Mudbath/Brine Pool/Grains Of Sand Records/2017 CD Review

  Mudbath  are  a  band  from  France  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  blackened  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Brine  Pool"  which  was  released  by  Grain  Of  Sand  Records.

  Clean  guitars  and  drum  beats  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  awhile  heavy  yet  melodic  riffs  make  their  presence  known  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams  that  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  black  metal  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length.

  When  the  music  speeds  up a   decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  touches  of  scream  and  post  hardcore  are  also  used  at  times  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  some  tracks  also  bring  in a  small  amount  of  doom  growls  and  clean  playing  also  makes  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  one  track  is  all  instrumental  and also  adds  in  a  touch  of  ambient  and  drone. 

  Mudbath  creates  another  recording  that remains  true  to  the blackened  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge,  and  doom  metal  from  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Mudbath  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black  metal,  sludge,  stoner  and  doom, you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "End  Of  Cold"  and  "Fire".  8  out  of  10.

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Hexer/Cosmic Doom Ritual/Vendetta Records/2017 CD Review

  Hexer  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  stoner,  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Cosmic  Doom  Ritual"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  Vendetta  Records.

  Atmospheric  soundscapes  and  drones  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars  that  give  the  songs  more  of  a  stoner  or  desert  rock  touch  and  after  awhile  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  after  a  few  minutes  the  music  goes  into  a  heavier  direction  along  with  some  growls  and  screams.

  All  of  the  songs  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  vocals  bring  in  a  mixture  of  black  and death  metal  influence  along  with  some  sludge  and  doom  metal style  riffing  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  very  melodic  and  also  add  in  touche  of  post  rock  and  shoegaze  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  can  be  heard  and  acoustic  guitars  are  also  used  on  the  other  tracks  along with the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  psychedelic  elements  are  added  onto  the  closing  track.

  Hexer  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  stoner,  doom,  sludge  and  black  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  something  very  dark  and  heavy,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  dealing  with  a  cosmic  journey  through  deep  blackness,  being  devoured  by  a  giant  sea  creature  and  the  discovery  of  a surreal  place  along  with  some  sci  fi  and  mythological  touches.

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

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Jagged Mouth/Louring/2016 Full Length Review

  Jagged  Mouth  are  a  band  from  Albuquerque,  New  Mexico  that  plays  a  blackened  mixture  of  doom  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2016  album  "Louring"  which  will  be  released  in  October.

  A  very  dark  yet  heavy  doom  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  which  also  uses  a decent  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  mixing  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  along  with  most  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  When  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  style  and  angry  hardcore  style  vocals  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  more  elements  of  stoner  metal  are  added  onto  the  recording  while  one  track  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  vocals  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  slow  musical  direction  and  acoustic  guitars  are  also  added  onto  the  last  track.

  Jagged  Mouth  plays  a musical  style  that  takes  black,  doom,  sludge  and  stoner  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds very  powerful  for  being  a  self released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Jagged  Mouth  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  "A  Wretched  Offering"  and  "Lingers  The  Taolith".  8  out  of  10.

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Fister/TEETH/Broken Limbs/2016 Split EP Review

 This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  Missouri's  Fister  and  California's  TEETH  which  will  be  released  in April  by  Broken  Limbs  and  we  will  start  off  the  ep  with  Fister  a  band  that plays  a  blackened  mixture  sludge,  doom,  stoner  and  death  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  distorted  sound  before  going  into  a  heavier  sludge/doom  metal  direction  that  also  uses  a  great mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  track  being  long  and  epic  in  length  and  some  riffs  also  use  a  small  amount  of  melody  along  with  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  fashion,  the  production  on  their  side  of  the  recording  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dying  themes..

  In  my  opinion  Fister  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge,  doom  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.

 Next  up  is  TEETH  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge,  doom  and  death metal.

  Their  side  of the split  starts  out  with  a  very  heavy  sound  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  blast  beats  a  few  seconds  later  while  the slower  riffs  are  more  influenced  by  sludge  and  doom  metal  along  with  a  small  amount  of  melody and  the  songs  also  bring in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  their  side  of  the  recording,  the  production  sounds  very professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Teeth  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge,  doom  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out t his  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "To  Lay  Upon  Blistered Torns".

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  black,  death,  doom  and  sludge  metal.  8  out  of  10.  

