Stortregn/Singularity/Non Serviam Records/2016 CD Review

  Stortregn  are  a  band  from  Switzerland  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Singularity"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Non  Serviam  Records.

  Classical  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  leads  to  drums  and  a  heavier  musical  sound  being  added  onto  the  recording  and  the riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  when  the  music  speeds  up a   great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Vocals  bring  in  a  mixture  of  both  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  deep  death  metal  growls  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  songs  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  90's  Swedish  influences  along  with  the  faster  riffing  also  utilizing  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking.

  And  as  the  album  progresses  classical  guitars  also  make  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  whispers  while  some  riffs  also  incorporate  elements  of  thrash  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  spoken  word  parts  and  they  also  bring  in  an  instrumental  acoustic  track  before  closing  the  album  with  a  heavier  song.

  Stortregn plays  a  style  of  melodic  black  metal  that  has  its  roots  in  the  90's  Swedish  style  while  also  mixing  in  a  bit  of  the  modern  blackened  death  metal  sound  to create a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  sadness  and  desolation  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Stortregn  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Acosmic  Ascendant"  "Omega  Rising"  "Nightside  Of  Eden"  and  "Never  Ending  Singularity".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/user/Stortregn

 

Sarcoptes/Songs And Dances Of Death/Cimmerian Shade Recordings/2016 CD Review

  Sarcoptes  are  a  band  from  California  that  plays  a  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  with  elements  of  thrash  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Songs  And  Dances  of  Death"  which  will  be  released  on  April  22nd  by  Cimmerian  Shade  Recordings.

  A  very  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  riffing  and  blast  beats  which  also  leads  up  to  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  symphonic  elements  being  added  onto  the  recording  and  you  can  also  hear  a  lot  of  thrash  elements  in  the  bands  musical  and  all  of  the  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Blast  beats  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  during  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  mostly  in  a  melodic  fashion  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  fast  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  they  also  bring  in  a  touch of  melodic  death  metal.

  Sarcoptes  plays   a  musical  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  a  mid  90's  style  of  symphonic  black  metal  which  they also  mix  in  with  elements  of  melodic  death  metal  and  thrash  to  create  a  style  of their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sarcoptes  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  black  metal  band  with  elements  of  thrash  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  duo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Sexton's  Spade"  and  "Within  the  Labyrinths  Mind".  8  out  of  10.

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Winterhorde/Maestro/ViciSolum Productions/2016 CD Review

  Winterhorde  are  a  band  from  Israel  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  progressive  form  of  black  metal  with  a  touch  of  classical  music  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Maestro"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  VicSolum  Productions.

  Night  time  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  pianos  in  the  background  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  classical  musical  direction  as  well  as  addign  in  violins  and  symphonic  elements  and  they  also  mix  in  witht he  heavier  sound  and w hen the  music  speeds  up a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Melodic  guitar  leads  can  also  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  while  the  vocals  start  out  with  more  of  a  melodic  approach  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  awhile  grim  black  metal screams  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  start  becoming  a  very  huge  part  of  the   recording  and  one  track  also  brings  in a  brief  use  of  saxophones.

   The  songs  also  bring  in a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  as  the  album  progresses  operatic  female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  there  is  also a   brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  elements  of  Asian  music  while  some  tracks  also  bring  in  classical  guitars  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  fast  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking.

  Winterhorde  creates  a  musical  style  that  takes  a  very  melodic  and  progressive  form  of  blackened  death  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  classical  and  avant  garde  music  to  create  a  musical  style  of t heir  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  winter,  forests,  cold  and  darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Winterhorde  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  progressive  and  melodic  black/death  metal  with  a  touch  of  classical  and  avant  garde  music  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  'Antipath"  "Chronic  Death"  "Maestro"  and  "Dancing  In Flames".  8/3  out  of  10.

http://www.winterhorde.net/

www.facebook.com/winterhorde

twitter.com/winterhorde

 

Vetten Aparat/Synti Talven Kyynelista/Inverse Records/2016 Full Length Review

  Vetten  Aparat  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  has  been featured  before  in  this  zine  plays  a  fantasy  form  of  folk/pagan  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2016  album  "Synti  Talven  Kyynelista"  which  was  released  by  Inverse  Records.

