Towering Filth Interview

1. Can you give us an introduction to the band for people that will be hearing of you for the first time?
1. My name is Matthew and Towering Filth is music I wrote and recorded all by myself.

2.How would you describe your musical sound?
2. I would say stark and pissed, the theme is the music is oppression.

3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrics that you write for the band?
3. I write lyrics in a stream of conscious style. Most of them carry a thin narrative and overall theme.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Towering Filth'?
4. My original idea was Towering Flesh but I realized that was a Pig Destroyer song. I didn’t want to be one of those bands named after another bands song so I changed it. Also Towering Filth is significant because I do a lot of “writing for the trash can” where I just write all the time even though most of it isn’t very good.

5.According to the Metal Archives page this band is solo in the studio, are you interested in working with a full band on future releases?
5. Absolutely, I tried it a few times but people keep wanting to put there own ideas on it, which can be cool, but most of the time it’s awful. I like working alone to keep things cohesive.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
6. We only played 3 as a full band and the first one was probably the best.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
7. Nope, just working on this next record.

8.Recently you did a Germs cover, what was the decision behind during your own version of one of their songs?
8. I watched a documentary about the BYO and the early days of the record label. That song was in the documentary and caught my attention. I also dug it because it’s outside of my style.

9.The last album came out on Monolithic Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
9. It came about through Heavy Blog is Heavy digging my original demo. It’s more of a distribution deal since I recorded the record myself. I don’t hear from them very often.

10.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your recordings and stage performances by fans of underground music?
10. The online response has been very slow. The music takes some patience to get into.

11.What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
11. Faster, the earlier demos were slow because I was pretty awful at guitar. The new stuff is fast and a bit more technical.

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

12. Some of my influences are The Abominable Iron Sloth, Admiral Angry, Killing Joke, Burn Everything, Enabler, Gaza, Pariso, Catherine Wheel, and Unsane.

Recently I’ve been listening to Touche Amore, Code Orange Kids, Intronaut, Cedron, letlive, Coilguns, Gorguts, and Ulcerate.

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

13. I’m a bartender and a recording engineer.

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

14. Thanks for taking the time to check out the music. My next release will be called Bask and is a decent percentage written.

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Undefined/Of Xenoglossy And Saturn/Scythecut Records/2008 Full Length Review

  This  is  a  review  of  another  recording  from  Undefined  which  continues  their melodic  and  progressive  mixture  of  black and  death  metal  with  the  album  being  released  in 2008  by  Scythecut  Records  and  called  "Of  Xenoglossy  And  Saturn".

  The  album  starts  out  with  some  brutal  drums  before  adding  in  heavy  and  melodic  sounding  guitar  riffs  and  after  awhile  death  metal,  growls  and  black  metal  screams  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  guitar  leads  and  the  music  starts  going  into  a  darker  direction  before  adding  in  bass  guitars  and  heaviness  and  the  music  also starts  speeding  up  at  times.

  As  the  album  progresses  acoustic  guitars  are  added into  the  music  and  the  album  starts  going  into  a  more  progressive  direction  while  also  being  heavy  at  the  same  time  and  the  album  also  starts  utilizing  melodic  clean  singing  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  album  after  awhile  starts  going  for  a  more  heavy  route  and  mixing  in  blast  beats  and  thrash  influences.

  This  album  shows  a  lot  of  progression  from  the  ep,  more  doom  metal  elements  are  added  in  as  well  as  the  music  getting  more  dark,  heavy  and  progressive  and  they  also  re-do  a  couple  of  songs  from  the  ep  and  the  remakes  sound  a  lot  better  than  the original  versions  and  the  spoken  word  parts  that  are  added  on  tracks  number  7  and  8  bring  an  even more  darker  edge  to  the  recording.

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

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Undefined  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  progressive  black/death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "At  the  Edge  Of  The  World"  "Alecto  -  Megaera  -  Tsiphone"  and  "Wings  of  Disembodiment".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Undefined/Saturnism Unfolds/Scythe Records/2005 EP Review

  Undefined  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  progressive  form  of  black/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2005  ep  "Saturnism  Unfolds"  which  was  released  by  Scythe  Records.

