Downcross/Mysteries Of Left Hand Path/Saturn Sector Rex/2019 Full Length Review

  Downcross  are  a  duo  from  Belarus  that  plays  an  anti  cosmic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Mysteries  Of  Left  Hand  Path"  which  will  be  released  on  February  21st  by  Saturn  Sector  Rex.

  A  very  fast  and  raw  musical  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  A  great  amount  of  melody  can  also  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  vocals  are  black  metal  screams  that  range  from  being  both  very  deep  to  high  pitched.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Some  of  the  music  also  shows  a   death  metal  influence  at  times  along  with  some  growls  also  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  songs,  very  little  guitar  leads  are  ever  utilized  and  the  music  always  remains  very  true  to  a  very  heavy  and  raw  sound  as  well  as  the  last  couple  of  tracks  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Downcross  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  raw, aggressive  and  melodic  along  with  some  touches  of  death  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  Anti  Cosmic  Satanism,  Left  Hand  Path  and  Occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Downcross  are  a  very  great  sounding  anti  cosmic  black  metal  duo  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Where  Illusions  Sink  In  Accausal  Fire"  "Black  Flame  Of  Reason  And  Will"  and  "In  The  Depth  Of  Masak  Mavdil".  8  out  of  10.    

Myrholt/Solens Soenn og Maanens Dater Kapittel I/2019 Single Review

  Norway's  Myrholt  has  returned  with  a  song  that  shows  his  music  going  into  more  of  an  acoustic  and  instrumental direction  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2019  single  "Solens  Soenn  og  Maanens  Dater  Kapittel  I".

  Acoustic  guitars  start  off  the  song  with  a  good  mixture  of  full  chords  and  finger  picking  while  the  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  Their  are  no  vocals  presented  on  the  song  along  with  all  of  the  music  being  instrumental  and  the  music  also  avoids  the  use  of  any  black  metal  elements  which  are  a  very  common  thing  on  his  full  lengths.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  track  from  Myrholt  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  folk  or  instrumental  acoustic  music,  you  should  check  out  this  single.  8  out  of  10.

Rebirth In Flames Interview

 1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the first full length?
1. Greetings here Black Vomit drums from Rebirth in Flames we are rehearsing the new songs hard to enter the studio again.

2.In 2018 you had released your first full length, musically how does it differ from your previous  demo's,  split,  single  and ep?
2. In all, better sound, composition, more maturity when composing and rehearsing.

3.I have seen your music being labeled as 'black/death metal'while the album sounded more black metal to me, can you tell us a little bit more about how you ended up being labeled as such?
3. I believe that due to the fact that the vocalizations are not of the traditional Black Metal, they are rather lower, more marked to Death Metal, but the music is 100% Black Metal.

4.Your lyrics also deal with a great amount of Satanic, Luciferian and Occult themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in the dark arts?
4. Since I was a child I have been interested in that kind of arts, also reading several books of occultism, that more than anything, I will not go into details.

5.You have also written lyrics in both English and Spanish, which language do you prefer to write in?
5. We prefer more in Spanish for being our language, but we do not rule out doing some in English.

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Rebirth In Flames'?
6. It is something personal, it was in a moment of complete desolation and depression that I had in an opportunity.

7.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the album cover?
7. The great work that Rodrigo Pereira (Absolute Desert) did for us, is the creation of cosmos by Lucifer, where he is the center of everything!

8.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
8. Everyone has been important for Rebirth in Flames, each one has marked us to get where we are.

9.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
9. In that we are, now thinking about making an event for the release of the album.

10.'Culto Negro Distro' released the cassette version of the album while 'Australis Records' released the digital version, do you feel that both of these labels have been very supportive when it comes to getting your music out there heard?
10. If exactly, the two stamps have been important, both Australis Records and Black Cult, also Australis Records released our album in physical format (CD digipack).

11.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?
11. Yes, it has been excellent, the power that we have, the devastating that sounds in this album does not compare to the production of the CD split that we took previously.

12.Are any of the band members currently involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?
12. No, nobody.

13.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
13.Well, continue with our Black Metal, continue composing, get more productions and be on a good tour to spread the name of Lucifer!

14.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
14. From the thrash to the rotten Death Metal. He has his bands that listen the most, I listen to more black metal, our great influence has been Black Metal, bands like Dissection, Moonblood, Satanic warmaster are influence when composing.

