Metal-Roos spoke to Geoff McGraw (vocals), Joe Sims (guitars) from the band Axemaster about their new album, “Of Beasts And Plagues, which was released on June 19th, 2026 via Cosmic Fire Records!
Metal-Roos: “Of Beasts And Plagues” has been described as one of AXEMASTER’s strongest creative statements to date. What inspired the themes and direction of this album?
Joe Sims: I was really inspired to write the music for the new album right after we got rid of the drummer we had in 2019, and it wasn’t pretty. I was so pissed and tired of the rat-race of finding musicians that I just said “the hell with it, I’m gonna write a new album”. That kind of kicked me in the ass to get going on writing, so I used all the time during the Covid lockdown to write most of the music for the album. Did NOTHING but write. Besides, I just really love writing music, it’s my favorite thing to do in music, so it didn’t take much to get my ass back to concentrating on it! It had been too long anyway, we needed fresh material! As far as the musical direction of the album is concerned, I’ve never started off writing an album with a direction in mind. I come up with a lot of new riffs, if I write one I like well enough, I record it and try to fit it into a song. And what I like are dark riffs that are doomy and a little thrashy, as well as what I think are somewhat different. So the direction just follows what I come up with that I like!
Geoff McGraw: Lyrically, with Axemaster I have always tended toward darker themes. The music just pulls in that direction to begin with, and I have a tendency to head in those directions anyway. This time out there is a bit of history & quite a bit of Dark Fantasy. We finished our trilogy of HP Lovecraft inspired songs. Joe provided lyrics on politics and the metal community, and Our drummer Craig provided a very personal look at mortality.
Metal-Roos: How did the songwriting process for “Of Beasts And Plagues” differ from your previous releases, if at all?
Joe Sims: I wrote the music pretty much the same way that I recorded “Overture to Madness”: I wrote everything on my own then recorded the finished songs to a metronome. I did pre-production demos and played them to Geoff (our singer) and Chris (our bassist at the time) to make sure they liked the songs and to get suggestions. I used the few suggestions they had and altered some of the tracks a little, then worked with Craig (drummer for the album) to determine what he would play. The drum parts are mostly Craig’s creations, but he did use the suggestions I had about what I wanted in general. I also wrote the lyrics for a couple songs for the first time since I started working with Geoff.
Geoff McGraw: This time out was struggle for me, strictly because of personal issues. Usually I hear the music and immediately have some idea of where I want to go, but all the things in my head created a block for me. Thankfully Joe and Craig helped provide lyrics for several songs and I focused on the remainder. In the end I broke through and working with Joe I think we created some truly memorable moments.
Metal-Roos: The album blends classic U.S. heavy metal with elements of thrash and doom. How did you approach balancing these influences while maintaining the AXEMASTER identity?
Joe Sims: It’s never really a conscious effort to balance the elements while keeping the same identity, it comes totally naturally. Like I said above, I just make up riffs and use the ones I really like, then build a song from them and work with everyone to create their parts using my suggestions (if any). On the last album, we DID write some of the material more as a band. But even then, for me to want to use anything we came up with, it had to be dark, a little thrashy and a little doomy. I only want to use riffs/songs that I like well enough to really get into when I crank them in my car!!!!
Geoff McGraw: Joe has a signature feel, It makes up the Axemaster sound. Strangely enough it’s very similar to the way I like things contructed as well. Even when it diverages a little bit it still sounds like Joe…hence it sounds like Axemaster.
Metal-Roos: Looking back at your journey since the 1980s, what has kept AXEMASTER motivated and committed to heavy metal through all the changes in the music industry?
Joe Sims: That’s simple, it totally comes from my MAJOR love of heavy metal, and my love of writing and playing. I’m as motivated and excited about music as I was 40 years ago, no different than I was back in 85 when we did our first demo!!!! And I just rolled with the changing landscape of the music business. It’s important to be flexible and willing to change how you go about things as the business changes. Just have to keep learning, and I’m good with that!
Metal-Roos: Are there any particular songs on the album that you feel best represent where AXEMASTER is today as a band, and why?
Joe Sims: Hmmm. I guess I would pick 3 songs for different reasons. The first would be “Murder of Crows” because it has a kind of eerie and creepy feel, and it really shows off Geoff’s amazing vocals, a great example of what he can do vocally. The next is “The Dark Side” because it’s more thrashy, the riffs are mean sounding, and the drums are double bass pretty much throughout. The last one is “Clinging to Life” because it’s more technical and the middle part is a perfect cross of doom and slow chugging thrash.
Geoff McGraw: I am with Joe on “Murder Of Crows” it was a good 1st Single, But I also really like “Kissed With A Fist” it brought back the feel we had on “10,000 Lb. Hammer” and I really feel like “Machine” brought out the experimental side of the band, each of those tunes shows a different side of the band.
