Global Metal Apocalypse is piloting a new form of interview which we think no other webzine, ezine, magazine (yeah um...) or video-enhanced sit as done, which is interviewing a band with themselves recording the answers as a video response as you'll see above.

Thames Burial, a Metalcore/Deathcore quintet from Colchester, Essex was confirmed to play The Perfect Storm All Day Metal Festival at the renowned Camden Underworld venue, we interviewed the band outside in one of the streets which to our dismay lead to some hilarious issues, from traffic to problems auto-cuing to shameless titty promotions.

As said, it's a pilot, any feedback will be welcome.

https://www.facebook.com/thamesburial

_Global Metal Apocalypse caught up with the lads known as A Hero A Fake during their time of recording their upcoming release 'The Future Again', we spoke to guitarist Eric Morgan.

How did you guys form and has there been any line-up changes, if so why?

Justin and I started the band in 2005 while we were in high school. We were already good friends and both shared a love for heavier music so we decided to put a band together. It was our first time doing the band thing so we definitely had a lot to learn, but we worked hard and picked up so many valuable lessons early on from just trial and error. By 2007 we had picked up Patrick, Matt, and Tim, which is when we started to really carve out our own identity within the music scene.

Lineup changes are one of those necessary evils in this business. It is so rare for bands to span their career’s without any changes (i.e. Thrice) but for us it was something necessary to move forward. This album features two new members – Evan Kirkley on drums and Chris Rosser on bass. Evan had actually been in the band previously during 2005 and recorded our second demo but couldn’t stay since he was already engaged in a couple other bands. We met Chris on tour in 2010 and he stayed in contact showing us songs he had written so when Matt left we felt comfortable bringing him into the band. To be honest Evan has always been one of my favorite drummers and when we had the opening I immediately approached him about joining. 

Describe the band's genre without genre-tagging or using cliches?

It’s an energetic and passionately voiced take on the modern heavy where we have refined our traditional AHAF style quirkiness and blended it with more engaging song structures.  

What makes your upcoming album 'The Future Again' different to the previous two albums?

The music on 'The Future Again' definitely marks the biggest evolution in sound for the band. Our last album was over an hour long and wasn’t quite as focused as we would of liked. So we decided to concentrate on making a shorter album that was a lot more focused and allowed us to pay more attention to detail – quality over quantity. This album is also more powerful sounding which has a lot to do with Evan’s drumming which takes the dynamic energy to the next level.

When you got the call from Victory Records to be signed, what was your response?

I got the call from Tony during the summer of 2008 while I was working in between semesters at college. Justin and I were going into our senior years at The University of North Carolina and were both pretty insistent on finishing our degrees out. Fortunately Victory was on board with the idea of letting us finish and using our first release as a developmental album while still in school.

For those music fans out there who judge bands upon appearance, what do you have to say to them?

That’s a hard question to give a general answer about. For some bands their “look” is what defines them to their audience and so they 'want' the fans to judge them based on appearance. For us, we just never had an interest in doing anything bizarre looks wise (makeup, paint, etc). Actually we didn’t even wear a lot of black on our early tours because we were just nerds who loved to play heavy music. That was actually a bit of a problem for us early on because on tour these kids would see looking more like an indie rock band and it created a mental block for some getting into us for the first time. But music transcends everything so we just made sure to go balls out and make sure we got their attention with our performance. 

Which song from the upcoming release stands out most and which one should fans check out?

My favorite track of the new album is “Princess of the Sun”. It was the first song I started writing for the album and it is one of the longer more complicated structure wise.  Really though, it was after we finished tracking vocals that made it stand out so much to me. Justin’s vocals are so passionate throughout the song and then we added guest vocals from Hudson Hower (Bruised But Not Broken) and Dayan Marquina that really just made the track shine.

Where are you touring this year and do you have any UK tour dates being planned or considered?

We start touring in September and will be on the road heavily from then through next year.  We don’t have plans to come to the UK currently (though I would love to!) but it is always something I’m looking into. 

Finally, what does the band have in store for 2012 and beyond?

Right now we are just looking forward to getting our album out (July 17th) and we also have a new music video for the single “Dead and Done” dropping in the next couple weeks. Other than that we’re gearing up for tour and making sure we get to play these new songs in as many places as possible.

https://www.facebook.com/aheroafake

_ Global Metal Apocalypse caught up with American Metalcore / Thrashers Miss May I to talk about their tour in the UK and what future plans the guys have,

So, first time headlining in the UK - what are you looking forward to at most and do you have anything to say to your British fans?