  The  ep  starts  out  with  some  dark  sounding  acoustic  guitars  and  then  some  slow  and  heavy  guitar  riffs  as  well  as  some  drums  start to  kick  in  along  with  some  melodic  sounding  guitar  leads  and  the  bass  guitars  start  utilizing  a  lot  more  power.

  Once  the  music  goes  into  the  second  song  the  music  gets  a  lot  more  heavy  and  death  metal  growls  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  black  metal  screams  and  the  music  still  retains  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  after  awhile  clean  and  acoustic  guitars  are  added  into  the  music  and  it  starts  going  into  a  more  progressive  direction  while  also  remaining  heavy  all  at  the  same  time.

  This  ep  shows  a  lot  of  many  different  styles  of  variety  within  the  metal  genre,  and  the  band  sticks  to  mostly  slow  sections  while  also  speeding  up  at  times  and  there  is  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  progressive  parts  and  the  band  still  manages  to  remain  heavy  and  on  the  third  song  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  melodic   clean  singing  being  utilized.

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

  In  my  opinion  Undefined  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "At  The  Edege  of  The  World"  and  "Andreia".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Towering Filth/Spite House/2012 Single Review

  This  is  a  review  of  another  single  from  Towering  Filth  which  was  released  in  2012  and  continues  their  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge  and  hardcore  wit  the  recording  being  self  released  in  2012  and  called  "Spite  House".

  The  single  starts  off  with  some  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  and  drums  before  going  into  some  heavy  sludge/doom  metal  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  blackened  hardcore  screams  and  then  the  music  goes  into  a  more  atmospheric  and  melodic  direction  while  also  remaining  heavy  all  at  the  same  time.

  Once  the  single  goes  into  the  second  song  it  speeds  up  in  the  beginning  and  brings  in  a  lot  more  punk  and  hardcore  influences  as  well  as  mixing  in  some  spoken  word  parts  and  the  band  retains  their  heavy  doom/sludge  metal  sound.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  dark  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  single.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Towering  Filth  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  blackened  sludge  metal/hardcore,  you  should  check  out  this  single.  HIGHLY  RECOMMENDED.  

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Towering Filth/As Well As You Should/2012 Single Review

  Towering  Filth  are  a  band  from  St.  Loius,  Missouri  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge  and  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2012  single  "As  Well  As  You  Should".

  The  single  starts  out  with  some  dark  and  heavy  sounding  guitar  riffs  as  well  as  some  drums  being  adding  in  screams  that  combine  black  metal  and  hardcore  together  and  the  music  gets  heavier  along  with  a  mixture  of  doom  metal  and  sludge  influences  and  as  time  goes  on  by  the  music  starts  invoking  a  dark  atmosphere  and  the  bass  guitars  get  even  more  powerful  and  heavy  sounding.

  On  the  b-side  of  the  recording  the  band  covers  "Lexican  Devil"  from t he  Germs  and  they  add  there  own  twist  to  this  cover  version  and  add  in  modern  day  hardcore  punk  with  old  school  punk  rock  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  dark  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  and  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  single.

  In  my  opinion  Towering  Filth  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge  and  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED.

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Will Of The Ancients Interview

ANSWERS BY TRISTAN (GUIT / VOCALS)

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

We released “To Our Glorious Dead” digitally in October. Shortly after we struck a deal with PRC MUSIC. They are going to release the album in late February.

2.How would you describe the musical sound of the new album?

The album is based in melodic black metal, but encompasses lot's of different metal sub genres, it is VERY grandiose and epic sounding.

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

Most of the lyrics, although varying in topics, have a Canadian theme. two of the songs are based on Canadians role in WW1

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name Ill Of The Ancients?

Our original singer was big into the occult. I know it had something to do with that. Otherwise we all at the time thought it sounded cool.

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

Opening for Finntroll and Moonsorrow was pretty awesome. The place was packed even for us which was really cool. Also playing Heathen Crusade 2 back in 2007 with Bal Sagoth, Rudra, Skyforger and a whole slew of other cool bands was awesome.

Our stage show tends to be no nonsense. We get up there and rock the tunes out hard, no gimmicks. We let the tunes speak for themselves.

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

We are currently planning a small tour for march in the Ontario/Quebec area.

