The Metal Hammer Golden Gods, the most important day in the Metal music calender, this year 2011 saw an immense eruption of applause to the many bands who were nominated and who won it. Amongst the bands during that night, Swindon Modern Metal quintet The Dead Lay Waiting smashed windows on HMS Hammer with bad boys TesseracT, Biohazard and Black Spiders. Along the way apart from meeting the man himself Alexander Milas, editor of the Metal Hammer magazine, I caught up with members from Silent Descent (of whom recently just signed to Rising Records - same label that has The Dead Lay Waiting and Confined Within are signed onto). Interviews with the bands are as listed.

The Dead Lay Waiting:

BEN CONNETT

SAM SARA / TOM SHRIMPTON

LUKE LUCAS

STEVE FRANKLIN

BARRY SHRIMPTON (TDLW MANAGER)

I caught up with the rising Swindon quintet way back in April of which was a momentous time since Azz Willoughby left the band and now The Twist in Colchester has shut down.

I spoke to them about the band history, their latest album 'Almost Heaven' and some other little banter, all of which finalized as an overall decent interview.

RHYS STEVENSON