘Back from Hell’ that is scheduled for a release 25th April 2025, the German band continues to evolve their sound while staying true to the intensity and emotion that have defined their career. Led by founding members Andreas Dörner (vocals) and Marc Görtz (guitar), the band’s current line...

Danish death-metallic hardcore band Lifesick’s latest (and first for label Metal Blade) album ‘Loved by None, Hated by All’ was released late 2024 to much acclaim. A record that showcased a tumultuous masterwork of bleak aggressive beauty, Lifesick in all its glory, but with so much more to it as well. It has been, rightfully, lauded as their best work yet which is saying something when you consid...

Kicking off in Las Vegas in April 10th, before heading over to the UK and EU, ‘Oppressing the Masses for 35 Years’ will see Bay Area thrashers Vio-Lence playing their iconic album in full, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this summer. The set will also include songs from the band’s back catalogue. The line-up for the shows are now complete, with the recent additions of former Falling in Rever...

Hailing from Nottingham, Those Once Loyal have been on quite the journey since last releasing music. One of the reasons being due to a revolving door of bassists, but this has now led to them finally having a solid line up. Since the release of their 2023 EP 'Relentless Cycle' they have played many shows around the Midlands area, something that has helped get their name out there and seem them pla...

Slovenia’s most awesomely audacious, genre defying metal pioneers Within Destruction will release their new album ‘Animetal’, on April 11th, 2025, via Sumerian Records. ‘Genre-defying’ – those are the words every fan of Within Destruction should be well aware of, especially those that have been there since the beginning. You simply cannot put this band in a box, and shouldn’t want to, as their cre...

Parisian alt-rockers Storm Orchestra will release their brand-new album 'Get Better,' on April 11th, 2025, via Mascot Records. The album touches on societal issues, relationships, and the inner struggles that we all have, along with the dark side of your personality. Clearly in a very inspired and creative place when it came to writing this album, Storm Orchestra (Maxime Goudard – vocals/guitar, A...

This Summit Fever, the riff-worshipping fuzz rock duo, will unleash their self-titled debut album on April 4th, 2025, via Majestic Mountain Records. This Summit Fever have delivered a rousing riff-drenched head banger of an album with varied and creative ideas throughout. It’s exciting, it’s really digestible, and meets all expectations that long term listeners will have for them. You can read our...

German thrash three-piece Warfield are back with their brand-new album, the unstoppable inferno that is ‘With the Old Breed’, out March 28th, 2025, via Napalm Records. An album that sees Warfield explore the unembellished and emotional depiction of societal, historical, social and internal wars – expressing criticism of the bitter part of reality. A staggering step up in all departments for Warfie...

After returning in 2022 with his widely acclaimed full-length album Horrifier (#8 US Top New Artist Albums), as well as several major tours supporting his solo work and celebrated Murderdolls reunion shows, world-renowned fearsome frontman Wednesday 13 is back with another slew of harbingers of horror to slay the masses. His new full-length album, Mid Death Crisis, is set to drop on April 25, 2025...

Dynamite metalcore/heavy rock vocalist/musician Lauren Babic is a force of nature having amassed an insane following online with her infamous covers having garnered her millions of followers and 100’s of millions of views. Also famed for her roles in the 3 bands Red Handed Denial and international supergroups CrazyEightyEight and SKYLIMIT, Lauren will now release her highly anticipated first solo...

Norwegian punks Bokassa have returned! Hot off the heels of their 2024 album, ‘All Out of Dreams’, the band are set to tour the UK this April. The tour, which includes self-described “Feral blues-punk outfit” Mother Vulture, is set to see the band spread the same fire and fury that have won over their legions of fans, at some of the UK’s best venues! The dates for the upcoming All Out of Dreams UK...

Released on April 11th, 2025, via InsideOutMusic, ‘From Nothing’, is the highly anticipated sophomore album from experimental progressive metal band Benthos. An album that offers a profound reflection on the meaning of life while exploring positive and negative imprints left by mankind, and how they have shaped entire societies in various aspects - artistic, cultural, and social. It is the follow-...

Released on March 21st, 2025, via RPM, ‘Limited Deadition’ is the brand-new and 19th studio album of the iconic Finnish rock horror maestros, Lordi. An album filled to the brim with horror-infused AOR worshipping rock sounds. Nineteen albums in and Lordi are still having fun and finding ways to reinvent themselves. Limited Deadition is Lordi through and through, but that doesn’t mean the spooky ra...

The nu metal revival is alive and well in 2025, so much so, that iconic bands from that era are returning to delight long-term fans, while gaining a whole new audience who have yet to experience them. One such band is Northamptonshire, UK’s Defenestration. A five-piece who were active between 1999 – 2004, releasing three studio albums (One Inch God – 2001 / Ray Zero – 2003 / For Us it Ends When We...

Katerina Nicole is the voice of a storm—a haunting presence where fragile whispers rise above crashing waves of sound and the thunderous weight of darkness. Her music exists in contrasts: delicate yet unrelenting, a dance of light and shadow, where beauty and brutality intertwine. Each song feels like a ritual, unravelling themes of transformation, resilience, and the quiet strength found in chaos...

‘Aether’ is the much-anticipated debut album of Forlorn, the ‘folk horror’ band who blend expressionist art, crushing soundscapes and paganism to carve out their own brand of innovative alternative music. Throughout ‘Aether’, Forlorn pay their respects to the major 'elements', acting as part of a progressing metal pagan ritual. The juxtaposition of ethereal vocals, with chaotic drums and crushing...

After years of hard work, the fuzzy stoner rock/metal band, Ditch are back, having released their brand-new album ‘The Traveler’ on February 14th, 2025. It is their first full-length album since the release of their critically acclaimed debut album, ‘Boca Do Inferno’ in 2014. A dynamic and diverse collection of songs, ‘The Traveler’ is a modern and unique twist on stoner rock and metal. Featuring...

Freedomination is a metal band formed in Vantaa, Finland in 2008. Over the years, the band has released four self-published works and has become renowned for its energetic performances in the Finnish metal scene. After a period of inactivity since 2017, they returned to the stage in 2022 with a new lineup and have now released their debut album, 'Until the Lights Go Out'. Freedomination’s music bl...

Obscure. Cutting. Beautiful. Like wind in the branches of a bitterly cold winter forest. In the quest for the perfect soundtrack for wistful, melancholic moments, get lost in the hypnotic undertow of broad walls of guitars, symphonic arrangements and experimental sounds, coated in an eerily-beautiful melodic monotony. Hjort is the solo-work of V/Haze Miasma‘s ‘Atmosphere‘ who utilises the studio p...

Swedish rock band, Greybeards made their triumphant return on February 14th, 2025, with their brand-new EP, ‘Out of the Red’. Rock music in its most memorable form, there’s nothing game changing here, but that doesn’t mean everyone can’t have a mighty fine time with a bunch of tracks that guarantee the body will groove and move. That’s the short summation of this EP and what Greybeards offer. It’s...

After an extensive hiatus, Swedish goth rock mob The Dead and Living have returned with a new EP; ‘Damage’, which is set for release on February 28th, 2025, through Rexius Records. An EP that features four tracks that showcase a staggering level of dynamism and vibrancy as The Dead and Living evolve. Their goth rock roots are still showing, but they’re not quite as prevalent as they have been. Rea...