Thousand Year War/Tyrants And Men/Abyss Records/2011 CD Review

  Thousand Year War are a band from Anchorage, Alaska that plays a mixture of melodic death and black metal and this is a review of their 2011 album "Tyrants And Men" which was released by Abyss Records.

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with some blast beats being used on occasion, while the bass playing has a very strong and powerful tone that dominates throughout the recording.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast riffs that combine melodic death and black metal together along with some traditional and classic metal influences, while the lead guitars are very melodic sounding death metal guitar solos and leads.

Vocals are a mixture of deep death metal growls and high pitched melodic black/death metal screams, while the lyrics cover Mythology, epic and war themes, as for the production it has a very heavy, powerful and professional sound to it.

In my opinion Thousand Year War are a very good melodic death/black metal band and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Defiance" "No Gods, No Masters" "The Storm I Ride" and "Spartacus". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Sarah Jezebel Diva/The Corruption Of Mercy/Listenable Records/2011 CD Review

  Sarah Jezebel Diva is a singer from England that has been a part of many well known metal projects that had here previous album reviewed in this zine that plays a style that mixes symphonic, ambient and gothic metal together with a black metal edge and this is a review of her 2011 album "The Corruption Of Mercy' which was released by Listenable Records.

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with some occasional blast beats, while the keyboards are very dark, symphonic and atmospheric sounding with an industrial edge, 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 powerful.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast melodic gothic metal riffs that still have a small amount of a black metal influence, while the lead guitars are very melodic sounding guitar solos and leads.

Vocals are all clean singing female vocals that are very operatic sounding mixed in with some whispered vocals, while the lyrics touch on dark themes, as for the production it has a very dark and professional sound to it.

In my opinion this is another decent album from Sarah Jezebel Diva and if you where a fan of her past album, you probably wont be disappointed. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "No Paragon Of Virtue" "Pretty With Effects' and "The Eyes That Lie". RECOMMENDED.

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Dethcentrik/Why The innocent Die Young/2011 CD Review

  Dethcentrik are a band from Colorado Springs, that plays a mixture of industrial, experimental, noise, grindcore, black metal and doom metal to create a sound of their own and this is a review of their self released 2011 album "Why The Innocent Die Young".

Drums range from slow to mid paced drumming, while the noise effects add a very dark, experimental and avant garde feeling to the music and there is no bass playing present on this recording.

Guitars when they are utilized are mostly rock/metal guitar riffing, while the synths bring a very dark ambient sound to the music.

Vocals are very dark and depressing with somewhat of a grim black metal approach to the music with some clean singing male and female vocals being used on one song as well as some spoken word samples, why the lyrics cover hateful themes, as for the production it has a very weird and dark sound to it.

In my opinion Dethcentrik are a very good avant garde metal band that is very hard to classify and if you are looking for something that is very original and different, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "The Demise Of Mankind" and "Columbine Justice Spree". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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DungeonHammer Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the project for those that have never heard of you before?
R: We are DungeönHammer, a 2 man act totally dedicated to honor the old gods of metal!
E: We want to honor and to perpetuate the tradition of old school black metal.

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the 7 inche's
E: We just want to sound as badass as Hellhammer did!
R: We are trying to make metal the way it used to be: simple, raw and passionate. We hope to convey this feeling in both 7"-es.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
R: We write about hell and damnation! What did you expect?
E: And about witchery and the occult.

4. I can tell by the bands name and music there is a huge Hellhammer influence, can you tell us what is about Hellhammer that inspired this project and also what are your views of Tom G Warrior disowning his first band?
R: You're right about the HellHammer influence! It should be an influence in every band. HellHammer is just one of the best bands ever (early Celtic Frost too). There's just something magical in those songs, they really don't make 'em like that anymore. My views on Tom G Warrior these days: he should do whatever he wants, this guy is a living legend.
E: Yes Hellhammer and the two first albums of Celtic Frost are our main influence. I really dig the new sound Tom G Warrior has created with Monotheist and Triptykon. I can't wait to hear the new album.