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A Thousand Sufferings Interview

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

We started from the ashes of Vex (Pj and I used to be in this band and we released one album via German label "Art of Propaganda") around 2013. We, as a fourpiece, are based in Klein Brabant (located beween Antwerp and Gent) and have one album out entitled 'Burden' via Satanath Records.


2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the album?

We had the idea to create something wich stands in the middle of sludge, black and stoner metal but apperantely people found it more doomish then we ever intended it to be. It is, like you might have understood, rather difficult to describe your own music so I just name some bands or adjectives people are reffering to when they hear our music. Celtic Frost/Triptykon, old Tiamat...dirty, heavy and nasty.

I can live up to that.


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

I'm not the one responsable for the lyrics but I do know we don't mind to step on so called holy crosses and I would like to make it clear you should see this as a metaphor. PJ tries to put a deeper meaning unto his lyrics and he's inspired by his own experiences in life. One might recognise aspects and most likely they aren't very positive...



4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'A Thousand Sufferings'?

Our starting point was not really groundbraking when we were searching for a bandname. It just had to fit the music...Though, our former guitar player (Noctiz/bass player in Lugubrum) came up with this proposal and it just felt right. There is no deeper meaning. Sorry for the dissapointement and a lack of yet another cool or dark story.


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

Our best show was mayby the last one we did, in Gent on the 'Occult Sabbath' with Goat Torment, LVHTHN and Zemail. The most memoriable was with Urfaust, Lugubrum and Alkerdeel in Antwerp. We dare to say we kinda fit with the other bands on this bill. Every band is different and all have something equal. We also did an extra coversong of my previous band 'Verloren' with Verderf (vocalist in Verloren) as a guest.

Our stage performance is quite simpel. We get on stage and we play. Nothing more, nothing less.


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

Individual shows are coming up in 2016 but touring is not our main goal. Though, we are open for any suggestion so if we get a serious offer to play anywhere we are glad to accept it.


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

It's too early to answer that question properly.


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

Our guitarplayer has it's own project called 'dreams and disasters' but I think it's been put on hold from the moment he joined us.


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

Skip the doomish parts and adjust more heavyness and filthyness.


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?

Personally? Burzum ;-)

I try to follow what's going on musicwise and it goes from Chelsea Wolfe to Steve Von Till to Blaze of Perdition to whatever...I think it's nice to expierience there is STILL good music out there and that pleases me the most. It helps some of my Facebook friends are doing the research for me.


11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Photography


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

Well, thank you for the interview. I hope people find the time and effort to check out what we're doing. We wrote 50% of our next album so we hope to record this summer...

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A Thousand Sufferings/Burden/Satanath Records/2015 CD Review

  A  Thousand  Sufferings  are  a  band  from  Belgium  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  doom,  stoner  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Burden"  which  was  released  by  Satanath  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  atmospheric  sounding  drone  starts  off  the  album   along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  and  a  touch  of  ambient  and  on  the  second  track  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavier  stoner/sludge  metal  direction  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  making  their  presence  on  the  recording.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  dark  sounding  melodies  can  also  be  heard  at  times  in  both  the  riffs  and  guitar  leads  and  the  music  also  adds  in  a  touch  of  modern  black  metal  in  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  slow  yet  heavy  musical  direction  that  is  also  very  heavily  influenced  by  doom  metal  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to them  and  a  couple  of  track  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing  and  spoken  words  and  some  of  the  leads  also  bring  in  post  metal  elements  and  the  last  song  also  adds  in  a  few  seconds  of  blast  beats.

  A  Thousand  Sufferings  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  vocals  of  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with  sludge,  stoner  and  doom  metal  to  create  a sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes  along with  all  of  the  songs  adding  in  names  of  colors.

  In  my  opinion  A  Thousand  Sufferings  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  doom  and stoner  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band,  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Red  Is  Redemption  (Bloodletting)"  and  "Blue  Is...(Remembering  Treasures)".  8  out  of  10.

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Bretwaldas of Heathen Doom/Seven Bloody Ramparts/Caligari Records/2014 Cassette Re-Issue Review

  Bretwaldas  of  Heathen  Doom  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  mixture  of  stoner,  doom,  black  metal  and  crust  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2010  album  "Seven  Bloody  Ramparts"  which  was  re-issued  on  cassette  by  Caligari  Records.

