Oath Of Damnation Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?
At the time of writing this, the new album has just been released, so it's early days yet, but we're pretty stoked to finally be unleashing it upon the world! We had actually finished the recording back in June/July of 2019. Since then we've been working with Carlos of Gore House Productions steadily building up promotion for the album release and getting our name out there. We've also been busy rehearsing and gearing up for live shows again as we've been away from the stage for a while now. Our first show coming up is the official album launch here in our home town of Adelaide March 21st. While things are still relatively quiet on the live show front we're already getting stuck into writing new material for the next album. This time it won't take six freaking years, haha!

2.Recently you have released a new album, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
Whereas our first album, 'The Descent' was a much more black metal album atmospherically, 'Fury and Malevolence' still carries that through, but with a much more brutal edge to it. There's certainly more death metal sounding elements this time around, as well as an emphasis on more technical aspects. Overall it's taken what we established with 'The Descent', I feel, to the next level. The songs are stronger, the recording itself is night and day compared to the first album, being a lot clearer and more powerful sounding compared to the first one.

3.This is also your first release since since 2014, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?
It wasn't too long after the release of our first album 'The Descent' that we had to go through a line up change. Our previous vocalist/keyboardist, Formosus decided to call it a day, and we parted ways on friendly terms. He and I still play together in a couple of different projects, actually. We sort of floated in a bit of a limbo for a while really until we made the decision that I take on the vocal duties as well as continuing on bass. That just left us with searching for a keyboard player, and eventually Haemorrh joined to fill the role. With the line up once again secure, we set to work rehearsing the set, writing material for the new album and getting back out there playing shows again. Constantinos, Necromancer and myself also play in another band called Shadow Realm, which during a lot of that time took more of a priority over Oath of Damnation as we were writing and recording an album with that band plus playing quite frequently.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with the new album and also how would you describe your progress as songwriters over the years?
Something I like to do with lyrics is take a theme from either a personal or objective point of view and add a great deal of artistic license, ranging from concepts of ancient mythologies, horror themes, history, religion and the occult. Imhullu for instance comes from ancient Sumerian/Babylonian text. 'Imhullu' is the name of a wind weapon that Marduk used to help slay Tiamat as described in the classic tale. 'To Crack the Earth, and Bring Down the Sky' is based on a black magic spell designed to give one control over extreme weather. 'I Curse Thee, 'O Lord!' is a twist on the classic biblical tale of Abraham being commanded by his god to sacrifice his son, Isaac. In the original tale of course, an angel comes down to stay his hand at the last minute, but in our own horrific tale, the deed is carried through in grim fashion. One thing I would avoid though is injecting personal opinions or beliefs into the lyrics. Where we may tackle some subjects related to, say, the occult, or satanic themes as we have done and may continue to do is purely from an outside perspective as an actor in film or theatre would play a demon or sorcerer. With these new batch of songs, compared to those of the last album, I feel we've managed to work a more natural flow and balance between the different genres you can hear in our music compared to that of the last album. Obviously the dominant sounds you can hear are death and black metal in nature, but the shred guitar and progressive elements are there also, and we've been very mindful that none of it feels forced in any way.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Oath Of Damnation'?
It's pretty much meant to be a curse. The idea for the name came from the earliest foundation of the band, which was a concept thought up by our previous singer about the vengeful spirit of Pope Formosus, (who was Pope of the catholic church from 891 to his death in 896 ad) turned dark and wrathful against his former religion. “Curse and damnation be upon ye, who wear the cloth and cross of those that defiled my corpse!” In 897, by the order of his second successor Pope Stephen VI (his immediate successor Pope Boniface VI lasted only fifteen days!), Formosus' body was exhumed and put on trial, sentenced and stripped of his papal title and decrees, buried in a commoner's grave, but then dug up again and thrown in the Tiber river. Ninth Century Papal politics at its finest! With this whole concept, we were thinking very much along the lines of something like out of a horror movie (King Diamond is also a big influence on us when it comes to concepts). An earlier moniker that we were going under was Popecorpse, but we were never really a hundred percent settled with that name, and through the evolution of lyrical and conceptual imaginings, the wrathful spirit Formosus' 'Oath of Damnation' was born, and has since remained.

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
The art was done by the mighty Jenglot Hitam, who's done a huge amount of work for a lot of bands out there now, and is an absolute master at his craft! This particular piece I came across on my social media news feed one day. Its image depicting demons and angels engaged in battle with one another instantly jumped out at me and just fit the album title and the song 'With Fire and Malevolence' perfectly, which lyrically, is a war in the heavens type of song. Luckily it was available for purchase, so I snapped it up straight away. We've since commissioned him to produce the artwork that you can find on the lyric video of 'I Curse Thee, 'O Lord!', which turned out a goddamned masterpiece.

