Vahrzaw/Twin Suns & Wolves Tongue/Blood Harvest Records/2016CD Re-Issue Review

  Vahrzaw  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  plays  a  raw  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Twin  Suns  &  Wolf  Tongues"  which  was  re-issued  in  2016  by  Blood  Harvest  Records.

  A  very  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  riffing  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  after  awhile  black  metal  screams  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  along  with  some  elements  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  the  faster  sections  also  use  a  good  amount  of  blast  beats.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  tremolo  picking  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  feeling  and  death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  lot  of  90's  influences  while  also  sounding  very  modern  at  the  same  time  and  the  whole  album  also  remains  very  heavy  from  beginning  to  ending of  the  recording  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  touch  of  war  metal.

  Vahrzaw  plays  a  musical  style that takes  the  heaviest  elements  of  black  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  yet  heavy  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  Anti  Religion,  hate  and  Experience  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Vahrzaw  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "On  The  Shoulders  Of  Giants"  "Twin  Sons  And  Wolf  Tongues"  and  "Nihil  Obstat".  8  out  of  10. 

https://bloodharvestrecords.bandcamp.com/album/twin-suns-wolves-tongues-cd

  

 

Bubonic Cult/Negative Aura Of Satanic Energy/2016 EP Review

  Bubonic  Cult  are  a  band  from  Brazil  that  plays  a  very  raw  and  orthodox  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  self  released  2016  ep  "Negative  Aura  of  Satanic  Energy".

  A  very  raw  black  metal  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  a  decent amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  after  a  few  seconds  high  pitched  screams  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  along  with  the  riffs  also  bringing  in  a  small  amount  of  melody and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs.

  Most  of  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  there  is  only  a  brief  use  of  guitar  solos  or  leads  which  are  very  dark  and  melodic  sounding  while  the  main  focus  is more  on  a  very  raw  and  old  school  style  and  the  last  track  is  all  instrumental.

  Bubonic  Cult  plays  a style  of  orthodox  black  metal  that  is  very  raw  and  old  school  in  the  second  wave  tradition,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Chaosophia,  and  Death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Bubonic  Cult  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw,  orthodox  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Negative  Aura  Of  Satanic  Energy"  and  "As  The  Rats  Feast  Upon  Bones".  8  out  of  10.

https://buboniccult.bandcamp.com/releases

 

Arid/Offerings/2016 EP Review

  Arid  are  a  band  from  Chicago,  Illinois  that  plays  a  raw  mixture  of  black  metal  and crust  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2016  ep  "Offerings".

  A  very  distorted  sound  along  with  some  melodic  riffing  starts  off  the  ep  and  a  few  seconds  later  drums  are  added  into  the  music and  after  awhile  the  music  speeds  up  and  crust  style  growls  along  with  some  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  make  their presence  known  on  the  recording  along  with  some  elements  of  d  beat.

  Blast  beats  can  be  heard  during  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  while  the  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  feeling  and  all  of the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  one  track  also brings  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples  and  throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  whole  ep  also  remains  very  heavy  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the r ecording.

  Arid  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  a  very  raw  form  of  black  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  crust  and  d  beat  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  Anti  State,  Anti  Fascist  and  Anti  Human  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Arid  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  metal  and  crust  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Wasted  Breath"  and  "Offerings".  8  out  of  10.   

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Curezum/A Forest/Siamese Twins/Static Tension Recordings/2016 Single Review

  Curezum  are  a  band  from  Portland,  Oregon  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  does  cover  songs  from  The  Cure  and takes  them  into  more of  a  black  metal  direction  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  single  "A  Forestt/Siamese  Twins"  which  will  be  released  in  September  by  Static  Tension  Recordings.

  Atmospheric  sounding  synths  start  off  the  single  along  with  some  hard  yet  melodic  riffs  a  few  seconds  later  as  well  as  some  drum  beats  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  use  a  great  amount  of melody  and  when  vocals  are  brought  into  the  music  they  are  mostly  grim  black  metal s creams  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  when  the  music  speeds  up.

