TrollWar/Oath Of The Storm/2018 Full Length Review

  TrollWar  are  a  band  from  Quebec,  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of  folk, black  and  melodic  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2018  album  "Oath  Of  The  Storm"  which  will  be released  in  November.

  A  very  dark,  epic  and  nature  orientated  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  symphonic  sounding  keyboards  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  mixes  into  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  which  also  utilize  a  great  amount  of  accordion's  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  folk  music  feeling.

  A  great  amount  of  melody  can  also  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  vocals  also  bringing  in  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls along  with  the  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  as  well  as  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them,  clean  vocals  are  also  utilized  at  times on  a  couple  of  tracks.

  TrollWar  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  folk,  black  and  melodic  death  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  are  based  on  the  writings  of  J.R.R.  Tolkien  and  H.P  Lovecraft.

  In  my  opinion  TrollWar  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  folk,  black  and  melodic  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Summoning"  "The  Forsaken  One"  "Home  OF  Forbidden  Lore"  and  "Winter's Night".  8  out  of  10. 

https://www.facebook.com/Trollwar
https://twitter.com/trollwarqc
https://www.instagram.com/TrollwarMetal

Hierophant/Spawned Abortions/Unholy Anarchy Records/2018 EP Review

  Hierophant  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  death  metal  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  ep  "Spawned  Abortions"  which  was  released  by  Unholy  Anarchy  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  ep  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  music  bring  in  elements  of  sludge  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  as  well the  vocals  being  in  between  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  chaotic  yet  melodic  style  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  music  also  adding  in  elements  of  grindcore  and  they  also  bring  in  a  cover  of  Bolt  Thrower's  "Realm  of  Chaos".

  Hierophant  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  sludge,  death  metal  and  grindcore  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  anti  religion  and  misanthropy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Hierophant  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  death  metal  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Spawned  Abortions".  8  out  of  10.

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Sinnrs/Profound/Dark Matter/2018 Full Length Review

  Sinnrs  are  a  band  from  Denmark  that  plays  an  orchestral  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "Profound"  which  was  released  by  Dark  Matter.

  A  very  dark  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  demonic  vocals  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  direction  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  deep  black  metal  growls  as  well  as  the  riffs  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  orchestra  elements  are  also  added  into  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  melodic  death  metal  elements  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  fast  riffs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  as  well  as  some  of  the  tracks  being  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style, they  also  bring  in  a  couple  of  instrumental  tracks  and  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  on  the  closing  track.

  Sinnrs  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  symphonic  and  orchestral  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  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sinnrs  are  a  very  great  sounding  orchestral  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  "To  Derive  Eden's  Flame"  "No  Promise  To  Mankind"  and  "Commemorate  None".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/sinnrs/

https://sinnrs.bandcamp.com/

Absence Betrayal/Emotions/2018 Full Length Review

  Absence  Betrayal  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  very  atmospheric,  symphonic  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2018  album  "Emotions".

  A  very  heavy  and  melodic  sound  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  starts  off  the  album  while  the  synths  which  are  also  mixed  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  symphonic  and  atmospheric  feeling  as  well  as  the  vocals  also  adding  in  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them,  the  music  also  has  a  lot  of  90's  influences  as  well  as  maintaining  a  very  modern  atmosphere  and  clean  playing  is  added  onto  the  closing  track.

  Absence  Betrayal  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  a  very  atmospheric,  symphonic  and  melodic  form  of  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of t heir  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  tragic  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Absence  Betrayal  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic,  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  "A  Cruel  Dream"  "In  My  Eyes"  "We  Are  Close  To  Heaven"  and  "When  The  Sun  Goes  Out".  8  out  of  10. 

https://www.facebook.com/absence.betrayal/

Stormcast 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?
Since we finished the recording of ‘The Ghost Eater’ we have been focusing on bringing our live performance up to speed. Besides rehearsing the songs, I was also planning the album release and sorting out any band logistics that are part of any band’s album release! Now that the album is finally out, we’ve been focusing more on rehearsals and looking into booking some shows.

2.Recently you have released a new album what are some of the things you feel you have done different musically with this release not you where not able to do on pat recordings?
This album is different to our previous album ‘Frame of Mind’ as I have approached the song-writing in a different way and have explored other areas of the metal genre. In this album you will hear a few more progressive and technical elements which were not so evident in our previous release. On the other hand, this time around we have not included orchestral elements in our songs as we have done in the past, as I feel they wouldn’t fit well in these songs.

3.The band took a 2 year hiatus can you tell us a little bit more about it what?
The band went on hiatus 2 years ago and the future of the band was a bit uncertain. The other members at the time are not part of the band now and so the line-up had to be built again. This took some time and during that time I also focused on writing music for a new album.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
The lyrical concept behind the songs is largely represented through the name of the album ‘The Ghost Eater’. The main essence is about facing your fears and not letting one’s ghosts get the better of him or her. To rise above everything bringing you down and take control of your fears, in simple terms. Each song interprets this meaning in its own way while also letting listeners interpret their meaning in their own way.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Stormcast'?
The name came about when we were young and I guess we thought the name sounded cool at the time haha! While that is largely true, I’m happy we chose that name at the time as I like to think that the band’s music is made up of a small ‘chaos’ (or a storm!) in itself and we want to cast that onto others and make them feel what our music makes us feel.

