Centinex/Subconscious Lobotomy/Pulverised Records/2013 CD Re-Issue Review

  Centinex  where  a  band  from  Sweden  that  played  a  very  primitive  form  of death  metal  in  the  beginning  but  evolved  more  into  a  melodic  black/.death  metal  band  over  the  years  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  1994  album  "Subconscious  Lobotomy"  which  was  re-issued  by  Pulverised  Records  in  the  year  of  2013  and  also  contains  their  2000  ep  "Apocalyptic  Armageddon".

  "Blood  On  My  Kin"  begins  with  some  dark  and  evil  sounding  synths  before  the  guitar  riffs  and  drums  kick  in  which  leads  up  to  some  death  metal  growls  along  with   some  powerful  bass  guitars  and  blast  beats  and  faster  riffing  and  then  the  song  starts  switching  back  and  forth  between  slow  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  adding  in  some  melodic  parts.

  "Shadows  Are  Astray"  begins  with  some  heavy  and  dark  sounding guitar  riffs  before  the  drums  and  keyboards  start  kicking  in  and   then  the  music  starts  getting  a  little  bit  faster  along  with  some  screams  and  growls  before  switching  back  and forth  between  slow  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  adding  some  melody  into  the  music  and  towards  the  end  there  is  a  brief  use  of  melodic  guitar  leads.

  "Dreams  Of  Death"  begins  with  some  soft  acoustic  guitar  which  utilizes  some  finger  picking  before the  heavy  guitar  riffs,  drums  and  growls  make  their  way  into  the  song  along  with  some  dark  sounding  melodies  and  then  the  music  starts  getting  a lot  faster  with  some  blast  beats  before  slowing  down  again.

  "Orgy  In  Flesh"  begins  with  some  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  drums  and  a  few  seconds  later  the  growls  start kicking  in  before  gong  into  a  faster direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  then  switching  back  and  forth  between  slow  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing  female  vocals  as  well  as  some  keyboards.

  "End  Of  Life"  begins  with  some  heavy  guitar  riffs  before  the  growls  and  blast  beats  kick  in  as  well  as  switching  back  and  forth  between  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  towards  the  end  the  bass  guitars  start  sounding  more  powerful  for  a  few  seconds.

  "Bells  Of  Miser"  begins  with  some  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  drums  before  the  melodic  guitar  leads  start  coming  in  and  out  of  the  song  as  well  as  some  growls  before  getting  fast  and  adding  in  some  blast  beats  and  then  the  music  slows  down  and  adds  in  some  melodic  guitar  riffing  before  switching  back  and  forth  between  slow  and  fast  parts.

  "Inhuman  Dissection  Of  Souls"  begins  with  some  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  drums  before  slowing  down  and  adding  in  some  melody  and  growls  and  then  switching  back  and  forth  between  slow  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  screams.

  "The  Aspiration"  begins  with  some  heavy  guitar  riffs,  drums  and  growls  before  getting  fast,  primitive  and  adding  in  some  blast  beats  and  then  the  song  starts  switching  back  and  forth  between  slow  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  adding  some  melody  in  certain  sections.  

  "Until  Death  Tears  Up  Apart" begins  with  some  acoustic  guitars,  bass  and  drums  before  the  heavy  and  melodic  guitar  riffs  kick  in  along  with  some  black  metal  screams  and  keyboards  and  after  awhile t here  is  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts.

  "Apocalyptic  Armageddon"  begins  with  growls  and  heavy  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  drums  and  you  can  hear  some  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  after  awhile  black  metal  screams  start  coming  into the  song  and  close  to  the  end  there  is  a  brief  use  of  melodic  guitar  leads  and  solos  being  utilized  along  with  some  blast  beats.

  "Seeds  Of  Evil"  begins  with  some  melodic  guitar  riffs  and  drums  before  the melodic  guitar  leads  and  blast  beats  make  their  way  into  the  song  which  leads  to  some  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  and  then  the  song  starts  switching  back  and  forth  between  slow  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  guitar  solos.

