Lanvall is the keyboardist, composer, and a founding member of EDENBRIDGE, who just released The Bonding. What immediately stands out about the album is the big sound of ORCHESTRA KLANGVEREINIGUNG, which works perfectly with the beautiful voice of Sabine Edelsbacher. While it's nothing new for a metal band to work with an orchestra (and they've even done it themselves), I consider it one of the best pairings I've heard in recent memory. It's a great album, and I was excited to talk to Lanvall about everything involved in creating one of the standout releases of 2013.

Full audio and text highlights can be found below.

I recently caught up with Alex Staropoli, keyboardist and co-founder of Rhapsody of Fire, to discuss the band's double live album. The album was designed to show off the current lineup following the split with Luca Turilli, and so much of our discussion revolved around this release and the future of the band. As you'll hear, work has already begun on a new album studio, and so Alex gives us an idea of what to expect as far as the sound, lyrics, and narration. It's a thorough discussion and one that should satisfy any fan of Rhapsody of Fire.

The full audio as well as text highlights can be found below.

I had the chance to catch up with Roland Grapow just as he and Masterplan were preparing to play at Bang Your Head in support of their latest release, Novum Initium. In Latin, the title translates to 'a new beginning', an appropriate choice given the addition of 3 new members to the band, including Rick Altzi on vocals. Calling in from Slovakia, where he runs his own recording studio, Roland and I had a great conversation that covered most of his career, including Rampage, Helloween, Masterplan (of course), his solo albums, and his work as a producer.

There's some great stuff in here, and I think Roland did an especially good job at taking us behind the scenes in the studio and in the music industry here.

Full audio and text highlights are below.

Shortly after launching my radio show in late '97, I received my very first package in the mail at the station, a package which contained two CDs sent by a generous listener. One of them was Tourniquet's Crawl to China, and I've been a fan of the band's work ever since. When they resurfaced with Antiseptic Bloodbath, their first release since 2003, I figured it was about time to seek out an interview. And so it happened that I found myself having this conversation with Ted Kirkpatrick, drummer and mastermind behind Tourniquet. He's an interesting guy who certainly didn't hold back in sharing his opinions on heavy topics such as animal welfare, and I found that honesty pretty refreshing. If you're interested in the connection between Tourniquet and animal welfare (for example, Ted's recent work to protect a turtle and her eggs), check out The Tourniquet Ark on Facebook. Check out the interview in audio and text below.

Wow. I can remember being 15 and seeing Megadeth at the second concert I was ever allowed to attend (the first being Iron Maiden right before Bruce quit the band) and loving every minute of it. Even in the darkest days of metal (i.e., the mid-90s), they helped inspire in this young fan a lifelong love of metal. To interview someone from one of my favorite bands and one of the true heavyweights in the scene is always a nerve-wracking experience. In this case, however, it was made even more so by needing to find a delicate way to ask why the single from the new album, Super Collider, was getting a lot of negative reactions from the fans.

I tried to hit as many things as I could in this short interview: new album, tour, reissues, and David's autobiography. This was one of those deals where the person who connects you says you have 15 minutes, and then it's a race against the clock. You can even hear the call-waiting interrupting us as he was answering my last question.

In the end, you couldn't ask to talk to a nicer guy than David Ellefson, and I look forward to reading his forthcoming autobiography, My Life With Deth. Check out the complete audio and some text highlights from the interview below.

On today's Metal Meltdown from 5-7pm Eastern (23:00-01:00 CET) at wruw.org, I'll have two new interviews for you:

In the 5 o'clock hour, Eli Santana of HOLY GRAIL will call in live to discuss the band's headlining tour, which will bring them to Cleveland next Thursday at Now That's Class.

During the 6 o'clock hour, PelleK will be discussing his new solo album, Ocean of Opportunity, his insane pledge to do 6 YouTube videos per week this summer (check out yesterday's 'Yankee Doodle Metal', which he did in honor of the 4th), and a special project he has in the works for later this year.

I'll also have new music from Edenbridge, Oliva, Orphaned Land, and many more. Next week on the show, I'll be talking to Anton of the Finnish band Battle Beast.