Norvhar/Kauna/2019 EP Review

  Norvhar  are  a  band  from  Switzerland  that  plays  an  epic  form  of  pagan  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2019  ep  'Kauna".

  Atmospheric  yet  epic  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  a  few  seconds  later  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  on  the  following  track.  When  acoustic  guitars  are  utilized  they  also  give  the  music  more  of  a  folk  music  feeling  along  with  some  death  metal  growls also  being  utilized  at times.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast beats  can  be  heard while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  Elements  of  black  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  screams  along  with  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Flutes  can  also  be  heard  on  some  of  the  tracks  while  spoken  word  parts  also  make  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  riffs  also  bringing  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody,  nature  sounds  can  also  be  heard  briefly  as  well  as  a  couple  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  clean  vocals  can  also  be  heard  briefly  on  the  closing  track.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  Norse  Paganism  and  the  writings  of J.R.R  Tolkien.

  In  my  opinion  Norvhar  are  a  very  great  sounding  epic  pagan  folk  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Fest  In  Midgard"  and  "Fields  Of  Fate".  8  out  of  10.

https://norvhar.bandcamp.com/

Vale Of Pnath/Accursed/Willowtip Records/2019 EP Review

  Vale  Of  Pnath  are  a  band  from  Denver,  Colorado  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  technical  form  of  blackened  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  ep  "Accursed"  which  will  be   released  in  May  by  Willowtip  Records.

  A  very  dark  horror  soundtrack  orientated  intro  starts  off  the  ep  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  direction.  A  great  amount  of  melody  can  also  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  vocals  also  utilizing  a  great  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls as  well  as  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  utilizing  a  great  amount  of  brutal  sounding  blast  beats.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  technical  yet  melodic  style.  Orchestration  and  Electronics  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  music  giving  the  songs  more  of  a  symphonic  feeling.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts and  as the  ep  progresses  clean  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  an  instrumental  also  being  added  onto  the  recording  and  some  of  the  riffing  also  adds  in  elements  of  prog  metal.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  science  fiction,  horror  and  the  writings  of  H.P  Lovecraft.

  In  my  opinion  Vale  of  Pnath  are  a  very  great  sounding  technical,  melodic  and  symphonic  blackened  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Darkest  Gate"  and  "Scepter  Of  Bone".  8  out  of  10.

valeofpnath.bandcamp.com/album/accursed 

The Absense/Khronocracy/Sliptrick Records/2019 CD Review

  The  Absense  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  post  black,  doom,  stoner  metal,  grunge  and  alternative  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Khronocracy"  which  will  be  released  in March  by  Sliptrick  Records.

  Clean  guitars  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  leads  to  elements  of  grunge  and  alternative  rock  being  added  onto  the  recording.  Elements  of  doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  riffing  along  with  some  female  vocals  also  being  used  at  times.

  Psychedelic  and  stoner  rock  influences  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  music  while  all  of  the  tracks  sound  very  different  from  each  other.  Acoustic  guitars  are  also  used  on  some  of  the  songs,  some  of  the  distorted  riffing  brings  in  more  of  a  lo-fi  style  of  black  metal  along  with  the  vocals  keeping  more  of  a  clean  style.

  The  Absence  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  alternative  rock,  grunge,  post  black,  stoner  and  doom  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  the  specific  passing  of  time  and  Paganism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  The  Absense  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  alternative  rock,  grunge,  post  black,  stoner  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Black  Trip"  and  "The  Absence".  8  out  of 10. 

https://www.facebook.com/theabsense/

Suppressed/Sores/2018 EP Review

  Suppressed  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  blackened  and  nihilistic  mixture  of  sludge,  funeral  doom  metal  and  harsh  noise  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2018  ep  "Sores".

  Harsh  noises  and  power  electronics  start  off  the  ep  and  also  mix  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  at  times.  Elements  of  sludge  and  funeral  doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  along  with  all  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Vocals  also  bring  in  a  mixture  of  deep  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  which  also  show  a  good  amount  of  black  metal  influences.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  at  times  and  on  the  closing  track  the  music  also  speeds  up  briefly.

