Sunday, May 12, 2013

Atra Vetosus Interview


1. Can you give us an update on what is going with the band these days?
We have just had our Launceston album launch show which was great, now we’re gearing up for the Hobart album launch and also just about to start learning some of the new material for the next album.
2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from previous releases?
I think it’s a lot more versatile than the demo we released back in 2011 and a lot more going on particularly with the vocals and keyboards. But it sticks to the same Swedish Melodic Black Metal sound.
3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new release?
On the album the lyrics are mostly about nature and solitude, it feels like people are always caught up in their lives and never stop and enjoy the world around us and i feel that music can be sometimes be a way of escaping all that.
4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
The band’s name translates to Ancient Dark Winds, which in latin (Atra Vetosus) sounds awesome.
What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
We have played some great shows and met heaps of awesome people and bands, it’s hard to mention just a couple but our NSW shows were fun. For me there was something really special about our first ever gig, was in March 2012 in Hobart, Hobart and Launceston shows are always great!
6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?
Yeah we hope to play all around Australia and eventually if we can afford it as a band to tour other parts of the world as well!
7. Currently you are signed to Immortal Frost Productions, how did you get in contact with this label and how would you describe the support they have given you so far?
Slikver founded IFP and was involved with it for a number of years, and eventually stepped down from his role there and its all run from Belgium now.
8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic black metal?
The reception has been great so far, Melodic BM fans seem to pick up the influences from Naglfar, Vinterland and all those Melodic Swedish acts which is great.
9. What is going on with the other musical project these days?
haha well there’s a lot there. Slikver and myself (Thorodan) have a few active projects at the moment.
Lost in Desolation a Depressive Black Metal project with our first full length nearly complete.
Oblivaeon which is a Doom/Melodic Black Metal project with Dave Luck from Nosce Teipsum doing guitars and composition.
Slikver has his solo project Astral Winter which also has an album in the making and Hammerstorm which is folk metal.
Josef is getting involved with playing drums for some local musicians and I’m starting to work on some solo Ambient BM stuff.
10. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
At the moment the next album is going to continue on with the theme of the last album but will have even more melodic aspects, more keyboards and maybe even some female vocals.
11. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Main influences on the music is pretty much everything from the mid 90’s Swedish Melodic Black Metal scene, although we all listen to different styles of music and that will come out a bit in the music.
12. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
We all have lots of different things that keep us busy outside of music, I really enjoy doing video, audio and graphic work so i keep myself busy doing all sorts of things there. Josh has recently been hiking up in the Cradle Mountain area and the photos he has shown look amazing. Joe is an artist and is always working on arts stuff. We all have many interests, Lopez works as a chef and Damon knows just about everything about music and movies.

Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Thanks for the interview and thanks to all those who took time to read all this,We hope you guys are all enjoying the new release and look forward to much much more from Atra Vetosus in the coming years!
-Answers by Josh ‘Thorodan’ gee


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Friday, May 10, 2013

Orchid Visions Interview



1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?
The band was created in September of 2006, in the Heredia province by me as the lead guitar, since then we have self-released 2 Demo/EP's: "Orchid Visions" (2008) and "Dante's Inferno" (2011), and nowadays we're working in our first Full-length album, which is expecting to be released at the end of this year. We have been active since its creation and shared stage with many bands. Since September 2010, our drummer Nazgul, along with me, has become an important member with the leadership to explore and improve the goals of our band.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?
Our musical sound, during the years, has changed progressively. Nowadays we consider our music as a symphonic Goth metal band.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Basically, Nazgul and I are very influenced in fantasy and horror classical literature and with a mixture of surreal backgrounds and subjective experiences. So we create our lyrics inspired in Epic, Fantastic, Mythical, Horror and Legendary topics and related with personal experiences.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the band’s name?
The inspiration comes from the characteristics of the orchid flower. The band’s name means that we can gather a lot of musical influences from all of our members, and then we can create something better as a team, that has been always the vision of our band.
The definition of our band's name is that, as well as the orchid, we always look for acquiring new features so we can be able to survive in the environment that we are related and demonstrate a greater impression with our music.  

