Diabolus Arcanium/Path Of Ascension/Transcending Obscurity Distribution/2015 CD Review

  Diabolus  Arcanium  are  a  and  from  India  that  plays  a  very symphonic  and  epic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Path  Of  Ascension"  which  will  be  rleeased  in  August  by  transcending  Obscurity  Distribution.

  A  very  dark sounding  keyboard  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  symphonic  elements  and  after  the  intro  melodic choirs  are  added  into  the  music  which  also  leads  up to  a  heavier  sound  that  also  retains  the  symphonic  elements  and  also  adds  in  grim  black  metal  screams and  the  music  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  melodic  guitar  leads.

  Most  of  the  music  goes  for  a  90['s  style  of  symphonic  black  metal  and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  are  utilized  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  elements  of  classical  music  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  an  epic  atmosphere  and  they close  the  album  with  an orchestra  track.

  Diabolus  Arcanium  plays  a  style of  symphonic  black  metal  that  is  very  epic,  with  some  classical elements  as  well  as  being  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  style,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Anti  Christianity,  Satanism,  Death,  Destruction  and  Supernatural  Phenomena  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Diabolus  Arcanium  are  a  very  great  sounding  epic  and  symphonic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Kingdom  Of   Sin"  "Of  Fire  And  Ashes"  and  "Herald  Of  Darkness".  8  out  of  10.

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Tengger Cavalry Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
Sure. After the new release of 2015, I am preparing to re-build the band in United States and tour. So far we still couldn't perform yet, but I believe we will be ready to charge very soon!

2.So far this year you have released a full length, a single and also have been a part of a split, how would you describe the musical sound of the newer music?
The new music is more soundtrack feeling I would say. I intentionally limit the use of lyrics, giving more space for musical arrangements and instrumentation. I want to keep experimenting new stuff rather than repeating the previous work.

3.Your lyrics cover Shamanism., Tengrism and Mongolian Shamanism, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?
I always connect with nature and animals, and that's where i find my inner peace. Shamanism is all about worshiping nature, sky, etc. So I studied it and practice it.

4.Also the band is named after Tengger, a sky father from the Shamanism of your homeland, are you also familiar with the mythology of other cultures and also how would you compare the Eastern and Western Mythology's?
Yes I like Celtic paganism and Viking paganism. They all worship nature. But the difference between western shamanism and eastern shamanism is, I personally think, eastern is more like mono, and western is more poly. Tengger is considered the one dominant god of the nature, while in western paganism there are a bunch of gods that work separately to keep nature functioning.

5.Originally the band started out as a solo project, what was the decision behind hiring a full time line up?
People keep giving me feedback that they loved the music and they REALLY want to see us on stage. So that's basically the main motive.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
We played once in Strawberry Festival in China, where millions of people visited the festival per day. I remember thousands of audience head banging with our music. It is beyond awesome.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Yes, once we are ready for it, we will try to tour in US, starting with Eastern Coast.

8.You where recently part of a split that was released on Mongol Metal, can you tell us a little bit more about this label and your contributions to the split?
This label is run by me myself. I want the world to know that there is a new oriental genre rising. People keep asking why there is no Asian metal, and this is my answer to the world.

9.Your current full length was released on Metal hell Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
MHR is an independent heavy metal label in Minnesota state. We have been working with them for 4 years and it went pretty well. Looking forward to release more stuff in the future.

10.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of folk metal?
People find our stuff very original and refreshing. They never experienced something like this before.

11.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?
Not really.

12.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
I couldn't say yet. I guess the day when we walk into the studio, our emotion and experience will decide what new sound we will have for the new release.

13.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?
Many European folk metal bands like Eluveitie, Korpiklaani, Turisas, etc. Also new-folk and soundtrack music influenced me a lot.

14.What are some of your non musical interests?
I ride horse and do boxing. I like sports.

15.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you so much for the great opportunity to interview us. It is a pleasure to share the story of Tengger Cavalry
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Psychophobia Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?



Psychophobia is the band established at the beginning of the new century in Świdnik – typical workers city in southern Poland. Our first demo “Promo Accident”  was recorded and self released in 2006 and our first LP was self released in 2012. This year we signed contract with Metal Scrap Records and at 25th June we have released EP “The Fall” under metal Scrap Records label.



2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?



It’s a good piece of metal I think, with a lot of influences. In our music you can hear  elements of death, black, heavy and power metal, but we don’t want to put ourselves in any of these boxes. It isn’t very important for us. Psychophobia is just a metal band.



