Sloth Herder/No Pity, No Sunrise/Grimiore Records/2017 Full Length Review

  Sloth  Herder  are  a  band  from  Maryland  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge,  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of their  2017  album  "No  Pity,  No  Sunrise"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Grimiore  Records.

  Distorted  drones  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  black  metal  screams  and  fast  griindcore  riffing  a  few  seconds  later  as  well  as  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  power  violence  style  and  the  riffing  also  gets  very  technical  at times  while  the  slower  sections  are  influenced  by  sludge.

  Deep  growls  can  be  heard  at  times  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  some  of  the  fast  riffs  also  utilize  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  playing  can  also be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  a  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  as  well  as  a  few  instrumentals  and  elements  of  post  hardcore  are  also  utilized  at  times.

  Sloth  Herder  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  black  metal,  sludge  and grindcore  mixture  of  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Sloth  Herder  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black  metal,  sludge,  and  grindcore,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Antipathetic  Grades"  "Prijedor"  "Burial  Ethic"  and  "Privation".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/slothherder

http://slothherdermd.bandcamp.com

The Evil Dead 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?

We are mainly doing promotion at this moment ,some new music has been written too.



2.At the end of January, 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?

I don’t think its that much different from the previous album but it has a darker touch and it’s a lot more focused and cohesive perhaps ,the first one was a collection of songs we were doing live and Earth Inferno was written with an album in mind .That makes the listening experience more fluid .





3.You refer to your music as 'Electric Evil Metal', can you tell us a little bit more about this term?

We don’t care much about labeling the music but since people cant seem to pinpoint a genre to us that title sounds about right, metal that explodes in every direction and is fun and dangerous . Rock n Roll should always be dangerous ,it’s the Devil´s music after all.



4.This is your first album since 2012, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?

Touring the first album throughout Argentina ,rehearsing,writing and recording the new album. It took us a long time to find the right label and we are pretty happy with the overall result so far.

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

The whole album deals with darknes,,death ,insanity and the occult

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'The Evil Dead'?

The name came from the movie ,we didn’t give it much thought and should have,makes googling a bitch.We wanted a name that evoked evil and fun at the same time ,both characteristics of our music.

7.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 did some really good ones opening for other bands , one gig that I remember was playing on a stadium in berazategui city for the Guinness book of records that wanted a whole week of bands playing non stop,two stages had been set up and when one band was done the other started .Was pretty bizarre. We try to make our live show an experience that draws the crowd in and give them the best show possible ,this is very hard to pull on small stages though.

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

Not at the moment but we are open for any offers

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

So far reviews have been excellent but the album has only been out for 10 days ,it’s a little early to say but I think it will do well.

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

The band will tread the same path when it comes to music ,if we wanna pull a “load” or “st anger” i´ll do it as a solo project but The Evil Dead will remain the same.

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?

Bands that have a direct influence on our music?Metallica ,Dissection,Iron Maiden,Blue Oyster Cult,ACDC,Mayhem,Bathory, Lynyrd Skynyrd and many many more .



12.How would you describe your views on Occultism?

This is very personal but I will say that I do believe in the Occult and that it is not to be taken lightly.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

Movies,books,traveling, drinking .I have an interest in languages too.



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

Thank you for the interview ,good interesting questions. Buy our album and get possessed ,hopefully well see you around on tour !





Michel Regueiro.




facebook.com/ theevildeadargentina

Band Contact:

theevildeadargentina@hotmail. com

Sons Ov Omega/Reign/Black Lion Productions/2017 CD Review

  Sons  Ov  Omega  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  progressive  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  with  a  musical  style  they refer  to  as  'apocalyptic  occult  metal'  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Reign"  which  will  be  released  on  February  18th  by  Black  Lion  Productions.

  Acoustic  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  singing   vocals  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  leads  up  to  a  heavier  musical  direction  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  while  acoustic  guitars  are  also  mixed  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  at  times  and  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  melodic  fashion.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  black  metal  screams  are  also  used  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  album  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  A  great  amount of  melody  can  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and    a  lot  of  the  songs  also  mix  in  elements  of  prog  metal  and  some  of  the  faster  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  symphonic  touches  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  ritualistic  spoken  words.

