Helioss/Antumbra/Apathia Records/2017 CD Review

  Helioss  are  a  band  form  France  that  plays  a  symphonic  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Antumbra"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Apathia  Records.

  Tragic  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  and  after  a  minute  the  music  goes  into  a  very  fast  and  heavy  musical  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  while  the  vocals  bring  in  a  mixture  of  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  along  with  the  riffs  also  using  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Symphonic  and  heavy  parts  mix  together  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  there  is also  a  brief  use  of  classical  guitars  on  some  of  the  tracks  and  they  also  bring  in  a  brief  instrumental  before  returning  back  to  vocals  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a very powerful  sound  to  them  while  spoken  word  samples  and  nature  sounds  are  also  used  briefly  and  a  few  of  the  songs  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Helioss  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  a  symphonic  and  melodic  style  of  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the lyrics  cover  light,  religion,  death  and  where  men  belongs  in  this  world  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Helioss  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  and  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  "The  World  is  Ours"  "Forsaken"  "Screaming  In  Silence"  and  "The  Sun  Is  Gone".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU2YsJ3D4xo

Katharos Interview

Katharos Interview

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

I would describe our music as symphonic black metal, influenced by classical music and death metal. What we try to accomplish is, without trying to be pretentious, a certain complexity to our songs, simply because we find it stimulating. Therefore I would say that our songs could be quite rewarding to be listened to several times. At every moment in the songs, there are several layers of guitars and synths.

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

On Exuvian Heraldry we promoted a more clean and epic sound, rather than the typical black metal rawness. With so much going on in the songs, with several layers of different guitar riffs/leads and synths, the soundscape is more emphasized on mid and treble, rather than bass.

3.This is your first release since 2007, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?

Rehearsing, writing and recording is, as all who ever played in a band knows, very time– and energy consuming. Hence, a break was needed. A break that lasted for several years, but ended as we felt that the time and motivation had come back. We have several uncompleted songs and have started to write new ones. So expect the next release not to take as long as Exuvian Heraldry.

4.Your lyrics cover Gnosticism, Anti Christian and Phenomenology themes. can you tell us a little bit more about your intrest in those topics?

Religion in general, and Gnosticism in particular, was one of my major interest when writing the lyrics for Exuvian Heraldry. It goes without saying that as fans of death- and black metal, we are interested in understanding subjects that are beyond conventions and norms, and especially views that are contrarian or anti those. The contrarian standing-point of Gnosticism is quite fascinating and inspiring, which made it easy to apply as setting for the album lyrics. On Exuvian Heraldry the lyrics that touches upon themes of phenomenology or anti-christianity trickled down from the overarching gnostic theme.

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

The name also relates to Gnosticism, as Katharos was the denomination the Cathars applied to their community. The Cathars were a loosely organized, unhierarchical religious movement in midieval southern Europe which by the Catholic church was branded as heretic. As a result its members were persecuted and later massacred. The name is actually the greek word for pure or clean; Katharos. An interesting fact is that the Catholic church continued to call enemies of the catholic church, in general, Cathars. Today, in several languages, the word for heretic directly stems from this use of Cathars, that is; people who are against the church. Even so in the Swedish language.


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?

Katharos has yet not performed live, even though all of us frequently performed live with our other bands.

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

We are getting offers, and are preparing to be able to play live after the album has been released on vinyl.

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

It has been really great. I am especially humbled by a small group of people who, since our demo (‘De Cinere’ in 2007) have kept writing to us, wondering about when new material would be released.

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

Yes, ‘Repuked’ and ‘Negative Self’ are two metal outfits that our members are active in.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
   
In general we will probably maintain several elements from Exuvian Heraldry, while some of the new material, however, will have a slower tempo. The guitars will probably fill a bigger space in the soundscape, while the synth arrangements might become more symphonic. I guess ‘epic and brutal’ is the mindset!

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 main inspiration from the symphonic black metal genre is definitely Emperor, particularly in how you combine guitar leads with synths. To me, Dimmu Borgir and Anorexia Nervosa are also two major sources of inspiration.

Today I would say we consume all kinds of music, including the bands mentioned above. Within the genre, I currently listen to Obsequiae and Deathspell Omega.
  

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

Just a big ‘thank you’ to all those who enjoy and spread our music!

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Aegri Somnia/Ad Augusta per Augusta/Symbol Of Domination Productions/United By Chaos/2017 CD Review

  Aegri  Somnia are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a mixture  of  folk,  avant  garde,  electronic,  and  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Ad  Augusta  Per  Augusta"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Symbol  Of  Domination  Productions  and  United  by  Chaos.

