Aethyr/Corpus/Cimmerian Shade Recordings/2015 CD Review

   Aethyr  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  blackened  and  occult  mixture  of  funeral  doom  metal,  sludge,  ambient  and  drone  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Corpus"  which  will  be  released  in  February  by  Cimmerian  Shade  Recordings.

  A  very  dark  and  melodic  drone  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  doom  metal  direction  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  and  deep  death  metal  growls  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music  they  bring  in  a  very  depressive  feeling  to  the  music  while  also  bringing  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  At  times  the  music  speeds  up  a  bit  and  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  on  the later  tracks  the  band  starts  adding  in  more  elements  of  stoner  and  sludge  into  the  slower  doom  metal  riffing  while  some  of  the  alter  songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  synths  which  also  brings  in  more  of  a  funeral  doom  and  dark  ambient  atmosphere  to  the  recording  when  they  are  utilized  and  the  album  also  gets  more  diverse  with  each  track  along  with  one  of  the  songs  going  for  more  of  a  ritualistic  drone  sound  and  also  bringing  in  some  spoken  word  samples

  Aethyr  combine  a  variety  of  many  different  genres  together  from  black  metal,  funeral  doom,  sludge,  drone,  stoner  and  ambient  to  create  an  album  that  is  very  dark,  heavy,  and  ritualistic  sounding  while  also  being  very  original  at  the  same  time,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism  and  Esoteric  Disciplines.

   In  my  opinion  Aethyr  are  a  very  great  sounding  occult  mixture  of  black  metal,  funeral  doom,  sludge,  stoner,  drone  and  ambient  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sanctus  Satanicus"  "The Gnostic  Mass"  and  "Templum".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx1ze_wHpcg&feature=youtu.be&ct=t%28Aethyr_Templum_Video6_22_2015%29

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Malphas/The Conjuring/2015 EP Review

  Malphas  are  a  band  from  Pennsylvania  that  plays  a  melodic  and  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  relased 2015  ep  which  will  be  released  in  February.

  A  very  dark  70's  style  prog  rock  synth  starts  off  the  ep  and  after  a  few  seconds  the  music  starts  getting  a  lot  more  heavy  and  symphonic  as  well  as  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  which  leads  up  to  some  brutal  blast  beats,  fast  riffing  and  grim  black  metal  screams  and  the  solos  and  leads  also bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melodies,  talent  and  skill  to  the  recording.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  you  can  also  hear  some  death  metal  growls  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  show  the  guitars  adding  in  elements  of  thrash  and  power  metal  while  some  of  the  clean  parts have  a  jazz  influence  to  them.

  Malphas  plays  a  style  of  symphonic  black/death  metal  that  is  very  melodic  and  also  displays  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  as  musicians  throughout  all  5  of  the  tracks,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  based  around  the  39th  Goetic  demon  Malphas  who  serves  as  the  grand  president  and  general  of  hell;  commanding  40  legions  of  demons  and  appearing  before  conjuror's in  the  form  of  a  crow.

  In  my  opinion  Malphas  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  symphonic  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  "The Conjuring"  and  "Heaven's  Fall".  8  out  of  10.      

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Abstracter/Wound Empire/Sentient Ruin Labratories/2015 CD Review

  Abstracter  are  a  band  from  Oakland,  California  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge,  crust,  noise  and  psychedelic  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Wound  Empire"  which  will  be  released  in  February  by  Sentient  Ruin  Labratories.

  A  very  dark,  distorted  and  atmospheric  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  reverb  and  distortion  before  getting  a  little  bit  more  louder  and  you  can  hear  some  grim  black  metal  vocals  being  added  into  the  music  after  awhile  along  with  some  deep  growls  which  also  takes  the  music  into  a  more  heavy  sludge  metal  direction.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  songs  also  mix  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  with  the  heavier  parts  and  all  of  the  songs  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length,  as  the  album  progresses  clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  more  elements  of  drone,  noise  and  psychedelic  being  added  into  some  of  the  tracks  and  on  the  last  song  a  small  amount  of  melodic  clean  singing  vocals  are  added  into  the  music.