Metal-Roos: The underground metal scene has changed dramatically over the decades. How do you view the current state of traditional heavy metal compared to when AXEMASTER first started?
Joe Sims: OF COURSE the worldwide metal scene (ESPECIALLY in the U.S.) is not as strong as it was when we first started in 84-85. But it’s surely a lot better than it was 20 or 25 years ago. In those years, as we all know, metal like what we play struggled to just stay alive. But the popularity of our kind of metal has risen A LOT since then. It has not come all the way back to what it was in the mid 80’s, but, hopefully, some day it will get back to that level, not impossible!!!!
Metal-Roos: What challenges and opportunities come with creating new music as a veteran band while also appealing to younger generations of metal fans?
Joe Sims: I think metal in general is gaining more younger fans which is FANTASTIC. Hell, our bass player now (Jenson Kozar) is only 25 years old and LOVES old and new metal. Anyway, like I said before, I write things I like to hear, and basically just hope that other people like what I write as much as I do. I have never written songs especially for a specific demographic like young people. But I will say, we have a lot of younger fans! The real challenge with creating new music being a veteran who has written thousands of riffs, hundreds of songs, and released something like 100 songs, is to always write things that are new and different. I don’t want anything I write to sound like any song I have ever been a part of writing and releasing, so I have to explore different things to make that happen. One big thing has been using a different tuning on one of my guitars, which creates a different sound. Recently, I have been interested in using different kinds of chords that I have rarely ever used in the past. But overall, fortunately, my well of creativity is far from dry!!! I’m extremely proud that I can still create new and different music!!!!!
Geoff McGraw: In general I think as a band we have to be happy, write for ourselves as opposed to trying to appeal to a specific demographic. We’ve all seen what happens when bands try to chase a specific sound or appeal to a group of listeners. I am happy for every person who wants to come along for the ride and appreciate what we do, but I think it’s an error to try and appeal to a specific group, doing that weakens what we do.
Metal-Roos: With “Of Beasts And Plagues” about to be released, what are your plans for promoting the album? Can fans expect live shows, festival appearances, or a tour?
Joe Sims: I promote the band and album CONSTANTLY online, I do as much promo as one person can possibly do without really having a budget, and will continue to do so. As far as live shows, tours, and festivals go, we will be playing live locally here. But it takes a lot of money to tour because of travel and sleeping arrangements, money we don’t have. We would have to have a booking agent/agency or promoter who will cover most of the expenses, and finding people who would do that is NOT easy, maybe even impossible for a band like us. So as of now, touring and travel are not an option for us. But who knows, if this new album does really well, we might interest someone who would invest in some kind of tour!!!
Metal-Roos: Has the current lineup brought any new influences or perspectives that have helped shape the band’s recent material?
Joe Sims: Yeah, it has FOR SURE. Our current bass player (Jenson Kozar) can be simply described as a prodigy, he can do anything on bass that I could ever throw at him and he’s only in his middle 20’s. It’s such a joy to play with someone so skilled and knowledgable about music! AND, our drummer (Adam Windisch) is a HIGH energy drummer who plays the songs in a heavier/thrashier way. His energetic playing has really given some of the songs new life. When we start playing shows again, we’re gonna really surprise some people who have seen us before!!!!
Metal-Roos: Looking beyond this album, what goals or ambitions does AXEMASTER still hope to achieve in the coming years?
Joe Sims: We FOR SURE want to keep putting out new material, to hopefully a bigger fan base gained from this new album. I would love to tour and ESPECIALLY play in Europe; we will just have to see whether doing those things will ever be a possibility. Just keep going, keep writing, playing, and promoting, and see how far it takes us!!!!
Geoff McGraw: I would love to play to bigger audiences, before Covid hit we had a full summer lined up with shows and festivals and we watched as each and every show got cancelled one by one. At the time I felt like we were finally moving in a bigger direction. I hope that this album will lead to that again, and allow us to bring our sound to bigger places. After that we’ll definitely write again.
Metal-Roos – Bonus question:
After more than four decades in heavy metal, what do you hope listeners take away from AXEMASTER and “Of Beasts And Plagues” when they hear the album for the first time?
Joe Sims: That Axemaster is still honest to our roots, but at the same time has evolved to include elements that we hadn’t done previously. That people can tell that we put a lot of thought, time, and effort into creating a kick ass album. But most of all, after hearing the CD, that people want to hear more!!!!!
Geoff McGraw: I hope that they get chills and share it with all their friends, and join us on “The Dark Side” (yes that’s a song title joke, own your puns and love them)
