As part of of our ongoing series on mental health awareness in metal, we sit down for a chat with Zach Randall of Northern Crown.
Interviews
The Art of Labelling – Pt II
Join us for the second part of our look behind the bands themselves, into what the independent metal labels do to get music to your turntables.
The Art of Labelling – Pt I
“The more time I’ve spent reviewing stuff on this here blog, the more I’ve begun to take note of record labels, to the point now that certain labels generate certain expectations for an album. With that realization, I became more interested in labels, how they work and the people behind them.” Behind the music lies the work.
Mental Health Awareness: Interview with Nils Groth of Heretoir
“Nobody likes being depressed, plain and simple. It inherently brings us somewhere cold, dark and painful, and conversations centered around the subject can often lead to similarly unpleasant destinations. As important and necessary as communication is, whether we’re struggling with mental distress or walkin’ on friggin’ sunshine, depression and anxiety are often able to plant themselves directly between the affected individual and their ability to effectively convey their struggles—and that sucks, yo.”
Mental Health Awareness: Interview with Déhà of Slow/Déhà
“I have never had such a candid and comfortable conversation about this most miserable of subject matter with anyone before my discussion with Déhà, the mastermind behind Déhà and Slow, among others. It is my sincere hope that someone out there will read these words and feel the same level of support and understanding that I felt as they transpired, and it is all but certain that this will forever be the post that I am most proud and humbled to have contributed to this great Hall ov ours.”
Mental Health Awareness: Interview with ALN of Mizmor
“It seems that music holds a special place for many, like myself, who feel they can’t always safely express concerns about their own mental health. Music functions both as a creative outlet and as a method of processing what we feel, occasionally to the point that it heals. Furthermore, music offers a powerful community simply by existing, and metal, I believe, especially so. Therefore, Grymm, Master of Muppets and I reached out to a few artists whose product takes a hard look at mental health and its relationship with music. First up is an interview with ALN of Mizmor.”
Mental Health Awareness: Interview with An Isolated Mind’s Kameron Bogges
“It always happens; you forge a plan, you lay out your strategies as to how you’ll get things done, and just when you’re about to do those things, life happens. In this case, a heavily-increased work schedule kept me occupied. Like, for months. No lie, we here at Angry Metal Guy planned on doing pieces on mental health awareness back in June, and this very interview was conducted back in October/November, months after initial contact with the ever-patient Kameron Bogges, sole creator of An Isolated Mind. The fact that this interview is seeing light in December should tell you that things haven’t exactly slowed down much.” Pressure and time.
Video Premiere and Interviews with Stevie Boiser and Trevor Portz of Ashen Horde
“Back in March, I reviewed Ashen Horde‘s latest opus of black metal fury, Fallen Cathedrals. I heaped an unhealthy amount of praise its way back then, and I’m still spinning it a ton now. In fact, I would be very surprised if it were to fall outside of my top 5 albums come year’s end. My review may have been riddled with factual errors, but founder, songwriter, instrumentalist, and clean vocalist Trevor Portz showed up in the comments and revealed himself to be a gracious and enormously cool guy. So, when the opportunity to do an interview presented itself, I couldn’t resist.” We’re already off to a better start than last time.
Interview with John Kevill of Warbringer
“I tested my mettle (and my liver) on the famed 70,000 Tons of Metal this month and somehow convinced real metal PR folks that I was a real metal journalist. This may or may not have something to do with them thinking I was the Angry Metal Guy, despite my insistence otherwise. As fortune would have it, John Kevill, vocalist and founding member of thrash metal savants Warbringer (and a personal favorite since he was cool as hell to me in a venue bathroom in 2009 (wait, that sounds off (or does it?))), was willing to sit down for a bit. In true Warbringer fashion, John went right at it regarding his thoughts on metal journalism, context, and thrash metal writ large and was as thoughtful, forward, and unapologetic as his music.” Starting wars.
An Interview with Unleash the Archers
“This autumn saw Unleash the Archers undertake their North American tour in support of 2017’s excellent album, Apex. October saw the tour roll through Calgary, with supporting act Striker and a couple of local bands. Huck N Roll somehow shoehorned his way into the club and managed to find some time to sit down with vocalist Brittney Slayes (before he was discovered and rudely extracted from the premises), to talk about the tour, the next album, and King Diamond.” Apex interviewer.
