Can you tell us about the origin of the band name, a history of the band and a little bit about the various members? Are you all from the same area? How did you get together as a band?

Well, since Mizarates is a one-man band… This story is just my story 🙂 I started to write music probably 15 years ago when I was a kid, but it all was a quite random process – 30 seconds parts written in GuitarPro, you know… I have never learned to play guitar “in a right way” with a teacher, regular exercises and a metronome, so my skills were far from perfect to play complex music like metal, so I was too shy to join an already existing metal band 🙂

Only two years ago, being 26 years old, I finally decided to create a full length album. I bought a new guitar, pro-level audio-interface and the real story of Mizarates has started.

Ah, about the name. It was invented 15 years ago when I was just trying to create a well-sound never existing word 🙂

Who are your favourite artists/bands and how have they influenced your own sound?

It’s a very tricky question, because my favourites are changing each year. I guess that Machine Head is the band who formed a fundament for my style of riffing and mixing melodic parts with aggressive breakdowns. I like to use the following technique to polish my style – If I found a band with a really cool and unique sound, I’m trying to write a few riffs in this style. You will never get the same result as the original, instead, it will be an interesting mix of your and their styles. An exercise – could you find a song on my album that was inspired by Loathe and the one that was inspired by Vildhjarta? 🙂

Did you always have the ambition to be a musician and in a band or did you originally have other plans?

I never had the ambitions to be a professional musician, but always wanted to create music. My full time job is far away from the music industry and I’m not sure I will ever transform my hobby into a profession with regular releases and every year tour 🙂 But who knows!

What songs or albums are on your current playlist?

At the moment at my playlists you could find Loathe, Spiritbox, Vildhjarta, Vola, many random bands with “they have only one good song”, some local non-metal bands like “Помни Имя Свое” and several songs from my last album, haha.

Do you sing in the shower?

Nope, haha. I usually sing when there is no one at home – at the moment my vocal is far from perfect (and not everyone around is happy with a growling!)

Do you have any plans for the band for this year and into next year?

I guess this year I will just get some rest, because creating a full-length album completely on my own was a huge challenge that I didn’t expect. I just want to start learning vocals to do a second release for a wider audience. Maybe at the beginning of next year I will do a cover to Rammstein – the band that led me into metal music a long time ago.

Do you currently have any new songs/albums ready to be released?

No, just a several 30 seconds demos I usually start from

If you could play at any venue in the world where would you choose?

I don’t know to be honest, as a bedroom guitarist it’s hard to imagine me performing even in some small club, haha. Let’s say it will be Brixton Academy, London!

Do you have a favourite album? If so, what is it?

At the moment it’s a Loathe – I Let It In And It Took Everythings. It’s a whole new level of music in terms of songwriting, harmony, layering, complexity and heaviness. Usually when you are describing a band like that you expect to hear a “music for musicians” but that’s another case – so many bangers and hits on this album. Really impressive job.

Do you have any guilty pleasure songs/albums?

Maybe just “Элли на маковом поле” – it’s a cozy russian band with melancholic lyrics that I love to listen in a moment of sadness 🙂

If you were putting together the greatest show on earth, who would be playing?

Let’s just combine all the guys from my typical playlist from the previous question somewhere in a small club with well-designed acoustic 🙂

Can you remember the first album you bought with your own money? What was it and do you still have it?

It was a Rammstein – Volkerball DVD and I’m not really sure it was a legal copy of the disk, haha, because at those times we didn’t have a lot of legal music distributions. But it was awesome to see Rammstein guys with those black guitars with flamethrowers on it, a truly inspirational experience for little me those days 🙂

As your fans will be reading this, is there any message you would like to send out to them?

For me as a beginner artist it’s really important to have some feedback. It could be a positive review, critical review, any type of comments without direct abuse, haha. It helps me a lot with understanding what should I do next and gives me motivation to proceed in general.

Finally, let us know all your social media sites so your fans, old and new, can find and follow/like you!

Main social media where I’m trying to post even small updates is IG: https://www.instagram.com/mizarates.music/

I use Youtube for guitar playthroughs:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWY5WPLMKil8uOr3vg3ZokA

For just following new releases you could subscribe to bandcamp (https://mizarates.bandcamp.com/) or any other streaming platform

We, at The Metal Asylum, would like to thank you for your time. Is there is anything further that you would like to add?

