Japan Nick's Rock and Metal Pandemonium

Japan Nick's Quarantine Podcast 11 Silver Talon Portland Oregon's Silver Talon founding guitarists Bryce VanHoosen and Sebastian Silva gave Japan Nick an interview on August 2nd 2020 to speak about their new album Decadence and Decay. We learned about Sebastian’s early musicial history and his history working with Bryce. We spoke about songs like “Touch the Void”, “Next to the Sun,” and “Divine Fury” in great depth. I referenced an interview I had with Bryce in 2018 and spoke about song writing techniques for this album. The band explained how they came to be a band with 3 guitarists as well as their lineup. They mentioned how they got signed to M Theory Audio and working with Marco Barbieri.

Japan Nick's Quarantine Podcast Episode 10 Gravehuffer Ritchie Randall Interview Ritchie Randall is the guitarist for the Joplin Missouri metal band Gravehuffer. He spoke up what it was like growing up there as a young music fan that eventually got into bands. He spoke about the history of his band as well as the current lineup. He spoke about his personal interest in History. We spoke in depth about the songs Stalingrad’s Cross, and Demon Face. We spoke about folklore and local legends in Missouri and New Jersey. We spoke about his 3 favorite songs he composed for his band. Right now Gravehuffer is trying to stay active on social media. They have a new album on the horizon later this year.

Japan Nick's Quarantine Podcast 9 071220 Soulgrinder Publisher Paul Caravasi Interview. We spoke about Paul's introduction to music. We learned about zines he worked at before starting Soulgrinder Zine. He spoke about zines he admired like Reborn from Ashes and more. There was some discussion about the 2015-2016 Lima Metal Fests. The next issue of Soulgrinder Zine should be coming out in late Summer 2020.

Japan Nick’s Quarantine Podcast 8 Jeramie Kling FORE Interview On July 5th 2020 Jeramie Kling gave Japan Nick an interview and we focused heavily on his new band FORE which features Absence guitarist Taylor Nordberg, Speesy from Kreator, and Brian Stephenson of Old James. Jeramie gave me a thorough description on his musical history. We talked about the forming of his new band FORE and gave me descriptions on everyone involved. Jeramie spoke about his connection to Taylor who he has worked with a number of times.

121618 Petrification Jason Barnett Interview Jason gave me an introduction on himself. He spoke about the Portland metal scene. He is also an artist and spoke about some of the album covers he has worked on. We looked back on performing at the Asakusa Metal Fest and being in Japan.

Japan Nick's Quarantine Podcast Episode 7 Stygian Crown On Sunday June 14th 2020 Stygian Crown drummer Rhett Davis gave Japan Nick an interview. We discussed various bands he was in along with the forming of Stygian Crown. He spoke about his connection to Mark Nelson and how he became a part of this album. We also discussed various topics related to the coronavirus.

Japan Nick's Quarantine Podcast 6 Molitoth singer Kyle Brandt 060620 Interview Kyle Brandt of a Light Within told me his musical history as well as working with Daniel Tompkins of Tesseract as a mentor to advance as a singer. Kyle explained how meditation techniques factored into how he wrote songs on the album. He explained how he came into the mindset to make his solo album. We talked a lot about classic gaming when the topic of the cover of Send Me An Angel was gone over. We also discussed fresh ideas on how musicians can sustain their fan bases as well as their local scenes during these uncertain times.

Japan Nick's Quarantine Podcast 5 Aidan Stutzman of Portland Oregon 051920 Interview We spoke about his musical history, and what kind of drumset he currently uses. He spoke about starting a new project with his old bandmate Sergio from Mangled Corpse. He gave me a rundown on his musical history since 2017 to the present. He talked about his love for hardcore, and death metal music. He filled me in on his new bands Lymph Nodes, Budd Dwyer, and Fukd Off,. We spoke about his favorite concert he played.

Japan Nick’s Quarantine Podcast 4 Ciro Mountain the Road Warrior 051620 Ciro spoke about it’s like being a manager/ promoter touring the country and how the American landscape has changed. He works with Andrew W Boss, Co Op. He spoke about doing shows once the fallout from the virus dies down. He spoke well of Magic Ninja Entertainment and dealing with juggalos.

