Thursday, March 31, 2016

Sguaguarahchristis/Ground/2016 EP Review


  Sguarguarahcristis  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  raw  and misanthropic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015  ep  "Ground".

 Wind  sounds  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  synths  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  leads  up  to  a  heavier  musical  direction  where  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  being  added  into  the  songs  which  also  get  high  pitched  at  times.

  Most  of  the  music  is  rooted  in  the  old  school  style  of  black  metal  and  atmospheric  sounds  are  also  mixed  into  the  music  at  times  along  with  most  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with t he  music  going  for  more  of  a  raw  side  of  the  genre  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  very  chaotic  yet  melodic  at  the  same  time  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Sguarguarahcristis  creates  another  black  metal  recording  that  is  very  raw,  anti  human  and  misanthropic  in  the  old  school  tradition,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  hateful  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Sguarguarahcristus  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  and  misanthropic  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Ater  Vii  Spektrum".  8  out  of  10.

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Malamorte/Devilish Illusions/Satanath Records/Murdher Records/2016 CD Review


  Malamorte  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  an  occult  form  of  black  metal and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Devilish  Illusions"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Satanath  Records  and  Murdher  Records.

  A  very dark  and  ritualistic  synth  starts  off  the  album  and  also  gives  the  recording  more  of  an  avant  garde  feeling  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  black  metal  direction t hat  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking,  blast  beats  and  grim  screams  while  also  having  a  good  amount  of  melody.

  A  lot  of  second  wave  elements  can  be  heard  in  the  music  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  throughout  the  recording  you can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  synths  also  make  a return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  At  times  the  songs  bring  in  the  atmosphere  atmosphere  of  either  an  old  King  Diamond  or  Mercyful  Fate  recording  and  some  of  the  riffing  also  brings  in  a  catchy  80's  metal  vibe  at  times  and  clean  playing  along  with  whispers  can also  be  heard  briefly  as  well as  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Malmorte  plays  a  style  of  occult  black  metal  that  is  very  raw  and  old  school  while  also  being  ritualistic  at  times  and  adding  in  influences  of  80's  metal  which  makes  the  music  stand  out  a  but  more,  the  production  sounds  very raw  yet  heavy  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  Luciferian,  Occultism  and  Left  Hand  Path  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Malamorte  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  and  old  school  occult  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Devilish  Illusions"  "Possession"  and  "Lucifer's  Rebellion".  8/2  out  of  10. 

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Styxian Industries/Zero.Void.Nullified {Of Apathy And Armageddon}/Satanath Records/More Hate Productions/2016 CD Review


  Styxian  Industries  are  a  band from  the  Netherlands  that  plays  an  industrial form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016 album  "Zero.Void.Nullified  {Of  Apathy  And  Armageddon}"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Satanath  Records  and  More  Hate  Productions.

  Static  and  radio  noises  start  off  the  album  before  adding  in  heavy  tremolo  picking  and  angry  spoken  word  parts  while  the  drum  programming  gives  the  music  more  of  an  industrial  feeling  and  after  awhile  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  it  goes  for  more  of  a  raw  style  of  the  genre  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  the  vocals  also  get  very  grim  at  times  while t he  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  music  also  gets  very  experimental  at  times.and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing  on  some  of  the  songs  along  with  some  synths  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  some  songs  also  mix  in  more  of  a  sci  fi  atmosphere.

  Styxian  Industries  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  a  very  raw  form  of  black  metal  ad  mixes  it  in  with  a  heavy  industrial  sound  to  create  a  musical  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  abstract  concepts  and  defying reality  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Styxian  Industries  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  raw  black  metal  and  industrial  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "You"  "Whiskey  Vodka  Blood"  "Wasted  World"  and  "Execute  Planet  Earth".  8  out  of  10.

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Narvik/Ascension To Apotheosis/Folter Records/2016 CD Review


  Narvik  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  dark  and  raw  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Ascension  To  Apotheosis"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Folter  Records.

  A  very  dark yet  distorted  atmospheric  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  to  get  more  heavy  while  also  adding  melodic  guitar  leads  onto  the  recording  and  after  awhile  the  riffs  start  utilizing  more  tremolo  pickign  which  also  adds  in  more  of  a  fast  and  raw  sound  that  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.

