One could argue that the Japanese Metal scene has only really broken into the Western hemisphere and began to establish a respectable presence here. Sure it's true that if you look at the history of the Japanese Metal scene, you would notice that it's origins are firmly placed in the 1970's, echoing a similar backstory to the British Metal scene. It has to be said though that the Visual Kei movement certainly spurred the overall Japanese Metal scene on and pushed it outside the country with bands like X Japan gaining overseas attention. Fast forward to the turn of the century and bands like Crossfaith, Babymetal and now Lovebites are riding the tides of the New Wave of Japanese Metal.

Lovebites are definitely pretty, but don't let the looks fool you as this all-female Heavy / Power ensemble have enough brutality, grit and power to leave you in awe, given Lovebites have only been going 3 years. In these 3 years they have played at Wacken and Bloodstock Open Air and have signed two record deals, subsequently releasing 2 albums and 2 EP's.

Drummer Haruna spoke to GMA about the girls backstory, rise to global success and the debate of whether to call their music Heavy / Power Metal or Kawaii Metal.

Festival appearances, a headline tour, two EP's and now two albums across two years since the band's inception, that must be a dream start right?

     "I have never thought I could experience this much in such a short time. However, I was sure that this band was going to be a good band because of these great members. I am very pleased to get good reviews for all of our songs. Playing overseas was great too. I have never experienced these kind of things so I just really hope the band will be grow up bigger by footing these chances."


When you were informed you were to perform on the main stage at Bloodstock (instead of Sophie stage), what were emotions like in the band?

     I was very surprised. The happiness was bigger than the nervousness. I felt like the luck was on our side. I could do my best and did the best performance, I wanted to make good use of this opportunity. It felt so good to play Bloodstock Open Air, it was the first outdoor festival to play as Lovebites. It was raining that day, but when we played the sky became clearer and many people came out to see us."


You all seem to have different tastes in music: Asami listens to Alicia Keys and Aretha Franklin, Miyako learned to play a classical piano; do you use these as influences in Lovebites' music?

     "Halloween triggered me to get into metal music. The first album I listened to was “Master Of The Rings” and I was inspired by Ulrich Kusch’s drumming style. His style became my basic drumming style.


Do you feel that the Japanese Metal scene has gained more attention from Europe over the last decade or so? It seems Japanese Metal is on the rise?

     "I believe it’s getting bigger. Loudness and Babymetal are playing often overseas. I hope Lovebites to get in to the boom."

In your own words could you tell us the difference between Visual Kei and Japanese Metal? Is the Visual Kei scene still active?

     "I think it’s just the look. Visual Kei bands are mainly guys dressed up, their music styles vary, sometime metal and sometimes not. Somehow people mix up Visual Kei with Metal and think it’s the same thing in Japan. Visual Kei is still highly popular though.


With your new album "Clockwork Immortality", what did you do differently that wasn't present on "Awakening From Abyss"?

     "Regarding drumming, I wanted songs to stand out. So sometimes I play aggressive, sometimes I go for something simple to let the vocals and guitars sound stand out. Through the entire album, we wanted and tried to make stronger heavy metal."


Some say your music is Heavy / Power Metal, some say it's Kawaii Metal, how would you describe your music?

     "Maybe people say we are Kawaii Metal because of our looks. Just listen to our music or come see us play live, you’ll know we are a Heavy / Power Metal band!


With 2019 in full swing, what have you been up to and what plans have you got for the year ahead?

     "We played a Japanese tour in January. I hope to play a lot inside and outside Japan in 2019."


Do you have any greetings, thank you's etc you wish to send out?

     "The new album “Clockwork Immortality” shares strong points from “Awakening From Abyss” and “Battle Against Damnation”. Plus it became more powerful with greater melodies, I hope you’ll notice the evolution of Lovebites. You will see us before long. See you there!"


https://www.facebook.com/Lovebites-1626647444318005/

Emphasis are not holding back nor are they slowing down, the Estonian Progressive / Symphonic Power Metallers have signed a deal with Japanese label Red Rivet Records. Thus giving the band the momentum to reach deep into the Asian market and help expose not only their music, but the rich vibrant sounds the Estonian Metal scene has to offer. It has been two years since the sextet dropped their debut album "Revival" and now they're revelling in their latest offering "Soul Transfer", deviating away from the structural guidelines laid before them in search of a truly inspirational sound for the album as the band go on to explain... it did not happen by sheer accident.

