Wow, almost an entire Monday without an update. Well, I assure you I have a very good excuse. The fact is that I started a new/old job today. I went back to work for my old employer in a new position. First day on the job “The Man” had me bustin’ my ass for 10 hours.

With that said, there is also this to say: May 31st will be my last day with Metal Martyr. It’s been a fun [almost] two years of bitching, ranting, misspellings, grammar butchering, hatred, (sometimes senseless) negativity and most important of all interacting with readers …read more

 
Swedish death metal super-group (I hate that title) Bloodbath has made a statement that due to Mikael Akerfeldt and Matin Axenrot being occupied with Opeth, there will be no appearances with Bloodbath at this summer’s European metal festivals.
“Unfortunately, we’ve to announce that BLOODBATH must pass this summer’s festival season. Mike [Mikael Åkerfeldt] and Axe [Martin 'Axe' Axenrot] have both confirmed they’re too occupied with OPETH and cannot commit to any live shows with BLOODBATH until 2010, the earliest. Recruiting live replacements for Mike and Axe has been considered, but is right now not going to be possible for technical …read more

Mikael Akerfeldt seems like a pretty down to earth and collected dude. I suppose to make the music that Opeth does, you have to have an immense amount of patience. I like In Flames Sense Of Purpose, but it didn’t have the effect that Opeth’s Watershed did on me. Up until about a year ago I was mainly in to American and British heavy metal. I knew of a few bands here and there from Sweden, Germany and such places but I never really pushed to explore until I started writing for Metal Martyr. I heard the names Opeth …read more

So before the Opeth show I had a chance to sit down with Fredrik Akesson currently of Opeth and formerly of Arch Enemy. Really cool guy and a great guitar player. My interview was scheduled for 5:30 to 5:45 so I left the hosue about 4:30 because it takes about a half hour to get to the venue. I didn’t take in to account that it was Friday and traffic along the 440 belt-line in central NC was going to be busy. I called Jimmy, the tour manager about 10 minutes before my interview and told him I was …read more

Friday’s Opeth show at The Lincoln Theater was sold out. I got there about an hour and a half before doors to get an interview with Fredrik Akkeson of Opeth (I’ll transcribe that and get it up in a day or so). There were ticket holders and non-ticket holders waiting to get in so the first hour or so there was not that many people inside yet. After that, when they started letting non-ticket holders in the door it filled up fast.

Metalsucks.net writer Vince Neilstein had a chance to interview Opeth front man Mikael Åkerfeldt and guitarist Fredrik Åkesson about a month ago in NYC when they were on tour with High On Fire and Nachtmystium who were recently booted from the tour. They talked about Metallica’s Death Magnetic and touring again. I’ll be interviewing Fredrik Åkesson this Friday in Raleigh, NC and hopefully I’ll get some good shots of the show as well. Here is a few bits and pieces from the interview:
How’s the chemistry with the other bands? You guys have probably toured with High on Fire before …read more

Bloodbath are an extreme metal supergroup from Stockholm, Sweden. Formed in 1998 with a mutual fascination for the glory days of death metal, the band’s line-up has changed and evolved throughout the years, featuring the elite of Swedish metal.
The next chapter of this brutal saga arrives on October 6th 2008 with the release of the new studio album, The Fathomless Mastery.