Enviktas/Self Titled/2014 EP Review

  Enviktas  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  plays  a  very original  and  diverse  form  of  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  and  self  released  2014  ep.

  Spoken  word  parts  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  epic  sounds  that  have  a  feeling  or  a  fantasy  movie  or  show  as  well  as  some  folk  instruments  which  also  leads  up  to  a  heavier  yet  folk  metal  sound  and  the  music  starts  having  a  more  pagan  and  atmospheric  feeling  after  the  intro  along  with  a  good  amount  of  melody.

  Black  and  death  metal  style  vocals  are  a  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  at  time s you  can  hear  some  epic  battle  samples  being  utilized  in  the  background  at  times  as  well  as  the  band  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  fast  black  metal  parts  along  with  some  brutal  sounding  blast  beats  and  as  the  ep  progresses  you  can  hear  elements  of  ethnic  world  music  being  mixed  in  with  their  sound.

  The  ethnic  elements  really  help  make  the  music  stand  out  as  well  as  the  band  having  a  lot  more  heavier  sound  than  most  folk  metal  bands  and  they  never  use  any  clean  or  pagan  style  singing  and  the  lead  guitars  and  solos  are  very  chaotic  sounding  and  also  heavily  influenced  by  death  metal,  when  acoustic  guitars  are  used  they  really  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  emotion  to  the  songs  and  the  last  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Enviktas  create  a  very  original  style  of  folk  metal  with  their  songs  only  using  growls  and  black  metal  screams  as  well  as  bringing  in  brutal  elements  and  traces  of  world  music,  ethic  and  classical  to  create  a  sound   of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  sounding  without  the  backing  of  a  label  while  the  lyrics  cover  mythology,  paganism  and  folklore.

  In  my  opinion  Envikitas  are  a very  great  original  and  brutal  sounding  folk  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Morning  Burns  Red"  and  "Golden  Spirit".  8/5  out  of  10.

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Darkest Era Interview

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

This album was actually recorded over a year ago, in February 2013. Since then we’ve had a couple of lineup changes, we have an all new rhythm section now in Cameron Ahslund-Glass on drums and Daniel O’Toole on bass. We’ve spent the last year basically playing shows, festivals and going on a UK tour in the autumn, whilst securing a new deal with Cruz Del Sur to release the album next month.

2.You have a new album coming out on June, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction of the new recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

I would describe it as the natural step in our musical evolution. It is darker, more visceral, yet more sorrowful in places. I think the songs are more focussed than in the past, there is less meandering in the arrangements. Some of the material pushes the boundaries of our sphere of influence, and other songs are the most straight up heavy metal we’ve done. The band was on the verge of ruination during the conception of the album and as always this has seeped into the tones and themes; it’s a pretty good document of where the band was at that point.

3.I have seen the band labeled as folk metal but I feel that you have a sound that is a little bit closer to being true metal, do you feel you stand out in your musical genre?

Labelling us has always been a problem. We often say we have folk influences but that doesn’t make us folk metal. We incorporate an atmosphere and a certain aesthetic of folk, and there is some musical lineage but really we’re no more folk metal than Solstice are for example. True metal probably isn’t 100% accurate either as our sound is a lot broader than the confines of this subgenre, although there are absolutely lots of true metal influences there. We’re a heavy metal band, let’s say.

4.Your lyrics cover Celtic Mythology, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?

Actually this has been misconstrued slightly. We had a couple of songs written about Celtic Mythology on our demos and first album, plus some aspects of our artwork and aesthetic reference mythology but in general most of our songs don’t, there are no songs on the new record related to mythology for example. I have always had an interest in the topic though, since I was about 16 really. It’s not an area that is really taught in schools so when I discovered books on the subject, and also Irish bands who were influenced by it, I found it fascinating. The stories, characters and themes tend to lend themselves very well to heavy metal lyric writing as well! Since the last album we’ve been writing about other things, but I guess still retaining the kind of imagery and atmosphere of mythological writings.

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? 

