Grafvitnir/Keys To The Mysteries Beyond/Carnal Records/2017 CD Review

  Grafvitnir  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  raw  and  melodic  form  of  occult  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Keys  To  The  Mysteries  Beyond"  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  Carnal  Records.

  Nature  orientated  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  dark,  heavy  and  melodic  direction  and  when t he  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  bringing  in a   great  amount  of  melody.

  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  yet  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  mid  90's  Swedish  style  of  the  genre  along  with  the  songs  also bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  they  also  bring  in  a   couple  of  synth  instrumentals  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction.

  Grafvitnir  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  their  raw  and  melodic  style  of  occult  black  metal  from  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  Chaosophy,  Occultism,  Luciferian,  Serpent  Wisdom  and  the  Gnosis  Of  Pleroma  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Grafvitnir  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  and  melodic  occult  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Nidhogg"  "Eternity's  Glistening  Black"  "Eye  Of  Lucifer"  and  "Glimpses  Of  The  Unseeable".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/Grafvitnir.Official/

Mist Of Misery/Fields Of Isolation/Black Lion Records/2017 EP Review

  Sweden's  Mist  Of  Misery  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  the  symphonic  style  of  depressive  black  metal  from  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  ep  "Fields  Of  Isolation"  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  Black  Lion  Records.

  Tragic  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  ep  and  also  mix  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  depressive  black  metal  screams  along  with  the  music  also  mixing  in  symphonic  elements  as  well  as  spoken word  parts  also  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  When the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  can  be  heard which  also  gives  the  songs  a  more  raw  feeling  while  death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  a  couple  of  the  tracks  being  instrumentals  which  are  used  before  each  vocal  track.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  while  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  they  also  bring  in  a  cover  of  Cold  World's  "Tortured  By  Solitude"  before  going  into  more  of  an  instrumental  and  classical  direction  on  the  remaining  tracks  and  acoustic  guitars  are  also  added  on  the  closing  song.

  Mist  Of  Misery  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  symphonic  style  of  depressive  black  metal  from  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  depression  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Mist  Of  Misery  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  symphonic  and  depressive  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Fields  Of  Isolation"  and  "Tortured  By  Solitude".  8  out  of  10.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MistofMisery
Youtube: https:/www.youtube.com/user/MistOfMiserySwe/videos 
Bandcamp: https://mistofmiseryblacklion.bandcamp.com

    

Arkheth/12 Winter Moons Comes The Witches Brew/Transcending Obscurity Records/2018 CD Review

  Arkheth  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  plays  a  very  experimental  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  album  "!2  Winter  Moons  Comes  The  Witches  Brew"  which  will  be  released  in  2018  by  Transcending  Obscurity  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  evil  soundscape  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction  which  also  mixes  in  a  great  amount  of  experimental  and  avant  garde  elements  along  with  some  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  during  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  which  also  gives  the  songs  a  more  raw  feeling.

  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  while  all  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  the  music  getting  very  progressive  at  times  along  with  some  saxophones  also  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in a   great  mixture  of  slow, mid  parts.

  Spoken  word  parts and  whispers  can  also be  heard  at  times  while  operatic  female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  some  tracks  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  guitars  and  keyboards  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  riffs  also  start  incorporating  more  melody  and  clean  vocals  when  they  are  utilized  are  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix  on  one  track  while  getting  more  powerful  on  a  later  song  and  all  of t he  tracks  sound  different  from  each  other.

  Arketh  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  black  metal  while  also  being  very  experimental  and  avant  garde  as  well  as  mixing  other  genres  in  their  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  nature,  misanthropy  and  occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Arketh  are  a  very  great  sounding  experimental  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dark  Energy  Equilibrium"  and  "The  Fool  Who  Persists  In  His  Folly".  8  out  of  10.

Official ARKHETH Bandcamp

Official ARKHETH Facebook

   

Solfernus Interview

Answers by Igor (guitar)

Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?

Probably the same as other bands. Searching for that right label to release the album on CD and hopefully LP, there was one photo session and now we are promoting „Neoantichrist“ with interviews for ´zines and radios, as well as some videoclips to be made during 2018.

In October 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?

We recorded all songs at Moravian Ch-Records Studio with Engel + Marshall guitar amplifiers and boxes and the double bass drum-kit, of course. The same place was taken for vocals. Not so easy to compare the new album with that previous one ´cause it´s more like twelve years old studio experience. It´s sure that the actual record sounds more professional than the debut album but we still like „Hysteria in Coma“ sound too. I remember that the work at another great Shaark Studio was quite similar regarding to instruments and practice. There are also more special guests on the first album who were participating on the record.

This is your first album since 2005, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?

