Mind Erasure/Connive/Soman Records/2022 Full Length Review

 

  Mind  Erasure  are  a  band  from  Greece  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2022  album  "Connive"  which  was  released  by  Soman  Records.

  Dark  soundscapes,  synths  and  acoustic  guitars  start  off  the  album  while  percussion's  can  also  be  heard  briefly  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  lot  of  melody  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  Throughout  the  album  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  songs  also  having  their  atmospheric  moments.

  Some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  some  of  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  clear  singing  and  choirs  as  well  as  some  female  vocals  and  whispers  also  being  utilized  briefly,  one  song  also  introduces  spoken  word  parts  onto  the  album.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  battles,  violence  and  schizophrenia  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Mind  Eraser  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  progressive  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  "Azrael"  "Sour  Eyes"  and  "As  First  Light  never  Comes  Part  III:  Life's  Epilogue".  8  out  of  10.

  https://youtu.be/OaIZpH1GLU8

https://www.facebook.com/MindErasure/

https://www.instagram.com/mind_erasure/

https://www.youtube.com/c/MindErasure

https://minderasure.bandcamp.com/album/connive

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0pEpN1fdyWU1lOs1okfi8A

https://music.apple.com/us/artist/mind-erasure/976409168    

Ravenoir/In The Womb Of Sin/Gothoom Productions/2022 Full Length Review

 

  Ravenoir  are  a  band  from  Czechia  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2022  album  "In  The  Womb  Of  Sin"  which  was  released  by  Gothoom  Productions.

  A  very  dark  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  while  also  introducing  clean  playing  onto  the  recording  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  Vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  lot  of  blast b eats. 

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  music  also  adds  in  a  great  amount  of  black  metal  elements.  Synths  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  album  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  yet  old  school  style  when  they  are  utilized,  one  song  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  movie  samples.  and  the  album  also  closes  with  an  instrumental  before  adding  in  a  bonus  track  which  is  a  cove r of  Mercyful  Fate's  "Black  Funeral"..

  Ravenoir  plays  a  musical  styles  that  takes  the  melodic  forms  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  and  blasphemy  themes.     

  In  my  opinion  Ravenoir  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  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "In  The  Womb  Of  Sin"  "Stigma  Infernoir"  and "Lunar  Choir".  8  out  of  10.

  www.gothoomproductions.com/ravenoir

www.facebook.com/RavenoirOfficial   

The Blessing Way/Erik's Lament/2022 Full Length Review

 

  The  Blessing  Way  are  a  solo  project  from  Ireland  that  plays  a  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2022  album  "Erik's  Lament"  which  will  be  released  on  Halloween.

  Symphonic  elements  start  off  the  album  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast b eats  can b e  heard  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  the  vocals  are  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls.

  Operatic  male  and  female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  at  times  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.  Classical  guitars  can  also  be  heard  on  a  few  tracks  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  on a  couple  of  songs.

  Touches  of  classical  and  folk  music  can  also  be  heard  at  times  along  with  the  album  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  the  music  also  being  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  era,  one  song  is  also  an  instrumental  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  there  is  also  a  small  amount  of  session  work  from  Snowy  Shaw.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  horror  and  gothic  tales.

  In  my  opinion  The  Blessing  Way  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  black  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Hanging  Of  Joseph  Buquet"  "Terror  In  The  Graveyard"  "Delusions  Of  An  Opium  Eater"  and  "Erik's  Lament".  8  out  of  10.

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Bavaustrian Metalbrothers United/Fall Into Oblivion/Rebirth The Metal Productions/2022 Full Length Review

 

  Bavaustrian  Metalbrothers  United  are  a  solo  project  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  symphonic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2022  album  "Fall  Into  Oblivion"  which  will b e  released  on  October  28th  by  Rebirth  The  Metal  Productions.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  Death  metal  growls  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  while  black  metal  screams  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  lot  of  melody.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  while  some  songs  also  add in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars.  The  album  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  riffing  also  mixing  in  some  elements  of  thrash  metal  at  times  and  a  few  tracks  also  add  in  some  keyboards  and  orchestral  arrangements  which  also  takes  the  recording  into  more  of  a  symphonic  direction.

