The Panther Caps Interview

 

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

The Panther Caps is blackened, psychedelic doom metal mixed up with power crystals, wild mushrooms, the occult, creepy new age babes, and everything else your parents feared in the 70s-80s during the Satanic Panic! The ‘Caps keep it energetic, fun, sexy, carnivalesque – all the elements needed to spread like a disease. Our songs are fairly straightforward, and our riffs are all the kind of thing a 13-year-old kid can play.

I live on an island in Alaska. There’s no “scene” or anything like that, and touring is off the table since the only way out is by plane or ferry. I can drive across a bridge to Juneau, but it’s isolated from the rest of North America by a 1,500 square mile ice field jammed full of glaciers. It’s a great environment for pursuing your esoteric musical tastes as a lone wolf, but don’t expect anyone to share your weird interests.

I’ve been doing the “one man show” thing for over 20 years with a variety of projects. (By the way, “one man show” is the name of a really putrid French cologne from the early 80s.) I used to do a lot of black metal – I’m kinda a black metal dude at heart. One-man black metal is a well-recognized phenomena and well respected, but I’m finding it’s less common in doom. My older black metal projects include Skaltros, Kuundlaan, Ataxeta, Mulozhi (trap music with black metal vocals), Naukati (ambient), Sutreak (ambient). My old blackened doom band from a number of years ago is Malaxis.

So yea, the Panther Caps is the latest in a long list of one-man projects, and the one that I’m currently focusing all my energy on. It’s an orgasmic outlet for a lot of ideas I’ve had pent up for a long time.

2.In the last few months you have released 3 albums, musically how do you feel they all differ from each other?

All the songs on the first two albums, “2 Satanic 2 Panic” and “Rises Again” were recorded at the same time.  I intended to do enough jams for one album, but I always end up overdoing things. I ended up with enough songs that I had to divide them into two LPs. “2 Satanic” has some of the more retro / 70s-sounding jams, and “Rises Again” is stuff that has a bit more of a hardcore influence.

I put them out around the same time, because you only live once, right? And plus, “Paranoid” and “Master of Reality” came out only four months apart… so I figured I’d just go for it, release them, and work on more material. Father Yod released 9 albums between 1973 and 1975. The Incredible String Band released “The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter” and “Wee Tam…” (a double album) the same year, in 1968. If you’re having a good year, just go with it.

When the first albums were done, I instantly experienced a post-partum depression feeling – really bummed to be done working on new Panther Caps stuff. I also got to thinking “man, I really want to do an album with the guitars tuned all the way down to drop B.”  After a few days I decided “what am I waiting for?” and started up another marathon multi-week recording session, with everything in dropped B.

You’ll think I’m bonkers, but the second time around I ended up with enough songs for three albums – and that is after destroying all the songs that didn’t meet my quality control standards!  “Graven Images” is the first of the three albums to come out of that session. It’s a bit more classic and demonic sounding. There’s one coming up called “Determinate Negation” that’s more southern rock-sounding, and one called “Teardrinker” that’s more hardcore-ish. But they’re all kinda cousins to one another. I’m going to release those two next year.

“Graven Images” is heavier than the first two releases because everything is tuned down lower. I also tuned the two lowest strings on my bass in unison, which thickens it up and gives it a kinda chorus effect when I’m playing both strings at once. I wanted it to be like the old screamy hardcore band Pageninetynine, which would tour with two bassists. James Brown did that, too. All that low end becomes a lot to manage, mix-wise.

I think the humor is probably more apparent on “Graven Images,” too – another difference. The Panther Caps has a lot of humor going on, because it’s good to not take things too seriously.

3.You have released a good amount of material in a short amount of time, do you spend a great amount of your time wring and creating music?

I don’t think it’s a lot of time, but maybe others will disagree. I came to the realization recently that I can only do about 2 or 3 hours of something per day before it stops being any good. And I came to that realization through figure skating. I’m an adult figure skater, if you can believe that. If I skate more than 2 hours in a day, I start getting weary and worry I’m going to end up hurting myself… screwing up a jump or falling out of a spin. It’s really apparent in skating that once you get past 2 hours of doing something, you’re getting diminishing returns.

So I realized it’s the same for music. Any more than 2 hours and I might be doing more harm than good. I gotta be really careful with my vocals so I don’t blow out my voice, because then I have to wait a few days before I can do it again.  It’s the same with the fiction I write, too – more than 2 hours per day, and my writing becomes dull and feels like a grind instead of doing something exciting. Stephen King talks about writing for 5 hours a day or something, but that guy was doing Tony Montana levels of coke the whole time, to the point where he can’t even remember writing Cujo.

I think the best pace is probably 2 LPs per year, like bands used to do in the late 60s / early 70s.  I’d love to do some other split LPs or EPs with other bands in the meantime.

I’m all about efficiency. I leave everything set up so that when the mood takes me, I can easily sit down and within seconds be recording. That’s a help.