  Both  of  the  songs  sound  very  different  from  the  original  versions  of  the  songs  while  still  retaining  the  melancholic  mixture  and  there  is  also  some  session  work  from  Matron  Thorn  of  AEvangelist  and  Christopher  Van  Huffel  of   Eight  Bells  and  the  fast  riffs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of tremolo  picking  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  feeling.

  Curezum  once  again  bring  in  a  couple  of  songs  from The  Cure  and  takes  them  into  more  of  a  modern  black  metal  style,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  yet  powerful  at  the  same  time  and  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  the  Cure  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  either  black  metal  or The  Cure,  you  should  check  out t his  single.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Siamese  Twins".  8  out  of  10. 

: https://statictension.bandcamp.com/album/a-forest-b-w-siamese-twins

Feral Light/A Sound Of Moving Sheilds/Sentiet Ruin Laboratories/2016 EP Review

  Feral  Light  are  a  band  from  Minnesota  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal  and  crust  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "A  Sound  Of  Moving Sheilds"  which  was  released  by  Sentient  Ruin Laboratories.

  A  very  dark,  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  ep  and  also  adds  in  a  touch  of  doom  metal  and  after  awhile  the  riffs  start  using  tremolo  picking  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling  along  with  some  black  metal  screams  being  added  onto  the  recording  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  melody.

  Elements  of  post  punk  and  post  metal  can  be  heard  in  the  music  at  times  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  also  mixing  in  a  great  amount  of  crust  influences  and  after  awhile  the  songs  also  start  bringing  in  traces  of  black'n'roll  while  some  songs  also  have  a  progressive  feeling  to  them  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Feral  Light  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  the  modern  style  of  black  metal  while  also  mixing  in elements  of  crust  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  yet  powerful  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  war,  history,  and  apocalyptic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Feral  Light  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  metal  and  crust  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hell  By  Compass"  and  "In  Glorious  Battle  Slain".  8  out  of  10. 

Bandcamp

Skognatt/Landscape Of Ice/2016 EP Review

 Skognatt  are  a  solo  project  from  Germany  that  plays  an  atmospheric  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2016  ep  "Landscape  Of  Ice".

  Dark  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  ep  and  also  mix  in  with  the  heavier  riffs  a  few  seconds  later  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  also  making  their  presence  known  in  the  music  and  the  recording  also  starts  going  into  more  of  an  atmospheric  direction  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's.

  Most  of  the  keyboards  gives  the  music  an  epic  feeling  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  style  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  classical  guitars  and  both  of  the  tracks  stick  either  to  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction.

  Skognatt  plays  a  style  of  atmospheric  black  metal  that  is  very  keyboard  orientated  and  also  brings  back  some  of  the  90's  style,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  winter  and  nature  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Skognatt  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  black  metal  solo project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Landscape  Of  Ice".  8  out  of  10.

https://skognatt.bandcamp.com/releases

Kausalgia/Dreamquest/Saami Records/2016 CD Review

  Kausalgia  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  an  atmospheric  mixture  of  dark  and  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Dreamquest"  which  was  released  by  Saami  Records.

 Nature  sounds  along  with  some  atmospheric  synths  start  off  the  album  and  after  awhile  acoustic  guitars  are  added  into  the  music  before going  into  a  heavier  and  melodic  musical  direction  without  losing  the  atmospheric  elements  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  a  touch  of  doom  metal  in  the  music.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  faster  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo picking  that  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  style  and  the  acoustic  guitar  parts  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  progressive  feeling  and  one  track  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  whispers  and  the  music  sticks  mostly  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  direction  and  one  of  the  songs  also  uses  a  small  amount  of  death  metal  growls.

  Kausalgia  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  a  very  melodic  and  atmospheric  style  of  black  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  dark  metal  to  create  a  sound of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  nature,  death  and  humanity  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Kausalgia  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric mixture  of  black  and  dark  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Thorns"  "Dreamquest"  and  "As  the  Curtain  Falls".  8  out  of  10. 

Bandcamp

Facebook

Homepage @ Archive

Instagram

 

Malphas/Self Titled/Sepulchral Silence Records/2016 EP Review

  Malphas  are  a  solo  project  from  Cantan,  Michigan  that  plays  a  very  raw  and  melodic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  titled2016  ep  which  was  released  by  Sepulchral  Silence  Records.

