Dominanz/As I Shine/Industrial Silence/2011 CD Review

Dominanz are a band from Norway that mixes black metal with industrial and gothic music and this is a review of their 2011 album "As I Shine" which was released by Industrial Silence Records.

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with some blast beats being thrown in at times, while the synths bring a very dark and industrial/gothic/atmospheric feel to the music,

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast riffs that combine black metal with industrial metal with some melodies being used at times, while the lead guitars are very distorted sounding industrial metal guitar leads.

Vocals range between high pitched black metal screams, industrial metal style shouts and growls mixed in with some clean singing male and female gothic vocals, while the lyrics cover dark and aggressive themes, as for the production it has a very powerful, heavy and professional sound and you can hear all of the musical instruments that are present on this recording.

In my opinion Dominanz are a very good black/gothic/industrial metal hybrid and if you are a fan of bands that mixes these styles together, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Agony And Domination" "Eternal Sin" "Last Day Of Your Life" and "The End Of All There Is". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Einvera Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?


The Einvera sound could be described as if a wide variety of genres and instrumentation were
crammed into a blender with the end result being an eclectic, colorful taste. Basically, we are fans of
music and that's how it comes across. We want to add all of these colors and tastes from every genre we love and make something enjoyable to listen to. Trips from Jazz to Black metal and Folk to Psychedelic rock.


2. How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the new album?
With "In Your Image" being our first album we were obviously very ambitious and energetic out of the gate. We made a very dynamic record and tried to included all of our favorite styles of writing as cohesively as possible. There are about fifteen some odd different instruments on the record ranging from trumpet to vibraphone and banjo to pedal steel. The textures that these array of instruments brings out seems very fitting and special to us and when coupled with an aggressive playing style it took from of something very "out there".


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


While were were already headed down a left hand path with this album, we agreed the lyrics had to as well to some extent. We didn't want to approach it with a traditional black metal/death metal mind set.
Not that we don't respect the hell out of it, but I wanted to only write about things I knew or have seen personally. With that direction it became a lot more personal. I tried to take an outsiders look at some common struggles like the desperation to succeed, drug abuse, deterioration of faith and personal loss.
You know, fun stuff.


4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?


If you look it up it literally means "Isolation." I suppose we are just trying to isolate ourself from common trends and try to go a different path if that makes any sense at all.


5.Has the band had any oppurtunities to do any live shows yet, if so what are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?


Absolutely! We have had a blast playing around the southern california area. Weather we were opening up for some European or American heavyweight bands or playing smaller scale local shows we have always been appreciative of the energy and noise the audience gives back. We like to really lay it all out in a live performance and cut loose. We dont stand around like its some kind of recital...theres definatly some movin' and shakin'.
6. Currently the band is unsinged, are you looking for a label and if so what kind of label do you feel that would be a perfect fit for your music?


At this point we are taking it one step at a time. We just want to share what we have.
We are doing well on our own now so when the right thing comes it will only benefit all parities involved, including listener, label and band alike.




7. Are there any side projects besides this band or is this a full time line-up?
We all stay busy with multiple projects ranging from bluegrass to fusion, as well as teaching, session work and working in recording studios. We like to dip into everything!


8. On a worldwide level how has your music been received by metal fans?


Very positive! Its just as nice to hear a local fan as well as, say, a fan from Hungary tell you that they appreciate what you are doing and your hard work meant something to them. Obviously the route of jamming tons of instruments on a record has been done but the thing we enjoy most is when we hear that the way we approached it was a breath of fresh air. I think we put a nice little spin on things for this round but there is obviously more to learn and more work to do on our end. We will always be "students" on this journey.




9. What direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?


That is defiantly an exciting subject for us. We have a lot of material piling up that goes even deeper down the rabbit hole, to use that cliché. We like to say the new stuff is like an expanding circle of our direction, meaning that all of the elements we use will increase ten fold. Louder, softer, layered, striped, faster, slower, more abrasive, catchier, ramble, ramble. You get it.


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


That is a loaded question so ill try to keep it simple. We feel it is our duty as musicians to investigate everything out there. It dosnt matter what it is Psych rock, jazz, metal, pop, old time country, folk etc. If its good its good and that's how Einvera was handled, dragged face down in the broken glass of all those genres.




11. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
Well sometimes it seems like every aspect of our lives, work and play, is consumed by music we still keep in check with other hobbies to stay sane! We are some pretty mean wiffle ball players.


12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Thanks for your time! Keep supporting the little guys!

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Scythia/Of War/2010 CD Review

  Scythia are a band from Vancouver B.C, Canada that plays folk metal mixed with melodic black/death metal and this a review of their self released 2010 album "Of War".