I’ll let you in on the secret to my productivity, but it comes at the price of listening to a longwinded story. I was 12 years old when Smashing Pumpkins’ “Siamese Dream” came out. A child, right? I saw a brief clip on MTV and it utterly blew my mind. The 70s big muff sound was the greatest thing imaginable, but the clip only lasted for like 10 seconds. Those 10 seconds absolutely haunted me – I had to get more! I’d listen to the radio and watch MTV for hours, hoping to get another glimpse, but it didn’t happen. Back then we used to copy and trade cassette tapes with other kids. So I hunted and asked around until I found a kid who knew about Smashing Pumpkins and had a tape, and then I figured out which of my tapes he wanted a copy of. I ended up trading him trading a copy I made of “Superunknown” by Soundgarden and getting “Siamese Dream” – with the last couple songs cut-off due to the tape being too short. I listened to that thing, and it was like “wow – this is IT. This is what I gotta do.” To this day, I see it as the greatest rock and roll album ever made. Then I learned that it was all performed by one dude (except the drummer), which was incredible to contemplate. I bought a guitar because of it, and got a tablature book, and learned to play by learning every song on Siamese Dream. Thanks to that album, I fell in love with big muffs, cranked British amps, 70s guitars. Basically it’s all big muff doomy Sabbathy stoner stuff. Their first album, “Gish,” is also an amazing psychedelic rock album. Then they had this album out called “Pisces Iscariot” which was all these B-sides and leftovers they had laying around. The amount of leftovers they created was incredible.

Then “Melancholie and the Infinite Sadness” came out and was a massive let down. The Smashing Pumpkins I loved were no more. They were wearing stupid costumes – top hats and marching band uniforms, and they were experimenting with a bunch of weird and incoherent stuff. I tried to like it, but it lacked the coherence and audio engineering craftsmanship of Siamese Dream. It was clear that making Siamese Dream – the perfect rock album – literally made Billy Corgan the same. He would never be the same again. So I remained stuck on Siamese.

There was one good thing about the “Infinite Sadness” stuff, though – one really important good thing. The single for Zero - a straight up dumb song - had a B-side called Pastichio Medley on it. It’s a 23-minute song with 73 different unused Smashing Pumpkins jams in it – leftovers - about 10 seconds of riffs from each one. Kinda like what got me into them in the first place – 10 seconds of something I couldn’t have any more of!  Just about every single song/riff was fabulous and reminded me of the old stuff.  It made it clear that they were writing and recording a vast amount of content – kinda just jamming around – and only putting out a small amount of it onto finished albums. There was all this non-pretentious stuff lurking in the background, existing 10 seconds at a time.

So that became my workflow. Plug in a guitar, put on a drum loop, and just jam out one riff after another over it for maybe 15 or 20 minutes – like Pastichio Medley. Then I go back into it, listen for the riffs I like, and cut and paste all the good stuff out. I reorganize those, and then play over top of them, and boom – that’s how I get songs. I’ll do a bunch of those 15 or 20 minute riff Pastichio-like sessions as separate projects in Logic, then dissect them and kinda reorganize everything to play over it. I end up with a ton of content. I’ve been working that way for over 30 years at this point, and that’s how I end up with so many songs. It really is a jam-based process, where I spontaneously improvise my way into finding different songs, and then jam over myself.

As far as vocals and lyrics, I’ll write out song titles and part of a chorus, but the lyrics are very improvisational. I try to keep a lot of emphasis on the sound and rhythm – approaching it a lot like freestyle rapping.

I want the songs to generally be shorter and more concise. I want them to have more of a traditional pop music format – verse, chorus, verse, chorus. I try to keep it simple – memorable riffs I could have played when I was 13, yearning after Siamese Dream.

4.A lot of your lyrics cover Occultism and Satanism themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?

I grew up in the 80s with the Satanic Panic going on. People seriously believed that there were all these hidden satanic messages poisoning and subverting society, all over the place. Stuff hidden in music, tunnels under daycares, secret symbols in graffiti, Dungeons and Dragons teaching kids black magic and witchcraft – you name it. Anything might be perverting mainstream culture and wholesome suburban life – which really were not that great, actually. I grew up immersed in that atmosphere of lurking paranoia, and it was frightening as well as fascinating. And in a way, really cool. Like, if there were all these hidden messages, I wanted to find them. I wanted to create hidden messages of my own. I wanted to understand this horror movie around me. And it was disappointing to find that it was largely fabricated, and that actually, the weirdest and creepiest people were the allegedly normal ones. They were also the ones taking the most and weirdest drugs. And still are.

Flash forward to my early 20s. I lived in rural Zambia for about a year and a half, teaching fish farming. The superstition and demonology was astonishing – a highly complex array of traditional beliefs, mashed up with Christian beliefs that missionaries forced upon everyone. They had a universe filled with monsters, demons, witches… just horrible stuff. Every day, tons of crazy stuff going on. I was the only non-Zambian in my area, and the only person who questioned the validity of this stuff… but the thing is, everyone believing and organizing their lives around this stuff had a massive impact on society. And I saw a bunch of incredible practices that – whether or not you believed in the underlying mythos – were utterly terrifying. They had this one practice called “flying coffin” where if someone is allegedly killed by a witch, four guys - usually drunk out of their minds - will go running around the village carrying the coffin on their shoulders as the coffin “searches” for the witch, like a giant Ouija board placard. And then when it finds the witch, the guys – who are allegedly possessed - start beating the witch to death with the coffin. And I saw this stuff and other things on a similar level of intensity going on. All the time.

My resulting worldview is basically that if someone believes in something, they’ll take a bunch of actions based on that belief and get similar outcomes as though it were true… so in the end it’s basically the same as it being true. So whether you think it’s true or not, you essentially have to deal with it as if it is.

