The Magik Way/II Rinato/My Kingdom Music/2020 CD Review

 

  Italy's  The  Magik  Way  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  an  occult  mixture  of  ambient,  ritual,  experimental,  black  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020 album  "II  Rinato"  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  My  Kingdom  Music.

  Ritualistic  spoken  word  parts  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars  a  few  seconds  later.  Clean  singing  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  recording  while the  slower  sections  of  the  music  also  bring  in  elements  of  doom  metal   as  well  as  the  music  also  having  its  atmospheric  moments.

  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  avant  garde  and  experimental  sounding  while  some  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  stringed  instruments.  Some  of  the  songs  are  in  a  more  acoustic  direction  along  with  one  of  the  tracks  also  introducing  drum  beats  onto  the  recording  as  well  as  the  vocals  also  adding  in  a  touch  of  black  metal  when  they  get  more  aggressive.

  Synths  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  recording  and  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  psychedelic  and  dark  ambient  feeling  at  times  as  well  as  a  later  song  also  introducing  female  vocals  onto  the  album,  most  of  the  music  also  lacks  the  heaviness  of  previous  recordings  but  still  retains  an  occult  and  ritualistic  atmosphere  that  was  presented  on  past  releases.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Italian  and  cover  Occultism  and  Esotericism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  The  Magik  Way  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  ambient,  ritual,  experimental,  black  and  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "II  Rinato"  "Deforme"  "Le  Vampe"  and  "La  Procwssione".  8  out  of  10.

http://facebook.com/themagikway

https://youtu.be/E63ILwfmvUU  

The Dark Believing/The Offering/2020 EP Review

 

  The  Dark  Believing  are  a  duo  from  Germany  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2020  ep  "The  Offering".

  A  very  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  atmospheric  sounding  synths  can  also  be  heard  briefly.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  Swedish  style  along  with  some  clean  playing  also  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  The  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  melodic  death  metal  elements  while  the  solos  and  leads  also  add  in  a  lot  of  melody.  Some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  3  last  songs  being  re-corded  and  remastered  versions  of  their  early  material  as  well  as  all  of  the  music  sticking  mostly  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  tempo  direction,  a  couple  tracks  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  blast  beats and  blast  beats.

  The  Dark  Believing  plays  a  musical  style  that  goes  back  to  the  90's  and  melodic  styles  of  Swedish  black  and  death  metal.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the lyrics  cover  apocalyptic,  dark  sides  of  nature,  science  fiction  and  fantasy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  The  Dark  Believing  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  duo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Reaving  Shadows"  and  "Dark  Deception".  8  out  of  10.

https://thedarkbelieving.bandcamp.com/album/the-offering  

Novarupta/Marine Snow/Suicide Records/2020 Full Length Review

 

  Novarupta  are  a  solo  project  from  Sweden  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  progressive  mixture  of  black, sludge  and  post  metal and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2020  album  "Marine  Snow"  which  will  be  released  on  November  13th  by  Suicide  Records.

  Clean  playing  and  ocean  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  clear  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  all  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Elements  of  sludge  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.  The  music  also  brings  in  a  decent  amount  of  progressive  and  post  metal  elements  along  with  one  track  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  growls  and  black  metal  elements  as  well  as  the  music  also  having  its  psychedelic  moments  and on  the  closing  track  a  brief  use  of  fast  playing  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard.

  On  this  album Novurupta  only  keeps  small  amounts  of  the  blackened  sludge  metal  style  of  previous  releases  and  introducers  psychedelic,  progressive  and  post  metal  elements  into  the  music.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  the elemental  forces  of  Fire,  Water,  Air  and  Earth.

  On  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Novarupta  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  sludge,  post  and  progressive  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Broken  Blue  Cascades"  and  "No  Constellation".  8  out  of  10.

Listen to new single ‘Broken Blue Cascades’ by Novarupta

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Everson Poe/Rituals/Trepanation Recordings/2020 Full Length Review

 

  This  is  a  review  of  another  recording  from  Chicago,  Illinois's  solo  project  Everson  Poe  which  continues  the  mixture  of  black,  sludge  and  doom  metal  from  the  previous  release  and  the  album  will  be  released  on  November  13th  by  Trepanation  Recordings  and  called  "Rituals".

