Author: Garren Ustel
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Interview: Mani Mostofi of Racetraitor
Originally active – musically and politically – in the 1990s,Chicago hardcore band Racetraitor re-formed in 2016. Earlier this year, Hellbound contributor Garren Ustel had the chance to speak with Racetraitor vocalist Mani Mostofi. Their conversation unfolds below. Hellbound: When I first encountered Racetraitor you were a different animal altogether, musically at least. The songs were…
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Incendiary – interview with Brendan Garrone
Hellbound’s Garren Ustel interviewed Incendiary vocalist Brendan Garrone earlier this year. Check out their conversation below. Hellbound: How did you first get into the hardcore scene? Was it more old-school or new-school stuff that drew you in? Brendan: My exposure to hardcore was really driven by the local scene on Long Island. I got into…
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Origin – interview with vocalist Jason Keyser
Q&A with ORIGIN’s Jason Keyser Hellbound: You guys play at some ridiculous tempos. Does this ever affect your ability to follow the music for lyrical performances? Jason Keyser: Not at all, this is why we do what we do. If we couldn’t keep up with the pace we would pack it in and quit.…
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Interview with Matt Hollenberg of JOHN FRUM
Musical collective JOHN FRUM released A Stirring In The Noos, their debut album, this past May via Relapse Records. Hellbound’s Garren Ustel had a chance to ask guitarist Matt Hollenberg some questions. Read below for what transpired. JOHN FRUM is: Matt Hollenberg (John Zorn, Cleric)/guitar Eli Litwin (Intensus/Deveykus/Knife The Glitter)/drums Derek Rydquist (Ex-The Faceless)/vocals Liam…
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Madrost – The Essence of Time Matches No Flesh
Throw those horns, whip your locks and hail the dark lord himself… or at least that’s what Madrost‘s latest crusher, the appropriately titled The Essence of Time Matches No Flesh will have you doing halfway through track one. Having already released two other albums in the last half decade these guys seem pretty on point…
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Virulent Depravity – Fruit of the Poisoned Tree
Climbing, spiral riffs that seem to ascend into the heavens are what greets you, the listener, upon first hitting play on Virulent Depravity‘s latest output, the excellent and epic Fruit of the Poisoned Tree. Possibly the only band that is capable of being compared and contrasted against the sadly now-defunct Spawn of Possession, Virulent Depravity…
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Contrarian – To Perceive is to Suffer
Contrarian is a four man wrecking crew, a technical quartet who weave epic songs in the vein of late-era Death albums (with the help of drumming phenomenon George Kollias, known for his role in the infamous Nile) and Cynic. The epic masterpiece The Sound of Perseverance comes to mind when I sit down and start to…
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Decrepit Birth – Axis Mundi
Axis Mundi is certain to become a staple of the death metal genre and a classic of the scene, I have no doubt about this. Decrepit Birth‘s 2017 output is very possibly the best death metal album of the year and without question it is undoubtedly my favourite release of the year. After the awesome…
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Decapitated – Anticult
Decapitated‘s career has encompassed major ups and huge downs, including the tragic death of original drummer and founding member Witold “Vitek” Kieltyka. Kieltyka was only 23 years old when he passed away due to serious head injuries caused by a severe accident that involved Decapitated’s tour bus and a large transport truck carrying wood on…
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Ingurgitating Oblivion – Vision Wallows in Symphonies of Light
This album proved to be a huge but welcome surprise for me, both in its scope and presentation. I have no previous experience with Ingurgitating Oblivion but I do enjoy the technical death metal genre a lot: it constantly pushes boundaries and out of all the extreme music styles it seems to be the subgenre…