Interview

Almanac's Victor Smolski And David Readman On History, Guitar Hero Status And Finding Metal In The Soviet Union

In 2015, fans of German metal band Rage were left disappointed after it was announced that guitarist Victor Smolski had parted ways with the group. Later that year however, Smolski returned with a new project of his own, Almanac. They released their debut album, "Tsar," a biography of famous Russian monarch, Ivan The Terrible, the next year and in 2017, they unleashed their sophomore effort, "Kingslayer." Touring Europe as the opening band for Leaves' Eyes and MaYaN, they had much to prove but delivered all the goods and more. I was able to catch up with Smolski and Readman at the show in London, where we discussed the band, the guitarists' status in the metal world, teaching and how it was to find metal music growing up in Soviet Belarus.