I find cults fascinating in a disgusting sort of way. I read about them all the time and watch every documentary I can. I think mainstream religions are just megacults, with tax-exempt status. I’m not into Christianity at all, and that’s where the idea of Satan and the Devil come from. They’re kinda like a form of blackmail churches have used to control people – do what you’re supposed to, or you’ll end up being tortured by the devil. But Satan can be an interesting symbol of resistance. Like, in 19th century France, visual artists like Felicien Rops and authors like Huysmans drew upon satanism as a way to negate and subvert typical bourgeois social values.

I think everyone should develop their own web of beliefs, create their own spirituality, and individualism should rule the day. Just don’t hurt or try, exploit, or exert control over other people – let people be curious, and pursue and develop their own individual interests. Do what thou wilt but don’t harm others - the whole Aleister Crowley thing.

I am also a huge believer in the placebo effect – if you feel like a yoni egg or Santa Claus or praying to a Furby is doing some sort of good for you, keep on doing your thing.

5.Lyrically you are also inspired by horror films, which horror movies have had the biggest influence on your songwriting?

By far and away the biggest influence on my writing is the television soap opera Dark Shadows. There are 1,232 episodes, and I’ve seen them all more than once. You have to wonder “how did they do so many?” Basically every day they would create and film a new episode, live. It’s kinda like my approach to creating music – the Pastichio Medley thing. I love the late 60s / early 70s atmosphere and colors. I really appreciate when they’re going back in time – then you have like two layers of nostalgia going on; the 1970s imagining the 1790s. And they even go to the 1990s. Then they create this idea of “parallel time” – the idea there are infinite variations upon your reality, all playing out at once, which allows the show to explore alternative plots and ideas beyond the ones they’ve exhausted, reusing and reconfiguring the same characters. It’s not frightening at all, but full of gothic atmosphere. The wind is howling or else it’s raining continuously.

I like Vincent Price films, with my faves being the two Dr. Phibes movies, and then Theater of Blood. Again, they’re not frightening at all - highly atmospheric and humorous. The bad guy” is a character who has been maligned by society, getting cold-hearted revenge on a list of people who’ve done him wrong. Panther Caps is kinda like that – sort of going through a checklist channeling a bunch of pissed-off energy.

I like the old Hammer Films stuff a lot, as you can probably guess by the art. My fave is “The Horror of Frankenstein” – Ralph Bates is hugely hilarious in his arrogance.

Jean Rollin’s films are really bizarre and worth checking out – bizarre euro horror.

The horror I like isn’t really scary – it’s all atmospheric. I find it comforting.

The types of things that actually scare me are unhealthy eating habits, sugar and caffeine being hidden in food, bad water quality, hoarding.

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'The Panther Caps'?

Panther Caps are extremely toxic hallucinatory mushrooms that grow here in southeast Alaska. They look like Amanita muscaria but are brown, vastly more potent, and will make you feel like you’ve died and gone to hell multiple times over. They’re absolute evil… and a real, living part of nature.

7.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that you have gone for on your album covers?

I view the Panther Caps artwork as secondary to the music, but you gotta have visuals. I make them myself using AI. Since I live on an island in a remote area of Alaska, I don’t have access to a coven of creepy Hammer Films-looking babes, so AI’s gonna have to get the job done for me. I’m really picky about visual art and takes a huge amount of effort to get the type of results that I want and like. It’s a huge pain in the neck, in fact – particularly the video. Generating AI content is its own form of art… but very different from other forms of art. It’s almost like DJing, or remixing, or something. Or maybe a craft more than an art.

When Mr. Doom put up the first Panther Caps video for “Exhumed in the Cemetery” a few people put up negative comments saying stuff along the lines of “ew, an AI video… and the music seems like AI.” Rob Hammer explained to me there’s a big backlash against AI music going on, which I was unaware of, as I’m a dude that lives on an island and is out of touch with what is going on in any “scenes.” In response, I started putting up cereal box-like lists of ingredients that explain how everything is made, so that people can understand what they’re enjoying.

I’m cool with someone hating my music but would want them to hate it as something an actual human created rather than based on suspicions of it being AI. It’s really unfortunate to consider that underground bands and prolific one-person metal acts may have a hard time finding an audience due to the atmosphere of suspicion and paranoia that AI is producing.

Personally, I have nothing against AI, but would want to know when something is AI, or partially AI, and to what degree. It’s like putting sugar, caffeine, and creepy food coloring in breakfast cereal – make sure to disclose what went into it, so that people can make informed choices about what they’re putting into their bodies, or in the case of music, into their brains.

8.With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?

I’d be glad to consider working with other musicians, but it would need to be done remotely, it being the case that I am a dude living on an island in Alaska!  I grew up on the east coast and was in a lot of bands back in my teens and early 20s, but then started moving and living really weird places with no one around who shares my musical interests. I’ve been in Alaska for getting-on 20 years and have no plans to move away.

My favorite role is as lead singer, not playing instruments, jumping around and being chaotic. As much as I love playing guitar, that’s what I’d want to do with a live incarnation of the ‘Caps – the Iggy Pop kinda stuff.

9.The albums were released on 'the Swamp records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

The Swamp Records is based in Las Vegas, and puts out releases from underground doom bands from all over the world. You can buy them individually, or join “The Swamp Krewe,” which is a $5 subscription service kinda like Netflix for stoner doom. I got hooked up with them unexpectedly hen Fuzzy Cracklins – the head of it - started following the Panther Caps on Bandcamp. Fuzzy is an anthropomorphized alligator with a cowboy hat and a joint – and clearly has some artificial intelligence at work behind his persona. When I saw the image, I had a laugh and thought “man – this joint-smoking alligator dude is such a good fit for the Panther Caps!” I also have fam in the south and have spent a lot of time there, and the southern vibe really resonates with me.

