Indoctrine/Unto This Fall/Inverse Records/2014 EP Review

  Indoctrine  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  blackened  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "Unto  This  Fall"  which  was  released  by  Inverse  Records.

  The ep  begins  with  an  intro  which  utilizes  acoustic  guitars  along  with  a  dark  atmosphere  and  melodic  guitars  which  leads  to  a  mixture  of  melodic  and  black  metal  vocals  and  on  the  nest  song  the  music  goes  into  a  more  melodic  death  metal  direction  along  with  a  mixture  of  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  death  metal  style  screams  and  after  awhile  solos  and  blast  beats  are  added  into  the  music.

  As  the  ep  progresses  you  can  hear  traces  of  melodic  Swedish  black  metal  being  mixed  in  with  the  death  metal  sound  as  well  as  bringing  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  traces  of  traditional  metal  being  utilized  in  the  solos  and  leads.

  On  these  5  songs  and  intro  that  are  displayed  on  this  ep  Indoctrine  take  a  melodic  style  of  death  metal  and  bring  in  black  metal  influences  as  well  as  a  great  amount  of  heaviness  to  their  music  and  while this  is  not  something  very  original  this  band  do  play  some  great  quality  melodic  death  metal.    

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  and  philosophical  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Indoctrine  are  a  very  decent sounding  melodic  blackened  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Undying"  and  "Synthetic  Existence".  7/8  out  of  10.

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Agiel/Dark Pantheons/Deepsend/2014 CD Review

  Agiel  are  a  band  from  New  York  that  plays  a  mixture  of  symphonic  black  metal  and  brutal  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Dark  Pantheons"  which  was  released  by  Deepsend.

  The  album  starts  out  with  a  fast  and  brutal  yet  symphonic  sound  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  technical  guitar  leads  and  you  can  also  hear  black  metal  screams  along  with  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  and  brutal  blast  beats  and  on  the  nest  song  the  music starts  mixing  epic  parts  with  the  heavier  elements  of  the  record.

  The  album  remains  in  a  brutal  and  symphonic  direction  on  the  other  songs  and  with  this  combination  it  brings  out  a  very  original  and  occult  sound  and  music  wise  the  album  is  closer  to  death  than  black  metal  and  they  also  bring  in  melodic  choirs  at  times.

  Agiel  show  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  diversity  with  their  music  and  they  seem  to  have  a  perfect  balance  when  it  comes  to  mixing  heaviness,  brutality,  melody,  technical  and  symphonic  parts  together  and  this  is  some  great  quality  blackened  death  metal.

  Song  lyrics  cover  Occultism  and  Darkness  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Agiel  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  symphonic  black  metal  and  brutal  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dark  Pantheons"  and  "Serpent  Masquearade".  8  out  of  10.

http://deepsendrecords.bandcamp.com/music 

Arcanorum Astrum/Npo3pehne/MSR Productions/2012 CD Review

  Arcanorum  Astrum  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  very  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  with  elements  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Nop3pehne"  which  was  released  by  MSR  Productions.

  The  album  starts  out  with a  dark  and  demonic  sounding  intro  which  also  utilizes  some  symphonic  sounding  and  ritualistic  passages  and  then  the  album  goes  into  a  more  symphonic  black  metal  direction  along  with  some  melody  and  a  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  vocals  and  at  times  there  are  some  blast  beats  being  utilized  and  when  bass  and  clean  guitars  brought  in  they  enhance  the  dark  and  evil  qualities  of  the  record.

  As  the  album  progresses  the  music  starts  getting  more  brutal  and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  old  school  death  metal  influences  being  added  in  and  when  solos  are  added  in  you  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  traditional  metal  elements  and  at  times  melodic  vocals  are  also  added  in  and  after  awhile  there  is  a  small  amount  of  electronic  music  being  added  in  for  a  few  seconds  and  the  ritualistic  parts  also  make  a  return  and  one  the  last  song  they  do  a  Death  cover  and  add  a  symphonic  black  metal  twist  to  it.

