The blackened-doom trio’s frontman tells us what makes Psycho distinct, why you probably won’t be seeing him in the pool — and, with some coaxing, what stands as his best Vegas memory (so far).

“So I was teaching music to kids and that was how the healing process began. I thought I was done playing music, but once I started treating the PTSD, anxiety, and depression that followed with talk therapy and EMDR trauma therapy, the songs started slowly coming out again. This was the only way I saw results in my improvement. Eventually I started playing shows again and before I knew it, the anxiety started to lessen the more and more I played.”

With classic metal vinyl at her fingertips and Judas Priest in her heart, Kim Galdámez will keep concertgoers alert by spinning throughout the festival, which is five short weeks away.

Lead guitarist Darkest Prince sheds light — or darkness — on the punk-minded black-metal band’s performance at the festival, and allows us bow down to our new Master.

Jean-Paul Gaster, drummer for “America’s quintessential rock and roll band,” took some time before heading out on tour to praise Wino from the Obsessed, spill secrets about how Clutch determine their set lists, and divulge why he’s especially excited to see Carcass at Psycho.

Vocalist/guitarist Gabriel Franco discusses the goth-rock/post-punk band’s much-anticipated performance at the festival, his plans to rely on a diet of milk and pasta for the show (?!), and what he plans to do with the band’s earnings in Vegas (take a wild guess …).

We chat up the “heavy magic rock” band’s vocalist, Johanna Sadonis, about chilling with the frontwoman of influential and like-minded band Coven, and how to beat the Vegas heat in the middle of the summer.

“Vio-lence has not played a large festival like the Psycho festival, so for us to reunite as longtime friends and musicians and be given this opportunity is verification that we did the right thing by reuniting,” vocalist Sean Killian told the Big Takeover.

We chat with the crusty death/doom-metal outfit’s drummer about playing in Vegas for the first time, which other bands he’s eager to see perform, and bringing blasphemy to the already-depraved Sin City.

We talk with singer/guitarist Stephen McBean about his psychedelic band’s new album, Destroyer; playing the kids’ slot machine in casinos; his favorite memories of past Psycho festivals; and more.

The avant-garde artist Cellista speaks to Kevin Burke about her latest album Transfigurations and how she effortlessly blends ambient noise with slices of hip hop, classical music, and alternative pop.

We chatted with all three members of the Motorhead tribute band about what made Lemmy great, whether go-go dancers will join them onstage and what other bands they’ll be worshipping at the festival.

We caught up with the psych-rock band’s vocalist/guitarist, Greg Meleney, to discuss why he refuses to watch YouTube clips of Danava’s first Psycho show, why he loves playing in the heat and why bands shouldn’t use set lists when they perform in concert.

The frontmen for the bands, Stuart Braithwaite and George Clarke, talk about what they’d most like to hear each other play at the festival, their favorite songs by their respective bands — and the possibility of a collaboration between Mogwai and Deafheaven.

We recently caught up with George Clarke about why his blackgaze band wasn’t an obvious pick for the predominantly metal festival; the wild success of their recently released B-side, “Black Brick” — and his new hairstyle.

We talk with the beloved post-rock band’s founding guitarist/vocalist, Stuart Braithwaite revealed part of the reason why Mogwai went vegan and how he’d like their spectacle at the festival to measure up to a Britney Spears show.

“I take time between releases because that’s how long it takes me to write and record – about 3 or 4 months per song. Also, there is so much music out there, I don’t think we need a new release from me every year!” – Chris Cohen

The Satanic doo-wop duo from L.A. talk about what they have in store for their Sunday show at the festival and their “connection” to none other than Sammy Davis Jr.

The prog-metal quintet’s frontman spills about what made their first U.S. show “overwhelmingly good,” expanding from a quartet to a five-piece and which bands they’re stoked to see at the festival.

Bassist Aaron Rieseberg reveals what the celebrated doom trio will play at the festival — and that Yob’s next album could be its last.

The Jasmine Minks speak to Kevin Burke about their past, their present releases and the future of this highly influential outfit.

Singer/guitarist Jason Shi and drummer Scott Key spill about killing it at the blackjack table, remembering (and not remembering) Alice Cooper’s set from Psycho Las Vegas 2016, and transcending into psychotic states of mind.

Guitarist and founder Tony Campos shares a long list of bands he’s eager to see perform at Psycho, how he expects to lose his hearing there and his band’s plans to “burn the festival to the ground.”

Adam Gerard and Steve Stapleton of New York Band Earnhardt speak to Kevin Burke about their new album, their influences and all things Americana

Grails experimentalist and Om drummer Emil Amos says he prefers LSD over roulette — but is still making the trek to Vegas, since this year’s festival is looking so damn good.