  Spoken  word  parts start  off  the  album  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars  and  synths  a  feel  seconds  later  that  also  takes  the  recording  more  more  of  a  folk  music  direction  while  the  chants  give  the  songs  more  of  a  fantasy  movie  feeling  which  also  leads  up  to  a  heavier musical  direction which  they  mix  in  with  the  folk  elements.

  Blast  beats  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  during  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  and  the  vocals  start  out  by  using  death  metal  growls  and  symphonic  elements  can  also  be  heard  in  the  music  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  clean  signing  pagan  vocals  are  also  used  a  lot  on  the  tracks  and  the  recording  also  brings  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  all of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  black  metal  screams  are  also  used  at  times.

  Spoken  words  also  return  at  times  and  the  folk  elements  also  gives the  songs  more  of  a  medieval  feeling  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  while  elements  of  thrash  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  riffing  and  they  also  bring  in  a  an  instrumental  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction  on  the  following  tracks  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  bring  in  even  more  of  a  melodic  style  to  the  recording  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  male  and  female choir  vocals.

  Vetten  Aparat  plays  a  style  of  pagan/folk  metal  on  this  recording  that  is  very  epic  and  melodic  while  also  mixing  in  the  heaviness  of  black  and  death  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  have  a  concept  that  deal  with  fantasy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Veten  Aparat  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  folk/pagan  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Exile"  "Winters  Darkness"  "Swords  Dance"  and  "Ice  made  new  Kingdom".  8  out  of  10.    

https://vettenaparat.bandcamp.com/

https://twitter.com/VettenAparat 

https://www.facebook.com/vettenaparat

https://www.youtube.com/user/VettenAparat/

...From The Deep/The Absurd Horror/2015 EP Review

  ...From  The  Deep  are  a  band  from  Ottawa,  Canada  that  plays  a  melodic  and  technical  mixture  of  black,  death  and  groove  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015  ep  "The  Absurd  Horror".

  Clean  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  ep  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  to  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction  that  introduces  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  onto  the  recording  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  more  of  a  modern  groove  metla  direction  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  music  at  times  can  also  be  very  progressive  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  also  getting  more technical  as  the  ep  progresses  and  classical  guitars  are  also  utilized  briefly.

  ...From  The  Deep  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  modern  groove  metal,  progressive  and  technical  death  metal  and  mixes  it  with  melodic  black  metal  to  create  a  musical  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  ...From  the  Deeps are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and technical  mixture  of  black,  death  and groove  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Unspeakable"  and  'We  Will  All  be  trees".  8  out  of  10  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO-ry3_WrE8  

     

Enthean Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
We're actively training our new bassist and preparing for our tour this year! Personally, we've all got bullshit jobs. We only have jobs to put money towards the band! Well, we like to eat occasionally.

2.In May 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?
The sound is a bit more mature and WAY more professional! We had Mr. Jamie King master the album and he did a killer job! The last thing we released was our demo and Brian mix and mastered it... Neither of us knew how to do much of anything concerning any of it.

3.This is the first release to come out in 3 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?
In 2013, I had a bad shoulder injury which prevented me from playing guitar or using my left arm in any way... so 2013 and into 2014 sucked a fat hogs dick. Then, in March and April of 2014, we played a TON of shows and went on a tour around the southeast and east coast of the US. We had a great reception and people dug the shit out of our sound! Our old bassist quit in mid-2015 and we've been looking since then. I do believe we've found the right guy, though.