Thank you for letting me talk to you! Keep pushing and see you next time with my new release, this time with vocals on it!

This interview is purely the property of The Metal Asylum

Can you tell us about the origin of the band name, a history of the band and a little bit about the various members?  

Kev: The band/project formed in 2021 and KK stands for Kev Korpse, Verkefni is Icelandic for ‘Project’.  I’m obsessed with Iceland!  I’m the band’s vocalist, bass player, synths and I also record and produce everything.  The other half of KKV is Mark who is our lead and rhythm guitarist.

Are you all from the same area? How did you get together as a band? 

Kev: We are both based in Wrexham and we worked together in an office for 6 years.  I’ve been trying get some sort of music project off the ground ever since 2015 and eventually we recorded our first (cover) song last year and now we are writing our own material.

Who are your favourite artists/bands and how have they influenced your own sound?

Mark: Bands like Big Country & The Rolling Stones, helped inspire me to play chords & focus on rhythm guitar whereas, Eric Clapton & Slash made me learn to play lead guitar. I improvise a lot & from this create my own tunes, riffs & solos & I like to think, to a certain extent, my sound has its own identity. 

Kev: Honestly, too many to list.  My heroes though… Toyah, Steve Strange and Kurt Cobain.  Current bands such as Kælan Mikla and Diavol Strâin have been quite influential.

Did you always have the ambition to be a musician and in a band or did you originally have other plans? 

Mark: Since the age of 18 being an international rock star has always been the day-dream. ;o). (Even now!) 

Kev: Yes always! When I was in school, I would bring in a new song I’d recorded during our Music lesson every week!  I also once recorded vocals for a song in the same recording studio that K-Klass used – they had one hit in the 90’s and were also from the Wrexham/Chester area.

What songs or albums are on your current playlist? 

Mark: Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, Deep Purple’s Greatest Hits, Rage Against the Machine’s Evil Empire, Lovebites’ In the Beginning Best of 2017–2021, Smith / Kotzen, Band-Maid’s World Domination, Greta Van Fleet, Alter Bridge.  

Kev: Live Fast or Die by Maid of Ace, Ever Crashing by SRSQ, The Buried Storm by Darkher, Miss Gendered by Lizette Lizette, Kiss of Death by IC3PEAK.  Also, Kraków Loves Adana cover of Bon Jovi’s ‘It’s My Life’ is superb!

Do you sing in the shower?

 Kev: Not singing but random cat sounds now and then.

Do you have any plans for the band for this year and into next year? 

Kev: Just trying to get our name out there really.  We’ll be exploring different genres and there may also be some collaborations as well as some solo stuff.

Do you currently have any new songs/albums ready to be released? 

Kev: No plans to release any albums, we’re just releasing singles and music videos in between our busy daily lives. We’re hoping to release our next single in September and another before the end of the year.  

If you could play at any venue in the world where would you choose? 

Mark: Wembley Stadium. 

Do you have a favourite album? If so, what is it? 

Mark: Guns n’ Roses –Appetite for Destruction. 

Kev: Oh gawd!  So many to choose from!  I suppose it has to be The Blue Meaning by Toyah.

Do you have any guilty pleasure songs/albums? 

Mark: Les Ketchup – The Ketchup Song, Abba – Summer Night City, Adele – Set Fire to the Rain. 

Kev: I’ve always been quite a fan of Dollar (not even joking).

If you were putting together the greatest show on earth, who would be playing? 

Mark: Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Guns N’ Roses (1987 era), Van Halen (original line up), Alter Bridge, Big Country, Pearl Jam, Blondie. 

Kev: Nirvana, Kate Bush, Björk, Cyndi Lauper, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Sex Pistols, Stevie Nicks.

Can you remember the first album you bought with your own money? What was it and do you still have it? 

Mark: Reckless – Bryan Adams. 

Kev: I can’t actually remember the first one I bought but I do recall buying Licensed To Ill by The Beastie Boys and getting a disgusted look off some lady in the shop as they’d recently had bad press (front page news as well!)