Alexi Laiho is the singer and guitarist of Finnish heavy metal band Children of Bodom. Children of Bodom has nine albums to their name. Alexi gave me an introduction on himself, as well as discussed his memories of going through the music education program in Finland. He talked about what made his band choose Hexed (Nuclear Blast) to be the title of their latest release. Alexi spoke in depth about the goddess of the underworld, Hecate, and the song “Hecate’s Nightmare.” We also spoke a little about films inspired by the Lake Bodom murders. They will be on tour with Swallow the Sun and Wolfheart and will be at Irving Plaza on April 19.

Sarah Teets is the singer/flutist of Mindmaze from the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania that was formed in 2013. She spoke about what it was like being a musician growing up in the Lehigh Valley. Sarah spoke about three new songs at the last concert (Y &T at Baltimore Soundstage) performed before the Pandemic. They are called Recreate, Stand Your Ground, and the Hard Way. Sarah explained how the Queensryche song cover Road to Madness was a kickstarter prize. There was discussion about the possibility of a webcast Mindmaze show during the Pandemic. I inquired about the Japanese anime style pictures of Mindmaze. New Noise Magazine featured Mindmaze as the bandcamp of the day. We spoke about the experience of flying to and performing at the Whiskey A Gogo.

Japan Nick’s Quarantine Podcast Episode 2 Villins 04/25/20 Villins is a New York City rock band comprised of singer Jesyka (Syka) and guitarist Kareem Devlin (Lady Gaga) that formed in 2016. They spoke about the shows that they performed at right before the Quarantine as well as how they are performing during the Quarantine. They appeared as guests on Breed Love and Chew Fu as well as Adult Swim. They spoke about composing Kiss Me Again, and Empires. Kareem spoke about working with Lady Gaga on her Monster Ball Tour as well as some insight he gained from being on the tour. Both Jesyka and Kareem told their most cherished musical possession.

Japan Nick's Quarantine Podcast Episode 1 Rabid Flesh Eaters 04/22/20 I had Mike Taylor (Guitars) and John Hill (Bass) of Rabid Flesh Eaters on my show. A decent amount of insight when it came to the recording of the title track RFE which featured Bruce Corbitt’s final song. They talked about working with DFW recording engineer Kerry Crafton. They were some brief memories from hanging out with Rigor Mortis during the self titled album sessions. We talked about the songs Veangance of Nightmares as well as Hallucinations. There was some good discussion on Italian horror movie soundtracks. They spoke about recording their versions of the Rigor Mortis classics Die In Pain, Contagious Contamination, and Welcome to your Funeral. We wrapped things up speaking about how the corona virus has affected them as a band.

Exmortus is a band from Whittier, Calif. that was formed in 2002. I recently had a conversation with Exmortus’ singer/guitarist, Jadran Gonzales, who started the band. They decided to call the band Exmortus because the band loved the movie Evil Dead. In the second movie’s intro, it mentions the Necronomicon Ex Mortis, the book of the dead. However, they changed the name to the “us” ending instead of the “is” ending. Last September, drummer Mario Mortus left the band to focus on his screen printing company. Jadran spoke about how the current lineup of Exmortus came together and how the lineup change has contributed to the songwriting style on the new album. We discussed what it was like working with producer Zach Ohren, as well as working with members of Spellcaster and Holy Grail. The Sound of Steel that was released on June 8 by Prosthetic Records.

April Jones is a California-based journalist and filmmaker who began her media career doing a heavy metal public access program called Slayed in Oregon. April discovered the Mentors early on when she was younger and ended up interviewing them for Slayed in Oregon. Eventually the Mentors had put out a post on Facebook saying they were looking for a film maker and had received a few emails from film makers. One of them which included April, and they went with her. April has taken influence from Penelope Spheeris famous for The Decline of Western Civilization documentaries, and director of the Wayne’s World films. April had gone on a full nationwide tour with the Mentors. She was invited to showcase The Mentors: Kings of Sleaze Rockumentary in Finland at the Night Visions Film Festival and had gotten invited to speak at the U.S. Embassy in Finland.