5. I have noticed that the 2 members live in different countries, how do you both work on the song writing and recording process?
R: That's right! I live in The Netherlands and E lives in France, about 600 km apart from each other. There is no other way than to mail each other a shitload of demo recordings and ideas, so that's what we do. When the basics of the songs are fully explored, we record drums, bass and guitars in our rehearsal rooms. I then make a mix and from there on we start working on vocals and solos. It takes a lot of time, but it's worth it!
E: I think it's a good thing to be in a 2 members band. It's easier to agree on riff ideas and song structures. On the other hand, It'd be definetely easier if we both lived in the same town.

6. Currently your stuff is being put out by Bestial Invasion Records, how did you come in contact with this label and how would you describe the support that they have given the band so far?
R: Dominik of Bestial Invasion Records is really the best guy ever! When we put our first demo track on myspace he contacted us and said he wanted to release it! So he started Bestial Invasion Records. The amount of releases he put out is insane! He trades actively with all the cool distros around the world, like Hells Headbangers for example. It's really cool to see that our records are sold all over the planet. Without Dominik's support we couldn't have done this!
E: Eternal hails to Dominik!

7. Are there any other projects besides this band?
R: I also play in an experimental project and a noise project. Nothing that's really interesting for the people that like DungeönHammer...
E: DungeönHammer is my priority at the moment.

8. On a worldwide level how has your music been recieved by underground metal fans?
R: Really well! We were really surprised about that! Our first split with the Necro-Thrashers of RUST got some great reviews and is already sold out at Bestial Invasion Records! That's 500 records in 1 year! We are still really happy with that split and it's great to notice that the fans like it too.
E: We had a lot of positive reactions from true old school metal fans which is the most important thing for me.

9. What direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?
E: Same direction, making badass tracks from hell!
R: Yeah, we keep on heading in the same direction as the last 2 releases.

10. Besides Hellhammer what are some other bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
R: Bathory, Motörhead and Discharge are my main influences for DungeönHammer. For the rest I listen to grindcore and experimental stuff, I don't listen to a lot of black metal.
E: My main influences are of course the first wave of black metal but also some doom metal and 70s rock too. I'm a huge fan of Pentagram and Saint Vitus.

11. Does Satanism or Occultism play a role in the music?
R: It does not play any role for me.
E: Occultism plays a role in the lyrics writing.

12. Outside of music, what are some of your interests?
R: The usual stuff: hanging with friends, listening music, watching movies, going to gigs...
E: Headbanging, hanging out in pubs...

13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
R,E: Thanks a lot for this interview, we really appreciate it! Check out our songs at our bandcamp: http://dungeonhammer.bandcamp.com/ and add us on facebook (www.facebook.com/dungeonhammer). Pay your respect to these bands and labels: Occvlta, Rust, Purgatör, Bestial Invasion Records, Burning World Records, Do Not Run We Are Your Friends, Geiser and Dead Neanderthals!

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DungeonHammer/Frozen Wasteland/Bestial Invasion Records/2010 Split 7 Inch Review

DungeonHammer are a band that has members from both France and Holland that mixes thrash, black metal , doom and punk together and this is a review of their 2011 split 7 inch which was released by Bestial Invasion Records.

Drums range from slow to mid paced drumming with not much in the way of fast playing or blast beats, while the bass playing has a very dark tone with riffs that follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars.

Rhythm guitars range from slow to mid paced riffs that combine black, doom, thrash and punk together together to create a sound that is very dark and could of easily came out in the 80's, while the lead guitars are very raw and chaotic sounding guitar solos and leads.

Vocals are in the vein of Celtic Frost and Hellhammer style grunts and growls, while the lyrics cover dark and evil themes, as for the production it has a very raw, primitive, and dark sounding 80's feeling to it.

