Jack Terricloth (World/Inferno Friendship Society)

Jack Terricloth of The World/Inferno Friendship Society is contemplating death. You see, when he first moved to New York he became infatuated with the band-du-jour, The Paranoid Style. Fronted by the lovely Grace Talicious, The Paranoid Style perfected the difficult combination of sophisticated elegance and radical art.

Terricloth pined after Talicious for years, only building up the courage to finally contact her last year, just before World/Inferno’s annual Hallowmas concert. But, just as Terricloth was about to reach out to Talicious, she was struck dead. Instead of Hallowmas being a celebration, it was quickly converted to a wake for Talicious (although, it was still a big party).

Now World/Inferno is on the verge of releasing This Packed Funeral out November 11 via Alternative Tentacles Records. The album features Terricloth and the rest of the band, speaking at Talicious’ wake, reflecting on what was, and what could have been. Days before the band’s annual Hallowmas show (the details of which the band is keeping hush-hush, though surely, it will play into the album somehow) features editor John Gentile spoke to Terricloth about life, death, and pagan gods.

Joey Cape (Lagwagon)

Hang dropped yesterday and is Lagwagon's first full-length in almost a decade, and everyone is really excited. It's for a good reason, considering that Lagwagon is such a renowned band in the punk scene. But, the question remains: Why was it such a long time between full-lengths? When you are a band as loved as Lagwagon, you would think that you'd feel the need to satiate your fans constant hunger for new music. But, Joey Cape thinks differently, and his reasoning may be part of why Lagwagon has released solid albums for the 20 years they've been around, and this is the first time he's been able to say that the band is 99 percent excited for Hang.

It seemed prudent to speak with Joey and get a full understanding of Hang, so contributing editor Xan Mandell called him up. What followed was a detailed conversation on not only just the writing and recording of Hang and the length of time between full-lengths, but his thoughts on Lagwagon in general, the various themes on Hang, creativity and embracing being a "bitter old man."

Steve Souza (Exodus)

Exodus is an explosive band. One of the very creators of thrash metal, the band has had more than 28 people tear through their ranks. No doubt, the vicious, berserk music itself played a part in blasting people into, and out of, the band. Plus, the members’ huge personalities certainly exacerbated the band’s volatility.

To that point, vocalist Steve Souza is back in the band after ten years in exile. (He also had a previous decade-long split from the band starting in 1993!) Fittingly, the band’s brand new record is called Blood In, Blood Out, where the band jostles back together and tries not to blast apart all while cutting out fierce thrash metal.

To see how the bonding is going, features editor John Gentile spoke to Souza about making amends, the new LP and that time he smoked weed and saw AC/DC and Van Halen… at the same show!

Chris Farren (Antarctigo Vespucci)

If you can’t find something to love out of all of Chris Farren’s different projects between his solo work, Antarctigo Vespucci and Fake Problems, then chances are that you have real ones. The punk frontman turned acoustic troubadour turned power pop maestro wears a variety of hats, and recently added t-shirt impresario and Lost podcast host to his impressive array of titles. Staff interviewer G’Ra Asim caught up with Farren to get the lowdown on making a Fest appearance with a brand new band, his estrangement from once-dear friend Mr. Yucky and the unlikely role the Fresh Prince played in the making of Antarctigo Vespucci’s debut EP, Soulmate Stuff.

Jade Puget (XTRMST)

For at least five albums now, the scene's most divisive band has abandoned its punk sound, venturing off into more mainstream areas, becoming more and more distant from their hardcore roots. But now AFI's Davey Havok and Jade Puget are making a return to form with their new band.

XTRMST is a straight-edge hardcore band that is louder and heavier than anything the creative duo has ever done before. On a day off in Baton Rouge, Louisiana during the never-ending Burials tour, guitarist and songwriter Jade Puget spoke to Punknews interviewer Gen Handley about why they started a straight-edge hardcore band now, how they ended up on Steve Aoki's label and if he still considers AFI a punk rock band.