SOLFERNUS played out a few great shows in Czech Republic and even one in Germany. We appeared also at famous Brutal Assault Open Air twice and the band made two videoclips to promote the debut album as much as possible. We started to record new songs back in 2008 but this pre-production was never finished because our drummer and frontman left the band one by one. I continued with my main act ROOT and the project SOLFERNUS slowly disappeared in a desert of oblivion…

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

You can find here a morbid fun in „That One Night“ song which is inspired by infamous doctor Hannibal Lecter or such a reflection about the awakening inside of a coffin put down in the grave – the thought which everybody had in mind at least once during a life – the song called „Between Two Deaths“. The album contains also some antichristian verses in tracks „Pray for Chaos!“ or „Neoantichrist“. The horror hit song that we would like to make also as the videoclip is „Mistresserpent“.

What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Solfernus'?

The main inspiration was the character of one devil from legendary Czech fairy tale. True killer man bearing this name;-)

What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Definitely shows at Brutal Assault when the band presented this kind of art in front of a few thousands people. Otherwise people can find some SOLFERNUS live appearances and both old official videclips for songs „Advent Massacra“ + „Hysteria in Coma“ online. We can describe all those ancient stage performances as Hell on Earth.

Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?

Not yet, perhaps in the future if there will appear a real interest from organizers and mainly fans.

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

First of all, we don´t get a feedback from black metal fans because there are also various metal genres listeners who like our new album. That was our goal – not to become a part of black metal community only – our music is for more maniacs. And yes, the feedback on the new album is above all expectations. The most of reviews are pretty positive and people support us personally or with messages about really good album.

What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?

I´m still playing in ROOT along with our drummer. This band is active thirty years already, we play shows and plan the new album. I was used to be the guitarist of famous Czech death metal commando HYPNOS a few seasons too.

Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

In Metal!

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?

Still many influences around ourselves, that´s sure. We cannot talk about specific names because these ones represent just a small touch of the influencing, you know. Maybe it is a part of the band´s know-how so I should not reveal such information;-)

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

I must praise the title of your webzine. We can be calm if SOLFERNUS´ interview will be online under this banner!

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Eternal Helcaraxe/In Times Of Desperation/Naturmacht Productions/2017 CD Review

  Eternal  Helcaraxe  are  a  band  from  Ireland  that  has  been  featured  before in  this  zine  and  plays  a  pagan  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "In  Times  Of  Desperation"  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  Naturmacht  Productions.

  A  very   fast  and  raw  sound  starts  off  the  album  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  along  with  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  guitar  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  some  songs  also  bringing  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars.

  As  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  keyboards  are  also  added  onto  the  recording  and  they  give  the  songs  more  of  an  epic  and  atmospheric  feeling  along  with  clean  female  vocals  also  being  used  briefly  while  another  track  also  adds  in  some  stringed  instruments as  well  as  being  all  instrumental.


  Eternal  Helcaraxe  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  raw  and  melodic  style  of  pagan/black  metal  from  their  previous  release,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Paganism  and  Mythology  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Eternal  Helcaraxe  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  pagan  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Our  Time  In  The  Sun"  "The  Healer  And  The  Cross"  and  "One  Journey'.  8  out  of  10.

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Adherent/Demo MMXVII/Solar Asceticists Productions/2017 Demo Review

  Adherent  are  a  solo  project  from  the  United  States  that  plays  an  raw  and  majestic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2017  demo  which  was  released  by  Solar  Asceticists  Productions.

  Ambient  style  synths  start  off  the  demo  before  going  into  more of  a  heavier  and  atmospheric  musical  direction  which  also  introduces  grim  black  metal  screams  onto  the  recording  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  being  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  the  music  speeds  up a  decent  amount  of blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  During  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  the  riffs  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  which  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling  while  the  music  also  brings  in  a  mixture  of  second  wave  and  early  2000's  dsbm  influences  long  with  the  songs  also  bringing  bringing  in  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  one  of  the  tracks  being  an  instrumental  and  the  demo  closes  with  a  cover  of  Grand  Belial's  Key's  "Kingdom  of  Poisoned  Fruits"  which  also  brings  a  small  amount  of  melody  onto  the  recording.

  Adherent  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  raw  and  atmospheric  sounding,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  have  a  concept  to  them  dealing  with  tranquility  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Adherent  are  a very  great  sounding  raw  and  majestic  black  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  demo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Tranquility  I"  and  "Kingdom  of  Poisoned  Fruits".  8  out  of  10.

https://solar-asceticists-productions.bandcamp.com/album/demo-mmxvii

 

  

Invehertex/Hacia el Vortice/Atavism Records/Signal Rex/2017 CD Re-Issue Review

  Invehertex  are  a  band  from  Chile  that  plays  a  very  dark  and  raw  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2015  album  "Hacia  el  Vortice"  which  was  re-issued  as  a  joint  effort  between  Atavism  Records  and  Signal  Rex.

