Hipoxia/Si Devs Essset Occidendvs Erit -Monvmentvm ab Khaos I/American Line Productions/2016 CD Review

 Hipoxia  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a  mixture  of  drone,  doom,  sludge  and  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Si  Devs  Essset  Occidendvs  Erit -Monvmentvm  ab  Khaos  I"  which  was  released  by  American  Line  Productions.

  A  very  dark  and  distorted  drone  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  heavy  riffing  a  few  seconds  later  that  is  done  in  more  of  a  sludge  and  doom  metal  direction  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  melodic  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  the  music  at  times.

  All  3  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  melodies  at  times  and  there  is  also a   brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they are  done  in   a  very  distorted  and  melodic  fashion  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Hipoxia  plays  a musical  style  that  takes  black  metal  and  mes  it  with  sludge,  drone  and  funeral  doom  metal  along  with  some  experimental  elements  to  create  a  musical  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Hipoxia  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  drone,  sludge,  black  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Oblivion".  8  out  of  10. 

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Winterhymn/Blood & Shadow/Soundage Productions/2016 CD Review

  Winterhymn  are  a  band  from  Cincinnati,  Ohio  that  plays  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2016  album  "Blood  &  Shadow"  which  will  be  released  in  June  by  Soundage  Productions.

  A  very  heavy  and  melodic  yet  epic  sound  starts  off  the  album along  with  some  violins  and  a  few  seconds  later  clean  singing  pagan  vocals  are  added  onto  the recording  which  also  use  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  at  times  while  the  songs  also  mix  in  a  great  amount  of  folk  music  elements.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  acoustic  guitars  are  also  added  onto  some  of  the  tracks  along  with  some  flutes  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  one  track  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  they  also  bring  in  a  traditional  folk  song  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction  on  the  following  tracks  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  remain  true  to  a  melodic  style  and  a  couple  of the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic in  length.

  Winterhymn  plays  a style  of  folk  metal  that  is  very  melodic  and  epic  sounding  while  also  mixing  in  the  heaviness  of  black  and  death  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  mythology,  nature,  battles  and  tales  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Winterhymn  are  a  very  great  sounding  folk  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dream  Of  Might"  "The  Summoning"  "In  Shadow  We  Ride"  and  "The  Chosen  End".  8  out  of  10. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPAQ4el7OQk

Deathillusion/Sitra Ahra/2016 EP Review

  Deathillusion  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2016  ep  "Sitra  Ahra".

  A  very  hard  yet  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  a  small  amount of  clean  yet  distorted  playing  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  which  also  introduces  melodic  guitar  leads  onto  the  recording  and  when t he  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  black  metal  style.

  Vocals  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  while  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing  as  well  as  a  few  seconds  of  avant  garde  elements  and  they  also  bring  in  a  Dissection  cover  as  a  bonus  track  if  you  buy  the  download  version.

  Deathillusion  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  melodic  black  and  death  metal  of  previous  material,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  Anticosmic  Satanism/Luciferianism,  Temple  Of  The  Black  Light,  Liber  Azerate,  and  Liber  Falxifer  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Deathillusion  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  black  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Invocation  of  Qalmana".  8  out  of  10.

https://deathillusion.bandcamp.com/

 

Malevolentia Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

JcReiss: After the departure of lots of members for various personal reason, rest Spleen on vocals and Dies, Principle composer , orchestration and guitar, the band is reformed with three new members, Raido on guitar ,Robin (basse) and me at the drums. We worked on our new album “République” since 4 years about. It was a hard work to compose, and especially very long, but we are rather happy with the result.


2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

JcReiss: We like to call our music Extreme Metal Orchestral, because of the relatively permanent presence of orchestration. I can say that the old albums had a little less of orchestrations than “République”. We wanted something more symphonic, but keeping the spirit of the band. Also some will call our music “Black\Death metal” or simply “Black metal symphonic”.



3.The new recording is a concept album, can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrics?

JcReiss: “République” is a criticism of the french deep politics, from fondation of the republic to the actually. We talk about reasons, in our sense, which started like an idea of peace by the people, gradually switched to an oligarchy of banks and powerful, like in many states. Through the text, we trying to address, identify the actors, causes and consequences of these that we feel do not serve the people and the state, and destroying all democratic protocol. The songs of the albums are successive, starting with analyzes of ancient civilizations to the current chaos, this totalitarian and capitalist oligarchy, which destroy all the peoples.