In my opinion DungeonHammer are a very good old school sounding black/thrash/doom metal band and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this. RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Nordheim/Lost In The North/Maple Metal Records/2011 CD Review

  Nordheim are a band from Quebec, Canada that plays a mixture of pagan, folk, melodic death and black metal and this is a review of their album which was originally self released in 2010 but re-issued by maple Metal Records in 2011.

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with a good amount of blast beats being thrown in at times, while the keyboards bring a very symphonic, atmospheric and epic feel to the music with some pagan sounding flutes being thrown in at times, 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 melodic death metal with black and folk metal with a touch of classic metal, while the lead guitars are very melodic and skilled sounding guitar solos and leads, as for the acoustic guitars which are only used for a few seconds they bring a very dark and medieval feeling to the music.

Vocals are mostly high pitched screams that combine melodic death metal and black metal together with some clean singing pagan metal vocals being thrown in at times as well as some deep growls, while the lyrics cover paganism, folklore and drinking, as for the production it has a very heavy, powerful and professional feeling to it.

In my opinion Nordheim are a very good melodic pagan/folk/black/death metal band and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Nightborn' "Praise To The Gods" "Sailing The Drakaar" and "Blessing From The Stars". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Chthonic Interview

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

After the former album ‘Mirror of Retribution’ released in 2009 and two-month tour in North America and UK, we were heading to writing new songs for next album. During those days we also did some successful performance at festivals like Loud Park (Japan), Hammerfest (UK), Download Festival (UK), Wave Gotik Treffen (DE).



In 2011 spring, we recorded our new album ‘Takasago Army’ at Sweet Spot Studio in Halmstad, Sweden’, produced by Rickard Bengtsson (Arch Enemy, Nemesis) , and it released in the middle of this year.



We had successful headline tour in Japan and Taiwan right after album release, and also were invited to play ‘Busan Festival’ in Korea. Then we’re heading to tour North America and Europe for the rest of this year!



2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from previous releases?



The theme of ‘Takasago Army’ has more various emotions: from the confusion of themselves because of the identity to become proud of their own bravery in battle field, and then the depress feeling when they have to face to the loss of the war but at the same time they find themselves a inner freedom and their identity to Taiwanese ancestors. So the emotion of rise and fall of ‘Takasago Army’ is huge than ‘Mirror of Retribution’.



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



《Takasago Army》is our 6th full-length album. It’s talking about the struggling emotions and struggles of those over 200,000 Taiwanese soldiers who were fighting for Imperial Japanese Army in South Pacific in WWII.



They find themselves’ dignity and identity though this brutal and bloody process.



But after WWII, Chinese army (KMT party) occupied Taiwan, and those soldiers were forced to fight for Chinese army in their inner war with communist regime, most of them never come back. At the meantime, there’s also an uprising from Taiwanese people to against Chinese government, but it leads to a tragic massacre in Taiwan called ‘228 Massacre’.



It’s a series concept album, and it’s also the last part of the trilogy of our former two albums.



4. I know that the album title is based on the aboriginal tribes in Taiwan joining the military in World War II, what interest do you have in the mythology of these people and I have noticed not that many bands have ever explored that form of mythology with their lyrics?



Because this is a good story, and it’s based on the REAL history but was hidden by the history for over 60 years, so not too many people knows those people of WWII.



We have a very strong interest toward to this kind of topic. Our former albums were also related to mythology/history theme.



We are not interested in bring fans History class, what we want to reveal via the concept is the spirit and the value as a human beings based on those stories. J


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



‘ChthoniC’ means ‘Gods from the underworld’. For the past few albums, we’re re-creating the Oriental mythology based on the real history or culture background, like the second album was talking about Taiwanese Aboriginal Gods wake up and fight against the Gods from Mainland China to protect the island; In third album, we’re writing a revenge story by a female ghost who was been killed and tortured both mentally and physically. For the later 3 albums, we are writing the heroic battles based on our folk stories and hidden history in WWII.