  A  couple  of  songs  also  introduces  clear  vocals  into  the  music  along  with  all  of  the  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound to  them  as  well  as  some  of  the  faster  riffing  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  tremolo  picking  which  also  enhances  the  black  metal  side  of  the  recording,  whispered  vocals  can  also  be heard  briefly.  One  track  is  also  a  brief  acoustic  instrumental  and  a  couple  of  the  songs  are  also  long  and  epic  in  length.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  esoteric  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Bavaustrian  Metalbrothers  United  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  symphonic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Still  Alive"  "Fall  Into  Oblivion"  "Undead  Salvation"  and  "Riding  In  The  Dark".  8  out  of  10.

  Website: https://rtmproductions.bigcartel.com/

Bandcamp: https://bavaustrianmetalbrothersunited.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bavaustrianmetalbrothersunited
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpbEUx4AqYYAWkyi0EgLg6w

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bavaustrian_metalbrothers_uni/        

The Wolves Of Avalon/Y Gododdin/Godreah Records/2022 Full Length Review

 

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  The  Wolves  Of  Avalon  are  a  band  from  the  united  Kingdom  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  progressive  mixture  of  pagan  and  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2022  album  "Y  Gododdin"  which  will  be  released  in  November  by  Godreah  Records.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  while  also  introducing  elements  of  folk  music  onto  the  recording  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times.  Spoken  word  parts  can  also b e  heard  briefly  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.

  Vocals  are  done  in  a  very  aggressive  blackened  metal  style  while  keyboards  can  also  be  heard  at  times.  Clear  pagan  vocals are  also  utilized on  a  lot  of  tracks  along  with  some  blast  beats  also  being  added  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  times  as  well  as  the  music  also  having its  progressive  moments.  Session  work can  also  be  heard  from  members  of  Venom  Inc,  Drudkh,  Taake,  Forefather  and  Aklash  and  most  of  the  album  also  sticks  to  a  mid  tempo  style.

  On  this  recording  The  Wolves  of  Avalon  takes  their  pagan  style  of  folk  metal  into  more  of  a  progressive  direction.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  ancient  battles  described  in  the  ancient  Welsh  poems  written  by  the  bard  Aneirin.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  The  Wolves  Of  Avalon  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  progressive  pagan  folk  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Men  Of  Gododdin"  and  "Dead  mans  Cloak's"
.  8  out  of  10.

  www.thewolvesofavalon.co.uk

www.facebook.com/thewolvesofavalon

https://youtu.be/McD2wn1QkxI  

Arctora Interview

 

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

Arctora started with me creating a solo-album as a side-project. I just wanted to write and record songs and practice mixing on them for fun basically.

For a long time I had no plans on forming a band around it, because getting a band together is usually such a pain with not only having to find good musicians, but good people you want to hang out and create music with.

But I ended up trying my luck anyway after the album was mostly finished, and I found all the members in a span of a week. I would have never believed that to happen!

2.Recently you have released a new album, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?

When I started the project, I had the intention of writing a “real” black metal album, but I quickly realized that’s not what I actually wanted to do.

After that I stopped worrying about musical style and just started writing whatever felt right.

There’s a ton of blast-beats, tremolo picking and nordic melodies, but also some progressive elements and technical riffing.

I’d say the albums genre is blackened melodic death metal, but everyone can decide for themselves.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music?

The lyrics are mostly introspection about stuff I’ve been dealing with wrapped in a theme or a story.

For example, in the song “Arbiter of Fate” I tell about personal feelings, how sometimes the pressure of wanting to achieve and succeed is the only thing driving you forward, even though you might feel exhausted and close to burning out. 

And I combined those feelings with inspiration and themes from Berserk to tell the story.

Every song on the album has its own topic, some are more fantasized and some more grounded in reality.

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

I came up with the name around a decade ago, when I was 15 or 16.

It was supposed to be the name of my first band, but we decided on a different one back then.

Simply put, it’s just a combination of “Arctic” and finnish word “Tora” or “Torahammas” which mean “altercation” or “fang” respectively.

No deeper meaning than that, just something that sounded cool for my teenage-self back then and for some reason stuck in the back of my mind for all these years.

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

I wanted the album art to portray what I see in my head when I think of the songs and albums feel overall.