  Heavy  yet  melodic  riffing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  deep  growling  vocals  that  also  add  in  touches  of  hardcore.  Elements  of  post  rock  can  also  be  heard  in  the  cleaner  sections  of  the  music  while  all  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  the  slow  riffs  also  adding  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  and  doom metal.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  touches  of  post  hardcore  can  also  be  heard  at  times.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking,  blast  beats  and  black  metal  elements  can  also  be  heard  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  When  synths  are  utilized  they  also  give  the  music  more  of  an  atmospheric  feeling  along  with  some  of  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  also  showing  an  influence  of  shoegaze  as  well  as  one  track  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  atmospheric  sounding  drones,  clean  vocals,  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  tribal  sounding  drumming can  also  be  heard  on  the  closing  track.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  Shades  Of  Magic  book  series,  the  television  show  Dark,  gruesome  nightmares  and  a  disdain  for  religious  zoolatry. 

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Everson  Poe  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  sludge  and  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Antari"  and  "Fallow,  Hallowed".  8  out  of  10.

https://eversonpoe.bandcamp.com/album/rituals       

Everson Poe/Monstrous Existence/Trepanation Recordings/2020 Full Length Review

 

  Everson  Poe  are  a  solo  project  from  Chicago,  Illinois  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2020  album  "Monstrous  Existence"  which was  released  by  Trepanation  Recordings.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  synths  also  being  introduced  onto  the  recording  a  few  seconds  later before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  Death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  recording  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  the  heaviness  of  doom  and  sludge  metal.

  Blackened  metal  screams  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  while  they  also  add  in  a  touch  of  hardcore.  All  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  along  with  some  touches  of  post  metal  also  being  utilized  at  times  as  well  as  a  couple  of  tracks  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  vocals,  a  small  amount  of  atmospheric  sounding  drones  can  also  be  heard  on  the  closing  track.

  On  this  recording  Emerson  Poe  brings  in  more  of  a mixture  of  black, sludge  and  doom  metal  along  with  some  touches  of  post  metal  and  hardcore  to  create  a  very  heavy  style. The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  social  political,  occultism  themes  and  the  writings  of Robert W. Chambers.  

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Everson  Poe  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  sludge  and  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Belial"  and  "The  Beast".  8  out of  10.

https://eversonpoe.bandcamp.com/album/monstrous-existence-2

  

Oldblood/Arms To The Sky/2020 EP Review

 

  Oldblood  are  a  band  from  the  united  Kingdom  that  plays  a  mixture  of  post  black  and  doom  metal  with  some  elements  of  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2020  album  "Arms  To  The  Sky"  which  will  be  released  in  December.

  Spoken  word  samples  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  clean  playing  a  few  seconds  later  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  Elements  of  doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  while  the  vocals  also  add  in  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  post  metal  style  while  melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  along  with  the  music  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  crust  punk  elements,  clean  playing  also  returns  on  a  couple  of  the  later  tracks  and  synths  can  also  be  heard  briefly.

  Oldblood  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  doom,  post  metal  and  crust  punk  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  dropping of  an  atomic  bomb  on  Hiroshima.

  In  my  opinion  Oldblood  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  post  black,  doom  metal  and crust  punk  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Nuclear  Blues"  and  "Alone".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.weareoldblood.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/weareoldblood
https://www.instagram.com/weareoldblood

https://www.twitter.com/weareoldblood    

Sorrow Enthroned Interview

 

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

As a fan of many different styles and subgenres of metal, when I created Sorrow Enthroned the intention was to mix sounds from all the different bands that I love. It leans mostly into melodic black and brutal death metal territory, however there are many other influences that can be heard here and there. I started it as a form of therapy and release, and the music keeps evolving as I do.

2.So far you have released a couple of full lengths, an ep and a few singles, musically how does each release differ from each other?

The ep I released in 2019 and the full length “The Embrace of Nocturnal Sorrow” both have a strong raw black metal sound, with melody and some deathcore influences. The lyrics are much more grim and the music more abrasive. The experience I gained in these two released pushed me forward into recording a handful of singles and experimenting with other sounds. The latest release still has these styles, yet more spread out, with the gaps being filled with other influences.

3.On the new album you covered some occult, left hand path and Thelema themes with your lyrics, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in the dark arts?

Occultism saved my life, I was very depressed and recovering from drug addiction, and the left hand path offers a hidden light to those of us who were born of the devil.

4.What are some of the other lyrical topics and subjects you have explored so far with the music?

I have explored topics of death and depression previously, occultism currently, maybe ill do a concept album for the next one.

