The Werkshed

FUNERAL FORNICATION “Pandemic Transgression”

2011-06-27T10:51:00.000-07:00

Full-length – Hypnotic Dirge Records
July 29th, 2011

DSBM has always had a limited niche appeal. While some acts can stand out, often times we are met with a bedroom black metal that isn’t well written, and doesn’t bring anything interesting to the table. While there isn’t as many artists in the genre as others it’s still hard to browse a list of artists and find a decent number of acts worth checking out. Canada’s Funeral Fornication, while not really bringing much else to the table, actually shows competence in the solo artist’s writing abilities, and has acceptable production quality which is more than enough to at least give it a try.

Not including a handful of demos, Pandemic Transgression is FF’s fourth major release, and while staying true to the depressive style established recently, more melodic passages are influenced while the timbre is as strong as ever.

Unfortunately, while there is a slight style shift, the same issue I’ve had in the past with the act still exists; things are rather stagnant. The atmosphere is great and fits the genre to a tee, but I wasn’t surprised by anything on the album, and I could predict where it was going to take me. The lyrical content appears to be generic for the genre, but I do not put much emphasis on it in my reviews. However, the execution of what is on this album is strong enough to mostly save it from the negative aspects.

To conclude, this album definitely does not stand out from the bunch. However if you are a devout black metal freak, it is well worth the pick-up.

7/10

Reviewed by; Matt Coughlin

EKOVE EFRITS “Conceptual Horizon”

2011-06-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

Full-length – Hypnotic Dirge Records
July 29th, 2011.

It really amazes me how far and wide heavy metal music has gone over the past few decades. We are truly experiencing a global phenomenon even if it often lurks in the shadows of what is the mainstream. Whether it be the more successful styles or underground chances are it has found a place in almost every country in the world, even beyond western development. In fact many non-European nations are home to various hidden gems whether they are situated in South America or Southeast Asia.

One such region that while limited in quantity of bands but makes up for it with a nice ratio of quality, relatively speaking, is the Middle East. While the more popular bands of this area are likely to throw in the folk music of their indigenous areas to add flavor and stick out among the crowd, others keep the styles traditional and execute it well. From within this scene comes a nice black metal solo project hailing from Iran; Ekove Efrits. Throwing in a dark symphonic influence and more melancholic passages than your old school acts, yet still staying true to the genre, here is an act worth looking out for as I see only good things to come.

Conceptual Horizon, the act’s forthcoming release, offers an accessible but well executed musical passage that melts beauty and lamentation into an intricate and emotional journey. Each track is complemented by rich symphonic passages and down-tempo guitar work, which makes for a very melody driven release. Ambient passages are also to be found throughout which both are nature inspired and more technical other times. The only two complaints I could really have is that the clean vocals could be better performed, though they are still not bad. The other complaint is while each track is beautifully orchestrated, the listener isn’t given much variety here, save for a few tracks. While it is good that the general mood of the release is consistent, I feel experimenting with song structure could benefit Ekove in the long run. My favorite track of the release would have to be “A Celebration for Sorrow,” the acoustic guitar fuses nicely with the synth ambience, and reminds me a lot of Blut Aus Nord’s more transcendental works, before it goes into doom inspired symphonic black metal passages along with more well written ambience, which seems to be Count De Efrit’s strong suit. Overall this album just falls short of being an obscure classic, but it is well worth purchasing, as well as being one of Hypnotic Dirge’s best releases thus far.

8/10
Reviewed by; Matt Coughlin

AURA OF AQUILA Interview

2011-05-19T02:52:00.000-07:00

Living in the North Shore of Massachusetts comes with privileges. You’ve got plenty of beaches, restaurants, diverse culture, the seasons, and activities in general. Unfortunately one of the things that is lacking out here is a well established metal scene. Sure, we have noteworthy amounts of people (yet still a minority) who have heard of most of the genres. You got your death metal fans sporting their Amon Amarth, Death and Cannibal Corpse T-Shirts, your prog/power metal fanboys who have to get to the Symphony X and Dream Theater shows; your “thrash scene” which sadly has only heard of the Big Four, and of course with the rise of hardcore punk coming out of Boston, you have a myriad of metalcore fans, both of enjoyable acts such as hometown heroes Converge, and the countless mallrats spewing that if you don’t like Slipknot and other mallcore acts, “you don’t like heavy metal music;” The former of the two also seems to embrace stoner and sludge doom such as Sleep and Neurosis as well. Of course the majority of people, metal head or otherwise, most likely listen to the most mainstream of acts such as Metallica, Blind Guardian and Iron Maiden. While this is a lot better than some areas that pretty much have no metal exposure whatsoever, I find it depressing that all of these metal scenes in the area’s knowledge only expands to that which you’d find in a Metal 101 book. While these metal heads (sans the mall rats) do listen to enjoyable music for the most part, it makes you feel alone when you bring up anything underground and are greeted with a confused stare.

To make matters worse black metal has some of the worst exposure around here. Sure, people have heard of less than great acts such as Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir and Old Man’s Child (surprisingly no-one has really heard Satyricon even after they went “black ‘n roll”). I was shocked when I found two kids in my graduating class listening to Emperor and 1349, though still mainstream as far as black metal concerns, but nonetheless, leagues better than the former acts. In fact in my hometown with a population of nearly 40,000 I have only met two locals with the same knowledge of metal music as myself; one of which being someone I got into the genre, the other, a librarian who used to work for a progressive rock catalog.

It goes without saying; the limited exposure has its effects on the local bands. We have a handful of melodic death metal acts that aren’t bad in their own right, but upon listening you just see a B-Rate version of their favorite acts, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity and occasionally Opeth. Then you have some thrash bands that sound like midtempo versions of early Metallica; nothing more than barroom music. And don’t even give the metalcore bands a chance; you’ll only torture yourself doing so. We do have a decent collection of Jazz Rap, Progressive Rock and Jam Bands if you’re open minded to those genres, but metal doesn’t really have any gems around here, unless you commute about an hour to major cities like Boston and Lowell, where you’ll find some decent if not very good acts. With black metal being one of the least exposed subgenres around here, dare I attempt to find a solid black metal act?

Surprise, surprise! A friend randomly told me about an act called, Aura of Aquila when discussing USBM, so I figured I’d check them out. Not only is it a real black metal band, but a very unique one that has a wicked nice sound, that is genuinely organic. I immediately went to Encyclopaedia Metallum to see if there’s any information on this act, and find out they are from Danvers, Massachusetts, a neighboring town within walking distance from my house. I marked out like a prepubescent girl at a Justin Bieber concert. The same friend sent me a copy of their 2006 demo, “...Amidst Terrifying Silence,” and I was hooked. The production quality was perfect; low-fidelity but very decipherable. The lead guitars are beautifully inspired by blues rock, while the blast beats and vocals add a great depressive atmosphere. There is also a lot of clean guitar and vocal work that adds a nice touch to the release. Hell, I don’t know why but it really does feel like it has local flavor to it, but in the best possible way.

I’m already five paragraphs into this, so before I go on a huge rant about how awesome the experience is, I’ll cut myself short and say this is a band you should really look out for. They deserve a lot more publicity than they have, which is why I came in contact with Jim Joyce the band’s guitarist and vocalist to set up an interview about the band and other projects he’s involved in.

The Werkshed: Jim, thank you for giving us the privilege to have this interview. First, could you let the readers know, about your earliest experiences playing music?

Jim Joyce: My earliest experience in playing music was really just finding an acoustic guitar with a few strings left on it and deciding to make some noise on it and record it....apparently not a lot has changed ha.

WS: What was the first album you purchased?

JJ: I think the first album i ever bought was Load from Metallica. They really caught my interest when i first heard them.

WS: As I mentioned in the foreground, black metal isn’t very well established in the area. How did you end up discovering this subgenre?

JJ: I was going through one of the many transition periods life throws at you and the drummer for Aura, Kilty showed me some bands and I fell quickly in love with the emotion of the genre.

WS: Was it difficult finding the right band mates for AoA? How did you guys end up forming?

JJ: Kilty and I started the band and went through a couple of singers and bassists. I wasn't originally supposed to sing for the band but we couldn't find someone on the same page as us so i decided just to sing. Bassists in black metal are all but nonexistent.

WS: How did you guys decide on the name Aura of Aquila?

JJ: We were looking at a map of constellations and came across one of an eagle called Aquila which stuck out to us. Not sure why we decided on Aura but it all seemed to fit pretty well.

WS: What other projects are you currently involved in and could you tell us a bit about them? Do you have any forthcoming acts you’d like to share with us?

JJ: I am currently in a Metallica tribute called Master of Beers, and an original progressive band called Autumn Above. You can pick up our first CD at Newbury Comics. And I am sort of in the process of starting a few more projects, probably a black or folk metal thing.

WS: Who are some of your biggest influences musically for this project? What about for your other projects?

JJ: The biggest influence for the band was really just life events. It was personally a very difficult time in my life and it sort of reflecting in the music how i felt as a person at the time.

WS: What inspires you as far as lyrical content? Do your lyrics reflect your ideals and daily rituals?

JJ: The lyrics are pure emotion. I tend to not write any music or lyrics unless i have something i need to get out. I can't speak for the songs Kilty wrote though.

WS: For those unfamiliar with your work, how would you describe the band?

JJ: Harsh, but hopeful.

WS: What would you say separates you from other black metal acts, especially as far as United States bands? Possibly on the contrary what makes Aura of Aquila a band that fans of the scene would like?

JJ: Not sure what would separate us from other bands. Probably just not giving a shit what anyone thought of what we were doing. Really we were doing it because we needed to for ourselves.

WS: Since the band’s formation in 2006, we’ve seen an EP, a split release and a full-length each coming out a year apart from 2006-2008. Could you tell us about the experience creating these releases? Also what was it like working with the New Hampshire based, Unknown Kadath on the split?

JJ: "...Amidst Terrifying Silence" came along very quickly. I believe we were a band for only a few months until all those songs were written. I did all the bass and guitars. The split didn't take long either, We had plenty of material at the time, some of which never made it to tape. "Ghostly Evening Light" was a bit more difficult. It was the first time we recorded with a bassist (Zak Nicastro) and I was moving during the time we were recording it. It ended up taking a lot longer than anticipated. I only met the guy from Unknown Kadath once, we tended to be on our own and talking to him through the internet so it was sort of a no issue.

WS: Have you ever experienced writer’s block while working on releases? If so how do you combat it?

JJ: I haven't ever found a way to get through writers block. I usually try and write something then scrap it a few hours later because it sounds terrible and I'm not feeling it.

WS: Where can fans purchase your releases?

JJ: Most of the stuff is out of print I have copies of GEL still which they would have to talk to me directly to receive one. I have briefly talked to a few people who would like to redistribute some of the material which I think will happen in the future.

WS: Do you guys perform live?

JJ:We don't preform live. We did for a while it proved not to be the audience and outlet we wanted for our music.

WS: If you could perform a dream gig, where would it be and what other bands past or present would you like to perform with you?

JJ: I'm not sure. Probably just and outdoors gig in the fall with some good friends and lots of campfires.

WS: What is a typical day in the life of Jim Joyce like? Do you have any interesting hobbies, work life, a family?

JJ: Just living day to day finding the things in life that keep me going. Just like everyone else does.

WS: In your opinion what are some of the most overrated bands in metal? On the contrary name some bands that you think deserve a larger following than they have.

JJ: Everybody will have there own opinion on either of these. The Overrated bands we all know them, they flood masses with there terrible chugging riffs.

WS: What country/region do you consider the “Metal Mecca” of the world?

JJ: England would probably be the “Metal Mecca” just for basically birthing the entire metal genre. Everyone else just took there own spin on it.

WS: If you’re not listening to metal, what other genres do you enjoy? Are there any specific bands/artists that you enjoy?

JJ: If im not listening to metal its basically just various rock genres; from the Misfits to Flogging Molly.

WS: What does the future hold for both Aura and yourself? Is there a new album we should be anticipating? Do you have a goal for how far you want the band to go?

JJ: I dont know the future of the band. We haven't talked about anything new in a long time, pretty much just being on an indefinite hiatus. If there will ever be new material, I couldn't say yes or no. I will be releasing more stuff with different project that fans of Aura may enjoy.

WS: You’ve been great, so I’ll let you conclude this interview with any final notes you want the readers to know.

JJ: Thanks for listening, and thanks for being so patient with the delay of this interview.

You can also check out Aura of Aquila’s myspace page at: http://www.myspace.com/auraofaquila
Or contact them at auraofaquila@yahoo.com

Interview by; Matt Coughlin

NETRA - "Mélancolie Urbaine" Review

2011-01-06T12:13:00.000-08:00

Full-length - Hypnotic Dirge Records
December 16th, 2010

It seems over time, even the most diverse of genres eventually will reach a point of creative stagnation, and while dedicated fans will always find the good in many releases thereafter, skeptics such as myself will perpetually long for change. This wouldn’t be such a problem if innovation was as easy as fusing two things together. Unfortunately many acts will in turn capitalize on this false notion and try to mix water and oil by taking two or more genres of music that alone are perfectly acceptable but do not share complimentary characteristics that make such fusion acceptable. While at first the general public might praise these as something new, (such as the abysmal rap rock styles that dominated the late 90s and early millennium) eventually the popularity wanes as people realize it is too gimmicky and stale. Instead of progress we suffer listening to musical regress.

That being said there are always cases where acts can do one of three things. They can completely create a brand new genre. This being the most revolutionary, was common place in the formation of modern music, but with many genres and subgenres in existence today is very difficult to do. Also uncommon but more likely is an artist reinventing a specific genre’s foundation. The rise of progressive rock acts in the 60s and 70s is a prime example of this. Finally more common would be an artist who incorporates various stylistic influences particularly well. Experimentation and understanding of music concepts is key to this, and like mixing different foods, the result can be hit or miss. A smart musician will make note of what works and what does not, and continue from there.

Through all this I am left with a depressive black metal band called “netra.” The name derives from an old Breton word loosely translating too “emptiness” and this one man project from France offers us a musical styling that fits somewhere between the latter two options from those three forms of progression I’ve mentioned. Intelligently and organically this artist takes a primary influence from doom and black metal and incorporates influences from gothic rock, various jazz genres, blues rock, and downtempo electronica genres such as trip-hop. While other acts would fail miserably to incorporate such fusions in a natural, meaningful and mature way and simply take the quick way out by cashing in on a cheap gimmick, netra differentiates himself by putting a lot of thought and effort into creating a truly unique and groundbreaking creation, that while experimental in nature developed a distinct sound which is key to critical acclaim in any artistic endeavor. With the debut full length Mélancolie Urbaine seven depressive and meditative tracks await listeners with almost forty two minutes of progressive music experience.

This monumental release begins with “City Lights.” From the opening listeners will question if they are actually listening to a metal release as a trip hop rhythm welcomes us into the harsh inner city lifestyle accompanied by thought provoking nü-jazz saxophone plug-ins. In fact no metal is to be found until over two minutes into the track when a cold power chord crashes in accompanied by the painful wail of a black metal shriek. The passage doesn’t last too long as the contemplative acid jazz returns further soundtracking the nature of metropolitan life. Another couple minutes and the black metal really takes it’s toll; swaying back and forth between depressive angst and melancholic downtempo and ambiance. The whispers and screaming accompanying this art only further explore esoteric reflections and suffering within urban decay.

To follow up this solid opener the most accessible track of the release finds us in “La Page.” While still relating to the sound that defines Mélancolie Urbaine there is a slight shift to a more gothic rock inspired release. Humming feedback along with shimmering ambient notation greets an intrusive drum beat rather intimately as this magnificent piece slowly builds up into an epic outcry of mournful rage almost in protest of the very nature of modern society. As the metal sound returns we reach the climax of the emotion which over time fades to a more somber tone. “… I lost my family, I lost my friends, I lost my love… nothing left but memories, false moments…” these are very simple lyrics but so effective. The song then builds up again and crashes into grief to conclude. If the listener is weaning himself into the netra sound, this one is the best song to start with.

The follow up tune, “Outside… Alone” keeps the gothic inspiration though heavily incorporates 12/8 blues patterns to offer the most saddening track of the release. This one is also the longest as it clocks in over nine minutes. While the bass drives repetitiously the listener is greeted to a solid blues rock guitar lead, which keeps things interesting. As this passage fades the bass changes and guitar feedback drives in as a tough spoken word from The Wackness. “Never trust anyone who doesn’t smoke pot and listen to Bob Dylan.” The voice builds up in exasperation as the guitars transition gradually from mere distorted chords to melodic passages. “Stop fucking around…” the voice goes into a panic, and then fades out to the sounds of seagulls by the ocean as the guitars while still distorted mellow out dramatically. Trip-hop singing then comes in as the music slows to a halt just momentarily. The music continues without field recordings and results in a much more anxious sorrow to slowly bring us to the electronic closing of this mature work.

“Through the Fear” is next up and brings the trip-hop rhythms back in. This time with Tricky inspired bass and piano rhythms met with a similar distorted timbre in the background as track two. We are met with chill-out style singing and eventually downtempo trance textures that cacophonously (in an appropriate sense) fuse with more black metal chords and suicidal cries. The singing doesn’t leave at this time either. Listeners upon leaving this passage will find a variation of the opening theme and more somber expression of yearning eventually heading back to the blackened doom metal inspired refrain. We are met with an ambient bridge of more spoken word which pivots into blues rock and more of this Tricky inspired trip-hop piano to bring us to the refrain one final time. We end the track with the phrase from the Johnny Depp film, The Brave, “watching a painful death can be a great inspiration for those who, who are not dying, so that they can see how, brave we can be when it’s time to go.”

“Terrain Vague” is a short little interlude. Nonetheless it has a great alternative rap beat to fit the mood of urban lifestyles.

It then enters “Outside… Maybe” and of all the tracks has the largest depressive black metal influence on the release. With the exception of the prior piece, this is also the shortest being only about four minutes long. While the black metal riffs play throughout with a downing lead crying every now and then, the electronica does not entirely leave the piece as ambient textures hide in the background.

Finally the album ends with the closing song “Blasé.” This piece exalts the jazz inspiration of netra to its highest level thus far. The rhythm seems very much like Dixieland shuffle notation wise, though in a strange but welcomed twist the tempo is very slow and we are only met with the slow throb of bass tones on the down beat. Piano eventual accompanies this as the lead, in a slow and dismal melody. In closing the music cuts with a low and dark tone played every other measure. Quietly a voice speaks and eventually breaks into whimpers as the tones continue. Concluding the album a scream of anguish followed by a slam, results in silent nothingness.

In my honest opinion of everything I have heard this album is the best release of the 2010 year not only in metal music but music in general. There is never a dull moment and as mentioned this Quimpérois solo project did the unlikely and gave us an experiment that hits and truly breaks new ground for music in general, almost redefining the genre of black metal. Not only does it stand above anything of the previous year, but this has secured a spot in my favorite albums of all time. I must thank not only the artist but Hypnotic Dirge Records for helping me discover this modern classic. For such a small label, they release some of the most underrated CDs in metal today, and this is no exception. As one may already assume I highly recommend this release, not only to metal fans, but eclectic music fans in general. Be one of the 1000 copyholders, you won’t be disappointed and for $13 ($15 outside of North America) it is well worth the investment. You can order it here: http://hypnoticdirgerecords.com/netra-melancolieurbaine-tobuy.php

(10/10)

Reviewed by; Matt Coughlin

HYPNOTIC DIRGE RECORDS - "Melancholic Epiphany (The Trance Formation is shattered)" Review

2010-11-16T09:40:00.000-08:00

Compilation, Hypnotic Dirge Records
November 7, 2010

Usually when a compilation is released especially one that only features a track per artist (such as a record label compo) I tend to ignore it completely. More than likely these releases mean nothing more than mere promotional tactics from the company at hand to try and get their more obscure artists to gain more recognition when fanboys of the more established bands pick it up to complete their collection. We are generally given each artist’s most mainstream and accessible sounding singles that will or are already featured on their own full-length releases, and with them appearing on an album with less talented acts it really defeats the purpose.

That being said, completely throw all that out when talking about this release from Hypnotic Dirge Records, which marks the company’s 2 year anniversary, for while it can also be seen as a promotional stunt, it more than makes up for it with exclusive tracks from prominent guest artists such as Njiqahdda as well as some of the strongest pieces from many of the label’s own artists. But that’s not all; we are also treated to some promotional videos as well as official music videos that are very professionally done, despite the independent budget. Not only do we have these two common musical mediums, but it is also lined with interesting album art that links the aesthetics of each artist’s contribution to become one grand opus, let alone 11 random tracks. This is finished with a few very interesting essays and short stories about a few of the tracks and the project as a whole, that despite being fairly lengthy (as far as albums are concerned) are rewarding to read, even for someone who doesn’t care for it normally, as it really puts the finishing touches in on the release and really helps the general message.

I will begin what should be a rather lengthy review with the audio section, which is opened up with “Big Crunch” by: The Foetal Mind. This track reminds me a bit of Katatonia and Esoteric mixed together if that makes sense. Very nice production quality and the vocals are impeccable. The only pet peeve I have is that the track fades out, but I’m probably the only person I know who gets annoyed with stuff like that.

We then see a pretty similar funeral doom style in Funereal’s “Of that which Lies beneath…” though being the second track in this is a nice transition to allow a slow progression between the artists’ styles throughout the release. The track itself is very acceptable for the genre if not solid. The Gothic influence toward the end with piano and violin incorporation is very organic and not overdone at all.

“Stargates Eternal Beheld My Nightmares” is next up from Funeral Fornication. Now we start to see things going from a funeral doom genre into Gothic black metal. When I reviewed a previous FF album (a year ago, I believe) for the label itself, I mentioned that this one man outlet from Canada had great atmosphere in the music, but was a bit too repetitive for my liking. With this track, while things are not complex, the tediousness associated with previous work has been fixed greatly and the song is very enjoyable.

Exiled from Light’s “We Writhe as Worms (‘Neath Withering Skies)” is the first “epic” on this release spanning over 12 minutes in length. Not only that, but this is where the album really kicks into gear. While Mort still uses basic MIDI output for synthesizer, he has learned it’s best to use the more atmospheric sound outputs if going down that root and the average listener will probably enjoy it very much. His depressing shrieks for vocals and dissonant guitar riffs make this a great depressive black metal piece. It may not need to be as long as it is, but as background music, you can’t go wrong.

This leads us to my personal favorite of the release. “Outside… Alone” by netra. This one man act from France has a very eclectic sound which shows he must be a very diverse listener as well. While it can easily be labeled as black metal, there are too many outside influences that deserve recognition as well, such as heavy blues influence in the melodies, Goth rock atmosphere and even trip-hop vocals. I really enjoy this because of how organic and non-gimmicky it sounds and I appreciate someone going out of the conventions of “what’s metal” to not only incorporate a sub-genre of hip-hop (and no, not throwing in party rap or Eminem like many mallcore bands do) but prove that it can be done tastefully.

A rather interesting change of pace is given to us when we transition from that depressive urban track to the nature inspired, “The Shimmering Radiance of a Thousand Stars” by ambient/neoclassical great Ancient Tundra. It really connects with the messages provided in the album art critiquing industrialism. Unlike other AT works, this has completely different software and is unusually optimistic, yet strangely haunts the listener and may also be seen as pessimistic by others as well. It may be a bit schmaltzy (not the best word, per se) but I enjoyed it a lot, and while not my number one Tundra song, it’s definitely up there and the most professional sounding. Actually, this may be a bit tangential but when I first heard this, I imagined the scene from Hayao Miyazaki’s film “Howl’s Moving Castle” when you see the title character’s childhood. Weird? But anyway...

There’s a great transition from this piece to Njiqahdda’s “Nji taaevaasti vortaa est flaami.” You should already know about this Illinoisan band from my previous review, so I don’t really need to go into much detail. I will say except for the intro this piece is a lot more black metal inspired than other works I have heard from them, and it just keeps them all the more interesting.

Another album highlight comes with the epic folk black masterpiece “Croix de Feu, Croix de Fer” by Québécois great Neige et Noirceur. I already reviewed the album this track comes to us from, so I again don’t need to go into the details. I will say though that if the rest of that album was as good as that individual track (not to take anything away from their merit, since they are indeed great) instead of an 8/10 I would have gave it the fan boy rating of 12/10.

The next two tracks are probably my least favorite on the album, but that is no insult at all, as they themselves are excellent. Funeral in Heaven gives us some straight up black metal with the epic “Bhandhana [Gatahaththey Katha Wasthuwa]” which after over 12 minutes is complimented by Autaric’s death metal styling in “Cremation Divine.”

We conclude the hour and a half of audio goodness with Old Forgotten Lands featuring Requiem Nocturne. They bring us another ambient piece in “Hour of the Wolves.” When I reviewed the Ancient Tundra/OFL split, I wasn’t that much of a fan of the OFL side despite É being a band mate. I felt it was too generic and the melodies were too basic. While we are given a primitive folk style of ambiance, this track is a major improvement over the previous releases of Old Forgotten Lands. I see a huge influence from Wardruna in this one, with ritualistic percussion, indecipherable whispers and inspiring ambiance. RN also gives us added flavor with nice acoustic guitars; very nice work for these guys.

I won’t go into too much detail on the six videos, since two are merely promo videos for forthcoming albums and two of the four music videos are also released on this album as audio. The only video only tracks (as far as this release only) would be netra’s “La Page,” and The Foetal Mind’s “La Corde Rouge;” both of which are very enjoyable. As I said earlier every video is very professional, and I’ll leave the text media up to you to enjoy. In conclusion, this is a very special compilation and worth picking up, especially since it’s free of charge. If not the, this is definitely one of the best promos I have ever had the privilege of experiencing and HDR and all its artists deserve much more recognition than they already have.
Download this release at: http://www.hypnoticdirgerecords.com

(10/10)
Reviewed by; Matt Coughlin

A.M.S.G. The Principle Of Evil Becomes The Ideal Of The Promethean

2010-11-14T10:37:00.000-08:00

Supremacy Thru Intolerence November 2010

When the news of a new band featuring the the voice of Canadian black metal terrorists Ouroboros as well as other hierarchy of the canadian scene had risen,I was very curious.At worst it would sound like a collective of all of the former and present bands the members have been a part of,which to me isn't never a bad thing.But would it live up to such high standards?So needless to say i was a little apprehensive when this mcd arrived in the mail as i was completely unaware of what was going to bestowed upon my ears.Album opener THE INVOCATION OF THE NAMELESS ONE starts off with a black metal cliche,the orchestrated intro which thankfully isn't overdone and actually sets up the mood of the album quite nicely.This leads up to the mid paced opening riff which vaguely reminds me of early mayhem(again not a bad thing) but not to worry as this mcd is chock full of pure canadian filth and evil.The riffs twist and turn like a constricting serpent and angelfukk witchhammer sounds utterly possessed as he shrieks,growls,and whispers thru all 3 incantations of pure satanic madness!Track 2 GODDESS OF THE HIDDEN MOON(loved the temple of doom excerpt,quite fitting) is fast and furious as it is probably the most well written song on this record and features some very nice bass work.Tormentor further proves to be one of the underground scenes best secrets as his battery is furious,crushing,and technical and his style is easily recognisable.It is also the shortest of the 3 songs.The album closes with my personnel favorite track, BLACK TONGUES OF THE GOAT,which like the previous 2 songs starts off with the intro,again relatively short before plowing forward into darkness.This song is also the most varied riff wise,lots of changes and some brief but effective clean work near the middle of the song and it ends the album very accordingly.At 3 tracks and clocking in at around 21 minutes,this was the only glaring downfall of this mcd,it left me pissed off and wanting much more,it might have not been a bad idea to add at least another song, maybe 2.If that would have been the case it would have been a top 10 album,yeah its that fucking good losers!!!So to all of you dumb fucks out there searching for the most grim and kvlt and all of you so called true satanists,listen to these 3 sermons,which by the way extra kudos for superior lyric writing,and then proceed to killing yourself as you most likely won't get it and the world is a better place without you.

