This past January, MetalKult had the opportunity to catch up with Children of Bodom singer/guitarist Alexi Laiho at the winter NAMM convention in Anaheim, California.

Check out the following interview, in which Laiho describes his latest injuries, the inspiration behind Blooddrunk and how he planned to destroy George Lynch at the NAMM ESP shred-off. (more…)

With a resume that includes membership in seminal post-industrial band Swans, collaborations with Neurosis, Byla, and Jesu’s Justin K. Broadrick, and a prolific, provocative solo career, it’s safe to say that experimental vocalist Jarboe has many stories to tell.

So when she came to New York on January 26, 2008, to play at a show celebrating the work of visual artist Seldon Hunt, which also featured performances by Unearthly Trance, Scott Kelly, James Plotkin, Steve Moore and Inswarm, we jumped at the opportunity to sit down with this enigmatic musician.

In the following interview, the surprisingly affable Jarboe talks candidly about her father’s undercover FBI work, the steel-edge drive that allowed her to survive in the male-dominated metal world, as well as her recent work with Broadrick on J2 (The End) and her upcoming solo album featuring Phil Anselmo and Mayhem’s Atilla Csihar.

Please enjoy. We sure did. (more…)

When Athens, OH, neo-thrash band Skeletonwitch hit New York on November 7, 2007, to play Brooklyn’s Club Bang with Dying Fetus, MetalKult took the opportunity to invite guitarists Scott Hedrick and Nate Garnette and singer Chance Garnette into our Manhattan headquarters for a little Q&A session.

In the conversation that ensued, the dudes covered a bunch of topics, including their musical roots in Ohio’s metal scene, their love of Swedish melodic death metal and the creation of their latest full-length, Beyond the Permafrost (Prosthetic).

Check out these clips below: (more…)

On July 19, 2007, MetalKult had the distinct pleasure to interview one of the most influential experimental musicians of the past 30 years, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge.

As a founding member of Seventies avant-garde acts Coum Transmissions and Throbbing Gristle, the English-born Genesis effectively laid the groundwork for what would become industrial music. (Quite literally, as Throbbing Gristle reportedly coined the term when they formed their Industrial Records label.) Make no mistake, without Gen there would be no Nine Inch Nails, Ministry or Marilyn Manson.

In the Eighties, Genesis founded “hyperdelic acid house” group Psychic TV, with whom he went on to explore psychedelic head music and occult spirituality (the roots of which stretch back to Genesis’ childhood and his grandmother who was a medium). Psychic TV’s latest record, Hell Is Invisible…Heaven Is Her/e was released this past June on Sweet Nothing records.

Over the years, Genesis’ creative orbit has crossed the paths of many influential artists, including beat writers William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin, psychedelic guru Dr. Timothy Leary, industrial supergroup Pigface and Japanese noise band Merzbow.

+++In our comprehensive seven-part interview, hear Genesis talk about a range of topics, including his early years in Throbbing Gristle, his exile from Britain, his tragic accident at Rick Rubin’s studio and much more.+++ (more…)

On September 14, 2007, Today Is the Day played a show at Club Europa in Brooklyn, N.Y., to celebrate the release of their latest album, Axis of Eden. The MetalKult-sponsored package tour, which also featured Defcon 4, Christine and Taipan, was the first for TITD singer/guitarist Steve Austin’s new label, Supernova Records.

MetalKult had the rare opportunity to sit down backstage and talk with Austin about the history of his band, his D.I.Y. roots and the launch of Supernova Records.

While widely perceived as a gun-toting eccentric, the following in-depth interview debunks this myth and shows Austin to be an extremely articulate, charismatic and thoughtful individual.

Below, check out our two-part series: Today Is the Day History and the Birth of Supernova Records and Recording Axis of Eden. (more…)

When progressive hardcore unit Baroness came through New York City last fall in support of 2007’s Red Album (Relapse), MetalKult seized the opportunity to invite guitarist/vocalist (and MetalKult logo creator!) John Baizley and guitarist Brian Blickle to our headquarters to discuss the Savannah-via-Lexington, VA, band’s past, present and future.

Baizley and Blickle graciously accepted, and in the conversation that followed the guys spoke about their history as musicians, how visual arts and their newly adopted Southern home have influenced BARONESS’ sound and how they created one of last year’s most ambitious and acclaimed underground metal records in a damp, dark basement. (more…)

On November 8, 2007, when Norwegian progressive black metal group Enslaved came through New York City to play BB Kings Blues Club in support of their 2006 full-length, Ruun, MetalKult invited guitarist Ivar Bjørnson and bassist/vocalist Grutle Kjellson to stop by our Manhattan headquarters for a little Q&A action.

The two founding members accepted and in the resulting interview, Bjørnson and Kjellson discuss their roots in Norway’s notorious Nineties black metal scene, their reverence of Seventies prog and modern noise rock, and why they have abandoned the “viking metal” moniker. Oh and the two also shed some light on their recent “sheep downloading” incident.

Check out the clips below: (more…)

On November 14, 2007, San Francisco bass/drum drone kings Om played Brooklyn’s Club Europa in support of their latest release, Pilgrimage (Southern Lord).

Before Om’s thunderous set, we caught up with singer/bassist Al Cisneros and drummer Chris Haikus to discuss why the ex-Sleep rhythm section decided to reform as a duo, what gear challenges that presented, and Shrinebuilder, the band in which the Cisneros and Haikus are joined by Neurosis’ Scott Kelly and Wino (ex-Hidden Hand, Obsessed). (more…)

On August 21, 2007, when South Carolina’s Nile played an Ozzfest one-off date at BB King’s, in support of their new album Ithyphallic (Nuclear Blast), we invited guitarist/vocalists Karl Sanders and Dallas Toler-Wade to stop by MetalKult’s Manhattan headquarters for an in-depth Q&A and riff lesson.

The two technical death metal shredders accepted, and, stopped by our New York offices to discuss their exotic gear, Egyptian themes and why they believe Nile’s music is more important than their image.

Check out the clips below: (more…)

On September 20th, 2007, when Ulver vocalist Kristoffer “Garm” Rygg came to the states to promote his band’s latest release, Shadows of the Sun (The End Records), with a DJ set at Europa Night Club in Brooklyn, MetalKult seized the opportunity to sit with the frontman and talk about his band’s progressive take on Norwegian black metal.

In the interview that follows, Garm discusses Ulver’s formative years in Norway’s notorious black metal scene, his relationship with Emperor, his forays into electronic music and why he feels Ulver’s music and philosophy is as true as it’s ever been. (more…)