Interview with Yuvraj "The Master" Singh

I have been running this blog for six years now and the goal when I started this blog has remained the same ever since day one. I want to provide people with entertaining and informative content about the world of hard rock and metal, as well as discuss other topics of interest. My friend Yuvraj "The Master" Singh also shares this mentality, which is why over our friendship of ten plus years we have produced a variety of videos, podcasts and articles highlighting our thoughts on music, movies, wrestling and other subjects we enjoy discussing. I thought now would be a great time to do an interview with Yuvraj and continue providing people with entertaining and interesting content. Thank you to all the readers who have supported this blog, along with the bands that I have worked with over the years. We will get through these difficult times and if you need a place to turn to as an escape, this blog will be here. 

So, here it is everyone, an interview with Yuvraj "The Master" Singh...



Q: Hello Yuvraj, how have you been holding up through this whole lockdown and Coronavirus situation?

Suffice it to say that it has been an interesting situation. On the whole, though, it hasn’t been too bad.

Q: Now Yuvraj, you are the “Master Singh” who the people all turn to for knowledge and wisdom, so what advice would you give to people right now in terms of dealing with the situation?

Listen to experts, not politicians (unless their advice is in line with people with medical degrees) or celebrities (unless, again, their advice is in line with medical degrees). It’s an election year, so everyone has earned their honorary political science degree. But not a medical degree.

Q: Since you and I are huge rock and metal fans and I’m sure you are listening to a lot of albums right now, what albums would you recommend people check out? Are there any new bands you have recently discovered?

I’ve been on a bit of a Type O Negative binge; Black No. 1 remains one of my favorite songs. I’ve also been delving into Blue Öyster Cults and Dio albums.

Q: I wanted to get your take on the future of live shows. Some concert promoters are saying we might be waiting until 2021 for major concerts to start up again. What do you think will happen with live shows going forward? Will we get to see Mötley Crüe come back and play live after telling us they were done?

It’s difficult to say, but my outlook isn’t as good as the promoters, I think. There’s long to be long term impacts, and that 2021 release is a bit optimistic, especially if there’s a second or third wave. It’ll be easier to enforce the social distancing in seated arenas, but smaller venues are going to bear the brunt of it, I think.

As for Mötley Crüe – they should use this as an excuse to not tour again. That whole burning the contract was a bit ridiculous. Then again, it’s not as though the entire community didn’t see it coming from a mile away.

Q: For those who may not be aware, you and I are longtime wrestling fans and have been watching WWE for a long damn time. What are your thoughts on the company right now in terms of direction? Also, what do you feel about AEW as of lately and how they are doing going up against WWE?

Answering the latter question first: I think they jumped the gun and the Act of God hasn’t helped them. They can’t do any more fo their live shows for a while and even when they can, the venues will be mostly empty, I think. NXT seems to be presenting a surprisingly strong showing against AEW. Vince also made the mistake of going ahead with the XFL (again). That money could’ve been used to develop more and better talent, but it has gone into a veritable abyss.

WWE has been on the ropes for a while. It seems as though they’ve lost their ability to create new stars, relying instead on the cachet of older legends and comebacks from a bygone era. It’s disappointing, and I hope they can find their footing, but they need someone else in charge of creative.

Q: Here is a fun question, something the world needs right now to be entertained….Who would you vote for, Orange Cassidy (ridiculous comedy wrestler on AEW) or Gene Simmons (musician, entrepreneur and massive douche)?

I would rather emigrate. If either were to win, the American century would be over the following day.

Q: Lastly, I want to thank you for doing this interview for the blog as it provides a nice change from just another album review.

Anytime. 



If interested here is the first video we ever did discussing a variety of topics, primarily about illegal downloading...and I think we reference the legendary artist Blowfly. Good times. 

Resent "Crosshairs"

    In these unprecedented times when the world seems to be shrouded in a dark cloud of confusion, we need a band to come along and provide a release that hits listeners with uncompromising force. Resent’s debut full-length album, “Crosshairs,” paints an abysmal sounding world of soul crushing despair and is a powerful example of unapologetic artistic expression.

    This Victoria, British Columbia sludge metal act channels that similar musical approach which was established by such greats as Noothgrush, Eyehategod, Corrupted and Grief. Over the years I have encountered a plethora of sludge bands trying to mimc the subgenre’s titans, however, Resent tries to construct their own destructive path full of pulverizing riffs as well as some ear shattering drum parts. The album is a true behemoth in terms of bludgeoning compositions and raw aggression.

