Grey Skies Fallen/The Many Sides Of Truth/Xanthros Music/2014 CD Review

  Grey  Skies  Fallen  are  a  band  from  New  York  that  plays  a  mixture  of  melodic  black  metal,  doom  and  progressive  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "The  Many  Sides  Of  Truth"  which  will  be  released  by  Xanthros  Music.

  A  dark,  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  progressive  rock  sounding  keyboards  which  also  leads  up  to  some  melodic  vocals  and  later  on  the  band  brings  in  a  mixture  of  both  acoustic  and  heavy  parts  as  well  as  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  black  meal  influences  with  some  screams  and  blast  beats  and  mixing  them  with  the  cleaner  vocals.

  On  some  of  the  other  tracks  the  band  brings  in  acoustic  instrumentals  as  well  as  adding  cellos  and  violins  in  some  of  the  songs  while  remaining  heavy  most  of  the  time  and  they  also  add  more  death  and  doom  metal  into  the  guitar  riffing  and  when  they  add  in  guitar  leads  they  enhance  the  melody  and  darkness  of  the  recording  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  as  the  album  progresses  you  can  hear  more  experimental  and  psychedelic  element s being  mixed  in  along  with  some  very  powerful  sounding  bass  lines  which  also  leads  to  the  black  metal  vocals mixing  in  death  growls.

  Grey  Skies  Fallen  have  a  very  interesting  sound  with  their  music  taking  a  very  melodic  form  of  doom  metal,  mixing  in  fast  and  grim  black  metal  parts  along  with  the  heavier  riffing  of  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  sounding  on  this  recording  and  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  metaphysical  and  occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Grey  Skies  Fallen  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  progressive  mixture  of  black,  doom  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out t his  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ritual  of  the  Exiter"  and  "Of  the  Ancients".  8  out  of  10.

http://www.greyskiesfallen.com
http://greyskiesfallen.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/GreySkiesFallen

  

Heid/Voces De La Tierra Dormida/2014 EP Review

Heid  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a  pagan  form  of  black/death  metal  with  elements  of  folk  music  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  ep  "Voces De La Tierra Dormida".

  The  music  starts  out  in  a  heavy  direction  along  with  some  epic  pagan  atmosphere  being  mixed  in  as  well  as  a  great  amount  of  medieval  melodies  and  grim  vocals  that  combine  black  and  death  metal,  and  in  the  faster  sections  you  can  also  hear  a  good  amount  of  blast  beats  and  in  the  slower  sections  you  can  hear  some  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars.

  The  folk  instruments  and  acoustic  guitars  on  the  album  do  not  over  power  the  music  with  the  band  really  focusing  on  a  more  black/death  metal  sound  while  the  folk  metal  sound  is  still  a  very  strong  part  of  the  recording,  in  some  of  the  riffing  you  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  thrash  influences  and  the  guitar  leads  and  solos  are  very  melodic  sounding  when  they  are  utilized  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  on the  last  track  emlodic  pagan  chanting  is  added  into  the  song.

  Heid  bring  a  great  amount  of  death  metal  into  their  melodic  pagan/folk  metal  sound  while  also  keeping  around  the  black  metal  elements  that  are  a  huge  part  of  their  sound  along  with  a  very  powerful  and  professional  sounding  production,  and  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Basque  and  cover  Paganism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Heid  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  pagan,  death  and  folk  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "No  Habra Paz"  and  "la  Mana  Negra".  8  out  of  10.

https://heidpaganmetal.bandcamp.com/album/voces-de-la-tierra-dormida-2014

Anti Ritual/Self Titled/Indisciplinarian/2014 EP Review

  Anti  Ritual  are  a  band  from  Denmark  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge  and  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  ep  which  will  be  released  by  Indisciplinarian.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  sludge  style  vocals  being  mixed  in  with  a  blackened  metal  sound  along  with  brutal  blast  beats  and  the  slower  sections  have  a  great  amount  of  hardcore  influences.

  When  the  other  tracks  kick  in  more  crust  and  punk  rock  influences  are  added  in  along  with  a  more  dark  style  of  post  hardcore  and  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  the  band  starts  utilizing  a  small  amount  of  melody  and  the  tracks  are  all  very  short  with  no  solos  or  leads  being utilized  on  any  of  the  tracks.

  Anti  Ritual  have  a  great  balance between  darkness  and  energy  with  their  blackened  hardcore sludge  metal  sound  along  with  a  very  dark  and  heavy  production  and  lyrics  that  criticize  the  mainstream  structures  of  society.

  In  my  opinion  Anti  Ritual  are  a  very  decent  sounding  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge  and  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ideals  To  The  Fire"  and  "Blame  the  Victim".  7/5  out  of  10.

http://www.cvltnation.com/cvlt-nation-streaming-anti-ritual-ep-interview/
  

Warthrone/Venomassacre/Ghoststorm Records/2014 CD Review

  Warthrone  are  a  band  from  Florida  that  plays  a  very  symphonic  and  melodic  form  of  blackened  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Venomassacre"  which  was  released  by  Ghoststorm  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  ritualistic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  demonic  laughter  before  going  into  a  heavy  blackened  death  metal  direction  along  with  blast  beats  and  high  pitched  screams  and  the  band  also  bring  in  heavy  breakdowns  and  deep  death  metal  growls  along  with  some  fast  melodic  Swedish  style  black  metal  influences  and  the  solos  have  a technical  death  metal  feeling  to  them  while  some  of  the  cleaner  sections  have  an  early  Satyricon  feeling  to  them.

