Illum Adora/Non Serviam Black Metal (The Demos)/Fallen Temple/2023 Compilation Album Review

 

  Illum  Adora  are  a  band  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  raw,  satanic  and  occult  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2023  demo  compilation  "Non  Serviam  black  Metal"  which  was  released  by  Fallen  Temple  and  consists  of  their  2015  and  2016  demo's.

  Distorted  sounds  start  off  the  compilation along  with  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  while  the  music  also  adds  in  a  lot  of  old  school  influences  and  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats.

 

 When  tremolo  picking  is  added  into  the  faster  riffing  they  also  give  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Clear  singing  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  on  a  couple  of  tracks  along  with  a  couple  of  songs  being  Acid  and  Plasmatics  covers.  A  small  amount  of  melody  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  as  well  as  the  solos  and  leads  also  remaining  true  to  an  old  school  style  when  they  are  utilized,  the  second  demo  shows  the  music  going  for  a  more  melodic  style  but  keeping  the  rawness  of  the  previous  release,  spoken  word  samples  also  make  a  brief  return.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Occultism  and  Philosophy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  collection  from  Illum  Adora  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw,  satanic  and  occult  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  compilation.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Begotten"  "Astral  Wings"  "Blessed  Are  The  Destroyers"  and  "Dominator  Triumphant".  8  out  of  10.

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Illum Adora Interview

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

We just have released our Mini-CD "Son of Dawn", the successor of our two demos ("Begotten" and "Unchained From Slavery") and appetizer to our debut album, which we intent to release in mid 2017.

Now, our focus is set on the promotion of the band and its Mini-Album by finding a worthy label to release our upcoming material or labels that want to release our stuff on vinyl. Furthermore we are now rehearsing for our first two live gigs in November.

2.Recently you have released a new ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from your 2 previous demo's?

NON SERVIAM BLACK METAL – this is our description of our kind of black metal. It is black metal in the old vein, no irrelevant wish-wash like most of the bands today. You can again expect catchy and furios black metal, the ancient way.

The main difference is, that ILLUM ADORA finally consists of 3 persons who are into the music and skilled on their instruments. We made a big step forward, improved the sound a lot, also the music. M. Marax pounding drums, Profanator on guitars and Hurricane Hellfukker doing vocals – this is the first real line up and as of now the core of the band.

3.The band has been around since 2011 but waited until 2015 to release any music, can you tell us a little bit more about the first 4 years?

Most of the time was wasted by finding fitting members. Other reason were too many promises happened by other people who wanted to work with me, but it failed in the end. Then I found a guitarist finally in my family even, T. Vogt was thankfully responsible for the guitar work on both demos and recorded all my ideas/riffs properly, so everything started eventually. Now, we are here...

4.You label your music as 'non serviam black metal, can you tell us a little bit more about this term?

I came up with this term already in my old band ZARATHUSTRA. We used it on our releases and merchandise as description for our music, our attitude and way of thinking.

It means that we do not define boundaries to ourself, never we will "obey" to others what should be done or what not while playing in a black metal band. Free spirits, free minds! And if we should fail with our luciferian mischief, we will do it with dignity.

5.Your lyrics cover Satanism, Occultism and Philosophical themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your views on the dark arts?

Lyrically I take my inspiration from thousand of things as I walk through this world with wide open eyes. I take most influences from darkness, eerie moments in life, the occult, dark medieval times, ancient history, religion, world-wide mythologies (esp. old Babylonian, Akkadian, Sumerian and Grecian), historical romans, philosophy/philosophers. I don't define any boundaries to myself. But of course I never would write about gore/porn/fun/political/sociocritical shit.

Lyrics vary a lot and tell about different things. They can be simple horror stories, even psalms from the bible (which are dark sounding to me), philosophical thesis, or occult topics. As long as the core is dark, evil and occult I will write about everything I want.

What the lyrics do express is up for the reader/listener. I am tired of imposing the listener what to think or to point my fingers on feeble sheeps. If you are brainless, the music is not for you.

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Illum Adora'?

Illum Adora is of latin language and means "Worship Him" – like the old cult Samael album! I took it from the lyrics of COUNTESS' intro to their magical "Ad Maiorem Sathanae Gloriam" album. The band is my biggest inspiration and most important black metal band ever for me. It is heavily advised to check them out, if you have not done already!

