Vorga Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Atlas - Sure, we're a modern black metal band based in Karlsruhe, Germany. Our music focuses mostly on nihilism and looking at the world through that lens. I created the band while living in Scotland and brought the music and ideas with me when I moved to Germany. Luckily I managed to find a great group of musicians here to make the band what it is today.

Пешо has a bunch of various acts he used to and still plays with such as Vrani Volosa, Act of Grotesque, Bloodlines, Damage Extreme & Prokyon.

Jervas previously played drums for Aaskereia, Corporal Punishment & Grabfinsternis.

Volker has played guitar in Azrael's Seed and Geäst.


2.You also have your first ep coming out later in February, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recording?

Atlas - I wanted to find a balance between the chaos and aggression of black metal and simpler, sadder melodies. I also wanted to create something that would translate well to a live environment.

I also wanted it to have a very modern production style. I know it can be quite divisive in the BM community but personally, I think the power and aggression of a modern production really help gives some extra weight to this style of black metal.


3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music?

Atlas - Servility and corruption of power are two topics that seem to keep coming up. The feeling of frustration and hopelessness in trying to change things, and the idea of purpose.


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name ;Vorga'?

Atlas - It is the name of a starship in Alfred Bester's 'Stars my destination'. In the book it plays a role as the protagonist's reason for living, he saves his own life only to get revenge on this ship he thinks abandoned him. I liked the idea of what the ship represents - misguided purpose and the strength that can be wielded in ignorance.


5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the ep cover?

Atlas - The artwork of the band is trying to convey feelings of human insignificance. We're trying to recreate that feeling of mixed wonder and horror looking into the night sky and feeling small.


6.The band members come from the United Kingdom, Germany and Bulgaria, what kind of impact does this have on the bands musical style?

Atlas - Next to none really. I am the songwriter for the band and create the music & lyrics nearly fully-formed before handing it over to the rest of the guys. This doesn't leave a lot of room for interpretation and helps keep the vision consistent.

In terms of our backgrounds and what they bring, we certainly come from different walks of life and musical tastes and I think it definitely helps add something to our sound.

Пешо - I don´t think it makes really a difference when it comes to music that doesn´t include folklore.

7.Are the band members open to doing any live shows if the opportunity ever came?

Atlas - Definitely! We're in the middle of organizing our first release concert here in Karlsruhe but I hope we can get on the road and do some touring when the time is right. We're very keen to get out there and play as much as possible.

8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

Atlas - We're certainly interested but it's not anything we're actively pursuing right now. We're happy self-releasing and self-promoting until it becomes too much to handle by ourselves and we need to enlist the help of others.


9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of melodic black metal?

Fantastic right now! We've been positively overwhelmed by the initial response our EP has received and we're already looking forward to the next release.


10.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Atlas - At the moment we're planning a second EP release for later this year. All that material has been written. I'm currently writing a full length I would hope we can release in 2020. Stylistically it's similar to what you hear now, but perhaps with a slightly more sci-fi/cosmic angle to it.


11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Atlas - I'm not sure if you can hear it in the music but bands that have influenced me are Dodheimsgard, , Arcturus, Khonsu, Gorgoroth. Right now I'm listening to Skeletonwitch's Devouring Radiant Light.

Пешо -  From Beatles to Grindcore, but generally extreme music. I was more into technical/progressive death metal about 10 years ago, but lately, I listen to more black metal and I´m always searching for underground music. There are really good bands I find all the time.

Jervas - Maiden, Paradise Lost, Dissection, Samael etc.


12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Пешо - I use almost all of my free time, making music and working on musical projects. Aside from that, I love riding my bike or going out into Nature, without any people, structures or facilities around.

Atlas - Both me and Jervas enjoy brewing in our spare time. Apple wine, cider, and beer mostly.

Volker - Riding Motorbikes


13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thanks for taking the time! Check out our EP at vorga.bandcamp.com and see you at a concert soon!

Faruln/The Black Hole Of The Soul/Zanjeer Zani Productions/2019 EP Review

  Faruln  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  Swedish  style  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  o  their  2019  ep  "The  Black  Hole  Of  The  Soul"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Zanjeer  Zani  Productions.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  ep  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of t he  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording,  The  vocals  bring  in  more  of  a  deep  black  metal  style  along  with  a  few  screams  along  with  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  being  added  into  the  background.

