Negative Voice/Infinite Dissonance/Inverse Records/2014 CD Review

  Negative  Voice  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  mid  tempo  form  of  black/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Infinite  Dissonance"  which  was  released  by  Inverse  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  a  very  dark  sound  bordering  on  classical  and  after  a  minute  the  music  goes  into  a  more  heavy  and  melodic  direction  along  with  grim  black  metal  vocals  as  well  as  bringing  in  guitar  leads  and  you  can  also  hear  elements  of  doom  metal  in  the  music.

  The  band  also  bring  this  approach  to  other  songs  as  well  and  the  vocals  also  get  deeper  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well  as  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  death  metal  elements  to  the  music  and  after  awhile  clean  vocals  and  spoken  word  parts are  brought  in  on  certain  tracks  and  the  album  ends  with  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  gutiars.

  With  this  album  negative  Voice  bring  a  very  different  sound  to  melodic  black/death  metal,  keeping  everything  mid  tempo  along  with  traces  of  doom  metal  and  it  has  a  more  original  feeling  than  most  bands  of  this  genre.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark,  depressive  and  philosophical  themes,  while  the  production h as  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  dark  along  with  the  bass  guitars  being  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix  as  well  as  some  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Negative  Voice  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic,  mid  tempo  black/death  metal b and  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Grey  Pools  Heaven"  "Into  Oblivion"  and  "Rejection".  8  out  of  10.

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Taurus/No/Thing/2014 CD Review

  Taurus  are  a  band  from  Portland,  Oregon  that  plays  a  very  psychedelic  form  of  blackened  drone/sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "No/Thing".

  The  album  starts  out  with  dark  experimental  sounds  and  spoken  word  samples  as  well  as  mixing  in  heavier  and  noisier  sounds  along  with  black  metal  vocals  which  leads  to  a  more  drone/doom  metal  direction  along  with  melodic  vocals  and  riffing  and  you  can  also  hear  death  metal  growls  in  the  music.

  The  band  also  bring  this  approach  to  other  songs  while  also  bringing  in  more  psychedelic  and  atmospheric  elements  and  on  one  of  the  tracks  they  bring  in  melodic  ritualistic  chanting  and  folk  instruments  while  also  remaining  heavy  at  the  same  time  and  there  are  also  a  good  amount  of  synths  and  organs  being  utilized  on  this  recording  na d towards  the  end  the  music  starts  going  in  a  more  experimental  direction.

  With  this  album  Taurus  create  a  very  dark,  heavy  and   ritualistic  sound  while  also  bringing  in  psychedelic  and  experimental  elements  along  with  the  heaviness  of  black  metal,  drone,  doom  and  sludge  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark,  ritualistic  and  occultism  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  dark  sound  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Taurus  are  a  very  great  sounding   psychedelic  blackened  drone  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Lives  Long  For  Own"  and  "Increase  Loneliness".  8  out  of  10.

http://taurusisdust.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/TaurusIsDust

Hiidenhauta Interview

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

We are Finnish black metal band with some melodic influences. We have both, female and male vocals and our lyrics are written in Finnish. We bring strongly influences of the nature, darkness and mythology to you.

2. You have a new album coming out and you also put out 2 ep's last year, 

how would you describe the musical sound that is present on all 3 recordings and also how do they differ from each other?

 The difference between those three recordings is mainly in our musical growth. In the first ep band searched its form and we had more folk influences then. In the second ep, we had strong symphonic influences.  And in our newest album we are more pure black metal than we are in the other albums, but we still have strong melodies.

3. You write your song lyrics in Finnish 'kalevalametre' what was the decision behind using this ancient language?

Our vocalist Fornjotur has worked with kalevalametre for many years.  It felt natural to bring our own culture with. The common factor from the beginning has been lyrics in kalevalametre and lyrical themes.


4. Your lyrics also cover Finnish-Baltic Paganism and Anti Christian themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?

These topics are about us, these are the values that we stand for. Inside the band we have strong beliefs of Finnish-Baltic mythology, and anti-Christianity.

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

It has several meanings. “Hiisi” means an ancient sacred place and also the dark spirits of nature and “hauta” means a grave. So Hiidenhauta means pre-Christian growth to us and that all the ancient habits have not been forgotten.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We don’t do gigs yet. We have been concentrating on making songs. We are not very excited about bringing us to the excessive people. We are quite misanthropic.

7. Do you have any touring or show plans for the new release?

We have been asked to, and we have plans. But we are not sure about anything.
8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?

