Torii Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new
album?

Bill: We are eagerly waiting for everyone to hear what we have been working on for the last two years!
Other than that we have started working on our next album over the summer. It is going to be a cover
album, which will change things up a bit for us.

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?

Bill: This album I really tried to slow things down. I have always listened to a lot of funeral doom and stoner doom, and I made an conscious effort to implement these influences. I would describe our sound as death/doom with some post metal mixed in, but I have noticed that listeners are really picking up on the black and death metal aspects of our music.

3.Your lyrics cover Conspiracy, Fantasy and Mythology themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?

Bill:  I have always been interested in fantasy and mythology.  Perhaps I am dissatisfied with the world asas we know it, so I like to imagine what the world was like during ancient times.

4.Your album artwork has a couple of followers of Cadmus being devoured by a dragon, can you tell us alittle bit more about why you picked this artwork for the new album?

Bill: I saw this painting when I was much younger and it has always stuck with me. The life of Cadmus was an inspiration for the lyrics on the title track, and some of the other tracks, although not quite so directly. A "Cadmean victory" is to win the battle but lose the war. Cadmus's life was quite successful, but he was cursed by the gods, and tragedies followed him and his family. His story of futility relates to alot of the sounds and themes that Torii explores.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name Torii?

Bill: I would prefer to keep that private. Sorry.

6.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, do you prefer working as a duo?

Bill: We have talked about getting a proper band together and playing shows. However, we both have
other careers, so it works for us now. I enjoy the process of composing and self-editing all of the music,and Eric likes to tie in his stories and lyrics.

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

Bill: We have never played live but hopefully we can in the future. Although our music is quite morose at times, we can still bring some energy that I think would translate well in a live setting.

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

Bill: We are looking, but we haven't received much interest. Since we have other careers, this is fine for us.  However, if getting signed means more people can listen to our music, then we need to do everything we can to make that happen.

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

Bill: A lot of our fans are from European countries, which is great! We have heard good things from
reviewers and fans from England, Italy, Germany, Norway, and I'm sure there is more.

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

Bill: The second track on our upcoming album,  "Theory of Existence", was a bit of an adventure into
stoner metal for us. It is not as melodic as most of our other stuff, but it is a blast to play. So, you may
hear some more material like that in the future.

11.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?

Bill:  I would say Ruins of Beverast, Esoteric, OM, and Swallow the Sun have probably
had some influence on our new stuff. They are all doom bands from various sub-genres, but most of
them are on the psychedelic side of things. More recently I have been listening to Cult of Luna, MournfulCongregation, and Summoning.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Bill: I just enjoy composing and creating things. I like creating art and building furniture and cabinets.

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

Bill: Thanks for your time.

https://torii.bandcamp.com/album/a-judgement-divine

Beyond Deth/The Age Of Darkness/2018 CD Review

  Beyond  Deth  are  a  band  from  Chicago,  Illinois  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2018  album  "The  Age  Of  Darkness".

  Acoustic  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  the  riffing  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  thrash  elements  as  well  as  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  the  riffs  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  which  also  adds  in  a  touch  of  power  metal  as  well  as all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them,  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  as  the  album  progresses  acoustic  guitars  also  make  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  one  of  the  later  tracks  is  an  instrumental.

  Beyond  Deth  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  melodic  death  and  thrash  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  death  and  war  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Beyond  Deth  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Cold"  "Rip Out  Your  Soul"  and  "Goddess  Isis".  8  out  of  10.

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Verilun 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?
The new album has been released just a few days ago, and there's has been not too much happened to the band since then, but I must say, I could not relax at all. It seems, there is a relatively great interest about the new album, so I have continuously something to do about it, and that is very good. On the other hand we are about to fix the line-up to be able to start making gigs.

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/
'Through fire... in the Sun' is the title of Verilun's second full-length album. Our debut, 'Home for the dead' was released 5 years ago. Writing the songs to 'Through fire... in the Sun' was like writing the songs again to the very first album. 'Home for the dead' had no influence on us at all, so maybe this is the reason why the new album is quite different from the previous one. It is more epic, more atmospheric, more melodic, but more powerful at the same time.

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

Sorry, I do not fully understand the question, this is not our first album, if you don't mind I give here some info on the making of the recent album.

We have already started writing the songs to the new album at the end of 2016. And in almost exactly one year we completed all the songs. Since our drummer has quitted at the beginning of 2017, only Krisztian and I were working on the new stuff. In November 2017 we started recording the album with Tamas Laki at studio Sasfeszek (Eagle's Nest)in Hungary. Drums had been performed and recorded by Oliver Zisko, a well-known, talented and respected drummer of multiple musical genres and styles. We have finished all the studio work by the beginning of March this year, and one month later a single, called 'Upon the mountain's has been released by Sliptrick Records. One month later again on the 3rd of May, the full-length, 'Trough fire... in the Sun' been out, also by Sliptrick Records.

