It’s with great excitement to bring you the second episode of Audioeclectica Interviews with James Hammontree of the very awesome, Black Magnet! Their album Megamantra, is one of 2025’s best albums and is for sure in my top ten of the year. You can check out the review of this great album HERE! Black Magnet is one of the best industrial bands out today! I very much look forward to what’s to come from Black Magnet! Make sure you put them on your radar! Enjoy this very fun conversation and remember to “Listen Eclectically”
I have an interesting theory on title tracks. More often than not, the title track on an album is a deeper cut, towards the end of the album. My theory is that the “title track” is a bit of a summation of what the album encompasses. It could be musically, lyrically, thematic or the all around tonality of what the album is about. There are quite a few bands that do this on a consistent basis and I quite enjoy it. One of those bands is Tool. They have successfully done this three times (Undertow, Aenima and Lateralus). As much as I love “Lateralus” I really have to say “Undertow” might just be the best of the three. The song itself has a lot of different vibes to it. You have the heavy aspects, the syncopated rhythms, but the more progressive elements mixed with a bit of psychedelia puts this one over. “Undertow” is a song you can get lost in and it’s placement in the album sequence really lets the song become its own entity. I’m glad to see that “Undertow” made it back into the set list the past few years. More songs off of the album itself need to be played live. Less Fear Inoculum and more of the songs not played enough!!
This year the Cavalera brothers went on tour to celebrate their album, Chaos A.D. This is my all time favorite Sepultura album. I love this record. It’s heavy, brutal, full of great ear candy moments, and the mix on it is superb. I honestly thought when I was a kid and even today, that if Sepultura had kept expanding upon this sound and style by adding just a tinge of melody, they’d have been global giants! But that’s a topic and subject for a whole other time. Instead lets focus on track one of Chaos A.D. and that is “Refuse/Resist.” There are so many great track one’s and this song is definitely one of them. The groove on this song is beyond awesome. Interestingly, “Refuse/Resist” was the fourth single to be released from this album. It’s still a live staple to this day, even in Sepultura now, as well as with Max and Igor when they tour. Another fun tidbit is the beginning intro features the heartbeat of Max’s then unborn son, Zyon, who now plays with Max in Soulfly. You really can’t go wrong with Chaos A.D. and to have “Refuse/Resist” kick it off?! Now that’s a banger!
A couple weeks back the very awesome Black Magnet released “Endless,” the first single from their upcoming new album, Megamantra (out July 25 via Federal Prisoner). “Endless” was just the beginning though as Black Magnet have released another song, “Better Than Love.” If you thought “Endless” was a kick to the teeth, “Better Than Love” expands upon their already punishing industrial sound and adds a great left turn to their style that immediately pulls you in and doesn’t let go. I’m quite stoked for this new album. 2025 looks to be a great year for Black Magnet!!
AFI is a band that has gone through a lot of changes stylistically throughout their career. They started out as a punk band with hardcore roots, then shifted more to the Horror punk side of things. As time went on and the band evolved they found a balance of their roots of punk and added a more goth element to their music. So in 2003, AFI released their most ambitious album up till that point, Sing The Sorrow. Their die hard fans were caught off guard by the departure of their original sound, while at the same time finding a new audience. Sing the Sorrow was produced by Butch Vig and Jerry Finn, allowing the album to be more experimental. Lyrically, the album is darker and more poetic than their previous material. I for one, when I first heard the album wasn’t really in to it at all. It just wasn’t the AFI I was a fan of. Fast forward a few years and I revisited the album and really grew to love it. There is something truly intriguing about it. The depth of the songwriting really took things to another level for the band with the use of synths, strings and the all around lyrical content. Songs like “The Leaving Song Pts. I & II,” “Bleed Black,” “Death Of Seasons,” “But Home Is Nowhere,” really show the maturity of the guys in the band. There are some songs that are a little more radio friendly like “Girls Not Grey,” “Silver and Cold,” and “Dancing Through Sunday,” but that doesn’t change the fact that the songs are really good.
This is one of those albums that with time you really come to love. There is something about Sing The Sorrow that really hits home. Sure the production on it is a little too slick and AFI has completely changed from what they once were, but the growth on this album is truly astounding. Give it another shot if you gave up on them.
AUDIOECLECTICA 