  A very  dark  black  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  crust  direction  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  music  also  incorporates  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  bringing  in  more  of  a  doom  metal  style  along  with  some  vocals  that  are  both  aggressive  and  melodic  at  the  same  time.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  very  melodic  and  in  some  of  the  songs  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  are  utilized  and  there  are  also  a  couple  of  tracks  that  are  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow  and  mid  paced  parts  and  the  songs  bring  in  a  lot  of  80's  metal  and  punk  elements  but  done  in  more  of  a  modern  day  fashion.

  Bretwaldas  Of  Heathen  Doom  plays  a  style  that  is  a  little  bit  more  closer  to  old  school  crust  and  doom  and  they  update  the  music  by  mixing  in  elements  of  black  metal  and  stoner  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  yet  raw  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  Heathenism  and  Old  English  Forests.

  In  my  opinion  Bretwaldas  Of  Heathen  Doom  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  stoner,  doom,  black  metal  and  crust  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Raising  The  Wind"  "Flight  of  Curse"  and  "Smite".  8  out  of  10.  

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Mudbath Interview

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

Marco (bass, effects): We recorded Corrado Zeller between December 2013 and March 2014. We liked the way Red Desert Orgy (our first EP) sounded, so we decided to stick with local hero Mathieu Croux (Verdun, Goodbye Diana, etc.) for recording and mixing. Collin Jordan (Bongripper, Nachtmystium, Cough, etc.) took care of the mastering over the summer. During that time, our guitarist Flo designed the vinyl artwork (under his moniker The Shivering Goat) with the help of Sanair, a local artist who also worked on the artwork for Red Desert Orgy. After the summer we got in touch with a few labels - we're now glad to be in good hands with Lost Pilgrims Records, Grains of Sand Records and Désordre Ordonné.

Luke (drums, vocals): We've been concentrating on getting the album released for most of the year but we've also been setting a lot of plans in motion for 2015, which'll hopefully be a pretty busy year for us. We also played a small handful of local gigs with some bands we like that were coming through the area this year.

2. You have a new album coming out in 2015, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the EP you had released in 2012?

Marco: It's not really the same band any more! After our singer Félix left the band in 2013, Flo, Mika (guitars) and Luke decided to handle vocal duties, and the result is even more harsh and aggressive than before. Musically speaking, the stoner blues influences have almost completed subsided to make room for a darker, deeper, more violent and deranged atmosphere. We basically just followed our collective instinct and made the music we felt like making at the time. The ritualistic doom/drone parts, the fist-to-the-mouth hardcore forays, the synths and effects... all of that wasn't to be found on the EP because there was a concern for staying within certain boundaries at the time. For Corrado Zeller, we didn't set ourselves any guidelines and just let it come together naturally. A healthy amount of substance abuse came in handy as well.

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

Luke: We wrote a bunch of lyrics and recorded them but decided not to include them with the album because we don't want to 'pollute' the music with any kind of message. There are a lot of bands out there all saying the same shit and we're just not interested in being a part of that. It's all about the music.

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

Marco: We wanted something evocative and straight-to-the-point, and Cleveland Steamer was already taken.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years?

Marco: In 2012 we played at a place called La Ferme de Mauriac, a community farm deep in the hills in France. It was pretty incredible. They had a grindcore goat there, running around the room and stage during the gigs and attacking fucking German Shepherd dogs. There was also this guy on acid that thought we were terrorists or something – the guy was scared shitless, I though he was going to attack us while screaming the US national anthem. Last but not least, the riot grrrl-like band that we were playing with that night kindly offered, right in front of their kids, for us all to fuck them in the ass. Other than that the gig was OK, even if one of the girls from the other band grabbed a mic and started rapping over Smells Like Teen Cunt.

Luke: The last gig we played on our tour last year near Frankfurt, Germany was a weird experience too. We arrived at the venue, set up the gear and did the soundcheck, and literally no one turned up. The local act played their set in the hopes that a few people might walk in but no one did. The promoter offered for us not to play and still get the gas money, and we were tired and annoyed and had a lot of driving to get home so we nearly took the offer, but in the end we just figured “our gear's set up, there's four guys here who just played a whole gig in front of no one but us – fuck it, let's just play”. The other band grabbed a couch and sat on it in the middle of the room and we gave it everything we had left. My mic broke within the first 5 minutes so I was just screaming into thin air for the rest of the show. What was looking to be a really shitty night suddenly ended up being one of the most exhilarating and intense live experiences we've ever had.

