http://www.darkrhapsody.com The OFFICIAL Band Interview Site of ProgPower USA VIII, October 4-6, 2007, in Atlanta. Sun, 27 Apr 2008 11:49:56 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Somehow, in all the excitement of doing interviews, posting half of them, sending all of them to Deron, and getting geeked about what was to be ProgPower USA XIII, something fell through the cracks: The second half of my interview with Freak Kitchen's Mattias "IA" Eklundh, guitarist extraordinaire and amateur ... http://www.darkrhapsody.com/2008/04/27/mattias-ia-eklundh-part-two/ ProgPower USA organizer Glenn Harveston needs no introduction. Prog and power metal aficionados around the world (bands as well as fans) know his name – not to mention his reputation for putting on the smoothest-run, most enjoyable metal festival on the planet. So I’ll just jump right in with ... http://www.darkrhapsody.com/2007/12/22/glenn-harveston-i-think-i-have-reached-an-elite-level-with-this-festival/ The Italian 6-piece progressive-metal band Raintime almost seemed to come out of nowhere, arriving on the scene fully formed – and remarkably mature. Their debut album – Tales from Sadness (2005) – dropped jaws and raised eyebrows everywhere. Their 2007 follow-up release (Flies & Lies) was no less aggressive or ... http://www.darkrhapsody.com/2007/09/14/raintime-vocalist-claudio-coassin-i%e2%80%99m-not-a-sad-guy-so-i-tried-to-tell-some-storiessometimes-there%e2%80%99s-happy-endings-sometimes-not/ Like most progressive metal fans, I was blown away by Communic from the very first album (Conspiracy in Mind, 2005). And it only got better from there. Their second album (Waves of Visual Decay, 2006) made it clear to one and all that Communic is a dynamic and creative force ... http://www.darkrhapsody.com/2007/09/14/communic-guitarist-oddleif-stensland-if-people-want-to-compare-me-vocally-with-nevermore-i-take-it-more-as-a-complement/ Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica boasts something no other band from that region of the world can: the incomparable vocalist/songwriter/keyboardist Tony Kakko. Tony, a nice guy in addition to being one of power metal’s most charismatic front men, called me at 8 a.m. the day after the listening party ... http://www.darkrhapsody.com/2007/09/14/sonata-arctica-front-man-tony-kakko-we-are-a-gateway-to-metal/ This year Shane Dubose, often called “the nicest man in metal” (with Zero Hero’s Jasun Tipton and the incomparable Lance King running a very close second), wears more than one hat at ProgPower USA. Usually, he’s the driving force behind the Showcase line-up (which, by all accounts, is spectacular this ... http://www.darkrhapsody.com/2007/09/14/shane-dubose-it%e2%80%99s-just-an-incredible-thing-that-i-was-able-to-get-these-bands-i%e2%80%99m-just-blessed-to-have-everybody-involved/ Brazil’s Bill Hudson, at just 24 years of age, has already amassed a devoted following of guitarists and wanna-be guitarists who love his fleet-fingered style. Currently in up-and-coming metal band Cellador, Bill has his sights set on making it big in the music industry. Given his fierce determination and loyal ... http://www.darkrhapsody.com/2007/09/14/bill-hudson-when-i-was-14-i-learned-yngwie-note-by-note-but-i-still-cant-play-a-guns-n-roses-solo-that-sounds-like-it/ After a few frustrating failed attempts to obtain a good connection with Vanden Plas multi-talented (and patient!) vocalist Andy Kuntz, we finally got a decent signal between our cell phones and away we went. I spoke with Andy earlier this year. AK: Hello? BM: Hello, is this Andy? AK: Hello? Yeah. BM: Wow, how is ... http://www.darkrhapsody.com/2007/09/14/andy-kuntz-to-come-over-to-the-states-that%e2%80%99s-something-special-i-like-the-mentality-of-the-people-very-much/ Lance King needs no introduction. So I’m tempted not to write one. Suffice to say he possesses one of the best voices in metal and has, over the years, fronted many highly regarded bands, including Shining Star, Avian, Pyramaze, and Balance of Power. Now we can add Texas-based Krucible to the ... http://www.darkrhapsody.com/2007/08/23/krucible-vocalist-lance-king-right-now-i%e2%80%99m-enjoying-making-music-with-lots-of-different-folksit%e2%80%99s-kind-of-the-beauty-of-doing-so-many-different-things-is-you-get-to-work-with-so/ To my ears, the latest Redemption album (The Origins of Ruin) is nothing short of a masterpiece. It’s got it all: compelling melodies, meaty riffs, intelligent, even sublime lyrics, superb drumming, and vocals that truly deserve the term “second to none.” Originally conceived by guitarist Nicolas van Dyk as a sort ... http://www.darkrhapsody.com/2007/08/23/redemption-guitarist-nick-van-dyk-it-is-heavy-metal-so-there%e2%80%99s-a-limit-to-how-much-stuff-you-can-write-that%e2%80%99s-happy/