 A  very  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  a  few seconds  later  and  death  metal  growls can  also  be  heard  in  the  music  at times  and  when  the music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  there  is  also  a  lot  of  Swedish  influences  in  the  music  and  the  last  track  is  long  and  epic  in  length.

Clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  the  music  at  times  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  some  of t he f aster  riffs  use  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  feeling.

  Malphas  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  raw  and  melodic  in t he  Swedish  tradition  while  also  mixing  in  a  touch  of  death  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  anti  religion,  demonology,  fantasy  and  Warhmmer  40k  themes.

 


  In my  opinion  Malphas  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  and  melodic  black  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Infernal  War  hymn"  and  "Devoured  By  the  Swarm".  8  out  of  10.

Bandcamp

Facebook

Official website

ReverbNation

  

 

Votan/At One With The Serpent/Sepulchral Silence/2016 Full Length Review

  Votan  are  a  band  from  Texas  that  plays  an  epic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their 2016  album  "At  One  With  The  Serpent"  which  was  released  by  Sepulchral  Silence.

  Atmospheric  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melodic  direction  along  with  a  great  portion  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  and  after  awhile  black  metal  screams  make  their  presence  known.

  Death  metal  growls  can  be  heard  in  some  parts  and  the  songs  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  synths  are  also  added  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  and  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  some  of  the  faster  riffing  uses  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  which  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  feeling  while  most  of  the  songs  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  the  90's  and  one  track  brings  in  clean  singing  and  the  last  track  is  all  instrumental  and  done  on  synths..

  Votan  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  melodic  and  epic  while  also  bringing  in  a  very  old  school  approach,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  Aztec  Mythology,  Destruction,  War,  Ancient  Times  and  Fantasy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Votan  are  a  very  great  sounding  epic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Scorn  Through  Malice"  "Fallen  Empire"  and  "Death  Marched  In  the  Nile".  8  out  of  10.

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

ReverbNation

SoundCloud

YouTube

True Love/Meditating Through Illusion/2016 Demo Review

  True  Love  are  a  solo  project  from  Reno,  Nevada  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  raw  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2016  demo  "Meditating  Through  Illusion".

  Classical  guitars  start  off  the  demo  and  they  also  use  a  good  mixture  of  both  finger  picking  and  full  chords  and  after  awhile  whispers  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  to  get  a  lot  more  heavier  along  with  some  melodic  riffing  and  high  pitched  black  metal s creams  also  start  making  their  presence  known.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  it  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  feeling  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  a  touch  of  doom  in  some  of  the  slower  riffing  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts.

  Classical  guitars  also  make  a  return  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  and  the  music  also  mixes  in  a  great  amount  of  90's  second  wave  influences  while  also  sounding  very  modern  at  the  same  times  along  with  some  of  the  screams  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  depressive  elements  and  the  last  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  True  Love  creates  a  style  of  black  metal  on  this  recording  that  is  very  raw  and  harsh  sounding  in  the  true  tradition  of  the  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  mysticism,  left  hand  path,  self  reliance,  and  hatred  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  True  Love  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  demo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sovereign  Warrior"  and  "Evasion".  8  out  of  10.

https://truelovebm.bandcamp.com/album/meditating-through-illusion

The UnHuman Thorn Interview

.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the musical project these days?
1.- First of all, thank you a lot for this interview and talking about you asked, well, i’ve just played a couple of days ago in a city called Valparaiso here in Chile, so i’m just booking new touring dates mainly in the country, preparing the shows and enjoying what i’m living now. I have some other projects in witch i’m working on, but i will not tell much about them, cause i want that everything get in the right place at the right time.

    2.In April you had 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 demo you had released 3 years ago?
2.- I’m a very workaholic person, so i always try to fix every detail on my songs and i have to say, the sound is completely different. Back in those days i was still learning in how to mix and master the songs, so now i have improved everything in the album, i mean, guitars, bass, drums even voice is better, i would say it’s a more “mature” sound and extremely more brutal than the demo. I’m very happy with the sound, but i know it will change in my next album and in the next too, so it will be a surprise for the people.