In my mind the album feels lonely, cold and barren, but also beautiful and vast in a way.

The art was made by Heino Brand, you can find more of his work here: https://www.heinobrand.com/

He was great to work with and he nailed what I was going for!

6.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 only played three shows so far, and all of them were an absolute blast to play, even the first show which was a bit of a nightmare scenario. Our gear had some weird technical issues all night, like in-ear monitors acting strange and even my guitar jack lost input connection as soon as I stepped on stage. 

But we made it through and had an awesome time!

I’d say we are quite energetic live, with two guys doing the vocals and everyone constantly moving and moshing around!  Not a lot of standing still and looking at your feet.

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

We plan on gigging as much as we can in Finland at first and hopefully extending out abroad next year!

8.The new album was released on 'WormholeDeath' Records, are you happy with the support they have given you so far?

We’ve been very happy!

Communication between us and them is always quick and professional. If we have any questions or suggestions, they always answer real fast.

And they’ve been doing an awesome job getting us seen and heard globally.

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

I have been surprised by the amount and how positive the feedback has been.

I’ve mostly just seen people praising the album.

I originally thought the feedback would be more lukewarm, since it is a home-produced album, but no. It has been great!

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

This is a question for which I do not know the answer, since we now have five people involved in making the music instead of just me.

I know we will have real drums on the next record at least!

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?

I have to mention Jari Mäenpää and Alexi Laiho as the biggest influences for sure!

They are the reason I ever picked the guitar.

Amon Amarth and Insomnium are the two bands I really fell in love with also, and inspired me to start practicing vocals and writing songs of my own!

These days I listen to pretty much all metal genres and a ton of different bands, but a finnish band called Stam1na and the giant Mastodon have really grown on me the most these last few years.

Also, nowadays I listen to a lot of orchestral music and soundtracks.

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

We just released a music video for the track “I Am Human”, you can find it here:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ETrMDZreds

Thank you for the interview and the review!

And thank you reader for reading and listening to the music.

Hope to see you all live someday!

Hedon/Year Of The Witch/2022 Full Length Review

 

  Hedon  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  has  bene  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2022  album  "Year  Of  The  Witch"  which  will  be  released  in  November.

  Victory  chants  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  brutal  direction  which  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can b e  heard.  The  riffs  also  ad d in  a  lot  of  melody  while t he  vocals  are  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  and  tremolo  picking  can  also b e  heard  in  some  of  the  faster  riffing.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  songs  also  ad d in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  some  songs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  one  track  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  as  well  as  the  music  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  thrash  metal  elements,  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  also  long  and  epic  in  length.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Witchcraft,  Blasphemy  and  Black  Magick  themes..  

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Hedon  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dark  Tale"  "Witchfinder"  and  "Digerdol  Den".  8  out  of  10.

  

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Throwing Bricks/The Burden/Tartarus Records/2022 Full Length Review

 

  Throwing  Bricks  are  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  mixture  of  post  black,  sludge  metal,  hardcore  and  screamo  and  this  is  a review  of  their  2022  album  "The  Burden"  which  was  released  by  Tartarus  Records.

  A  very  dark  yet  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  angry  sounding  hardcore  style  screams  a  few  seconds  alter  which  also  mixes  in t ouches  of  black  metal  at  times.  Melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  and  some  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  at  times  while  the  music  is  mostly  rooted  in  a  post  hardcore  or  screamo  style.  Clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  on  some  of  the  tracks  along  with  some  growls  also  being  utilized  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording.

 When t he  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  black  metal  style  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  also introduced  onto  the  album  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  post  metal  style  when  they  finally  are  utilized  and  some  of t he  songs  also  add  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts,  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  loss,  mental  health  issues  and  negative  feelings.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Throwing  Bricks  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  post  black,  sludge  metal,  hardcore  and  screamo,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Bricks  Of  Grace"  "Doubt"  "Safta"  and  "Find  My  Way  Out".  8  out  of  10.

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/throwingbricksband 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/throwingbricksband
Bandcamp: https://throwingbricksband.bandcamp.com

    

Antipope/Rex Mundi/Moribund Records/2022 Full Length Review

 

  Finland's  Antipope  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  more  of  a  melodic  and  progressive  mixture  of  black,  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2022  album  "Rex  Mundi"  which  will  be  released  on  October  28th  by  Moribund  Records.