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
We worked with this very talented artist called Lenore (Ani Artworks) who designed the artwork of the whole album. The artwork is based on the name ‘The Ghost Eater’ and I wanted to represent that through some dynamic imagery. I wanted it to be bold and impactful, dark but elegant. Lenore perfectly grasped the concept I was going for and made the artwork ‘match’ the aesthetic of the music in such a great way. I’m extremely pleased with how it turned out!

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?
Anyone who has ever seen us live knows that we put on a great live performance and we give it our all every time – and that’s true. I hate seeing a band playing live and seeing them look bored and not feeling their own music, it’s such a huge anti-climax and a shame really. We always try our best to put on a good show because, at the end of the day, it’s a SHOW! Without a doubt, our best show we played is MetalDays festival in 2013 in Slovenia. Although it was at 12:30 noon and raining, the energy we got from playing on a huge stage at a big festival was indescribable and our performance that day was most probably our best to date. Another notable gig was our album release show – the venue was packed and we had a great time celebrating our release…good times!

8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
For the moment we aren’t focusing on booking a tour in the near future but will most certainly start booking a few UK shows. Touring isn’t completely out of the picture, I’d just like to get some live experience with the new line-up first before we can take this to an audience outside of where we are based. Things will be a bit more clean in the next few months!

9.Currently the band is unsigned but has worked with a label before in the past, would you be open to working with another label again in the future?
Only if the opportunity is completely worth it. A DIY band can do a lot for itself nowadays with the use endless tools the internet offers if they put the work and effort into it. With certain labels the benefits are obvious and worth considering, but at the moment I am happy to be a DIY band.

10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your newer music by fans of black and extreme metal?
We’ve gained some good following from scattered places around the world and receive messages supporting us which is a lovely feeling and we appreciate it hugely. I haven’t picked up on a certain influx of attention from black metal fans specifically, as I don’t really consider our music to have many black metal elements, but fans of different metal genres have a expressed a liking to our music which I think is great as we can appeal to various types of fans.

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
It’s really hard to say at this point as we are solely focusing on ‘The Ghost Eater’ and haven’t written any material for the future yet. One thing is for certain, the musical direction will not be entirely the same as our previous work as I like to explore different influences when writing music…nobody knows really!

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?
When someone asks me what kind of music does Stormcast play I answer, “Well, something between the style of Opeth, Rotting Christ, Gojira and Porcupine Tree…but not exactly!”. Those bands have been a huge inspiration for me over the past years and it was inevitable they would influence my songwriting…I have been listening to a bit more ‘proggier’ styles over the past couple of years and it has creeped in to my songwriting, but the recent album still does contain that main ‘Stormcast’ sound to it. I like exploring other music as well though, I’ve been listening to the alt-rock band Arcane Roots a lot for the past year or so, they’re a UK band and incorporated a lot of cool electronic elements on their last record – extremely creative stuff, highly recommended to anyone.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?
I watch a lot of movies and Netflix series! I’m currently watching the series Vikings which is pretty good. Apart from that I’m interested in Digital Marketing and is also what I do in my day job…I also like to exercise often and cook quite a lot…and travelling to new places whenever I get the chance!

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
I’d just like to say thank you to everyone who has supported Stormcast up to now, it’s been a huge help and encouragement for the band to continue strong and make great music. Also thank you to you for taking the time to have a chat about the band and our album! I hope you enjoy it!

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1914/The Blind Leading The Blind/Redefining Darkness Records/Archaic Sound/2018 Full Length Review

  1914  are  a  band  from  Ukraine  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  blackened  mixture  of   death, sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "The  Blind  Leading  the  Blind"  which  will  be  released  in  November  as  a  joint  effort  between  Redefining  Darkness  Records  and  Archaic  Sound.

  Music  samples  from  the  world  war  era  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  along  with  the  riffs  also  utilizing  a  lot  of  melody  and  the  vocals  are  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams.

  Elements  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  are  added  into  the  slower  sections  of  the  music  while  some  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  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Spoken  word  and  war  samples  can  also  be  heard  on  some  of  the  other  tracks  while  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  when  they  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  the  also  bring  in  a  cover  of  The  Exploited's  "Beat  The  Bastards",  as  the  album  progresses  acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly.

  1914  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  their  blackened  mixture  of  sludge,  doom  and  death  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  World  War 1  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  1914  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  death,  sludge  and  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE "Arrival.  The  Meuse-Argonne"  'Beat  the  Bastards"  and  "The  Hundred  Days  Offensive".  8  out  of  10.

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Dyrnwyn/Sic Transit Gloria Mundi/SoundAge Productions/2018 CD Review

  Dyrnwyn  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  pagan  form  of  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "Sic  Transit  Gloria  Mundi"  which  will  be  released  on  October  24th  by  SoundAge  Productions.

  Rain,  thunder  and  tribal  drumming  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  folk  instruments  being  added  onto  the  recording  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.

  Black  metal  screams  can  also  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the riffs  also  bringing  in  a  lot  of  melody  as  well  as  some  epic  sounding  keyboards  also  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  music.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  while  some  tracks  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  along  with  one  track  also  introducing  spoken  word  parts  onto  the  recording  as  well  as  a  couple  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length  and  as  the  album  progresses  an  instrumental  is  added  onto  the  recording.

  Dyrnwyn  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  melodic  black,  pagan  and  folk  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Italian  and  cover  Pagan  Roots  and  Ancient  Rome  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Dyrnwyn  are  a  very  great  sounding  pagan  folk  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sic  Transit  Gloria  Mundi"  "...Para  Bellum"  and  "L'assedio  di  Veio  -  CCCVCVI  A.C".  8/5  out  of  10.   

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