“I’m constantly shocked at how really simple ideas like “feminism” and “equality” are still lost on so many people. For a scene that should be transgressive and “extreme,” it seems overwhelmingly conservative and pedestrian to me most times—like a bunch of macho, white, frat guys wearing black and pretending at being heathens.” Ross Mckendrick had a great chat with Andy Gibbs and Bryan Funck from Thou.

This weekend (31st Jan) sees the first Riffest at the fantastic Ruby Lounge in Manchester as part of Independent Venue Week. We thought it would be fun to get Riffest organiser Nike Duke and Ruby Lounge head honcho Jay Taylor together to ask each other a few questions.

As part of our ongoing coverage of Independent Venue Week we spoke to Beverly Whitrick of the newly formed Music Venue Trust to find out what the state of the industry is and why we need an organisation like theirs. By Dan Salter

The second Independent Venue Week kicks off tomorrow (24th Jan) and is back far bigger and better than last year. It’s an initiative that we are fully behind here at E&D so we thought it would be a good idea to catch up with Sybil Bell and find out more. By Dan Salter

February sees London promotions collective Chaos Theory celebrate their 5th birthday with a series of very special events. With a few weeks to go we sat down with head honcho Kunal and Magda, Lou, Peter and James to ask them a few questions about how they’ve grown from nothing to being among London’s premier promoters and what the future looks like.

Magda Wrzeszcz met with Graham Griffith (drums) and Jordan Spiers (vocals) from Flood Of Red in the small bar of The Garage in Islington for a nice long chat. “We’re more talented than we look!”

Keith Joshua Ham asked guitarist Ryan Cole of London stoner/doom metal band Desert Storm some questions about the new album ‘Omniscient’ and more.

Daniela Patrizi asked bassist Alberto Tocados from Spanish post-metal/post-rock band Toundra some questions about the new record ‘IV’ and the quartet’s creative process.

Matt T.A. Smith had a chat with vocalist Kippa, guitarist Reece, and bassist Cam from stoner rock band Steak. They talked to me about recording with Garcia in California’s Palm Springs, working with a South American comic book artist, and about one particular French fan of theirs with a penchant for wearing a pig mask…

Beautiful instrumental soundscapes filled with a feeling of wistful melancholy. By Dan Salter

By turns gentle & soothing and raucous & demanding, Wicket use a firm grasp of melody and dynamics to create rich post rock. By Dan Salter

It’s the voice that catches the attention with DAVID. The music sits somewhere on the spectrum between Iron & Wine and Jon Spencer but it is the strength of his voice that really makes this stand out. By Dan Salter

in:tides make thoughtful, sweeping post rock blending the classic form with their own interpretation to create something fresh and beautiful. By Dan Salter

Moody, groovy and slightly surreal; The Black Atlas deliver inteligent indie rock with a dark twist. by Dan Salter

Hey Colossus need no introduction. Paul and Jon checked in with our man Richard Collins to have a chat, mainly about the new record In Black and Gold, which is due out on Rocket Recordings in February.

John McLaughlin asked Erik Nilsson and Jakob Berglund from Swedish duo A Swarm of the Sun some questions about their new album ‘The Rifts’.

Josh Cuevas spoke with Primordial vocalist Alan Averill, aka A.A. Nemtheanga, over Skype about the new album’s themes, the differences between touring Europe and the USA, and why Primordial will never write songs about killing zombies.

Dani Patrizi talks to Mirza Ramic of Arms and Sleepers about new album Swim Team and the duo’s creative processes.

A couple of weeks back Noah Scott had a chat on the phone with legendary stoner/desert rocker Brant Bjork, where they talked about the new album, Australia and Jimi Hendrix.

Andrew Rawlinson asked guitarist/singer Dominik Goncalves dos Reis of Downfall of Gaia some questions about the new album Aeon Unveils the Thrones of Decay and more.

Alex Figures asked Bloodbath guitarist Anders “Blakkheim” Nyström some questions about the band’s history and about the new album Grand Morbid Funeral.