In a year’s time, Canada’s Traveler have become a household name for heavy metal fans and are set to release their sophomore effort Termination Shock a month from now. Plainly put, it is yet another example of how necessary traditional heavy metal is in today’s terms. We all need a reason to jump, cheer, and throw the horns right now and this band, and new album, is reason for all this. The band’s self titled debut was a tour-de-force last year and this one eclipses it by a mile with better instrumentation, better songwriting and deeper references realized that us old heads hold so dear and that new fans will be over the moon for. So, head below for the details.

Ahead of Termination Shock‘s release, guitarist, founding member, and primary songwriter Matt Ries took some precious time to chat with Buke about the upcoming album and how they nearly were stuck abroad at the outset of our current pandemic. They also spend some time on the process of recording at home, several favorite artists, Iron Maiden, and a whole mess of other topics. This is their conversation — jump in and take listen!

—

—

Many thanks to Matt for his time!

Wanna subscribe to The Nine Circles Audio Thing? Click here to find out how.

– Buke

Termination Shock will be available April 24 on Gates of Hell Records and the band’s Bandcamp page. For more information on Traveler, visit their Facebook page and Bigcartel page.