Heather Wasteland Interview

Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
We are busy with promotion of our debut EP to be self-released as the 6-panel digipack mCD (hand-numbered and limited to 100 copies) on December 21, 2016. We’ve just got the CD’s from the factory, so our EP is already available for preordering. At the moment (November 2016), the majority of instrumental parts for our forthcoming full-length album are already recorded and we are busy with mixing process, and composing new material to be played with new band mates.

How would you describe the musical sound of your debut EP?
Well, our sound would be described as guitarless three-bass supremacy incarnated in Heretical Folk Art by Cimmerian metalheads! No guitars and keyboards. Just a drum kit, a 4-string bass, a 5-string bass, and a 6-string bass with some synth wizardry. All parts of string, wind and keyboard instruments are played using a 6-string bass with a Roland GK-3B midi pick-up via a Roland GR-55 guitar synth.
The EP was mixed by Andrey Ignatenkov, a sound engineer with high level of the concert experience owing to his concert work in the Crimea with such diverse performers as Joe Lynn Turner, Goran Bregović, or pop-stars like BACCARA or SECRET SERVICE, and many more. “Under The Red Wolfish Moon” was mastered by Iurii Kuz’kin, who is well known to the fans of Slavonic Pagan metal due to his work with CHUR, OPRICH and “Triunity” project.

The music uses 3 bass players instead of any traditional guitars, can you tell us a little bit more about this concept?
We are not “guitar haters”, but, from the very beginning in 2001, HEATHER WASTELAND gave a special role to the bass guitar with an intended refuse to use guitars, because two bassists formed the band’s original line-up, and added a third bassist after the reunion in 2014. At certain stages of the musical formation, in spite of their various musical preferences, the heretics of HEATHER WASTELAND came in touch with the technical death metal classics, as well as with progressive metal and even jazz. Therefore, it found a reflection in some heretical views on the idea of experimental “Cimmerian folk metal”. Due to this precise “heretical” reason, the group describes their style as "Heretical Folk Art”.

All of the songs on the recording are instrumental, are you open to working with vocals in the future?
Yes, we’ve already started our cooperation both with some legendary and rather underground vocalists from several countries. I won’t list any names till the moment they finish their part of our joint recording process. I’d rather prefer presenting our modest results, instead of chattering about our great plans. I just can tell you that some musicians have iconic status in Pagan/folk Metal, and we highly appreciate their guest appearance! At the same time, we are going to present our vocal abilities as well as try some local vocalists.

What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Heather Wasteland'?
Now, in 2016, I’m not sure, but probably in 2000 – 2001 the band’s name, in some ways, was inspired by a Galloway legend described by Robert L. Stevenson in his poem "Heather Ale". Since our childhood, all members of HEATHER WASTELAND have been remembering this poem and an old cartoon based on this poem. In 2001 we used the band’s name in Russian (pronounced as “Vereskovaya Poustosh”). It definitely comes from some associations with European folklore in general, as well as with visualization of heather wastelands – for example, desolate battlefields with ruined castles, scattered bones, rusty arms and armours, and heather growing everywhere – as a symbol of new life and resistance in a broad context. At the same time, you can find desolate places with heather growing in our mountains as well!

- What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
- When we were younger, we were more violent onstage. In 2001 our debut 12-minute performance created a furor owing to the music itself and the unrestrained energy at the stage that moved the bored crowd. The group became a discovery of the festival, and a concert photo of yours truly (raging onstage bare-chested) was published in a very conservative newspaper. So, the group remained memorable long after the show. I hope that in the nearest future, with our new band members, we’ll be able to make more theatre-like shows with onstage dress and make-up.

Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
It would be great to do. That’s why we are looking for the bass maniacs to be our new band mates with eagerness and possibility for touring abroad or at least going to play several gigs in neighboring cities.

- On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of folk metal?
No negative feedback at all, especially if we are talking about our audience among fans of gothic, neofolk, art rock, neoclassic, occult rock, experimental music and even black metal. Of course, many fans of grindcore, thrash & death metal will find our stuff too soft or boring, but some of them are our old fans since 2001. The majority of critical comments were connected with the absence of vocal parts and lack of heavy guitar sound. Many metalheads changed their opinion listening to our cover on PESTILENCE’s song “Personal Energy” featuring Andrey “Ind” Merzlyakov (GRENOUER, TARTHARIA): https://heatherwasteland.bandcamp.com/track/personal-energy-pestilence-cover

Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Even if we add some real folk instruments, in any way we are going to use the drums and three bass guitars – in order to stay the founders and adherents of three-bass supremacy incarnated in Heretical Folk Art created by Cimmerian metalheads!

