Author Archives: Mark Uricheck

I'm a freelance music journalist based out of Scranton, PA with 15 years experience, accumulating writing credits for Metal Hammer, The Weekender, ION Indie Magazine, NEPA Scene, and many more. I'm a lifelong media hound, with my day job at a local FOX television affiliate, and a bit of commercial radio in my past as well. I'm thrilled to contribute to Metal Insider and be part of a team totally dedicated to the music.

Interview: Jeff Waters talks Annihilator’s ‘Triple Threat,’ favorite guitarists

Posted by on January 31, 2017

Jeff Waters can never be accused of not presenting his fans with something musically challenging, different from the glut of stagnation within the metal marketplace, and true bang for the buck. Waters, and his musical alter ego, Annihilator, has operated at a pace of a new studio album just about every two years, consistently, since […]

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Interview: Trivium’s Matt Heafy calls last three drummers “session players,” talks black metal influence in band

Posted by on January 19, 2017

Matt Heafy is easily one of the most driven, focused, and wildly talented musicians to ever spread his serpentine seed upon the metal domain. Not only does the guy have chops, he’s an incredible songwriter as well – inflicting insane amounts of melody into his technically intricate, musician-humbling creations, underscoring a new breed of what […]

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Interview: Phil Anselmo reflects on new Superjoint, gives props to Morissey

Posted by on November 21, 2016

    Phil Anselmo can easily coast off of the fruits reaped from his time as lead vocalist for one of the biggest metal juggernauts of the past 25 years. Instead, Anselmo’s post-Pantera career has seen him wrangle every non-mainstream drop of musicality that he can possibly consume – see Arson Anthem, Phillip H. Anselmo […]

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Diamond Head’s Brian Tatler talks U.S. tour, new album, Metallica connection

Posted by on October 31, 2016

Arguably, Diamond Head could be considered the #3 most influential band to come out of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, following closely behind Iron Maiden and Motorhead. Diamond Head is also – and this is unquestionable, essential to the birth of thrash, as evidenced by the not-so-secret heapings of praise and notes […]

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Interview: Sabaton’s Joakim Broden on ‘The Last Stand,’ band’s international success

Posted by on October 21, 2016

  I openly defy anyone to come away from a Sabaton live show without the feeling of somehow marching into glory. Sweden’s own soldiers of metal/war historians have been at it for over a decade now, inspiring the ethos of bravery, honor, heroism, and all-out heavy metal defiance not seen since the glory days of […]

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Interview: John Bush talks Armored Saint live album, Metallica, PledgeMusic campaign

Posted by on October 3, 2016

  It’s been 28 years since the last Armored Saint live album was released. Saints Will Conquer, an eight-song document of the band’s Raising Fear tour, recorded at Cleveland’s Agora Ballroom in October of 1987, was the last official live statement from a band that’s gone through, literally, another lifetime since then. There have been […]

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Interview: Death Angel’s Ted Aguilar talks Slayer tour, ‘big 5’ discussion

Posted by on September 26, 2016

Often cited as the fifth member of the exclusive “Big 4” of thrash, San Francisco’s Death Angel is among the most consistent thrash bands working today – heralded as much for the output after their 2001 reformation just as much as their “classic” albums like 1990’s Act III. The band, with a solid membership since […]

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Interview: Max Cavalera says being straight edge helped him like metal more

Posted by on September 19, 2016

If you were a metal fan back in 1996, you may have been thrown for a loop upon hearing Sepultura’s Roots album. Roots was not the classic thrash of past glories like Arise and Beneath the Remains, or even the more groove-oriented fare the band was moving towards on Chaos AD. This was a new animal, the perfect […]

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Interview: Guitarist Angel Vivaldi talks touring with Gus G., re-recording 2009 album

Posted by on September 7, 2016

He’s been referred to as a “new breed of guitar hero,” which is quite accurate. He’s got the flying fingers and modal tonality of classic shredders like Satriani and Vai, while opening up a sonic scope to the “djent” generation – creating heavy instrumental music where the rhythms play just as important a role as […]

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Bands discuss major label dealings vs. releasing music independently

Posted by on August 29, 2016

It’s no secret that many record labels have had a reputation for giving their artists the ol’ screwjob when it comes to fair compensation. This practice has seemingly been happening for as long as there’s been a music business. A now-legendary rant by former Victory Records executive Ramsey Dean against the label’s president Tony Brummel, now almost […]

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