  Sons  Ov  Omega  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  melodic  forms  of  black  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  with  prog  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Left  hand  Path,  Lovecraftian  and  Apocalyptic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sons  Ov  Omega  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Quatzalcoatl"  "Malleus  Maleficarum"  "Kali"  and  "Cthulhu".  8  out  of  10.

https://sonsovomegablacklion.bandcamp.com/album/reign?utm_source=Promo%2BList&utm_campaign=1618176c71-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_02_14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b7d3bffdfc-1618176c71-159719745    

Helioss/Antumbra/Apathia Records/2017 CD Review

  Helioss  are  a  band  form  France  that  plays  a  symphonic  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Antumbra"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Apathia  Records.

  Tragic  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  and  after  a  minute  the  music  goes  into  a  very  fast  and  heavy  musical  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  while  the  vocals  bring  in  a  mixture  of  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  along  with  the  riffs  also  using  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Symphonic  and  heavy  parts  mix  together  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  there  is also  a  brief  use  of  classical  guitars  on  some  of  the  tracks  and  they  also  bring  in  a  brief  instrumental  before  returning  back  to  vocals  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a very powerful  sound  to  them  while  spoken  word  samples  and  nature  sounds  are  also  used  briefly  and  a  few  of  the  songs  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Helioss  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  a  symphonic  and  melodic  style  of  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the lyrics  cover  light,  religion,  death  and  where  men  belongs  in  this  world  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Helioss  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  World  is  Ours"  "Forsaken"  "Screaming  In  Silence"  and  "The  Sun  Is  Gone".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU2YsJ3D4xo

Katharos Interview

Katharos Interview

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

I would describe our music as symphonic black metal, influenced by classical music and death metal. What we try to accomplish is, without trying to be pretentious, a certain complexity to our songs, simply because we find it stimulating. Therefore I would say that our songs could be quite rewarding to be listened to several times. At every moment in the songs, there are several layers of guitars and synths.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?

On Exuvian Heraldry we promoted a more clean and epic sound, rather than the typical black metal rawness. With so much going on in the songs, with several layers of different guitar riffs/leads and synths, the soundscape is more emphasized on mid and treble, rather than bass.

3.This is your first release since 2007, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?

Rehearsing, writing and recording is, as all who ever played in a band knows, very time– and energy consuming. Hence, a break was needed. A break that lasted for several years, but ended as we felt that the time and motivation had come back. We have several uncompleted songs and have started to write new ones. So expect the next release not to take as long as Exuvian Heraldry.

4.Your lyrics cover Gnosticism, Anti Christian and Phenomenology themes. can you tell us a little bit more about your intrest in those topics?

Religion in general, and Gnosticism in particular, was one of my major interest when writing the lyrics for Exuvian Heraldry. It goes without saying that as fans of death- and black metal, we are interested in understanding subjects that are beyond conventions and norms, and especially views that are contrarian or anti those. The contrarian standing-point of Gnosticism is quite fascinating and inspiring, which made it easy to apply as setting for the album lyrics. On Exuvian Heraldry the lyrics that touches upon themes of phenomenology or anti-christianity trickled down from the overarching gnostic theme.

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

The name also relates to Gnosticism, as Katharos was the denomination the Cathars applied to their community. The Cathars were a loosely organized, unhierarchical religious movement in midieval southern Europe which by the Catholic church was branded as heretic. As a result its members were persecuted and later massacred. The name is actually the greek word for pure or clean; Katharos. An interesting fact is that the Catholic church continued to call enemies of the catholic church, in general, Cathars. Today, in several languages, the word for heretic directly stems from this use of Cathars, that is; people who are against the church. Even so in the Swedish language.


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?

Katharos has yet not performed live, even though all of us frequently performed live with our other bands.

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

We are getting offers, and are preparing to be able to play live after the album has been released on vinyl.