Ethan Koozer and Kevin Dye (Gates)

Some of the best bands have come out of the DIY New Jersey punk/indie scene. Gates is another band that is an accurate reflection of that. Gates will be releasing their debut full length album Bloom & Breathe on Pure Noise Records on October 21st, 2014. Contributing Editor Samantha Barrett spoke with guitarist Ethan Koozer and guitarist/vocalist Kevin Dye about the new album, lighting effects and future plans.

Kepi Ghoulie

Process this: Kepi Ghoulie's been playing music for 30 years. While many of you were still in grade school, he was fronting pop-punk legends the Groovie Ghoulies, embarking on an accomplished solo career and producing one-of-a-kind artwork.

Now he's heading to Gainesville for Fest 13, and as part of the 'Org's preview coverage, Punknews editor Adam Eisenberg caught up with Kepi to talk about the big anniversary, his rotating cast of backing bands and spending Fest weekend looking for Mikey Erg.

Lou Koller (Sick of It All)

New York Hardcore and Sick of It All are synonymous. For the past three decades, the band has been keeping it hard and heavy, blasting out massive cut after massive cut.

But while many of the band’s peers slipped into cliché or routine, Sick of It All has kept their music constantly interesting, pushing the boundaries of hardcore’s sonic attack or addressing topics previously untouched.

For example, on the band’s new album, The Last Act of Defiance, frontman Lou Koller tackles topics including assassinations of political figures, aging gracefully in the hardcore scene and the issue of Constitutional rights.

To learn about the new album, Punknews Features Editor John Gentile spoke to Koller about the Constitution, the ethics of moshing and that time Will.I.Am (unknowingly?) included a Sick of It All reference on his solo album.

Jon Loudon (Restorations)

Philadelphia, PA has a lot going for it recently in the punk world. Notably, Restorations is much loved in that punk sphere and is sharing with us what they love to do best in musical format. Restorations have embarked on cranking out new music this year by releasing LP3 on October 28, 2014 on Side One Dummy Records. Contributing Editor Samantha Barrett chatted with guitarist Jon Loudon about the new LP and future plans for the band.

Prawn

Bands don't just find their signature sound overnight. In fact, it's usually a process that can take years to finally figure out. Such is the case with Prawn, who have released two LPs, two EPs and a plethora of splits and singles. Their latest full-length, Kingfisher, is a carefully constructed album that courses through twists and turns, yet seems methodically laid out. Garnering rave reviews and a spot on "Billboard," Kingfisher is the band's push into the spotlight. But the record didn't come easily. When writing the record, Prawn considered their past releases. They realized that while sonically unique, charming and creative, they weren't cohesive, nor did that have an initial hook that pulled listeners in. They were records that grew on you with time. In an era where music flows freely, the attention span of listeners is short at best. To compensate, Prawn had to rework their sound to have a more instantaneous appeal. They kept that idea with them during while writing Kingfisher. That attention worked, as the record is undoubtedly the band's strongest effort to date, and will most likely be the ticket into success the band has been looking for.

Prawn sat down with contributing editor Xan Mandell as they passed through Chicago on the Topshelf Records tour. They went over various aspects of the writing process, the relief that came with Kingfisher's critical acclaim and how it has helped solidify Prawn as being the main focus for the lives of each member.

Dean Clean (The Dead Milkmen)

Philadelphia’s most famous punk band, The Dead Milkmen, are about to release their new album Pretty Music for Pretty People. The album is one of the group’s most frantic, jumpy, twisted releases to date. The band flips off mainstream pop, ganks a Stooges title and, as always, take a couple of kidney punches at Reagan.

Because the band is on the verge of releasing a new, perverse marvel, features editor John Gentile spoke to drummer Dean Clean about the new LP, Tastykakes, playing shows in cemeteries and another famous Philadelphian band.