There have been many, but most recently we played Ragnarok Festival in Germany in front of a couple of thousand people, which was our biggest ever show. We played with Primordial for their DVD recording which was quite an occasion. We’ve also played with Slough Feg, who are one of our favourite bands so that was a special show for us. In 2012 we did a UK tour with Alestorm, many of the shows were in pretty large venues that sold out in advance so there were some memorable nights there. A sold out Islington Academy in London being one. Our stage performance I would say is totally complementary to our music. We are energetic and people often say that you can tell we really mean what we do. We don’t go through the motions, there is passion and purpose in every note; it can be quite intense from our point of view.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

Yes we will be playing a number of special one off launch shows over the summer before embarking on a headline tour of the UK in the autumn, details of which we will be announcing soon. Beyond that we will be returning to Europe but it’s too early to say when just yet. We are very eager to hit the road with this record.

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

Very positive, and our fanbase is steadily growing. Since our first demos, which we recorded while still in school, we received a lot of interest from the European metal underground. So from the beginning, although our sound was very formative, we had interest from many far flung places which was very encouraging. Our first album was very well received and ended up on quite a few end of year lists. Metal fans seem to find our material to be the kind of stuff that reveals it’s true quality after repeated listens, when they’ve had time to get their head around what we do.  

8.Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects these days?

Yes we all have several different projects brewing at the minute. Most have not surfaced yet but there is some fairly eclectic stuff being worked on by some of us. Some of it will be of interest to Darkest Era fans for sure so we’ll keep people informed when these side projects come to fruition.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

I think we will push the boundaries of our sphere of influence even more and open our sound up. We have a fairly clear idea now of what we want Darkest Era to be and our latest album is the perfect step towards that. The main thing is to move forward, we aren’t interested in staying still creatively. ‘Severance’ isn’t even out yet but there is a collective subconscious feeling among us that the next album is what each of us have been working towards since we starting playing.

10.What are some of the band s or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I think as we progress we’re looking outward less and less for musical influence and looking more inward. We’re still into the same bands that got us into heavy metal in the first place; Iron Maiden, Bathory, Thin Lizzy, Dio, along with a ton of others. I would still list these bands as influences. In terms of current musical tastes, personally the current crop of heavy metal bands (many associated with Cruz Del Sur) such as Argus, Atlantean Kodex, Slough Feg are occupying my decks quite a bit. Actually myself and Sarah have been listening to a lot of a band called Skalmold lately as well. I approach new music with caution as there is so much stuff out there you have to be choosy, there aren’t enough hours in the day otherwise. But having said that my morning til night playlist could be as diverse as Destroyer 666, Heavy Load, Tom Waits, Blind Guardian, Depeche Mode, Fleetwood Mac. The other guys in the band have a taste as broad as that too or even moreso.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

The usual shit; books, film, travel, craft beer and quality wine appreciation. Mostly it’s just stuff to colour in the gaps between music and heavy metal. I like to think I’m a not-so-stereotypical metalhead with many different cultural interests and pastimes.. but I pretty much get out of bed each morning with my fist already raised and ready to rock J

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Check us out at darkestera.net and facebook.com/darkestera  Never yield, never compromise, vae victis!  

Embrace Of Disharmony Interview

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

Well, not too much, since the production was finished just a few months ago! We had a brief pause, and now we are focused on preparing ourselves for promoting the album with a proper live activity.

2.You have a new album coming out in May, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction of the new recording and also how does it differ from your previous ep and demo?

With the album we kept walking the path sketched with the previous recordings, from which we have taken four songs out of nine. This time we improved performance and production to a professional level, and for what concerns the sound we have added a touch of theatricality. The arrangements on the album often feature the presence of a full orchestra, which was absent in the previous ep and demo.

3.This is the first release since 2010, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on with the band in the last 4 years?

Things moved rather slow. At first we had some serious lineup problems. In 2011 Emiliano Cantiano (Shores of Null, Noumeno) joined the band on drums and we started rehearsing the new songs. Then in late 2012 we started the production of the new album which took a whole year, mainly for reasons not depending upon us.