Anyhow, Fuzzy’s been a super kind, genuine, supportive dude (or reptile?) who has given me a lot of ideas for helping to share the Panther Caps with a wider audience. The revenue split is very fair, and I definitely benefit from the relationship. It’s a great option for underground doom bands.

10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black, doom and stoner metal?

I thought maybe the black metal and hardcore aspects wouldn’t sit well with the doom folks, and the doom stuff might put off the black metal and hardcore fans, but people seem to be figuring out how to enjoy it. I’m surprised it has had the positive reaction it’s had, and secretly kinda worry maybe it should be pissing off more people!

As mentioned above, the only negative thing has been the “anti-AI” reaction I encountered after Mr. Doom put up the first ‘Caps video. It was kinda a culture shock to me to learn there was this AI war raging. I don’t use social media, and living on an island, I sometimes find out about things years after they occur!

I don’t know what I don’t know, so it’s all good… and a little funny when I find something out that I should have realized months or years ago. Like today I just learned that Ace Friedly died a number of months back.

11.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?

Well, after “Graven Imagines” I’ve got “Teardrinker” and “Determinate Negation” to release. That’ll keep the Panther Caps going through next year. You’ll think I’m shitting you, but I started another marathon recording session and have enough jams for SIX OR SEVEN more albums. They all need vocals, though. It’ll take me a few more months to finish that up, and then I’ll be able to keep the Panther Caps going at a rate of 2 LPs per year for 3 or 4 years.

I’m going to stick to 2 Panther Caps LPs per year – like the Incredible String Band or Black Sabbath during their best years - so at some point I may need to start another side-project. I’ve got some ideas but need to keep them secret for the time being, as it’s something that hasn’t been seen or done before. It involves blackened, psychedelic doom, though.

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?

I won’t rant about early Smashing Pumpkins anymore, but Siamese Dream is what got me into guitars and fuzz. I just can’t get into the Pumpkins stuff after that.

I grew up on the east coast in the mid-90s through early 00s hardcore scene and had a lot of exposure to some incredible and creative post-hardcore bands in their heyday. I’m a big fan of the Stooges, the Birthday Party, Jesus Lizard – bands where you have one dude wildin’ out over hard-hitting guitars.

I was also in a hip-hop band in the 90s. That and the hardcore scene had a really intense DIY ethos. Like, people weren’t just musicians, they were workers. That attitude informed my creative processes and productivity. You weren’t some privileged rock star – you were a worker who had to put effort in.

I got into black metal when it was reaching America in the early/mid-90s. I remember reading about it as a kid and immediately loving it based on the descriptions and images alone, before even hearing the music!  When it comes down to it, I’m kinda a black metal dude at heart. But I really love the tone and atmosphere of doom and stoner rock. I got into it around 20 years ago, from the older dudes who worked at the independent record store. It was all Eyehategod, Pentagram, Sleep, Electric Wizard back then.

As far as what do I listen to, I mostly listen to older stuff. One of my favorite albums of all time is “Ionia” by Lycia, this atmospheric goth / dark-ambient band from the early 90s. Similar to me, it’s just one dude.  “Ionia” is my favorite, but “Cold” is a masterpiece. I can never get tired of listening to that stuff. The atmosphere is incredible. I like and listen to Eyehategod and Pentagram quite a lot. I like “Nattestid” by Taake – one of my favorite albums of all time that I can listen to endlessly. A guilty pleasure is the band Summoning – I really, really enjoy them, much more than I should.

I got dragged to a party last night and was talking and trying to relate to other people my age – actually a bit younger than me. I’m in my 40s. And someone was like “what’s your favorite record that came out in 2025?” It was pathetic, but I couldn’t name a single record that came out in 2025! They mentioned a few things that sounded like they were probably indie pop artists, and I was like “yea, um… I dunno.” Then they asked me a couple different ways what type of music I listen to and after evading the question once or twice I finally admitted “doom, black metal, shoegaze.” None of that rang a bell. And then this dude started telling me about his banjo.

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

Just major thanks for the support that I’ve received, yourself included. I probably have super low expectations, but it blows my mind that a Panther Caps video on Youtube would get over 1,000 views in a week, or would be reviewed or featured on a blog in Europe. I’m a dude on an island in Alaska, and it’s amazing to think that these outrageous, fun jams could reach that type of audience. I really appreciate the Youtube streams, bloggers, reviewers and fans that have supported the ‘Caps, whether it’s with a “like,” buying an album, leaving a comment, or just enjoying the music.  So thanks and cheers - rock on and spread the Panther Caps disease!

Exhumed from the Cemetery - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dHdWVTBm2g

Our Lord of the Conibears - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSIj5V8IdTE 

The Panther Caps/Graven Images/The Swamp Records/2025 Full Length Review

 

  This  is  the  final  review  of  a  recording  from  Alaska's  solo  project  The  Panther  Caps  which  shows  the  music  going  for  a  psychedelic  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  stoner,  doom  metal  and  hardcore  and  the  album  was  released  in  2025  by  The  Swamp  Records  and  called  'Graven  Images".

  A  very  dark  yet  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording.  Elements  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  are  also  added  into  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  along  with  the  vocals  bringing  in  a  mixture  of  clear  stoner  rock  vocals  and  black  metal  screams.

