Deathcode Society 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?
Arnhwald : Nothing really original or outstanding I fear. We've given our first live performance some weeks ago, we are working on the promotion of our debut, and writing songs for the next album.

2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
This album is the result of years of hard work. Our music is extreme in every meaning of the terms, fast, powerful, but also richly harmonized, with long and developed melodies, choral sections, counterpoint-written guitar riffs, etc. Many things happen at the same time. Imagine the wedding ceremony of Emperor and Strapping Young Lad in a nuclear powerplant, with a symphonic orchestra playing the march. Here is what we tried to achieve : more brutal, more intense, uncompromising, and smarter. Our music offers a new level of sophistication without being boring or too technical. Too many extreme metal bands just use the same chord progressions, and their music remind me a lot of Dany Elfman scores played with electric guitars and blast-beats. We are not influenced at all by Hoolywood scoring habits


3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
It deals with evil, its promises, its ruses, its seductions.


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

First, it's an hexasyllab, it sounds with solemnity, like our music. Then, it's both "straight in your face" and enigmatic. What does it mean precisely ? I don't know, maybe that we are just five guys trying to explore the darkest and deepest mysteries through music.

5.The music is heavily rooted in the symphonic black metal style, a few years ago the elitists attacked the genre and these days are now attacking post black metal instead, do you feel this genre will one day be as big as it was 10 or more years ago?
I don't know if it even got really big one day. Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir have become big, but the remaining rest of the herd came back to nothing, or almost. To be honest, we don't care about "symphonic black metal". A couple of bands we like are labelled this way, or were, for sure, but the "symphonic" element never was the crucial factor. Were called "symphonic" every single band using cheesy synths layers to spice up basic guitar riffs. What makes a genre big or cool is not the genre itself, but the quality of the bands.
Our music is heavily rooted in the scandinavian black metal genre, it's true, but the symphonic element is not the center of our music, it is used as an arrangement. In bands like Septic Flesh or Dimmu Borgir, or even Carach Angren, the music is built around the orchestra. All our songs are built upon the guitars and the drums. The orchestra comes when everything, or almost everything, has been written. There is one exception I think, the song "NooS", in which I wrote a lot of symphonic and choral stuff before the guitars. I really suggest people to visit our webpage and to download the scores of our songs, they're available for free. They will see that the guitars and bass parts are the MAIN elements of our music.

6.How would you describe your stage performance?
Solemn and petrifying. At last this is what we wish.

7.Are you working on getting a tour for the new album?
We are working on getting a couple of good partnerships (bookers for example) to be able to play under the best conditions. Little by little, opportunities happen. We have a couple of gigs to perform this year. We also hope to play at several summer festivals.

8.The album was released on Osmose Productions, can you tell us a little bit more about the contract you have signed the label?
It's a basic licence contracr. Osmose productions is an established label and we like their attitude. We are free to do whatever we want. For now, the relationship is good.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of symphonic black metal?
The reactions are good, some of them are really amazing. We clearly saw that the best reviews were written by people who took the time to listen with attention. Ignorance is something you can't hide.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
I'm letting the music flow. But we will forge ahead. We are already working on the next album. We've found the title, the concept, everything - but the music ahahah.

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?

Our roots are to be found in metal and late romantic/expressionnist orchestral or vocal music. Our influences are easy to guess, we talked about scandinavian black metal, Emperor, Kvist, Dissection immediately come to mind, among others, Abigor, Anorexia Nervosa (which are not scandinavian). We also could mention the good old classic bands from the 80s, we owe them much ! Today, I still listen to metal and I spend long hours trying to discover new bands - I'm a passionate. A couple of names can be dropped : Xanthochroid, Der Weg Einer Freiheit, Lychgate, Aenaon, Immanifest, Glaciation, Nordjevel ... I also listen to a lot of "classical" music. The old austrian master Anton Bruckner fascinates me.


12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Music is the center of my life, and all the things I enjoy tend to be connected with it.


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

Thank you for your review and interview. Hope you'll enjoy "Eschatonizer" for a long, long time.

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A Thousand Sufferings/Burden/Satanath Records/2015 CD Review

  A  Thousand  Sufferings  are  a  band  from  Belgium  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  doom,  stoner  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Burden"  which  was  released  by  Satanath  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  atmospheric  sounding  drone  starts  off  the  album   along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  and  a  touch  of  ambient  and  on  the  second  track  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavier  stoner/sludge  metal  direction  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  making  their  presence  on  the  recording.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  dark  sounding  melodies  can  also  be  heard  at  times  in  both  the  riffs  and  guitar  leads  and  the  music  also  adds  in  a  touch  of  modern  black  metal  in  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  slow  yet  heavy  musical  direction  that  is  also  very  heavily  influenced  by  doom  metal  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to them  and  a  couple  of  track  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing  and  spoken  words  and  some  of  the  leads  also  bring  in  post  metal  elements  and  the  last  song  also  adds  in  a  few  seconds  of  blast  beats.

