Extreme metal band Shadows Fall has been a driving force in aggressive modern rock for so many years, it’s almost startling to realize that the group’s latest offering Threads of Life – the band’s fifth album – is actually its major label debut. When asked if he felt pressure regarding his performance for the album, knowing it would be Shadows’ first for Atlantic Records, drummer Jason Bittner had a very thoughtful response. “I felt that I had to step up my performance, period,” Bittner explains, “because I feel like that with every record. I always want to do something different. Continue reading An Interview with Jason Bittner of Shadows Fall→
As former Audioslave vocalist Chris Cornell prepared to release his second solo CD, Carry On, he started auditioning LA-area musicians for a new band. Cornell wanted to go out on the road with a different group of musicians than those who had played on the record, since the breadth of material he’d be touring with – catalog from both the singer’s two previous bands as well as his solo material – required a grasp of the heaviness of Soundgarden, the brutality and looseness of Audioslave, and the delicate nuances that define his solo balladry. Continue reading An Interview with Chris Cornell’s Jason Sutter→
Take a look at the “Tour Archive” page of Chevelle’s website and you’ll notice that, save for a few months between the late spring and mid-summer of 2005, the Chicago-based metal trio is on the road virtually non-stop. Even as drummer Sam Loeffler spoke with Metal Edge, the group was preparing to launch an ambitious spring tour with Evanescence and Finger Eleven in support of its new album Vena Sera – Chevelle’s first CD since bassist Joe Leoffler (brother to Sam and vocalist /guitarist Pete) left the group in 2005. Vena Sera introduces new bassist, Dean Bernardini. Continue reading An Interview with Sam Loeffler of Chevelle→
“I’m old school,” laughs drummer Brooks Wackerman. “When I was 14 years old, I was in a band called Bad for Good that Steve Vai produced. We used to be in Metal Edge all the time!” Nearly fifteen years later, Brooks has a fulltime job behind the kit of LA punk legends Bad Religion as well a hot touring gig with the comedy/hard rock duo of Jack Black and Kyle Gass – better known as Tenacious D. Promoting the duo’s big screen debut, The Pick of Destiny, and its soundtrack album, the tour took the band to venues as massive as New York City’s Madison Square Garden – a first for the drummer. Known for his fast footwork as well as for being the first drummer in Bad Religion to use a double kick set up, Brooks actually plays a triple kick drum configuration for Tenacious D. You can see Brooks in action in the summer of 2007 when Bad Religion joins the annual Vans Warped Tour. Continue reading An Interview with Brooks Wackerman of Tenacious D→
Gavin Harrison joined British progressive rockers Porcupine Tree in 2002 on the cusp of recording the groundbreaking CD, In Absentia. Since then, the drummer has found time between touring and recording with Porcupine Tree to work on a variety of outside projects, including a globally acclaimed series of instructional books and DVDs covering his cerebral theories on beat displacement and rhythmic illusions. Continue reading An Interview with Gavin Harrison of Porcupine Tree→
