Arathgoth/Book Of the Night-Legends/2014 Full Length Review

  Arathgoth  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  that continues  the  dark  ambient  and  atmospheric  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Book  Of  the  Night-Legends".

  A  very  dark  industrial  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  heavy  guitars  and  a  few  seconds  alter  black  metal  screams  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  atmospheric  and  melodic  elements  and  they  also  speed  up  the  music  and  also  add  in  some  raw  black  metal  and  blast  beats  at  times.

  There  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  throughout  the  recording  and  there  are also   samples  from  horror  movies  being  utilized  at  times  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  as  well  as  the  album  bringing  in  synths  that  bring  in  more  of  a  medieval  feeling  which  also  reminds  me  of  a  soundtrack  for  a  fantasy  video  game  at  times.

  Spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  in  the  music  at  times  along  with  the  synths  bringing  in  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  which  also  has  a  goth  feeling  at  times  and  programmed  beats  which  also  adds  more  to  the  epic  atmosphere  this  album  creates  as  well  as  adding  in  traces  of  dark  dungeon  synth  to  the  recording's  musical style  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  also  instrumental  while  there  still  is  a  good  amount  of  vocal  tracks.

  Arathgoth  creates  another  recording  which  continues  their  mixture  of  dark  ambient,  dungeon  synth  and  atmospheric  black  metal  while  also  bringing  in  more  melody  and  epic  structures  this  time  around  along  with  a  touch  of  industrial,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  are  inspired  by  the  writings  of  Robert  Jordan,  Renee  Vivien,  and  Bram  Stoker  as  well  as  movies  such  as  Underworld,  Voracious,  and  Vikings.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Arathgoth  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  dungeon  synth,  dark  ambient  and  atmospheric  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Vampiric  Dolls"  "Children  OF  the  Dragon"  "Revolt  Of  the  Lycans"  and  "Ritual  Of  the  Skeleton".  8  out  of  10.

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Arathgoth/Dark Like Space/Katabaz Records/2014 Full Length Review

  Arathgoth  have  returned  with  a  new  album  with  the  musical  style  this  time  around  being  a  sci-fi  mixture  of  black  metal  and  dark  ambient  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2014  album  "Dark  like  Space"  which  was  released  by  Katabaz  Records.

  Dark  ambient  and  electronica  music  sounds  start  off  the  album  which  start  mixing  in  with  the  fast  and  heavy  parts  which  include  blast  beats  and  grim  black  metal  screams  as  well  as  being  into  a  more  heavy  and  atmospheric  direction  and  the  music  also  incorporates  a  great  amount  of  melody  into  the  sound.

  As  the  album  progresses  the  music  starts  utilizing  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  and  they  also  add  in  some  songs  that  use  no  guitars  and  focus  more  on  the  ambient  elements  as  well  as  bringing  in  industrial  influences  and  spoken  word  samples  which  are  taken from  the  movies  "Blade  Runner"  and  "Aliens"  as  well  as  having  a  few  more  heavier  songs  being  used  later  on  during  the  album.

  When  the  album  goes  back  into  its  black  metal  direction  more  raw  and  brutal  elements  of  that  genre  can  be  found  in  the  musical  style  which  blends  in  well  with  the  more  atmospheric  direction  of  the  recording  and  the  spoken  word  samples  can  also  be  found  on  the  heavier  tracks  as  well  and  the  album  starts  becoming  a  mixture  of  both  black  metal  and  ambient  tracks  as  well  as  adding  in  a  couple  of  instrumentals  and  bringing  in  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  on  one  of  the  songs.

  Arathgoth  shows  a  different  side  of  his  musical  style  this  time  around  staying  away  from  fantasy  themes  and  focusing  more  on  the  future  and  the  music  combines  dark  ambient  with  black  metal  as  well  as  being  very  diverse  with  each  track,  the  production  has  a  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  writings  of  Frank  Herbert,  Phillip  K.  Dick,  and  science  fiction  role  playing  games  and  movies

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  album  from  Arathgoth  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  and  dark  ambient,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "In  The  Eye  of  A  Cyclon"  "Space  Battleship  Arcadia"  "Voices  of  Arrakis"  and  "Fury  Of  Harkonnen".  8  out  of  10.