How does it feel to release your second album 'Soul Transfer'; especially on Japanese label Red Rivet Records? Where does this place itself in terms of the band's history and the wider Estonian Metal scene?

Katya (bass):

     "Estonia is a small country and our metal scene is very small as well. Actually, there's only one metal label – Nailboard Records. Many years ago they signed bands, but now they work more as a  distribution company. So it means that we have no choice and it's pretty common that Estonian artists sign deals with foreign labels. So, as you know, our previous album was released on the Italian label "Underground Symphony". This time we sent our record to a list of labels over the world and we were happy to get positive feedback from Japan. Red Rivet Records offered us reasonable conditions and we're still happy about our co-operation. And yes, for us every action and step forward is kind of achievement."


Regarding the 'Soul Transfer' track-list, could you explain the meaning behind  the percentages?; Assuming it ties in with the album title?

Max (guitars):

     "Soul Transfer is a concept album, an entire complete original story where the order of the compositions are arranged in a certain meaningful sequence. All the tracks are combined through smooth transitions or short instrumental sketches, which underlines and complements the full picture of the idea. In order to understand what we wanted to convey to the listener, you need to listen to the disc from start to finish in one session: from zero to one hundred percent with a total duration of 73 minutes. So, in the album, three main lines are closely intertwined: the inner world of feelings and memories of the character, the world of virtual reality created by a super computer, and the real material non-industrial world and its society, manipulated by gadgets and social media.

• Tracks 42.88% Electric God and 68.95% Leviathans talk about the control over society by the world elite, the songs trace the lines about fratricidal wars, the mechanisms of using human resources, turning people into zombies through the screens of TVs and computers.
  

• As for the world of dreams and feelings of the hero - everything is simple: song 63.11% The Metaphysics of Love is full of kindness, harmony and mystery, about the most important thing that is assigned to a person in his life.
  

• The track 31.89% Resonate can be attributed to the relaxation mantra. I would also like to talk about the rest of the tracks, but all this will not change the fact that the main world of our album is the musical world, it is multifaceted, complex, beautiful and anxious, there will be jazz, symphonic, rock and electronic sounds, complex rhythms and chords. From composition to composition, according to the percentages, along with the main character, you will live the entire album and the procedure of transferring consciousness to the server. This was the meaning, the meaning of immersion in comprehension and participation. I guarantee it will leave a residue. The peculiarity of our puzzle album is that it is suitable for repeated listening and studying. Overhearing Soul Transfer, I still discover new moments for myself, new thoughts visit me, I analyse why we did it that way. Whether we managed to create something in the format of rock opera."
  

Using non-tradtional metal instruments can sometimes be considered unorthodox (in this case a saxophone and trumpet). What gave you the inspiration to include said instruments? How was it working with Raul Sööt and Allan Järve? Can we call the album 'Avant-Garde' or 'Progressive Jazz Metal'?

Pavel (guitars):

     "I expected such a question... creating music for "Soul Transfer", initially I did not think about jazz instruments, as well as about violins. The album was at the stage of mixing... there were a lot of instrumental parties and it did not sound boring. But one evening, when the light at the end of the tunnel was already close, I went to the shower. Standing under the hot water, I thought: damn! I want to add something else, why not the jazz sounds? After two beers I opened my computer, sketched out my ideas, and messaged one saxophonist. In the morning I got a negative answer from him. I was quite mad and decided to make a last effort. I wrote a message to one of the best musicians in Estonia - my former harmony teacher and tenor saxophonist Raul Sööt. Next morning he answered me that it will be interesting for him to take a part in this project.

