The Sentinel is a zine focusing on Seattle’s metal scene. It’s totally interview-based. In its third issue, it could really use some development in that area. Bands are asked questions about their band names and how they got together or questions that lead into long-in-the-tooth rambling about their sound and how they make it. Sure, getting all techy is a big part of metal culture, so maybe it would interest a metalhead reader, but I slipped into autopilot reading mode. Each band was also asked about their feelings on the Seattle Pacific Northwest metal scene. This got a little repetitive. I see missed opportunities, for instance, asking why Odin Thompson of Moribund Records is well-versed in white supremacist, might-is-right Ragnar Redbeard or perhaps taking an interest in why he has a problem living in a “red-ass communist state/city who deems McDonald’s employees worth a minimum wage of $15/hr. + benefits.” I’d like to know why he thinks laborers shouldn’t be paid what still isn’t a living wage in a city where rent has literally gone up fifty percent in the last year. But the interview just trucks along with the original questions. Maybe it’s because some of these are email interviews, but if you’re doing a zine on a local scene, there’s no reason not to do live interviews. Their feature on One God Or An Other broke the mold a bit, getting into the band’s environmentalism and connection to the beauty of the Northwest landscape, their spirituality around it, and how the destruction of the earth influences their sound. As a result of such insight, I downloaded OGOAO’s album from Bandcamp. I’m not a big metalhead, but I do live in Seattle, so I hope to see TheSentinelaround. –Craven Rock (The Sentinel, 3020 27th Ave. W, Seattle, WA 98199, [email protected])