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

It was not intented to be a live-band at all when I started the band back then. I was fine with just recording material to please myself. I have had enough stage experience with my former band ZARATHUSTRA and even with CRUEL FORCE, played a lot of shows in more than 10 years. But right now, with the right material, the best band-members one could imagine there is a new flame burning and it's about time to show the masses our understanding of black metal with plenty of atmosphere and power.

We are playing our 1st two gigs in November at the 20th anniversary of HELLBANGERS MOSELFRANKEN (with Unleashed) and SINISTER HOWLING (with Denial of God, Behexen, Front Beast and more).

You can expect a wild horde on stage and a good show, definitely...

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

We already got lots of offers, even some serious one to play in California in 2017. Only time will tell what eventually will happen. After these two gigs mentioned above our main focus will be the debut album which we want to release in summer/autumn 2017. Also the promotion of "Son of Dawn" has priority right now, as well as finding a good label that want to release our material on vinyl and/or the debut album on all possible formats.

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

For the first time I started to promote an ILLUM ADORA release myself by getting in contact with many new and old magazines and webzines. I think the first noticeable reactions are yet to come when being featured in the (big) zines, getting again in touch with my very old contacts from glorious label days and after our first, very promising gigs in November. Just a few days ago I spread digital promos to plenty of online zines and the feedback are 6 reviews and 4 interview requests within 3 days. The reviews are overwhelming so far, I am more than satisfied.

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

I have crystal clear visions about the future of the band, its direction musically, lyrically and visually. Music won't change much, but right now it is too early to tell something about our next material. "Son of Dawn" is the first work of the new line-up and I am pretty sure our collaboration will grow with every rehearsal we are doing. So, watch out for our future-material, there is more to come from us definitely and we will progress in composing and recording our music for sure.

11.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

At the moment none of us in involved or busy with any other bands or projects. In fact, both Profanator and M. Marax left their old bands due to several reasons so now they can set their focus on ILLUM ADORA exclusively.

I am still trying to bring new life to my FANzine HELLPIKE which I have started in 1998 and published 16 issues since then. But I am picky with finding new, worthy bands, don't want to waste my time on 1000 of useless, boring and same sounding material. Maybe I will find muse again to release a new issue in 2017, we will see. Furthermore I released the Mini Album via my own label KNEEL BEFORE THE MASTERS THRONE Rec. which finally celebrates a return with its first release in more than 5 years. I was forced to do a break for 5 years, but future looks brighter now so I can go on finally. There are many plans, but right now I am just glad to have the CD out. I think both ILLUM ADORA demos on CD will be the next release, still this year or early 2017. We will see what will happen next.

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?

Musically it definitely is the 2nd black metal wave with all its great bands from all over the world, every now and then our roots are also shining through our songs, which means at times it sounds like the pioneer 1st wave, traditional, thrash and death metal. I am still stuck in the mid of 90s with all its classics. My range in music is quite huge, but it is not necessary to tell any names here. I am addicted to metal since more than 26 years and it will never change.

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

NON SERVIAM!

Thank you for your support and effort. Interested people can reach us via

illumadora@gmx.de – mastersthrone@gmx.de –

www.illumadora.bigcartel.com – www.mastersthrone.bigcartel.com











http://illumadora.bigcartel.com
https://www.facebook.com/IllumAdora/
https://illumadora.bandcamp.com
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Illum_Adora

 

Illum Adora/Son Of Dawn/Kneel Before the Master's Throne Records/2016 EP Review

  Illum  Adora  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  raw  and  satanic  form  of  occult  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "Son  Of  Dawn"  which was  released by  Kneel  Before  The  Master's  Throne  Records.

  A  very  raw  black  metal  sound  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  starts  off  the  ep  and  a  few  seconds  later  the  music  also  speeds  up  and  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  melodic  fashion  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  screams  and  the  music  also  has  a  lot  of  90's  second  wave  influences.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  some  of  the  riffs  also  have  a  first  wave  feeling  at  times  along  with  a  slight  thrash  influence  while  the  riffing  is  always  power  chord  driven  and  there is also  a brief  use  of  night  sounds  and  all  of  the  tracks  remain  true  to  a  heavy  and  raw  musical  direction  and  Gregorian  chants  are  used  briefly  on  the  last  track.

  Illum  Adora  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  raw  and  power  chord  driven  in  the  90's  second  wave  tradition,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Occultism,  Blasphemy,  and  Philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Illum  Adora  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  satanic/occult  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Son  Of  Dawn"  and  "In  Hideous  Blasphemy".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lou4-g-x8A