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

Sorrow Enthroned came to me as one of the ageless paradoxes of the human existence, the feelings of exaltation and misery we experience through the years, light and dark and good and evil. This world has much darkness in it, and it is not going anywhere, I think the only choice is to embrace it and exalt the self as it will always be a part of us. There is great and powerful magick there.

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

The artwork is a sigil I created for the idea of will in motion, representing a consciousness moving from one world to the next (which is why the planetary sigils differ from traditional hexagrams). This motion is reminiscent of the Ouroboros, being cyclic, or the Serpent of eden seeking knowledge, or the wandering spirit who lives yet still.

7.Withthis project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?

I would love to work with other musicians, I am open to anything.

8.Since 2019 you have released a great amount of music with this project, do you spend a great amount of time writing and creating music?

Inbetween working and going to school for music, I constantly create simply for the love of it. I feel like there is unheard music around us in the air constantly, and it would be a waste to not create something from it.

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

Yes, I received some label interest on the last album, I am absolutely interested in looking into what is out there and what kind of services they can offer.

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

People seemed to enjoy “the embrace of nocturnal sorrow”, they seem to really enjoy “thelemic grimoires”, the feedback so far has been great. 

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

I would love to work as a sound engineer or session guitarist. Sorrow Enthroned isn’t going anywhere and I will keep evolving the sound. I could see myself playing in a band at some point as well.

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?

As a whole, I take a lot of inspiration from Dark Funeral, Incantation, The Black Dahlia Murder, Suffocation, Behemoth, Dying Fetus, Mournful Congregation, Carnifex. This year while working on the album I had the new Incantation record on repeat for a long time, it is incredible. Same with Ulcerate, Defeated Sanity and Inferi, all great releases this year 2020.

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

Thelemic Grimoires is on Bandcamp, Spotify, Itunes and Youtube, also the stoned ape theory is real.

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Sorrow Enthroned/Thelemic Grimoires/2020 Full Length Review

 

  Sorrow  Enthroned  are  a  solo  project  from  Hartford,  Connecticut  that  plays  a  mixture  of  melodic  black  and  brutal  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2020  album  "Thelemic  Grimoires" .

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  The  vocals  also  bring  in  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  along  with  the  music  also  having  its  brutal  moments  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  faster  riffing  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  The  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  the music  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  both  old  school  and  modern  influence.

, Some  of  the  slower  sections  of  the  tracks  also  add  in  a  touch  of  doom/death  metal  along  with  some  of  the  mid  tempo  sections  also  adding  in  the  brutality  of  slam  death  metal  and  horror  movie  style  synths  and  spoken  word  samples  can  also  be  heard  on  the  closing  track.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Satanism,  Thelema  and  Darkness  themes.  

  In  my  opinion  Sorrow  Enthroned  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  melodic  black  and  brutal  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project. RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sins  Of  The  Carnal  Man"  "Black  Horned  Gods"  "Hand  Of  Aiwass"  and  "Thelemic  Grimoires".  8  out  of  10.

https://sorrowenthroned.bandcamp.com/track/congress-with-the-demon

https://www.facebook.com/sorrowenthroned666
https://sorrowenthroned.bandcamp.com

Suidakra/Lupine Essence/MDD Records/2020 CD Re-Issue Review

 

  Suidakra  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording shows  their  early  mixture  of  folk,  black  and  melodic  death  emtal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  1997  album  "Lupine  Essence"  which  will  be  re-issued   in  November  by  MDD  Records.

  Melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  start  off  the  album  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.  Clean  pagan  vocals  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  as  well  as  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.

  Grim  black  metal  screams  are  also  used  on  a  regular  basis  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats.  When  synths  are  utilized  they  also  give  the  songs  more  of  an  epic  atmosphere   along  with  some  clean  playing  also  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  One  track  also  introduces  female  vocals  in  the  music  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  also being  utilized  at  times.  When  acoustic  guitar's  are  utilized  they  also  add  in  some  folk  elements  into  the  music  as  well  as  some  tremolo  picking  also  being  added  in  some  of  the  faster  riffing,  throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  they  also  bring  in  some  more  modern  versions  of  the  songs  as  bonus  tracks.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Celtic  Mythology  and  Fantasy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  was  a  very  great  sounding  recording  from  Suidakra  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  folk,  black  and  melodic  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  re-issue.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Banshee"  "Sheltering  Dreams"  and  "Internal  Epidemic".  8  out  of  10.