  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  and  the  songs  also  use  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  also  adding  in  disharmonic  guitar  leads  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  you  can  also  hear  the  more  modern  side  of  the  genre  being  mixed  in  the  music  while  having  more  of  a  darker  and  more  underground approach  and  the  musicians  display a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  on  their  instruments  and  they  also  bring  in  an  instrumental  before  returning  back  to  vocal  tracks  and  the  last  song  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  also  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing.

  Narvik  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  takes  the  speed  and  rawness  of  the  second  wave  style  and  mixes  it  in  with  the  more  dark,  modern  and  technical  side  of  the  genre  to  create  a  very  heavy  sounding  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  transcendence  and  transformation  through  death  with  apotheosis  and  the  several  ways  of  the  Left  Hand  Path.

  In  my  opinion  Narvik  are  a  very  great  sounding  dark  and  heavy  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Wounds  Of  Aspiration"  "Psychotic  Redeemer"  and  "Barren  Semen".  8  out  of  10.

https://youtu.be/IhFKUO55pdk
 

Heathen Beast/Rise Of The Saffron Empire/Transcending Obscurity Distribution/2016 EP Review


  Heathen  Beast  are  a  band  from  India  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  death  metal  and  ethnic  music  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "The  Rise  Of  The Saffron  Empire"  which  was  released  by  Transcending Obscurity  Distribution.

  A  very  heavy  and  melodic  sound  that  mixes  Indian  music  and  metal  together  starts  of  the  ep  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  black  metal  direction  that  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  high  pitched  screams  and  blast  beats  while  also  mixing  in  with  the  other  musical s tyle  that  is  very  very  huge  part  of  the  recording.

  A  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  can  be  heard  in  the  faster  riffing  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  more  of  a  melodic  fashion  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  you  can  still  hear  a  touch  of  death  metal  on  this  recording  while  the  music  is  more  blackened  than  than  previous  recording  and  at  times  the  drum  beats  have  a  tribal  feeling  to  them  while  the  last  track  also  adds  in  musical  instruments  from  the  homeland.

  Heathen  Beast  creates  a  recording  that  is  more  black  metal  than  previous  releases  while  still  mixing  in  the  ethnic  music  of  their home  country,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  political  corruption  of  an  extremist  Hindu  government.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Heathen  Beast  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black  metal  and  ethnic  music,  you  should  enjoy  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "The  Systematic  Annihilation  Of  Islam".  8  out  of  10.  

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Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Alkerdeel/Lede/Consouling Sounds/2016 CD Review


  Alkerdeel  are  a  band  from  Belgium  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  experimental  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016 album  "Lede"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  Consouling  Sounds.

  Avant  garde  sounds  start  off t he  album  along  with  some  dark  yet  melodic  guitar  riffing  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  leads  up  to  a  very  fast  and  raw  black  metal  direction  that  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  and  you  can  also h ear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recoridng.

  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  the  more  modern  side  of  the  genre  at  times  while  a  great  amount  of  old  school  and  second  wave  influences  are  utilized  as  well  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  while  some  of  the  slow  riffing  brings  in  a  touch  of  doom  metal  and  a  good  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and epic  in  length  and  drones  are  added  onto t he  last  track.

  Alkerdeel  creates  an  album  that  is  less  experimental  than  their  previous  recordings  and  go  for  more  of  a  straight  forward  black  metal  sound  while  still  having  some  avant  garde  and  psychedelic  elements,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  yet  heavy  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Belgian  and  cover  dark  themes  along  with  the  first  3  tracks  having  a  concept  to  them.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Akerdeel  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  black  metal  with  an  experimental  touch,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Regardez  Ses  Yeux  I"  and  "Lede".  8  out  of  10.

http://www.alkerdeel.be
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Depicting Abysm/Passage/Naturmacht Productions/2016 CD Review


  Depicting  Abysm  are  a  duo from Russia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  atmospheric  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Passage"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  Naturmacht  Productions.