Flo: For me it has to the last time we played at KTS, a really cool squat in Freiburg, Germany, with our buddies Haut&Court from Strasbourg. After the show people went home and we got completely wasted and jammed for an hour or two on the stage with Haut&Court, with everyone switching instruments. Then they left too and we just played drunk black metal by ourselves non-stop for two hours. I remember doing a really long blast-beat and thinking to myself “dude you're so good at this” haha. Then we went down to the basement, where they had practice rooms. There were two random guys playing there and we just started playing psychedelic blues stoner rock-ish stuff with them, and Marco, who usually never goes near the mic, was yelling into it for over an hour. Basically we started playing around 11 pm and didn't stop until 5 am. Definitely my favorite show. And the next day Luke puked for hours on end and then drove us to Strasbourg.

Mika: Same as Flo, that was insane. I think the balloons they had everywhere made us feel like kids again all of a sudden.

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

Marco: We're going to be touring through France, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia and Slovenia from Jan 23rd to 31st, with the final gig being the release party for Corrado Zeller in Montpellier, where Lost Pilgrims Records is based. We'll also certainly play as much as possible everywhere we can in France in 2015 before another Euro tour at the end of the year.

7. The new album is coming out on Lost Pilgrims Records, are you happy with the support they have given you so far?

Marco: Yes, we are. Geraud from List Pilgrims has always given us a hand one way or another since we started out, and it's a real pleasure for us to work together with him on the release of our first LP.
Grains of Sand Records (Russia) and Désordre Ordonné (Canada) are also working with us to bring Corrado Zeller to their respective geographical areas. We're stoked that people are interested in our music thousands of miles away from where we live, especially people that work with many bands we all love.

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

Marco: We were pleasantly surprised by how well our first EP, Red Desert Orgy, was received, and Corrado Zeller seems to be following in its steps. But you know, there are also bands that get poor reviews but tear shit up on stage. We basically just want our music to help us tour as much as possible and to not cost us too much so we can still afford to buy drugs with our overdrafts.

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

Marco: Something honest and brutal, whether it's sludge, doom, black metal, hardcore or full on r&b.

Flo: We don't want to set ourselves any boundaries for the future, although I hope our music will always be recognizable as our own. We're inevitably influenced by all kinds of bands but I think there's a certain color to our riffs. That's how it feels when we compose anyway. All I can say at this point is it looks like the next album will contain more notes than Corrado Zeller.

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?

Marco: There aren't many bands that we all agree on in Mudbath. There are a few bands we all really enjoy such as And So I Watch You From Afar, but we can't really count them as influences on our music. Mika, for example, is more influenced by Rob Crow's work than any doom album.

Mika: On a day-to-day basis I tend to listen to music that's nothing like what we play, partly so it doesn't influence me when I'm writing music for Mudbath. I really like Rob Crow and the plethora of bands and projects he's involved with - Other Men, Thingy, Goblin Cock, Physics, Heavy Vegetables, and more. His melodies, harmonies and mathematical construction really give off a unique atmosphere. I always go for atmosphere over riffs. Boards of Canada's The Campfire Headphase, Bongripper's Miserable or Code Orange's I Am King are a few albums I find absolutely breathtaking, without forgetting my earlier influences such as Orange Goblin and Electric Wizard, or even Nobuo Uematsu's piano work on the Final Fantasy series. That's what inspires me and that's what I want to explore with Mudbath – atmospheres.

Luke: I guess we all bring our own influences to the music. One band that definitely influenced me is Monarch!, an awesome French drone doom band you should definitely check out if you haven't already. The distilled hatred and filth of Kickback has always been a great influence for me too, as has the sheer intensity and honesty of The Chariot.
At the moment some of the records I'm playing constantly are the new Blut Aus Nord, Mayhem, Swans and Run The Jewels albums, Baptists' Bushcraft, Abbe May's Design Desire, Julie Christmas' solo album, an old album by Blonde Redhead, Ghostface Killah's Supreme Clientele, the new EP from Igorrr and Ruby My Dear, as well as Poisse, the first EP from Fange, a stupidly heavy new band from Rennes, France.