7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Two shows I can recall that I really enjoyed playing was with Dead Congregation in Brisbane back in 2016, and opening for Psycroptic and Archspire here in Adelaide. Also the first show we played as Oath of Damnation back in 2012 with Impiety and fellow locals Tzun Tzu and Cauldron Black Ram. Our live show, in line with our earlier concept I mentioned earlier was more theatrical, garbed as dark priests and monks and complete with a lecturn that our previous vocalist used to stand behind and scream forth his sermons. We've toned it down quite a lot visually since then, but stepped it up quite a bit in musical brutality, engaging more with the crowd and bludgeoning their senses like a hammer.

8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
At the time of writing, our home town album launch is now only a week away, March 21st at Jive bar on Hindley St. The next is April 18th, also in Adelaide and is part of an all day festival called Heavy S.A. Fest, which is a showcase of a variety of metal acts that our state of South Australia has to offer. We're just starting to secure dates for elsewhere around the country. Early days there, but plans are forming. We'd love to get out of Australia and tour anywhere that'll have us, but as we're still relatively unknown, the gameplan is to build up a name for ourselves with this album which I'm confident will help put us more within the global metal community's radar.

9.The new album was released on 'Gore House Productions', how did you get in contact with this label?
Purely by chance. We were still in the process of finalizing the recording, when Constantinos sent a track to a friend of his, Walter Greggs, who is a DJ for Cranium Radio based in the U.S. Walter is also a friend of Carlos, who runs Gore House Productions, and he sent him the track. Carlos got in touch with us almost straight away. We got to talking and could see right off that working together would be mutually beneficial, so here we are! It's obvious to us he works hard for the bands on his label and already he's done a lot to help increase our exposure to new fans out there in the metal world, so much more than we could ever do ourselves.

10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black and death metal?
So far, particularly with Fury and Malevolence, the feedback has been great. Like I said, it's early days still, but reviews are starting to trickle in, and they've been really positive. We're starting to get a lot of listener feedback from fans of both style also, which has also been so far very positive.

11.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
Myself, Constantinos and Necromancer also have a band called Shadow Realm, which is more of a fusion of classic heavy metal with thrash/bkack/progressive elements. We've been busy playing a fair amount of shows and have just about finished recording a new EP. On top of that, I play guitar/vocals in a death metal band I've had going for many years now called Beyond Mortal Dreams, and am working towards having a new album out later this year. Haemorrh plays keys in another band called In The Burial, which has recently put out a new album and has also been quite active on the live scene of late. Between us all we keep ourselves quite active musically.

12.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
For now, I see us continuing down the path that Fury and Malevolence has put us on. I feel like we've hit our stride musically, so I'd love to carry on and build on that. Some of the new material that's beginning to emerge is already taking a bit more of a brutal turn, but that's not to say we'll be moving away from our more atmospheric side.

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?
For as long as I've been playing in bands, I've always been inspired by death metal styles. With what we produce in Oath of Damnation, we're obviously we're quite driven by both the death and black metal genres, and we do listen to a lot of music that fall in those realms. Of course, other music you really enjoy are gonna influence and rub off you in a sub-conscious way naturally, so I guess you're always gonna hear similarities with other things out there. Collectively we listen to a wide variety of music, from classic metal, to thrash, death, black, prog, even rock, jazz, funk and orchestral music.

14.Does Satanism or Occultism play any role in your music?
Only as I mentioned earlier on, portraying these themes as an actor would play the role of a demon or sorcerer, or any other dark type of role. These concepts are not reflective of any personal spiritual beliefs held by anyone in the band, but are held as a point of interest in a fictional sense.

15.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Just to say thanks for the interview and the opportunity to further spread Oath of Damnation's name and music out amongst the metal hordes at large. To everyone who knows us, or just discovered us, a huge thanks to you all! We really appreciate all your support and we hope to see you on the road one day soon. Until then, play loud and destroy!

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Warlust/Unearthing Shattered Philosophies/Dying Victims Productions/2020 CD Review

  Warlust  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Unearthing  Shattered  Philosophies"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  Dying  Victims  Productions.

  A  very  dark  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  while  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  synths  and  clean  playing  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  as  well  as  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very melodic  style.  The  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of Swedish  influences  along  with  the  tracks  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Vocals  are  mostly  blackened  metal  screams  along  with  the  music  also  mixing  in  a  great  amount  of  death  and  thrash  metal  elements.  Most  of  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  but  still  captures  a  modern  atmosphere  as  well  as  couple  of  the  tracks  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  they  both  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  classical  gutiars.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Occultism,  War,  Devastation  and  Torture  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Warlust  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Burning  Eyes  Of  Satan"  "In  The  Shadow  Of  The  Alchemyst"  and  "To  Fall  Aprt".  8  out  of  10.

"My final Sacrifice":

Oath Of Damnation/Fury And Malevolence/Gore House Productions/2020 CD Review

  Oath  Of  Damnation  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  plays  a  virtuoso  and  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2020  album  "Fury  And  Malevolence"  which  will  be  released  on  March  13th  by  Gore  House  Productions.


  A  very  dark  sounding  interlude  starts  off  the  album  while  classical  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  some  keyboards  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  at  times.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard.

   Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  as  well  as  demonstrating  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  symphonic  sounding  as  well  as  a  couple  of  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  music  also  having  its  technical  moments,  all  of  the musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  one  track  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the lyrics  cover  darkness  and  blasphemy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Oath  OF  Damnation  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Abortuary"  "In  Death's  Dominion"  and  "I  Curse  Thee,  O"  Lord!".  8  out  of  10.

www.facebook.com/OathOfDamnation 

https://youtu.be/ZYMu1RJ-vNE

Baron SAMEDI Interview

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

Hi, I'm from Novokuznetsk, Kuzbass region. In 1997. Me and my friend are influenced by: Sepultura,Sodom, Korrozia Metalla, Diecide and other extreme bands. They started rattling at my house.

 Since we did not have money for normal musical instruments (in the 90-ies in Russia we lived poorly, even for clothes we did not have enough money). We stole from the school music class: a bass in the shape of A Paul McCartney violin, two snares, and cymbals. They rattled, but since the game we could not, it turned out noisecore act.
 In 2000, I bought a Cassio synthesizer and started playing music alone. The project was then nameless. I made recordings on Sharpe's tape recorder.
 In 2005, I made a self-release of cassettes with my songs, called "Project Golem". Now these recordings can be heard on the albums "Я - Пустота" and bonuses on "Ralph Werner-Project Golem". In 2007, I renamed the project Baron Samedi.

Later I because of this name, my social networks consisted of 50% of fans of rap and hip hop)). Metalheads were repelled by this name))

 2.Your recent full length came out in September, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

It is completely spontaneous and dirty recorded. I worked on tracks at different times without imagining how they would sound. The oldest song on it, "Black'n'roll Necronomicon", was recorded in 2001.

 3.You have also work with a variety of many different musical genres on your recordings, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical styles you have brought into your music?

Any dark, aggressive, pompous genre can appear on my recordings. Dark rock, dark folk, industrial, noise, ambient, free jazz, power electronics, death industrial, glitch, gorenoise, death metal, dark metal, black metal, terrorcore. I used all these genres in my music еxcept rap and hip hop.

 4.You have also covered some occult topics with your lyrics, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in occultism?

I have always had an irrational, mystical perception of the world. But in theoretical occultism, I am not well versed, if you compare me with some Alister Crowley. From occult books I read two books by Elena Blavatsky, a few Apocrypha, Everything related to the Necronomicon, Russian black witchcraft.

 I sometimes dedicate my music to the essence of Graov, which is worshiped and invoked by homeless vagabonds, inhaling the smell of burned beetles-mediums. The essence of Graov is similar to the evil shown in the movie "the Fifth element".

 I use glossolalia when singing. Sometimes I use decoctions of herbs to fall into a trance, then the essence speaks through me. I record it and use it as vocals., this can be heard in the track Graov and Жнец

I also sell for graves.


 5.What are some of the other lyrical topics and subjects you have explored with your music?

Sad stories about a witch's house or a forest fire. Social: bad neighbors, corrupt cops, spitting in modern art. Abstract texts about death, mystical journeys.

 6.I know that the musical project was named after from Haitian Voodoo, can you tell us a little bit more how you got interested in this deity?

 In the nineties, there were many books with witchcraft spells, they were sold in every kiosk. .
 It was scary to live (crime,devastation, poverty, drug addiction), people conjured. My grandmothers had spell books. These books contained spells from all religions, and I learned about Baron Samedi from them. For Siberia, this name sounded original.
I don't practice voodoo myself. I plan to rename the project to "Пан Zимородоk".

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

Yes, I record everything alone.I am open to working with other musicians, but my knowledge of musical instruments is poor and I can't read music.So I'm not good for serious musicians. I can work with noise industrial musicians.


 8.Are you also involved with any other musical projects/

In 2007-2008, I was the bassist of the band "Kolobus". Played brutal death metal. Then I went into business (construction) and there was no time to play.

 9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of metal, experimental and industrial?

Metal fans are throwing shit, they need well-recorded music. Fans of experimental and industrial music reacted positively.

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

I will also try to make dark music. I don't plan to perform. I played concerts with Colobus in 2007 and I didn't like it.

 11.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?

Inspired to make music: Sepultura, Korrozia Metalla, Sodom. Later Samael, Agonoize, Suicide commando. But you won't find much musical borrowing from them. I didn't grow up to them as a musician.Technically, I can't borrow from them.  Now I listen to everything, but mostly it's power electronics, ambient, raw noise black metal. I order interesting releases on cassettes.

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

The problem of rock fans and generally conditionally "Good music" is that they think that everyone is seriously listening to music. While simple and often not stupid people just need a background and not a loaded product . Due to the fact that their ability to enjoy listening to music and composing quirks, is much lower than music lovers. They don't fucking need it.

Study well, listen to your mom and dad and don't tell them you want to play hell's throat. Don't upset your loved ones.

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Baron SAMEDI/Nidarozd salmundshichti/Nailed Nazarene Industries/2019 EP Re-Issue Review

  Baron  SAMEDI  is  a  solo  project  from  Russia  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  industrial,  harsh  noise,  power  electronics  and  ritual  music  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2019  ep  "Nidarozd  salmundshichti"  which  was  re-issued  by  Nailed  Nazarene  Industries.