  A  very  epic  sounding  synth  orientated  intro  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  while  also  introducing  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  onto  the  recording.  Elements  of  doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  are  also  utilized.

  Melodies  are  also added  into  a  lot  of t he  guitar  riffing  while  the  vocals  bring  in  a  mixture  of  first  wave  style  black  metal  screams  and  power  metal  style  singing.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  all  of t he  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  progressive  sounding  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  clean  playing.  Some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  some  death  metal  growls  also  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  the  Albigensian  Crusade  and  Cathar  Wars  in  the  1200's.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Antipope  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  progressive  black,  death,  doom,  power  and  heavy  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Rex  Mundi  Aeternum"  "Glory  Of  Slaughter"  "Twilight  of  The  Grey  Gods"  and  "Hell  On  Earth".  8  out  of  10.

    

        

In The Woods... Interview

 

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

Nils: Covid happened. And James split. Which led us to Bernt taking over the microphone. We had already recorded lots of the songs, and Bernt got "thrown into it". We received vocals pretty quickly, and we were amazed. It was like In The Woods… became more ITW than ever before. And thats where we are at.

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

Nils: Good question. ITW have always progressed, not "stopped" in one type of style etc… But you know, making music it should be about making what you like, not about what you think others will like. And thats what we do, and have in the past.

3.The band was broken up for 14 years, what was the cause of the split and the decision to reform?

Nils: I was not in the band when they split, but Anders had an injury where he thought he never could perform again. And then he found out he could. He then had an "awakening", where he got a clear vision that he had to start up ITW again in honour of Oddvar AM. I also knew Oddvar, and i know he would have wanted ITW to continue.

Kåre: Well, I joined the band in 2015, but these stories have come up a few times over the years in conversations with both Anders Kobro and former members. I think the easiest way to explain the split back in the early 2000s was that each character of the band was floating their own way, wanting to explore other things in life, while the opportunity still was there.

4.After the release of the first full length in the 90's you stopped using the black metal screams and harsh vocals but they have returned on your current releases, what was the decision behind bringing back this vocal approach?

Nils: What suits the songs should be used vocally i think. Bernt can do all sorts of things, and so he use it where it fits in. He probably have the best answer to it.

I scream and growl myself, and being in a metalband, it is a cool thing to add. Personally i listen to bands that use both clean/growl and shrieks. I love stuff that is more than "one style", both musically and vocally.

Kåre: As Nils stated above, its about what suits the songs and not what we need or should use. With the former vocalist James Fogarty and current vocalist Bernt Fjellestad, the screams and harsh vocals comes more naturally than the original singer. Also they can do it without hurting their throat.

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

Bernt Fjellestad: Most of the topics are totally random. They cover everything from the political wiev to more....carnal desires. I was given full freedom over the lyrics and what to sing so I experimented a lot with different styles. Personally I (Bernt Fjellestad) were not that involved in the songwriting due to most of the songs were completed when I joined. We are already writing together new material as we speak by the way.

6.A lot of your lyrics over the years have also covered Paganism themes, can you tell us a little bit more about what this path means to you?

Anders: Back in the days we where hugely influenced by nature, philosophy and norse culture/mythology. So obviously we where in a realm of paganism. We called our music in early days Pagan Metal. 

7.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork tha tis presented on the new album cover? Kåre: Max Winter did the artwork, he also did Pure and Cease the Day. Max likes to read the lyrics for the album and sit down and start with a sketch. This one turned out very different from previous ones, and is done in a different type of style compared to the two earlier ones. It is up to each one of us to say what it means and gives, but you can see that all hope is out, but if you try to focus on the smaller things and leave the big picture out of things for a while, somewhere in the vast, there is hope. 

8.In the 90's when you first came out you where very different from the rest of the Norwegian scene and there seemed to be mixed reviews back then, do you feel you where ahead of your time and also influenced the newer bands that started stretching the black and pagan metal genres into different musical territories?