  A  decent  amount  of  melody  can  also  be  heard  in  the  music  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  more  of  a  modern  Swedish  black  metal  style.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  a  couple  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Faruln  are  a  very  great  sounding  Swedish  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Black  Hole  Of  The  Soul"  and  "The  Sworn  Enemy".  8  out  of  10.

The Black Sorcery/Wolven Degrade/Krucyator Productions/2019 CD Review

  The  Black  Sorcery  are  a  band  from  Edmonton,  Alberta,  Canada  that  has  had  an  album  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  bestial  mixture  of  war,  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Wolven  Degrade"  which  will  be  released  in  March by  Krucyator  Productions.

  A  war  orientated  intro  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  music  also  use  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  to  capture  a  raw  war  metal  style.  Vocals  are  mostly  bestial  and  guttural  growls  along  with  some  black  metal  screams.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  chaotic  style  as  well  as  all  of  the musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful sound  to  them.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  dark  sounding  melodies  can  also  be  heard.

  On  this  recording  The  Black  Sorcery  remains  true  to  their  raw  and  bestial  mixture  of  war,  black  and  death  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  violence,  war  and  blasphemy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  the  Black  Sorcery  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  war  and  bestial  black/death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Intolerance  Enthrone"  "Body  Coffin  Betrayal" "Angry  Spit  Of  The  Witches  Piss"  and  "Revelations  Of  Dark  Succumbing".  8  out  of  10.

Gårdbuk Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
 I started Gardbuk after listening to raw black metal stuff for a while, I always liked the imagery and themes it often put into your head. I’d done a handful of releases like this that were exclusive to
CDR that I recorded a year or maybe 2 years before I named it Gardbuk. The lyrics usually came from dreams or persistent thoughts of mine.But since that first EP and CD, I lost interest in Gardbuk for the
moment

2.So far you have released one ep, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recording?
2.For the first EP, I really wanted to capture that icey sound of black metal guitars and instrumentation. But I still wanted to keep the mix so you could hear the melody and chords of the guitar. The
drums were just casio synth drums. I can’t remember much but I’m pretty sure the vocals were recorded with a modded phone.


3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored so far with your music?
3.Mostly vampires, I really like music that is themed off of things like that, Twilight themed music is a particular favourite! But I always like it when people fuel their love for franchises into music.
So there are occasional nods to popular vampire films in the lyrics, not very obvious though.


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Gardbuk'?
4.Not sure, something to do with Norwegian lore, generic, I know.

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the ep cover?
5.It’s just a screenshot I took on a YouTube video of someone going on a roadtrip to Portland Retro Gaming Expo. Shout out to MetalJesusRocks

6.On the ep you had recorded everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?
6.I love working with other people, it’s just sometimes difficult to find other people. In the past I’ve worked with completely inexperienced ‘musicians’ before, most notably for a project called
Midget Death, which was like a noisecore project I did with a friend from year 11.


7.What are some of the best shows that you have played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

7.I’ve only played one show as Gardbuk, I was playing with a bunch of noise artists, I don’t really do noise anymore; I focus on stuff that I can actually put musical effort into. It’s difficult getting shows
around here.

8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
8.Obviously I’d like to tour any of my projects, but I do so much different stuff it’d be hard to decide what to tour, crashing open mic nights is the way forward.

9.The ep was released on 'Structured Disasters', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
9.Noise label based in Aylesbury, doing good work for changing the music scene around here, I'm not very involved in it anymore, i don't get much enjoyment out of noise anymore.

10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?
10.No idea, only had a few friends that I know of listen to it. And this review of the EP. I released it with the exact same ethic I release everything else. I don’t really listen to or make black metal
anymore.

11.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?
11.Probably not for a while with Gardbuk, don’t have the drive to make any black metal right now. But there’s still a CD, which I think is much better than the first EP that I might put online someday. As
for the future, I’m working on lots of different projects right now that I plan to continue, I’m producing and doing verses for a cloud rap project with a friend who I also play in a band called Japanese Role-Playing Game, which is some basic emo jams. My main focus right
now is producing beats and making visuals for the tracks we’ve done so far. I don’t like being elitist about music, I make what I make whether it’s a popular genre or not. I upload the majority of my
useless stuff to https://loneliness.bandcamp.com. Its all random stuff.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
12.Most lately, DJ Sad Status, Bladee, Lil Xan, Kragle (local breakcore legend), Lil Peep, Ecco2k, The Sundays, Thaiboy Digital. I also love the Malaysian grunge, bands like Auburn and Paint Bucket
deserve a lot more attention.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
13.Yeah, there’s nothing wrong with watching dubbed anime, if you don’t want to read subtitles, you don’t have to. Don’t let the weebs tell you otherwise.

https://structureddisasters.bandcamp.com/album/fantasy-of-dying-lights

Nordjevel/Necrogenesis/Osmose Productions/2019 CD Review

  Nordjevel  are  a  band  from  Norway  that  plays  a  very  fast  and  aggressive  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Necrogenesis"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Osmose  Productions.

