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Mindgrinder

Band: Mindgrinder From: Notodden, Norway Members: Cosmocrator - subaxe / vox / programming; Titan - axe; Nitrous - axe; Dan battery Year Formed: 1996 Mindgrinder have an exicting future. They are signed to Samoth's Nocturnal Art label, they are about to release an amazing album 'MindTech' and are playing at this year's Inferno Festival. Nitrous gave me the lowdown on the wonder that is Mindgrinder... Tell us a little about yourselves.. The tree of us that started MindGrinder are all from the same place. Me and Cosmocrator have had several metal bands through the years, and the tree of us also play together in a heavy metal coverband these days, just for kicks !..!, The fresh branch to the MG-tree, Dan, is what we`ve been waiting for in a drummer. His preformence convinced us at the first audition. And we all get along great. How would you describe your music? I guess there`s no way `round this one... Our definition is catchy, groove yet a blast of aggression. Or as Samoth says in the add for "MindTech": "Ten tracks of hard hitting metal!!" Give us a brief low-down of the new album 'Mind-Tech'... It was recorded in Akkerhaugen studio december 2002. Toby is a friend of ours and he is excelent to work with. Originaly it was ment to be released in april 2003 on our former lable "Sound Riot". The release was put of several times and the communication with "Sound Riot" wasn`t working very well. So due to theire finacial situation we left them, bought out the master tape and took it to NAP. As we speak the album is beeing printed, promos will be unleased ASAP, and the release date for the album is set to 12. april. "MindTech" will also feature a music video of the track "Fire & Equanimity", directed by Kat Grønbekk and also breathtaking artwork by genius designer Pendragon at Dragonweb productions. How are you planning to promote 'Mind-Tech'? Obviosly preforming at By:larm and The Inferno festival is a great way of promoting it here in Norway. NAP and Khaoz (our booking agency) sends out promos, flyers and such to mags, radiostations, venues and so on. As for MindGrinder we`ll play live as much as possible, and do interviews. There will also be made some new merch since we`re practicly out of everything. The track "Deception" from MindTech will be featured on a compilation cd from Music Export Norway, which is ment to promote Norwegian artist abroad. It will also feature, Zyklon, Red Harvest and several other great acts. Hopefully our video will be played as well. How did you get signed to Samoth's Nocturnal Art label? Mindgrinder He saw the potential in the album and the band. Also we have done support for Zyklon several times, and he has seen us many times through the years. All acts on NAP is great live acts! What is Samoth like as a person? (I have always wanted to know the answer to this one...) Emperor fan ey :) Samoth is a very nice guy, and professional when it comes to NAP. We get updates on everything regarding the album, and also helpful advice. I guess you`ll be a little dissapointed over this answer, but since Samoth is both our businesspartner and friend you`ll understand that we can`t provide you with any juicy gossip. Sorry... Are you excited about playing the Inferno Festival in April? YES! Inferno is a big breakthrough for us, and it couldn`t come at a better time. It is an honour to be playing there. Hopefully many will come and see us and then buy the album. Who would you most like to tour with if you could choose any band/artist? It would be exiting to go on tour with TestAmenT f.ex. What do you think of the current metal scene in Norway? The Norwegian scene is always exciting and some names are getting real strong. "Aeon" by Zyklon must be one of the best releases in 2003. Any last words for the readers and fans? Go to our website and download some tracks from "MindTech". If you like it leave a note in our GrindBook and buy the album in April! And wherever you are MindGrinder hope to play LIVE for you soon! Read the Slay The Masses review of 'MindTech'