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
Our best shows have been: Fëte de la Musique Festival (2008), Veranos en el Cenac Festival (2008), Headbangers Panama Concert (2010) in Panama City, Noche de Mujeres Epicas Concert (2012), and our latest show as the support band of the Theatres Des Vampires Concert in Costa Rica (2013). Our Stage performances includes: Goth wearing or medieval disguises, fancy masks, cloth dancers and an instrumental intro to make the performance more theatrical.

6. Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Actually we are now waiting to finish our recordings of the new album, so we can continue playing our new songs at stage. So that means that our priorities on this moment are the studio recordings.

7. Currently you are unsigned are you looking for a label or received any interest?
Unfortunately no, and that is because is very though in our country to have success with any metal band. But we are always looking for any options to send our material all around the world.

8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of metal?
It has helped us a lot to keep improving our performances at stage and give them back what they are expecting from us in every show. It has increased our contacts in many communication media, and we're expecting to receive more in the future.

9. Are there any other musical projects these days?
Well, actually Nazgul and I are creating another band but for heavier and extreme metal fans, the band is called “Kerioth” and is a depressive Black Metal band, we are just using it as a recording band.

10. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
In this country, the self-releases are not that well received by the metal fans, because the most of them will not pay for anything, they rather to download it than help the metal scene in this option, but anyway it always help to spread it online and receive good feedbacks from those who are interested in listen our recordings.

11. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
We are always gathering the former and present influences from all of our band members through all of these years and we’ve evolved in several metal styles.
The most common influences in our band are: Theatres Des Vampires, Theatre Of Tragedy, Tristania, EverEve, Therion, Epica, Lacuna Coil, Nightwish, Vintersorg, Trail of Tears, Darkwell, Crematory, Stratovarius, Nightmare, DIO, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Manowar, Rhapsody of Fire, Batlelore, Lacrimas Profundere, Helloween, King Diamond,
Iron Maiden, Luca Turilli, Dream Theatre, Symphony X, among much other...
And of course we also use other culture or classical influences that are not related with the metal scene to make it much attractive to our fans…

12. Does Occultism play any role in your music?
Not at all, actually we don’t want to make any controversy in our lyrics, but it is always open to be interpreted in many ways. Many of our songs are related with some personal experiences but arranged with fantasy, epic or horror topics to make them more interesting.

13. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
Well, talking about myself, I am always interested in having the art besides me at all time, that’s why I have studied the graphic design and photography career and it had always helped me with the group as well in regards their band image.

14. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Yeah! Don’t hesitate to join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/orchidvisionsmetal also you can download our latest EP "Dante's Inferno": http://orchidvisions.bandcamp.com/ or you can always contact us through: orchidvisions@live.com and thanks to all of you guys for the support and STAY METAL, DUDES!!! lml

Michael Hernandez

(lead guitar)

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Kalmah/Seventh Swamphany/Spinefarm US/2013 CD Review


  Kalmah  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  is  very  well  known  with  a  musical  style  that  I  would  describe  as  being  symphonic,  melodic  black/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  album  "Seventh  Swamphany"  which  was  released  by  Spinefarm  US.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  playing  with  some  blast  beats  being  utilized  at  times, while  the  keyboards  bring  a  very  dark,  atmospheric  and  symphonic  sound  to  the  recording  along  with  some  progressive  elements,  as  for  the  bass  playing  it  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  they  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  melodic  black  and  death  metal  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  soft  and  clean  playing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  death  metal  solos  that  utilize  a  great  amount  of  influences  from  power  metal,  as  for  the  classical  guitars  when t hey  are  utilized  they  use  finger  picking  to  enhance  the  dark  atmosphere  of  the  music.

  Vocals  range  from  deep  death  metal  growls,  high  pitched  melodic  black/death  metal  screams  and  some  back  up  shouts  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing  and  spoken  word  parts,  while  the  lyrics  cover  Politics,  Personal  Struggles,  Swamps  and  Mythology,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  with  some  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.  