  Abstracter  plays  a  very  slow  and  heavy  form  of  music  that  mixes  black  metal,  doom  and  sludge  together  while  also  adding  in  elements  of  drone  and  psychedelia  to  make  their  music  sound  a  lot  more  experimental,  the production  sounds  very  dark  yet  powerful  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  metaphysical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Abstracter  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black  metal.  sludge,  doom,  noise  and  psychedelia,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Lightless"  and  "Cruciform".  8  out  of  10.  

 http://www.cvltnation.com/exclusive-cvlt-nation-streaming-abstracter-lightless/

Keeper/Sea Bastard/Medusa Crush/Dry Cough/Tadpole Records/Black Reaper Records/2015 Split Album Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  California's  Keeper  and  the  United  Kingdom's  Sea  Bastard  which  will  be  released  in  February  of  2015  as  a  joint  effort  between  Medusa  Crush,  Dry  Cough,  Tadpole  Records  and  Black  Reaper  Records  and  we  will  start  of  the  review  with  Keeper  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge  and  doom.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  their  side  of  the  split  along  with  some  melodies  being  used  at  times  and  after  a  minute  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  are  added  into  the  music  and  they  mix  in  with  the  doom  and  sludge  style  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  their  song  is  14  minutes  in  length  as  well  as  always  sticking  to  a  very  slow  and  heavy  pace  and  when  the  song  gets  closer  to  then  end  it  brings  in  a  brief  guitar  lead,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while the  lyrics  cover  occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Keeper  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  metal,  doom  and  sludge  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band  and  their  side  of  the  split.

  Next  up  is  Sea  Bastard  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  crust,  sludge  and  doom  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  off  with  a  very  distorted  and  powerful  sounding  bass  guitar  which  leads  up  to  a  more  heavy,  slow  and  melodic  doom  metal  sound  and  after  awhile  deep  grim  growling  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  song  is  20  minutes  in  length  and  halfway  through  the  song  high  pitched  sludge  screams  are  added  into  the  track  and  the  song  also  sticks  to  a  very  slow  and  heavy  direction  from  beginning  to  end  along  with  a  brief  guitar  lead,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  yet  heavy  and  powerful  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sea  Bastard  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  crust,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  black  metal,  crust,  sludge  and  doom  metal.  8  out  of  10.    

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Hombre Malo Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?
boris: well, the release was set on the 14th of november, not that long time ago.
we had the release party with timeworn and pandemi the 22nd; we had a lot of fun and it looked like we were not the only ones, eheh!
now, we are focusing on getting rid of some days off for a forthcoming tour, in january.
except that, jamming at the practice place, as always.


2.So far this year you have been a part of a split and have also released a full length, how would you describe
the musical sound of the newer music and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
well, as the time passes by, i personally see our first album, the ecstasy of devastation, as a statement and we've been digging deeper in the directions presented on it. that's a totally non objective thought that appeared to me recently; then, take it as it is, eheh!
it also feels like we got angrier on that last album. and we manage to end up with a general sound on "persistent murmur of words of wrath" that reflects quite well this anger and the hystery of hombre malo. nice.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
nacho: We have been writing lyrics like personal stories for a while. In "Persistent..." the comment about social issues overtakes and becomes the main theme. Things like homophobia, the rise of conservatism and this rebirth of religion all over the world have become a matter of concern for us. And also this exagerated consumption in the western world, and specially in countries like Norway. Quite sure we don't need to convince many among our audience, but  all of this pisses us off and we needed to put it into paper and notes.

4.I know that the band name means "bad Man" in Spanish, how does this name fit in with the style of music that you play?
boris: i don't know; does it fit? we still could be playing some spacy electronic music and be called hombre malo too, no?

