Dhampyr/Oceanclots/Acephale Winter/2015 CD Review

  Dhampyr  are  a  duo  from  Rhode  Island  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  raw  and  lo-fi  form  of  black  metal  with  elements  of  indie,  art,  Psychedelic  rock  and  shoegaze  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Oceanclots"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Acephale  Winter.

  Acoustic  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  and  after  a  minute  the  recording  starts  adding  in  more  of  a  slow  and  raw  style  of  black  metal  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams  as  well  as  keeping  an  experimental  atmosphere  and  they  also  mix  the  clean  and  heavy  parts  together  along  with  some  synths  that  bring  in  elements  of  indie  and  alternative  rock  and  the  vocals  also  bring  in  deep  growls  in  some  parts  of  the  recording.

  When  clean  playing  and  spoken  word  parts  are  utilized  the  songs  bring  in  more  elements  of  shoegaze  and  post  rock  along  with  a  touch  of  psychedelia  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  music  starts  adding  in  more  of  a  depressive  and  melodic  style  of  black  metal  mixed  in  with  the  more  experimental  nature  of  the  recording  as  well  as  most  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  As  the  album  progresses  a  few  instrumental  tracks  are  added  onto  the  recording  some  that also  stay  away  from  black  metal  and  go  for  more  of  an  ambient  direction  while  some  of  the  later  songs  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  good  amount  of  blast  beats  and  suicidal  sounding  screams  and  cries  and  some  of  the  tracks  you  can  also  hear  a  small  amount  of  clean  singing  being  utilized  at  times.

  Dhampyr  creates  an  album  that  still  has  a  lot  of  their  raw  and  depressive  black  metal  roots  and  they  mix  them  in  with  experimental,  avant  garde,  ambient,  indie,  post,  alternative  and  psychedelic  rock  to  create  and  album  that  is  very  original  and  hard  to  categorize,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  cover  suicide,  drug  overdoses  and  mental  illness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding from  Dhampyr  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  depressive  black  metal  that  is  very  experimental,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Waltz  of  the  Salivating  Avalanche"  "This  Nirvana  Of  Tangled  Bullets"  "The  Sewer  Epiphanies"  and  "Her  Cloudless  Shoulders  &  All  Our  Smoke".  8  out  of  10.

https://acephalewinter.bandcamp.com/album/oceanclots



    

Dhampyr/Withdrawals & Candy Heavens/Acephale Winter Productions/2014 Cassette Review

  Dhampyr  are  a  1  man  band  from  Rhode  Island  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  that  plays  a  mixture  of  depressive  black  metal  and  blackgaze  on  this  recording  with  the  cassette  being  called  "Withdrawals  And  Candy  Heavens"  and  was  released  by  Acephale  Winter  Productions.

  The  cassette  starts  out  with  a  fast,  raw  and  depressive  black  metal  sound  along  with  suicidal  screams  as  well  as  a  good  amount  of  melodies  and  blast  beats  and  after  awhile  there  is  a  mixture  of  slow  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  good  amount  of  melancholic  sounding  guitar  leads  which  also  lead  up  to  spoken  word  samples  becoming  a  part  of  the  music.

  After  the  first  song  which  is  very  long  the  album  goes  into  shorter  songs  and  takes  on  a  more  slow  and  depressive  black  metal  direction  while  also  having  the  melody  of  shoegaze  as  well  as  a  great  amount  of  darkness  and  on  one  song  they  have  a 70's  occult  rock  feeling  coming  out  of  the  synths  and  the  last  track  is  all  instrumental.

  With  this  cassette  Dhampyr  bring  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  black  metal  sound  along  with  shoegaze  elements  and  even  with  that  ingredient  the  recording  is  still  a  lot  more  better  than  what  a  lot  of  newer  bands  have  that  use  that  influence  and  this  is  a  very  dark  and  evil  sounding  recording.

  Song  lyrics   cover  dark,  depressive  and  occult  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark  and  raw  sound  to  it  along  with  some  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Dhampyr  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  depressive  black  metal  or  blackgaze,  you  should  check  out  this  cassette.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Charred  At  the  Stake  In  Younger  Times  Than  Ours"  and  "Parliament  Of  Lepers".  8  out  of  10.

