Tuomas Holopainen Interview
Performed in November 2013 

As the saying goes, all things go in cycles, and so it was for me in regards to Nightwish’s Imaginaerum tour. I began the journey at the same time as they did: at the opening shows in Los Angeles, where fans heard the new songs live for the first time. It was also where I conducted my first interview with Tuomas Holopainen; he answered fan-submitted questions and did not shy away from anything his audience wanted to know. I found him charming, pleasant, and easy to talk to; he knows how to put people at ease and there is a way about him to where you do not feel as though you are giving an interview. You just get to talking and there is a natural flow to things that each answer gives way to another, and then another after that until your time is up.

Magion Interview
September 2013 (via Skype)

It is definitely hard to beat the Dutch for ear-tingling symphonic metal. Magion’s sophomore album, A Different Shade Of Darkness, created quite a stir at Sonic Cathedral HQ, after a few of us got a taste of un-mastered samples during last year’s Metal Female Voices Fest. Notwithstanding that we listened to the samples over tiny mobile phone speakers (with the roar of the festival in the background), it was something special indeed -- lush orchestration layered over the dual-guitar riffing, and Myrthe’s expressive voice soaring overhead.