[The Mission: Mindcrime Helped Eddie Jackson Achieve His Career Ambitions] "It was a very magical moment for us, and there was a lot of chemistry goin' on at the time, and I think that's when it kind of started to show a bit of growth in the band, knowing that if no band was doing it, we weren’t gonna be afraid to pursue somethin’ like that. It's not like our career, the popularity of the band was what it was like once [1990’s] Empire hit. We just felt, 'Hey, let's do it. Let's pursue somethin' like this. And we got nothin' to lose.'" - Eddie Jackson

[Misery Signals] "The fact is that we are a band that has metal parts. And we have hardcore parts. And we have rock parts. And we have tech parts. And we have mosh parts. And we have melody parts… And the list goes on. So, you know, if you can really place all of that into this one genre called ‘metalcore’, then so be it. As far as this new record goes, though, we just wrote it as something that we all enjoy and we can just hope that kids will feel the same way. It’s just the Misery Signals sound.” - Kyle Johnson

[Soilwork] "You know, we started the band when we were pretty young. I mean I was about eighteen. And people do change. There have been a few line-up changes within the band, but it’s really not that weird. There are a lot of bands out there changing their line-ups. And when you start a band when you’re really young, and you have been going for a few years, people do change within that time." - Bjorn "Speed" Strid

[Revolution Calling: Michael Wilton On Putting Mindcrime Into Motion] "We would have probably still, at that point, just been a kind of an underground touring sensation, which we had already built ourselves to be. I think through attrition we probably eventually would have collided with public taste. The early days it was all about building a touring fan base. That's something that we achieved with the EP, Warning and Rage [For Order], you know. Lots of touring." - Michael Wilton

[I Remember Now: The 20th Anniversary Of Queensrÿche's Operation: Mindcrime] Writing a concept record isn’t easy. Writing a good one is even harder. Writing one that becomes iconic? You have a better chance of lightning striking you. According to the National Weather Service, that’s one shot in 400,000. But when you consider that Seattle quintet Queensrÿche is one in a million, maybe it’s not so surprising that when the band rolled the dice on Operation: Mindcrime 20 years ago, it beat the fickle rock’n’roll odds...

[Black Tide] In this Blistering exclusive, check out former Rip Magazine founder, Lonn Friend talking to Black Tide about the making of the band’s recently released debut album, Light From Above.

[Symphony X] "There is always this allure of great stories being passed down through thousands of years. They have been around so long for a reason: they are still relative to us today, they still have meaning. People still fall in love, people still kill each other, people are still jealous, and people still want to seek revenge or retribution. That is at the core of them all." - Russell Allen

[Alpha Galates] "Our attitude with music is that there should be no borders or rules at all. We all listen to SO much different music, and we like to let that shine through with our writing. One of my favorite bands is Radiohead, but I love the power and emotion I feel when I put on a Slayer or SYL (Strapping Young Lad) record. I also love the freedom and soundscapes Pink Floyd created on The Dark Side of the Moon. If music becomes too categorized, then it ceases to be fun to listen to." - Von Wagner

[Zimmers Hole] "We’ve always considered this our joke band, or our fun to hang around like band. Zimmers Hole was the sort of group that we would fool around with while not on tour. But then we thought, if we’re having so much fun with it, why not make it a priority now?" - Byron Stroud

[Oblige] "The idea of the name – when I said it, it was powerful. It rolled off your tongue. I’ve always liked bands that had one name that is solid. It’s not a long sentence. You see some weird, crazy names nowadays. To me, when you oblige someone, you’re being of service to someone. Oblige is being of service to its fans, the scene and everyone. We think of ourselves as a straight up heavy metal band and that’s all we’ll ever be." - Greg Wilburn

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