15.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
15. Good Many thanks for the interest in Rebirth in Flames, spread our word and devotion to Black Metal!

Shabti/Trembling And Shorn/Last Mercy Emissions2019 C Review

 
    Shabti  are  a  band  from  Portland,  Maine  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  progressive  and  technical  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Trembling  And  Shorn"  which  will  be  released  in  March by  Last  Mercy  Emissions.

  A  very  fast  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  while  the  vocals  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.  When  tremolo  picking  is  utilized  it  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful.

  Death  metal  growls  are  also  utilized  at  times  while  the  riffing  also  adds  in  a  good  amount  of  progressive  and  technical  elements.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  Some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  musicians  also  display  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  at  their  instruments.  As  the  album  progresses  some  of  the  riffing  also  adds  in  a  slight  thrash  influence  along  with  the  music  always  remaining  heavy.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  spirituality,  inner  struggles  and  religion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Shabti  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  progressive  and  technical  black  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Shrouded  And  Veiled"  and  "My  Doppelganger".  8  out  of  10.

   

Svirnath Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the musical project since the recording of the new album?
In these months I'm observing what the criticism thinks about the new album, so that I can improve in the future.

2.You have a new album coming out in February, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
In primis I can say that I wrote these tracks in the last two years, while the tracks on the first album were written since 2007, so my last work has a more mature structure. Then I can say that for this new album I started to used a "prog approach", that I want to develop in the next compositions.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects that you explore with the newer music?
Nature. If on the first album it was in general terms, in "Dalle rive del Curone" I focused all around the land where project Svirnath was born, in relation to my personal feelings.

4.Some of your earlier lyrics had some pagan topics, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in paganism?
When I approached this kind of music I also started to get interested in European paganism, and I initially wanted my lyrics to be inspired by it. In particular I was interested in the Longobard people, in their traditions and in their folklore before the christian conversion.

5.I know that the bands name derives from the Latin  expression 'vir  naturae', how does the name fit in with the musical style that you play?
In my music I try to create a strong link between me and the nature, like a journey in the kingdom of Mother Nature. The name takes up this strong link and adds a personal interpretation.

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
The artwork is a photography of the Curone creek, that flows at the border between Lombardy and Piedmont, the land where in 2007 I decided to create this musical project. The photo was made by my friend Alessandro, that helped me also in writing the lyrics of the album.

7.With this project you record everything by yourself but have worked with other musicians in other bands, do you feel you are able to express yourself a lot more musically with this project?
Yes. Although I really like playing with other musicians, I think that a solo project can express at best what a musician wants to say.

8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of atmospheric black metal?
Fantastic, an unexpected success! The credit is certainly also of my label, Naturmacht Production, for is promotion and his following around the world. I'm really happy that many people outside Italy love my music.

9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that you are a part of?
In the last year I also recorded with other two projects, the first oriented on cosmic black metal with psybient/sci-fi elements, the other oriented on depressive/post-black metal. Anyway, these are also only studio projects. I've also a doom metal band where I play live and in this new year we'll go in studio to record the second album. Probably in future I'll restart also other projects, but at the moment nothing is ready yet.

10.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?
Probably in the same projects of today, but I hope that they will be a little more grown up.

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?
The principal influences of this project derive from pagan black metal scene. I loved bands like Nydvind and Helrunar and their style of playing music. In the last years I also fell in love with 70's prog rock, so I decided to start using this influences in my last album.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
I love playing videogames, yeah. Especially sci-fi themed, like Mass Effect. In fact, I love astronomy in addition to nature. I also like art and movies.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
First of all I want to thank you for this great interview. I didn't expect to reach this success in the underground scene, I'm very happy about it! I hope that you all continue to follow my music in the future. Stay nature!!!

Thy Kingdom Ablaze/Waiting For Blackness/Subterranean Aftersounds/2018 CD Compilation Review

  Thy  Kingdom  Ablaze  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  satanic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  compilation  album  "Waiting  For  Blackness"which  was  released  by  Subterranean  Aftersounds.

  A  very  dark,  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  compilation  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling.  Vocals  are  mostly  high pitched  black  metal  screams  while  the music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's.

