Varathron/Ungod/Apocalyptic Mysticism/Iron Bonehead Productions/2022 Split EP Review

 

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  Greece's  Varathron  and  Germany's  Ungod  called  "Apocalyptic  Mysticism"  which  will  be  released  in  June  by  Iron  Bonehead  Productions  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Varathron  who  return  with  their  Hellenic  style  of  old  school  occult  black metal.

 

 Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  some  ritualistic  beats  and  oriental  instruments  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  All  of  the   musical  instruments  on  the  song  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  vocals  also  bring  in  more  of  a  growling  style  that  adds  in  some  first  wave  touches.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  when  the  music  speeds  up,  synths  can  also  be  heard  at  times.  The  production  sounds  very  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  track  from  Varathron  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  Hellenic  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.

  Next  up  is  Ungod  who  return  with  their  raw  and  old  school  style  of  satanic  black  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  some  heavy  yet  old  school  riffing  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.  Melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  song  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling,  the  track  also  adds  in a   good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and r aw  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  track  from  Ungod  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  and  old  school  occult  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  old  school  and  occult  black  metal.  8  out  of  10.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Varathron/1295

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Ungod/4829

Ungod/Bewitched By Sins And Lust/Final Gate Records/2016 CD Review

  Ungod  are  a  band  from  Germany  that has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine and  plays  a  very  raw  and  old  school  form  of  occult  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Bewitched  by  Sins  And  Lust"  which  was  released  by  Final  Gate  Records.

  Night  sounds  start  off  the  album  and  after  a  few  seconds  the  music  goes  into  a  very  fast  raw  black  metal  direction  that  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  along  with  a  great  amount  of  grim  yet  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  the  music  also  remains  true  to t he  style  the  band  established  in  the  90's.

  At  times  the  riffs  can  be  very  melodic  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  growling  vocals  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  none  of  the  songs  ever  utilize  any  guitar  solos  or  leads  while  every  track  does  remain  true  to  a  very  heavy  and  raw  style  of  black  metal  and  the  last  song  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Ungod  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  raw  and  old  school  black  metal  style  that  has  been  a  very  huge  part  of  all  of  their  albums,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  yet  heavy at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Anti  Christianity,  and  Darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Ungod  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy t his  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Of  Light And  Darkness'  "Path  of  the  Apocalyptic"  "Dust  On  The  Cross" and  "Blessed  By  The  Whore".  8  out  of  10.

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Vestal Claret/Ungod/No Visible Scars/2012 Split Cassette Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  cassette  between  Connecticut's  Vestal  Claret  and  Germany's  Ungod  which  was  released  by  No  Visible  Scars  in  2012  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Vestal  Claret  a  band  that  plays  occult  rock  mixed  in  with  traditional  and  doom  metal  influences.

  Drums  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  drumming  with  not  much  in  the  way  of  fast  playing  or  blast  beats,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  tone  with  heavy  doom  metal  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  their  side  of  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  70's  occult  rock  style  riffs  that  add  in  influences  from  doom  and  traditional  metal  as  well  as  some  dark  sounding  melodies  being  thrown  into  the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  70's  sounding  classic  rock/metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  which  are  only  utilized  briefly  they  use  full chords  to  give  the  music  a  more dark  and  evil  sound.

  Vocals  are  all  clean  singing  vocals  that  mix  traditional  doom  with  classic  rock  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts,  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Occultism,  Dark  and  Anti  Christian  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  retro  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  while  Vestal  Claret  is  not  the  material  that  ever  gets  reviewed  in  this  zine,  I  still  think  they  are  a  decent  sounding  occult  rock/metal  band  that  would  appeal  to  fans  of  this  genre.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Cult  Of  Vestal  Claret"  and  "Three  And  Three  Are  Six".  RECOMMENDED.

  Next  up  is  Ungod  are  a  band  that  has  been  interviewed  before  by  this  zine  with  a  musical  style  that  I  would  describe  as  being  raw  and  primitive  sounding  occult  black  metal.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  good  amount  of  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing that  is  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  black  metal  riffs  that  are  very  dark,  raw,  and primitive  sounding  in  the  old  school  tradition  along  with  some  dark  sounding  melodies  being  thrown  into  the  riffing  and  there  are  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  their  side  of  the  recording.

  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  mixed  in  with  some  chanting  and  spoken  word  parts,  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism  and  Darkness,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  primitive  sound  in  the  classic  black  metal  tradition.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  recording  from  Ungod  which  has  the  best  music  on  this  split  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  old  school,  raw  and  primitive  sound  occult  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this b and.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Transsexual  Seraphs"  and  "Silence  In  The  Golden  Walls  Of   Endless  Hope".  RECOMMENDED.