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Elvenscroll/Never To Be Mourned/Inverse Records/2020 CD Review

 

  Elvenscroll  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Never  To  Be  Mourned"  which  will  be  released  on  November  6th  by  Inverse  Records.

  A  very  heavy,  epic  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the album  along  with  some  black  metal  screams  a  few  seconds  later.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  lot  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats   

  Synths  are  also  mixed  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  at  times  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  All  of  the musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  acoustic  guitars  are  utilized  they  also  add  in  elements  of  folk  music.

  The  songs  also  have  their  symphonic  moments  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  progressive  sounding  as  well  as  some  songs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  pagan  vocals  and  as  the  album  progresses  an  instrumental  is  added  onto  the  intro  and  also introduces  cello's  into  the  music.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while the lyrics  cover  Paganism,  Heroism,  Solidarity  and  Overcoming  Difficulties.

  In  my  opinion  Elvenscroll  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  "Relic's"  and  "Wayfarer's  Mourning".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/elvenscrollofficial
https://www.instagram.com/elvenscroll  

https://elvenscrollfolk.bandcamp.com

https://youtu.be/fewtqjiIPss     

Strydegor Interview

 

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

Hey and thank you for this interview. Well actually the last couple of weeks we were very busy in organising and working behind the scenes with our label MDD Records in order to get everything ready for the release of „Isolacracy“ – because of the whole Covid19 situation we were not really able to rehearse or play any shows but we’re looking forward to present our new material to a real audience as soon as possible.

2.In November you have a new album coming out musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

This was the first time for our members Dan, Manu and Martin to be part of the recording process. We have been through quite some line up changes in the past but this time we really wanted to push ourselves much more and set new boundaries musically and also lyrically. In the past the music was also very rich in variety and of course we wanted to keep this elements because in my opinion that is what STRYDEGOR is all about. But on the other hand we wanted the songs to be more „on point“ and more emphasised on melodies than on a variation of different riffs. And while most of the lyrical content in the past was based on Northern mythology or in a historical context, I realised that there is a lot of stuff happening today which concerns me and what I want to put into our lyrics. We keep the past saved in our memories but now we keep our focus on present and future.

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

As I said, since the beginning of the band we had some line up changes, which I (Flo) am the last remaining member. Since 2016, when we decided to part ways with our former bass player Clemens, we spent a lot of time in the recording studio and rehearsal room and found ourself in a process of reinvention – What is STRYDEGOR – What do we want STRYDEGOR to be? We played some shows in Clubs and Festivals and had a very great time and more and more worked on songs together. I was bringing in the melodies and riffs and the other guys were very honest with their opinions to keep this and that or change this riff to this or whatever. And this is why – from my point of view – Isolacracy is honest and shows our personality as it is. On the other hand everyone in the band of course had his personal stuff going on, Marriage, Children, Health issues,… but at the end the day we stood together and still do and do what we really want to do: Play Metal and have a good time together.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music and also how would you describe your progress as songwriters over the years?

On the first three records it was all about Vikings, Northern Mythology, old historic stuff that we were much into at that time. It was the time where the Pagan Metal scene was on the rise and bands like Amon Amarth or Ensiferum where on their peak. We always had a big interest in old tales from Scandinavia and because we were born and raised not that far from the Baltic Sea we nearly could understand how the old tribes in the middle ages had feeled about the region and nature where they are from. But at one point I realised that if you only look into the past and try to „put daily problems in a historical context“ or „how did the people in the past handle this or that“ the more you push away what’s important in your own life and in the time we now all live.

We don’t want to be a political band or be part of any political spectrum – especially not in any extrem part of course – but we also live here today on this earth and we can not close our eyes to problems which affect our own lives as well. So most of the lyrics on „Isolacracy“ is very socio-critical but we don’t really want to tell the listeners what to do with their lives except for – be responsable to you, the people and your environment and not always look for the mistakes in others.

5.The earlier lyrics and band name comes from Nordic Mythology, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?