9/10
Review by Bastard Son Of God

NJIQAHDDA – “Valsuaarposmiis” Review

2010-11-04T10:19:00.000-07:00

Extended Play, E.E.E. Recordings
November 2, 2010

The rise in popularity of black metal has led to numerous trends for better or for worse. One of those trends has been prominent with the technological revolution that is the internet. Many so called “bedroom bands” came into existence when members of said bands discovered the primitive recording styles of early raw black metal bands and the ease of producing such albums.

The problem with this is while the earlier acts were doing something new and mastered the aesthetic of said recording technique (despite it merely being a statement against mainstream music), many of these modern BM bands tend to attempted to replicate the style of their inspiration, but more often than not fail miserably and produce B rate imitation of said inspiration at best.

It’s rather frustrating for me when I try to discover new lesser known acts I have to sift through this unoriginal garbage, like searching for a diamond in the rough, until I find something worthwhile to listen to. Some bands even go to absurd measures and release albums with totally undecipherable sounds which we only can assume is drums and guitars. To make matters worse they release way too many albums a year, which makes it seem like they simply do this to sell more and completely disregard waiting for inspiration to make something truly memorable. Then they have to follow the stereotypes associated with black metal which makes things even more tedious. But I digress.

Njiqahdda is one of those rare examples of a self produced black metal band that offers a more than rewarding experience upon listening. They even have over 40 releases under the name (as well as its alter-ego so to speak, “Njiijn”) and while I’ve maybe heard only half of them, I can safely say they have the formula worked out almost perfectly. Recordings aren’t over polished with mainstream quality, but they are very decipherable, yet still have a nice feedback. Lyrical themes are very interesting and different focusing on meditation, transcendence and nature as opposed to mere clichés in the genre. Finally their musicianship is very ergonomic for their psychedelic black metal style (solid but not show-off like) and they have developed a distinct sound that is their own (and not gimmicky) yet slowly progress the style with each release so it stays fresh and relevant. When I recommend this special act to more casual listeners I describe it as a lovechild between Burzum and Pink Floyd, but I think a more accurate description would be an Earth, Eloy and Drudkh hybrid, but even that isn’t anywhere near describing the sound.

With that, I believe Valsuaarposmiis is their 43rd official release, and with that we are offered a different release than other works, and again it is still very Njiqahdda sounding. I will admit I do prefer a few previous entries to this one, but that will not take away the merits of this EP. We have three tracks totaling in 37 minutes and 37 seconds, so you know you’re in for some long ones, but that is expected from Nji. I noticed from the beginning this album seems to have a lot more drone influence than previous ones (disregarding the Njiijn releases of course) and the chord progressions are a bit depressive compared to the more mystical sound we are used to from these Illinoisans. We are also greeted intimately with beautiful acoustic guitar passages that are a nice addition to their arsenal.

The opening piece “Valsuaarposmiis I” brings us into a relaxed state with calm and melancholic acoustic guitar backed by tremolo strumming which reminds me of the acoustic bits of Negură Bunget. We are then brought into Njiqahdda’s signature style black metal, but with more complex drum patterns that are strange yet delightful for the genre, which organically flows into some space rock passages.

“Savantuu Savoari” is probably the most straightforward song on the album with the first half being pure atmospheric black metal and eventually turning to drone doom metal toward the end. I really like the main riff of this one, very reflective and saddening.

The concluding track “Valsuaarposmiis II” is by far my favorite on this release and possibly in my top 10 Nji tracks so far. The static distortion on the mantra-like speeches and screams and the hauntingly mournful clean vocals make a very appropriate ambiance for a “thinking song.” The noise inspiration is a very nice addition to the ambiance as well as is the organ in the background while we are greeted with a repetitive strumming of just a few guitar chords (which actually came out very nice and not tedious at all.)

To conclude, this album comes highly recommended as one would expect from Njiqahdda. I don’t know how they manage to release so many CDs a year and still keep fresh without sacrificing their core style, but I’m definitely not complaining about that. I would not just recommend it to my fellow metal heads, but to anyone interested in eclectic or progressive music. Well worth the investment.

(8.5/10)
Reviewed by; Matt Coughlin

NEIGE ET NOIRCEUR – “La Seigneurie des Loups” Review

2010-11-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

Full-length, Sepulchral Productions
November 9, 2010

Neige et Noirceur is a band that has made quite a name for itself in the independent black metal scene. As one of the leaders in the Québécois scene, they help lay the foundation for a style that makes Montréal stand out in today’s black metal circles. I reviewed their earlier release from Hypnotic Dirge Records, “Crépuscule Hivernal sans Fin sur les Terres de la Guerre” in the past, and while I enjoyed the dark atmospheres very much, I had to critique the overly used repetition. They really improved from that release and we see an excellent and potentially classic release with “La Seigneurie des Loups.” While I am open minded about all music, this album is “my style” so to speak; unique black metal mixed with serious folk music and historical lyrics in a dark setting.

One second into this album and I marked out. We are greeted with a really awesome Jew Harp sequence (one of my favorite instruments to play around on) with a flanger effect in the background. While this is going on we have ominous power chords on the guitars strumming in, and then finally enter in with headbanging goodness of black metal blast beats and warlike riffs accompanied by vocals that remind me of Burzum’s Filosofem. This badassery is only the beginning of the first track titled, “Croix de feu Croix de fer.” My ears nearly had an orgasm from all the folk/black melodies in this piece alone. While folk is usually diverse instrumentally, it tends to be very repetitive in theory, but we are given a wide variety here with atmospheric black metal and drone meeting each other harmoniously (or is it dissonantly being that it’s BM? Whatever you consider the good one).

The song cuts out to sound effects and some agitated words in French. I don’t know what they were saying but it fits the mood of the music perfectly. Then the song kicks back in; this time much more ominous. The tumult of this piece goes throughout until we are brought back to familiar folk riffs featuring Jew Harp, percussion, chanting and tin whistle; an homage to Québec’s Celtic side and truly an epic piece of work. It even leads us into the follow-up track “Ancien Folklore Québécois” perfectly. This one being a very nice Celtic jig fused with raw black metal.

“1834” provides us with a nice acoustic instrumental, pretty much an interlude if you would, but don’t skip it. It sets the mood so well for the title track. Speaking of which, after an ambient intro, we are attacked by a threatening wall of power chords. This leads us to the main section of the song; very dramatic work. Slowly we see subtle progressions that add in haunting keyboard backing over the course of this piece.

“Les plaines de Krolok” closes this masterpiece of an album with the darkest portions of the entire CD. There is even more experimentation in this one with spacious synthesizers and more warring chants in French. The track closes with some long ambiance that reminds me of the work of Ancient Tundra. Very nice!

Anyone who is a fan of Québécois black metal would be insane not to pick this piece up. Neige & Noirceur are really coming into their own with each new release, and are solidifying a place among the elite acts in the genre. This is essential.

(8/10)
Reviewed by; Matt Coughlin

FORTERESSE – “Par Hauts Bois et Vastes Plaines” Review

2010-11-04T10:15:00.001-07:00

Full-length, Sepulchral Productions
November 9, 2010

In Forteresse we find another member of the so-called “Métal Noir Québécois” scene. This group from Montréal shows a strong patriotism toward Québec’s history and an apparent yearning for the Canadian province’s independence. This reflects in the somber mood of their work. Par Hauts Bois et Vastes Plaines furthers this melancholic feel by including more keyboard driven ambiance than ever before. The act feels the message of the album cannot be fully comprehended unless one listens to it in its entirety. Thusly, they have named every single track the same eponymous name as the album title. While under this notion I think it’d be more appealing to just have 1 long track, maybe they intended a natural rest between the passages. Nonetheless I will look at this album the way they intended.

While I have no knowledge of the French language, it is difficult for me to decipher lyrics and develop an understanding of the purpose of the work on that merit alone. Therefore I must rely on the theory behind the musical composition alone. Each track is very repetitious, perhaps too much for me to enjoy on regular listening experiences. I’d have to be in the right mood to fully appreciate this piece and I think more impatient listeners won’t take a liking to this. However, if you can get over this, you will find some of the darkest and most beautiful ambiance inspired riffs today and could easily find yourself addicted to the work; the “fourth track” being my personal favorite.

Not a lot I can say about this, having limited knowledge of the artists’ intentions due to language barrier, but I think this is an album you will either love or hate. If it had a bit more variety it would definitely be love all around, but listen to this and decide for yourself.

(7/10)
Reviewed by; Matt Coughlin

11 AS IN ADVERSARIES – “The Full Intrepid Experience of Light” Review

2010-11-04T10:14:00.000-07:00

Full-length, Aeternitas Tenebrarum Music Foundation
November 22, 2010

What an interesting band. The name is interesting and so is the music. 11 as in Adversaries define themselves as Metal/Rock/Psychedelic. I see them more as Hardcore, though progressive. Normally I am not a fan of this but I must say I enjoyed this release a lot. I saw on their facebook page they were influenced by heavy prog group The Mars Volta as well as Mastodon and it really shows in their music. These influences make a much more artistically credible act than your typical “–core” band.

The Full Intrepid Experience of Light begins with its eponymous track. Right off the bat we are introduced to dissonant guitar riffs and electrical feedback that feel like they fit in a psychological horror film. The track then picks up to mid tempo yet technically sound notation and vocals. I will say my one major gripe with the album is the singing gets on my nerves. I’m not against clean vocals because “it’s not true” or any of that bullshit, but this instance has very whiney and stagnant singing, that isn’t bad at first but gets a bit dreary after a while. Getting over this, this is a very nice song that fuses the styles of the two bands I mentioned in the previous paragraph.

“Agitation in the Glorious Theme” follows up with some nice psychedelic strumming along with a funky riff. This song makes it clear that 11AIA is a metal/rock crossover that is worth listening too. It has a rather mainstream feel to it, but still it gives us avant-garde elements. Despite a very different sound I’d like to compare it to the works of Mike Patton, just on the basis of that description.

“The Night Scalp Challenger” saves us a little from the monotonous vocals with screaming, but the clean portions are still present. Here we have a very dark but jazzy tune that makes me think of metal burlesque show if there were such a thing. The progression from the previous tracks is slow, but we’re starting to really get variety in the album, for the follow up track is very experimental.

The fifth piece is merely an interlude with the closing track seeming to reflect the earlier parts of the album. Overall, this is a pretty good release and probably is one of the albums that will draw casual fans in but also impress some of the more open minded metal heads. The vocals don’t entirely ruin it for me, but I find that I can only take the album listening to parts at a time because despite the variety instrumentally, the one dimensional singing almost negates that into tediousness. I will recommend this album nonetheless.

(7/10)
Reviewed by; Matt Coughlin

TORTURE DIVISION – “Evighetens Dårar” Review

2010-11-04T05:43:00.000-07:00

Compilation, Abyss Records
October 12, 2010

Here we have another Swedish death metal band. Note that Evighetens Dårar is a compilation of the bands previous three demo releases of the same name. I’ll be honest, my first listen I felt this was rather run of the mill for modern death metal. However, after a few more listens it grew on me a bit. I mean, you have 3 members of The Project Hate MCMXCIX thrashing out in this death metal trio and the infamous Dan Swanö producing this release, so it has to come with its merits. I can just be a little fussy about today’s death metal, as I tend to be more fond of the earlier styles of the late 80s and early 90s, but after getting over that, I must say this is a solid release.

Reminding me heavily of fellow Swedes Bloodbath and Hypocrisy, this is a very straightforward and brutal DM incarnation equipped with blast beats and neck snapping riffs throughout. In fact because of this, more mid-tempo tracks such as “Eld och Plagor” seem to be more memorable because of their uniqueness compared to the rest of the CD, due to more melodic sections (and by that I don’t mean pop-hook melodies you see in melodeath).

I would like to try and make a longer review of this compilation, but with it all being done before there really isn’t much to cover. It grew on me yes, but every track seems like it could be any old song from as I said Hypocrisy or Bloodbath. This is not a bad release, and I would recommend it for fans of Swedish Death Metal, but I expected much more from the members of this act.

(6.5/10)
Reviewed by; Matt Coughlin

JOHNNY LÖKKE – “Promises and Lies” Review

2010-11-04T05:41:00.000-07:00

Full-length , Big Riff Records
October 19, 2010

Ah, old school heavy metal; a genre of music that tends to scream “badass”, “cheese” or even a combination of the two. Love it or hate it without it the more extreme bands we listen to today may have never came into existence. With Johnny Lökke’s third full-length we are given a more aggressive approach to his classic metal revivalist style that flaunts shamelessly apparent influences from legends such as Judas Priest, Armored Saint, Accept and the late Ronnie James Dio. I even notice similarities to King Diamond with the more high pitch singing, which for me is just the right amount of cheese for a traditional metal classic to be very fun to listen to, yet still be taken seriously critically. Johnny is so old school that he refuses to follow the modern power metal trends of incorporating symphonic styles especially when it comes to orchestras. No, Lökke wants it to stay as pure and tough as it was back in the day, and this just makes his work stand out even more.

Promises and Lies opens up with “Accident of One,” and I must say it fits perfectly as track 1. From the first riff the listener knows exactly what to expect from this album and will not be disappointed throughout. Marching riffs, crazy solos and very nice vocals that capture the spirit of the subculture quite well and naturally invite listeners to sing a long in a boastful manner are what make the track. This one will bring pride to metal heads.

It would be rather tedious to review each track individually as this isn’t the most original album. It wasn’t intended to be anyway. I will say each track is high quality and a dull moment is rare if any are present. A song that really stands out to me in particular though would be the fourth track entitled, “Heal Me.” Lökke dominates the track with a simple but effective riff that is very headbangable. The solos are also some of the best on the album, and the falsetto vocal-ism is insane and reminds me of both King Diamond (again) and Tim Owens. The album also seems to really kick off at this point on compared to previous tracks. The song arrangement is nicely done and each track builds up to the next while still being distinctly it’s own.

“Burning the Wheel” for the most part reminds me of early W.A.S.P. musically, but the chorus reminds me of Iron Maiden’s better songs. However, Johnny’s signature singing keeps it his own and not merely a rip-off. “Obsession” is another track I see influence from W.A.S.P. as well as Judas Priest and even a bit of Motörhead. The triplet oriented rhythm makes it a very fun moshable song despite its moderato tempo and easy to the ear melody. But, I must stress, yet again, THE SOLOS!

I should wrap this up before I go on a fanboy rant and say the same things over and over again. If you like old school metal, definitely pick this album up. Clocking in at about 42 and a half minutes, you are given eleven songs of sheer tough guy cheese, the good kind of cheese that is. Also before I forget “Virus” is another highlight on the album. It may be a bit one dimensional, but consistent listening is very rewarding.

(8/10)
Reviewed by: Matt Coughlin

Weapon From The Devils Tomb

2010-10-28T08:14:00.000-07:00

October 2010
The AJNA Offensive

I was one of those people who had initially heard of this band through word of mouth and a few select interrogations in various zines both published and otherwise.So when i was finally able to secure a copy of the Canadian bands debut long player Drakonian Paridigm I was initially underwhelmed,but after several listens,i to worshipped at the alter of weapon.So saying that my expectations for their newest slab of orthodox devil worship were high would be an understatement.From the devils tomb opens with the title track which in my opinion is one of the best tracks on this album.The slow dirge of the opening riff sets up for a spiral into blackened death madness which happened so frequently on their last album sets the album up very nicely,vocalist monarch's prayers to Satan are very fitting but surprisingly low in the mix which is one if not the only low points of the album.Furor Divinus is an utterly savage track and 1 of my favorites on the album.The production on this record is slightly less"produced" then the debut which adds a lot to the songs and arrangements.The lyrics are also amazing,some of the best i have ever read and obviously very well researched and thought out.The instrumental track "lefthandpathyoga" is an very nice change with acoustic guitars in this instrumental track are brilliant!!!But probably the my personal favorite song on this record is the "The Inner Wolf" with it furious mid paced riffs and ghoulish atmosphere,along with some of the best drumming in the underground!!The chanting in this song fucked up my soul.While this album is defiantly more death metal in theory,there are several melodic moments and traces of the early Greek scene spread through out the album.Bottom line is that this album is without a doubt one of the years top 10 best records and if you haven't got this or have not heard the first album you need to get it now or die a poser douche bag!!!!Hail weapon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
9.5/10
Review by:B.S.O.G.

SARGEIST - LET THE DEVIL IN - Review

2010-10-22T14:19:00.000-07:00

SARGEIST - LET THE DEVIL IN
Full-length, Moribund Records
November 9th, 2010

So after 5 very long years the demonic beast known as Sargeist has returned to crush all in it's path. LET THE DEVIL IN no doubt is a long awaited release by those in the black metal underground, especially this scribe. Empire Of Suffering opens up the album in traditional fashion, loud, fast and raw as hell!! Torag's vocals are vicious and uncompromising and there is even a little variety to his voice. A lot of people maybe got on this band for their earlier works being Darkthrone clones, but this record certainly sees the band easing away from that and finding itself. While most of the album goes by at a furious pace, with Shatraug riffing like a madman. While most may see this record as a repetition of disciples or satanic black devotion, there are plenty of subtle differences that make this record a bit of a progression, for example the third track FROM THE BLACK COFFIN LAIR moves along at a slower more depressive pace which breaks up the blasting fury and gives the listener a break before the punishment begins again on BURNING VOICE OF ADORATION hits you with the typical Sargeist sound. The band is more and more sounding like a nice mix of the members other projects which in my opinion is a good thing. So the bottom line is this is a very good but not great piece of satanic Finnish black metal that should push Sargeist into the upper ranks amongst their countrymen. No reinventing the wheel,but a solid release nonetheless.

8/10
Review by B.S.O.G

HALFORD - 4: MADE OF METAL Review

2010-09-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

Full-length, Metal God Entertainment
September 27th, 2010

I found the new HALFORD album rather disappointing to say the least, his voice is great but I don't like the production job; it's cheesy and sounds a little hollow, helplessly juvenile lyrics repeated over and over again ad-nauseum don't help the situation... there's no urgency on the entire record like he had on his tremendously triumphant "RESURRECTION" album, when he was in a position where he had to prove to the METAL scene/community that he was back for good, in a big way!

I consider "RESURRECTION" to be the best album JUDAS PRIEST never made! Even when Halford was accepted back into the ranks of Priest, "ANGEL OF RETRIBUTION" was only half as urgent sounding as "RESURRECTION" was in comparison, despite being a magnificent comeback album in every sense of the word! Then Priest decided to get all EPIC and do the mediocre "NOSTARADAMUS" which ended up being a tepid, over-wrought, lengthy affair... a 'Metal Opera' that was just too soft in light of what JUDAS PRIEST have been known to churn out over the years!

Halford's last effort was the HALFORD 3 : WINTER SONGS album which was a collection of Metalized Christmas songs, of all things, another rather mixed bag that really had heads spinning in wonderment! HALFORD 2 : CRUCIBLE had it's moments but was a rather lukewarm sophomore solo effort with great production and fantastic vox, the songs were well written but the album lurched along with a sludgy heaviness that never seemed to pick up speed and nothing on the album really stood out... the same goes for this new album except the production is very clean in a hollow plastic sort of sterile way, the lyrics have no depth and are constructed of a series of annoyingly repeated choruses that defy imagination leading to the listener zoning out and doing other things while the album is playing! Not a good sign for a return to the fray!

The album cover is the worst part of this package, a Metal racing car with the words "MADE OF METAL" emblazoned across the front... stupid, silly title and an absolutely awful album cover only hint at the lack of depth the listener becomes painfully aware off from the first track.

I love HALFORD, I love JUDAS PRIEST and I always will... Rob Halford is thee greatest METAL vocalist of all time, even Pavoratti admitted as much, but there has to be an injection of urgency and depth into his solo albums if he wants to gain more METAL fans in future and keep the old loyal ones as well... this album treads dangerously into Pop-Metal territory, though I hate to admit it... cheesy ballad-lite tracks, repetitious chorus's and lackluster, empty lyrics all the way through... add up to one painfully boring album that's not going to have longevity as one of it's attributes. That being said, there are a few interesting moments and ideas on the album and in general i enjoyed this album simply because it was something new from a man and a singer I hold in high esteem!

Reviewed by Damien Bentley
SCORE: 75/100

Enslaved (Nor) - Axioma Ethica Odini Review

2010-09-29T07:24:00.000-07:00

Full-length, Indie Recordings
September 27th, 2010

Another exemplary new full-length album from ENSLAVED, this should get the hair standing on the back of your neck and arms within the first opening notes! No contest! If you are a die-hard ENSLAVED fan and especially a fan of their latter day works of genius Progressive Viking/Black Metal, then this is most likely going to be Album of the Year for you!!!

The album is released through Indie Recordings on September 27th, 2010 in most places though some Release dates differ: Europe - September 27 & North America - September 28.

The album was Recorded at three different studios in Bergen, Norway: Duper Studio, Earshot Studio and Peersonal Sound Studio. Cover art by Norwegian artist Truls Espedal, suits the albums sound perfectly and is a complimentary piece of art in it's own right!

The album is available as a Special Edition in a gate-fold seven-inch format with the entire album on CD and a seven-inch vinyl single as a bonus, as well as a regular jewel case edition and additionally on double vinyl as well. The bonus seven-inch single includes new recordings, "Jotunblod" and "Migration".

A fantastic album with some marvelous tracks from beginning to end, as with all ENSLAVED albums, this demands t be listened to from beginning to end as a complete piece of work. It's still got that glorious epic flowing feel to it, that frigid Pagan iciness, Grutle's gravelly shrieking growls and that magnificent Pink Floyd like Progressiveness to it that has made the band the powerhouse they are today, truly a band to be reckoned with... they have really carved out heir own niche within a genre that become convoluted and polluted by copy cats and overdone Folky efforts! None of that here, just pure genuine effort and passion that flows naturally without sounding like they are trying too hard like some bands... in fact, this record sounds effortless like river flowing downstream naturally.

Tracklisting:
1. Ethica Odini 07:59
2. Raidho 06:01
3. Waruun 06:42
4. The Beacon 05:38
5. Axioma 02:20
6. Giants 06:37
7. Singular 07:43
8. Night Sight 07:36
9. Lightening 07:51
Total playing time; (58:27)

Ethica Odini is the perfect track to open the album with and the track the band chose to introduce the new album prior to official release. Giants is another tremendous track though every track has it's own nuances and merits individually. Fantastic piece of work, I know I will continue to listen to this album many many times again in future, over and over again as I never get sick of it and it never tires me, always makes me want more!

SCORE: 666/666

Reviewed by Damien Bentley // Sept. 21st, 2010

Vektor - Black Future

2010-07-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

Vektor - Black Future
Full-Length, Heavy Artillery Records
November 2009

Throwback, retro, old-school metal. Admittedly, I loathe these kinds of bands and the entire concept (usually). The idea of a band doing something completely unoriginal and rehashed makes me frustrated, not only as a listener, but also as a fellow artist. Granted there is nothing wrong with enjoying the glory of the past flames, usually it is impossible to recapture that 'old-school' magnificence...Getting this promo in the mail, I cannot honestly say I was expecting a whole lot. The band logo and artwork screamed 'retro'. The band logo looking far too similar to the Voivod logo, I feared for the worst.

This album was a lesson in never judging a book (or album) by its cover. I put the disc in and literally had my head blown off and my ass handed to me. Vektor dealt me a blow I was certainly not expecting, but welcomed with open arms. 'Black Future' is stylistically all over the place, the band runs through thrash, progressive, black(ish) and death(ish) moments. Extremely intense, furious, complex and melodic, Vektor tear through this 70 minute opus with no stone left unturned. This is no throwback band, this is a band that embraces its forefathers and blazes forward with feverish ambition. Sounding like a chaotic mix of Voivod, Athiest and later-era Death - with the vocals sounding eerily like Ihsahn at times - Vektor is truly making a name for themselves and a respectable one at that.

The musicianship on this album is amazing by all accounts. Complicated song structures and dissonant melodies are found on nearly every track. Superb drumming, fluid bass playing, shredding guitar riffs/solos and passionately howled vocals make Vektor stand out from the pack. This album is a headbangers dream...It is probably a good idea to do some neck stretches before listening to 'Black Future' because I found myself rocking out for the entire duration of the album. Stunning.

Kudos to Vektor and Heavy Artillery for really giving me something unexpected. I can honestly say I am very impressed with this album and will surely be following this band for as long as they keep up this kind of brilliance. For fans of unique and original METAL, do yourself many favors and pick up 'Black Future'. I can assure you that disappointment is not something you will find here. Its always great to have cynicism turned on its ear and to be rewarded with a true musical gem such as this. 'Black Future' made my day.

Rating : 9/10

Reviewed by E.

The Stone (Srb) - Old Wounds Bleed Misanthropy

2010-07-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

EP, Diabolist Services Cult
May 12th, 2010

10" Gatefold Picture MLP.
Limited to 500 hand-numbered copies.

So in my hands is a copy of "OLD WOUNDS BLEED MISANTHROPY", the newest release from Serbian horde The Stone. The band had decided to re-record 2 classic songs with the current lineup and also threw in Slayer and Masters Hammer covers to sweeten the deal.

"Za korak paklu blize" starts things off right, blasting from the turntable speakers with vengence and fury!!!!! The song sounds a little clearer and is executed flawlessly by the current formation. The track which is exclusive to this release originally appeared on the bands recording "SOME WOUNDS BLEED FOREVER" which happens to be their debut full length, so the clearer production doesn't take away to much from this track. Track 2 is "Vihor paganske osvete" and appeared originally on their 1998 demo recording "Unveiled Evil" demo and gain the production makes everything a little clearer without taking away the majestic savagery away from the original intent. The Slayer cover "Aggressive Perfector" changes things up a bit, but is nothing more then a tribute done many times over to a band that has influenced countless numbers of extreme metal bands. The Masters Hammer cover was an obvious choice for the boys from Serbia and is a fitting end to the 10" and also exclusively only on this release.

But the real winner here is the presentation of this album released worldwide by intolerant vinyl only label DIABOLIST SERVICES and FUCK ME....the packaging is beautiful. Heavy stock gate-fold and the picture disc is also of the highest quality as well. My version also came with a really nice parchment paper insert and a patch. One of the best, if not the best vinyl I own, simply based on the packaging alone. The music is great as well, but unless you are really into this band, then it is not essential. But overall another winner for DSC and The Stone!

Music : 7.5/10
Total Package : 8.5/10

Review By B.S.O.G

Negura Bunget Interview.

2010-07-06T07:15:00.000-07:00

Negura Bunget Interview: By E. for The Werkshed, Interview with Negru

  Q: First allow me to say that this is an honor for me to interview Negura Bunget. Virstele pamintului is an absolutely amazing record and seems like a genuine progression from the brilliance of Om. For those who have not heard it yet, how would you describe it to someone unfamiliar to what you do? And how would you describe it to someone who is completely familiar to your previous works?

Negru: For the ones familiar with our work, I would say Virstele pamintului is as much of a natural evolution as it is a new beginning.

 Q: Virstele pamintului (much like many of your previous works) is a very cohesive album, each part is just as important as the last and they all come together to create a unified piece of art. This album seems very much like a concept album of sorts. Do you see it this way? If yes, what is the underlying concept behind this album?

Negru: Yes, I’d sat this is truly conceptual album. Vîrstele pămîntului (Ages of the land) is as the title suggests an album about ages, about places of the earth and places of the spirit, about bounds transcending worlds. It’s an album that tries to shape a personal vision on the essences that made us who we are now. We look back so that we can understand use, the present and our future. Symbolically the album is based on the principle of 9. 9 is the triad of the triads, symbol of fulfillment of the creative effect. It symbolizes the return of the multiplicity to unity (like the snake biting his tail). 9 is the number of patience, of meditation and harmony. The earth is where we came from and where go back into, the one from above and beyond us. Understanding and respecting it means to understand yourself, your purpose and destiny. Vîrstele pămîntului is an album about embracing your destiny, about choosing and consciously assuming a way of life.