As your fans will be reading this, is there any message you would like to send out to them? 

Kev: I think we’d just like to thank them for their ongoing support by sharing our posts, videos and generally spreading the word.

Finally, let us know all your social media sites so your fans, old and new, can find and follow/like you! 

Kev: All of our social media can be accessed via kkv.me.uk

We, at The Metal Asylum, would like to thank you for your time. Is there is anything further that you would like to add? 

Kev: We’d both like to thank you for giving us this opportunity and for all the shows you have provided for us all.

This interview is solely the property of The Metal Asylum

Can you tell us about the origin of the band name, a history of the band and a little bit about the various members?

The band is just myself (Brian) handling vocals/ guitars/ synths, and Ken on drums/ background vocals. We’ve made 3 albums under this band name, and have been playing together for more than 20 years. The band name itself comes from the contrazoom film technique, which represent a kind of rude awakening or horrible realization. The “Mixtapes” part is all about trying to be musically unpredictable and varied, like a mixtape.

Are you all from the same area? How did you get together as a band?

We’re both from Texas, and we met like many bandmates: by working in a restaurant. That restaurant was TGI Fridays.

Who are your favourite artists/bands and how have they influenced your own sound?

For drums, Ken loves guys like John Dolmayan (SOAD), Stewart Copeland from The Police, Phil Collins. We love David Bowie, Faith No More, modern pop music, John Williams, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Radiohead, Prince, Elvis Costello, Kimbra. There’s so much good music; we don’t know how to ignore it.

Did you always have the ambition to be a musician and in a band or did you originally have other plans?

We both actually have careers outside of music. We do this because we love it, and can’t stop making more.

What songs or albums are on your current playlist?

Wish You Were Here, new Afghan Whigs, Elder’s album Omens, new Demi Lovato.

Do you sing in the shower?

Not that much, but definitely in the car.

Do you have any plans for the band for this year and into next year?

We’re hoping we get the attention of an influential dj or playlist maker who falls in love with album, and doesn’t stop playing it until the world embraces it. Our story will then be made into a movie.

Do you currently have any new songs/albums ready to be released?

We just released our new album, OVAL, in June. We’re very proud of it.

If you could play at any venue in the world where would you choose?

Wembley. That’s the peak.

Do you have a favourite album? If so, what is it?

There are so many good ones, but the one that opened up my mind to what you could get away with in heavy music was King For A Day, Fool For a Lifetime by Faith No More. It just had everything I could imagine, somehow packaged as a consistent product. Most fans tend to declare Angel Dust as the best FNM album, and I understand, but this one just speaks to me.

Do you have any guilty pleasure songs/albums?

All the in your face, girl-led pop of today is some of my favourite music ever recorded. I can’t even say I feel guilty about any of this stuff anymore. All music is a little silly if you get down to it. That’s why musicians tend to be on the funny side. Because they’re usually dorks. I would know.

If you were putting together the greatest show on earth, who would be playing?

Faith No More, Radiohead, David Bowie, Kimbra, Weyes Blood, Queen, Prince, The Smiths, Metric, Genesis, The Police, System of a Down, and The Crash Test Dummies.

Can you remember the first album you bought with your own money? What was it and do you still have it?

Probably Love at First Sting, by The Scorpions. I definitely still own the album, because you never know when you’re just going to need to hear Big City Nights in your car.

As your fans will be reading this, is there any message you would like to send out to them?

Thanks for listening, and keep trying new things. And then tell people about the good new things you tried.

Finally, let us know all your social media sites so your fans, old and new, can find and follow/like you!

https://www.facebook.com/contrazoommixtapes

Tweets by MixtapesThe

We, at The Metal Asylum, would like to thank you for your time. Is there is anything further that you would like to add?

Thanks very much for speaking with us, and keep taking metal to new and unexplored places!

This interview is purely the property of The Metal Asylum

Can you tell us about the origin of the band name?

Being a solo hard rock artist out of New Orleans, I knew I didn’t want a traditional band name because I didn’t want to portray myself as a collective when I’m really all by myself.  At the same time, using my real name seemed bland.  I’m half Persian and half white, and Kevin the White seemed a bit Lord of the Rings, so I went with Kevin the Persian.