  Atmospheric  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  musical  direction which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  yet  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  melodies  can  also b e  heard  in  the  riffing  at  times.

  Some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  melodic  chants  also  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  at  times the  vocals  also  have  a  depressive  edge  to  them  as  well  as  some  of  the  riffing  brings in  some  dark  sounding  melodies,  whispers  and  clean  playing  on  a  few  tracks  and  most  of  the  tracks  have  an  avant  garde  sounding  interlude  to  them.

  Invehertex  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  dark,  raw  and  depressive  while  also  getting  experimental  at  times,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Spanish  and  cover  introspection,  nature,  transcendence,  and  astral  mystery  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Invehertex  are  a  very  great  sounding  dark,  raw  and  depressive  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Aurora  Magna"  "Naufragio"  and  "Hacia  el  Vortice".  8  out  of  10.

https://atavism-records.bandcamp.com/album/hacia-el-v-rtice



  

Seid Interview

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

Sure, we play a style of music that we ourselves call Norse Black Metal, not surprising with much influences from the old Norse (Scandinavia). It could be called Viking Black Metal I guess but that sounds too much like Amon Amarth and happy mead drinking metal guys with Viking T-shirts. Nothing wrong with that all, but we want to represent and present a more spiritual, ritual and shamanic view on the Norse, that for sure has not been shown as often. Hence the band name.  War and brutality is of course part of the lyrics too, Odal demands it but runes with their power, foretelling, magic and meanings behind them are a big part of the great web of WYRD as well as it is of ᛋᛖIᛞ (SEID). Only reason we write SEID is that runes are not shown on every digital platform (like youtube) and not even accepted in real life sometimes… and people of course have trouble reading them.

2. So far you have released 2 albums, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings and also how do they differ from each other?

The first album is a start-up process really where I (Seiðr) finally got around to record some SEID riffs with different drummers. I tried to start something up in 2009 but ended up with only one song called Red Eyes Black Skull. To be honest it is a drum machine on that song and it killed me to have to program that shit, never doing it again. In 2013 me and a drummer were supposed to record some hardcore, d-beat stuff but it resulted instead in Warhorn, Typhon Hydra and Tubal Cain. Then me and Empa from my other band Serpent Omega recorded three songs too in 2014-2015. These two drummers didn’t actually want to be a part of SEID they were just helping me out because I am a useless drummer. But later in 2015 I was mixing a band in my studio (www.darkprod.com) from the United States where Arant (the second real member of SEID) was the drummer, and I asked him if I could have the drum tracks for one of his songs to fool around with and I recorded When Frost And Fire Unite on those drums. Arant really liked what I had done over his drum tracks so we recorded two songs more together from scratch, Death of our Chieftain (Lemmy tribute) and Valknut, in late 2015. So basically The Woods album is a collection of three demos with three different drummers, which I tried to give a similar mixing and mastering. The Woods was released on CD in the US by Blood and Brutality records and digitally (Spotify, Bandcamp and so on) by Dark Prod Records. Me and Arant then quickly agreed to write a full album together from scratch, this album became Darkness Shall Fall, released 17th of December 2017 by Urtod Void Records. Vinyl is limited to 300. Worth mentioning of course is that Alex Purkis (also in Craft, Kall, Hypothermia and ex. Shining) joined us at a late stage and recorded all the bass for Darkness Shall Fall. He wrote the main part of the basslines too. To have both Arant and Alex, such extremely talented musicians in SEID now seems almost too good to be true. But yet here we are, right now in the process of writing/recording the third album as a three piece. With this explanation in mind know that Darkness Shall Fall is considered by us the first real album and I think people will hear us stepping up things more than one notch compared to The Woods (1st album)… even if both releases are old school sounding. The Woods was a real fucking catharsis for me personally and I’m not saying it’s a bad album/demo collection. Definitely worth a run through or two. The lyrics for the song The Woods and Tubal Cain are personal favourites.

3.I have read that the idea for the project came out in 1992 but you waited 20 years before bringing it to the surface, can you tell us a little bit more about what was going on during that time frame?