4.The band has been around for 13 years but so far has only released 3 albums and a demo, can you tell us a little bit more about the gaps in between releases?

JcReiss: Malevolentia is a band exacting with himself and I think we like take the time . Lot of time is required for composition, lyrics and even more for orchestrations. The band changed several times of musicians too.


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

Dies: "Malevolentia" summed up perfectly the perspective of the group has its beginnings. It's meaning "malice, jealousy, hatred." There are several possible translations and i like to play with the polysemic side of our name.



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?

Dies: Malevolentia has not done much concerts together. Already for reasons of unstable line up, but also because it is quite complicated to implement as much orchestrations on stage . Obviously these are sampled and not a real orchestra. But this requires a perfect synchronization with the sample and to have well-prepared musicians. the frequent change of line up were not allowed to play on stage as much as we would

have liked.




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

JcReiss: For now, we haven’t scheduled release tour. The album took longer than expected, and so we have not prepared performances. But probably within a year...

Dies: We'll start with a break of a few months since Spleen expecting a happy event for this fall. We will see that later in 2017.




8.The new album came out on Epictural production, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Dies: Originally Epictural was not a label but a grouping of musicians / composers of epic music (hence the name). I used this structure already to produce Ex Oblivion and negotiating distribution agreements. Over time this are added other groups like Einsicht, and soon Heimsgard Karne and an other band . In a few days we will also propose a distribution catalog that will be in by the time this interview is published online on www.epictural.fr






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

JcReiss: I have the impression that we are rather well welcomed by fans of the genre, even if the symphonic black is not a new style today. Fans of "true black" don't necessarily like our music but I think we can touch another public too.. Also, Symphonic Black band are not many in the world for me, and I hope we can touch people in other country.




10.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?

JcReiss: We all have parallels bands and project in MALEVOLENTIA.Spleen and Dies have a side project called EINSICHT. It’s a “Dark Metal” band relatively insane. Dies play bass on this one.

Raido is also guitarist of the black metal band KARNE,and he have a side project called HEIMSGARD. He composed all his new album “Ordrag”, play guitar and sing on his album. It’s a kind of “Melodic Viking Metal” with Robin on bass too.

Robin have a parallel band called DOG’N’STYLE .who play “Heavy Rock’n’Roll”, and a “Death Metal Melodic” band called OBSIDIUM, in which he play bass.

For me, I play also in a “Brutal Death Metal” band, DAWOHL and we work on a new album. I have a Black Metal band called AU DELA too and we will begin to record our first album. Otherwise, I play drums in a Black Metal band SEARING SKULL.




11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

JcReiss: We want to quickly begin to compose a new album. I think the future album will keep this kind of sound, but with other thematics certainly less politic. We don't want to compose futures albums with the same theme , mybe less serious... or not. I can’t say more for the moment. For sure, orchestrations will remain.


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

JcReiss: The first names that come to me are EMPEROR or ANOREXIA NERVOSA. I can say too original soundtrack from motion pictures . At home, I listen preferably Black Metal like Bathory , Aura Noir, Mayhem and many more or Death metal bands.



13.How would you describe your views on Occultism?

Dies: It's not really a topic adressed in Malevolentia. Each has its own spirituality but this is not an issue that we tackle in our songs. I am very critical about of the use of secularism. Really more than about christianism and religions generaly. But I'm not very religious. I find it hard to take seriously the question of occultism. Personaly I consider it more like a Newage fashion than a spirituality.



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

JcReiss: Thank you to those who follow Malevolentia . I hope you'll be interested by the lyrics and you will like "République". Bye

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Beldam Interview

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



We're a group of committed musicians who take our craft very seriously. Even though we all have busy lives outside of the band, we don't see this as a fly-by-night thing or a hobby to screw around with. We believe 100% in this project, in making crushing music and playing brutal shows, and as far as we're concerned, the sky is the limit.



2.You have your first full length coming out in June, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the demo you had released in 2015?