4. Some of the lyrics on the new album are based upon 'Hungarian Folklore', can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?
Two songs of the album are related Hungarian mythology and/or religion. 'Seven years and seven winks' is actually a tale about a magic steed, called 'táltos', who with his son defeats the dragon who stole the Sun, the Moon and all the stars from the sky, so people were living in instant darkness. 'Through fire... in the Sun' is about a theory saying, that our ancestors are living in the Sun, we can talk to them through fire, and at the end we can leave this world and depart to the Sun through fire.
The Hungarian folklore is very old and has a very comprehensive and deep meaning through symbols. It's very interesting to get to know how our ancestors were living, how was their relationship to the world they were part of, and what a deep knowledge they had about it. It's so sad, that instead of improving this knowledge we have forgot it almost completely.

5. What are some of the other lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
There are lyrics about the catastrophic situation of this decaying world we live in, our roles in this world and in this situation; there are some spiritual and more personal topics as well, and of course there is a song about planet Mars too from a very special aspect.



6. I know that the band is  named  after  the  Hunnish name or Mars, how does this name fit in with the musical style that you play?

Like Martian metal? :-) I liked the idea to have a name in a language which does not exist anymore. On the other hand due to the very close relationship between Hunnic and Magyar people, Hunnish is very similar to Hungarian (magyar) language, so it is almost like having a Hungarian name.
Planet Mars and the mysteries about it is one of my fields of interests too, so this name came quite easily.

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?
We have performed a lot of shows during the years. They were mainly gigs in clubs in Hungary with similar bands. There were better and worse gigs too, but in general I must say, we played live a little bit too rare mainly due the opportunities we had. This is something I'd like to change in the future.

8. Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
Sure! First we have to fix the line-up by finding a drummer. As soon as the line-up is complete, we'll start arranging the gigs.

9. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black and death metal?
With our first album in general the feed-back from both press and news were quite good. And since the second album is out, a quite great interest has been shown about the release of it, I'm receiving day by day a request for information, interview, as well as some very positive reviews have already been shared with me.

10. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Considering the differences between the first two albums, and supposing that the third one might be even so different from the first two too, it is very difficult to answer this question. We do not use any guidance, do not have any plan when writing new songs. The ideas just popping-up, we try to grab them, and form them as well as possible. Sometimes I even had the feeling, that the songs were being written by themselves.

11. 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?
The two songwriters of Verilun (Krisztian and myself) have relatively different musical interests. Krisztian prefers a more rhythm based, complex, and technical death metal, while I try to bring some melodies, atmosphere in the songs, and I represent the black metal side of the band. I think this duality reflects in both Verilun albums, and this will be for sure the skeleton of the news songs too. I'm sure, by mixing these two musical approaches on a proper way, we'll end up with an interesting result again.

12. What are some of your non musical interests?
Nowadays I listen to non-metal bands, like 'Laibach', 'Die Antwoord', but I like 'Die Verbannten Kinder Evas' and 'Sopor Aeternus and the Ensemble Of Shadows' very much too. Next to metal I've been listening to the music of some other musical genres too for a long time, and to my opinion some of the are really close to metal, only the way of expression, the instruments being used are different.

13. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
It was an interesting journey for me to make this album, I've met very interesting things, learnt a lot during the songwriting period. There's one thing I may emphasize, and which could be relevant to the other areas of life too: if you want something and you are really content to do for it, you can be sure, you'll make it. There might be obstacles, you may lose the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you are persistent and you never give up, you'll reach your goal at the end.

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Abstracter/Cinereous Incarnate/Sentient Ruin Laboratories/2018 Full Length Review

  Oakland, California's  Abstracter  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  into a  mixture  of  black,  death,  sludge,  doom  metal,  dark  ambient,  drone  and  noise and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "Cinereous  Incarnate"  which  will  be  released  in  June  by  Sentient  Ruin  Laboratories.

  Distorted  amp  sounds  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier musical  direction  while t he  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  along  with  the  vocals  also  utilizing  death  metal  growls  and  grim  black  metal  screams.  and  the  music  also  adds  in  elements  of  crust  and  d  beat.

  A  lot  of  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  are  heavily  rooted  in  sludge  and  doom  metal  while  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  some  elements  of  harsh  noise,  dark  ambient  and  drone  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard.

  On  this  recording  Abstracter  mix  black,  death,  doom  and  sludge  metal  with  some  elements  of  drone,  dark  ambient  and  noise  to  take  their  sound  to  another  level,  the  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  apocalyptic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Abstracter  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  death,  sludge  and  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Nether"  and  "Devouring  Night".  8  out  of  10.

https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/album/cinereous-incarnate?utm_source=ALL&utm_campaign=8a2a0fb12e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_05_19&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3b1f609241-8a2a0fb12e-512509221    

Majesty Of Silence Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?
First after finishing the music we had to take care of the artwork. To us that is important as well. And then of course we had to spread the news for we were absent for quite some time. Now we are really looking forward for the release and what feedback there might come.