  On the  other  tracks  the  music  becomes  a  mixture  of  brutal  death  metal  and  melodic  black  metal  having  the  perfect  balance  between  brutality  and  melody  along  with  symphonic  sounding  keyboards  being  thrown  in  at  times  as  well  as  a  mixture  of  growls  and  screams  and  the  keyboards  are  closer  to  the  90's  Nordic  and  Swedish  black  metal  sounds  than  the  modern  symphonic  sounds  that  bands  go  for  these  days.,  while  the  death  metal  elements  have  a  more  modern  feeling  to  them  at  times.

  Warthrone  have  a  very  interesting  sound  with  their  music  taking  the  melodic  and  symphonic  sides  of  90's  black  metal  and  mixing  them  in  with  the  brutality  of  modern  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  as  well  as  adding  a  small  does  of  thrash  along  with  a  very  professional  sounding  production  and  lyrics  that  cover  dark  spirituality  and  supernatural  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Warthrone  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  symphonic,  melodic  black  metal  and  brutal  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Violation  Of  The  Ethereal  Realm"  "self  Induced  Reckoning"  and  "Fate  Of  The  Spineless".  8  out  of  10.

www.warthronemetal.com

Geist Interview

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

We started this band with a desire to do something technical but still heavy on the riffs and melodies. Today, there's much focus on technicality but very little thought about what actually constitutes a song. In this manner, melody is very important to us. Graham (Bassist) and I (Luke, Guitars/Vocals) have been plotting to put a band together for about a decade. However, he and I were always involved in other projects and time was not a luxury we had. We finally decided to put the thing into action. It took us about a year to find Zach (drums/percussion), and during that time we focused on songwriting and defining what we wanted the band to be about, song structure, lyrical content, etc. We had originally planned on Geist being an instrumental band. Then, once I had put lyrics to one song, I was pretty much forced into adding vocals to the rest of them.

2.How would you describe your musical sound?

Simply put, we try to make Progressive Black Metal. We take a lot from technical & progressive bands and try to arrange similarly thought out ideas and lay them over black metal melodies. So, in the end, we have music that is dark and disturbing in its reality that is not confined by time signatures, black metal that is freed from the commonalities.

3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

I try to make the lyrics realistic. They may not all be about true stories, but they are certainly about real possibilities. Reality is far more frightening than fantasy.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Geist'?
We chose the name Geist from our fondness of the Philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Geist means spirit or ghost. It is a living thing that is a part of all of us and, at the same time, extends beyond us. I like to view the idea of the Geist as something that acts as a witness. It watches us over time. It sees all of our actions, it knows our secrets. 

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

One of our most fun shows was one that we recently played at the Blue Note in Columbia, MO. We had just played with Abigail Williams a couple of weeks before and that show did not go so well. We wanted the next one to be different. So, we booked up the venue with some of the "best of the best" in the area. We played with Creaturezoid, Legend, & A Hill To Die Upon. Great lineup with great friends equals a great night. 

Another good one was at a local DIY spot. I love the atmosphere in places like that because people are truly there for the music. There's no bullshit behavior, no drunks, no frat boys looking to score with drunk girls. Just the love of music. The crowd really got into it. Probably the best reception we've yet had.

6.Do you have any plans to do a tour outside of your state in the future?

We're possibly planning on a small, month-long tour this summer with a fellow label-band, As Earth Shatters. We played with them a couple of weeks ago and they are really great guys and a great band. They asked us to join them and, if it all works out, we will.

7.The new album is coming out on Hard Wood Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

It's a great group of guys with great ideas. They are really focused on getting good bands that know their stuff. They are really moving forward with positive ideas and we're glad to be a part of it all. Travis, the label head, has a TON of great ideas for the future and the drive to make it all happen. They have been more than eager to work with us and make us feel supported.

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

It's hard to say at his point. Since the release of our sing for "The Dark Core," we have been getting a lot more attention, mostly stateside but some around the globe as well. It's nice to have someone contact you from another country that digs what you do. It let's us know that we might be on the right track. We intend to make that continue even farther once the new album is out.

9.Can you tell us a little bit more about the other musical projects that some of the band members are involved with?

At the start of this band, I was in a straight-forward rock band called Triple P, but once Geist got signed, I decided to put all of my focus on this project. However, I have been working on a new project from time to time with a drummer. For this one it'll just be him and myself and I'll be playing bass. I also do a lot of solo recording. I just released an album last year and I'm working on another to be released later this year.

Graham is in another band called Don't Mind Dying. They are a blues-based rock outfit. It's blues at it's roots but it has a heaviness to it that is really fun. He was, until recently also playing with another group called The Mercury Trio, but he played his last show with them last weekend.

