One of rock’s most welcome reunions of 2005 was the triumphant return of Vancouver’s notorious, leather-clad quintet, The Black Halos. With two new members, guitarist Adam Becvare and bassist Denyss McKnight joining the core trio of vocalist Billy Hopeless, guitarist Jay Millette and drummer Rob Zgaljic, The Halos stayed true to their explosive amalgam of metal, punk, glam and vintage, guitar-fueled garage rock with the release of their third album, Alive Without Control. A series of worldwide tours kept the band on the road for most of the year, but Rob Zgaljic stepped away from his kit long enough to answer a few questions for Metal Edge. Continue reading An Interview with Rob Zgaljic of The Black Halos→
When Brian Tichy was a kid, he thought everyone wanted to play drums. Brian got his first drumset at age ten and took private lessons while also learning the drums licks on all his favorite records by Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and AC/DC. “Kiss was the first major band for me,” the drummer admits. “My friends had the Kiss Alive albums and I’d listen to the drum solos and think, ‘Oh my god, Peter Criss! That’s untouchable!’ Then my dad took me to see Kiss at Madison Square Garden on the Destroyer tour and that changed everything right there.”
Impacting the metal scene in 2001, Bakersfield’s Adema became one of the most popular bands of Nu Metal’s second wave. But Adema went through some unfortunate circumstances after the release of its second album, prophetically entitled Unstable. First the group’s label folded and, shortly thereafter, lead vocalist Mikey Chavez parted ways with the band. In early 2005 however, Adema found a new singer, Luke Caraccioli, signed to a new label (Earache) and released a stunning third album, Planets. Drummer Kris Kohls says the hardship has been worth it. Continue reading An Interview with Kris Kohls of Adema→
In the world of heavy metal drumming, Fear Factory’s Raymond Herrera is an unstoppable machine, renown for his innovative, brutal rhythms and lightning fast double bass playing. On Fear Factory’s latest album, Transgression, Raymond continues to create the intricate, pounding cadences that define his band’s ground breaking, signature sound. Metal Edge caught up with Raymond for a brief chat on the last day of summer 2005’s Gigantour, which also featured metal juggernauts Megadeth and Anthrax, as well as modern prog rockers, Dream Theater. Continue reading An Interview with Raymond Herrera of Fear Factory→