Who are your favourite bands and how have they influenced your own sound?

Even though I’m not nearly as heavy, I think that thrash metal influences how I write songs in that I tend to focus on somewhat intricate rhythm guitar riffs with overlaid melodies.  And much like thrash, vocals tend to play second fiddle to the instrumentation.  Even the ballads on my album I would say draw inspiration from the way thrash bands approach their slower songs…classic examples being Fade to Black by Metallica or The Legacy by Testament.  While my roots are in thrash, these days my favorite bands are Type O Negative and Killing Joke, whose influence can be heard in the amount of reverb and layering on Southern Dissonance.

Did you always have the ambition to be a musician and in a band or did you originally have other plans?

Since I started playing guitar at 13, I knew that I wanted music to be a part of my life.  But unfortunately that dream was temporarily derailed by a life of being a lawyer and business owner, for which I did hard time for about 15 years.  My mother’s passing in 2019 got me feeling like my days are numbered, however, and I got myself straight again.  I haven’t yet completely weened myself off being a lawyer, but I’m happy to say that I spend more of my hours doing music than law these days.

What songs or albums are on your current playlist?

I just finished reading Tony McCarroll’s book about his stint as the founding drummer in Oasis, which has put me on a British rock kick lately.  I don’t do playlists and only listen to full albums.  At this moment in time I am jamming to Liam Gallagher’s new album C’Mon You Know, Oasis’ classic Definitely Maybe, and Stone Roses’ Second Coming, but that will surely change in a week or two.

Do you sing in the shower?

Sure, but more of a hum…the shower is a good place to experiment with vocal melodies and lyrics.

Do you have any plans for the band for this year and into next year?

Right now I’m working on expanding and improving my solo acoustic live set.  Eventually that’ll morph into a full band set, but right now I’d like to keep it low key.  I’m also working on a few new songs, and once a song starts coming together, it’s a train that’s hard for me to stop, so I hope to get some new material recorded in the next several months.

Do you currently have any new songs/albums ready to be released?

My debut album Southern Dissonance was released earlier this year and as I mentioned I’ve got a few songs in the oven.

If you could play at any venue in the world where would you choose?

The Cotton Bowl in Dallas because I saw U2 there in 1997 and it was one of the best spectacles I’ve ever been to.  I’m also generally into older, beat-up venues with a past and don’t like the new fancy ones as much…you can always tell the difference when you see the bathroom.

Do you have a favourite album? If so, what is it?

All time favorite is Master of Puppets.  Close second is Nocturnus’ The Key.

Do you have any guilty pleasure songs/albums?

The closest I’ve come to liking anything on the top 10 recently would be Blinding Lights by The Weeknd…great song with a melody similar to Aha’s Take On Me, but his songwriters did a good job of adapting it to make it their own.  Other than that, I have no shame about listening to sappy pop songs if they suit my fancy in the moment, especially stuff from the 80’s like the Thompson Twins or Tears for Fears.

If you were putting together the greatest show on earth, who would be playing?

I’d have Jaz Coleman from Killing Joke on vocals, Peter Steele from Type O Negative on bass, Mike Browning from Nocturnus on drums, and probably Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick from Testament doing rhythm and lead guitar.  If there was enough room on stage for a keyboard, I’d go with Edgar Froese from Tangerine Dream.

Can you remember the first album you bought with your own money? What was it and do you still have it?

In junior high, I wanted the Metallica Black album, but Metallica was considered an evil band back then and my parents didn’t approve, so I got Nirvana Nevermind instead. Even though I love Nevermind now, at the time I remember being so underwhelmed by it that I returned it and got Metallica Black against my parents’ wishes. That began a musical journey into thrash metal with all the usual suspects like Megadeth, Slayer, and Testament.  I got rid of all my CD’s including the Black Album around 2010 and now listen mainly to vinyl.

Finally, let us know all your social media sites so your fans, old and new, can find and follow/like you!

You can find all my socials and streaming links at kevinthepersian.com.

We, at The Metal Asylum, would like to thank you for your time. Is there is anything further that you would like to add?

Thank YOU for supporting rock!

This interview is purely the property of The Metal Asylum

Can you tell us about the origin of the band name, a history of the band and a little bit about the various members?

