Impiety/Ravage And Conquer/Pulverised Records/2012 CD Review

  Impiety are a band from Singapore that has had one of their previous recordings reviewed in this zine a year back that plays a style that mixes the most brutal and blasphemous elements of war, black, death and thrash metal together and this is a review of their 2012 album "Ravage And Conquer" which will be released by Pulverised Records on 4/2/12.

Drums range from mid paced to fast drumming with a great amount of brutal sounding blast beats being thrown into the music, while the bass playing has a very dark tone with riffs that follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars.

Rhythm guitars range from mid paced to fast riffs that combine the most brutal elements of war, black, death and thrash metal together while the lead guitars are very chaotic sounding black/death metal guitar solos and leads that have an early 90's underground metal feeling to them.

Vocals are a mixture of high pitched black metal screams and early 90's style black/death metal growls, while the lyrics cover satanic, anti christian and war themes, as for the production it has a very strong, powerful and heavy sound to it.

In my opinion this is another great album from Impiety and if you are a fan of this band, you will enjoy this recording. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Weaponized" "War Crowned" and "Salve The Goat". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Abazagorath/Self Titled/NoVisible Scars/2011 EP Review

  Abazagorath are a band from New Jersey that has had one of their older albums reviewed before by this zine with a musical styles that I would describe as being atmospheric occult black metal and this is a review of their self titled 2011 EP which was released by NoVisible Scars.

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with a good amount of blast beats being thrown in at times, while the bass playing has a very dark tone with some black/death metal riffs that follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars and at times they sound very powerful, as for the synths they are only utilized briefly on the first song to enhance the darkness of the music.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast black metal riffs that are very raw and primitive sounding mixed in with a great amount of melody and some influences from death metal while the lead guitars are very melodic sounding black metal guitar solos and leads, as for the acoustic guitars when they are utilized, they use finger picking to add another dimension of darkness to the music.

Vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams with some deep death metal growls being used briefly, while the lyrics cover dark, occult and anti christian themes, as for the production it has a very dark and heavy sound to it.

In my opinion this is another great recording from Abazagorath which utilizes a lot more guitar on their newer stuff where their older stuff had more keyboards and if you are a fan of this band, you should enjoy this ep. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "The Anti-God" and "Immortals". RECOMMENDED BUY.

 http://novisiblescars.bandcamp.com/album/abazagorath 

Seeds Of Iblis/Jihad Against Islam/Legion Of Death Records/2011 EP Review

  Seeds Of Iblis are a band from Iraq that plays a very raw and primitive form of anti Islamic black metal and this is a review of their 2011 ep "Jihad Against Islam" which was released by Legion Of Death Records.

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with some blast blast beats being thrown in at times, while the bass playing has a very dark tone with riffs that follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars, as for the synths which are only utilized briefly on one song they are only used as a sound effect to enhance the darkness of the music.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast black metal riffs that are very raw and primitive sounding as for the lead guitars which are only utilized on the least song that are very raw and primitive sounding black metal guitar leads.

Vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams with a small amount of chanting and clean singing being used briefly as well as a brief spoken word part, while the lyrics cover anti Islam/Muslim and Arabic Left Hand Path themes, as for the production it has a very dark, raw and primitive sound to it.

In my opinion Seeds Of Iblis are a very great sounding raw and primitive Anti Islamic black metal band and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "No Islam" and "In The Name Of Iblis". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Germ/Wish/Eisenwald/2012 CD Review

Germ are a 1 man band from Australia that also participates in other projects from that country with a music style that combines black metal with trance, experimental, rock and pop and this is a review of their 2012 album "Germ" which was released by Eisenwald.

Drums range from slow to mid paced drumming with some fast playing and blast beats, while the synths are very atmospheric, classical, psychedelic, industrial and trance sounding, as for the bass playing it has a very dark tone with riffs that follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast black metal riffs that also utilize alot of many different influences from a variety of musical genres while the lead guitars when they are utilized are very melodic sounding hard rock/metal guitar solos and leads, as for the acoustic guitars when they are utilized they us full chords to bring a progrssive rock feeling to the music.

Vocals range from high pitched depressive black metal screams and clean singing vocals, while the lyrics cover dark, cosmic and occult themes, as for the production it has a very dark, powerful and heavy sound to it.

