Sonic Perspectives

The time is now again for Testament to unleash new thunder to the masses, as the band has revealed their thirteenth studio album “Titans Of Creation” last Friday. With an even better mix than before, the bass is prominently showcased, new vocals are introduced, and as expected, the guitar-work of Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick [...] The post TESTAMENT’s Guitarist ERIC PETERSON Discuss New Album And Band’s Current Dynamics: “I Believe We Have Gotten Better with Age” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Having risen to fame in what is now regarded as the “classic” Symphony X lineup, Mike Lepond has surely kept himself busy in recent times. Aside from commanding the grooves on Symphony X, he decided to put his metal influences to good use on Mike Lepond’s Silent Assassins and Ross the Boss Band. More recently, [...] The post MIKE LEPOND Talks New Band DEADRISEN and Debut Album: “We Wanted the Band to Sound Live, with a Modern Production and to Go Anywhere We Wanted Stylistically” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Flattening the curve is a strange concept for Clutch, the Maryland rockers who continue to experience an exponential growth in their loyal fan-base. If you dig songs that have “groove,” with a mix of bluesy hard rock and funky riffs, and an oozing touch of hardcore, you are missing out f you are not already [...] The post CLUTCH Frontman NEIL FALLON Reflects On Their “Weathermaker Vault Series”: ‘Revisiting Those Old Songs Was Like Reading an Old Diary” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

WOLFHEART, the solo project of Tuomas Saukkonen, has done it again. Their brand of Finnish melodic doom death, or as they like to call it, “winter metal”, has gained another worthy installment of their victorious saga, in the shape of their new album “Wolves of Karelia”. With a new member in tow (Vagelis Karzis on [...] The post WOLFHEART Leader TUOMAS SAUKKONEN Talks Upcoming Album: “I Have A Very Personal Connection With This Record, Which I Don’t Have With The Previous Ones” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Back in the mid-1970s, a Prog group came out of Harrisonburg, Virginia of all places.  It was not a YES or Genesis or ELP knockoff.  It had its own very unique sound, one that blended free-form jazz along with classical and some other sounds that were hard to pigeon-hole. The band was Happy the Man [...] The post Prog-Rock Veteran FRANK WYATT On His New Album “Zeitgeist”: “As The Title Says, I Wanted to Present Something That Represents the Feelings and Emotions of Today” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Kansas City’s newest metal heroes Hyborian are a young band, formed in 2015. Combining the octane-coated stoner metal of High on Fire, the progressive thunder of early Baroness and Mastodon and Bay Area thrash metal influences, they released their first full-length, “Volume I” in 2017, to critics and fans’ delight. In 2020 the band took [...] The post HYBORIAN Members Talk New Album “Volume II” and Songwriting Process: “When We Write, We Try To Go Beyond Our Ability To Play It – That Pushes Us To Become Better Musicians” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

When it comes to 80’s guitar playing, the first obvious names that come to mind are shredders like Yngwie, Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. One unsung hero of that era, however, is Ross the Boss. Coming straight out of the Bronx, New York, as a member of The Dictators and Manowar he [...] The post Heavy Metal Founding Father ROSS THE BOSS Reflects On New Album and His Playing Style: “You Won’t See Any Kind of Ego-trip Guitar Playing from Me. I’ve Been a Team Player All My Life” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Virgil Donati belongs in a different class of musicians: his determination to improve himself and challenge past concepts is second to none, and his prowess on the instrument is envied by many. More importantly, he was able to find his own identity, and come up with an instantly recognizable style. Through the years, Virgil was [...] The post World Renowned Drummer VIRGIL DONATI Reflects on the Writing of New Effort “Ruination”: “Writing from Your Soul and Your Heart is Something You Can’t Manufacture – You Either Have It or You Don’t” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

In late 2019, progressive metal band The Night Watch released their third full-length album, a stunning instrumental masterpiece titled “An Embarrassment of Riches. Weaving together classical guitar, violin, and breathtaking cinematic effects,The Night Watch managed to create an immersive experience like no other in a conceptual adventure following a shipwrecked explorer. Though they already had [...] The post THE NIGHT WATCH Guitarist NATHANAEL LAROCHETTE On Latest Album: “It Feels Like We Found Our Voice” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

With over 40 years of Pendragon under his belt, Nick Barrett has guided the band as its principle songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. Often considered part of progressive rock’s second wave that built a following through the 80s along with the likes of Marillion, IQ and many others, Pendragon’s star began rising in earnest in the [...]