4.The new album has a concept, can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrics the band has on the new recording?
It’s not a concept album “tout court”, but there’s an underlying theme that permeates it and characterizes the mood of the entire work starting from its title. In ancient Greek mythology Ananke was the personification of fate and every song in our album is about human beings facing their destiny, palely surrendering to it or trying to change its course. Some of our lyrics are about fictional characters like Elric of Melniboné or the main character of Poe’s short story “A descent into the Maelstrom”, some others are not related to a specific figure but totally tied to this leitmotif.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Embrace Of Disharmony'?
It has been a hard decision to make: we wanted a name that could recall both the vocal interweaves that characterize our music and the progressive and sometimes disharmonic streak of it.

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?

We played as opening act for Haggard (December 16, 2012) and Orphaned Land (October 22, 2013). In both cases it has been an honour to play our songs with such bands that, in addition to be internationally known, are extremely important in our cultural background.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

Not yet, but we will surely try to boost our live activity as much as possible in order to promote the album and the band at our best!

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme, progressive and avant garde metal?

Without a full length and a label, things that we have only now, it is difficult to be exposed to a high number of people, so this question will have a complete answer in some months. Up to now feedbacks from reviews and live reports around the internet were positive, with some peak of appreciation, hence we can consider ourselves to be satisfied.

9.Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects these days?

Our drummer Emiliano is involved with many other bands: Noumeno, an instrumental Prog Metal band, which have just completed its second album, and Shores of Null, a Gothic/Doom band which have just released its debut album. Leonardo, our bass player, has recently joined a newborn Djent band called Alien Red.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Well, no one can tell, and that's the beautiful part of it! By making too much plans or having expectations things can come out contrived. For the present day, after finishing the parts for the album, there is slightly more attention in exploring electronical sounds rather than orchestral ones, but things may change quickly. It's just about being spontaneous and write the music that comes out from you.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

In the latest years there has been one name above all: the Norwegian Avantgarde scene, so experimental bands like Arcturus, Winds, Borknagar, Solefald and so on. This musical scene has been a big influence on our approach, which met the other major reference, Progressive Metal.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Matteo: is writing music a non-musical interest? Hmm, maybe not. I guess the same would apply to playing guitar and collect and painstackingly listen to metal cds. So what's left? Eating fatty food, watch some movie at times, and above all making lots of dumb things with friends.
Leonardo: I enjoy passing my time in front of a computer screen and trying to make things work (rarely achieving this goal). In my spare time I work as a physicist.
Emiliano: Studying and teaching drums could be a non-musical interest? Ahahahah, ok seriously... i love reading and watching movies at the cinema whenever i can.
Gloria: I am a compulsive reader with a strong interest for videogames, crosswords and make-up artistry (although this strange mixture of hobbies apparently doesn’t make any sense).

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

We hope that you people can find some time and patience to listen to this album, and maybe also enjoy it. There is a very part of our souls in it.

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Mirzadeh/Desired Mythic Pride/Inverse Records/2014 CD Review

  Mirzadeh  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  gothic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Desired  Mythic  Pride"  which  was  released  by  Inverse  Records.

  Nature  sounds  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  more  heavier  gothic  and  symphonic  gothic  metal  direction  along  with  some  black  metal  screams  and  the  music  also  utilizes  a  melodic  edge  in  both  the  riffing  and  solos  as  well  as  incorporating  death  metal  growls  and  some  of  the  slower  sections  have  a  doom  metal  feeling  to  them.

  The  music  on  this  album  is  very  90's  orientated  and  goes  back  to  the  melodic,  symphonic  and  gothic  side  of  black  metal  that  was  released  in  that  era  and  they  also  use  a  good  amount  of  clean  playing  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  you  can  easily  hear  that  band  is  heavily  influenced  by  the  black  and  doom  metal  bands  of  their  home  country.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  album  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  on  some  of  the  tracks  they  also  add  in  elements  of  traditional  Finnish  folk  music  as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  in  the  heavier  and  faster  parts  of  the  music  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  songs  get  more  diverse  in  sound  while  you  can  also  tell  that  it  is  the  same  band  on  all  of  the  tracks  and  they  also  bring  in  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  which  gives  the  album  a  more  progressive  feeling  along  with  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  before  returning  to  a  heavier  direction.