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Arathgoth/Between Demons And Witches/Katabaz Records/2014 Full Length Review

  Arathgoth  are  a  1  one  man  from  Michigan  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  atmospheric  black  metal,  dark  ambient  and  dungeon  synth  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2014  album  "Between  Demons  And  Witches"  which  was  released  by  Katabaz  Records.

  Dungeon  style  synths  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  heavy  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  which  mix  in  with  the  atmospheric  sound  as  well  as  adding  in  grim  black  metal  vocals  and  you  can  also  hear  elements  of  prog  rock  being  utilized  in  the  synths  and  after  awhile  blast  beats  and  melodic  guitar  leads  start  becoming  a  part  of  the  music.

  As  the  album  progresses  more  dark  ambient  elements  are  mixed  in  with  the  black  metal  sound  of  the  recording  and  the  music  starts  utilizing  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  at  time s you  can  hear  symphonic  and  gothic  elements  in  the  music  and  the  dungeon  synth  elements  of  earlier  releases  while  they  are  still  there  at  times  take  a  back  seat  this  time  around  with  most  of  the  music  focusing  more  on  a  fast  and  atmospheric  black  metal  sound.

  After  awhile  the  guitar  riffs,  solos  and  leads  start  utilizing  more  melody  and  you  can  also  hear  small  amounts  of  industrial  influences  being  mixed  in  with  the  dark  ambient  and  dungeon  sound s of  the  synths  and  a  few  instrumentals  also  finds  its  way  onto  the  recording  while  they  still  have  a  great  amount  of  later  songs  that  still  utilize  vocals  as  well  as  bringing  in  elements  of  Celtic  and  Middle  Eastern folk  music  towards  the  end  along  with  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  and  spoken  word  samples  find  their  way  onto  the  last  track.

  Arathgoth  have  a  more  straight  forward  black  metal  feeling  while  still  having  a  good  amount  of  atmospheric,  dark  ambient  and  dungeon  synth  elements  and  you  can  hear  a  great  amount of  progress in  the  guitar  playing,  the  production  has  a  very  dark  and  powerful  sound  while  the  lyrics  cover  Witchcraft,  Occultism  and  Demonology  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Arathgoth  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  black  metal,  dark  ambient  and  dungeon  synth,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Awakening  Of  The  Demons"  "Waiting  For  Azrael"  "My  Name  Is  Legion"  and  "Prayer  From  The  Seventh  Hell".  8/5  out  of  10.

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Arathgoth Interview

1.Can you give us an introduction to the band for those that will be hearing of you for the first time?

Arathgoth! This is the name of the only musician of this project of Dungeon synth, dark ambient and atmospheric black metal! So there is no group but one musician : who I am does not matter. I live in the musical world  that I’ve created and that is the foundation of my existence !

2.How would you describe the musical sound of all 4 of the albums and also how do they differ from each other?

I’ve started with Medieval Dungeon Synth for “the season of ashes” then I've lost myself in space and Science Fiction with “Interplanetary Travel”. After that, I was proud of “Man With No Fate” because it sounded exactly like what I had in mind. Finally, “Brutal Winter” was made in 2 times : first, the synth tracks inspired by winter and, then, the black metal ones inspired a lot by Conan The Cimmerian.

3.The earlier albums where more dungeon synth but the new one is more black metal influenced, what was the decision behind going into this direction and also will this direction continue on future releases?

I’m a guitar player so I wished to put guitars and vocals.. and by the way, I was angry at that time ;)

4.Can you tell us a little bit more about the themes you explored with the synth albums and also what style of lyrics did you use on the black metal recordings?