  Folk  instruments  and  operatic  female vocals  start  off  the  album  and  after  awhile  synths  along  with  elements  of  electronic  music  are  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  some  heavier  and  melodic  guitar  riffs  and  whispers  are  also  utilized  at  times  and  they  also mix  in  tribal  and  ritualistic  elements  in  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs.

  A  small  amount  of  percussion's  can  be  heard  at  times  along  with  some  avant  garde  elements  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  an d they  also  add  a  heavy  black  metal  influence  onto  the  recording  and  the  music  also  adds  in  touches  of  Spanish  and  Celtic  pagan  folk  music  and  nature  sounds  are  also  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  melodic  guitar  leads  are  also  used  briefly.

  Aegri  Somnia  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  folk,  electronic  music,  avant  garde  and  black  metla  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Spanish  and  cover  Paganism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Aegri  Somnia  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  folk,  avant  garde,  electronic,  and  black  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Seran"  "La  Deshorna"  "Ronda  De  Mayo"  and  "Veneno".  8  out  of  10. 

https://aegrisomniafolk.bandcamp.com

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

Black Urn/Moros/2017 Split Album Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  Pennsylvania's  Black  Urn  and  Moros  which  will  be  self  released  on  February  27th  in  2017  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Black  urn  a  band  that  plays  a  blackened  form  of  sludge  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  acoustic  guitar  playing  along  with  some  stringed  instruments  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  awhile  the  music  goes  into  a  heavier  direction  along  with  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  and  the  slow  riffing  is  heavily  influenced  by  sludge  and  doom  metal.

  Some  of  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of dark  sounding  melodies  and  their  track  is  over  7  minutes  in  length  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  their  side  of  the  split,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  spirituality  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Black  Urn  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  sludge  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out t heir  side  of  the  split.

  Next  up  is Moros  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom  and  sludge  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  along  with  some  distorted  reverb  that  also  leads  up  to  a  heavier  and  melodic  direction  as  well  as  adding  high  pitched  sludge  style  screams  onto  the  recording  along  with  the  riffs adding  in  the  heaviness  of  doom  metal  and  all  3  of  their  tracks  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction  while  the  second  song  adds  in  a  small  amount  of  death  metal  growls,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Moros  are  a  very great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Vortexwound".

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

https://moros-666.bandcamp.com/album/moros-black-urn-split-2

Nox Vorago/Al Chem/2017 Full Length Review

  Nox  Vorago  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  album  "Al  Chem".

A  very  symphonic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  heavy  riffs  being  mixed  in  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  are  added  on  the  recording  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  a  decent  amount  of  melody  can  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  black  metal  screams  are  added  into  some  parts  of  the  songs.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced,  and  fast  parts and  some  of the  faster  riffing  also  brings  in a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  when  guitar  leads  are  finally  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  distorted  yet  melodic  fashion  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  one  track  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  and  all  of  the  musical instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to them.

  Nox  Vorago  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  symphonic  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  occultism,  mysticism,  rites,  history  and  legends  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Nox  Vorago  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  symphonic  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Elenu  Tiamtatu"  "The  Hissing  Sound  Of  Ouroboros"  and  "At  The  Feet  Of  Ereshkigal".  8  out  of  10.

NOX VORAGO: http://www.noxvorago.com 
| http://www.facebook.com/noxvorago

Noctiferia 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?

Igor Nardin

We just started to promote and book shows for Transnatura. Album is about to be released on 3th of march  2017 for a world wide territory via Plastichead distribution. On 26th of march we will release limited edition Transnatura LP with some unreleased material and perform live in full lineup in Ljubljana National Theatre. Beside that we are currently working on what is to be our next metal album. It is going to be kind of homage to a certain Slovenian artist but can't say much more at this point, it would ruin the surprise.



2.In December you had released a new album, 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?

Igor Nardin

Transnatura was released for Slovenian territory on 2nd of december, and is our first acoustic full length album. The fact that is acoustic album is the biggest difference. Can't really describe whole album with few words, cause it is so diverse. With our metal albums we do all the things pretty much by the book and in a way you know what to expect from typical Noc album. But here we did not mind any rules. There are gypsy jazz, balkan, mehico, etno etc parts or even entire songs and a whole bunch of weird instruments. The rules and expectations ware put aside. The fact that in the beginning we were not thinking about an album but merely of single radio show also effected outcome. There are 13 guest musicians on album. There are no samples no digital keyboards all instruments were recorded live, all the partitures and arrangements were done by our keyboard player Dame. It was so far biggest and hardest album to record and mix but hormonically and emotionally wise best so far. It is a journey, a soundtrack.



