Chthonic/Takosago Army/Spinefarm/2011 CD Review

Chthonic are a band from Thailand that has one of their previous albums reviewed before in this zine with a music style that I would describe as being symphonic black metal and this is a review of their 2011 album "Takosago Army" which was released by Spinefarm.

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, atmospheric and symphonic sound to the music with some occasional folk instruments that bring an oriental flavor 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 black metal riffs that are melodic at times and utilize influences from death and traditional metal, while the lead guitars are very melodic sounding guitar solos that have a traditional metal feel to them.

Vocals are a mixture of high pitched black metal screams, deep growls and some clean singing male and female, while the lyrics are written in a mixture of English and their native tongue with touch on Oriental Mysticism and dark topics, as for the production it has a very powerful, heavy and professional sound to it.

In my opinion this is another great album from Chthonic and if you where a fan of their previous albums, you will not be disappointed. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Legend Of The Seediq" "Oceanquake" "Southern Cross" and "Mahakala". RECOMMENDED BUY.

http://www.chthonic.org
http://www.facebook.com/chthonic

Furor Gallico Interview

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


Hi everybody!! What can I say..
Furor Gallico was born for joke in 2007 from an idea of Ste, Becky and Mela, our first bass player.
Than we started writing songs playing our folk celtic metal with the insertion of traditional instruments like celtic harp, violin,
tin whistle, bouzouki, etc. we recorded our demo "390 b.C. - The Glorious Dawn" in 2008 and our
full-length "Furor Gallico" in 2010, now republished by Massacre record.


2. How would you describe your musical sound?


Our musical sound is.. Folk Metal! Everybody us listen to different musical genres, death, black, brutal, prog ecc..
Furor Gallico is a combination of all that kind of music for make our Folk Metal.


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


Here in Italy we have a lot of legends, a beautiful history. So we speak about it, our history, our ancestors, the ancient religion..
La Caccia Morta, one of te italian songs we play, is an ancient legend from Bergamo, north-italian city;
Medhelan is dedicated to the founder of our city, Milano; Ancient Rites is simply a way to remember the ancestors that lived here before us..


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


We have decided this name one evening in a pub.. we was looking for an italian name that was "aggressive"..
So Furor Gallico came out! This is the description that roman people gave to the celtic people during a battle,
the famous Celtic warriors Fury named by Gulio Cesare in his De Bello Gallico as Furor Gallico.

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


We have done a lot of gigs during the years, in Italy and in Europe. I remember the one with Eluveitie in Fribourgh (CH) at the Fri-Son,
or the most recent show in Bavarian Battle (D).. of course that are the best show we have done! Beautifl location, beautiful people..
we hope to have again some beautiful experiences like these!! And about our show what can I say? we play to have fun!
Our music is a mix of Folk, Death, Black metal.. so is an heavy music! But we think to have fun on the stage and we hope to transmit
our sensation to the people!!


6. Do you have any touring plans for the new release?


Now we are writing the tour for the release, we have some gigs in Italy and we're gonna come back in Germany and Switzertland between
autumn and winter.

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


We have listened a lot of people out of Europe that like our music, we have sended some cd in Canada, Brazil, Japan, ever with a good
response.. and when we have played out of Italy we have had beautiful experiences everytime!! So we hope to play, why not, also in America or in
Asia hehe for now we are having a lot of gigs in Italy with a beautiful public and a beautiful response!


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


Simo, our drummer, join in Bastard Saints, Italian Brutal Death (strange, eh? hehe).
They have a big discography and they had a lot of gigs in Italy and in Europe in the past.
He is the only one with another band.


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


we've just composed several songs for our next album and they play really different than the previous. our sound is still the same, but
we're trying to find something new, to create new solutions, hoping that people will appriciate our work.

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


Of course band as Eluveitie, Korpiklaani, Manegarm, Primordial and other famous folk metal band has influenced our music,
but as I said before everybody of us has a different musical background, we listen to every musical genre and this is the real
influences of Furor Gallico's sound: many difference kind of music!


