Sunday, March 8, 2020

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



Friday, March 6, 2020

Khôra Interview

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

KHÔRA was formed in Budapest around 2012-2013 when I was still doing my degree, but when I moved to Germany in 2015, was when I started to develop my old ideas and in 2016 I managed to release a small Demo



I have played drums in bands in the past, but always wanted to compose my own music and develop my own ideas and structure of music composition.



2.In April you have your first full length coming out, musically how does it differ from your previous demo?

The demo that I released in 2016 was a bit more simple in terms of genre, it’s a bit more traditional atmospheric black metal, without vocals and without bass, as I didn’t have Kranos and Lars at that stage yet.



3.This is also your first release since 2014, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?

This is the first release since 2016, not 2014.
Since 2016 I have moved to Ireland and from 2017 was busy settling and composing music, I wasn’t rushing the debut, I kinda let it cook on small fire, then in 2018 I had a bit more time and things sped up in terms of recording and production, and eventually looking for a label after the album was fully done.



4.The lyrics on the new album are also inspired by the writings of Plato, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in his work?

Yes I think the centre of intellectual progress came from Greece, at least philosophically, and astronomy always fascinated me so my ideas are kind of a combination of the two



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

It’s a metaphysical idea of being and non-being, think of it as a formless interval, where the non physical essences are held



6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
The story is about how to universe was created, three alien races/deities create the universe for man, the lyrics talk about the corruption of the mind, the purpose of life, future of the human race and existence.



7.Originally the band started out as a solo project, what was the decision behind expanding into a full band?

I wanted to represent my music properly, and for that I would have to add vocals, bass and the rest of it, I knew that the next step from the Demo is a debut and for that to happen it wasn’t enough to just have a full-length, but a properly recorded album, I was then lucky enough to find brilliant musicians such as Kranos on vocals and Lars on bass with whom I share the same passion for music and we mostly listen to similar bands, which makes it easier to organize everything


8.Has the band done any live shows or is this strictly a studio project?

Not yet, we all live in different countries, I’m in Ireland, Kranos in Greece, Lars in Norway, Dan and Wayne are the two new Orchestra/Effects guys from the U.S.A, and the last member to join is Kjetil from Norway on Orchestrations and Keyboards.

I am however trying to get people within Ireland who may want to play my music and gig locally, to start with at least, I got a few interests and some recruitment is under way at present.


9.On the new album you also have a few guests, can you tell us a little bit more about who they are and also their contributions to the recording?

There are quite a few guests yes, many different keyboard players appear on Timaeus because I couldn’t find a permanent member/s at the time.
I suppose the most known guest members would be Henri Sorvali from Finntroll/Moonsorrow who did Keyboards on one song.
Vicotnik from Dødheimsgard on vocals on one song.
Antti from And Oceans on keyboards.
Frederic from Orakle on vocals on two songs, plus his tips around recording were paramount.
Arn from Deathcode Society on vocals on one track
Erlend Antonsen from Quadrivium on Keyboards and a few others...


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

So far we’ve only released one single but the reactions were extremely positive and everyone has been very interested in getting their hands(or ears) on more songs so it means a lot, especially as it’s the debut, and I am mostly a drummer.



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/

Kranos has a few projects, Savaoth is his own solo project which I personally listened to before knowing Kranos, and Arkhangelsk is his black metal band, they had an EU tour recently.
Lars is playing in Dødheimsgard which includes gigging around the world and also his project with his brother called INI, which is an amazing project and I highly recommend everyone to check it out.
Wayne and Dan play gigs and record with Wilderun, hopefully they have a gig in europe so we can meet!
Kjetil plays in Profane Burial, Haimad and in his own solo project called Hogstul, really good stuff


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

I think we will play more or less around this genre, but we will see, there is a concept for the next album already, but now we focus on releasing Timaeus


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?

A variety of stuff obviously, but to name a few, I’d say Mayhem, Emperor, Dødheimsgard, Keep of Kalessin etc...

Oleg: nowadays I listen to Avslut, Nordjevel, Genesis.. yes yes.
Kranos: Ihsahn, Leprous and lots of Greek-Eastern-Balkan folk music😊
Lars: Corpo-Mente, Bölzer, Poppy
Wayne: Gorod, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Devin Townsend
Dan: Dark Fortress, Finntroll, Death Grips
Kjetil: Slagmaur, Burzum, Mayhem


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

We are humbled by your support, thank you!

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Thursday, March 5, 2020

Ferra-Reto/Hraesvelgr/Nailed Nazarene Industries/2019 Split Album Review


  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  Brazil's  Ferra-Reto  and   Russia's  Hraesvelgr  which  was  released  in  2019  by  Nailed  Nazarene  Industries  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Ferra-Reto  a  solo  project  that  plays  a  mixture  of  experimental,  ambient  and  harsh noise.