Yes hmm this is true with a modification, I didn’t really start SEID back then, I “started” Neocrome but whatever name the idea was the same. I was the only member and I had only a guitar at disposal. An Epiphone Les Paul that Grim from Domgård bought from me about 15 years later. I think he passed it on now. 1992-1993 I was listening VERY much to some specific albums since getting albums was kind of hard and super expensive, but my absolute favourites were Marduk- Those of the unlight, Darkthrone- A Blaze in the northern sky, and BATHORY’s Jubileum I and II albums, Impaled Nazarene- Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz and Ugra Karma, a bit later also Dissection- The Somberlain (1994). Death Metal was really interesting too, Entombed Clandestine, Dismember- Like an ever flowing stream, Deicide- Legion and Cannibal Corpse- Tomb of the mutilated were my favourite cassettes haha I still have those, seeing Entombed, At the gates and Internal Decay live back then was a huge life changing event for me… but the black metal was something special and eerie that just never let go through the years. Early 90s was as you know totally insane and every band seemed to be masters of their trade. They really were, and the thing was back then only the really fucking good bands had a chance, remember this was before people even had e-mail. Cassette trading was the shit. (Still is). I prefer that time, now days every band think they are great but the obvious fact is they suck, there are still as very few really good bands as back then, but now every band can be bigger than they deserve through internet bla bla bla I become like this when I drink beer. But… coming back to the idea of starting SEID. I have found a whole textbook of riffs I made back then under the name Neocrome. Logo framed with both upside down crosses and Thors hammer Mjölner/Mjolnir. In that sense it’s a lot like SEID haha I haven’t really changed to be honest. 
I was 13-14 back then I am 38 now, what can I say, I am a slow learner and a late bloomer but stubborn as fuck. Talents like Jon Nödtveidt and Nicke Andersson seem to never have been beginners… just picked up whatever instrument and handled it liked a professional from day one. This was the reason I couldn’t start SEID back then, first I couldn’t find people to play Black Metal with, and second I couldn’t really technically play the way I wanted to either. So I was doomed to play crust punk for 10 years in a band called Abuse, then Terrorstat, then Serpent Omega and at the same time slowly coming back to my musical identity. “Fun fact” is that me and Arant is planning to record all those shitty and naive riffs from the textbook and release it as SEID, probably as a full fourth album directly after album number three. But it could also end up as a bonus cassette or an EP. We are joking about how people probably will like that album the most… maybe a self-fulfilling prophecy. The riffs are brutal and borderline insane and not at all as “polished” as the one on Darkness Shall Fall and the third upcoming album. Somehow I think that really raw style is more popular. But if I were making music to satisfy as many listeners as possible I wouldn’t be playing black metal at all.

4. Both the band name and lyrics come from Rune Magick and Asatru, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these practices?

Well, speaking for myself I am in proud opposition to all Abrahamic religions, they are the plague. Ban them. But instead…some runes are getting banned right now (like the Tyr rune) in their own natural habitat because they were/are used by National Socialists (imagine completely banning the Christian cross or all the Mosques like they try to ban runes and Asatru. Don’t try to tell me that seriously bad stuff haven’t been done in the name of those religions. And Commies could make a whole chapter by itself. ) This on the other hand is really a true racism against native Asatru, since oppression of religion is now included in the definitions of racism. I have a Valknut tattoo on my hand for example and people really sometimes have the nerve to ask me IN SWEDEN if it stands for something “bad” referring a bit unsecure to the Nazis. Why would I give a fuck about Nazis? These are MY symbols and my heritage. People are in general stupid and want to come across as “good hearted” but don’t have the time or interest to really read up on things, so the results of their semi- ambitious good intentions are easily manipulated, but hard to reverse. The left, the right and the ones in between are all fooled because they base their decisions and politics on lies alone.
In another aspect. The interest for our old ways, runes, Asatro/Asatru, Seidr, Vikings, and all things related has been with me since early childhood. Where I come from outside Uppsala there is a lot of rune stones and Viking grave mounds, and other historic marks that early caught my eyes. My best friend as a child introduced me to an old three legged table that could answer questions with its different legs. And we also started small sacrifices early on… he had much knowledge about the characteristics of the different Asarna/Aesirs and Vaner/Vanirs, and my mother was kind enough to get me books about the gods and the Vikings too, almost all my essays in school were about Ragnarök and so on haha. Once again… before the world wide web kiddos. Nobody in school knew shit about our own culture/history, but we had to learn about all other stinking religions. Nothing about reading runes even, no field trips visiting rune stones, a clear case of self oppression. We never visited the great Viking mounds of Uppsala that was half of an hour away with bus. BUT we had to go to church to sing psalms and learn about the bible haha middle east wicked shit in Scandinavia. No one even reacts. The seidr runs in the family. My mother is a Seidrkona without knowing it but the way she can foretell future, talk to animals and find ground water before drilling a well with just a small Y- formed branch of birch (Slagruta)… to me strongly indicates she got a lot of seidr. People can believe what they want about it. I dream of things to come, but I have trouble sometimes to separate those dreams from ordinary dreams, I’m working on methods for that. I also have a very good hand with casting the runes similar to Tarot readings. I use shamanic drumming to travel the parallells. But as with all magic, the more you use it the stronger it gets. But revealing too much to anybody is a poor decision. Great forces are in work and many different agendas are struggling. But I have seen Ragnarök (the end of the world) many times and I can guarantee you it all ends in a series of big cosmic collisions and it looks beautiful. I hope it comes sooner than later.