Kåre: Well as a music fan I must say that HEart of The Ages was ahead of time, the structure in the songs and the brilliant mystique that lies all over the record. They way vocals where switched between very harsh screaming and then to the soft beautiful voice. You can see this in In The Woods… today and many other bands. I think In The Woods… have influenced other bands to go a little more out of those typical border lines you find in metal genres, which can get to a point where it gets boring. Some bands do it very very well, and all honor to them. For us its again, to make a song we want to make. 

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

Nils: Our two recent ones actually (Cosmic Void London and Summer dying loud in Poland). We have fun. We like what we do. And we function in our dysfunction haha.

Kåre: Well thats a hard question for me to answer, because all the shows I’ve played with this band has had their own little things that I want to remember. Some crowds are wild, some are quiet, but never boring. The two last one we had where phenomenal and ranks up there with the absolute best ones. I always say that I really want to go back to Greece to play. On stage we try to have fun, and try to mend our energy and adrenalin with the crowds energy and adrenalin. 

10.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

Nils: European tour in March/April i think/hope. We hope to play as much as we can. We are back on Redback promotion, and are eager to play…

11.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your newer music by your long time fans?

Nils: Only positive reaction i guess. There will always be the ones that wants the old stuff, but you cant bring back the past like that, and we as a band want to progress, not copy what has been…

12.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?

Nils: Kåre is writing new music for his solo moniker KAS, and me and Anders have an album with My solo moniker Drivdal.

We all have the love for music, we breathe it, and cant simply stop making it.

Kåre: Yes I’m working on the follow up to my first album under the alias KAS. Other than that, its about time to sit down and write some new In The Woods… songs for the next album. 

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

Nils: We evolve together, so its hard to say really. But we progress, and we play ball musically, and so we try to mold the songs together to make it better.

14.What are some of the bands or musical styles the band members are currently listening to nowadays?

Nils: I listen a lot to Wormwood, Tribulation and Witchery. Also i listen to Edge of Sanity, as always. Fucking brilliant. I think Bernt actually worked with Dan on some musical project of his.

Kåre: On repeat the last weeks has been Guy Clark and I just discovered a brilliant band when we played in London.. Make A Change… Kill Yourself. Brilliant band! 

Bernt: Nowadays I listen to a lot of synthwave and folk music, but I always come back to good ol’ Edge Of Sanity, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Amorphis and, of course, Judas Priest.

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

Nils: Just want to Thank you so much for showing interest in us, it means a great deal to us…

Kåre: Cheers for your time! Album pre-orders are available at the links below:

World (physical): https://soulsellerrecords.bandcamp.com 

Americas (physical): http://soulsellerrecords.aisamerch.com

Digital: https://orcd.co/diversum 

One Leg One Eye/And Take The Black Worm With Me/Nyaah Records/2022 Full Length Review

 

    One  Leg  One  Eye  are  a  solo  project  from  Ireland  that  plays  a  lo-fi  mixture  of  black  metal  of  experimental,  drone,  ambient,  folk  and  musique  concrete  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2022  album  "And  Take  The  Black  Worm  With  Me"  which  will  be  released  on  October  27th  by  Nyaah  Records.

  Water  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  ambient  style  synths  and  guitar  orientated  drones  a  few  seconds  later.  High  pitched  black  emtal s creams  can  be  heard  briefly  while  most of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  a  couple  of  tracks also  adds  in  Irish  folk  music  style  clear  vocals.

  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  experimental,  avant  garde  and  lo-fi  sounding  while  one  track  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  harsh  noises.  All  of  the  songs  on  the  album  also  have  a  very  different  sound  to  them  along  with a  couple  of  tracks  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing,  whole  album  also  sticks  to  a  slower  musical  direction.as  well  as  some  folk  instruments  also  being  utilized  at  times   and  one  song  is  also  an  instrumental 

  One  Leg  One  Eye  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black  metal,  experimental,  drone,  ambient,  folk  and  musique  concrete  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  lo-fi  while  the  lyrics  cover   light  and  dark  themes.     

  In  my  opinion  One  Leg  one  Eye  is  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  metal, e experimental,  ambient,  folk  and  misuque  concrete  and  if  you  are  a f an  of  these  musical genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Glistering  She  Emerges"  and  "Only  The  Diceys".  8  out  of  10.

  https://nyahhrecords.bandcamp.com/     

Clamoris Interview

 

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

We are a Symphonic/Melodic Death Metal band from Finland. We play around with utilizing classical music in an extreme metal setting. We are somewhat prone to shredding.