What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
We had some changes in our line-up, but I find it correct to tell you about those members who took part in recording of the stuff we are promoting now. The original members are: Alexander Vetrogon (6-string bass), he is a fan of folk metal/rock, progressive metal and fusion/jazz; Anatoliy Polovnikov (drums), a fan of old school thrash metal and techno death metal; and truly yours Sergey Pavlov (4-string bass), a fan of Pagan/folk, black metal, darkwave, ritual, occult rock and techno death metal. The fourth member is Andrey Anikushin (5-string bass); he is a metalhead with really wide interests – from Arthur Brown to gore grindcore bands.
As for my personal influences which inspired me to compose the tracks of our debut EP, I must name EVOL, CRUACHAN, early IN THE WOODS, BATHORY (of Viking period), BURZUM (of ambient period), and maybe old SKYCLAD. The band concept was definitely influenced by ANCIENT RITES.
The band was broken up for a few years, what was the cause of the split and also the decision to reform?
- As far as I remember, a lack of time in general and the main band of our drummer and other bassist were the main reasons for the split-up, although I was a manager of their band. Another serious reason was a kind of fear of… solfeggio (Rudiments of Music) which struck me, when my ex-wife tried to give me solfeggio lessons. Just as I attempted to realize my own music from a point of the musical theory, it resulted in a way of “the centipede effect” from a well-known anecdote. Trying to analyze my own music, I ceased the way of feeling it without analysis. I understand that this is absolute nonsense for the majority of “normal” musicians, but it became my reality to be dragged on almost for 15 years. Fortunately, in January 2014, I was involved in the organization of the Ukrainian mini-tour of Newton Schner Jr., a piano player (LEBENSESSENZ, Brazil), also known due to his participation with some black metal bands (DROWNING THE LIGHT, EVIL, KYLA etc.). Midnight conversations about the music and life convinced me that I met a spiritual brother who was able to estimate my music, and understand my problems with "solfeggio phobia" in the best way possible, and I decided to reform some of my old projects. Almost immediately after LEBENSESSENZ’s tour, I came across an old acquaintance – our original drummer of HEATHER WASTELAND, who told me about his desire to gather the original line-up of HEATHER WASTELAND, and our reunion became possible.

What are some of your non musical interests?
- Besides playing music, I would name music journalism, dream interpretation, alternative history, obscure or “forbidden” topics of Pagan and medieval periods of European history (mainly in the esoteric context), linguistics, psychology and PR-technologies.

- Can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in Pre-Christian European History, Philosophy, Esoterics and art?
- Without getting involved in the maze of a certain ceremonial or practical context of Paganism, I will tell you that my dreams play an important role – I mean prophetic ones, and symbolical dreams with images whose meaning becomes clear later. Taking into account the subsequent recognition of their personal meaning, it is possible to see interrelation between the World of Nav’ and the visual reality (Yav’), as well as interrelation of events which do not seem connected with each other.
I don’t treat Paganism as “an organized institution of religion”, I do not belong to any official movements or societies, except for a small group of my Pagan sworn brothers, who treat Paganism as their way of life, as a serious philosophy and knowledge. It is the Way to know, not just to believe as a blind man. As for me, Paganism is a symbol of harmony between the Man and the Nature, an equivalent of honoring the traditions of ancestors, and living under the laws of conscience. Moreover, it’s a symbol of internal freedom with the main law: do unto others as you would have them do unto you, BUT DO IT FIRST – before someone’s deeds impact you!
Talking about Occultism, I’d rather prefer using such definition as "Slavonic and Nordic Pagan Esoterics" in order to make a distinction between different "schools" and avoid unnecessary associations with those systems which are alien to me. As you understand, it’s not my “cup of tea” if we are talking about drawing some Cabbalistic signs, banging the voodoo drums, or ganja smoking to get “augmented cognition”. At the same time, Esoterics should remain something “clannish” to be clear for “the clan” only.
I’m a fond of Pre-Christian and medieval history, and if we take a look at it through the lens of the little-known historical facts concerning my native Cimmeria-Taurida, we’ll find a lot of interesting things concerning archaeological, linguistic and cultural heritage of Celts, Normans, Greeks, Slavs, Goths, Genoeses on the shores of the Black Sea. Ley lines, Opuk’s runic stone, the ruins of the Genoa fortresses, the Crimean Gothia’s Celtic place names and some little-known artifacts, which are associated with taboo subjects of history.

Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
I’d like to thank Occult Black Metal Magazine for this interview, as well as your readers and our fans for their interest. We appreciate your attention and always try to reply all “mentally competent” messages of our fans and interesting persons. Follow us on:
https://heatherwasteland.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/heather.wasteland/
https://www.instagram.com/heather.wasteland/
I’d like to express HEATHER WASTELAND’s gratitude to all our heretical supporters – you know who you are!
Don’t advocate a view, but common sense: the figure of nine may look like the figure of six, especially from the opposite point of view, but zero is always zero. Look for your own Path and don’t betray the dreams of your life. Be blessed! \m/

Temple Of Demigod/The Great Old Ones/Black Lion Records/2016 CD Review

  Temple  Of  Demigod  are  a  solo  project  from  Armenia  that plays  a  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2016  album  "The  Great  Old  Ones"  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  Black  Lion  Records.

  Tragic  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album which  also  get  very  symphonic  after  awhile  and  after  the  intro  the  music  gets  more  heavy  and  melodic  while  also  keeping  around  the  symphonic elements  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  death  metal  growls  also make their  presence  known  on  the  recording.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  stick  to  a  very  melodic  style  and  violins  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  some  of  the fast riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking.

  Temple  Of  Demigod  plays a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  symphonic  and  also  mixes  in  elements  of  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  evil,  darkness  and  Lovecraft  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Temple  Of  Demigod  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  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ominous  King"  "Mountains  Of  Chaos"  and  "The  Great  Old  ones".  8  out  of  10.

http://templeofdemigodus.bandcamp.com/album/the-great-old-ones

   

Heather Wasteland/Under The Red Wolfish Moon/2016 EP Review

  Heather  Wasteland  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  heretical  form  of pagan/folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "Under  The  Red  Wolfish  Moon"

  Folk  instruments  along  with  a  medieval  atmosphere  starts  off  the  ep  and  after awhile bass  guitars  make  their  presence  known  on  the  regular  and  they  replace  traditional guitars  as  a  lead  instrument  and  the  music  also  incorporates  a  lot  of  neo-folk  elements  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  modern  day  feeling.