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

It has been really great. I am especially humbled by a small group of people who, since our demo (‘De Cinere’ in 2007) have kept writing to us, wondering about when new material would be released.

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

Yes, ‘Repuked’ and ‘Negative Self’ are two metal outfits that our members are active in.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
   
In general we will probably maintain several elements from Exuvian Heraldry, while some of the new material, however, will have a slower tempo. The guitars will probably fill a bigger space in the soundscape, while the synth arrangements might become more symphonic. I guess ‘epic and brutal’ is the mindset!

11.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?

Our main inspiration from the symphonic black metal genre is definitely Emperor, particularly in how you combine guitar leads with synths. To me, Dimmu Borgir and Anorexia Nervosa are also two major sources of inspiration.

Today I would say we consume all kinds of music, including the bands mentioned above. Within the genre, I currently listen to Obsequiae and Deathspell Omega.
  

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

Just a big ‘thank you’ to all those who enjoy and spread our music!

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Aegri Somnia/Ad Augusta per Augusta/Symbol Of Domination Productions/United By Chaos/2017 CD Review

  Aegri  Somnia are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a mixture  of  folk,  avant  garde,  electronic,  and  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Ad  Augusta  Per  Augusta"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Symbol  Of  Domination  Productions  and  United  by  Chaos.

  Folk  instruments  and  operatic  female vocals  start  off  the  album  and  after  awhile  synths  along  with  elements  of  electronic  music  are  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  some  heavier  and  melodic  guitar  riffs  and  whispers  are  also  utilized  at  times  and  they  also mix  in  tribal  and  ritualistic  elements  in  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs.

  A  small  amount  of  percussion's  can  be  heard  at  times  along  with  some  avant  garde  elements  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  an d they  also  add  a  heavy  black  metal  influence  onto  the  recording  and  the  music  also  adds  in  touches  of  Spanish  and  Celtic  pagan  folk  music  and  nature  sounds  are  also  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  melodic  guitar  leads  are  also  used  briefly.

  Aegri  Somnia  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  folk,  electronic  music,  avant  garde  and  black  metla  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Spanish  and  cover  Paganism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Aegri  Somnia  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  folk,  avant  garde,  electronic,  and  black  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Seran"  "La  Deshorna"  "Ronda  De  Mayo"  and  "Veneno".  8  out  of  10. 

https://aegrisomniafolk.bandcamp.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNjupbbGUvo

Black Urn/Moros/2017 Split Album Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  Pennsylvania's  Black  Urn  and  Moros  which  will  be  self  released  on  February  27th  in  2017  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Black  urn  a  band  that  plays  a  blackened  form  of  sludge  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  acoustic  guitar  playing  along  with  some  stringed  instruments  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  awhile  the  music  goes  into  a  heavier  direction  along  with  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  and  the  slow  riffing  is  heavily  influenced  by  sludge  and  doom  metal.

  Some  of  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of dark  sounding  melodies  and  their  track  is  over  7  minutes  in  length  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  their  side  of  the  split,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  spirituality  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Black  Urn  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  sludge  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out t heir  side  of  the  split.

  Next  up  is Moros  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom  and  sludge  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  along  with  some  distorted  reverb  that  also  leads  up  to  a  heavier  and  melodic  direction  as  well  as  adding  high  pitched  sludge  style  screams  onto  the  recording  along  with  the  riffs adding  in  the  heaviness  of  doom  metal  and  all  3  of  their  tracks  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction  while  the  second  song  adds  in  a  small  amount  of  death  metal  growls,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Moros  are  a  very great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Vortexwound".

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

https://moros-666.bandcamp.com/album/moros-black-urn-split-2

Nox Vorago/Al Chem/2017 Full Length Review

  Nox  Vorago  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  album  "Al  Chem".

A  very  symphonic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  heavy  riffs  being  mixed  in  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  are  added  on  the  recording  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  a  decent  amount  of  melody  can  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  black  metal  screams  are  added  into  some  parts  of  the  songs.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced,  and  fast  parts and  some  of the  faster  riffing  also  brings  in a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  when  guitar  leads  are  finally  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  distorted  yet  melodic  fashion  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  one  track  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  and  all  of  the  musical instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to them.

