Crown Of Twilight/Timeless Wisdom/2013 EP Review

  Crown  Of  Twilight  are  a  band  from  Poland  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical  style  I  would  describe  as  being  an  instrumental,  raw,  atmospheric  and  ambient  form  of  black  metal  with  the  ep  being  self  released  in  2013  and  called  "Timeless  Wisdom".

  "Altar  of  The  Sun"  which  is  also  the  first  song  on  the  ep  opens  up  with  raw  black  metal  guitar  riffs  that  have  a  raw  and  depressive  feeling  to  them  and  drums  and  during  the  last  few  seconds  of  the  song  there  are  some  dark  ambient  sounds.

  "Black  River  And  Dead  Lakes"  begins  with  slow,  depressive  and  raw  sounding  black  metal  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  drums  beats  and  the  song  remains  in  the  same  direction  during  its  3  and  a  half  minutes.

  "Timeless  Wisdom"  which  is  also  the  title  track  of  the  ep  begins  with  slow  and  raw  sounding  black  metal  guitar  riffs  and  drum  beats  and  after  awhile  the  riffing  changes  around  a  bit  while  remaining  true  to  a  slower  direction.

  "Dense  Fog  Crawling  Through  The  Night"  which  is  also  the  last  song  on  the  ep  starts  up  with   dark  ambient  synths  that  are  very  atmospheric  sounding  before  adding  in  some  black  metal  guitar  riffs  that  are  in  a  slower  direction.

  Song  themes,  cover  darkness  and  nature,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  primitive  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  sounding  ep  from  Crown  Of  Twilight  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  instrumental  and  raw  black  metal  in  a  slower  direction,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Altar  of  The  Sun"  and  "Dense  Fog  Crawling  Through  The  Night".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

   

        

Varituuk/H/2013 EP Review

  Varituuk  are  a  band  from  Canada  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  the  musical  direction  this  time  around  being  a  mixture  of  black  metal  and  noise  and  the  ep  was  self  released  in  2013  and  called  "H".

  "Alone"  opens  up  with  distorted  sounds  along  with  some  synths  and  a  minute  alter  drum  beats  start  coming  in  and  out  of  the  song  as  well  as  some  natural  sounding  noises  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  depressive  black  metal  guitar  riffs  are  added  into the  song  along  with  some  grim  suicidal  screams  and  as  time  goes  on  by  it  goes  into  a  more  mid  paced  direction  while  mostly  sticking  to  slower  parts  as  well  as  adding  melody  into  the  guitar  riffing  and  towards  the  end  elements  of  ambient  drone  are  added  into  the  song.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  primitive  sound  with  the  only  song  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  with  its  21  minutes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  depressive  black  metal  with  elements  of  noise,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  BUY.  

Cursed Altar/Void, Eternal/2013 EP Review

  Cursed  Altar  are  a  band  from  North  Carolina  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical  style  I  would  describe  as  being  black  metal  with  elements  of  sludge  and  doom  and  this  is  a  review  of  their self  released  2013  ep  "Void,  Eternal".

  "Void"  which  is  also  the  first  song  on  the  ep  opens  ups  with  acoustic  guitars  and  a  few  seconds  alter  drums,  black  metal  guitar  and  bass  riffs  along  with  grim  screams  make  their  way  into  the  song  and  then  the  music  slows  down  adds  in  synths  and  goes  for  a  more  doom  metal  influenced  song  as  well  as adding  in  a  small  amount  of  guitar  leads  which  also  leads  up  to  guitar  effect  sounds  as  well  as  experimental  and  avant  garde  elements  and  the  song  closes  with  spoken  word  samples.

  "Howl"  begins  with  clean  guitar  playing  along  with  sound  effects  in t he  background  which  also  lead  up  to  some  drum  beats  and  the  song  is  more  of  an  experimental  instrumental  with  no  heavy  parts  or  vocals  being  utilized.

  "Eternal"  which  is  also  the  last  song  on  the  ep  begins  with  spoken  word  samples  before  adding  in  fast  raw  and  primitive  sounding  black  metal  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  blast  beats  from  the  drums  and  then  the  music  slows  down  to  a  more  mid  paced  direction  which  also  leads  to  the  song  adding  in  drone  elements  that  take  over  for  awhile

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  primitive  sound  to  it.    