  The  songs  incorporate  the  use  of   4  5  and  6  string  bassists  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  blast  beats  while  all  of  the  songs  are  instrumental  and  they  also  bring  in  the heaviness  of  extreme  metal  into  the  heavier  sections  of  the tracks.

  Heather  Wastleland  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  neo  folk  music  and  mixes  it  with  pagan  metal  while  keeping  everything  instrumental  to  create  a  musical  style  of  their  own  and  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Heather  Wasteland  are  a  very  great  sounding  heretical  folk  metal  band  and  if    you are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Under  the  Red  Wolfish  Moon"  and  "Wicker Man".  9  out  of  10.  

HEATHER WASTELAND Bandcamp

HEATHER WASTELAND Facebook

 

False Reality Interview

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

False Reality: In the present we’re rehearsing, preparing for our album release shows that will start in winter. The rehearsals are very important now also because we’ve recently had a line-up change, Marc becoming our new bass player after Radu left False Reality. We also have an incoming photo session and we’re planning our expenses with the new album.

2. You have a new album coming out at the end of October, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

False Reality: Our new “End of Eternity” album has 7 songs that are pretty long, by normal musical standards, the average length being somewhere over 7 minutes. The musical sound is both aggressive and melodic, wrapped around death metal, black metal, doom, progressive and even some other genres too, with both growls and clean vocal parts. In this material you definitely can feel a more mature approach to music compared to our past creations. First of all, the sound quality is a lot better, since we had a very good sound engineer, Robert Cotoros, who took care of all things from the recording and mixing to the mastering and the production of this album. We think the sound of this album is different from other productions out there because we did our best to use real instruments rather than digital VSTs, the sound being thus somehow warmer.
In this new material we didn’t take a very distinct path, musically speaking, from the older songs. This album still has a touch of the old False Reality vibe and way of making music, that being to the fact that six of the songs were composed from 2011 to 2013, while the first track, “Bewitched”, is an inheritance from our first period of activity.

3. This is your first release since 2002, can you tell us a little bit more about the 14 year wait?

False Reality: The main issue to talk about is the 8 years break we took since spring 2003 until spring 2011. It was a tough time for us, but our dream of making music didn’t die and after finding the right people to fill in the vacancies, we embarked on our second journey as a band. Since then, we took our time to develop the right musical and human relations between us, but of course, the financial part is also a big factor to take into consideration for the long time between releases. We started recording this album in august 2014, but we didn’t have the financial power to release it ourselves. Without the help of Loud Rage Music I think “End of Eternity” would’ve been released even later, so we’re glad and proud to finally have the band’s first LP, after almost 18 years since False Reality started its journey. We’d like to say a huge “Thank you!” to all who helped us and believed in us throughout the years.


4. What are some of the lyrical topics the band explores with the newer music?

Lucian: The lyrical topics have remained more or less the same in our newer music, covering love, death, nature, passage, sadness, supernatural, struggle, the darker side of things and souls and so on, usually based on inner feelings and emotions metaphorically expressed through means of external events and actions. Each song was individually composed, but in arranging them to form the album, we discovered a hint of a story throughout our material, a tragic story of impossible love, a journey filled with rites of passage and transformations, which all eventually lead to the end of everything, an ending seen as another beginning both in regard to our story and to our band’s journey. If I were to cite any influences, I’d say Mihai Eminescu, Nichita Stănescu, Gheorghe Tomozei, Isaac Asimov, Therion, Dream Theater, Samael and the list could go on and on.

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

False Reality: The main inspiration for our name is the power of music. It can take you in unreal places you’ve never been before, in supernatural worlds born from fantasy and from the emotions conveyed by this very powerful tool mankind has - musical and lyrical creativity. Of course, each and every one of us has had his own personal experiences and musical journeys that ended up defining us as musicians and as music listeners, so in a way, music is a very personal experience, a means of escape from the mundane reality, namely a False Reality.

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?

False Reality: Our biggest gig so far was during the first edition of Rockstadt Extreme Fest, in Râșnov, near our home town, and it was a great experience, opening for bands like Carach Angren, Napalm Death and Gojira. We’ve also been the support artist for Arkona’s concert in our home town and we fondly remember our experiences at almost every edition of Rockstadt Fest (indoor fest with rock/metal bands from our home town only) and also on the Extreme stage of Revolution Fest in Timișoara and many more.
There were also some very nice shows that we definitely didn’t expect to turn out that way, considering the venue and the small number of people in the crowd, like in Turnu Măgurele or in a very small club in Bucharest, but those types of shows are different, since there is an air of intimacy about them and it really connects you a lot better with the audience. Of course, playing in our home town is always special, both due to the location - the amazing Rockstadt Club and due to the support of our friends.
When it comes to stage performance, we don’t usually rehears that part, there isn’t any choreography there, it’s just us, playing from the soul and enjoying the moment, each in his own way. Being on stage is like a drug to most musicians, since the energy that is going back and forth between the artists and the audience is really one of the most beautiful experiences we’ve personally had.

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

False Reality: Yes, we’re planning a number of shows in Romania starting in January 2017, and we hope to reach a lot of locations. We might even reach neighboring countries, most likely Bulgaria, but this is for now just a small possibility.

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

False Reality: We haven’t received much attention worldwide yet, but usually we’ve had positive feedback and people from around the world have liked our Facebook page (no, we didn’t invest money in that, it’s just organic reach). Just recently a metalhead from Brazil contacted us for an appearance of our new album on his online channel and also declared himself a fan. We’ve had feedback from South America, Central America, North America, Europe, and also the Far East, but we’re hoping that with the launch of our new album we’re going to attract more attention to our music. We’ve already received some great reviews for our “End of Eternity” album from a couple of metal oriented webzines and we’re expecting even more of them.