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

SEID have never played live. But we will! The members of SEID have very much live experience. Early on we made a decision to stay away from the crappy gigs. Our stage performance will be Seidr ritualistic and suggestive. We will bring in a couple of guitarists for this so I can focus on vocals, shamanic drumming and maybe a third guitar. So guitarists can get in touch. Since Arant (drums) lives in the US we already have a drummer in Sweden who has signed up for doing live shows in Europe. (Tatu from Neuronaut) If/when we play in the US, Arant will be drumming. Good venues we have played in other constellations in Sweden are Copperfields and Truckstop Alaska, and some years ago in Stockholm we also had Püssy a Go Go and Debaser Slussen. In Norway I recommend Blitz (Oslo), in Finland I would say Klubi Turku. There is a festival in Bergen, Norway that you all probably know of, called Beyond The Gates that I have visited but not played, that would be a good place to play for SEID.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Nothing booked, first Darkness Shall Fall must be released in less than a month and we will take it from there. We got some venues mentioned above that are interested when the time is right. Maybe there will not be any live shows until the third album is released. It depends. But there is no panic.

7.The vinyl version is going to be released on 'Urtod Void Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
Yes and as far as I know right now it will only be 300 LP released. 100 of them will be blue splatter. So pre order at Urtod Void. It will also be on Spotify, iTunes, Bandcamp. No CD or cassette is planned but we could be interested if the right label approaches. The cover design is a painting made by WÆIK solemnly for this purpose. I believe I got the advice to contact Urtod Void by Nate/Niðafjöll in Veiled (great new album on its way, recorded in Sweden by Grá members by the way). Igor who runs Urtod Void is easy to work with and gives 100% artistic freedom but still helps out with everything and we have trusted him a lot. He helped us properly digitalize the logo that I only had on a piece of paper before. Stuff like that… I highly recommend Urtod Void. http://urtodvoid.bigcartel.com/product/seid-darkness-shall-fall-lp

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of pagan and black metal?
The support so far (mainly on our Instagram account @seidsthlm) has been truly mind blowing… maybe not really mind blowing but at least humbling. People have been buying patches for their vests from all over and I think many will be very happy when Darkness Shall Fall finally arrives. We got some really good reviews too but actually we haven’t been doing so much promotion unfortunately. It’s the worst part of playing in a band.

9. What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
Alex are very active with Craft (fucking great band) and they have a new album almost completed! Right now he is in Greece with Hypothermia.
Me: Serpent Omega has a second album almost done, only vocals and mixing remain. Last one came out 2013 and the members have been busy with stuff since then so everything has taken a lot of time. We have made some shows every year though. I always thought we were better live anyway really.
Arant is busy recording drums for Witch of 1692 (you need to check them out). Also Arant and me are working on SEID’s fourth album (!!!) the one with all the riffs from 1992-1993, because he already finished the drums for the third SEID album. And I finished the guitars too. Bass and vocals to be done. That guy Arant is like a machine… and we both have OCD.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
The third album will be even deeper down in the Swedish folk music swamp, we will even have an old Swedish folk song cover as the outro for the album. Visa från Utanmyra. It’s going to be more of a folk jazz inspired version than black metal. But I still think people will like it. It is one of my all time favourite songs anyway. Other songs will have shamanic drumming and the riffs are very melodic and inspired by old folk melodies that many in Scandinavia know in their “souls/hearts/guts” even if they never actually heard them before. The name of this third album is gonna be ULV or ULF in runes. After this third one we will release the 1992-1993 album or EP and it will be totally different than DSF and ULV! More Darkthrone than Bathory if that make sense. More Orch/Orc than Alv/Elvish. Haha you will see. The fifth album will probably just sound like Wardruna or something. But we aren’t there yet.