 Q: You have also released Maiestrit this year, what is your opinion on the differences between the original and re-recorded version? Are there any plans to re-record any of your other older material in the future? Why did you pick this album from all the ones in your catalog to re-record?

Negru: There are a lot of differences between the two versions. Maybe not major ones, but if you look into details, a lot is changed, modified, re-shaped… so that in the end we rather see Maiestrit as a new material than a simple re-recording. We don’t have any plans to re-record other materials. That’s why we saw Maiestrit as a symbolical and of an era. The past is entirely behind us now, we are solely focused on the future. We were never satisfied with the original outcome of the album. We felt there was a lot more that we didn’t managed to capture, both in terms of production and performance. So our mind set was to make it right this time, do every little aspect as it should be. Was not easy, and we ended up working on this material maybe more than on a new album, but it was worth in the end.

 Q: Despite the tumultuous line-up disintegration of the old guard, NB has managed to compose new material that is very much akin to its elder works and does not regress in anyway. How is the working relationship with the new members so far and have you come to any kind of closure/resolve with the old members?

Negru: We’ve been quite fortunate to find the right people for this endeavor, so things are working out pretty well. We are of course just at the beginning, there’s a lot more to be developed, and a long journey is ahead of us. But we are aware of this, and we are really keep do put all the hard work to make things happen the way we know they should. I have a clean closure with the old members since the very beginning. I don’t hold any grudges or regrets about the course of action I took. I can’t say it’s a similar feeling from their side, but I can always speak only for myself.

 Q: Negura Bunget, since its inception, has seemed like a band dedicated to blazing its own path. Was this something that was intentional since the birthing of the project or was it more of a natural progression that continued to evolve more over time?

Negru: I was just the natural way we progressed… Of course in time you became aware of such matters, and you can take care even better of all the different aspects involved, which is exactly what we did.

Q: You are currently embarked on a tour in support of your new material. How has the crowd reaction been to the new material so far? Are there any plans to come to the United States in the future?

Negru: So far the reactions towards the new album have been amazing, both at the concerts, and in the media. It’s even more than we could have expected. We have tried to arrange a US tour for quite a while already. It’s not easy to plan such a thing for a band like us, but I’m sure we will make it happen soon.

Q: Negura Bunget has always been a very spiritual band both musically and lyrically. How does your spiritual ideology effect the music and even more so, your daily lives? How would you categorize your spiritual ideologies?

Negru: Everything we do is a consequence of who we are as persons. Spiritually shapes you character, so in a way or other is directly involved is every aspect of our lives. That doesn’t mean of course we endorse that over-spiritual approach where every gesture has a meaning. We are normal people, and our interests are just private so I would say our spiritual ideologies are of a personal nature. We do not embrace any official systems and certainly do not preach to other our beliefs.

 Q: One of the things that has been noteworthy of your band is the use of film/video that completely compliments the music. Are there any plans for more videos/film work in the future?

Negru: We do have some plans on this matter. For once we just finished the first clip for a track of new album – Dacia Hiperboreana. It’s a 9 minutes long rather unusual visual exploration… We also have a live DVD almost completed. It’s our biggest project s far, as we set up an entire gig in order to film it right and offer a full live experience to the watchers. It should be released on Prophecy before the end of the year. Other that this we have some much ampler plans, but unfortunately I can’t say much for the moment about them.

 Q: Over the past few years you have essentially taken on all aspects of the creative process, from writing to recording. What is the major factor that led you to record your music yourselves? Do you find it difficult to create and produce your art?

Negru: I think we just wanted to take care directly of all the aspects. It’s not like there are many peoples around here on which we could depend on doing a better job… so we were also somehow forced to take this approach. But the more we get into such aspects, the more natural we feel we can take things even higher, so it’s not at all like a burden.

 Q: Negura Bunget has always had a very abstract take on album artwork. Very much different from the typical black metal fare, but manages to compliment the music perfectly. Many bands fail to use artwork to its full capacity, in regards to creating art that is whole, complete and represents the musical side of what they do. What is your opinion regarding the visual side of your art and how important is it to you?

Negru: I think every aspects of a new material count. From production, layouts, packaging… they all offer us different means of expression. We also enjoy taking new paths with everything, make something of our own. For the artwork side we’ve also been fortunate to have some close friends which help us a lot…

Q: You had been doing the Negura music web/magazine, but it seems to have been on hold for a while now. Are there any plans to move forward with it or is it pretty much obsolete at this point?

Negru: I haven’t put this project entirely behind. In fact I still feel time will come to make yet another issue of the magazine, and I mean of course the printed version. I already have the material for an entire issue, but it’s just getting a bit too old now, so maybe I’ll have to start it again from scratch. And as printed magazines are getting rare these days, my determination is just getting stronger.

Q: It seems you are working with other bands in your recording studio as of recent (Wodensthrone to be one of them). Are you planning to do more outside recording work in the studio or is it more for friends/acquaintances and such?

Negru: We don’t have too much time to take outside recordings… But we did quite a few meanwhile, especially local bands that we pretty much knew one way or the other.

Q: Well that is about all I have for this interview. I would like to thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. If you have any last words to put out there, please feel free to do so. The Werkshed and myself would like to wish you and the band all the best in your future endeavors.

Negru: Thank you too for the support! I hope we will make it soon to US, and people will have the chance to experience directly what Negura Bunget is all about. Meanwhile we have a lot of projects coming out this year, so keep an eye on everything.

2010-04-17T16:05:00.000-07:00

Symbiosis/Ancient Tundra - These Engulfing Winds Never Die CD/DVD
Full-length/split, Hypnotic Dirge Records, March 14th, 2010

Here we have the latest release from both Italian dark ambient artist Symbiosis and Canadian neo-classical ambient artist Ancient Tundra. Few and far between is the split album that actually works throughout its entirety. Split albums usually work best when each artists offering compliments the other while still retaining the ability to stand on its own. Fortunately for this album, its works in the manner in which most split albums fail. This album is also unique in the respect that it is a CD/DVD combination release, so both the audio and visual mediums are explored to their fullest ability. Thus, the album will be reviewed in two phases; audio and visual.

Audio;
The album starts with the offering from the project Symbiosis. This project has been around for quite some time, having numerous releases on various labels. This release finds the project honing some of its most developed and intricate compositions to date. Enveloping, atmospheric and fresh sounding, the sound is best described as neo-classical inspired dark ambient music. Classical styled instruments make up the bulk of the soundscape, drifting between somber, haunting and epic. Symbiosis creates a sound that is much like the soundtrack to an album that does not currently exist. The movements are sweeping and charismatically cinematic. While listening to his half of the album, I continually found myself visualizing an overtly abstract piece of film noir playing out as each track entered and faded back into the abyssic mind of the projects creator. All of this ends on the hauntingly somber finish of his portion of the split; a distant, harrowingly epic musical piece that fades away on an almost hopeful note, thus laying the framework for the second half of the split to enter.

The Ancient Tundra half of the album begins with a cyclical sounding synthesizer that almost gives the illusion of being trapped in a glacier. Everything can be seen, but has a thick sheet of ice obscuring its true identity, freezing you alive while you try to look out and get a last glimpse of life before dying. The overall feeling from the Ancient Tundra half of the record is very mournful and almost like the idea of eternal winter; frost covers the plains, seeds freeze and rot in the ground, all is lost to the great mystery of nature. Ancient Tundra also manages to infuse his works with some haunting vocals and minimalist percussion to add a bit more depth to the melancholy. I must also add that his second track "Land of The Midnight Sun" is one of the most depressing and mournful ambient pieces I have ever listened to. Its very dirge-like and sorrowful, almost like the song to be played at the funeral of the person you most love. His half of the album ends with what almost sounds like the second movement of the first track, ending his portion on the same kind of feeling that it opened with.

Visual;
The DVD portion of the album is split into 3 sections; one for Symbiosis, one for the label (promotional videos) and one for Ancient Tundra.

The Symbiosis section of the DVD is made up of 3 videos, one of a Symbiosis track not featured on the album and two for the artist's solo project. The Symbiosis video is somewhat of a narrative slideshow kind of video. Still images are presented (of people in nature, nature itself, space, etc.) with overlays of text to tell a bit of a story. The bulk of the text is in what appears to be Italian, so I cannot recite what exactly it speaks of, but based on the imagery used, it is some kind of story that involves the tale of a land far away in the throes of the deepest winter. The other two videos are super abstract collages of random imagery allied with dark militant-esque industrial musical pieces. Shapes move to and fro with snippets of people, candles, architectural works, color treatments, etc.

The Ancient Tundra portion of the DVD was a bit more of what I had expected to see; landscapes of winter set to music. Each track from the AT side of the split is given a video treatment, as well as an track not on the album and a montage of the original footage from the first 3 videos. I think the visuals used in the AT portion of the DVD were selected well and fit the sound/theme of the music to a T. Desolate landscapes, barren trees, a single person walking amidst a sea of snow, all compliment the chilling and somber tone of his soundscapes. The color patterns in the AT videos are also very fitting, cold color patterns and tone evoke the feeling of the music. Many of vignettes are slowed down and progressively take form over the span of the track.

Overall;
I enjoyed this release quite a bit. I found the attention to detail was well formed and complimented the release the way it needs to be, in order to be fully realized. The sound production is clear, vast and easy to enjoy. The video production is of medium quality, but fits the music perfectly. I personally enjoyed the Ancient Tundra side of the split more, not to say the Symbiosis half was bad, because it was quite good, but the AT material was a bit more to my liking. Plus I also think the AT portion of the release was a bit more fully realized and cohesive to the concept of the album. But overall I found this album/package to be very enjoyable in all its aspects. I must also say the packaging was nice as well, a super jewel box layout, which contained a booklet with some stunning landscape photography.

I would recommend this album to fans of ambient and/or neo-classical music. Even to those who enjoy soundscape based music, as the album has a very cinematic quality throughout its duration. This is a great slab of dark ambient music, cannot wait to see what both artists have in store for the future.

Reviewed by E. - Symbiosis side = 7/10 - Ancient Tundra side = 8/10

Ludicra - The Tenant Review

2010-04-17T16:03:00.000-07:00

Ludicra - The Tenant
Full-length, Profound Lore, March 3rd, 2010

USBM is something that has been very give or take since its inception, many of the projects flooding out from the US are contrived, poorly executed and pointless. Over the past few years they have been some serious strides in its movement, with some amazing bands taking form. Ludicra, while not a 'new' band, are one of the few who give the US scene some noteworthy credit. While they have referred to themselves as 'Grey metal', to these ears, its as black as it gets. I have been a fan of this West Coast act for quite sometime, but I was really thrown for a loop with their new album; The Tenant. After a label change and a few years putting the album together, Ludicra has created their most mature and amazing album yet.

The Tenant displays outstanding musicianship, songwriting and performance ability. Every song is unique, impeccably well-executed and plays out within the album almost like a concept record. Each song has its place in supporting the others and if taken away, would not give the album its whole sounding feel. Melodic and sometimes angular guitar riffing (with some killer solo/lead work), pulsing low-end bass, grinding drums and passionately executed vocals make up the bulk of the album. The songs twist and morph between doomy dirges, punkish rages, atmospheric post-rockish sections and blasting, intense black metal. There is not a single dull moment on this album, each track is meticulously structured, given room to breathe and then allowed to collapse atop the listener. Each member of the band shines in this record, all complimenting each other but still standing ground on their own.

The production is outstanding on this album; clear, warm, super dense and beautifully organic. There is no muddiness or awkward sound colliding, each instrument is clearly heard (the bass tone is amazing and each note is noticeable - quite a feat on a black metal album) and comes together in a huge wall of sound. The album sounds big, boomy and is sonically pleasing in every possible way.

The artwork is quite noteworthy as well; odd urban meets organic photography that depicts typical home-esque settings in very atypical scenarios (a bed in a lake?) and is adorned with some beautiful spot varnishing. Every single aspect of this record is complimentary to each other and was undoubtedly well-thought out. This is a fully realized and composed piece of artwork that is unique and amazing in every way. I truthfully have not a single bad thing to say about the album.

It may still be early to make calls and there have been some amazing records released this year already, but I am picking The Tenant to be my personal favorite record of the year. Yes folks, it is THAT good. Do not sleep on this album, it is worth every last second spent listening to it and absorbing it. Absolutely amazing.

Reviewed by E. - 9.25/10

Burzum - Belus Review

2010-04-17T16:01:00.000-07:00

Burzum - Belus
Full-length, Byelobog Productions/PHD, March 8th, 2010

This is undoubtedly the most anticipated record in black metal for well over a decade. While many of the reviews I have already seen of it are either wholly praising or bashing the album, it is safe to say there is no real middle ground in regards to this record (or Varg himself). While many fans were anticipating some more akin to his older works, many of us knew that this simply was not possible. How could some one who has been imprisoned for all that time come out and make the same thing he made in his youth? He simply could not, people change a great deal of time and Belus is a key testament to that. While listening to this album there is one thing that is undeniable; this is a Burzum record, plain and simple. Everything that made Burzum who he was is still intact, just refined a bit and presented in a new fashion.

The simple yet breathtakingly hypnotic riffing is still used, the simple, short-cycled drum rhythms and the underpinning counterpoint bass are all still here. The only real difference is the vocals, the vocals are very much like the ones presented on Filosofem, just without all the distortion and thin production. Another big difference is the usage of clean vocals and while Varg did hint to these on older recordings, they are much more prevalent on Belus.

Everything presented here is classic Burzum, funneled through the filter of a much older (and maybe calmer?) man. To these ears, this album was a step right back into the 90s and seems like a perfectly logical follow up to the mind-bending masterpiece that was Filosofem. Its almost as if time had stopped for all these years and Varg managed to pick up exactly where he left off before his imprisonment, just channeled through the spirit of an older, possibly more wise person.

One of the biggest changes outside of the vocals is the production. Gone are the old, cavernous and cold sounding recordings of the past. That production is replaced with a shockingly warm and thick sounding record that works quite well with the new material. This album is not overproduced by any means, but is clear, warm and has a depth that is much different than his earlier works.

On numerous forums I have seen lashings about the possible use of a drum machine and the album being home recorded. To that I say, even if both of those were true, would it really matter? It seems many people have been inclined to use any little thing to mar this record that they can. To me, it makes no difference. I could care less if he used a drum machine or recorded it at home, simply for the fact that this is the Burzum record I had very much wanted to hear. I did not have high hopes for this album at all, but even upon the first listen I was convinced that Belus truly was and is something special.

Aside from Sverddans (which is a good track, just a bit out of place amongst the rest of the album), I do not think Varg could have recorded a better 'comeback' album. It continues the past tradition of Burzum, but adds new dimensions and facets that are very much fitting to the record. For some it may take many listens to the album before they get what is really happening here, but the time invested is definitely worth it. A truly outstanding album, as only Varg could have presented it.

Reviewed by E. - 9/10

SEMARGL (Ukraine) - "ORDO BELLICTUM SATANAS" Review

2010-04-16T06:39:00.000-07:00

SEMARGL (Ukraine) - "ORDO BELLICTUM SATANAS"
Full-length, Twilight-Vertrieb, March 12th, 2010

Released March 12th, 2010... This is the fourth full-length album from SEMARGL and it reaches beyond any existing current styles of heavy music, presenting the listener with a creative meld of aggressive Satanic Black Metal, Death Metal vocal counterpoints, elements of old-school Thrash and Black'n'Roll dynamism combined with a totally unexpected new approach to the bands original sonic assault including some Electronic elements and various female vocals of varying styles!

First of all, let me start this Review by saying this is one of the hardest albums I've ever had to review, not because I like it or don't like it or can't describe it accurately... but rather because it is so diverse that it leaves your jaw hanging on the ground, after multiple listens I still didn't know how to approach reviewing this album. I've sat on this album for a whole month now and still couldn't come up with an acute approach to capture it accurately! It really is an album that has to be heard rather than dissected and analyzed to death!

There are some quite distinct influences directly linked to the creative input of the various guests on the record including Jonny Maudling (BAL-SAGOTH , MY DYING BRIDE), Nera (DARZAMAT), Iscariah (IMMORTAL, DEAD TO THIS WORLD, NECROPHAGIA), Novy (DIES IRAE, BEHEMOTH, VADER), Vrangsinn (CARPATHIAN FOREST, NATTEFROST, PHOBIA) and if I remember correctly, Ashemidi (MELECHESH).

The album contains 12 separate tracks, built around the bands common ideological Satanic manifesto, written and Recorded in Kiev at Blacklight Recording Studio. Includes a terrific 16 page booklet with marvelous artwork and photography!

It's going to very interesting to see how audiences take to this record; in one sense the record is so overtly creative that it will undoubtedly win over new fans and that same creativity and diversity is also sure to drive away many Extreme Metal purists. In order to fully grasp the direction SEMARGL have chosen to take their sound, we need to follow their slow burning evolution from their diabolical Debut album, "ATTACK ON GOD" which while a symphonic BM album was quite an extreme album in it's own right! The bands 2nd album, "SATANOGENISIS" saw SEMARGL progress into a more modern SATYRICON type direction as well as dabbling in dark electronic sonics, further explored on their 3rd full-length album, "MANIFEST"... when following their evolution it's easier to see how they arrived at this point!

The first 2 songs the band played live, from the new album, prior to it's release displayed a much more direct driving Thrash influence in both the drumming and riff style... some will hear an early METALLICA Thrash riff influence in the aggressive, punchiness of some of the new tracks. The band decided not to make the entire album follow that path and added female vocals on several tracks as well as Industrial Electronica to certain trax that will remind some of a mix between RAMMSTEIN and PRODIGY, and are quite surprising to say the least! Nera from DARZAMAT appears on the track "Credo Flaming Rain" and the song begins with a beat and sound reminiscent of Trip-Hop in the vein of PORTISHEAD and proceeds with a steady clean female vocal line for the duration of the track! Whereas on other trax like "Credo Possess", female vox are used as a backing enhancement or additional element to the male gravel throat-ed Death Metal style vox by Rutarp while a Thrashy straightforward chugging riff plays over a steady Thrash beat.

The most surprising trax for me are those like "Credo Vrangsinn" which is entirely Electronica and is extremely short at only 2mins of playing time, produced and procured by the CARPATHIAN FOREST Bassist, Vrangsinn himself... this was quite a shock in some ways and will definitely have some listeners completely confused or in a total conundrum!

Another really different sounding track is "Credo Revolution" with it's high pitched backing female vocal and Electronica elements immediately reminding me of my favorite PRODIGY track, "Break & Enter", both the album version and the 2005 Live Edit Remix come to mind so I think fans of ABORYM on their "WITH NO HUMAN INTERVENTION" album might really enjoy some of the elements present on this album!

If you forget about constrictions or personal opinions regarding "how something is supposed to sound" in Extreme Metal, you will discover a heavily diversified sound teaming with a multitude of oblique ideas running in every direction yet still held together by a solid production and thematic manifesto... the key to the album is the Philosophy behind it... how to present Satanic Extreme Metal in a new and creatively inventive way that hasn't been done before by adding new elements to it and allowing those elements to stand proud in heir own right, regardless of any existing sound or on predilections or expectations listeners and fans might have! This is an album you have to listen to and go with the flow of the album, without comparing it to any other record you've heard, no matter what sonic elements are at play on any particular track!

The main thing about this album is, I think that due to it's direct approach (coupled with it's unique diversity and creativity), will translate to the live stage extremely well. The chugging Thrash riffs and drumming are sure to keep audiences headbanging, the Death Metal/Black Metal vocal combination maintains the extremity in the music, the experimentation and Electronic/Industrial elements will provide a unique background to the Metal and Black'n'Roll
at it's forefront and the female vocals will either irritate or seduce the listener into it's uniquely different atmosphere! One thing no-one can say about this album is that it isn't interesting, because EVERY song on this album is different and specific with it's own individual separating characteristics and identity! A new Era has dawned for the band in their sonic Evolution/Revolution and all I can say is I can't wait to see this band take this album out on the road and Tour the HELL out of it... THAT will win over new fans for the band and the album for sure! ONLY FOR THE OPEN MINDED, this album will either Rock your socks off with it's immediate head-bang-ability or drive you away in irritation, I don't think SEMARGL will mind either way!

That being said, my personal favouite trax are the ones that take on a more direct METAL approach such as; "Credo Sacrifice", "Credo Possess", "Credo Bellictum Satanas", "Credo Satania" and "Credo Dead To This World" from Iscariah with it's definite DEAD TO THIS WORLD style Black/Thrash attack! The album scores high on creativity from beginning to end!

Reviewed by Damien Bentley - 10/10

SWALLOW THE SUN - NEW MOON Review

2010-04-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

SWALLOW THE SUN - NEW MOON
Full-length, Spinefarm Records, November 4th, 2009

As seems to be the case with fellow tour mates, KATATONIA and their new album, a lot of people seem similarly confused by the new STS album! Having spoken with STS personally after their recent terrific Kraków gig, I asked them what sort of reactions they have had so far and they had mentioned that point to me in our conversations at the gig. It seems to be a bit of a mixed bag affair as far as reactions go, regardless, the music is rock solid and heavy from beginning to end but still contains the beauty of their trademark sound!

For one thing, It's far more Extreme than the previous 3 albums and the EP, but it's different sounding too... a lot of fans are apparently lost over the difference in direction on this one. When you listen to "THE MORNING NEVER CAME", "GHOSTS OF LOSS" & "HOPE" back to back, it's quite evident that that sadness in the music has taken on a different image and sound, Mikko's BM vox are more evident on the new album, mixed in with the Death Metal vox while the Clean ones have diminished in use, especially in comparison to "HOPE", which had by far the most clean vocal elements or parts to it as a whole!

The addition of Kai Huhto to the band seems to have really pushed their sonic boundaries to exciting new levels. In conversation with him, he mentioned that the band had encouraged him to push a little harder with some of the more Extreme Metal elements he has brought to the table, having played in ROTTEN SOUND and WINTERSUN, it comes as no surprise to me whatsoever and can only be a good thing for the band. Pasi Pasanen had a different drum style but the bands creativity has benefited from a new solid element with the addition of Huhto's creativity to the mix!

Mikko has also enhanced his vocal elements on the album as mentioned earlier, as well as being STS's vocalist he is none other than the vocalist in Finnish Symphonic BM band ALGHAZANTH... who also have a new album due soon! With ai upping the ante in the drum department, mikko seems to have reached new extreme vocal highs on the album as well.

The rest of the band work well together in creating a new upgraded atmosphere that is still STS to the bone but doesn't stagnate or tread water in old waters... the ship has left the harbor and is out to sea on a new journey... "NEW MOON" will surely win over new fans who have never heard of the band before based on the strength of this new album and their current tremendous European tour with KATATONIA, who incidentally make the best touring counterparts for STS as both bands sounds work well together in attracting a similar audience but winning over fans to their own individual trademark sounds along the way as well!

The new album comes with tremendous artwork in a light sepia eggshell yellow colour and a woodblock print style with a marvelous booklet and an illustration on each page with full lyrics additionally provided.

Reviewed by Damien Bentley - 8/10

Interview With Nev

2010-04-05T09:12:00.000-07:00

1.You seem to be quite a busy guy lately.What has been keeping you occupied?

Busy my good sir would be an understatement. As far as art goes , lots of stuff still in the camp. Cardiac Arrest Shirt, Gravehill shirt, Beyond Hell cover, a few logos, Think Again cover. I’m sure there’s more but my brains is fried right now! Ha!

2.Lets start off with your love of art. When did you start drawing? When did you realize you were gonna make something out of it??

Well I’m sure every artist says they have been drawing since they were little kids. I know when I started drawing and noticing “holy shit how did my hands do this?”, was in 5th grade. A few of my friends and I would draw Mortal Kombat characters killing each other haha! As soon as I got into junior high school I started taking art classes and really wanted to do art for bands. I was always the kid in the back of the class doodling. Teachers would try and catch me not paying attention but as listening.

3.Have you always drawn horror/gore stuff or would you say your ability far outreaches this style of art??

Well I’ve always been of fan of gore, horror, sci-fi stuff. But I leaned more toward like crazy mutants and cartoony stuff. I didnt really start focus on the gore till middle of high school. Well I can’t say that really. I’m sure I have plenty of sketch books from my junior high days in the basement with gore, boobs, sex, and alien bondage!!!

4.What was you introduction to extreme music.Do you feel like it was a natural vehicle for your talents?

The first metal record I ever heard was Black Sabbath’s Paranoid. Still, one of my favorite records of all time. My old man played it for me in his 93 firebird haha!! I was blown away. I would say that I got into the heavier stuff later that same year. Cannibal Corpse was the first death metal band I ever heard and the rest is chaos and history. I think music does inspire me quite a bit, especially death metal old and new. It’s one of the view art forms that’s pretty much un-supervised so you can create as you wish. Yes you do have the parent advisory sticker but who the fuck pays attention to that.

5.What is your prefered method when doing art,pencil,photoshop,paint?Do you usually stick with the same thing or do you expieriment with other ways of creation?

I do a pretty good mixture of both, computer and traditional hand stuff. I don’t really have a preferred method. I think it really depends on the band I do the art for. Some bands I think need that gritty, dirty, “sketchy” feel. Others I think need a more cleaner approach to their design. I don’t do much experimenting when I do a piece. However, I do learn a lot from each piece I do and apply it to the next.

6.I know you recently found out you are having another child.Congrats to you!!How do you balance your passions and family equally?

Thanks man!!! Um well to put it blunty..i don’t balance it very well at all. I pretty much live at my desk. Which does indeed suck at times. That’s why you have to love what you do because you will have to sacrifice something for it. During the summer months though I plan on cutting my work load to spend time with my ever growing family. I have a kick ass wife who does understand my love for the art and music, but even sometimes I get buried in a piece or just so tuned in to it, she has to pull me back out to reality! Haha!

7.Has your art been able to help you generate extra income,or does this really not interest you.Is this more of a passion then a job to you?

Well as I first started out a few years ago i did shit for free. Like free free. Not even for merch. It did open up a lot of doors for me for sure. But as my family grows and as money gets tighter I have started to charge. Its still not much but its enough. I started up a label that ive been pouring money into. That money comes from my freelance work. I’m slowly starting to make more and more where I can divide up my freelance income to bills and the label.

8.What artist really got you into wanting to do album art,logos etc?

Arthur Adams, Kevin Eastman, Peter Larid, All the artist that did the Garbage Pail Kid cards!!! Sam Kieth, Wayne D Barlowe. Those are the non-music artist! I would have to flat out say the man that got me wanting to do this was the one, the only, Vince Locke. Hopefully, one day I can meet the man and shake his hand.

9.What if you can,name you 5 favorite album covers ever!!

Arrrrggg only 5?!?!?! Hahaha! Cannibal Corpse-Eaten Back to Life. Nihilist-Collection. Autopsy-Mental Funeral. Deceased-Luck of the Corpse. Cradle of Filth-Cruelty and the Beast (sorry naked chicks in blood are awesome). There is a shit ton more, but those I consider my favorite.

10.I know you are also in the band Kaiju and you just released your first album.How is that going and what has been the response so far??

Nevermo….I mean Kaiju is doing great! A lot of people really like the songs on our page and a few have coughed up the bones to snag a disc(THANK YOU ALL). Joel and I are very happy with the way the disc turned out. Joel is an INCREDIBLE musician! We have (hopefully) a few splits coming up with some killer bands. SO we are going to keep on writing and recording. Maybe a label will pick us up for our next full length! Probably not ha!

11.Do you do the band just for fun,or is this something that you have big plans for?

Well I always wanted to hear a band that did songs about giant monsters. Everything else is done, zombies, gore, porn, violence, robots, relationships etc….. Oh I’d say a year maybe a little bit more ago, I got in contact with the drummer of Decrepitaph. I asked him if he would like to help out with the band. He was all for it even had a song he thought would work great! I started doing lyrics and working on vocals, but it never came to be. I was really busy with art and family life and he had many projects in the works at that point. So I put the beast in the grave.