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Cursed  Altar  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black  metal,  experimental  and  sludge,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Void".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Gandreid/Nordens Skalder/Naturmacht Productions/2013 CD Review

  Gandreid  are  a  duo  from  Norway  that  plays  atmospheric  form  of  black  metal  with  elements  of  folk  music  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Nordens  Skalder"  which  was  released  by  Naturmacht  Productions.

  'Elter  Moerkets  Frembrudd"  which  is  also  the  first  song  on  the  album  opens  up  with  folk  music  style  acoustic  guitars  and  grim  black  metal  screams  along  with  a  small  amount  of  growls  before  adding  in  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  drums  and  as  time  goes  on  by  there  is  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing  before  returning  to  the  acoustic  guitars  as  well  as  adding  in  synths  and  then  getting  heavy  again  as  well  as  bring  back  melodic  vocals  at  the  end.

  "Atterljom"  begins  with  heavy  guitar  and  bass  riffs  along  with  some  drums  before  adding  in  black  metal  screams  and  going  into  a  faster  direction  along  with some  blast  beats  from the  drums  as  well  as  some  blackened  death  metal  vocals  before  adding  in  melodic  singing  before  alternating  between  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  you  can  hear  melodic  guitar  leads  coming  in  and  out.

  "Skaldens  Sonner"  opens  up  with  drum  beats,  acoustic  guitars  and  melodic  chanting  before  adding  in  heavy  viking  metal  guitar  riffs  as  well  as  some  clean  singing  pagan  vocals  which  leads  to  the  music  going  into  a  more  fast  and  melodic  direction  along  with  blast  beats  from  the  drums  and  then  switching  over  to  a  more  mid  paced  direction  as  well  as  adding  in  deep  growls  and  grim  black  metal  vocals  and  during  the  last  minute  acoustic  guitars  make  their return  to  the  song.

  "Svart  Flamme"  starts  up  with  heavy  guitar  and bass  riffs  along  with  drums  before  adding  in  black  metal  screams  and  growls  and  then  the  music  speeds  up  a  bit  along  with  some  blast  beats  before alternating  between  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  bringing  in  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  "Haerfang"  kicks  in  with  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  bass  along  with  some  drums  which  also  leads  up  to  some  melodic  guitar  leads  coming  in  and  out  of  the  song  before  the  music  speeds  up  a  bit  and  adds  in  blast  beats  and  then  the  music  starts  alternating  between  mid  paced  and  fast   parts  as  well  as  adding  in  melodic  clean  singing  vocals  as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  being  in  the  background  for  a  couple  of  seconds  and  when t he  song  gets  closer  to  the  end  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  death  metal  growls.  

  "Visjoner  Av  En  Storhetstid"  comes  in  with  clean  guitar  playing  and  drums  which  leads  up  to  clean singing  melodic  vocals  before  adding  in  heavy  and  melodic  sounding  guitar  riffs  and  a  minute  later  the  music  goes  into  a  fast  black  metal  direction  along  with  blast  beats  from  the  drums  as  well  as  some  high  pitched  screams  before  alternating  between  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  song  closes  with  the  cleaner  sections.

  "Voyage  Towards  Redemption"  is  introduced  by  heavy  guitar riffs  and  drums  before  going  into  a  more  fast  and  raw  black  metal  direction  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams  and  blast  beats  from the  drums  and  then  slowing  down  and  adding  in  melodic  guitar  leads  as  well a s  some  death  metal  growls  and  then  the  music  goes  into  a  more  mid  paced  direction  as  well  as  bring  fast  parts  back  in  certain  sections  of  the  song,  as  the  song  moves  on  clean  singing  vocals  are  added  in  for  a  few  seconds  and  the  song  closes  with  acoustic  guitar  playing.

  "Han  Som  Stod  Aleina"  is  brought  in  by  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  drums  before  adding  in  melodic  clean  singing  vocals  and  then  speeding  up  a  bit  and  adding  in  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  then  the  music  starts  going  into  a  more  mid  paced  direction  as  well  as  adding  in  melodic  guitar  leads  which  then  takes  the  music  back  to  a  faster  direction.

