Prometheus Rising/And All Returns To Ash/2013 CD Review

  Prometheus  Rising  are  a  1 man  band  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical  style  I  would  describe  as  being  depressive  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2013  album  "And  All  Returns  To  Ash".

  "Empty"  which  is  also  the  first  track  on  the  album  begins  with  sound  effects  and  a  few  seconds  alter  high  pitched  black  metal  screams,  drums  and  primitive  guitar  riffs  start  to  kick  in  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  then  the  song  alternates  between  slow  and  fast  parts  as w ell  as  adding  in  some  melody  to t he  guitar  riffing  and  you  can  also  hear  a  small  amount  of  synths  in  certain  sections  of  the  song,  halfway  through  the  song  there  is  a  brief  use  of  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  being  utilized  as  well  as  the  song  sticking  to  a  more  slow  direction  and  closing  with  some  clean  playing.

  "Lost  And  Hopeless"  opens  with  spoken  word  parts  and  acoustic  guitars  which  utilize  a  mixture  of  full  chords  and  finger  picking and  you  can  hear  some  alcohol being  consumed  in  the  background  and  a  couple  of  minutes  later  depressive  black  metal  guitar  riffs,  drums  and  grim  screams  start  to  kick  in  as  well  as  some  melodic  elements  shortly  after t hat  and  you  can  also  hear  a  small  amount  of  synths  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  being  utilized.

  "42"  starts  off  with  some  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  dark  sounding  synths  as  well  as  some  drum  beats  and  a  minute  later  melodic  guitar  leads  start  coming  in  and  out  of  the  song  and  the song  is  all  instrumental  with  no  vocals  being  utilized.

  "And  All  Returns  To  Ash"  begins  with  some  heavy  depressive  black  metal  guitar  riffs  and  drums  along  with  some  melodic  elements  and  a  few  seconds  alter  synths  and  grim  screams  start  making  their  presence  known  in  the  song  and  after  awhile  whispers  start  coming  in  and  out  of  the  song  and  towards  the  end  there  is  a  brief  use  of  melodic  guitar  leads  and  the  song  retains  a  slow  pace  throughout  its  10  minutes.

  "Nothing  Worth  Waiting  For"  which  is  also  the  last  song  on  the  album  begins  with  some  soft  acoustic  guitars  before  the  heavy  guitar  riffs,  drums  and  depressive  black  metal  screams  start  to  kick  in  along  with  some  dark  sounding  melodies  and  after  a  few  minutes  guitar  leads  start  coming  in  and  out  of  the  song  along  with  some  synths  being  utilized  in  certain  parts  of  the  song,  halfway  through  the  song  the  music  starts  alternating  between  clean  and  heavy  parts  as  well as  mixing  in  some  whispers  and  as  the  song  moves  cloer  to  the  ned  acoustic  guitars  and  nature  sounds  start to  come  in.

  Song  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  on  dark  and   depressive  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark,  grim  and  heavy  sound  with  all  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Prometheus  Rising  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  depressive  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Empty"  and  "And  All  Returns  To  Ash".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Prometheus Rising Interview

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

Well I started this project back in 2010 out of frustration that people around me were unwilling or unable (or both) to play this kind of music. After attending a music course in college I learned the basics of sequencing and recording software and decided that I could just do everything myself.

2. Your music covers alot of different genres of black metal, what was it that made you go for this approach as opposed to sticking to just one genre, throughout an album?

Well basically my music comes from what I'm feeling at any given time. Certainly back in the earlier days I found song ideas would come to me and it was a case of releasing material as it was recorded. These days I'm trying to focus each release on a particular style or sound. I've found that not sticking to a particular style throughout allows me certain freedoms that maybe I wouldn't have had I set out to do a certain style.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the project explores with the music?

I cover things like depression, misanthropy, hatred for those in power and of course, good old fashioned anti-religion. I try to put a historical spin on the anti-religion stuff though and rather than say 'I hate Christians etc', I prefer to say 'Yeah, this is some of the shit you did to become as powerful as you are'.

4. I know that the band name came from Greek Mythology, do you have a huge interest in this topic?

At the time I did. I was fascinated by the story of Prometheus and how he directly defied Zeus and ended up paying the price for it. I began wondering about what would happen had that not been the end of the story and Prometheus had his revenge. There was a song in there somewhere but I've yet to write it.

5. Currently there is only 1 member in the band, do you plan on expanding the line up in the future or do you choose to remain solo?

I did contemplate expanding the line-up to do live shows but the idea was quickly dismissed. I prefer to keep this as a personal project. Adding new members has a lot of cons in the creative control aspect.

6.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or received any interest?

I have worked with a label/distro called Depressive Illusions that's based in Ukraine on a few occasions. A label is great for getting your music out there but of course, depending on the label there may be some issues. If the right offer came along I'd jump at it but it's not one of my main goals to be signed.

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

For the most part it's been quite positive, especially back in the old Myspace days. Since Myspace died though I've found it more difficult to connect to an audience since Facebook charges pages to put out all of their posts to all of their followers. I can't say I've had any negative feedback apart from this one guy telling me I had no business doing this kind of music since I hadn't murdered anyone. Seemed like someone that took Burzum a bit too seriously.

8. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

The album I've been working on that I hope to release towards the end of the year is based more around the DSBM style. It's going to be a concept album that tells the story of a man spiralling into severe depression after not being able to find any meaning in his life. I was also working on another concept based around medieval battles ad regime changes. All the songs have been written for that but I'm not sure when it'll be released.

9. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Early on I was very much influenced by Burzum and Emperor. I loved Burzum's minimalist style and it showed me that with certain production and arrangement techniques, you can make a song that has very few riffs. Emperor was instrumental in the earlier days as they showed how keyboards can be used as both a melodic instrument and an atmospheric tool at the same time, something I'd never come across before. I was also influenced by Darkthrone, Mayhem, Bathory, Venom and Motorhead, as well as the odd progressive band.

These days I've been listening to Enslaved a lot, particularly Vertebrae. I've also been listening to Coldworld, Happy Days and Xasthur a lot. When I'm writing and recording music though I tend to avoid extreme metal for the most part. Been listening to a lot of Iron Maiden, Rush and the odd punk/pop-punk band.

10. Does Satanism or Occultism play any role in your music?

Not really. I'm an atheist and don't really believe in anything. I suppose the old Pagan religions play a role in songs that are about Christians (mostly Romans) forcefully converting Europe but other than.

11.Outside of music what are some of your interests?

Outside music I enjoy manga and anime, video games and drawing. I'm also a fan of anything animated. I'm basically a nerd but there's nothing wrong with that. Not been much in the mood to do anything but music lately though.

12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

I'd like to thank everyone that has supported this project over the past three years. I hope you will continue to support it. Be sure to look out for information on the next release on Facebook, and any other networking sites. Should be ready by Winter this year.

I'd also like to thank you for taking the time to conduct this interview. It's very much appreciated.

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Prometheus Rising/Cruel Britannia/2010 Demo Review

  This  is  the  final  review  of  a  recording  from  Prometheus  Rising  with  the  music  being  a  very  melodic,  raw  and  primitive  form  of  black  metal  with  the  demo  being  self  released  in  2010  and  called  "Cruel  Britannia".

  Drum  programming  ranges  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  beats  that  sound  as  brutal  as  a  real  drum  kit,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars,  as  for  the  keyboards  they  are  only  used  on  the  last  song  and  they  bring  a  very  dark,  atmospheric  and  symphonic  sound  to  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  black  metal  riffs  that  are  very  dark,  heavy,  raw  and  primitive  sounding  with  a  good  amount  of  melody  being  thrown  into  the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  old  school  and  melodic  sounding  black  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  with  some  spoken  word  parts  being  used  at  times,  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  mythology  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  primitive  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Prometheus  Rising  and  if  you  are  a fan  of  melodic,  atmospheric,  raw  and  primitive  sounding  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  demo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Lament  Of  A  Dying  God".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Prometheus Rising/Gospels Of Hate/2010 EP Review

  This  is  a  review  of  another  recording  from  Prometheus  Rising  with  the  musical  style  being  a  very  old  school  and  misanthropic  form  of  black  metal  while  also  exploring  other  areas  of  the  genre  with  the  ep  being  self  released  2010  and  called  "Gospels  Of  Hate".

  Drum  programming  ranges  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  beats,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars,  as  for  the  synths  when they  are  utilized  they  bring  a  very  dark  atmospheric  sound  to t he  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  old  school  black  metal  riffs  that  are  very  dark,  heavy,  raw  and  primitive  sounding  along  with  some  melody  being  thrown  into  the  riffing  at  times,  while  the  lead  guitars  which  are  only  used  briefly  are  very  dark  and  melodic  sounding  depressive  black  metal  guitar  leads.

  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  and  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  along  with  a  brief  use  of  deep  demonic  growls,  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  misanthropic,  anti  religion,  satanic,  occult,  and  depressive  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  primitive  sound  with  all  of  the  songs  sounding  different  from  each  other  along  with  a  couple  of  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Prometheus  Rising  and  if  you  like  your  black  metal  diverse  but  still  very  underground,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Conversion  To  The  Gospels  Of  Hate"  and  "Confined  By  The  Walls  Of  Depression".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Prometheus Rising/I Don't Give A Shit/2012 DEMO Review

  Prometheus  Rising  are  a  1  man  band  from  the  Wales  that  plays  a  mixture  of  old  school  black  metal  and  crust  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2012  demo  "I  Don't  Give  A  Shit".

  Drum  programming  ranges  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  beats,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  they  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  old  school  black  metal  with crust  punk  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  old  school  sounding b lack  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads  along  with  some  punk  rock  elements.

  Vocals  range  from grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  to  shouting  style  vocals  that  combine  first  wave  black  metal  with  crust,  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  hateful  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  raw  and  primitive  sound  to  it  while  you  can  still  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Prometheus  Rising  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  old  school  black  metal  and  crust  punk  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of t his  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "I  Don't  Give  A  Shit(Fuck  You  All)".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.  

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