  His  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  some  dark  ambient  style  soundscapes  and  industrial  style  beats.  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  experimental  sounding  while  the  track  is  also over  15  minutes  in  length,  as  the  tracks  progresses  noises  are  power  electronics  are  also  added  into  the  music  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark.

  In  my  opinion  Ferra-Reto  is  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of experimental,  dark  ambient  and  harsh  noise  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.

  Next  up  is  Haraesvelgr  a  solo  project  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  doom  metal  and  drone.

  His  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  powerful  sounding  bass  guitar  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  music  are  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  doom  and  sludge  metal. The  track  is  also  over  12  minutes  in  length  along  with  the  music  also  mixing  in  elements  of  black  metal  drone,  at  times  the  song also  gets  very  repetitive  sounding  as  well  as  always  sticking  to  a  very  slow  yet  instrumental  musical  direction.

  In  mu  opinion  Hraesvelgr  is  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  doom  metal  and  drone  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.

 In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  experimental, d ark  ambient,  drone,  harsh  noise,  black,  sludge and  doom  metal.  8  out  of  10.

https://nailednazareneindustries.bandcamp.com/album/ferra-reto-hraesvelgr    

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Khôra/Timaeus/Soulseller Records/2020 CD Review


  Khôra  are  a  band  with  members  from  Germany  and  Ireland  that  plays  a  very  atmospheric,  symphonic  and  progressive  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Timaeus"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  Soulseller  Records.

  A  very  dark  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  which  also  introduces  keyboards  onto  the  recording  that  also  mix  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music.  Vocals  also  bring  in  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.

  The  riffs  also  add  in  a  good  amount  of  melody  while  the  music  also  gets  very  progressive  sounding  at  times.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  music also  mixing  the  symphonic  elements  in  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music.

  Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  the  music  also  having  its  atmospheric  moments.  Some  tracks  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  as  well  as  one  song  also  introducing  clean  vocals  onto  the  album  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  style.

 Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  one  track  also  introducing  spoken  word  parts  onto  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  add  in  some  session  work  from  members  of  Dodheimsgard,  And  Oceans  and  Finntroll  and  acoustic  guitars  are  also  added  on  the  closing  track.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  creation  of  the  universe  by  three  omnipotent  entities,  which  also  also  loosely  based  on  Plato's  dialogue  "Timaeus".

  In  my  opinion  Khôra  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive,  atmospheric  and  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  "Noceo"  "De  Vetus  Ad  Novum"  "Existence"  and  "The  Occultation  Of  Time".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/KHORA.Official/ 

https://youtu.be/r1qJBj-mB4E 


Monday, March 2, 2020

Sang/Corpses Being Ate By Insects/Nailed Nazarene Industries/2019 EP Review


  Sang  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a  blackened  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  ep  "Corpses  Being  Ate  by  Insects"  which  was  released  by  Nailed  Nazarene  Industries.

  A  very  slow,  dark  and  heavy  doom  metal  sound  starts  off  the  ep  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Vocals  are  mostly  tortured  sounding  black  metal  screams  along  with  the  music  also  capturing  the  heaviness  of  sludge  metal  and  demonic  growls  can  also  be  heard  at  times.

  All  of  the  music  also  sticks  to  a  slower  direction  while  all  of  the  riffing  is  also  done  on  mostly  power  chords  while  open  note  riffing  can  be  heard  on  the  second  track  along  with  a  brief  use  of  guitar  amp  noises.


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

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

https://nailednazareneindustries.bandcamp.com/album/corpses-being-ate-by-insects

Feed Them Death Interview


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

 The album was recorded back in May 2019 and was originally supposed to be released at the end of last year with 2 different labels, however I felt that the new musical direction of the project would have been better suited to I,Voidhanger. The label and I agreed to change a few things with regards to both the mastering and the graphics to make sure we would emphasize the avant-garde nature of this particular album. I have also been working on the new material for album number three, and I should be able to hit the recording studio by summer. Other than that, I have been working with a few local musicians in London to bring the project live with the release of the new album.



2. In April you have a new album coming out, musically how does it differ from your previous release?

I still very much like the first album, and I am proud of what was achieved there. It has memorable tracks, a good flow and some quirks, however I think that I had been perhaps a bit timid with innovation, and although the album presents very interesting ideas, to a distracted ear it might sound slightly derivative and a bit too homogenously death-grind.