  Demonic  voices  and  ritualistic  soundscapes  start  off  the  ep  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction.  Grim  black  metal  vocals  are  also  utilized  at  times  while  the  bass  guitar  sounds  very  powerful  as  well  as  some  spoken  word  parts  also  being  utilized  in  some  parts  of  the  recording.

  All  of  the  drum  beats  are  also  programmed  while  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  also  long  and  epic  in  length.  Elements  of  industrial  can  also  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  along  with  some  tracks  also  adding  in  some  harsh  noises  and  power  electronics  as  well  as  the  music  also  having  its  experimental  moments,  keyboards  can  also  be  heard  briefly,  as  the  ep  progresses  samples  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  all  of  the  tracks  also  sound  very  different  from  each  other.

  Baron  SAMEDI  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black  metal,  industrial,  ritual,  harsh  noise  and  power  electronics  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  lo-fi  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Russian  and  cover  dark,  poetic  and  occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Baron  SAMEDI  is  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  metal,  industrial,  ritual,  harsh  noise  and  power  electronics  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "POems"  and  "Hilka-hilka,  demon  demon  !!!">  8  out  of  10.

https://nailednazareneindustries.bandcamp.com/album/reissue

God Dethroned/Illuminati/Metal Blade Records/2020 CD Review

  God  Dethroned  are  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Illuminati"  which  will  be  released  in  February  by  Metal  Blade  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.  Keyboards  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the recording  along  with  the  vocals  being  mostly  blackened  metal  screams  as  well  as  some  death  metal  growls  being  utilized  at  times.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  some  tracks  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  choir  vocals,  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them and  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  on  the  closing  track.

  On  this  recording  God  Dethroned  remains  true  to  the  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  that  was  established  on  previous  releases.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Secret  Societies,  Satanism,  Occultism,  Demonology,  Egyptian  Mythology  and  Blasphemy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  God  Dethroned  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  black  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Illuminati"  :Spirit  Of  Beelzebub"  and  "Blood  Moon  Eclipse".  8  out  of  10.

 https://www.facebook.com/goddethronedofficial
 https://goddethroned.bandcamp.com
 https://twitter.com/villavampiria   

  

Nordic Frost Interview

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



Nordic Frost began as a concept in 2006, I had wanted to start a black metal band for some time and had a plethora of talented musicians to work with. What ended up happening instead was a death metal project called Etched In Stone, which was active for 11 years. In 2015, while on tour with Etched In Stone, I began writing what would become the debut Nordic Frost EP and the rest is history!



2.Recently you have released a new album, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?



Ov Blasphemy And Other Rites is different from it predecessors in multiple aspects aside from the obvious lyrical themes, but what stands out the most to me personally are the drums were placed in the much more capable hands of Randy Abbott this time around, and the orchestral parts were crafted more to fit the tone of the songs instead of simply filling the space between tracks.



3.Some of your lyrics cover witchcraft and the occult, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these subjects?



I’ve had a vested interest in the occult and in ancient pagan beliefs ever since I was young. Being raised in the Christian church can tend to have that effect on free-thinking folk.



4.What are some of the other lyrical topics and subjects you have explored so far with your music?



Each release has been conceptually themed. Ov Blasphemy is primarily about witchcraft or ancient pagan rituals and retaliation against the early church for the capital punishment of heretics. Jeg Er Blitt Død had themes of vampirism woven throughout, and the self-titled EP was more of a sacrilegious offering.



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



Nordic Frost was the name I landed on 13 years ago when I was first trying to get this project off the ground. The icy nature of the name is parallel to the cold-natured lyrics. It’s formidable and vehemently anti-religious.



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



The cover artwork depicts a blood sacrifice ritual in a classical portrait style. I wanted to go above and beyond what I had done for previous releases and took extra time piecing this one together.



7.On this album you recorded everything by yourself but have worked with a drummer in the past, are you open to working with other musicians again or do you prefer to work solo?



I really love the control of the solo aspect, though it’s nice to have other musicians input as well. That’s a tough call, but the goal for this project is to begin playing live as soon as the right members are in-place. As for the drums on this record, everything I originally had in place was scrapped and replaced with Randy Abbot’s awesome work.



8.The new album was released on 'Rebel Pyro Musick', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?



Rebel Pyro Musick was started this year by my former band’s manager, Rebel Pyro Management. After well over a decade of working together Rebel Pyro Musick really is the best place for Nordic Frost to call home.



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



There has been a fair amount of coverage for it being such a small project, it’s being received positively around the globe from what I can tell. I actually got a message from a new fan in Syria a couple day’s ago saying that he couldn’t stop listening to it and it’s those kind of interactions that really reaffirm to me why I do this. There’s no better feeling than having someone you don’t know, half a world away, go out of their way to let you know they appreciate your art!



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



Preforming Nordic Frost material on stages all over the globe, hopefully! Starting with the west coast of the US, as that is home-base, then depending on reception branching out to national and then international stages.



11.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?



