Interviews

Welsh nu-metal/ ragga-punk heroes Skindred raised a few eyebrows when they were announced for Bloodstock, which is traditionally an ‘extreme metal’ festival. For most: this was a great addition to the line-up being part of the metal family, and being festival favourites from Boomtown to Download and everywhere in between.  Some Bloodstock purists weren’t sure of their place between Hell ...

Making a name for herself as a slide guitarist with a unique sound all her own and moving from a solid blues rock base to a mainstream classic rock sound with her latest album Stolen Hearts, Finland’s Erja Lyytinen is someone to keep your eye on. With a September UK tour imminent that shouldn’t be hard, but to discover what’s ...

One of the biggest names announced early on for Bloodstock 2017 was one of the big four, thrash metal legends Megadeth. Through ups and downs over the years they are still coming out strong, the best evidence of this is their 2016 album Dystopia, which got a huge critical and commercial success. We were lucky enough to sit down with seasoned ...

BLACK STAR RIDERS were formed in 2012 by four members of Thin Lizzy – Scott Gorham, Ricky Warwick, Damon Johnson and bassist Marco Mendoza – plus former Megadeth and Alice Cooper drummer Jimmy DeGrasso. The band’s debut album All Hell Breaks Loose” was released in 2013, and attained universal approval with a follow-up album, The Killer Instinct released in February ...

Sadly it’s another year over for Bloodstock Open Air 2017, but we can relive the weekend over-and-over again with our hightlights, many interviews, and full coverage in the next issue of RAMzine. First up is an audio interview with Havok lead guitarist Reece Scruggs. Reece talks about their Bloodstock set compared to other European festivals, as well as his badge ...

Following a premature end to his World Superbike career, James Toseland decided to focus on his first true love – music. After parting company with his first band, Crash, he embarked on a band project known, simply, as TOSELAND. The band’s first single ‘Life is Beautiful’ was released in April 2013 and later it was announced that they had been ...

MASSIVE are a volatile bunch of ever-intoxicated macho rockers from Melbourne, Australia, who formed an alliance in 2012 that seems fuelled by adrenaline, weak lager and a determination to party harder than everyone else they meet. They’ve been known to travel thousands of miles, sometimes across baking deserts, to get to gigs. Inevitably, when they arrive, things get hot and ...

English hard rock band QUIREBOYS have been ultra-busy releasing an album a year since signing with ‘Off Yer Rocka’ and releasing Beautiful Curse in 2013. And in between a teaser EP expected this autumn and a fresh studio album perhaps in 2018, the lads are set to release a collection of iconic blues tunes on an album titled White Trash ...

Bloodstock weekend is upon us! As always, RAMzine are on site. First up are Galway folk-metal band  -Na Cruithne.  We talk to guitarist Rónán Ó ‘hArrachtáin about winning M2TM,  being a folk-metal band…and  a lot of swearing! … How does it feel to play Bloodstock 2017? It’s been amazing. This will be the icing on the cake for a great year ...

The last in our interviews leading up to this year’s epic Bloodstock Festival. The band in question are melodic death-metallers -Shrouded.  We spoke to vocalist/guitarist Shane Hughes about winning the Belfast M2TM, what it is like to play Bloodstock, and his influences. … How does it feel to play Bloodstock 2017? It’s totally surreal. It’s been a lifelong dream of ...