Most of the songs from the demo are all on the full-length, but the album's production is a lot cleaner and the song structures have been tightened up a bit. The earliest material we created together was much more full-on doom: painfully slow, lots of minor scales and tritones and pummeling primitive drumming. Later we started incorporating more sludge, with a greater number of mid-tempo and fast bits, pentatonic stuff, and more hardcore influence overall. If you listen to the demo and then to the album you can sort of hear that progression.



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



Each song on the album tells a story dealing with death in some fashion. The stories are told in the first person, from the point of view of the killers, the killed, or somebody who has lost a loved one. Using an economy of words, the lyrics delve into the psychology of grief, madness and despair. It's pretty dark stuff.



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



The inspiration of the band name came after much research.  We ran through a number of options but they all sounded derivative.  We really like the idea of having witch in the band name but every permutation imaginable has been used so I started doing research on the origins of the actual word witch.  In my reading I found the word Beldame and thought it had a great unique sound to it.  So, I pitched it to the band and we all dug it so it stuck.  We ended up dropping the “e” at the end and hence we are Beldam



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



We played a metal showcase in Charlottesville, VA at Champion Brewing recently with Ramming Speed and Ruby the Hatchet.  It was magical and crowd response was extremely positive.  We also were able to open for Witch Mountain at Strange Matter in Richmond, VA a while back, which was a great experience because we have been big fans of theirs for a long time.



Our stage performance is extremely intense.  We leave nothing on the table by the end of our set.  We do everything to make it a complete performance particularly sonically.  Doom requires a lot of volume to fill up the spaces and we do everything possible to fill the room with sound.  We want our live shows to be as cathartic for the audience as it is for us.



6. Do you have any touring or show plans once the album is released?



We are putting together a string of shows this summer from June to August to support the album. Not everything is solidified yet and new dates are getting added all the time, so keep checking our social media channels for updates!



7. Your album is going to be released by Horror Pain Gore Death Productions, are you happy with the support that they have given you so far?



Mike Juliano and HPGD Productions are a dream come true for Beldam.  He only wants success for the band and has been completely supportive of us.  Everything has been completely transparent and above-board.  It feels like a true team with someone who fully invests himself in the bands on his roster.  Beldam is extremely excited about our future with HPGD.



8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black, sludge, and doom metal?



Beldam has been receiving some very positive feedback.  Our original demo, which was released digitally by Hota Rex in early 2016, had some of its songs featured on compilations and internet radio in the US, UK and Italy.  We also received some great reviews, particularly from The Stoner Sound.



9. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?



I doubt the basic sludge/doom backbone of our music will change, but I wouldn't be surprised if we started throwing more ingredients into the cauldron. We have some upcoming material that's more in a stoner direction with super-heavy blues riffs, and we've also got some faster stuff. But fear not! Whatever happens we'll always keep it low, slow and dirty for you.



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



Some huge influences for us have been EYEHATEGOD, Graves at Sea, High on Fire, The Melvins, Black Sabbath, Weedeater, Primitive Man and there are so many more I could list.  Lately, I have been listening to a wide range of stuff.  In the last few weeks, I’ve had Dinosaur Jr., Brujeria, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Husker Du and John Coltrane on heavy rotation in my truck.



11. What are some of your non musical interests?



Outside of music, I am a craft beer enthusiast. I try to find the local breweries in every city we hit for a beer. I hope one day we will be able to do a collaboration beer with a brewery. One of the guys in the band is a huge horror enthusiast, another is a gaming nut . . . we pretty much have all your geek bases covered.



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



Thanks so much for taking an interest in our music and reaching out to us. We appreciate the time.

 http://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/store/hpgd129.html

https://www.facebook.com/BeldamOfficial

Beldam/Still The Wretched Linger/Horror Pain Gore Death Productions/2016 CD Review

  Beldam  are  a  band  from  Virginia  that  plays  a  blackened  mixture  of  doom  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Still  The  Wretched  Linger"  which  will  be  released in  June  by  Horror  Pain  Gore  Death  Productions.

  A  very  heavy  sludge  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album along  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  and  the  music  also  mixes  in  a  great  amount  of  doom  metal  elements  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  death  metal  growls  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of the  songs.

