Svarrogh/Yer Su/Ahnstern/2008 CD Review

 Svarrogh are a band originally from Bulgaria now residing in Germany that started out as a folk/black metal band but has evolved into more of a neo folk band over the years and this is a review of their 2008 album "Yer Su" which was released on Ahnstern but distributed by Stienklang Records.

There are a lot of folk instruments on this recording such asa bagpipe, balkan viola, big mandoline, Balkan Shepard flute, ocaria, and clarinet that gives the music a very medeival  feel that harkens big to the Pagan days mixed in with a lot of keyboards that sound very atmospheric.

Acoustic guitars use a lot of open chords played fast at times to give the music a folk music feel,while the electric guitars are fast black metal riffs that are melodic at times with some slow doom riffing, as for the drums when they are utilized they are fast beats.

Vocals are mostly clean singing and spoken word male vocals with some black metal screams being thrown in at times with some clean singing and spoken word female vocals, while the lyrics touch on Slavic and Bulgarian Paganism and Folklore with songs being written in both the English and Bulgarian languages with a concept being used in between songs, as for the production sounds very dark and raw.

In my opinion Svarggh are a very talented and original band that will appeal to both fans of folk/black metal and neo-fol. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "The Old Mill" "Stone" "Samodiva" and "Eternal Flame". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Hrossharsgrani/Dead Man's Hill/Dead Meat/Steinklang/2010 CD Split Review

  This is a review of a split album between Hrosshargrani from Austria who has had a full length reviewed before in this zine and Dead Man's Hill from Belguim, the album is called "Dead Meat" and was released by Steinklang during the year of 2010, we are going to start of the review with Hrosshargrani.

Hrosshargrani are a band from Sweden that mixes martial industrial with dark ambient, noise and black metal.

Drum programming is mostly slow beats that get a little bit fast at times with some blast beats, while the noise effects sound dark and evil, as for the guitars they are very distorted sounding leads with some acoustic guitars being used on occasion.

Keyboards are very dark and epic sounding giving the music a ritualistic feel, while the vocals alternate between deep growls, clean singing male and female vocals and spoken word passages, while the lyrics are written in a mixture of German and English pagan orientated with some references to Romanian history, as for the production it sounds very dark and epic sounding.

In my opinion the songs that put out on this split are a lot better and darker then the previous full length that was reviewed. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Countess Bathory" and "Down There".

Dead Man's Hill are a band from Belgium that plays a very dark form of death industrial mixed in with a lot of ritual elements, neo classical and folk and now we are going to review their music.

Drum programming is all slow and militant, while the synths are very dark and evil sounding, as for the noise effects they are very loud and avant garde sounding.

Vocals use some deep growls along with a mixture of clean singing male and female vocals, with a small amount of heavy industrial guitars that make the music sound very evil.

Lyrics touch on the destruction of the world, Occultism, nature and Voodoo, while the production sounds very dark, powerful, epic and evil sounding.

In my opinion while Dead man's Hill are not black metal influenced they have the best and darkest music on this split. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "The Dangerous Emptiness" and "All Saints Day Rituals: To Baron Samedi". RECOMMENDED BUY.

https://steinklangindustries.bandcamp.com/album/skd26-hrossharsgrani-dead-mans-hill-dead-meat-2010

Hrossharsgrani/Pro liberate dimincandum est/Steinkling/2009 CD Review

  Hrossharsgrani are a band from Austria that mixes noise, dark ambient, industrial and black metal together and this is a review of their 2009 album "Pro liberate dimicandum est" which was released by Steinkling Records".

Drum programming is mostly slow militant beats, while the noise effects sound very dark and evil, as for the samples being used they bring a depressive feel to the music.

Vocals are very dark and demonic sounding growls with a lot of spoken word passages while the synths sound very dark and utilize influences from industrial and neo classical,

Lyrics range from anti religion, Norse mythology and some political themes mixed in with some other dark subjects while the production sounds very dark and gives the music an esoteric feel.