    3.The musical project has been around since 2008 but so far has only released a demo and a full length, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap in between releases?
3.- It’s a demo called “Eradication Process” and two full lengths, one was released on january, 2015 called “Eradicate the Plague” by a chilean label called “Kuyen Prod.” And the second is “Sacro-kvltus Dementis” witch was released recently by “Symbol of Domination” (Belarus) and Base Record Production (Spain). The idea of creating the on-man band was in 2008, but i haven’t had the resources nor founds for record an album in a studio or play live with other members, so i stopped working on that for a long time and because i was studying too, then, a few years later i started again creating songs for TUT until in 2012 i could buy the things i needed to build the hom estudio, that was the momento that everything started for The Unhuman Thorn as a “real” band, not as just an idea.

    4.Your lyrics do cover a lot of Anti Christianity and Blasphemous themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your hatred for religion?
4.- Well, i wouldn’t tell that is just religious hatred, i mean, in this new album i speak about religious fanaticism more than religious hatred, i think it’s a very deep topic to speak of. There is a song called “Through The Endless Death” in witch i put my self into a fanatic mind and i try to describe what he is feeling while he is doing his “god ritual” (flagellation) and it was a very hard thing to do, by the way, cause i’m not, obviously, a religious person, so i had to do a lot of research, but, it’s still was a very interesting study, i learned a lot.



    5.You also go by the name 'Baal', do you have any interest in Occultism?
5.- I would like to keep the answer for me, if a may, but, that’s a start, isn’t it?

    6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'The UnHuman Thorn'?
6.- I wanted to choose a name in witch people would have to think, something deep, so i started to think about what i have to live through my all life and that's where i created the name “The Unhuman Thorn”, cause everybody have problems, but there is always one problem that keeps you more worried than others, or maybe you have just one that became that thorn witch you can’t see or touch, so that’s why “Unhuman”. I put all that together and became “The Unhuman Thorn”.

    7.With this musical project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?
7.- I think “The Unhuman Thorn” will be always a one-man band, but i do have session members whom are helping me on stage, they are good friends of mine and killer musicians also, so thats why i can play live now. I will use a real drummer on my next album, but i will not say his name yet. It’s an awesome chilean drummer, all the other instruments will be me as always.

    8.Can you tell us a little bit more about 'Base Record Productions'?
8.- BRP it’s a non commercial label located in Spain, leaded by Gaspar del Valle, a great musician and person too, i know the label is more into death metal bands (grind, grindcore, death, brutal, etc..),but nowadays i have seen a lot of black metal bands in it. That’s great cause there are a lot of metal mixture, so i invite all of you to check Base Record Facebook page, it’s really awesome and it’s always on touch with the people who search for good quality underground bands.

    9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black and death metal?
9.- It has been better than in Chile, i have to say, that's a bit sad, but chileans are into another “Metal Trend”, i don’t want to sound like “TRUE” or whatever, but that's how it is. Reviews and interviews are going very good, so i enjoy a lot talking with people from abroad, there is a great fan in Czech Republic that asked me for an autographed cd, that's a huge honor for me! I’m very greatful.

    10.Are you also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?
10.- Yes, now i’m working with a couple of musician from the city i live in, it’s different from the style of music i play in TUT, but it will remain brutal tho. I have participate in collaborations with other bands and radio podcast too, but now i’m so into TUT that i have to less time for other projects.

    11.Where do you see yourself heading into as musician in the future?
11.- For me, music is my life, so i know i will be somewhere still making music, maybe in TUT or in another project, but you will see so much more Baal, The Unhuman for a very long time!

    12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
12.- I`m really into blackened death metal and post-black metal bands nowadays, i know that they are completely different styles, but i like both of them. My big influences are Belphegor and Hate (specially Solarflesh album), it’s the sound and the brutal atmosphere they create that have influenced me a lot. There is a chilean band that i like it very much, it’s called “Sol Sistere”, great post- black metal atmospheric band and a few more. I like music in general, from jazz and blues to extreme music, i think musicians must know at list a little bit of all styles, that makes us create huge atmospheres.

    13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
13.- Thank you again, for this great interview, loved the questions and for all the people out there, thanks for hearing my music, keep supporting the underground, see you soon!!!!