We started out as a sort of passion side project to channel some of the more elaborate and challenging stuff that we could come up with but have since then morphed into an actual band, consisting of five dudes.

We are releasing our debut album called Opus Limbonica on October 28th.

2.In October you have your first full length coming out, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?

Opus Limbonica is our take on how to utilize classical music in a metal setting. It's not a new discovery that these two go surprisingly well together.

In our album we're exploring the possibilities of this combination from different angles. Some of it is within the realm of heroic power metal. Some of it is straight up shred. Some of it is symphonic. Some of it utilizes black metal as a foundation.

We wanted to be as versatile as we could, while keeping the core idea the same throughout. We wanted to make something where the focus is foremost on quality songwriting.

3.In 2018 you had released a single but where mostly silent until 2022, can you tell us a little bit more about what was going on during this time frame?

Actually the release from 2018 is really just a demo that we put together to see how our stuff works in practice before we get to recording the actual album.

We promoted it in no way whatsoever. It was our intention all along to start making more noise of ourselves once we have the album ready for release.

We took the intervening years polishing and trying out different things with our material until we felt we were reasonably happy with what we've got.

Due to the situation with Covid we felt it'd be a good frame to take our sweet time exploring the possibilities of our style.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music?

Immortality, chaos, deception and art itself are examples of some of the topics touched on in Opus Limbonica. Horror in general is a definite influence in our presentation overall.

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

Clamoris translates to a multitude of things, but among them 'roar of thunder' is the one that inspired the band name.

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

The artwork was made by Roberto Toderico. When sharing his work on his social medias, he tagged it with "Halloween" and I reckon that's a fairly good word to use to summarize the album cover in one sentence, albeit we weren't exactly thinking about that when coming up with the album art concept, nor did we know we'd end up releasing the album so close to Halloween.. but yeah like mentioned earlier, the album's influenced by horror and the cover art signals that.

7.Has the band done any live shows or open to the idea?

So far we haven't played live but we are open to the idea and are currently looking into it.

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

So far the reception has been fairly good. Given the amount of layers and sheer volume of notes in our music we anticipated that our music might not be everyones cup of tea, nor did we aim to please everyone, but we have managed to gain some recognition and fans already, so the reaction hasn't been bad at all.

9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?

Our vocalist/bassists - Nikos - and drummers - Toms - other band, Wolftopia, put out their debut last year and has since then done a few gigs in Finland. Our other guitarists - Samulis - other band Extinction in Progress put out their debut earlier this year and has done pretty much the same, a few gigs in Finland.

Obviously the World situation the past couple years has limited the options for them as it has for everyone.

Besides that it's unkown what the guys are scheming for the future. We'll have to wait and see.

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

The next album is already quite far in the writing process. The best way I can describe the future stuff is that if you took every song of the first album, put them in a melting pot and used the resulting goo to create a new album.

It is at the same time very much the same, but also refactored to create something that's very different. That's all I dare say at this stage.

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?

Personally, my roots are largely in black metal and classical music. On founding this band, I saw a chance to experiment with combining extreme metal and classical and that's what the band is mainly about.

When writing the material I tried to tackle this core idea from different angles, and researched the music of the likes of Wintersun, Children of Bodom and Symphony X for inspiration on how to pull it off and I guess that shows in our material.

You could say these three bands are rather looked up to within our ranks all in all.

Some of the bands I listen to these days, and for a while now, include: The Kovenant, Obtained Enslavement, Sigh, Korn & Symphony X. I also enjoy listening to a number of classical composers, especially J.S. Bach.

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

Thank you for having me. If you want to check out some wild and ambitious stuff, Opus Limbonica should be for you. The album will be out on 28th October.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clamoris 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clamorisband 
Bandcamp: https://clamoris.bandcamp.com 

Memories Of A Lost Soul Interview

 

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

We replaced the rhythm section of bass and drums because it was slowing us down.

