Brendan Crabb, Journalist

"What would Area 7 do when this is all finished and you’re not popular anymore?"

Album number three’s streamlined seething-with-intent death metal attack spurned some detractors, while conversely not being too much of a major sidestep to alienate diehards.

While his post-Cannibal Corpse endeavours have been afforded success, others have no respect for the man behind such abominations as the Graveyard Classics series and those bizarre used car commercials.

Morbid Angel meets Strapping Young Lad wrestling Meshuggah.

It took several years, but Canada’s Silverstein have finally embraced their inner cover band. Brendan Crabb keeps it short and sweet with vocalist Shane Told ahead of their return to our shores.

Literally half the band departing has obviously resulted in the conclusion that the box-ticking Gothenburg-infused metalcore they were peddling wasn’t working.

American sportspeople talk about the sophomore slump, while university students call it the second year blues. Vocalist Gustav Wood explains to Brendan Crabb why British rockers Young Guns were determined to avoid such dramas following up their hit debut.

Tim “Ripper” Owens is a self-proclaimed industry nice guy, but even the vocalist’s patience limits were tested by some major technical difficulties during the take on Judas Priest’s Painkiller that opened proceedings.

In the ‘90s, critics dubbed Fear Factory “futuristic metal” or “cyber-metal”. More than a decade on, one supposes now they’re merely “metal”.

Neverbloom represents a band filled with youthful exuberance, minus the songwriting smarts that obviously come with experience.

Sportspeople talk about the sophomore slump, while university students call it the second year blues. British rockers Young Guns were determined to avoid such dramas following up their hit debut. Brendan Crabb plays Doc Scurlock to vocalist Gustav Wood’s Billy The Kid.