Fast forward to a few months ago and I got in touch with Joel from the killer band Monument of Bones. Told him what I had in mind he thought it was a great idea. And he just started puking out these killer songs. And after all that work here we are with our first full length. “Big Plans” might be a stretch. We have some splits planned that we would like to see on vinyl, and we most likely will do another full length if a label picks us up. But no world tours with Nevermore or Ace of Base are planned. So all in all, its for fun.

12.You also are the founder of sheperd of rot records.When/how did you conceive this idea and how are things going with it so far?

Shepherd of Rot started around the same time as Kaiju did. I wanted to work with bands that I really dug a lot. I wanted to release their album or ep and bring it to the masses. Basically, I wanted to release bands that I listened to. Not that fit in a niche or had 8million plays. And I think I’ve done that. As of right now the label is doing….well its doing. Its pretty shitty out there now. The economy blows. Lots of people trade, which is fine and awesome! But the $ is coming in fast enough for labels (SOR included) to keep churning out the releases. I was never in this for the money, but I also didn’t start this to set money on fire . Godspit’s “We are Godspit” is the next release on SOR. A fucking ridiculous band that worships motorhead. Check them out please!!!! After that, the label will go into the crypt for an undetermined amount of time to regain some the money I put into it. I’m not dying, I’m not going bankrupt. I’ll still be promoting/trading/selling all of the SOR releases. SOR is just going into a deep slumber for a while to focus on my art and family.

13.What are your future plans for the label?Are you in this for the longhaul?It has to be tough nowadays with the current economic setting.

Haha guess I answered that already. It is hard. Really hard. Shipping is stupid expensive. Lots of bands are pricks. Lots of labels are pricks. There are still a few great people out there that are willing to help you out. And I have no problem returning the favor! The metal business isn’t really for metal fans. It seems now a days everybody is in a band or has a label. Which is fine, but I think I enjoyed being a fan more.

14.You are obviously a very busy dude.How do you make time for normal life,if you have one.Is there anything you enjoy outside of art and metal?

Normal?!?! Haha whats that? My life consists of living on the damn computer at my full time job. Come home, eat, play with my kid and dog. Put the kid to bed, grab my wife’s tits for a bit, go to work on band art, then sleep. Before I became an “adult” I would go to local shows a lot. Going to local show is great! A fun time is always had even if all the bands suck except for one. I highly suggest supporting your local metal bands, because you never know what could happen. I used to watch horror movies, scifi flicks, monster movies. I used to breed reptiles for a while too. I did saltwater fish for a while too. I’m kind of an animal nerd.

15.What if you can think,is your proudest accomplishment from the the standpoint of being an artist.What is your hands down favorite piece of work?

Damn another tough question haha! One of the first full layouts I did was for the hardcore band Hammer Bros. That was one of my proudest moments. Actually doing something I had dream of doing for years. That was a great feeling. I guess doing art for bands is like screwing women. The first one is fucking awesome, the rest are great too. Some not so much, but still better than jerking off into a fleshlight.

16.If you could do art and layout for one band,who would it be?

Cannibal Corpse or Danzig. If I ever got to do art for either of those two, I would retire.

17.What do you have in the works.What art and bands are you working with currently?What can we expect next from Nev?

Well I got the Cardiac Arrest shirt just about done. Gravehill shirt is coming to a close. Beyond Hell cover still working on. I’m finishing up the back tray for the upcoming album from Scaremaker. Theres lots of logos in there too.

18.Ok last question,5 favorite albums of all time...GO!!!!!!!!

Arggggg!!! Another killer question!!!

Cannibal Corpse-The Wretched Spawn
Black Sabbath-Paranoid
Cardiac Arrest-Cadaverous Presence
Danzig-Danzig
Deceased-Luck of the Corpse

I can listen to those disc for the rest of my life and not get tired of them.

19.Ok thats it man.Thanks for taking the time to do this,i appreciate it alot.Any final thoughts.Tell the readers how they can find you and get in touch!!!

Hey thank you man!!! Keep up the great work!! I really enjoy what you are doing!!
Support your local metal. And FUCK Godzilla 1998.
Anyone can get a hold of me at the following:

www.myspace.com/nevfuck
www.myspace.com/shepherdofrotrecords
www.myspace.com/kaijumetal

thanks again!!!!

Cheers
Nev
Shepherd of Rot Records
www.myspace.com/nevfuck
www.myspace.com/shepherdofrotrecords
www.myspace.com/kaijumetal

Interviewed by B.S.O.G.

KATATONIA - "NIGHT IS THE NEW DAY" Review

2010-04-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

KATATONIA - "NIGHT IS THE NEW DAY"
Full-length, Peaceville Records, November 2nd, 2009

This album blew me away! Wow! I never thought I'd say "I LOVE KATATONIA", but I do now... they were just a band I could never seem to get into before, but this album really changed my mind, it's beautifully dark and I highly recommend this album to any fan of OPETH, IHSAHN, EMPEROR, SWALLOW THE SUN, DIABOLICAL MASQUERADE and perhaps even elements of PORCUPINE TREE can be heard in some parts, actually, fans of newer SHINING might even enjoy this album as well! (When I last spoke to Kvarforth, I asked him what he'd been listening to lately and if I remember correctly, i think he said quite a bit of KATATONIA.) I can't stop listening to it, over and over again! Tremendous stuff, and the most shocking thing is I NEVER liked KATATONIA before !!!

I love SWALLOW THE SUN as well and I definitely see similar elements in the music on this album and the music of SWALLOW THE SUN, very complementary bands for a live gig for sure! A lot of it reminds me of Mikael Akerfeldt's clean vocals in OPETH as well, and as a huge fan of IHSAHN's solo work, perhaps I have him to thank for opening my mind up to this style of music more... along with my continued fascination for SWALLOW THE SUN. I think even DEVIN TOWNSEND fans will find something to revell in here as well!

Great band, great album... and again, I never ever though I'd ever say that! Thoroughly enjoyable, darkly beautiful music with terrific clean vocals... Jonas Renkse has a truly affecting voice! You should feel the hair on the back of your neck standing up listening to this album, every song is tremendous. Some might say depressing, others will agree with me and say it's beautiful... lush production and guitar work that accentuates the vocals in every sense of the word, even the drumming enhances the mood of the music. It could be THEE most vocally centered KATATONIA album yet infact! Listen and enjoy!

Reviewed by Damien Bentley - 10/10

Enthroned (Bel) - Pentagrammaton Review

2010-03-30T09:57:00.000-07:00

ENTHRONED – "PENTAGRAMMATON" (2010)
Full-length, Regain Records, March 22nd, 2010

ENTHRONED (from Belgium) deliver a blasphemous, blackened storm of shredding guitars, scouring gravel throated screams and blasting beats that fire like a barrage of bullets on a battle field and are on target like a programmed and launched warhead.

Their sinister brand of Black Metal is powered by a diabolical aura that is truly their own as the group issues a scathing, hate-filled attack on it´s intended 'captive' target audience.

“Pentagrammaton” is a good example of exactly what a BM band should be, in every context of BM's original concept... once you open your ears to this pulverising album, you are guaranteed to re-discover TRUE Black Metal all over again ! Especially if your convictions have begun to wain over the seriousness of the genre in recent years with the rise in popularity of the Symphonic BM bands.

If you have never heard of ENTHRONED before and you are an avid, addicted BM listener and consider yourself an Extreme Metal afficiando, ENTHRONED are one of the first True Black Metal bands to ever come out of Belgium. Presenting their brand new album to this pathetic planet, what we have here is an absolute treat , a must have for ALL fans of the early Satanic Black Metal bands like Bathory, Blasphemy and early Sodom.

The CD comes in a special slipcase and features a terrific booklet with suitably eerie art work and photography that suits the albums sonic barrage perfectly! Live on Tour during 2010, ENTHRONED are set to wreak havoc across the planet like a scourge across a monks flagellated raw back. IF you don't buy the album, you shall do pennance... this is true Black Metal in it's purest form.

Raw to the bone, unrelenting, empassioned, uncompromising HELL fueled BM the way it is supposed to sound! Originally I thought ENTHRONED might have seen better days or begun to fade away, after Sabathan left the band, but it's actiually proven to be a huge plus. Gone are the squaking "Donald Duck" BM vox of previous albums, now replaced by the far more acerbic, raw and convincing screams of vocalist, Nornagest confidently at the helm!

This is the album I had always hoped ENTHRONED would release, I knew they had it in them and they have finally proven they could really strip things down and get ugly again, like a parking lot brawl in "Fight Club", the gloves are definitely off for this fight !!!

In many ways, this has to be the biggest surprise of the year out of all the new releases that have come out thus far for 2010! At just under 42mins, the album is the perfect length for repeat listens, in fact I am always surprised when the album suddenly seems to come to an end so soon... only to realize, I've been listening to it for the 6th time today without realizing when it ends because I've become so enraptured by ENTHRONED in their captivating, gripping and enthralling new incarnation! This is the REBIRTH OF ENTHRONED !!!

Reviewed by Damien Bentley - 10/10

Exiled from Light - There Is No Beauty Left Here Review

2010-03-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

Exiled from Light - There Is No Beauty Left Here
Full-length, self released, 2008

Depressive BM from New Zealand, sure to satisfy fans of DROWNING THE LIGHT (Australia), PESTILENTIAL SHADOWS (Australia), XASTHUR (USA), LEVIATHAN (USA), ANTI (Germany), MAKE A CHANGE... KILL YOURSELF (Denmark), NORTT (Denmark) and maybe even SHINING (Sweden) and SILENCER (Sweden), though this is much slower and filled with piano interludes etc.

Some KATATONIA and SWALLOW THE SUN fans might apprecciate this band/album as well for it's melancholic sadness and the darkness that pervades the entire piece. The album cover reminds me of BURZUM style album art, such as "HVIT LISSET TAR OSS".

The album is rather unique in it's own right specifically for the rather different style of drumming and the drum sound in the mix. All in all a rather quiet album, mid-paced in speed and filled wih melancholic sadness, lillting and beautiful in it's own way!

Reviewed by Damien Bentley - 8/10

The Sarcophagus - Towards the Eternal Chaos Review

2010-03-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

The Sarcophagus - Towards the Eternal Chaos
Full-length, Osmose Productions, November 29th, 2009

THE SARCOPHAGUS are a Turkish Symphonic Extreme/Black Metal band who play in a unique style filled with it's own atmosphere that seperates them from any other band in the SBM field or sub-genre!

This is their Debut album and features some truly aggressive and affecting vocals by Niklas Kvarforth of the Suicidal/Depressive Black Metal [or Avante-Gard Extreme Metal band as they are now familiarly known] SHINING from Sweden!

Kvarforth brings a whole different aspect to their sonic attack and his vocals are sure to appeal to any fan of Attila's vox in MAYHEM or KEEP OF KALESSIN.

While the music is Symphonic Black Metal in essence it doesn't feel or sound anything like any other band which plays Symphonic BM, THE SARCOPHAGUS play in a more atmospheric style that doesn't place the keyboards too high in the mix and utilizes a synth sound as a background foundation that they have built their unique style of agressive Extreme BM upon! A great Turkish band who remain waiting in the aisles for their big break in the Extreme Metal scene... this could well pole-vault their status higher in the undergound scene.

Reviewed by Damien Bentley - 10/10

TRIPTYKON - "EPARISTERA DAIMONES" Review

2010-03-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

TRIPTYKON - "EPARISTERA DAIMONES"
Full-length, Prowling Death Records, March 19th, 2010

Wow!!! I am once again struck completely speechless by Tom G. Fischer and his new monstrous release is sure to drop a few other jaws beside mine as well! IF you consider yourself a die-hard CELTIC FROST/HELLHAMMER fan, this is going to be thee album of the year for you... like treading on unholy ground in the darkness of H.R. Giger's terrific and terrifying album cover for the album, come to life! The artwork suits the album perfectly and indeed hearkens all the way back to 1985 Celtic Frost Debut, "TO MEGA THERION"... and the album art isn't the only connection, the thick density of the crushing sound within is another nod to that past classic! The crunch is so thick, that it could mulch bricks like a bulldozer running rough shod over an area designated for destruction.

There are a few rather CELTIC FROST style female vocals woven into the fabric of the album here and there, though not randomly or for the sake of having them in the mix. Everything has it's place on the album and nothing is left to chance, it feels well organized and nothing drags on for too long while supplying the ample atmosphere needed on each track. For a 72 minute album, it passes by so quickly that by the end you might actually feel it was too short for your liking! Thats a stroke of pure genius, because I don't know too many albums as dense as this, yet just as equally captivating and gripping from start to finish. The album leaves the listener wanting more so fortunately we have the option to push REPEAT and have the benefit of listening to it a million times over and over.

This is the sort of album that seeps deeper and deeper into you soul and spirit, as it's Black/Death/Doom sonic waves wash over you like you are floating through the Milky Way as Satan's guest in the majesty of the night sky! It isn't as violently wrenching as "MONOTHEIST" was, though it's quite obviously cut from the same cloth without any doubt whatsoever. This is definitely a powerful contender for ALBUM OF THE YEAR for 2010, what an incredible year it is already with the likes of the tremendous new IHSAHN and BURZUM albums. Including those 2 albums, I think TRIPTYKON has closed the triumvirate with raging success!!!

The album was Released on March 19th and this is an absolute must have album, not only for the awe inspiring tremendous music contained within but for the absolutely marvelous artwork and fascinating booklet that accompany the album.

Wow!!! The new album is awesome... Awe inspiring and a terrific continuation of Tom's work, further reaching into the darkness than before, yet a continuation of what fans have undoubtedly been hoping for and for quite a while now since he last emerged amidst the behemoth that was the mighty "MONOTHEIST" album! Behold a new beast has emerged from the blackened depths of HELL !!! Bow in reverence!

Reviewed by DAMIEN BENTLEY - 10/10

Nyseius - Militiae Review

2010-03-25T14:07:00.000-07:00

Nyseius - Militiae
Full-length, ATMF, April 2010

Orthodox black metal is something that is admittedly loved or hated, depending on who you ask. One of the biggest failures with the genre is so many of the bands end up sounding alike. Loads of blasting, spiked with vile lyrical vomiting about Satan, mysticism, war, etc. There is a great deal of orthodox black metal bands sprouting up all over the world these days. I blame it on bands like Dark Funeral, Marduk, Funeral Mist and the like.

Here we have Nyseius, a four-piece orthodox black metal band from France. Their debut album 'Militiae', is a harsh lesson in brutal and unforgiving satanic black metal. Loaded with blast beats, grimly croaked mid-range vocals and icy cold guitar riffs, Nyseius are not exactly reinventing the black wheel. My first impression of this album was 'Oh look, a Dark Funeral worship band...', but the more I listened, the more I found an almost avant-garde approach to their orthodoxy. The bulk of this album is dissonant and writhing in black blood, but there are a few moments when the chaos dissipates, making room for frightening clean guitar breaks and choral-esque keyboard flourishes. But do not kid yourself, these breaks in momentum are short-lived before the blasting flame re-ignites and you are trampled under cloven hoof. There is no question the main focus of this album is to spew the blackest and most hateful energy possible. Leaving little to no alleviation for the listener.

A super clean production is found on this album; guitars are reduced to an icy tremolo picked blur, drums are clear/loud but do not sound overly-triggered, the vocals have a pinch of reverb to add atmosphere and the bass is mostly buried in the mix. This production reminds me of the kind used on the first Dark Funeral album mostly.

Looking for something groundbreaking and new? You will not find it here, but if you are looking for a smothering, hate filled, chaotic blast of orthodox black metal, this is your weapon to pick. Nyseius have created a 35-minute album of nuclear black energy, destined to rip your face off and drag you to the depths of hell.

Reviewed by E. - 7/10

Svarti Loghin - Drifting Through the Void Review

2010-03-25T13:17:00.000-07:00

Svarti Loghin - Drifting Through the Void
Full-length, ATMF, April 16th, 2010

New school Swedish black metal is pretty much known for being super depressive and suicidal. Maybe above all, negative is the best word to describe their scene. Bands like Shining and Hypothermia have made quite a name for themselves in this niche genre. But one name that has really got a lot of attention over the past few years is Lifelover. A band of suicidal, drug-addicted, self-mutilating folk playing black metal influenced 'rock' music. I admittedly have found a deep fondness for what Lifelover does, but as the case with any kind of music, once one unique band gets heavy exposure, a million other bands, trying to sound like them, explode on to the scene. These bands pack promo bins and distro catalogs with their garbage releases, which make finding the real exceptional acts that much harder to find.

Svarti Loghin is not really a new band, they have been together since 2006, have one demo and one full-length already under their belts. With their sophomore album 'Drifting Through The Void', SL have found themselves treading the same waters as the above mentioned Lifelover. SL combine the aesthetic of black metal, but play it in the framework of a mix of shoe-gaze, indie rock, post-punk and alt-county (oh yes, there are country-like moments on this album). At first listen I was not completely sure of how to feel about Svarti Loghin. The deeper I analyzed the album, the more appreciation I found for it. While they do sound like Lifelover, they really do manage to put their own twist on the sound. I really love the alt-country elements and clean sung passages they have implemented, they are impeccably well-done. There is an almost narcotic styled haze around this record, since it is very laid back for the most part. I am not completely sure this album could be regarded as 'metal', the only real metal part is in the howled dsbm-style vocals scattered throughout the album.

The albums production is fantastic, not over-produced, but clean enough to hear all the instruments fully. The whole thing has a very organic and natural sound, which for this kind of music, really works quite well. The distorted guitar tone is mid-range-y and warm, the clean guitar is spacious, the drums are mixed well enough so they are not buried in the mix and the vocals, while not being completely in-your-face, are balanced to the point where they are not annoying/over-bearing. A very well balanced, clean and modern sounding production.

I found this album to be quite enjoyable the more I listened to it. I constantly found more and more hidden elements in the album, each time I went through it. I was pretty impressed with the overall presentation of this record. I only found myself having two complaints; the album cover is oddly very much like the cover for Caina's Some People Fall and the cover version of Planet Caravan (originally by Black Sabbath). While the cover is well-done, it just comes off as kind of pointless. I would have rather heard another original song.

Good album, definitely recommend to fans of Lifelover or just for people who enjoy a bit more 'rock' in their black metal. Looking forward to hearing more from this band in the future.

Reviewed by E. - 7.5/10

An Autumn for Crippled Children - Lost Review

2010-03-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

An Autumn for Crippled Children - Lost
Full-length, ATMF, January 2010

The whole post-black metal thing has really had quite an explosion over the past few years. Not completely sure who is to blame for starting the trend, but there is no question that a huge amount of bands have taken to this style and pushed it all over the place. Enter An Autumn For Crippled Children; a post black metal band that combines elements of depressive black metal, doom and post-rock. While this is nothing new in the whole post black metal explosion, some bands manage to do it considerably well.

On their debut full-length 'Lost', AAfCC really wallow in the depths of depressive black metal, with an almost funeral doom framework amongst the whole thing. Extremely slow, (although there are a few blast sections incorporated here and there) melodic, fuzzed out guitars, humming atmospheric synths, pulsating drums and howled vocals. There is a very melancholy vibe throughout the whole album, especially during the slower parts, where the melodic guitar leads and synth take up a good portion of the sonic field. During the faster parts-well, in general-the drums are pushed way back into the mix, not sure if they use a drum machine or not, but it would have been nice to hear the drums a bit more in the production. There are also a few moments in the album where the band seep into Alcest-like territory, with the more upbeat and bouncy riffs/melodies performed in a very shoe-gaze like fashion.

The production is very cloudy and fuzzy, which is not abnormal for this kind of music. It also comes across very cold sounding, since a good deal of the of the tonal range is very treble-y and loaded with high-end. Once again, nothing new for any wave of black metal. The biggest comparison I keep coming back to listening to this is Xasthur, while not entirely like his work, its the reference that keeps coming back to my mind each time I listen.

Not a bad release, a bit too same-y throughout the entire album, but not bad. I think if they add more elements to what they are doing and maybe clean up the production a bit, they might have something really special to offer in the future. A decent debut album though, definitely recommended for fans of the whole post-black metal trend happening nowadays.

Reviewed by E. - 6/10

Fatalist - The Depths of Inhumanity Review

2010-03-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

Fatalist - The Depths of Inhumanity
Full-length, Ibex Moon Records, November 23rd, 2009

Old school Swedish death metal, those days are pretty much long gone, for the most part anyway. The glory days of Stockholm being the apex of dirty, dark death metal are far in the past. Although there seem to be a few new bands attempting to pick up the reins and bring death metal back to its unclean roots -- away from drum triggers, pointless technicality, sterling productions, etc...One of these bands come from California of all places, about as far from Stockholm as you can get. Enter the band Fatalist (whose logo is an EXACT replica of death metal legends Nihilist, no coincidence there) who perform dirty, nasty death metal, the way it is supposed to sound.

This is Swedish death metal performed as the masters had once performed it, grinding buzz-saw guitar tone and all (I absolutely love this kind of guitar tone). While Fatalist are no doubt performing death metal in the vein of bands like Entombed, Nihilist and Dismember, they manage to interject a bit of their own influence as well. Loads of dark melodies, heavy bass tone and splintering drums. The band at times drift into more thrash-y territory, but in the most death metal way possible. There are also a few nice guitar solos scattered throughout the album, which add a nice dimension to the buzz-saw riffage found throughout. Add to all this a clean, but grimy and acidic production that perfectly compliments the sound Fatalist are hoping to achieve.

Not a whole lot of new and/or innovative things happening on this album, but I will be damned if Fatalist does not bring some much needed terror to the new school death metal scene. Kudos to any band that presents a knowingly 'been there' sound, but still manage to add some authenticity as well. If you love old school Swedish (and some American) death metal, do yourself a favor and pick this up, its heavy and menacing, the way death metal should be.

Reviewed by E. - 8/10

Blood of the Black Owl - A Banishing Ritual Review

2010-03-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

Blood of the Black Owl - A Banishing Ritual
Full-length, Bindrune Recordings, February 27th, 2010

I really have to give a thumbs-up to the folks at Bindrune. They manage to put out consistently amazing records that are inspired and unique. Much like the newest offering from Celestiial, the new Blood Of The Black Owl is quite a jaw-dropping release. I am no stranger to the previous works of this project (or the ones associated with it) and each outing becomes more interesting to experience.

Here we have 'A Banishing Ritual', an album that essentially is one long composition, but can be divided into four parts. This album is a unique amalgamation of beauty, isolation and sheer terror. A piece of music that is as terrifying as it is tranquil. Ritual voices, bizarre percussion, warped synthesizers, eerie woodwinds, flutes and raging strings clash with seething ambiance, doom-y metal, black atmospheres and folk-ish sections. This album is essentially all over the place musically, but it all works and makes sense together. Each part compliments the ones before and after, keeping the album interesting amongst its 40+ minute playing time. I had to listen to this album two times back to back, just to be able comprehend the beginning stages of what this album has to offer. This is a deeply moving piece of work that unveils more and more each time you listen. I could probably listen to this album 100 more times and still discover new things on each pass.

The album is a lesson in deeply personal, transcendental music. It is like being transported into the psyche of Chet W. Scott and company for a deep look not only into their minds, but into your own as well. Highly emotional, introspective and thought provoking music that simply must be heard to be believed. Outstanding.

Reviewed by E. - 8.5/10

Celestiial - Where Life Springs Eternal Review

2010-03-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

Celestiial - Where Life Springs Eternal
Full-length, Bindrune Recordings, February 27th, 2010

I have been waiting to hear this album for quite some time now. I enjoyed the previous full-length from Celestiial 'Desolate North' a great deal, aside from a few flaws in its presentation. Well four years and a few new band members later, we finally are presented with 'Where Life Springs Eternal'. Celestiial has definitely expanded on the ideas it was originally presenting; slow, absolutely crushing funeral doom wrapped in dense, atmospheric field recordings. The sound is quite vast and sounds as though they are performing in the middle of a forest or upon a cliff alongside a waterfall. Loads of echo and reverb coat the instrumentation, making it sound eerily distant and cavernous.

Celestiial succeed where a great deal of funeral doom bands fail. The atmosphere is believable and incredibly encompassing. You simply do not listen to this album, it sucks you in and transports you to an endless void, until the voyage comes to a somber end. Its almost like witnessing tectonic plates shift right before you. The vocals are strangled and howled in an atypical manner, more akin to black metal or hardcore, than the usual death growl of most doom metal.

The guitar, bass, synth, drums and vocals all bounce and shimmer off of each other, making the album sound truly alive, as opposed to just playing music. The field recordings help a great deal in creating this atmosphere as well; birds chirping, water cascading and wind rumbling. These sounds all help in making this album incredibly enveloping. There are a few shorter tracks interspersed within the album, which incorporate a plucked harp and these tracks have a distinctly Celtic folk inspired sound to them. This really compliments the drone and dirge of the longer, more metal tracks. All in all, this album is very thought-out and impeccably well-performed.

This is funeral doom for people who normally cannot stand the genre. Celestiial really breathe life into a stagnant and at times, boring genre. Do yourself a favor and pick this album up as soon as possible!

Reviewed by E. - 8.5/10

Divine Eve - Vengeful and Obstinate Review

2010-03-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

Divine Eve - Vengeful and Obstinate
EP, Ibex Moon Records, January 16th, 2010

After a good 15-16 years of complete silence, this often overlooked death/doom band finally returns with some new material. Many people will tell you their last EP; As The Angels Weep, was something of a legendary release that really never found the acclaim it deserved. So now Divine Eve returns hoping to make up some lost time and possibly find the audience they had always searched for. Most of the music on this new EP is slow to mid-paced, although they do manage to inject a few moments of faster, almost old-school grind-ish tendencies. There is no question that Divine Eve is very much influenced by the legendary Celtic Frost / Hellhammer legion. Their style drips with a kind of old-school worship for these bands. Not in a rip-off kind of way, but unquestionably influenced by them.

There are a few moments on this release where the band shifts to an almost 'classic' style of metal riffing, eschewing the more standard doom rhythms. In these moments the band find themselves a bit more able to stray from the typical stereotypes of death/doom. There is also a few moments where the band implements an interesting horn tone, which help deepen the atmosphere.

I enjoyed this release, but do have a few issues with it. For one, its incredibly short. These guys should really consider doing a full-length for the first time in their existence. Secondly, there are times when the pace just drags along, in the moments where the horn and other styled riffing are implemented, it helps greatly. I would love to see Divine Eve really explore this kind of atmosphere more and experiment a bit with their sound. This may really separate them from the pack in the future...So all in all, an enjoyable release with a ton of potential. They just need to make longer albums and try to expand more, sonically.