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

False Reality: Half our band has connections with Hteththemeth, another band from our city of Brașov. Codruț and Lucian are full members, while Marc is a session member, filling in whenever the bass player or a guitar player are missing.

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

False Reality: Well, this is mostly a mystery to us too, since we don’t plan the musical style of our compositions, we’re just going with the flow. Yes, it’s definitely going to be metal and it will most likely still be rooted in melodic death metal. We really want to keep the melodic aspect of our creations and we might even go further in that direction, and we’re even considering adding more instruments to our sound. I guess time will tell.
We are currently thinking about doing a reissue of our 2002 EP - “Tales of Eternity”, also including two old songs that haven’t been featured on any recorded material so far. Moreover, we’ve partially figured out the main concept for another full length album, but we’ll take it step by step. Our main priority now is promoting “End of Eternity”.

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

Ioan: I enjoy listening to old metal bands like Samael, Opeth, Behemoth and others, so they are also my main musical influences.

Lucian: I enjoy a lot of artists from a lot of genres, classical music, jazz and blues, electronic music, flamenco, pop, rock and all the way to metal. I really think you can be influenced by some genres that have almost nothing in common with what you play, since it’s all about the music and the feelings. For me, the list of influences is huge, but I feel I must include the following: Dream Theater, Opeth, Pink Floyd, Therion, Queen, Crematory, Vanghelis, Chopin, Vivaldi, Portishead, Ennio Morricone, Steve Vai, Al Di Meola, Vicente Amigo, Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong, Norah Jones and many more. When it comes to Romanian music, Phoenix have been a great influence in my forming years as a musician, but I also enjoy Tudor Gheorghe, Nicu Alifantis, Taine, DorDeDuh, Luna Amară and a very deserved mention to The Bipolar Disorder Project, a solo endeavor of our friend, Robert Cotoros.

Silviu: My musical influences come mainly from the metal and rock area, with artists like Dream Theater, In Flames, Samael, Opeth, Death, Conquering Dystopia, Hypocrisy, Arch Enemy and many others.

Codruț: I have a huge background in listening to music from very different musical genres, like rap and hip-hop, pop, pop-rock, electronic music, all categories of rock and metal and so on. I’ve been listening to music my entire life and I think this is not going to change much. Lately I found that I’ve become very selective in my musical choices, the new discoveries that I’m enjoying right now being Leprous and The Bipolar Disorder Project (solo musical project of my friend, Robert Cotoros).
In my forming as a musician I’ve been greatly influenced by Anathema, Lake of Tears, Metallica, Manowar, Cradle of Filth, Era, Enigma, Guns N’ Roses, L.A. Guns and many more.

Vlad: I have been mostly listening to melodic death metal, black metal and progressive. Some of the bands that inspired me for this album are Opeth, Dream Theather, Dimmu Borgir, Children of Bodom, Samael and In Flames.

Marc: I’m trying to expand my musical horizons as much as I can, so I always try to take some time to experiment with new stuff that I find. My playlist varies from progressive metal, sludge to witch house, jazz and anything that catches my attention, e.g. Neurosis, Between the Buried and Me, Nava Mama, oOoOH, Erik Satie and many more.


12. What are some of your non-musical interests?

Ioan: I enjoy skiing and hiking in the mountains and also meeting with my friends and drinking beer, but a lot of my free time is devoted to my family and especially to my two children.

Lucian: Although I don’t really have a lot of free time, reading takes an important part of it. I enjoy mostly literature, but I also have an interest in history. I like to watch movies and play board games with friends, but I also like to go swimming, biking, hiking in the mountains and also playing a number of sports like football, tennis, badminton or basketball. I am a fan of our local ice hockey club - Corona Wolves Brașov, so whenever my schedule permits it, I go and see them play (not as often, sadly).

Silviu: I love my job in web development and usually in my free time I’m doing some freelance work. I could say that one of my hobbies is to get wasted by drinking beer while doing some barbeques with friends.

Codruț: My main non-musical interests revolve around sports, since I’ve practiced football all my childhood and I’ve finished a sports oriented high-school. I also enjoy traveling, but my life has completely changed since the arrival of my new full time job - my son Eric, which I adore. I want to say that I am very lucky to have the full support of my beautiful wife, since my musical and artistic activities can keep me away from home more than usual. I also am part of a fire juggling group called Hyponsis Fire Show, with whom I participated in events all over the country and also abroad.

Vlad: I`m a big fan of technology, video games and IT related activities. I also like mountain bikes in general and I occasionally enjoy video production, photography and stage light arrangements and effects.

Marc: For me personally, music is a secondary activity, since I just graduated from medical school and currently I’m going through the last steps of becoming a doctor. I just hope it won’t interfere too much with the band’s plans.


13. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
False Reality: First of all, thank you for the interview, it was a pleasure! We have just one message for all those who enjoy music: support the underground! The mainstream music has proved to be mainly business time and time again (or just business), so if you find underground artists that you like, try so support them as much as you can, since without that support it’s incredibly hard to keep going.

False Reality
Ioan Crișan Alexandru - vocals
Lucian Popa - guitars and vocals
Silviu Stan - guitars
Vlad Amariei - keyboards and vocals
Codruț Costea- drums
Marc Spedalska - bass guitar

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Huldre Interview

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

Well not much really. We recorded back in april, then we planned the release and on the 3rd we release it during a magnificent release party in Copenhagen.
A small trip to play in Estonia in between that but otherwise it has been pretty quiet.