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Octavia

Band Name: Octavia Members: Trine - Bass; Silje - Vocals; Tone - Synth, Piano; Hege - Drums; Gyri - Guitars; Bodil - Guitar From: Bergen, Norway Year Formed: 2000 These lasses from metal city, Bergen in Norway, have created some epic, moving music. With this and thier links to the metal world through living in Bergen and having Horgh's (Immortal, Hypocrisy) girlfriend on drums, they are ready to invade your world. I caught up with singer Silje... Tell us a little about yourselves... Two of us are originally from Bergen and the rest of us came here to study in the late 90's. With a common interest in metal, Trine, Silje, Gyri and Bodil founded Octavia in 2000. One year later, Tone replaced Silje on synth and Hege replaced our first drummer. Octavia has always had a high priority to us, and we have worked hard since the beginning, rehearsing 3 times a week, doing gigs and promoting the band. Being an unsigned band, we are very happy with all the attention we've got so far! It's great fun, but as a result five of us are still students, hehe... Do you guys feel intimidated being an all female band in a male dominated genre? No, we don't. At first we were a little worried that the attention we got was solely based on us being an all-female metal band. But now we know that we are damn good at what we do and that people respect us for our work. And even more - we always seem to prove the chauvinistic sceptics wrong, hehe! What is it like living in Bergen, being able to walk down the street and meet metal legends such a Horgh(Immortal)? Hehe...Bergen is a small town and the metal scene even smaller, so all the musicians here know each other (happily drinking beer together at the rock pub Garage). It's hard to see friends as rock stars or even legends...the only times we actually felt aware of their 'status' was at our first concerts only months after we'd started, knowing members from bands like Immortal, Enslaved and Aeternus were watching, hehe...actually, these people have been nothing but a great support and encouragement to us! Funny that you mention Horgh, by the way (or maybe that's not a coincidence?). Our first drummer is his fiancé and unfortunately she had to leave us when they got pregnant.. How would you describe your music? Other people tend to invent new genres to describe it, probably because it's hard to categorize...but we prefer to call our music melodic, doomish metal. Are you pleased with the demo 'Guilty'? Yes, as a first demo. Although it's a low-bugdet recording, people seem to like it. All reviews of 'Guilty' so far have been good, and the demo has provided us a lot of gigs. The first track 'Nebula' was even on a Danish compilation cd a while ago. How is work going on the new album? I have heard 'Lifelines Of Depths' and it is shaping up to be impressive... Thanx a lot, we're glad you enjoyed it! 'Lifelines Of Depths' is already to be found on two Norwegian compilation cds; on a metal sampler from Music Export Norway, and on one of the three compilation cds distributed during by:Larm, the largest music convention in Scandinavia (where we will play this February). The new cd (still untitled) will be a bit harder and darker than 'Guilty'. We're done with the recording but some finishing remains. The biggest issue right now is money, as Octavia is an unsigned band. We used the savings from last year's gigs and also received financial support from our local government to do this recording, but we still don't have enough money to master and print the record. Octavia We asked Swedish band 'Asphalt' which country, Norway or Sweden, produces better metal and they said Sweden. Do you agree? No. The two countries are famous for different genres of metal and can't really be compared. While Sweden has its Gothenburg-metal, Norway is mainly associated with extreme metal. But we also have great non-extreme bands like the more industrial band Red Harvest (ed - i'd say Red Harvest are pretty extreme!!) and symphonic progmetal band Arcturus. What are your musical influences? Our music is more influenced by the different members than by any particular band(s). The three who make riffs are inspired by doom, trash and old-school metal, while Tone with her classical background adds a symphonic touch. Silje's vocals are experimental and 'folk-like', and Hege has a preference for jazz and rock. From what age have you all listened to metal? As you can see from above, we are not all typical metalheads. But most of us started to listen to metal in our early teens. Which has been your best gig so far? It's hard to mention any in particular as every gig has its own charm;) Isn't the last gig always the best? We always enjoy playing in Bergen in front of the loyal crowd, but it's great to do gigs out of town as well. Especially to meet other bands, and of course party after the gigs! Any last words for the readers and fans? Check out our website at www.octavia.nu and sign the guestbook! Stay metal! More Information: Official Octavia Website