I often imagine an adventure or a feeling and I try to express that into music. Very often, this is sad or melancholic emotions, sometimes anger but never hate ! I’m inspired by what I felt when I read a book or watch movies. For the lyrics, I’m a fan of Conan from Robert E Howard. In fact, there is a song “ the deadly night “ which is about a short story of Conan “The Lair Of The Ice Worm”. “Brutal Winter” takes some parts of a poeme from Robert E Howard and “Gods of the North” is inspired by the short story “The Frost Giants Daugther”.  About the 2 others : “Lost in the blizzard” is about my anger and my will of going behond my limits and “Pale Moon” is about loneliness and the fact that, at the end, we’re always alone.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name Arathgoth?

I’ve created this character to illustrate my musical world. The name came by itself, without thinking !

6.Currently there is only 1 member in the band, do you see the line up expanding in the future or do you chose to remain solo?

Maybe… it’ll depends of the opportunity. On Brutal Winter, there is a bonus track made with Mystic Demonia, a friend of mine. I stay open to collaboration.

7.You have put out 4 albums in less than 2 years, would you say that music takes up most of your time?

Music takes time. To compose an album takes more than one day and, sometimes, it is hard to deal with music and everyday life at the same time. But I always have a bit of music in my head !

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

Right now I only have positive feedback. This is also what makes want to go further ! In “Brutal Winter” I tried to put some black metal elements in my music, we’ll see where it goes…

9.When can we expect the next album?

Maybe during spring or this summer ! I’m still trying to find a new direction but I think it will be more black metal with some atmospheric parts. I don’t really like doing the same thing again and again.

10.What are some bands or musical styles that have had an infleunce on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I’ve been influenced a lot in my youth by movie soundtracks such as : Dune, Willow, Dark Crystal, Star Trek, 2001 space odyssey, etc. Later I came to metal music. I’m also a huge fan of John Carpenters soundtrack et the OST of Conan by Polidoris, remains one of my favorite soundtrack. A part of that, I’m listening to metal, black metal and affiliate (Burzum, Dimmu Borgir, Amon Amarth, Summoning), dungeon synth, indus and electro… I also like Ministry, Nine Inch Nails… I’m searching inspiration in literature and Nordic culture.

11.Does paganism play any role in your music?

Not really. The cultural aspect of paganism is interesting… However I’m not affiliate to any religion nor political movement.

12.Do you have any non musical interests?

No, the music takes all my free time. It's a passion!

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

like my music or go to hell ! ( just kidding : Hell would be a great place to appreciate my music ;) )

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Arathgoth/Brutal Winter/Katabaz Records/2013 Full Length Review

  Arathgoth  are  a  1  man  band  from  the  Forgotten  lands  that  started  out  as  a  dungeon  synth  project  but  started  utilizing  elements  of  depressive  and  atmospheric  black  metal  with  this  recording  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2013  album  "Brutal  Winter"  which  was  released  by  Katabaz  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  some  heavy  and  dark  sounding  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  synths  and  then  going  into  a  fast  black  metal  direction  along  with  some  programmed  beats  and  grim  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  melodies  being  added  into  the  music  along  with  a  mixture  of  slow  and  fast  parts.

  As  the  album  progresses  you  can  hear  dungeon  synth  being  mixed  with  black metal  while  the  heavy  parts  dominate  over  the  synths  and  the  screams  also  start  utilizing  more  depressive  elements  and  when  the  album  goes  into  the  third  song  it  shows  a  return  back  to  the  dungeon  synth  style  of  earlier  albums  and  the  black  metal  makes  a  return  halfway  through  the  album  and  takes  over  again.

  The  music  on  the  album  starts  to  change  it  starts  out  being  black  metal  and  then  goes  to  dungeon  synth  and  after  awhile  it  will  alternate  between  both  styles  while  also  being  mixed  together  and  you  can  hear  Arathgoth  has  progressed  a  lot  with  this  recording  and  he  never  repeats  himself  and  so  far  all  4  of  his  albums  have  sounded  different  for  each  other.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark,  cold  and  pagan  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  heavy  sound  to  it  which  is  perfect  for  the  mixture  of  black  metal  and  dungeon  synth  and  the  music  is  not  too  overproduced.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Arathgoth  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black  metal  and  dungeon  synth,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Brutal  Winter"  "Lost  In  The  Blizzard"  "Pale  Moon"  and  "Thin  ice".  9  out  of  10.

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