It has been as positive feedback as on black metal can be! For our surprise, we have received positive feedback from places we didn’t even know.

9. Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects these days?

Our vocalist Fornjotur writes lyrics for Korpiklaani and Jonne Järvelä’s solo project.
And some of us have smaller projects, but not anything bigger.

10. Where do you see this band heading into music wise during the future?

We have always done our music the ways we want to. I hope that in the future we still do it like that. I would like to see that we have more supporters all around the world and notice that our musical atmosphere would reach more people.

 

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

Inside the whole band, the scale is very large. 90’s black metal is a very big influence, but there’s also classical and folk music. But we like silence more.


12. What are some of your interests outside of music?

We are into history, nature, nationalism, anti-Christianity, Finnish war history and so much more! Our music is about these things what we are outside of music. They walk hand in hand.


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

 “Grove rips off my light, may the wolf increase within.”

Fornjotur & Riena

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Cauldron Black Ram/Stalagmire/20 Buck Spin/2014 CD Review

  Cauldron  Black  Ram  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  doom,  sludge  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Stalagmire"  which  was  released  by  20  Buck  Spin.

  The  album  starts  out  with  a  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  along  with  some  blackened  death  metal  vocals  as  well  as  some  melodic  leads  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  bit  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  as  well  as  the  recording  having  an  old  school  feeling  which  also  leads  to  blast  beats  becoming  a  part  of  the  music.

  As  the  album  moves  on  the  music  gets  a  lot  darker  and  starts  mixing  black,  doom  and  thrash  together  along  with  traces  of  sludge  and  at  time s they  also  bring  in  brutal  old  school  death  metal  sounds  along  with  a  decent  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  using  a  mixture  of  screams  and  growls  and  after  awhile  an  instrumental  is  added  in  along  with  spoken  word  ritualistic  parts  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Wit h this  album  Cauldron  Black  Ram  continue  their  mixture of  black,  doom,  sludge  and  thrash  metal  of  their  previous  recording  as  well  as  adding  in  more  death  metal  this  time  around  and  this  album  is  very  heavy  and  old  school  sounding.

  Song  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  occult  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  dark  and  old  school  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Cauldron  Black  Ram  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  doom,  sludge,  death  and  thrash  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Fork  Through  Pitch"  "A  Litany  Of  Sailor's  Sins"  "Cavern  Fever"  and  "The  Devil's  Trotters".  8  out  of  10.

http://cauldronblackram.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/cauldronblackramofficial 

Hiidenhauta/Noitia on Minun Sukuni/Inverse Records/2014 CD Review

   Hiidenhauta  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  very  symphonic  form  of  folk/black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Noitia  on  Minun  Sukuni"  which  will  be  released  by  inverse  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  nature  sounds  along  with  some  dark  sounding  keyboards  and  drums  that  bring  a  gothic  horror  feeling  to  to  the  music  before  going  into  a  more  black  metal  direction  along  with  grim  vocals,  melody  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  band  also  start  mixing  slow  and  fast  parts  together  and  bring  in  melodic  female  vocals.  

  When  the  album  goes  into  other  songs  the  band  start  going  into  a  mid  90's  symphonic  black  metal  direction  and  the  female  vocals  also  bring  a  more  pagan  folk  music  sound  to  the  recording  and  after  awhile  acoustic  guitars  and  male  vocals  are  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  they  also  enhance  the  folk  music  elements  that  are  present  on  this  record  while  most  of  the  album  sticks  to  a  symphonic  black  metal  direction.

  Hiidenhauta  bring  back  the  mid  90's  approach  to  symphonic  black  metal  with  their  music  while  also  adding  in  folk  music  to  update  this  genre  for  modern  times  and  this  album  stays  away  from  the  more  mainstream  side  of  that  genre  and  this  is  one  of  the  best  melodic  or  symphonic  black  metal  albums  to  come  out  in  years.

  Song  lyrics  are  written  in  Finnish  and  cover  Finnish-Baltic  mythology  and  anti  christian  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  as  well  as  some  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Hiidenhauta  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic folk/black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Tuhkasta"  "Hiiden  Virsi"  and  "Kaartuvat".  8/5  out  of  10.

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Craving Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?

Hello there, here is Ivan - the Singer and Guitarist of the Craving. Well, the band went on two weeks european tour the day after release called Hell Revisited Tour 2013 together with two other bands. Right now we are prepairing for the Ragnarök & Darktroll Festivals which are coming up in April and May plus starting to book shows for the end of the year.