Zach is a busy dude. No doubt about it. He plays with us in Geist, he is in another band called Perceiving the Design (also on Hard Wood Records), and he also plays in a 3rd band called Nevalra. He also frequently plays in the local drum corps. He doesn't seem to mind being this busy though. Whatever makes him happy and keeps him outta trouble, ha! 

10.You have a new album coming out this year, what can metal fans expect from the record once it is released?

I know everyone wants to feel like they are breaking new ground. I can't say that we'll be inventing or re-imagining anything. I do however feel that we will turn some heads with the structure of the songs. Maybe not so much of the "what," but the "how" of what we're doing is different, if that makes sense. We're taking ideas from a few different levels and crossing them in ways I've not heard before. It'll be heavy, it'll be thought provoking, and I think it'll give the listener a lot to hold on to, even if we are blurring the lines between sub-genres.

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

The bands that have had the biggest influence, as far as my writing for Geist is considered, are fairly standard. Opeth, God Dethroned, Amon Amarth, Dimmu Borgir, & Diabolical Masquerade, to name a few. We take some ideas those bands and toss them in with what we like about more complex acts such as Blotted Science or Animals as Leaders.

Right now, personally, I'm into a lot of black metal. There's so many great acts that are totally underground and reveling in it (as they should). Sorcier Des Glaces' new album has been in constant play in my home. I love the atmospheric, the white noise, the screams of despair that are so prevalent in black metal.It's oddly meditative. 

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

I'm a student of Philosophy, History, and Religion. Not that I consider myself to be a philosopher, and I'm certainly not a religious person by definition. I mainly view it as a study of people. It's interesting to see what causes people to believe what they believe, looking at the big picture to see what gives rise to our choices.

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

We hope that everyone enjoys our music or, at least, can take something from it. We thank everyone for the support we have had thus far and we are looking forward to a very productive future with Geist.

Thank you!

-Luke

Geist
www.facebook.com/geistmetal

Norse/Pest/2014 EP Review

  Norse  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  melodic  form  of  blackened  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  ep  "Pest".

  A  very  dark,  heavy  and  progressive  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  aggressive  screams  and  powerful  bass  lines  and  the  music  also  speed  up  at  times  and  brings  in  blast  beats  as  well  as  the  black  metal  sound  kicking  in  and  the  vocals  use  of  mixture  of  grim  screams  and  growls  and  after  awhile  spoken  word  parts  are  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  on  this  ep  along  with  the  musical  direction  going  for  more  of  a  progressive  and  melodic  style  of  black/death  metal  and  at  times  the  faster  parts  bring  in  some  brutal  elements  to  the  recording  and  on  some  of  the  lighter  sections  you  can  hear  some  drone  and  psychedelic  sounds  which  sound  very  powerful  on  the  last  track.

  With  this  ep  Norse  go  into  a  different  direction  than  their  previous  recordings  with  the  music  being  more  progressive  and  experimental  this  time  around  while  still  having  a  great  amount  of  black  metal  elements  along  with  a  very  dark  yet  powerful  production  and  lyrics  that  cover  dark  and  misanthropic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Norse  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  progressive  black/death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Disarmed,  toothless,  And  Weak"  and  "Aimless".  8  out  of  10.

 https://transcendingobscurity.bandcamp.com/album/pest-dissonant-black-metal

Lord Mantis/Death Mask/Profound Lore/2014 CD Review

  Lord  Mantis  are  a  band  from  Chicago,  Illinois  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this   zine  and  plays  a  very  blackened  form  of  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Death  Mask"  which  will  be  released  by  Profound  Lore.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  a  minute  later  you  can  hear  background  voices  before  the  blackened  sludge  style  screams  start  to  kick  in  and  the  riffing  starts  utilizing  some  melody  and  at  times  the music  speeds  up  a  bit  and  blast  beats  are  added  in  while  the  main  focus  is  on  the  slower,  darker  and  heavier  aspects  of  the  music.

  The  album  starts  to  find  its  own  sound  on  the  other  tracks  with  the  music  becoming  a  mixture  of  black  metal  and  sludge  and  at  times  you  can  hear  small  amounts  of  punk  rock  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well  as  mixing  dark  and  melodic  parts  together  to  create  an  evil  atmosphere and  on  one  of  the  tracks  traces  of  industrial  and  noise  are  brought  in  along  with  a  brief  use  of  more  spoken  and  melodic  vocals.

  When  we  get  more  intro  the  album  drones  and  psychedelic  sounds  become  a  part  of  the  music  at  times  along  with  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  while  the  main  focus  is  still  on  being  very  heavy  and  on  a  couple  of  the  tracks  they  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  fast  and  raw  black  metal  riffs  that  sound  even  more  powerful  when  the  blast  beats  are  added  in  and  on  one  of  the  tracks  they  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  robotic  vocals  and  they  close  the  album  with  a  track  that  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  mixing  in  traces  of  melodic,  post  black  metal  with  sludge..