5.What are some of the best shows that the band ha splayed over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
russia has always been our favorite place to play, especially moscow; so intense there!
spain and czech republic are also on top of the list. valmiera in latvia has also this amazing abandoned building that got turned into an art space... fantastic spot and crowd.
a show is some kind of a transe where you hope everyone will join in and create commonly that huge amount of energy made of sweat, sound, passion, fun and relieves. sometimes, it works, sometimes, it doesn't, but if our t shirts aren't wet when we get out of stage, we missed something.


6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
the closest will be this 2 weeks tour in january i mentioned earlier with jack and the bearded fishermen from france; we'll go to denmark, germany, netherlands, belgium, uk (first time for both bands!) and france.
it looks like we'll spend some days with khmer in scandinavia early april too.
then, there will be tours in 2015; be sure we'll visit you this year! we'll let you know on time.
when it comes to the usa, japan, australia, w'd love to go there; but we need to find a way so we won't loose millions of dollars! any help on that side would be more than welcome.

7.Over the years you have been on a few splits, out of all the bands you have worked with on these albums,
which one do you feel came the closest to your musical style?
we shared records with jack and the bearded fishermen, desert icons and sofy major; if you add hombre malo to the list, you end up with 4 very different bands with 4 very different styles of music. but if i really have to pick up one, i'll take jack and the bearded fishermen because of their fuzz sound on their early records.


8.The new album came out on Disciplin Media, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
disiplin media is run by stian who used to play in bands like Englemaker, Eskatol and Betonglbarn.
the same day our last album got released, disiplin media released also the first album of timeworn. and there is a beautiful reissue of a great norwegian band, kort process, coming in 2015... you can get all the infos at http://disiplin-media.com


9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to the newer material by fans of underground music?
the thing is that we had A LOT of feedbacks this time, mainly because of disiplin media and stian who's been working his ass off in promoting that album.
all in all, feedbacks have been really good; people seems to see a strong unity/connection when it comes to the entire record listening experience.
nacho's work on linking the songs with samples, noises and the timing have a lot to do with that, i think.
but weird in an other way because some of those riffs are 4 years old and some are new...
but i do think that you can't get hombre malo by listening to one or two songs. so we like that they get the guideline through all of this noise wrapped up in 7 songs.


10.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical styles these days that some of the band members are a part off?
joakim, the drummer, is actually on tour in japan with his band ich bin n!ntendo and i know he'll go on tour in february with his other band, moe.
i don't know what's going on with jesuismort, nacho's band; but i guess we'll hear about that soon.
tom still have psalm from time to time.
okkultokrati, my other band, just released an album last july; we came back from a european tour plus some gigs in norway; now we are resting a bit.

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
i could answer that question but this wouldn't end up the way i said; we are 4 very different persons. this would only be my thoughts and they will be "twisted" by the others on the way so it won't look like the initial ideas.
but, as i said earlier, there are faces of hombre malo that only us know and i hope they'll end up twisted live or on records one day.

12.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?
i think that hombre malo has its roots in the diy/hardcore movement; but there is no boundaries when it comes to create music with this band; we never set any. i could read recently some reviews about the new album and people were speaking about noise rock, sludge, psychedelic, post rock, even grunge... sure, we can relate to all of that.
right now, on the lp player, the greek band aphrodite's child is playing. just before was the swedish band walk through fire...

13.What are some of your non musical interests?
in hombre malo, you have carpenters, bar tenders, roadies, drivers, fathers, surfers, book readers, sailors, swimmers, travellers, dreamers...

14.Before we wrap up this interview do you have any final words or thoughts?
thanks for reading and hopefully, we'll come and play to a place near you soon; that day, whatever day of the week it is,
come and join the celebration! because that's where it really happens.

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Solarsteinn Interview

SOLARSTEINN - interview -

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
I'm also the lead singer / guitarist of Rising Moon, and after 15 years of swedish death metal for me it was time to try something different. I am passionate about classical music that I tried to mix it with  metal. I also love the Nordic culture and then the equation is simple: classical music, metal, Nordic culture = Viking metal. This is the beginning of the Solarsteinn project.

