Time Signature of Metal Music Archives recently conducted an interview with the one-man metal army that is Brent McDaniel, the driving force behind the Atlanta, GA-based metal act ASHEN REIGN. Some excerpts from the chat follow below:

MetalMusicArchives.com:First of all, congratulations on your second album, An Angels Burden, which came out July 1st. It is no secret that I quite like it, but what has the general reception been so far?

Brent McDaniel: "Thanks so much for having me and I’m really excited that you like the CD. The album has been doing great, exactly what I hoped it would do - that is, mainly open up people to a little different breed of metal that allows them to hear my thoughts, expressions and ideas. But mainly just see if there are other people who enjoy my brand of metal…"

MetalMusicArchives.com:Have you had any thoughts or concerns regarding the reception of the vocals, seeing that they are so different from the singing styles typically used in power metal and heavy metal?

McDaniel: "Yes, I was concerned for sure. It’s easy for some people to hate, dismiss and dismantle, but it’s hard to build something. I am always concerned people will hear it and dismiss it because it does not fit the mold of what is considered traditional metal vocals. There are so many great bands with powerful, screaming vocals or cool deep growling that it seems if you want to be heard, you have to fit that style to be taken seriously…but in the end I think I created something that can fill a small void in the metal scene."

MetalMusicArchives.com: Do you have any advice to other musicians out there who would like to do one-man bands themselves?

McDaniel: "Go for it. If it’s something you feel strong about and are willing to put in the time and effort, then do it. You are the only person holding yourself back. But be prepared - it does take a lot of work if you do everything. It’s pretty easy to get it 80% there, but that last 20% to actually polish it off and make it stand next to a true commercial track is the hard part. The devil is in the details…"

Read the entire interview at this location.

Ashen Reign's new track 'Hope' is currently streaming online at BraveWords.com - head to the left-hand-side of the site to launch the KnuckleTracks Online Audio Player.

For more details visit Ashenreign.com.