Bands that really shaped who I am as a musician are many, but some major players are: Dimmu Borgir, Dark Funeral, Behemoth, Opeth, Tool, Cradle Of Filth, and Deicide.



12.What are some of your non musical interests?



I like to cook, I like to take my family camping and on other trips. I run a graphic design company, and I work as a A/V Tech. A lot of irons in a lot of fires, haha!



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



I just want to say thank you for giving me this platform, and to the readers and listeners: Thank you!

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Nordic Frost/Ov Blasphemy And Other Rites/Rebel Pyro Musick/2019 Full Length Review

  Nordic  Frost  are  a  solo  project  from  Sacramento,  California  that  plays  a  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2019  album  "Ov  Blasphemy  And  Other  Rites"  which  was  released  by  Rebel  Pyro  Musick.

  Tragic  sounding  keyboards  and  symphonic  elements  start  of  the  album  and  they  also  mix  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music.  During  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  as  well  as  the  music  also  mixing  in  elements  of  death  metal  at  times.

  A  lot  of the  music  also  brings  in  influences  from  the  mid 90's  era  of  symphonic  black  metal  but  also  keeps  a  modern  atmosphere  at  the  same  time. As  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of   clean  singing  and  chanting  can  be  heard  as  well  as  a  alter  track  being  an  instrumental,  classical  guitars  are  also  added  onto  the  closing  track  and  their  is  also  a  hideen  bonus  version  of  Led  Zeppelin's  "Immigrant  Song".  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  witchcraft  from  the  middle  ages.

  In  my  opinion  Nordic  Frost  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  black  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Compelled  By  Witchcraft"  "Despondent  Legions  Ov  The  Dead"  and  "Penance  Ov  Sodom".  8  out  of  10.

nordicfrostmusic@gmail.com
www.nordicfrostmusic.com
nordicfrostmusic.bandcamp.com

Lord Mantis/Universal Death/Profound Lore Records/2019 CD Review

  Chicago,  Illinois's  Lord  Mantis  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  the  blackened  sludge  metal  style  of  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Universal  Death"  which  will  be  released  on  November  22nd  by  Profound  Lore  Records.

  A  very  dark,  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  faster  riffing  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  blackened  metal  screams as  well  as  some  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Elements  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  along  with  the  vocals  also  adding  in  an  angry  shouting  approach  at  times.  Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.

  As  the  album  progresses  a  small  amount  of  synths  and  clean  playing  are  also  added  onto  the  recording  as  well  as  one  track  also  introducing  acoustic  guitars  onto  the  album  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  desert  like  atmosphere  and  a  later  song  also  adds  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  vocals,  blast  beats  can  also  be heard  briefly.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism  and  Darkness with  some  touches  on  Sante  Muerte  and  the  Qliphotic  demons.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Lord  Mantis  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Santa  Muerte"  "Qliphotic  Alpha"  and  "Fleshworld".  8  out  of  10.

http://www.lordmantis.com

https://www.facebook.com/lordmantisofficial

 

Birth Of The Monolith Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
1. We're - Birth Of The Monolith. We play post-metal / post-back / sludge music in the cold heart of Siberia, Russia. Gathered together in 2016, released 2 EPs since.

2.So far you have released 2 ep's, musically how do they differ from each other?
2. The first EP "S/T" has more sludge/doom sound, while second one, "Cult", is more inclined towards post-black. Lyrics on both releases are immersed in atmosphere of gloom and despair, and there're references to works of H.P.Lovecraft also.

3.Your lyrics cover Occultism and Rituals and the logo also has a Thelema symbol, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in the esoteric arts?
3. We always liked occult literature, its thoughts and ideas. For example, the works of A. Crowley, "Kibalion", etc. As for the hexagram (the Thelema symbol) in our logo, it was an excellent replacement for the pentagram, which is a sort of stereotypical symbol for metal music.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Birth Of The Monolith'?
4. The name of band was born under the influence of Robert Howard's Black Stone, which included The People of The Monolith.

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the ep cover?
5. The cover of the first EP was inspired by the work of artist Valnoir Mortasonge. The second is Jeff Grimal.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
6. As you know, Russia and Siberia in particular are very large, so all our shows are still held in Siberian cities. It is difficult to single out any show, but it is worth noting that recently we have changed the visual appearance - the members of the group perform in the clothes of cult followers, which further immerses the audience in an atmosphere of darkness. Such a change in appearance definitely pleased the audience, we received a many positive feedbacks.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
7. So far, plans for shows in Siberia and in the Russia in a whole. Huge distances limit us, but nothing is impossible)

8.Recently you covered a 'Downfall Of Gaia' song, what was the decision behind doing your own version of one of their songs?

8.'Downfall Of Gaia' really influenced our music, and their footprints are also in our other tracks :) We were torn between two of their songs - In The Rivers Bleak and Ephemerol. The choice was not easy but, in the end, In The Rivers Bleak seemed more suitable to us :)

9.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
9. Actually there were some offers, but none are really interested us. So, at the moment we're in search of proposal we couldn't refuse.