In my opinion Germ are a very great and original sounding experimental black metal band that creates a different style of music and if you are looking for something that is very original and different sounding, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Asteriod Of Sorrow" "Breath In The Sulphur/A Light Meteor Shower" "Infinity" and "Your Smile Mirrors The Sun". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Formloff/Spyhorelandent/Eisenwald/2012 CD Review

  Formloff are a band from Norway that plays a very dark and avant garde form of black metal that is very progressive and raw sounding and this is a review of their 2012 album "Spyhorelandent" which was released by Eisenwald.

Drums are mostly slow to mid paced playing with some fast playing and blast beats, while the saxophones bring a very dark jazz and progressive/art rock feeling to the music, as for the bass playing the album consists of 2 bass guitars being played at the time which a sound that is very thick, dark and heavy sounding.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast black metal riffs that alternate being progressive, avant garde, raw and primitive sounding with a brief use of soft and clean playing as well as a variety of different music influences from many genres and there are little to no guitar solos or leads present on this recording.

Vocals alternate between grim sounding and high pitched black metal screams with a brief use of clean singing and deep growls, while the lyrics are written in Norwegian and cover dark themes, as for the production it has a very strong, heavy and dark sound to it.

In my opinion Formloff are a very great and original sounding raw avant garde black metal band and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Det driet som renner ut i Ua" "Faen!" "Skaewen" and "Den gamble jorda". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Shroud Of Despondency/Pine/2012 CD Review

  Shroud Of Despondency are a band from Wisconsin that has had their previous recordings as well as being interviewed by this zine that plays a very atmospheric and progressive form of black metal and this is a review of their self released 2012 album "Pine".

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with some blast beats being thrown in at times, while the synths when they are utilized bring a very dark and atmospheric/ambient and progressive sounding with some folk instruments being thrown into the music at times, as for the bass playing it has a very dark tone with riffs that follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars and at times they have a very powerful sound that has a doom metal feeling to them.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast black metal riffs that use a good amount of melody and influences from doom, death metal and progressive rock, while the lead guitars when they are utilized are all progressive metal guitar solos and leads, as for the acoustic guitars when they are utilized they use finger picking and full chords to bring a 70's style progressive rock feeling to the music.

Vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams with some deep death metal growls and spoken word parts being thrown in at times as well as some clean singing being used on the last song, while the lyrics cover human suffering, discomfort, alienation, and the overcoming of the human condition, as for the production it has a very dark, raw and primitive sound to it.

In my opinion this is another great sounding album from Shroud of Despondency and if you are a fan of this band, you will enjoy this recording as well. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Overshadow" "The Great Sadness Descends" "Light Words, Dark Graves" and "Nameless End". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Obolus/Lament/Flenser Records/2012 EP Review

  Obolus are a band from San Francisco, California that plays a very dark and depressive form of black metal and this is a review of their 2012 EP "Lament" which was released by Flenser Records.

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with some blast beats being thrown in at times, while the bass playing has a very dark sound with riffs that follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars, as for the synths which are only used briefly on a couple of songs they bring a very dark and atmospheric/ambient sound to the music without being a lead instrument.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast depressive black metal riffs that also have a post black metal feeling to them as well as the modern sound that seems to appeal to the hipster crowd mixed in with a brief use of clean and soft playing while still retaining a dark, raw and primitive sound and there are no guitar solos or leads present on this recording, as for the classical guitars which are only used on the last song they use finger picking to enhance the darkness of music.

Vocals are all high pitched depressive black metal  screams, while the lyrics cover dark and depressive themes, as for  the production it has a very dark, raw and primitive sound to it.

In my opinion Obolus are a very good modern day sounding depressive black metal band and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Hatred" and "Grievance". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Turritopsis nutricula Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?
We are a two-piece band from Slovenia that started out in 2011 (two guitarists, also taking care of all the other instruments). We recorded the first demo in the autumn and are currently in the process of making the second recording. We are also looking for a new drummer.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?
I guess the label atmospheric/depressive black metal describes us best. Our music ranges from depressive ambiental interludes to faster, more aggressive riffs. For a more specific sound, give it a listen.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music/
Main subject in the first demo is unarguably personal end. Death, suicide; emptiness and desolace that come after it and are ever-present before it. On the second demo, that is currently in the making, lyrical subjects are (apart from suicide) Darkness, magicians, chants and Fire.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
Turritopsis nutricula is the latin name for a species of jellyfish, that is (theoretically) immortal. Lives eternally. As if a butterfly could revert back to caterpillar and again to butterfly and back and so on. To me it's like a true crosspoint of (black metal?) art and nature (reality?).

