Labyrinth Entrance/Deplore The Vanity/Godz Of War Productions/2021 CD Review

 

  Labyrinth  Entrance  are  a  solo  project  form  Poland  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  very  aggressive  and  traditional  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "Deplore  The  Vanity"  which  will  be  released  on  May  21st  by  Godz  of  War  Productions.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  when  they  are  utilized.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  some  synths  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  angry  sounding  black  metal  screams.

  Melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.  The  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  couple  of  the  instrumentals  also  introducing  acoustic  guitars  onto  the  album.

  When  tremolo  picking  is  utilized  it  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling  along  with  the  music  also  adding  in  a  good  mixture  of  both  old  school  and  modern  influences  as  well  as  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style,  a  couple  of  tracks  are  also  very long  and  epic  in  length  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  spirituality  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  labyrinth  Entrance  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  aggressive  and  traditional  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Absence  Of  Light  Surrounding"  "Dissolving  Weakness"  and  "Drowned".  8  out  of  10.

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Labyrinth Entrance Interview

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

Labyrinth Entrance this is everything what I esteem in metal music. Emotions, expression, message, honesty - without any frames, no pigeonholing, no compromises.



2.Recently you have released your first album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

It's hard to say and answer this question, because this album has been very personal to me and I created it during the hard and black period of my life. While recording this album, I practically didn't have any assumptions concerning the sound. When I entered Studio I had only skeletons of songs which have been composed for single guitar. Then I tried to guide Darek Grabowski to my visions and his task was mainly to find the most appropriate sound. I was just recording individual parts seeking for the moment when the certain passage has already sounded properly. Darek is a genius, so at the end of a day it turned out fuckin' great for me.



3.According to the fb page you label your music as 'passive black metal', can you tell us a little bit more about this term?

The definition "Passive Black Metal" went up spontaneously and that's my answer to the currently trendy 'hipsters' approach to the music. Black Metal was created in very specific atmosphere and was one of  the most mysterious species of metal music. Today, youths from so called good homes set up a band, play jazz passages, dress face-covering-hoods, light incenses and invent crazy articles: post-, new-, etc. Therefore, I decided to use this definition deliberately with contrariness, in order to show that I am totally in opposition to all this naming etc. which I assume as complete bullshit. I am aware that in my music you will find evenly black, death, grind and heavy metal, but I do not surround myself with the aura of fictional mystery and I do not pose that I am a visionary.



4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects that you explore with your music?

I wanted to create a specific climate that would reflect my attitude to the subject of death. Anxiety and helplessness that accompany the feeling of transience.All lyrics are based on Dante's "Hell". When creating music I wanted to keep consistent concept, and although the pieces differ significantly from each other, both the lyrics and the entire cover-art create a certain vision of the  Hell's description contained in the Divine Comedy. Also the sound of the album is very consistent and gives uniform character to the whole.



5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Labyrinth Entrance'?

Labyrinth Entrance - My music is just the Labyrinth - you enter on your own and I do not promise that you will leave it.. You will find surprise, pain, fear, suffering.. but also many beautiful and real sensations await you inside.



6.With this project you record everything by yourself but also have experience playing in other bands , how would you compare the two?

In each of the bands I play I find other emotions and I express myself differently. Stillborn is kind of concert Legion of Death, we enter the arena in three and play fuckin' show for the Devil! we do not take prisoners.  In Horror Of Naatu I pay homage to the school of  Death Metal from Florida. Typical old school scum. Right now we are preparing with the drummer to record a new album. At LE, I release all the black thoughts swirling in my head, I have not defined any frames or genre boundaries, so I compose only that stuff which I am convinced in 100%. I never make music by forcing things. I have to feel music all by myself.



7.The new album was released by 'Godz Of War Productions' which also has your other band 'Stillborn' on the same label, do you feel this label has been very helpful to you and your other musical project?

GOW is currently No. 1 among publishing stables in Poland, at least when it comes to the relation of really good music and commitment. Greg is a veteran and professional: he exactly knows what he wants, esteems his value, carefully selects team members and releases only what he is 100% convinced of. He was the first person who listen to the material and it stayed that way. I am aware that my record differs significantly from the mainstream of GOW, but in our life we have to move forward, so I think that both, Greg and me will get the good experiences coming out of this cooperation.



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

I do not address my album only to BM fans. I welcome everyone who draws energy from the music. When we are limited to only one species we will not drive too far. Despite the fact that metal is my whole life, I am not an orthodox and I listen to many other genres.



9.What is going on with some of your other musical projects and bands these days?

Answer point 6



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



I do not think about the future. The world is slowly dying out and human life becomes less and less steady, less predictable. I make only short plans - up to a year ahead. In 2018 I would like to record 2 albums - Horror and Labyrinth.

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 grew up in very musical family, where the music was always high in the range of priorities. I started listening to metal at the age of eight, so generally it's been with me all my life. The most beautiful in music is that despite the fact that practically everything in music has already been recorded, new unexplored spaces are still being created and every few years we notice this wonderful renaissance of one of the genres. I would not write nonsense as many artists do and would not say that every day I hardly listen to metal and would not mention some avant-garde musicians being my inspiration... because it is always the opposite. I listen a lot metal - because without metal it is impossible to live.  The new things that I value for example: Khthoniik Cerviiks, Ensnared, Cruciamentum or Blood Incantation. We do not talk about classic ones.

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

I invite everybody to listen to Monumental Bitternes and hope that you will find your way out of the labyrinth.

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Labyrinth Entrance/Monumental Bitterness/Godz Of War Productions/2017 CD Review

  Labyrinth   Entrance  are  a  band  from Poland  that  plays  a  passive  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Monumental  Bitterness"  which  was  released  by  Godz  Of  War  Productions.

  Nature  orientated  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  guitars  and  atmospheric  sounds  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  musical  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark yet  melodic  fashion  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  tortured  black  metal  screams  which  also  getting  very  deep  and  angry  at  times,  sci  fi  orientated melodic  singing  can  also  be  heard  briefly  as  well  as  most  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  All of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  some  of  the  slower  riffing  brings  in  elements  of  dark  and  doom  metal  along  with  an  instrumental  track  as  well  as  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking being  used  during  the faster  sections  of  the  songs  which  also  gives  the  music  a  more  raw  feeling  and  throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts. 

  Labyrinth  Entrance  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  in  between  the  depressive,  melodic,  modern and  atmospheric  side  of  the  black  metal  genre  while  also  mixing  in  a  touch  of  dark  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Labyrinth   Entrance  are  a  very  great  sounding  passive  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Canto  I'  and  "Canto  V".  8  out  of  10.

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