2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Overall it should still sound like us, but in a more mature fashion. The songwriting on the last album could sometimes be fairly chaotic and a lot of stuff is happening at the same time, but on Tusmørke we have tried to control the chaos, and give more room to each other. Allowing the individual "voices" to have, and fill, their own spaces in the composition and work and weave better together as a whole.

3.This is the first album to be released in 4 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?

Intet Menneskebarn was so well received that it allowed us a lot of live gigs, which in turn allowed us to practice and hone our skills on stage. That album brought us far, and it especially took off after we won the danish wacken metal battle, and got third place at the wacken festival itself. Besides having the honor of playing Wacken, it opened up for more gigs and the bigger metal festivals in Denmark, including taking second largest stage at Copenhell, and stand in front of thousands at the belgian fantasy festival "Trolls & Legends". All amazing experiences.
We also spent some of the time writing new material of course, and trying it out on stage.

4.Your lyrics deal with a lot f Nordic Mythology, can you tell us a little bti more about your interest in this topic?

We all come from some form of background in viking reenactment and authentic medieval/viking music so there is a natural interest for the subject among us in the band, but the lyrics actually deal more with inspiration from folklore stories and the Nordic Nature and old believes. Only the song Mørke can refer to a later kind of Odin Figure from East Denmark. Most of the lyrics on this album Is very dark: death, sorrow, anxiety, dark Scandinavian nature-creatures who interacts with human lives, old folk remedies, people who turns in to creatures etc. are some of the topics.

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

Huldre is the name of a creature in scandinavian folklore. Described chiefly as a very beautiful female, with a tale and a hollow back, who will lure men to their deaths in the forest or bogs. We figured that was a pretty good metaphor the music that we create

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?

Wacken, Copenhell and Trolls & Legends must surely rank high due to the sheer amount of people and the experience of playing at pro festivals. Beyond that, anywhere where we are greeted and treated well, and people are happy to see us, are good gigs.
Our stage performances are wild and joyfuld. Mosh pits and dancing goes hand i hand, and you can always tell that we love to play this music.

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

We have a special show coming up on the 26th of november at Gimle in Roskilde, together with bands from all over Scandinavia; Audn, Bergtatt, Fejd and Hamferd.
Other than that, we are working on setting up some good stuff for the coming year so stay tuned for that.

8.The new album was released on Gateway Music, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Gateway is not really a label in the traditional sense. Its connected to the "Danish Musicians Union" and the TL:DR: version is that its a "label" that you can more or less hire to handle the practicalities of releasing an album yourselves. Physical as well as digital distribution is handled by them, but otherswise we handle everything ourselves.

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

Really good so far. We haven't really seen any bad reviews and it appears that a lot of people appreciate our sound and approach to folk metal.

10.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?

There is always something going on, you know. Our drummer is perpetually busy with a band like Virelai and Asynje, which also contains 2 other members of the band. Most of the band is also in Gny, which is a medieval band. So yeah, a lot of stuff is happening.

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

Thats impossible to say. We go wherever the music takes us.

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

Nothing really. Or all of it. Our band is run on consensus and that goes for the compositions as well. Especially the compositions. So the music becomes a product of 6 individuals approach to music which means 6 individual paths of inspiration and music.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

ooh. A lot. Varying from nerdy stuff (games of all kinds) to trees, and nature. Long walks on the beach in the moonlight while singing a serenade to the nearest tree


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


Thanks for having us and thanks for the nice review. Folk on :o)

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Cadaveria/Necrodeath/Mondoscuro/Sleaszy Rider Records/2016 Split EP Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  Italy's  Cadaveria  and  Necrodeath  called  "Mondoscuro"  which  was  released  by  Sleaszy  Rider  Records  and  we  will start  off  the  review  with  Cadaveria  and  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  and  gothic  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  cover  of  Necrodeath's  "Mater  Tenebrarum"  which  starts  out  with  dark  sounding  synths  before  going  into  a  heavier  and  faster  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  black  metal  screams  and  they  also  keep  the  thrash  elements  of  the  original  version  and  clean  guitars  along  with  melodic  female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  at  times.

  Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  at  times  along  with  some  melodic  riffing  and  the  solos  and  leads  have  an  old  school  vibe  to  them  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  operatic  male  vocals     and  their  songs  also  bring  in a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  they  close  their  side  of  the  split  with  a  cover  of  Type  O  Negative's  "Christian  Woman".

  Cadaveria  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black  and  goth  metal  and  mixes them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover   Occultism  and  Witchcraft  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Cadaveria  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  and  goth  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Dominion  Of  Pain".

  Next  up  is  Necrodeath  a  band  from  the  first  wave  of  black  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out with  a  cover of  Necrodeath's  "Spell" which  starts  out  with  starts  out with  classical  guitars  and  grim  black  metal  vocals  and  death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  at  times  while  they  also  mix  in  their  thrash  approach  and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  parts  of  the  songs.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  the  songs  also  bring  in a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  there  is  also a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and female  vocals  and  they  close  their  side  of  the split with  a  cover  of  The  beattles "Helter  Skelter".

  Necrodeath  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  still  rotted  in  their  first  wave  black  and  thrash  metal  while  also  mixing  in  more  modern  styles,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Necrodeath  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Rise  Above".

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of black  metal.  8  out  of  10. 