Reviewed by E. - 6.5/10

Nominon "Monumentomb" Review

2010-03-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

Nominon "Monumentomb" Review

Deathgasm Records March 2010

Face ripping,filthy,downright dirty!!!Those are the words that come to mind as the opening volley of nominons newest long player "MONUMENTOMB" blasts out of the speakers.Opening track mantra reverse twists and turns at hyper speed,anyone who has seen this band live can only imagine the intesity going on here as "the drums of death" are in serious affect here!!!There are several differences between this and their last release 'TERRA NECROSIS".Most notably is the presence of general surgery screamer Erik Sahlström om seven of the albums 9 tracks.Sahlstrom griity old school swede death vokils do this album a great service!!Secondly the production coming courtesy of Tore Stjerna(who also contributes vocals and lyrics to the album)and his necromorbus studio,which results in a sharper,slightly cleaner production then the previous album.Monumentomb twists and turns thru it's 9 tracks of "swedish metal of death",as nominon has always in my opinion successfully blended the old school ways with a nice blend of modern ferocity!!!While they are definatley not reinventing the wheel here,nominon has crafted if anything a solid entry into todays death metal spectrum,and at roughly 40 mins this album unlike so many others,doesn't overstay it's welcome.What you get here is a veteren band that does death metal the correctly,fast,heavy,dirty, filthy,and most of all unapologetic!!!! Poser Kill indeed!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8.5/10
Review By:Bastard Son Of God

Viatrophy - Viatrophy Review

2010-03-23T11:03:00.003-07:00

Viatrophy - Viatrophy Review

Viatrophy - Viatrophy
Full-length, Siege Of Amida/Candlelight, June 15th, 2009

So based on the band name alone, I expected some kind of tech/brutal death metal sound. While there is some truth in that assessment, this has a lot more in common with the huge waves of death core bands coming out these days. While a bulk of the music is technical noodling, they manage to boil down to having chugging mosh riffs scattered all over the place. While this band is not bad by any means, it is completely unimaginative and following the trend more than anything. There is no disputing the fact that this band are very good at playing their instruments and creating brutal/technical music, but being able to play technical music does not mean you write good songs. There are moments of catchy melodic glory, but they usually get swallowed in the technical maelstrom. There are also quite a few more quiet/atmospheric breaks interspersed in the chaos, but they do little to save the song from being a wank-fest. Granted this band is not as shred-y as many of their peers, they still have a lot to learn in regards to writing memorable songs. The whole album kind of turns into one long song and not in a good way. Everything just sounds so alike and similar that the record turns into one 42 minute long tech-core jam.

The album has a very modern and overly processed sound; very clean, but lacks any kind of soul or grit to give it a life of its own. The vocals are split 50/50, half being a deeper death growl and the other half being a sort of have screamed pseudo-hardcore shout. The guitars are mostly angular and played in odd time signatures, yet occasionally stopping for a chugging breakdown or clean strummed post-rock kind of part. The bass is buried very low in the mix, so its really hard to get a feel for it. The drums are triggered to death, but with that being said, the drummer has excellent musical chops. There are moments in the record that lead me to believe they might expand into being a bit more experimental in the future, which could really help them expand their sound into something worth listening to. Until then, what you will get is trendy, technical death core. The only upside is that there are no clean/emo like vocals to be found anywhere on the album. That really would have been the coffin nail for this effort.

This band has a lot to learn before they are at the point of writing memorable music. Here is to hoping that changes in the future for them. Otherwise they will be continually lumped into the mediocre death core trend/scene.

Reviewed by E. - 4.5/10

Svartsot - Mulmets Viser Review

2010-03-23T11:03:00.001-07:00

Svartsot - Mulmets Viser Review

Svartsot - Mulmets Viser
Full-length, Napalm Records, March 24th, 2010

I figured it was only a matter of time before I was put in the position to review a record that literally makes me sick. Svartsot is the kind of cheerful, humppa folk metal that makes my stomach turn. There is no question there will be a good number of people who soak this album up and absolutely love it, unfortunately I cannot do this, no matter how many times I listen to the album. It is filled with almost every folk metal stereotype in existence and in the end comes off bland, weak and contrived. The market for this kind of music has grown exponentially over the past few years and there is no question that Svartsot are hoping to ride high on the wave of folk metal popularity.

Pseudo-death metal riffs and vocals are clashed amongst pointlessly upbeat drum patterns. Then there is the layer of typical folk metal instrumentation laid atop the 'metal', flowery flute harmonies are all over the place on this record. Normally I have no issue using traditional folk instruments, but they come off as unnecessary on most of these tracks. There are a few instances where the songs are heavy and catchy without being silly, but those moments come-and-go in the blink of an eye. The band is quite talented and are actually versed in writing songs, but unfortunately they write the same song over and over again. Almost every song on this album sounds exactly alike in every way. If it was the same good song written for the whole album, it might be a decent effort, but this is not the case for Svartsol.

I would say if you want a truly amazing new folk metal album to listen to, skip this one entirely and go straight for the new Heidevolk. That is a great example of folk metal done correctly and passionately.

Reviewed by E. - 3/10

Heidevolk - Uit Oude Grond Review

2010-03-23T11:02:00.001-07:00

Heidevolk - Uit Oude Grond Review

Heidevolk - Uit Oude Grond
Full-length, Napalm Records, March 26th, 2010

Folk metal. I admittedly cannot stomach a great deal of it, for most of it (especially the humppa-folk metal bands) are simply annoying to my ears. I love traditional folk music, but many of the bands who attempt to cross-pollinate metal and folk do so in a completely cheesy way. The bands who do in fact get it right can end up with something very special (Otyg, Isengard, early Ulver) and unique sounding. I think Heidevolk are one of those few bands who actually succeed in not being cheesy or contrived while doing so. The melodies and drumming are fist-pumping and upbeat while the vocals are deep and very masculine sounding. I found myself doing a good deal of head banging while listening to this album, which to me is always a good thing. None of the music seemed forced or put emphasis on unneeded elements to water down the sound into something commercial and easy to listen to. While Heidevolk do implement a good deal of folk in their music, the main emphasis is on the metallic side of what they do and they really perform it better than most of the bands in this genre. Heidevolk do manage to use a bit of traditional folk instrumentation in their sonic brew, but they are implemented well and never overpower the songs or come in at pointless intervals in a wave of over saturation (aka cheesy sounding).

The production is outstanding on this album; very clear sounding without being overly modern and 'produced' to death. The instruments and vocals are very warm sounding, with a lot of 'soul' in every aspect of the record. The metallic parts are heavy, the folk parts are catchy and the vocals are passionately executed. I wish the bass guitar was a bit higher in the mix, but this is only a minor complaint in the overall scheme of the record. The songs are well written, extremely catchy and full of genuine power. The album to my ears sounded very 'powerful' and heartfelt, without a need to be melodramatic. I think if more bands did what Heidevolk do, the folk metal genre would carry a far better reputation than it currently does. With that being said, when someone like myself stumbles upon a album like this, it makes it that much better and enjoyable to listen to. This is folk metal for people who cannot stand most of the typical bands, it is well-written, well-played and extremely catchy. Bands like Heidevolk give me hope that there is still good folk metal to be found amidst all the trash.

Reviewed by E. - 8.5/10

Varg - Blutaar Review

2010-03-23T11:01:00.003-07:00

Varg - Blutaar Review

Varg - Blutaar
Full-length, Noise Art Records, January 29th, 2010

More and more Pagan metal bands seem to be flooding the market these days. Most of them are hard to distinguish from each other, due to the lack of interesting ideas, song structures, etc. But like all scenes, there are always a few that rise to the top. Mainly because they stand out from the pack, for whatever reason. Here we have the band Varg, definitely a Pagan metal band, but these fellows manage to bring something unique to the table. A band does not always have to be completely original to stand out, many bands who do something tried and true, but do it exceptionally well, manage to find interest among certain groups. The music found on this release is very melodic, sometimes mid-paced, sometimes blasting at full speed. Harsh black metal vocals, heavy guitars and semi-complex drumming make up a good bulk of the release. Some of the guitar riffs are reminiscent of Gothenberg death metal, not necessarily in the typical way, but more in the fact of being very melodic. There are a few acoustic breaks scattered among the album to break up the straightforward metallic monotony. All the instruments play off of each other very well, creating a very solid vehicle of heavy music.

I would say Varg straddle the line of black and death metal. They combine the heaviness of death metal (not chugging riffs either) and the melodic sensibility of black metal to create a lethal hybrid that is both scathing and pummeling. Unlike most Pagan metal bands, Varg do not really implement a lot of typical folk-ish music into their metallic brew. There are odds and ends of acoustic breaks, but not enough to categorize them as folk metal. They actually become nice counterpoints to the heavier parts of the songs. Another thing that is interesting is the use of mostly black metal-ish vocals put along aside a few gruff death metal style of vocals, both styles are done well and compliment each other well. My overall impression is very good from this effort, its heavy, melodic and well-written. Fans of bands like Dissection and Sacramentum will drool all over this album.

Reviewed by E. - 7.5/10

Les Discrets - Septembre Et Ses DerniËres PensÈes Review

2010-03-23T11:01:00.001-07:00

Les Discrets - Septembre Et Ses DerniËres PensÈes Review

Les Discrets - Septembre Et Ses DerniËres PensÈes
Full-length, Prophecy Productions, March 29th, 2010

I find it moderately humorous and interesting that the first two reviews I have been assigned are the new Alcest AND Les Discrets albums. There are far more similarities than differences between these two projects. While I found the Alcest to be moderately enjoyable, this Les Discrets album caught my attention much more than the Alcest. For anyone who has listened to Alcest but not Les Discrets, the similarities are easy to point out. Clean sung vocals, acoustic and clean guitars that are clashed with more metal moments, creating a soft/loud and mellow/aggressive dynamic. Although I personally find a great deal of commonalities between LD and Alcest, I continually find myself seeing LD sharing much more of a sonic field with the band Agalloch. I usually hate name-dropping other projects in reference, but I could not get away from the fact of how much they are treading the same waters. The song writing is interesting, in the respect that they shift from a variety of different moods and textures, but as many bands do, they fall into the pit trap of repeating the same elements all over the album. Luckily, they do it well enough that it does not seem rehashed or convoluted. Another big factor helping LD is the fact that many of their songs are relatively short in duration. It keeps the pace moving along before the song has a chance to fall apart.

The instrumentation on this album is exceptional, since many of the melodies could be at risk of becoming too 'sweet' sounding, but there is always some element of darkness or sadness that keeps them from falling into that trap. Which I personally find to be a good thing. The drumming is well done, nothing too technical, but enough movement to keep things flowing and remain interesting. There are a lot of smaller drum fills and accents to compliment the rest of the music. The vocals are very well done, a cleanly sung male voice that actually sounds masculine. Oddly enough the singers clean voice reminds me a great deal of the singer from Bak De Syv Fjell. I would love to have heard some harsher vocals on the album, but I am hoping that is explored a bit more on whatever new release that they do. There is a great deal of potential in this project, that which I am hoping is explored more and more.

I enjoyed this album quite a bit, I would recommend it to anyone into bands like Alcest, Agalloch or Darkflight. Also to anyone who was a bit disappointed in the new Alcest, this album might be right up your alley.

7.5/10 - Review by E.

Alcest - Écailles de lune Review

2010-03-23T11:00:00.005-07:00

Alcest - Écailles de lune Review

Alcest - Écailles de lune
Full-length, Prophecy Productions, March 29th, 2010

Alcest are finally back with a new release after their the highly acclaimed "Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde" record. For those who who were expecting "Souvenirs..." part 2, you might be a bit disappointed. The elements of that record are intact, but they have managed to incorporate some darker aspects that could possibly be compared to black metal (much more akin to their Le Secret EP). For me personally, I believe their best release to be the "Le Secret" EP, I enjoyed "Souvenirs..." but the more I listened to it, the more I felt all the songs were a bit too flowery and sounded the same. That is why I appreciate this record all the more, their are more dynamics in the songs, which lend a bit more interest throughout the duration of the album. The trademark 'happy', shoegazing riff-age still rears its head numerous times on the record but they are clashed with darker black metal-y moments. Neige's other trademark, his vocal style, is also in full effect. There is plenty of his effeminate, nasal singing is all over this album. There is a load of atmosphere on this record and the emotional spectrum is all over the place. The bulk of this emotional load is spent trudging through the polar opposites of happy and melancholy. The guitar and drum interplay really stand out on many of these songs, the songs are well composed and do manage to carry themselves through to the end without being boring. Neige surely does have a knack for composing interesting guitar riffs.

The production of this album definitely lends a hand in the overall atmosphere. Not too clean and just enough grit to make the sugar-sweet melodies not become overbearing. If this album was over-produced, I would think it would come off far too sappy and feeling-less, but when Alcest breaks from the more softer moments into the black metal-ish sections, is when the group really shines. It adds the much needed break in monotony that their previous album simply had none of. The shrieking vocals in the more aggressive sections are well done, as Neige at times sounds like he is going to vomit from the force he is belting out during those vocals. There is definitely an air of truth and honesty in the fact that the music does not come off as fake or melodramatic. Kudos must be given to any artist(s) that can make their music sound truly genuine and I think Alcest has succeeded here. I am very much interested to see what the next Alcest record will bring, I am personally hoping for them to continue the path of light/dark and mellow/aggressive dynamics to their future releases. For me it makes the album much easier to listen to, in regards to not falling asleep to it.

So in all, I think this record is not a bad listen, definitely not worth a lot of the hype built around the project, but not bad by any means. I think if Alcest continue down the path explored on this album, the future could be very bright for them. I must also add that the artwork for this album is absolutely stunning in every way.

6/10 - Review by E.

Bloody Sign "Chaos Echoes" Review

2010-03-23T11:00:00.003-07:00

Bloody Sign "Chaos Echoes" Review

For someone like myself who has been pretty much removed from the death metal scene since '95 with the exception of a few "modern" bands who get it right. I got bored with all of the blast fests and mind numbing instrument masturbation, to me death metal had lost everything "evil" about it.
So when I received this CD in the mail I wasn't sure what to expect. I had heard of these guys before as they had released their last full length through Ibex Moon, a label I have great respect for. Well it didn't take long for this album to ensnare me in its magic.

Like I said - I usually get bored with nowadays death metal and am usually switching out CD's after 2-3 tracks, but "Chaos Echoes" made a difference. This album was definitely not what I was expecting and believe me that is a good thing. From the opening salvo of "Chord Temple" this album blew me away. While this album has all of the death metal standards - pissed vocals, heavy as fuck riffs and blasting drums - there are definitely spots where this band reaches regions where only few death metal bands go.

There are times when they remind me of newer Deathspell Omega. They seem to mix the orthodox black metal into their sound very well, most evident in the track "The Call" which, for me, was the standout track on this CD, I probably went back and listened to this a few times before continuing on with the rest of the it. These guys are definitely different from most of the death metal crowd out there these days, so maybe most won't get it. Fuck them because this album is so fucking good that I can see this in heavy rotation for a while!!!

Maybe it's the slight Incantation vibe I get from time to time (drummer Ilmar also played drums for Incantation's Clash of the Demigods European tour in 2004 - A. Nekro), or maybe it's the fact that these guys mix it up with a myriad of influences and actually sound refreshing to the ears of the listener. The packaging and booklet are all well above standards and made by Blood Harvest - why should you expect anything less?

Get this and worship!!!!!
Out now in Europe on Blood Harvest!!!!!!!!

9/10

Review By: B.S.O.G

Scorched Earth - "Mars" Review‏

2010-03-23T11:00:00.001-07:00

Scorched Earth - "Mars" Review‏

Full-length, Novisible Scars December 21st, 2009

Scorched Earth is a great thrashing death metal band from up in Seattle.
They have been making their brand of chaotic yet catchy death noise since 1995, and have been putting out albums since 2000. I'm a big fan of these fuckers and this album didn't disappoint.

"Mars" is their 4th full length album and it continues the legacy of simplistic yet great metal of death!
They are similar to Gravehill in that they have basic parts and riffs to songs (maybe call us the AC/DC and Motorhead of death metal?) When a band is good, they are good. It really doesn't matter how many riffs are in a song, or if there are just 2 drum beats in a song. Scorched Earth are one of these bands that can ride a riff for a while and smash and thrash it until it is dead as fuck. And one other thing about Scorched Earth is that they have TONS of killer riffs going on. Each song out-does each other with riff after riff of killer metal. The tempo of the songs are usually 3 speeds: either mid paced banger, fast beat banger, or blast beat banger.
These guys mix the death metal, thrash and black metal perfectly on here as usual. Terry's death howl is in fine effect on here as well. You will just want bang your fucking head off when you hear this album!
Any fan of killer old school style death/thrash/black will love this band. Get your friends over, get a ton of beer and whiskey, put this fucker on 11, and let the massacre begin!

The songs are as follows: Warlords Of Mars, The Gods Themselves, Devils In Iron, No Blade Of Grass, Hell On Mars, Spearhead From Space, The Knights Of The Black Cross vs. The Reavers Of The Red Death, Out Of The Violent Planet, The Dead Of Winter.

Hails to Scorched Earth for yet again delivering the goods of great metal madness!!!! This was put out by Novisible Scars.

Review By: Mike Abominator 10/10

Bulldozer Magazine - Special Feature

2010-03-23T10:59:00.001-07:00

Bulldozer Magazine - Special Feature

The Werkshed's own Mike Abominator and Bastard Son Of God have quite a few interviews featured in the latest issue. So show your support to a true old school zine and go here and get it for yourself!!!!!

www.myspace.com/bulldozermag

March 11, 2010 - Thursday

DENNIS DREAD - Interview.
Category: Music

Dennis Dread has been blowing all of us away with his sick art the last decade or so! I became such a fan of his art, that I had to bug the shit out of him until he agreed to do some Gravehill art, and then I had to hit him up for a talk as well. Dennis is a very cool guy and it was awesome picking his brain. Check out his killer website as well: www.dennisdread.com

Interview By : Mike Abominator

1. Hails Dennis, thank you for your time, how are things going for you these days? Tell about what you are currently working on.

Hey, Mike! Things are going great these days. The new Abscess CD Dawn Of Inhumanity just came out and the new Darkthrone record will be released this month in a special limited vinyl edition so my art is out in the world once again. We're experiencing some unseasonably warm weather here in Portland this weekend so right now I'm sitting on my front porch with The Flesh Eaters blasting through the speakers. My neighbors don't seem pleased.

2. So let's go back to the start of your artwork. When did you start drawing seriously and what inspired you to get serious about it? Did you have any influences from other artists? And what made you decide to go with "ball point pen" art?

I've been drawing for as long as I can remember but I don't know how seriously I take it. I'm not a commercial artist and I only move my pens when the spirit to create moves me. I've met a lot of career artists who have devoted their best years to slouching over a desk in silence. Many of them are miserable. That's not me. I've had countless ever-evolving influences and inspirations over the years. Too many to name. A few of my favorite artists whose influences might not be so readily apparent are the Australian witch Rosaleen Norton, the Teutonic visionary Fidus and the atavistic conjurer Austin Osman Spare. I love the Symbolists too! My favorite artists are those who possess an eclectic personal vision and unique technical abilities. I would emphasize the word "unique" as opposed to, say, "talented." In fact, the ability to actually draw or paint well does not necessarily have much bearing on whether or not a work of art will ultimately engage the eye. I like art that seems charged with passion and immediacy and is imbued with something of the creator's essential nature. My relationship with music is very similar. You know that feeling you get when you hear a great Celtic Frost or Black Sabbath riff? It may not be the most complex or technical playing but you somehow feel immediately affected and connected to the musician. Art is much the same way for me. I initially gravitated to ballpoint pen because that's what was available when I was younger and I've remained true to this humble medium long after most artists discover brushes and paint because I still resonate with those heavily shaded nuances. I like to call it Horror Noir. Why waste time perfecting fancy new styles when I'm perfectly content with my cheap little pens? Like the old Sore Throat song, I'm UNHINDERED BY TALENT!

3. You have done quite a bit of art for bands and record labels over the years. How did you get into working within the underground music scene?

That's a good question. I've been lurking in the underground for so many years that it's hard to pinpoint exactly how or when I first got into this. It probably started way back in the 80's when I was buying zines and records and constantly looking for heavier and more obscure music and art. Later I started working for an underground t-shirt company called Mutilation Graphics and that experience provided me with exposure to a lot of different stuff that continues to influence my work. I started working for Mutilation Graphics in 1990 just a couple weeks after I graduated from high school. I was working on my own artwork while silk-screening shirts and by the time I left to travel the country I was well entrenched in the underground. My first significant metal projects were with Engorged a few years later. The Engorged guys were some of the first friends I made when I landed in Portland more than a decade ago and they remain some of my closest friends to this day. They believed in my art from the day we met and that's sometimes all it takes to propel an artist forward. If it weren't for Engorged I would still be sitting in some moldy basement drawing zombies in total obscurity. Oh wait. I still am. Well, at least I've satisfied my quota of mentioning Engorged at least four times per interview.

4. What are a few of your favorite projects that you have done?

I'm really proud of my trinity of drawings for Darkthrone, beginning with F.O.A.D. and coming to fruition recently with the new album Circle The Wagons. Hail to DARKTHRONE!

5. Tell me about the Destroying Angels art zine that you have been doing for a while now?

I started Destroying Angels the year my daughter was born as a way to remain creative and disciplined since I realized that my time would become a very precious commodity as a father. If I remember correctly, the first issue came out in May 1998 and I kept a fairly consistent annual schedule until issue #9 which came out two years ago. I've actually been busy working on the new issue recently and will return with issue #10 in 2010! Print media is pretty much on its deathbed but I forge ahead with my humble xerox publication despite all odds. ONLY STAPLES AND PAPER CUTS ARE REAL!!!! The new issue will feature 3D cover art and come with 3D glasses! I don't really keep deadlines but it should be ready by the spring and will be available through my website.

6. You also do Public Art Exhibitions in the Portland, Oregon area as well as across the nation and overseas, tell me about these.

Yeah, I initially started showing my drawings in local galleries just to see what would happen and eventually I started receiving invitations to exhibit in other cities. Public exhibits are a great way to get critical feedback and further develop as an artist. It's interesting to see how strangers will react to your work. I also realized that galleries don't have to be boring and can serve as an excellent way to expose work to a broader audience. In 2007 I organized my first annual group exhibit called ENTARTETE KUNTS, which is a play on the title of the old "degenerate art" exhibits in Nazi Germany. The basic premise is that this is a new era of Underground/Outsider art. The fine art world would like to effectively exile and exterminate this defiant breed of fantastic representational art. But we will continue to thrive in the shadows! The KUNTS shows have have been challenging to organize but immensely satisfying and modestly successful considering most metalheads don't have disposable income for art. I'm currently compiling a beautiful hard bound book that celebrates the first three years of the ENTARTETE KUNTS shows. It will be released early next year through Ajna Bound, the new publishing division of the highly acclaimed underground label Ajna Offensive. I'm also organizing a book tour and traveling art exhibit to commemorate the book's release. The KUNTS will be invading YOUR town soon!

7. So you did a "Heavy Metal Vomit Party" on the radio recently. What did you play on there? And can we expect more of this madness?

Yeah, some friends invited me down to Portland's local radio station to spin records with them and we had a great time! We blasted classics like Autopsy, Pungent Stench, Cryptic Slaughter, No Mercy, Pentagram, Sodom, Razor, Broken Bones and more recent favorites like Ghoul and The Devil's Blood. They've asked me to come back so it looks like I'll be doing it again very soon! When I was very young I got exposed to tons of great bands through the radio stations around New York so getting to play records on the radio is very special. I hope some lonely misfit kid in the suburbs accidentally tunes in and becomes infected with the curse of the headbanger!

8. Tell me about the Lucifer Rising project. And who is Bobby BeauSoleil?

It's a long story so I'm gonna be lame and suggest everyone stop reading now and go buy The Lucifer Rising Suite box set from the Ajna Offensive. The liner notes are very extensive and explain the whole story from several unique perspectives. The first pressing sold out much quicker than we imagined but the re-press is available now. It's an amazing 4 LP collection and one of my proudest accomplishments as an artist. I actually just visited Bobby in prison last week and he's doing well, staying healthy and strong despite the soul-crushing environment in which he has lived for the past 41 years. His next parole hearing is coming up in December 2010 so we'll see what happens. I'm of the personal opinion that Bobby has paid his debt to society and should be released to enjoy his elder years in the company of his wife and friends. Of course when you murder someone, all bets are off. Only time will tell.

9. What bands and albums have you been blowing the speakers out with and pissing off the neighbors with lately?

I've been blasting the second Flesh Eaters LP, A Minute To Pray, A Second To Die (1981), all afternoon. Great slice of early L.A. death punk! Probably too jagged and weird for most metalheads but the diehards might recognize their song from the Return Of The Living Dead soundtrack. What else have I been blasting lately? I've practically worn out my Weapon LP! Ten years from now Drakonian Paradigm will be as revered as Storm Of The Lights Bane or some other violent but melodic classic. It's a special record. I really like the new Saturnalia Temple. Also been blasting Cloven Hoof a lot lately. "The House of God has been violated!!!!"

10. What are some of the best live bands that you have seen in your life of going to shows?

The strange thing about live shows is that they have everything to do with ephemeral environmental factors that are largely out of the control of the participants. You can see your favorite band perform but if the club is lame or the crowd has no energy or the sound is bad it can be very disappointing. One of the most memorable live shows I ever witnessed was actually a free Death In June performance at this little record shop here in Portland in 2005. There were like 15 people present and when Douglas Pierce asked for requests my daughter, who was 7 years old at the time, surprised us all by yelling out "Black Angel!" He was standing right in front of us and immediately launched into the most stirring acoustic version of that song that I'll ever hear. It nearly brought me to tears. That's what a live performance is all about. Historically, it was very cool to see Anthrax and Anvil Bitch at L'amour in Brooklyn on the Among The Living tour. I saw the Cro Mags around the same time at The Ritz in New York City and it was a very hostile and exhilarating event. Oddly enough, Watain is a band that engages the senses in a similarly violent manner. Watain is a live experience not to be missed. Eyehategod at the Dixie bar in New Orleans on Fat Tuesday in 1995 was very memorable despite the vast amounts of alcohol consumed. Bolt Thrower at Party San Fest 2008 in Germany was definitely an experience I will never forget. They played at night under an expanse of stars with fog machines casting smoke throughout the crowd and at one point a sheet of light rain fell and transformed the otherwise modest cow pasture into some sort of primeval battlefield! I had the good fortune of witnessing Iron Maiden at Wacken Fest that same summer and managed to secure a place directly front row with some very good people from all around the world. We were literally against the barrier with 70,000 rabid headbangers pressing at our backs. That experience alone made up for missing Maiden during the 80's! Amebix in Seattle on their first reunion tour in January 2009 was absolutely epic in every way imaginable. Roky Erickson a few years ago was another event that left me speechless. The best shows are probably still to come!

11. Do you remember the first heavy metal album that you bought?

I have to admit that the first record I ever bought with my own money was the Heavy Metal soundtrack. I wish I could say it was Sad Wings Of Destiny or something but, no, it was that very mediocre cartoon soundtrack that still haunts me in the discount bins at record stores. At least it had Black Sabbath 'Mob Rules' on it. That was actually my first exposure to Dio so I suppose I shouldn't complain.

12. OK Dennis, keep up the killer work. Can't wait for the Gravehill / Dennis Dread Collaboration! haha. Any last words?

Thanks for the great interview and for taking an interest in my artwork, Mike. I look forward to a bloody Dread/Gravehill collaboration in the future! We've talked about it long enough. See you in Hell!
March 4th, 2010

NEGURA BUNGET "Maiestrit" - Review.

2010-03-23T10:58:00.005-07:00

NEGURA BUNGET "Maiestrit" - Review.

I know that this Romanian Black Metal Horde is quite popular. But I had never actually sat down and listened to them until now.If you want a boring back story, go check out the bands Metal Archives link and see what that says about their history.Listening to their music now, I really don't feel a need to go back and listen to their old material. Don't get me wrong, this is quite good, well played. But not my thing at all. There is a big keyboard presence. There are some faster, and up tempo parts. But for the most part these guys go slow and atmospheric. Even progressive.But unlike Deathspell Omega (who never get boring with their prog parts) these guys kind of do. There are some memorable riffs on the opener "Vremea Locului Sortit". These guys can be very dark and heavy when they want to be!

It gets down right middle period Neurosis towards the end of this song as well. The song is too long as are all of the songs on here. "În-Zvîcnirea Apusului" starts off quite good then the whistling comes in? WHAT THE FUCK? hahahahaha. OKKAAAAAAYYYY! "A-vint in abis" is up next with it's slow build up intro. This is kind of a mid paced banger. The drums are really low in the mix, now that I notice it.Once the keyboards kick in, I cringe though. Quite an epic build up. These guys are growing on me!"Al locului" is next. After the singers impersonation of Quorthon on "Hammerheart", he starts shouting and I get confused, but then the growls come in, MUCH BETTER!There are a bit of the "epic beauty" parts thrown in here. But these guys are good at it. I think more prog rock fans would dig this than one might think. This would make great driving music during the day or even background music cooking or cleaning the house or shit like that."Plecaciunea mortii" stats out with an evil keyboard section that kicks in almost half way through the song. Very cool but drags at the same time.