  "Everlasting  Bloodshed"  begins  with  some  heavy  and  melodic  guitar  riffs  and  blast  beats  which  leads  up  to some  screams  and  growls  and  towards  the  end  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  song.  

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  darkness  and  evil  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  primitive  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Centinex  where  a  great  band  at  both  traditional  Swedish  death  metal  and  melodic  black/death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  these  musical  genre,  you  should  check out  this  album>  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Blood  On  My  Kin"  "Bells  Of  Miser"  "Apocalyptic  Armageddon"  and  "Everlasting  Bloodshed".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Eternium Interview

1. For those that have never heard of you before can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Brent:well we're a 5 piece Symphonic Black/Death Metal band from St. Louis, Mo.
Markov Soroka:We are currently a 5-member symphonic black/death band from the Midwest of the States.

2.How would you describe your musical sound for those that have yet to hear the music?
Brent:Very Symphonic Black Metal with heavy hints of Melodic Death Metal.
Markov Soroka:-I'd recommend the music to anyone who likes Dissection, Amon Amarth, Dawn, Sacramentum, or even Emperor. We take influence from many different styles of music.


3.The song lyrics cover alot about auras, can you tell us a little bit more about your song writing?
In the musical and lyrical aspect of Eternium, the "auras" are the name of the characters and places that are associated with the story of Eternium. Aura [insert something here] is usually our preferred method of writing the songs. Aura Titian is the main protagonist of our debut album, "Repelling A Solar Giant." There are many other key characters, such as Aura Amethyst, Titian's love, and Aura Noir, the corrupted haze that took possession of the Solar God. I don't want to give away much of the story, since it is for the listener to find out by listening to the album.

4. The band started out as a solo project but now there is a full band, what was the decision behind forming a full line up, instead of being solo?
Brent: It's easier bouncing ideas off of other people than just yourself, besides, it more fun.
Markov Soroka:The band was originally a solo project in 2011, but after finding live members, they proved to be very influential to me. We've been a five-piece ever since, and we collaborate directly and indirectly.

5. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name Eternium?
I would not like to confirm nor deny this, but in the story, "Eternium" is implied to be The Solar God of Solar Gods.



6. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
Brent: Definitely Nile. Nile was extrodinary. I'm also looking forward to our upcoming shows with Obituary and Absu. I'd say we're reletively energetic on stage.
Markov Soroka:Our best show, hm. That is a tough one. For me, personally, I'd like to say that when we opened up for Nile, we had a pretty solid performance. After the show, Karl Sanders told us that he liked our sound, so that obviously meant a lot to us.

7. Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
Brent: I don't want to give to much away, because we're still hashing everything out, but you'll definitely see us on the road later this year.
Markov Soroka: I don't want to give anything away yet, but yes, we are planning to do some kind of touring. We play shows regularly around the area. In fact, we are opening up for Obituary and Absu in the coming months.

8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black and death metal?
 Brent:It's been received really well, which is super awesome. Words can't describe how stoked I am that people have been digging our music.
Markov Soroka:It's been way bigger than I ever expected it to be. After hearing your own music for so long, it starts to wear old on the ears, so it's nice to hear feedback constantly. On a world-wide level, it's amazing. Usually I contact people myself since I like to connect with fans and talk about music with them, but as of late, they've been contacting us, which is always a good feeling.

9. Are there any other musical projects going on these days?
Brent:Yeah, we all have our own things going on besides Eternium. Markov has a couple projects going on, and we've even discussed working together on a Funeral Doom project. Gabe has a couple things going on, including a Girndcore band called Rotted Brainyard. Chad has a couple things going on, one of them being a more Progressive band called Tumult. I'm currently working on a project called Dakhma which more feelsy Black Metal stuff, very influenced by Woods of Ypres and Agalloch.
Markov Soroka: I believe all the members have other projects as well as Eternium. Chad Griffin has a few up his sleeve that he's shared the idea with us, but we can't give anything away here... Gabe Price has a few death metal and grind projects that he wants to get on foot, Brent Dossett has even had a hip-hop project that he wants to do at one point. Ryan Kelley used to play in Archon, a black/folk band. As for myself, I have a funeral doom project, a black metal project, and a sort of "mega" project that I can't really reveal anything about yet.



10. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
Brent: Relevtively the same. We want to make things a bit heavier and a bit more progressive as times goes on.
Markov Soroka: Hopefully in a good one! The responses we have gotten as of late are extremely prominent and that alone fuels us to keep going on in a positive way.

11.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Brent:Too many, haha. As far Metal goes, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Carnage, Wombbath, and Agalloch have really influenced me. As far as what I've been listening to lately, I've been listening to a lot Folk Rock/Indie Rock stuff like The Decemberists and Mumford And Sons. Also this Jazz artist by the name of Regina Spektor has been getting a lot of play lately.
Markov Soroka: I personally was inspired greatly by the Swedish melodic black metal scene in the vein of Dawn, Sacramentum, Azure, Dissection, etc. As for what I am listening to nowadays, hmm... Well, I've been really obsessed with atmospheric black metal as of late, as well as funeral doom. So just on the top of my head: Ruins of Beverast, Alrakis, Esoteric, Isis... I've also been digging Fleshgod Apocalypse quite a bit.

12.Outside of music what are some of your interests?
Brent:Well to be honest, I'm a complete nerd. When I'm not playing music I', either watching anime, playing video games, and more recently, DnD.
Markov Soroka: I'm an avid video game fan. You'll usually see me playing DooM online through a port called ZDaemon. If anyone reading this ends up downloading and playing, find me on there! The name is _Death_. Aside from that, I try to study medicine and prosthetic work from time to time.

13.Any final word or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Brent:Thank you for this oppurtunity. I really appreciate you taking time out of your day for this interview!
Markov Soroka:Thank you for the opportunity, and it was definitely nice talking to you! And to fans/readers: Go listen to our album! We have links up everywhere, and I'm sure people have leaked it on downloading sites. Of course, we would be eternally grateful if you bought the physical CD, and that is it's own charm.



Cheers!

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Psalm Zero/Force My Hand/Last Things Records/2013 7 Inch Review

  Psalm  Zero  are  a  band  from  New  York  that  plays  a  mixture  of  industrial,  experimental  and black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  7  inch  "Force  My  Hand"  which  was  released  by  Last  Things  Records.

 "Force  My  Hand"  begins  with  some  industrial and  noise  rock style  guitar  and  bass  riffs  along  with  drum  programming  and  clean  singing  melodic  vocals  and  a  minute  later  black  metal  screams  start  coming  into  the  song  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  riffing.

  "Willpower"  begins  with  some  acoustic  guitars  and  clean  singing  vocals

  "Song  lyrics  cover  philosophical  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  where  you  can  hear  all  of t he  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Psalm  Zero  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  black  metal, experimental,  industrial  and  neo  folk  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Force  My  Hand".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Aberration Nexus/Where Is Your God? - Deconstructing God & Ashes/2013 EP Review

  Abberation  Nexus  are  a  1  man  band  from  Australia  that  plays  a  very  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  ep  "Where Is Your God? - Deconstructing God & Ashes".

   "God  &  Ashes  (Dead  In  Any  Fucking  Language)"  begins  with  some  nature  sounds  and  symphonic  keyboards  before  the  guitar  riffs  and  programmed  drums  start  kicking  in  which  also  leads  up  to  some  black  metal  screams  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  the  music  gets  alot  faster  and  adds  in  blast  beats  before  returning  to a  more  mid  paced  sound  along  with  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  which  leads  up  to  the  song  switching  back  and  forth  between  slow  and  mid  paced  parts  as well  as  adding  in  some  melody  into t he  guitar  riffing.

  "Gods  &  Ashes  (Sans  Orchestra)"  is  the  same  song  as  the  last  song  but  without  the  orchestra  elements  and  vocals  and  the  song  is  all  instrumental.

    "Gods  &  Ashes  -  orchestral"  as  a  classical  version  of  the  song  done  with  all  keyboards,  synths  and  orchestra.