2.Recently you have put out a new album, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction it has taken and also how does it differ from your previous recordings?

The music goes into a more grow up direction, the difference to our previous record is deffenetely the musical thickness of the album. The music it self is more thought-out but still full of energy and hooks. The production this time is really heavy but still clear and punchy, responsible for it was Christoph Brandes who also produced such bands as Necrophagist, Finsterforst, Unlight etc. in the past.

3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new album?

There are different lyrical themes: from personal feelings, to nature worship over Russian silverage poetry to Philosophy. We use two poems by Nikolaj Stepanovich Gumilev the Russian silverage poet on track Mik and Olga. The song "Targaryen Wrath" is about Daenaries Targaryen of the House of Targaryen (Geordge J. J. Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire) starring Chris Caffery (Ex-Savatage) on the lead guitar. "Sons of the Rebellion" is about Luke Skywalker during the attack on the Deathstar. Olga is a poem by Gumilev based on Russian history about Olga of Kiew, its basically about her four revenges on the murderers of her husband. "Breath after Breath" is a song against the project 2045, which is crazy in our opinion. The lyrics for "In die Nacht hinein"(English: Into the Night) were written during a rainstorm. As you can see there is no particular topic, we write down our interests, thoughts and feelings on paper. 

4.I have noticed that you write lyrics in English, German and Russian, what was it that motivated you to put 3 different languages on an album?

Im Russian native speaker, so it is easy for me to express myself in Russian language. The same goes with German and English, well we like English. The whole three language thing startet spontaniausly. At first with "Into the Forest" (Craving - s/t 2012) and "Wolfsherz" (The heart of the wolf), where the lyrics appered at first. Music is art and its about to express yourself, so we decided to put all the lyrics on the album. I really love Gumilevs poems, so we used them as lyrics. Finish bands like Amorphis are doing it with Kalevala all the time, why shouldn't we do that? Plus we do speak those tongues, so its comes for us pretty natural.

5.The band started out as 'Erebos' what was the decision behind the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Craving'?

We were just kids back than searching fastly for a band name due to our first concert on 24.04.2006, so we decided to call the band "Erebos" on the run. (Erebos: Greek for Darkness or Greek God of Darkness). The name was already taken by quite a few bands so we decided to rename the band. We had the names Hybris and Craving to choice from, so we decided to name the band Craving. It represents perfectly our craving for music and the whole passion behind it.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Our stage performance is very energic and entertaining, we try to communicate as much as possible with the crowd and make them feel to be a part of the performance. Thats actually what they are for when they're going to see a show. Our best show so far? There were so many shows in the past years, the deffinetely best Show on the recent european tour was the last gig in Mlada Boleslav (CZ) in the Club called Fararova Sluj. It was located in an old wine basement with almost no light which created an amazing atmosphere on and off the stage. The crowd was amazing and interacted perfectly with us.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new recording?

As I said before we were on tour last year and right now we are planing the autumn shows. Before that you can see us in Germany on the Ragnarök Festival 2014 and Darktroll Festival 2014 among bands like Finntroll, Satyricon, Manegarm etc.

8.On the new album you had some well known people in the metal genres doing session work, how did you get in contact with some of these well known musicians and also where you satisfied with the final results?

Yes we have some guest appeariences on the album! Chris Caffery, the guitarist of the infamious Prog Rock/Metal superstars Savatage has contributed a guitar solo on "Targaryen Wrath". I have contacted Chris via Email at the end of 2012 and suprisingly to myself he liked what he heard and contributed to the album. Niels Löffler is the Bassplayer (!) of the German Power Metal newcomers Orden Ogan, who is actually a really really great guitarist, so I asked him to contribute on "In die Nacht hinein" he is performing the epic guitar solo in the middle of the song. Agalaz is the front man of the German Pagan Metal band Obscurity, after some shows with them we became friends and I asked him if he would like to contribute already on our debut album unfortunately he has no time back in 2010, so he contributed the lead growls to the song "Schwarze Flügel". Andreas Möller is the man with the great voice and the front singer of Bremens local Power Metal band Dystopolis, we asked him to do the Choirs on "Dance with the Wind" due to my low voice range, he did an amazing job. The other musicians are our friends and we are very happy to have them on board.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black, death and folk metal?

Suprisingly good. Resentlry I get tons of  requests from people from Brazil. We get very good response all over the world. We even have Fans in Japan, thats fantastically crazy!

10.Can you give us an update on what is going on with some of the  band members other musical projects these days?