  With  this  album  lord  Mantis  continue  the  blackened  sludge  of  previous  releases  while  also  being  a  bit  more  experimental  and  adding  in  more  melody  this  time  around  while  also  having  a  very  professional  sounding  production  and  showing  their  misanthropic  and  hatred  for  the  human  race  in  their  song  lyrics.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Lord  Mantis  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Death  Mask"  "negative  Birth"  and  "Three  Crosses".  8  out  of  10.


https://www.facebook.com/lordmantisofficial
http://www.lordmantis.com

  

Negative Voice Interview

Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
The band is currently actively engaged in the creation of the material for the second album, which we plan to record in the studio at the end of this year. The new album is likely to be very different from the debut album in stylistics and sound. The whole band now are involved in writing the new material; everyone brings ideas and influences the final result. After recording a new album we plan to continue an active concert schedule.

Recently you have released a new album, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction of the new recording and also how does it differ from your past recordings?
Infinite Dissonance is our debut album, and it is the aim and the logical culmination of a long enough, more than a decade years evolution of Negative Voice`s ideas. During this period band recorded several inconspicuous demo-tapes, went on long pauses, changed the line-up, the band conception and style of music played. So Infinite Dissonance as our first creation is some kind of a milestone. Stylistically, the album has included elements of several styles of metal.

The band was broken up for a few years, what was the cause of the split and also the decision to reform?
In fact the band has never ceased to exist. In 2004 there was a pause associated with location of band`s members (at that time - Andrew and Yaroslav) in different cities, and with their participation in other musical projects. In 2010 it was decided to continue the activities of the band and to record a new demo tape with a few songs.

Can you tell us a little bit about the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
All themes of the lyrics on the Infinite Dissonance could be characterized by the phrase "intentional self-destruction of the individual in modern human society." All lyrics are filled with depression mood, sadness, thoughts of return to the past, mental anguish, mental degradation and madness. The last song leaves hope for the life salvation outside of society by refraining from the madding crowd.

The band started out as «Valhalla» what was the decision behind the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name «Negative Voice».
Valhalla name was coined in late 1999 for the just formed new band. At that time we had influence of pagan doctrines on our ideology - both in lyrics and music. A little later, with the change of the course the name was changed to more neutral. Meaning of the words Negative Voice for us is "vote against" - the ability to speak out against the prevailing attitudes, and the canons of morality, as well as the expression of the negative voice in all of us, our dark half or "second self."

What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
For today it is a concert in the city of Kazan, which has been played as a part of our mini tour in late 2013. We were warmly welcomed and well supported technically.

Do you have any touring or show plans for the new release?
We are currently planning a tour for upcoming summer, hoping to capture some cities in Baltic countries through Belarus, probably getting to Poland. World web community firstly became acquainted with the album in the summer of 2013, and the official release at the Inverse Records came in the spring `14th. Therefore, several concerts as the presentation of the debut album have already been given in 2013.

On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black and death metal?
Fans usually tell that music from our release is some continue from an old Katatonia era, it’s a pleasure for us to know that people from different parts of the world enjoy our music, hope we’ll be able to play in every such country.

Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We do not think what style we want to play and who we’d look like. Today, it is important for us that our music is more diverse and less iconic, and would not cause association with well-known albums of well-known groups. Each of us brings to the music part of his perception of the future Negative Voice’s music, his personal view  the structure of the songs and overall band’s concept. And partly we ourselves wonder how the second album will be. There will be more influence of progressive and some «post»-like subgenres. The vocals will be more varied, with rich arrangements.

Are the band members involved with any other musical projects these days?
Konstantin (drummer) takes himself in side-projects from time to time, for example in death metal bands. Today, he continues to help his former colleagues from Inis (Moscow, Black metal). Andrew has its own, but currently suspended due to lack of time studio project.

What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening nowadays?
Our musical taste ranges from DSBM to fusion. The key thing for us is that we listen to many different kinds of music. Some of us are ‘metalheads’ preferring math and progressive metal, some enjoy and old classic rock bands such as Black Sabbath, the Who, King Crimson. We accept each other’s preferences with respect, trying to acquaint with the bands one of us was not aware of.

What are some of your non musical interests?
Usually we are setting churches on a fire, wearing corpsepaint along with a rusty nails sticking out our jackets (just kidding). Each of us has a permanent place of work, so the music for us - the main interest in our spare time. We all like travelling; some of us spend time with family. In general, we are the peaceful and kind people trying to live an interest life.

Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts
We wish all the best and good luck to the ADifferentShadeOfBlackMetalZine blog, hope you guys get a large amount of a bands respecting you as we do.

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Luke Offield/Wakings/2014 CD Review

  Luke  Offield  is  a  solo  artist  from  Columbia,  Missouri  that  plays  a  mixture  of  melodic  black/death  metal,  country,  jazz  and  post  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2014  album  "Wakings".

  The  album  starts  out  with  gothic  horror  sounding  keyboards  and  rain  sounds  before  going  into  a  more  melodic  black  metal  direction  along  with  some  grim  screams  as  well  as  bringing  in  some  death  metal  elements  and  after  awhile  solos  and  prog  elements  are  added  into  the  track.

