THE
HEAVYWEIGHTS INTERVIEW HEAVYWEIGHTS!
innovators ISSUE Meshuggah
Interviewed by Robb Flynn
Killswitch Engage Interviewed by Justine Jones
Wardruna
Interviewed by Bill Bailey
Kreator
Interviewed by Mark Tremonti
Often imitated. Never duplicated.
meshuggah Interviewed by Robb Flynn
NIGHTWISH + WITHIN TEMPTATION
The birth of symphonic metal
ISSUE 360
MEGADETH
Countdown To Extinction at 30
PAPA ROACH
Jacoby Shaddix: The Hammer Interview
CYPRESS HILL
Inside metal’s favourite rap anthem
+ ARCH ENEMY • KORN • CAGE FIGHT • ITHACA • ROLO TOMASSI • KISS • EVILE
MAY 2022
16 GENE SIMMONS
36 MESHUGGAH
CONT FRONT ROW
8 Dust off your tent, because it’s all systems go for MANORFEST! 10 You grill JONATHAN DAVIS about God, corpses and Fred Durst. 14 What’s on the Slaylist of Djamila Boden Azzouz of ITHACA? 16 Get your life lessons from Kiss legend GENE SIMMONS. 20 We hit the studio for the inside story of ARCH ENEMY’s Deceivers. 22 How CYPRESS HILL cooked up metal-friendly hip hop mega-hit Insane In The Brain. 28 Meet CAGE FIGHT: kicking ass and punching faces.
56 KREATOR 4 METALHAMMER.COM
22 CYPRESS HILL
98 ROLO TOMASSI
FEATURES
36 Kicking off The Innovators Issue, Machine Head legend Robb Flynn interviews MESHUGGAH. 44 KILLSWITCH ENGAGE pioneered metalcore. Employed To Serve’s Justine Jones maps their journey. 50 In a mesmeric meeting of minds, genius comedian Bill Bailey sits down with WARDRUNA. 56 Alter Bridge man Mark Tremonti speaks to his German thrash metal heroes, KREATOR. 64 In 1997, WITHIN TEMPTATION and NIGHTWISH unleashed symphonic metal on the world.
MAY 2022
64 WITHIN TEMPTATION
ENTS
50 WARDRUNA
SUBSCRIBE NOW & SAVE
70 J ACOBY SHADDIX gets the Metal Hammer Interview treatment. 76 As well as saving MEGADETH, Countdown To Extinction may just have saved Dave Mustaine.
92 Thrash icons DESTRUCTION charge into their fourth decade. 93 Metallica guitar hero KIRK HAMMETT makes a solo foray.
ALBUM REVIEWS
98 ROLO TOMASSI head up a new noise triumvirate. 100 G REEN LUNG bring their pagan doom rites to Wales. 101 UK thrash powerhouse EVILE go wild in the West Country. 102 US deathcore heavies LORNA SHORE throw down. 102 Nordic punks KVELERTAK run rampant in Stockholm.
84 Umeå’s tech icons MESHUGGAH fire up their warp drive. 87 ARCHITECTS return to the prestigious Abbey Road. 88 CANCER BATS discover the power of three. 90 Synthwave champion CARPENTER BRUT takes a stab in the dark.
Head to p.34 for details
LIVE REVIEWS
87 ARCHITECTS
44 KILLSWITCH ENGAGE METALHAMMER.COM 5
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU HAD TEA AT FRED DURST’S HOUSE? Korn frontman Jonathan Davis faces down your questions on his famous buddies, serial killer memorabilia and the worst song he’s ever recorded. Are you rrrrready? WORDS: MATT MILLS • PICTURES: TRAVIS SHINN
Did you take up any weird hobbies during lockdown. Ice sculptures? Building small houses out of biscuits? Robin Blanchard, via Facebook
“Gardening. Me and my girl were going crazy, stuck in the house. We decided to go to the nursery and buy a bunch of plants. I’d never done it before; I’ve never been able to do that. It was really strange, but it looked really nice. It was one of those mindless activities that takes you out of your head.”
Duran, Robert Smith from The Cure and Mike Patton from Faith No More. The life raft can only fit three people. Who do you throw off to survive? Paula Herron, via Facebook
of toilet paper and say, ‘Go shit in the woods.’ There were 200 people there and it was an OK show, so it was kind of cool, I guess – apart from the shitting in the woods part! Ha ha!”
“Man, I’d never do that! Without them, I wouldn’t be who I am and I wouldn’t rob the world of their amazing talents. By process of elimination, I’d throw myself off! Ha ha!”
When was the last time you dreamed about cutting up a dead body on a mortuary slab? [Jonathan worked as a coroner’s assistant as a teenager.] Jon Lionel, via Facebook
What’s the craziest/weirdest gig Korn have ever played? Ryley Day, via email
“The craziest one was at a lawnmower repair shop in Georgia with Sick Of It All. It was literally a tin-roof shed with a dirt floor. If you had to go to the bathroom, they’d just give you a roll
Head and Fieldy are both devout Christians. Have you ever been to church with them?
Have you heard any of the new nu metal bands, like Tetrarch and Tallah? Did you even know that nu metal was ‘a thing’ again?
Saz Morton, via Facebook
Ursula Currey, via Facebook
“I’m glad it’s back, but the whole nu metal thing, it’s just whatever! Ha ha! I like this one band called Wargasm. They’re pretty cool. They’re heavy, but they’re new and different.” You’re stranded on a life raft in the sea with Simon Le Bon from Duran
10 METALHAMMER.COM
“I don’t dream about that period. I used to have nightmares about that shit back in the day. I’m over that, but I barely dream. I just found out I had sleep apnoea for fucking years. I got a CPAP machine and that really has changed a lot for me, sleep-wise. I can actually dream! For a long time I couldn’t because I quit breathing in my sleep.”