  Melodies  can  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  and  some songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  solos  and  leads  bring  in  elements  of  stoner  metal  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

  Beldam  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  sludge  and  doom metal  while  also  having  more  of  a  black  metal  vocal  approach  and  a  touch  of  death  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  despair,  and  decadence  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Beldam  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Needles"  "From  Cradle  To  Grave"  and  "Beauty's  martyr".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/BeldamOfficial

https://twitter.com/beldamofficial

Behind The Shadows/Raising Hell/Visionaire Records/2016 EP Review

  Behind  The  Shadows  are  a  band  from  Greece  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  death  and  power  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "Raising  Hell"  which  will  be  released  on  May  18th  by  Visionaire  Records.

  Clean  singing  power  metal  vocals  along  with  a  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  ep  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  use  a  lot  of  melody  and  also  adds  more  of  a  traditional  metal  style  to  the  recording  and  classical  guitars  can  also  be  heard  in  the  music  at  times.

  When  spoken  word  parts are  utilized  they  give  the  music  more  of  a  ritualistic  feeling  and  after  awhile  grim  black  metal  screams  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  along  with  the  riffs  adding  in  more  melodic  death  metal  elements  and  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  when  keyboards  are  finally  added  onto  the  recording  they  give  the  music  more  of  an  epic  and  symphonic  feeling  and  growls  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and all  of  the  songs  sound  different  from  each  other.

  Behind  The  Shadows  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  power  metal  and  mixes  it  with  black,  melodic  death  metal  and  some  symphonic  elements  to  create  something  very  original  sounding,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Behind The  Shadows  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of power,  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Give  Me  Your  Soul"  and  "Bloody  paradise".  8  out  of  10.

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Perihelion/Hold/Apathia Records/2016 EP Review

  Perihelion  are  a  band  from  Hungary  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this zine  and  plays  an  avant  garde  form  of  post  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "Hold"  which  was  released  by  Apathia  Records.

  Atmospheric  synths  and  clean  playing  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  melodic  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  awhile  heavy  guitars  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  add  in  elements  of  post  metal.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  songs  also  mix  in  some  influences  from  some  of  the  mid  90's  Norwegain  avant  garde  black  metal  bands  while  not  using  any  aggressive  vocals  from  that  era  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  brought  onto  the  recording  they  bring  in  even  more of  a  melodic  style  to  the  bands  musical  sound  and  acoustic  guitars  are  also  used  briefly  while  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  slow  musicla  direction  and  they  close  the  ep  with  a  cover  of  Twin  Peaks  "Scyamore  Trees".

  Perihelion  focus  less  on  the  black  metal  elements  this  time  around  and  focuses  more  on  an  avant  garde  style  of  post  metal  on  this  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Hungarian  and  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Perihelion  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  avant  garde,  post  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Feneketlen"  and  "Hold".  8  out  of  10.

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C.B Murdoc/Here Be Dragons/ViciSolum Productions/2016 CD Review

  C.B  Murdoc  are  a  band  from Sweden  that  plays  a  very  technical  and  progressive  mixture  of   melodic  black, death  and  groove  metal  with  elements  of  sludge, and  jazz  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Here  Be  Dragons"  which  will  be  released  in  June  by  ViciSolum  Productions.

  Drum  beats  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  playing  and  acoustic  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  leads  up  to  melodic  vocals  also  being  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  some  heavy  riffs  that  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  after  the  intro  the  music  gets  more  fast  along  with  some  brutal  blast  beats.

  Black  metal  screams  can  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  songs  along  with  a  lot  of  the  music  being  very  technical  while t he  vocals  also  bring  in  death  metal  growls  at  times  and  after  awhile  elements  of  groove  and  prog  metal  are  added  onto  the  recording  while t he  solos  and  leads  remain  true  to  a  technical  style.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  elements  of  sludge  and  jazz  can  be  heard  on  some  of  the  tracks  and  some  of  the  songs  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  playing  also  makes  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  avant  garde  elements  while  some  songs  also  add  in  a  touch  of  djent.