     After that I was thinking about trumpet. Then I messaged to Allan Järve, who was my friend at the Viljandi Academy of Culture. He quickly came to my studio and we recorded a trumpet for two tracks in an hour. Raul Sööt took the task very responsibly. He recorded his parts at the studio with Cristo Cotkas, there were several sessions. When I mixed the album, including their parts, I realized that this is exactly what I would like to hear in the end. The other members of the Emphasis were shocked. They listened to the songs several times and said that it sounds cool, albeit unusual. Avant-garde it or not – let the reviewers to decide :) But for me this record is exactly what I always wanted to record, even at those times, when in our group were only three members - me, Katya and Vsevolod. Ten years passed and we did it! I want to say a big thank you to all the musicians who shared this work with us - Raul Sööt, Allan Jarve, my friend from Moscow - Oleg Lutskevich, and also my colleague Julia Mets and my student Alexander Smirnov."

Assuming there will be a tour to support the new album, are there any countries you would want to target? Will there be a music video released in support?

Anna (vocals):

     "Currently, we don't plan any tour activities. Our album release party took place in Rockstar's club in Tallinn on April 14. The most of the songs we played for the really first time in our lives and we really enjoyed that! The crowd was amazing. We decided to focus on promotional stuff. Yes, we have some great plans about music video .. but let's see! :)"


For metal fans travelling to Tallinn and wider Estonia, what sights / attractions could you recommend seeing?

Katya (bass):

     "Rockstar's club – the oldest rock club in town, actually! Hard Rock Laager Open Air, of course. If you want to discover more, I totally recommend you to visit Narva, home town of three of our musicians, and got Art Club "Ro-Ro“. Believe me, there's really special atmosphere :)"


What plans does the band have for the rest of the year that have not already been indicated earlier?

Katya (bass): 

     "We are planning to open our online-shop, finally! There you can find our musical stuff and some really cool merchandise. As Anna said, we also have some plans about music video, but.... now we're not ready to discuss it. However, GMA will be the first source who'll get a link ;)"

Anna (vocals): "In autumn, we plan to play more shows. This spring was really hard for us!"
Max (guitars): "And we also plan to continue with the new material."
Pavel (guitars): "... 3,5 of the songs done :D"


Are there any greetings you wish to send out to fans, friends, family, etc?

All: "We wish you to visit more live shows and support local underground scene!"

https://www.facebook.com/Emphasis.Estonia/

Croatia has had it's fair share of rich metal music history, however it has only recently spawned it's first ever Pirate Metal band; the genre itself popularized by Scotland's Alestorm in 2004 although it's antecedents originates back with Germany's Running Wild releasing the album 'Under Jolly Roger' in 1987. GMA caught up with Marko Vučković (drummer and band manager) otherwise known as The Admiral and looked into what makes these scallywags tick, Croatia's pirate history and what the Croatian Metal scene is like.

Could you give us a brief history of Rum Smugglers, how you started out, etc.

     "We started as a duo back in 2011, playing a variety of blackened thrash with pirate themed lyrics. We soon recruited the bassist and the rhythm guitarist, to further explain; we regularly switched those band members due to differences in styles and then not being able to comply to the regime of the band. In 2015 we released our demo, 'Hemp Rope Justice', and later on found the new addition to the band, our keyboardist, thus switching to a more folk / power metal method in our songs. He left in the Autumn of 2017, being with us only for a short time, around 9 months. We re-recorded our single during the time he spent with us, and after his departure we are currently trying to employ two violinists. Hopefully they will prove to be better band members then most of the aforementioned."


Presuming one of your influences is Alestorm, what are you aiming to bring to the Pirate Metal movement?

     "One of our influences was Alestorm in the beginning but, we grew out of the cliche that everyone thinks they are the only pirate metal band that exists. We also take influences from Skyclad, Running Wild and Swashbuckle, we are trying to freshen up the scene with our more 'thrashy powery' approach on the subject at hand."


What is the Croatian Metal scene like? Tell us about the festivals, media, venues, bands, etc

      "It's a bit poor at the moment, there are some great bands here, but everyone's focus is mainly on tribute bands and on some weird avant-garde and experimental type of music, thus disregarding the metal scene as it was a few years back. There are some great venues like OKC Palach in Rijeka, and Insomnia in Slavonski Brod, Epic club in Osijek and Kset and Močvara in Zagreb. The Croatian metal scene is still strong though, pushing out bands like Flesh, Frozen Forest, SpeedClaw, Uma Thurman, Decomposing Entity and many others. Just type in Croatia on the Encyclopaedia Metallum website and hope for the best, and check out YouTube links with the same search.-"


You say you combine gypsy melodies, where do you get your influences from?