  A  Thousand  Sufferings  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  vocals  of  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with  sludge,  stoner  and  doom  metal  to  create  a sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes  along with  all  of  the  songs  adding  in  names  of  colors.

  In  my  opinion  A  Thousand  Sufferings  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  doom  and stoner  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band,  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Red  Is  Redemption  (Bloodletting)"  and  "Blue  Is...(Remembering  Treasures)".  8  out  of  10.

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Deathcode Society/Eschatonizer/Osmore Productions/2015 CD Review

  Deathcode  Society  are  a  band from  France  that  plays a  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album "Eschatonizer"  which  was  released  by Osmose  Productions.

  Symphonic  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  and  start  mixing  in  with  a  heavier  sound  a  few  seconds  later  and  you  can  also  hear  blast  beats  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  music  and  the  guitars  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  both  the  riffs  and  solos  and  the  vocals  are  in  a  more  high  pitched  black  metal  direction.

 Clean  singing  male  and  female  vocals  can  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  they also  give  the  music  more  of  an  operatic  felling  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  one  song  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  a  couple  of  tracks  also  add  in  a  few  seconds  of  growls  and  they  close  the  album  with  covers  of  Judas  Priest's  "Metal  Meltdown"  and  "Emperor's  "With  Strength  I  Burn".

  Deathcode  Society  plays  a  style  of black  metal  that  is  very  symphonic  and  heavily  rooted  in  the  mid  90's  while  still  sounding  very  modern,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Deathcode  Society  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Mark  Of  Cain"  "Seraphic  Requiem"  and  "With  Strength  I  Burn".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdXlNgHyVgks0Sy8ekTwBAw

Deathronic/Duality Chaos/Mighty Music/2013 EP Review

  Deathronic  are  a  solo  project  from France  that  plays  a  mixture  of  symphonic  black,  melodic  death  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2013  ep  "Duality  Chaos"  which  was  released  by  Mighty  Music.

  Symphonic  keyboards  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  male  and  female  operatic  choirs and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  for  more  of  a  heavy  sound  along  with  some  melodic guitar  leads  and  riffs  while  also  keeping  the  symphonic  elements  as  well  as  well  as  adding  in  blackened  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  you  can  also  hear  a  lot  of  traditional  metal  elements  in  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  and  the  music also  brings  in  a  touch  of  industrial  at  times  and  they  also  mix  in  oriental  folk  music  influences  at  times  while  some  of  the  slow  yet  heavy  riffs  are  very  heavily influenced  by  early  90's  doom/death  metal  and  there  are  also  a  few  instrumental  tracks.

  Deathronic  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  symphonic  side  of  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with  melodic  death,  goth,  doom  metal,  and  a  touch  of  electronic  and  oriental  music  to  create  a  musical  style  of  his  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  human  violence  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Deathronic  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  symphonic  black,  melodic  death  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Bloody  Lust"  and  "Anno  1423".  8  out  of  10.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0alyn4TgWw
 

Dead To A Dying World/Litany/Tofu Carnage/Gilead Media/Alerta Antifascista/2015 CD Review

  Dead  To  A  Dying  World  are  a  band  from  Texas  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge,  doom,  crust  and  post  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Litany"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Tofu  Carnage,  Gilead  Media,  and  Alerta  Antifascista.

  Atmospheric  sounding  violins  start  off  the  album  and  after  a  few  seconds  the  music  goes  into  a  very  fast  black  metal  direction  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  awhile  high  pitched  screams  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  the  music  slows  down  a  lot  of  doom  metal  elements  can  be  heard  and  they  also  bring  in  clean  singing  vocals  at  times  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  clean  guitars  are  utilized  they  give  the  music  a  very  progressive  feeling.

  Female  vocals  are  brought  into  the  music  at  times  and  the  growls  also  add  a  touch  of  crust  and  death  metal  to  the  bands  musical  style  and  a  variety  of  many  different  string  instruments  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  as  the  album  progresses more elements  of  sludge  and  post  rock  are  added  into  the  music  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Dead  To  A  Dying  World  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black  metal,  sludge,  doom,  crust  and  post  rock  and  mixes  it  in  with  stringed  instruments  to  create  an  original  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  epic  scenes  of  pain  and  death.

  In  my  opinion  Dead  To  A  Dying  World  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge,  doom, crust,  and  post  rock  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Hunt  Eternal"  and  "Narcissus".  8  out  of  10.    

http://www.deadtoadyingworld.com

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Wolfhorde Interview

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



Wolfhorde is a Folk Metal band from Finland with a couple of self-released EP’s and a new upcoming debut album Towards The Gates of North. Mostly our music is combination of acoustic and electric instruments with intention to create atmospheric, but heavy soundscapes based on mythological and symbolic themes.