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with some blast beats being used at times, while the folk instruments and keyboards bring a very dark and medieval feel to the music, as for the bass playing it has a very dark tone with riffs that follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars and at times they sound very powerful.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast folk metal riffs that have some melodic black/death metal influences, while the lead guitars are very melodic sounding folk metal guitar solos, as for the classical and acoustic guitars when they are utilized they use finger picking to bring a dark and medieval feel to the music.

Vocals range from clean singing male and female vocals mixed in with some heavy shouts, growls, screams and spoken word passages, while the lyrics cover Medieval folklore and warfare, as for the production it has a very powerful and professional sound for being a self released album.

In my opinion Scythia are a very good folk metal band and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Fierce Riders Of Scythia" "Elegy" and "Adamantium". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Einvera/In Your Image/2011 CD Review

 Einvera are a band from Los Angeles, California that mixes black,  death,  folk,  melodic and progressive metal together and this is a review of their self released 2011 album "In Your Image".

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with some blast beats being thrown in at times, while the keyboards bring a symphonic edge to the music with a great amount of folk instruments being utilized that bring a very dark, avant garde and medieval sound to the music, as for the bass playing it sounds very powerful and heavy with riffing that dominates throughout the whole album.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast riffing that combines black metal with melodic death, folk, traditional and progressive metal with a great amount of melodies being used, while he lead guitars are very melodic sounding guitar leads that have a traditional metal feel to them, as for the acoustic guitars when they are utilized they bring a progressive rock folk music feel to the music.

Vocals are a mixture of high pitched black metal and modern day melodic death metal screams with a good amount of clean singing being thrown in at times, while the lyrics cover dark and everyday themes, as for the production it sounds very powerful and professional for a self released recording and you can hear all of the musical instruments that are present on this recording.

In my opinion Einvera  are a very good and original sounding progressive/melodic/black/death/folk metal band and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Static Ascension" "Prismatic Distortion" and "The Gift Of A Ghost". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Desideria Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?

Most of you can be sure never to have heard about us. We are from France in a city next to Germany where I was born. I met some years ago the female vocalist of Desideria, Mylène, because we worked together for a gothic fanzine. Then we looked for band members and there were recurring changes in the line-up until last year. Finally we are seven musicians now and the other members are Samuel and Julien on the guitars, Marc on the bass, Jérémie on the keyboards and Tim on the drums.

2.How would you describe your musical sound?

It’s more difficult to attribute one’s music to a particular music style if you are involved. There is not the distance that you need for. So I let reviewers and listeners decide about what we play. Most of them say we are a gothic metal band. Others say we are a symphonic black metal band. If I had to choose one label I would say a wild and symphonic dark metal band.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the new release explores?

Most of the lyrics are about what goes in the knights’ minds when they face some circumstances as the loss of their love (“Island Of Death”) or the loss of their trust in human (“Wolf Cruelty Claw”) choosing the company of wolves. There are lyrics about knights who are in a sanctuary to save a girl who is the reincarnation of the goddess of wisdom. They have twelve hours to save her and must go through twelve houses and each house has its guardian who represents one sign of the zodiac. The song “Excalibur” has the most explicit lyrics for this concept. The others are “Another Dimension” and “Lightning Bolt”. And with “HellCorrespondence.com” there is one song about a girl you can contact at midnight if you want to send someone to hell. If you pull the string of a straw doll she has given to you she comes and drags your enemy to hell and your soul the day you die goes to hell too.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

It took a long time before all members agreed with a name and that was Desideria. It was Mylène who had suggested the name. Desiderio is the Italian translation for “Desire”. Desire creates something dynamic in the life of each one of us. It’s something obsessional that dictates our acts and our thoughts. Because Mylène likes names such as Sirenia and Tristania she changed the last letter into an “a”.

5. Has the band had any opportunities to do a live show, if so what are some of the best gigs that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

Yes we did some live shows with local bands. Some gigs were better than others but I wouldn’t describe anyone of them to be one of our best gigs. I think the best gigs will come. I hope so. With our new line-up we will see how we will perform together. Now it’s too early to say how we are but in the next months I could answer better this question.

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

When all the members meet again we will discuss about next gigs. But if they are it will be not before autumn.

7. Currently you are unsigned are you looking for a record label and if so what kind of label do you feel that would be a perfect fit for the band’s music?

Now it’s the first time we have really thought whether we should or not look for a label. We will discuss about this subject. Nothing is sure. If we do it we know that it will be difficult to find a label that could be ready to invest in a new band. The times are hard with this worldwide economic crisis. I feel there are not many labels that would fit with what we do. Most labels are focused in classic heavy metal and more in extreme metal.