Korn will be bringing Requiem to Download this summer
“No. I’ve been to church and I respect their beliefs; the world would be a much better place if people would just stop fucking sticking their noses where they don’t belong and respect people’s beliefs. My only problem with Christianity is the fucking ‘Holier than thou, we’re better than you’ bullshit. But those two, especially Head, don’t talk about that stuff. He just kicks
INSET: PRESS/TIM SACCENTI
JONATHAN DAVIS helped invent nu metal with Korn’s 1994 debut, and has since sold 40 million albums. It’s not been plain sailing; drink, anxiety, the death of loved ones and Covid have all tried to derail his career, but he’s made it through. Will your questions send him running, or is he here to stay?
KORN
Jonathan Davis: way cooler than Alan Titchmarsh
“I LOVE CHURCHES, I JUST DON’T NECESSARILY LIKE WHAT GOES ON IN THEM” METALHAMMER.COM 11
NEW NOISE ROUND-UP
NEW NOISE
COMA HOLE Metal-adjacent electropop artist sings about the occult and gender dysmorphia to comfort the nonconformists WORDS: MATT MILLS • PICTURE: JAMIE WATERS
THERE’S AN OLD adage that says
“Look at me!” they laugh in art should disturb the comfortable response, wearing thick black eyeliner and comfort the disturbed. If that’s and a Wargasm hoodie. “It’s a bit too the case, then Bambie Thug is an ‘jazz hands’ for me, and it’s not as artist in every sense. The Irish-born, inclusive a world [as alternative music]. London-based singer/ It’s a lot more bitchy, songwriter, rapper and especially if you’re a dancer. self-professed “witch bitch” And, I love the spotlight.” only debuted last year with It’s pretty apt, then, for SOUNDS LIKE: Rap, goth and the bubbling goth pop of Bambie’s new EP, High witchcraftBirthday. However, their Romancy, to be all about inspired eclecticism, metal-adjacent them. Its lyrics bluntly electropop teeming with occult aesthetic and discuss the musician’s history anger and fragility acidic lyrics have quickly of eating disorders and made them a darling of gender dysmorphia. “The FOR FANS OF: Cassyette, Mimi the downtrodden. only way to help other Barks, Billie Eilish “I drove back from my UK people is to share your own tour this morning,” they tell problems,” they explain. LISTEN TO: Necromancy Hammer tiredly but proudly “When I was 14 or 15, I would via video call, “and there was have really liked that. Being such a mixed audience. Older people gender dysmorphic is a very hard and young queers, and even some place to be.” biker dudes. It was awesome.” With that mission at heart, they Bambie’s life trajectory initially believe there’s no limit to their seemed much more conventional. potential. “I want to have massive They grew up in the heavily Catholic stadium tours,” they declare. “I want town of Cork, Ireland, and picked up to use all of my theatre kid training ballet. They made the trip to London to build massive sets and put on an to pursue a scholarship in musical absolute show.” theatre, but quickly discovered that they hated it. Why didn’t it pan out? HIGH ROMANCY IS OUT NOW
IN SHORT
30 METALHAMMER.COM
WORDS: JONATHAN SELZER
AS MUCH AS it may draw from familiar sources, from blues-infused fuzz rock and doom to grunge, Philadelphia bass-and-drum duo Coma Hole’s self-titled debut EP sounds like the beginning of a deeply personal journey – a process of hard-fought musical alchemy unfolding over the course of its 35 tumultuous minutes. If there’s a tactile, garage band feel to their sound, there’s also an exploratory, progressive impulse at its heart, a rare combination of earthiness and unpredictability that suggests Royal Thunder are their closest peers. “I’ve always been into more ‘raw’ and emotional sounding music without all the production tricks,” says vocalist/ SOUND LIKE: bassist Eyrka Fir. “I understand they’re Blues and necessary in certain subgenres, but grunge-fuelled I believe a lot can be achieved through doom navigating an emotional a minimal set-up, so long as the storm songwriting is authentic.” Having grown up listening to blues FOR FANS OF: guitarists such as Carlos Santana and Royal Thunder, Witch Mountain, Robert Cray before delving deep into Soundgarden the Seattle grunge scene, she started jamming with fellow grunge fan Steve LISTEN TO: The Familiar Anderson and discovered how liberating a two-piece band can be. “Having only two people creates its own unique atmosphere and approach to songwriting,” says Eryka. “I look at songwriting through an entirely different lens now, and the tracks on the EP sort of wrote themselves.” Bookended by The Familiar and Sinking, each more than 11 minutes long, and charting a route from struggle to self-realisation, there’s a scope for storytelling that’s proved both organic and immersive. “None of it was intentional,” Eyrka muses, “but reflecting on them, it feels like they were written exactly how they were supposed to be.”