  Nature  and  wind  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  and d rums  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  awhile  grim  yet  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful  and  the  solos  and  leads  bring  in  a  very  depressive  and  melodic  sound to  the  recording.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  you  can  also  hear  clan  playing  and  mournful  cries  in  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  after  awhile  the  vocals  start  using  more  depressive  screams  and  melodic  singing  and  most  of  the  tracks  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction  expect  for  the  last  song  where  the  music  speeds  up  briefly  and  also  adds  in  a  few  seconds  of  blast  beats  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  the  music  also  starts  getting  more  atmospheric  as  the  album  progresses  while  also  adding  in  synths  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  violins  on  one  of  the  later  tracks.

  Depicting  Abysm  creates  an  atmospheric  black  metal  album  that  is  very  slow  and  depressive  while  also  expanding  on  the  style  that  was  established  on  previous  recordings,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Depicting  Abysm  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  slow,  atmospheric  and  depressive  black  metal,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Shadow"  and  "Unity".  8  out  of 10.

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Havukruunu/Rautaa ja Tulu/Naturmacht Productions/2016 EP Re-Issue Review


  Havukruunu  are  a  duo  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  pagan  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  ep  "Rautaa  ja  Tulu"  which  will  be  re-issued  in  April  by  Naturmacht  Productions  with  4  bonus  tracks.

  A  very  dark,  heavy  and  raw  sound  starts  off  the  album  and when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  yet  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing  while t he  faster  riffing  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  direction  and  the  clean  singing  gives  the  music  more  of  a  pagan  metal  feeling  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  songs  bring  in  traditional  metal  elements  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  as  the  album  progresses  classical  guitars  can  be  heard  briefly  along  with  a  short  instrumental  track  before  going  into  the  bonus  songs  which  are  in  more  of  a  black  metal  direction  while t he  last  track  is  more  of  a  pagan  folk  song.

  Havukruunu  displays  an  early  take  on  their  pagan/black  metal  sound  with  the  beginning  tracks  while  the  newer  songs  bring  in  more  of  a  raw  side  of  the  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  yet  powerful  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Finnish  and  cover  darkness,  winter,  loneliness,  sadness  and  the  Paganism  of  their  home  country.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another great  sounding  recording from  Havukruunu  and  if  you  are  a fan  of  pagan  and  black  metal,  you  should  enjoy  this  re-issue.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Pakanen"  "Ne  Salaperaiset"  "Verta  Ja  Tuhkaa"  and  "Joka  Puun  Taaka".  8  out  of  10.

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Spiritwood/The Spiritwood/Wolfrune Worxx/2016 Demo Review


  Spiritwood  are  a  solo  project  from  Finland  that  plays  an  atmospheric  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2016  demo  "The  Spiritwood"  which  was  released  by Wolfrune  Worxx.

  Ambient  style  synths  start  off  the  demo  along  with  some  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  mix  in  with  the  synths  to  create  more  of  an  atmospheric  sound  and  when  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  they  are  grim  black  metal  screams  and  the  drum  beats  are  all  programmed  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  At  times  the  music  is  very  epic  and  when t he  music  speeds  up  it  brings  in  more  of  a  raw  style  of  black  metal  along  with  a  small  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and blast  beats  while  the  main  focus  remains  more  on  a  slow,  heavy  and  dark  style  while  the  vocals  do  add  some  depressive  elements  into  some  parts  of  the  songs.

   Spiritwood  creates  a  style  of  ambient  black  metal  that  is  very  epic  and  atmospheric  while  also  having  its  raw,  depressive  and  grim  moments,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism  and  Esoteric  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Spiritwood  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric,  ambient  black  metal  solo  project  and  if you are  a  fan of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  demo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Illustrations  Painted  On  The  Skin  Of  The  Mourning  Goddess".  8  out  of  10. 

https://spiritwood.bandcamp.com/album/the-spiritwood   

Tormentium/Bound To The Depths/Exile Musick/2016 CD Review


  Tormentium  are  a  band  from  Eugene,  Oregon  that  plays  an  occult  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Bound  To  the  Depths"  which  was  released  on  Exile  Musick.

  Acoustic  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  and  it  also gives  the  music  more  of  a  haunting  atmosphere  and  after  a  minute  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  direction  along  with  a  great  amount  of death  metal  influences  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  after  awhile  spoken  word  parts  can be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  it  goes  into  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  direction  that  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  along  with some  grim  yet  high pitched screams  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  melody  while  the  music  also  brings  in  a  progressive  feeling  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  melodic  singing  starts  to  be  utilized  more  and  the  last  3  tracks  have  a  concept  to  them.