I'm not just talking about speed of performance but also the scarce time they could devote to the band, later during the pandemic time we recorded these pieces and I finished the recording studio so that we could record quickly in the future as well, since many of the problems in the past depended on the slow recording methods. Now we have landed in the My Kingdom Music family and we are very happy with this new beginning.

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

Honestly it's still related to the past as concept and music, it's a new beginning but continues from the previous speech, compared to the past we are favoring violence in the songs, just to wake up.

3.Since 2004 there has only been 2 albums released, can you tell us a little bit more about the long wait in between releases?

As I explained to you before this is due to the slow recording studios in our country, our always busy former sound engineer is to blame for this, as well as some lineup changes that have obviously slowed us down, but the lineup now is stable and works better than ever and we boast our own recording studio.

4.A lot of the lyrics on the new album cover horror and science fiction themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics? 

I have always been a lover since I was a boy of this, both of Lovecraft and Asimov and other writers, with time and movies the passion has increased, of course the texts are affected, in Memories there is this horror and despair typical of these atmospheres, with some examples in our days and also related to everyday life.

5.What if the meaning and ispiration behind the name Memories of a lost soul?

This not many people know, actually besides being precisely a collection of my memoirs, it is also the final manuscript in the video game alone in the dark, one of the first games based on Lovecraft's world.

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

The artwork is by our drummer who is also a professional working graphic designer, the idea started with me and then we developed it together.

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

 Among the most important festivals I would say Agglutination Metal Fest, some dates with Vision Divine, Rotting Christ and Grave.

I always try to communicate through looks and gestures what's going on in the piece, in general I aspire to a very theatrical performance.

8.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

We have the record presentation in Palermo, some dates between Sicily and Calabria never fail, being from the deep south unfortunately it is often difficult to move, even economically speaking.

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

Let's say we are neither death black nor gothic in fact, the sound has evolved over time into a kind of dark and progressive soundtrack, consequently true fans, loyal to one current, I don't know how they can see us, we believe in general that we make beautiful music, beyond any genre.

10.What is going on with some of the other bands, or musical projects these days, that some of the bands members are a part of?

I know that those who play with me get involved in other projects often, but honestly that has never interested me, what matters is the presence in Memories for me.

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

I hope for more and more sharing, I am not interested in money, but I would like our music to reach everyone.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles the nand members are currently listening this days?

Hypocrisy, Moonspell, Mgla, Dark tranquillity, In flames, Rotting christ, Septic flesh, Kalmah, Samael but also many others.

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

We also already have the writing of another future record ready, a remastering of Distorted Perceptionz, our first album, and much more... so we won't make our fans wait so long anymore, especially now with the possibility of recording us right away.

http://facebook.com/memoriesofalostsoulofficial 

In The Woods.../Diversum/Soulseller Records/2022 Full Length Review

 

  In  the  Woods...  are  a  band  from  Norway  that  has  a  history  that  goes  back  to  the  90's  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  mixture  of  progressive  rock  and  avant  garde  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2022  album  "Diversum"  which  will  be  released  in  November  by  Soulseller  Records.

  Atmospheric  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times.  Clear  pagan  vocals  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  along  with  the  music  also  bringing  in  more  of  an  avant  garde  approach  to  metal  and  black  metal  screams  and  growls  are  also  added  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  while  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  The  music  also  adds  in  a  great  amount  of  progressive  elements  along  with  one  song  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  one  song  also  introduces  clean  playing  onto  the  album.

  Most  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  more  modern  style  which  is  also  different  from  their  earlier  releases  as  well  as  being  aggressive  than  what  was  released  towards  the  end  of  the  90's  along  with  some  tracks  also  adding  in a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars,  one  song  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  most  of  the  music  also s ticks  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  tempo  direction.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Paganism,  Philosophy  and  Nature  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  In  The  Woods...  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  progressive  rock  and  avant  garde  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Coward's  Way"  "A  Wonderful  Crisis"  and  "Your  Dark".  8  out  of  10.

  

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Bones/Voimit/Disorder Recordings/2022 Full length Review

 

  Bones  are  a  band  from  Chicago,  Illinois  and  on  this  recording  goes  for  a  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  death,  thrash  metal  and  crust  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2022  album  "Vomit"  which  will b e  released  on  October  27th  by  Disorder  Recordings.