  Mirzadeh  show  a  great  amount  of  diversity  with  their  music,  their  sound  is  firmly  rooted  in  the  symphonic,  gothic  and  melodic  sides  of  black  metal  put  they  also  have  a  good  amount  of  pagan,  doom  and  death  metal  element s in  their  sound,  the  production  is  very  professional  sounding  and  the  lyrics  cover  Ancient  Finnish  Paganism.

  In  my  opinion  Mirzadeh  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic,  gothic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Secrets'  "Rain  Of  Blood"  "Demented  Visions  Of  Madness"  and  "Rise  With  Norther  Witchcraft".  8/5  out  of  10.

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Darkest Era/Severance/Cruz Del Sur Music/2014 CD Review

  Darkest  Era  are  a  band  from the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  mixture  of  Celtic  folk  and  traditional  metal  with  blackened  elements  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Severance"  which  will  be  released  by  Cruz  Del  Sur  Music.

  Acoustic  guitars  start  off  the  album  and  they  bring  a  medieval  folk  music  feeling  to t he  music  before  going  into  a  more  heavier  and  melodic  direction  along  with  a  small  amounts  of  fast  playing  and  blast  beats  which  adds  in  more  blackened  sounds  and  then  slowing  down  and  adding  in  clean  singing  vocals.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  this  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  as  well  as  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  being  very  melodic  and  the  band  also  brings  in  a  mixture  of  both  acoustic  and  heavy  parts  and  the  songs  sound  very  diverse  while  remaining  mostly  in  a  melodic  direction.

  While  the  music  is  mostly  in  a  mid  paced  and  melodic  direction  the  band  also  doe s bring  back  the  faster  parts  and  blast  beats  at  times  and  while  those  elements  have  a  black  metal  influence  the  vocals  always  reaming  in  a  melodic  clean  singing  direction  and  the  band  also  use s more  traditonal  metal  sounds  than  folk  music  elements  and  some  of  the  slower  sections  have  an  epic  doom  metal  feeling  to  them.

  Darkest  Era  have  a  very  interesting  sound  with  their  music  taking  folk  music  elements  and  using  them  on  all  guitars  as  well  as  adding  a  more  traditional  metal  approach  to  the  folk  metal  genre  as  well  as  having  a  small  amount  of  blackened  blast  beats,  the  production  is  very  professional  sounding  and  the  lyrics  cover  the  darker  side  of  Celtic  Mythology  and  Paganism  and  the  last  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Darkest  Era  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  traditional  and  folk  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Songs  of  God  And  Man"  "Beyond  the  Grey  Veil"  "The  Scavenger"  and  "Blood,  Sand  ANd  Stone".  8  out  of  10.

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Trobar Interview

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

We just released the digital version of our new album "Charivari", the CD version will be released soon, and we will be playing in different cities in eastern canada starting june.

2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound of the new recording and also how does it differ from the ep you had released in 2011?

Our new album is made of new songs and older songs we couldn't record in 2011 due to time limitations. The result is an album that covers the evolution of our sound from the beginning to today. We could say that Trobar took a more progressive turn last years, but our music is still a recipe with different musical ingredients : black and death metal, folk melodies, psychedelic ambiance, acoustic parts and progressive structures.

3.Your lyrics cover Celtic Mythology, how would you describe your interest in this topic?

We have some celtic elements in our music, but our lyrics are more inspired by Québec's legends and history. For example, we have a lot of legends talking about the devil coming to the surface to take the bad people with him in his trolley. In the last song of our album, "Pactés à mort", the devil comes to a tavern and tells the people that the one that will drink a whole barrel of his beer will have eternal life, and the ones that fail will burn with him in hell. This is a story we created, but we took some elements from our legends.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Trobar'?