3.You have experimented a lot with your music over the years, can you tell us a little bit more about the bands musical sound has evolved over the years?

Igor Nardin

We are type of the band that can't repeat it self over and over  again. Can't really say if that's good for fan base or business but anyhow trough years we found our base, people that feel and like the idea of change, follow us and enjoy the unexpected. It was always atmosphere, the one thing, the most important to us in music. If trying to fit in genre boxes then Noctiferia was originally Black/Death metal band in late 90's. Later on with »Slovenska Morbida« we evolved into Industrial death metal and i think we're still there somewhere. With exception of last album that cant be easily categorixed.



4.The new album was unplugged, what was the decision behind releasing an acoustic album instead of a heavier recording?

Igor Nardin

It all started with invitation from Jure Longika's »Izštekani« radio show on Slovenian national radio. Show hosted all major slovenian bands in unplugged version trough the period of last 20 years or so. It was challenge situation, to do something new and weird, we also talked before about going unplugged but it was never right moment. At first it wasn't meant to be an album, but over a time ideas were pouring in and we had to record it. 



5.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored over the years with your recordings?

Uros Lipovec

We write about themes dealing with modern society and spirituality. Lyrics are mostly critical as a result of the world in which we are living. On the other hand with spiritual messages we are trying to show a positive aspect of this experience we call life.



6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Noctiferia'?

Uros Lipovec

Name basically means eternal night or bringer of the night. We were 16 at the time we chose the name and although we would probably pick a different name today it still represent the atmosphere of the music we create.



7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Uros Lipovec

Some of the best shows were probably in Spain when we were supporting In Flames on european tour, Midi festival in China was beyond crazy and also performing at Wacken was special experience... Our shows are dark, energetic with lots of atmosphere and anger!



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

Uros Lipovec

We are planning to return to China in May this year. More shows will follow.



9.The new album was released on 'Nika Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Uros Lipovec

It is basically the biggest slovenian independent label and Warner Music records representative with long tradition in business. They made our album also available in Europe through Plastic Head and Code 7 distributions.



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

Uros Lipovec

Wherever we played so far we were mostly really well accepted and pleasantly surprised by the reactions of people, specially in China as it is on the other side of the world and was complete mystery to us. We would like to be more on the road as touring is the most efficient way of promotion this days, unfortunately it's not cheap.



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

Igor Nardin

Giani and Dame have few jam bands but nothing serious for now. Dame is studying composition on Academy of Music so he's active in that field to.



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

Igor Nardin

 We'll go on do few more albums and try to be creative and original as possible. Enjoy the process of creating music. With Transnatura we kinda started parallel Noctiferia timeline, at this point we're not sure if this is just a single album or we started something that might go on for years.



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?

Igor Nardin

We all listen to different styles of music, We're not band that agrees on everything or shares fascinations for same bands by the default. But there are few bands that we all love and those few had an impact on our creative process last few years. Bands like Dead Can Dance, Korn, Juno Reactor. These are few that popped to my mind instantly.



13.What are some of your non musical interests?

Igor Nardin

Personally Motion Graphics, Graphic Design, Snowboarding, Dogwalking and in general spending as much time possible in nature in woods! Other guys are all in to art, music or visual stuff.



14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Uros Lipovec
Check out Transnatura. We guarantee you it is not what you would expect or even imagine!

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Valfreya/Promised Land/2017 Full Length Review

  Valfreya  are  a  band  from  Montreal,  Quebec,  Canada  that  has  been  featured  before  in this  zinw  and  plays  a  mixture  of  folk  and  melodic  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Promised  Land".

    Stringed  instruments  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  symphonic  elements  and  keyboards  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  the  intro   they  go  into  a  heavier  direction  while  also  keeping  the  symphonic  elements  and  the  vocals  also  bring  in  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  very  melodic.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  back  up  vocals  are  also  used  at  times  along  with  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  both  male  and  female  clean  singing  vocals  and  as  the  album  progresses  more  folk  music  elements  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  spoken  word parts  along  with  acoustic  guitars  are  also  used  briefly  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  fast  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking.

  Valfreya  remain true  to  the  folk  and  melodic  black/death  metal  mixture  of  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  Nordic  Paganism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding recording  from  Valfreya  and  if  you  are  a fan  of  folk  and  melodic  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Odin's  Fury"  "Shame  And  Despair"  "Promised  Land"  and  "Evolution".  8  out  of  10. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX2M2deDyb8