     "Yea, gypsy melodies, well we are on the crossroads between the Mediterranean and the eastern front, so we get our influences from both sides of folk melodies and folk culture."

Perhaps they might be from the bygone cosmonaut era, or they could be the humanoid form of the daleks, whatever you make of Russia's (or in their case an extra-terrestrial planet) Sunwalter one thing is for certain... they're clearly onto something. Mixing together the elegant beauty of Symphonic Power Metal with the feel for alien and space topics... you read that right... let's call it 'Xenology metal' for the hell of it.

Having released their latest cosmic opus 'Alien Hazard' it was only fitting to go completely 'Men In Black' on them and torture them with klingon... beam me up Scotty

What does the authorities / government think of metal music, has there been any problems? Have your parents mentioned about rock / metal existing in the days of the USSR? What (if anything) can you tell us about said music in the USSR? (perhaps a question for Myutel?)

     Myutel: "Is it about the Universal Space Systems Reunion (USSR)? Well, that's the union of planetary mining systems, isn't it? They united after the defeat in the civil war, that had broken out after the workers demanded an improvement of their life comfort and additional compensation for hard labour conditions. There was that, what's-his-name… Ah! I remember! Zchee GeVarro!

     As for the music… The government pays too little attention to it. On the contrary, metal and other resources are top priority for them, that's the case. We try to get ourselves out as far as we can. But we feel equal to it!"


One question for Sol (Olga Salikhova), do you feel females are becoming more accepted in metal music? Do you receive any discrimination for being a female metal musician?

     Olga Sol: "On my planet Sedna, other rules apply. There are males and females, but there is no discussion about equality and, definitely, about discrimination. Just everyone mind their own business. For you, Earthmen, it can look like Utopia, but for us it’s normal and remains so for ages. So, I don’t see here any problems in working with boys. They are cute!"


So guys, what made you decide to sing about aliens and space, assuming some of you are avid astronomers?

     Alexio: "First, it was just an interesting topic. Because I like sci-fi stories, films, books and computer games. Songs about Satan and demons are typical of black metal genre, elves and dwarfs are hymned by power metal guys, and the history of the Earth itself changes every year… But space with its enigmas is quite original. And for me it’s a great honour to dedicate songs to the Universe."


What plans have you got for the year ahead and into 2018?

     "We can't tell exactly, because our Grey alien friends arrange all our creative plans. But according to some information, we will engage some additional earthmen for our next saga.

     Miran: I have already received a lot of encrypted information from outer space and every day I translate it into musical form. So we have some new material to share with Eafthmen and even now we can say that it’s very extraterrestrial and metal."


Finally do you have any greetings, thank you's you wish to send out?

     "Thank you for the interest in space and our music. We hope we could find a place for landing somewhere near UK soon, so be prepared for alienization! May the universe be with you."

http://www.facebook.com/SUNWALTER.band
http://www.sunwalter.ru/

Hailing from the arctic nation of the north, Finland, Amberian Dawn have been wandering the icy landscape for the past decade and despite having parted ways with numerous musicians along the way including vocalist Heidi Parviainen (who now fronts Dark Sarah), guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen and sadly the late Tommi Kuri, Amberian Dawn are leading the Finnish Metal front-line with newfound renaissance and oomph in their stride. 

Celebrating their landmark achievement, the Neo-Classical Power Metal outfit fronted by Capri (Päivi Virkkunen) since 2012 have shown no signs of stopping and as they have recently completed their first ever headline tour, it was only right for them to be grilled by means of our interview interrogation. Tuomas Seppälä stood up to the task of giving the accounts of Amberian Dawn's past, present and future....

Spain has a very vibrant metal scene that sometimes gets overlooked when it comes to what bands emerge from the sun-soaked nation, so when the Symphonic Metal 'forajido' group Diabulus In Musica joined up with Finnish Neo-Classical Metal exports Amberian Dawn, it was only right for GMA to grill this five-piece ensemble and interrogate them as if they were our amigos (of course they are!).

