Crowhurst/Self Titled/Ivory Antler Recordings/2015 Full Length Review

  Crowhurst  are  a  band  from  Los  Angelic,  California  that  plays  an  experimental  mixture  of  black  metal,  harsh  noise,  drone,  doom  and  sludge  and  this  is  a  review of t heir  self  titled  2015  album  which  will  be  released  in  April  on  vinyl  and  8  track  by  Ivory  Antler  Recordings.

  A  very  distorted  and  heavy  bass  guitar  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  reverb  before  going  into  a  more  heavy  sludge/doom  metal  direction  along  with  some  melodies  and  harsh  noise  sounds  and  after  the  intro  more  of  an  atmospheric  black  metal  sound  is  added  onto  the   recording  along  with  a  great  amount  of  high  pitched  screams.

  Guitar  leads  can  be  heard  throughout the  recording  and  they  also  have  more  of  an  a modern  atmospheric  black  metal  influence  to  them  and  the  music  also  adds  in  parts  that  are  very  fast  and  raw  as  well  as  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  also  mixes  doom  with  black  metal.

  As  the  album  progresses  clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the   recording  along  with  a  few  tracks  that  are  long  and  epic  in  length  and  one  of  the  tracks  bring  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing  which  also  adds  in  elements  that  would  appeal  to  fans  of  the  post  genres  of  black   and  doom  and  all  of  the songs  are  very  diverse  and  original  while  also  remaining  very  heavy  all  at  the  same  time  and  the  last  track  also  brings  in  spoken  word  parts.

  Crowhurst  takes  a  very  raw,  melodic  and  atmospheric  style  of  black  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  the  heavier  side  of  sludge  and  doom  while  also  experimenting  with  harsh  noises  and  drones  to  create  their  own  style,  the  production  sounds  very  dark,  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Crowhurst  are  a  very  great  sounding  experimental  mixture  of  atmospheric  black  metal,  doom,  sludge,  drone  and  harsh  noise  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "A  Precipice  of  Stone"  "It  Is  The  Mercy"  and  "Langourous  Void".  8  out  of  10.    

Pneuma Hagion/Trinity I/2015 Demo Review

  Pneuma  Hagion  are  a  1  man  band  from  Texas  that  plays  a  bestial  mixture  of  black,  death  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released 2015  demo  "Trinity  I".

  A  very  fast,  raw  and  old  school  war  metal  sound  starts  off  the  demo  along  with  some  guttural  yet  demonic  vocals  and  the music  also  brings  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  slower  sections  bringing  in  an  early  90's  doom/death  metal  feeling  which  is  also  mixed  in  with  a  bestial  sound.

  You  can  hear  a  decent  amount  of  Australian  and  Ross  Bay  Cemetery  influences  throughout  the recording  along  with  a  good  dose  of  the  bestial black  metal  sound  and  the  songs  all  have  a  vintage  old  school  feeling  to  them  and  sound  like  they  could  of  easily  been  recorded  and  released  during  the  90's.

  Pneuma  Hagion  plays  a  very  old  school  style  of  bestial,  war/black  metal  on  this  demo  which  he  also  mixes  in  with  a  great  amount  of  death  and  doom  metal  elements  which  also  gives  his  approach  to  the  genre  a  different  touch,  the  production  sounds  very  dark,  filthy,  raw  and  old  school  sounding  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Pneuma  Hagion  are  a  very  great  sounding  bestial  mixture  of  war,  black,  death  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "First  thought".  8  out  of  10.
 

  

Elegos/To Those Lying In The Fields of Glory/2014 Demo Review

  Elegos  are  a  duo  from  Greece  that  plays  a  very  epic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  demo  "To  Those  Lying  In  The  Fields  Of  Glory".

  Classical  guitars  start  off  the  demo  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  melodic guitar  leads  are  added  onto  the  recording  which  sets  up  the  mood  for  some  grim  black  metal  screams  and  the  first  track  is  8  minutes  in  length  and  also  sticks  to  a  slow  and  mid  paced  musical  direction  while  still  having  a  very  old  school  feeling.