2.Recently you have released an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
I think it is the right mix of metal and classical music. I tried to write a little soundtrack. A song that had a
beginning, a middle and an ending well defined. Looking for the right mix between metal and classical music.

3.The lyrics on the ep where based on the Norse ballads of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow , can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this author and Norse Paganism?
I hate writing lyrics, I prefer to focus on the music and a day on the internet I discovered "The Musician's Tale" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow from "Tales of a Wayside Inn". "The challenge of Thor" is the first song of the poem. I immediately liked the text, it was perfect for the song.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Solarsteinn'?
Solarsteinn is the Iceland term for "sunstone". It 's a mineral used to locate the sun in a completely overcast sky and then allows surfers to navigate even in extreme conditions. To me it has a big metaphorical meaning, such as the ability and strength to move in life, even in moments of great difficulty.

5.Currently there is only 1 member in the band, are you planning on expanding the line up in the future or do you choose to remain solo?
I think Solarsteinn remain a one man band, but do not rule out future involvement of other people in the
recordings. I want to have control of the project to 100% and write everything I want without discussions with other people.

6.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
I am looking for a label willing to publish the Ep or a future job. I hope to find one interested in the project. Those who contacted me were more interested in my money to my music. I'll wait a little longer, then I'll print in limited edition.

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of the viking, pagan and folk metal genres?
There are various reviews and are all good, I'm very happy. I did not expect, to have good results is stimulating to continue to get better and better. Many people write me to have a copy of the CD and all I have to answer that is not available. Then label around the world do your thing, and print the Ep, ahhaha !!!

8.Are you also involved with any other musical projects?

As Rising Moon's  singer/guitarist, a swedish death metal band, a mix of At The Gates and Hypocrisy style. We made five albums. But when the band stops and I can concentrate better on Solarsteinn. !!

9.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see yourself heading into musically during the future?
These days I started writing full. I have to reorder many ideas I had and rearrange it. This time I would like to make a song more than 30 minutes and divide them into chapters. We'll see. As for my future in music I can tell you that I will play until I live. My days are filled with music, work in my recording studio "Alien Recording Studio", I write music, I collaborate with other bands. My life is music 100%.

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?
I started listening  metal with Iron Maiden, they made me love music. Then I discovered so many other bands. I like the swedish death of At The Gates, but I also listen the brutal of Suffocation and the black of Dissection. For some years I am also interested in viking and folk, and I follow  Moonsorrow, Finntroll, Falkenbach and many others.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
I like all the arts, I like drawing in charcoal, read books, watch movies, are passionate about food and cooking for friends. Somehow I keep myself busy.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you for this nice interview and for the space on your webzine, for those interested in the band you can follow me and contact me on the facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/solarsteinn
Thank You.  Greetings from Italy.

Batsheva/Self Titled/2014 Full Length Review

  Batsheva  are  a  1  man  band  from  Pennsylvania  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  symphonic  form  of  blackened  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  titled  and  self  released  2014  album.

  A  very  dark  and  ritualistic  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  keeps  the  ritualistic  sounds  and  adds  in  a  symphonic  and  melodic  black  metal  sound  that  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  along  with  some  grim  screams  while  the  slower  sections  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  doom  metal  elements.

  A  good  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  adding  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  the  riffs  and  the  symphonic  black  metal  side  of  the  music  is  a  lot  more  closer  to  the  90's  style  and  brings  in  a  bit  of  the  rawness  that  genre  once  had  before  later  bands  made  it  more  mainstream  sounding  and  you  can  also  hear  traces  of  funeral  doom  in  the  slower  sections  and  one  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts.  

  Batsheva  goes  back  to  the  90's  styles  of  melodic  and  symphonic  black  metal  and  mixes  them  in  with  a  very  heavy  and  dark  style  of  doom  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  yet  very  heavy  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Batsheva  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  symphonic,  melodic  black  metal  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Moon  Eyes"  and  "The  Conquest  Of  The  Witch  Queen".  8  out  of  10.

https://batsheva.bandcamp.com/album/batsheva