Gehtika/The Great Reclamation/2017 EP Review

   Gehtika  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  ep  "The  Great  Reclamation".



  A  very  heavy  and  symphonic  sound  starts  off  the  ep  and  after  awhile  black  metal  screams  and  a  death  metal  growls  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with  riffs  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  stringed  instruments  are  also  used  at  times  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  music  also  mixes  in  a  great  amount  of  90's  influences  while  still  sounding  very  modern.

  Gehtika  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  dark,  philosophical  and  mythological  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Gehtika  are  a  very  great  sounding  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  "Existence  Or  Oblivion"  and "The  Human  Divergence".  8  out  of  10.

www.facebook.com/gehtika

www.Gehtika.bandcamp.com www.twitter.com/GehtikaUK

  

Drenai 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 EP?

Guile (guitar): We’ve made the promotion of our new EP ‘Nadirs’ and we are focusing on our next LP which is already written and composed. We are rehearsing on it and for several scheduled shows.

2. Recently you have released a new EP, 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?

Guile: It is both different and similar in fact: ‘Nadirs’ is a full folk acoustic 5-tracks which differs with our usual musical style, much more raw and metal. But it’s still our way of composing, how Drenaï sounds in its metal style. The real difference is in its approach: this EP is a tale, with a narrator and we searched deeper in ethnic musical cultures worldwide, not only in Celtic music but also in Arabic, Native American, traditional Japanese and many more musical sources and inspirations. This way, ‘Nadirs’ sounds like a soundtrack for a story, told by Diego, with its ambiances like when you are watching a movie who would deal with the advent of Nosta from his youth to who he is to become later: the dark shaman Nosta Khan.

3. The material on the new recording is all acoustic but the band has used heavier guitars and growling vocals in the past, are there any plans on returning back to this direction?

Guile: Indeed yes: this whole EP has been made thanks to an opportunity we had to record an EP with friends from several folk (metal) bands in France and French speaking surrounding countries like Ithilien, La Horde, Les Compagnons du Gras Jambon… We called back other friends who already took part to our previous LP ‘Deathwalker’, in the choir for instance… Almost 30 people recorded this EP. Whether it is different from our habits, we call ‘Nadirs’ our “EP for the pleasure”, the one we had recording it and the one we try to display on our listeners who are used to Drenaï only sounding folk metal. But the forthcoming album stands at the crossroads of what we have formerly made; it will sound more folk and more metal in a way… “more epic” to sum up in two words J

4. The band name and lyrics come from the writings of David Gemmell, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this author and also do you have any interest in other fantasy authors?

Diego (lead voice): I’ve been reading Fantasy and related since something like twenty years. While I started the hard way, with J.R.R.Tolkien, and various authors from Moorcock or Howard to Nicholls or Lovecraft, I literally fell into Gemmell’s work. His work is both simple to approach and read, but still, you can find in it some concepts, which seems directly taken from the author’s life and way of thinking. Thus, you may find in it many invariants: epic and hopeless defense of a fortress, the idea that no one is bounded by fate, that you must judge anyone by his deeds, not his origins, heroes with their doubts and weaknesses... It’s not only about fearless knights in their shiny armors, crashing the bad guys, whom just enjoy being evil: there is a meaning behind almost any character’s action or set of mind.
That’s why, in the band’s genesis, we were five fantasy readers, all keen on Gemmell’s. So, when it comes to set a folk metal formation, we almost choose his work naturally.

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

Guile: To me, there are several places where we played I will keep in my memories: our first gig in a fest, the Cernunnos Pagan Fest (for we didn’t expect to win the contest to play there), the one we made in Germany at the Hörnerfest, for it was both professional but also relaxed and friendly (and we shared the stage with Finntroll and Skyforger!), the one we made in Switzerland for personal reasons… XD Drenaï on stage is a show where we incarnate roles (sometimes one, sometimes two depending on the set we fixed in rehearsal) and try to make our gigs the more interactive as possible. The more the audience is responding, the better it is for us (and for them too J).
Diego: Guile summed it up pretty well: the Cernunnos Pagan Fest was an amazing experience, because even if we summoned our crowd to support us at the contest show, we’ve been actually quite surprised to win and play at the main event. It was great to see our friends and fans made it to Paris just to give us that chance. And Germany, well… We’re French lads, from a country where metal isn’t well seen and renowned. At Hörnerfest, we enjoyed the “Deutsche Qualität”, in a nice fest, where it’s like being with your family (a quite large one, though). When we are on stage (with space and time enough), we try to do our best to make a LIVE and LIVING show as much as we can. We are fully involved in the idea that we are there to incarnate the characters we talk about in our songs. I think we must be more than just a bunch of guys playing what was recorded on album, only looking to their instrument: I’m talking about coming and WATCHING a band, not only listening to it during a gig. The roles are now an important part of our live experience: we have enough songs to plan various shows, depending on the audience we expect to be there, the set time we’re given… And so, we can tell the crowd a rather different story every time. And to emphasize it, we generally choose to introduce the songs with short narrations to make the people understand that we are telling about nice books that should definitely be read (and bought!). So, that’s why we’ll be Druss or Bodasen or Nosta or Sieben the bard, and so on and so forth…