When Slava (Rest in Peace), Clemens, Sven and I founded STRYDEGOR in 2007 we listened a lot to Folk Metal, Pagan Metal and Viking Metal and most of the lyrics were written by me while Clemens also had his influence in some lyrics as well. We found it very interesting how the Vikings could be so calm, family loving and in close touch with their nature and on the other hand so brutal, focussed on their goals and against religious opression. As a teenager there is such a fascination for everything that stands out of the mainstream and at some point we loved the fact that this theme was very rebellious. I mean none of us never really had negative experiences with the church or any other religious groups but at this time is was kind of „cool“ to wear an inverted cross, Mjöllnir or something like that. But we all liked how the Vikings saw their Gods and how everything in nature was symbolised by an own God or Goddess – long before the Marvel Thor movies were out. So the outfit and symbols came more out of this relationship with nature than the real pagan conviction. But the more we read about mythology or stories from the Viking age and the more bands were showing up singing about nearly the same topics, we realised how limited this topic is and that not every problem we have or see in the world has to be transcripted into an extinct age. I’m pretty sure Martin, Manu and Dan also know a lot about Vikings and stuff as well but I can only talk for myself when I say that sometimes I find myself reading in old books or documentations about Middle ages, mythology (any kind of mythology) but honestly today I have other, stronger interests. But I always love to look back to the time back then.

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

The idea of the artwork – like a lot of stuff for STRYDEGOR – happened very spontanious.

I had the idea how everyone today is trapped in his/her own little reality, his/her own little bubble of attention and how the world around us gets more and more destroyed by negative emotions like hate, greed, egoism etc. and how we try to distract ourselves with social media or other devices than to oppose with our own responsibility and so something.

Some people could think „Yeah, now STRYDEGOR does the same plague mask think like everyone else because of Covid..“ but that is not the case. It is more about the human made plague because everyone is only thinking about his/her own wealth and money instead of working and creating for a better world for everyone. That’s why our protagonist is wearing headphones, to show the distraction we see and feel on the streets on daily basis. That’s the reason why we chose the titel „Isolacracy“ – a world order were everyone closes eyes and ears for everything  what’s surrounding him or her – as long the lowest desires are fed.

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?

Our stage performance is 100% Metal – whatever that means. We go on stage, and as soon the lights go out we all give 100% energy and also love to communicate with the audience. Headbanging, telling jokes – have a good time and for at least the time of the concert forget all stress. We hope to do that in the near future. Some festivals were taking place in Germany  the last couple of months and we can’t wait for next year, where the shows from 2020 were postponed to. We will see how the concert scene will change and – unfortunately – how many clubs will survive this pandemic. Every show we play is unique and we love to play live wether in small clubs or bigger stages on festivals The best concerts so far we as STRYDEGOR had were mostly Festivals in Germany. At Metalfest Dessau 2012 for example we played with Megadeth or Kreator which was a very great experience to see how professional everything was organised and so on. Also Festivals like Wolfszeit or Ragnarök in Germany were great, because we shared stage and time backstage with our teenage heroes like Ensiferum etc. At this shows there are a lot of people in the crowd and there is a lot of action happening – but I have to say that also a small venue with less people going totally nuts creats a great feeling and that is something you’ll keep in memory.

8.The new album is coming out on 'MDD Records', how would you compare working with this label compared to other labels you have been a part of in the past?

We had 2 different labels in the past and I don’t want to say anything negative about them. Without them I am pretty sure we won’t be where we are today but I have to say, that the way they worked didn’t fit to STRYDEGOR and how we thought a label would work – for other artists they might work perfect.

With MDD Records we are in contact nearly everyday and Markus and Kai are very openminded and interested in our ideas and I have to say that the whole marketing concept and the production of our new record works out very well. Also MDD is very good connected in the German metal scene or in the scene in general and therefore it opens the door for other great connections and possibilities in the future as well. We from Northern Germany and MDD from Southern Germany you can sometimes find some cultural and language differences but that’s meant more jokingly. It’s a great work so far and I’m looking forward what we and MDD will create on our way!

9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music y fans of melodic black and death metal?