5. Has the band had any oppurtunities to do any live shows, if so what are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance/
We haven't played any live shows yet, we are currently looking for a drummer. And for opportunities for live shows of course, we do not tend to be a studio band.

6. Currently the band is unsigned are you looking for a label and if so what kind of label do you feel that would be a perfect fit for your music/
I wouldn't say that we are looking for a label, at the moment we are quite happy with self-releasing our music. But if an offer appears, it shall be, of course, considered.

7. On a worldwide level how has your music been recieved by the black metal fans that have heard it so far?
Someone said that this might be the best name for a black metal band. And someone said that a dance with the devil is always a black pleasure. We'd love to hear more opinions.

8. Are there any other projects besides this band or is this a full time line-up?
We both play in another band, sort of a symphonic/female vocals thing. But I guess that band is currently on a pause, TN is definitely our primary band. At the moment, of course, one must not exclude the possibility of future projects and bands. That might evolve from occasional jams with friends (as did TN).

9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
I guess more atmospheric, rather than depressive direction. Music for the next demo is much harsher, not as melancholic as (at some points) the previous one (same with lyrics). But I wouldn't dare say that this is the general direction this band will take in the future.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
We listen to many styles of music, from blues rock to industrial, but above all metal. Musical style that has influenced our music the most is definitely atmospheric black metal, also depressive and 2nd wave black metal.

11. Does Satanism or Occultism play any role in the music?
Our interests here differ. One part of the band finds occultism to be one of his greatest interests, while the other member only focuses on the music in this genre. But it's not really an important part of our band. Only a reference or two.

12. Outside of music what are some of your interests/
I guess music is our greatest interest. Other than that: literature and psychological movies; sports

13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Keep supporting the underground.
93 93/93

Ramlord Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?

RAMLORD is a band that came together as a few crusty dudes sick of the hardcore scene in our area. Our music is a reflection of the music we listened to while abstaining from listening to Set Your Goals and other positive and hollow sounds. We wanted our lyrics to combine the dystopian social commentary of crust with the occult and pessimistic themes of black metal, while crafting dark, sad and aggressive songs.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?

We try to combine a variety of the things we listen to, ranging from powerviolence, to sludge, black metal and crust. Our song writing process is very instinctual and primitive, shaping riffs and ideas until they create a flowing piece of music set to enhance the feeling of the lyrics.

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

"Stench of Fallacy" and our split with Condensed Flesh explored the general anguish of reality as well as the negativity brought on by shallow and modern living, where the only escape from our environment and even ourselves may be death. Our upcoming material to be released with Cara Neir explains the role of progress throughout time and how spiritually irrelevant it all is. We will never take the time to learn from our mistakes, while filling our lives with useless commodities distracting us from ever thinking about anything. Feeling completely detached from this hollow culture, watching hopelessly as it collapses blindly into the future...

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

We have always loved the symbolism of the ram as both a mockery of Jesus, as well as a pagan symbol for fertility. The occult has always interested us, as we believe there are channels of perception beyond our physical world. It is irrelevant whether a god or not exists, as we are still subjected to the same reality we cannot escape.

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

Shows in Boston have always treated us well, however, we haven't toured beyond playing shows are New England. Our initial records we quite lo-fi, so we sound much different live (heavier!!). I would say that our stage performance tries to match the energy of punk.

6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?

Hopefully a short tour this summer, but no serious plans yet.

7. Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label and if so what kind of label do you feel that would be a perfect fit for the music?

We are always looking to collaborate with any labels interested in the ram. Since we draw from such a diverse range of influences, we are unsure of any label that would be a perfect fit, but as long as it is misanthropic and self-loathing, we would probably have some things in common.


8. On a worldwide level how has your music been recieved by fans of both black metal and crust?

Our music has had more success with black metal crowds, rather than crust ones, but there are definitely fans in both camps. Some people seem to understand the combination and some don't but we are really just making the music for anyone.. from people who feel for the sound or others who can relate with the lyrics. We are just stoked when anyone is into what we are doing but we personally feel the closest to the crust side.