Electric guitars when they are utilized are slow and heavy riffs while the acoustic guitars are only used briefly to give the music a neo-folk feel

In my opinion Hrossharsgrani are a very good project and while this is not as metal influenced as some of their early work I still feel this album will still appeal to fans or black industrial, dark ambient, noise and martial industrial. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "All Systems Go" "The Glory Of The Dead" "The Victory" and "Mercyful". RECOMMENDED

https://steinklangindustries.bandcamp.com/album/skd25-hrossharsgrani-pro-liberate-dimicandum-est-2009

Limbonic Art/Phantasmagoria/Candlelight Records/2010 CD Review

  Limbonic Art are a band from Norway that has been around since the 1990's that play a very atmospheric and symphonic form of black metal and this is a review of their 2010 album "Phantasmogoria" which will be released by Candlelight Records.

Drum programming is mostly fast and brutal with a lot of devastating blast beats being thrown in and they slow down at times to give the music a darker edge, while the keyboards are very symphonic, ambient, epic and atmospheric, as for the bass playing it has a very dark tone that follows the riffs that are coming out of the guitars.

Rhythm guitars are mostly fast black metal riffs that contain some melody and the riffs get slower at times with some thrash and traditional metal influences, while the lead guitars are very melodic sounding guitar solos that contain a lot of skill when they are utilized.

Vocals are high pitched black metal screams with some clean singing being thrown in at times as well as some deep death metal growls, while the lyrics cover death, darkness, necromancy, astral projection and other occult themes, as for the production of this album it sounds very powerful and professional with all of the musical instruments having a heavy sound.

IN my opinion this is another good album from Limbonic Art and this is their heaviest album to date and if you where a fan of their past albums you will not be disappointed. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Curse Of The Necromancer" "Portal To The Unknown" "Prophetic Dreams" and "Astral Projection". RECOMMENDED BUY

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Troll Bends Fir Interview

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

The band was created in 1999 by its permanent members Troll and Jetra (at the moment they are the only from the first line-up). Having left St.Petersburg Viking metal band “Nomans land”, I, wishing to play more folk music, came across Jetra, who sang and played Irish whistle. I offered her to make a funny folk band based on metal rock. Later we named the style “Beer folk” that defined our material exactly.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?
The rhythmic base of our music was taken from metal but we often play using little guitar distortion or sometimes without it at all. Combining such way with tunes different from typical European folk metal, we get quite fresh, emotional and catchy sound.

3. What is the meaning behind the band's name?
Troll Bends Fir’s Russian name “Troll Gnyot Yel” sounds very close to Scandinavian languages, it’s original and dynamic. It just came to mind somehow and we realized that it would be the band’s name.

4. How would you describe the lyrical content of the music?
The heroes of our lyrics live in pagan Scandinavia and in Europe of the Middle Ages. Some songs tell funny stories happened to characters in taverns and woods due to drinking too much amber nectar. Other ones are praise for hop and beer philosophy. Actually, it’s not easy to find more beer band than we are!

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
I can’t think of one particular show because we like to perform live and do it often. When we’re on tour we can play both in a small club without even support bands, where you see faces of happy fans just in meter from yours, and at main Russian festivals or cities’ beer festivals, where there’re tens of thousands of people and a huge crowd jumps to our music. What do I prefer? I enjoy all of them… We use several concert costumes of different kinds: Scottish themed costumes, beer monks and ones with leather armors of brewers.

6. Are there any plans for a U.S tour?
Well, it’s hard to say if we have plans. We’d love to come there and according to many feedback's on our Myspace profile there’s an interest to music like ours in the USA. However, we started promoting ourselves outside Russia a short time ago, so we’ll live and see how things work out.

7. The band has a lot of beer drinking songs, what are some of your favorite beers that you drink.
Our favorite sort of beer “with a perfect taste, much, not expensive and better paid by organizers”! Haha

8. How has your music been received so far by folk metal fans worldwide?
As I mentioned before, we get lots of positive feedback's via Myspace from many countries, even such distant from Russia as Brasilia and Japan.

9. Out off all the albums that the band has recorded so far, which one are you the most satisfied with?
We’re the most satisfied with our upcoming album, we’re recording at the moment… We like a lot what we have already nailed!

10. How would you describe your musical progress over the years and what direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?
As for me, our music hasn’t changed, I enjoy making it as I used to in the beginning, let the others judge it. I think we’ll keep on moving in the same direction.

11. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and what are you listening to nowadays?
Can’t say right away… but there’re some Russian bands influenced by our music!

12. What role does Slavic and Norse paganism play in the music?
An active role. To be honest, though we’re patriots, pagan Scandinavia as an art symbol is more attractive.

13. What are some of your interests outside of music?
My hobby is tourism, drinking, my wife and collecting beer mugs, festival T-shirts (certainly, with our participation), gifts from our fans. I have no idea about other members but, probably, almost the same. At least, our bass player is really fond of drinking :)

14. Any final words or thoughts?
“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy” (B. Franklin) I totally agree with that! Cheers!

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Abigail Williams/In The Absence Of Light/Candlelight Records/2010 CD Review

  Abigail Williams are band originally from Arizona but now relocated to new York that started out playing melodic black/deathcore but have evolved into a symphonic black metal band over the years and this is a review of their 2010 album "In The Absence Of Light" which is being released by Candlelight Records.

Drums range from being slow, mid paced to fast with some brutal blast beats being thrown in at times, while the keyboards sound very symphonic and atmospheric, as for the bass playing it is mixed down low in the mix and seems to follow the riffs that are coming out of the guitars and on some songs they have a very powerful sound of their own.

Rhythm guitars range  from being mid paced to fast symphonic black metal riffs that has some thrash and death metal influences that also contain a good amount of melody, while the lead guitars are very technical and melodic sounding guitar solos.

Vocals are all high pitched black metal screams, while the lyrics cover horror stories, battles and cosmos, as for the production it sounds very professional and heavy with all of the instruments having a good sound to them.

In my opinion this is a great improvement for Abigail Williams and while I have never listened to a full album from them until now I have seen them live once opening for Enslaved and Dark Funeral and they did not sound this powerful and while some people probably wont check out this album because of their old sound i still feel symphonic black metal fans will enjoy this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Final Destiny Of The Gods" "Infernal Divide" and "An Echo Of Our Legends". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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The Breathing Process Interview

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

We're getting ready to go out for a 2 month run with Antagonist, Wretched, and Diskreet that starts august 26th. We're also demoing some new material as we're constantly writing.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?

Symphonic,Atmospheric Death Metal

3. What is the meaning behind the band's name?

To breathe is to live, to fill yourself with the most vital element of survival.

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

Florida and Texas always have awesome crowds, they are probably our favorite places to play. Our stage performance is bloody,intense, ethereal.

5. Do you have any plans to tour Europe in the future?

We always have plans to tour Europe, little things just prevent us from going. Hopefully we'll be over there early this winter

6. How has the support been from Candlelight Records so far?

It's been pretty cool, the know a lot about the business and utilize their resources well.

7. How would you describe the lyrical content of the music?

We've always strive to stay away from the cliche metal topics (some big war, Armageddon, god hating) and try to talk about things on a more poetic and meaningful level. Our current album is about the human psyche in all of it's wonder and despair.

8. How has the reception been to the newer material from symphonic black metal and brutal death metal fans worldwide?

When we wrote the "poppier" songs on this album we were kinda nervous as to how people would take it given that our last album was much heavier. But everyone seems to love Odyssey, which made us very happy that people approached it with an open mind and didn't ridicule us for not being all breakdowns anymore.

9. How would you describe your musical progress over the years and what direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?

I think that we constantly try to reinvent ourselves so that people don't really know what to expect. We just kinda write what comes out and it always seems to be different than the last. The newer stuff we're gonna experiment with some more electronics and some more clean singing which is something we've always wanted to do but have been limited in it until now. We all listen to a lot of different music to draw influence from and for me that kind of changes with each release. So i guess we'll see what comes out next time.

10.Does Occultism, Satanism or Paganism play any role in the music?

We all come from very different religious backgrounds, none of which play a direct role in our music, we do however use religious themes metaphorically to describe different things. Odyssey while being about emotion is also about the environment and nature, which some might label "paganism" but you don't have to be a pagan to love,respect and fear the earth.

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

We are all pretty avid gamers. Most of us play lots and lots of video games haha.

12. Any final words or thoughts?
Buy our album, come checkout our upcoming tour (dates are @ www.myspace.com/tbp) Bathe in Blood........TBP