You always have people that like the music you play or not. You have people that love the band whatever we do and if we want to record a Hip Hop record, I’m sure this guys and girls would also celebrate with us which is great. Don’t be afraid, the Hip Hop record is set for album Nr. 9. But to be honest, most of the reations have been positive along the way of our career but sometimes you get negative comments on how they don’t like the sound or the vocals or whatever. As long as you can see they want to be constructive or listened to the music or read about our band cool. Sometimes a few metalheads want to be very funny and try to insult us or whatever, but that is the price you pay when you in some ways are in public life. What I realise is that a lot of people from Russia, Asia or Southern America are very much into „Extreme Metal“ especially from Germany and some friends from other popular German Metal bands already told us that there is a big Metal scene that are going 100% crazy when there is a show or festival or something. In the past a lot of people – especially the Pagan Metal fans – were very satisfied with our music and I hope that they find something in our latest release as well. But with music it’s like every other art: Either you love it or not“

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

Not into Hip Hop actually, haha. Well I don’t really know how the music from STRYDEGOR will change in the future. We love to experiement with different sounds and melodies but we also love to keep it quite simple and straight forward. We have so many influences coming and going and I’m satisfied how „Isolacracy“ worked out with old elements like acoustic guitars and double lead guitars and also new elements like sound effects or more clean vocals. I don’t want to put my creative mind too much into boundaries and I’m sure that the next releases will be even more suprising for everyone. 

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?

„Metal“. Iron Maiden, Metallica, In Flames, lot of melodic Metal bands from Scandinavia in general but also other musical influences like Genesis, Jimi Hendrix etc. You’ll never know when inspiration kicks in and we keep our ears open for everything as long as it creating an emotion inside of us. Our musical taste is very diverse and depends on the situation. For example, when I have a stressful day I love to listen to some Old School Death Metal or Black Metal but there are days I’m lost in my thoughts and then I love to listen to something quiet like Katatonia or even 70s Prog. That’s why I also formed a Prog rock Project called DARRAGH with former STRYDEGOR drummer Christian Eggers and some good friends. But for STRYDEGOR it is and will be for all time METAL which is the biggest influence! And Nicky Minaj for our brother Dan on guitars – my anaconda don’t…

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

Thanks again, mate, for this opportunity. Keep support your local music scene and Metal bands. Go to concerts if there is one – of course wear a mask like our „Plague Mask Guy“ on our album cover – stay safe, spread love and enjoy yourselves! And don’t forget to by our album! LOVE AND PEACE!

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Diese Nachricht wurde von meinem Android-Gerät mit K-9 Mail gesendet.

https://www.facebook.com/StrydegorOfficial
http://www.strydegor.com

 

Hedon Interview

 

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

Hedon started out late 2012 in gothenburg, Sweden. Our goal was a blend of black- death- and trashmetal, which I think we´ve succeeded in. 2014 we released our debut, ”summon the demons” by ourselves. We had a break after that for some years, but since 2019 we´re back on track again!

2. Recently you have released a new ep, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

I´ts more raw and filthy, like we wanted it to be from the start. The first album is somewhat colored by our previous band, Arise, which most of us played in before Hedon. This time we also have a new singer (Sebbe) who fits the music better, and a new guitarrist in Christoffer – who is replacing Kenneth from the debut.

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

We´ve had struggle of all kinds – no rehearsal place, member who grew tired and quit, severe deseases and some of us got kids. I guess you can say life happened.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with the newer music and also how would you describe your progress as songwriters over the years?

Overall dark lyrics, hedonism, war, antireligion. I guess the songs have grown longer and not as predictable as before. We always try to challenge ourselves and you will always get new influences too.

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

Hedon is simply a newer/ alternative spelling of heathen. I think Dark Tranquillity has a song spelled the exact same way. It has always been close to us beeing from Sweden, as we were called heathens before christianity came. And it´s hard not to be fascinated by the vikings.

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

It was an idéa we´ve had for years – a symbol in form of a family weaponshield. Since goats has a big role in hedonism, it felt obvious to have a couple of those in guard on a shield. We gave a friend the task to virtualize the ideas and we´re very happy with the result!

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?

Because of the long break 14-19 we´ve had not made many liveshows yet, but we did one with Puteraeon and Turbocharged – and that was a good one. We have also played a couple of times in gothenburg, and should have played with Avslut this april, if is wasn´t for covid. But as soon as the restrictions will losen up, we will start making shows again. I guess we´re pretty fierce on stage, at least that´s what I´ve heared. We constantly trying to bring something new when performing – fans, sidedrops, megafones for some vocal parts etc

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

Overall very good. But we have suffered lack of promotion and a good distro. Right now we have Downfall records, so I think we will reach out to many more this time. We have to work on this. Because of the blend between black and death metal we do often get connected with Necrophobic, but I think we have more variation than they do. They´re good though, so it´s a honourable comparing.

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

Kenneth have been playing with the Accept tribute band Accepted, but don´t know if he´s still in there. Patsy (former vocalist, and also vocalist of Arise) is in a band called All Wasted now.