They have only Craving as the main project. If you concentrate 100% on many musical projects (At least your name is Devin Townsend or Ayreon Lucassen)

11.Where direction do you see the music heading into during the future?

We hope the music will evolve in the positive way and be still as energic as now no matter which further musical direction we will choice. 

12.What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays? Me and our guitarist Thorsten Flecken and Leonid Rubinstein are huge Iron Maiden fans. Thorsten had once a big vinyl/flag/cd collection of Maiden. Still we all have our particular taisted, our Drummer for example listens mostly to tech death metal/brutal death metal, you can guess why hehe

I have to many bands to mention, the list is just to big.

13.How would you describe your views on paganism?

Our views of paganism, well we are not following some pagan religion. What I think is important in live is to be yourself and do what thou wilt. Nature is sacred and we are a part of it, but unfortunately we do forget.  

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

Thank you for this interview! Thanks to everyone who have made it so far!

Please support our Label and buy albums from the offcial webstore www.apostasy.de

Craving Will Rise!

Arcanorum Astrum Interview

ARCANORUM ASTRUM is a Russian band, and established in 2009, but the roots of the idea of creating a musical ensemble go much deeper. Initially we positioned ourselves as black metal project, but over the time with the development of both ourselves and the music, style transformed into experimental black-death metal. In 2009 we released our debut EP album “The way to myself “, which has got many highest reviews as in Russia, as abroad. At the same time we started recording our full-length album, alternating it with a variety of performances at home and in the CIS countries. By 2012 was ready our debut album ”Enlightenment” and official music-video “ The way to myself”. At present we are engaged in record of the second album, having enough material for the third album. In general, work goes at full blast – and it, perhaps, is enough for an introduction.
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2. In your own words how would you describe your musical sound?


Let our sound be estimated by listeners. I can add the we were surprised pleasantly by responses from Sweden, where such a surplus of metal bands. Perhaps, I will quote:"The band seem to really have found their own sound which is nice as we all know how todays industry is, with people bitching about how much a band sounds to much like the other!"
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3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with your music?

Root of all our lyrics is the Darkness in all its manifestations. Lucifer, whom we eulogize in concluding composition of an album, personifies it. Also one of the main components of our verses is Death because it means regeneration, transition to new level, experience through which all of us should pass anyway. Through the all album some kind of drama develops. The drama of the relations between the Person and the highest Deity. Through what only the Person shouldn’t pass; it is pain, suffering and destructive mind contradictions, there lies which multiples itself every millennium; infinite wars, death. Among all this obstacles, people of inquisitive mind will always in searches of his Way to perfection, to the divine, if you want. He will plunge into the depths of the consciousness until will begin to see clearly that he and God is one essence. In our case, God is the Satan.  
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4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Arcanorum Astrum'?

I will began with that we initially decided  to chose the name of the band in Latin. So called “Dead Language”. There where two reasons, the first – Latin, along with the Sanskrit, is language of sacraments, the various rituals, uplifting us on new spiritual level. The second – to render memory to the wise ancestors , living about ten thousand years ago.  Arcanorum Astrum is literally translated as “Mysterious Star”. Relying on Aleister Crowley Revelations, saying that each person – is a star , our name can be interpreted so: the mysterious star -  is a way to divine, a way to itself , covered with the secret veil which curtain , sooner or later, each of us is fated to slightly open.  
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5.What are some of the things you bring out with this band that you have not been able to do with the other musical projects that the band members are involved with?


In “Arcanorum Astrum”  we realize ourselves and this is the main thing!
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6.Over the years what are some of the best shows and tours that the band has been a part of and also how would you describe your stage performance?


We had many significant gigs. But certainly is a wish to notice a tour with a well-known Swedish band hypocrisy in September 2013. It was a great tour for many reasons. For some members of the band, to share the stage with Peter Tagtgren, was a childhood dream, that come true. Besides there were many obstacles, witch we overcame, having  got valuable experience. 

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7.Do you have any touring or show plans for 2014?


Of course! But I will note, that first of all, we planned to record and release our second album. About tours, there are very good variants, but ,all the details is not known yet, I don’t consider it necessary to advertise them. What is known,  it is a trip to Latvia on a newly made festival, and headlining shows in Russia.
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8.The last album was released by MSR Productions, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?