  C.B  Murdoc  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  melodic  black,  progressive  and  technical  death  and  mixes  it  with  sludge  and  groove  metal  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  C.B  Murdoc  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic,  technical  and  progressive  mixture  of  black,  death  and  groove  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Debt  Of  Guilt"  "The  Green"  "Diamonds"  and  "Objecting  projection".  8  out  of  10. 

vicisolumrecords.com/track/the-green

Dark Haunters/To Persevere Is Diabolical/Revalve Records/2016 CD Review

  Dark  Haunters  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "To  Persevere  Is  Diabolical"  which  was  released  by  Revalve  Records.

  Dark  sound  effects  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  keyboards  a  few  seconds  later  that  also  start  evolving  into  more  of  a  symphonic  style  and  choirs  can  also  be  heard  at times  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melodic  direction  which  they  also  mix  in  with  the  symphonic  elements.

  Vocals  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  choirs  also  make  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  more  of  a  modern  metal  approach  to  the  symphonic  genre  which  also  brings  in  touches  of  classical  and  orchestra  music  and  they  close  the  album  with  an  instrumental  track.

  Dark  Haunters  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  symphonic  while  also  changing the  genre  around  a  bit  and  mixing  it  in  with  death  metal  influences,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  legends,  history  and  darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Dark  Haunters  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  mixture  of black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Burning  Eyes  Of  Vengeance"  and  "Rising  Through  the  Curse".  8  out  of  10. 

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And Harmony Dies Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
Hi, actually we are looking for a new guitarist becouse our bandmate Rob left the band 2 month ago, then we will promote Totenamt with concerts.

2.Recently you have released a new album how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
Sound in new album it' s more various and complex and difference with old discography it' s basically in more influences outside metal and better arrangiament on it.

3.The band has been around since 1995 but only has released 3 full lengths, can you tell us a little bit more about the gaps in between releases?
Is it true, our production it's pretty slow, we prefer to publish our music when we are ready, we have work on Totenamt for 7 years and specially in that case, we have had personal problems that slow down us.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
In that album we talk about Death, all songs are poems wrote by me almost 10 years ago. I explore death in all his shades and it is a sad album of course.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'And harmony Dies'?
20 years ago we were looking for a band name that include peace, wellness and at the same time something dark and we were fans of Venom, so listening to the album Possessed we focus our attention at the song title Harmony Dies. it became our first name, then we discovered that another band from Germany had the same name, but we were already active and known in our region, so we decided to add "AND" at the beginning, so it become And Harmony Dies.

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?
I remember a great show in a club in 2005 there was a lot of people and all have fun. It was a great show! With the passing of years we decided to focus more of theatrical immaginary instead of metal impact. We are trying to focus more on songs' s feeling not only in anger given by metal parts.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
Actually not because of our guitarist search.

8.The new album was released on Sliptrick Records, are you happy with the support that they have given you so far?
Yes they are very professional and working really good.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black and avant garde metal?
Actually responses are good and we are proud of it Black metal fans still looking to more classical proposal, but people more open minded really like it!

10.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?
Yes me (Black). I have other project like Pesten and Lux Eternæ but And Harmony Dies still my priority.

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Nobady really knows where new songs will arrive. We still listening a lot genres and we will never repeat ourselves.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
In metal absolutelly Devin Townsend, Arcturus, DHG, Mayhem, Phil Anselmo and the illegals. Outside metal, Asaf Avidan, Lord buffalo, Le trio Joubran and many many more.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?
I love films d' essay, Theather, geopolitics and ancient sumerian. Whisper (keyborder) love literature, especially russian.

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank for your interesting, we want to let people crush their musical tastes. There are a lot of good music outside and people are afraid often to discover new one. Life contains a multitude of feelings, that sometimes change quickly. This is our music. Enjoy it!

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Vex/Sky Exile/Eihwaz Recordings/2016 CD Review

  San  Marcos,  Texas's  Vex  have  returned  with  a  new  album  that  takes  the  melodic  and progressive  mixture  of  black  and death  metal  of  previous  recordings  and  expand  on  it  by  mixing  in  elements  of  folk,  post  punk  and  ambient  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Sky  Exile"  which  will  be  released  in  June  by  Eihwaz  Recordings.