4.Your lyrics cover some mythological topics, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this subject?
I'm interested in mythology altogether! Not just the stories but how they come to be. So, 'Priests of Annihilation' has a few songs based on the myth of the Christian story (Tones of Desecration, Before You, I Am), and the rest of the songs are mythologized events that have happened in my life except 'Ekpyrosis' which is a pretty cool scientific theory dealing with the cyclic birth/death of the universe.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Enthean'?
"Enthean" means "Divinely inspired". We knew right away that "Enthean" was going to be the band name! We wanted people to be curious as to which deity divinely inspired us... As far as I'm concerned, it's all of them since mythology is a key aspect of our writing.

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?
There have been quite a few at the world famous Ground Zero in Spartanubrg, SC! A few were in Asheville, NC at the Odditorium. One in Astoria, NY and a very memorable but quick one at The West Texas DeathFest put on by one of the guys in Abolishment of Flesh from Texas. I'd describe our stage show as manic... Both Brian and I switch off on vocal duties and leads and sometimes it happens at the same time, so... yeah, manic.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?
We plan to tour in late Summer of this year, so be on the lookout!

8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
We have had a great deal of interest from smaller labels but most of them want physical copies of the new CD before any one decides. We've gotten a few offers, but we're still looking for a home!

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?
We've had a ton of positive reactions to our music worldwide. A ton of people dig us in Russia, parts of Europe, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. I've sent CD's to fans in all these parts of the world. We've had a few negative reactions... One of them is that we're not "true" black metal, which ya know what? Fuck it. Who gives a shit? We play what we want and whatever comes out is what it's gonna be. We're not trying to please any elitists. I've had one other experience in which people didn't care for us and it was from a guy in a doom band.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Again, we play whatever comes out... With that said, we have some new stuff written that sounds evil as fuck! We also have some very proggy, interesting music we're writing. So, we're still gonna be Enthean, but it's gonna be a different flavor.

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?
Emperor, Death, Pantera, Immortal, Origin, Nile, Cannibal Corpse, AngelCorpse, Krisiun, Nile, Deicide, The Beatles, The Allman Brothers, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Dimmu Borgir, Bach, Beethoven, Segovia, Tarrega... too many to list! Those have all influenced our music... I'm personally listening to Motorhead and Pink Floyd.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
I really like to read. Mythology, History, and science articles are usually my go to reads. I do have quite a few books I'm trying to get through: '11/22/63' by Stephen King and 'Deviant' by Harold Schechter (a book about Ed Gein). I also enjoy cooking a great deal. Mostly Indian food and desserts...

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
I want everyone to check us out at all of our social media outlets and give us a like, love, a tweet, a play, a fuck off, or whatever is going on at any particular site at the time! Do it! Also, thanks to you guys for the interview!

http://enthean.bandcamp.com/album/priests-of-annihilation

Facebook.com/Enthean
Twitter.com/EntheanMetal
Reverbnation.com/Enthean
Soundcloud.com/Enthean

Fister/TEETH/Broken Limbs/2016 Split EP Review

 This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  Missouri's  Fister  and  California's  TEETH  which  will  be  released  in April  by  Broken  Limbs  and  we  will  start  off  the  ep  with  Fister  a  band  that plays  a  blackened  mixture  sludge,  doom,  stoner  and  death  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  distorted  sound  before  going  into  a  heavier  sludge/doom  metal  direction  that  also  uses  a  great mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  track  being  long  and  epic  in  length  and  some  riffs  also  use  a  small  amount  of  melody  along  with  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  fashion,  the  production  on  their  side  of  the  recording  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dying  themes..

  In  my  opinion  Fister  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge,  doom  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.

 Next  up  is  TEETH  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge,  doom  and  death metal.

  Their  side  of the split  starts  out  with  a  very  heavy  sound  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  blast  beats  a  few  seconds  later  while  the slower  riffs  are  more  influenced  by  sludge  and  doom  metal  along  with  a  small  amount  of  melody and  the  songs  also  bring in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  their  side  of  the  recording,  the  production  sounds  very professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Teeth  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge,  doom  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out t his  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "To  Lay  Upon  Blistered Torns".

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

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