  A  lot  of  the  music  also  has  roots  in  the  70's  and  80's  while  also  sounding  very  modern  at  the  same  time.  Melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  the  album  also  capturing  the  aggression  of  hardcore  at  times,  all  of  the  drum  beats  are  also  programmed  as  well  as  the  whole  album  also  sticking  to  a  heavier  direction  and  the  closing  track  is  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  On  this  recording  The  Panther  Caps  continues  to  expand  on  his  psychedelic  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  stoner,  doom  metal  and  hardcore.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Occultism,  Horror  and  Humor  themes. 

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  The  Panther  Caps  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  psychedelic,  black,  sludge,  stoner,  doom  metal  and  hardcore,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Feed  The  Black  Masses"  "Waste  of  Suffering"  "Humans  Have  A  Right  To  Hedonism"  and  "Graven  Images".  8  out  of  10.

  https://thepanthercaps.bandcamp.com/album/graven-images-lp-3 

The Panther Caps/2 Satanic 3 Panic/The Swamp Records/2025 Full Length Review

 

  This  is  a  review  of  another  recording  from  Alaska's  solo  project  The  Panther  Caps  which  shows  the  music  going  for  a  psychedelic  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  stoner,  doom  metal  and  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2025  album  "@  Satanic  2  Panic"  which  was  released  by  The  Swamp  Records.

  A  very  hard  and  heavy 70's  influenced  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  elements  of  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal.  Vocals  range  from  clear  singing  to  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  mid  tempo  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  the  aggression  of  hardcore.  At  times  the  album  also  captures  a  psychedelic  atmosphere  along  with  the  music  also  adding  in  some  80's  influences  as  well  as  remaining  very  modern  at  the  same  time  and  all  of  the  tracks  stick  to  a  heavier  direction.

  On  this  recording  The  panther  Caps  mixed  black,  sludge,  stoner,  psychedelic  doom  metal  with  hardcore  to  create  a  very  heavy  release  that  also  captures  a  lot  of  retro  vibes.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Occultism  and  Horror  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  The  Panther  Caps  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  sludge,  stoner,  psychedelic  doom  metal  and  hardcore,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "A  Goddess  To  Destroy  The  Earth"  "Shadow  Magus"  "2  Satanic  2  Panic"  and  "Scarecrow  lover".  8  out  of  10.

  https://thepanthercaps.bandcamp.com/album/2-satanic-2-panic-lp-1      

The Panther Caps/Rises Again/The Swamp Records/2025 Full Length Review

 

  The  Panther  Caps  are  a  solo  project  from  Alaska  that  plays  a  psychedelic  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  stoner,  doom  metal  and  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2025  album  "Rises  Again"  which  was  released  by  The  Swamp  Records.

  A  very  dark  yet  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  vocals  are mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.  Elements  of  sludge,  stoner  and  doom  metal  are  also  added  into t he  slower  sections  of  the  songs  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in a  decent  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  A  lot  of  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  influenced  by  the  70's  era  mixed  in  with  some  psychedelic  touches  while  also  sounding  very  modern  at  the  same  time.  A  lot  of  the  mid  tempo  sections  of  the  album  also  add  in  touches  of  hardcore  along  with  some  tracks  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  clear  singing  as  well  as  the  vocals  also  mixing  in  a  lot  of  shouts,  some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  short  in  length.

  The  Panther  Caps  plays  a musical  style  that  takes  black,  sludge,  stoner,  psychedelic  doom  metal  and  hardcore  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Occultism  and  Horror  themes.

  In  my  opinion  The  Panther  Caps  is  a  very  great  sounding  psychedelic  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  stoner,  doom  metal  and  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Rises  Again"  "Satanic  Sanctuary"  "Kudzu  Graveyard"  and  "Burnt  Blood".  8  out  of  10.

  https://thepanthercaps.bandcamp.com/album/rises-again-lp-2

  

Svntarer/Exitus Triumphalis/F.D.A Records/2025 Full Length Review

 

  Svntarer  are  a  duo  from  Austria  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  sludge  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2025  album  "Exitus  Triumphalis"  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  F.D.A  Records.

  A  very  dark  yet  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  along  with  the  vocals  also  adding  in  more  of  an  old  school  death  metal  style  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Elements  of  sludge  metal  are  also  added  into  the  slower  sections  of  the  album  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  post  metal  style  style  along  with  the  music  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  black  metal  influences

    Some  of  the  vocals  also  go  into  more  of  a  shouting  hardcore  direction  at  times  as  well  as  some  of  the  fast  riffing  also  adding  in  tremolo  picking  along  with  one  song  also  introducing  synths  and  spoken  words  unto  the  album,  a  couple  of  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  bonus  track is  an  instrumental.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  melancholy  and  anti  religion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Svntarer  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  sludge  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  duo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Touch  The  Saints"  Flesh  Vessels"  and  "Burnt  Out  Into  Oblivion".  8  out  of  10.

  https://www.facebook.com/Svntarer

  

Anti Ritual/80 Years/2025 EP Review

 

  Denmark's  Anti  Ritual  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  moving  away  from  the  blackened  sludge  metal  style  of  previous  releases  and  goes  for  a  mixture  of  hardcore,  crust  and  d  beat  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2025  ep  "*0  Years".

  A  very  hard  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  ep  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  hardcore  style.  D  beats  are  also  utilized  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  angry  sounding  crust  style  screams  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  briefly  while  most  of  the  ep  sticks  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  tempo  direction.  Mist  of  the  music  is  heavily  rooted  in  the  modern  era  along  with  the  guitar  leads  bringing  in  a  chaotic  style  when  they  are  utilized,  growls  are  also  utilized  at  times..