Same thing is valid for the lyrics: much of the inspiration for the first album came from “one-dimensional man” by Marcuse, however I did not make it obvious and in hindsight that was something that I wanted to rectify, as I think it adds value when an extreme metal band has got something more to say than just talk about blood and demons.

The new album is a lot more experimental: it has a lot of layers yet it somehow manages to maintain a good flow.

Production is also different, as this time I focused more on mixing low and hi-fi to achieve a rougher type of sound, however maintaining a good punch.



3. The music on the new album also has some black and sludge metal elements while still being heavily rooted in grindcore and death metal, what was the decision behind going into a slightly different musical direction with the new release?

I started composing material for “Panopticism” before the first album got released, so was unaware and uninterested about the feedback, and just followed my instinct and eagerness to try and merge and combine different styles of extreme music whilst at the same time maintaining a recognizable death-grind root. I ended up including a lot of elements from other extreme subgenres such as sludge, harsh noise, drone, black metal, and that was also facilitated by the fact that I had the chance to involve other musicians in the new album: Ays Kura from Die Kur plays the theremin in one song, and Davide Destro from drone and noise projects such as LaColpa and Macabro Dio collaborated on another track. I was also interested in expanding on the concept of reference music, as attempted already with another project I had made some noise with (Rising Bear Flottilla), and included a number of samples and outtakes from both decontextualized and “metal specific” sources to use as foundation for new compositions.



4. The lyrics on the new album are also inspired by the writings of Michael Foucalt, can you tell is a little bit more about your interest in his work?

As mentioned, the first album was also inspired by the writings of another eminent social theorist such as Marcuse, however I felt that I did not make it clear enough. When I started reading “Madness and Civilization” I realized that both the subject matter and overall flow of the writing would have made a good base to explore the theme of the imposed isolation of the outcasts in our society. I knew that this album would have been musically different from most things released before, so I was particularly keen to explore the connection – and difference - between the inability of belonging seen as sentient choice of dissent versus the way diversity was used to justify labeling a vast spectrum of our civilization as madmen. The connection with the concept of Panopticism came after when I started reading “discipline and punish”, and found an obvious correlation between madness and social exclusion, especially in a day and age where surveillance technology is made available for all to misuse.



5. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Feed Them Death'?

Feed Them Death has a lot of meanings for me: literally, for the fact that it refers to the act of feeding and eating, it links this project back to my old band Antropofagus which I founded back in ‘96. I like the “them” element of the name, as it creates a barrier of sort between the feeder and those being fed. As with the inspiration, believe it or not it comes from Bad Religion lyrics: they have been for years one of my favorite bands, and I particularly like the idea of “borrowing” from an unconventional source for a death-grind project, as opposed to the usual death metal vocabulary.



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

When I started talking about the overall concept with Guglielmo Rossi and Bandiera, who ended up being in charge for creating the artwork, they loved the idea and so we started brainstorming. I knew I wanted something different from the usual death metal art covers or grindcore collage of sort, both thematically but also from a colour palette point of view. So they proposed that we took a different angle and created this obsessive and kaleidoscopic grid of intersecting gazes, many overexposed and blurry, to convey the uneasiness of being constantly observed and under scrutiny. I think it gels well with the wider musical purpose of the release, which was and is creating something new by borrowing from different and seemingly unrelated sources. There are a lot of incredible visual elements on all touch points of the A5 digipack CD edition, as we really wanted to focus on creating something worth owning.



7. With this musical project you record everything by yourself but also have experience working with other musicians, how would you compare the two?

I don’t dislike working with other musicians, but I admit that I prefer doing things on my own, at least for the most part. I enjoy and value the chemistry between two or three likeminded individuals at work on the same project, and that’s the reason I will always want to involve other friends and musicians to participate to a Feed Them Death release - but for this particular project I felt I knew exactly where it was coming from, where it is and where it’s heading to. It is a vision difficult to translate and I don’t want to make it rigid by stating too much as Feed Them Death, being my main creative outlet, is like me and like all things transient in a constant state of flux.





8. The new album is coming out on 'I, Voidhanger Records', how would you compare working with this label to your previous label 'Exalted Woe Records'?

First off, I have always been a huge fan of I,Voidhanger: they have released for years on consistently stunning releases,  and have a very unique and identifiable vision which somehow permeates albums they have put out and came from very different regions of extreme music, and that to me is sign of a great label with a strong identity. So I am immensely proud of working with them now: I love that they are very interested in everything their artists do, they take a great deal of pride in everything they do and are always happy to contribute with ideas.