10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black, sludge and post metal?
10. We haven't faced negative or devastating reviews yet. And, honestly, we were really pleasantly surprised by many good, positive foreign reviews, despite that our songs are in Russian. Although our lyrics are also available in English. We try to add local flavor to songs through the language. Hope we succeeded well, and our music will stay in listeners hearts for a long.

11.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
11. We are currently working on the next release. Part of the material is ready, another part is at the writing stage, the concept and topics have been already worked out. The songs are writing long enough (the latter one took more than half of a year), and we hope that it is worth it. The release is scheduled for 2020, but we would not like to rush things. After the release, we want to arrange a short tour in Siberia. The release will be available at https://botm.bandcamp.com and probably published as a limited edition on physical media.

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?
12. As we said earlier, our music is heavily influenced by Downfall of Gaia. Also Cult of Luna, Amenra, Black Table, it's not the complete list, just major ones. Currently in playlist are: latest releases from Cult of Luna and Mgla, The Ever Living, The Ocean.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

13. Actually we're all different. Each has own hobbies besides music. For instance, our guitarist is fond of electronics and making guitar effects pedals, drummer - owns craft-beer pub

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

14. First of all, thanks for the questions:) Listen to Russian music, there're alot of interesting black-, post-, post-black metal and dark-hardcore bands. Hope you'll like our music :)

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King Satan/I Want You To Worship Satan/Inverse Records/2019 CD Review

  King  Satan  are  a  solo  project  from  Finland  that  has  had  an  album  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  industrial  and  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2019  album  "I  Want  You  To  Worship  Satan"  which  will  be  released  in  November  by  inverse  Records.

  Heavy  riffing  and  industrial  elements  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  distorted  vocals  and  black  metal  screams  a  few  seconds  alter.  All  of  the  drum  beats  are  programmed  while  synths  are  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  as  well  as  the  music  also  mixing  in  a  great  amount  of  aggrotech  elements.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.  Female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  on  a  few  tracks  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  bringing  in  more  of  a  melodic  hard  rock  style  when  they  are  utilized.

  Growls  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  some  samples  also  being  utilized  at  times  as  well  as  some  songs  also  adding  in  elements  of  death  punk,  melodies  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  mid  tempo  direction.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Occultism,  Chaos  Magick  and  Anti  Christianity  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  King  Satan  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  industrial  and  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Killing  Of  God"  "All  Magick  Is  Chaos  Magick"  "The  Antichristification"  and  "The  Portrait  of  Darkness".  8  out  of  10.

https://youtu.be/8uYcsWaB1j8

https://youtu.be/zzJ4CGjkPFU      

ShadowThrone/Elements' Blackest Legacy/Non Serviam Records/2019 CD Review

  ShadowThrone  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Elements'  Black  Legacy"  which  was  released  by  Non  Serviam  Records.

  A  very  dark  sound  starts  off  the  album  which  also  introduces  keyboards  onto  the  recording  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music.  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  black  metal  growls  and  death  metal  growls  while  blast  beats  can  be  heard  in  the  faster  parts  of  the  songs.

  The  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Symphonic  elements  can  also  be  heard  at  times  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  being  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  style  along  with  the  faster  riffing  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  as  well  as  some  of  the  riffing  also  showing  an  influence of  thrash  metal  and  as  the  album  progresses  choir  vocals  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  at  times  the  music  also  has  its  avant garde  and  atmospheric  moments,  one  track  also  introduces  spoken  word  parts  onto  the  recording  and  the  album  closes  with  an  instrumental.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Fantasy,  Nature  and  Black  Magick  themes.

  In  my  opinion  ShadowThrone  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Endless  Dance Of The Universe"  "Saturn  off  Newborn  Era"  "Curse  Of  The  Royal  Blood"  and  "ShadowThone".  8  out  of  10.


http://www.facebook.com/shadowthrone      

Funeral Mortem/Misanthropic Majesty/2019 Demo Review

  Funeral  Mortem  are  a  band  from  Los  Angeles,  California  that  plays  a  melodic form  of  blackened  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2019  demo  "Misanthropic  Majesty".

  Spoken  word  parts  start  off  the  demo  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  melodic  musical  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  as  well  as  the  solos  and  leads  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  while  the  music  also  mixes  in  elements  of  melodic  death  metal.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts,  classical  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly  as  well  as  the  music  focusing  more  on  a  heavier  style.

  Funeral  Mortem  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  melodic  sides  of  black  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  occultism,  darkness  and  misanthropy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Funeral  Mortem  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  blackened  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  demo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Opening  The  Eye  Of  Leviathan".  8  out  of  10.

ttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUm_TpJ1g4SJ1mI9c3deoivRTDk_3T4Yi

https://funeralmortem.bandcamp.com/album/misanthropic-majesty

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7vEHDLJ2kDjfbJXfcaB1Jq?si=kTFRKgkXREuoKAPeELXh-g

Birth Of The Monolith/Cult/2018 EP Review

  Birth  Of  The  Monolith  are  a  band  from  Siberia,  Russia  that  plays  a  mixture  of  post black  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2018  ep  "Cult".