  On  this  recording  Anti  Ritual  move  way  from  the  black,  sludge,  post  metal  and  grindcore  elements  of  previous  releases  and  goes  for  more  of  a  mixture  of  crust,  hardcore  and  d  beat.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  anti  fascism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Anti  Ritual  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  hardcore,  crust  and  d  beat,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "80  Years"  and  "Days  Of  War,  Night  of  Love".  8  out  of  10.

  https://open.spotify.com/artist/7HKrRFI4tPWJ1LEomsUFK0    

Breaths/Death Can Wait/Elastic Stage/2025 Full Length Review

 

  Richmond,  Virginia's  solo  project  Breaths  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  a  mixture  of  doom,  sludge,  post,  progressive  metal,  post  hardcore,  shoegaze  and  post  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2025  album  "Death  Can  Wait"  which  was  released  by  Elastic  Stage.

  A  very  dark  yet  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  elements  of  sludge  and  doom  metal.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  post  metal  style  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  screams  that  also  add  in  a  touch  of  black  metal  while  clear  singing  and  growls  can  also  be  heard  at  times.  When  synths  are  utilized  they  also  take  the  music  into  a  post  rock  mixed  with  shoegaze  direction  along  with  the  mid  tempo  sections  of  the  songs  also  being  heavily  rooted  in  hardcore  as  well  as  the  album  also  having  its  progressive  and  experimental  moments  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.   

  On  this  recording  Breaths  takes  blackgaze,  sludge,  doom,  progressive,  post  metal  and  mixes  it  with  hardcore,  shoegaze  and  post  rock  to  create  a  very  diverse  recording.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Breaths  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  blackgaze,  sludge,  doom,  progressive  post  metal, hardcore,  shoegaze  and  post  rock,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Now  We  Prey"  "The  Ghost  Remains"  and  "The  Tower".  8 out  of  10.

  Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify   

Lifetaker/Herbsthunde/Van Records/2025 EP Review

 

  Lifetaker  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  mixture  of   harcore, black  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2025  ep  "Herbsthunde"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Van  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sludge  metal  sound  starts  off  the  ep  while  noises  can  also  be  heard  in  the  background.  Vocals  also  add  in  a  lot  of  angry  hardcore  style  shouts  as  well  as  adding  in  some  black  metal  screams  and  clear  singing  at  times  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  distorted  melodies    

  The  recording  also  has  its  experimental  moments  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  lot  of  dissonant  touches.  Programmed  beats  are  also  utilized  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  all  of  the  tracks  stick  to  a  slower  direction,  spoken  word  samples  are  also  briefly.

  Lifetaker  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  hardcore,  noise  rock,  dissonant  black  and  sludge  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  German  and  cover  awareness  and  self-reflection  themes.    

  In  my  opinion  Lifetaker  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  hardcore,  black  and  sludge  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUD  "Totsignal"  and  "Maschinesturm".  8  out  of  10.

  Bandcamp: lifetaker.bandcamp.com

Contact and booking: contact@lifetaker.net

Instagram:  @lifetaker_wrath

Facebook:  /LifetakerPRZR

https://youtu.be/M54F7L2EzsE

Ghost Hollow/Examinations Of The Heart/2025 Full length Review

 

  Ghost  Hollow  are  a  band  from  Arkansas  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  doom,  death  metal  and  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2025  album  "Examinations  Of  The  Heart"  which  will  be  released  in  February.

  A  very  distorted  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  heavy  direction  which  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking.  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  elements  of  doom  and  sludge  metal.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  parts  of  the  album  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody,  at  times  the  music  also  gets  very  atmospheric  sounding  as  well  as  the  mid  tempo  sections  also  adding  in  touches  of  hardcore.

  On  this  recording  Ghost  Hallow  takes  black,  sludge,  doom,  death  metal  and  hardcore  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  very  diverse  album.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  anguish,  introspection  and  catharsis.  

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Ghost  Hollow  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  sludge,  doom,  death  metal  and  hardcore,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Formless  Apparitions"  "Lay  Down  The  Sword"  and  "Examinations  Of  The  Heart".  8  out  of  10.

  https://www.facebook.com/GhostHollowAR

https://www.instagram.com/ghosthollowar/

https://ghosthollow.bandcamp.com/

https://linktr.ee/ghosthollowar

    

Othismos/Sottrazione/2024 Full Length Review

 

  Othismos  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  sludge  metal,  crust  and  post  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2024  album  "Sottrazione".

  A  very dark, heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  elements  of  sludge  metal.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  vocals  being  mostly  blackened  metal   screams  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  Touches  of  post  hardcore  are  also  utilized  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  crust  influences  and  blast  beats.  Some  of  the  tracks  also  add  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  whole  album  also  sticks  to  a  heavier  direction.

  Othismos  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  sludge  metal,  crust  and  post  hardcore  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Anti  Religion  and  Inner  Struggles.

  In  my  opinion  Othismos  are  a  very  decent  sounding  mixture  of  black,  sludge  metal,  crust  and  post  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUD E "I  Will  Fade  Away"  "The  Mirror"  and  "Death  Forever".  7  out  of  10.

  https://www.facebook.com/Othismosrock

https://www.instagram.com/othismos666

https://othismos.bandcamp.com/    

The Mountain King/Stoma/Void Key Recordings/2024 Full Length Review

 

  The  Mountain  King  are  a  solo  project  from  Germany  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  progressive  mixture  of  post  black,  doom,  death  metal  and  drone  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2024  album  "Stoma"  which  will  be  released  in  October  by  Void  Key  Recordings.