From his work as a guest vocalist in projects such as the metal opera Avantasia, to heading bands such as Masterplan, to running a band under his own name, there are few vocal powerhouses that stay as busy as Jorn Lande. After spending months on the road with Avantasia for the “Moonglow” world tour, Jorn [...] The post JORN LANDE on Cover Album HEAVY ROCK RADIO II: “It’s Great to Bring These Songs Into the New Millennium” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Sometimes the most unusual combinations produce the best results – in colors, in cooking ingredients, and why not, in musical partners. Evidence of that can be heard on the new collaboration between Anette Olzon (ex-Nightwish, The Dark Element) and Russel Allen (Symphony X, Adrenaline Mob, TransSiberian Orchestra). Entitled “Worlds Apart”, the album showcases their powerful [...] The post THE DARK ELEMENT Front-woman ANETTE OLZON Reflects on ALLEN/OLZON Upcoming Album: “It Can Be Difficult To Make a Male and a Female Voice Work Together, But With RUSSELL ALLEN It Was Easy” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Vocalist Robin McAuley (McAuley Schenker Group / Riding the Rock Vault / Michael Schenker Fest), guitarist Reb Beach (Winger, Whitesnake), bassist Jeff Pilson (Foreigner, The End Machine, ex-Dokken), and drummer Matt Starr (Ace Frehley, Mr. Big) have joined forces in BLACK SWAN, a new band project signed to Frontiers Music SLR. Their debut album, “Shake the [...] The post RAIDING THE ROCK VAULT / MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST Singer ROBIN MCAULEY Reflects on New Band BLACK SWAN: ‘It Feels like We’ve Been Playing Together for a Long Time'” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

About a year and a half ago, Sonic Perspectives contributor Mark Boardman messaged Martin Schnella.  He’s a wonderful guitarist and singer and songwriter.  And with his partner, the great vocalist Melanie Mau, in recent years they’ve produced some beautiful acoustic music… including some amazing covers of bands you’ve heard of. Boardman asked Martin if he [...] The post FLAMING ROW’S MARTIN SCHNELLA And MELANIE MAU On Their New Concept Album “The Pure Shine”: “We Wanted To Do Something Special In A Prog-Rock Format” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Few bands have been as enigmatic as Psychotic Waltz. A casualty of the grunge/ alternative era, Psychotic Waltz were perfecting progressive metal at the same time that most of the Magna Carta roster was too busy aping a certain New York quintet to do anything, you know, progressive. Sadly, the group imploded during the Dark [...] The post PSYCHOTIC WALTZ’s Front-man DEVON GRAVES Talks New Album: “I Wouldn’t Have Done The PSYCHOTIC WALTZ Reunion If The Guy Who I Had the Hardest Feelings For Wasn’t Involved” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

AEGIS –-ˈē-jəs.  A shield or breastplate emblematic of majesty that was associated with Zeus and Athena. Also – protection. About eight years ago, the folks at Ulterium Records had a suggestion for one of their artists.  Matt Smith, they said, why don’t you put out a song for charity—with all proceeds going to some worthy cause?  [...] The post SINGLE REVIEW and INTERVIEW: Watch and hear PROJECT AEGIS’ New Single Featuring LEAH, NEAL MORSE, and Members of THEOCRACY and LOST HORIZON appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

New storytellers have joined the ever-expanding ranks of Frontiers Music srl, but this metal quartet brings music of a much heavier variety than the label’s usual offerings. Drawing on the cinematic grandeur of symphonic metal, while hardening their bite with tastes of melodic death and blackened atmospheres, Seven Spires are dazzling stars that transcend the [...] The post ADRIENNE COWAN and JACK KOSTO of SEVEN SPIRES On Upcoming Album and Tours: “We Like Pushing Ourselves to Our Limits” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

One of the longest-standing names in thrash, Annihilator continues their relentless pursuit of all things hard and heavy with more than thirty years and sixteen full-length albums to their name. Driving force of the band, taking on the roles of vocals, bass, guitar, and production throughout its history is frontman Jeff Waters. As though their [...] The post ANNIHILATOR Leader JEFF WATERS Talks New Album and RUSH Influence: “They Are Our National Heroes, Part of the Fabric of Canada and Its Culture” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

One of the pioneers of American heavy and progressive metal, Queensrÿche have been riding the waves of resurgence ever since they teamed up powerhouse vocalist Todd La Torre. The band’s first two efforts with La Torre at the mic – 2013’s “Queensrÿche” and 2015’s “Condition Hüman” – received praise for feeling reinvigorated and reminiscent of [...] The post QUEENSRYCHE Guitarist MICHAEL WILTON Talks Current Tour And Band’s Philosophy: “There’s No Denying Our Past, But We Want to Keep Evolving QUEENSRYCHE” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

It goes without saying that the global metal scene would not be the same without SEPULTURA. For 35 years now, the Brazilian icons are not only a band revered worldwide; they have been, are and forever will be at the very forefront of Thrash Metal, trailblazing ever since they released their long-since legendary debut album [...]