  Nox  Vorago  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  symphonic  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  occultism,  mysticism,  rites,  history  and  legends  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Nox  Vorago  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  symphonic  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Elenu  Tiamtatu"  "The  Hissing  Sound  Of  Ouroboros"  and  "At  The  Feet  Of  Ereshkigal".  8  out  of  10.

NOX VORAGO: http://www.noxvorago.com 
| http://www.facebook.com/noxvorago

Noctiferia 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?

Igor Nardin

We just started to promote and book shows for Transnatura. Album is about to be released on 3th of march  2017 for a world wide territory via Plastichead distribution. On 26th of march we will release limited edition Transnatura LP with some unreleased material and perform live in full lineup in Ljubljana National Theatre. Beside that we are currently working on what is to be our next metal album. It is going to be kind of homage to a certain Slovenian artist but can't say much more at this point, it would ruin the surprise.



2.In December 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?

Igor Nardin

Transnatura was released for Slovenian territory on 2nd of december, and is our first acoustic full length album. The fact that is acoustic album is the biggest difference. Can't really describe whole album with few words, cause it is so diverse. With our metal albums we do all the things pretty much by the book and in a way you know what to expect from typical Noc album. But here we did not mind any rules. There are gypsy jazz, balkan, mehico, etno etc parts or even entire songs and a whole bunch of weird instruments. The rules and expectations ware put aside. The fact that in the beginning we were not thinking about an album but merely of single radio show also effected outcome. There are 13 guest musicians on album. There are no samples no digital keyboards all instruments were recorded live, all the partitures and arrangements were done by our keyboard player Dame. It was so far biggest and hardest album to record and mix but hormonically and emotionally wise best so far. It is a journey, a soundtrack.



3.You have experimented a lot with your music over the years, can you tell us a little bit more about the bands musical sound has evolved over the years?

Igor Nardin

We are type of the band that can't repeat it self over and over  again. Can't really say if that's good for fan base or business but anyhow trough years we found our base, people that feel and like the idea of change, follow us and enjoy the unexpected. It was always atmosphere, the one thing, the most important to us in music. If trying to fit in genre boxes then Noctiferia was originally Black/Death metal band in late 90's. Later on with »Slovenska Morbida« we evolved into Industrial death metal and i think we're still there somewhere. With exception of last album that cant be easily categorixed.



4.The new album was unplugged, what was the decision behind releasing an acoustic album instead of a heavier recording?

Igor Nardin

It all started with invitation from Jure Longika's »Izštekani« radio show on Slovenian national radio. Show hosted all major slovenian bands in unplugged version trough the period of last 20 years or so. It was challenge situation, to do something new and weird, we also talked before about going unplugged but it was never right moment. At first it wasn't meant to be an album, but over a time ideas were pouring in and we had to record it. 



5.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored over the years with your recordings?

Uros Lipovec

We write about themes dealing with modern society and spirituality. Lyrics are mostly critical as a result of the world in which we are living. On the other hand with spiritual messages we are trying to show a positive aspect of this experience we call life.



6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Noctiferia'?

Uros Lipovec

Name basically means eternal night or bringer of the night. We were 16 at the time we chose the name and although we would probably pick a different name today it still represent the atmosphere of the music we create.



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

Uros Lipovec

Some of the best shows were probably in Spain when we were supporting In Flames on european tour, Midi festival in China was beyond crazy and also performing at Wacken was special experience... Our shows are dark, energetic with lots of atmosphere and anger!



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

Uros Lipovec

We are planning to return to China in May this year. More shows will follow.



9.The new album was released on 'Nika Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Uros Lipovec

It is basically the biggest slovenian independent label and Warner Music records representative with long tradition in business. They made our album also available in Europe through Plastic Head and Code 7 distributions.



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

Uros Lipovec

Wherever we played so far we were mostly really well accepted and pleasantly surprised by the reactions of people, specially in China as it is on the other side of the world and was complete mystery to us. We would like to be more on the road as touring is the most efficient way of promotion this days, unfortunately it's not cheap.



