Pereplut Interview

For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Hi. Well, Pereplut is folk-metal band from Siberian town called Tomsk, Russia. The band was founded in 2011. We play brutal and in the same time cheerful folk-metal. At the moment we have released one mini-album and one full-length album.

How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?
Our sound is formed by electric instruments, such as guitar and bass, and acoustic folk instruments, such as bagpipes, flute, violin, hurdy-gurdy, cello and others. We try to balance between different styles of metal, first of all thrash metal and heavy metal mixed with folk tunes and melodies.

      3. Your lyrics cover folk tales, paganism, mysticism, and anti Christian themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in those topics?
We are really interested in Slavonic folklore and history, because it’s very important to know your roots, we think. Also we don’t’ like the Christian lie that there was not any culture before the baptism among the Slavs, their hypocrisy and greed which aren’t inconsistent with their religion, and their attempts to cancel some metal gigs in Russia. Also there are a lot of plots in traditional Russian folk tales connected with amoral behavior of pops. So that’s why we use these themes in our songs.

What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Pereplut'?
Pereplut is a god from the pantheon of the Slavs. There is no a lot information about Pereplut in the annals. We know exactly that people praised Pereplut with round dances, as people at our concerts do.

What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
We gave a lot of concerts. The best ones were our performances at Horned Folk Fest and Metal Hail Fest.

Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Yes. This summer we are going for some regional fests. Then in autumn we want to go on a small tour in support of the released album. Then we would like to release a single, and closer to the summer of next year we are going to release the second full-length album.

Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
At the moment we are unsigned, but we are going to send our demos to major labels to be signed.

On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of folk metal?
We got the feedback from different countries, France, Brazil, Ukraine, USA, Serbia, Japan.
Some of these people buy our album from BandCamp, some of them order our СD by post, our fan from Serbia even makes fan videos on YouTube. We are really grateful to all of them.

Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Perhaps we will expand the arsenal of folk instruments. We will also use some elements from different styles of metal.

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?
All of us were influenced by classical rock, punk and metal bands. In these latter days we listen bands playing in the genre related to our music such as folk metal, pagan metal, black metal.

What are some of your no nmusical interests?
We don’t have a lot of time for nonmusical hobbies or interests. Most of us have jobs and families. If talk about every single member: our guitarist Eugene is interested in European history and folklore and goes to the gym. Dmitry (flutes) likes PC games, also he had been engaged in airsoft before he came to the band. Vyacheslav (bass) is engaged in wood carving. Alexander (vocals) is also interested in history and folklore, before he came to the band he had been a football fan. Ivan (drums) is interested in politics. Also Eugene, Alexander and Ivan play in heathen metal band Lutowrat.

Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks for the exciting questions and interest to our band. We hope to see your readers at our concerts)

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Nocte Obducta/Totholz (Ein Raunen aus dem Klammwlad)/MDD Records/2017 CD Review

  Nocte  Obducta  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  an  avant  garde  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Totholz  (Ein  Raunen  aus  dem Klammwlad)"  which  will  be  released  on  May  26th  by  MDD Records.

 Powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  and  an  atmospheric  background  starts  off  the  album  along  with  drum  beats  and  heavy  yet  melodic  guitar  riffing  and  they  also  mix  in  avant  garde  elements  into  the  heavier  side  of  the  material  while the  fast  sections  use  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  van  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  at e utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  and  clean  playing   can  also  be heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Keyboards  are  utilized  in  the  music  at  times  and  also  give  the  songs  a  more  symphonic  and  psychedelic  edge  while  growls  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  some  of  the  riffing  also  adds  in  a  touch  of  the  Norwegian  black'n'roll  style  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic   in  length  and  the  last  track  is  very  experimental  and  also  introduces  acoustic  guitars  and  melodic  vocals  onto  the  recording  as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  guitar slides.

  Nocte  Obducta  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  more  in  the  avant  garde  side  of  the  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  German  and  cover  Dark  Poetry,  Nature,  and  Depression  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Nocte  Obducta  are  a  very  great  sounding  avant  garde  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Die  Kirche  der  wachenden  Kinder"  "Totholz"  and  "Wiederganger  Blues".  8  out  of  10.

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The Magik Way/Ananke/Sad Sun Music/2017 DVD Review

  The  Magik  Way  are a  band  from  Italy  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  ritualistic  and  avant  garde  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  dvd  "Ananke"  which  was  released  by  Sad  Sun  Music  and  consists  of  live  performances,  experimentalism  and  documentary  elements.