We are always looking forward to the UK fans because they are some of the best fans we have in the world! They go harder and louder than any crowd out there and not to mention they are some of the most appreciative people we have ever met. Always a pleasure playing in the UK. 

Over the band's career, how would you say the band has changed musically and as a whole?

I think after all the touring and all the time spent in the studio we have truly found our sound and who we want to be as a metal band. We have read reviews and changed for the critics here and there but especially in the new album and recent tours we have done away with all those critic changes and broke down all the walls of the normal structure and just wanted to be the group of metal heads that are Miss May I. 

What songs can fans expect to be blasted out in venues across the UK?

Well I don’t ever like to spoil a surprise but I can let you know that we are playing a good bit off of every album and our own little spin to the live performance for the fans. 

Your recent album 'At Heart' charted on the Billboard at #32, would you say this is the band's biggest achievement?

I think that is a pretty large achievement especially for a band that isn't really changing music or defining anything. We are just playing what we grew up listening to, classic old school metal. We are just lucky enough that there is enough metalheads in the world that like our music to make this all happen! 

What does Miss May I mean in terms of 'how would you define its meaning?'

We actually don’t have any cool meaning behind it. It’s sort of a blessing and a curse. It was something that stuck out as a local band but then sadly stuck around when all of our success happened. 

If you could give any upcoming musician one little bit of advice, what would it be?

I would tell them to focus on every step that’s in front of them and not jump the gun. A lot of bands want to tour and be signed right off the bat but that isn't the way to go about it because if you did do those things no one would buy your records or come to your shows. You need to focus on playing locally and being the best you can until your selling out each local venue an must move on because that’s the next step which will naturally come to you if your being the best you can be. 

Do you feel metal music in general is not getting enough exposure that it deserves or is it getting 'over-exposed'?

I feel like music isn't getting the exposure it should be. A lot of bands that sell out 2-3K rooms are not even recognized in press or in stores. We have been there. Before or new album was released we sold out venues on our headliners and packed out signings but in stores they would barely carry an MMI album and in magazines you would never hear about us. I just feel there is a lot of successful talent that no one has read or purchased because no one is giving them a chance and maybe they will blow it but either way they need a shot. 

Finally, what can fans expect from Miss May I this year and in the foreseeable future?

We have a lot of touring worldwide coming up. We will be going to South America after Warped Tour with Asking Alexandria and then hopefully soon after doing a headliner in the states which will be followed by the UK headliner that will finish our year! 

How did you guys get recognised and signed? Was it being at the right place at the right time? Knowing people already in the industry? Or constant hard work touring demos? (Asked by fan #1 - Dex Jezierski)

We actually did all of the above. We always worked hard locally and became one of the largest local bands in Ohio which lead us to having one of the members of The Devil Wears Prada at one of our local shows watching us. Then soon after that show he told us he would like to manage us and liked what we were doing. After he contacted Rise Records about us they already knew about us because we have been sending out digital demos every month to every record label we were interested in. Around 2 months later we were signing a deal and changing our lives. 

What is your favourite song to play? (Asked by fan #2 - Tom Weller)

My favourite song to play live would have to be "Our Kings" because it’s the song I usually make the crowd do the craziest things to whether its 100 crowd surfs or a marathon pit the crowd gets crazy.

Have you guys ever considered playing in India? (Asked by fan #3 - Debojyoti Sanyal)

We would love to play in India and everywhere in the world!  Just waiting on the right time to make our trip out there.

https://www.facebook.com/MissMayIMusic

_With Crash Mansion I spoke to (L-R - Chris Jackson, LJ Hardwood and Sammy Scarlett; Kidd was not present at this time (far left)) outside Southend Chinnerys at The Dead Lay Waiting gig w/ Scarred By Beauty, Silent Descent and Crash Mansion.

With Silent Descent I spoke to Tom Callahan (far left) outside Southend Chinnerys at The Dead Lay Waiting gig w/ Scarred By Beauty, Silent Descent and Crash Mansion.

With Scarred By Beauty I spoke to Jonathan Albrechtsen (centre) _outside Southend Chinnerys at The Dead Lay Waiting gig w/ Scarred By Beauty, Silent Descent and Crash Mansion.

RHYS STEVENSON