  Synth  orientated  drones  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  playing  a  few  seconds  alter  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  music  also  gets  very  progressive  sounding  at  times  and  the  vocals  also  add  in  a  lot  of  black  metal  screams.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  album  also  bring  in  elements  of  doom  metal.  Clear  singing  is  also  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  post  metal  style.

  A  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  some  of  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts,  at  times  the  music  also  brings  in  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  and  some  of  the  album  also  adds  in  touches  of  ambient  and  post  hardcore.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  a  question  of  balance  between  everyday  life  and  the  thoughts  about  the  inevitable  death  of  the  individual  at  the  end  of  it.  

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  The  Mountain  King  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of post  black,  doom,  death,  progressive  metal  and  drone,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Space  Is  Now  Tainted"  "Stoma"  and  "To  The  Caves".  8  out  of  10.

  https://themountainking.bandcamp.com/album/stoma

  

Invictus Interview

 

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

 Kurt: We all grew up loving underground music in general. All of us were stretched between different scenes and genres. We loved punk, hardcore, grind, death, black… And I think we incorporate a little of that in our music. In my head we are a melodic blackened death band. But you can hear quite some crossover in our music if you listen closely. I see the music as an ode to all the records that shaped us growing up. When people hear the record they mostly refer to bands like Dissection, Death, Unleashed, At The Gates, The Haunted, Bolt Thrower, old Amon Amarth… I feel like that is a good reference for what we are doing. 

2.Recently you have released your first full length, musically how does it differ from your previous ep and  split? 

Kurt: I think we’ve grown a lot more as a band. The songs are much more mature. We put a lot more influences in it and went deeper. I feel we left behind our hardcore roots on this record and evolved to being a “real” metal band, whatever that may mean. There is much more black metal in it, being heavily inspired by bands such as Dissection, but also a lot of death metal. 

3.You refer to your music as being 'edgmetal', can you tell us a little bit more about this term? 

Kurt: “edgemetal” was a term donned by Congress in the early 90’s. In the H8000 scene a lot of bands emerged that were on the border between death, thrash, black, hardcore, … Those bands (Liar, Congress, Deformity, …) had a huge impact on us growing up. They called themselves edge metal over the term metalcore. Back then everybody was straight edge in that scene, hence the word “edge” and they thought of their music more as metal, as opposed to hardcore (like youth of today)... There is a lot of similarity between those bands and Invictus, so we felt like the term fit us very well. It’s also a lot shorter to write as “melodic blackened death metal”. 

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music? 

Jo: This world is very rotten and often I hope we humans just stop existing. Cause we really don’t earn this. Next to this I also want a society that treats each other better. For every horrible act someone creates, there are a lot of humans who do their utter best to make it a better world. So although most of my lyrics are cynical, dark and straight on misanthropic, some of them end towards a positive way (with a little reading between the lines). They explore the topics of despair, unnecessary hatred, inhumanity, abuse, suicides, conspiracies, the rise of hategroups and social media’s (un)“reality”. 

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

 Kurt: The inspiration is a bit double. Firstly it came from one of my favorite records growing up by a local band called Liar. Secondly it’s a from a poem written by William Ernest Henley: Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. The poem revolves around resilience, inner strength and overcoming adversity. Something that we all have to deal with in life. 

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

 Kurt: We believe that humanity is ruining our planet and killing itself. The artwork is meant to represent that: A desolate toxic mountain with no life on it. It’s also a bit of an ode to the artwork of “The Sound Of Perseverance” by “Death”, one of the bands that shaped us when we were young. 

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

Kurt: I would describe our shows as very pure and real. We are not playing dress up or playing theater. Nothing against bands who do… I feel it’s just not something that would fit us. We’re all a bit punk, so we believe in “what you see is what you get”. 

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

 Kurt: We are lucky to get quite some shows on a lot of varied bills. So this year is starting to fill up nicely. A personal ambition is to do some weekend tours in Germany and Eastern Europe. I’m hoping we can play some fests next summer, especially Ieperfest would be great as I’ve been going there for 24 years. Rockstad in Romania is also a dream I’d really like to achieve.

 9.The physical version of the album is going to be released through many labels, can you tell us a little bit more about the labels you are working with on the new release? 

Kurt: Working with so many labels helps us get some more coverage and distribution. We chose Genet Records because it’s a legendary name from the 90’s, and in Belgium they provide a home base for bands that are crossing over and merging multiple genres. Bands like Last, Förbittring, Work of The Flesh, Verslinder, Dudsekop all share a similar background and vision as we do in a way. Tim from Bound By Modern Age actually contacted us after the split we did with Risale. He liked the songs and wanted to work with us. We talked to him and we shared very similar opinions and world views, so it was a no brainer to get him on board. He’s an all around great guy and him being situated in Germany is a great advantage for us as a band. 24 edge wear is a new clothing brand/label that was started by our good friend Nico. We will be the first release for him. I really wanted to get him aboard as I consider him a good friend. In My Heart Empire was recommended by us through our old label (Ugly and Proud Records). He has an amazing distro filled with punk,crust, grind, hardcore, death, thrash, back…. 

10.In 2023 you were a part of a split with 'Risale', what are your thoughts on the other band that had participated on the recording? 