  Song  lyrics  cover  anti  christian  and  blasphemous  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful  and  heavy  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  bass  guitars  are  mixed  down  low  in the  mix.

  In  my  opinion  Abberation  Nexus  are  a  very great  sounding  symphonic  black  metal  project  and  if  you  are  a fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  BUY. 

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Relinquished interview

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

Sure. There was a lot going on since “Onward Anguishes” came out. We allied with KillShot Management, played a Tour in Russia and got new Partners like 69Chosen for wardrobe and Remo, Paiste and DW in the drum section.

And most important that we have begun the writing of new material.

2.How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and also how does it differ from the previous album and ep you released in the past?

Well I think we can say that there was a distinctive variance between every release since the beginning. “Rehearsal Doom EP” was mostly Melodic Doom, “Susanna Lies In Ashes” was more progressing into our main sound and the start of the Storyline. And now with “Onward Anguishes” we had a lot more clean parts and more of the Story of course.
The next album will be, well a bit different again. But I won´t tell you the exact direction we will go on that, but I´m sure who enjoyed our music in the past will definitely like this one as well.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new album?

The Lyrics, as on the previous albums, are about the Story of Susanna, Victor and Joseph. This time we will have another protagonist who´ll bring us the new events. And I guess some surprised faces on him as too. But I think I can tell you a part that doesn´t spoiler that much - Addictions (Drugs and others) will be a huge subject.

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

We searched a long time for a name that describes what we are and what kind of people we wanna reach. Then in a second Relinquished was there and we just knew - felt right from day one. Even if there was a lot of pronouncing mistakes here in Austria.

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

Some of the best? Considering the we enjoy every time playing there is no best, but there are some bands we played with that stayed in our minds. Last year with the great Obituary, the Anniversary show of Belphegor and the Tour with Kimaera.

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

We surely will be playing more shows once the album will be released and until then there should be some more single Gigs as well, but no certain dates yet.

7.The new album came out on Noisehead Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

It´s the Label we brought out “Susanna” and “Onward”, and we also recorded them in the Noisehead Studios here in Austria. There are also some other great Austrian bands with them so I can say everyone should check their page and listen to some of these bands.

8. on a worldwide level how has the feedback been to the new album by fans of extreme metal?

We never saw us as an extreme Metal band, still we played with a lot of those and surprisingly the response was really great throughout. There are always some thoughts if the slow clean parts will be liked by the audience that came here for some party.

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

The only direction we can certainly tell is “different”. As the story continues the music does. And we are not considering doing the same album again with some newer riffs. There will be new stuff always varying from what we did before.

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

Again always varying but at the moment : Katatonia, Shining, Gojira, and some Depressive Suicial and Dark Metal stuff.

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

Nothing unusual I guess. We all have friends and families and spend most of the remaining time with them.

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

If anyone doesn´t know us. Start with “Susanna Lies In Ashes” and get the whole story and sound arrangement at once. I´m sure you´ll like it.
And of course thanks for the interview!

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Relinquished/Onward Anguishes/Noisehead Records/2012 CD Review

  Relinquished  are  a  band  from  Austria  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  progressive  form of  black/death  metal and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Onward  Anguished"  which  was  released  by  Noisehead  Records.

  "Authority"  begins  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  and  drums  and  after  a  few  seconds  heavy  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  come  into  the  song  while  also  keeping  around  the  guitar  leads  and  then  the  bass  guitars  come  in  along  with  a  brief  use  of  clean  sections  before  getting  heavy  again  and  adding  in some clean male  and  female  singing  as  well  as  switching  back  and  forth  between  clean  and  heavy  parts.  

  "Loss  Delusion"  begins  with  some  acoustic  guitars,  drums  and  growls  as  well  as  some  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  then a  few  seconds  later  bass  guitars  and  clean  male  singing  start  making  their  way  into  the  song  before  getting  alot  heavier  which  also  leads  to the  song  switching  back  and  forth  between acoustic  and  electric  guitars  as  well  as  adding  in  some  guitar  leads  in  certain  sections  of  the song  as  well  as  bringing  in  a  mixture  of  male  and  female  vocals  and  towards  the  end  of  the  song  the  vocals  start  utilizing  some  black  metal  elements.