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

Igor Nardin

Giani and Dame have few jam bands but nothing serious for now. Dame is studying composition on Academy of Music so he's active in that field to.



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

Igor Nardin

 We'll go on do few more albums and try to be creative and original as possible. Enjoy the process of creating music. With Transnatura we kinda started parallel Noctiferia timeline, at this point we're not sure if this is just a single album or we started something that might go on for years.



12.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?

Igor Nardin

We all listen to different styles of music, We're not band that agrees on everything or shares fascinations for same bands by the default. But there are few bands that we all love and those few had an impact on our creative process last few years. Bands like Dead Can Dance, Korn, Juno Reactor. These are few that popped to my mind instantly.



13.What are some of your non musical interests?

Igor Nardin

Personally Motion Graphics, Graphic Design, Snowboarding, Dogwalking and in general spending as much time possible in nature in woods! Other guys are all in to art, music or visual stuff.



14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Uros Lipovec
Check out Transnatura. We guarantee you it is not what you would expect or even imagine!

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Valfreya/Promised Land/2017 Full Length Review

  Valfreya  are  a  band  from  Montreal,  Quebec,  Canada  that  has  been  featured  before  in this  zinw  and  plays  a  mixture  of  folk  and  melodic  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Promised  Land".

    Stringed  instruments  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  symphonic  elements  and  keyboards  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  the  intro   they  go  into  a  heavier  direction  while  also  keeping  the  symphonic  elements  and  the  vocals  also  bring  in  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  very  melodic.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  back  up  vocals  are  also  used  at  times  along  with  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  both  male  and  female  clean  singing  vocals  and  as  the  album  progresses  more  folk  music  elements  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  spoken  word parts  along  with  acoustic  guitars  are  also  used  briefly  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  fast  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking.

  Valfreya  remain true  to  the  folk  and  melodic  black/death  metal  mixture  of  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  Nordic  Paganism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding recording  from  Valfreya  and  if  you  are  a fan  of  folk  and  melodic  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Odin's  Fury"  "Shame  And  Despair"  "Promised  Land"  and  "Evolution".  8  out  of  10. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX2M2deDyb8 

Unearthly Trance/Stalking The Ghost/Relapse Records/2017 CD Review

  Unearthly  Trance  are  a  band  from  New  York  that  plays  a  blackened  mixture  of  doom  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Stalking  The  Ghost"  which  will  be  released  on  February  24th  by  Relapse  Records.

  A  very  heavy  sludge  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  after  awhile  aggressive  screaming  vocals a re  added  onto  the  recording  and  they  also  add  in touches  of  black  metal  and  at  times  the  riffs  add  melodies  into  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  drones  are  also  added  onto  some  of  the  tracks  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful.

  A  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  a  lot  of  doom  metal  elements  can  be  heard  in  the  slower  riffing  and  melodic  yet  rough  vocals  are  also  used  at  times  adding  in  some  influences  of  the  90's  New  Orleans  sludge  style  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  acoustic  guitars  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  while  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction and  thy  close  the  album  with  an  instrumental  while  spoken word  samples  are  used  towards  the  end.

  Unearthly  Trance  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  sludge  and  doom  metal  while  also  mixing  in  the  darkness  and  screaming  approach  of  black  metal  to  create a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Seasons,  and  Hallucinations  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Unearthly  Trance  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE "Into  the  Spiral"  "Famine"  and  "The  Great  Cauldron".  8  out  of  10.

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/unearthly-trance-into-the-spiral-video-premiere-2/

   

The Evil Dead/Earth Inferno/Witches Brew/2017 CD Review

  The  Evil  Dead  are  a  band  from  Argentina  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death,  speed, and  thrash  metal  with  touches  of  traditional  metal  and  classic  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Earth  Inferno"  which  was  released  by  Witches  Brew.

    A  very  heavy  sound  along  with  melodic  guitar  leads  start  off  the  album  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  when the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  some  of  the  riffing  is  heavily  influenced  by  thrash  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  screams.