  A  very  dark  yet  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a   great  amount  of  crust  and  thrash  metal  elements.  Vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls  along  with  some  black  metal  screams  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  The  slower  sections  of  the  songs  also  show  an  influence  of  sludge  metal  while  the  music  also  takes  an  80's  and  early  90's  style  and  also  makes  it  sound  more  modern.  Melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  remaining  very  true  to  an  old  school  style.

 The  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  and  throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  they  close  the  album  with  a  cover  of  Van  Halen's  "She's  The  Woman". The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  zombies,  violence  and  evil  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Bones  and  if  you  are  a f an  of  black,  sludge,  death,  thrash  metal  and  crust,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Beware  of  Ghouls"  "Tower  of  Skulls"  and  "Bloodlust".  8  out  of  10.

  http://bones-chicago.bandcamp.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xGidFQtxhY      

  

A.C.OD/Fourth Reign: Over Opacities And Beyond/Les Acteurs de' L'Ombre Productions/2022 Full Length Review

 

  A.C.O.D  are  a  band  from  France  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  goes  for  a  melodic  blackened  death metal  style  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2022  album  "Fourth  Reign:  Over  Opacities  And  Beyond"  which  was  released  by  Les  Acteurs  de'  L  Ombre  Productions.

  Dark  soundscapes  and  synths  start  off  the  album  while  percussion  and  whispers  can  also  be  heard  briefly  before  going  into  a   faster  direction.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with  the  vocals  being  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.    

  Death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  at  times  while  the  music  also  has  its  symphonic  moments  and  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  lot  of  melody.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  also  being  utilized  on  a  couple  of  songs.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  the  riffing  also  adding  in  elements  of  thrash  metal  at  times  as  well  as  one  song  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  occultism and the writings of Dante.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  A.C.O.D  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  black  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Genus  Vacuitatis"  "Artes  obscurae"  and  "Through  The  Astral  Door".  8  out  of  10.

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Folkrim Interview

 

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

I’d say to head on over to any of your friendly neighbourhood streaming services and have a listen for yourself! Keep a drink close at hand though, ’cause you might get thirsty.

2.You have a new album coming out in October, musically how does it differ from your previous release?

The album was more of a collaborative process (many an ale fell that day) than the first one and leans a bit more to the metal side of folk metal. It also sounds a lot better than the first one, I guess we struck gold with our mixer/producer.

3.The lyrics cover nature and alcohol themes, can you tell us a little bit more about what these mean to you?

There’s a saying that you’re supposed to write about things close to you and the elusive beauty of finnish summer is just about the best inspiration you can have. Also beer.

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

Well, it’s a combination of things – first of all, one roleplaying game with a similar name comes to mind. Also the name reminds of the tales of Grimm and with it, a legacy of old storytelling. And on top of those - it just sounds pretty cool.

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

We’ve got some pirate-y themed songs on the album so the centerpiece of the cover is a big-ass partyboat. Then we just popped the same guy from the first album on top and voilà!

6.Originallty the band started out as a solo project, what was the decision behind expanding into a full line up?

We got a lot of positive feedback on the songs from the first album and so naturally we thought -fuck it, let’s kick it up a notch, the songs deserve it.

7.Has the band done any live shows or open to the idea?

We’re currently practicing heavily to get into stage shape. First show is happening the same day the album comes out. Future shows are being planned as we speak – the lads can’t wait to get on the road.

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

We’ve heard a lot of positive feedback; the songs are catchy, fun and pop-y after all. They go down easy like a pint of foaming beer.

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

We’re already on the process of writing new stuff and so we have an inkling of the direction. More metal, more fun.

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?

We listen to a lot of different stuff from all across the board, from Fröbelin Palikat and Britney Spears to Mayhem and Cannibal Corpse. The clearest influences you can hear in our songs are of course Finntroll, Turisas, Korpiklaani, Ensiferum and Alestorm. However, all of us listen to very different stuff on our own.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Most of us spend our spare time outside of music lifting weights. Big weights. Huge weights. A few also do some stupid nerd stuff, but we don’t talk about those.

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

Go grab a beer, call your pals over and blast some Folkrim – fun guaranteed!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Folkrim
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/folkrimband
Bandcamp: https://folkrim.bandcamp.com