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Dhampyr Interview

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

I started Dhampyr when I was 16 back in 2007, and for six years it’s been a primary interest of mine and mind.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?
The music of needles scanning the vein for focus, for closure.

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

Drugs, literature, nature. I’ve always been interested in the psycholinguistics of things, especially exploring common and uncommon drug interactions – there’s a lot of psychotropic value in many herbs and medicines, and I think a lot of it translates well into the music.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the band names?

That’s a relatively personal question which I choose not to answer.

5. Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you planning on expanding the line up in the future or do you choose to remain a duo?
Dhampyr has more than once been a 2-piece band; in 2011, I employed the services of my friend Ronald Andruchuk (Graveside Service, Wolfbane Blues) to handle drums for the recording of that year’s full-length, White Fire Laudanum. Initially, I intended to keep the project focused on just my own artistic exploits, but consequently these were the same things that got in the way. It was in early 2013 that I found E (Aerugo) to handle bass, as I was simply looking for something fresh. I imagine that the line-up will stay this way for a period of time, though a new drummer isn’t out of the question.

6. In a period of 4 years the band has released plenty of music, is this going to continue this way in the future?

Really, I have these manic episodes where my productivity peaks, and I remain focused on the project for long draughts. This has never been a consistent element in the band. I go six months without producing anything, only to return and produce a series of demos, EPs, albums, etc.
7.According to the Metal Archives page, the band is signed to Prison Tatt, can you tell us a little bit about about this label?

I’m not sure of the status or legitimacy of that anymore; Prison Tatt, though, is a great label putting out the best in noise, punk, and black metal on a small, local, and independent scale. Wm. Berger, the headrunner, is a great person and if you enjoy Dhampyr’s work, be sure to check out the other artists from that label (just recently, Moloch (UKR), released an EP which was very good!).

8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal and ambient?
Usually revered. Or not, I’m not too sure. I’m not terribly interested to know the fate of my records, or to take out any sort of insurance policy on them. They stand where they stand, and if they appeal to somebody, that’s fantastic.

9. What is going on with the other musical projects these days?
Nothing too interesting; I have an acoustic project on hiatus, as well as a dark ambient and black ambient project kicking around somewhere. I’m not too occupied by these bands. They don’t mean much.

10. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases/
I think the release of 2013’s “All the Dead Dears” is a good indication of where the project is headed.

11. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Older Striborg, Manes, Leviathan, Burzum, etc. Mostly authors and books, though; most of my work references particular lines of verse or excerpts of novels; see Nabokov, Gogol, Rabelais, Bukowski, du Maurier, Ginsberg, Plath, S. Jackson, etc. I’ve been listening to a lot of symphony music lately; other than that, Leonard Cohen, Marissa Nadler, Espers, The Doors, Bill Fay all come to mind.

12. How would you describe your views on Occultism?
Ask me that on LSD.

13.Outside of music what are some of your interests?
Drugs.

14. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Thanks for the interest in the project!

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Dhampyr/Ashes Of The Frail/Broken Limb Recordings/2012 Demo Review

  Dhampyr  are  a  band  from  Rhode  Island  that  plays  a  mixture  of  depressive  black  metal  and  dark ambient  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  demo  "Ashes  Of  The  Frail"  which  was  released  by  Broke  Limb  Recordings.

  Drums  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  playing  with  no  fast  drumming  or  blast  beats  being  present on  this  recording,  while  the  keyboards  bring  a  very  dark,  atmospheric  sound  to  the  recording,  as  for  the  bass  playing  it  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  with  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  depressive  black  metal  riffs  that  are  very  dark  sounding,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  they  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  to  enhance  the  atmosphere  of  the  demo.

  Vocals  which  are  only  used  on  the  first  song  are  all  depressive  and  suicidal  sounding  black  metal s creams  and  cries,  while  the  lyrics  and  themes  touch  on  darkness  and  depression,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  primitive  sound  while  you  can  still  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Dhampyr  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  depressive  black  metal  and  ambient  rock  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Letters  From  Mercury"  and  "The  Abyss  Triumphant".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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