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

Don´t know to be honest. In a way it feels like the full lenghts is of less importance these days – most people does not play a full record, but some songs and that´s it. On a full lenght there is always fillers and it takes much longer time to do and is of course a lot more expensive to do also. On a Ep you will not get fillers. But we´re still fond of the full length format after all, so there will be one some time. But for now the next one will probably also be an Ep.

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?

There are so many, but some of the most relevant has to be Dissection, Mgla and Behemoth. We´re trying to listen to most music in our genre, for example the new Uada and Necrophobic is spinning a lot now.

12.Does Occultism play any role in your music?

Not particulary, but I guess you can say that every sub-culture is of interest. Anything that in a way is antireligious or pagan or just mystic.

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

Thanks a lot for the interview, we appreciate every form of support and spreading the word! We always try to give as much as we can to the fans – take a look at the new Ep for example; we spend a shitload of money to include a nice poster and an etching for the fans. Just to get a nice package and give them some little extra instead of just a standard thing. Check out our facebookpage or instagram for news and also the Downfall page. Cheers and hope to see some of you out there after this pandemic!

Bandcamp

Facebook

Kiova/Empty Fields And Smoked-Filled Skies/Off Records/Maniyax Records/2020 EP Review

 

Kiova  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  post  black,  sludge  metal  and  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  ep  "Empty  Fields  And  Smoked-Filled  Skies"  which  will  be  released  on  October  30th  as  a  joint  effort  between  Off  and  Maniyax  Records.

  A  very  hard  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  ep  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  post  hardcore  elements.  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  sludge  style  growls  and  black  metal  screams  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  

  The  songs  also  add  in  a    decent  amount  of  d  beat  elements  while  all  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  Clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  post  metal style  as  well  as  all  of  the  music  sticking  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  tempo  direction  and  when  the  music  finally  speeds  up a   small  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  also b e  heard.

  Kiova  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  post  black,  sludge  metal  and  hardcore  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Slavic  mythology  and  the  writings  of  H.P  Lovecraft.

  In  my  opinion  Kiova  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  post  black,  sludge  metal  and  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres, you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "From  Man  Of  God  To  Voracious  Beast".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/Kiovaband 
https://kiovaband.bandcamp.com

https://youtu.be/6pGiwBTIpJY

Hedon/In Blasphemy Reborn/Downfall Records/2020 EP Review

 

  Hedon  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  ep  "In  Blasphemy  Reborn"  which  was  released  by  Downfall  Records.

  A  very  fast  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black metal  screams  while  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  Swedish  era  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  music  also  adds  in  a  decent  amount  of  death  metal  elements.  A  couple  of  songs  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  along  with  a  brief  use  of  growls  and  the  closing  track  is  also  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Hedon  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  90's  melodic  styles  of  black  and  death  metal and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  blasphemy, occultism  and  war  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Hedon  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRCACK  "The  Beast  Of  A  Thousand  Demons".  8  out  of  10.

Bandcamp

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Twisted Mist Interview

 

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band? Twisted Mist is the result of a musical project in which we compose morceau mixing a rather brutal and primitive metal tainted with medieval sounds. Our music can be perceived as pagan or folk metal. We try to relate a tale through concept albums, which are mostly made of instrumental songs. Traditional instruments, such as the hurdy gurdy, the bombarde or certain types of flutes are featured in our albums. Our next album, Orbios, will be released in November and deals with legacy. 

2.In November you have a new album coming out in November, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past? Musically, Orbios is quite different from our old stuff. With "Mortui Vivos Docent" and "Le brâme", our goal was to offer a travel throughout the album, halfway between traditional song and death metal. Even if it’s the goal behind Orbios too, the travel isn’t the same here. We wanted something more spiritual, with a large panel of feelings and tried to highlight this during the writing and composition process. However, in Orbios, we needed to emphasize the topic of the legacy, therefore we decided to sing in languages such as Latin or old French.

 3.Your earlier music was instrumental while the newer music has vocals, what was the decision behind going into this direction? In our previous albums, we wanted to create an atmosphere, more than relating a tale. On this new album, it’s totally different. If it’s still important for us to make people travel through our album, we wanted above all a narration, a message behind the concept.