  On  the  following  song  the  music  goes  for  more  of  a  post  rock  direction  while  still  having  elements  of  metal  and  the  song  is  all  instrumental  along  with  a  good  amount  of  melody  and  a  small  amount  of  solos  and  when  it  goes  into  the  next  track  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  country  rock  sound  along  with a  blues  and  rockabilly  feeling.

  The  following  track  brings  a  more  80's  new  wave  sound  in  along  with  some  melodic  vocals  and  the  following  track  is  a  jazz  instrumental  and  the  last  track  sees  the  music  making  a  return  to  melodic  black  metal  while  also  having  a  psychedelic  rock  feeling  as  well  as  some  death  metal  growls  and  grim  screams.

  With  this  album  Luke  Offield  brings  in  a  different  sound  to  every  track  and  does  not  follow  any  rules  and  creates  an  album  that  has  no  musical  category  while  you  can  hear  a  good  amount  of  metal  elements  along  with  a  powerful  sounding  production  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Like  Offield  is  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  death,  post  metal,  rock,  jazz  and  country  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  artist.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Death  Ender"  and  "A  Grand  Conclusion  Od  A  Minute  existence".  8  out  of  10.

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Geist/The Dark Core/2014 Single Review

  Geist  are  a  band  from  Columbus,  Missouri  that  plays  a  very  technical,  progressive  and  melodic  form  of  black/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  the  2  tracks  that  they  have  post  on  their  Reverbnation  page.

  The  first  tack  "The  Dark  Core"  starts  out  with  a  very  heavy  and  progressive  sound  along  with  growing  up  a  bit  and  then  slowing  down  and  adding  in  a  mixture of  black  and  death  vocals  as  well  as  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful  and  then  clean  guitars  are  added  into  the  song  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction  and  melody  is  added  into  the  guitar  riffing.

  The  second  track  "Aeolipile"  starts  off  with  fore  adding  in  vocals  which  are  in  the  more  blackened  death  metal  vein  and  when  they  add  in  leads  they  bring  in  a  70's  metal  feeling  and  after  awhile  the  riffing  gets  more  technical  and  towards  the  end  melodic  vocals  are  added  into  the  song.

  With  these  2  songs  Geist  show  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  with  the  way  they  mix  melodic  and  progressive  black  metal  with  the  more  mid  paced  technical  style  of  death  metal  along  with  a  powerful  and  professional  sounding  production  as  well  as  some  dark  lyrics.

  In  my  opinion  Geist  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic,  progressive  and  technical  black/death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  music.  8  out  of  10.  http://www.reverbnation.com/geistmetal#

    

Chiral 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 Teo and I’m the one and only member of this project, named “Chiral”.
This project was actually born at the beginning of this year, but the idea of this one-man band and the tracks on “Winter Eternal” are pretty old!
The band was not born as a serious project, however when I listened to the first complete song I understood that I should have shared my music with other people, so here I am!

2.How would you describe your musical sound?
Good question!
I think my sound is a melting pot of many different musical genres: progressive rock & metal first of all, these are my background.
Then obviously Death Metal, Black Metal, Hard Rock and even Fusion and some jazz stuff, sometimes.
But I think that now my sound is much closer to the Swedish style melodic death/black metal of the early 90’s.

3.Recently you have released a single that was in the more raw black metal direction, do you see yourself working with this genre more in the future?
Absolutely! I’ll give you a little preview: the next release, probably an EP, will be on the same path of my latest single (Atto I: Oblio) which it’ll be part of the EP itself.
It was very nice for me the recording session of “Atto I”, and I’ve also appreciated the final result of the song. So I said to myself: Why not to try to record an entire EP in this way?

4.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with your music?
Basically the lyrical themes of the demo are about darkness, nature and love (in a way)….
The lyrics of Atto I: Oblio (my new single) is mainly about suicide.
Instead the lyrics I’m writing for the full length are based on Atheism, pain, solitude and sadness.
As you may notice I’m full of happy themes! Hahaha

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Chiral'?
This will be funny!
In a nutshell Chiral means that a molecule is not superimposable on its mirror image. It’s a Chemical law.
But, this is the funny part, I got the inspiration watching an episode of “Breaking Bad”, the famous TV series, in which the protagonist talks about Chirality!

6.Currently there is only 1 member involved with the project, are you planning on working with other musicians in the future or do you chose to remain solo?
Honestly, for the moment I prefer to remain a solo project. But I have to confess that on my next works probably there will be a few special guests. One of them is a good lead guitarist, Ludovico Cuoghi, who will play guitar solos in some tracks.

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
No, I haven’t received any interest from any labels yet. However, the idea to remain independent is fine to me. But if I receive any good offer I will think about it.


8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black and death metal?
It may sound strange but I’m noticing that my music is more appreciated by black metal fans, I don’t really understand why. Hahaha
It’s not a problem to me, but I think that my EP (Winter Eternal) sounds very melodic death.
Anyway, assumed that Chiral is a brand new project, it has only 3 months of life, the feedbacks received till today are not so bad. However, I hope I could spread my music as much as I can and receive as many feedback and approvals as possible.