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?
 I mentioned this in previous answers but I want to bring up Internal Decay again. Most underrated band in the world. The name Darkness Shall Fall is an homage to their song “…and darkness shall fall” The acoustic title track interlude on Darkness Shall Fall in also inspired by mainly them, but also At the gates and Dissection taught us early on that undistorted acoustic parts wouldn’t make albums bad, but rather enhance the dynamic and storytelling. Hmm nowadays is harder. I like Abbath, I think Marduk is still relevant, Djevel, Ruins of Beverast, GRÁ and of course my friends in Domgård, Veiled, Avslut, Craft, Sadistik Forest, Nebrus, Nott, Seeds in barren fields, High on fire. A lot of semi unknown bands I work with at Dark Prod Studios is really great too. Like Sex Dumpster from Mexico. I am sure I forgot many and I blame the age.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
I want to thank the few like yourself who contributes more to the scene than half of the bands and the fans do. To get support as a unknown band is really fucking hard because people are like sheep and some of the cool sheep must say they like a band first to make it ok for the rest of the sheep to like it. Wolves doesn’t bother about this. But sheep are many and wolves are few. To all you lone wolves out there… join the #SEIDpack. Valhalla awaits.

www.facebook.com/seidsthlm
Instagram: @seidsthlm
Contact: seidsthlm@gmail.com

Malvento/Pneuma/Third I Rex/2017 CD Review

  Malvento  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  an  occult  form  of  black  metal  with  elements  of  experimental,  psychedelic  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of   their  2017  album  "Pneuma"  which  was  released  by  Third  I  Rex.

  A  very  atmospheric  and  ritualistic  sounding  intro starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  synths  and  whispers  while  also  introducing  experimental  elements  onto  the  recording  and  after  the  intro  keyboards  are  also  added  into  the  music  and  at  times  the  songs  bring  in  a  very  avant  garde  vibe.

  Once  the  music  gets  heavier  grim  black  metal  screams  are  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  a  small  amount  of  melodic  vocals  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  along  with  clean  playing  also  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  A  lot  of  doom  metal  elements  can  be  heard  in  the  slower  riffing  while  the  music  also  mixes  in  a  great  amount  of  psychedelic  elements  along  with  a  lot  of  the  tracks  sounding  different  from  each  other  and  as  the  album  progresses  elements  of  industrial  are  also  added  into  the  music  briefly  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Malvento  plays  a  style  of  occult  black  metal  that  is  very  experimental  while  also  mixing  in  psychedelic,  industrial  and  doom  metal  elements  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  lo-fi  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Italian  and  cover  Esoteric  and  Occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Malvento  are  a  very  great  sounding  experimental  occult  black  metal group  with  elements  of  psychedelic  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Notte"  "Vortex"  and  "Le  Danze".  8  out  of  10.

https://3rdirex.bandcamp.com/album/pneuma  

Grimtone/Memento Mori/Extreme Metal Music/2017 CD Review

  Grimtone  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  very  raw  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Memento  Mori"  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  Extreme  Metal  Music.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  while  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  briefly  before  going  into  more  of  a  grim  direction  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  while  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's second  wave  Scandinavian  style  along  with  the  riffs  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  melodic  guitar  leads  are  only  used  briefly,  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Grimtone  plays  a  style  of  black metal  that  is  very  raw  and  traditional  in  the  old  school  fashion,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  death  and  its  transition  from  life.

  In  my  opinion  Grimtone  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Souls  Reborn  Into  Hate"  "Fields  Of  Pale  Limbs"  and  "Empress  Of  The  Black".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/Grimtoneofficial/       

Azziard/Metempsychose/Malpermesita Records/2017 CD Review

  France's  Azziard  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  into more  of  a  modern  style  of  black  metal  with  some  depressive  and  suicidal  touches  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Metempsychose"  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  Malpermesita  Records.

  Acoustic  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  musical  direction  while  background  voices  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  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  songs  a  more  raw  feeling  while the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  yet  high  pitched  screams  along  with  the  riffs  also  bringing  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody and  elements  of  death  metal  are  also  used  at  times  as  well  as  some  guttural  growls.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  some  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  atmospheric  soundscapes  and  as  the  album  progresses  more  depressive  elements  are  added  into  the  music  and  at  times  the  music  brings  in  an  experimental  and  avant  garde  touch  and  clean  guitars  as  well  as  some  chants and  operatic  female  vocals  are  used  briefly  on  the  closing  track.

  On  this  recording  Azziard  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  modern  and  aggressive  while  also  adding  in  some  depressive  touches  and  death  metal  influences  at  times  to  create  a  very  heavy  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  French  and  cover  the  writings  of  Carl  Jung.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album from  Azziard  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  modern  and  aggressive  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "L' Enfer"  "Ascension"  "Archetype"  and  "Le  Sacrifice".  8  out  of  10.

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Lucifer's Dungeon/Music Of Lost Spirits/2017 CD Review

  Lucifer's  Dungeon  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  raw  black  metal  and  dark  ambient  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  album  "Music  Of  Lost  Spirits".

  Dark  ambient  style  synths  start  off  the  album  and  they  also  bring  in  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  while  acoustic  guitars  are  also  used  briefly  and  on  the  second  track  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melodic  musical  direction  while  also  introducing  grim  black  metal  screams  onto  the  recording.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  bringing  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  also  gives  the  songs  a  more  raw  feeling.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  90's  second  wave  influences  and  they  also  bring  in  a  decent  mixture  of  acoustic  instrumentals  and  black  metal  tracks  which  also  gives  the  album  more  variety.