  "Logical  Step'  begins  with  some  heavy  progressive  metal  guitar  riffs  along  with  drums  and  deep  growls  as  well  as  some  high  pitched  screams  and  after  awhile  guitar  leads  make  their way  into the  song  and  as  time  goes  on  by  there  is  a  brie f use  of  clean singing  being utilized  as  well  as  some classical guitars  before  getting heavy  again.

  "To Whom  I  Can  Relate"  begins  with  a  heavy  guitar  riff  before  going  into acoustic  and  bass  guitars  as  well  as  some  clean  singing  and  a  few  seconds  later  whispers  are  added  into  the  song  before  the  music  gets  heavy  again  and  adds  in some  drums,  screams  and  growls  while  also  keeping  around  the  melodic  vocals  and  switching  back and  forth  between  soft  and  heavy  parts.which  also  leads  to some  guitar  solos  and  leads  coming  in and  out  of  the  song.

  "No  Virtue  Unatoned"  begins  with  some  heavy  and  melodic  guitar  riffing  along  with  some  bass  and  drums  and  then t he  music  speeds  up  a  bit  and  adds  in  some  growls  along  with  some  clean  singing  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  awhile  prog  metal  elements  are  brought  into  the  song  as  well  as  some  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads.    

  "Surrender  And  Distance"  begins  with  some  technical,  melodic  and  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  drums  along  with  some  growls  and  after  a  couple  of  minute  acoustic  guitars  are  brought  into the  song that  also  bring  in  some  progressive  elements    along  with  some  whispers  and  then  the  song  returns  to  its  heavier  riffs  but  also  bring  in some  melodic  vocals  as  well  as  some  guitar  solos  and  leads  before  making  switches  back  and  forth  between  soft  and  heavy  parts.

  "Another  Lightsource  Going  Out"  begins  with  some  soft  acoustic  guitars  which  utilize  both  full  chords  and  finger  picking  and  a  minute  later  the  song  adds  in some  flutes  along  with  some  programmed  beats  later  on  on  then  the  song  starts  adding  in  some  heavy  guitar  riffs.

  "A  World  Of  Constant  Suffer"  begins  with  some  heavy,  melodic  and  progressive  guitar  riffs  as  well  as  some  bass  and  drums  before  adding  in  some  clean  parts  which  then  leads  to  the  music  getting  alot  heavier  and  adding in  some  growls  while  also  remaining  melodic  all  at  the  same  time  and  then  the  song  starts  switching  back  and  forth  between  soft  and  heavy  parts  while  also  adding  in  some  whispers  and   guitar  leads  in  certain  sections  of  the  song  and  the  vocals  also  utilize  some  black  metal  elements.

  "Beyond  Anguishes"  begins  with  some  slow  and  heavy  doom  metal  style  guitar  riffs,  drums  and  deep growls  which  also  leads  to  some  melodic  riffing  and  black  metal  style  vocals  and  then it  goes  into  a  softer  direction  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars,  whispers  and  clean  singing  which  also  leads  to  some  guitar  leads  coming  in and  out  of  the  song  before   getting  heavy  again  and  then  the  song  starts  switching  back  and  forth  between  soft  and  heavy  parts  as  will  as  bringing  in  some  female  vocals.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  dark,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  along  with  some  of  the  songs being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Relinquished  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic and  progressive  black/death metal band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Authority"  "To Whom  I  Can  Relate"  and  "A  World  Of  Constant  Suffer".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Grai/Warmrot The Bitter Grass/Vic Records/2013 CD Re-Issue Review

  Grai  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  has  been featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical  style  I  would  describe  as  being pagan/folk  metal  with  elements  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2009  album  "Warmrot  The  Bitter  Grass"  which  was  re-issued  by  Vic  Records  in the  year  of  2013.