All the elements of the stories, the living and dead people are all connected to the concept of ‘Acheron’.



6. You have done a lot of tours over the years, out of all of the places that you have played so far which one did you enjoy the most and also which band was the funnest to tour with or do live shows with, and also how would you describe your stage performance?



Actually I LOVE all fans from every countries, I ‘enjoy’ them very much! Haha! But the most favorite fans are still in Taiwan! ;)



7. What are the touring plans for the new album?



US Tour: From Sep 8th to Oct 4th, we will tour with Arch Enemy, Devil Driver and Skeletonwitch in the US and Canada! Excited!



UK Tour: From Oct 27th to Nov 17th, we will be main support of Turisas UK tour. Looking forward to play with them (and also the other band from Finland- Kiuas! ;)



Europe Tour: We will Tour from Dec 6th to Dec 22nd with Arch Enemy and Warbringer in Germany, France, Switzerland and Netherlands.



CHTHONIC will have a big outdoor concert in Taiwan on Oct 22nd. And the place is right in front of 'Sing-Ling Temple'. Sing-Ling Temple is a very important concept in our albums (Mirror of Retribution and Takasago Army). So the concert will connect to our album perfectly.



Now not only the place is very special, our guest play will also be very special. Now Randy Blythe from Lamb of God will fly to Taiwan to play with us and BBQ for fans!!! And now we're having a 'competition' for foreign fans, if you pass the competition, you can win the flight tickets to Taiwan to see our concert! :)



8. How has the feedback been from fans that have heard the new album so far?



I think it’s pretty good, and again, better than former album!



Especially this album is the last piece of the trilogy, that interest many people and draw more fans to notice our former albums! This ‘Takasago Army’ completes a trilogy that binds together the band’s Seediq Bale and Mirror Of Retribution albums, released in 2007 and 2009 respectively.



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



From the new experience of composing songs for our latest album, we think we will use more Oriental elements and Taiwanese folk music as the base foundation, then mix metal music into it. The logic is different from our former albums, and we love to do our music in this way now. J


10. The last few albums came out on Spinefarm, how did you get in contact with this label and how would you compare Spinefarm to the other record labels that you have been on?



Our label manager in Spinefarm UK has already listened to our music before we signed with them. So when we start to shop labels, it’s naturally for us to get connection with this label.



Before Spinefarm, we’ve been worked SPV, and some individual label in different countries. After signing with Spinefarm, of course the aspect becomes wider and the strategy is more international.



We have good time in working with them. J


11. What are some of the bands or musical styles that have influenced the new album and also what are you listening to nowadays?



The main song writers Freddy and Jesse have listened more Taiwanese traditional music (Enka) according to their ages getting older! (haha!) So if talking about the influence to CHTHONIC nowadays, I think that might be bunch of names on the list are Taiwanese singers or artists! :D



12. What role does Occultism play in your music and how would you describe your views on this topic?



Maybe it’s because the word ‘Orient Metal’ that we use more often nowadays has given some imagination of ‘Occultism’? J But we do use many concepts from the mythology of aboriginals, Taiwanese, Japanese and some other Eastern Asia countries.



It’s a natural process for us to use those elements just because we’re so into this kind of topic and theme. J


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

For me, that would be cooking and traveling! I love good food all over the world! J And also I love to read some novels / poem or business magazines under the dim light at night! J


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



Join the competition and win the flight ticket from your country to Taiwan for our concert in Oct 22nd! (And also having BBQ with CHTHONIC and Randy from Lam of God!)



Also, our new album ‘Takasago Army’ will release in North America on Sep 6th, and soon CHTHONIC and Arch Enemy will start our NA tour from this Sep 8th! Don’t miss it!!! J


Our new music video! :)

Takao: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_UkowmQs30
Broken Jade: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heF_NPJbv8Y