Sonic Perspectives

Moron Police.  The name just jumps out at you.  But up to now, the Norwegian group has been a bit obscure, perhaps limited by the obscure lyrics and some “in your face” song titles (“T-Bag Your Grandma,” “Stomp the Goomba,” etc.) . So for the third album, A Boat on the Sea, Moron Police chief [...] The post SONDRE SKOLLEVOLL, Sheriff of The MORON POLICE: “It Was Time To Grow Up To Make S...

Before his show in Boulder, Colorado, Jon Anderson spoke to Sonic Perspectives correspondent Scott Medina about the tour and his new album 1,000 Hands. Below is a recounting of several of the highlights of the interview, interspersed with an overview of the show itself. The complete audio of the interview is also available underneath. The [...] The post Concert Review / Interview with JON ANDERSON...

I found myself in a dilapidated Chicago airport on a damp and dingy Friday in February 2001 without a plan, without a debit card, and frankly, without a clue. The freezing winds somehow didn’t feel terribly cold, I had traveled light, and I had to figure out quickly how I was going to make the [...] The post TALKING PERSPECTIVES: A Conversation with PROGPOWER USA Mastermind GLENN HARVESTON (...

Andrew Colyer should be doing something right. In a matter of years his has skyrocketed to world renowned fame. As the keyboardist for AWAKEN, CELL 15, 3.2 featuring ROBERT BERRY and his own band CIRCULINE, Andrew has achieved highly acclaimed success, in the world of Progressive Rock music.  Today Andrew discusses the many facets of [...] The post Renowned Keyboardist ANDREW COLYER Discusses...

New England’s leading metal band, DEAD BY WEDNESDAY released their self-titled full length album on April 19th, 2019 through Combat Records/ EMP Label Group. In addition, DBW released their new video for the first single off the record titled “You & Die.” The 12 track album showcases a rebirth and rebranding of the band since [...] The post DEAD BY WEDNESDAY Members CHRISTIAN &#822...

Despite arriving to their third decade in the music business, chances are you have never heard of THE 69 EYES, and if that’s the case you need to pay attention. Conceived in Finland in 1989, dark rockers THE 69 EYES have come a long way and shaped the genre of ‘Goth ‘n’ Roll’ like no [...] The post THE 69 EYES Singer JYRKI 69: “I Think the World Is Ready Now for Our New Album” appeared first...

Two excellent reasons to party for the Freedom Call camp: first, the band surrounding vocalist/guitarist Chris Bay are set to celebrate their 20th anniversary this summer; then, on 23 August 2019 they’re also scheduled to release their tenth studio album, featuring the promising title M.E.T.A.L. Since their 1999 debut Stairway To Fairyland, the act from [...] The post FREEDOM CALL’s Singer C...

Powerhouse drummer Ray Luzier is entering his 13th year with veteran ’90s metal titans KoЯn, and is currently on a co-headlining tour with Alice in Chains, but in between KoЯn album releases and tours, he finds time to work with dUg Pinnick of King’s X and George Lynch (Lynch Mob and The End Machine) to [...] The post KXM and KORN’s Drummer RAY LUZIER: “The Most Bizarre Day...

Currently on a lengthy North American tour to promote their latest album Warpaint, Buckcherry made a stop in Toronto at the Phoenix Concert Theatre last August 06th. Showcasing their unique blend of punkish attitude and sleaze rock, they brought in tow the newcomers Joyous Wolf, which were a pleasant surprise. Just before the show I [...] The post BUCKCHERRY And JOYOUS WOLF at The Phoenix Theatre,...

Released last June 14th, Baroness newest album Gold & Grey has catapulted the band to a whole new level of attention, both in musical and popularity terms. Press and followers have praised the release – the final chapter in their chromatic-themed albums – as a cohesive and very diverse album, encapsulating everything the band is [...] The post BARONESS Drummer SEBASTIAN THOMSON Wei...

JOHN 5‘s resume is staggering. He has worked with a varied range of artists, performing as guitarist for some of the biggest headlining rock bands in the world such as Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson, as well as playing session with Paul Stanley, Rod Stewart, Lynyrd Skynyrd and more. Slash has called JOHN 5, “one [...] The post JOHN 5 Talks ‘Invasion’ Solo Album: “Everything...

Most commonly known for his work with progressive metal stalwarts Haken as well as Nova Collective, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress, Richard Henshall is now about to release his debut solo album, The Cocoon, which drops next August 9th via The Burning Shed. We recently published a detailed review of the record, which you can read [...] The post HAKEN’s Guitarist RICHARD HENSHALL Reflects O...

