In heavy music the most prevalent trend of the past decade has been a return to the time of psychedelic rock. Arguably of all of the acts to come out of this new wave, Finland’s Jess and The Ancient Ones seem to have garnered the most attention internationally. With their memorable 70s grooves, occult-laden lyrics, and powerful female vocals they found acclaim for their self-titled debut album in 2012.

They recently completed their first North American tour as personally-selected support of legendary Danish metaller King Diamond. I sat down with guitarist and co-songwriter Tuomas Karhunen (aka Thomas Fiend) before the band’s Toronto show to talk about their deep connection to the occult and how their future music will be bereft of all heavy metal influence.

Jess and the Ancient Ones’ new 10” release ‘Castaneda’ is available on Svart Records.

This past summer at the Toronto edition of Riot Fest I had a chance to sit down with the Iranian-American act Nostalghia, a collaborative group that combines avant-garde ambient music with classical and gothic undertones along with bit of a heavy metal aesthetic.

I spoke with the trio after a relaxed early-afternoon set to talk about how they arrived at their unique sound, and how they feel about being presented to the metal and punk audiences.

Shot and edited by Chris Tung

Find out more about Nostalghia at www.nostalghiamusic.com.

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