9. Are there any side projects besides this band or is this a full time line-up?

Jan plays in Ultra//Negative and Felines.
Ben plays in Felines.
Brian plays in Hellhound.

10. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

We are always trying to make our music heavier and sadder. Our next release goes back to a more black metal sound than our split with Condensed Flesh, with better production. We don't think there will ever be an exact way to describe the band in general except for 3 dudes who have been listening to heavy shit for years putting together everything we believe in.

11. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

There are tons of bands throughout lots of genres that have influenced us and we are checking out new bands every day. Some of our long-time favorites include Dystopia and Discharge. The three of us were some of the only punks who after the punk bands in the area died down went to listening to sludge, PV and black metal etc.. instead of hardcore and shitty pop. We have worshiped the blast & d-beat for years now.
As far as what were listening to now:
our friends in Welkin Dusk & Lonesummer, are both great, original incarnations of black metal..

12. Does Satanism or Occultism play a role in your music?

I've always been attracted to the hedonistic freedom of Satanism, however, our views are more blasphemic, rather than satanic. The occult has always been a source of fascination and there exist many ways to perceive things outside of our carnal realm.

13. How would you describe the metal or punk scene in New Hampshire?

The metal and punk scene is almost non-existent in New Hampshire, as it is riddled with hardcore bands. Vaast is a cool d-beat band and Condensed Flesh is solid, raw black metal. In Portland, Maine, where we are currently living, is Falls of Rauros, which is one of the best black metal bands currently playing.

14. outside of music what are some of your interests/

Nature, abusing drugs, abusing our bodies, producing ritualistic markings upon our flesh, going to shows and checking out any bands that come through our barren area, often enjoying as well as despising life while pondering its many questions endlessly instead of being satisfied with the simple answers religion offers.

15. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

Love to our Ram family.
Smoke Weed // Kill Cops

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Irdorath Interview

Interview partner: Markus Leitner

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

Hi! First of all we want to thank you for your interest!

We are very busy planning concerts for 2012, promoting our album and producing merchandise. Beneath that we are working on our next album.


2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it
differs from previous releases?

I think Dekonstrukteur des Fleisches is a powerful album. We describe the music as “Black / Thrash Metal”, because those are the main influences. But we are not trying to sound in a certain way; we make music that we like.
Nowadays we pay more intention to a good sound and try to find a balance between old school and modern sounds. We as musicians also developed between the last album and Dekonstrukteur des Fleisches. We are also more open minded now, concerning sound and also lyrics.

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

I think the main aspects of our lyrics are criticism according to mankind, the church and all different crimes and outrages people do to others. We present that in a provocative and some kind of brutal way, sometimes also with some sarcasm. I think that is what fits to our music.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

We were looking a long time for a band name which we like and we did not want to use English or German words. So we were looking for a band name in a fantasy world. Everyone would first think of “Lord of the rings” but there are so many bands in nearly every metal genre so we tried to find our name in another fantasy world. “Irdorath” is an isle in the video game “Gothic” where an undead dragon lives. So there is no “higher” sense in it, in our opinion it sounds great, don`t you think?


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

Because of bend member problems, especially according to the time they wanted to spent, we did not play that much concerts in the past. But with our new line up, this will change. But I can say, that all in all we enjoyed every concert, especially the shows with our Austrian colleagues “Hellsaw” and “Dornenreich”.
I think we have a quite straight and powerful performance and are practicing a lot now for our shows.

6. What are the touring plans for the new release/

Some gigs in Austria are fixed over the year 2012, also a mini tour in February with Hellsaw, including two shows in Austria and one in Germany. At the moment we are busy planning other shows. For more and actual info check out our facebook or myspace site!

7. On a worldwide level how has your newer music been recieved by black
and extreme metal fans?

Because of the fact that we do not sound like true Black Metal real and only Black Metal listeners are sometimes confused and disappointed. In the other way, Metal listeners, which listen to other Metal styles as well, do like the fact, that we are open minded concerning to other influences. So we get a lot good feedback, and sometimes also bad. But I think that is quite normal, especially as an unknown band.


8. Are there any current side projects going on?

Our bass player also plays guitar in a Rock Band called “Sentimentalistic Bitches” and our drummer has some side projects and did also some studio work for other bands.