9.Are you also involved with any other musical projects?
Nope. The Chiral project, and also my real job (I’m a mechanic) takes me a lot of time so I don’t have it more to dedicate to other projects.

10.When can we expect a full length album?
For a full length album you have to wait at least until this winter, because the recording of a full length takes a lot of time when you’ve to play every single instrument by yourself; but in the meantime there’s going to be another release.

11.What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Certainly the band that has influenced me more of any other are Opeth! I think Akerfeldt is a fucking genius, I love their music upon any other, no doubt.
I’m also very influenced by Porcupine Tree, Katatonia, Insomnium, Wolves In The Throne Room (their music is completely unique and so special) and Thulcandra (a great German band, maybe a bit underrated). As I said before now I’m very influenced by the Swedish death/black metal of the early 90’s, bands like Dissection, Eucharist, Vinterland, Sacramentum, Unanimated, Edge of Sanity and even Naglfar are milestones to me.
I also like other musicians and/or bands from other kind of music, like the Pat Metheny Group (it may sound a bit strange but I like them very much), Dream Theater, Cynic, Eric Clapton and so on…
Nowadays I re-discover the first stuff by Ulver, their early works sounds great.
I’m also listening very often to Omiun Gatherum and Autumn Leaves, which was an extremely underrated melodic death band from Denmark. Try to check out their last work “As Night Conquers Day”!



12.What are some of your non musical interests?
When I don’t play or write some music I like watching TV series, traveling and drink a (two is even better) good beer!
I’ve another hobby in the field of music and it’s to work on my little home studio (WeakLight Home Studio) in which I’ve obviously produced my music.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
First of all, for the one who don’t know me I wanna say that they can follow me on my Facebook profile (https://www.facebook.com/ChiralItaly) or my Bandcamp page (https://chiral27.bandcamp.com/), in which you can download for free my stuff!
I also wanna thank all the people who support me, especially my family, my girlfriend, my friends and a few people met on the net who help me in a way or another, and the ones I hope will support me in the future.
Finally I’d like to thank you for the interview and this ‘zine for this opportunity.
Hail!!!

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Seal Of Solomon Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before can you tell us a little bit about the band?
  We're Seal of Solomon, a blackened-death metal band from Istanbul Turkey with oriental and progressive influences.

 2.Recently you have put out a new album, can you tell us a little bit more about your musical sound?

  The band has it's roots in black and death metal since the beginning. And since we live in Turkey, we all have very rich oriental backgrounds as musicians.
  Finally with joining of Önder Dülger to the band, he brought in his progressive and metalcore influences.
 We've mixed all that we have in one with I The King.

  3.With your band name and the lyrics, the music has a goetic and occult tone to it, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in occultism?

  Especially Can Berk Öcalır and Ozan Murat Özfen had interest in djins, black magic and demonology for years.

>
> 4.The band was originally known as 'Unfurling' in the beginning what was the decision behind the name change?

 To spread the new word of King Solomon and to welcome our new vision.

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

  The band haven't played yet under the name of Seal of Solomon but our all time favorite gigs are university festivals. They provide the best demography and energy for our performances. Choreographically we have our concept to follow on stage, it's best not to put it in words.

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

 We'll have an album launch in Turkey at first, then we're planning on touring Eastern Europe.
  The details will be in our website soon.

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

  Much better than what we've expected. Especially after the BlankTV release of our guitar instruction video of the song I The King v2.
  Everyone finds pieces of their own favorite genre in the album.
  8.Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects these days?

  We're all members of some of the biggest bands of Turkish metal music scene.
  Önder plays lead guitars in Undertakers, Doğu and Ozan play in Furtherial and Tolga plays in Chaosnerve.
  9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

  We use music to express our individual selves under the flag of King Solomon.
  And if our moods would change, probably our music will too. But Seal of Solomon will never sell hapiness or love, that goes without saying.
  We're doing what we love doing the most, and we're impatient to do it on the road.

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

  Can: Behemoth, Dark Funeral.
  Önder: Meshuggah to ease the hate within, Sergio Altamura to explore, and Iron Maiden to remind me who I am.
  Doğu: Behemoth , Arch Enemy.
  Tolga: Meshuggah, Opeth
  Ozan: Satyricon, Rotting Christ



  11.What are some of your non musical interests?


  Can : Baking Macarons, Playing Xbox.
  Önder: Like Fishing and studying Astronomy and Space Science in Istanbul University.
  Doğu: Origamy and writing essays.
  Tolga: Playing video games.
   Ozan: Drawing and producing animations and comics.




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


  We thank you for letting us spread our thoughts.
 ; And we thank everyone who support our music worldwide

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Suotana/Forgotten Soil Of This Land/2014 Demo Review

  Suotana  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  melodic  form  of  black/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  demo  "Forgotten  Soil  Of  this  Land".

  The  demo  starts  out  with  a  very  fast  and  melodic  sound  along  with  blast  beats  and  symphonic  keyboards  and  then  the  high  pitched  screams  kick  in  the  music  goes  for  a  more  melodic  blackened  death  metal  direction  along  with  some  growls  and  you  can  hear  a  lot  of  influences from  bands  of  their  home  country  in  the  solos  and  leads.