Kurt: I really liked them. They incorporate that 90’s hardcore sound but put it in a modern package. Ozan was great to work with. Even though they were musically different from us, and they were way younger, we got along really well. It’s too bad they stopped right after the release of the split. So they couldn’t really promote it that well. I think they would’ve had a great future as a band. 

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

 Kurt: The record will be officially released on october 4th, so you’re one of the first who heard it. Overall most people who heard it are really positive about it. It’s generally seen as a big step up from our split, both musically as production wise. I think this is some of my best writing so far, and most of our friends seem to agree to that. The singles we released in anticipation of the full album did get very good feedback, so that builds good confidence for the record. 

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

Kurt: I think we’ve set the foundation for our sound with this record. We will continue to build on this in the future. The current songs we are writing are a bit less mid tempo. So more fast but also real slow parts in there. Maybe also include a bit more of the old Swedish bands in our music like Grave, Dismember, Entombed… We’ll see. I like that our music allows for a multitude of influences and styles to be mixed into it. 

13.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? 

Kurt: When writing I get a lot of inspiration from my all time favorite records. I often think “What would Slayer do” when I’m stuck with a song. Big inspirations for me are black metal bands like Dissection, Watain and Darkthrone. Those records get a weekly spin at home. But a lot of classical death metal records also find their way into our music. Bolt Thrower’s “The fourth crusade”, At The Gates’ “Terminal spirit disease”, the later Death albums… A lot of “smaller” bands I look up to also find their way into our music. I’m really into bands like Ringworm and Der Weg Einer Freiheit, and our friends in The Infernal Sea from the UK have always been a band I’ve looked up to. 

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

Kurt: First of all: Thank you very much for this interview and the support you’re giving our band. It really means the world to us when people express an interest towards our music. Also the people who read this: Thank you for checking us out! I’d encourage everyone who reads this to get involved in underground music. Start a band, do a zine, go to shows and maybe put on a gig yourself. It’s not the big fests and rockstar bands that keep metal alive, but people like you and me who are passionate about it

https://www.facebook.com/invictusxxx/

Invictus/Despair/Genet Records/Bound By Modern Age/In My Heart Empire/x24x Edgewear/2024 Full Length Review

 

  Invictus  are  a  band  from  Belgium  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2024  album  "Despair"  which  will  be  released  in  October  as a  joint  effort  between  Genet  Records.  Bound  By  Modern  Age,  In  my  Heart  Empire  and  x24x  Edgewear.

  A  very  fast  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  lot  of  melody  as  well  as  the  music  also  adding  in  a  lot  of  Gothenburg  influences  without  sounding  like  a  copy  of  that  area.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  when  they  are  utilized  on  a  couple  of  tracks  and  one  song  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars,  some  of  the  mid  tempo  sections  of  the  tracks  also  show  an  influence  of  hardcore.

  Invictus  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  melodic  forms  of  black  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  hypocrisy,  social  indifference  and  inhumanity  of  mankind. 

  In  my  opinion  Invictus  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  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  "Inhumane  Shells"  "Wolves"  "Despair"  and  "Screams  of  An  Enslaved  Choir".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u62FivZ_hfE

Malevich/Trembling And Dowsed/Roman Numeral Records/2024 EP Review

 

  Malevich  are  a  band  from  Atlanta,  Georgia  that  plays  an  experimental  mixture  of  dissonant  black,  sludge  metal  and  post  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2024  ep  "Trembling  And  Dowsed"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  Roman  Numeral  Records.

  Distorted  beats  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  synths  a  few  seconds  later  before  going  into  a  heavier  sludge  metal  direction.  Vocals  are  mostly  angry  sounding  hardcore  style  screams  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  along  with  the  music  also  having  its  experimental  moments.

  Some  of  the  screams  also  add  in  touches  of  black  metal  while  the  riffs  also  go  into  a  dissonant  direction  at  times.  Growls  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  the  music  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  and  grindcore  influences  when  it  speeds  up  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them,  slide  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  the  clean  sections  also  add  in  post  rock  elements  and  clear  vocals.    

  Malevich  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  dissonant  black,  sludge  metal,  post  hardcore  and  experimental  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  existential  dread  and  the  oppressive  systems  under  capitalism.

  In  my  opinion  Malevich  are  a  very  decent  sounding  experimental  mixture  of  dissonant  black,  sludge  metal  and  post  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Red  To  Gold"  and  "Inaliencable".  7  out  of  10.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8fH5r8NKI8      

Acid Throne/Kingdom's Death/Trepanation Recordings/2023 Full Length Review

 

  Acid  Throne  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  sludge  and  doom  metal  with  elements  of  stoner  rock  and  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2023  album  "Kingdom's  Death"  which  was  released  by  Trepanation  Recordings.

  Dark  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  playing  a  few  seconds  later  before  going  into  a  heavier  doom  metal  direction.  The  slower  riffs  also  add  in  elements  of  sludge  metal  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  A  lot  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  stoner  rock  style  melodies  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  lot  of  black  metal  and  hardcore  influences  and  when  the  music  finally  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast b eats  can  also  be  heard.

  Acid  throne  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  sludge,  doom  metal,  stoner  rock  and hardcore  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  misanthropy  and  anti  establishment  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Acid  Throne  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  doom  metal,  stoner  rock  and  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Death  Is  Not  The  End"  and  "Last  Will  And  Testament".  8  out  of  10.

   https://acidthroneband.bandcamp.com/album/kingdoms-death