Flo: Of course we're influenced by a lot of slow, dirty, and/or psychedelic doom bands, mainly Bongripper, Cough, Thou, YOB, Earth... But unlike Red Desert Orgy, that sounded very stoner/sludge, Corrado Zeller sounds a lot more oppressive and violent. Rorcal's Vilagvege and Oathbreaker's Eros|Anteros undoubtedly influenced me towards this new direction. Before we started the recording sessions we went on a retreat to an isolated house in the mountains, where Luke introduced us to Mare, a unique and brilliant Canadian band that just recorded one EP 10 years ago. We were pretty high all the time there and I'm sure that listening to that band helped shape our approach to some final arrangements on the album. Rob Crow, Grails and Mono don't really have much to do with Mudbath but they've definitely been big influences for me.
Recently I've been listening to the most recent albums by YOB, Earth, Impure Wilhelmina and Code Orange quite a bit, but also a lot of psych rock like Myrrors, The Wytches, Witch, etc. Just in the last few days I've been listening to the latest EP from Selenites like crazy.

11. What are some of your non musical interests?

Marco: Answering interviews.

Luke: In the words of a great American poet: “Money, cash, hoes”.

Flo: Hanging around with my bitch, driving her to the kebab joint - the easy life.
Mika: Fishing. But nobody knows that. And I don't like fish.

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

Marco: Thanks for your interest and thanks to the people who are reading this. Corrado Zeller is already streaming in full on our Bandcamp and will be available on vinyl on Jan 31st. It's going to be heavy as a really heavy thing.

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Azathoth Circle Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Well,its all started by the end 2012 i started looking for musicians for my new band, been working on some material for a while, and was ready to get in in rehearsal room
It was not easy to get musicians for such stuff, i had two self made demos with a drummer, a close friend of mine helped me with that, anyway summer 2013 i met Alexandra and Mike, so we gathered to make it all happen, after a while we got 5 tracks to be recorded, and we started to look for a studio, this is how Azathoth Circle started

2.So far you have released 2 ep's, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings and also how do they differ from each other?
The first EP was just a first our try to look on what we have done working together, mixing ideas, riffs, vocals, arrangements and perfect drumming by a friend of ours Erland
it was representing our mood at that time, passion and sadness in one work, second one is more powerfull work, we been on our way of mixing what we all love, from alternative metal, black metal, stoner, progressive, doom, and the mix of all of it, you can hear on both EPs we all listen to different music, but we gathered just to get it together in a mix of what you hear

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
its all matter of our lives, fights with ourselves, what we feel, what`s our fears, what it covers in us

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Azathoth Circle'?
Life Circles, your dark sides, your bright sides, you can be the god of your dark side, or bright, you choose, it`s your circle, its a matter of what your are going to join
Are you in a Circle?)


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 made our first two shows alredy, both in local clubs, biggest and most influential stages in our city, we all been playing before in different bands and have a great experience of being on stage, but for the firs time Azathoth Circle appears as one part, as a band itself, nice performances, nice audience, we know what to do, how to make stage performances even better

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
As any band we are willing to make awesome tours, big shows, getting more and more recognizable

7.Does Occultism play any role in the music?
not any, we are dark persons, but not as much )

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

we started promoting ourselves on biggest musical social networks (reverbnation,bandcamp, lastfm....) the feedback on our first EP was fantastic, so its a great start for a local
band to get a wordwide respect, by working hard on songs and live performances

9.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We want to record our 3d EP and make it also digital, maybe limited edition CD, album? well there are no reasons to make an albums our days for no major label bands i guess
itunes, amazon, shows how ep`s , singles are sells, so, album, we will do it, after third EP i guess it will be the right time to make it

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?
we all listening to different stuff, wide range of musical styles and bands that`s why are not sure, what exactly we are playing ))))

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
we all open minded and looking for some cool stuff, for something new, something interesting )) watching discovery channel (lol)

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you for you time, for checking our stuff, give it a like on facebook, oh yes, we have a facebook page, you can find latest news there, also don`t forget to share
and support local scene, all bands needs your support, cheers !!

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Azathoth Circle/The Replacement/Metal Scrap Records/2014 EP Review

  Azathoth  Circle  are  a  band  from  Ukraine  that  plays  a  very  dark  and  progressive  form  of  post  metal  that  also  brings  in elements  of  black  metal,  stoner, and  doom  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "The  Replacement"  which  was  released  by  Metal  Scrap  Records.