Thrash Metal legends DESTRUCTION‘s upcoming musical manifest Born To Perish will certainly create a furor when it hits the shelves next August 9th. The brand-new line-up featuring the Canadian drum animal Randy Black and Swiss shred-master Damir Eskić, together with veterans Schmier and Mike, is here to bring you musical destruction. This is a new [...] The post DESTRUCTION Leader Marcel &#8...

If being a member of one of the biggest thrash metal bands of all time wasn’t enough, MEGADETH‘s Dave Ellefson is doing so much more nowadays that one guesses how is he pulling it off. A Christian preacher and recovering drug addict, Dave owns his Ellefson Coffee Co. to EMP Label Group, manages artists like [...] The post MEGADETH’s Bassist DAVE ELLEFSON Talks Band Future: &#8220...

NANOWAR OF STEEL (Formerly know as NANOWAR) is a comedy heavy metal band from Rome, Italy. Everybody thinks their name is a pun on the metal band MANOWAR, but if you stick around and listen to this interview you’ll find out that is not the case. Their music, mostly in the early days represented their [...] The post NANOWAR OF STEEL Bassist: “We No Longer Want to Just Write Silly Songs....

Drummer Dobber Beverly of Oceans of Slumber minces no words about the issues the band has faced during their brief but rapid climb. Singer extraordinaire Cammie Gilbert, the target of the unwarranted and uncharitable criticism her bandmate and companion Mr Beverly references, takes it in characteristic stride. “There’s a lot of societal variables that affect wh...

Swedish metallers Hammerfall have a new album in the bag. Entitled Dominion – you can peek at our review here – it features their traditional brand of power metal with Scandinavian roots, which has produced many excellent bands over the years. And they’re not shy to acknowledge their roots. Actually quite the opposite – they [...] The post HAMMERFALL Singer JOACIM CANS: &#8...

New York-based heavy metal band DAMN YOUR EYES may seem new to the scene, but they are anything but green. The band – formed by former members of We Are The Enemy and Bonesmith, plus current members of Black Water Rising – came together in 2015 and immediately hit the ground running. As respected musicians [...] The post DAMN YOUR EYES’ Guitarist ARTIE ALEXANDER: “We Don’t Write...

If we were to discuss all the albums that Simon Phillips took part of, we could be busy for the rest of the year. Primarily known for his work with The Who and Toto, he started to play professionally at the age of twelve in his father’s dixieland band for four years, and went on [...] The post Legendary Drummer SIMON PHILLIPS Discusses His Lengthy Musical Career: “I Didn’t Become...

For the past thirty years Billy Sherwood has been involved with the band Yes to varying degrees: songwriter, touring support musician, producer, full-time member, friend and finally, filling the role of the late Chris Squire on bass. During that time, Sherwood’s own career has flourished and traveled many roads, from early bands like World Trade [...] The post YES Bassist BILLY SHERWOOD: I Was Alw...

One of the most adventurous and prolific power trios of recent times, The Aristocrats are back with a brand new album, entitled You Know What…? which we recently reviewed. Released only a mere week ago, this collection of tracks sees them taking unexplored territory once again, and bringing the listener on a musical roller coaster [...] The post BRYAN BELLER and MARCO MINNEMANN Talk THE ARIS...

Resurrected from the ashes of one of the most influential death metal bands of all time, NOCTURNUS AD was initiated by founding mastermind/death metal legend Mike Browning (also co-founder of Morbid Angel). His intention? To continue the path laid down twenty-eight years earlier, by the legendary Florida death metal band (named Nocturnus at the time) [...] The post NOCTURNUS AD’s Leader MIKE...

This year has been filled with wonderfully crafted music coming from all genres, and out of the most unexpected surprises thus far has been the album Sweet Oblivion, some sort of a project put together by former Queensrÿche and current Operation: Mindcrime frontman Geoff Tate and DGM‘s guitarist Simone Mularoni, under the auspicious of Frontiers [...] The post GEOFF TATE Talks Recent Project...

For the past 15 years, Mike Morton has been the one constant in the British Prog band The Gift.  Composer, lyricist, singer, frontman, and the occasional multi-instrumentalist—Morton did it all with a revolving set of bandmates. But The Gift membership began to solidify with 2016’s Why the Sea is Salt.  And its most recent release—Antenna—features [...] The post THE GIFT Leader MIKE MORT...

Scandinavian rock and roll legends D-A-D took their time to record their new album A Prayer for the Loud, but the wait was certainly worth it! The new songs fall right into the vintage D-A-D mold, and will surely please the long time fans, with a clear musical link to classic D-A-D albums such as No Fuel Left [...] The post D-A-D Frontman Jesper Binzer Talks New Album: “We Exp...