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

Guile: These days, Greg (guitar) is working on booking dates for Drenaï and we have several shows to come within the end of this year and the beginning of the next one (in Nantes for example). We are still waiting for answers that haven’t come yet from several fests to which we have applied and we are still applying to others in different countries… We are trying to book a tour this summer but it depends on the answers we have.

7. Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

Guile: One day we will… be interesting or interested… (lol) The question is in debate for our next album: it will be really convenient to be signed by a label for a better distribution…
Diego: Obviously, working with a label would be great to reach more and more listeners.

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

Guile: We did not receive many feedback but our followers’ number keeps growing worldwide which may indicate that ‘Nadirs’ pleases a growing amount of people. Even our usual listeners seem to have been surprised by this EP, expecting that “the next opus should be folk metal” and have been disconcerted in their way of receiving and listening to Drenaï or folk music in general: no distorted guitars, no drums, no growling voice, but folkloric instruments and a narrator... It’s not easy to change the habits of the listeners (ours too) but it’s the way we conceive music: changes and perpetual open-mindedness in order to give new and fresh ideas to our crowds and not repeat the things we already did before, and we hope they will think the same.

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

Guile: I don’t really predicate the future of the band, we’ll see where all this leads us. One thing I’m sure: we won’t stay in one defined style and fall into its stereotypes but try to evolve each time we’ll release something: there are so many things left to do in music by trying new approaches, new sounds, new things, and even melt them with older ones… The only thing that will not change is the band’s thematic (or we’ll have to change our name in… I don’t know… “Drenaï of Fire and Wind” maybe… lol).
Diego: As we said, we’ll keep renewing our music and surprising our crowd, but I think, we’ll keep the things that make our identity: only live music when we’re on stage (no samples), epic orchestrations, and numerous and various choirs.


10. 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?

Guile: Each one in the band has several musical tastes, you can easily guess how hard it is to please everyone and both create a music that suits to our purpose. J Actually mine go to Metal in general but mostly to Symphonic Metal (Death, Black or only Symphonic). Obviously I don’t have only one band I can refer in Metal (I could quote Iron Maiden, Slayer, Megadeth, Mors Principium Est, No Return, etc.) but I also listen to world traditional music (Japan and Arabic World especially) and “classical” music like Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi, Wagner, Dvorak, Palestrina… My latest “coups de coeur” go to The Browning’s “Isolation”, Sepultura’s “Machine Messiah” and Ex Deo’s “The Immortal Wars”.
Diego: Usually, I’m really into epic scores composers, such as Two steps from Hell, or Twelve Titans Music, and movie scores (guess what kind of movies!). Since it allows me to picture epic scenes, battle speeches and stuff alike, I’m in. But when it comes to metal, it’s mostly folk metal. Not the “party/beer/women” ones (who said Alestorm? XD), but more in the lineage of Finntroll or Turisas. On a more inspirational side, I’m quite fan of Amon Amarth, even if their last album was a small disappointment. And lately, I’ve been listening Gorgon’s ‘Titanomachy’. It’s an epic death metal band from Paris (and nice guys) which shared with us a nice show in our hometown. You should definitely check it.


11. Does Paganism play any role in your music?

Guile: If the question is “does religion take a place in Drenaï?”, none of us believe in any god, we are atheists. Even though the study of religion and religion history (from paganism to monotheism for instance) can be a long and interesting subject, it has nothing to do with our music or lyrics.
Diego: … Even when the Nadirs, one of Gemmell’s numerous people praise the Gods of Stone and Water… oops, I said too much… see you on the next album ;) )

12. What are some of your non musical interests?

Guile: Movies and cinema, videogames (RPGs), comics & graphic novels (Rochette’s ‘Snowpiercer’, Willingham’s ‘Fables’… just finished Garth Ennis’ ‘Hellblazer’ and begun ‘Preacher’)… Each one of my hobbies is where there is a universe I can hear /imagine/ put music/soundscape on…
Diego: Mostly reading: novels, graphic novels, comics… provided it’s Fantasy or SF themed (I don’t like dramas that take place in the “real” world, or imply actuality. We’re living a dark and hard enough world; escaping it from time to time is a relief). And playing old vintage videogames (I stopped somewhere between Age of Kings and Baldur’s Gate II).