  Tormentium  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  can  be  very  raw  at  times  while  also  being  very  progressive  and  adding  in  a  touch  of  death  metal  to  create  a  very  diverse  sounding  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  apocalypse,  demonology,  misanthropy  and  occultism  themes.

  In  my opinion  Tormentium  are  a  very  great  sounding  occult  black  metal  band  and  if  you are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Black  Womb"  "Requiem  Within"  and  "Coils  2:  Plunging  Vast  Unknown".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/Tormentium/ 
        

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Ygfan Interview


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

Ygfan is a band from Hungary and I think it couldn’t be manifestated in any other place… At least in this form. There are lots of cultural roots that determined our creativity. It is not good or bad, just there is…


2.So far you have released an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

It is a very difficult question! We are coming from several genres and we believe that we are creating a unique thing, but I think I leave you to find the answer for this question.

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

The first material is a concept one. It is based on the symbol of fog and the feelings that awakes from me. It is a very impressive symptom and the lyrics have several layers. I don’t want to interpret them deeply...

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Ygfan'?

Our name, Ygfan has several aspects. First, it is a historical place in the ancient Hungarian Kingdom but for us it is much more interesting in the spiritual way what it holds for us. It is a holy secret place, a dense forest, which is in every human being…

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

I think we are playing better and better shows and we get better and better possibilites in these fields. There is nothing special, four mates playing music in an intense way. In the future we try to do our gigs much more special.

6.Do you have nay touring or show plans for the future?

It is depends on the possibilites. Most of us enjoy the concerts very much. I usually do not but if there is a good offer, then…

7.So far you have worked with 'Fekete Terror' and 'A Sad Sadness Song', do you feel these 2 labels have been very supportive when it comes to getting your music out there heard?

Fekete Terror is a small Hungarian label, focus on tapes. They work very hard and I can recommend them courageously. We have just started to work with A Sad Sadness Song recently, so we are very exciting about the future!

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

It is hard to split our „fans”, that who is a black metal fan or who is not. These categories are not important for us. What we are playing is not black metal! We started something of those echoes are coming from everywhere…

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

It is very early to speak about our next materials. We have 5-6 new songs and a tons of themes… 

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?


As I already wrote, we are coming from several genres, so I can’t mention only one. We don’t want to build walls around us. Therefore the creative process could be very slow and difficult. The aim is that all of us could feel this creature as their own.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

We are working in several fields in our civil lives and it is a hard to fight every day as many bands do all over the world. Most of us has families, children, so the priorities are different. The history of the human beings, the religions, believes in the transcendental and the nature are the common interests and the lyrics are based on them too.

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

Thank you for this interview. Look into the inner regions! It was Zsolt from Ygfan.

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Heathe Interview


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



I see a lot of different things in it of course, but generally speaking I guess it is black/doom metal



The project was born in the beginning of 2016. During a recording session in my rehearsal space for another project of mine (a noise thing called Barad-Dûr), I got stuck in what I was trying to do. It felt wrong and forced in a way, so to clear my head I sat down and played the same rhythm on the drums for 30 minutes. 5 hours later I had written and recorded Despair. The 4-minute quiet intro to the song (-) was the waste product of the noise-recording I originally wanted to do that evening.



It was a weird coincidental thing. The track kind of composed itself it felt like. I liked it and had a few more recording sessions where I would follow the same “jammy” approach to composing and something like three months later the demo was there. 





2.Recently you had released a demo, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?



Repetitive and massive yet fragile. There is a lot of anger in it, but other people might hear it differently.





3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with your music?



The lyrics revolve around the fragility of the human sanity. How easy people break and turn to inhumane acts, purposely hurting others, even the ones they care about. Whether it is to be understood on a personal or a global level I will not dictate.



The lyrics for White Lies I did not write myself, but are the words of Cristian Kiko.





4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Heathe'?



It is a mixture of the Danish and English word for Heath. I added the E of aesthetical reasons. I’m sure I and anyone else could put a lot of meanings into it, but really it’s just what I think of when I hear the music. A big, bare and dead landscape.





5.On the recordings you record everything by yourself, are you open to bringing other musicians onto your recordings or do you prefer to remain solo?