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Pantheon I

Band Name: PANTHEON I Members: Andre Kvebek – Vocals / Guitar; John Espen Sagstad – Guitar; Eirik Renton - Drums Year Formed: 2000 From: Oslo, Norway Andre, (vox/guitar) already has made his mark on the metal world with the band 1349. The side project Pantheon I are a promising band cultivating some evil, filthy black metal. The band tell us of their crusade... What are the goals you wish to achieve with Pantheon I? Andre - First of all we would like to promote our music as much as possible, and to earn respect. But our resent goal is to get signed (Record-deal), release a full length album and then do a tour. How are you planning to overcome the stereotype of another Norwegian band mimicking Emperor and other such Norwegian bands? How are you going to prove that you are a fresh innovative band? John Espen - We going to overcome this through originality and by thinking new and creative within the vast genre we are playing (Extreme-metal). Our new and soon to be released EP, will show you that we are not a band mimicking Emperor and other big Norwegian bands. PANTHEON I has found it`s own signature, and we are very proud of this! Andre - In lack of the jedi-force, we are not able to prove to people that we are a fresh innovative band. This is something that is up to each person who listens to PANTHEON I to decide. But in our own ears, we are as fresh as fresh can be. How would you describe your music? John Espen - Our music has a lot of elements from both black and death metal, that`s why we like to call it extreme-metal. But to narrow it down, it`s filled with technical and fast riffing followed by melancholic parts, almost orchestral. Brutal and tearful, what more could you ask for? Who would you most like to tour with? Andre -"Destiny`s Child" and "All Saints", that would be a hell of a tour! From what age did you start listening to extreme metal? Eirik - I started listening to Old Man`s Child when I was 15 years old. Andre - Hmm.. Well I think I was 10 years old when I first heard extreme-metal, and I have been addicted ever since. John Espen - I was 11 when I started listing to MetallicA, but I can`t call that extreme metal. So, it wasn`t before 3 years later that I first heard extreme-metal. Who are your favourite bands? Eirik - John Coltrain Kvartett, Dødheimsgard and Cadaver. Pantheon I John Espen - Metallica, Immortal, Meshuggah, Emperor and 1349 Andre - Cannibal Corpse Brutal Truth and Cult of Leviathan. What bands have influenced you? John Espen - If we have to mention bands, it must be Death, Emperor, Immortal and Cadaver. How long have you all been playing instruments? Eirik - I have played drums for 5 years now, and Andrè and John Espen have played guitar for 10 years. What are your favourite alcoholic drinks? John Espen - Beer, Beer, Beer and mead. Andre - Tequila Eirik - Remi Martin Cognac. Which has been your best gig so far and why? Eirik - Woodstock 69, since we havn`t had gig yet. The reason for this is that we havn`t felt ready to do it yet, but the tables have now changed and we are ready to kick ass live! More Information: Official Pantheon I Website and Slay the Masses Review of their demo; "DEMO MMIII"