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



Generally, lyrics are about human condition in the world and his place in the universe. Sometimes the topic is about catastrophic visions of the future and uncertainty what tomorrow brings us in the age of dehumanization.



4.The band has been around since 2002 but so far has only released 2 demo's, a full length and the current ep, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap in between releases?



In those years there was a lot of squad changes. Each of us grew up and started adult life. You know: end of the school, going to college, going to work, try to start a family. The music was on the second place sometimes but we’ve had always stay together.



5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Psychophobia'?



Anything special. Really.



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



We was very proud of sharing the stage with Christ Agony and Frontside – big names of polish rock/metal scene, but sometimes the best show is when you’re playing a small gig with bands you are befriended. In our case that will be R.O.D. and Shame Yourself.



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



No, not now.



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



We are already waiting for feedback.



9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?



Most of these projects are suspended. Only Patologia is still playing. It’s a well known polish punk rock brigade.



10.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?



We want to start recording our fresh stuff in the beginning of the next year.



11.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?



It’s really hard to say. There are many bands we’re listening in many kinds of music. Our biggest influences are Black Sabbath, In Flames, Children of Bodom.



12.What are some of your non musical interests?



Typical: football, motorcycles, girls and drugs and alcohol of course.



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



For all brothers and sisters: STAY HEAVY!

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Formicarius/Lake Of The Dead/2015 EP Review

  Formicarius  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays a  very symphonic  and  epic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  self  released  2015  ep  "Lake  Of  The  Dead".

  A  heavy  guitar  sound  and  epic  synths  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some melodic  riffing  that  brings  in  elements  of  thrash  and  after  awhile  grim  screams  are  added  into  the  music  an d the  music  starts  adding  in  more  symphonic  elements  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  the  music  has  more  of  a  mid  90's  style.

  Throughout  the  3  tracks  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  add  more  of  a  melodic  metal  style  to  the  recording  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  the  vocals  also  bring  in  deep  growls  at  times  and  they  close  the  ep with  a  cover  of  Emperor's  "Cosmic  Keys"..

  Formicarius  plays  a  style  of  symphonic  black  metal  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  mid  90's  style  and  also  brings  back  the  aspects  that  made  the  genre  interesting  back  in  those  days,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Formicarius  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Under  Darkness".  8  out  of  10.

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Tengger Cavalry/Nine Treasures/Ego Fall/Mongol Metal/Mongo Metal Records/3 Way Split Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  3  way  split  between  Inner  Mongolia,  China's  Tengger  Cavalry,  Nine  Treasures  and  Ego  Fall  called  "Mongol  Metal  which  was  released  by  a  label  that  also  shares  the  same  name  of  the  album  and  we  will  review  the  songs  from  Ego  Fall  first  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  folk  metal,  melodic  death  metal  and  metalcore.

  A  powerful  sounding  bass  guitar  starts  off  their  first  song  along  with  some  tribal  beats  and  melodic  yet  heavy  riffing  and  the music  also  mixes  in  folk  instruments  that  also  gives  their  song s more  of  an  ethnic  feeling  and  the  vocals  have  some  type  of  shamanistic  style  chanting  and  they  also  bring  in  black  metal  screams  and  some  of  their  songs  mix  in  growls  and  elements  of  melodic  death  metal  and  metalcore  along  with  a  touch  of  electronic  music  and  the y also  add  in  a  small  amount of  guitar  leads, spoken  word  parts  and  female  vocals,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  ethnic  themes  of  their  homeland.

  In  my  opinion  Ego  Fall are  a  very  great  sounding  folk  metal  band  with  elements  of  black,  melodic  death  metal  and  metalcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band  and  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Wind the  Horn"  and  "The  Legend".

  Next  up  is  Tengger  Cavalry  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  folk  and   melodic  death  metal.

  Acoustic  guitars  and  ethnic  instruments  start  off  their  first  song  along  with  some  folk  music  elements  and  heavy  guitars  as  well  as  some  black  metal  screams  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  elements  of  melodic  death  and  modern  metal  at  times  as  well  as  balancing  out  both  the  folk  and  heavy  parts  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody,  talent  and  skill,  the  production  sounds  very professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Tengrism,  Shamanism  and  Mythology.

  In  my  opinion  Tengger  Cavalry  are  a  very  great  sounding  folk  metal  band  with  a  touch  of  black  and  melodic  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "War  Horse"  and  "Legend  of  Horseback".