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Cadaveria/3045
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Necrodeath/2107

Macaria Interview

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

Marco - Guitar: We formed back in 2009 as Folkentroll, the initial sound was a Folk Metal similar to Finntroll and Korpiklaani, bands we used to enjoy at that time. Afterwards the name has changed in “Macaria”, that in the apulian folklore means “curse sent by a witch or a person associated with evil entities.”
Our musical style is Folk Death Metal with a strong symphonic component, growl vocals and clean choirs. We try to mix ideas from different musical styles, often unusual in the metal purpose.
The band was born due to our passion for folk metal, but during years it is evolved with ourselves.


2.Recently you have released an album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

Marco - Guitar: There are a lot of different styles in the album, the main components are folk, symphonic and death metal, but you can also find clean choirs, progressive riffs and unusual influences like swing. Despite this, we looked for a personal and recognizable sound that we like to define “grotesque”.


3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

Marco - Guitar: The lyrics are based on a story written by myself. It is an allegorical criticism of the society and it talks about a puppet coming to life in the middle of the theatrical act it was used for. Suddenly all the strings it was tied to tear off and, from a situation of slavery and unconsciousness, the puppet is tossed in the absolute freedom. All that will influence its perception of the world it sees.
The various song lyrics explore his point of view about topics like the education that is imposed on us, religion, the condition of middle class workers and politics that divide us.


4.Originally the band was known as 'Folkentroll', what was the cause of the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Macaria'?

Davide - Guitar: The name change was caused by a will of detachment from the folk metal scene of that period, to build, without any constriction, a more personal sound and something more artistically satisfying. We chose the name “Macaria” because it has a particular meaning in our region (in our dialect it means “witchcraft”, “spell”, “sorcery”), but in the meantime it doesn't suggest a musical genre, as instead “Folkentroll” did.

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

Davide - Guitar: As Macaria we played some cool shows in Italy: Rivarolo Music Camp, Beerstruction and Spongstock VIII are examples. In our stage performances we focus on the execution and the audience entertainment. We do like to stage our album, wearing steampunk clothes, giving a theatrical taste to everything.

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

Davide - Guitar: We’re working on it. Now we’re starting to plan events in Apulia and probably we'll have some shows in other parts of Italy. Maybe we could have chances to be part of some mini tour abroad.

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

Davide - Guitar: We had some nice reviews from different websites and we had a particular interest from the Latin America zone. A reviewer wrote this about our album: “You don’t have to listen to the album twice to like it. You do have to listen five times to come to love it”. We do appreciate it and we hope that our future listeners will think the same. Our style is not a classic folk metal, so we have two points here: people that expects us to be similar to other famous artists will be a little disappointed, instead the ones that are looking for something different and unconventional will meet their match.

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

Marco - Guitar: Actually only Luca (our drummer) is involved in Dreker, a thrash metal band. In the past years almost all of us were involved in other projects, I played guitar in a black/death band until the last year, but unfortunately it did not go ahead.
Me, Federico (keyboards) and Davide (guitar) often collaborate with a classical music teacher that needs support for her events.

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

Marco - Guitar: So often our tendency is to experience new sounds, so we will continue on this path, but we also have to wait for the audience’s feedback on the current album, in order to know how moving for the future. If the style of the concept album that we proposed will seem to work, maybe there will be another concept.

10.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?

Davide - Guitar: Our major influences are Finntroll, Kalmah, Devin Townsend and Wintersun. Anyway these four names are only the tip of the iceberg, because every member listens to different musical styles even so far from metal, smoothing the sound of the band. Nowadays I personally listen to David Bowie, Gorillaz, Destrage, Opeth, Tears for Fears, Pendulum and more.

Marco - Guitar: We listen to a lot of different musical styles, everyone in the band has different influences and we try to use this variety as an advantage for the band. I currently jump from a genre to another, day by day, and I listen to Strapping Young Lad, Wintersun, Pantera, Igorrr, Decapitated, The Dear Hunter, Infected Mushroom, Those Poor Bastards and many others.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Davide - Guitar: We have different interests apart from music. I like coding and creating software; Lorenzo uses to improve himself in his hobbies like woodworking, iron working, welding, mechanics and land cultivation; Luca De Marco loves reading books and playing video games; Luca Casto usually plays five-a-side football, reading comics or watching cooking programs on tv (even if he knows nothing about it); Federico considers music his own real hobby, indeed.

Marco - Guitar: The main interests, common to all members of the band, are food and beer. Tons of pasta were consumed during the creation of this album.
Other interests are watching movies and tv series, going to the gym, practicing martial arts.

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

Davide - Guitar: We'd like to thank you for the opportunity and the chance of this interview and the readers for their attention. If you want, you can support the band following us on Facebook ( ), ordering a copy of “A Strings’ Dramedy” from http://bit.ly/2e88hRR and you can also discover more about Macaria on the official website: . Bye!

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Dark Portrait Interview

Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
Currently, our singer fulfils his army duties that are obligatory in Greece.  The rest of the band is constantly jamming and rehearsing in order to compose and create new material for future songs.

2. In April you had released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
Our previous release was an EP named “Fiend Incarnate” and was released in the band’s early stages.
In April we released our full length album named ‘’A Harrowing Atrocity’’. We think of this album as a leap from our previous work because it was exactly what we had in our minds about our sound; from the music to the lyrics, from its power, presence and length to its meaning and ability to make the listener travel via our music.
The sound cannot be easily defined or categorised and we are fine with that. We like to refer to our music as ‘majestic black metal’ as if it is a new genre that we can call our own.