  A  very  fast  and  raw  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  brutal  sounding  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  the  music  also  bringing  in  a  more  modern  Norwegian  style.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  chaotic  yet  melodic  style  and  the  fast  riffs  also  capturing  the  aggression  of  the  mid  90's  era.

   On  one  of  the  tracks  clean  guitars  are  also  introduced  onto  the  recording  briefly  as  well  as  one  song  also  adding  in  spoken  word  parts.  Atmospheric  elements  can  also  be  heard  as  the  album  progresses  while  keeping  the  main  focus  more  on  an  aggressive  style  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  melodic  chants  on  one  song,  the  closing  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  self  destruction,  nature  and  anti  religion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Nordjevel  are  a  very  great  sounding  fast  and  aggressive  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sunset  Glow"  "Black  Lights  From  The  Void"  "Nazarene  Necrophilia"  and  "Panzerengel".  8 out  of  10.

  

Neanderthalensis Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
Neanderthalensis is a single-member black metal project. It started out as an outlet for the more atmospheric riffs I would write when I was in d-beat crust bands, powerviolence bands, death metal bands, and grindcore bands. It doesn't take many influences from these genres, so these riffs were set aside for a couple years until most of my other projects dissolved, and all I had left were the riffs on Rain Over Scorched Earth. I am primarily a drummer, but all the drums are programmed, and the guitars were recorded simply in my bedroom using pedals I built myself on breadboards. There's no amp for the guitars, just custom circuits direct to my laptop soundcard. Neanderthalensis will be my primary artistic outlet for the foreseeable future.

2.So far you have released one album, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recording?
Growing up on the west coast of USA, I listened strictly to grindcore bands like Pig Destroyer and Brutal Truth and d-beat crust bands like Skitsystem and Martyrdöd, but I started getting heavily into dark Bay Area blackened crust bands like Akatharsia and Negative Standards. That facilitated my love of Norwegian black metal like Darkthrone, pre-Gaahl Gorgoroth, Emperor, Burzum, Enslaved, etc. and great USBM acts like Weakling, Inter Arma, and False, but all the black metal I would see live were cascadian acts heavily influenced by Wolves In the Throne Room. This made me interested in atmospheric black metal in general with bands like Velvet Cacoon, Void Omnia, and especially Paysage D'Hiver. I also really like Sunn O))), Hell, Thou, Dispirit, and other doom sludge acts.

3.In your lyrics I can see references to politics, Occultism and Social Darwinism, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?
I used to hate politics in black metal lyrics, because as a nihilistic artform it shouldn't tell people what to do. But when I became nihilistic towards my nihilism, I just write lyrics that mean something to me, something I want to scream at people without worrying about how kvlt the lyrics are, and I put the meaning of the song in the title for minimal ambiguity. Claim Your Only Life is a song about being a rebel and a recognition of the various forces that are actively trying to control people for other people's benefit, and that if you do nothing about it, those forces will win. Pity Is the Worst Thing You Can Give Someone is a poetic exploration of why I refuse to feel sorry for someone who is strong enough to take control of their lives, because when you begin to feel pity for someone, you have recognized their incapability and weakness. The song describes someone who does deserve your pity, and he may remind you of yourself because it's easy to resign yourself to weakness and pity, but do so at your own peril. Take Your Fists and Make Your Life is me venting frustration at people's inability to accurately acknowledge the forces tearing apart their self-determination. The Social Darwinism reference is a recognition that those who conform to the Capitalist system acquire the most money and therefore claim more of the benefits of society's productivity in a "survival of the most deranged" scenario.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Neanderthalensis'?
Neanderthalensis is the specific epithet for the taxon Homo neanderthalensis, which represents the well-known "Neanderthals". The name should hearken back to a time before concentrated power, to a dark and mysterious world where virtually no truths are known, when hominids lived alongside wild beasts of the Earth yet did not dominate landscapes, before society told people what proper conduct looks like, what people "are supposed to do". Its a landscape where self-expression is instant, unabashed, and unique to the life experience of the person. Neanderthalensis is banging clubs against an ancient tree trunk, it is a melody of bones clacking against bones, a howl from a mountaintop after a glorious hunt that nearly killed you, an expressive gesture without explanation. Neanderthalensis means doing what you are compelled to do as an individual without a society full of biases and assumptions telling you that what you are doing does not appeal to their sense of proper aesthetics.