Facebook

SoundCloud

YouTube

Inthyflesh/The Flaming Death/Altare Productions/Blackseed Productions/2016 Double Album Review

  Inthyflesh  are  a  band  from  Portugal  that  plays  a  very  raw  and  nihilistic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  double  album  "The  Flaming  Death"  which  will  be  released  in  September  as  a  joint  effort  between  Altare  Productions  and Blackseed  Productions.

  A  very  distorted  reverb  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very fast  and  raw  black  metal  direction  that  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  screams  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  90's  second  wave  influences  along  with  a  small  amount  of  melody.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  none  of  the  songs  ever  use  any  guitar  solos  or  leads  and  the  vocals  also  get  very  hateful  at  times  while  all  of  the musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful  and  the  whole  album  remains  very  heavy  and  raw  from  the  first  to  last  second  with  no  soft  or  clean  parts  ever  being utilized.

  Inthyflesh  creates  a  double  album  that  remains  true  to  the  raw  and  nihilistic  black  metal  sound  of  previous  recordings,  the  production  sounds  very  dark,  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  death,  nihilism,  and  selfness  themes.

  In  my opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Inthyflesh  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  double  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Blood  Howling  Eternity"  "Forever  Insanity"  "Velvet  Burial  Shroud"  and  "Dismal  Awakening".  8  out  of  10.

Bandcamp

Homepage

Nifrost/Motvind/Naturmacht Productions/2016 CD Review

  Nifrost  are  a  band  from  Norway  that  plays  an  atmospheric  form  of  viking/pagan  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Motvind"  which  was  released  by  Naturmacht  Productions.

  Acoustic  guitars  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  singing  pagan  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  a couple  of  minutes  the  music  goes  into  a  heavier  direction  which  also  shows  melodic  guitar  leads  also  becoming  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  as  well  as  a  great  amount  of  grim  black  metal  screams.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  feeling  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  as  the  album  progresses  elements  of  thrash  can  be  heard  in  the  music at  times.

  Nifrost  plays  a  style  of  pagan/viking  black  metal  that  can  be  very  raw  at  times  in  the  Norwegian  tradition  while  also  having  its  epic,  melodic  and  atmospheric  moments,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Norwegian  and  cover  Norse  Mythology  and  Paganism.

  In  my  opinion  Nifrost  are  a  very  great  sounding  viking/pagan  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Byrdesong"  "Dei  Ville  Med  Vald"  "Ve"  and  "Motvind".  8  out  of  10.

Facebook

Old Graves/Long Shadows/Naturmacht Productions/2016 CD Review

  Old  Graves  are  a  band  from  British  Columbia,  Canada  that  has  been featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  atmospheric  form  of  black  metal  with  some  folk  and  doom  metal  elements  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Long  Shadows"  which  was  released  by  Naturmacht  Productions.

  Acoustic  guitars  start  off  the  album  and  they  also  give  the  music  a  progressive  and  folk  music  feeling  and  after  a  minute  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  dark,  heavy  and  melodic  direction  and  the  vocals  are  mostly high  pitched  depressive  black  metal  screams  and  synths  are  also  brought  into  the  music  at  times.

  Throughout  the  recording  the  music  alternates  between  both  the  heavy  and  acoustic  parts  while  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  lot  of  modern  atmospheric  and  post  black  metal  elements  and  the  guitar  solos  and  leads bring  in  a  very  dark and  melodic  style.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  feeling  and  there  are  also  a  couple  of    instrumentals  which  also  shows  the  synths  incorporating  more ambient  elements  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  some  of  the  slower  riffs  are  influenced  by  doom  metal.

  Old  Graves  creates  a  recording  that  is  still  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  atmospheric  black  metal  style  while  also  adding  in  more  folk  music  elements  this  time  around,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  yet  powerful  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  melancholy,  nature  and  death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Old  Graves  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  black  metal  with  elements  of  folk,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sumas"  and  "Teeth  Pulled  From  Gnashing  Jaws".  8  out  of  10.

Artist Page

Frozen Forest Interview

-- 1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
​ We're black metal band from Zagreb,Croatia and have been active on a local scene for a while.We've released one demo and EP ( Demonic Horns Rise ).This year we finally self released our first album Ancient Ritual.The unholy trinity of Frozen Forest consist of Mihovil on vocals and guitar,Danijel on bass and Matko on drums.