  A  great  amount  of  NWOBHM  elements  can  be  heard  in  both  the  riffs  and  leads  and  clean  guitars  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  later  songs  add  in  touches  of  blues  and  70's  hard  rock  along  with  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

 Back  up  shouts  are  also  used  at  times  and  some  of  the  faster  riffing  uses  tremolo  picking  while  also  adding  in  speeds  metal  influences  as  the  album  progresses  and  clean  playing  is  also added  onto  a  later  track  while  some  of  the  vocals  add  in  a  touch  of  death  metal  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  diversity.

  The  Evil  Dead  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  the  melodic  black/death  metal  style  while  also  adding  in  influences  of  thrash,  speed  metal,  NWOBHM  and  classic  rock  to  create  something very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Darkness,  and  Insanity  themes.

  In  my  opinion  The  Evil  Dead  are  a very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death,  speed, thrash  metal,  NWOBHM,  and  classic  rock  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Electric  Evil  Revisited"  "They  Live!"  "Songs  Of  The  Hunt"  and  "Chariots  Of  The  Gods".  8  out  of  10.

https://witchesbrewthrashes.bandcamp.com/album/earth-inferno?utm_source=Promo%2BList&utm_campaign=7c131e81a8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_01_31&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b7d3bffdfc-7c131e81a8-159719745   

Katharos/Exuvian Heraldry/Sliptrick Records/2017 CD Review

  Katharos  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Exuvian  Heraldry"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Sliptrick  Records.

  Tragic  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  and  after  awhile  they  go  into  a  heavier  direction  while  also  retaining  the  symphonic  elements  and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  at  times  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Death  metal  growls  re  also  utilized  at  times  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  few  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  the  fast  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  one  track  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  melodic  chanting.

  Katharos  plays a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  symphonic  in  the  mid  90's  style  while  also  adding  in  touches  of  death  metal  which  also  makes  the  music  stand  out  a  lot  more,  the  production   sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  a  mixture  of  Italian  and  English  and  cover  Anti  Christianity,  Gnosticism,  and  Phenomenology  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Katharos  are  a very  great  sounding  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Thy  Fortress  Of  Regret"  "Schaktet"  and  "Awakening  Of  The  Converted".  8  out  of 10.

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Oracle Interview

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

We are a melodic blackened death metal band from lower Alabama that prides itself on epic music that incorporates many genres of metal.



2.In 2016 you had released an album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

Diverse with a heavy attention on creating different ways to make the listener either head bang or feel emotions. An adventure and journey that carries you through ups and downs with topics of hatred, uprise, battle and death itself.




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

Ancient gods and goddesses, serpents, war, death, fire and ice all used in metaphors for everyday ailments such as anger, sadness and hatred. We like to leave the lyrics open ended enough that the listener can inject his or her own emotion and life experiences into the songs.




4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Oracle'?

A bringing of music in a grand fashion. The prophecy coming so to speak. To be grand in nature and represent us in a way that allows us to be broad and creative in our music.



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

We have played a lot of great shows. Probably the best was Devil's night which had an artist named Nate the knife create the entire stage. He also produced a very theatrical flow between bands the whole night. This plays right into our hands as our stage show is very energetic and up beat with very little breaks and we keep a pretty set plan in between songs. Many songs even run together to where you don't always know a new song has begun.




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

Of course. We plan to do as many shows as we can and even considering a tour. We currently have 3 or 4 scheduled over the next month or so and just got done doing a couple.




7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

If the right situation would reveal itself, we would sign. We have had offers but turned them down as we are able to do so much of oracle on our own.




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

Very well. You just never know if your doing something right or not and the ever growing fan base suggests that we are doing something good.




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

We want to dig deeper into what we've started. Be more creative. More darkened. More insane. More experimental. More epic.



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?

Emperor, Gojira, Amon Amarth, Aborted, Dissection, The Black Dahlia Murder, Dimmu Borgir, Sylosis, Watain, Sepultura, Megadeth and a lot more. All are bands we listen to and that have influenced us greatly.