  "Blodstyrt,  Endelikt  &  Velklang"  makes  its  way  in  with  heavy  and  melodic  guitar  riffs  as  well  as  some  drums  before  adding  in  grim  black  metal  screams  and  melodic  guitar  riffing  and  the  song  sticks  to  a  mid  paced  black  metal  direction  and  towards  the  end  the  drums  get  more  aggressive  along  with  a  small  amount  of  growls.

  "Sorgens  Sti"  which  is  also  the  last  song  on  the  album  begins  with  heavy  guitar riffs,  drums  and  clean  singing  vocals  which  also  lead  up  to  grim  black  metal  screams  as  well  as  the  music  speeding  up  a  bit  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  as  the  song  moves  on  you  can  hear  acoustic  guitars  in  the  background  as  well  as  a  few  seconds  of  growls  and  then  the  song  starts  alternating  between  fast  and  mid  paced  parts.

  Song  lyrics  are  written  in  Norwegian  and  cover  Paganism  and  Nature  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  heavy,  raw  and  dark  sound  to  it  along  with  some  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Gandreid  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  black  metal  band  with  elements  of  folk  music  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Elter  Moerkets  Frembrudd"  "Svart  Flamme"  "Voyage  Towards  Redemption"  and  "Blodstyrt,  Endelikt  &  Velklang".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.            

Depicting Abysm/Immersion/Naturmacht Productions/2013 CD Review

  Depicting  Abysm  are  a  band  from  Russia  which  have  also  been  featured  before  in  this  zinr  that  plays  an  atmospheric  and  depressive  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Immersion"  which  was  released  by  Naturmacht  Productions.

  "On  The  Waterfront"  which  is  also  the  first  song  on  the  album  opens  up  with  nature  sounds  before  adding  in  some  clean  and  distorted  guitar  playing  which  starts  getting  more  heavy  and  depressive  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  riffing  and  a  minute  later  programmed  drums  kick  in  and  you  can also  hear  bass  guitars  in  the  background,  in  addition  the  song  is  all  instrumental  with  no  vocals  being  present.

  "Descent"  begins  with  water  sounds  before  adding  in  drum  beats,  bass  guitars  and  slow  depressive  black  metal  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams  and  melodic  guitar  leads  that  come  in and  out  of  the  song  shortly  after  that,  as time  goes  on  by  there  is  a  brief  use  of  fast  guitar  riffing  along  with  blast  beats  from  the  programmed  drums  before  returning  to  a  slower  direction  and  a  few  minutes  later  clean  guitars  start  to  take  over  the  music  until  the  heavier  guitars  return  along  with  melody  being  added  in  the  riffs.

  "Le  Mariniste"  opens  up  with  acoustic  guitars  and  atmospheric  synths  and  a  few  seconds  later  heavy  and  melodic  guitar  and  bass  riffs  kick  in  along  with  depressive  black  metal  screams  and  drum  beats,  after  a  couple  of  minutes  guitar  leads  start  coming  in  and  out  of  the  song  which  also  leads  up  to  a  brief  use  of  death  metal  growls  as  time  goes  on  by  before  returning  back  to  black  metal  vocals  as  well  as  mixing  the  2  together  and  then  going  into  a  faster  direction  for  awhile  and  then  returning  to  a  slower  direction,  during  the  last  minute  acoustic  guitars return  and  close  the  song.

  "Anxious  Waters"  which  is  the  last  song  on  the  album  begins  with  depressive  black  metal  guitar  riffs  and  drum  beats  and  a  few  seconds  alter  melodic  guitar  riffing,  bass  and  high  pitched  screams  are  added  into the  song,  as  time  goes  on  by  guitar  leads  start  coming  in  and  out  of  the  song  along  with  a  brief  use  of  fast  guitar  riffing  before  going  back  to  its  more  normal  slower  direction,  when  the  song  gets  closer  to  the  end  its  goes  more  into  clean  guitar  playing  before  getting  heavy  again.

  Song  lyrics  are  inspired  by  the  poetry  of  Edgar  Allan  Poe  and  Semyon  Nadson  and  cover  ocean  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  heavy  and  dark  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Depicting  Abysm  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  and  depressive  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Le  Mariniste"  and  "Anxious  Waters".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

  

Arcanus Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
The project was on my mind for a while. Some personal facts that happened in my life a couple of years ago
helped Arcanus come to life. So, the songs came together very easily and during the summer of 2012 started recording the album.