  When  the  demo  goes  into  the  second  track  it  starts  to  speedup  a  bit  along  with  an  early  90's  style  of  raw  black  metal  while  the  vocals  also  have  even  more  of  a  grim  and  high  pitched  approach  this  time  while  also  adding  blast  beats  into  the  faster  sections  of  the  track  while  the  slower  sections  utilize  melodic  leads  and  the  song  is  only  5  minutes  in  length  and  does  bring  in  some  flutes  at  times.

  Elegos  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  raw,  melodic,  old  school  and  epic  sounding  in  the  true  Hellenic  tradition,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  Ancient  Battles,  War  and  Heroism.

  In  my  opinion  Elegos  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  and  epic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  demo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "The Last  Remembrance  Of  A  Dying  Warrior".  8  out  of  10.  

Desekratewhore/Mind's Deception/2014 Full Length Review

  Desekratewhore  are  a  band  from  Ontario,  Canada  that  plays  a  very  raw  and  old  school  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Mind's  Deception".

  Drum  beats  and  an  old  school  black/thrash  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  there  is  also  a  decent  amount  of  melody  on  the  recording  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful  and  the   vocals  are  grim  black  metal  screams  and  after  awhile  80's  death  metal  influences  are  added  into  the  songs.

  A  couple  of  the  tracks  on  the  recording  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  one  song  bringing  in  a  brief  use  of  war  samples  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  very  dark  and  melodic  while  also  remaining  true  to  the  old  school  tradition  of  the  bands  musical  style  and  as  the  album  progresses  elements  of  traditional  heavy  metal  can  be  heard  at  times  and  one  of  the  tracks  brings  in  a  brief  instrumental  that  is  all  classical  guitars  while  the  later  songs  show  the  band  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction  while  a  couple  track  doe add  a  few  seconds  of  clean  playing  in  with  the  heavier  parts  and  the  album  closes  with  an  instrumental.

  Desekratewhore  take  the  first  and  second  wave  styles  of  black  metal  and  mix  them  in  with  death,  thrash  and  a  touch  of  classic  heavy  metal  to  create  some  very  raw  and  old  school  sounding  extreme  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  fantasy  and  death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Desekratewhore  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  and  old  school  mixture  of  black,  death,  thrash  and  heavy  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Blatterian  Supremacy"  "White  Wolves"  and  "Nightmares".  8  out  of  10.     

Disharmonic Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?
The recording of  “Magiche arti e oscuri deliri” took place during the year  2014 on Black Massacre studios in Pordenone, which has also produced other engravings of Disharmonic.


2.In the past few months you have put out a couple of albums, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both recordings and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
Surely the sound quality and the depth of the technique is increasing work after work, on this as on the EP “Il rituale dei non morti” mastering is edited by Giovanni Indorato on his Cyber Ghetto studios


3.The band was broken up for a few years, what was the cause of the split and also the decision to reform?
The group basically had never split-up, but a bit ' all we were taken by pauses of reflection , of course, only to return with good works that did widen the circle of our followers .

4.The lyrics cover a great amount of occult topics, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this subject?
I have always a great attention to the issues occult religions , as well as the culture of belonging cosmic.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Disharmonic'?
The definition of “Disharmonic” , is simply unsound , as sound a joke metric not successful , so devoid of harmony , as in architecture does not represent a relationship of coherence , all so disproportionate and not harmonious .


6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Usually our performances are in exclusive private setting, with a private invitation to a congregation .

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
At this time i can not really answer this question.  Everywhere cosmic’s factor lead me to the world , my sound it will channel flow.

8.The new album was released on Beyond productions, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
“Beyond…Productions” is the most influential label, also for the variety of bands with which it collaborates or produces , has always interested , we really wanted to stay in Italy as production .

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black and doom metal?
Already within a few days of release of the new work the responses were very interesting , definitely foreign has a great potential for the art that we offer . We will focus as much as possible to any place is interested in our art.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
There are already new stuff for the upcoming year , the reissue of “Carmini Mortis” fused with the EP “ Il rituale dei non morti” , all completely remastered in Cyber Ghetto studios

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?
Surely the music genres I use to listen are jazz, dark rock , but also prog . Some psychedelic rock , obviously metal in its nuances.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
My interests outside of Disharmonic, definitely are the philosophical arts , magic and the occult sciences and stellar.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have nay final words or thoughts?
Buy our work for a dip in other cosmic dimensions.