  "Meet  the  Summer,  Red"  begins  with  some  folk  music  instruments  which  then  lead  to  some  melodic , guitar  leads,  bass  guitars  and  drums  along with  some  melodic  clean  singing  female  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  as  well  as  some  heavy  rhythm  guitar  riffs  and  then  the  vocals  start  adding  in  some  black  metal  screams  and  growls  but  also  keeping  around  the  more  melodic  parts  and  as  the  song  moves  on  the  guitar  riffing starts  getting  more  diverse.

  "Winds"  begins  with  some  sound  effects,  synths  and  folk  instruments  which  then  leads  to  some  bass  guitars,  drums  and  spoken  word  parts  that  also  set  up  the  mood  for  some  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  leads  as  well  as  bringing  in  some  melodic  vocals  and  after  awhile  there  is  a  brief  use  of  blackened  death  metal  growls  being  utilized.

  "I  Will  Go  Into  the  Field"  begins  with  some  folk  instruments,  bass  guitar  and  melodic  vocals  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars  then  then  leads  to  some  drums  and  heavy  guitar riffs  and  then  the  song  starts  switching  back and  forth  between  the  soft  and  heavy  parts  as  well  as  bringing  in  some  melodic  guitar  leads.

  "Song  Of  Grief  And  The  Feet"  begins with  some  synths  and  folk  instruments  which  then leads  to  some  melodic  guitar  leads,  bass  and  drums  as  well  as  some  melodic  vocals  and  then  getting  heavy  with  some  deep  death  metal  growls  while  also  keeping  around  the  guitar  leads  and  female  vocals  and  towards  the  end  there  are  some  melodic  male  clean  singing  vocals  being  utilized  for  a  few  seconds  as  well as  some  black  metal  elements  getting  added  to  the  vocals  and  the  song  closes  in  a  cleaner  direction.

  "Drunkard  -  Hellbenders"  begins  with  some  spoken  word  parts,  folk  instruments,  bass,  drums  and  melodic  guitar  leads  and  then  the  music  starts  getting  heavier  while  also  keeping  around  the  folk  instruments  and  then  the melodic  vocals  start  kicking  in  and  then  the  music  starts  switching  back  and  forth  between  soft  and  heavy  parts.

  "Memory  And  Woe"  begins  with  some  heavy  guitar  riffs,  synths,  bass,  drums  and  deep  death  metal  growls  which  then  lead  to  the  folk  instruments  kicking  in  and  a  few  seconds  later  black  metal screams  become  a  part  of  the  song  which  leads  to some  melodic  male  and  vocals  making  their  presence  known  and  then  the  song  starts  switching  back  and  forth  from  folk  and  metal.

  "Winter"  begins  with  some  folk  instruments  and  acoustic  guitars  and  then  the  bass  guitars  and  drums  start  kicking  in  which  leads  to  the  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  melodic  female  vocals  kicking  in  and  then  the  music  starts  switching  back  and  forth  from t he  soft  and  heavy  parts  as  well  as  some  melodic  guitar  leads.    

  "A  Birch"  begins  with  some  bass  guitar  leads  and  synths  and  then  the  melodic  vocals  start  kicking  in  which  leads  to  some  deep  death  metal  growls  and  heavy  guitar  riffs  while  also keeping  around the female  vocals  and  switching back and  forth  between  the  folk  and  metal  parts  as  well  as  adding  in  some  melodic  guitar leads  and  solos.

  "Volga,  The  River  And  Leyl"  begins  with  some  folk  instruments  and  heavy  guitar  riffs  then t he  bass,  drums  and  melodic  vocals  kick  in  and  as  time  goes  by  synths  start  making  their way  into  the  song  and  then  the  music  starts  making  switches  back  and  forth  between  soft  and  heavy  parts  and  towards  the  end  there  is  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  being  utilized..

  Song  lyrics  are  written  in  Russian  and  cover  Slavic  Paganism  and  History,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  along  with  some  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Grai  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  pagan/folk  metal,  you  should  check  out t his  re-issue.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Meet  the  Summer,  Red"  "I  Will  Go  Into  the  Field"  "Winter"  and  "Volga,  The  River  And  Leyl".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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