Svoid/Spiral Dance/Sun & Moon/2018 EP Review

  Svoid  are  a  duo  from  Hungary  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  the  music  moving  away  from  black  metal  and  going  into  more  of  a  mixture  of  post  punk,  indie  and  alternative  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  ep  "Spiral  Dance"  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  Sun  &  Moon.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  synths  add  in  elements  of  post  punk  and  goth  as  well  as  the  vocals  being  done  in  a  clean  style  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  influenced  by  indie  and  alternative  rock.

  When  power  chords  are  utilized  they  give  the  songs  more  of  a  harder  edge  while  the  music  has  none  of  the  metal  influences  of  their  previous  material  along  with  some  post  rock  elements  being  utilized  at  times  and  all  of  the  songs   stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  direction  as  well  as  being  very  diverse.

  On  this  recording  Svoid  moves  way  from  black  metal  and  goes  into  more  of  a  mixture  of  post  punk,  indie  and  alternative  rock,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  post  apocalypse  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  decent  sounding  recording  from  Svoid  and  while  some  black  metal  fans  will  not  like  the  new  direction,  I  can  see  this  winning  a  fan  base  among  post  punk,  indie  and  alternative  rock  fans.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Very  Hours'  and  "The  Velvet  Cell".  7/5  out  of  10.

  

Isgarde/Den Sista Vilobadden/2018 Full Length Review

  Sweden's  solo  project  Isgarde  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  his  atmospheric  style  of  pagan  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  release  2018  album  "Den  Sista  Vilobadden".

  A  very  dark  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  which  also  introduces  grim  black  metal  screams  onto  the  recording  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  style  along  with  some  atmospheric  sounding keyboards  also  being  utilized  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  clear  vocals  fives  the  songs  more  of  a  pagan  metal  feeling  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  the  acoustic  guitars  also  adding  in  elements  of  folk  music  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  music  also  mixes  in  a  good  amount  of  mid  90's  influences  along  with  the  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  when  they  are  utilized  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  On  this  recording  Isgarde  remains  true  to  the  atmospheric  and  melodic  style  of  pagan  black  metal  from  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  for  being  a s elf  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Swedish  and  cover  solitude  and  nature  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Isgarde  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  pagan  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Klatt  i  frostens  nalar"  "Time  For  the  Ages" and  "Begravd".  8 out  of  10.

  

Ysengrin/Stargazer/D.A.V.V.N/Nuclear War Now! Productions/2018 Split Album Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  France's  Ysgren  and  Australia's  Stargazer  called  D.A.V.V.N"  which  will  be  relased  in  December  by  Nuclear  War  Now!  Productions  and  we  will  start  off  the  split  with  Ysengrin  who  return  with  their  Hermetic  mixture  of   black,  doom  and  death  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  clean  playing  and  clear  singing  while  their  track  is  over  8  minutes  in  length  along  with  a  small  amount  of  demonic  growls  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  as  well  as  the  slower  sections  of  the  song   bringing  in  elements  of  doom  metal  and  the  vocals  also  add  in  a  touch  of  black  metal.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  track  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  music  also  has  its  avant  garde  moments  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  Hermeticism,  Esotericism  and  Ancient  Times.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  track  from  Ysengrin  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  doom  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.

  Next  up  is  Stargazer  a  band  that  plays  an  avant  garde  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  some  avant  garde  style  synths  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  a  few  seconds  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  ritualistic  feeling  while  acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly  as  well  as  one  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  A  decent  amount  of  melody  can  also b e  heard  in  the  heavier  riffing  while  the  vocals  are  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  along  with  the  music  also  having  its  avant  garde  moments  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  blast  beats,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  lyrics  cover  Mysticism,  Esoterica,  and  Magick  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Stargazer  are  a  very  great  sounding  avnat  garde  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of t hose  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  occult,  avant  garde,  black,  doom  and  death  metal.  8  out  of  10.         

Diaballein/The Wretched Essence/2016 Full Length Review

  Diaballein  are  a  band  from  Brazil  that  plays  a  very  raw  and  melodic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2016  album  "The  Wretched  Essence".

  Night  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  atmospheric  sounding  synths  and  clean  playing  a  few  seconds  later  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  music  also  use  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  along  with  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  most  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length, death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  style and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  both  of  the  riffing  and  guitar  leads.

  Diabellein  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  raw  and  melodic  in  the  90's  tradition,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  suicide,  despair  and  blasphemy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Diabellein  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  and  melodic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Wretched  Essence"  and  "Hanged  On  Centennial  Woods".  8  out  of  10. 

  

Disciples Of The Void/Self Titled/Primitive Reaction/2018 Full Length Review

  Disciples  Of  The  Void  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  keyboard  orientated  form  of  second  wave  influenced  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  album  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  Primitive  Reaction.

  Drum  beats  and  epic  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  at  times  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  utilizing  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  A  great  amount  of  melody  can  also  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  second  wave  era  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  as  well  as  some  growls  also  being  utilized  at  times,  when  spoken  word  parts  are  used  briefly  they  give  the  music  more  of  a  ritualistic  feeling.