Actually there was a stupid mistake! MSR Produсtion helped us with the album release, but DIDN’T LET OUT! So we still in search of label! MSR is good label, knowing the business, but it is a little weak, in promotion, we want either serious label, or any. Everything or nothing.  -----------------------------------------------

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


Without any modesty, i can say, that there was a set of positive responses from different countries. Some people from U.S. wrote us gratitude letters that our music helps them to live, helps to overcome difficult and conflict situations in life. And we are happy about that!-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10.When can we expect the next album and also where do you see the band heading into musically in the future?


The album is expected to autumn of this year. There will be some changes: songs become more brutal, evil and technical , will be more death metal. There will be experiments with a sound, industrial samples will be added. Anyway we are adjusted to development, we will try to make an album original and unusual.
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11.What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?


There are six people in “ARCANORUM ASTRUM”, and tastes are quite different, through  somewhere we are crossed anyway. It should be noted some bands such as: METALLICA, DEATH, PANTERA, MORBID ANGEL, CANNIBAL CORPSE, MARYLIN MANSON, DEICIDE. From black – metal in the separate line DIABOLICAL MASQUARADE  should be allocate. Listening of songs of this band strongly affected our guitarist CASURUS,  that further led him to black metal music. Also we will note: DARK FUNERAL, MARDUK, BURZUM, EMPEROR, SUMMONING. The List is very long actually . 
As for the present – we listening to everything. Beginning from country and blues to most brutal styles of metal, and rap.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12.How would you describe your views on Satanism and Occultism?


The Satanism is as a point of support. To come to it, it is necessary to pass a thorny road to understanding of the Essence of Things. No more and no less. It not life, and not the death, is Chaos. It not life and not death, is Chaos. All of us are in the Chaos turn. We are movable by Chaos and we move It. Satanism it as part you. It all the same what to ask "what do you think of itself personally?". There are things which you accept, or don't accept. And so we accept the Satanism and we pass through ourselves, through the music, lyrics, through all creativity as a whole.

As for an occultism, here it is simpler. In itself this doctrine about hidden forces of person/the nature/space which aren't available to science. Probably, aren't available yet, but today the picture is necessary in such look. Encouraging any supernatural phenomena, a shamanizm, an astrology, magic, philosophy and other, we validly treat an occultism, as the tradition studying all these subjects. And, certainly, we as validly treat the people who have devoted the life to an occultism. To philosophers, tremblingly and carefully keeping secrets to which the most part from us we are yet ready.

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13.Do you have any non musical interests?


Interest are different at all , but we all like to party and have a good time. Sometimes! Not always. Also sport, computers, reading and self – development. 
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14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?


Be yourself! Be worthy the Lives , whatever it was. Also be worthy significant Death. Don’t forget about sincerity – award it favorite people.

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Shores Of Null/Quiescene/Candlelight Records/2014 CD Review

  Shores  Of  Null  are  a  band  from  the United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  mixture  of  melodic  black,  doom  and  gothic  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Quiescene"  which  was  released  by  Candlelight  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with   a  very  dark  and  heavy  doom  metal  sound  along  with  some  melodies  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  adding  in  more  melodic  black  metal  elements  along  with  solos  and  leads  which  also  lead  up  to  death  metal  growls  becoming  a  part  of  the  music  as  well  as  being  mixed  in  with  melodic  clean  singing  vocals.

  When  the  album  moves  on  the  music  starts  getting  more  progressive  along  with  the  vocals  bringing  in  more  black  metal  elements  while  the  guitars  are  heavily  influenced  by  doom  and  more  modern  forms  of  metal  and  on  a  couple  of  the  songs  they  speed  up  for  a  few  seconds  and  the  music  starts  having  an  atmospheric  black  metal  feeling  to  it  along  with  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  while  for  the  most  part  the  music  sticks  to  a  more  slow  but  still  heavy  direction.  

  Shores  of  null  create  a  very  heavy,  dark,  melancholic  and  melodic  album  with  the  way  they  mix  black,  doom  and  gothic  metal  together  while  also  having  the  structures  of  progressive  metal  and  this  is  a  very  diverse  record  and  there  is  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  emotion  behind  the  music.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  as  well  as  some  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Shores  Of  null  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  melodic  black,  gothic  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Kings  Of  Null"  "Ruins  Alive"  "Time  Is  A  Wasteland"  and  "Eudaemonia".  8  out  of  10.