11. How would you describe your views on Celtic -paganism?


we want to let this cultures reborn trough our songs. we love celtic legends, celtic culture and its connection with nature.
anyway we're not that kind of fanatic people that live in the past. we live in 2011 with our beer, our sigarettes, our tv and our
facebook account eheheh, but we think is important to not forget our roots.

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


We study or work outside Furor Gallico, so we have other occupation.. Pagan and Fabio are studying Graphic Design
(great for us so we don't need to look forward for a graphic designer hehe).. Becky loves nature, Ste is a fucking awful engineer,
Oldhan an informaticsÉ so we have a lot of different interests...


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


Thank you very much for this interview, I hope to see you or someone reading this words at one our show soon hehe thank to everyone
read this interview!
You can find more info about Furor Gallico on our myspace, facebook and website pages:

www.myspace.com/furorgallico
www.furorgallico.it
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Furor-Gallico/201640203204769

Furor Gallico/Self Titled/Massacre Records/2011 CD Review

Furor Gallico are a band from Italy that plays Celtic Folk Metal with a melodic black/death edge and this is a review of their self titled 2011 album which was released by Massacre Records.

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with not much in the way of blast beats, while the folk instruments bring a medieval Celtic folk music feel to the music, as for the bass playing, 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 riffs that combine folk/pagan metal with melodic black/death metal, while the lead guitars are very melodic sounding metal guitar leads, as for the accoustic guitars when they are utilized they use finger picking and full chords to bring a dark sound to the music.

Vocals are a mixture of high pitched black metal screams, deep death metal growls and clean singing pagan vocals, while the lyrics cover Celtic Mythology and Paganism, as for the production it has a very professional sound to it.

In my opinion Furor Gallico 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 "Ancient Rites" "the Gods Have Returned" "Miraculous Child" and "Banshee". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Cultus Sabbati/Descent Into The Maelstorm/Buh Records/2011 CD Review

Cultus Sabbati are a band from Norway that plays black metal mixed with experimental ritualistic noise and this is a review of their 2011 album "Descent Into The Maelstorm" which was released by Buh Records.

There is not much in the way of drums on this recording but there are some tribal ritualistic beats being utilized at times throughout the recording, as for the bass playing there is none present on this album>

Rhythm guitars are all slow riffs that utilize a lot of heavy distorted ritualistic noises and there are no led guitars or solos present on this recording, as for the noise effects they are very brutal, dark, ritualistic and evil sounding with a great amount of reverb.

Vocals are a mixture of high pitched black metal screams and ritualistic chanting, while the lyrics are based on an Edgar Allan Poe story that this recording is named after, as for the production it has a very dark, raw and brutal sound to it.

In my opinion Cultus Sabbati are a very good black/ritualistic/noise band and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Mouth Of The Beast" and "Walls Of The Abyss". RECOMMENDED BUY.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultus_Sabbati_(band)

Dominanz Interview

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

DOMINANZ – is a modern and hellishly powerful band playing atmospheric and somewhat industrialized metal.
The orchestra DOMINANZ is a successor of the project called Cult of Deception that I started to wrote songs for in 2006. After a couple of years with composing I joined forces with Frode Gaustad former drummer in the black metal band Thy Grief, and Jørn Tunsberg guitar player in the epic black metal band Hades Almighty, and formerly in the bands Immortal and Old Funeral.
Basically the band members come from the Black Metal scene, and this is obvious in the way of singing, but also in the style of music. But we have also added some atmospheric and Gothic stuff, along with various industrial elements here and there. The music is aggressive and groovy, and we try to create a very sick atmosphere!

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album?
What we have tried to achieve with As I Shine is to create a dark and dismal record, but at the same time be catchy. We hope it will get on the nerves and emotions to the listeners, but also those in the mood for a good party! In my opinion,Dominanz has a unified expression. It is a common thread between the music and lyrics. Everything reflects my dirty thoughts and we’ve tried to express that visually, something you can see in our music video "The End of All There Is"

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the new release explores?
 About 40% of the texts are written by V'Gandr, frontman in the Viking Metal band Helheim and one of my best friends. These are for the most depressing portrayals of life on the border between life and death. There are also erotic tales inspired by the eternal life.