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Vocals  are  mostly  black  emtal  screams  while  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  post  metal  along  with  some  touches  of  screamo  also  being  utilized  at  times.

  Elements  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody. Clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  Birth  Of  The  Monolith  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  post  black  and  sludge  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Rituals  and  Darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Birth  Of  The  Monolith  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  post  black  and  sludge  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Ritual".  8  out  of  10.

https://botm.bandcamp.com/album/cult

Sigil/Demonstration MMXIX/Funeral Trance/2019 Demo Review

  Sigil  are  a  band  from  Calgary,  Alberta,  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  death  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  demo  "Demonstration  MMXIX"  which  will  be  released  on  July  15th  by  Funeral  Trance.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  demo  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  The  vocals  bring  in  more  of  a  hardcore  and  sludge  style  as w ell  as  adding  in  a  few  growls  at  times  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  black  metal  style  tremolo  picking  can  be  heard.

  During  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Elements  of  post  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  guitar  leads  have  more  of  a  dissonant  approach  to  them.

  Sigil  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  sludge,  death  metal  and  hardcore  and  mixes  them  together  to  create    a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  lyrics  cover  alchemy  themes.

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

http://sigilcalgary.bandcamp.com/album/demonstration-mmxix 

    

Antartandes/Illvsio Machina/Australis Records/2019 EP Review

  Antartandes  are  a  band  from  Chile  that  plays  a  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  ep  "Illvsio  Machina"  which  will  be  released  in  July  by  Australis  Records.

  Ritualistic  spoken  word  parts  start  off  the  ep  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melodic  musical  direction.  At  times  the  vocals  sound  very  deep  while  synths  and  symphonic  elements  are  also  mixed  into  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  and  after  awhile  black  metal  screams  are  added  onto  the  recording.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  some  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Antartandes  plays  a  style  of  black  emtal  that  is  very  dark,  symphonic  and  melodic  sounding.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  Luciferian, Occultism,  Battles  and  Death  themes.

In  my  opinion  Antartandes  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of t his  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out t his  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Lucifer  Arquetipo  Acorporeo"  and  "This  Is  The  Flame".  8  out  of  10.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcwHeh5hb7k&fbclid=IwAR0Y7Glz9dkc6xr3TYF2CXXjwpv9HRtf66UQSIZijSRcMvRgXJ6uI2xzydQ&app=desktop    

Decision To Hate Interview

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

Thogarma: After the recording we split up due to internal problems with each other (extreme music for extreme people, what can I say...?) By 2017, we'd solved all the inconsistencies, played some reunion shows and finally released the long awaited "Anti-Human Art" at the end of 2018.

2.Towards the end of 2018 you had also released a new album, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Thogarma: Our early stuff was simple Thrash/ Death Metal with a blackened feeling, mostly in the vocals. For me it was the past; the others create the music and I do my madness within the lyrics and vocals. Finally Tim and i are on guitars nowadays, complementing us perfectly, writing the riffs we love. Our drummer is much more involved in the songwriting too as it is standard in common bands I think. He´s a great piano player next to his drum warfare which is helping us a lot creating new songs or regarding the great concept of our actual album.

3.This was also your first release since 2006, can you tell us a little bit more about what was going on during that time frame?

Thogarma: We played a lot of gigs in Germany, Czech Republic, Netherlands... We haven´t released anything in around ten years because we had many line-up changes. I´m not sure if can remember the names of all the guitarists that we have worn out. I don't want to remember some of them either. So the old or remaining guitarist had to train someone new all the time, the writing of new songs usually remained completely on the sidelines... There was a time we were standing there without guitarist... After all I decided to play second but constantly remaining guitar which changed the songwriting a lot too. Luckily we have Tim with us for a very long time now, Matthias on bass and I hope this line-up will be eternal.

4.The new album is a concept album, can you tell us a little bit more about the songwriting?

Cassiel: As Thogarma already told the songwriting process took a long time about 10 years or more due to the numerous line up changes. So a lot of songs developed over that period and there was no concept in the beginning of the recording process. Every song stood for their own and due to the numerous influences of the different songwriters every song has its own character. When we started the recording process I had the idea to frame the songs with classical piano pieces which I wrote specifically for the songs based upon the starting or ending guitar riffs. I think this makes the album outstanding at this time in the present metal scene because no one tried this so far to my knowledge.

5.A lot of the newer lyrics where also inspired by the writings of Dante and The Occult, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in those topics?

Cassiel: Well when i wrote the piano songs we had nine piano pieces and nine metal songs. I thought this was quite a funny thing because it reminded me of the divine comedy of Dante and his nine circles of hell. It was just an accident and not planned at this time. A very diabolical accident if you ask me. The nine circles of hell on the other hand stand for the human mortal sins and when I read Thogarmas lyrics I realized that a lot of these mortal sins are reflected in his lyrics. So thematically the piano pieces represents the nine circles of hell with the human mortal sins and built contemporaneous the bridge between Dante and the lyrics of the songs.

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Decision To Hate'?