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  occult  rock  and  black  metal.  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

http://novisiblescars.bandcamp.com/album/vestal-claret-ungod-split-2012

Ungod Interview

1.Can you update with what is going on with Ungod these days?
We have recorded 7 songs for several split releases. 6 are brand new stuff and 1 is a remake of a song from 1996. Songtitles are Deus est homo/thy serpents tonque/the wielding fist of the mangod/transsexual seraphs/blackwinged whore(leathercunt II)/firestorm,ashes ... genocide (2009 version) & born of the shadow womb.
those songs will appear on a hellish crossfire split 10 EP a ungod/black feast split 7 EP and a 3 way split lp with üparagon belial and zarathustra


2.How would you describe your sound for those that have never heard you before?
Ugly stinking old school extreme metal without compromises and without modern influences!
a good dose of catchiness!

3.I know that you disbanded for a few years, what was the cause of the break up, what where you doing the hiatus and what made you decide to reform the band?
Yeah,the band broke up in 1998 because of several personal reasons. It did just not really work out anymore. Our drummer continued playing in several bands and I continued my miserable life as "normal" fan by drinking,collecting records etc.
The band came back when huuricane from kneel before the masters throne records asked for a re release of our debut album.
so we decided to givi it a try again.

4.How did you hook up with Kneel Before The asters Throne Records and what is yore opinion on the other bands that are singed to the label?
I knew dennis(hurricane) already some years and he came to us asking for the re release of circle of the seven infernal pacts. Instead he first re released our 1996 mcd conquering what once was ours with bonustracks on vinyl & cd.circle .. will follow soon! I like most of the bands he is releasing and know the old stuff he reissued quite good since years.so more power to them!

5.Do you Do you have any other projects going on besides Ungod?
No

6.Have you had the opportunity to do a live show and if so how would you describe your stage performance?
Ungod did never play live so far due to many line up problems etc., but one day we will hit the stage for sure!Leather,spikes & metal is what you´ll get!

7.What are some bands that you would like to do shows with or tour?
There are many,but those here would be great:blasphemy,sarcofago, hellish crossfire,desaster,witchburner,pentacle and any faithful to the old roots band!
no political and wimpy shit bands!

8.How would you describe your musical progress over the years and what direction do you see the music heading into on the new material?
We obviously became better at our instruments and we are better songwriters now,at least a bit,hehe. We wont change too much since that´s what Ungod is all about - chaos,catchiness and pure fucking metal spirit! Too many old bands became just wishy washy over the years by incorporating new elements into their sound/style.we´ll keep it our way and we don´t betray our followers!

9.When can we expect the next release?
At the end of march we will release the În numele Metalului Est-European Demotape in a limited edition of 100 tapes.This is Ungods Tribute to the Ancient East European Scene when Bands like
Master`s Hammer, Root,Tormentor,Turbo,Törr,Kat and the likes ruled the World
with obscure fucking Metal! You`ll get to hear 7 of our Songs with rumanian
Vocals sung by our Guest singer Zdrobitor.
Then we hope that all those split releases will come out without to big delays.
We plan to record a new full length album at the end of the year.


10.What is the meaning behind the band's name?
Ungod can also be explained as the mangod. Simply said - man is his own god!

11.How would you describe the lyrical content of the music?
Heresy, blasphemy, ancient wisdom and a good dose of obscenity. I think that really sums it up. Some lyrics are just plain simple some have a deeper meaning. This just depends on the mood of the song. We are no book writers nor any poetic guys.the lyrics just have to fit the music.

12.Out off all the releases that you have recorded so far which one are you the most satisfied with?
I love all our releases! Right now I´m very much into the new songs we have recorded.

13.How has your music been received so far by black metal fans worldwide?
The old underground people are still into us and the younger ones start to discover Ungod as an old cult band from the early nineties. It does not really matter to us anyways - we like what we do.

14.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced the music of Ungod and what are you listening to nowadays?
When we first started out it was bands like sodom,destruction,bathory,hellhammer,posessed,celtic frost,samael and the likes. Being underground freaks and tape traders it was also stuff like blasphemy,rotting christ,sarcofago,varathron,sadistik exekution and stuff like that. We all listen to metal/rock only and our tastes are in some ways different.i listen to a lot of eighties metal be it speed/thrash power or whatever metal while the others are more on the extreme side of it all.
in the end we all are a unit of die hard metal freaks!

15.Does Satanism or Occultism play any role in the band or music?
Satanism not,but if you mean by occultism everything obscure,unexplainable and kinda dark - yes.
i´m too old for any "isms".

16.What forms of the Occult are you interested in?
Everything mysterious and everything that is kinda forbidden or non understandable to common human beings. There is so much going on in the twilight world that you can´t really explain by simple words.

17.What are some of your interests outside of music?
Not really that much outside music. Everything in my life is somewhow linked to music. Being a real dedicated metal fan there are not too many other things to do besides buying records,drinking and visiting shows.

18.Any final words or thoughts of blasphemy?
Thanx a lot for investing time in our little band! Hope it was not too boring for you!Look out for ungod releases when you get the chance for it!All the best!

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