Where Did Mary Go?

When interviewed about Mario Lalli for a documentary about the emerging desert rock scene he grew up in, Josh Homme of Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age fame described him this way: “ Mario is the one guy who I always thought deserved the most credit for everything.  He was always a few years ahead of his time… He’s always had this way about him – he’s very giving, he’s always done everything for...

Porcupine Tree band leader Steven Wilson started his 2022 autobiography, Limited Edition of One , with a story about the band’s last show before the start of their well-known hiatus that began in 2010.   He wrote that subconsciously, while playing before a sold out crowd at the famous Royal Albert Hall , he knew that it would be the last thing Porcupine Tree did for a while.  There was one problem...

Since their inception in 1997, Elvenking have never fit squarelyinto one genre or category in the world of metal.  On a surface level, the casual listener might blindly generalize them into power metal genre based on Davide “Damna” Moras’ soaring vocals and Federico “Aydan” Baston’s fast-paced riffing and lead guitar play.  But when you span the band’s entire catalog, the breadth of their influenc...

When Swedish melodic death metal legends Arch Enemy were about to enter to studio to record  Burning Bridges in 1999 , which would become one of their most iconic releases, they were facing a bit of an issue: they needed a bassist.  The group had just returned from playing tour dates in Japan and, according to lead guitarist and band leader Michael Amott , things were not working out with their cu...

In early 1991, Dream Theater were dangerously close to calling it quits.  The promising young group, which formed at Berklee College of Music in Boston in the mid-1980s under the original name Majesty, had let go original lead singer Charlie Dominici shortly after their 1989 debut record When Dream and Day Unite.   For nearly a year and a half, they had auditioned countless frontmen, with none of...

Failure has never really been an option for Jamey Jasta.   He started out in the music business in his early teens during the mid-1990s and he has yet to look back.  When interviewed about his initial impressions of meeting Jamey as a teenager, Brian Fair of Shadows Fall had this to say: "Jamey was the hardest working man in hardcore.   He saw a possibility of making a career out of this long...

Justin Foley joined Killswitch Engage in the fall of 2003 after the departure of their original drummer.  His former bandmate, Howard Jones, had just joined the band as their lead singer and recommended Foley for the vacancy.   A year later, Killswitch Engage would be nominated for a Grammy for their gold 2004 record The End of Heartache and be opening for Slayer as part of the Jagermeister Music...

Reflecting on when Fredrik Åkesson joined Opeth in 2007 after the departure of founding member Peter Lindgren , band frontman and general mastermind Mikael Åkerfeldt said: “Finally, we had a really, really good lead guitar player, so I could step back a little bit…I always wanted a good lead guitarist, but neither me or Peter were able to advance too much in that department.” Now some seventeen ye...

Frank Hetzel has been a giant in the Seattle metal community for many years – so much so that it’s been said that any metal band who played in the city was booked through him.  After securing national and international band to grace the stages of Seattle, he started to create his own music through Beltfed Weapon , using the connections he had made to secure guest and session musicians to appear on...

I started writing about music two years ago, mostly as a joke, and have now found myself producing material for an actual website called ⁠ThisDayInMetal.com⁠ . Given access to different musicians for interview, I thought I would share the audio here for those who may be interested. For my first episode, I was joined by Derrick Brumley of the metal band Conquest to promote their new album Paradox,...

I've been a King's X fan for over two decades now. The fact that I was able to interview bassist and vocalist Doug (dUg) Pinnick for ⁠ThisDayInMetal.com⁠ was a surreal experience.  dUg spoke with us for nearly 50 minutes about: his upcoming new solo record in October 2024. the bizarre experience of opening for AC/DC in Germany. how King's X picks their setlist. playing Woodstock &ap...

Karl Agell, who was Corrosion of Conformity's vocalist on 1991's breakthrough Blind , discussed a number of topics with me, including: how he joined Legions of Doom, a doom/stoner supergroup involving ex-members of Trouble, The Skull, Saint Vitus, Pentagram, Leadfoot, and more. their first release, The Skull 3, due out September 13th through Tee Pee Records. the impact Eric Wagner (Troub...

Alex Skolnick is a world renowned guitar virtuoso most well-known for playing in the thrash metal band Testament from the age of 16. He has also played in Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and his jazz outfit Alex Skolnick Trio. I spoke to him ahead of his appearance with metal supergroup Metal Allegiance 10th Anniversary Show on September 6th at Starland Ballroom.  Alex spoke about a number of...