  Suppressed  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  sludge,  funeral  doom  metal  and  harsh  noise  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  powerful  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  nihilism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Suppressed  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  and  nihilistic  mixture  of  sludge,  funeral  doom  metal  and  harsh  noise  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Shame"  and  "Journey  To  the  End  Of  Night".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/Suppressedsludge/

https://suppressed.bandcamp.com/

Bleeding Utopia/Where The Light Comes To Die/Black Lion Records/Spiritual Beast/2019 CD Review

  Bleeding  Utopia  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "When  The  Light  Comes  To  Die"  which  will  be  released  in  March  as  a  joint  effort  between  Black  Lion  Records  and  Spiritual  Beast.

  Atmospheric  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  while  epic  sounding  synths  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  lot  of  melody.

  Vocals  bring  in  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  good  balance  between  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  as  well  as  the  riffs  also  mixing  in  a  great  amount  of  thrash  elements.

  All of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  music  being  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  Swedish  style,  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  war, religion  and  serial  killers  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Bleeding  Utopia  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  black,  death  and  thrash  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ascendants  Of  Hate"  "Already  Dead"  "Crown  Of  Horns"  and  "Heralds  Of  Hate  And  Defiance".  8  out  of  10. 

https://bleedingutopiablacklion.bandcamp.com/album/where-the-light-comes-to-die   

Pagan Reign/Once Again/Yarko Music Production/2018 CD Review

  Pagan  Reign  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  mixture  of  folk  and  pagan  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "Once  Again"  which  was  released  by  Yarko  Music  Production.

  Acoustic  guitars  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  folk  instruments  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  at  times.  The  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  High  pitched  black  metal  screams  can  also  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  Death  metal  growls  are  also  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  music  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  atmospheric  and  epic  sounding  while  some  of  the  faster  riffing  also utilizes  some  tremolo  picking  as  well  as  some  spoken  word  parts  also  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording,  as  the  album  progresses  a  couple  of  instrumentals  can  also  be  heard.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Slavic  Paganism  themes  along  with  a  couple  of  the  songs  being  written  in  Russian.

  In  my  opinion  Pagan  Reign  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  folk  and  pagan  black  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Return  of  Slavonian  Gods"  Pagan  Reign"  "The  Down"  and  "To  The  End  Of  Svarog's  Night".  8/5  out  of  10.

PAGAN REIGN FACEBOOK

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PAGAN REIGN BANDCAMP

The Promise Of Plague Interview

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

I was previously in an industrial metal band called Empyrean Asunder. I wrote a few songs for a new release that contained a lot more black metal influence than previous material and everyone hated it. So I disbanded Empyrean Asunder and recruited new members for the more black metal inspired industrial metal style. Like Empyrean Asunder, The Promise of Plague is basically a conglomeration of every musical style that I enjoy listening to. It contains elements of black metal, industrial, goth, synth and punk.


2. You have a new album coming out in March,musically how does it differ from the recording you had released in 2016?

It sounds like a completely different band. I wasn’t fully aware of exactly how different it was until I listened to both albums side by side. There really is little comparison between the two, there’s something more emotive for sure, it’s a bit darker, maybe a little more rock added here and there. I’m not sure why it sounds so different really but from beginning to end you can only hear trace elements of the previous recording.


3.The band members have been a part of a good number of bands, what is it that you bring into the music of the band that you are not able to do with your other bands or projects?

Jim was in Abominant, Astrum, Gaebalein, Assisting Sorrow, Cataclysm and Coronach to name a few. Chris was previously with Empyrean Asunder and Psychopathy, I was with Empyrean Asunder, Fatal Step, Assisting Sorrow, Coronach, Absence of Faith, Märcoda, and Alice In The Aftermath to name a few. This is Ashley’s first recorded band.

There are no formulas to The Promise of Plague. Anything goes. With other bands there is a sound that defines the band, a tone, a way of playing, we don’t have that. Any riff that you feel, any sound that you hear, it belongs in our music.


4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music?