 A  spoken  and  ritualistic  intro  starts  off  the  dvd  before  going  into  a  live  performance  which  starts  out  with  violins  and  an  introduction  which  also  shows  the  band  practicing  in  a  rehearsal  room  and  the  song  starts  out  with  an  avant  garde  vibe  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  and  drum beats.

  Clean  guitars  are  added  into  some  parts  of  the  music  along  with  the  dvd  mixing  in  a  video  and  the  dvd  also  brings  in  live  performances  along  with  the  music  also  having  a  psychedelic  and  experimental  vibe  at  times  and  the  clean  vocals  also  have  a  very  avant  garde  vibe  to  them.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  while  live  rituals  are  also  performed  at  times  and  after  awhile  grim  black  metal  screams  make  their presence  known  and  the  video  also  shows  a  Qabalistic  and  Hermetic  approach  to  rituals  in  some  parts  of  the  recording.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  video  from  The  Magic  Way  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  ritualistic  and  experimental  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  dvd.  8/5  out  of  10.

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Descent Into Maelstrom/Self Titled/2017 Full Length Review

  Descent  Into  Maelstrom  are  a  solo  project  from  Italy  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  titled  and  self  released  2017  album.

  A  very  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  you can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the recording  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls a nd  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  classical  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  utilizing  more  melodic  black  metal  elements  along  with  a  few  screams  and  the  songs  also  bring  in a  great  amount  of  Swedish  influences  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  a  couple  of  songs  are  all  instrumental.

  Descent  Into  Maelstrom  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  melodic  forms  of  black  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Descent  Into  Maelstrom  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  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Everything  Against"  "Storm  And  Assault"  and  "Atavistic  Enemies".  8  out  of  10.

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Fading Azalea Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
It is a female-fronted symphonic metal band from Gothenburg, created in 2013 by Olivia Strömblad, french vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist.We tried a couple of musicians before finding Alexander, who recorded drums on half of the Maze Of Melancholy album. Then Johan entered the band. He wrote the bass parts for most the songs as well as the main guitar riffs on Surface and Time To Realize. After two years in the band, Alexander leaves Fading Azalea to focus on his other band. Kristoffer Jonassen, black metal drummer (ex-Irrbloss) takes over the drums. Putting the band together is always the hardest bit, we wanted different things with music, and Johan left the band in the end of 2016. Kristoffer left short after the Maze Of Melancholy release to focus on other projects. Now it's only Olivia left, composing for the band's next album and working to build a new, stabile line-up. In a place like Gothenburg, realm of melodic death metal, very few want to join a band with clean female singing, which makes it hard to build a band. Not even Epica wants to play here!

2.Recently you have released an album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
The music alternates between melodic guitar riffs, harder parts enhanced by drums that has its roots in black metal, beautiful and melancholic orchestral parts, multi-faced vocals that switch between dark low clean vocals, high-pitched opera singing, powerful hard-rock vocals and grunts. Tracks like Surface or Time To Realize had us compared to Metallica and Megadeth. On the whole album, the songs differ a lot from each other.

3.The band has been around since 2013 but waited until 2017 to release an album, can you tell us a little bit more about the earlier years?
The earlier years were spent looking for members to play and write music with. Originally my plan was to do vocals only and compose keyboard for the album, so I took a guitarist to compose on my vocals. My first musicians were really busy, making the band quite unproductive. After 2 years, I decided to write and record the guitars myself. Then the album progress went quickly, slightly more than 1 year.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
There are a lot of moral reflections. They are about our behaviour in the western society, towards each other, ourselves or nature (Dying Paradise is about the environmental issue). In The Name Of Justice and Heart of Darkness are on the angry and bitter side. Then the songs fall deeper into melancholy, with dark thoughts we all can come through on our unsuccessful days (Fall Of The Mask, Here I Am Again), since we in the western society have big expectations about how life is supposed to be and to become. But L'ombre Derrière l'âme (Shadow Behind The Soul) is a philosophical reflection that resume quite well what the whole album is about, appealing us to get stronger through acceptance. Burning To Ashes is about death and mourning.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Fading Azalea'?
It's a fading flower. We people are like flowers, we want to bloom and find happiness, fulfill our dreams. If we don't, we fade. Since most of the topics are dark and melancholic, Fading Azalea was a better name than Blooming Azalea! Then there is also a pony with the french name "Azalee" which means so much to me, but please don't mention that, haha!

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 had a nice show at the Emergenza contest earlier this year, with two guests, on bass and guitar. There were a lot of people and many voted for us, so the show seemed appreciated! There is no soundcheck for the gigs organized by Emergenza, so we had problems hearing the backing tracks and each other, but we did good despite the conditions.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
That's for sure, if I can put together a decent and stabile line up.

