Mavorim/Silent Leges Inter Arma/Purity Through Fire/2018 CD Review

  Mavorim  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  an  raw  and old  school  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2018  album  "Silent  Leges  Inter  Arma"  which  was  released  by  Purity  Through  Fire.

  A  very  dark  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  elements  of  ambient  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  as  well  as  the  guitar solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  When  tremolo  picking  is  utilized  it  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  vocals  also  adding  in  a  melodic  tone  briefly  as  well  as  the  music  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  90's  influences  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  they  close  the  album  with  an  ambient  outro.

  Mavorim  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  raw  and  old  school  in  the  90's  tradition, the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  German  and  cover  death,  murder,  hate,  paranormal  activities,  paganism  and  German  folklore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Mavorim  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  and  old  school  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Das  Fleisch  der  Engel"  "Heimatboden"  and  "Der  Told  wolt  ich  sein".  8  out  of  10.  

Organ/Everything Is Pared Down. Minimal Expectations/Duplicate Records/2018 CD Review

  Organ  are  a  band  with  members  from  Norway  and  Italy  that  plays  a  very  progressive,  experimental  and  instrumental  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "Everything  Is  Pared  Down.  Minimal  Expectations"  which  was  released  by  Duplicate  Records.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  while  the  music  also  gets  very  avant  garde  and  experimental  at  times  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length as  well  as  some  spoken  word  parts  also  being  used  briefly  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Industrial  elements  and  female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  briefly  while  blast beats  can  also  be  heard  when  the  music  speeds  up  along  with  most  of  the  music  being  instrumental  and  also  capturing  an  improv  atmosphere  as  well  as  being  very  progressive  at  time  and  as  the  album  progresses  fast  tremolo  picking  is  added  onto  the  recording  and  it  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling,  one  track  also  introduces  harmonicas  onto  the  recording.

  Organ  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  experimental  and  progressive  sounding  along  with  most  of  the  music  being  instrumental  while  female  vocals  and  spoken  word  parts  are  also  used  at  times  and  the  production  sounds  very  professional.

  In  my  opinion  Organ  are  a  very  great  sounding  experimental  and  progressive  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "II"  "IV"  and  "VII">  8 out  of  10.

  

Call OfThe Red Forest/Tell Your Fears/2018 EP Review

  Call  Of  The  Red  Forest  is  a  solo  project  from  Greece  that  plays  an  instrumental  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2018  ep  "Tell  Your  Fears".

  Rain  and  thunder  sounds  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  field  recordings  a  few  seconds  later  before  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  while  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  distorted  yet  melodic  style  as  well  as  some  the  tremolo  picking  giving  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling.
 
All  of the  music  is  instrumental  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  along  with  all  of  the  drum  beats  being  programmed  as  well  as  most  of  the  tracks  being  very  short  in  length  with  the  average  being  around  2  minutes  and  the  tracks  also  add  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  as  the  ep  progresses  synths  and  classical  guitars  are  added  onto  the  recording..


  Call  Of  The  Forest  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  all  instruemntal  and  diverse  while  also  having  its  raw  moments  and  mixing  in  some  acoustic  and  classical  guitars  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark,  raw  and  lo-fi  sounding.

  In  my  opinion  Call  Of  The  Red  Forest  are  a  very  great  sounding  instrumental  black  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Tenebris"  Ritual"  and  "Black  Attack".  8  out  of  10.

Shadow's Mortuary Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
-We are a black metal band called Shadow's Mortuary located in Oulu (nothern Finland). We started the band with Ovda in 2013 and plan was to play straight-forward black metal with melancholic influence. Later we needed a guitarist and bassist to play our songs in live. Raum came to play guitar and Kaos for bass in 2017. Our first ep Kylmään Hautaan was released digitally in august 2015. First Full-lenght Tulen Valtakunta came out in november 2018 through label called Purity Through Fire.

2.Recently you have released your first full length album, what are some of the things the band had done different musically on this recording that you where not able to do on your previous ep's?
- In the EP, all songs were  composed for two guitars at beginning when there was only Void and Ovda in the Band. At that time, we had no bigger future plans, just trying to make songs to see does it work at all. Vocals were recorded but never exactly performed in rehearsals example. When we gathered the rest of the band and started rehearsals Void noticed that He could'nt get the right feeling on vocals. The energy was missing what Void was looking for, so He decided to choose a different vocal style to make it happen. Guitars was re-arranged for single guitar and vocal style has changed so much that there was major change in sound comparing the Ep and full-length sound.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores on the new release?
- In Tulen Valtakunta album lyrics are dealing with darkness, insanity of humankind, anti-religious themes and hatred mainly.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Shadow's Mortuary'?
-Shadow's Mortuary name is about dark sides of a humankind that lies deep in subconsciousness. The name is inspired by the ”Shadow archetype” coined by Carl Jung.

