Norway’s Enslaved is clearly out to redefine itself on its newest album, ISA. With a new line-up, a new label and a powerful, striking new record, Enslaved returns to the spotlight, using musical prowess, adventurous spirit and damned fine songwriting skills to direct much deserved attention. Long exploring the byways of Extreme Metal psychedelia across three albums (Mardraum through Below the Lights), the core of Enslaved, Ivar Bjornson and Grutle Kjellson, revisits the past (Vikingligr Veldi and Frost) while having a keen eye on the future. ISA is a monumental album, one which is carved in modern Thrash Metal chops, Black Metal ethos and experimental songcraft. Read on as guitarist and songwriter Ivar Bj�rnson gives insight into the new Enslaved.

Ever since Mithotyn were sent out on a burning ship into the Gulf of Bothnia, many bands have clamoured to claim the crown as Viking metal’s undisputed king. Some like Hin Onde and Twin Obscenity have failed, others like Enslaved have simply given up the battle and progressed. Only Thyrfing have truly flirted with Viking metal brillaince consistenly, unchallenged for the vacant throne. Until now. With the realese of Voimasta ja Kunniasta (or Of Strength and Honour in English), Finland’s Moonsorrow have catapaulted to the top of the Viking metal heap with a brilliant second album. It is an album deeply rooted in Viking culture and Norse mythology with songs that envisage heroism, bravery, family, life and death. I had the pleasure of visiting with Baron Tarwonen and Ville Seponpoika Sorvali, two of Moonsorrow’s warriors, who are obviously beaming with pride from the superb opus.

A couple of years ago Bloodbath started a mini phenomenon by paying homage to classic Swedish death metal albums such as Left Hand Path and Like an Ever Flowing Stream. By gathering a group of influential, talented musicians the album was well received in no due part to the source material. Others followed; Murder Squad, Incapacity, Ribspreader,Facebreaker as well as other veteran bands still successfully pawning that style, delivering solid albums (Dismember, Fleshcrawl, Centinex, Grave)after many years. Enter the Fins. With arguably equally a killer influence on modern metal, Amorphis and Sentenced had their own special niche in death metal, so a special group of Fins decided it was their turn to pay homage to the Swedish classics in the form of super group, ChaosBreed. If the name doesn’t give it away (a track from Entombed’s seminal Clandestine), ChaosBreed is a pure throwback death metal album, Finnish style. Complete with a Sunlight buzz and infectious grooves, the simple yet aptly titled Brutal is the collaborative effort of vocalist Taneli Jarva (The Black League, ex Sentenced), guitarist Esa Holipainen (Amorphis), guitarist Marko Tarvonen (Moonsorrow), drummer Nalle Osterman (Gandalf) and bassist Oppu Laine (ex –Amorphis), and is in fact…brutal. I caught up with Esa Holipainen to get the lowdown in this killer album as well as the band’s take on the classic era they captured perfectly.

European hardcore seems to be growing in stage dives and spin kicks, and more so, it seems to be more influenced by mid 90’s hardcore and old school brutal death metal than the melodic metal influenced stuff the US is chucking out now. One such band of brothers of Instil from the Netherlands. Their debut album Fire Reflects in Ashes, is a rumbling, chugging barrage of sweat and blood that sounds more American that most American bands who are in turn trying to sound European. It was actually one of the most underrated slabs of heaviness I heard last year, so I thought I’d talk to voclasit Rene Smit to not only find out more about the band, but also give them a little well deserved exposure…

Dedication (n): getting up at 5.30am to interview one of the most exciting bands in Finnish folk metal who unfortunately (for me) happen to reside in an entirely different time zone. Then finding out one of you must be on daylight savings and consequently staying up until 1.30am interviewing one of the most exciting bands in Finnish folk metal. Korpiklaani literally translates to ‘Forest Clan’, and they play an exciting and novel form of organic folk melodies and traditional metal. I conversed with bass player Jarkko Aaltonen regarding the bands roots, their live act and their future endeavours.

As Carl Jung paved his existential path through the mass of behavioral psychology, so have Scholomance have carved their own path through the generic fields of satanic black metal and gore-ridden American death metal. They have forged a path of individuality that breaks the mold and challenges the American extreme metal scene. With a deeply intellectual approach and a musical ability that sometimes dazzles and confuses, Scholomance look to take a place among American metal as a leader, not a follower. The three piece consisting of Scott Crinklaw (guitars, percussion, and keyboards), Jimmy Pitts (vocals and keyboards) and bassist Jerry Twyford seem poised at the edge of abyss of greatness, just waiting for a push over the edge. The latest album The Immortality Murder, might be the album to do just that. Residing on The End records, Scholomance seem to fit the progressive nature of the label, I visited with guitarist and keyboardist Scott Crinklaw about The End records, lyrical influences and the promising future for Scholomance.

NFL Football and heavy metal music are inherently linked. From the rebellious souls of the sport’s fledgling athletes decades ago, to the rebellious spirits in heavy metal that terrified the general public, hard-hitting sports and music are bound to find each other. Both are beautiful and brutal simultaneously, and both are the extreme of sports […]

Finland is fast becoming a hotbed of musical growth that rivals the Swedish explosion of the early and mid nineties, bands like Kalmah, Children of Bodom, Moonsorrow and Finntroll are putting Finland on the metal map as Sentenced and Amorphis did nearly a decade ago. Leading this creative charge is Finntroll. By fusing folk music and black metal with their native “humppa” or “polka” melodies, they have created a sound that is hard to define, yet enjoyable to listen to. It blatantly defies the inherent seriousness of black metal, but ala Bal-Sagoth; they don’t care and are content to put out the music they want to regardless of the genre restrictions. Last year’s Jaktens Tid, was my top album for 2001 and was a natural progression from the debut. I visited with guitarist Somnium to discuss this seemingly out of place group of trollsters.