  Distorted  guitar  drones  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  tribal  beats  and  after  the intro  the  music  start  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  musical  direction  along  with  some  black  metal  screams  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  the  clean  guitars  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  progressive  feeling  while  melodic  vocals  are  also  utilized  at  times  and when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  are  utilized while  the  acoustic  guitars  bring  in  a  touch  of  folk.

  Some  of the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  as  the  album  progresses  elements  of  post  ambient  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  all  instrumental  while some  of  the  slower  riffs  bring  in  a  touch  of  doom  metal  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  of  the  faster  riffs  bringing  in  a  small  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts.

  On  this  recording  Vex  remove  the  thrash  elements  that  where  present  on previous  recordings  while  keeping  the  melodic  black  and  death  metal  style  and  taking  it  into  more  of  a  progressive  direction  on  this  recording   and  mixes  in  influences  of  folk,  ambient  and  post  punk  to  take  their  musical  style  to  another  level,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while the  lyrics  cover  dark,  depressive  and  metaphysical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  vex  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  the  progressive  and  melodic  styles  of  black  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Empyrean"  "The  Cygnus  Light"  "Dark  Skies  Painted"  and  "August  11".  8  out  of  10. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5UrDVWQYUA

  

Whispered Interview

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


Greetings! Things are going pretty good. We're making a music video, doing interviews, trying to get more contacts with promotors / booking agencies and such.



    2.In May  you have a new album coming out, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?


Every member in the band agress that this is the best stuff we've done yet. Metsutan - Songs Of The Void contains all the usual Whispered elements, but I think everything is in better balance this time. There are also more japanese influences which give the album a nice ethnic atmosphere and most of the songs are quite fresh so compositions are more in line with our vision and concept. Influences from several metal genres are represented on the album forming a very diverse and compelling experience I might say.


    3.In the beginning the music was more power metal but the newer music has more of a melodic death metal approach, what was the decision behind going into a heavier direction?


Even during the recordings of our first album, I was thinking that I wanna push things to a bit heavier direction. I love all kind of metal, but I think that the driving force with Whispered should be drawn from melodic death metal clashing with symphonic and ethnic elements. On the new album there's probably more black metallish influences than ever too, but we wanna keep things interesting and not force the band to go to any specific direction.



    4.Your lyrics deal a lot with Samurai's and Japanese Legends, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topics?


I've always thought that those themes work really well with metal music, and no-one seems to disagree. I've been interested in japanese culture for a really long time so the inspiration to write this kind of music felt really natural for me. Samurai as a concept is really like Whispered's music I think. Fearlessly engaging to the battle, without forgetting to enjoy a nice cup of tea on occasion.



    5.originally the band was called 'Zealot' what was the decision behind the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Whispered'?


Zealot didn't sound quite what we're about and we thought that another name could work better. I think Whispered works nicely because it's gives an serene and silent impression of the band, yet we're mostly quite the opposite. It's also a name that gives us a chance to play something else in the future if we want. If we'd named the band "Samurai Killers", we'd have a hard time to play country music. Hopefully that won't never happen.



    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?


One show we did in Tokyo 2013 really stands out (no surprise there). It was truly amazing experience since we had no idea what to except from an audience in the land of our concept.
Luckily everything was a blast and we had really great time there meeting fans and getting some connections. These recent shows in Finland have also been quite great. Audience has been amazing and we're really excited to play some new songs. I'd describe our stage performance as I'd describe a battle. Tons of adrenaline being scattered in the midst of the fight, leaving the crows to pick up what's left!


    7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?


Not much really. We're really trying to make connections to Europe, since this is our first release there also and we hope to hook up some booking opportunities.
Currently the situation is that we're giving one festival show in Finland at Tampere Metal Meeting with likes of Moonsorrow, Insomnium, Tiamat and Finntroll.
We try to get as much shows as possible for autumn.


    8.The new album is coming out on 'Redhouse Finland Music Publishing', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?


Well it's a quite small label, but they've given us really much financial support with our journey. Like us, Redhouse FMP doesn't have much connections
outside of Finland, but we hope we'll / they'll gain something with the new album.


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


It has been quite amazing actually. We have a really solid and constantly growing fanbase which I'm extremely thankful of. I think we're making something quite new and I'm really
happy that most of the people seem to understand what we're trying to do here. I've not read much of negative stuff about Whispered, though nowadays it's probably not the smartest
idea to constantly browse the internet to see what people think. But overall, the feedback has been extremely positive.