    Right from the first note of the first song, “Miserable,” the band hammers out a merciless barrage that comes crashing down and leaves a wake of annihilation in its path. I will say that the vocals at times get drowned out by the guitars and I would have liked them to have been rerecorded slightly louder to compliment the instrumental devastation, but I still think the singer provides a solid delivery.

    The instrumental arrangements on this album are where you really hear an utterly savage group of musicians. Songs like, “Degenerate” and “Wallowing in Filth,” are a couple fearsome pieces of music that contain some vicious sounding riffs. “Wallowing in Filth,” is the song that I felt made this release the sludge metal juggernaut of the year, because the sound clip in the beginning provided a great introduction for what was to come musically. You are surrounding by these sadistic sounding slow riffs and the song's overall tone is simply ruthless until the end.

    The same can be said about the album's title track, which once again starts off filling the landscape with a depressive sounding instrumental doomsday storm. The final two songs, “Victimized” and “Miscarriage,” keep up the avalanche of terror going by laying down more thick distorted sounds that leave you lost in a suffocating haze to which you are never able to find your way out.

    Fans of sludge metal will definitely want to give this album a listen, because Resent I think took their time and did not toss together another boring sludge release that sounds as if they recorded the album using the same chord progression on each song. The production on this album and the level of songwriting I think really stood out, so I hope to hear them build on that with future albums. Overall, this album is one that I highly recommend and one that people should not overlook.




You can order the album through these labels:


Dry Cough Records (UK) https://www.drycoughrecords.com/
Nerve Altar (US) https://nervealtar.storenvy.com/
Rope Or Guillotine (Netherlands) https://ropeorguillotine.limitedrun.com/

Sepulchre "Earthbound"

    Some bands will work on a demo and then decide not to release the final product until a few years laters, which to some might not make sense, but I think as long as the release gets to see the light of day that we should not complain. When I saw that Sepulchre uploaded a demo that they recorded back in 2017, I was instantly interested in hearing what this trio from Sonoma County had to offer, especially considering I have not heard new material from them in quite some time .

    “Earthbound,” is an ambitious effort and one that I would describe as a journey into this band’s unique extreme metal mindset. Unlike most modern death metal bands, Sepulchre does not play within the repetitive death metal box, and instead looks to tear down the box by jumping out into a void of dynamic creativity. I’ve known these guys for a fair amount of time and over the years I have had the opportunity to watch them rapidly grow as musicians and songwriters. Sepulchre shows a willingness to push themselves and this new demo is yet another example of that dedication to pushing the boundaries and forming their own extreme metal identity.

    The opening track off of this demo called, “Sum Quod Eris,” is like stepping through a gateway into an abysmal musical landscape shrouded in endless galactic darkness. Your ears are filled with the sounds of unworldly sounding guitars parts that are accompanied by ominous bass lines and catastrophic drumming. The band composes this unpredictable world of instrumental aggression pulling you through countless twists and turns, although never loosing that sense of purpose as the music evolves throughout the track.

Sepulchre live in 2015

    The second song on the demo, “Effigy Wounds,” is another ruthless vision into a realm of endless torment and instrumental entropy. I feel like the riffs on this track are presented in a more direct and uncompromising manner. Also, the lead guitar playing provides a frantic deviation at times to keep you completely engaged. When listening to the song you feel like you are being bludgeoned by an avalanche of noise, however, the band’s ability to harness all those different compositions is executed extremely well.

    In conclusion, “Earthbound,” is yet another example of Sepulchre demonstrating their strong progressive death metal talents. This release may not be in contention for album of the year, or might now be getting nominated for a Grammy, but what this release serves as is a glimpse into what these guys can accomplish musically. No matter what happens going forward, I will always believe that if Sepulchre can take what they have done on their demos, especially this new one, this group has the potential to record an exceptional and timeless death metal release. I hope that they are given that opportunity, because I strongly believe in these musicians.

    People tend to forget that Rush didn’t just write, “2112,” and that album became a legendary release overnight. Then again I am a huge Rush fan, so I know the story and the details. The album before, “2112,” which was, “Caress of Steel,” was considered by a lot of critics at the time as completely out of the ordinary. What no one will ever understand is that, “Caress of Steel,” was the rough draft that would eventually become, “2112.” If you actually listen to, “Caress of Steel,” it is a phenomenal album and allowed Rush a chance to experiment with their musical ideas that would eventually be fulfilled on, “2112.”

    I use my Rush example as a reason as to why people should listen to Sepulchre’s new demo and pay close attention to what these guys are trying to achieve. The seeds of something greater to come are there if you really pay attention, we just have to sit back and let time tell if those seeds will grow.




Check out the entire demo below:

Sepulchre Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/bayareasepulchre/