8. On a worldwide level how has your music been received by metal fans?

On our myspace we have sometimes nice comments about our music that are very important for us and encourage us to continue. From the day we have released our music we know that we have to accept bad comments. Some metal listeners don’t like our music, some others like it. There is no music that everyone can enjoy.

9. Are there any side projects besides this band or is this a full time line-up?

Most of us have no time to have more than one band. Marc helps out in another band until he has its own bass player. Julien is setting up his own band in a more brutal death metal style.

10. What direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?

Up to now Samuel was after the departure of our former guitar player Cédric rather alone to compose soundtracks for Desideria. Now we will see what we will have when Marc and Julien contribute too. I think the music will keep the spirit of our first release and we will also have the one or other song in a different style than that we used to have.

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

At the beginning I imagined music close to Theatre Of Tragedy and The Sins of Thy Beloved with a fragile female voice opposed to mine. But I imagined it faster. With our main composer Samuel the music is going faster than I imagined and I love it. He and all the other members of Desideria listen to all kind of metal styles from the pioneers to the newest bands. We reproduce the metal sound but we are not conscious about influences when we are in a composition process. We know that we have influences but we don’t know from whom they come.

12. Does Paganism play a role in your music?

Most lyrics are about paganism in the way that I going about polytheistic religions. They talk about knights devoted to their goddess Athena from the Greek mythology in a battle against knights devoted to their god Odin from the Norse mythology. But legends that you find in them are twisted with other components that are imagined. These knights don’t use weapons like swords or axes but draw their fight technics from Cosmo energy. In “Excalibur” that is the mythical sword of King Arthur I talk about this sword like a gift from the goddess Athena to her most loyal knight and the shaping technique of this sword is now in his arms. All this to say that yes, paganism plays a role in the music but unlike other bands who portray Vikings in how they used to live their life as described in history books there are in these lyrics realities that had never been met and components out from fantasy or science-fiction.

13. Outside of music what are some of your interests?

I don’t have really other interests apart from manga where the stories of the lyrics come from. Mylène loves the literature of the XIXth century. Samuel loves to travel. Jérémie loves to walk in the forests. Tim enjoys to see friends. Marc loves to draw and Julien likes to go to concerts.

14. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

First I want to thank you for your effort in this preparation of this interview. And then to the few metal saints who have read this interview since we are still quite unknown.

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Desideria/End The Curse/2011 CD Review

  Desideria are a band from France that plays a mixture of black, death, pagan, folk, gothic and traditional metal and this is a review of their self released 2011 album "End The Curse".

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with a good amount of blast beats, while the synths bring a very dark, gothic and atmospheric sound to the music, as for the bass playing it has a very dark tone with riffs that follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast riffing that combines death, gothic, black, folk and traditional metal together with a good amount of melody being thrown in the music, while the lead guitars are very melodic heavy metal guitar solos that have a very traditional and classic metal feel to them, as for the acoustic guitars which are only used briefly they being a very dark and medieval folk music sound to the music.

Vocals range from deep death metal growls, high pitched black metal screams, clean singing male and female vocals with some occasional spoken word passages, while the lyrics touch on mythology, as for the production it has a very dark, heavy and powerful sound to it.

In my opinion Desideria are a very good melodic black/death/gothic/folk metal band and if you are looking for a band that mixes these styles together, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Dragon Bravest Blizzard" "Island of Death" and "Excalibur". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Planks/The Darkest Of Grays Solicit To Fail/Southern Lord Records/2011 CD Review

 Planks are a band from Germany that mixes crust/punk noise rock, black metal and black'n' roll together and this is a review of their 2011 album The Darkest Of Grays Solicit To Fail" which was released by Southern Lord Records.

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with a good amount of blast beats being thrown in, while the bass playing has a very heavy and strong tone with a lot of powerful sounding riffs that are very noisy and distorted, as for the synths which are only utilized briefly they bring a very dark avant garde edge to the music.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast riffs that combine influences from crust/punk, noise rock, black metal and black 'n' roll  to create a sound that is very original sounding and on the instrumental there is some soft and slow playing, while the lead guitars when they are utilized they are very dark, distorted and melodic sounding.

Vocals are a mixture of crust/hardcore style yells and screams that are also heavily influenced by black metal with some occasional spoken word passages and samples, while the lyrics cover everyday and hateful themes, as for the production it has a very heavy and raw sound to it while still being professional enough to the point where you can hear all of the musical instruments.

In my opinion Planks are a very good and original band that combines sludge with noise rock, crust/punk, black metal and black'n' roll together and if you are looking for a band that combines these styles together, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Sacred And Secret" "The Dead Return To War" "A Casket City" and "Into The Nothingness Within". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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