8.On the new album you had a few guests, can you tell us a little bit more about who they are and also their contributions to the recording?
We have Rafael Basso on growl on "In The Name Of Justice". He also sings the tenor and bass part on Where I Belong final choir. He is vocalist and guitarist for the band Unlit Face. That was before the time I discover I could growl too hehe. After Johan left the band, Gianluca Di Francisca recorded the 4 last pieces left in his studio in Italy, which are Dying Paradise, Burning To Ashes, Heart Of Darkness and Flames Of Death. He did a wonderful guitar solo for Heart Of Darkness too. He works on his solo project Gianlux. Our first drummer, Alexander, now member of the metal band Temper Fi recorded the first half of the album (Surface, Time To Realize, Here I Am Again, I Lost My Way, Where I Belong) and Kristoffer recorded the rest.

9.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
Yes, we are looking for a label. We have received some proposals too, but wait for interesting ones.

10.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of symphonic and extreme metal?
It's been mostly positive and beyond expectation for a first album. The vocals were appreciated, as well as Olivia's shredding guitar solo on the Surface video which increased a lot the interest for the band. Some would complain that the songs are too different, I only see it positively since I like variation, it's the way it was meant to be.

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future/
I think there will be more opera vocals. Otherwise we will continue into melodic metal, with that mixture of black and death metal. But you never know, we are looking for new members which might bring some new influences to the music!

12.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?
Epica and old melodic In Flames are my absolute favourites, they have clearly influenced me when it comes to composing. Opera and classical music are other influences. As for Surface and Time To Realize, there is clearly that Metallica touch, since those were the two pieces where Johan, our previous bass player, wrote the main guitar riffs. Nowadays, I listen mostly to symphonic metal with opera vocals like the early Amberian Dawn, Nightwish or Beneath My Sins. Dimmu Borgir and Green Carnation too are in my top 5.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?
I love traveling to snowy places, mostly those where I can practice skiing and snowboarding. I recently visited Alaska, Svalbard and Greenland. Snow and ice makes me happy, I'm a like polar bear in the soul! This is what inspired the last song of the album, Where I Belong. It's about the melancholy I feel every time when i come home from one of those trips, leaving the beauty of the cold behind me for a couple of months which feel like an eternity. This song is heartfelt...
Other things I enjoy is growing my own vegetables, a good retro video game with Mario and Yoshi or watching X-Files. But music does not leave much time for that.

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Fading Azalea will release a single for the song "Fall Of The Mask" on May,1st. It is the first version of the song, recorded in studio, with Alexander on drums. I am also working on a music video for Where I Belong, with some scenes taken from the Greenland and Svalbard sceneries. Besides, any fan of rock and ambient music with great orchestral parts should discover my side project with Norway called Hall Of Mountains, where I contribute with vocals.
Thank you for your interest! You're welcome to contact me if you have further questions.
Olivia Strömblad & Fading Azalea

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Fading Azalea/Maze Of Melancholy/2017 Full Length Review

  Fading  Azalea  are  a  duo  from  Sweden  that  plays a   symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  melodic  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  self  released  2017  album  "Maze  Of  Melancholy".

  Classical  style  keyboards  and  stringed  instruments  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  symphonic  moments  a  few  seconds  later  and  they  also  mix  it  in  with  the  heavier  side  of  the  music  and  there  are  also  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  during  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  while  the  vocals  bring  in a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  along  with  the  riffs  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  the  songs  also  mix  in  a  great  amount  operatic  female  vocals  which  also  adds  in  a  touch  of  goth  metal  and  some  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  and  some  of  the  songs  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Fading  Azalea  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  symphonic  metal  while  also  mixing  in  the  heaviness  of  black  and  melodic  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 and  poetic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Fading  Azalea  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  symphonic,  black  and  melodic  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "In  The  Name  Of  Justice"  "Surface"  "Fall  Of  the  Mask"  and  "Where  I  Belong".  8  out  of  10.

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A Flourishing Scourge Interview

All Answers by Bassist Kevin Carbrey

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

Hello!  The band is currently preparing for the release of its first full-length album on June 9th.  It’s been in process for the last 2 to 3 years, so after a few celebrations locally with our friends and family, we’re planning on a taking a little time off in the summer before reconvening to prepare for a fall tour.

2. You have a new album coming out in 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?

We released our first EP, “As Beauty Fades Away”, in 2015, which represented an earlier incarnation of the band with original drummer Josh Keifer.  Those songs were a little bit different tonally than the ones on the full-length.  A little darker perhaps, and we were limited to the production value we could achieve in our basement studio. 