Having been around for a decade and only two founding members remaining in keyboardist / growler Gorka Elso and vocalist Zuberoa Aznárez, it was the latter who stepped up to the plate to share their thoughts on their tour, the critique of their latest album "Dirge For The Archons", music, politics and the much 'beloved' Eurovision...

It's not uncommon for a metal band to fall into a sub-genre that is totally unique, not only in terms of lyrical content or sound, but by the sub-genre name itself. So when Finland's Whispered announced details for their forthcoming album "Metsutan - Songs Of The Void", the slight-head turn became imminent after the first word. Why is a Finnish Metal band using a Japanese word in their album title? Turns out they're a 'Samurai Metal' band, well musically they're Melodic Death / Power Metal tinged with Eastern 'Oriental' Folk music influences, but we prefer the new genre tag as a way to describe them.

They might be fashioning blades, experts at martial arts, or masters at kanji calligraphy, but they're not resistant to our interrogation methods. Sadly no sake came between us or the band....

Vocalist / guitarist Jouni Valjakka and guitarist Mikko Mattila entered the interrogation chamber.

Our latest interrogation focuses on the Neo-Classical Power Metal outfit from Finland, Amberian Dawn. Having released their latest music video 'Fame & Gloria' (featured above), it was about time we caught up with the quintet as they celebrate their tenth anniversary this year (happy birthday guys!)

We talk about Eurovision and their thoughts about it, insinuating a possible future participation - if they could win it for Finland like Lordi did, then lightning would have struck twice. Their latest album "Innuendo" also receives a cooking as we find out what simmers underneath the latest effort, we ask how the change of vocal duties have affected the band as a whole and how they cope with the stress of touring.

Tuomas Seppälä (below second from right) gave us the lowdown.

Following on from our recent reviewal of Galician Power Proggers Talesien and their latest album "El Silencio" we thought it would be best to deliver the Spanish inquisition and put the flaming tongs on this sextet to explore the past, present and future of Talesien, but be warned, there may be blood.

So guys, how long has the band been going, how did the band form and what does the band name mean?

Talesien has celebrated just our 10th anniversary in 2012. The band name comes from the third long play "The Book of Taliesyn" by Deep Purple, but we decided to change it a little, the second part of the title specifically in order to avoid coincidences and also because there were other bands which had chosen this name too. So…

What inspired you to play the style of music you play?

We feel that we are inspired by every single metal song that we listen to in whatever style. We listen to Bon Jovi but we listen to Slayer too. We are open minded people in that sense. We only search for good songs, it doesn´t matter if we are talking about Thrash, Power, Heavy, Progressive, Death Metal, etc.

What is your local town / city scene like?

There are a lot of bands playing different styles, we live in a very rich land in that sense. Unfortunately we also live in the north-western corner in Spain and it´s too difficult to spread our work and especially playing live music around the country because of the distance. Also it´s a social question, the people who live around us consider our music as something underground and marginal.

Have you played alongside any big bands, if so who? If not who would you like to play alongside?

We have been playing alongside many different bands throughout our history, bands such as DIO, Cradle of Filth, Riot, Marky Ramone, In Extremo, Lost Horizon, etc and we would be very pleased to play alongside Dream Theater, Symphony X, Kamelot, Evergrey, Circus Maximus, Seventh Wonder, Iron Maiden and many more…

Has the band got any plans for 2013?

Keep playing and to continue with our brand new long play presentation in places where we still haven´t gone and also to start to compose a new one asap.

Finally any thank you's, hello's and any other messages you wish to say?

First of all we want to give you many thanks for being there for your support and for giving us this opportunity and also a big thank you to our fans for keeping our spirits high

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Talesien-Oficial/326397790752670
http://talesien.com/

Global Metal Apocalypse caught up with Eluveitie frontman Chrigel Glanzmann and spoke about what Eluveitie have been upto, the band's past, current affairs in general and what the band plans on doing in 2012 and beyond. Interview is below.

Last year Global Metal Apocalypse caught up with Alestorm and in particular frontman Christopher Bowes, we just found it in the archives and we now present it to the public, interview is below.