  On  this  recording  Lucifer's Dungeon  keeps  the  raw and  old  school  style  of  black  metal  while  replacing  the  ambient  tracks  with  acoustic  guitar  instrumentals,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  anti  dogma,  Satanism  and  nihilism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Lucifer's  Dungeon  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw,  melodic  and  old  school  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Death  Of  Civilization"  "Antichrist"  and  "Black  Knight".  8 out  of  10.

https://lucifersdungeon.bandcamp.com/album/music-of-lost-spirits

Forefather/Ours Is The Kingdom/Heidens Hart Records/2017 CD Re-issue Review

  This  is  a  review  of  another  recording  from  United  Kingdom's  Forefather  which  is  also  in  the  style  of  Anglo Saxon  metal  and  the  album  was  originally  released  in  2004  and  called  "Ours  Is  The  Kingdom"  which  was  also  re-issued  in  2017  by  Heidens  Hart  Records.

  A  very  fast  and  raw  black  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  while  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  awhile  clean  pagan  vocals  also  make  their  presence  known.

  Some  of  the  riffing  also  brings  in  elements  of  traditional  metal  while t he  songs  also  bring  in  a  great mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  solos and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  grim  black  metal  screams are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  epic  sounding  synths  and  clean guitars  can  also  be  heard  on  a  few  songs  as  well  as  one  of  the  tracks  being  an  instrumental  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length.

  On  this  recording  Forefather  remained  true  to  the  Anglo  Saxon  metal  style  of  previous  releases,  the production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Anglo  Saxon  history,  paganism  and pride  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Forefather  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  pagan  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  re-issue.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Shield-Wall"  "The  Golden  Dragon"  "The  Folk  That  Time  Forgot"  and  "Fighters  Of  The  Angelcynn". 8  out of  10.

https://heidenshart.bandcamp.com/album/ours-is-the-kingdom

  

Zvijer Interview

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

ZVIJER was created in mid 2013. by Vožd (guitars) and me (vocals). Band is based in Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska/Bosnia. Along one more band from Sarajevo city we are only black metal bands active currently in this shithole of a country.

2. How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?

That is a sound highly inspired with early Darkthrone albums, black metal from nineties that is in extinction today due to big number of all “orthodox“ “kvlt“ black metal bands and all that modern shits that infested black metal. In our eyes and ears this is how black matel need to sound today. No fancy stuff, just pure raw energy and straight forward attack on listeners ears.

3. Your lyrics cover 'Balkanian dark folklore', can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?

We are from Balkan region (obviously) so we didn’t wanted to go into some religious/anti-religious themes or similar stuff when we have so rich and big source of inspiration right in front of us. Balkan is full of stories about night, night creatures, vampires and ghouls... and they fit perfectly into our music. We incorporate black metal and Balkanian horror tales in one great unity. Since we were kids we listened stories about vampires, night creatures and ghouls from forests around us, so our interests in this theme going way back in our childhood.

4. I know that the bands name means 'beast' in Serbian, how does this name fit in with the musical style that you play?

It fits perfectly, at least from our point of view. In Republic of Srpska is practice to call every dreadfully creature from tales (werewolf, vampire,... etc)  simply “beast“. We find that fitting into our circle of interest within band, so we take it for our name, on our native language.

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

We didn’t play live with Zvijer, yet.

6. Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?

There are plans for few selected shows in 2018. to promote our “Vječnost Truleži“ album. We don’t seek to make a tones of shows, it is better to make few selected shows and do them properly, so that we can present our music in high quality performance. Quality over quantity is what we think.

7. The new album was released on 'Werewolf Promotion', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Album release was delayed few times due the problems with labels who needed to release it on first place. Then Szymon from Werewolf Promotion approached to us with wish to release our album under his label. He offered us reasonable terms for releasing and we accepted it. He honored his part of a deal and he did a great job with release itself.
Also album went out on pro-tape format through the Hungarian label called Iron County Records. Also we had no problems with them either, they made really great job with that release. We are highly satisfied with final results with both formats.

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

It is really good, I must say. Since we coming from shithole and our country is not famous with anything except wars, fans around globe accepted us really well.
We have been accepted really well especially with black metal fans from ex-Yugoslavian countries like Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia... also Germanian and Polish black metal fans showed fine level of supporting our work and finding it interesting.

9. What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?

My band Sahrana is on-hold currently. I simply have no time for that right now. Vožd working some re-releases with his project 1389. Insanus play live with Black Cult and he is in process of making a new material for his project called Hibernum. I think that Krvolok also put his project Kult Perunov on-hold currently, but I am not sure about that.

10. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

It is impossible to give you a precise answer on this question. We already made some new riffs and lyrics that will be on upcoming materials, but I can’t say anything definite about them ’cause they are all in the process of creation. I think we will keep this approach to black metal, to play it in veins of “glorious nineties“ sound, maybe just to experiment a little bit with production. We play this for our enjoyment on first place and we think that we do not need any changes in the views of music and lyrics of ZVIJER.

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?

That would probably be bands like (early) Impaled Nazarene, (early) Sodom, Beherit, (Russian band) Forest, Moonblood, Root,... etc.
These days I am into Anima Damnata’s album “ Nefarious Seed Grows to Bring Forth Supremacy of the Beast“ that is one hell of an album, pure aggression and energy. Also Tom Wait’s album “ Heartattack and Vine“ is in player along Magma Waves album namely “ .​.​.​and who will take care of you now“.

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

Thank you for your time and interest in band Zvijer.

“When the sky turns black and the sun fails... the Beast will bear the mark of might OVER DEATH ! ! !“

https://www.facebook.com/zvijer.316

zvijer.band@gmail.com

https://www.ironcountyrecords.blogspot.com

http://www.werewolf-promotion.pl


Knjaz

Ignis Noctem/Thy Lord Of Chaos/Vacula Productions/2017 CD Review

  Ignis  Noctem  are  a  band  from  Dallas,  Texas  that  plays  a  musical  style  they  refer  to  as  'funeral  black  metal'  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "They  Lord  Of  Chaos"  which  was  released  by  Vacula  Productions.

  A  very  dark  and  ritualistic  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  and  atmospheric synths  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  musical  direction which  also  introduces  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  onto  the  recording  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  songs  also  bringing  in  clean  playing  and  acoustic  guitars  as  well  as  mixing  both  the  heavy  and  atmospheric  parts  together  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  whispered  vocals  can  also  be  heard.

  Ignis  Noctem  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  dark,  raw  and  depressive  sounding,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics cover  funerals,  depression,  Occultism,  Satanism,  Astrology,  and  Mysticism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Ignis  Noctem  are  a  very  great  sounding  funeral  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Unholy  Calling  From  Death"  and  "Decaying  SOul".  8  out  of  10. 

www.vaculaproductions. bandcamp.com/album/thy-lord- of-chaos
    

Kommodus Interview

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

Kommodus is the bitter catharsis and dark ancient reveries of the Infernal Emperor – Lepidus Plague. Raw Black Metal from Australia.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the demo?

Filth.



3.Can you tell us about some of the lyrical topics and subjects you covered on the demo?

The ancient world, my own ancestry and bloodline, and the destruction of humanity and self.



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

A stylised spelling of the Roman Emperor – Commodus. A corrupted, morally bereft and megalomaniacal dictator. It seemed a fitting title for a project ostensibly concerned with the darker elements of the Roman Empire and Roman lineage.



5.On the demo, you recorded everything by yourself, do you feel this gives your more room to be creative with your musical style?

I didn’t play drums on the recordings, session hammering was performed by T.R.J. However, having handled everything else I believe that having a solo project allows you to make more unique and passionate music, as no compromises are made with other artists (not very insightful I know). I also believe having the limitations of yourself makes things interesting, as I’ve always been in bands previously with seriously proficient and skilled musicians – which I am not.



6.The demo was released on 'Lupine Lineage Records', can you tell us a little bit more about the label?

This is a banner for me to release my own music under. At this stage I want to control everything.



7.On the demo you had also done a cover of Burzum's ‘War', what was the decision behind doing your own version of this song?

It’s a classic that I’ve wanted to learn for a long time, so I recorded a version for the demo. It’s descriptions of wintery battlegrounds and bloodied dying soldiers are congruous with the lyrics and subject matter of the rest of the release.



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

Well it hasn’t reached many yet, but it seems to be mostly positive.



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

I just want to continue creating, and using Kommodus as a vessel to express my frustrations, hatred and visions of a more ideal world.



10.What are some of the bands or musicals styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays? Black Metal’s 90’s Scandinavian pioneers, Florida Death Metal, Thrash, Hardcore, the list goes on. I try to keep Kommodus incredibly insular and to not be too conscious of influence, though it is at times inevitable, I’ve been listening to Leviathan, Judas Iscariot and Byyrth lately. USBM! .



11.How would you describe your views on Paganism?

I am an atheist. However Paganism, as well as the Abrahamic religions and other spiritual beliefs, all have iconography and tales which I find to be creatively inspiring to varying degrees. Roman paganism as well as the Rome creation myth are a central focal point of Kommodus.

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

Keep on fighting the world.

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