Trobar is an old french word describing the art of the minstrels. It has a common etymology with the french word troubadours.

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?

When we started playing, there were not a lot of folk metal bands in our place, so we really enjoyed when people came to listen to another band of another music style and ended up really enjoying our music. One of those great shows was when we opened for "Mononc Serge et Anonymus" in Rimouski. It was a dream coming true when we opened for Korpiklaani, Moonsorrow, Tyr and Metsatöll in 2012. We also had the chance to play a couple of times with the excellent band Unexpect.

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

We will be playing in Québec on june 27, Montréal on june 28, and Rimouski in september. More shows are to be announced.

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

For now, we focus on our new album. We want to keep our independence but we stay open for any opportunities that could make our band progress.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of folk metal?

We received a lot of comments and reviews from places in the world we didn't expect. It makes us very proud that people around the world are interested in what we do. The way metal makes connections between people around the world is inspiring.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We already are working on some new songs. In our opinion, these songs are a proof that we are still improving our sound and that the best days are in front of us.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Of course, we have been influenced by folk metal bands like Moonsorrow and Korpiklaani, but we also have influence from Québecois traditional music, more prog bands like Opeth, and 70s English and Québecois prog-rock bands like Jethro Tull, Harmonium, etc. We like to experiment with different kinds of music, for example fusion jazz, funk, various world music, etc.
The six of us listen to a large variety of musical styles, having in common metal music of course.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

People in our band have very diverse interests. We have a physician, a radio operator, some artists (we made our artworks ourself). We are interested in literature, content creation, politics, geography, history, gaming, etc.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thanks for your interest, and don’t forget to listen to our album available on Bandcamp, and to follow us on Facebook!

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Embrace Of Disharmony/Humananke/My Kingdom Music/2014 CD Review

  Embrace  of  Disharmony  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  progressive  and  avant  garde  form  of  metal  with  some  black  and  gothic  metal  elements  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Humananke"  which  will  be  released  by  My  Kingdom  Music.

  Sounds  of  war  start  off  the  album  before  adding  in  more  orchestra  sounds  which  also  bring  a  symphonic  and  avant  garde  sound  to  the  album  and  a  minute  later  they  add  female  operatic  vocals  to  the  recording  which  also  leads  up  to  a  more  heavy  direction  while  also  keeping  the  symphonic  and  avant  garde  sounds.

  Progressive  rock  elements  are  mixed  in  with  melody  throughout  the  album  and  they  also  bring  in  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  growls  while  also  keeping  around  the  melodic  male  and  female  vocals  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them,  the  guitar  leads  and  solos  are  very  melodic  sounding  and  utilize  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  and  at  times  spoken  word  parts  are  added  into  certain  parts  of  the  recording.

  A  good  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  blast  beats  being  utilized  on  the  record along  with  the  music  taking  a  modern  approach  to  progressive  metal  while  also  being  more  heavier  than  most  bands  of  that  genre  and  when  acoustic  guitars  are  utilized  they  bring  in  even  more  classical  music  elements  along  with  a  medieval  atmosphere.  

  Embrace  Of  Disharmony  show  a  great  amount  of  originality  with  their  music,  having  a  sound  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  progressive  metal  while  also  having  the  heaviness  of  death  and  black  metal  as  well  as  mixing  in  a  lot  of  classical,  symphonic,  opera,  gothic  and  avant  garde  to  create  a  very  diverse  sounding  album,  the  production  is  very  professional  sounding  and  the  lyrics  cover  the  struggle  in  fate  or  circumstances,  identified  in  Ananke,  primordial  deity  in  Greek  mythology.

  In  my  opinion  Embrace  of  Disharmony  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  avant  garde  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Shards  of  Apocalypse"  "Identify"  "By  The  Hands  Of  The  Moirai"  and  "A  Descent  Into  The  Maelstrom".  8  out  of  10.

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