As with my first album, it was co-released by Grimmdistribution and Exalted Woe, and the fact that now I am working with only one label is already a big change in itself. I enjoyed working with the other two labels on the release of the first album and I am glad they saw some potential in me and gave the project a chance to be heard, however as I saw “Panopticism” shaping up they way it did (so a lot more experimental than the previous release on all levels), I knew that I needed a different type of direction and alliance for the new phase of the project.



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

The first album received generally very enthusiastic responses by the metal community worldwide. As said, I am well aware that it was a good album - fast yet somehow groovy, and it has been well received and praised by fans of first Brutal Truth, Terrorizer and the likes. “Panopticism” is a very different type of album, and perhaps less aimed specifically at one prototype of listener: there is a lot more going on in this record compared to the first album, yet despite it being heterogeneous, it also shows where its coming from by being indisputably grindcore on most parts. I was aware that it’s a different listening experience and not something quite as straightforward as before, so I am happy to see that the feedback received so far has been very good.



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

Feed Them Death is my main project and something that is increasingly absorbing a great deal of time and energies. As with the other projects, Rising Bear Flottilla was something I kind of feel I evoked with other people when the stars aligned, and I am unable to commit as to whether and when there might be a second phase with that. Bune, my sludge / doom project with Christian Montagna (editor of Sons of Flies Websize) was born to be completely free and in symbiosis with what we felt was and is the real nature of our creative spirits: we write music when we feel like it and we record music when we can and want, so again its free flow and would not make this project justice if I committed to a new release within a certain timeframe. Recently, I joined forces with other musicians in the London metal scene (members from various bands like Binge Drinker and Crom-Dubh) and will be vocalist in a gore-grind project called Nganga – we should start playing a few gigs and have some recordings done soon.



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

On to the big unknown, which is about the same place as I see myself heading to as a human being, and I say this implying even a positive connotation of sort: I don’t want to know precisely where I am heading to, as that would prevent me from exploring other roads and possibilities and therefore I wont want to try and define my trajectory as musician. At the moment, I am attracted by minimalistic noise of sort, so who knows that that might be one of the possible roads I will want to take in the future.



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

I have very eclectic music tastes, as generally have a strong distaste for a very vast spectrum of what could be traditionally defined as metal music, however I like to listen to a lot of other genres like Hardcore Punk, Electronic music, Doom, Drone, Noise etc. Of course I have a special relationship with Grindcore, but I am also picky and tend to dismiss quickly something that is too derivative and not enough inventive or daring: mid to late Brutal Truth and late Discordance Axis are great examples of bands I could listen to everyday.



13. What are some of your non musical interests?

Reading was and will always be an important thing in my life, mostly poetry and non-fiction as I find I have gradually rejected “entertainment” writing such as fiction. With all other “arts” I tend to have more of an on-and-off relationship: for example, I like visual arts, be it paintings or cinema or theatre, but am extremely picky and often abruptly and actively uninterested for long periods of time.



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

The subtitle of the new album is “Belong / Be Lost” as I wanted to make the point that in our society those who don’t fit in are lost, but also that if you force yourself to belong then you lose your individuality. I think its important to make a distinction between isolation by design, so imposed by someone or something else, and isolation by choice so as a way to pursuing free thinking. My music is aimed at those who don’t belong and won’t conform.

Thanks for your time and for asking me interesting questions.

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Saturday, February 29, 2020

Antipope/Apostle Of Infinite Joy/Fertile Crescent Productions/2020 Full Length Review


 
  Antipope  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  melodic  and  progressive  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  with  some  elements  of  goth,  industrial  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Apostle  Of  Infinite  Joy"  which  was  released  by  Fertile  Crescent  Productions.

  Atmospheric  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  playing  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  progressive  feeling.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  whispered  vocals  are  also  utilized  briefly.

  A  great  amount  of  melody  can  also  be  heard  in  the  heavier  guitar  riffing  while  the  vocals  are  also  done  in  a  grim  black  metal  style.  Some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  music  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  prog  metal  elements  as  well  as  some  death  metal  growls  also  being  utilized  at  times.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  as  well  as  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Some  songs  also  mix  in  some  influences  of  industrial,  goth  and  traditional  metal  as  well  as  the  slower  sections  of the  music  also  being  very  heavily  rooted  in  doom  metal,  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  at  times  the  vocals  also  add  in a   semi  melodic  tone.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  occultism  and  self  realization  in  an  esoteric  and  metaphoric  sense.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Antipope  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  progressive  black,  doom  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out t his  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Harbringer  Of  Dawn"  "Red  Goddess"  and  "Serpent  Of  Old". 8  out  of  10.

www.antipope.info
www.facebook.com/Antipope/
twitter.com/antipope_band
www.instagram.com/antipope_band/