Sovereign/Nailing Shut The Sacrosanct Orifice/Broken Limbs/2015 Cassette Review

  Sovereign  are  a  band  from  the United  States  that  plays  a  very  raw,  satanic  and  occult  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Nailing  Shut  The  Sacrosanct  Orifice"  which  will  be  released  in  February  on  cassette  by  Broken  Limbs.

  A  very  distorted  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavy,  fast  and  raw  black  metal  direction  that  uses  blast  beats  and  high  pitched  screams  tha t also  get  more  depressive  and  suicidal  on  later  tracks  along  with  a  good  dose  of  death  metal  elements  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Melodic  guitar  leads  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  guitar  riffing  also  uses  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  a  few  tracks  are  also  long  and  epic  in  length  and  you  can  hear  a  great  dose  of  old  school  black  metal  elements  throughout  the  recording  while  the  band  also  brings  in  quite  a  bit  of  the  modern  occult  sound  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  a  brief  instrumental  while  the  main  focus  remains  more  on  a  heavy  and  raw  style  of  black  metal.

  Sovereign  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  dark,  melancholic,  fast  and  raw  sounding  and  also  brings  in  a  touch  of  death  metal  in  the  true  U.S  tradition,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  Anti  Cosmic  Satanism,  Occultism,  Death,  Hate  and  Suicide.

   In  my  opinion  Sovereign  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw,  melancholic,  satanic  and  occult  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  cassette.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Orbiting  Lunar  Curse"  "Sulfur's  Cross"  "Bared  Teeth  Of  The  Fog"  and  "Nailing  Shut  the  Sacrosanct  orifice".  8  out  of  10.

Harrow/Fallow Fields/Broken Limbs/2015 Cassette Review

  Harrow  are  a  band  from  British  Columbia,  Canada  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  raw,  melodic  and  atmospheric  form  of  cascadian  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  cassette  "Fallow  Fields"  which  will  be  released  in  February  by  Broken  Limbs.

  Atmospheric  sounds  start  off  the  cassette  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars  and  after  a  minute  cello's  are  added  onto  the  recording  which  also  leads  up  to  more  heavy  parts  kicking  in  and  then  the  music  starts  adding  in  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  sound  that  also  uses  blast  beats  and  high  pitched  screams  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  the  music  also  alternates  being  acoustic  and  heavy  parts  quite  a  bit  with  the  more  acoustical  material  bringing  in  a  heavy  folk  music  influence  along  with  folk  instruments,  violins  and  keyboards  being  added  in  at  times  and  after  awhile  clean  singing  vocals  are  added  into  some  parts  of  the  tracks.

  At  times  they  music  can  be  very  progressive  with  the  acoustic  parts  along  wit h a  psychedelic  feeling  coming  out  in  some  parts  that h ave  a  70's  feeling  to  them  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  the  cascadian  atmosphere  that  is  common  in  a  lot  of  northwest  black  metal  while  also  being  a  lot  more  original  than  a  lot  of  those  bands  and  they  close  the  album  wit h 2  acoustic  tracks  that  are  in  mo e  of  a  folk/progressive  rock  direction  while  the  last  track  does  bring  in  a  little  bit  of  electric  guitars.

  Harrow  continue s with  their  raw  cascadian  black  metal  sound  while  also  expanding  upon  it  and  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  folk  music  elements  to  create  and  album  that  could  be  classified  as  black/folk  metal  but  done  in  more  of  an  underground  and  grim  fashion,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  yet  powerful  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  heathen  myth,  esoteric  tradition  and  observation  of  natural  cycles.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Harrow  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  the  raw,  atmospheric,  cascadian  and  folk  styles  of  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Through  the  Grey"  and  "Awake  Before  The  Dawn".  8  out  of  10.