2.How would you describe your musical sound?
Of course the roots of the album stem from black metal, but I also wanted to incorporate some avant garde and atmospheric elements to my music.

3.According to the fb page the band covers Greek Mythology in the song writing, can you tell us a little
bit more about your interest in this topic?
Mythology plays a big part in Hellenic culture, so it has always been around the album though covers a specific myth, the myth of Lykaon, the first king of Arcadia. The myth says that when the god Zeus visited Lykaon, he and his sons offended Zeus by feeding him human flesh so that them could see if he was truly divine. The god furious killed his sons with lightning bolts, and turned him into a wolf. Gaia though saved one of Lykaon sons Nyctimos. The myth has to do with the relationships between Gods and Humans.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name Arcanus?
Arcanus is an ancient Hellenic word. It's meaning is something secretive, dark, it has to do with underworld. My place of origin is Arcadia which is the same root as the band's name. It has been the center of several mythologicalrituals in ancient times and is the birthplace of the myth of Lykaon.I give Basis to the artwork . The logo and the artwork for the demo were not done randomly. The artwork was done by Ethan Ziokas (Ethanworks).

5.Currently there is only 1 member in the band, do you feel you are allowed to be more creative with
your music this way?
Definitely, for I have full control over all creative aspects of the project. Arcanus is a very personal project, so the fact I can play all the musical instruments give's me that advantage.

6.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
Starting off the project was more personal and therefore I delayed putting it out, but now having new
material on the way I am in search of a label.

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?
It has been very positive. They seem to connect to my music even though '' ΝΥΚΤΑ ΘΕΩΝ ΓΕΝΕΤΕΙΡΑΝ'' has a more death metal sound due to the fact it was recorded at Infected Studios by George S. (Mass Infection). They especially liked the demos intro that was very experimental.

8.Are there any other musical projects besides this band?
I also am the Bass player for the epic/melodic Death Metal band ''The Shadeless Emperor''. There is already a demo out and in a very short time we will be in the stydio recording our full length album.

9.What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
Who Knows! Black Metal will always be an unexplored path without restrictions. The next album will be a lot more atmospheric and will remain at low-mid tempo.

10.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you
listening to nowadays?
Of course it all stems from Heavy Metal. Now days I listen to more classic types of music like Jazz, Ambient, and I also listen to movie soundtracks  due to the fact that I also write music for movies.

11.Outside of music what are some of your interests?
My interests involve reading History, Mythology and Philosophy and watching old school movies. And I am also getting my Degree in Music engineering.

12.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Just that I am glad the internet has to provide blogs and pages that help promote artists and musicians like myself.
Keep up the good work so that we can find new bands with new ideas.

Unhappy/Threnody/2013 Full Length Review

  Unhappy  are  back  this  time  with  a  self  released  album  called  "Threnody"  which  was  released  in  2013  and  is  in  the depressive  black  metal  genre  along  with  elements  of  experimental  music.

  "Threnody"  which  is  the  first  song  on  the  album  as  well  as  title  track  opens  up  with  atmospheric  synths  that  are  in  the  dark  ambient  direction  and  a  few  seconds  later  melodic  chanting  makes  its  way  into  the  song.

  "Blood  Red  Death" begins  with  fast,  raw  and  primitive  black  metal  guitar  riffs  and  programmed  drum  beats  before  slowing  down  a  bit  and  you  can  hear  screams  in  the  background  that  are  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix  and  the  song  also  alternates  between  slow  and  fast  parts.

  "Cold"  opens  up  with  noisy,  fast  and  primitive  black  metal  guitar  riffs,  programmed  drum  beats  and  demonic  growls along  with  some  black  metal  screams  a  few  seconds  later  and  then  the  song  starts  to  alternate  between  slow  and  fast  parts  and  there  is  also  a  small  amount  of  guitar  leads  in  the  song.

  "Fuck  Your  Hope"  starts  up  with  raw  black  metal  guitar  riffs,  programmed  vocals  and  black  metal  screams  and  then  the  song  starts  alternating  between  slow  and  fast  parts  and  the  song  is  very  short  and  only  2  minutes.

