Amanita Virosa/Original Plague/Inverse Records/2019 CD Review

  Amanita  Virosa  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  with  a  musical  style  they  describe  as  being  'hospital  metal'  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Original  Plague"  which  will  be  released  in  August  by  inverse  Records.

  Keyboards  and  symphonic  elements  start  off  the  album  and  also  mix  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music. Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  melody.  A  good  amount  of  90's  influences  can  also  be  heard  in  the  bands  musical  style  as  well  as  maintaining  a  very  modern  take  on  the  genres  they  are  influenced  by.

   During  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard and  as  the  album  progresses  one  of  the  tracks  also  introduces  clean  playing  onto  the  recording  along  with  some  songs  showing  the  music  going  into  more  of  a  melodic  death  metal  direction.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  hateful  themes

  In  my  opinion  Amanita  Virosa  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  REOCMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "I  Walk  Away"  "Weak,  Strong  &  Wise"  "This  Night"  and  "Longing".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/AmanitaVirosaBand 

https://www.instagram.com/amanitavirosaband

https://spoti.fi/2Lmb0rC 

      

Wallowing/Planet Loss/Sludgelord Records/Black Voodoo Records/2019 CD Review

  Wallowing  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  doom  metal,  grindcore  and  noise  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  Planet  Loss"  which  will  be  released  in  September  as  a  joint  effort  between  Sludgelord  and  Black  Voodoo  Records.

  A  sci-fi  orientated  prologue  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  elements  of  sludge  and  doom  metal.

  A  small  amount  of  melody  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  Harsh  noises  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  music  and  during  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  a  great  amount  of  grindcore  elements  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard,  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  one  track  also  introduces  guitar  leads  onto  the  recording.

  Wallowing  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  sludge,  doom  metal,  grindcore  and  noise  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  science  fiction  and  the  modern  political  climate  along  with  some  inspirations  from  the  writings  of  George  Orwell.

  In  my  opinion  Wallowing  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  doom  metal,  grindcore  and  noise  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Earthless"  and  "Vessel".  8  out  of  10.

here https://thesludgelord.bandcamp.com/album/planet-loss
 Band info: www.facebook.com/wallowingnoise/



  

Kamikaze Zombie/The Destroyer Of All Things/2019 Full Length Review

  Kamikaze  Zombie  are  a  band  from  Birmingham,  Alabama  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  doom,  thrash  metal  and  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their self  released  2019  album  "The  Destroyer  Of  All  Things".

  Horror  movie  samples  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  musical  direction which  mixes  the  raw  energy  with  the  heaviness  of  thrash  metal.  A  decent  amount  of  melody  can  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  vocals  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  aggressive  screams  and  shouts.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  Elements  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  can  be  heard  in t he  slower  sections  of  the  music  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  also  being  utilized  at  times  as  well  as  horror  movie  samples  being  added  onto  the  other  tracks and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  all  of  the  music  sticks  to  a  heavier  direction.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  horror  movie  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  Kamikaze  Zombie  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  sludge,  doom,  thrash  metal  and  punk,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Prometheus"  "Devil's  Night"  "The  Cycle  Of  Demons"  and  "Beware  Of  The  Moon".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5G2GxgxxKI    

Arsantiqva/Scavengers/Mors Lucerna Records/2018 CD Review

  Arsantiqva  are  a  band  from  Brooklyn,  New  York  that  plays  a  epic  and  symphonic  form  of  black'n'roll  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "Scavengers"  which  was  released  by  Mors  Lucerna  Records.



  A  very  dark,  heavy  and  epic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  while  the  keyboards  when  they  are  utilized  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  symphonic  feeling.

