Carl Begai

By Carl Begai

(Click here for my December 31st, 2009 interview with Devin about the Addicted album.)

The original strapping young lad Devin Townsend is back. And he’s naked.

We’re speaking metaphorically, of course, in reference to his return in the form of a remarkably understated record dubbed Ki. Completely devoid of the camouflage, smoke, mirrors and assorted baggage that enabled him to create the hellfuelled carnage that was Strapping Young Lad, it is the first of a four part introduction to the real Devin Townsend. The initial buzz surrounding Ki has been laced with confusion and some outright negativity due to its mellow nature, leaving fans ponder what might have happened to their revered Hevy Devy during his two year self-imposed hiatus from the spotlight. There are other diehards, however, that have followed him through his non-SYL escapades (Ocean Machine, Physicist, Terria, Synchestra) and embraced Ki as another important step in Townsend’s career.

Ki is also a pointed confirmation that Townsend wasn’t kidding when he announced back in May 2007 that Strapping Young Lad was dead. It was a decision made out of necessity, as according to the press release issued “the last tour (for The New Black) was a real struggle for him to muster any enthusiasm, mostly because SYL was initially created to vent all his frustrations, which no longer exist.” Furthermore, Townsend admitted flat out he was tired of touring and doing interviews, and had no intention or desire to return to the grind although he would release music from time to time. And while there’s little to no chance he’s going to resurrect SYL, Townsend decided in favour of the interview circuit in order to set his rather volatile record straight.
(continue reading…)

I recently caught up with DEATH ANGEL guitarist / vocalist Rob Cavestany to discuss the band’s new live DVD, Sonic German Beatdown, and their touring plans for the rest of 2009. An excerpt is available below:

“The main thing for us about putting the DVD out is to get it out there for the fans because in our entire career we don’t have one official live DVD or video cassette,” says Cavestany. “I think we’re the only band in the world that hadn’t put one out and we’ve been around since the days of VHS (laughs). It was way past due to have something documented and officially released. I know there are a lot of Death Angel fans around the world that have never seen us play live, so this is a chance for those people to get a look at the band in our full fury on stage.”

Go to this location for the complete interview.

By Carl Begai

Just how much of a bang you get for your buck when buying music all comes down to how high one’s expectations are going in. That said, folks will never be able to accuse Leaves’ Eyes of doing things half baked to honour signatures on a dotted line. Their new DVD, We Came With The Northern Winds / En Saga I Belgia, is in keeping with the all-or-nothing work ethic they established for themselves since surfacing in 2003; a monstrous split documentary / live DVD clocking in at a healthy 6+ hours dolled up in a package reflecting the amount of effort that went into the project. It celebrates the six years spent building Leaves’ Eyes up from scratch, a journey that has brought them more attention and opportunities that anyone in the band had expected at the start. The DVD has also been a long time in coming according to vocalist Liv Kristine Espenaes Krull, who is both proud and relieved it’s finally out and meeting with widespread approval from the fans and media alike.
(continue reading…)

From where I sit one of the more mind-boggling cock-ups in metal is how North American and European labels managed to miss the boat completely on a band that was selling out multi-thousand seaters and large arenas in Japan two albums into their career. Particularly when folks like Mr. Moneybags himself, KISS merch / PR god Gene Simmons, was trolling around Japan in the late ‘80s looking for new talent and scooped up the far less popular metal punks Flatbacker (better known as EZO in the years that followed). Can’t blame the pass on the fact most of X’s songs were executed in Japanese either, given the early ‘80s international success of a little export called Loudness. And it’s not like X were a trendy new thing, having built up a loyal following at home since 1982. Me, I didn’t clue in until ’93, when my best friend handed me a tape of a band he’d discovered out of the blue and suggested I check them out. This was the album, and I couldn’t help but wonder how the hell they slipped beneath my radar and that of my favourite import record stores. (continue reading…)

By Carl Begai

Even if you don’t buy into the idea of a critically acclaimed metal authority like BW&BK offering regular coverage on a radio (pop) rock artist like Bif Naked, you have to respect the amount of work and in-your-face commitment she put into her new album, The Promise. On a purely selfish and personal level it’s an honour to spend the time, having watched and waited over the last year as she battled breast cancer, praying for a positive outcome. The Promise has become a guilty pleasure, and a bloody inspirational one to boot for reasons that will become painfully clear. It was written and recorded while Bif was undergoing chemotherapy, an endurance test that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy, and fans will be far from disappointed. The best part of it all, however, is that the Bif Naked who made an unforgettable impression on yours truly 15 years ago with her warm-hearted tough as nails approach and became a fave interview over the years hasn’t changed. Okay, a few more tattoos, but the person underneath the ink is alive and well. Thus, the question about whether or not Bif ever broke down with a “Why me?” after being diagnosed – especially after her successful run with the Superbeautifulmonster album and in her personal life – is wasted breath.
(continue reading…)

I recently spoke with EPICA vocalist Simone Simons about the band’s new double live album, The Classical Conspiracy. An excerpt is available below, with Simons discussing the band’s set list for the one-off show featuring a full orchestra and choir backing them up…

“We had to decide which classical songs we were going to play, and which Epica songs would be in the set. Oliver (Palotai / KAMELOT keyboardist) arranged the Epica songs for the orchestra we were going to play with, so it was a big job. We were in Hungary for a week to rehearse, so it was a lot of work, and for me the show itself was really stressful because we had a rehearsal on the same day at 10:00am and then the show in the evening. It was a really long show – one hour of classical music, one-and-a-half hours of Epica – and I was nervous because normally I perform with backing tracks, and they never make mistakes. Now I was working with a choir, which of course isn’t perfect, so it felt a little bit different because the rock I normally leaned on had changed, if you know what I mean.”

Go to this location for the complete story.