Features

Up the Hammers: An Interview with Manolis Karazeris

Manolis Karazeris is one of the main driving forces in Greece’s metal scene. Not only has he been responsible for organizing Greece’s premiere traditional metal festival since 2006, Up the Hammers, but he has also been involved in some of the scene’s best bands. Manolis played guitars for a decade in epic heavy metal band Battleroar before transitioning to play guitars in Dexter Ward. He also played guitars for Finger of Scorn and Heathens from the North, Cirith Ungol and Heavy Load cover bands respectively, which played a role in helping reunite the old school legends.

Interviews

The Reign of Starbreaker: An Interview with Traveler’s Matt Ries

Hailing from Canada, Traveler have just debuted their self-titled album on Gates of Hell Records. They started as the solo project of Matt Ries (Hrom, Gatekrashör) and after a kick-ass, well-received demo last year, a full line-up was put together to record the album. Their 2018 demo was stuck on repeat for me and I haven’t been this excited by a debut in years! I connected with founding member Matt Ries to talk about the new album and what his journey has been like since forming the band.