[Archaios – New Third World Posse] “We have struggled in every way you can possibly imagine. We have struggled against the conservative media, against the church labeling us as Satanists and against the general perception in Dominican society that everything that is outside of what they consider acceptable, is somewhat hazardous and negative. We have also economic and geographical limitations and zero support from the outside world. These are some amongst the countless other bullshit we have had to put up with. So, after all these things, being able to start having some recognition in the international scene is the first sign that despite all the harshness, everything we’ve had to endure was worth the sacrifices.” – Eric Cruz

[Daylight Dies Studio Report] “Most would find the new album more dynamic, quite aggressive at times, with our traditional sound in new rhythmic and textural contexts. We've tuned slightly lower than on previous albums, creating some of our heaviest and most dramatic moments to date. There are very delicate moments as well. Charley [Shackelford] and I have really gone for the throat with some of the guitar solos. Overall, we've expanded our sound again. I believe this is our most exciting album to date.” – Barre Gambling

[Catching Up With Omnium Gatherum] "It’s been already a year since the album was mixed and finished and I'm still in love with it, so this is something new and we're on the right track I think! The first album is of course, magical because it's the first, but this one is what OG is all about. And we'll be continuing on this path surely with the next release. In a way, we of course took another step again with this album, but the almighty 'big world-wide breakthrough’ is still waiting.’” – Markus Vanhala

[The Devil’s Blood – Reapers of the Sown] “For two years, we refused to get pictures made, we seldom do interviews with the lead singer, but with the guitar player, we use blood onstage, we don’t use our real names…stuff like this is what every record company hates. They don’t want to see stuff like that. They want to see a band that is happy to jump in front of the camera or do a million interviews or will answer any idiotic question or do anything they have to gain success. We have principles that we will not go over; there are certain things we will not do, and it doesn’t make us very popular from a business point of view, but we did do well from a business point of view.” – Selim Lemouchi

[Primal Fear – (Bald) Eagle Flying Free] “Being friends over the years and spending time together, plus having trust...that's the most important thing. We've been through the thick and thin over the years and the bad things with the business and internal stuff, we've grown together even more. We have a responsibility...to ourselves, to the music we're doing, and also the fanbase we have, and that's what we still keep in mind, and keeps us going. That's the reason why we called the album Unbreakable.” – Ralf Scheepers

[Esoteric - No Funeral] “When we first started releasing music people were generally telling us we were not doom and the term funeral doom didn’t exist. It doesn’t matter what kind of music you play, if you transcend boundaries in some way you will still be put into one category that seems most fitting. It doesn’t really matter to us what we are perceived as, we just do what we do and let other people worry about classification, etc.” – Greg Chandler

[Ghost – In the Shadows] “As long as we don’t publicly state who we might be, we really don’t see it as a huge problem. We’re not on a worldwide ‘above the radar’ basis. We’re still virtually unknown as a band, much different than in a Paris Hilton sort of way [laughs]. As long as we don’t have that as an attraction, there’s really not much [reason] in this group to unfold our true identities. Like a public statement would have to rely on us coming out, and as long as we don’t do that, we can keep on…not even denying, but not even commenting on rumors or what people say.” – The Nameless Ghoul

[Single Bullet Theory - Four, the Hard Way] “The lessons I learned are more just lessons you learn as you mature as a person. I learned that I have to expect less from people and you get a lot more bees with honey then vinegar. I have been known to be somewhat difficult to work with, but all that has changed as I have mellowed over the years. I also have learned to take everything at face value and in this business; face value really doesn't even mean that much. You get lied to all the time. So, I have just grown a custom to believing when I see it and hoping for the best.” – Matt Difabio

[Vildhjarta – Bracing for Winter Thall] “The best way to describe our sound would be like Messhugah-riffage, which I see in a lot of heavy metal reviews, and I can see why people label as djent. We’re proud to be part of the scene. We would not exist if it weren’t for Meshuggah and we admire them for their influence on heavy music. I think all of djent wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for Meshuggah [laughs]. Yeah, they’re a major influence. After Obzen, they got a really big push in Scandinavia, so I think every musician in Sweden knows who Meshuggah is. They’re really big.” – Calle Thomer

[Blistering Wraps Up 2011: Anthrax and Omnium Gatherum Reign Supreme] A sprawling recap of the year this is not, for frankly, we don't have the attention span (or mental capacity) to recount every single thing that happened in metal/hard rock in 2011. Skimming off the top, it's a reassurance that the old guard is still standing, new bands of value are coming up through the ranks, and metal is still very much alive. Not to jinx anything, but it probably won't be going away anytime soon...

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