      Arcanorum  Astrum  show  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  on  this  album  and  take  take  symphonic  and  melodic  black  metal  and  mix  in  a  great  amount  of  death  metal  influences  while  also  sounding  more  evil  than  other  bands  that  play  this  genre  of  music.

  Song  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Luciferian,  Darkness  and  Occult  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Arcanorum  Astrum  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  black  metal  band  with  elements  of  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Warrior  Of  the  Dark"  "Chaos  War"  "The  Way  to  Myself" and  "Without  judgement".  8/5  out  of  10.

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Portal/For All That Is Damned To Vanish/Vic Records/2014 CD Review

  Portal  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  viking  form  of  melodic  black/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "For  All  That  Is  Damned  to  Vanish"  which  was  released  by  Vic  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  some  fast  melodic  death  metal  guitar  riffs  and  drums  and  a  few  seconds  alter  black  metal  screams  and  growls  are  thrown  into  the  music  along  with  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  some  blast  beats  and  a  few  minutes  later  solos  are  added  into  the  music  as  well  as  some  clean  singing.

  As  the  album  progresses  a  good  amount  of  catchy  melodies  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  mid  90's  early  2000's  melodic  Swedish  death  metal  influences  and  the  last  beats  also  start  getting  more  powerful  in  the  other  songs  as  well  as  the  melodic  vocals  bringing  in  elements  of  viking  metal  and  you  can  also  hear  some  modern  melodic  death  metal  elements  being  added  into  the  music.

  On  the  fourth  song  Acoustic  guitars  are  added  into  the  recording  and  they  also  help  enhance  the  Viking  and  Pagan  elements  of  the  record  as  well  as  bring  in  some  medieval  sounds  but  the  music  on  the  album  focuses  mainly  on  the  heavy  and  melodic  parts  and  when  spoken  word  parts  are  added  in  the  music  starts  utilizing  a  more  war  like  feeling.

  On  this  recording  the  band  shows  a  lot  of  skill  and  talent  with  the  way  they  can  mix  heaviness,  brutality  and  melody  together  and  they  also  take  an  old  school  sound  an  mix  in  some  modern  elements  to  make  the  music  sound  a  lot  more  powerful.

  Song  lyrics  cover  Mysticism,  Viking/Norse  Mythology  and  Anti  Christian  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  along  with  the  bass  guitars  being  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix.

  In  my  opinion  Portal  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  viking  black/death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "In  The  Steps  of  Forgotten  Gods"  "The  Wild  And  Furious"  "In  Chase  For  The  Sun"  and  "Kamp".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Children Of God/Live At Que Seta/2012 Live EP Review

  This  is  a  review  of  another  recording  from  Children  Of  God  which  continues  their  mixture  of  black  metal,  doom  and  hardcore  with  the  ep  being recorded  live  and  self  released  in  2012  and  called  "Live  At  Que  Sera".

  The  ep  starts  out  with  distorted  amp  sounds  and  drones  and  a  few  seconds  alter  heavy  doom  metal  guitar  riffs  make  their  way  into  the  music  and  a  minute  later  aggressive  sounding  hardcore/sludge  screams  start  to  kick  in  and  after  a  few  songs  the  band  starts  going  into  a  faster  direction  and  adding  in  blast  beats  and  crust  influences  while  not  staying  away  from  the doom  and  drone  elements  of  the  earlier  songs  and  halfway  through  the  ep  the  bass  guitars  get  more  powerful  sounding.

  You  can  tell  that  the  doom  metal  influences  are  more  dominant  on  this  ep  than  they  where  on  the  demo  and  the  band  has  a  very  great  live  sound  and  would  be  the  perfect  band  to  play  at  any  DIY  warehouse  gig  and  having  the  audience  really  getting  behind  their  music.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark,  hateful  and  everyday  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  heavy  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  as  well  as  all  of  the  songs  being  recorded  live.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Children  Of  god  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  blackened  sludge  and  hardcore,  you  should  check out  this  live  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "30  Seconds  Of  Blind  Rage"  and  "Desolate".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

https://childrenofgod.bandcamp.com/

Children Of God/Demo 2009 Review

  Children  Of  God  are  a  band  from  Los  Angeles,  California  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  doom  and  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2009  demo.