I am definitely open for collaborations and to expand the project to involve more people, but it can be difficult when living in a city with 100.000 inhabitants, where the majority of the musicians simply doesn’t have the patience to play this kind of stuff. I am very happy to do it by myself until someone who likes it the same way I do comes along.





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



No shows played yet, but it will be chaotic and loud. Loads of people on stage.







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



Touring is highly unlikely at this point. I am not a big fan of playing multiple concerts in a row. It gets exhausting and I miss my home, but concerts near local soil will definitely happen within short time.





8.The demo was released on Danish Vaishyas, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?



Danish Vaishyas is a label and concert-organizer from Aalborg, who promote experimental music like noise and free-improvisation and has a small label connected that do cd-r’s and cassettes with music from Aalborg. I’m involved in the organization and it seemed obvious to release it through there rather than to search for a label. We have the equipment to produce the tapes ourselves pretty cheap and with internet and all, it couldn’t get easier.






9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black and doom metal?



I highly doubt that more than a few people out of my circle of friends heard it yet. I received nothing but positive words, but then again how often do you even care enough about crappy music, to tell the musician.

If I take a look at my insights on bandcamp, it shows that most plays are partial, which means the listener skipped the songs. So I guess it demands a kind of patience most music listeners do not have to this day where everything is going so fast. Generally I don’t care that much, but I get happy when people that I admire artistically say positive things about the music.




10.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?



I constantly jump from one thing to another. I would like to be more focused on one or a few things, instead of getting involved in a bunch of projects where I always end out with only contributing half-hearted. I feel like working with sound on my own is therapeutic I a different way. I get closer to the output and I identify with the stuff on the recording way more than when I do stuff with the groups I play with. I want to trust myself more and to work with a starting point in my intuition instead of thinking to much.




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?



Without over analyzing anything and from the top of my head: Swans, Sunn o))), Gaia, Sol, Myrrh, Slint, Corrupted, Earth, Kollapse, Fushitsusha.



Really I did not go after one specific thing, but I can hear some obvious connections between those bands and the Demo Tape.



I constantly seek new stuff to listen to. The last five records I bought were

Rachel’s – Handwriting LP

The Rolling Stones – Out of our Heads

Antti Tolvi – Aamu/Ilta

Crank Sturgeon – Our New Bower

Urr – No life no love no death






12.What are some of your non musical interests?



I don’t really have any that doesn’t involve music. I try to do some reading. I also like to go for a walk and to ride. I think about music in one way or another almost constantly.



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

 Thank you for doing this blog. Stuff like this keeps the underground alive.

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Monday, March 28, 2016

Arkaik Excruciation/Cursed Blood Of Doom/Duplicate Records/2016 Full Length Review


  Arkiak  Excruciation  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  war,  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Cursed  Blood  Of  Doom"  which  was  released  by  Duplicate  Records.

  A  very  fast,  raw  and  brutal  war  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  death  metal  style  melodies  before  adding  in  bestial  growls  and  the  songs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  bring  in  a  very  melodic  yet  chaotic  sound  to  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  riffs  also  mix  in  a  great  amount  of  80's  thrash  influences  while  the  vocals  at  times  mix  in  the  more  grim  side  of  black  metal  and  they  also  bring  in  an  avant  garde  instrumental  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  musical  direction  and  the  guitars  also  start  utilizing  more  tremolo  picking  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  they  also  bring  in  a  brief  intro before  the  last  track.

  Arkaik  Excruciation  creates  another  recording  that  takes  the  heaviest  and  rawest  forms  of  war, black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  very  heavy  and  extreme  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  yet  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  violent  and  occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Arkaik  Excrciation  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  war  and  black  metal,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Night  Of  Sodom"  "Anesthesic  Ritual  of  Silence"  and  "Sadistic  Scourge".  8/2  out  of  10.

www.facebook.com/arkaikexcruciation

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Heathe/Demo Tape/Danish Vaishyas/2016 Review


  Heathe  are  a  project  from  Denmark  that  plays  a  mixture  of  depressive  black  metal,  doom  and  experimental  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  demo  which  was  released  by  Danish  Vaishyas.

  Drum  beats  and  heavy  guitars  start off  the  demo  along  with  some organs  in  the  background  and  after  awhile  tortured  black  metal  screams  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  slower  riffing  is  very  heavily  influenced  by  doom  metal.