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

Diego: Support your local scene. Enjoy and attend their shows. Don’t save your money for one fest only; discover new stuff! They deserve it.
Guile: Stay epic and open minded! Enjoy listening to ‘Nadirs’ and share with your friends! Get well! See you (maybe) on a local stage!

Bandcamp

Facebook

ReverbNation

SoundCloud

YouTube

Divine Element/Thaurachs Of Borsu/I Voidhanger Records/2017 CD Review

  Divine  Element  are  an  international  band  with  members  from  both  Greece  and  Hungary  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Thaurachs  Of  Borsu"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  I,  Voidhanger  Records.

  Clean  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  epic  style  drum  beats  a  few  seconds  later  and  synths  can  also  be  heard  at  times and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melodic  direction  and  the  vocals  bring  in  a  decent  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams.

  Atmospheric and  heavy  parts  are  mixed  together  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  when  the  music  speeds  up a   great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  guitar  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful.

  Some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts,  some  tracks  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  and  nature  sounds  and  as  the  album  progresses  acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  the  keyboards  also  mix  in  the  epic  atmosphere  of  a  classic  fantasy  movie  at  times  along  with  some  touches  of  folk  music.

  Divine  Element  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  melodic  sides  of  black  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  in  with  a  fantasy  orientated  atmosphere  to  create  something  very  different,  the production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  a  fantasy  world  that  was created  by  multi  instrumentalist  Ayloss.

  In  my  opinion  Divine  Element  are  a  very  great  sounding  epic  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  "Thaurachs  Of  Borsu"  "Call  Of  The  Blade"  and  "Traitor's  Last  Stand".  8  out  of  10.   

Bandcamp

Facebook

Myspace

ReverbNation

YouTube

 

Mongol/Warrior Spirit/2017 EP Review

  Mongol  are  a  band  from  Alberta,  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of  folk,  melodic  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  ep  "Warrior  Spirit"  which  will  be  released  in  April.

  Melodic  guitar  leads  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  black  metal  style  screams  that  also  add  in  a  touch  of  death  metal  along  with  a  few  growls  and  clean  singing  is  also  used  at  times  while  the  riffs  gives  the  songs  more  heaviness  and  after  awhile  elements  of  folk  are mixed  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music.

  Folk  instruments  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  certain  sections  of  the  tracks  have  a  dark  age  feeling  and  back  up  shouts  are  also  used  briefly  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Mongol  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  Mongolian  folk  music  and  mixes  it  with  black  and  melodic  death  metal  to  create  something  very  different,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  Mongolian  and  Tengrism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Mongol  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  folk,  melodic  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "River  Child".  8  out  of  10.  

Bandcamp:
https://mongolcanada.bandcamp.com/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/MongolCanada/

 

Hexer/Cosmic Doom Ritual/Vendetta Records/2017 CD Review

  Hexer  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  stoner,  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Cosmic  Doom  Ritual"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  Vendetta  Records.

  Atmospheric  soundscapes  and  drones  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars  that  give  the  songs  more  of  a  stoner  or  desert  rock  touch  and  after  awhile  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  after  a  few  minutes  the  music  goes  into  a  heavier  direction  along  with  some  growls  and  screams.

  All  of  the  songs  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  vocals  bring  in  a  mixture  of  black  and death  metal  influence  along  with  some  sludge  and  doom  metal style  riffing  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  very  melodic  and  also  add  in  touche  of  post  rock  and  shoegaze  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  can  be  heard  and  acoustic  guitars  are  also  used  on  the  other  tracks  along with the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  psychedelic  elements  are  added  onto  the  closing  track.

  Hexer  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  stoner,  doom,  sludge  and  black  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  something  very  dark  and  heavy,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  dealing  with  a  cosmic  journey  through  deep  blackness,  being  devoured  by  a  giant  sea  creature  and  the  discovery  of  a surreal  place  along  with  some  sci  fi  and  mythological  touches.

  In  my  opinion  Hexer  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  stoner  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Pearl  Snake".  8  out  of  10.  

Bandcamp

Facebook

Spotify

 

Netherbird/Hymns From Realms Yonder/Black Lodge Records/2017 Compilation Album Review

  Netherbird  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  plays a   symphonic  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a review  of  their  2017  compilation  "Hymns  From  Realms  Yonder"  which  will  be  released  in April  by  Black  Lodge  Records.

  A  heavy guitar sound  starts  off  the  compilation  along  with  some  symphonic  elements  and  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  a  few  seconds  later  while  death  metal  growls  are  also  utilized  at  times  and  melodic  chanting  can  also  be  heard  at  times  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  using  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  A  great  amount  of  melody  can  be  heard  in  the guitar  riffing  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  can  be  heard  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  a  touch  of  90's  era  gothic  black  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Some  tracks  also bring  in a   small  amount  of  violins  while  the  slower  riffs  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  doom  metal.  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sounds  very  powerful  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  as  the  compilation  progresses  spoken  word  parts  are  introduced  into  the  music  and  there  are  also  a  couple  of  instrumental  tracks  while  acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  one  tacks  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  melodic  singing  and  they  also  bring  in  Sentenced.  Paradise  Lost,  and  Annihilator  covers.