  The  demo  starts  out  with  some  amp  noise  before  adding  in  slow,  heavy  and  dark  sounding  guitar  riffs  as  well  as  some  spoken  word  samples  and  then  the  music  goers  into  a  faster  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  hardcore  punk  style  screams  and  the  band  also  keeps  around  the  slower  and  doomier  material  around  and  mixes  it  with  their  faster  stuff.


  This  demo  combines influences from  black  metal,  doom  metal  and hardcore  punk  while  concentrating  more  on  the  doom  and  punk  elements  to  create  their  own  sound  and  the  music  is  very  raw,  dark  and  heavy  sounding.

  Song  lyrics  cover  hateful  and  everyday  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  heavy  sound  with  the  bass  guitars  being  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix.

  In  my  opinion  Children  Of  God  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  metal,  doom  and  hardcore  punk  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Not  One  More  Fucking  Anthem".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

https://childrenofgod.bandcamp.com/

Towering Filth Interview

1. Can you give us an introduction to the band for people that will be hearing of you for the first time?
1. My name is Matthew and Towering Filth is music I wrote and recorded all by myself.

2.How would you describe your musical sound?
2. I would say stark and pissed, the theme is the music is oppression.

3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrics that you write for the band?
3. I write lyrics in a stream of conscious style. Most of them carry a thin narrative and overall theme.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Towering Filth'?
4. My original idea was Towering Flesh but I realized that was a Pig Destroyer song. I didn’t want to be one of those bands named after another bands song so I changed it. Also Towering Filth is significant because I do a lot of “writing for the trash can” where I just write all the time even though most of it isn’t very good.

5.According to the Metal Archives page this band is solo in the studio, are you interested in working with a full band on future releases?
5. Absolutely, I tried it a few times but people keep wanting to put there own ideas on it, which can be cool, but most of the time it’s awful. I like working alone to keep things cohesive.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
6. We only played 3 as a full band and the first one was probably the best.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
7. Nope, just working on this next record.

8.Recently you did a Germs cover, what was the decision behind during your own version of one of their songs?
8. I watched a documentary about the BYO and the early days of the record label. That song was in the documentary and caught my attention. I also dug it because it’s outside of my style.

9.The last album came out on Monolithic Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
9. It came about through Heavy Blog is Heavy digging my original demo. It’s more of a distribution deal since I recorded the record myself. I don’t hear from them very often.

10.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your recordings and stage performances by fans of underground music?
10. The online response has been very slow. The music takes some patience to get into.

11.What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
11. Faster, the earlier demos were slow because I was pretty awful at guitar. The new stuff is fast and a bit more technical.

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

12. Some of my influences are The Abominable Iron Sloth, Admiral Angry, Killing Joke, Burn Everything, Enabler, Gaza, Pariso, Catherine Wheel, and Unsane.

Recently I’ve been listening to Touche Amore, Code Orange Kids, Intronaut, Cedron, letlive, Coilguns, Gorguts, and Ulcerate.

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

13. I’m a bartender and a recording engineer.

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

14. Thanks for taking the time to check out the music. My next release will be called Bask and is a decent percentage written.

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Undefined/Of Xenoglossy And Saturn/Scythecut Records/2008 Full Length Review

  This  is  a  review  of  another  recording  from  Undefined  which  continues  their melodic  and  progressive  mixture  of  black and  death  metal  with  the  album  being  released  in 2008  by  Scythecut  Records  and  called  "Of  Xenoglossy  And  Saturn".

  The  album  starts  out  with  some  brutal  drums  before  adding  in  heavy  and  melodic  sounding  guitar  riffs  and  after  awhile  death  metal,  growls  and  black  metal  screams  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  guitar  leads  and  the  music  starts  going  into  a  darker  direction  before  adding  in  bass  guitars  and  heaviness  and  the  music  also starts  speeding  up  at  times.