2.You have a new album coming out towards the end of May, 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 describe it as black metal with symphonic and melodic side. Musically guitars are now more of a central point and synths got a bit more to the background. We gave more weight and attention to lyrics than on earlier recordings for they are all in written in german, no more mixed with english like before.

3.This is your first album in 12 years, can you tell us a little bit more about the decision to get back together after a very long hiatus?
In 2012 there should have been the release of a forth album entitled "wie Licht nur dunkler". But we couldn't find any label or distributor that was interested in releasing it and finally the band went to the break and the album was put away. But even during that break we never turned away from music for we cannot let it go. Each one did his own thing be it alone or in other formation. Because we have a recording studio of our own we then thought that we could as well do something together again.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
What you can read in some preview of the album: "With lyrical themes encompassing everyday problems, an ongoing lack of humanity, and the control that wrath has over a person, the band works collaboratively to write music that truly resonates with listeners" is very true we think. We are getting older and think more about what is happening to the world in a critical way. It somehow mirrors human an social thinking nowadays.

5.Originally the band was called 'Culture Shock', what was the decision behind the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Majesty Of Silence'?
Well, Culture Shock was back when we were about 13 years old, we barely remember that. In 1994 the band was renamed for the first time to "Parsley" and in 1997 again, for spice wasn't that representing anymore for a metal band, to "Majesty of silence".

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?
Our best show was in a well known location called "Z7" where many bigger bands stop by in Switzerland when touring. But at that time we where only thre members so we couldn't perform so well. When we were four we had some more show-potential but we were mostly playing at smaller venues where possibilities for special show effect were not so good.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?
We did thnk about playing live shows but at the moment we are just two and to play live we'd need at least a drummer. Let's see if there is a demand for shows when the album is out.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your recordings by fans of black metal?
Our two first releases were self produced and slef distributed so there was not so much feedback from abroad about them. With the third album "Lichtsille" which was istributed worldwide there was quite some good feedback with mailings from listeners from the US, Cuba and Korea to name a few. For the coming album resonance is already quite big which of course makes us very happy.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We unfortunately don't have a crystal ball that tells the future let's wait and see what's to come when the album is actually out. For sure we'll stick with doing music anyway as long as we having fun making some but there is no pressure for nobody relies on us.

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?
We like listening to unknown bands and new stuff but if we need to tell some big names they are for sure Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth and Immortal as well as In Flames, Nightwish and Sonate Arctica. But also music movie soundtracks and classic music influences us.

11.Does Satanism or Occultism play any role in your music?
No, definitely not. There is enough talking and arguing about religion going on and there are also enough opinions out there. We actually think it is quite boring to sing about it too.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
When we're not doing music ourselfs we are visiting concerts of other bands. But we too are collectors, video games and guitars are in focus mainly. But most of our free time goes for doing music ourselfes..

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
We'd like to say thank you for being interested in what we do. We wish you a lot of fun listening the album and all the best.

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Churchburn/None Shall Live...The Hymns Of Misery/2018 Full Length Review

  Churchburn  are  a  band  from  Rhode  Island  that  plays  a  blackened  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "None  Shall  Live...The  Hymns  Of  Misery"  which  will  be  released  in  June.

  Atmospheric  soundscpaes  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  distorted  drones  before  going  into  a  heavier  doom  metal  direction  which  also  captures  the  heaviness  of sludge  while  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  adding  clean  playing  into  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music.

  Vocals  are  mostly  blackened  screams  while  growls  are  also  used  at  times  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  melody  at  times  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  as  well  as  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  When  the  music  finally  speeds  up  for  a  few  seconds  on  a  couple  of  the  tracks  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  and  as  the  album  progresses  spoken  word  samples  can  also  be  heard  briefly  while  exotic  sounding  acoustic  guitars  are  added  onto  the  closing  track  which  is  also  an  instrumental.

  Churchburn  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  doom  and  sludge  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  occultism  and  misery  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Churchburn  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a fan  of  those  musical  genres, you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Lines  Of  Red"  "Before  The  Inferno"  and  "Kaustos".  8  out  of  10.

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Verilun/Through Fire... In The Sun/Sliptrick Records/2018 CD Review

Verilun  are  a  band  from  Hungary  that  plays  an  atmospheric  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album "Through  Fire...  In  The  Sun"  which  was  released  by  Sliptrick  Records.

  Wind  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  epic  sounding  synths  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  can  be  heard  as  well  as  the  music  being heavily  rooted  in  the  mid  90's  Swedish  style

  Some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  in  epic  in  length  while  the  vocals  are mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  along  with  the  riffs  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  as  well  as  some  death  metal  growls  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  they  also  bring  in  a  synth  instrumental  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction  and  some  songs  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  symphonic  elements.

  Verilun  plays  a  music  style  that  takes  atmospheric  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with  melodic  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Nature  and  Hungarian  Mythology  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Verilun  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  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  "Upon  The  Mountain"  "Seven  years  And  Seven  Winks"  and  "Through  Fire... In  he  Sun".  8 out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/verilun