3. This is your first release in 4 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?
In Greece, where we live, there is only a small portion of the population that listens to metal or any kind of heavy music. These 4 years that passed since our last release we were on the hunt of Greek audience. We were constantly trying to book as many live gigs as possible and meet as many people as possible because we wanted to create a fan-base that could provide feedback about our work as we were working on it and because the contact with the audience is what feeds an artist’s mindset to keep up the work and channel the positivity and energy to our music compositions or lyrics.
‘A Harrowing Atrocity’ is an album that derived from what was given to us spiritually through our fans.


4. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
Main topic of the song writing are Greek Mythical characters unveiling their darkest sides through sinful tales or even imaginary entities that praise what’s dark and part of the occult and chaos. But if you let yourself think and dream, or even try to think yourself as if you were inside the stories, you can relieve past experiences  through a weird, distorted and dark feeling if you translate our lyrics’ metaphors.

5. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Dark Portrait'?
It was not an easy task to find a proper name for our Band.
We always had the vision of our music making the audience part of our lyrical stories; and we wanted to incorporate this vision to our band’s name. Our main goal was to let those who want to relate to our music create an imaginary picture of them that defines their image when being a part of our tales.
‘Dark Portrait’ is not our portrait. It is a portrait of one’s darkest and unexplored – or even unknown – self.

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?
We joined many shows here in Greece. Metal stages and gigs are difficult to be booked and organized and we had to hunt them down. I guess our connections lead to the most renowned metal stages in Greece, opening a couple of huge names of the scene and that got us the experience needed to have a consistent stage performance.
When we are on stage, we all feel that we have the cue to bring our own Dark Portrait characters to perform. We appear as dead and weak corpses that have risen from their tombs but when the melody starts, one can feel the darkness that seems to drive us on stage.

7. Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We are currently working on our new album and trying to rehearse and jam as we wait for our singer to complete his army duties. When his duties are fulfilled, we have plans about touring Greece for the second part of 2017. After that, given that our second full length album is completed and released, we discuss about touring through Europe.

8. The new album is going to get re-issued on Xperiment XIII, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
When we were in the hunt of a label to promote us, we contacted as many people as we could so that we could find what deal was the best for our band and our schedule. We found many of them wanting to sign us but we decided to sign with Xperiment XIII because we knew that Clive that runs it was a fan and supporter of our music and our band and because the deal was really close to what we had in mind.

9. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic and symphonic black metal?
Our music tends not to have a lot of things in common with melodic and symphonic black metal. It is an unorthodox approach to both of these genres. In our band’s early stages, we were contacting individuals from other countries via facebook in order to spread the word and gain followers from other countries and different cultures.
Feedback was our next priority.
In general, even people from countries as Finland or the Netherlands that are used to the heaviest and styles of black metal were constantly giving us positive feedback especially for ‘a harrowing atrocity’ album and after its completion we knew that this was the route that both we and the listeners loved.
People from all over the world are still curious about what we have going on

10. 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?
Only our drummer is a part of another musical project. He is a part of a thrash band. They are currently working on a new album as well as they are back from a tour all-over Greece.

11. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Fast forward to the release of our second full length album. After that an after its promotion we will pull as many strings as possible in order to tour Europe to say the least.
Our band is all about interaction with the people, so, after providing the second album, we will try to perform on stage wherever there is an audience.

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?
These days, the bands that we tend to listen to the most are Carach Angren, Septic Flesh, Rotting Christ, Carpathian Forest, Cradle of Filth, Dark Funeral, Bathory, Watain, Dimmu Borgir and others.
Our influences are our inspiration and we try to create music that they could head bang to the way we do to their songs.

13. How would you describe your views on Occultism?
Occultism is all about what is there to find but the world tends to refuse its presence and functions. It is the rails that our lives roll on but no one will ever admit or accept it because darkness is an unknown place that only few want to discover or even be a part of.
For us, it is a part of one’s self that is definitive and infinite.
It influences us but we try to incorporate it to our music as less profoundly as possible and the reason for that is that we do not want to throw it into the listener’s face. We want him or her to prepare for its truth.

14. What are some of your non-musical interests?
We all enjoy having a beer or two listening to good music or hanging out discussing about our plans and views on the band.
Yeah, some of us have their own hobbies but most of our time goes into our every-day jobs and our band.

15. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
We want the world to know that we create the music that we would listen and head bang to. Our lyrics have many meanings and can be translated to feelings and thoughts that will give you the chance to live them.
Our music for us is not about getting famous or getting payed. It is all about touching hearts and inspires our point of view of the music’s darkness to the listener.
We would keep composing and creating even if no one listened but we are grateful that the world keeps being interested in us and supports us.
That’s the truest thing that drives us.

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Bearstorm/Biophobia/Grimoire Records/2016 EP Review

  Bearstorm  are  a  band  from  Richmond,  Virginia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  progressive  and  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  post  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "Biophobia"  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  Grimoire  Records.

  Nature  sounds  start  off  the  ep  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melodic  direction  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  and  progressive  structures  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  some  of  the  leads  also  have  a  stoner  rock  edge  to  them  and  clean  guitars  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  riffs  also  mix  the  heaviness  of  post  metal  into  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  the  whole  recording  sticks  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  the  last  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Bearstorm  remains  true  to  the  melodic  and  progressive  mixture  of  black,  death  and  post  metal  from  previous  recordings,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Bearstorm  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  progressive  black,  death,  and  post  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Biophobia"  and  "Cryptobiotic  Filth  Destroyer".  8  out  of 10. 

http://grimoirerecords.bandcamp.com/track/cryptobiotic-filth-destroyer

In My Embrace/Black Waters Deep/Sliptrick Records/2016 CD Review

  In  My  Embrace  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a review  of  their 2016  album  "Black  Waters  Deep"  which  will  be  released  on  November  10th  by  Sliptrick  Records.