"A-vint in abis (acoustic version)" comes next and is just as it said, acoustic version. "Plecaciunea mortii (acoustic version)" is another acoustic version of these songs and they end this album well. It all fits together fine. This album grew on me a little after I played it during this review. I might end just listening to it again, but who knows.

It does drag at times. But good job to these guys! Not bad at all.

This is out on Lupus Lounge/Prophecy Records.

Review By : Mike Abominator 7/10

ASSAULT "Nuclear Deaththrash" - Review.

2010-03-23T10:58:00.003-07:00

ASSAULT "Nuclear Deaththrash" - Review.

Here we have the KVLT(hahaha I hate that word) band Assault from Chile. They were a 2 man band that played total 1980s thrashing blackened death metal. Or maybe "Nuclear Deaththrash" if you will? Whatever you call it, it fucking RULES! The production is bad, the songs are quite sloppy at times but you can tell that these maniacs have more heart than anyone with a fancy studio that went to MIT. It sounds like they recorded the songs in a fucking basement with a minus 4 track (yes minus 4!) Well. nah not that bad. You can tell the riffs and drums are coming through. I have heard worse. What this specific release has on it is a "best of" compilation that came out in 2006. But I decided that people need to hear these fuckers so I'm talking about it right here. Totally killer South American metal madness that really does sound like it was recorded in 1985. Back then, Sepultura and Sarcofago were influenced by both Sodom and Bathory black thrash as well as Discharge and Cryptic Slaughter type punk. Assault have that same vibe. Brings back memories for me when I would get demo tapes or vinyl albums from bands in Mexico and South America. Assault would fit perfect on the Congumelo Records roster back in the 80s. The tracks on here are: Soldiers of The Pest, Heavy Anti-Christ Assault Battery, Hail Black War, Brigada Mortero, Necrolatria, Guerra Atomica, Terrorist Aggression, Deathsquad and Atomic Desolation. Some of the material sounds like it was recorded in a garage at practice, but that is part of the brutal rawness of Assault! Sadly Assault is no longer with us. And there is another "best of" comp that came out after this one. If your looking for clean production and crisp guitars, triggered drums, shit like that, STAY AWAY from this! This is not the type of release that just anyone can get into. I personally love this type of stuff. They got even more extreme, heavy and noisy towards the end of the CD, shame they broke up! Old Cemetery Records put this out and has some killer releases out there to check out so keep an eye out for them and get this classic of KVLT South American Raw as fuck Metal Of Death!

Review By: Mike Abominator 8/10

Interview with Robert Cardenas

2010-03-23T10:58:00.001-07:00

Interview with Robert Cardenas

Interview By: Mike Abominator

My friend Bobby here has been a fixture here in the Southern California Heavy Metal scene for almost 25 years. I decided to track him down for a talk. He has actually been in some of my favorite local bands. And now plays Bass in the legendary Agent Steel.

Hails to you Bobby. Good to get a talk with you. Let's start with your early memories of getting into heavy metal. Was it friends or family that got you into it, or did you discover it on your own? Tell me what were your favorite bands in those early days?

- My brother Woody was also a big influence in what I was listening to. At the age of 10, I was introduced to KISS ALIVE 2. I do remembering I was a big Gene Simmons fan and didn’t even know he was playing a bass. Metal for me in 1981 came in the form of Iron Maiden. I did listen to a lot of Black Sabbath before that but “The Number Of The Beast” was the one that made Metal for me. It was also the first concert as a kid in 1982, which was the Summer Strut @ Anaheim Stadium, Scorpions, Iron Maiden, Loverboy and Foreigner. As for Favorites in the early 80’s, I would say Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Ozzy, Rush. I don’t think much has changed from then and now. Those bands are still kicking ass and still my Favorites!!

Let's now talk about what made you pick up the Bass. Or was it another instrument that you started with?

- Playing bass also was my brother Woody’s idea. He knew a friend that taught bass and that’s when my mother brought my first bass, a Hondo Destroyer (Red). I was 16. That was one of the best things my mom ever got me, ever! I have to say that getting that bass saved my life and kept me out of a lot of fucked up shit as a kid. Music was the only thing I ever wanted to do, then and even now.

So you started off playing music with Immortal (Los Angeles) and then went on to Nocturnal Fear. There were some crazy backyard gigs back then. And 2 legendary venues Fenders Ballroom and The Country Club were slowly having bigger shows and major metal tours coming through. Tell me about those early days for you.

- No, Actually I knew the guys from Nocturnal Fear from Jr. High School and Joined in late 1988 after they lost their bassist Ceaser (Nokturne). It was with Marcelino Castro (Ex-Coffin Texts/Demolition), Adolph and Memo Mora (Ex-Infamy). After that dis-banded in 1990 I joined Entety from 1990 to 1994. Immortal was just a project I was helping my good friend Miguel with. Never played Fenders but heard a lot about it. I did play a couple of shows at the Country Club in Reseda, CA. 1 was with Morbid Angel (Alters Of Madness tour) and 1 that Autopsy was supposed to play but pulled out.

Then came the legendary Entety. How did this crazy band get formed? Do you think it could have really taken off? I think Entety was even sicker and heavier than like likes of Exhumed, Impaled and other Carcass inspired Gore/Death/Grind bands.

- Well, the first time I saw Entety was in 1989 in a back yard with my guitarist from Nocturnal Fear Adolph. One of the sickest pits I had ever seen. I was a 4-piece band. Jack was doing vocals. Never heard anything like his vocals. It sounded inhuman. Yea, I did think it was gonna take off but I think that we just didn’t had what it took to get to that level. We eventually broke up in 94 and that lead to the beginnings of Coffin Texts and Infamy.

Next came one of my favorites, Engrave! Much more old school and different than Entety, yet just as deadly in the metal way. How were those gigs and recordings? When is a reunion of Engrave going to happen?

- Engrave was Jagger from Infamy’s prior band called Brainstorm. Jagger left the band 94 about the same time Demolition and Entety broke up that’s when I ended up at Adrian’s house and we just clicked. That band had many opportunities to get to the next level but it never happened. Again, just didn’t have what it takes. Not saying the musicians weren’t up to par; it was more on a personal level that the band could not function. Great band and I do miss playing those songs and Mario (RIP) very much. As for a reunion, Not sure, sometimes things are meant to stay in the past. I tried reviving Entety and ended up with nothing, so I realize now that it’s better to just leave it behind and move forward as a musician.

Another favorite of mine is the next band, Coffin Texts. How did this monster come about? Nuclear Winter records released "Gods Of Creation, Death, And Afterlife" which is killer. And Blood Harvest is doing the next album "Tomb Of Infinite Ritual" still right? What else can we expect from Coffin Texts in 2010?

- Coffin Texts was born late 1994 after Entety and recorded the “Gods of Creation, death and Afterlife in 1995 with Jim Barnes (produced Mindrot and Morgion) on 2 inch reel. All Analog which just it sound so much fatter. Nuclear Winter release it in ’08 and is actually doing really good. It was also release in 2000 by Dwell Records (U.S) on Digi-pack and then again in 2005 by Brutalized records (Columbia) which got it distributed in Europe. As for “Tomb of Infinite Ritual”, we are still working on getting it out hopefully by mid-2010. This album has been a total nightmare due to the fact that we were supposed to have had this out 5 years ago and lost our drummer which pushed us back and then we ran into recording it with a tweeker that lost all our files 2 times and then recorded it a 3rd time all fucked up. Which pushed us back again and we are in 2010. People say it’s cursed but I’m gonna prove them wrong by have it out this year. It will see the light ov day.

You also do Saprophagous, another death/grind band here in L.A. Tell me about this band and what are you guys up to?a European tour back in 2003 correct?

- Saprophagous are great friends ov mine that I have known since 2004. It totally BRUTAL FUCKEN GRIND! I play in this band cause I’m a fan and the bassist that they had before ripped them off so I took over to help get to the next level. We did some shows up north with Truculence which was a blast and Phoenix with Bulldog Productions and that also was a good trip. Were working on the second release after “Dimensions of Diverse Brutality” Release from 2009 which will be called “Anatomy”. Not sure what label it will be out on. Europe in 2003 was with Diabolic.

I also remember you playing with Florida maniacs Diabolic on a European tour back in 2003 correct? And a few years ago, you had mentioned moving to England to play in a band with members of Destroyer 666. What came about with that?

- Yea, the Diabolic tour was killer. We did something like 23 shows all over Europe with Behemoth and Destroyer 666. One of the best times I had ever had in my life. Something I will never forget. Great People. As for moving to U.K, It just didn’t happen. I think that it was meant for me to stay and then get offer to play in Agent Steel.

Fuck you are a busy guy! haha. And you are also jamming with the legendary Agent Steel now! How did this come about? How is it playing those classic songs from "Skeptics Apocalypse" and "Unstoppable Force"?

- Gotta keep on my toes. Been playing to long not to keep up the momentum. It started with working at World War 3 records with Juan Garcia from 2001 to 2006. He a very good friend and in 2007 he came to my house when I was living in Silverlake near Hollywood and offer me the Anienigma European tour for 2007 2 months prior to the tour. By the time we got to Amsterdam I was a member of Agent Steel. Playing all the classics are incredible BUT I do have to say that the later A.S material is very good. I’m a true fan of all the release this band has offer the metal world. Playing in this band made all the persistence worth the wait.

When you are not playing in 5,000 bands what do you do for fun? You are a metal father now as well! Does your son love metal too?

- I’m a graphic artist by trade and I also do silk screening with a good friend. Yea, Had my boy when I was 19. Robert Aaron Cardenas. He is a metal fan but also love different types of music. He’s likes playing piano and loves movie soundtracks. Best thing that ever happened to me was to have my son.

Were my vocals on the "Hell Awaits" cover at the D-Club show with your Japanese friends, Emilio and Yourself the worst bad drunk Slayer vocals ever?

- not sure. Couldn’t hear you (LOL)

You have robbed a bank, and the cops have the house surrounded. There is a secret exit that can get you out and on a plane to the Cayman Islands in no time. BUT, You can only fit 10 albums in your suitcase, what 10 albums would you choose?

– King Crimson/Live in Argentina
– Morbid Angel/Alters of Madness
– Metallica/Master of Puppets
– Judas Priest/Screaming For Vengeance
– Iron Maiden/Number of the Beast
– Slayer/Hell Awaits
– Death/The Sound of Perseverance
– Black Sabbath/Born Again
– Bolt Thrower/Realms of Chaos – Agent Steel/Omega Conspiracy

You have traveled all over the place. What are some of the best metal shows that you have ever seen?

- Athens, Greece with Agent Steel 2007
- Paris, France with Diabolic 2003
- Milwaukee Metal fest with Coffin Texts 2000
- Bogot·, Columbia @ Rock al Parque festival with Agent Steel 2007
- Ohio Deathfest with Coffin Texts 2000
- Monterey Mexico with Entety 1993

What ever happened to that KILLER Rickenbacker, black with green alien vein looking design Bass that you had back in the day? Do you still play Ricks? You have also played BC Rich Basses. What is your favorite brand?

- I use it in Agent Steel for the songs tuned to a drop c. I’m endorsed by Fernandez guitars for Agent Steel and Mammoth Guitars for Coffin Texts. So I use a Black Fernandez Tremor bass with a Kahler bass tremolo for normal tuning songs and the Rickenbaker for the drop C with Agent Steel. For Coffin Texts I use a Black Mammoth custom made V with a Kahler bass tremolo. I use a BC Rich Warlock for Saprophagous.

OK man, I want to thank you for your time. I will see you soon. Any last words to everyone out there?

I want to thank you Abominator Mike for the interview into my life as a musician and to all the fans of all the bands that I have been in. Cheers from Bong Beach, California
-Robert “Bobby” Cardenas

WITCHMASTER "Trucizna" - Review.

2010-03-23T10:57:00.001-07:00

WITCHMASTER "Trucizna" - Review.

These Polish maniacs (who now are in England) have been around since 1996 and have been one of the bands that I listen to on a regular basis. At various times members of Behemoth, Incantation, Vader, Christ Agony and others have been in this band. But who cares about all that shit. What is important is the music that the band does. This is their 4th full length album. Their 2002 album "Masochistic Devil Worship" remains of total black/death/thrash classic. One of my favorite albums of all time and I love to listen to on killing sprees, drinking binges and poser abuse. "Trucizna" starts off with the title track and it is the same crazy ass black/death/thrash that these fuckers have been doing for a decade and a half. "Self-Inflicted Divinity" is next up and does the skank to blast to one two beat bangers all very well. The vocals are nice and fucked up and evil gargles of hate. "Total Annihilation" destroys everything in site like a bomb and is a total Venom type mid paced banger until it gets fast as fuck. The music and arrangements are sloppy at times and the production is good but sometimes stuff gets lost. But that shit doesn't really matter because the heart and conviction of these maniacs is all that matters. "Road To Treblinka" starts of with all kinds of death noise chaos that Witchmaster are famous for, then once the blast beat hits and the vocals come in all hell breaks loose. There is a killer thrash middle part that then goes back into the blast grind chaos. "Two-Point Suicide" starts off with crazy drums rolls then goes into another crazy blast part. Another cool thrashy mid paced part after a few blasts and back and forth. It sounds as if the guys recorded this live, straight off the board with no mixing, which is fine by me! Clean production is for wimps. "Back To The Bunker" seems to be a bonus song not listed on the song list but this one is another blasting banger mixed with killer one two beat fast parts and mid paced double bass madness. The guitar solos are always killer and fit the brutality very well. "Bred In Captivity" comes next with a killer opening riff that then blasts away and goes back and forth with another killer mid paced banger. "Black Scum" is the official album closer and starts off with a chugging guitar riff that has a slow build up. Sounds killer. The higher thrash metal notes come in later with the build up and the the song takes off with a killer fast beat. The sing a longs are great on here! Great song! The demo version of the title track actually ends the CD. It's a total raw version(even rawer than the production) of the song and sounds fucking awesome. What has been, and still is, so great about Witchmaster is that they mix the Black/Death/Thrash/Crust Punk so well. They were always like a hybrid of Discharge, Venom and Terrorizer to me and they still are. They have that early Sodom vibe down as well. This is dirty ass metal. And if it ain't fucking great! Cheers to Ibex Moon for getting this out over in the U.S.

Review By: Mike Abominator 8.5/10

AVULSED "Nullo (The Pleasure Of Self-Mutilation) - Review.

2010-03-23T10:56:00.003-07:00

AVULSED "Nullo (The Pleasure Of Self-Mutilation) - Review.

These Spanish maniacs have been spewing forth their brand of sickening old school death metal since 1992. Heavy as fuck with a mixture of Swedish, American, Finnish and even the UK death bands on Earache and Peaceville labels back in the day. This fucker has 17 songs of total sickness. Album opener "Breaking Hymens" is a new death metal anthem! One thing about Avulsed is they know how to be brutal as fuck and rip your face off yet remain catchy and memorable as well. "Killing After Death" is more death metal madness. Avulsed manage to switch between the great mid paced riff bangers that makes you want to bang your head off to. And also get ripping with a fast banger part as well and be just as deadly. The production is killer with banging drums and the guitars are heavy as fuck. Dave Rotten's vocals are mostly guttural (in an old school way) and sick as fuck on here. "Maggotfilled", "Voracious Backpacker", the title track, "Nazino(Cannibal Hell)", "Fair Flesh Obsession", "Penectomia", "Infernal Haemorroids(Part 2), "Chestblood", "She's Hot Tonight(In My Oven)" are the remaining songs on this disgusting album of sickness. Each song has the same catchy and awesome death metal (and some of those song titles just fucking rule!) The next few songs "River Runs Red", "Foetal Consolation", and "Unconscious Pleasure" are from their 2006 best of compilation "Reanimations". As are the 3 cover songs "Piranha" by Exodus, "I Wanna Be Somebody by WASP and "Mental Misery" by Gorefest. The Avulsed songs are more of the same killer sickness we have come to expect from these maniacs. The cover songs are killer for Exodus and Gorefest (especially! Sounds like the original!) The WASP cover is hilarious and is for drunk sing a longs only! But that's fine hahahaha. Overall, this fucker kicks ass! It might sound the same after a bit, but there are so many killer riffs on here who fucking cares! This is out on Ibex Moon Records.

Review By Mike Abominator 8.5/10

SUMMONING - Interview.

2010-03-23T10:56:00.001-07:00

SUMMONING - Interview.

Interview By: Bastard Son Of God

First off i wanted to thank both of you for taking the time to do this interview.I truly appreciate it.

1.I guess i would like to start off by asking you when or how you both became involved with music.Was there a certain album or musical piece that just grabbed you and made you think"I WANT TO DO THIS"?

silenius.
first of all i have to state that i had musical lessons since my childhood. i was playing flute and piano. later when i was a teenager i started to play bass; in that time i already was a big fan of metal music of all kinds and i jammed in a band called shadowvale. but all this was not very serious. i think the breaking point when i really wanted to make music seriously was in the time when the second wave of Norwegian black metal started and this type of music really fascinated me. i that time names like burzum or emperor where not famous at all, but this new black metal scene really captured me. in those days i moved from the countryside to Vienna because of having a job here and in that time i got in contact with other metal fans and young musicians who have the same idealistic goals and where hungry to make music. and so everything started slowly.

protector:
with about 13 i started to learn drums in a public music school, and later played in a stupid school band playing some boring cover songs of non metal bands. my first metal band was called malignom and played some kind of progressive thrash-death metal style. after that i was a bit sick of doing rehearsals all the time and focused more on making music with synthesizers and more on creating songs than on practicing them over and over again. so finally i got to know silenius and we realized that we both where interested in making music in the black metal style, so summoning was born.

2.What was your introduction into metal? Was it something you were interested in from a musicians standpoint?

silenius:
i got in contact with metal music very early; it was on the days of primary school when there where two bands which have been very popular, even to us children, namely abba and kiss. first i was an abba fan but shortly after i was a kiss fanatic and from that point on i was looking for other similar bands like alice cooper, later i was interested in harder stuff like king diamond and so on. in the end of the 80ties i was a fan of death metal which was a big thing in that time and even i still was familiar to older black metal bands like bathory, venom or celtic frost this new type of black metal in the early 90ties just caught all my attention immediately and this was of course the breaking point in my musical life.

protector:
its weird in my case. it was a cousin of mine who is actually organ player in a church who presented me an iron maiden CD as christmas present. from that time one i searched more and more in the metal scene for new bands and following that scene i sooner came over thrash metal, to death metal and finally black metal.

3.What were some of the bands that got you both interested in playing metal?Was there any particular band that inspired the creation of summoning or was black metal always the proper vehicle to express your ideas?

silenius:
during the 80ties i was a natural follower of different types of metal from melodic to thrash, from doom to death. i spent all my money i had for buying lp after lp and so i was inspired by a lot of different types of metal music. just to mention a few bands like candlemass sacrilege, cirith ungol and of course bathory. i think the epic records like hammerheart of twilight of the gods have been a big influence to the musical direction of summoning.

4.I know that both of you are also involved in several other projects,mostly in the darkwave and ambient genres.What is it about electronic music that you like so much and have you always been into it?

silenius:
during the 80ties and untill the midst of the 90ties i was just a pure metal fan and did not like any other types of music beside this genre, but after having experienced all the extremities in this type of music it was getting of course a bit boring in the end of the 90ties just to listen to the same type and so i was searching for more extreme sides of music on the one side, and on the other side i was simply interested in new types of musical expression. and so i found it within the dark ambient power noise or dark folk scene just to mention a few of those different musical styles.

protector:
i got to know dark electronic band such as leatherstrip at the same time when i got to know black metal; and at the same time i started to make music in that direction. before i did not like anything electronic at all, and considered anything done with synthesizer as pop music; only during the time i understood that its not that matter what instrument a person uses, its the matter what that person does with the instrument.

5.With so many other projects,are you always feeling the need to create?Does this help or hurt summoning in any way?Do you ever run out of ideas for material?

protector:
the different projects are really important for us to keep our creativity and to prevent summoning to get a boring routine. it keeps your minds flexible and each time after finishing one project and starting the next one i have this feeling of starting something really new, not continuing an old way over and over again. its also essential because this is the only way to full fill all our musical desires and not to abuse summoning for any ideas we have that would not suit to the atmosphere of summoning. its also the best way not to split up if each of the members has it own project where he can do whatever he wants, so no need for band quarrels.

6.Lets talk about the bands development for a second.There aren't many bands if any at all that sound the way you guys do.Obviously the first release LUGBERZ is not considered your debut album,but rather a collection of demo material.MINUS MORGUL saw the beginnings of what would be considered "The Summoning Sound".Was the progression known to you since the bands inception or does your love of ambient and darkwave find it's way into summoning?

protector:
there was nor real plan how summoning should sound after the debut. the main thing that changed the sound was the departure of our drummer and the use of our keyboard drums as replacement. i still remember the time when we heard those might drums coming out of the bass speakers, instead of those hectic metal beats that our former drummer created and i still remember this power we felt, and this feeling that something totally new has been born. anything else came automatically; but it would not have come with the lineup we had on the debut.

7.Would you say the more "Raw" sound of your earliest works projected what you had intended?Was the progression in sound do to having better resources or in your mind a better expression of the tales within your lyrics?

silenius:
i think the release of the first cd lugburz was the result of our lets say teenager time of starting music. i think its the same thing like many other bands started. that means there was not a big plan behind everything, we just could not do it better in that times, and more or less lugburz was an outburst of teenage musical aggression. it is natural that the more we get skilled on our instruments and the more we get skilled in the way of composing the more we had a plan of how the result should sound in the end, but of course this progress took many years and does not come from one day to another.

8.The band was pretty consistent in releasing albums in the '90's but it was almost 6 years between"LET MORTAL HERO'S SING YOUR FAME" and "OATHBOUND".What was the reasoning behind this long break?

protector:
at the beginning i was a student with far more time than now, so its natural that the albums occurred in faster intervals. later i dealt with programming, which is now my job, and other essential things that took away the time i needed for making music. i also had huge problems with my darkwave project "die verbannten kinder evas" and finding female singers for it, what delayed the complete music for 2 years. also silenius got problems and so the time passed. we did not think for a second about ending summoning, we just knew that it was a hard time that will pass and that new albums will follow.

9.I guess for my own personnel interest,"LET MORTAL HEROS SING YOUR FAME" is the only record to not have mountains and such on the cover.Which dragon from tolikien lore is depicted on the cover?

silenius:
originally the cover painting was not related to tolkiens world, but was the cover of a book of michael moorcock and his eldric saga, but i liked this cover a lot and so napalm records arranged a deal between the painter to use it for the summoning cover. it could be glaurung or any other dragon in tolkiens universe. that is not so important for us; in general the cover layout always shall stimulate the listener to get deep into tolkiens world and has its own personal mind adventures.

10.A lot of your later material is very orchestra like,specifically on stronghold(in my opinion).How big of an influence does classical music play in summoning?Do you listen to that type of music in your own time?

protector:
its funny, because of us stronghold is the most rock styled of all because of the reduction of polyphonic structures. anyway for me the music of summoning has just some similarities to classical music on the surface but not on the inside. the keyboard sounds we use are samples of real orchestral instruments, but that's does not make our music classical for us. classical music is not done in that repetitive riff style as we do, and classical music is also not done is that strophe refrain way. there are really far more differences between summoning and classical music than similarities, and whenever you play the music of summoning to any conservative classical music fan you will surely just get elitist snobbish comments about our music;-)

11.Now getting into the concepts of the band.You used PK from abigor to write the lyrics for DOL GULDUR.What was the reasoning behind this?Who usually writes the lyrics for summoning?

silenius:
i can not remember for which reason pk was writing lyrics for us for dol guldur, but in the end it turned out that most of the lyrics he wrote also where taken directly from the tolkien poems and so this was no big deal. usually not one of us writes lyrics on our own at all; all of the lyrics we used are taken from tolkien poems or other authors which we consider to fit to the tolkien universe.

12. In the beginning you had another member involved in the band.Why is he no longer involved and do you feel that things run smoother as a duo?

protector:
definitely! the less members in a band the more smooth the bands cooperation is. but apart from that we our ex drummer was simply a handicap for our band and we never regretted his departure:-)

13. STRONGHOLD was the first album to be almost entirely not about tolikien related subjects.Why is that?I know that it is one long, giant story.Care to share what it is about?

silenius:
after we have taken so many lyrics from the tolkien universe it was obvious that sooner or later we run out of lyrical inspiration from tolkiens books and so we started to use lyrics from unknown english authors and other famous fantasy authors like michael moorcock to intertwine their poems to the summoning universe to have more variety and we definitely will continue to do this that way; but it is not true that stronghold is a pure concept album. neither like any other album of us.

14.How does composition go about within the band?Do you actually get together and rehearse before recording or while writing an album?Is it a total "band effort"?

protector:
no there is nothing like a classical rehearsal, the main melodies come from the keyboards and the guitars and vocals are sung at the very end. our musical meetings are more like composers meetings, where we come and play a melody in order to store in on the hard drive. the only thing thats more close to a classical "rock jam" is my improvisation over the melodies silenius plays. normally he comes with a finished idea, records it so that i later play something suiting spontaneous over it. once this is done we start with the next song, but due to our use of music technique there is no need to play the old songs over and over again.

15.What determines who sings what parts of the song?Is it determined by whoever wrote the lyrics?

protector:
as all the lyrics are taken from poets like tolkien, this can not be a criterion for us. in most cases we already know who will sing the finished song before we have chose which lyrics to use. the normal case is that we always have different favorite songs and just take the ones we like best. of course there are sometimes songs that we both like most, but in this case we just decide who did most for that song. it was never a problem at all to get such decisions.

16.Richard i know that you are a drummer by trade?Why use sampled drums?Is it just part of the sound(which i think is great by the way).Would summoning not sound as epic with real drums?What would you say is your best instrument?

protector:
i think real drums are best to create real authentic rock music, but for my taste not so good to make rather unreal sounding epic music. i even dont use the typical rock drum sounds to much. instead of the rock crash cymbals i use those orchestral cymbals played with two arms, instead of hi hats i use rather handcuff sounds. i also dont care about the limitation of the 2 hands and 2 feet a human drummer has; this means if there is a tom tom roll the cymbals and handcuffs keep on playing what would not be possible with a rock drum set. i rather think about a percussion group when i make the summoning rhythms, but never about a single drummer doing all those drum lines at the same time. i like the combination of military drums, kettle drums, hand cuffs, but also those tom toms and bass drums, but i always feel each of those drums a single drum lines added together to a kind of drum orchestra instead of having that single man feeling.

17.Silenius,you sing the song MIRDAUTAS VRAS,which is written in the black tongue of mordor. How difficult was it to get the phrasing right?Did you also write the lyrics.What did you use for reference?

silenius:
the lyrics of mirdautas vras have been written by stefan huber from the band greifenstein exclusive for this summoning song. in the beginning it was very difficult for me to get the lyrics into a rhythmic form of singing. i tried different types of vocal styles from whispering to grunting and screaming. in the end i decided not to make to much experiments but to sing the vocals straight ahead just with a little word stretching up and then.

18.Let's talk tolkien for second.I know his writings are a big part of what summoning is,probably more then any other band.When did both of you get into his works?

silenius:
although i was a big fan of fantasy literature since my time as i was a teenager i get into the world of tolkien a bit late. i think the reason was because i still knew the content of the book from a friend who tried to praise the book. but as he told me the whole story i was not interested in it anymore but later i watched the tolkien cartoon which i liked a lot; and so i gave it a try to start to read the book the lord of the rings and from this time on i was captured by this unbelievable detailed fantasy creation and so i read everything from and about tolkien during the next years.