  At  times  the  music  can  be  very  experimental  along  with  some  atmospheric  sounds  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  on  later  tracks  trombones  and  bowled  cymbals  are  brought  onto  the  recording  and  on  one  of  the  tracks  the  music  speeds  up  briefly  along  with  some  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  that  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  feeling  before  returning  back  to  a  slower  musical  direction  and  also  adding  in  drones  and  all  4  of  the  tracks  sound  very  different from  each  other.

  Heathe  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  depressive  black  metal,  funeral  doom,  sludge,  drone  and  experimental  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  something  very  dark  and  original,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the lyrics  cover  dark and  depressive  themes.

  In my  opinion  Heathe  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  metal,  doom  and  experimental  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Distant  Winds"  and  "Despair".  8  out of  10.  

https://hethe.bandcamp.com/releases

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Isolert/No Hope No Light...Only Death/Ogmios Underground/2016 CD Review


  Isolert  are  a  band from Greece  that  plays  a  very  raw  and  melodic  form  of  black  metal  and this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "No  Hope,  No  Light...Only  Death"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Ogmios   Underground.

  Clean  guitar  playing  starts off  the  album  along with  some  synths  in  the  background  which  leads  up  to  a  heavier musical  direction  which  also  uses  dark  sounding  melodies  and  after  the  intro  spoken  word  parts  are  used  briefly  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having   a  very  powerful   sound  to  them.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  faster  sections  using  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  and  the  music  has  a  90's  second  wave  feeling  and  the  vocals  also  get  melodic at  times.and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  whispers  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  are  done  in  a  very  melodic fashion  and  spoken word  samples  are  also used  on  the  other  songs  as  well  and  clean  playing  also  makes  e  return on  a  later track  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction  while synths  return  on the last  track  which  is  also very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Isolert  creates  another  raw  black  metal  recording  that  is  very  rooted  in  the  90's  second  wave  tradition  while  also  getting   more  melodic  this  time,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  misanthropy,  death,  metaphysical  and  hate  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Isolert and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  and  melodic black  metal,  you  should  check  out this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Your  Hypocrisy"  and  "The  Dance  Of  Tormented  Spirits".  8  out  of  10.

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Wednesday, March 23, 2016

WOM Interview



 1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
1.Winds of Mayhem, or simply "WOM" (both versions accepted) is a black metal musical project based in Cyprus, formed in the end of 2011. The name is obviously inspired from Bathory's classic "The Wind of Mayhem".
In the early years of existence, WOM released a various numbers of demos, the project being more an experiment, rather than something serious. What I mean with that is that the early releases were totally cave recorded, also in lack of any decent equipment, were 100% programming based songs, in times I knew nothing about programming and especially in times I was impatient (I use to complete one demo release in just a few hours) and the most important thing, I was in a never ending search for the so called desired sound.
Although the releases weren't solid at all, the early times (2011-2013), remains sacred on the path of this project because them made today's WOM sounds more like music than nonsense which also has its own cold and raw originality.

    2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
2. The "From Abyss, Thy Wrath" record differs a lot from any of my past releases and this fact was mentioned also on my label's official BandCamp site, on the album's description section.
Originally this record was meant to be very similar in aggressiveness with 2015's EP "Summoning the Black Moon", actually it was meant to be an album version of the EP,  but the composing process wasn't going at all in that direction, so I came up with more melodic and creepy musical themes in comparison, of course, with the other materials I made, and I could easily delete them and re-write everything, but, strange fact, I actually liked a lot the new instrumentals, I like them so much that I changed the whole album musical concept within a few days.

    3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with your newer music?
3. Well, first of all, the process I complete a song is the following: I compose and record a sketch of the instrumental in the beginning, I listen to it for a while and after follows the lyrics writing process, in a way to match the essence of the instrumental. I believe it was important to mention these facts first because my new record wasn't an exception for this rule.
As mentioned above, "From Abyss, Thy Wrath", musically speaking, differs a bit from any of my past releases, so implicitly the lyrical theme I found most befitting were a conceptual storyline about the classical transition from good to evil, acceptance and the way society destroys passion and individualism. A storyline dressed in a 15th, 16th century horror style.