  Nature  sounds  along  with  some  clean  guitars  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  atmospheric  sounds  and  melodic  leads  being  added  onto  the  recording  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  awhile  the  music  gets  a  lot  more  heavier  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody and  some  of  the  faster  riffing  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking and  pianos  are  added  on  a  later  track  while  most  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  heavy  musical  direction  and  they  close  the  album  with  an  acoustic  instrumental.

  In  My  Embrace  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  from  the  previous  release,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  sorrow,  anger,  hatred,  life,  death,  religion,  society  and  existential  matters.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  In  My  Embrace  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  black  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Black  Waters  Deep"  "The  Road  Of  Hanging  On:" and  "Killing Spree".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQ25HZC/

Ill Neglect/Lambs/Trisma/Drown Within Records/2016 7 Inch Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  from  Germany's  Ill  Neglect  and  Italy's  Lambs called  "Trisma"  which  was  released  by  Drown  Within  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Ill Neglect  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge  and  grindcore.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  spoken  word  samples  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  and  when t he  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  screaming  vocals  can  be  heard  while  also  adding  in  touches  of  crust,  d  beat  and  grindcore  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  are  influenced  by  sludge  and  post  hardcore  and  death  metal  growls  are  added  onto t he  second  track,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  angry themes.

  In  my  opinion  Ill  Neglect  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Permenant  Euphori".

  Next  up  is  Lambs  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge,  crust  and  post  hardcore.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  heavy  sound  where  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  their  recording  while  the  vocals  are  high  pitched  screams  that  also  add  in  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  songs  also  mix  in  a  lot  of  sludge  and  crust  influences  while  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  spoken  vocals  are  influenced  by  post  hardcore  and when  solos  and  leads a re  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Lambs  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  blackened  sludge,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Unfeeling".

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  black  metal,  sludge  and  grindcore.  8  out  of  10.

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Myrkgrav/Takk OgFarvel; Tide Er Blitt Ei Annen/2016 Full Length Review

   Myrkgrav  are  a  solo  project  from  Norway  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  blackened  mixture  of  folk  and  viking  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2016  album  "Takk  Og  Farvel;  Tide  Er  Blitt  Ei  Annen".

  A  very  hard  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  and  after  awhile  clean  singing  pagan  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  folk  instruments  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  most  of  the  songs  and  the  solos  and  leads  also use  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  music  also  brings in  a  decent  amount  of  clean  playing  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  you can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  after  awhile  grim  black  metal  screams also  make  their presence  known  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  all  instrumental.

  Myrkgrav  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  blackened  mixture  of  folk  and  viking  metal  of  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Norwegian  and  cover  local  history  and  folk  tales.

  In my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album from  Myrkgrav  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  folk  and  viking  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Skjon  Jomfru"  "Soterudsvarten"Torrhard"  and  "Uttjent".  8  out  of  10.

Homepage: http://www.myrkgrav.no/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Myrkgrav/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Fattifolkskremarn
Bandcamp: https://myrkgrav.bandcamp.com/
  

Huldre/Tusmorke/Gateway Music/2016 CD Review

  Huldre  are  a  band  from Denmark  that  plays  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2016  album  "Tusmorke"  which  will  be  released  in  November  by  Gateway  Music.

  Heavy  guitars  and  folk  instruments  start  off  the  album  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  female  vocals  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  songs  and  clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a decent  amount  of  melody.

  When the  music  speeds  up  tremolo  picking  along  with  blast  beats  can  be  heard  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  black  metal  screams  while  most  of  the  music  sticks  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  acoustic  guitars  are  also  used  on  a  couple  of  songs  while  a  later  track  introduces  melodic  guitar  leads  onto  the  recording.

  Huldre  plays  a  style  of  folk  metal  that  is  very  traditional and  melodic  while  also  having  a  slight  black  metal  influence,  the  production  sounds  very  professional while  the  lyrics  are  written  in Danish  and  cover  Danish  Mythology and  Folklore.

  In  my  opinion  Huldre  are  a  very  great  sounding  folk  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Jagt"  :Varulv"  "Morke"  and  "Nattesorg".  8  out  of  10.

Homepage: http://www.huldre.dk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Huldre/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K37Y8ukaAF0
Twitter: https://twitter.com/huldremetal

Macaria/A Strings Dramedy/Revalve Records/2016 CD Review

  Macaria  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of   folk  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "A  Strings  Dramedy"  which  was  released  by Revalve  Records.

  Record  player  sounds  along  with  some  folk  instruments  start  off  the  album  along  with  the  atmosphere  of  a  horror  movie  and  the  music  also  gets  very  symphonic  at  times  and  after  the  intro  the  music  also  starts  getting  more  heavy  and  melodic  while  also  mixing  it  in  with  the  symphonic  and  folk  music  elements.

  Most  of  the  vocals  are  death  metal  growls  while  clean  singing  pagan  vocals  are  also  used  at  times    and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  operatic  female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Elements  of  the  more  melodic  and  symphonic  sound  of  melodic  black/pagan  black  metal  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats and  a  later  track  also  introduces  acoustic  guitars  onto  the  album  while  a  later  song  also  brings  in  back  up  shouts  and  they  also  bring  in  an  symphonic  instrumental  before  closing  the  album  with  2  heavy  tracks  that  also  include  vocals.

  Macaria  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  folk,  symphonic,  pagan  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Macaria  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  folk,  pagan  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Puppets  Theater"  "The  Hidden  Filth"  "Midday  Strangers"  and  "The  Knot  Of  Wills".  8  out  of  10.

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