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic  black metal?

Pretty positive! You get some trolls here and there but that's metal.

8.What is going on with the other musical project these days?

All the guys in Will of the Ancients are also in Blastomycosis, a brutal death/gore grindish band. That is sort of on hiatus for now.

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

The stuff we are writing now is leaning towards a blackish thrash sound. Though we always tend to incorporate a lot of styles in our music. I'd expecting it go get more extreme. Faster, slower, heavier, lighter.

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

Metallica, Iced Earth, In Flames, Amon Amarth, Old Man's Child, Emperor, Windir, Nevermore , Slayer have been a huge influence on me personally.

Right now im digging Skeletonwitch, Amon Amarth, Rudra

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

Beer, video games and food.

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

Grab “To Our Glorious Dead” through PRC MUSIC!

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Culted/ObliqueTo All Paths/Relapse Records/2014 CD Review

  Culted  are  a  band  with  members  from  both  Sweden  and  Canada  that  plays  a  blackened  form  of  doom  metal  with  elements  of  sludge  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Oblique  To  All  Paths"  which  was  released  by  Relapse  Records.

  "Brooding  Hex" which  is  the  first  song  on  the  album  opens  up  with  dark  ambient  drone sounds  and  a  few  seconds  later  clean  guitars  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  drums  shortly  after  that  which  also  leads  up  to  grim  black  metal  screams  and  after  awhile  you  can  hear experimental  elements  being  mixed  in  with  the  heavy  parts  and  as  time  goes  on  by  growls  are  added  into  certain sections  of  the  music,  halfway  through  the song  the  bass  guitars  get  more  powerful  sounding  as  well  as  the  music  adding  in  more  melody  and  towards  the  end  the  music  goes  into  a  more  drone/noise  direction.

  "Illuminati"  begins  with  spoken  word  samples  before  adding  in  heavy  doom  metal  guitars  along  with  some  drums  and  black  metal  vocals  and  after  awhile  atmospheric  and  drone  elements  are  added  into  the  music  and  towards  the end  experimental  and  noise  elements  are  added  the  music.

  "Intoxicant  Immuration"  opens  up  with  harsh  noise  and  drone  sounds  before  adding  in  drums  and  doom  metal  guitar  riffs  and  a  few  seconds  later  spoken  word  samples  are  added  into  the  music  and  after  a  few  minutes  black  metal  screams  are  added  into  the  music  while  also  bringing  back  spoken  word  parts  at  times.  

  "March  Of  The  Wolves"  starts up  with  dark and   heavy  doom  metal  guitar  riffs  and  drums  and  a  few  seconds  alter  melody  and  bass  guitars  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  black  metal  screams  and  towards  the  end  elements  of  drone  are  added  into  the  song.

  "Distortion  Of  The  Nature  Of  Mankind"  kicks  in  with  drone  sounds  along  a  dark  atmosphere
and  a  few  seconds  alter  spoken  word  parts  are  added  into  the  music  and  it  serves  as  an  intro  for  the  next  song.

  'Transmittal"  comes  in  with  heavy  and  dark  sounding guitar  riffs  as  well  as  some  drums  and  a  few  seconds  alter  melodic  guitar  leads  and  bass  guitars  are  added  into the  music,  a  minute  alter  avant  garde  sounds  and  spoken  word  samples  become  a  part  of  the  music  which  also  leads  up  to  black  metal  screams  a  couple  of  minutes  as  well  as  the  music  getting  more  melodic  and  towards  the  end,  the more  experimental  sounding  elements  make  a  return  while  also  remaining  heavy  at  the  same  time.    

  "Jeremiad"  which  is  also  the  last  song  on  the  album  begins  with  tribal  style  percussion  beats  which  leads  up  to  some  black  metal  screams  and  clean  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  as  well  as  some  drums  along  with  some  dark  sounding  guitar  riffs  and  after  awhile  spoken  word  samples  are  added  into  certain  parts  of  the  music  and  towards  the  edn  elements  of  drone  are  added  into  the  music.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark,  occult  and  Illuminati  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful  and  heavy  sound  along  with  most  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Culted  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  metal,  doom  and  sludge  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Illuminati"  and  "Transmittal".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.      

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