IN SHORT
COMA HOLE IS RELEASED ON APRIL 22
PRESS
BAMBIE THUG
Grunge-loving doom/blues alchemists from the less-is-more school of noise
NEW NOISE ROUND-UP
DESIGN FLAW
Musically eclectic Washington crew aim for (and at) the White House WORDS: MATT MILLS
IN SHORT SOUNDS LIKE:
An amalgamation of all the best ‘post-’ genres in one transcendent band
FOR FANS OF:
Thrice, Caspian, Alcest
LISTEN TO:
Andromeda
‘WHERE ONCE THERE was silence, now there’s a race to fill every moment with violent creation,’ sings Design Flaw’s Navid Marvi on Silence, the first track on the Washington DC band’s debut EP, Beasts Of A Future Decay. “We wrote that song in 2020, during the pandemic and the tension leading up to the [Presidential] election,” the singer/guitarist explains. “That lyric was inspired by the fact that everyone had something to say.” As a lifelong DC native, Navid found the USA’s pandemic-era politics – the election, the #BlackLivesMatter protests, the Capitol riot – inescapable. “DC’s always been a place where hard conversations happen,” explains lead guitarist Gibran Esa. “That’s a good thing, but there’s a toxicity to it. There’s always a political angle to everything.”
While Beasts Of A Future Decay is no exception, using lockdowns and online discourse as lyrical throughlines, musically, it’s more eclectic. Silence is a melodic post-hardcore anthem, Ghost escalates to screeching blackgaze, Dusk is entirely ambient and Andromeda is a post-metal behemoth, with Navid’s angelic vocals and Gibran’s shimmering guitar tone tying everything together. “I’ve never met anybody who listens to as many different styles of music as Navid,” smiles Gibran, whose bandmate
holds up everything from Cult Of Luna to alt-pop/r’n’b star Moses Sumney as influences. And while Beasts Of A Future Decay has only just come out, the guys are already planning the follow up. “We’re recording our next four songs – the drums are all done,” he says, jokingly adding that Design Flaw are thinking as big as it gets. “I want to be President of the United States.”
BEASTS OF A FUTURE DECAY IS OUT NOW
IN THE KNOW What your favourite bands are listening to
MESSA
Mandolin-assisted doom from the shores of the Mediterranean
“A JAM PROJECT between
WORDS: DAVE EVERLEY
IN SHORT SOUNDS LIKE:
Doom metal baking in the scorched Mediterranean sun
FOR FANS OF:
The Devil’s Blood, Khemmis, Windhand
LISTEN TO:
PRESS
Pilgrim
THE TOTEMIST
THE COVER OF Close, Messa’s third
album, features a photo of three robed women, their faces obscured by flailing hair. They could be headbanging, but they’re actually taking part in the Nakh, a ritual North African dance. “When these women dance, they let their hair swing loose and it causes a trance-like state,” says surnameless singer Sara. “We thought there was a bridge between this and headbanging, which is the most metal thing ever.” That sense of the otherworldly extends to Messa themselves. Their roots lay in expansive doom metal, but Close brings in other elements, from jazz licks to Mediterranean instruments
such as the mandolin, oud and the flute-like duduk. “We wanted to introduce this strange element into our music,” says Sarah. “How many doom metal records feature a mandolin?” This trans-cultural experimentation works perfectly on songs such as Suspended and the haunting Orphalese, the latter inspired by a book by early 20th century poet Khalil Gibran. The individual parts merge to form a strange, unique whole. “For me, when I’m singing these songs I feel like I’m channelling fire,” says Sara. “When I go onstage I become the fire.”
Toska songwriter/guitarist Rabea Massaad and Black Peaks drummer Liam Kearley. Nothing to do with the fact I’m mates with the guys, but the musicianship and creative goodness these lads have produced is truly brilliant. Check out their EP on your preferred streaming service and play it loud!” ALI RICHARDSON, BLEED FROM WITHIN
CLOSE IS OUT NOW VIA SVART METALHAMMER.COM 31
HOARD ALMIGHTY
SKULL DRESS £36.99
Everyone knows that the LBD is a wardrobe essential, but you know what’s even more essential? A little black skull dress, and this one’s perfect for making a splash at the next wedding, funeral or christening you attend. tinyurl.com/skull-dress
Box sets, underground oddities and all the essential merch you need this month
WATAIN BUNDLE £55
Watain’s gigs are infamous for using animal blood, so be thankful this marbled red vinyl edition of The Agony & Ecstasy Of Watain isn’t scratch’n’sniff. The serpent-strewn t-shirt should give you full knowledge of evil too. tinyurl.com/watain-bundle
KREATOR BOX SET HATE ÜBER ALLES – VINYL BOX SET NUCLEAR BLAST £75
OVER 40 YEARS and 15 albums, Kreator have shown time and again why
they’re such a vital part of heavy metal’s nobility. While many of their peers have collapsed, lost their edge or descended into buffoonery, these Teutonic thrashmeisters continue to assail us with deadly songwriting and savage, violent riffing. Their forthcoming album, Hate Über Alles, is a perfect case in point, and for those of you who are really committed to the band’s fatal energy, this lavish box set promises pleasure and thrills galore. Splashing the thrash across three sides of coloured vinyl (the fourth side is etched), this edition lobs in an art print, photobook, chunky metal badge and two separate CDs – one featuring the album, the other their Bloodstock 2021 live set. Limited to just 1,300 copies, you’ll be in endless pain if you miss out!
tinyurl.com/kreator-boxset
32 METALHAMMER.COM
COMPILATION OF DEATH IV £23.50
Want the deep-diving of a death metal zine fleshed out to coffee-table-collapsing proportions? Look no further than the latest volume of this legendary tome, which features 470 pages of ghastly metallic glory. tinyurl.com/death-comp
HOARD ALMIGHTY
VHS FRIDGE MAGNETS
MISFITS THROBBLEHEAD
LAMENT CONFIGURATION BOX
You’ll never have to feign excitement over something two inches long again! These detailed, loving homages to the VHS era are perfect chilled-goods-based conversation starters. Maybe not the Maniac Cop one.