  A  decent  amount  of  Norwegian  influences  can  also  be  heard  in  the  bands  musical  style  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.  Choirs  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well  as  some  deep  growls  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  the  songs  also  mix  in  a  great  amount  of  black'n'roll  elements.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  as  well  as  the  songs  also  adding  in    decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  When  female  vocals  are  utilized  they  also  give  the  music  more  of  an  operatic  feeling  and  grooves  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  and  leads.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  dystopian  philosophy  and  post  apocalyptic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Arsantiqva  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  black'n'roll  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "They"  "Dominion"  "Scavengers  Of  Salvation"  and  "Ultra  Black".  8  out  of  10.

www.facebook.com/Arsantiqva
https://arsantiqva.bandcamp.com      

Atlas Entity Interview

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

Atlas Entity, a progressive metal band based out of the Tampa Bay Area in Florida, is my solo project that I created after my last band split up around 2015. Since then I’ve released a four-song EP titled Enceladus, and on June 14 I’m releasing my first 8-song full-length album, Beneath the Cosmic Silence. On both releases I play guitars, bass, keys, and do vocals. Each release features different session musicians including Samus Paulicelli on drums (Decrepit Birth, Devin Townsend) and guest solos by Rafael Trujillo (Obscura) and Mark Hawkins (LVM Trio, Devolved). Even if it does take a bit of time between releases, I intend to continue writing new material and featuring talented musicians that I’m inspired by and lucky enough to work with.

2.In June you have a full length coming out, musically how does it differ from the ep you had released in 2015?

Beneath the Cosmic Silence differs from my first EP as it focuses more on composition and atmosphere rather than raw brutality and technicality. Now of course there’s plenty of technical and heavy parts in the full length, but I feel like each song has its own organic flow that tells a story. I would definitely say that the new release is a much more relaxed approach to Atlas Entity and my writing style. Beneath the Cosmic Silence also has lyrics designed around stories originating the western US, ghosts, and a general appreciation of nature, rather than the concept-based space themes of Enceladus.

3.This is your first release in 4 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?

Life has been busy since then! Besides writing and recording music, I help run my family business and I also have a wonderful girlfriend and dog that I love spending time with and traveling with. Writing, recording, designing, and coordinating with companies and other musicians to create a full-length album takes an enormous amount of time, effort and money, especially when handling it on your own. At times it was hard to find the right balance between music, life, work, and everything else but in the end, it worked out and I ended up with a product that I’m truly proud of.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with the newer music?

As I mentioned above, Beneath the Cosmic Silence has lyrics written about stories originating the western US, ghosts, and a general appreciation of nature. Over the past few years we have been traveling a lot and we’ve seen some amazing places out in the western United States that have really inspired me. I’ve always loved nature and I’m frequently out hiking in local state parks and wildlife preserves, but the towering mountains and plummeting gorges of the natural landscape out there provide such an amazing contrast to the swampy, humid, and relatively flat scenery that Florida provides.

5.On your previous ep you had explored space themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?

I’ve always been interested in astronomy and in turn, science fiction. Anything from sci-fi books, comics, terrible B sci-fi movies, I’m all about it. I’m also a firm believer that we’re not alone in the universe – it is wayyy too large for us to be all alone here. I’d say that’s where most of the inspiration for Enceladus came from. Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, has an icy surface that’s about 20 miles thick. Due to its elliptical orbit around Saturn, the gravitational pull squeezes and flexes the moon enough that it can melt some of the ice underneath the surface. This means that there could be a giant sub-surface ocean that has existed there for millions, if not billions of years. If there’s liquid water, I’d bet that there’s some sort of life there.

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Atlas Entity'?

So the Atlas Entity is a planet-devouring cosmic being which is first introduced in the Enceladus EP. Enceladus is the first entry of a 3-part concept series about a group of space explorers that land a manned mission on Saturn’s moon Enceladus and (unfortunately) find sentient life below the frozen surface. The first EP scratches the surface of the story and the next two EPs will continue the saga. On the shirts available in our merch shop you can see an awesome depiction of the Atlas Entity.

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

The cover artwork is a photo I took in Grand Canyon National Park – what an experience that was. On the drive in, we’re going through a hot, arid, Arizona desert. Once we get into the park and start gaining elevation, it became colder and colder until we started seeing patches of white on the ground. Soon enough the temperature drops below 30*F and it starts snowing HARD. I couldn’t really feel my hands or my face at this point, but I managed to get a couple good pics before we had to leave. The album cover on Beneath the Cosmic Silence is one of them.