2.In May you had 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?

​ The easiest way to describe it would be black metal, but there's much more to it. Maybe black metal with thrash​ and heavy influences would be more appropriate. It's influenced in the first place, of course, by the so called second wave of black metal and bands like Mayhem and Darkthrone, but also earlier black metal bands like Bathory, early Sodom and Celtic Frost. There is also strong influence of Dissection's style melodic black/death metal. We're all fans of older bands like Black Sabbath, Mercyful Fate, Iron Maiden so you can probably hear all those influences creeping in totally beyond our control. It differs from the previous releases as much as demo differs from Demonic Horns Rise EP. All those releases have been done with different line ups, Mihovil being the only one from the beginning. This line up has been together for almost six years and we played lots of gigs in Croatia and jammed together so we developed some musical chemistry between ourselves and dared to explore even more the fact that we are basically a power trio of only guitar, bass and drum.

3.This is your first release in 7 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?
​ Seven years passed by like one​,one might say a dog years.Troubled by the search for right line up,money problems,all sorts of obstacles and ills  we somehow endured,played gigs and worked on a material that would become Ancient Ritual and for now preserved our mental health ( well ,maybe)

4.Your lyrics do cover some satanic, occult and anti christian themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in the dark arts?
​ Satanic themes were covered mostly on our first two releases, while occult (Alchemy on Spider Cures Fever and Isola Dei Morti) are more prevalent on Ancient Ritual along with critique of institutional religion of Christianity which is very influential in Croatian politics and daily life. But more so these days we reveal in the magic, in the enchantment of our own world, adorning it with some phantasmagorical properties, sometimes beyond what common  and ordinary  senses could distinguish. Through it we sometimes draw attention towards some other topics and some social and political diatribes. We weave stories of man longing and yearning to get his life in contact with earth, sun, clouds, thunder, cosmos, full of hidden substances. Lyrically we try to disconnect ourselves from constraints of reality, conventions and customs... To loosen the language and meanings while broadening the interpretations, a lurking hole of childhood dream. Some songs (Endless Cloud) are the beginning of the  bigger cycle loosely knit together, that is meant to appear on future albums, maybe just few song on each album.


5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Frozen Forest'?
​ Well,forest in myths and fables is arcane,dark and enigmatic place and is usually inhabited by cryptic,strange and magical living things.The backwoods  holds all kinds of perils,evils spirits and demons.Of course it is also the home of the outlaws,of banished and condemned,which by their nature a true (black ) metal artist always are.Forest also stands for domains that are yet to be uncovered and brought  out to light.But one has to bear in mind that it is also a symbol of feminine.On the other hand frozen reminds us of tranquility of reason and emotions,but also of detachment and cruel lack of emotions.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
​ The best for us was gig in Osijek (a town in eastern part of Croatia) which was held​ in place that was once an old fortress. A small and sweaty gig in front of dedicated headbangers under stone and brick arches over which was apparently a small convent of nuns. We were asked not to use any so called offensive imagery such as inverted crosses and pentagrams, but that did not stop the crowd from sometimes going nuts.

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

​ We'd certainly love to play more gigs​, but the reality is quite different in small country like Croatia, where there's only few big towns with metal scene big enough to generate even small interest in black metal, although because of melodic nature of our music and influences far beyond pure black metal we get support from a broader audience than just black metal purists.

8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
Yes, we are currently looking for a label because you can't do very much in the world of music without a label.
We have received some offers but we'll see what's best for us.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?
​ The album has just recently seen the day of light, and so far, so good, but in this aspect more is always better... As you mentioned, we are unsigned and are  DIY act, so we don't have promotional or financial back​g​r​
ound whatsoever beyond blood and guts that we ourselves invest in our free time.
Blogs and zines like yours are doing a great job in promoting lesser known acts around the world. But we're only getting the best of responses from around the world.