I’ve got something to say. I bought this limited edition Fiend today. Doesn’t matter much to me, as long as it looks like Death. Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Oh. Listen, just nod along, like dis guy, OK?
If you fancy opening the gateway to Hell and releasing the Cenobites this weekend, you could do worse than this fully functional Lament Configuration box. Much more enjoyable than watching Hellraiser: Revelations.
tinyurl.com/vhs-magnets
tinyurl.com/misfits-throbble
tinyurl.com/lament-box
CTHULHU AWAKENING MUG
DAMIM COMIC
ARCH ENEMY – DELUXE ARTBOOK
The Cradle Of Filth song’s not called ‘Cthulhu Yawn’, is it? Wake up with a cup of cosmic coffee, ensnared in the tentacles of a classic Lovecraftian beastie. Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn and at ’em!
Most blackened death metal bands knock out some shonky artwork about space and call it a day, but Damim have released a full-on, 24-page comic. For fans of Mandy-ish visuals, Blasphemy t-shirts and the occult.
The stops have all been pulled out for this special edition of Deceivers: odd-coloured vinyl and arty artefacts abound, and each one is also hand-numbered – possibly even by Alissa White-Gluz or Mike Amott themselves.
tinyurl.com/cthulhu-sups
tinyurl.com/damim-comic
tinyurl.com/arch-book
HEIMDALL BEARD OIL
MESHUGGAH BUNDLE
PARADISE LOST BOOK
It’s a well-known fact that pillage-hungry Vikings carefully tended their luxuriant braids and moustaches with this beard oil. It carries whiffs of bourbon and tobacco about it – just like your dodgy uncle.
Nine albums in and Meshuggah remain brilliantly vital. Hail their latest mighty endeavour with this triple threat bundle, which features the album on vinyl (a special snazzy colour, naturally), a shirt and a patch.
Paradise Lost have peddled misery for more than three decades, and this 400-page hardback book spells it out. Featuring prints, a flag, signed certificate and bookmark, No Celebration is, um, worth celebrating.
tinyurl.com/heimdall-oil
tinyurl.com/immuta-bundle
tinyurl.com/pl-hardback
£7.65
£10.99
£12.99
£30
£6.99
£40
£30
£56.99
£28/£60
METALHAMMER.COM 33
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MESHUGGAH
“IT RIPPED MY FACE OFF” When Robb Flynn first heard Meshuggah, he was so blown away that he invited them on tour with Machine Head. We got him to interview metal’s most brutally complex band PICTURES: EDVARD HANSSON
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ROBB FLYNN: PRESS/TRAVIS SHINN • TRANSCRIPTION: KATIE BAKER
MESHUGGAH
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KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
T
you, I don’t care what you think, kind of attitude. He was a monster onstage, but then when he got offstage, he was this really friendly, cool, matter-of-fact kinda dude.”
wo decades ago, if you’d said ‘metalcore’ to someone, chances are they wouldn’t have had the faintest idea what you were talking about. As nu metal ruled the mainstream, this littleknown subgenre of hardcore punk and classic thrash was only the concern of a small collection of hardened, underground fans, fighting for attention against Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit and the rest. It didn’t stand a chance. Right? Then Killswitch Engage happened. The quintet became so successful that metalcore is now one of the most dominant genres. Without them, we might not have had Parkway Drive, or Architects, or Spiritbox, or While She Sleeps, or Bury Tomorrow, or… you get the picture. That’s why, when we decided to chronicle their thrilling journey from underground punks to metalcore royalty, including the Howard Jones era (2002-2012) and beyond, we needed someone who knew their shit. Justine Jones, lead larynx with the UK’s own Employed To Serve – another band that’s benefited from KSE’s boundary busting – was delighted to jump in and grill two of her heroes, vocalist Jesse Leach and guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, about how they evolved into one of the most important bands in metal’s history. Justine: “What was the scene like in Westfield, Massachusetts when you guys kicked off in 1999?” Adam: “It was a really supportive scene, with bands like us and Shadows Fall kinda just helping each out. It was pretty incestuous as well; Jon [Donais] from Shadows Fall and I were in a band together before either of our bands formed, [Killswitch bassist] Mike D was from Overcast, which of course had Brian [Fair] from Shadows Fall in as well. It was nice, like a little family.” Jesse: “For me, Western Mass was a little more metal, and where I lived in Providence, Rhode Island was a lot more hardcore. So, that kind of blend of styles would really influence what would go on to happen, the crazy street hardcore and the Western Mass blend of more melodic, European metal was really crucial in what would go on to happen.”
Justine: “When you guys released Alive Or Just Breathing [in 2002] it was promoted with a casket filled with all the nu metal fashion from the time. You were out to kill nu metal!” Adam: “We weren’t out to kill anything; it was just a piece of shameless promotion from our label. It was funny I guess.” Jesse: “Yeah, I mean, I get it, you want a hook to get people excited about a new band, and we were definitely doing something different from what was going on at that time, but… that kind of bravado is not our style.” Justine: “What did you guys think of nu metal?” Adam: “I dislike anything where the guitar player has six strings but they only use one.” Jesse: “I can take or leave some of it, but I really love Deftones, what they were doing was incredible, you can’t deny some of the riffs of Korn, but some of that stuff was a little goofy. I definitely hated on it at the time, but in retrospect I actually prefer it to some stuff I hear now. It was a commercial sound, and we were into the underground, so it was a little hokey.” Justine: “My Last Serenade was such a huge song for you guys. How did that song come about?” Jesse: “For me, lyrically, I was in my bedroom feeling some heartache. I wanted it to sound like a song about burning bridges, but a more philosophical take on it, but it ended up sounding like a relationship song. It was actually a much deeper thing than just a relationship with somebody. In a lot of ways, it is the song that inspired me to write lyrics with dual meanings. It was a lightbulb moment, and I remember talking to Adam about it and we both thought there was something there. I had that melody part, but Adam helped me push it in the right direction, and once we nailed that I knew we had something special.” Adam: “I wrote that whole song, but I remember Joel [Stroetzel, guitar] coming up with the bridge.” Jesse: “Really? I didn’t know that. I love that riff, it has this kinda Bad Brains stomp to it, so I was all about that.”