    4.On some of your older releases you went more into depth on Norse Mythology, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?
4. From most of the mythologies and cultures I came across in my life, the greatest respect I have for the Norse one, because of the simple fact that they never promoted blinded believing and Christianity-like allegiance, yet they were always putting a huge accent on a life as a warrior, filled with the greatest form of honour possible to exist. Okay, now I'm not a big expert on this topic, honestly, I'd never studied this properly in a special institution or something, so "Northern Sons" (my first full length and only material to have this theme) was more like a tribute album, than anything else, a tribute for their cultures and a trubute for the loss of my grandfather, a loss that actually pushed me to read hundreds of these Norse fairy-tales.

    5.I know that the band name means 'Winds Of Mayhem' and it came from a Bathory song, how does this name fit in with the musical style that you play?
5. That's a good question, hahaha. I believe the only reasonable answer will be that my music is really chaotic, "mayhemic", hard to grasp for the majority of the audience, because most of the people who listens to Winds of Mayhem, listens in the same time to really demented stuff, and that's a good thing, I believe, open-mindness is important on this path.

    6.With this project you record everything by yourself, have you other thought of working with other musicians?
6. Yes, the answer is yes when comes about this project, from composing, recording, writing lyrics, mixing, mastering, even arranging the cover arts are all done by myself.
Well, it depends a bit what you meant with: "working with other musicians". If we're talking about WOM, to complete the line-up, to become a whole band, the answer would be no, because I want this project to be 100% me. Only, maybe, I'll consider the opposite in a special circumstances if I'll ever decide to go on live and this isn't very likely to happen, especially not in the near future, but nothing is excluded.
Now, when we're talking about me, being a part of a different band or project, the answer is yes. I already been part of another project called "Primitive Sludge", along with a friend of mine, a raw progressive black metal project, where I was performing lead vocals and also released a demo in 2014 entitled "Winter's Moon" and also I tried to recreate a long lost project from 2009, called "Poseidon" with two more friends and we released a demo entitled "Sacrifice" in January 2015, where I was performing guitars and vocals. For the time being, this two projects are on hold but isn't excluded at all to come back in the future, even as full line-up bands.

    7.A year back you where a part of a split with 'Whispersorrow', what are your thoughts on the other band that had participated on the recording?
7.Yes, it was exactly one year ago, more specifically 28th of March 2015, a split entitled simply "WW" (which stands for WhispersorrowWOM).
It was a 4-track of each project material, the main themes adopted being depression, inner imperfection, solitude etc. It was in my opinion a really cool matetial because of its diversity of styles and genre's adopted (from classic black metal, until electro ambient and stuff) and I truly enjoyed working along with Psithiros (the mastermind behind Whispersorrow) and the experience, hopefully, will repeat.
About Whispersorrow all I can say is that's a great project, based mostly on programming, but that guy knows how to make music even from the sound of an atomic bomb explosion combined with the sound of massacred pig, hahaha and implicitly working along, improved a bit my programming skills which until than, were kind of lame.

    8.The new album was released on Metal Mayhem Records, are you happy with the support that thy have given you so far?
8. Metal Mayhem Records is one of the best record label I ever worked with and I discovered them totally by chance on a primitive Facebook search last year when I craved for a CD release of my EP "Summoning the Black Moon" and they did a truly great job. Absolutely nothing to complain about!
They're are also from that side of the world (Belize) where metal music fans are more open minded for new unheard extreme things, than Europe, in my opinion, I mean 80% of my fans comes from South and Central America and that says a lot. No criticism or discrimination intended here, it's just a true observation of mine and nothing more.

    9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?
9. In my early years not the best one, honestly, but I can't really blame them, for productions being also lame in the eyes of fans expectancy.
On the other hand, lately with each material I see a better and better maturity and implicitly a better feedback, which is perfect in my opinion, because with each record, there are improvements, improvements which will continue to come and blossom in the future. Even the world's biggest critic, if listens to my early demos and after to my latest album will notice huge differences.

    10.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?
10. To be honest I don't think a lot about the future, what I mean is that I don't have huge plans as a musician except to make better and better music.
For me music is also that "something" I make for my own satisfaction rather than trying to impress somebody and I like it a lot here in the underground because I can do whatever I want without being dictated by someone else. Things like celebrity or fame are not and I don't believe will ever be in my mind. It's just bullsh*t.