10.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?
​ Mihovil is also member of local Black Sabbath tribute band​ called Out Of The Void in which he's playing a guitar along with our musical brothers from Croatian doom metal band Blak Monastery

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
​ Hoping to further evolve and expand the sound and dynamics of power trio we developed on Ancient Ritual, and within the black/thrash metal explore our deepest ​metal influences.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
​ We grew up on classical metal bands and the champions of NWOBHM like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Saxon, Motorhead​, early Scorpions, we all worship Black Sabbath and Mercyful Fate, indulge shamelessly in true metal of Manowar. We're fans of Sodom, Darkthrone, Mayhem, Taake, Kreator, Slayer, Watain, Gorgoroth, Ofermod, such as bands that appeared on Nidrosian Black Mass.
Beyond metal we like stuff like Misfits, Throbbing Gristle, Ramones, The Cure, Kraftwerk, Husker Du, Black Flag, Mission Of Burma, Van Der Graf Generator, The Stooges, Fields Of The Nephilim...



13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
​ Well we just started working on our second album,and have already some songs finished​,although we've just barely started the promotion of Ancient Ritual and that is our main concern these days,because beyond doing shows we enjoy the creative process of writing and jamming new ideas.So keep an eye for future news if you enjoy our music and we hope to see you somewhere down the road.

Bandcamp

Facebook

Myspace

YouTube

Twilight Fauna/Fire Of The Spirit/Ravenwood Recordings/Fragile Branch Recordings/2016 Full Length Review

  Tennessee's  solo  project  Twilight  Fauna  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues the  folk  influenced  atmospheric  black  metal  sound  of  previous  recordings  and  this  is  a  review  of his  2016  album  "Fire  Of  The  Spirit"  which  will  be  released  in  August  as  a  joint  effort  between  Ravenwood  Recordings  and  Fragile  Branch  Recordings.

Spoken  word  samples  from  a  southern  backwoods  church  start  off  the  album  and  after  a  few  seconds  acoustic  guitars  are  added  onto  the  recording  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  folk feeling  and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks a re  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  also  mixing  spoken  words  in  with the music  at  times.

 After  awhile  heavy  guitars  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  along  with  some  black  metal  screams  which  are  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix  and  drum  beats  are  added  onto  the  second  track  while the  riffs  use  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  which  also  gives  the music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark,  raw  and  melodic  style  and  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  acoustic  guitars  make  their  return  and  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  Americana  feeling  as  well  as  some  songs  also  bringing  in  folk  instruments  and  melodic  singing  while  a  later  track  mixes  both  acoustic  and  electric  guitars  together.

  Twilight  Fauna  creates  a  recording  that  takes  black  metal  and  focuses  more  on  the  guitar  riffing  of  the  genre  while  also  mixing  in  elements  of  folk  music  to  create  something  very  diffferent,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  are  based  upon  the  Pentacostal  snake  cults  and  churches that are  all  around  the  backwoods  area's  of  the  south.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Twilight  Fauna  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  black  metal  and  folk  music,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "A  Green  Moth  In  The  Midst"  and  "Tongues  Of  Knowledge".  8  out  of  10.

https://twilightfauna.bandcamp.com/album/fire-of-the-spirit

Styxian Industries Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
We’re going through some changes at the moment since the drummer decided to move to the other side of the world. Therefore machine based technology is even more important than before. However, we we are planning a few shows in the Netherlands.

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?
“Zero.Void.Nullified {Of Apathy And Armageddon}” is the soundtrack for the end of the world, a cocktail of 'classic black metal' 'experimental industrial and electronic elements', with a few small classic rock and metal touches. It is the logical continuation of our previous work.

3.While you have had plenty of releases they where mostly demo's, ep's and split's, can you tell us a little bit more on why you waited until 2016 to release an actual full length?
It wasn’t waiting. There was never a conscious decision. We just let things happen. When you kick a rock of a mountain top, you don’t immediately have an avalanche. It takes some time to build momentum. Just like a landslide, there is only one way for us and that is downhill.
4.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with your newer music?
We capture and celebrate the demise of humanity. Downwards is where we’re going.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Styxian Industries'?
The name comes from one of the rivers that run through the underworld in ancient Greek mythology, the river Styx. This river separates the world of the living from the world of the dead. One could imagine an endless row of smoking chimneys separating this world from a dead and wasted land.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
You should ask the people who had the guts to endure our shows multiple times over the past few years. We try to to transmit our ideology both musically and visually. Turning the stage in a post-apocalyptic setting which will make you see, feel and hear what we want to carry out.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
At the moment, we’re planning a couple of shows in/around the Netherlands somewhere en October 2016.