“LEAVING THE BAND WAS THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO ME”
Justine: “Who were your main musical influences?” Jesse: “From Agnostic Front to Slapshot, Cro-Mags to Integrity, but I was also really into death metal, so Grave, Suffocation, Obituary and Edge Of Sanity. To this day I still say they were the forefathers of mixing melodic vocals with growling. On that note, Paradise Lost, Opeth, a lot of the European bands – they had a huge impact on the US hardcore scene I believe.” Adam: “I was a hardcore kid for sure, so that was a huge influence on everything I do. But, like Jesse says, this was around the time the European metal thing was coming along, the likes of In Flames, Napalm Death, At The Gates, Carcass. All of that went into the melting pot for us.” Justine: “Adam, what was your first impression of Jesse?” Adam: “Just an emotional little man! Ha ha ha!” Jesse: “Not much has changed!” Adam: “I remember that his clean vocals had this amazing quality to them that was really appealing. I felt like that was a whole new twist that he could bring to the band if he were to sing for us. We tried out a lot of people, but he really stood out; an emotional little man with this amazing voice.” Jesse: “Yeah, lyrics were always really important to me, I was a poet first. I always try to bring that into whatever I’m doing. I guess ‘emotional little man’ is pretty accurate.” Adam: “Better than being a large, cynical fuck!” Jesse: “No, I thought Adam was super-cool, because he was just so different from anybody. He had that punk rock, fuck
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JESSE LEACH
Justine: “Did you have any idea it was going to end up being this huge song for you guys?” Jesse: “I never thought we’d be playing it 20 years later, no.” Adam: “I have zero confidence in anything we do! Ha ha ha!” Jesse: “I’ll say this though, I thought it was different. I thought the melody really pushing against the heaviness was a way I really wanted us to go.” Justine: “How hard was it for you when you left the band [in 2002], Jesse?” Jesse: “I’m surprised I survived it. I was in a really dark place for many years. That was not knowing who I was as a human, and not knowing how to present myself, being mentally ill but not having the words for it. I needed that growth. Me going away was the best thing that could’ve happened to me because I went through the struggles I needed to go through.” Adam: “Emotional little man! I was just pissed he quit via email, like a break-up text! We were coming back from tour and the van broke down, he flew back and we got the shitty email. Come on, bro! I was a little upset at him about that, but I could see how much he was struggling at being in this band. His frustration with his voice not working was… look, it’s not supposed to be like that. You shouldn’t be filled with worry every day, he didn’t have a grasp on how to use his
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE Nothing wrong with being emotional – Jesse Leach has made his career out of it
METALHAMMER.COM 47
GETTY
MEGADETH
MEGADETH
The monumental Countdown To Extinction didn’t merely place Megadeth at the forefront of a newly energised 90s metal scene, it may just have saved a reborn Dave Mustaine’s life WORDS: RICH HOBSON
ALBUM REVIEWS
In Stasis
CENTURY MEDIA Milton Keynes tech mob ring the changes once more Destruction’s anniversary celebrations didn’t go as planned
DESTRUCTION Diabolical NAPALM
Teutonic thrash icons channel the fury of youth
ALWAYS ONE OF
the most berserk and unstoppable bands in the entire thrash scene, Destruction are celebrating their 40th anniversary in the only way they know how. Diabolical is the Germans’ 15th studio record, and like every one of its predecessors, this spits and howls its devotion to heavy metal from spooky beginning to thunderous climax. Eschewing the ultra-brutal modernity of recent albums like 2019’s Born To Perish in favour of songwriting that noisily echoes Destruction’s earlier works, founder and frontman Schmier has struck gold here. The departure of co-founder and lead guitarist Mike Sifringer might have destabilised a less ferociously focused band, but Destruction sound as vicious and distinctive on the opening title track and fiery single State Of Apathy as they ever did. Diabolical is still monstrously heavy and sonically up to date, but from its knowingly goofy artwork to the haunting grandeur of overture Under The Spell, this is an album with the spirit of the 80s coursing through its veins. No Faith In Humanity rolls back the years to the speed-fuelled, runaway-train chaos of the early German thrash movement, but with several decades of experience and muscle memory ensuring that the impact is precise and brutal. Similarly, The Last Of A Dying Breed is a fiercely catchy and pissed-off anthem that ticks every conceivable thrash box with a spiteful flourish, while Ghost From The Past is heroically punk as fuck. Even at a morbid mid-pace, Destruction sound more like snotty upstarts than haggard veterans; Tormented Soul is a particular fine exercise in gnarly, malevolent chug. Diabolical ends with an absurdly venomous cover of UK punk legends GBH’s City Baby Attacked By Rats. Forty years into his mission, Schmier still sounds like he wants to smash everything and drink the bar dry. Here is the soundtrack. Have at it. ■■■■■■■■■■ FOR FANS OF: Kreator, Sodom, Power Trip DOM LAWSON