  The  following  track  starts  out  with  some  tragic  sounding  keyboards  along  with  symphonic  elements  before  going  into  a  more  heavy  and  melodic  direction   which  also  has  power  metla  influences  being  mixed  in  with  black  and  death  metal  as  well  as  sticking  to  mostly  a  mid  paced  direction  and  the  leads  also  have  a  progressive  metal  feeling  to  them.

  With  this  ep  Suotana  takes  the  melodic  black  metal  sound  of  their  home  country  and  mixes  it  in  with  symphonic  elements  and  death  metal  influences  to  create  their  sound  along  with  a  very  powerful  sounding  production  and  dark  lyrics.

  In  my  opinion  Suotana  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic,  melodic  black/death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  demo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Forgotten  Soil  Of  the  Land".  8  out  of  10.

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Ad Extirpenda/Cathartic/2014 CD Review

  Ad  Extirpenda  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  with  some  death  metal influences  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Cathartic".

  The  album  starts  out  with  a  very  symphonic  sounding  intro  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  for  a  more  modern  and  heavy  sound  while  also  keeping  around  the  symphonic  elements  as  well  as  adding  in  more  black  metal  screams  and  melodic  riffing  and  after  awhile  powerful  bass  guitars  and  solos  are  added  into  the  music  and  they  also  bring  a  progressive  feeling  to  the  recording.

   After  awhile  clean  guitars  and  spoken  words  are  added  into  certain  parts  of  the  recording  along  with  a  small  amount  of  clean  singing  being  added  in  at  times  as  well  as  returning on  some  of  the  other  tracks  and  on  the  following  track  classical  guitars  become  a  part  of  the  recording  before  returning  to  a  heavier  direction  along  with  the  vocals  adding  in  a  bit  more  of  a  death  metal  influence  while  also  mostly  sticking  to  a  melodic  black  metal  direction.

  When  we  get  more  into  the  album  the  music  starts  bringing  in  a  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  along  with  the  synths  utilizing  more  avant  garde  sounds  and  at  times you  can  hear  traces  of  medieval  folk  music  in  the  guitar  leads  as  well  as  the  synths  on  the  last  song  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  utilizing  a  brief  use  of  blast  beats  and  classic  metal  influences  in  some  of  the  tracks.

  With  this  album  Ad  Extirpenda  add  a  modern  approach  to  symphonic  black  metal  along  with  a  powerful  sounding  production  and  lyrics  that  cover  the  French  Inquisition   of  the   14th  and  15  centuries.

  In  my  opinion  Ad  Extirpenda  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  and  melodic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Gnosis"  "Holocauste"  "The  Inquisitor"  and  "Ego  Te  Absolvo".  8  out  of  10.

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Creinium Interview

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

Aleksi: Creinium is a six piece metal band that takes its members' favourite metal (and other) influences, and combines it into a strange but somewhat consistent mixture of this and that. Some of those influences are melodic death, black, doom, progressive and dark metal. If you like even one or two of those genres, Creinium might be a way for you to expand your musical taste.

2.So far you have released a demo and an EP, how would you describe the musical sound that is present on both these recordings?

Aleksi: 'Modern World Tyranny' consists of songs, that were at the time of recording the only 4 songs that were ready. Basically we took what we had ready at the time, and made it into a demo. Some of those songs date back to 2008 - the "newest" ones being from 2010 or something - so MWT actually describes a somewhat pre-Creinium sound. Also MWT was recorded DIY-style like a demo, so that's also what it sounds like - in both good and bad.

'Project Utopia' on the other hand was much more carefully planned, and we actually had to choose 4 songs from 5 ready ones. All of the songs are born after the birth of Creinium, so they give quite an accurate hint on where our sound is going.

Antti: Actually when we recorded drums, guitars and keyboards for MWT the only goal was to find missing members to complete Creinium. We didn't plan to make a release of those recordings and this is the main reason for the poor sounds on MWT.

Aleksi: As our bassist-mixer-masterer-wizard Miiro said: "You can make a cupcake out of shit, but you will still smell the shit."

3.Most of the band members where in 'Path Of Annihilation' what was the cause of that band splitting and the decision behind forming this band?

Aleksi: It was a sum of many things. In 2009-2010 we lost half of POA members, and we hadn't managed to find replacements before me and Antti - the driving force of POA - joined the Finnish Army in 2011. Soon after that we just decided to clean the slate and form a new band. After all, POA's music just wasn't what we wanted to do anymore. POA guitarist Juuso Putti agreed to join us, and that was pretty much it.

4.The lyrics cover dystopian themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in that topic?

Sami: The topic just feels so present in today's news and the media. Seems like it something hits the fan almost every day.

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

Aleksi: We wanted to have a short one-word name, that would mean nothing but our band. I juggled quite a few existing words and deliberately misspelled them so that they'd lose any meaning. I came up with the word 'Creinium' and when I didn't find a single hit on Google (or the whole internetz) with that, it had to be it.