  Clan  playing  and  acoustic  guitars  starts off  the  ep  giving  the  music  more  of  a  progressive  and  post  rock  edge  along  with  some  melodic  clean  singing  female  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavy  prog  metal  direction  along  with  a  good  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  added  into   the  music  they  give  the  ep  even  more  of  a  dark  and  melancholic  edge  and  the  drums  also  bring  in  a  few  seconds  of  blast  beats  and  the  songs  also  have  more  of  a  modern  metal  edge  to  them  and  on  the  second  track  you  can  hear  more  gothic,  doom  metal  and  Opeth  influences  being  added  into  the  bands  musical style  along  with  a  touch  of  mainstream  rock/metal  and  on  the  last  track  the  music  starts  bringing  in  more  of  a  stoner  metal  vibe.

  Azathoth  Circle  brings  in  a  variety  of  many  different  style  ranging  from  progressive  and  post  metal  and  adding  it  in  with  the  heaviness  of  stoner,  doom  and  black  metal  along  with  a  touch  of  mainstream  rock  to  create  their  own  style  of  dark  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the lyrics  cover  dark  and  occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Azathoth  Circle  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  progressive,  post  and  dark  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Attack  Over  Again".  8  out  of  10.

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Thorr-Axe/Gates Of Winter/2014 CD Review

  Thorr-Axe  are  a  band  from  Indiana  that  plays  a  blackened  form  of  stoner/doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Gates  Of  Winter".

  Winter  sounds  start  off  the  album  and  a  few  seconds  later  the  music  starts  to  get  more  heavy  and  you  can  hear  traces  of  black  metal  before  going  into  more  of  a  doom  metal  direction  while  they  also  keep  around  the  blackened  parts  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length.

  After  the  first  track  the  music  starts  to  add  in  more  stoner  metal  influences  along  with  some  aggressive  screaming  vocals  and  after  awhile  element s of  punk  and  hardcore  can  be  heard  in  some  of  the  tracks  along  with  a  small  amount  of  death  metal  growls  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  At  times  you  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  sludge  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  most  of  the  tracks  stick  to  more  of  a  slow  or  mid  paced  direction  and  one  of  the  alter  tracks  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  which  also  leads  up  to  the  music  speeding  up  a  bit  and  bringing  in  a  few  seconds  of  blast  beats  on  a  few  songs  with  the  second  one  also adding  in  more  black  metal  elements  and  on  of  the  later  tracks  also  bring s in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  samples  and  psychedelic  sounds.  

  Thorr-Axe  plays  a  very  heavy  form  of  stoner/doom  metal  that  also  bring s in  a  heavy  amount  of  sludge  and  black  metal  influences  to  create  the  sound  that  is  presented  on  the  recording,  the  production  sound s very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  Norse  Paganism  and  Fantasy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Thorr-Axe  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  stoner/doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album>  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Seer's  Vision"  "The  Forging  Ritual"  and  "Awakening".  8  out  of  10.

thorr-axe.com
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facebook.com/thorraxedoom
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thorraxe.bigcartel.com

  

Teethgrinder/Hellbound/EveryDayHate/2014 7 Inch Review

  Teethgrinder  are  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  death  metal,  power violence  and  grindcore  with  touches  of  crust, hardcore,  post  metal,  drone  and  stoner  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  7  Inch  "Hellhound"  which  was  released  by  EveryDayHate.

  Spoken  word  samples  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  heavy  distortion  before  the  music  goes  into  a  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  direction  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams,  growls  and  crust  style  shouts  as  well  as  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  after  a  minute  the  band  slows  down  a  bit  and  you  can  hear  some  elements  of  doom  metal  in  their  musical  sound.

  On  the  later  tracks  you  can  really  start  hearing  the  blackened  death  metal  influence  kick  in  and  the  band  also  brings  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  on  the  third  track  sludge  and  stoner  metal  elements  find  their  way  into  the  bands  musical  style  and  their  last  song shows  off  some  epic  black  metal  style  riffing.

  Teethgrinder  combine  a  variety  of  many  different  extreme  metal  and  hardcore  genres  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  violent  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Teethgrinder  are  a  very  great  soundign  mixture  of  black  metal,  death,  stoner,  grindcore  and  power  violence  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hellbound"  and  "187".  8  out  of  10.    

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Mayak Interview

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

We are a 4 piece hailing from Bielefeld/Germany founded in spring 2012. Jonas (Bass), André (Drums) and me (Mark/Vocals) already knew each other from a project we’ve had before. That project found its end after 2 or 3 months of sludgy rock’n’roll but some time later there was this new band called Mayak with Philipp playing guitars and Jonas having moved to bass – but they didn’t have a shouter, so they asked me to fill that spot. It’s my first shouting experience, I used to play bass and guitar in other bands before. After some time it worked pretty well so, yeah, here we are!