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Monuments have established a sense of identity in a scene that barely has one, with their heavier, samples-filled take on tech metal. In Stasis isn’t only the band’s first album in four years, it’s also their first with new vocalist Andy Cizek. He establishes himself with ease, hitting the sweet spot with his soaring melodic cleans and hardcoretinged screams. Cardinal Red unleashes furious, Lamb Of God-esque riffing, before a church organ brings about an epic conclusion. In Stasis throws in enough curveballs to justify its 50 minutes, and Monuments should take their rightful place as one of the UK’s premier tech metal bands. ■■■■■■■■■■ FOR FANS OF: Periphery, Karnivool, Cloudkicker REMFRY DEDMAN
MORS PRINCIPIUM EST Liberate The Unborn Inhumanity AFM
Finnish melodeath veterans emerge from another internal war
Mors Principium Est are more famous for their line-up changes than their music, but they still made headlines around 2020’s Seven with the firing of longtime songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Andy Gillion. Singer Ville Viljanen subsequently amassed a new band while
WORLD SERVICE
FOR FANS OF: Children Of Bodom, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity
Costa Rican thrash revival done so well you’ll not only walk through walls but on water too. The best parts of Slayer, Overkill and Power Trip turned up to 11. Religions have been founded on less. ■■■■■■■■■■
MATT MILLS
Heavy metal uprisings from around the globe
CHEMICIDE
Common Sense RIPRIDE
RICH HOBSON
NEKROGOBLIKON
The Fundamental Slimes And Humours SELF-RELEASED
Novelty power metallers find some charms beneath the cheese
Want novelty power metal but without the misogynist, racist group chat? Try Nekrogoblikon! Best known for employing a hype man dressed as a goblin, the LA six-piece are much better than that gimmick suggests. Their fifth LP is a breakneck blend of Wintersun pomp, videogame bleep-bloops, and, dunno, the circus? It’s most successful when they embrace their swordwielding side. A Lesson In Hate is Finntroll with breakbeats, while Golden Future’s warbly chorus, keychange and all, is wholeheartedly epic. For a record steeped in goblin lore, it’s only briefly annoying, but Going To Die’s comedy skit outro is egregious piss. If Nekrogoblikon try being fun, not funny, they’ll be 10 times the band. Still, better than listening to Alestorm. ■■■■■■■■■■
MORTIFY
Fragments At The Edge Of Sorrow CHAOS
These Chileans marry the fetid stench of Autopsy with the crawling chaos of Morbid Angel. Cavernous growls, twisted riffing and production so organic you should be charged extra. ■■■■■■■■■■ ALASTAIR RIDDELL
TLEPSH
Hexed Sword SELF-RELEASED
FOR FANS OF: Wintersun, Finntroll, Crash Bandicoot
Fusing rough’n’tumble 90s-style BM with epic yet still gnarly sweeps, sole Tlepsh member, Jordan’s Tareq Mirza, proves himself both a master of dynamics and a worthy carrier of the feral flame. ■■■■■■■■■■
ALEC CHILLINGWORTH
JONATHAN SELZER
PRESS
MONUMENTS
trading accusations with his latest ex-bandmate on social media. As a result, the backstory of Liberate… is more engaging than the album’s by-the-book symphonic melodeath. It’s rich in seismic riffs and orchestral bombast yet thin on genuine hooks. Although the blissful singing of centrepiece Pure interrupts the monotony, you’ll still find more compelling melodrama on a former member’s Facebook page. ■■■■■■■■■■
ALBUM REVIEWS
OCEAN GROVE
Up In The Air Forever UNFD
Nostalgic Australians uncover the sunny sides of nu metal and grunge
This Australian nu metal/ grunge band’s third album is an uplifting, radiofriendly experience with a lot more positive mental attitude and a lot less heaviness in the mix. Originally formed in 2010, the band now consists of Dale Tanner as their full-time frontman and vocalist, Twiggy Hunter on bass and original member Sam Bassal on drums, all aided by studio-only member Running Touch, who provides the synthesisers and production. Here they fully embrace the nostalgic influences, chilled summer vibe and deep Britpop sound, which is especially palpable in Silver Lining. Silence and Flava throw some relaxed nu metal in the mix, Cali Sun brings the light industrial fun, HMU, featuring Lil Aaron, gives a nod to Justin Timberlake, and their title track closes in full electric dream mode. ■■■■■■■■■■ FOR FANS OF: Garbage, Linkin Park, Thornhill NIK YOUNG
SATAN
Earth Infernal METAL BLADE
ROSS HALFIN/PRESS
Old-school British metallers dance with the devil once more
Perennially a cut above the majority of their NWOBHM peers, Satan’s second crack at the whip has been a sustained delight. This is the band’s fourth album
since reuniting in 2011, and their creative fire is burning brighter than ever. This is defiantly old-school and melodic heavy metal, of course, but with a macabre and untamed identity all of its own. Kicking off with the foot-on-monitor battery of Ascendancy and the epic, proggy cautionary tale of Burning Portrait, these songs are righteously crafted and proudly askew. A Sorrow Unspent sounds like three brilliant songs rolled into one; Poison Elegy is creepy occult rock with a post-punk twist; Mercury’s Shadow is a top-drawer instrumental curveball. As ever, Brian Ross sounds like a demonic monk let loose in the crypt at Halloween. Time passes, but Satan still reign(s). ■■■■■■■■■■
‘You might be woke but not awake’ and ‘Your theory might be critical but who’s in charge?’ (America Burning). Ultimately, Planet Zero is a catchy, if formulaic collection of mainstream rock, repackaging welltrodden Orwellian themes while simultaneously urging people to think for themselves. ■■■■■■■■■■
FOR FANS OF: Cirith Ungol, Angel Witch, Mercyful Fate
CLOBBER
DOM LAWSON
SHINEDOWN Planet Zero ATLANTIC
Floridian rockers make a cranky call for nonconformity
