Whorls/Petrichor/2014 LP Review

  Whorls  are  a  band  from  Denmark  that  has  been  featured before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  post  black  metal  and  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Petrichor".

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  post  black  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  a  few  seconds  later  blast  beats  and  high  pitched  screams  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  faster  sections  add  in  elements  of  raw  black  metal.

  Melodies  can be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  along  with  all  of  the musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  a  lot  of  post  hardcore  elements  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  very  dark,  distorted  and  melodic  in  sound.

  Whorls  creates  another  album  that takes  post  black  metal  and  hardcore  and  mixes  them  together  while  the  main  focus  is  more  on  the  blackened  side  and  the  music  has  more  of  a  rawer  edge  this  time  around,  the  production  sounds very  dark  and  raw  yet  heavy  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  are written  in  Danish  and  cover  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Whorls  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  hardcore  and  post  black  metal,  you  should  enjoy  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Parousia"  "Caeles"  and  "Petrichor".  8  out  of  10.     

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Whorls Interview

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

-  Whorls was founded by Emil (guitarist) and Mads (ex-guitarist) in February of 2012 when some of our previous bands ended up splitting up. We all knew 
each other pretty well and agreed to play more heavy, extreme and dissonant music. Thomas was then recruited to the lineup and we started playing shows soon after that. A demo was recorded and later released on cassette tape. In October we did a small European tour with the Islandic Hardcore band Muck which went really well considering our band's obscurity at the time.  


2. How would you describe your musical sound?

- It's kind of a difficult task to describe your own music. We try to put as much energy into our songs and play as heavy, dissonant and chaotic as we can. This hopefully results in a rather dark musical landscape that grabs the listener's attention.


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

- The lyrical topics mainly deal with apocalyptic themes and the darker nature of man and the world we live in. There is just so much shit and injustice going on in the world that shouldn't be taking place and you can't help being inspired by this in one way or the other. 


4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

- Originally, Emil and Mads came up with the name. It doesn't hold any special meaning besides sounding a bit abstract.


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

- The show we did in Kraków on our last tour was among the best we have played. Thomas our singer cut his foot on a broken beer bottle during the show and it was just really intense in every aspect.

We always play with a fog machine (if the venue allows it) along with very little light on stage to try to create some sort of dark atmosphere.


6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?

- At the moment we're planning a trip to Iceland in July to play a few shows as well as a couple of shows in Northern Germany in August. A European tour will probably not happen before early Fall. 


7. The 7 inch is coming out on both Boue and Maniyax Records, how did you come in contact with these labels and how would you describe the support they have given you so far?

- We knew the labels through a couple of other bands so we just wrote them to see if they had any interest in helping us out with the release. Luckily they both agreed and they have been very receptive to our material and easy to work with which is great. We are really thankful to those two labels for helping us out!


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

- Surprisingly very good. People have found our stuff through a lot of different blogs and music sites so that has definitely helped. We are definitely doing more tours because Denmark is really not the best place to play this kind of music.


9. Are there any other musical projects besides this band or is this a full time line up?

- Our singer Thomas has a side project called Cottonmouth. They are playing some kind of blackened stoner rock and have a demo coming out in late April. On 4/20 to be exact.


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

- You always try to outdo yourself when writing music so hopefully we can get more intense, chaotic and extreme. We have a much more clear vision of what we want to sound like now than when we first started so it's definitely going to be exciting to see what happens. As of now, the songs we are writing will hopefully end up on a debut album by the end of 2013. 


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

- In Whorls we do have some influences that shine through. Bands like Celeste, The Secret, Converge and Deathspell Omega are bands that have inspired us immensely. However, we feel we have gotten to the point where we are more original in what we do and these bands are just mere inspirations. 

I can't speak for the other guys but I'm spinning Svartidauði's ''Flesh Cathedral'' a lot these days. Bands like Trap Them and Lightbearer seem to be band favourites at the moment though.


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

- Some of us like to read. Thomas is doing a lot of tattooing and drawing but honestly I think everyone in this band spends a hell of a lot of time with something music related.


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

- Keep an eye out for our upcoming 7'' and shows/touring dates on our facebook page. A thank you goes out to everyone who has helped this band so far and thanks for the interview
John!

www.facebook.com/whorls

Whorls/Lvmen Natvrae/Boue Records/Maniyax Records/2013 7 Inch REview

  Whorls  are  a  band  from  Denmark  that  plays  a  mixture  of  grim  sounding  black  metal  and  post  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  seven  inch  "Lymen  Natvrae"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Boue  Records  and  Maniyax  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  playing  with  only  a  small  amount  of  fast  drumming  or  blast  beats  being  present  on  this  recording,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow, mid  paced  to fast  riffs  that  combine  dark,  raw  and  primitive  sounding black  metal  with  post  hardcore  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  and  there  are  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording.

 Vocals  range  from  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  to  post  hardcore  style  screams  and  growls,  while the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  heavy,  raw  and  primitive  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Whorls  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  grim  black  metal and  post  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Lymen  Natvrae".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.
  
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