19. What is your favorite books by him? Do you still read fantasy novels? What do you think of writers like r.a. salvatore?

silenius:
maybe i like silmarillion the most because of its very unique style of shaping a whole world from the beginning to the end but in general the works of tolkien should be seen as a union. and so it is not fair to pick out this or that story out and put it over the rest. of course i know many books of salvatore but in contrary to tolkien this is of course just fast food.

20. Is tolikiens family aware of you guys? What do they think of the band?

silenius:
i dont know if they are aware of us, but honestly i dont think so.

21.Could you envision a summoning album done entirely based on something else?

silenius:
there was a time when we thought to make a different concept; for example we had the idea to make a musical translation of the nibelungenlied but we gave up this idea and from this point on we never talked again about changing the concept. summoning is connected with tokleien; thats the point.

22.What in your minds is the best album you have done..the one which is the perfect representation of your vision. Do you each have a favorite album?

protector:
i know i am boring if i say that, but its always the last one for me;-)
but i think this is simply obvious, because as i am able to realize any idea i have in my head, the newest album is naturally most close to my musical taste and therefore my favorite ones that does not mean of course that all people in the world have to consider always the newer as the best one, nor that each album is better than the last, its just more up to date to my musical preferences. with oath bound i realized that this rhythmical guitar style i started with stronghold already bored me, and i was longing for a more opened floating style again, thats why i change the guitars on oathbound, and thats why i like the guitars on oathbound more than any other guitars of summoning. this is just one of many example how i adapt the albums each time to my preferences.

23.I have to ask about the logo. It is very unique and instantly recognizable. But being as that summoning isn't a satanic band,why the pentagram?Is it because of the style of music in which the band started,or does it hold a more personal meaning?

protector:
actually non of us ever followed any satanic believes, but we can not deny that our roots are black metal and we also will not pretend anything else. on our demos we just wanted to shock and actually full fill any black metal klische that was possible; including satanic blasphemous lyrics etc. in this time we wanted to have a logo that showed clearly what kind of music summoning stands for, and now that our music changed that concept totally we still think that summoning has black metal elements inside (vocal and guitar sound) and that we would not sound as we do now without those influences. apart from that we dont like the idea of changing the logo. a logo is a symbol for a band and shall cause strong associations between the shape and the music. changing it would be contra productive.

24.How do both of you feel about black metal today?Any bands that you really enjoy or have you completely separated yourselves altogether?Would you even still call summoning a "black metal band"?

silenius:
to be honest i have separated from the nowadays black metal scene and metal scene in general, simply because my musical taste changed of the years. and after having been a pure metal follower from the early 80ties to the mids of the 90ties it is natural to be open minded against other musical types when you get older. so i dont know most of the bands nowadays. but in contrary i still like to read metal magazines and stories and interviews with bands i am not familiar with. that is a kind of strange passion of mine.

25. Ok last question,and i'm sure you knew this was coming,Is there ever going to be a new summoning album?Are you still bound to napalm records.When if there is going to be an album can we expect it?

protector:
yes there is already a lot of work done for summoning. but its rather done by me than by silenius because he was busy with kreuweg ost all the time. so i made a lot of solo summoning songs, waiting for silenius to complete them. but as i did quite a lot of those fragments i dont think he will be able to complete all of them, so maybe after dol guldur there will be again some pure protector songs. one result of tha6t is that after dol guldur there will be again this typical medieval sounding melodies that we did not do since that album.

26.Well i want to thank the both of you for this opportunity.Any final words and or thoughts for our readers?

protector:
everything important already said
thanks for the interview.

SUSPERIA "Attitude" - Review.

2010-03-23T10:55:00.005-07:00

SUSPERIA "Attitude" - Review.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm the last person who should be reviewing shit rock/"metal". I guess members of Dimu Burger, Satyricon and Old Man's Child formed this band so they could tour with Godsmack and In Flames. The singer is the usual pissed of jock trying to sing. The music is "heavy" and melodic like all those new style shit rock bands. All those Korn fans who used to beat up kids in the Pantera slam pit for fun, this band is for you. This band is from Norway but fuck man, they would hit it big here in the U.S.! Just put them on tour with Lamb Of Frog or Killswitch The Gays. Better yet, Kerry King can get Susperia on the next Slayer Jaggermeister tour. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I'm going to take this piece of shit off now! FUUUUCCCCCCKKK! I don't know whether to be pissed or should I just keep laughing? Candlelight Records is behind this, so now Candlelight is back on my shit list. Anyone that likes this album stay the fuck away from me, PLEASE DON'T TALK TO ME!

Review By: Mike Abominator -1000,000,000,000/10

FUCK THIS ALBUM!

PANTHEON I "Worlds I Create" - Review.

2010-03-23T10:55:00.003-07:00

PANTHEON I "Worlds I Create" - Review.

Pantheon I come from Norway and play thrashing black metal that is sometimes melodic, sometimes heavy and crushingly violent. It is all very well produced and the songs have many time changes. It is progressive and atmospheric at the same time. I will give them that they do a good job of doing both. The parts are well played and the vocals are good. There are some weird keyboard/sample effects that come up in the songs as well. Like some orchestra that is playing deep down in the basement when these guys recorded this album. It's kind of weird in the mix.The songs are quite long and they have quite a bit going on in them. The drums are triggered but not totally generic sounding. The music is well produced but not too clean, it fits fine. I'm mot a fan of keyboards in black metal and they are here, but it is not that loud in the mix of things.Not that every song sounds the same, but they are all very similar. It reminds me of a concept album almost. Not sure if it is but the songs all fit the same crazy structure. These guys are good, not my "cup of tea" as they say but not crap at all. Quite impressive playing and you can tell it is done with a lot of conviction. Now this might be "Black Metal From Norway" but don't expect a classic sound. This is too modern for the purists. The track listing is as follows: "Myself Above All"Defile the Trinity", "Serpent Christ", "Ascending", "Burn the Cross", "Bannlyst", "The Last Stand", "Written in Sand". Not great, not bad. Pretty good album from Pantheon I.

Review By: Mike Abominator 6/10

OBITUARY "Darkest Day" - Review.

2010-03-23T10:55:00.001-07:00

OBITUARY "Darkest Day" - Review.

Fucking Obituary! One of the gods of the first commercial wave of American Death Metal and one of the innovators since Xecutioner first started scaring people in Tampa, Florida back in the mid 80s. "List Of Dead" kicks this album off and it is classic Obituary. It is a fast banger with a the usual Donald Tardy solid double bass breaks. John Tardy has "The Voice" still, even though you can tell it's a little worn, still sicker than most of the guys out there. This song simply rules! "Blood To Give" is the usual slower/ mid paced Obituary banger with the tom drums intro solid riffs and great drumming from the death metal John Bonham. It picks up fast at the end which is great with the guitar solos. "Lost" starts with a similar tom drums intro with some cool guitar solos and has a riff that could have been on "Slowly....." or "Cause..." classic Obituary. "Outside My Head" has an almost doomy guitar intro that picks up with a killer mid paced double bass drum part. "Payback" has a quicker mid paced start with another classic Obituary riff. "Your Darkest Day" is next with it's slow creep drum build up and feedback. This one is a nice and slow banger. "This Life" picks up the mid paced pace again with double bass and solos. "See Me Now" and "Fields Of Pain" are both mid paced bangers and then "Violent Dreams" picks up the pace with a fast and violent banger. "Truth Be Told" and "Forces Realign" are both mid paced and the last song "Left To Die" is a slow doom banger song. Ok so notice how I didn't spend much time with each track and just gave a short description? Well it's fucking Obituary. You know what you get with them. They have 3 speeds and write similar riffs sometimes and John Tardy seems like he is saying some weird shit or nothing at all. But they are legends and still kick ass. Yes it does drag here and there and it not a classic album but any means but it is fucking Obituary. Don't expect change or fancy song writing with these guys. It is actually fucking killer that these guys still write in the same style that they did way back in the mid 80s. They have a formula and they stick with it and it works fucking great! Good job by Candlelight for signing Obituary.

Review By: Mike Abominator 7.5/10

HAVOK "Burn" - Review.

2010-03-23T10:54:00.003-07:00

HAVOK "Burn" - Review.

I have seen these guys play live before. But to be honest I don't remember Havok because it was with 10 other "re-hashed", thrash revival bands. After a pretty intro "Wreckquiem" the thrash gets going with "The Root of Evil". It is a typical mid paced, regular thrash song. It has some fast parts to it, but it is mostly mid paced. "Path to Nowhere" is next with a slower/mid paced intro part that kind of sounds like Megadeth. It then gets kind of fast with the old style "thrash gallop" part. "Morbid Symmetry" starts off with a cool bass line that goes into a fast banger part and some fancy guitar interplay. This song is much more aggressive. Until the mid paced part. And the chorus which is kind of sing a long style. I was never a fan of the jock type singing in thrash, the style that the Pantera guy made a living off of. The singer does that here quit a bit. With a Chuck Billy style as well. It is also funny hearing a band try and play classic thrash with triggered drums. "Identity Theft" is next. Then "The Disease", "Scabs of Trust", "Ivory Tower", "To Hell", "Category of the Dead", "Melting the Mountain", and finally "Afterburner". Fuck it's finally over. Every song sounds the same. Like some sort of Megadeth, Testament, new Exodus worship. Every song changes from some re-hashed mid paced thrash riff, to the kind of fast gallop part, to some Megalife melodic part. The last song actually has a faster part and a cool riff. This is the best song on the album. But all in all this album sounds like one big long fucking song. This is on Candlelight Records.

Review By: Mike Abominator 4.5/10

GLORIOR BELLI "Meet Us At The Southern Sign" - Review.

2010-03-23T10:54:00.001-07:00

GLORIOR BELLI "Meet Us At The Southern Sign" - Review.

I remember these guys! French, sometimes doomy black metal band on Southern Lord. "Manifesting the Raging Beast" was the name of the album. It was good, from what I remember. They had another album before that, so this is their 3rd. "In A Blood Red Moon" starts things off with a gloomy riff. The guitar parts are almost "rockin", like a black metal Alice In Chains. I'm not kidding. And I like AIC, so that was a compliment. It is a very hypnotic riff and part. It really doesn't pick up at all until the end when the blast comes in over the riffs, then slows down again, pretty cool. "The Forbidden Words" is next and starts off with a bang, with it's blasting away. Totally different vibe than on the 1st song. It's a great series of fast black metal riffs that can stand with any Immortal or Dark Funeral fast parts. There is a pretty cool slow/mid paced part in the middle. Then a cool build up and back to blasting. Has a killer Darkthrone type double bass mid banging part as well! This song kicks major ass! "Swamp That Shame" has a guitar effect intro that then goes into a mid paced evil melody, back into the guitar part with a sample this time. The guitars interplay with each other as a regular drum beat comes in. The riffs hit together and it gets heavy. It goes back and forth. No vocals on this one, but a cool instrumental. "There Is But One Light" has a Alice In Chains like intro riff. I'M TELLING YOU! THEY HAVE SOME AIC SHIT GOIN ON HERE AND THERE! DON'T LAUGH! Very "rockin" southern vibe. Most of the black metal "purists" will hate that about these guys, and I can understand because I'm usually a purist myself, but these guys do it OK. A creepy sample comes in, and then the next part comes in nice and dark. And then the blast beats comes. Very fuckin cool. The rest of the song has some killer interplay with the fast banging black metal and mid paced banging black metal style. "True Essence" is another interlude type instrumental that is just OK. It creeps into a creepy outro that goes into "In Every Grief-Stricken Blues". SEEEEE! I WAS RIGHT. CAUSE THIS SONG IS TOTAL ALICE IN CHAINS at the start. It sounds like Layne Staley is a zombie that broke open the coffin, dug himself out of the grave and is bent on revenge, and maybe a little heroin? OUCH! THAT WAS BAD! Anyways, this song is OK. It's a good rock song with black metal influences? If that makes any sense? The last few parts of the song are cool with the guitars, but the singer sounds like Crowbar, like taking a shit type vocals? "Nox Illuminatio Mea" comes next and has the back to basics blasting black metal part. Not as good a riff as on the last pure black metal rager on here, but good. The middle part almost doesn't fit. The last fast part is cool. "The Blazing Darkness" starts off mid paced with the singer coming in right away. The song gets kind of boring, the same 3 riffs the whole time. Which is fine if they are classic riffs, or the song is short, but not here. "Fivefold Thought" has a fast blasting start into a double bass part. It is cool, but the album has lost my interest now. "Fires of the Sitra Ahra" is next and is another instrumental and yes, very Alice In Chains gone black metal. JUST LISTEN TO THEM AND YOU WILL SEE DAMMIT! STOP ROLLING YOUR EYES! These guys make it work. The title track is last. Starts off mid paced/slow banger. Ok riffs. Kind of slower and moody. The rock tinge creeps in again. Not bad at all. Then a build up and a killer blast riff! Back to form. I have to say I like them better when they get faster. Craft, Inquisition and Deathspell Omega are 3 black metal bands that remain just as deadly when they play slow, as to when they speed it up. But Glorior Belli do have some cool slower moments. The vocals are pretty much shrieking black metal, maybe a Layne Staley zombie and some deep talking, oh and that Crowbar bowel cleaner stuff. But overall the vocalist is good. The production is a little too clean, but most major releases are for my tastes. Not a bad album at all. Interesting for sure. I MIGHT play this again and maybe again, who knows. Out on Candlelight Records.

Review By: Mike Abominator 6/10

CARDIAC ARREST - Interview.

2010-03-23T10:53:00.003-07:00

CARDIAC ARREST - Interview.

I did this interview a bit different this time. I tracked down my pals in Cardiac Arrest and did the interview with the whole band. This might be a long fucker, but just read it and see what these death metal lunatics are up to. Look for a review of "Haven For The Insane" soon as well, I have it and it's a fucking instant classic album!

Interview By: Mike Abominator

1. HAILS, HAILS AND FUCKING HAILS FUCKERS! Well, where shall we start? Tell me the early forms of this beast of a band and when you guys all joined.

ADAM: The idea of the band really started in 1997, me and an old friend jamming in my basement and wanting to get a band started. Some name ideas came up but Cardiac Arrest is what really stuck out to us. Hence the name remained. We steam rolled through the adversaries of the tribulations and somehow I live to tell about it!!!

TOM: Adam can talk about all the early stuff…I joined in early 06 as the band was recording

Morgue Mutilations. I was ready to record with them, and I begged and pleaded to do so, but Adam and Jim just spit in my face and David kicked me in the nuts. I stuck around anyway. Honestly, they asked, and I was somewhat ready, but I didn’t want to be the new John Hand in case things didn’t work out…and if I have to explain that, you probably should not be reading this.

DAVID: I had been working with Jim on a project that sort of overlapped his admission into CA, and then fell apart shortly after that. I wasn't doing anything when Jim called me up, asked if I could play bass for a few shows they had coming up. Their guy had some kinda medical issue and couldn't commit. I could. I went into it only seriously enough to learn the songs, and play the shows. We finished up, and I expressed an interest in staying, and working with them. The other guy didn't. So I got the gig. We played out some more, finished writing Morgue Mutilations, and about that time we had Tom come in for second guitar. Everything just clicked after that.

JIM: I first heard of CA in 2003, as I met Adam and then-member Johnny Dove, while they were in a separate band, through a mutual friend. Fast forward to late 2004: I had just moved to Chicago, and I saw the “Beast Among Many” CA lineup live. When I heard that there were some problems with the drummer, I immediately called Adam. He opted to try to work things out with Ed, and I respected that. But, by late June/early July of 2005, I joined, and haven’t looked back.

2. The Chicago area scene seems pretty fucking brutal. How often do you guys play out and how is the response usually to your live massacres? It seems that you guys do play with quite a few of the major tours that come through there as well?

ADAM: We have our good shows in Chicago, but over all the scene is very saturated. Shows happening when other events are happening, it can really divide a crowd. We really just choose our battles so to speak on this ordeal.

TOM: Chicago to someone who is not from here always seems cool. However, it is pretty lame. We have a lot of great bands that are cool, but we also have a lot of bands that don’t get it. There are too many shows, too many promoters that step all over everyone, too many bands that will cater to said promoters, and too many cliques. We do alright live, but it seems like every time we set up a show, which we plan months in advance, 10 other shows will pop up for the same day. We have gotten a lot more picky about shows we play around here now. We have been lucky enough to be asked to open for some major tours that land here, and these were cool promoters that got it. In other words, none of that pay to play shit. We absolutely refuse to do that. We have not really been asked for awhile for anything major…It’s all about who you know and who you blow…and we don’t do that.

DAVID: The Chicago scene has always been strong. Sadly overlooked compared to New York, Florida, or the coasts in general. Early 90's and you had a couple clubs, and maybe 10 to 20 active bands. Now you have clubs and bands popping up like mushrooms. Promoters too. The bands are always good though. No one sounds like anyone else, and their are some gems out here that need to be discovered. Weve played with some big names, some up n' comers, and played before a band who geared their sound, and look, to get radio play. we have been fortunate enough to be given some opportunities, and we always try to capitalize. Most promoters are smart enough to not book the same band twice in a six month cycle as well, so we don't get overexposed. It's always fun. Always a learning experience.

JIM: Chicago is a weird scene. There are SO many bands… We’ve actually made it a point to play here as little as possible to ensure good turnouts. We do play a fair amount of larger shows, but by no means is it any sort of majority. We have a couple promoters we’re comfortable working with, and we like it that way. To put it simply, “Never pay to play!”

3. The ROTTING DEATH MASS MINI TOUR with Cardiac Arrest and Gravehill was quite a success. When the fuck are we doing that again over there? Or maybe a West Coast version next time?

ADAM: It was honestly some of the most fun I remember. Singing along to Manowar and Loudness was and is always a blast. All the dates just laying waste each night is what it's about. Good times and good friends!!! Max Ice til Death!!!!!

TOM: Yeah, those shows were a blast. Better than most shows we do around here. Anytime you guys want to come back, for sure…Summer time will be perfect since you guys will be in the area. Plan some extra days this time so we can actually go do some stuff. We would love to do a West Coast thing with you guys. Problem is, we are so beyond poor, it ain’t even funny…

DAVID: I thought we were supposed to do something awhile ago, but I don't know why. I want to get out that way sooner rather than later. I would love to play the northwest, and the southwest. I will play california for Gravehill or Phobia. Hollywood was just as gay in real life, as it is portrayed on the tele.Talk to the suits.

JIM: That was a fun, fun time that I will never forget. My favorite memories of that weekend was Bob buying that porn mag in Wisconsin – “No ma’am, just this cheese and porn, thank you.” (DROPPIN MASSIVE LOADS!), and singing Skid Row with him until 10AM. Although we have some timing restrictions with work, we’re game pretty much whenever, and, as for coming out to the west coast, it’s really a matter of money (isn’t everything?).

4. OK you guys have an album coming out! The new song sounds fucking great! What is this monster called? And who is putting it out?

ADAM: Thanks man!!! The new album is going to be entitled "Haven For The Insane", songs so heavy and so catchy it'll probably make you all go insane!!!! Who's putting it out? Well we have something lined up and secured but I can't say anything yet because it's not official. But in due time my friend!!!!! You'll see!!!!

TOM: Thanks! Glad you like what you heard so far. New album is called Haven for the Insane. Can’t say who’s putting it out yet…everything has to be official…

DAVID: Can we talk about the 4th album instead? We already have ten songs written for it, and it may be out by the time some people read this. heheh. HFTI was recorded over a year ago, and we have been antsy to get the thing out, but it seems the wait will have been worth it. The songs are probably faster, but we still slow it down on occasion. I just think were getting better as musicians, better as song writers. We have had excellent chemistry almost since day one. Things just clicked. Thank you for the kind words as well. I'm glad people dig what were doing.

JIM: Haven For the Insane should be out spring-ish. We’ve negotiated a deal with a larger label that you may be familiar with, but, since nothing is on paper, we aren’t able to say yet.

5. You all seem to be quite busy within the metal scene with other bands and dist companies etc... Tell me about these other projects.

ADAM: Well, I run an underground operation called Death Dealer Distro, I carry many great Death, Black, Thrash, Grind titles from many different bands from all over, and I also carry Vinyl releases, and Patches. Maybe getting the latest WHAM! Re-Issues too!!! HAHAHA!!!

TOM: My other band is called Severed. I’ve been doing that since 1995, after my first band dissolved in 93. We have had a few issues over the last couple of years, but all is great right now and are getting pretty productive and busy. If not for Severed, I would never have been in Cardiac. I am able to split duties pretty easily and the styles are pretty different. Severed is kind of like a grindy Abscess…that punked out death style…I also do a couple of other projects when time allows.

DAVID: Currently I only do CA full time. I would love to do some kinda Godflesh/Jesu flirts with Ahab, but makes love to Buddy Guy kinda thing. Bluesy, doom. Heavy like that 500 pound woman who couldn't escape the flood in New Orleans. Something like that. It would have to be the opposite of what I get out of CA creatively.

JIM: Aside from my brief stint in Anal Blast, the only other full-time band I have been involved with during my tenure with CA is Sallah. Sallah is a blackened, thrashy death metal outfit that pays homage to the movies that inspired metal nerds the world over. The first CD, “Fortune and Glory”, was a concept record about Indiana Jones. The next opus is shaping up to be an album that branches out into other movies, thematically based in hunting. Fun stuff. I also spend time producing at Polymorph Media Studios, where CA recorded both Cadaverous Presence and Haven for the Insane, with Kai Kaufmann.

6. Michigan Death Fest 2010! Gravehill is excited to play and to also have Cardiac Fucking Arrest on there! You guys have played before. How was it and what are your expectations for this years installment?

ADAM: I am very much looking forward to this year's Michigan Death Fest, we had a very good time last year, the people out there were very supportive. Metal Mom does a killer job with it. I'm expecting this year to be Michigan's most excellent show this year!!!

TOM: Michigan was cool last year for the most part. Metal Mom rules!!! A lot of the bands that played were awesome and we made a lot of friends. I think this year will steamroll over last year. It is in Detroit this year, so I think that may appeal to more people as it is a busier area. Great lineup too!!

DAVID: It should be a good time. We have a lot of old friends that are playing there so I look forward to it. I guess it's closer to Detroit this time. I think a death metal fest in a third world economy can only BE a good thing, right?

JIM: MDF was a lot of fun last year, but it was a test of endurance, to be sure. A long, long day, but it paid off. I think that this year’s show has even more potential to do well – this lineup is all killer, with no filler, as they say! Can’t wait to share the stage with you guys again!

7. Tell me about the HEART STOPPING DEATH ROT concept.

A: Uh, you die. Well other than the name of the demo from 2004, it surely goes well with the name....and you're dead!

Tom: That’s Adam’s territory…

DAVID: Your heart stops, you die, you disintegrate. That is the sound of our music.

JIM: Your heart stops, you die, you disintegrate. That is the sound of our music.

(Mike A.: Are you guys fucking robots? Adam has you guys brainwashed ey? hahaha).

8. You guys are all old timer/metal veterans. What are some of the best live bands and live shows that you have ever seen?

ADAM: Well, every time I've seen them Deceased have always crushed. Unleashed to me are one of the best Death Metal bands live. I'm totally with Jim on Extreme Noise Terror.

TOM: I’m showing my age here…Metallica and Ozzy in 86…Death and Dark Angel back in 88. Sepultura their first time here in 89…The first time Morbid Angel toured was memorable too…I’ve been to so many shows, it is hard for me to recall any details…

DAVID: My first concert was 1990. Gwar on Halloween in Chicago. Blew me mind. No particular show stands out, but more like moments. A band's set that moved me in a particular way. A new years eve in someones basement with Corpse Vomit and a band I can't remember. Seeing Rellik do a song with the old vocalist. Warhorse at the Double Door. Seeing Ozzy embarrass himself at a couple Ozzfests. Seeing Marylyn Manson get humiliated at another. Dysphoria at the Thirsty Whale. Bodybag in the mid nineties...I could think of more for another hour, and I am almost high enough to do it.

9. OK here is a shot out of a cannon: Oprah, Rosie Odonnel, and Bea Arthur, you gotta fuck one, marry one, kill one, GO!

ADAM: Meh....Bea Arthur shall be spared. Rosie O'Donnell and Oprah should just fucking DIE!!!! ARGH!!!!

TOM: Well first, I would open up a can of tuna and stuff it down my pants to attract Rosie O’Donnell…as she is sniffing around down there, and I am jiggling her fat rolls, I would bash her head in repeatedly with another can of tuna. Bea Arthur…Outstanding! Wish she was alive because her whisky soaked and too much cigarette smoking sounding voice is kind of sexy…I guess I can just settle on acting out Nekromantik with her. I’d marry Oprah because the bitch got money. Call me a mercenary.

DAVID: Ahhh this is easy. I would fuck Rosie cause she's younger, and white. I would not enjoy it though, and she wouldn't either. Bea Arthur would be the easy mercy killing. She's lived a rich, and viable life, but now she's punchline for shitty comics. Ahhh Oprah. Sweet Oprah. Oprah I thee wed your billions, embezzle millions, and buy an island with a well stocked fortress and watch the apocalypse on satelite teeve.

JIM: I’d marry Oprah for the money, kill Bea Arthur (even though she died in 2009, I can’t risk a Golden Girls zombie), and fuck Rosie O’Donnell (she’s the youngest, and I like lesbians, what can I say?)

10. It was kind of creepy, yet fucking funny, the timing of those Cardiac Arrest Michael Jackson shirts. I think I even saw the bulletin for them the night before he died? Or am I wrong? hahaha

ADAM: Well, we thought about this after the plastic pop-star passed away. So heance we had the limited edition T-Shirt. An extra 15 minutes of fame eh???

TOM: Wrong!! (Mike A.: OOOPS!) We thought about it after he died…We were at practice the day it was announced. And when we got home, people were commenting on My Space and Facebook saying thanks for killing that pedophile…So we thought we’d exploit it. We only did a limited run of those shirts. We have a few left so once they are gone, they are gone. We also were asked if we were going to do Brittany Murphy shirts. No dice…If you are a celeb and are despicable and do bad things, then die of cardiac arrest, we may do a shirt. But, I think it was a one time thing.

DAVID: I think we should have a whole line of hollywood celebrities dead of cardiac arrest. Is wrestling still popular? We could have dozens designs for all the dead pro wrestlers. MJ isn't going away anytime soon. I wanna do another design for that pedoweirdophile. I'll cash in on that freak, and I'm not even related to him. I don't know which makes me lower on the morality scale.

JIM: The thing is, that came about because of people flooding us on Farcebook and GheySpace when the initial reports came out. The fans spoke, and we listened.

11. What are all of your top metal albums of all time? Let's say top 10 you would take to hell with you?

ADAM: I'd go with these....

1. Dismember - Like an Everflowing Stream, 2. Manowar - Louder Than Hell, 3. Grave - You'll Never See, 4. Iron Maiden - Powerslave, 5. Sinister - Diabolical Summoning, 6. Unleashed - Shadows in the Deep, 7. Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness, 8. Death - SBG, 9. Motorhead - Orgasmatron, 10. Metalucifer - Heavy Metal Chainsaw

TOM: Sorry…I don’t do lists…10 is too much…I’ll give you four though…Death-Scream Bloody Gore, Autopsy-Severed Survival, Morbid Angel-Altars of Madness, Celtic Frost-Morbid Tales

DAVID: Napalm Death, Godflesh, Acid Bath, Aborym, Morgion, Ahab, Phobia, Early Carcass, Exhumed, General Surgery, Iron Maiden, early Strapping Young Lad, early Gwar. I don't like harps anyway.

JIM: Disrupt - Unrest, Napalm Death – Noise For Music’s Sake, Death – Leprosy, Sinister – Hate, Life of Agony – River Runs Red, Life of Agony – Ugly, Bloodbath – Resurrection Through Carnage, Morbid Angel – Covenant, Anthrax – We’ve Come for You All, Crowbar – Odd Fellow’s Rest.