Florida’s mainstream titans return with an album about a future where thought conformity is the rule of law – familiar themes previously explored by Styx, Queensrÿche and Green Day. Lean and polished tracks like No Sleep Tonight and Army Of The Underappreciated deliver a barrage of taut, blistering riffs, while checking the ‘Requisite Ballad’ box are melodious, but anodyne, tracks like Daylight. Vocalist Brent Smith urges, “We’re all here on this planet… so it’s time to… move forward together.” It’s a grand sentiment that might feel genuine were the album not awash in divisive, one-sided rhetoric like,
FOR FANS OF: Creed, Theory Of A Deadman, Breaking Benjamin JOE DALY
Kirk Hammett emphasises soul over showboating
KIRK HAMMETT Portals
BLACKENED
Metallica’s celebrated shredder plays to his strengths
KIRK HAMMETT HAS
SIDIOUS
Blackest Insurrection London black metallers still pledging fealty to the founders
Conjuring the frozen wastelands of… London, Sidious peddle a strain of black metal that, while not moving outside the more rigid confines of the genre, sounds about as second wave as they come. On their third full-length they do the first part admirably. Blastbeats, tremolo-picked storms of guitar – it’s all here. Hailing Shards Of Agony delves into dramatic spoken word portents of doom between the howls, and there’s more than a little mid-era Behemoth when the pace becomes a slower march. Thy Place Yond The Threshold has a grooving stomp with a particularly memorable hook carried by both bass and guitars, occasionally reminiscent of Satyricon. Sidious wear their influences on their sleeves and while Blackest Insurrection isn’t the most unique album, it still stands as a solid and enjoyable example of the form. ■■■■■■■■■■ FOR FANS OF: The Infernal Sea, Behemoth, Watain WILL MARSHALL
never been the flashy sort of shredder who exults in his own technical wankery. Instead, Metallica’s lead guitarist has cultivated a soulful, blues-based style that balances pummelling riffage against innovative melodic ideas that serve rather than overtake each song. It’s an approach that works enormously well on Portals, his solo debut and four-track EP. Produced by Kirk himself, the tracks synthesise his biggest influences: metal, horror movies, classical music and the works of composer Ennio Morricone, whose Ecstasy Of Gold famously opens up Metallica’s live show. The result is four compositions that each play out as a distinct musical novella. The inspiration for Portals took root in 2017, when Kirk composed a soundtrack to accompany his art exhibition in Salem, Massachusetts. That composition would become the EP’s seven-minute lead-off, Maiden And The Monster. Opening with creeping atmospherics and a watery melody, the track builds with thrilling dramatic flourish as the LA Philharmonic orchestra join in, pushing the track to a ferocious climax, awash in crushing riffs and a roof-destroying solo. Tinged with exotic Middle Eastern patterns, The Jinn is the heaviest of the four, with simmering power riffs, propulsive drums and a sharp, staccato outro that vaguely recalls the simulated machine-gun bursts of One. High Plains Drifter and The Incantation were co-written with Edwin Outwater, the classical conductor who led the San Francisco Symphony on S&M2. Reverential tributes to Morricone, with jangly guitars and slow, dusty interludes, each builds into a fearsome crescendo, with ginormous, fuck-off solos that should be played from the tops of mountains. Refreshingly, none of the tracks sound like unused Metallica demos, nor do they bleed together in a brainmelting patchwork of sweep picking and speed runs. Instead, Portals showcases the compositional and technical strengths of one of heavy metal’s most influential and visionary guitarists. ■■■■■■■■■■ FOR FANS OF: Steve Vai, Devin Townsend, Metallica JOE DALY
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LIVE REVIEWS KVELERTAK
Lorna Shore: if Will Ramos wants more blood, he gets more blood
BLOOD COMMAND
DEBASER STRAND, STOCKHOLM
An Australian, some Norwegians and 750 Swedes walk into a bar. There’s no punchline, though; BLOOD COMMAND’s new vocalist from Down Under, Nikki Brumen, just took this band from fun to essential. She’s a high-kicking, slut-dropping, wise-cracking stick of dynamite, dragging Stockholm across 40 minutes of… um, Turbonegro-meets-Paramore at a posthardcore disco? Finally, Blood Command’s live show mirrors the full-throttle eccentricity of their records. Oh yeah, this is only Nikki’s third show. See. This. Band. It’s an act KVELERTAK should struggle to follow, but it’s business as usual. ‘Usual’, of course, being blackened Scandi-punk perfection. It’s like the pandemic never happened: Blodtørst launches half the band straight into the crowd, frontman Ivar Nikolaisen indulging every chance to crowdsurf before wringing the sweat from his t-shirt into his mouth. Dirty git. They remain the coolest rock’n’roll troupe going, punters screaming “Elgitarr, c’mon!” during Bråtebrann and wishing they could pull it off like Ivar. Doesn’t matter if they are rattling through self-titled classics, fresh tracks from Splid, or that weird Van Halen song – Kvelertak are still the kings. ALEC CHILLINGWORTH
DISTANT/CABAL O2 INSTITUTE 2, BIRMINGHAM
New Jersey deathcore heavies make a short but savage return A VENUE UPGRADE and a sold-out tour