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Craving/At Dawn/Apostasy Records/2014 CD Review

  Craving  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  mixture  of  melodic  death  metal  and  black  metal  with  folk  influences  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "At  Dawn"  which  was  released  by  Apostasy  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  a  very  heavy  and  brutal,  melodic  death  metal  sound  along  with  blast  beats  and  deep  growls  which  also  use  black  metal  screams  while  also  bringing  in  a  mixture  of  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  which  also  lead  up  to  melodic  guitar  solos  before  bringing  in  acoustic  guitars  and  more  folk  orientated  sound  along  with  clean  melodic  singing.

  As  the  album  continues  the  folk  elements  become  a  huge  part  of  the  music  while  the  album  still  remains  true  to  a  heavy,  brutal  and  melodic  black/death  metal  as  well  as  bringing  in  atmospheric  and  symphonic  sounds  and  they  bring  a  heavier  sound  to  this  genre  which  has  not  been  attempted  by  a  lot  of  bands  as  well  as  bringing  in  some  very  well  known  quests  from  a  variety  of  many  different  metal  genres  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  On  this  recording  Craving  bring  a  new  sound  to  the  folk  metal  genre  while  having  the  melodic  black  metal  elements  this  genre  usually  has  and  adding  in  brutal  death  metal  to  create  an  album  that  really  stands  out  in  this  genre.

  Song  lyrics  are  written  in  a   mixture  of  English,  German  and  Russian  and  cover  folklore  and  paganism  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  as  well  as  some  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Craving  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  melodic  death,  brutal  death  and  folk  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Mek"  "Targaren  Wrath"  "Garden  Of  Bones"  and  "Hellraiser".  8/5  out  of  10.

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Iliac Thorns Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the release of the new album?

1. Shitstorm happened. First we lost electricity at our rehearsal place and we was told it will be fixed, but our landlord didn't stand behind his words. We were in a situation where we couldn't do a thing. After a while we found a new place and now we have some line-up changes coming, which we'll reveal within a month or so..

2.A few months back you put out a new album, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction it has taken and also how does it differ from your past release?

2. Basis of ITs direction is maybe something between melodic death metal and more brutal death metal, but we also add elements from black metal. It differs, IT has more progressive and blackish touch and we left some trashy parts where it should be, to trash. It's hard to define any certain style what our musical expression is or does the album have any certain direction. Closest definition of ITs direction is blackened melodic death metal, or this is how we describe our music..

3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects you explored with the new album?

3. Death, hatred, luciferian gnosis and psychedelics..

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Iliac Thorns'?

4. Inspiration probably comes from little piece of equipment we've named lé Sabre. This is something we summon every time we need advice or inspiration. The name itself has various meanings, depending on point of view, but generally it describes our music and us perfectly. These thorns tear you apart from inside revealing the true nature of man..

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

5. We've performed only one live mass this far with Iliac Thorns and it's difficult to say what will happen next time. But one thing is for sure, we have much more going on at stage than just few guys with instruments playing some metal. We don't just play gigs, we perform grim bloody live rituals..

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

6. Yes, when the new member/members know their place at the stage, we will do some shows, maybe even a tour or two, before we enter studio again. We shall see how our future plans work out..

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

7. IT was released on the day of Luciferian supper of Cain last year in Finland and one month later worldwide. Feedback has been somewhat diverse. It seems that there are some people who think melodic death metal should sound like At the Gates or Dark Tranquillity and then there are those people who understand the mixing of more brutal and underground metal to what everyone is used to, when the words melodic death is choose'd to describe what the outcome might sound like. And those people has given really great feedback. And no disrespect to At the Gates ot DT, those guys are godfathers of melodic death and they are a huge influence to all melodeath bands out there, including us.

8.According to the Metal Archives page, a couple of band members also participate in other musical projects, can you tell us a little bit more about them?\

8. Actually those projects are former projects which lead to the birth of Iliac Thorns..

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

9. New material we have been working on continues pretty much where we left with IT, more progressive parts and highlights. The musical main idea has remained the same, but we like to keep our minds open to new ideas and we don't rule out anything if it sounds good to us..

10.What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

10. There's way too many bands to name. And of course it influences in some way what develops when we write new material. If the music listened is inspirational it doesn't matter if it's black metal or smooth jazz, the feeling is important. We all listen to very different styles of music, but mostly metal, and this also can be heard in Iliac Thorns songs as variety. Biggest influences to our music is probably old school death metal, scandinavian melodic death metal and underground black metal. Nowadays, it seems extremely hard to find music really inspirational, so we have to listen to oldies but goldies. 

11.DO you have any non musical interests?

11. Poisons, terror, life burn-out and brain dysfunctions..

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

12. Stay brutal, hail Satan and keep supporting underground metal!!

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