Non-metal honorable mention: Queen – Queen, Queen – Innuendo, Vince DiCola – Artistic Transformation, Vince DiCola – Lighting Their Darkest Hour, Bad Religion – Generator.

12. You guys are all quite ripping musicians! Do you have any endorsements from companies? And how much free shit do you guys get from these organizations?

ADAM: I have an endorsement w/ Vader Cabinets and they fucking smoke!!! Free merch I do get, as well as the discount as an endorsee. Also got a guitar from a new Custom Guitar company called TM Custom Guitars. This V they made is HUGE!!!!

TOM: I don’t…unless of course Marshall, Gibson and Dunlop want to bother with me. I like what I use and I am not going to change the equipment I have for the sake of an endorsement. Besides, playing metal is not about endorsements.

DAVID: Well thanks, I think your a ripping interviewer!! I don't get anything free, and that makes me melancholy. I got a deal with Vader Cabinets, but I really need some kind of string endorsement. I beat mine senseless, and I'm spending a fortune on the .145 gauge alone. Having Ampeg give me a big, fat tube head would be better than my big, fat solid state I have now.

JIM: Thanks! I’m currently endorsed by Axis Percussion and Scorpion Sticks. I used to have a deal with Grindstix, until they stopped making them. I get well-taken care of by Scorpion and Axis, but I do a lot of promotional work for them, so it’s not like I sit on my ass and collect.

13. Name one song that you sit there and go " FUCK I WISH I WROTE THAT AND CARDIAC PLAYED IT!" I'm talking death metal, not gay shit like Elton John. Well, OK whatever song ya want!

ADAM: Pretty happy with what we play, but I know the thing you're talking about. I do get that question popping up from time to time when I listen to some killer DM releases. So kinda of a tough question to answer.

TOM: Eh, I’m happy playing our own stuff…

DAVID: Common People- Pulp I am stoned.

JIM: Anything by Disrupt, really, but if I had to choose one, it’d be “Religion is a Fraud”. Also, “Pleasure of Molestation” by Hypocrisy would be pretty cool (incidentally, that’s the first song Adam and I EVER jammed).

14. OK, your at the bar, you have have any combo of beer and hard stuff, what are you drinking?

ADAM: Don't drink so no comment.

TOM: Busch Light, Old Style, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Jim Beam!!

DAVID: Sam Adams otherwise I pout. Or just sneak my own in. Rum n' coke, Red Headed Slut for a shot, or Jaeger, and cocaine in the bathroom (hahaha)

JIM: Stella Artois on tap, and smart bombs all around. Sorry, no Maxx Ice.

15. What are the plans for Cardiac Arrest in 2010 as far as touring and other possible releases? The goddamn Relapse split 7 inch with Gravehill/ Cardiac Arrest should be out eh?

ADAM: We're always open for the whole split thing. Hopefully some release ideas will come about. Sure the tour thing is tough, we can only do so much. But open to what prospecting ideas come along.

TOM: My plans are to just keep playing and getting drunk. We discuss all that kind of stuff as a group and as it comes up. There are always plans to do splits, but they always seem to fall through. Maybe I should just start my own damn label and just to splits only…As far as touring, we’ll see…It is not very easy for us to do, but if the right thing comes along, we’ll find a way.

DAVID: Things are only in the talking-we'll-see-what-happens phase. I think things are gonna get busy. As of Feb. it's too early know. I can't believe that split isn't out yet. I want the shirts out too. Putrid's art for the Fleshed Together shirt was nicely done. Hopefully they get all that out before 2012.

JIM: Aside from HFTI and the Relapse split, we have no definitive plans for any releases. If ENT or Phobia stepped up and asked, we have some songs we’d give up, I’m sure, for a split, though! As for tours, no plans, although there are some rumblings of a larger tour with some bands we’ve toured with in the past…

16. I love the horror movie tributes with your titles and lyrics. Obviously you maniacs are horror fans! Who writes the lyrics? What are your favorite horror movies? How did that Fangoria Magazine thing come about?

ADAM: I usually write lyrics based around some creepy horror movie cenarios, however I try not to pigeonwhole myself to a certain idea or whatever. As of lately I've been watching alot of late 70's italian sickos like City of the Living Dead and Cannibal Ferox. I alos just saw White Zombie for the first time too. Sometimes you just can't go wrong with the old Black and White classics!!!

TOM: As far as favorite movies goes, I am a big fan of the Euro films from the 70’s and 80’s. Namely the Italian stuff. Hard to make a list because my tastes change. The Fangoria thing was kind of cool. I have gotten to know James, who runs Fangoria Online. James is also local. Anyway, I went to the Fango con and like everytime I go out, I always bring CDs with me. So James and I got to talking and I gave him a disc. I told him he did not have to review it, I was just giving him one because he was cool. Low and behold, he reviewed it! Can’t hurt, huh?

DAVID: Growing up I watched the slasher flicks of the 70's and 80's. I loved them then. Not so much now. I like zombie flicks. Prefer slow moving, but the Dawn of the Dead remake was cool. I love sci fi and fantasy and like what they do with CGI for those types of films, but I don't like that in my horror flicks. Vampires are offically in the realm of gay little mental midgets. Sorry kids. They don't sparkle in the sun. They melt, explode, implode anything but fucking sparkle. And they don't go to high school. They should be monstrous,and Inhuman. Like 30 Days of Night. Most of the shit they churn out barely keeps me forgetting that I hate my day job.

JIM: Adam writes the majority of the stuff, and e do discuss concepts as a group. Usually, though, it falls to Adam. Tom writes a fairly large share of stuff, too. I wrote one set of lyrics, for “Make Them Dies Slowly”, which is my take on Cannibal Ferox and Cannibal Holocaust, from the cannibals’ perspective. My favorite horror flicks are Nightmare on Elm Street, the original Dawn of the Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and then a tie between Last House on the Left and Cannibal Holocaust for shock value.

17. OK my Brothers! It has been brutal talking with you as you know I'm one of your biggest fans! I will see you soon and you fuckers rule and I hope all is infernal for you this year! Much love to you madmen!

ADAM: Thanks for the interview Mike!!! You and the Gravehill guys fucking rule and thanks to your zine for the opportunity!!! We look forward to terrorizing the general public in 2010!!!

TOM: Cheers and a million beers to ya bro!!

DAVID: Hope all goes well with you and yours. May you find shade, water, and plenty of fat bitches. Cheers!

JIM: Fuck you, Mike. Fuck you right in the ear. I’m sick as hell, and you have me doing this fucking interview, you bald fuck. Oh, yeah, love you and all that. Fucker.

Support my boys! And go hunt down "Haven For The Insane"! I'm telling you! The best album of 2010 so far!

www.myspace.com/deathrot

BLOOD TSUNAMI "Grand Feast For Vultures" - Review.

2010-03-23T10:53:00.001-07:00

BLOOD TSUNAMI "Grand Feast For Vultures" - Review.

These guys have had quite a bit of hype and expectations thrown upon them. BLOOD TSUNAMI play a vintage thrash style with also new elements in there as well. There is a big Kreator influence (think "Terrible Certainty" a bit, more "Extreme Aggression"). They have a bit of newer Destruction thrown in with some good bay area Testament when they are good thrash banging going on."Castle Of Skulls" comes first. A good opener of thrashing going on. The drums are overly triggered and the production is a bit too clean for my tastes. But these guys are kicking ass on here for sure. Good riffage going on. The title track rages next. There are some deep growls along with the singers usual shrieking Millie style. It has more of a modern feel to it in the middle. Kind of melodic in that At The Gates way that is so popular now. Not bad, but not as good as the start. Then the song has a cool middle part. Starts of kind of scary new metal almost, but then goes better with a middle period Slayer type slow riff. More of the real melodic yet "crushing" type of thrash is on this song. It's a cool song with this part though. "Personal Exorcism" is next with it's middle banging intro that goes into some ridiculous double bass part. I mean that type writer is going full speed! There is a slower, melodic part, that has more of the type writer going into the middle of the song. Why do drummer use triggers? ARGHHHHHHH!!!!!! This song gets very boring. More of a slower one. "Nothing But Contempt" starts slow and dark. Now I'm starting to see a big Slayer "Seasons In The Abyss" influence with these guys. It starts off slower and heavy, then gets faster thrash. Pretty cool build up and good fast parts. "Laid To Waste" is a good fast banger. Really good main riff. Any thrash fan would dig this song! "Eceladus Rising" is next with it's slower, melodic start. Very pretty guitar parts, AWWWWW. This song blows fucking donkey dick! It sounds like Dragon whatever their name is. It doesn't fit on this album. It is all guitar wankage as far as notes go. It's an instrumental. It's over 12 minutes long! When you have a singer like this dude, let him scream! He is good! Fuckers, don't do that again! "One Step Closer To The Grave" is the album closer. Slower and melodic kind of drags. It's over 10 minutes long. it starts to pick up with the typewriter again. I was hoping for a fast ass ending, but it just gets all Amon Amarth crushing, which is cool. I like the singer quite a bit. Killer shriek! And these guys have their moments of very good. But nothing special to go out and buy right away. I think half of the trash kids will love this. And people just getting into metal will dig it as well. It drags quite a bit in parts. But I wonder what these guys would do if they just thrashed their asses off and not fucked around with the pretty parts? They would kick ass! Oh and ditch the typewriter! Killer album cover BTW! This is out on Candlelight Records.

Review By: Mike Abominator 6/10

DEVASTATOR "The Summoning" - Review.

2010-03-23T10:52:00.003-07:00

DEVASTATOR "The Summoning" - Review.

These fucking maniacs have been around since 2004, and this their 5th album. Thorgrimm picked this up in New Jersey when Gravehill played the New Jersey Death Fest back in Oct '09. And now I have my dirty fucking hands on it! Let's go back to 1983. That is what Devastator sounds like, Hellhammer/Deathstrike influenced Metal Of Death. Of course there is a huge Venom influence. But this is fucking awesome. Everything from the drum sound, to the guitars, to the vocals are old school as fuck! "The Summoning(A Thousand And One Nights)" starts the ancient death ritual off. FUCKING AWESOME total Venom/Motorhead attack! "Evil Spirts" is next with it's great high pitched scream at the start. This is a bit faster speed metal/death style banger. "Four Emperors" starts off with killer mid paced riff that reminds me of classic Slayer "Show No Mercy", before going into a total Sarcofago/old Destruction riff part. Fuck these guys are killing me and reminding me of smoking Marlboro Reds, drinking Thunderbird and Budweisers, smoking schwag weed and doing some coke in the back of the liquor store instead of going to school. Wait, what the fuck did you fuckers do? NEVER MIND! BAHAHAHA. But playing on the ghettoblaster behind that liquor store would be Devastator! If that gets the point across! "The Curse Of Fire" has yet another classic riff that gets all Sarcofago on your ass at the start before going into a great mid paced, one/two part. "Necromantical Sleep" has a great, creepy intro guitar riff that turns fast banger, Hellhammer fast banger style. "Goetia" is next up and is another classic speed/black/thrash banger. The guitar solo interplay in the middle is awesome! "Living Creatures Of The Apolcalypse(The Sacrifice)" is the last song. Great fast as fuck banger with this one. Might be my favorite song on the album! Overall this is a classic. Anyone into that olden sound of Hellhammer, Deathstrike, old German Death/Thrash, old Sarcofago, old Venom and "Show No Mercy" by Slayer (which SHOULD BE MOST OF YOU!) will love these fuckers! Old Cemetery Records put this out. They are a great, rising label to watch out for that does quite a bit of this killer style so keep an eye out. Devastator fucking rule so go get this NOW!

Review By: Mike Abominator 10/10

FESTERED "Flesh Perversion" - Review.

2010-03-23T10:52:00.001-07:00

FESTERED "Flesh Perversion" - Review.

Arghhhhh! Razorback Records always keeps the death/grind/thrash/horror thing alive! The classic sounds of Impetigo, Autopsy, Mortician, Dr. Shrinker, and others lives on from the late 80s! FESTERED puke forth "Flesh Perversion" like a zombie ravenous and hunting for flesh. They are the best Razorback band yet! The intro starts the festivities off and after the screaming and murder, we get "Inferno Of Bloody Revenge". Nice thrashing death metal. Also old school as fuck. After the fast banging part, the middle headbanger is classic and evil, kicks in with double bass by the mighty Elekrtokutioner( who seems to play drums and all the good horror death bands!). Then goes fast and ripping again, back and forth with the evilness! FUCK YEAH! Another screaming intro and "Debasement Ritual" has the mid paced head ripper that gets all skanky and mid tempo banging like we all know and love. It then goes into a creepy doomy fucker of a riff, then back to the mid paced madness. Vocalist Ghoat sounds like a fucking zombie on here. Total throat from hell. "Inhuman Devastation" is next with it's mid paced one/two beat sounding like a gore drenched Asphyx, that then blasts off. The title track starts off with an awesome double bass riff that sounds like a Massacre out take from the early 80s. The killer fast one/two beat comes in and makes you want to kill your boss with a shovel. Now you have to bury the fucker. The middle break riff is quite a headbanger as well, expect me up front when I see ya guys live! Killer ending riff as well! "Festering Embodiment" pukes next with it's killer slow olden death metal riff from hell. Reaper writes some killer death riffs on here! And this corpse also has some killer solos that spew forth. These guys are a great kill team! This song goes back and forth between a very fast thrash/black beat to a great one/two ripper. The older Death part ala "Scream Bloody Gore"/ "Leprosy" is awesome as well, and then gets fast, one/two again! AWESOME! "Ascend From Death" is next with it's one/two fast intro into the mid paced banger that turns skank beat. Very FROST-ish song. "Undead Infection" is next with it's death/thrash start that has the great one/two death beat into a slower part. "Cruciflesh" ends this classic album with it's great evil/melodic intro riff/notes. It goes from the thrashy fast parts to slower parts with the great evil guitar melodies. There are a few killer old school horror movie samples placed throughout like the first 2 songs. There is a hidden track at the end if you dare to listen to it. Festered are killer with their gore covered, horrific debut album of thrashing death metal. Thank you to my friend Reaper for sending this out! The great cover art by the legendary Drew Elliot rules as does the inside art by rising legend Nev (who did our Werkshed Logo!). The production is perfect for what Festered vomits forth here. And the playing is great, with killer, catchy songs of death! Anyone into old school death metal, this is ESSENTIAL!

Review By: Mike Abominator 10/10

Manes Interview 2-2010

2010-03-23T10:51:00.003-07:00

Manes Interview 2-2010

1.The band started way back in 1993 when the whole black metal explosion was happening.How or were you involved in the scene at this time.What was the first time you were exposed to "black metal"?

i heard aggressive metal for the first time during (late) school (i was 15-16 i think), when a class-mate introduced me to it. before that i weren't interested in music at all, but it didn't take long from i first heard metallica and accept, etc, until i were completely hooked on the darker side.. this was back in 1985 or '86. i then played in atrox from around 87-88 up until '92, when it all started to go darker and bleaker... for a short while i were in perifa, where i found sargatanas, but from '92 and onwards it was manes only...

2.Were you always into heavy music? Growing what were some of your favorite artists?

from the start, i enjoyed extreme music much more than mellow, soft ballads. i listened to almost everything, or, any band that had something unique. and it was/is always the outsiders that got my attention. the dark side, the outcasts.. not always metal, but also stuff like ggfh, church organ music, ..

3.The Maanens Natt demo came out the same year you formed. Have ever gone back and listened to it?What do you remember from those recordings?What do you think of that material now?

i never listened to manes music after creating and/or releasing it. to me, the interesting part of it, was (and still is) the creative activity, ans some other smaller things you can't pinpoint or describe. after things are 'finished', i'm fed up with it, and want to do something else. so i haven't really considered, or listened carefully to much older material. no critical listening, at least... i remember programming the drums on a demo version of scream tracker, that had no save options, so i had to do all drum and synth programming, and then record them to 4-track tape in one session. guitars and vocals only took a few hours each.. mixing even less... it was all very spontaneous and impulsive, and not at all planned or following any grand scheme.

4.You put out 2 more demos which were quite highly regarded and it seemed as though you guys were on your way.But why so long after the last demo to release the full length Under ein Blodraud Maane which is utterly fucking essential in my eyes,would you say at or around this time Manes really started to evolve?

i got struck with some serious diseases during that time, lots of surgery, medication, hospitals, very, very close to dying twice, now chronically disabled, and supposed to be on a heavy medical diet for the rest of my life (although i don't take any of their pills or medicine... but, hush...don't tell them :-)

and, my thinking and general mindset has changed drastically after all this. it wasn't too easy to keep a constructive mindset..

5.Would you consider yourself an eclectic musician?Manes had made some drastic changes musically,did you feel that black metal wasn't the right vehicle to express what you wanted anymore?

kind of. black metal was never "the right vehicle", it was/is just _a_ vehicle. i can't limit myself to one small sub-genre. especially when that genre has become a total parody on itself. very little of what i have done lately could be classified as metal in any way.

6.You have had many past members in the band,did this have anything to do with all of the experimentation the band dabbled with in the early 2000's

not really. there are no definite line-up in manes, no kicking of members, no new joining ones. we use different personae for different settings and releases. and everyone involved is completely aware of that.

7.The album Solve et Coagula was released last year which featured 1 new song pretty much in the old manes style and several other older tracks slowed down a bit.What was your reasoning and meaning behind doing such an album?

it was just one of these things i do without thinking, without planning, without any deeper meaning... there were this old tape i found at the bottom of a dust-filled drawer, with these riffs and some test arrangements on. with crappy sound, of course.. i thought it could be cool to hear this 'properly' recorded, and started doing some simple recordings and drum programming. then, the snow ball got rolling, and more and more people got involved.. unfortunately, two additional contributions didn't make it into the final song. we had lots of good and moody violin and piano performances. but, because of some technical errors done during recording, and because i got fed up with the project (and just wanted to get this thing out of the door), they weren't included on the final version... there might be some alternate versions, or remixes based on these performances, though..

8.Continuing on with the last question,what led you to use to seperate vocalists on the new song,Kvaroth from SHINING and malefic from XASTHUR. Why did you choose them to both be on the same song?Are you a fan of their other bands works?

i thought they would fit into the song. i'm not a fan of their bands, as i don't listen much to traditional metal, but they have the important negative attitude (especially towards humanity as a whole), and the sound of their voices fitted the music very well. also, these were the two first names that popped up in my head when considering this project. some contact had already been established. kvarforth were a bit on the offensive regarding some manes collaboration, and i had just heard xasthur's manes cover...

9.This recording is obviously a return to the old sounds in a way?When you compose music do you have a set idea or is it just a "whatever comes out" kind of attitude?

more or less just "whatever comes out". not many percent of the music i create is ever suitable for other people, or for releasing.

10.All of your experimentation led to manes sort of "morphing" into kkoagulaa.Who else is involved with this project and is now your main focus musically?Is it an extension of manes,or this now what has become of the band?

manes has NOT morphed into kkoagulaa. kk is a totally different entity, although some of the same persons are involved int the audio generating side of it.

11.There have been rumors of a new full length Be All/End All. Is this true and when/if can we expect it and will the direction of the album be along the lines of Solve et Coagula?Will it contain all new music?

i have a "be all//end all" prototype/test here, right now. time will tell if you we will ever release it... it's all new music, and you shouldn't expect anything at all, as you most probably will be wrong..

12.Is manes dead?If not what is the curent lineup for the band and will you continue to use either Kvaroth or malfeic on the supposed new album?

manes as an exploitable, commercial, monetizable thing is dead... as a creative entity it will never die, but is more active than ever!! "fåfengt, fåfengt, kryp der nede! døy? eg er udøydeleg!". no recording contracts will ever be signed again, no promotional activities, no rules will be followed, we will never do whatever you think/feel bands should do... better to die than becoming an attention-whore, like most others.

13.I know that you previously felt disconnected from the black metal scene. Do you still follow any bands at all,are there any left from the early days that you would say you like what they are doing?What do you think about Varg and the upcoming new burzum album?

i don't follow any bands, i don't listen much to the older bands, i don't listen to new bands, in generally i don't care at all. but, sporadically, a few bands have surprised me, though, but they're very, very seldom, far between... none of the 'old' bands are interesting now, not even manes. i guess the new burzum will be amazing!

14.What types of music do you listen to nowadays?

i mostly listen to classical music and jazz on the radio, even though i hate both!! but, when i put on music myself, it's electronic, experimental stuff..

15.Would you say that your are proud of all that manes did?Would you do anything differently?

wouldn't change anything. i'm proud of the fact that i have always done whatever i feel like, and not bending to any pressure or exploitation...

16.That is all i have for you sir!Any final words or comments for the readers?

not really. except, never, ever bend over for any pressure, stay away from attention-seeking band-whores. and let's applaud the death of the music business/industry... let it die a painful and horrible death, and please let it be full of personal tragedies and ruined lives!

Interview By:Bastard Son Of God

ANAAL NATHRAKH - "In The Constellation Of The Black Widow" Review

2010-03-23T10:51:00.001-07:00

ANAAL NATHRAKH - "In The Constellation Of The Black Widow"

First off, I hate this band's name. It is like Amon Amarth gone gay. But anyways, hahaha, this album starts out with the title track. The vocals are fucking weird and all over the place. The music is black metal mixed with grindcore. There are fucked up screams and howling, deep, deep vocal effects and even chanting on this one. "I Am the Wrath of Gods and the Desolation of the Earth Music" is more of the same, without the chanting and deep effects on the vocals. Total blasts and screaming. The vocals get quite funny at times, but also disturbing. I think the guy has issues hahaha. "More Of Fire Than Blood" is next with an awesome riff to start the grind, that goes into a cool skank part. There is finally a mid paced banger part, but wait, the vocals sound like Killswitch Inflames. A good song just got ruined! "The Unbearable Filth Of The Soul" is next. It is a bit slower, more mid paced. The riffs are downtuned and sound like Disturbed or something. These guys sound like a weird mix of Emperor, Pig Destroyer, Today Is The Day, and new heavy rock/metal at parts. The singer has quite a bit of range with his style. There are moments of greatness on here with some of the arrangements and riffs, but it goes to crap at some point. "Terror In The Mind Of God" has a total Extreme Noise Terror part that rules but then goes into a lame chorus. "So Be It" starts off total classic Swedish Death Metal. And yup, goes gay with a singing part. At this point it's hard to tell if the drums are real or a drum machine. The rest of the album is more of the same: weird chunky new style metal riff, lame melodic part, killer riff, then lame vocals all of the place, GRIND! These guys have their moments, but the crap drags it down. I know people out there would dig this. It's NOT black metal, only a few parts have a total black metal sound. This is like a lot of hybrid stuff these days, throw a bunch of styles in a blender and mix it up. This is out on Candlelight Records.

Review By: Mike Abominator 4.5/10

The Legion - A Bliss To Suffer REVIEW

2010-03-23T10:50:00.001-07:00

The Legion - A Bliss To Suffer REVIEW

Full-length, Listenable Records
April 27th, 2009

A Bliss To Suffer, the newest album by The Legion, is a hybrid of the harsh death-lasting black metal with various symphonic keyboard sections.

From the first track on you'll get your face kicked in by the drumming of former Marduk artillery chief Emil Dragutinovic while the guitars sew your skull in the typical swedish way.

Notable fact is that the band finished this record all by themselves, meaning that they recorded, mastered and mixed it.

Technically the album is good material with some keyboard/intros as exception and every(!) song has a high potential to crawl into your head and rest there for a while - thanks to a catchy groove throughout the record.

Especially notable are the songs "Shining Redemption", "A Toil Beneath The Skin", "Blood, Be Gone!" and "The Luring Depths".
But to get to the negative site: it feels like there is no such thing as a red line throughout the album, and although the songs are good for themselves, they could be in any order.

What I am missing is a significant "heart-piece" and a bit order to keep the attention on the brute force of the songs.

Anyway the last word has not yet been spoken and after the DIY attitude of A Bliss To Suffer, I think we can expect more from the forthcoming works of The Legion.

6/10

Review by Herr Nekro MMX

1349 "Revelations Of The Black Flame" - Review.

2010-03-23T10:49:00.001-07:00

1349 "Revelations Of The Black Flame" - Review.

FUCK MAN! THE SCREAMING INTRO IS DISTURBING AS FUCK! STOP FUCKING SCREAMING! HAHA.

But good job 1349, on the intro screaming, it sounds like souls going to hell for sure. "Invocation" is the name of this track that starts the album.After the weak are tortured in hellfire, the track then gets all Pink Floyd/let's do some acid and trip out man. Almost "heaven" like. ALSO, good job 1349.

Towards the middle part of the song, a riff then comes in and the drums come in. Hmm, the drums almost sound "industrial". Once everyone comes in, it almost sounds like a black metal Godflesh. Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm a huge old school Godflesh fan! So this is a good thing so far! Not bad at all.I had heard 1349 were going to surprise on this album. And so far so good with the surprise.

"Serpentine Sibilance" is next. Starts off slow and prodding like the intro. Good riffs. The vocals are strange. Maybe too many effects on there? But different for sure. 1349 have slowed down as far as I have gotten here. It does start to pick up, but not by much. Then the fast part hits like a punch in the face to end the song. Not a typical black metal blast part either, different style.

"Horns" is next and is very spacey and dark. This is more of an interlude. Like "2010-A Space Odyssey" gone to hell. So dare I say that 1349 have gotten "experimental" with this album?

"Maggot Fetus... Teeth Like Thorns" has a good intro black metal riff. Man the drums sound like a machine, yet done well here. It's just funny to me. It gets hard to tell if it is a real drummer or a machine, especially during the blast part of this song. The vocals have more of a tortured Tom G. Warrior vibe to them, instead of a typical black metal shriek.

"Misanthropy" is next with it's piano, fucked up tape loop interlude. The end has some creepiness to it.

Which leads into "Uncreation" and it's piano/slow guitar intro. Once everyone comes in, I'm telling you, black metal Godflesh! This album is quite slow paced, STILL, overall. Almost a Neurosis feel to it. The middle heavy mid paced part is cool, yet gets boring. But it is still good. The fast part ending is quite impressive with it's shredding guitar solos and riffs.

The godamn surprise of the century is the Pink Floyd cover "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun". Now, believe it or not, and I know this might be a shocker! I'm a big Pink Floyd fan as well! So let's see what we have here: after giving it a chance, it is OK but boring. The drums are horrible, or if that is a drum in the background? hmmm, and not the tribal stuff like the original. Anyways, SKIP! I'll give them credit for trying this though.

"Solitude" is next. And continues the Pink Floyd spacey stuff, which is cool. Just surprising on a "black metal" album.

"At The Gate" is the album closer. Starts off almost like old Cathedral, which is also good cause I loved their early stuff! haha. But the riff is killer and evil as fuck! The drums almost ruin it at first. It sounds cool when everyone comes in together though. All fucked up and spacey! Like "Jason X" but good! haha.

Now I'm going to be honest here. 1349 are one of the most over hyped bands ever! I have seen them live and they are good, not classic, but good. Ravn is quite a front man and the guitarists can windmill with the best of them. And the reviews that I have seen in the past were sucking these guys cocks. "Revelations Of The Black Flame" is a surprise. Most typical black metal kids will not like this. 1349 have moved forward for sure. At small points it reminds me of the classic and mighty Deathspell Omega (one of the few "avant garde" or "progressive" bands that I like). Not totally influenced or even sounding like those French lunatics, just kind of how 1349 has a Neurosis gone evil as fuck black metal style on here, that Deathspell Omega does so well.

1349 is nowhere near as good as Deathspell, but I see similarities here. Anyways, this fucker is hard to rate. I think it will grow on me, or I may never listen to it again. Who knows? It gets a little boring, but it is a good one considering. And it does stand out from the black metal crowd. Out on Candlelight Records.

Review By: Mike Abominator 6.5/10