    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?
11. My biggest influence comes from early 90's black metal scene and also from ambiental stuff. I still remeber when I was listening for the first time to classics like Mayhen, Darkthrone, Burzum, Bathory etc. and all the feelings they invoked in me with their dark stuff, it was one of the most "eargasmic" experience a man can have, in my opinion.
As a listener, obviously I listen to a lot of obscure black and death metal from the deepest plan of underground scene, but besides this, my musical tastes are kind of vast. I listen also to classical music, dark wave ambient, jazz, even blues, rock'n roll, 70's progressive rock and all that's good for my ears, here there's no such thing as a limit.

    12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
12. First of all, it's been a pleasure to give this interview and thanks OcultBlackMetalZine for all the interest on my project, secondly, a "Thanks" for all those who supported in any way WOM over the years and finally, don't forget to get the new album "From Abyss, Thy Wrath" on Metal Mayhem Records official BandCamp website. All hails!

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Aggressive Mutilator/Crushed By Tyranny/Iron County Records/2016 Cassette Review


  Aggressive  Mutilator  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  raw  mixture  of  black  metal,  thrash  and  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  cassette  "Crushed  by  Tryanny"  which  was  released  by  Iron  County  Records  and  includes  their  demo  from  2012  of  the  same  name  along  with  their  first  demo  "Skull  Torture"  and  2012  ep  "Gutpuking  Satan's  Hammer"  as  bonus  tracks.

  A  very  heavy and  old  school  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  along with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  being  introduced  into  the  music  after  awhile  and  you  can  also  hear  a  lot of  first  wave  influences  in  the  songs.

  Elements  of  thrash,  speed  metal  and  punk  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  giving  the  music  more  of  an  80's  feeling  while the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  use  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  raw  tremolo  picking  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music  the  remain  true  to  more  of  an  early  80's  underground  metal  style  and  the  whole  album  also  sticks  to  a  very  heavy  and  raw  sound  from  the  beginning  to  ending  of  all of  the  songs.

  Aggressive  Mutilator  display  some  of  their  earlier  material  on  this  cassette  that  shows  them  mixing  first  and  second  wave  black  metal  with  speed  metal,  thrash  and  punk,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics cover  Satanism,  Occultism,  Blasphemous  and  Darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  compilation  from Aggressive Mutilator  and  if  you  are  a fan of  old  school  black  metal  mixed  with  thrash  and punk,  you  should  check  out t his  cassette.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Blasphemic  Lust"  "Evil  Child's Laughter"  "Stan's  Hammer"  and  "Flames  Of  Hell".  8  out  of  10.

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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Grimmdrasil/The Cold Haunting Loneliness Of Crushing Certainty/Merdumgiriz/2016 CD Review


  Grimmdrasil  are  a  solo  project  from  Oklahoma  that  has  been  featured  before in  this  zine and  plays  an  experimental  and  progressive  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his 2016  album  "The  Cold  Haunting  Loneliness  Of  Crushing  Certainty"  which  was  released  by  Merdumgiriz.

  Atmospheric  synths  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  singing  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  mixes  the  music  more  of  a  goth  or  post  punk  feeling  and  a  few  seconds  later  heavy  yet  melodic  guitars  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  depressive  black  metal  screams  and  the  music  also  gets  very  experimental  at  times.

  When  guitar solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  very  distorted  yet melodic sounding  and  most  of the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  vocals  also  bring  in  melodic  singing  at  times  and  the  music  gets  more psychedelic as  the  album  progresses  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of female vocals  along  with  a small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  songs  stick  to  mostly  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  while  still  demonstrating a  great  amount  of  diversity  along  with  some  progressive  elements.

  Grimdrasil  creates  another  recording  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  black  metal  while  also  keeping  the  progressive,  experimental  and  psychedelic  elements  of  previous  recordings  as  well  as  adding  in  post  punk  elements  this  time  around,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Grimdrasil  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  experimental  and  psychedelic  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Introspect  And  Disdain"  "Distorted  Human  Face"  and  "The  Cold  Haunting  Loneliness  Of  Crushing  Certain".  8  out  of  10. 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Grimmdrasil
Bandcamp: https://grimmdrasil.bandcamp.com/