Photo Courtesy of Red Music
From The Zombitrol Vaults here’s an audition interview with vocalist Cristina Scabbia of Italy’s Lacuna Coil, where we delve into their latest, and surprisingly aggressive album, Delirium. Have a listen via SoundCloud below.
Lacuna Coil's latest release is The 119 Show - Live In London. You can watch the live video for “Nothing Stands In Our Way” below.
Photo Courtesy of Freeman Promotions
[UPDATE] 01/06/21 - With reports of Jon Schaffer taking part in the storming the U.S. Capitol building, Metal Injection has linked to this article. At this time Zombitrol Productions would like to explicitly express our disgust with Schaffer's actions, and the publication of this interview is in no way an endorsement of his views. I was in the process of taking it down, but upon realizing that it's now being used as a source in another article, I felt it improper to unpublish it.
In my first interview with Jon Schaffer, guitarist/founder of the long-running and beloved American heavy metal act Iced Earth, we talked about why the band seems impervious to lineup changes, how their sound evolves from album to album, and why he’s not keen on his band being associated with power metal (which he characterizes as “cheesy”).
Schaffer has also gained a reputation for right-wing beliefs after appearing on divisive conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ InfoWars program, wearing a confederate flag bandana on stage, as well as the intense rhetoric found in the lyrics of his side project Sons of Liberty. I feel that it is without question that due to the timeless nature of the classic heavy metal style that Iced Earth plays, it can be said that Schaffer has fans from all walks of life. Based on that presumption, I wanted to know if he has any concern about alienating parts of his fan base who don’t share his views. Have a listen via SoundCloud below.
Iced Earth’s latest album, Incorruptible, is available on Century Media Records, and you can watch the video for “Black Flag” below.
Photo by Stephanie Cabral
From 1989 to 1992 Jeff "Mantas" Dunn, Anthony "Abaddon" Bray, and Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan held the moniker of UK black metal founders Venom. Starting with the sinister riffs of Prime Evil, they diligently carried the Venom name out of the 80’s. Flash forward 25 years and the three were back together under the name Venom Inc, performing classics for hungry old-school fans and kids who only dreamed of hearing these tracks live. What began as an almost casual reunion turned into a full-fledged band, seemingly eclipsing the current Cronos-led version, with the new solid-as-hell Venom Inc album Avé being released last year on Nuclear Blast.
This weekend the band returns to Canada for four shows, beginning in Toronto this Sunday September 2nd at the legendary Coalition T.O. I had a chance to speak to Dunn and Dolan (who seem to prefer being called by their actual names, while Bray is only referred to by everyone as Abaddon) about how everything seemed to work out for the best, despite there being two versions of the same band, and how their reunion led to the creation of the new album. Have a listen with the SoundCloud player below.
You can catch Venom Inc at one of their four upcoming Canadian dates. Avé is currently available at all major outlets, and you can also watch their video for “Avé Satanas” below.
Venom Inc 2018 Canadian Tour Dates
Sunday, September 2nd - Coalition T.O. - Toronto
Monday, September 3rd - Mavericks - Ottawa
Tuesday, September 4th - Piranha Bar - Montreal
Wednesday, September 5th - L’Anti Bar & Spectacles - Quebec City
Photo by Kristján Carlsson Gränz
Last year Zombitrol Productions returned to Iceland’s Eistnaflug festival as a part of an ongoing project. While we were there, I managed to catch up with Max and Iggor Cavalera, who were performing Sepultura’s seminal album Roots in its entirety as a part of their “Return To Roots” tour. We spoke about Roots and it’s nu-metal influences, as well as recording the new Cavalera Conspiracy album Psychosis. We also touched on how Sepultura was instrumental in spreading heavy metal to different parts of the world, and Iggor gave us some insight into his current music-based international charity work.
Shot by Kristján Carlsson Gränz
Edited by Justin McKoy
Cavalera Conspiracy’s new album Psychosis is available now on Napalm Records, and you can watch the video for “Spectral War” below. Max Cavalera will be returning to Canada with Soulfly to perform Nailbomb’s Point Blank album on the following the dates:
Mar 01 Upstairs Cabaret, Victoria, BC
Mar 02 Astoria, Vancouver, BC
Mar 03 Status Nightclub, Vernon, BC
Mar 05 Dickens, Calgary, AB
Mar 06 Starlite Room, Edmonton, AB
Mar 07 The Exchange, Regina, SK
Mar 09 Pyramid Cabaret, Winnipeg, MB
Mar 10 Crocks, Thunder Bay, ON
Mar 11 The Working Class, Timmins, ON
Mar 12 Townhouse Tavern, Sudbury, ON
Mar 13 Mavericks, Ottawa, ON
Mar 14 Foufounes Electriques, Montreal, QC
Mar 15 Rock cafe le Stage, Trois-Rivières, QC
Mar 16 L'anti Bar & Spectacles, Quebec City, QC
Mar 17 The Opera House, Toronto, ON
Mar 18 Music Hall, London, ON