  The  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow, mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard  and  they  close  the  album  with  a  cover  of  Bathory's  "Home  Of  The  Once  Brave"  which  also  brings  in  a  more  clean  vocal  approach.

  Disciples  Of  The  Void  plays  a  musical  style  that  goes  back  to  the  90's  era  of  keyboard  orientated  black  metal  while  still  having  a  great  amount  of  raw  aggression,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Thelema,  Nihilism,  Death  and  Emptiness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Disciples  of  the  Void  are  a  very  great  sounding  keyboard  orientated  second  wave  influenced  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  tihs  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dominion"  "Per  Aspera  Ad  Noctum"  and  "Choronzon".  8  out  of  10.    

Omegavortex Interview

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

OMEGAVORTEX plays BLACKEST DEATH exklusively. Unique psychotic madness from beyond the stars, it is the abomination source of all anti-matter and the void of death.

The band was formed solely to transfer these inhuman messages through musical-spherical vibrations that attack the human psyche. We understand extreme metal as pure dark art, while eliminating boundaries of all extreme metal genres through a strong musical and skillful foundation.


2. Recently you have released a promo, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you did as 'Ambevilence?

The musical style of the promo is exactly the same as the AMBEVILENCE stuff, however with real major improvements, especially in the vocals and drums department. The music is, while occasionally complex, still straight and into your face – brutal and dark at its best, without having too many effects that could interfere with the intensity of the musick. We think in living images and very suspect and dark intentions while creating the soundscapes of the music, not in genres or in terms of „what might be cool to listen to“, like other bands.
I like the fact that a lot of people dig this concept, because I'm personally tired and bored with all these newer bands that that hide behind roman numbers, 100% reverb and echo, stupid hardcore vocals and down tuned guitars. Actually the new OMEGAVORTEX Recordings were supposed to be a gift for fans who'd order the new logo-shirt first. But now we have re-released and accepted this as an official "Promo Recording" to shorten the waiting time until the full release. Despite being raw I'm proud of this recording, it absolutely wipes the floor with anything else we recorded previously. It is as natural as possible, without using any analogue simulation crap. I'm not interested in killing the performance of the drummer just to have an Retro-80ies type of sound and jumping on the bandwagon of all these down tuned shit bands that can't write songs but are experts in collecting candles instead.



3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

The lyrical topics deal with things that are way beyond human perception. The whole idea about OMEGAVORTEX is and always was to address things that are greater, much more obscure, frightening and levels above worthless human viewpoints: the beyond, paranormal activity, death, the cosmos, other dimensions and many more confusing things. All references can be read as metaphoric at the same time so there is headroom for personal interpretation. The lurking human fear of something that is much darker than what we know as „reality“ is what we pick on. The origin of death and inhuman metamorphic evil, whatever name you may want to give it, is right here in front of all of us. You may also see the music and contents of OMEGAVORTEX as a tool to remove the curtains that keep you from looking into things you were not supposed to, ultimately drowning human existence in absolute malevolent chaos. Besides the paranormal and occult, another focus area is the universe and it's endless darkness and possible dimensions of mystery and coldness, if we might believe that this ain't just some illusion caused by whatever entity.



4. Originally the band was called 'Ambevilence', what was the cause of the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Omegavortex'?

At the time when I created this band, I could foresee that the scene would spawn a lot of bands that would copycat the retro-dark death metal stuff around 10 years ago, so I wanted to distance my creations from that, in advance. I wanted to have something that would sound strange but interesting at the same time. There were already bands using „AMBIVALENCE“ so I just changed some of the letters. The most important reason for the change to OMEGAVORTEX is simply, that it REALLY describes this monster. This change was absolutely mandatory and I don't regret any single aspect of it, moreover: The musick itself is really a vortex of blackest death that consumes the whole world with all its conventions – The end of all. There is no better explanation for the swirling darkness that the song material offers.



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

The Artwork on the cassette is simply the logo with stars behind it, subliminally indicating the entity of OMEGAVORTEX comes from far elsewhere. Like I explained earlier there is a concept behind all this. There is another version of this floating around with additionally has the OV abomination icon behind it. With the Promo, we're trying to maintain a certain type of simplicity to let the music, even if raw and unfinished, speak for itself. The final version of this thing will get an alienated utmost evil artwork, keep your fingers crossed for this.



6. The band has been around since 2007 but waited until 2014 to release any music, can you tell us a little bit more about what was going on during that time span?