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the album cover?
Just after I left California, the 2018 Camp Fire burned down my home town, and all my best friends houses including my family's houses, and the album is dedicated to the Camp Fire. The picture is a photograph I received from the California Native Plant Society showing the desolate landscape after the Carr fire burned an entire mountainside to an ash heap. The name Rain Over Scorched Earth represents the cycle of life and death, and that tragedy is around the corner for everyone but strong people learn from their mistakes and move one with the next phase, and weak people drown in pity while the rest of the world takes the rain and rebuilds their lives in fertile scorched soil.

6.Originally your from the United States but recently located to Germany, can you tell us a little bit more about the move?
I am a botanist, and I am in Germany getting a Master's a degree at Ludwig-Maximilans Universität München. It would cost considerably more money to get my Master's degree in California because Germany has no tuition for universities, and I already have about $20,000 in student loan debt and I don't want to get any more. That's pretty much it: cheap school, great quality of instruction, great living standards, no Trump and people talking about Trump, and most importantly adventure.

7.On the album you recorded everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?
This was my first solo project, and I greatly enjoyed the lack of pressure to quickly write music, and that I could take time to compose and craft the music. That being said, I would love to play the songs live and collaborate with other musicians in a non-solo project. That may or may not happen in the future, but I would be open to it for sure. It probably would not be Neanderthalensis though, I think I want to keep it as an outlet for atmospheric musings.

8.Recently 'Corpse Torture Records' released the album on cassette, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
Corpse Torture Records is a small label that makes ultra-limited productions of music that inspires the guy who runs it. He asked me if he could print cassettes of Neanderthalensis, and I gave full permission. We don't have a contract or a deal, I don't get paid, he barely makes money, it's a private distro that supports bands he likes with exposure. It's just to get the name out there.

9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of atmospheric black metal?
I honestly don't know. Some people have really liked it according to comments on blogs and Youtube. I haven't heard any negative criticism of it yet, but it is still pretty underground. Half the comments are in English, and the other half are in Russian, so I suppose that those are the two biggest realms where it is receiving attention.

10.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?
I want to start a d-beat crust band in Germany, and Neanderthalensis will continue to get more atmospheric. I want the next recording to have significant ambient themes truncated with bursts of life and energy. The future is wide-open at this point, so I don't really have a well-defined path forward. I'm just doing what I am compelled to do.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
I think I mostly answered this on the second question. The top five most influential bands for Neanderthalensis would be Weakling, Burzum, Wolves In the Throne Room, Paysage d'Hiver, and Velvet Cacoon. Five things I'm currently listening to are Sutekh Hexen, Nordlicht, all things from Gilead media, Halshug, and A Diadem of Dead Stars.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Foraging wild food, anarchist political theory, tabletop RPG, forest pathology research, and smoking too much weed.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks for the exposure and the review, I've loved your blog for months now, and maybe we can do this again after the next release.
Hail

Dhul-Qarnayn/Jilwah/Shaytan Productions/2008 CD Review

  Dhul-Qarnayn  are  a  solo  project  from  Bahrain  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  moved  away  from  his  black  metal  style  to  go  into  more  of  a  dark  ambient  direction  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2008  single  "Jilwah"  which  was  released  by  Shaytan  Productions.

  A  percussion  orientated  instrument  starts  off  the  single  along  with  some  dark  ambient  synths  and  spoken  word  parts  a  few  seconds  later  which  are  samples  from  Aliester  Crowley.  The  track  is  also  over  27  minutes  in  length.  As  the  track  progresses  the  music  starts  getting  more  diverse  as  well  as  capturing  an  occult  atmosphere.

 Ethnic  style  instruments  are  also  brought  into  the  music  at  times  along  with  some  melodic  chants  are  also  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.  Nature,  rain  and  thunder  sounds  can  also  be  hear  briefly  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Dhul-Qarnayn  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  ritualistic  dark  ambient,  you  should  check  out  this  single.  8/5  out  of  10.