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Asphalt

Band Name: Asphalt Members: DistRoy - Vocals; Claes - Guitars; Jonas - Guitars; Wellan - Bass; Henry - Drums Year Formed: 2001 From: Orebro, Sweden These Swedish thrash monkeys have a lot of potential and have received a lot of good reviews. Here is the interview with Claes guitarist with the band... Firstly, tell us a little about yoursleves... All five members in Asphalt live in Orebro and have known each other for quite some time now. We started playing together a couple of years ago (even though all members played in other constellations for much longer). Last year we recorded and released our first demo "Aim for the weak" and currently we are rehearsing some new material for a new demo and some upcoming gigs. Are you pleased with 'Aim For The Weak'? Yes, we are. The demo is about a year old now and when we recorded it We had very little time in the studio. I think we could have done an even better performance if we would have had more time. But we have received really nice reviews from all over the world so we are really pleased with "Aim for the weak". What inspired you to call the band 'Asphalt'? Actually from the beginning we called the band "Bludgeon" but as you might know another band called "Bludgeon" surfaced and got signed so we obviously had to change our name. We had quite a hard time deciding on what name to use but finally agreed upon "Asphalt" simply because we think it's a fitting name for our band. What would you say are your musical influences? Other metal bands obviously. But also the fact that Sweden and Orebro have quite a big metal scene right now. The last couple of years Orebro have grown to become a really good place for metal bands. With the success of many bands (Millencollin, Nasum, Edge of Sanity etc.) the metal scene in Orebro have grown to be quite strong. Which Scandinavian giant do you feel produces better metal, Sweden or Norway? Asphalt Personally I would say Sweden, by far... I'm not into the Black Metal scene at all. But "Gothenburg-metal", with At the Gates and The Haunted as leaders, is a huge influence on me (and the other guys as well I think). Also there are quite a few good Swedish bands that doesn't play death metal (and haven't reached outside Sweden as much as others) that I find really good. I can highly recommend bands like Mustasch and Freak Kitchen if you haven't heard them before. Are you taking Asphalt seriously? Do you plan to make it big? I think we do, even though the primary goal is to play music, drink beer and have a good time. But as most bands we would love to get signed and have the opportunity to record and release our music in a more professional way. At what age did you all start listening to extreme metal? I started listen to metal when Metallica released their Black Album (1991?). I think Jonas started listening to Metal about the same time. I'm not sure about Wellan but I think he's been listening to stuff like Iron Maiden for quite some time but was introduced to heavier music (At the gates, In Flames etc.) when we started playing in Asphalt. Henry is the original metal head in the band. He got his first Morbid Angel album before the rest of us had even heard about metal. Distroy got into the heavier music around 1996 when Godflesh released "Songs of love and hate" and Ministry put out "Filth pig". Which gig have you most enjoyed so far? Unfortunately we haven't had the chance to play live with Asphalt yet. Even though we have played together for quite some time we haven't had enough material to do a gig. We tend to be a bit picky with the songs we write, discarding quite a lot before we have ended up with a set of songs we are pleased with. However we have now written enough "good" songs to do a 30-minute performance so we will probably do our premiere gig within a couple of months. Which bands have influenced you? All five members have quite different taste in music so I guess we could mention quite a few bands that have influenced us in some way. But what I've heard from reviewers, many have mentioned bands like Slayer and The Haunted which probably has some truth to it since most members in the band love those acts. Any last words...? If you have any further questions or want more info don't hesitate to visit http://angry.at/asphalt or drop us a mail at asphalt@hotbrev.com. Thank you for listening and death to false metal! Asphalt Official Website Read the Slay The Masses review of 'Aim For The Weak'

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Shining Force

Band name: Shining Force Members: Billy Vaughn - Guitars; Randy Dickey - Vocals; Ralph Mendez - Drums; Richard Navarro - Guitars; Adrian Flores - Bass Guitar Year formed: 1996 From: Houston, Texas, USA These americans have created some infectious music in the vein of Iron Maiden and Dio. With all the blasphemy in the modern world and especially in the metal world, how do a christian band plan to conquer? Billy Vaughn tells all.. What is your main goal for this band? Our Goal Is to Spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ Through our music. And maybe one day Become a National Act and be able to do Music ministry full time and Win Souls to the Kingdom Of God. What do you hope to achieve? We want to help as many people as possible that are lost, sick, hooked on drugs and alcohol find their way in this life. We all in this band have our own past lives of being into all this stuff. If it takes metal music to do it, then we are there. These are our achievements Shining Force Which bands/artists have influenced you? Deliverance, Stryper, Dokken, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Lamb of God. and so on. Who would you most like to tour with and why? Dio, Iron Maiden, Stryper. I feel we are just as good as any of these bands and it would give us a chance to show people into metal music that not all Christian metal is watered down rock & roll, Rather Hard hitting in your face metal. What are your opinions on black metal...? I have nothing against black metal, I think the music and the vocals are great, it just that some black metal bands as well as regular metal bands are into satan, and we are their rivals. Good against evil you could say. Not all black metal or heavy metal bands do this but the ones that do, do not like us. But all in all there are a lot of great black metal bands out there. What would you say your music sounds like? Our music sounds like us. We have achieved our own sound through the years. If you asked someone who we sound like they would probably say many artist, but not just one. So we have our own unique sound. Do Christian metal heads still party hard and get wasted? Do they have Tattoos? Do they have piercings? I did not know that Christian Metal heads ever partied or got wasted. In the bible it says to be holy as God is Holy. Satan is always looking for a way to accuse the brethren. As far as Tattoos, I have a few that were made before I became a Christian. And I have a piercing only on my ear Ha ha. I'm sure a lot of Christians have tattoos and piecing. What are your favorite films? I myself like a lot of Biblical movies that show Jesus healing the sick. And I like movies like Lord of The rings. Shining Force Official Website 'Shining Force' is available now through Bloodbought Records.