  As  the  album  progresses  acoustic  guitars  are  added into  the  music  and  the  album  starts  going  into  a  more  progressive  direction  while  also  being  heavy  at  the  same  time  and  the  album  also  starts  utilizing  melodic  clean  singing  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  album  after  awhile  starts  going  for  a  more  heavy  route  and  mixing  in  blast  beats  and  thrash  influences.

  This  album  shows  a  lot  of  progression  from  the  ep,  more  doom  metal  elements  are  added  in  as  well  as  the  music  getting  more  dark,  heavy  and  progressive  and  they  also  re-do  a  couple  of  songs  from  the  ep  and  the  remakes  sound  a  lot  better  than  the original  versions  and  the  spoken  word  parts  that  are  added  on  tracks  number  7  and  8  bring  an  even more  darker  edge  to  the  recording.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  dark  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  as  well  as  some  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Undefined  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  progressive  black/death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "At  the  Edge  Of  The  World"  "Alecto  -  Megaera  -  Tsiphone"  and  "Wings  of  Disembodiment".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Undefined/Saturnism Unfolds/Scythe Records/2005 EP Review

  Undefined  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  progressive  form  of  black/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2005  ep  "Saturnism  Unfolds"  which  was  released  by  Scythe  Records.

  The  ep  starts  out  with  some  dark  sounding  acoustic  guitars  and  then  some  slow  and  heavy  guitar  riffs  as  well  as  some  drums  start to  kick  in  along  with  some  melodic  sounding  guitar  leads  and  the  bass  guitars  start  utilizing  a  lot  more  power.

  Once  the  music  goes  into  the  second  song  the  music  gets  a  lot  more  heavy  and  death  metal  growls  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  black  metal  screams  and  the  music  still  retains  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  after  awhile  clean  and  acoustic  guitars  are  added  into  the  music  and  it  starts  going  into  a  more  progressive  direction  while  also  remaining  heavy  all  at  the  same  time.

  This  ep  shows  a  lot  of  many  different  styles  of  variety  within  the  metal  genre,  and  the  band  sticks  to  mostly  slow  sections  while  also  speeding  up  at  times  and  there  is  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  progressive  parts  and  the  band  still  manages  to  remain  heavy  and  on  the  third  song  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  melodic   clean  singing  being  utilized.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  dark  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  along  with  a  couple  of  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Undefined  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "At  The  Edege  of  The  World"  and  "Andreia".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Towering Filth/Spite House/2012 Single Review

  This  is  a  review  of  another  single  from  Towering  Filth  which  was  released  in  2012  and  continues  their  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge  and  hardcore  wit  the  recording  being  self  released  in  2012  and  called  "Spite  House".

  The  single  starts  off  with  some  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  and  drums  before  going  into  some  heavy  sludge/doom  metal  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  blackened  hardcore  screams  and  then  the  music  goes  into  a  more  atmospheric  and  melodic  direction  while  also  remaining  heavy  all  at  the  same  time.

  Once  the  single  goes  into  the  second  song  it  speeds  up  in  the  beginning  and  brings  in  a  lot  more  punk  and  hardcore  influences  as  well  as  mixing  in  some  spoken  word  parts  and  the  band  retains  their  heavy  doom/sludge  metal  sound.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  dark  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  single.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Towering  Filth  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  blackened  sludge  metal/hardcore,  you  should  check  out  this  single.  HIGHLY  RECOMMENDED.  

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Towering Filth/As Well As You Should/2012 Single Review

  Towering  Filth  are  a  band  from  St.  Loius,  Missouri  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge  and  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2012  single  "As  Well  As  You  Should".

  The  single  starts  out  with  some  dark  and  heavy  sounding  guitar  riffs  as  well  as  some  drums  being  adding  in  screams  that  combine  black  metal  and  hardcore  together  and  the  music  gets  heavier  along  with  a  mixture  of  doom  metal  and  sludge  influences  and  as  time  goes  on  by  the  music  starts  invoking  a  dark  atmosphere  and  the  bass  guitars  get  even  more  powerful  and  heavy  sounding.