My own lyrics are mostly inspired by true events about the oppression of people throughout history. I am partly inspired by my visits to Auschvitz, the KGB's headquarters where they tortured and killed innocent people. One of the texts are inspired by the Austrian case, where Joseph Fritzl had the lead role. I am also inspired by working as a social therapist in the psyciatrics. The lyric deals with everything from erotic depiction of oppression, slavery and ways to dominate fellow man. The main theme is on the bleak and destructive ... and living on the edge between life and death. While others are simply depictions of a Sado Masochistic Fuck!

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
I think the question above covers it pretty well, don’t you think? Hehe

 5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
We have not done too many live performances yet, but the best is probably last summer at a festival in Lithuania. And that despite the fact that all of our music equipment and stage clothes never made it to Lithuania, they got stuck at Oslo airport! So after stressfull days trying to get our equipment sent to Lithuania without luck, the organizers of the festival managed to scrape together some equipment a couple of hours before the gig. And we did a very succesfull gig in front of about 2000 people, and got very good reviews afterwards
In my opinion,Dominanz has a unified expression. It is a common thread between the music and lyrics. As I said earlier, everything reflects my dirty thoughts and we’ve tried to express that visually.

 6. Do you have any touring plans for the new release?
Our Promotor Rock’N’Growl is working on a little tour in Denmark. We are also working on getting together a little tour in Holland and Belgium. And hopefully some shows in Norway in connection with the release of the album. We’re hoping to do some festivals in 2012 as well.

7. I know that some of the band members have backgrounds in bands that are more black metal in style, what made you decide to go for more of an industrial approach with the new band?
The songs of As I shine, I began writing as far back as 2006. So I spent almost three years in this process. It's very various how the different songs came to life. Most of the songs were finished before Frode and Jørn joined the band. There were no intention of going towards a specific genre, Dominanz is going for a dark and gloomy expression, but still catchy regardless any genre
What we have tried to achieve with As I Shine is to create a dark and dismal record, but at the same time be catchy. We hope it will get on the nerves and emotions to the listeners, but also those in the mood for a good party

8. Are there any side projects besides this band or is this a full time line-up?
 For Frode and myself this is a full time project, there is neither time or any desire to do anything else. But Jørn still has his band Hades Almighty, and he’s writing and working towards a new album with them.

9. I know that the band is heavily promoted by both Industrial Silence and Rock'N' Growl, how di you get in contact with these labels and promotion teams and how would you describe the support that they have given you so far?
We sent around some e-mails to different promotors, and there were some that responded positively. Amongst them we found Rock’N’Growl to be the ones we wanted to work together with. So far we’re very satisfied with the result.

10. On a worldwide level how has your music been recieved by atmospheric black metal and industrial fans?
That’s a question for them to answer. But the reviews so far from different Industrial magazines as well as more black metal magazines has been good, so I guess good is the answer.


11. What direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?
We try of course to always improve. We have already started working on the next album. It will be more metal, more extreme, but we will still take care of the dark and gloomy, and the catchy phrase of Dominanz!

 12. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Unfortunately I am not good at discovering and listening to new music so there is much of the same bands I've listened to for years that, Katatonia, Dimmu Borgir, Samael, Deathstars, Sixteen Horsepower, Emperor, Bathory,Hades Almighty, Woven Hand, JohnnyCash, Rammstein, Depeche Mode among Others.

13. What role does Occultism, Satanism or Paganism play in the music?
There is no inspiration from neither, all of the bandmembers are atheists.

14. Outside of music, what are some of your interests?
I’m so lucky that I live at the base of a mountain, so I try to run up there a couple of times a week. Otherwise I allways appreciate a good party with friends!

15. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
There is an excessive amount of work behind this release, so I hope of course the audience will appreciate it and buy the album!

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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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