  On  this  compilation  Netherbird  takes  some  songs  from  different  eras  with  some  tracks  being  in  the  melodic  and  symphonic  black/death  metal  direction  while  some  tracks  have  a more  goth/doom  metal  style  to  them,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  struggles  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  collection  of  songs  from  Netherbird  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  symphonic  and  melodic  black/death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  compilation.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sculptors  And  Spectres"  "Born  Defiant"  "Nightwards"  and  "Alison  hell".  8  out  of  10.  

https://netherbird.bandcamp.com/album/hymns-from-realms-yonder?utm_source=Promo%2BList&utm_campaign=6030ee5709-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_03_22&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b7d3bffdfc-6030ee5709-159719745

Hammerdrone 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?

We actually release it tomorrow, so we've been mainly focused on getting ready for the album release!  We're promoting it the old-school way - DIY - no promotion companies or record companies to help us - so it's a lot of legwork and talking to as many people (like your good selves) as we can to try to get the word out there that we exist and, hopefully, that we are good at what we do.


    2.Recently you have 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?

Very firmly in the melodic death metal genre.  Our music is dark and suffused with atmosphere, without relying on synths to do this.  We offer an intense, aggressive and epic interpretation of death metal without being a "brutal" or "technical" band, and at the same time we're melodic without using clean vocals or straying into power metal-style scales.  We keep it dark!  It's a logical progression on from what we have released in the past - this album is just more mature, I guess.


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

I draw inspiration both from my own experiences and from stories from history and science.  This new album is split about half and half, and deals with everything from the bog men of Ireland (The Wasting Throne) to the pressure to procreate (Ancestral Weight).  The title track is about an obscure episode of eco-terrorism from Scottish history - a group of university scientists who formed an organization called the Dark Harvest Commando to pressure the UK Government to decontaminate an old anthrax testing site.  They did this by sending anthrax soil from the site to the government with promises to widely distribute their "dark harvest" if nothing was done.  The common theme, as with the music, is darkness.


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

I'd like to say there was something profound behind the name selection... but really, we were coming up to our first gig, without a name, and had been through hundreds of suggestions...and Curtis (rhythm guitar) said "how about Hammerdrone"?  He doesn't even really know where that came from!


    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?

We've appeared at the Calgary Metalfest and the Farmageddon fest, both of which were awesome experiences.  More recently, we supported both Numenorean and Krepitus at their respective album release shows in Calgary - these were incredible shows.  The one adjective that is almost always used to describe our stage performance is "intense".  One reviewer recently called us "intimidatingly intense" which I think is my favourite ever description of us!


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

CD release show in Calgary is tomorrow - and we are appearing at Loud As Hell 666 - which is being headlined by Battlecross - in August.  We'll try to take ourselves on the road as much as we can.


    7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

We're doing OK by ourselves...but yes, some label support would, I am sure, help us get a bigger audience - that would be welcome!


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

We've been well received in the metal underground in countries as diverse as Nepal, the UK, France, Slovenia etc.  People seem to appreciate the particular style of melodic death metal we are producing - or, as one reviewer put it, death metal that happens to be melodic.


    9.What is going on with 'Krepitus' these days, a band that also shares a couple of the same members?

Yeah, our bassist, Teran, leads Krepitus on guitar and vocals - it's his main band, really,  He was only supposed to be helping us out (but has been doing so for 3 years, ha!).  And Curtis plays bass with them.  They're an awesome thrash-death band - they sound like Revocation meeting Dissection in a dark alley.  They've not long ago released their debut album, "Eyes of the Soulless" and it's really, really good. They're busy recording a new single and writing their next album, I believe.


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

More of the same, essentially - in that we'll keep writing dark, heavy, melodic death metal.  But we try not to think too much about writing a deliberate style or type of song and just let what happens, happens.  As long as the five of us in the band like a song, that's all that matters to us at the end of the day.


    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?

That's always a hard question because the influences are so many and so wide.  Some common influences would be bands such as Death and Kataklysm.  In terms of what I'm listening to these days...not enough!  I've had a dearth of new music recently so am busily trying to find time to listen to some cool new bands by checking out some underground radio.


    12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Personally...I run, swim, bake and draw. 


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

Just to say thank you for your support.  It is truly appreciated.

Bandcamp

Facebook

Homepage

Myspace

ReverbNation

SoundCloud

Twitter

YouTube