8.Originally the band started out as a solo project, what was the decision behind adding in other members?

The band still is a solo project. I write the majority of the material and then I’ll often work with session musicians to help fill in the gaps for drums and guest solos. I can play drums, but I don’t have the facilities to record at the quality I want, nor do I possess the skill that someone like Samus does.

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

I’ve received some interest from a few smaller labels, but no offers or anything that would meet the needs of Atlas Entity. I wouldn’t say that I’m actively looking for a label, but I’d be glad to entertain any offers that could lend success to the project.

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

So far, the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive – especially from overseas fans. Atlas Entity is based in the US, so it’s very interesting to me that the majority of purchases and pre-orders come from other countries like the UK, Canada, Russia, Germany, and Portugal. I absolutely love being able to send the music I make to people all over the world.

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

The writing continues – as it always will! I think next up I’m going to finish up a single or maybe another EP along the same lines as the first EP. I have a couple of new ideas that I’m piecing together but I’m also looking to continue the Enceladus story.

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?

Enceladus was heavily inspired by bands like Between the Buried and Me, The Helix Nebula, Ne Obliviscaris, Arsis, and more. During the writing process of Beneath the Cosmic Silence, I was listening to a lot of black metal/folk metal – especially bands like Falls of Rauros, Agalloch, and Celephaïs. If you haven’t heard Monad by Celephaïs, do yourself a favor and give that a listen through. More recently I’ve been listening to these awesome bands and albums on heavy rotation: Wide Eyes – Paradoxica, The Omnific – The Mind’s Eye, Obscura – Diluvium, Andy James – Arrival, Devin Townsend – Empath, and (wild card, also not new) Queensryche – Operation Mindcrime.

13.What are some of your non-musical interests?

Some of my non-musical interests include (in no particular order): hiking, travel, drawing/painting, photography, video games, doing cool stuff with my girlfriend, playing with my dog, and recently I’ve become really interested in house plants, ha.

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

I’d just like to say thanks again for having me and thanks to everyone who’s purchased or listened to Atlas Entity. Atlas Entity is my labor of love and I while it may take a bit of time between releases, I intend to keep writing and putting new music out there. Thank you, thank you, and thank you.

www.atlasentity.com

atlasentity.bandcamp.com

STREAM Beneath the Cosmic Silence:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gntj_1KyYJY&t=5s

Relinquished/Addictivities (Part I.)/NRT Records/2019 Full Length Review

 Relinquished  are  a  band  from  Austria  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  melodic  and  progressive  form  of  blackened  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Addictivities  (Part  I.)"  which  was  released  by  NRT  Records.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  and  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  progressive  feeling  along  with  a  brief  use  of  whispered  vocals.  A  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  vocals  bring  in  a  mixture  of  black  emtal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  melody.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Clean  playing  is  also  utilized  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  as  well  as  one  song  also  introducing  spoken  word  parts  onto  the  recording.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  as  well  as  one  of  the  tracks  being  an  instrumental  which  also  introduces  synths  onto  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  a  drug  addict  protagonist  named  Daniel  and  his  struggles  with  addiction.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Relinquished  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  progressive blackened  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Expectations"  "Damaged  For  Good"  and  "Void  Of  My  Ashen  Soul".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVSnl-f96RI&feature=youtu.be

  

Sigil/Demonstration MMXIX/Funeral Trance/2019 Demo Review

  Sigil  are  a  band  from  Calgary,  Alberta,  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  death  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  demo  "Demonstration  MMXIX"  which  will  be  released  on  July  15th  by  Funeral  Trance.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  demo  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  The  vocals  bring  in  more  of  a  hardcore  and  sludge  style  as w ell  as  adding  in  a  few  growls  at  times  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  black  metal  style  tremolo  picking  can  be  heard.

  During  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Elements  of  post  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  guitar  leads  have  more  of  a  dissonant  approach  to  them.

  Sigil  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  sludge,  death  metal  and  hardcore  and  mixes  them  together  to  create    a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  lyrics  cover  alchemy  themes.

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

http://sigilcalgary.bandcamp.com/album/demonstration-mmxix