  On  the  b-side  of  the  recording  the  band  covers  "Lexican  Devil"  from t he  Germs  and  they  add  there  own  twist  to  this  cover  version  and  add  in  modern  day  hardcore  punk  with  old  school  punk  rock  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  dark  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  and  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  single.

  In  my  opinion  Towering  Filth  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge  and  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED.

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Will Of The Ancients Interview

ANSWERS BY TRISTAN (GUIT / VOCALS)

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

We released “To Our Glorious Dead” digitally in October. Shortly after we struck a deal with PRC MUSIC. They are going to release the album in late February.

2.How would you describe the musical sound of the new album?

The album is based in melodic black metal, but encompasses lot's of different metal sub genres, it is VERY grandiose and epic sounding.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the new release explores?

Most of the lyrics, although varying in topics, have a Canadian theme. two of the songs are based on Canadians role in WW1

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name Ill Of The Ancients?

Our original singer was big into the occult. I know it had something to do with that. Otherwise we all at the time thought it sounded cool.

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

Opening for Finntroll and Moonsorrow was pretty awesome. The place was packed even for us which was really cool. Also playing Heathen Crusade 2 back in 2007 with Bal Sagoth, Rudra, Skyforger and a whole slew of other cool bands was awesome.

Our stage show tends to be no nonsense. We get up there and rock the tunes out hard, no gimmicks. We let the tunes speak for themselves.

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

We are currently planning a small tour for march in the Ontario/Quebec area.

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

Pretty positive! You get some trolls here and there but that's metal.

8.What is going on with the other musical project these days?

All the guys in Will of the Ancients are also in Blastomycosis, a brutal death/gore grindish band. That is sort of on hiatus for now.

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

The stuff we are writing now is leaning towards a blackish thrash sound. Though we always tend to incorporate a lot of styles in our music. I'd expecting it go get more extreme. Faster, slower, heavier, lighter.

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

Metallica, Iced Earth, In Flames, Amon Amarth, Old Man's Child, Emperor, Windir, Nevermore , Slayer have been a huge influence on me personally.

Right now im digging Skeletonwitch, Amon Amarth, Rudra

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

Beer, video games and food.

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

Grab “To Our Glorious Dead” through PRC MUSIC!

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Culted/ObliqueTo All Paths/Relapse Records/2014 CD Review

  Culted  are  a  band  with  members  from  both  Sweden  and  Canada  that  plays  a  blackened  form  of  doom  metal  with  elements  of  sludge  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Oblique  To  All  Paths"  which  was  released  by  Relapse  Records.

  "Brooding  Hex" which  is  the  first  song  on  the  album  opens  up  with  dark  ambient  drone sounds  and  a  few  seconds  later  clean  guitars  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  drums  shortly  after  that  which  also  leads  up  to  grim  black  metal  screams  and  after  awhile  you  can  hear experimental  elements  being  mixed  in  with  the  heavy  parts  and  as  time  goes  on  by  growls  are  added  into  certain sections  of  the  music,  halfway  through  the song  the  bass  guitars  get  more  powerful  sounding  as  well  as  the  music  adding  in  more  melody  and  towards  the  end  the  music  goes  into  a  more  drone/noise  direction.

  "Illuminati"  begins  with  spoken  word  samples  before  adding  in  heavy  doom  metal  guitars  along  with  some  drums  and  black  metal  vocals  and  after  awhile  atmospheric  and  drone  elements  are  added  into  the  music  and  towards  the end  experimental  and  noise  elements  are  added  the  music.

  "Intoxicant  Immuration"  opens  up  with  harsh  noise  and  drone  sounds  before  adding  in  drums  and  doom  metal  guitar  riffs  and  a  few  seconds  later  spoken  word  samples  are  added  into  the  music  and  after  a  few  minutes  black  metal  screams  are  added  into  the  music  while  also  bringing  back  spoken  word  parts  at  times.  

  "March  Of  The  Wolves"  starts up  with  dark and   heavy  doom  metal  guitar  riffs  and  drums  and  a  few  seconds  alter  melody  and  bass  guitars  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  black  metal  screams  and  towards  the  end  elements  of  drone  are  added  into  the  song.