This album is significantly more dynamic, not only in the songwriting, but in the overall sound as well.  We were also fortunate to record, mix and master with some of the best names in metal, and that significantly improved the production of the tracks.  I think the album really captures everything we were attempting to achieve from a musical and technical perspective, without losing any of the soul we find in the songs.

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

The lyrics really represent our observations of what we see going on around us right now.  It wasn’t intended to be a concept album, however, the lyrical themes, album imagery, and album/band name are all closely related.  I prefer to let the listener explore the lyrical themes without influence, but I definitely think that all of the parts are necessary to see the view from our eyes.  Taken individually, the music, lyrics, band name and imagery only tell part of the story.  I think consideration of each of those elements will show a pretty clear, poignant picture.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'A Flourishing Scourge'?

In every aspect of life, there seems to be a parasite that always takes way more than it contributes.  Each of us seem to define what the scourge is in our individual lives a little bit differently, so we like that the name, album, and lyrical content are all subject to interpretation.


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

We really try to bring a dynamic, immersive experience to our live shows.  We incorporate our own lights, fog and other visual aspects to accentuate the music, allowing us to kind of manipulate the atmosphere at a venue, regardless of its size.  We want the music and visuals to be the stars of the show and do our best to stay out of the way.  We were on tour last fall and one of my favorite shows was at Rock City Studios in California.  Great venue and a cool group of bands and fans and there was a really palpable energy that night.  Fortunately we were able to record that show in its entirety, and it’s currently up on our YouTube page.  The kick-off show for that tour was with Kataklysm in Seattle, so we had our home town crowd there to send us off, and that was a really fun show where the sound and lights happened to be almost perfect, which is always a bit of a miracle.

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

Absolutely!  We’re going to take a few weeks off this summer to relax a bit after spending the last two sequestered in our basement.  After that, we’ll begin rehearsals for a fall tour, which will probably kick off during mid to late September.   We’ll probably begin with a short 10 – 12 date tour in the fall, and will then look to do something similar again in early 2018.

7. The new album is coming out on the bands own label, are you open to working with a different label in the future?

Sure, provided their goals and vision for the band were in line with our own.  We are intending to shop this album to some of the like-minded labels we’ve enjoyed over the years in order to seek out distribution, booking and tour support partnerships that make sense during this very strange period in the music industry.  

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

It has really been received well.  I’m a little older, so I grew up before the splintering of all the genres.  Metal was metal.   I like that our sound is very diverse and has so many different elements and influences.  Typically we’re told by listeners that they can always find elements of our songs that resonate with them, regardless of their background or musical tendencies and I would like to think that we could offer something that transcends genre boundaries while still doing the individual influences justice.  

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

We are definitely intending on stepping out of our comfort zone for the next album.  This album, like so many other debuts, took years to make, and the songs were literally in-process the whole time.  Most of them were already fairly developed concepts arranged by Tye, the singer/guitarist, before the band was fully formed.  So, this time, writing will be a much more collaborative, from-scratch approach, that will probably yield some new twists.  Also, being fans of progressive music and the long-form musical piece, the next album is going to be a more deliberate concept album, as opposed to A Flourishing Scourge which is merely tied thematically.

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?

We’ll all have very varied influences, however ‘80’s thrash seems to be what got all of us into playing music.  I’m very into prog music in general, be it Opeth, Tool or early Genesis.  The other guys are more into the black and death metal side of the house, however we’ll listen to everything from Fleshgod Apocalypse to Michael Jackson depending on the day.  As far as what I’m listening to, I’m digging the new Pillorian and Anciients albums, as well as getting into some Norwegian folk metal, with bands like Wardruna.  Other than that, my main stable of prog and metal are always on constant rotation.  

11. What are some of your nonmusical interests?

Being from Seattle, we’re all Seahawks fans.  We love to have Game of Thrones dinner parties.  We go to tons of shows either to support of friends or dig on someone we like.  We’re all interested in traveling and spending time with our families, so we’re going to take a little time this summer to do that before we get rolling again this fall.

12. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
The album will be released on June 9th, but is currently available for pre-order from Bandcamp. 
https://aflourishingscourge.bandcamp.com/album/a-flourishing-scourge

Also, please check in on us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/aflourishingscourge) and our webpage, www.afloursihingscourge.com. 
Metal was borne and lives today on the backs of the bloggers, writers, zines and power of the individual fan, and we are very appreciate of your support.  Thank you!

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