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?

Antti: I think our two gigs at PRKL Club, Helsinki have been Creinium's best shows so far. Especially the first one in November 2013 with Noumena and Vermivore, which was our debut gig.

Aleksi: Our music requires quite a lot of concentration, so we can't just mosh our way through a gig, or my drumstick might end up in someone's eye. I think our stage performance is mostly about the precise playing and the variety of feelings our music creates for both us and the audience.

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

Aleksi: We'll play one gig before the EP release, and after that we'll embark on the gargantuan Project Utopia World Tour, which covers over 3 gigs in over 2 cities. After recovering from the jet lag we'll probably have a nice summer vacation and continue touring in the fall.

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

Aleksi: Most of our fans are still from Finland, but our fanbase seems to be growing in metalheaded countries such as Germany and Japan, but also in the US. The feedback has been most positive from fans of melodic death, melodic black and progressive (death) metal. People that mainly listen to black and/or death tend to find us not black/death enough, probably because of our strong melodic side.

I think our music offers a little bit of something for everyone to like, but also it may offer that one little thing that one doesn't like at all. Sami's vocals seem to be the most controversial issue. But that's exactly what we want vocals to sound like, so if you can't stand them, I guess we just aren't the band for you.

9.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Antti: Me and Aleksi are always composing new music, and currently quite a few new songs are starting to take shape. Should we get all the songs written during the summer, we might even start the slow but steady recording process in early 2015. But it all depends on how fast we get the songs ready.

Aleksi: We could make a double album of semi crappy songs that would please 80% of our fans like right now. But our standards are so high nowadays that the writing and the refining takes time. We write music primarily for our own taste, and we just can't cope with songs that we aren't 110% happy with.

Antti: Our first full length will be blacker, darker and more aggressive, and our songs are probably going to be faster in general.

Aleksi: Antti pretty much covered it. All in all our black parts will be blacker, doom parts doomer, prog parts progger and so on. And if I can up my lousy drumming speed, the songs will be faster. Of course we still have a lot of writing to do, so neither of us really knows what kind of crazy shit we might come up with.

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

Aleksi: I personally listen to almost all kinds of metal, apart from everything older than myself and all the oldschool non melodic stuff. But I've also taken influences from electronic music, and from music in movies and games, most notably Skyrim and Diablo II. Bands that deserve to get mentioned are Dimmu Borgir, Carach Angren, Omnium Gatherum, Opeth (pre-Heritage!!), Wintersun, Finntroll, Dark Fortress, Shade Empire, Shape Of Despair, Darude, Swallow The Sun, Moonsorrow, Crionics, Stam1na and so on...

Antti: I listen to music from side to side but mostly metal. I've taken influences from jazz to extreme black metal and almost everything between them apart from electronic music that I just can't value. Some of the artists and composers I greatly respect are Mike Oldfield, Iiro Rantala, Jordan Rudess, Mikael Åkerfeldt, Juha Raivio, Devin Townsend, Mathias Nygård, Obsidian C. and of course their bands & projects. Few other bands to mention are Von Hertzen Brothers, Uriah Heep, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Periphery, Katatonia, Ghost, Job For a Cowboy and Ghost Brigade.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Aleksi: Not much non musical.. The Xbox, South Park, red wine...?

Antti: Not much here either. Finnish nature and good food & wine.

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

Everyone, please buy Project Utopia so we can get money for gas. Living in Finland is very expensive, especially for poor students like half of us.

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Graves At Sea/This Place is Poison/Eolian Empire/2014 EP Review

 

  Graves  At  Sea  are  a  band  from  Portland,  Oregon  that  plays  a   blackened  form  of  doom/sludge  metal and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "This  Place Is  Poison"  which  will  be  released  by  Eolian  Empire.

  The  ep  starts  out  with  a  dark  and  heavy  sludge/doom  metal  sound  along  with  some  melody  and  after  a  few  seconds  black  metal  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  and  when  we  get  more  into  the  music  melody  is  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well  as  the  vocals  getting  a  bit  more  deeper.

  When  the  ep  goes  into  the  second  song  acoustic  guitars  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  and  a  few  minutes  later  the  music  returns  to  a  heavier  direction  along  with  the  song  being  a  Black  Sabbath  covers  as  well  as  the  vocals  combining  black  metal  and  sludge  together  on  this  14  minute  long  track  and  after  8  minutes  you  can  hear  some  melody  and  70s  proto  metal  guitar  leads  becoming  a  part  of  the music  and  then  a  small  amount  of  clean  singing  is  added  into  the  song.

  Graves  At  Sea  stick  to  a  very  heavy  and  slow  form  of  sludge/doom  metal  on  the  2  songs  that  are  presented  here  along  with  some  black  metal  vocals  as  well  as  having  a  very  dark  atmosphere  to  them  along  with  a  powerful  production  and  lyrics  that  cover  Occultism  and  Witchcraft.

  In  my  opinion  Graves  At  Sea  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  sludge/doom  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "This  Place  Is  Poison".  8  out  of  10.

http://www.facebook.com/GravesAtSea