2.In 2016 you have a new album coming out, 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?



As a new element on the debut album we have introduced quite massive orchestras, which are not dominative in the sound, but rather in the background. Also the music does not solely rely on any particular instrument. It is more a combination of a lot of different sounds forming a huge stage of sound. As always, we wanted to have quite an organic sound to the album and I think we succeeded in this very well. Maybe it doesn’t sound as heavy and processed as modern metal nowadays, but atleast it sounds real. Also we are proud of the production on this one. None of the instruments were recorded in a real recording studio. Everything is still self-produced, but only better in every possible way.



3.This is going to be the first release in 4 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?



We have been making this debut album during many years. Personally I (Werihukka) started doing the demos of these songs already in 2012. A lot of time went into making orchestral arrangements for these songs. Then we wanted to rehearse every song at the rehearsals together. The evolution of these songs at the rehearsing stage was the most important part of the process. In every occasion, we tried different things, drum arrangements, improved the groove and feel of the songs. This is important because the music only comes alive after it is actually played by a band and not intented to be played by drum machines and so on.



Also a lot of time went with completely other things during the making of this album. Unfortunately not all the time can be spend to making music.



4.Your lyrics cover a lot of Pagan topics, can you tell us a little bitmore about your interest in Paganism?



Norse mythology has been interesting subject for a long time for many of us in the band and also common travels to go hiking in the mountains of Norway brings closer to these landscapes. Pagan subjects are mostly sources of inspiration, not so much to do with religion. Imagination is a powerful tool of making art, but no one should base their believes in imaginery things.



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



Wolfhorde as a name comes from a long forgotten song of ours. After deciding the name, the style of music has become something more suited to this name. Wolves have always been one of many powerful sources of inspiration. They are strong and independent animals, yet able to form even stronger one as a united pack. That is what the band is all about as well.



6.Has the band done any live shows yet or is this strictly a studio project?



So far no live shows. We have only done this as a studio project, but most certainly it would be nice to perform these songs live in the future.



7.Can you tell us a little bit more about the deal you have signed with Inverse Records?



We were already making this album and Inverse contacted us to make deal with them about the release, distribution and promotion of this album. We were very pleased about their offer and we still are.



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



The feedback has been surprisingly positive all the time. Even the earliest releases received very good impressions a long time ago. I think our music has changed a little bit since those times, but the band is definitely still the same.



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



Nothing is certain, but personally I would like to experiment with more simplistic approach next time and concentrate more on band and sit less at the computer doing orchestras and sorts of things. Something heavier and darker will definitely be on the way at sometime in the future.



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?



There are too many bands to mention, but some of the bands that we would consider influential are Moonsorrow, Finntroll, Eluveitie, Ensiferum, Wintersun, Amorphis, Kiuas, Korpiklaani and so on. Not all the influence comes from folk metal or metal bands at all. And of course we just try to sound like Wolfhorde.



We listen to all good music without restrictions.



11.What are some of your non musical interests?



Mythology and nature.



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



Hopefully you will like our new album coming in 22nd of January 2016.  Prepare yourselves for journey Towards The Gates of North.


Best regards,

- Werihukka

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Abaton/We Are Certainly Not Made Of Flesh/DrownWithin Records/Unquiet Records/Martire/2015 CD Review

 Abaton  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  post  metal,  doom  and  sludge  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "We  Are  Certainly Not  Made  Of  Flesh"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Drown  Within  Records,  Unquiet Records,  and  Martire.

  A  very  dark  and  melodic  musical  sound  starts  off  the  album  which  also  leads  up  to  a  heavier  sludge/post  metal  direction  along  with  some high  pitched  screams  that  are  influenced  by  black  metal  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  you  can  also  hear  a  lot  of  melody  in  the  solos  and  leads.

  At  times  the  music  gets  very  atmospheric  and  the  slower  riffs  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  doom  metal  elements  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  playing  and  influences  of  hardcore  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  some  songs  also  mix  in  a  small  amount  of  death  metal  growls  and  spoken  word parts  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  there  are  also  a  few  tracks  that are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  there  is  alos one  song  that  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  melodic  vocals.

  Abaton  takers  the  black  metal,  doom  and  sludge  mixture  of  previous  recordings  and  also  mixes  in  more  melody,  post metal  and  hardcore  influences  to  expand their  musical  style  out  a  bit  more,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  yet  powerful  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Abaton  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black  metal,  sludge,  doom  and  post  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ananta"  "Nadi"  and  "Echo".  8  out  of  10.

https://drownwithinrecords.bandcamp.com/album/we-are-certainly-not-made-of-flesh