2. How would you describe your musical sound?

That’s a hard one. Everyone of us has many different preferences. Philipp is more that grunge/stoner guy, André and Jonas did more crust stuff in the past and I’m the metalhead somehow, haha. So I think our music is a mixture of mainly metal and hardcore but with many influences like stoner rock, sludge, punk and so on. We mix black metal blastbeats with offbeats and switch from stonerriffage to punkish singalong parts. Just listen to it, I’m not that good in analyzing music (is there a need for that anyway?). Our sound is very raw and loud.

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

Most of the lyrics are reflecting my view on different things like politics, lifestyles, the fucked up world we live in, life in general… but we even have lyrics about meth smoking swamp monsters trying to kill your family. We all think it’s very important to be not too serious. Sometimes. At least.

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

Originally Mayak is a Russian nuclear facility complex that’s part of the Russian nuclear weapon program but it’s also the Russian word for light tower. As you might suggest, nothing of that has a meaning for us. We just like that name. It sounds cool, and its order of letters is pretty nice for a logo, haha.

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

 Playing live is the reason we do this. All of us played in other bands before or still are members of other bands (Ruins, Hyena, Samara, Playbot, to mention a few) so it’s not a new thing to us. I think our liveshows are pretty energetic and headbangable. We try to carry that energy to the people that visit our concerts. Until now, we shared stages with more like locally known bands but this thursday we’re going to support Victor Griffins (Pentagram) new band In Graved. It’s an honour for us sharing stage with such a doom/stoner legend like him!

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

Touring for a longer time is not possible these days because most of us are hard working people. But we’re planning a larger tour this autumn and until then, the weekend trips are working pretty well for us. We’re playing anywhere for food, booze and a place to sleep. It’s all about the good times for us.

7. Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label and if so, what kind of label do you feel that would be a perfect fit for the music?

The first EP was a DIY-release, available on CD, tape and digital on our homepage. We hope to record our first full length release this winter. We haven’t done that many considerations about a label until now, but if you read this and you have one, just contact us! Personally a large part of bands I love are on Deathwish, Southern Lord and Relapse but I think this is wishful thinking. Yet.

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

Feedback after seeing us live or listening to our EP has always been positive. People from places we’ve never been send us messages telling they really dig our music or buy our tapes and shirts. These might be the pros of social media nowadays. We’re deeply grateful for everyone checking out our stuff.

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

Jonas is swinging the axe in a crustcore band called Ruins (check them out, pretty dark stuff) but like I said before, most of us have full time jobs or study, so it’s a little bit too early to speak of a full time project. Of course we would like to be something like that someday!

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

The more recent songs are more thrashy than our first EP.  There’s more doublebass drumming, faster guitars and more blastbeats. But there still are some more positive vibes like in songs like “Another Day Will Rise” and “Cut The Ropes”.

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

Like I said before, we all have slightly different musical preferences and backgrounds but we all like stuff like Kvelertak, Kyuss, Doomriders, Deadbird, Overthrow, Entombed and Thou just to mention a few more famous names.

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

Nothing worth mentioning (sports, etc) – most of our interests are music related. Making music, listening to music, going to shows… Jonas is also hosting shows in our hometown.

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

Yeah, thanks to the visitors for reading this and checking us out onfacebook.com/iheartmayak or mayakband.de. You can download our first EP for free! Thanks to you for the interview and for supporting us!!!

Mayak/Demo 2012/2012 Review

  Mayak  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  doom,  stoner,  hardcore  and  sludge  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2012  demo.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  utilized  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  with  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  black  metal,  hardcore,  stoner  and  sludge  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  while  the  lead  guitars  which  are  only  used  briefly  are  very  old  school  sounding  hardcore  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  they  are  only  used  on  the  last  song  and  they  use  finger  picking,  full  chords  and  guitar  slides  to  add  more  variety  to  the  recording  as  well  as  some  blues  rock  sounding harmonicas.

  Vocals  range  from  high  pitched  black  metal  screams,  deep  death  metal  growls  and  hardcore  style  shouting,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  hateful  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  dark  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  with  the  last  song  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Mayak  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  black  metal,  hardcore, s toner  and  sludge  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Cut  The  Ropes"  and  "Dead  Man  Telling  Tales".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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