  "Hello Cruel Life(I'm  ready  to  Fight)"  kicks  in  with  distorted  sounding  guitar  riffs,  programmed  drum  beats  and  depressive  black  metal  screams  and   you  can  also  hear  deeper  vocals  in  the  background  and  there  are  also  fast  parts  that  come  in  and  out.

  "Ocean  And  Sky"  comes  in with  distorted  guitar  riffing,  guitar  leads  and  programmed  drum  beats  and  then  the  music  speeds  up  and  deeper  vocals  are  added  into  the  song  which  leads  to  the  song  alternating  between  fast  and  slow  parts.

  "Eternal  Winter"  is  introduced  with  slow  and  dark  depressive  guitar  riffs,  grim  black  metal  vocals  and  drum  beats  and  the  song  stays  in  a  slow  depressive  black  metal  direction  along  with  the  same  riff  for  5  minutes.

  "Night  Of  The  Demons"  is  brought  in  with  distorted  guitar riffing,  drum  programming  and  depressive  black  metal  screams   and  a  minute  alter  the  music  goes  into  a  faster  direction and  then  alternating  between  slow  and  fast  parts.

  "Cessation"  is  a  very  short  ambient/drone  instrumental.

  "Funeral  Flowers"  makes  its  way  in  with  distorted  guitar  riffing  and  a  few  seconds  alter  deep  demonic  vocals  are  brought  into  the  song  and  then  they  evolve  into  grim  black  metal  screams  and  the  song  uses  the  same  riff  from  open  to  end.

  "Majestic  Black  Sky,  Mercy  On  Us"  brings  its  way  in  with  distorted  amp  effects  and  slow  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  programmed  drum  beats  which  also  lead  up  to  grim  black  metal  screams  and  the  song  sticks  to  the  same  riff  for  3  minutes.

  "Olum"  finds  its  way  in  with  distorted  guitar  riffing  along  with  some  programmed  drum  beats  which  also  lead  to  grim  and  depressive  sounding  black  metal  screams  and  the  song  only  uses  1  riff  for  a  couple  of  minutes.

  "Wintergrey"  has  its  openings  with  wolf  sounds  before  adding  in  noisy  and  distorted  guitar  riffing  along  with  some  drum  beats  and  depressive  black  metal  screams  and  you  can  hear  synths  in  the  background  and  the  song  ends  after  2  minutes.

  "Healer  Is  Dead  (Who  Is  Going  To  Help  Us  Now)"  has  its  beginnings  with  distorted  guitar  riffing  that  is  not  very  heavy  along  with  some  drum  beats  which  also  lead  up  to  depressive  black  metal  screams  and  towards  the  end  the  music  goes  into  a  faster  direction  before  slowing  down  again.

  "Night  Is  Not  Friendly  Anymore-Live"  has  its  start  with  clean  guitar  playing  and  melodic  vocals  as  well  as  some  drum  beats  and  does  not  utilize  any  black  metal  screams  or  heavy  guitar  riffs  during  its  time.

  "Blind-Live"  opens  up  with  clean  guitar  playing  and  programmed  beats  and  you  can  hear  blues  rock  elements  in  the  song  and  after  awhile  melodic  clean  singing  vocals  make  their  way  into   the  song.

  "God  On  Twitter(Like  All  Of  The  Motherfuckers)"  begins  with  harsh  noise  sounds  and  melodic  vocals  which  evolve  into  black  metal  screams  and  the  song  goes  into  a  more  black/harsh  noise  direction.  

  "Sorrowlight  Sonata'  starts  up  with  soft  synth  playing  and  the  song  is  a  14  minute  long  ambient  instrumental  that  sticks  to t he  same  direction  mostly but  you  can  also  hear  a  brief  use  of  loops  being  utilized  in t he  song.

  "Sky  of  the  Past -  A  Song  For  Jandek  -  Live"  which  is  alos  the  last  song  on  the  album  kicks  in  with  acoustic  guitars  and  melodic  clean  singing  vocals  and  the  song  has  no  elements  of  metal  or  heavy  parts.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark,  depressive  and  anti religion  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  primitive  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Unhappy  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  depressive  black  metal  with  experimental  elements,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Threnody"  "Fuck  Your  Hope"  "Night  Of  The  Demons"  and  "Wintergrey".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.