LineUp-Problems kept things from happening. A lot of rehearsal tapes and demo stuff ranging back to 2007 among other recordings exist, but I always wanted to have a deadly first strike in having a LP out and immediately playing live. I did the mistake to assume that being based in this shithole of North-Rhine-Westfalia it would provide me a constant lineup of people ambitious enough for an effort like this. I was wrong. The scene here is total shit and everyone is happy playing in mediocre bands that nobody gives a shit about; other than the 20 people who watch their shows in youth centers. Amidst weekend-warriors, self-profilers, lowlifes and other type of degenerate stereotype metalheads it is impossible. Even when I was waving around to people that I had the option for a release on SVR back then (I already shared some of these private rehearsals among friends). Still this fact couldn't help finding a drummer to become full-time involved. I am a man that does things 100%, I don't do half-assed shit. So the LP recordings were stopped in 2011/2012 and the thing was put on a hiatus. Later on I recorded two songs using session members but that sounded almost like a completely different band and the drummer couldn't play any of the songs so everything had to be edited and reprogrammed from scratch. This is why the first official AMBEVILENCE EP/Tape sounds rather inferior compared to OMEGAVORTEX, it simply doesn't represent the band and it is simply "wrong".

We finally wrapped up all this shit and changed the band name, simply because OMEGAVORTEX is far stronger and better. We now have a stable lineup and the time of bullshit if over. Period.



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

We have not played live yet. The first gig will be on March 23rd in Oberhausen in Germany. But there are more shows being discussed right now. The stage appearance I will not reveal yet.



8. Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Yes definately, this is coming. However a tour must be worth the effort. Unlike what some other bands do, I will not put OMEGAVORTEX into this ridiculous shit trying to feel like an evil rockstar but play in front of 20 people during regular days beyond the weekends. We'll do as much as possible, trying to maintain the obscure and exclusive line.



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

We're talking with a bunch of labels right now and have not yet made any decision. We already turned down some offers. There is definitely interest in OMEGAVORTEX: but most of the labels that contacted us so far were not what we were looking for. We know exactly what we want to achieve and thus have expectations other than the usual stuff that every kid can do, like doing layouts or paying a promoter. It's important to me that the stuff is in the right hands this time. I specifically chose not to use the same label as from the old band name again and took the stuff from there for a reason – because let's face it: Times have changed and the scene works different now. You don't leave Burger King to go to McDonalds.



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

Reactions in general so far were great. A Raw OMEGAVORTEX Promo Tape which includes mostly first takes gets a higher reputation and much higher review score than many professionally put out records in comparison. You can let that speak for itself. But I think there is still a lot of reaction to come, this is just the beginning.....



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

The LP was supposed to be out already but there were some issues with the recording and there's still work to do. However we're not in a rush, it is much more important to keep building up the entity of OMEGAVORTEX instead of just putting out an LP as fast as possible. I see OMEGAVORTEX much more as a process of constantly evolving and becoming much darker and stronger. We hope to record and release as many killer releases as possible and go beyond all boundaries. Additionally, there will be more live activity since there is finally a line-up that can do so.



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?

Everything Black/Death/Thrash from the 80ies and 90ies probably. Main influences for OMEGAVORTEX would be NECROVORE (demo+unreleased stuff), POSSESSED, MORBID ANGEL, SADISTIK EXEKUTION, Euronymous/Snorre MAYHEM/THORNS, INCUBUS (FL), IMMOLATION, PENTAGRAM (CHI), and some more that I don't have in my mind right now. These days I don't listen to a lot of current extreme metal anymore, I would be the wrong person to ask stuff about newer releases because I find most of the stuff rather generic these days (I hate most of it). I prefer other genres like Hardcore, old Rap (yes). I'm also much into dark ambient, space ambient, electronic music both old fashioned i.e. INADE, RAISON D'ETRE, LUSTMORD, BLOOD BOX and modern i.e. various YouTube-Artists, but can't name them all because there's so much. As for metal/rock I currently like MEGADETH, AC/DC and DIAMOND HEAD, hah!



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

No I think that's it for now. Thanks for the interview.
PS: We now have two new T-Shirt designs available. Write us an e-mail to order: toxicdecay@web.de
https://www.facebook.com/OMEGAVORTEXblackdeath
https://omegavortex.bandcamp.com/
We're also working on an online shop for additional merch.

Cntmpt/Towards Neglect/Into Endless Chaos Records/2018 CD Review

  Cntmpt  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  an  atmospheric  form  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "Towards  neglect"  which  was  released  by  Into  Endless  Chaos  Records.

Acoustic  guitar  playing  starts  off  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  while  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  feeling.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  as  well  as  well  as  the  music  also  having its  atmospheric  moments .

  Clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  grim  yet  depressive  black  metal  vocals  can  also  be  heard  in  the  background  at  times  as  well  as  adding  some  melodic  chants  into  some  parts  of  the  recording  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  melody and  as  the  album  progresses  they  bring  in  an  acoustic  instrumental  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction  on  the  remaining  tracks  and  ambient  style  synths  are  added  onto  the  closing  track.

  Cntmpt  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  atmospheric  while  using  the  vocals  as  more  of  an  instrument  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  originality  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw. 

  In  my  opinion  Cntmpt  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Site  Of  Vastness"  "Fire  Theurgy"  and  "Wyrd".  8  out  of  10.