 4.A lot of your lyrics cover Paganism themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic? We are fond of the Middle-Ages, Pagan legends and the History of Music more globally. It was pretty obvious for us to incorporate some pagan stuff during the writing process. That’s why Orbios is an album which deals with spiritual legacy. This topic means a lot to us so that’s why we wanted to allude to it and even present it throughout our lyrics. 

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Twisted Mind'? Actually, we wanted to create a “misty” or “tortuous” aspect to the path taken by Twisted Mist and its compositions. We venture to music in which we experiment, thanks to a substantial collection of traditional instruments. We explore new things and we think that this name is a representation of what we create. It is not constantly the same, we don’t follow a straight path, from time to time it’s brutal, joyful, melancholic, and often spiritual… We also like to think of it as branches of a tree. We can also add that there is a forest in Verzy, near our city, Reims, in which we can gaze at Faux, trees which are naturally tortuous. So this was also an allusion to these trees, that we can also find in the logo of the band... 

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on this album cover? There are a lot of aspects to take into account. First, the colour. We chose to use mainly the red and it is scattered by black spots. On the one hand red represents life, energy and most importantly blood, the first true legacy of a parent to their child even before birth. Black, on the other hand, represents death, void and is an addition to the duality dealt with in Orbios. The hand symbolizes a mark. A mark is a visual and tangible track of somebody's passing. It corresponds to the theme of our album. Finally, there's a circle which surrounds the handprint in the centre of the sleeve and which is like the representation of the album: cyclic and without beginning or end, just like an Ouroboros 

7.Has the band done any live shows or open to the idea? Considering the number of instruments played and the fact that we are a pair, even if we’ve played live on our own in the past, it’s difficult to think about a live performance for the moment because of some logistical reasons. Of course the COVID context doesn't really help us. Anyway, we’re not opposed to this idea, but we’ll need more time to think about it and more musicians to help us play all these instruments during a show.

 8.The new album is coming out on Music-Records, how did you get in contact with this label? We were looking for a label that could understand the way we decided to take on Orbios and the work behind this concept album. We wanted to work with people who are passionate and ready to support our music. We were lucky enough to hear about Music-Records. We were able to talk about our album and they perfectly understood our approach. 

9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of pagan and folk metal? It is too soon to really know and tell. We’ve already had good feedback on our previous compositions and they are also really positive for the first single of “Orbios”. Some listeners tell us that they “travel thanks to our music”, it is obviously heart-warming for us. 

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future? To be honest, we still have some difficulties imagining things that far. For the moment, we want to support, promote Orbios and share our music as much as we can. We are beginning to think about the successor of Orbios.

 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? We often listen to traditional medieval music. We particularly enjoy some of the performances of Guillaume de Machaut’s morceau. We are interested by traditional formation such as “Les derniers Trouvères” or the Belarusian band “Stary Olsa”. We also admire bands such as Danheim or Wardruna. We really are fond of metal music: we can listen to Iron Maiden, Hypno5e, Gojira, Meshuggah, Grorrr, Sepultura, Avatar, Eluveitie, etc. 

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?  We would like to thank you for showing interest in our project and also thank the label Music-Record for putting their trust and helping us promote our creations !

https://www.facebook.com/twistedmist2014/
https://www.instagram.com/twisted.mist/

Poison Wind/Virus!/Eleventh Key/2020 CD Review

 

  Poison  Wind  are  a  band  from  the  United  States  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  doom,  death,  thrash  metal,  avant  garde,  crust  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Virus!"  which  will  be  released  on  October  30th  by  Eleventh  Key.

  Hardcore  style  shouts  and  crust  influenced  riffing  starts  off  the  album  while  elements  of  thrash  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing.  At  times  the  music  also  adds  in  a  touch  of  80's  era  grindcore  along  with  some  black  metal  screams  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  all  of  the  musical instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Death  metal  growls  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  When  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  style  along  with  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  also  adding  in  the  heaviness  of  doom  metal.

  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  experimental  and  avant  garde  sounding  along  with  most  of  the  tracks  also  sounding  very  different  from  each  other  as  well  as  one  track  also  introducing  clean  singing  onto  the  recording,  melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  and  when  the  music  finally  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also be  heard  and  one  track  also adds  in  touches  of  harsh noise.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  COVID19  pandemic.

  In  my  opinion  Poison  Wind  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  doom,  death,  thrash  metal,  avant  garde,  crust  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Branch  CoVidians"  "Viral  Tales"  and  "Weight".  8 out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/poisonwind