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Kalmah  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Seventh  Swamphany"  "Hollo"  and  "The Trapper".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

http://www.kalmah.com

  

Blinded By Faith/Chernobyl Survivor/Galy Records/2012 CD Review


  Blinded  By  Faith  are  a  band  from  Quebec,  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture of  melodic  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is   a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Chernobyl  Survivor"  which  was  released  by Galy  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  utilized  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars,  as  for  the  synths  when  they  are  utilized  they  bring  a  very  dark,  atmospheric  and  symphonic  sound  to  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  melodic  black  metal  and  death  metal  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  along  with  some  modern  metal  elements  being  thrown  into  the  riffing  at  times,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  range  from  deep  death  metal  growls,  high  pitched  black  metal s creams  and  some  clean  singing  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts,  while  the  lyrics  cover  philosophical  and  everyday  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Blinded  By  Faith  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  melodic  black,  death  and  modern  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Chernobyl  Survivor"  "Stranger  In The  Mirror"  "Bitter  Aftertaste"  and  "Prophet  Of  Nothing".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Inquisitor/The Quantum Theory of id/Forgotten Path Records/2010 CD Review


  Inquisitor  are  a  band  from  Lithuania  that  plays  an  occult  and  avant  garde  form  of  symphonic,  melodic  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2010  album  "The  Quantum  Theory  Of  id"  which  was  released  by  Forgotten  Path  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  utilized  at  times,  while  the  synths  bring  a  very  dark,  atmospheric,  symphonic  and  avant  garde  sound  to  the  recording,  as  for  the  bass  playing  it  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  symphonic  and  melodic  sounding  black  metal  riffs,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  avant  garde  black  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  range  from  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  to  deeper  vocals,  while  the  lyrics  cover  Philosophy,  Hermetic,  Alchemy,  and  Occultism, as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  dark  sound  with  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Inquisitor  are  a  very  great  sounding  avant  garde,  melodic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Principia  Mathematica  Philosophaie  Naturalis"  and  "Corpus  Hermiticum".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Sekoria/Iter Stellarum/2012 CD Review


  Sekoria  are  a  band  from Germany  that  plays  a  very  symphonic  and  melodic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2012  album  "Iter  Stellarum".

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  good  amount  of  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music,  while  the  orchestra's  bring  a  very  dark,  atmospheric  and  symphonic  sound  to  the  recording,  as  for  the  bass  playing  it  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  atmospheric  and  melodic  death  metal  riffs  that utilize  a  good  amount  of  death  metal  influences  in  the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  black  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when they  are  utilized  they  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  to  enhance  the  epic  elements  of  the  recording.

  Vocals  range  from  grim  sounding  and  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  to  deep  death  metal  growls,  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  a  mixture  of  German  and  English  and  cover  dark  and  depressing  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  dark  sound  with  some  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Sekoria  are  a  very  great  sounding  epic,  symphonic,  and  melodic  black  metal b and  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ursprung  Der  Zeit"  "Sonium"  "Summon  The  Demon"  and  "Do  You  Repent!".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Orchid Visions/Dante's Inferno/2011 EP Review


  Orchid  Vision's  are  a  band  from  Costa  Rica  that  plays  a  mixture  of  symphonic,  black,  gothic  and  heavy  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2011  ep  "Dante's  Inferno".

  Drums  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  playing  with  no  fast  drumming  or  blast  beats  being  present on  this  recording,  while  the  keyboards  bring  a  very  dark,  atmospheric,  symphonic  and  gothic  sound  to  the  recording,  as  for  the  bass  playing  it  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  they  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to t hem.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  tiffs  that  combine  melodic  black  metal,  gothic  and  traditional  metal  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  heavy  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  range  from  clean  singing  female  vocals,  deep  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  black  metal s creams,  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  on  Dante's  Inferno,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  dark  sound  to  it  with  the  last  3  songs  being  recorded  live  and  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Orchid  Vision's  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  symphonic,  black,  gothic,  and  heavy  metal  and  if   you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dante's  Inferno"  "Red  Moon"  and  "Archangel".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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