8.In the beginning the band was a 5 piece but now has only 3 members, is it hard to find other musicians that share your same vision?
Decay is is the law of life and death and this definitely applies to us. As we devolved into the abomination we are now, we lost some members who couldn’t cope with the ideas and everything that came along with it. We tried to fill their places but discovered it was easier to adjust ourselves to the new 3 member situation. Like a democracy, the less voters, the more pure the chosen line.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal and industrial?
As the genre is still small, there is a small group of enthusiast that celebrate every additions. On the other side, you'll find people who can't stand the use of electronics. They can't grasp the concept of the added violence we bring with the distorted beats and glitches. However, a lot of people experience it as the right mix between conservative old black metal and modern electronics.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
As we like to maintain the organic feel of deterioration there will not be much of a shift into the more electronic side of the music. Deterioration is the keyword and downward is the way we go.  As it is now, everything in the music sounds like it performed by the last human remaining... Rotten and cursed. We don’t want to polish it up to a kind of music produced by machines after human downfall.

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?
We are influenced by both the old norwegian Black Metal, and the more modern Industrial Black Metal approach (Blacklodge, Aborym, etc.) We found there's a gap between these 2 styles to fill. For the majority the members of the band listen to the more extreme side of metal. Though tastes also expand to more obscure, experimental metal and darker psy-trance or Hi-Tech and Motorhead.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Final thoughts are for the weak and dying. There is only one way and that’s downwards. When you see the big bright light stop and wait till it hits you.

Bandcamp

Facebook

Homepage

Frigoris/Nur Ein Moment/Hypnotic Dirge Records/2016 CD Review

  Frigoris  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  an  atmospheric  form  of  post  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of their  2016  album  "Nur Ein Moment"  which  will  be  released  in  August  by  Hypnotic  Dirge  Records.

 Nature  sounds  and  clean  guitars  start  off  the  album  and  also  bring  in  touches  of  post  rock  and  after  a  minute  melodic  guitar  leads  start  becoming  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  along  with  some  depressive  black  metal  screams  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  During  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  feeling  and  acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard  at  times  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  progressive  feeling  and  the  songs  also  bring  in a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and fast  parts.

  A  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and violins  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  melodic  singing  along  with  a  small  amount  of  whispers  and  you  can  also  hear  a  lot  of  doom  metal  influences  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  and  the  music  also  brings  in  more  of  a  modern  and atmospheric sound.

  Frigoris  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  atmospheric  and  depressive  in the  modern  style  of  the  genre  while  also  mixing  it  in  with  elements  of  doom  metal  and  post  rock,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  German  and  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  isolation  and  depression  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Frigoris  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  post  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Truwen"  and  "Himeros".  8  out  of  10.

https://hypnoticdirgerecords.bandcamp.com/track/tr-wen

 
 

Aggressive Mutilator/Monster Decay/Carnal Records/2016 EP Review

  Sweden's  Aggressive  Mutilator  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  the  raw  mixture  of  black  metal,  thrash  and  hardcore  punk  of  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "Monster  Decay"  which  was  released on  cassette  by  Carnal  Records.

  A  very  heavy  and  aggressive  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  vocals  that  are  in  between  first  wave  black  metal  and  thrash  and  the  guitar  leads  are  melodic  and  during the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  the  riffs  use  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  after  awhile  black  metal  screams  and  elements  of  hardcore  punk  are  added  into  the  music  and  most  of the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  but  also  remain  heavy  and  they  close  the  ep  with  a  cover  of  Bad  Brains  "The  Regulator".

  Aggressive  Mutilator  creates  another  recording  that  mixes  the  first  and  second  wave  styles  of  black  metal  with  80's  influenced  thrash  and  hardcore  punk,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and sickness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Aggressive  Mutilator  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black  metal,  thrash  and  punk,  you  should  check  out  this  cassette.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "No  Right  To  Exist"  and  "Leather  Apron".  8  out  of  10.

https://aggressivemutilator.bandcamp.com/album/monster-decay