9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

We are working very intensively on our new album, so I can give you a little outlook: We are concentrating on our two main influences, Black and Thrash Metal, and are focusing to get the best result out of combination of these music styles. And for now we think that works very well, we are very satisfied.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your
newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

That is very hard to answer. We all love music and of course especially Heavy Metal. But we do not only listen to Black Metal, we also hear a lot thrash, death and so on. Every one of us has different preferences. To name some bands: Legion of the damned, Behemoth, Vader, Hate, Sodom, Dimmu Borgir, Kataklysm, Machine Head, Destruction, Kreator, Iced Earth, Accept, Exodus, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest … I could continue for a long time, haha!

11. Does Occultism or Satanism play any role in the music/

I would say no. We are focusing on criticism, especially to the church and Christianity, but not in a satanic way.

12. Outside of music what are some of your interests?

We are all doing full time jobs beneath Irdorath. Of course we like to drink and make party. Some of us do also some sports as well.

13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

Thank you too for your interesting and comprehensive questions!

Feel free to check out our music, come to our live shows… visit and like us on facebook or myspace. There will be our latest information what`s going on and we really appreciate it if you also leave a comment!


http://www.facebook.com/Irdorath
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Hexis Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
Filip: These days we're releasing a few different records - both CD's, Tapes and Vinyls of songs we recorded back in May. Re-releases of our first recordings are also on the way and we're working on booking for different tours for this year as well.

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the newer material?
Filip: It's hard to say, but I think we try to play as dark, heavy and dissonance as possible. Basically we try to get more and more 'extreme'.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Filip: On our latest record it was pretty different from song to song. Everything from religion to hate and war. However, on the next record we'll try to just focus on one topic and probably make it as a concept album.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
Filip: Actually it was our old guitarist Kasper that came up with the band name. It was pretty hard for us to find a name that all of us liked. We all agreed that our name should just be one word and we wanted to have an 'x' in the name as well, so he came up with Hexis and we all really liked it, so there's not really any deep meaning behind the name, we just think it sounds cool.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
Filip: Four shows that I think all of us really have enjoyed has been Berlin and Bordeaux last summer and two local shows - the first in our friends from Ajunas rehearsalspace and the second one at our release party at a big libary. The last show is for sure the best we've ever played. Regarding our stage performance, we try to put as much power as possible into our shows, while the only light while we play is strobe. We think that really helps with the energy when combined with our fog machine, which we use whenever possible.

6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?
Filip: Yes, we're going on tour by the beginning of February in Germany, Eastern Europe and Italy. In April we're then touring Russia and in May we're touring Iceland. Then in September/October we're touring the UK, Ireland, France, Spain and some other countries. We're also talking about touring the US next year, we don't know exactly when, but sometime once our next record is out.

7. On a worldwide level how has your music been recieved by fans of black metal and crustcore?
Filip: Actually pretty good, it seems like there's more and more people that like this mix of genres.

8. Are there any side projects desides this band or is this a full time line-up?
Filip: Tobias (Guitar) and Søren (Bass) is also playing in a band called No Fealty, which is Hardcore/Crust/Grind, so if you're into bands like Skitsystem and Napalm Death, you should check them out.

9. What direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?
Filip: It's hard to say, but I think our new stuff's going to be more heavy and intense, while we'll also work more on the smaller details. On our last recordings we just made the songs, got into the studio and then recorded. Because of that there's just so many things here and there I want to change now, as there's so many things you actually first hear and think about once you've recorded the songs. So next time we'll record all the songs as demos first and then listen to them for a few months before we actually go into the studio and record the songs for the album.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Filip: Some of our biggest inspirations have been Celeste, Deathspell Omega, Portal and Shora and still is, but we've also started to take inspiration from bands like Khanate, Thou and old Cult Of Luna. At the moment I really like to listen to an experimental/ambient artist from the UK called Blackfilm. He really makes some amazing dark music and then Celeste's Morte(s) Nee(s) album have been on repeat since it came out in 2010 - I can't get enough of this album.

11. Does Satanism or Occultism play any role in the music?
Filip: Not that much. However, I do find it interesting and will probably take more inspiration from it in our upcoming lyrics.

12. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
Filip: Actually music is almost the only thing that has my interest at the moment. Besides playing in the band I also like putting shows up in Copenhagen and I have also started my own record label a few months ago, so my whole life's pretty much based on this, but design/artwork have also really started to interest me since last year. The only problem here is I don't know how to make it myself!

13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Thanks a lot for the interview, it's been a pleasure.

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