  Next  up  is  Nine  Treasures  a  band  that  plays  folk  metal.

  Bass  guitars  start  off  the  first  song  along  with  some  drums  and  a  few  seconds  alter  the  music  starts  to  get  heavier  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  and  the  vocals  they  use  are  in  more  of  a  folk  metal  direction  and  they  also  mix  in  acoustic  guitars  and  folk  instruments  in  with  the  heavy  parts,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Mongolian  Folklore.

  In  my  opinion  Nine  Treasures  are  a  very  great  sounding  folk  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Fable  of  Mangas"  and  "Sonsii".

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

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Take Over And Destroy/Vacant Face/Pulverised Records/Comfort Point/2015 CD Review

  Take  Over  And  Destroy  are  a  band  from  Arizona  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  blackened  form  of  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Vacant  Face"  which  will  be  released  in August  as  a  joint  effort  between  Pulverised  Records  and  Comfort  Point.

  Static  and  psychedelic sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars  and  a  few  seconds  alter  melodic  guitar  leads  start  becoming  a  huge  part  of  the  recording  along  with  the  music  getting  heavier  and  adding  in  aggressive  screams  and  growls  and  the  vocals  also  bring  in  elements  of  hardcore  at  times.

  Clean  singing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections of  the recording  and  they  also  mix  the  atmospheric  and  heavy  parts  together  and  at  times  the  music  speeds  up  a  bit  and  also  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some songs  also  bring  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  there  are  also  a  couple  of  tracks  that  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  as  the  album  progresses  more  elements  of  70's  rock  are  added  into  the  music.

  Take  Over  And Destroy  plays  a  musical  style  on  this recording  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  black  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  sludge  and  elements  of  70's  psychedelic  rock  and  horror soundtracks  to  create  some  very original  sounding  music,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover horror,  power  and  chaos  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Take  Over  And  Destroy  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black  and  sludge  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Summer  Isle"  "Terminal  Burrowing"  "Where  Seasons  Lay"  and  "Attrition".  8  out  of  10.  

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As Light Dies Interview

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

Many things. This EP was recorded back in 2006 two months after we recorded our first album “A step through the reflection”. The band released 2 albums from then till now. The last one is “TLA vol.1”.

2.You have a new ep coming out at the end of June, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

I assume that you consider that we have recorded this stuff recently, but GEA is old stuff. The other track is one song included in the tribute to Enslaved in which we participate in 2012. Many things changed because the band was another people.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?

This lyrical concept was about the negative influence of mankind over the nature in terms of contamination and in terms of spirituality.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'As Light Dies'?

The meaning is about that all the magic use to happen when the light starts to fade away.

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?

It is really difficult to choose our best show. All the members have different opinions about it. Some shows were special because we played fine, others because the energy of the public, another ones because we did had a good time in the travel, or maybe because we played in a very special show. Our performances are really distant and cold. We use video projections to introduce the song, and also we have some other macabre and highly extreme projections while we are playing the songs.

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

We decided to stop playing because we didn’t have good proposals.

7.On the new ep you had done an Enslaved cover, what was the decision behind doing your own version of one of their songs?

Because Pictonian records offered us to participate in the tribute “Ond: A tribute” released back in 2012. We covered the song we wanted to do.

8.The ep is going to be released on Brutal Arratia Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Well, it is a recently created label which makes small editions of weird unreleased stuff. GEA EP was never released in 2006, so they offered us to release it now in 2015.They are really young people, they are small yet but they work fine.

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

The reviews are good, but we didn’t noticed any change to our band during these two last years of releases. Maybe we are in the surfeit era, then it is really difficult to stand out over the others.

10.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

Yes. I (Oscar)’m involved in Garth Arum, Aegri Somnia, Alien Syndrome 777 and other stuff.
Strudle and Maqueda are involved in classic music performance, and Pablo is playing in a surf rock band named Surflamingo.

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

I don’t really want to know. Maybe my vision is not really optimistic.

12.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?

Well, we always like the weird and dark stuff of all ages. Starting with Gesualdo, having in the way Mike Oldfield, and finishing in the most experimental music inside and outside of metal nowadays.

13.What are some of your non-musical interests?

We all really like cinema. Anyone has different opinions about it. Some we like more the auteur cinema, and others gore, B movies and similar. Also I am on writing and Strudle is on painting.

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
We want to thank you very much for this interview. If anybody is interested in our music please check http://aslightdies.bandcamp.com