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented
on the new album cover?
-Tulen Valtakunta album artwork symbolizes the name of the album which means in english "Realm of Fire". Candles on fire,  fire which is one of the very powerful elements that exist in our universe.


6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
-We haven't played live yet but I can promise that our stage performance will be aggressive and atmospheric.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
- There is two confirmed shows coming at this point in Finland. One in december 2018 @Tukikohta, Oulu and second in february 2019 @Ilokivi, Jyvöskylä.

8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your newer music by fans of black metal?
- Feedback has been mainly great around the world. It has been great to see that the finnish language is not a problem for the fans to enjoy our music.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
- Basic elements that makes our sound will be in place at future also but of course there will be development in us as musicians all the time. We are currently working with new songs for second full-lenght album and if everything will go as planned the album will see the daylight in 2019.

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?
- Black metal and Dark ambient are the main musical genres that our main composer Void  listens to daily. Some example bands Void  prefers Gorgoroth, Horna, Cosmic Church and Ajattara from black metal; from dark ambient there will be Raison d'être and The Haxan Cloak.

11.How would you describe your views on Satanism and Occultism?
- I have been reading quite a lot of satanic and occult literature in past years.these are very fascinating topics to read.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or
thoughts?
- Check out our debut album and if you like it or not give us a feedback and come to see our shows.
Best Regards: Void/Shadow's Mortuary

Malamorte/Hell For All/Rockshot Records/2019 Full Length Review

  Malamorte  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  their  early  recordings  played  more  of  a  traditional  black  metal  style  but  have  evolved  into  more  of  a  mixture  of  heavy,  power,  thrash  and  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  album  "Hell  For  All"  which  will  be  released  in  2019  by  Rockshot  Records.

  A  very  epic  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  thrash  influenced  direction  while  the  vocals  are  done  in  clean  of  a  clean  traditional  metal  style  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  the  music  has  a  lot  of  80's  influences.

  Elements  of  black  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  music  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to them  as  well  as  the  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  the  music  also  adds  in  elements  of  power  metal  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  and  organs  can  also  be  heard.

  On  his  recording  Malamorte  moves  away  from  the  traditional  style  of  black  metal  of  previous  releases  to  go  into  more  of  a  mixture  of  heavy,  power,  thrash  and  black  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Occultism,  Anti  Christianity  and  Mysticism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Malamorte  and  while  some  of  the  more  hardcore  black  metal  fans  might  not  like  the  new  style,  I  can  see  fans  of   thrash,  power  and  heavy  metal  enjoying  the  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Antichrist"  "Hell  For  All""Satan's  Slave"  and  "God  Is  Nothing".  8  out  of  10. 

 

  

Perverticon/Wounds Of Divinity/Iron Bonehead Productions/2019 CD Review

  Perverticon  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  very  raw,  melodic  and  old  school  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  album  "Wounds  Of  Divinity"  which  will  be  released  in  2019  by  Iron  Bonehead  Productions.

  A  very  dark  and  ritualistic  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  using  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  Vocals a re  mostly  grim  yet  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  some  clean  playing  also  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording,  one  track  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  Swedish  style  of  the  genre  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  growls, chants,  and  melodic guitar  leads  can  also  be  heard.

  Perverticon  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  raw  and  melodic  sounding  in  the  mid  90's  Swedish  tradition,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the lyrics  cover  Anti  Christianity,  Murder,  Sex  and  Extinction  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Perverticon  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw,  melodic  and  old  school  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Thirsting  For  Ruin"  "The  Cause  Of  Absolution"  "Breath  Of  Sulphur_Aura  Of  Flies"  and  "Holy  Gifts  From  Skinless  Hands".  8  out  of  10.

  

The Scars In Pneuma/The Path Of Seven Sorrows/Promethean Fire/Kolony Records/2018 CD Review

  The  Scars  In  Pneuma  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  epic  and  melodic  form  of  black  metal and  this  is  a  review  of  their  album  "The  APth  Of  Seven  Sorrows"  which  will  be  released  in  2019  as  a  joint  effort  between  Promethean  Fire  and  Kolony  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  musical  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  Vocals  are  mostly  deep  yet  grim  black  metal  screams  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  as  well  as  some  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  music  also  mixes  in  some  elements  of  death  metal  at  times,  one  song  also  introduces  female  vocals  and  acoustic  guitars  onto  the  recording  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  synths  can  also  be  heard.

  The  Scars  In  Pneuma  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  epic  and  melodic  sounding  while  also  adding  in  some  death  metal  elements,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dealing  with  your  own  demons,  life's  biggest  regrets,  the  passing  of  time  and  the  beloved  people  we  lost  themes.

  In  my  opinion  The  Scars  In  Pneuma  are  a  very  great  sounding  epic  and  melodic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  :"Souls  Are  Burning"  'The  Secrets  That  We  Keep"  and  "The  Glorious  Empire  Of  Sand".  8  out  of  10.