I guess on the surface they cover the very typical topics you’d expect. Loss, Regret, Emptiness, Despair but on a deeper level it’s a personal reflection of how I deal with those feelings. The self hatred, confusion and doubt that you experience in life and love. Many topics deal with my attempt at understanding how you can become a stranger to yourself, or how in the blink of an eye your loved ones can so quickly become that stranger. The lyrics are a delphic mass of confusion and anger and at times I’m not so sure if I’m pointing the finger at others, or at myself.


5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'The Promise Of Plague'?

We sail on the breeze of disease

if you had eyes even the dead could see

our hearts beat so swiftly

but we are not forever


It is derived from a section of lyrics that I wrote as the first The Promise Of Plague song. The following line was to be “This is my promise, a promise of plague” but it was cut from the final lyrics because it didn't really fit musically.


6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

The album is titled “The Tomb Of Lost Lovers” essentially the death and remembrance of love. Not necessarily romantic love as the lyrics deal not only with romantic love, but also with the love of self, the love of ideas and the love of life, and the destruction and the loss of that love. The imagery is basically a representation of that idea. Plus I really loved the Pungent Stench “Been Caught Buttering” album cover and wanted to rip that off.


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

We’re a studio band but we did play a show last year as novelty. It was a local festival. We didn’t fit the bill at all but I think it went over well enough. Probably won’t play any other shows. Our other bands have played some pretty interesting shows, but this band will stay a studio project for the foreseeable future.


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

Not at all. I believe Jim and Ashley have a new band and they are gearing up for the studio with some possible live shows, I have 2 other projects in the works, Märcoda (electro industrial) and I may revive Empyrean Asunder (industrial metal). I might do a few shows here and there with those projects.


9.Currently the band is unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

I’m not so interested. If a label wanted to sign us and had zero expectation of me doing anything other than just writing an album here and there I’d consider it but I’m not going to dedicate myself to it, I won’t tour or play shows often.


10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal, punk and industrial?

I didn’t think it would go over well at all, the first release was raw black metal mixed with a good amount of punk, industrial and electro but the metal crowd seemed to enjoy it enough. Hopefully we get the same reception with this new material.


11.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?

Jim is working on a power metal band and has another project that is a good mix of prog rock, metal, and post-black metal called A Locust Tide. Both bands are currently in the writing / recording stage.

Ashley is a member of a variety burlesque dance and entertainment troupe Va Va Vixens, and performs with them. I’m working on the aforementioned Märcoda (electro industrial) and Empyrean Asunder (industrial metal).  Märcoda was just included in an Alfa Matrix compilation and I have 4 songs that are nearly finished for a new release and I’m kinda getting ideas together for a new Empyrean Asunder release.


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

Don’t know really. I love Disembowelment (Australia) and I’ve always wanted to incorporate more of that style of doom into my music but it’s never really materialized while writing. I’d imagine the next release will be completely different than the previous two.


13.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?

I was inspired by 00’s electro/synthpop, 90’s black metal, 80’s industrial and 70’s punk. Lately I’ve been listening to Anathema, Royksopp, Peter Heppner, Cocksparrer, and Scandroid.

Jim was inspired by 80’s metal, early 90’s death metal and 90’s black metal and prog metal.

Chris is inspired by 80’s-90’s metal, Megadeth, Misfits and anything Glenn Danzig.

Ashley listens to a lot of Black Sabbath, Moody Blues, Depeche Mode, Tori Amos, Clannad, Coven, Venom, and Satyricon to name a few.


14.What are some of your non musical interests?

I’m a microbiologist and a dad so if I’m not looking at diseases I’m watching cartoons. I hike and kayak a lot as well. Jim is an amateur archeologist, an outdoorsman and a bodybuilder. Chris makes bourbon and knives (Not Nice Knives) and spends his free time with his family. Ashley researches unusual/esoteric subjects, experiments with art and makeup, and goes rock hunting for minerals, crystals and fossils.


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

 All of my music is available online for free. So go to bandcamp, youtube or google the titles and download some free music.

https://www.facebook.com/thepromiseofplague/