later, the excitement in the Institute tonight is palpable, and CABAL’s blackened smorgasbord of crushing blastbeats, frenzied screams and spine-chilling atmospherics is swallowed by a crowd hungry for neck-snapping, downtempo thrills. It’s their Birmingham debut and the Copenhagen collective seem to have nailed it first time out. Vocalist Andreas Bjulver’s endless appeals for action are matched by a polyrhythmic attack that’s shot through with the odd BMimbued refrain for gloriously grim measure. DISTANT are here to try to steal the headliners’ thunder, with the other aim seemingly to turn the room into an inferno of slam-cum-deathcore-drenched depravity. Amidst a slew of grotesque rhythms, bowelshaking gutturals and grinding riffs, a wide-eyed Alan Grnja stalks the stage like a man possessed, barking out orders such as “Split this fucking room in half!” as his cohorts unleash one tormented hymn after another from Aeons Of Oblivion and Tyrannotophia. Harnessing an innate ability to splice intoxicating grooves with
breakdowns capable of rearranging your internal organs, the Netherlanders are on indecent form. Just the lights dimming 10 minutes ahead of LORNA SHORE’s scheduled slot elicits hysteria, so it takes but a nanosecond of 10-ton opener To The Hellfire’s concussive might to send these punters into a state of sheer rabidity. Dispensing with Of The Abyss and …And I Return To Nothingness in blisteringly quick succession, every boneshattering breakdown, symphonic blast and pig squeal is celebrated like the second coming. And like servants to the horde, Will Ramos’s demands for “more blood, more violence” are followed to the letter and celebrated via a churning sea of bodies smashing mercilessly into one another. This band know their way around a hulking beatdown, but Fvneral Moon serves as an example of the band’s hair-raising transitions between brutality and searing melancholy – something this capacity crowd takes to its heart as suddenly, to everyone’s ardent disbelief, there’s only time for a venue-wide bellow-along-in-unison to closer Immortal. An all-too-brief masterclass. SOPHIE MAUGHAN
JO QUAIL
LAFAYETTE, LONDON
JO QUAIL is a one-woman symphony. Armed with just an electric cello and a loop station, she builds movements as hypnotic as they are dramatic. She doesn’t just use the strings of her instrument, either. The Londoner smacks it to simulate percussion, and even runs her bow along the wood, laying down a grinding counterpoint to the orchestral highs. The beauty perfectly segues into A.A. WILLIAMS. The dark pop songstress is more traditional. There are no fancy pedals or unconventional playing – just her and her backing band dealing in simple, moody melodies. However, the power of her voice elicits goosebumps. All I Asked For (Was To End It All) flaunts A.A.’s melancholic hums: an arresting blend of coarse and angelic. Meanwhile, much like her support act, her songs escalate to crescendos – an antidote to what she calls the “plateaus” of contemporary pop. Wait starts as an acoustic number with a downbeat earworm chorus but, by its conclusion, she tremolo-picks distorted notes over surprisingly pummelling drums. There’s a plethora of adjectives to describe tonight. Heavenly. Heart-wrenching. Mesmerising. But none of them fully encapsulate the bliss of being serenaded by the UK’s best young singer/songwriter. MATT MILLS
102 METALHAMMER.COM
KATJA OGRIN
LORNA SHORE
A.A. WILLIAMS
9000
LIVE REVIEWS Red Method unleash a host of hooks
RED METHOD
EXIST IMMORTAL/THE FIVE HUNDRED/CAGE FIGHT ELECTROWERKZ, LONDON
Industrial metal marauders take their big sound into the small hours
KEVIN NIXON
RENOWNED AS ONE of London’s
premier alternative clubs, Voodoo plays host to four of the UK’s most furious prospects. Crossover outfit CAGE FIGHT are unfazed by the sparse showing at the start, and their bruising material sounds exactly like their name suggests. The band might have released few songs to date, but the raw aggression cuts through with ease. An incendiary Body Count cover turns the growing crowd into a mass of swirling limbs to help close out their set on a high note. With an already high bar to clear, THE FIVE HUNDRED bring their metalcore assault to bear on the top floor. Exist Immortal think outside the metal box Unfortunately, the sound is somewhat murky, and the bass drum is overpowering EXIST IMMORTAL’s synth-laden progressive and sounds triggered, meaning it occasionally metal soars despite the small room and obscures the rest of the band enough to there’s barely space on the stage for all five muddle songs. They aren’t deterred, however, members. Regardless of the impassioned and neither are the throng, who lap up every performance, some of the intricacies of their scream, riff and processed drum hit. For all sound are lost to the mix, although that’s this, though, it’s a tight performance; they’re rectified fairly swiftly. In Hindsight’s off-kilter entertaining but don’t quite reach Cage time signatures still get pits started and its Fight’s heights.
massive choruses see singalongs that are even mostly in tune. Their set picks up steam as they go, and it’s one of the most compelling of the evening. Bringing the night to a close are industrial-tinged metallers RED METHOD who, true to their name, are bathed in red light. Playing to a top floor packed with drunken revellers works in their favour; there’s movement as soon as their aural battering begins. Vocalist Jeremy Gomez stands tall, delivering his barked sermons like a malevolent preacher. They’re a well-oiled machine already, with stage presence by the barrowful, and they sound not only tight but monstrously heavy. Despite the sets running into the small hours, every band give it their all, and they’re rewarded with boundless enthusiasm from the crowd. The revellers packing out the venue emphasise a triumphant night that showcases the breadth of the metal underground, from crossover to melodic progressive metal and beyond. WILL MARSHALL
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