    10.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?


Well our bass and backing vocalist dude Kai Palo sings and plays in a band called Drawn Awake. Others don't have much projects, though I'm slowly cooking up some game soundtrack projects and such in the future. Whispered takes about everything we have to offer, so we don't have time for other uphill projects.


    11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?


For now, probably the same direction we're going already. Bigger, better, more oriental, more focused. Though I'm quite sure that at some point, we'll make a bit less crowded album.
Meaning something that's really focused to the band with less orchestral elements. That sounds something I'd like to do at some point.


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


Well for me, I constantly listen to all kind of music. I love finnish metal bands, game and movie soundtracks and some smooth jazz for instance. If I had to give some names right now,
I'd give Joe Hisaishi, Yuko Takehara, Moonsorrow, Hans Zimmer, Alan Silvestri, Carach Angren, Waltari, Sodom, Vesperith etc.



    13.What are some of your non musical interests?


Movies, making movies (shortfilms and stuff), wandering in the woods, games. I'm all fired up to try Dark Souls 3!



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


Check out Metsutan - Songs Of The Void! Support the band, buy the music and merchandise!
Stay heavy, stay honored and hail Gojira!

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And Harmony Dies/Totenamt/Sliptrick Records/2016 CD Review

  And  Harmony  Dies  are  a band  from  Italy  that  plays  an  avant  garde  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Totenamt"  which  will  be  released  in  July  by  Sliptrick  Records.

  Nature  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  soem  church bells  before  going  into  more  of  an  avant  garde  direction  which  also  shows  violins  being  added  onto  the  recording  and  after  awhile  it  starts  to  mix  in  with  a  heavier  sound  which  also introduces  grim  black  metal  screams  onto  the  recording  along  with  some  symphonic  elements.

  A  great  amount  of  melody  can  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  while  elements  of  jazz  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  you  can  also  hear  clean  singing  in  the  music  at  times  along  with  death  metal  growls  being  used  in  some  parts  of  the  songs and  some  riffs  also  bring  in  elements  of  thrash,  heavy  and  doom  metal  and  traces  of  classical  music  are  present  throughout  the  recording  while  the  solos  and  leads stick to  a  melodic  musical  direction.

    When  the  music  speeds  up  a  small  amount of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  songs  also  get  very  experimental  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  elements  of  goth  can  be  heard  while  some  songs  also  add  in  acoustic  guitars,  pianos  and  spoken  word  parts  and  a  few  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  later  tracks  start  adding  in  traces  of  Middle  Eastern  music  and  on  the  last  track  operatic  female  and  male  vocals  are  brought  onto  the  recording.

 And  Harmony  Dies  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  avant  garde  and  incorporates  many  elements  from  many  different  musical  genres,  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  suffering  and  agonizing  themes.

  In  my  opinion  And  Harmony  Dies  are  a  very  great  sounding  avant  garde  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sometimes"  "Tears  like  Promises"  "Another  Ending  Fairytale"  and  "The  Cut".  8  out  of  10. 

https://soundcloud.com/grandsoundspr1/and-harmony-dies-birthday/s-EJdKr

Wormfood/L' Envers/Apathia Records/2016 CD Review

  Wormfood  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  an  avant  garde  mixture  of  gothic  and  black  metal    and  this  is  a  review  of  their 2016album  "L'  Envers"  which was  released  by Apathia  Records.

  Spoken  word  parts  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  heavy  and  fast  black  metal  direction  that  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  before  slowing  down  and  mixing  in  avant  garde  style  keyboards  and  the  vocals  start  out  in  more  of  a  spoken  fashion.

  After  awhile  black  metal  screams  and  clean  singing  goth  style  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts and  a  good  amount  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  some  songs  also  bring in  psychedelic  elements.

  Wormfood  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  an  avant  garde  form  of  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with goth  to  create  a  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  perversions  and  an  acid  view  on  society.

  In  my  opinion  Wormfood  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  goth  and  avant  garde  black  metal  and  if you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE "Serviteur  Du  Roi"  "Gone  On  the  Hoist"  and  "Poisonne".  8  out  of  10. 

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