11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Horror movies, sports, Astronomy, Mythology, Western and Chinese philosophy(Descartes is a favorite), reading Lovecraft and Poe, and playing chess. Favorite video games are Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct, and Resident Evil.




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

Keep listening and follow us as we will be making more in the future. We would also like to thank each and every listener out there. Hit us up. Send us a message. Let us know what you think personally. We love to hear from each and everyone no matter how good or bad. We keep an open ear as we are all on the same journey of life and can learn from each other.

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1914 Interview

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

Hi. Right now we planned some gig in Ukraine and EU, we`re announced at the biggest Baltic extreme metal festival - Kilkim Žaibu this summer and signed with big EU booking agency (they will announce us soon) and together we will plan our tour in Europe
And, of course, we’re creating a new songs for upcoming album. Five out of seven planned - almost ready. So I hope we release our second LP at this fall.
Oh, we have found a new drummer, and he is great.


2.How would you describe the musical sound of the current music?

Less metal - more despair and pain)) It slowed down, became monolithic and angrier. I think that new songs received a little bit more of death metal and sludge influence. And it`s heavy as all hell
And it’s neither about politics, nor about propaganda or other bullshit stuff – it’s just war, trenches, fear, hopelessness and endless death around of you

3.With the song lyrics and band name the concept is about World War I, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this war?

Over 10 years ago I went into war archaeology, actually WW1 archeology.  I love this war, this history, uniforms, weapons, armament, stories about battles, and the fate of soldiers. I am a real fan of Great war. Here in Ukraine there were many battles of Great War – Brusilov`s offensive, Carpathian winter operation, Galician battle.
Therefore, I dug up dead soldiers - skeleton, with uniform, weapon, ammo, with all the stuff and wrote songs about their fate, about their silent death. Feelings. His fear.
I’ve always been inspired by this theme. I love films, books, stories, artifacts of this war.
When you dig up a soldier, who died here 100 years ago and laid in the mud – it is a strange feeling. When you look at these bones that were human once, with all human’s stuff - love, feelings, hope, maybe stamp collection, whose parents were waiting at home, you think – why and for what did he die? I had no answer. But all these things inspire me.

4.Recently Mazzar released your 2015 album and 2016 ep as a compilation, what are your thoughts on the final product?

It`s was a really great idea to collaborate with Mazzar and I hope we will keep it going for a long time. They did a huge work to promote us, help us with some gigs, created an awesome merch and actually a fucking great digipack with all our stuff.
Awesome art, awesome product interesting for fans (I hope so)
So I`m really glad that we found each other


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

Actually the best shows I thinks were gigs in Uzhgorod and Zaxid fest. First – good one oldschool gig in underground club, with a lot of fans, stagediving, slam and all this stuff, Zaxid – biggest UA festival with all sort of music, although we looked a bit weird there, but we found many new fans and played on a big stage with great sound.
About performance – we use a lot of things to create an atmosphere of Great war – sounds of war, hymn samples, sounds of machineguns, etc., speeches between songs about this part of history, old and rare video footage from WW1, use a real working Mosin–Nagant rifle as custom microphone stand. And we do it great, interesting, with expression.


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

Yeah I described it in a first question)


7.Recently you did a cover of Nirvana's "Something In The Way", what was the decision behind doing your own version of this song?

When I was teenager I loved Nirvana and this song. For many peoples this song boring (as a Nirvana)). But for me – it’s about fate, what you cannot change. Maybe later – if there will be any later. So when I read books about battle of Somme – in text I found some soldiers words about tanks (don’t remember exactly, but something like this) – We saw it and it was hell, big, loud, with fire and smoke, something in the way, maybe death. And I remembered it – something in the way, death, battle of Somme. After years it came up from my memory and I said to guys – hey common let’s try do this song like our version about battle of Somme. So we did.


