Saturday, July 30, 2011

Dominanz/As I Shine/Industrial Silence/2011 CD Review


Dominanz are a band from Norway that mixes black metal with industrial and gothic music and this is a review of their 2011 album "As I Shine" which was released by Industrial Silence Records.

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with some blast beats being thrown in at times, while the synths bring a very dark and industrial/gothic/atmospheric feel to the music,

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast riffs that combine black metal with industrial metal with some melodies being used at times, while the lead guitars are very distorted sounding industrial metal guitar leads.

Vocals range between high pitched black metal screams, industrial metal style shouts and growls mixed in with some clean singing male and female gothic vocals, while the lyrics cover dark and aggressive themes, as for the production it has a very powerful, heavy and professional sound and you can hear all of the musical instruments that are present on this recording.

In my opinion Dominanz are a very good black/gothic/industrial metal hybrid and if you are a fan of bands that mixes these styles together, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Agony And Domination" "Eternal Sin" "Last Day Of Your Life" and "The End Of All There Is". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Friday, July 29, 2011

Einvera Interview


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


The Einvera sound could be described as if a wide variety of genres and instrumentation were
crammed into a blender with the end result being an eclectic, colorful taste. Basically, we are fans of
music and that's how it comes across. We want to add all of these colors and tastes from every genre we love and make something enjoyable to listen to. Trips from Jazz to Black metal and Folk to Psychedelic rock.


2. How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the new album?
With "In Your Image" being our first album we were obviously very ambitious and energetic out of the gate. We made a very dynamic record and tried to included all of our favorite styles of writing as cohesively as possible. There are about fifteen some odd different instruments on the record ranging from trumpet to vibraphone and banjo to pedal steel. The textures that these array of instruments brings out seems very fitting and special to us and when coupled with an aggressive playing style it took from of something very "out there".


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


While were were already headed down a left hand path with this album, we agreed the lyrics had to as well to some extent. We didn't want to approach it with a traditional black metal/death metal mind set.
Not that we don't respect the hell out of it, but I wanted to only write about things I knew or have seen personally. With that direction it became a lot more personal. I tried to take an outsiders look at some common struggles like the desperation to succeed, drug abuse, deterioration of faith and personal loss.
You know, fun stuff.


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


If you look it up it literally means "Isolation." I suppose we are just trying to isolate ourself from common trends and try to go a different path if that makes any sense at all.


5.Has the band had any oppurtunities to do any live shows yet, if so what are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?


Absolutely! We have had a blast playing around the southern california area. Weather we were opening up for some European or American heavyweight bands or playing smaller scale local shows we have always been appreciative of the energy and noise the audience gives back. We like to really lay it all out in a live performance and cut loose. We dont stand around like its some kind of recital...theres definatly some movin' and shakin'.
6. Currently the band is unsinged, are you looking for a label and if so what kind of label do you feel that would be a perfect fit for your music?


At this point we are taking it one step at a time. We just want to share what we have.
We are doing well on our own now so when the right thing comes it will only benefit all parities involved, including listener, label and band alike.




7. Are there any side projects besides this band or is this a full time line-up?
We all stay busy with multiple projects ranging from bluegrass to fusion, as well as teaching, session work and working in recording studios. We like to dip into everything!


8. On a worldwide level how has your music been received by metal fans?


Very positive! Its just as nice to hear a local fan as well as, say, a fan from Hungary tell you that they appreciate what you are doing and your hard work meant something to them. Obviously the route of jamming tons of instruments on a record has been done but the thing we enjoy most is when we hear that the way we approached it was a breath of fresh air. I think we put a nice little spin on things for this round but there is obviously more to learn and more work to do on our end. We will always be "students" on this journey.




9. What direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?


That is defiantly an exciting subject for us. We have a lot of material piling up that goes even deeper down the rabbit hole, to use that cliché. We like to say the new stuff is like an expanding circle of our direction, meaning that all of the elements we use will increase ten fold. Louder, softer, layered, striped, faster, slower, more abrasive, catchier, ramble, ramble. You get it.


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


That is a loaded question so ill try to keep it simple. We feel it is our duty as musicians to investigate everything out there. It dosnt matter what it is Psych rock, jazz, metal, pop, old time country, folk etc. If its good its good and that's how Einvera was handled, dragged face down in the broken glass of all those genres.




11. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
Well sometimes it seems like every aspect of our lives, work and play, is consumed by music we still keep in check with other hobbies to stay sane! We are some pretty mean wiffle ball players.


12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Thanks for your time! Keep supporting the little guys!

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Thursday, July 28, 2011

Scythia/Of War/2010 CD Review


  Scythia are a band from Vancouver B.C, Canada that plays folk metal mixed with melodic black/death metal and this a review of their self released 2010 album "Of War".

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with some blast beats being used at times, while the folk instruments and keyboards bring a very dark and medieval feel to the music, as for the bass playing it has a very dark tone with riffs that follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars and at times they sound very powerful.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast folk metal riffs that have some melodic black/death metal influences, while the lead guitars are very melodic sounding folk metal guitar solos, as for the classical and acoustic guitars when they are utilized they use finger picking to bring a dark and medieval feel to the music.

Vocals range from clean singing male and female vocals mixed in with some heavy shouts, growls, screams and spoken word passages, while the lyrics cover Medieval folklore and warfare, as for the production it has a very powerful and professional sound for being a self released album.

In my opinion Scythia are a very good folk metal band and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Fierce Riders Of Scythia" "Elegy" and "Adamantium". RECOMMENDED BUY.

ScythiaFolkMetal.com

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Einvera/In Your Image/2011 CD Review


 Einvera are a band from Los Angeles, California that mixes black,  death,  folk,  melodic and progressive metal together and this is a review of their self released 2011 album "In Your Image".

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with some blast beats being thrown in at times, while the keyboards bring a symphonic edge to the music with a great amount of folk instruments being utilized that bring a very dark, avant garde and medieval sound to the music, as for the bass playing it sounds very powerful and heavy with riffing that dominates throughout the whole album.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast riffing that combines black metal with melodic death, folk, traditional and progressive metal with a great amount of melodies being used, while he lead guitars are very melodic sounding guitar leads that have a traditional metal feel to them, as for the acoustic guitars when they are utilized they bring a progressive rock folk music feel to the music.

Vocals are a mixture of high pitched black metal and modern day melodic death metal screams with a good amount of clean singing being thrown in at times, while the lyrics cover dark and everyday themes, as for the production it sounds very powerful and professional for a self released recording and you can hear all of the musical instruments that are present on this recording.

In my opinion Einvera  are a very good and original sounding progressive/melodic/black/death/folk metal band and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Static Ascension" "Prismatic Distortion" and "The Gift Of A Ghost". RECOMMENDED BUY.

http://einveramusic.com
http://Soundcloud.com/einvera
http://www.youtube.com/user/Einvera
http://myspace.com/einvera1