  Throughout  the  compilation  you  can  also hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  which  also shows  a  Swedish  influence  at  times  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Stringed  instruments  can  also be  heard  briefly  towards  the  end  of  a  couple  of  tracks  before  returning  back  to  a  more  heavy  and  raw  style  on  the  nest  song  along  with  an  instrumental  also  being  added  as  the  compilation  progresses,  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly.  The  production  sounds  very  dark,  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism  and  Darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Thy  Kingdom  Ablaze  are  a  very  great  sounding  satanic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  compilation.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "My  Satanism(Song  Of  The  Possessed  One)"  and  "Ghosts  Of  Desolated  Night  Forests".  8  out  of  10.



  

Dwell In Solitude Interview

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

Dwell in Solitude is an atmospheric/depressive black metal project started with a couple of riffs written during the cold dreadful winter of 2015. At that time I only wanted to try a new playing style, coming from more thrash oriented licks I moved to a black metal approach with open distorted chords and tremolo picking. Then in 2018, after having recorded some instrumental tracks, I decided to give a name to the project, complete the songs with vocals and publish them into the wild, out of curiosity to see how far a homemade album would reach.


2.So far you have released an ep, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recording?

I’ve written the album over a span of three years, it started off with a depressive mood and repetitive, almost droning, riffing but then evolved into something more rich and diverse over time. The tracks may sound a bit uneven, but overall the atmosphere is consistent, delivering a balanced combination of melody and harshness. I'm quite satisfied with the result: mixing depressive, blackgaze, raw black and some jazzy stuff too, I feel everything summed up into an original and cohesive sound where the different elements gracefully blend together.


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

I write things that comes to my mind, as the music I compose, trying to shape out my feelings. It all deals with depression, alienation and the sense of not belonging to this place; nihilism and hopelessness permeates the verses where the flow acts more as a sequence of scattered dreamlike images than a coherent narration.


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Dwell In Solitude'?

I was looking for something simple, catchy and good sounding that could convey the sense of sadness and loneliness of the music and stand out in search engines. After a few tries this one matched all the requirements.


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

It’s a picture I’ve taken one morning when this crow caught my attention on the street. I’m fascinated by birds: they represent freedom because they can fly anywhere they want, but at the same time they look so lone and sad. I think this fits perfectly with the content of the EP. Also the rawness of the image is in tune with the musical production style.


6.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you open to expanding the line up or do you prefer to remain a duo?

Actually it’s more of a one man project. M recorded vocals for the first songs but then had to leave due to some personal issues. After thinking about giving up I decided to go on and started doing vocals by myself; results were not very good at first but with some effects added it became decent enough for my needs. I like trying new things, this was the first time playing keyboards too and I hope to get some improvements with practice. This project is about expressing my personal emotions and freely experimenting musical solutions, so it will be a one man band for the time being, but there might be some other collaborations in the future.


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

I’m not interested in going far from the underground but yes, having the album distributed in physical form would be great. I fancy about a nice colored LP! So if I’ll get enough positive feedback I can start looking for a small label to print and distribute the EP. Let's see how things evolve.


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

I’m doing promotion by myself and it’s not easy, but so far the comments were mostly positive and I got a few supporters on bandcamp. All in all for a bedroom project this is encouraging, and being compared with bands such as Ellende, Gris and None is flattering. It seems that the (post-)black world is open and welcoming to new unknown acts, unlike more mainstream genres fandom.


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

Not sure if I’ll ever do a full-length, it takes a lot of time and energy so a thirty minute EP is the perfect format for now. It all depends on the inspiration but usually I’m not very prolific and I prefer quality over quantity. As for the style the second EP will lean a bit on the prog side, with even less structured songs featuring lots of changes and some odd time signatures too, but it will retain the gloomy and blackish atmosphere nonetheless.


10.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’m open to almost all kind of music, usually ranging from black metal to pop-rock, sometimes going into jazz, swing or electronic. Austere sparkled my interest in depressive and post-black metal, and I like Glorior Belli for their southern scented black metal style. A couple of albums I found very inspiring are Astarte’s “Sirens” and Common Grave’s “Il Male di Vivere”, love the use of piano on the former and classical guitar on the latter. As for the things I like to listen lately I’d mention Abstract Void, with its combination of modern post-black and nostalgic synthwave, and Alice in Chains, still my favorite band as of today.


11.What are some of your non musical interests?

I’m into computers, programming and playing around (but I think I’m getting too old for this), and drinking beer.


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

I'd like to thank you for the interest in the project and in the underground scene in general.
Stay tuned for more music to come!