Thogarma: Name is program. Everything revolves around the theme of hatred towards humanity. It was an old friend´s idea, he was our webmaster and sadly past away a few years ago.

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

Cassiel: The artwork is a painting of Gustave Doré of his Paradise Lost cycle. It shows Lucifer shortly after his banishment from heaven. Doré also created a lot of paintings about Dantes Divine Comedy. I sent the band numerous paintings of Doré from the Divine Comedy but neither of  them was totally satisfying. So we decided to take the Doré painting of the Paradise Lost cycle. I think it fits thematically perfect to the lyrics and the music of the album and especially to the piano pieces.

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

Thogarma: The Open Hell Fest in Czech Republic together with Dissection and many more in 2005 were great in front of thousands of people, would love to play that one again with todays line-up. In my opinion we had a better sound than Dissection, the sound engineer has known us from a mini tour with Dark Storm (CZ) before... Many great and crazy gigs. Different stage performances, from professional to a bloody massacre using needles, knives and barbed wire. Total dedication, total consecration!!!

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

Thogarma: Due to our job situation (we all are fukking slaves...) we concentrate on shows, touring for weeks is impossible. We were a bit late to apply for open air shows in 2019, doing some gigs in halls and smaller locations and attack in 2020 in open fields.

10.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

Thogarma: Black Metal labels are mourning that we aren´t 100% BM, Death Metal labels are crying that we aren´t old school; if we would sound exactly like all this fukking boring standard stuff with stolen riffs by the old heroes (mainly from Sweden) they would sign us. Woohoo. We won´t change, we won´t want to be restricted. If there would be a fair label, intolerant regarding lyrics but open minded musically, why not...

Cassiel: A lot of people are asking us about the label situation in the band. I think it is very funny because please tell me the benefit having a label in a band with the dimension of Decision to Hate?!? Labels always want to take influence in the process when a band is shaping a concept of a new record,  thematically, lyrically, musically. Without a label we are totally free in what we want to do. DTH doesnt stand for making a lot of money and becoming very famous. That is not our way creating new art.

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

Thogarma: We get more international attention since we have a bandcamp site, check out https://decisiontohate.bandcamp.com/
Should have gone this path before. At the moment we receive a lot of varying reviews for "Anti-Human Art" - With the large magazines, which expect that one places advertisements with them, the reviews are usually sobering. We don't pay for good reviews. Smaller underground magazines are much more concerned with the music and listen more closely, so there are other results that we can really be satisfied with. Conclusion: Fukk the commerce and support real underground!!!

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

Cassiel: Currently i am the only member who is involved in other band activities. I play drums in a progressive-metal band called Steorrah and a Rock n Roll band called Psycho Dandys. I also create piano music alongside when i have the time for this. Maybe i will create more of this piano stuff in the future, we will see.

Thogarma: I concentrate only on DTH, need good ideas for my main band. Some people are asking and asking and asking... I won´t waste time and riffs for your crap. foad.

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

Thogarma: Actually we are writing the best songs we´ve ever had. We´ll never lose our Black Death Metal roots but "old school" is nothing but an apology for not having own ideas, sorry.

Cassiel: I think the music of DTH is becoming more and more sophisticated. Using the piano was a door to a new direction maybe. I dont know if we want to enlarge this classical piano direction we will see. But i think the new songs will definitely be more away from this „standard“ Black- and Death-Metal style to a point of looking across the edge of a plate.

14.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?

Thogarma: We all have grown up with classic Heavy, Thrash, Death and Black Metal. All the stuff I heard in my youth I am still worshipping now. Many years ago it was our drummer Cassiel who brought me closer to stuff like "Perdition City" from Ulver while I was still only into "Nattens Madrigal" just for example. Our path is open minded intolerant, haha! We have a trip-hop part in our song "I hate myself", somewhere between Arkhon Infaustus and Massive Attack... Crazy but working.

Cassiel: Personally i dont listen to heavy metal that much as i did in the past. I am a music teacher and as a result i got in contact with to a lot of other musical directions. Classical music, electronic music, new age music. I like ambient music very much. The „Blade Runner“ Soundtrack will always be one of my favourites. I think its very good for a band to get influences from other musical directions. Only listen to standard Death-Metal generates music that listens to standard Death-Metal. Its a circle you know. All these „Retro 60er and 70er“ stuff which is very famous at this time didn´t catch me so far along with these „Retro Black- and Death-Metal“ stuff. I like listening to the originals but no one needs 18 year old kids which are playing Black Sabbath or Darkthrone riffs in 2019.

15.What are some of your non musical interests?

Thogarma: All within the band are loving nature, we are hiking, mountaineering, doing other stuff there... I took all the pics in the booklet of our new album on my trips to the Alps and the Elbsandsteingebirge, Tim just returned some weeks ago from Saxonia too.

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

Thogarma: Clean the scene! Fukk all those good people bringing lactose intolerance instead of death worship into the wretched remains of our scene, thwarting concerts of great and real dedicated bands... Enter https://www.facebook.com/DecisionToHate for more information.
Thanks for your support and the well-considered questions! No compromise!

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