“There have been several waves of people moving away to LA, etc. because they get evicted or simply can’t afford to stay anymore. We love San Francisco so much and even though it’s changing every year, we don’t want to give up on it as it still has a scene of very talented artists and musicians. We are just waiting for this bubble to burst, at least a little bit but, sadly this is happening everywhere right now in different ways, so all we can do is adapt and keep doing what we do.” – Galine Tumasyan

One of the most brutal acts on a festival lineup, the death-metal band’s guitarist chats about burning through wads of cash in Sin City, finding a random hype man for their gig and their drummer’s plans to try out his new stand-up material.

Nashville’s “cosmic riff” connoisseurs chat about going (for) broke in Las Vegas, floating in gin and tonics in the festival’s pool, and the “psych-punk rodeo” they have planned for this year’s installment.

Widely considered to be the most talented avant-guard musician in Chicago, Lamont gushed so hard over the festival that it made us reconsider whether we were the most amped heavy-music fans who will be attending.

Psychedelic-Folk troubadour Kim Thompsett speaks to Kevin Burke about her latest album, her sound and the influences

“Anybody that spends a few hours a day playing an instrument for a few years can shred, but to really convey emotion with a simple part that gets stuck in your head, that takes a great ear and instinct.” – Chris King

We spoke with vocalist Colin H. Van Eeckhout about his excitement to play alongside Yob, Mark Lanegan and Black Angels at this year’s edition of Psycho Las Vegas — the first to feature his long-running post-metal collective, Amenra.

Ralph Rolle the backbone of Chic speaks to Kevin Burke about his career, the people he’s worked with, and all things drums.

Guitarist Julien Chanut chats about the French sludge-doom band’s collective excitement to play the States for the first time, their recent collaboration with another Psycho participant — Perturbator — and whether or not they might debut a new tune.

We recently spoke with founding guitarist Dango about the fuzz-rock band’s history with Psycho, their expectations of playing in front of their biggest crowd ever in the U.S. — and why they’ve all but given up booze.

Kevin Burke spoke to Michael Ciravolo about his project Beauty In Chaos, the music, his influences and the star-studded upcoming release Beauty Re-Envisioned

We spoke with frontman Thomas Eriksen about how exciting it will be to play America for the first time, to see Megadeth perform and to deliver a “black mass” that will sate the ravenous appetites of devout fans.

“There’s sadness in everything but there is also hope everywhere you look. It’s similar to how we connect the dark aspects of life with the beauty of art and music. I’m not sure if you can even really have one without the other.” – Cole Browning

We speak with Tobias Grave, frontman of the self-described “sad rock” trio, about Psycho Las Vegas’ allure — and why he’s afraid to chill with fellow Psychos and tour mates Devil Master.

Goatwhore drummer Zack Simmons geeks out over the artists he’s most excited to see at Psycho Las Vegas, what his own band has in store — and what drew him to the festival as a fan two years ago.

The Get Up Kids are set to their release their sixth album, with a renewed confidence in their sound.

Scottish indie rock band Paws is back to reclaim their sound with epic songs and catchy hooks.

Paul Quattrone discusses his love for The Bomb Squad, how it feels to step out of the drum throne in his new project Warm Drag, and why dabbling in odd time signatures can very quickly ruin an artist’s ability to be taken seriously.

PUP is set to release their third album with their own record label, and they discuss the new album Morbid Stuff’s theme, dealing with life on the road and how they continue to grow as a band.

Julian Fader talks Ava Luna’s latest record, the near-discontinuation of their tenure prior to its release, and bandmates’ influences ranging from Enya to Cornelius.

Miki Berenyi (Lush), Moose (Moose), Mick Conroy (Modern English), and Justin Welch (Elastica) unite as stellar and relevant new indie rock/dream-pop band.

“My first true punk concert was the UK Subs who came to Lowestoft in 1980. Then I saw The Damned a bunch of times from 1980 to ’82. It was just a magical time and I am so glad I grew up when I did. I don’t think kids today get that feeling from music but I hope I’m wrong.” – Dave Hawes

“We definitely don’t see ourselves as a shoegaze or a grunge band, I find those tags to be fairly meaningless, especially as those specific genres were more scenes from a time and place rather than a sonically defined music style, but we understand why we can be labelled as that.” – David Noonan

“Whether or not my feelings or emotions are properly translated, I always hope we can evoke some sort of feeling or reaction from our listeners (even if it’s pure hatred).” – Bria Salmena