  "Distortion  Of  The  Nature  Of  Mankind"  kicks  in  with  drone  sounds  along  a  dark  atmosphere
and  a  few  seconds  alter  spoken  word  parts  are  added  into  the  music  and  it  serves  as  an  intro  for  the  next  song.

  'Transmittal"  comes  in  with  heavy  and  dark  sounding guitar  riffs  as  well  as  some  drums  and  a  few  seconds  alter  melodic  guitar  leads  and  bass  guitars  are  added  into the  music,  a  minute  alter  avant  garde  sounds  and  spoken  word  samples  become  a  part  of  the  music  which  also  leads  up  to  black  metal  screams  a  couple  of  minutes  as  well  as  the  music  getting  more  melodic  and  towards  the  end,  the more  experimental  sounding  elements  make  a  return  while  also  remaining  heavy  at  the  same  time.    

  "Jeremiad"  which  is  also  the  last  song  on  the  album  begins  with  tribal  style  percussion  beats  which  leads  up  to  some  black  metal  screams  and  clean  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  as  well  as  some  drums  along  with  some  dark  sounding  guitar  riffs  and  after  awhile  spoken  word  samples  are  added  into  certain  parts  of  the  music  and  towards  the  edn  elements  of  drone  are  added  into  the  music.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark,  occult  and  Illuminati  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful  and  heavy  sound  along  with  most  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Culted  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  metal,  doom  and  sludge  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Illuminati"  and  "Transmittal".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.      

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Indian/From All Purity/Relapse Records/2014 CD Review

   Indian  are  a  band  from  Chicago,  Illinois  that  plays  a  blackened  form of  doom  metal  with  elements  of  harsh  noise  and  sludge  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "From  All  Purity"  which  was  released  by  Relapse  Records.

  "Rape"  which  is  also  the  first  song  on t he  album  opens  up  with  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  drums  and  a  few  seconds  alter  black  metal  screams  along  with  elements  of  harsh  noise  kick  in  as  well  as  going  into  a  more  slow  doom  metal  direction  and  staying  that  direction  throughout  the  song.

  "The  Impetus  Bleeds"  begins  with  heavy  distorted  noises  before  adding  in  slow  and  dark  doom  metal  guitar  riffs  as  well  as  some  drums  and  black  metal  screams  along  with  a  small  amount  of  melody  and  sticks  to  the  same  riffs  throughout  the  song.

  "Directional"  opens  up  with  slow,  dark  and  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  a  few  seconds  alter  elements of  harsh  noise  can  be  heard  in  the  background  before  adding  drums  into  the  music  and  a  minute  later  screams  make  their  presence  known  and  the  song  goes  into  a  blackened  doom  metal  direction.

  "Rhetoric  Of   No"  starts  up  with  heavy  doom  metal  guitar  riffs  and  drums  along  with  some  black  metal  vocals  and  the  music  stays  in  a  slow  direction  during  its  time  and  after  a  awhile  dark  sounding  melodies  make  their  way  into  the  music  as  well  as  elements  of  harsh  noise.

  "Clarity"  begins  with  harsh  noise  loops  and  power  electronics  along  with  some  drones  and  a  few  seconds  alter  high  pitched  screams  are  added  into  the  music  and  there  are  no  guitar  riffs  or  drums  present  on  the  song.

  "Disambiguation"  which  is  also  the  last  song  on  the  album  begins  with  heavy  doom  metal  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  distorted  sounds  and  clean  elements  in  the  background  which  also  leads  up  to  drums  kicking  in  as  well  as  some  melodic  guitar  riffing  and  after  awhile  black  metal  screams  are  added  into  the  music  and  as  time  goes  on  by  dark  sounding  melodies  are  added  into  the  music..

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  and  violent  themes,  while  the  production  gas  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  dark  sound  with  the  bass  guitars  being  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix  as  well  as  most  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Indian  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  doom  metal  band  with  elements  of  sludge  and  harsh  noise  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Impetus  Bleeds"  and  "Disambiguation".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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http://www.indiandoom.com