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Summer Dying

This band have bags of talent and charisma and with their excellent blend of melodic death/thrash should be on thier way. They have been voted best unsigned band in various polls. Here is the interview with Kerry Cripe, singer with the band... Band Name: Summer Dying Members: Kerry Cripe - Vocals; Briant Daniel - Lead Guitar; Ben Harris - Drums; Tony Oliver - Guitar / Backing Vocals; Rance Tatro - Bass Year Formed: 2001 From: Michigan, USA What has been the highest point of your career with Summer Dying? Accomplishing goals such as tours, self-releasing our cds, great show turnouts, opening for amazing bands such as In Flames, Soilwork, The Haunted, Shadows Fall and many more. I can't pinpoint a single highest point, but those are all great moments! What is your aim with Summer Dying? Do you plan to conquer the world? Yes, and then some. Maybe even Mars and Jupiter. Haha! But anyway...We just want to make music we love and share it with as many people we can possibly reach. We all have a deep love for music and without it we'd die. Right now our future plans are to write and record the next cd, tour, play local shows and just continue to get the word out about Summer Dying. How would you describe your music? Summer Dying A melodic thrash attack! I dunno, we just play what we like. We have been compared to Soilwork, Shadows Fall, Unearth and Killswitch Engage, but we have so many more influences than just those bands. They are all great; we just don't want limit ourselves. Our newest material is brutal, in your face assault. I cannot wait to record! Musically, what are your influences? So many influences! Just to name a few though, I would say At The Gates, The Haunted, King Diamond, Opeth, Testament, Death...many more though. We all listen to different kinds of music so it's hard to say what the band's (as a whole) influences are. I, personally, love bands like Coldplay, Radiohead, Third Eye Blind and more, but I am waaay into the metal, hardcore, and Swedish sound, too. At what point in your life did you know you were going to be a musician? When I was very young I always dreamed of it. I grew up on metal. My sister got me into it when I was pretty young. My first concert ever was Dio and Yngwie Malmstein. I had a couple of bands when I was younger and I knew music was what I wanted to do. My first serious band was Somber, and I was with them for almost six years. Summer Dying has accomplished more in the two-and-a-half years we have been together than Somber did in six. I love making music and will never quit At what age did you start listening to extreme metal? I started listing to metal when I was like 7 or 8; bands like Metallica, Guns n' Roses, Suicidal Tendencies. I started getting into the death metal in about sixth grade. Which are your favorite bands? At The Gates, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall, Opeth, Faith No More, Coldplay, Botch, many more... Who would you most like to tour with? Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage, At The Gates (if only they would do a reunion tour!), The Haunted, Darkane Which has been the best gig for you and why? I would have to say one of the best gigs I have ever done would be a local show we did in Saginaw, Michigan. I don't know why it just sticks out the most in my head out of all shows. That and the show with In Flames and Iced Earth in Detroit. 1,000+ people. The crowd was insane! Great times! Summer Dying Official Website 'One Last Temptation' independently released by the band is available now through Lumberjack & Very Distributions. Read the Slay The Masses review of 'One Last Temptation'