Gunner: Hi Metal Asylum, is nice to talk with you! The band’s history starts in 1980 in Bologna, and during 4 decades various musicians changed. The long lasting member is Amos, the spine of the band.

After a lot or records and tours, in Italy, Europe, and U.S.A., the current line up is formed by Amos on guitars and backing vocals, Freddy V on lead guitar, Gabry The King on bass guitar, Evil Mala on lead vocals and myself on drums.

Evil Mala: the name “Rain” was chosen because short, easy to remember and adaptable to various music styles, and then rain is life!

Are you all from the same area? How did you get together as a band?

Gunner: The band is based in Bologna, Amos and Evil Mala are from Bologna, me and Freddy V from Modena, Gabry is from Ravenna, all towns located in Emilia Romagna region. The current line up has consolidated in 2016.

Evil Mala: apart from the classics I have nu and modern metal influences.

Who are your favourite artists/bands and how have they influenced your own sound?

Gunner: we all listen to different bands, but the common element is about some classics, like Kiss, Motley Crue, Motorhead, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Pantera, Metallica, and “new” ones like Five finger Death Punch. The band’s sound is influenced by our backgrounds, and the sound in heavy and hard rock oriented, with a modern taste in vocals and riffs.

Did you always have the ambition to be a musician and in a band or did you originally have other plans?

Gunner: we all started with the ambition to be professional musicians, and we still act like professional musicians, even if we all (exept for Freddy V) have different main jobs. Life takes his paths but our dreams are still alive.

Evil Mala: professionals or not, for me the most important thing is to spread our music worldwide.

What songs or albums are on your current playlist?

Gunner: Right now Slayer, Testament, Coldplay, Poets of the Fall and gothic music from Finland.

Evil Mala: 5FDP, Nickelback, Shinedown, Fozzy, Seether.

Do you sing in the shower?

Gunner: of course even if I’m pretty out of tune!

Evil Mala: for sure, that is the place where the better songs get born.

Do you have any plans for the band for this year and into next year?

Gunner: yeah we have a lot of plans, mainly the release of the new album “A New Tomorrow”, scheduled for September 23^rd, promotion, a new video scheduled for October, touring in Italy and close the deal for an European tour for 2023.

Evil Mala: Conquer the world.

Do you currently have any new songs/albums ready to be released?

Gunner: yes, as I mentioned before, we have a full album ready to go, plus a new single that will be released September 9^th!

If you could play at any venue in the world where would you choose?

Gunner: Tavastia, Helsinki.

Evil Mala: Wembley Stadium, London.

Do you have a favourite album? If so, what is it?

Gunner: It’s a really hard question, there are so many records that I listen to and that are deep in my heart, I can mention Symbolic (Death), Images and words (Dream Theater), Love metal (HIM), Dr. Feelgood (Motley Crue).

Evil Mala: Sound of madness (Shinedown), Killers (Iron Maiden), Take a look in the mirror (Korn), The sound of perseverance (Death).

Do you have any guilty pleasure songs/albums?

Gunner: Cradled in love (Poets of the Fall)

Evil Mala: Another brick in the wall (Pink Floyd)

If you were putting together the greatest show on earth, who would be playing?

Gunner: Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Slayer, Slipknot, Dream Theater.

Evil Mala: The same for me!

Can you remember the first album you bought with your own money? What was it and do you still have it?

Gunner: The Final Countdown (Europe), and I still got it.

Evil Mala: Live after death (Iron Maiden)

As your fans will be reading this, is there any message you would like to send out to them?

Gunner: yeah, we are very excited about the new album and we are confident that that music will excite you too, so don’t miss it!

Evil Mala: There is no life without Rain!

Finally, let us know all your social media sites so your fans, old and new, can find and follow/like you!

Gunner: the official website is www.raincrew.com, we are on facebook and Instagram as rain_band_italy, and on twitter as Rainbologna.

We, at The Metal Asylum, would like to thank you for your time. Is there is anything further that you would like to add?

Gunner: just a huge thank you to you or the opportunity, horns up and keep follow RAIN!

Evil Mala: thanks to everyone for your support!

This interview is purely the property of The Metal Asylum