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

I didn't expect such interest from all around the world to our band. A lot of people write us from France, Belguim, USA, Germany about our music with thanks, with greetings.
Album has over two hundreds reviews out of all world so far – from Australia, Iceland, from Brazil, Poland, Germany, Greece, Norway, from Russia and USA and so on. Many thanks from guys that in theme of Historical reenactment, and even French historian, who writes about Great war in metal music, wrote about us and used our texts. It`s awesome I think.

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

My goal is to tell the whole world about Great War, to all metal heads, to all military fans. Tell this part of history to all who can hear it.
How can we do that?
Of course at big festivals in EU and maybe USA, good promotion, via tours and gigs as much as we can, collaboration with big labels like Nuclear blast, Peaceville or Metal blade. And, of course – good music and stories from us. From all dead soldiers of Great War


10.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?

About music that I listen to and about influence – it will be a long list from Japanese noise to grindcore, from true BM to old school rap, from hardcore punk to industrial, electronic, death, doom, sludge, stoner, post-rock. Actually, I am a big fan of Misfits, Exploited, Paradise lost, Obituary, Asphyx, Merzbow, Einstürzende Neubauten, Black flag and all oldschool hardcore punk, death, true black metal from early 90`s and noise\industrial from 70-80`s. I fucking love japan noise and some british and scandinavian bands like Nordvargr, Dead Voices On Air, Cremation Lily. About now - interesting music for me – atmospheric black or Cascadian post black, some electronic bands like Gost, Carpenter Brut or Zombie Hyperdrive. A lot of awesome music we can have today and it`s great.






11.What are some of your non musical interests?

All simple, first of all for me – books. I am a fan of anthropology, evolutionary biology, paleoanthropology and paleogenetics. So I collected a some good works in this themes. I am a fan of Sci-fi (Asimov, Clarke, Zelazny, Anderson, Simak, Harrison, Bester, Heinlein etc) and have all their books. And of course war memoirs and history books. I fucking love history))
I’m collecting, of course, war archeology and military items, I have a lot of artifacts from Great War.
In addition, aquariums. Actually all our musicians have them and loving it.




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

Something in the way, people, something in the way)) And this is 1914.

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Veliar/Through The Ages/Symbol Of Domination Productions/The Ritual Productions/2016 CD Review

   Veliar  are  a band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  symphonic  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2016  album  "Through  The  Ages"  which  was  released as  a  joint  effort  between  Symbol  Of  Domination  and  The  Ritual  Productions.

  Symphonic  and  epic  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melodic  musical  direction  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  the  vocals  also  bring  in  a  mixture  of  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  and  they  also  mix  the  symphonic  and  heavy  parts  together.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  back  up  vocals  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and melodic  singing  are  also  added  on  some  of  the  tracks  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  while  the  solos  and  leads  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  some  Finnish  influences  along  with  a  brief  use  of  folk  and  electronic  music  elements  and  some  of  the  faster  riffing  also  brings  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking.

   Veliar  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  a  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  and  mixes  it with  melodic  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  whilree  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Russian  and  cover  scientific,  nature,  and  historical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Veliar  are  a  very  great  sounding   symphonic  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sirius"  "Cheating  (In  Fog  Dope)"  "Providec"  and  "Battle  Of  The  Vohza".  8  out  of  10. 

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Satarial/Blessed Brigit/Symbol Of Domination Productions/Death Portal Studio/2016 CD Review

  Satarial  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  mixture  of  pagan,  folk,  and  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Blessed  Brigit"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Symbol  Of  Domination  Productions  and  Death  Portal  Studio.

  Heavy  guitars  and  folk  instruments  start  off  the  album  and  after  awhile  black  metal  screams  along with  pagan  chanting  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  female  vocals  are  also  used  at  times  while  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording.

  At  times  the  vocals  get  very  grim  and  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  as  the  album  progresses  more  symphonic  elements  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction.

  On  this  recording  Satarial  goes  for  more  of  a  folk,  pagan  and  black  metal  mixture  this  time  around,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the lyrics  cover  Celtic  Paganism  and  Occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Satarial  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  folk,  pagan,  and  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Manifest  Of  Paganism"  and  "Formation  Of  The  Moon".  8  out  of  10. 

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