[ BOLT]/Lavas Magmas/dunk! records/2019 Split Album Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  Germany's  [ BOLT ]  and  Lavas  Magmas  which  was  released  by  dunk!  records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  [ BOLT ]   who  move  from  a  blackened  drone  doom  metal  style  to  more  of  an  instrumental  ambient  drone  style  with  their  track

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  some  atmospheric  sounding  drones  while  their  track  is  also  over  10  minutes  in  length.  All  of  the  music  is  instrumental  along  with  some  elements  of  ambient  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  song  and  the  track  also  avoids  the  black  and  doom  metal  influences  of  previous  releases.

  Next  up  is  Lavas  Magmas  a  solo  project  that  plays  a  mixture  of  noise  and  industrial.

  His  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  some  atmospheric  sounding  drones  while  field  recordings  can  also  be  heard  in  the  background.  his  track  is  all  instrumental  along  with  the  track  being  over  10  minutes  in  length  and  the  song  also  adds  in  elements  of  noise  and  industrial  and  the  music  also  gets  more  diverse  as  the  song  progresses.

  On  the  closing  track  [ BOLT ]   and  Lavas  Magmas  team  up  together  and  mix  both  of  their  very  different  style  together.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  some  atmospheric  sounding  drones  while  the  track  is  over  20  minutes  in  length  and  an  instrumental.  Field  recordings  can  also  be  heard  at  times  along  with  some  elements  of  ambient  and  as  the  tracks  progresses  the  music  also  starts  adding  in  elements  of  black  and  doom  metal.

  In  conclusion  i  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  black,  doom  metal,  drone,  noise,  experimental  and  ambient.  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/wearebolt/
https://wearebolt.bandcamp.com
www.lavasmagmas.bandcamp.com
                 

Wallowing Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
T. This is a tough question to answer as we have tried so hard to keep the band somewhat of a mystery and an enigma. I think it's also an incredibly difficult given the nature of our band and music. I think aside from that we are an extreme metal band based in the south of the UK, it's best if we let the album speak for itself here.

2.In September you have your first full length coming out, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recording?
T. This isn't only our first full length but our first recording entirely, bar an incredibly DIY live single track demo we put together with the help of our mate Sam. I think the beauty of that is, that there's no real style there whatsoever! Musically we write what we want to write and to play, and try not to box ourselves into genre or any other confining ideas, which is why you will find when listening to the record that (we like to think) the music is constantly changing and evolving to the overall themes within the piece. At heart we are entirely a prog band.


3.Your lyrics cover both science fiction and political themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in those subjects?

T. What we tried to do with Planet Loss as a full piece, was try to highlight the current state of the planet through the use of Sci-fi metaphors and imagery as, if you really look at current world affairs it's ironic how close we are to your classic sci-fi dystopian tale. We have the oppressive, power-driven overlords (some even trying to build sky high monolithic walls), a huge imbalance of wealth and conflict of the people interests spanning the globe, a society so reliant on technology it's actually making us ill. Not to mention this is all happens in a reality where it is supposedly easier to give a huge chunk of the population a pill for their problems and send them on their way rather than work with them, despite the hollow numbness we experience thereafter.

Every so often you'll find a piece of media that does a great job of highlighting the issues half of us don’t even see. George Orwell's 1984 is a great example of this, and in more recent years as does the TV show black mirror. It's incredibly important in this day and age to keep your eyes open, read between the lines and think for yourself. Media such as those we have named do an incredible job of making this point and in a dream world hopefully people will see our album in a similar light.


4.You also mentioned some inspiration from George Orwell, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in his works?

T. We enjoy a lot of Sci-fi literature such as the works of H.G Wells, Phillip K. Dick and James Herbert (The City is one of the best graphic novels of all time), but Orwell's ability to draw parallels between his writing and real-world political, social and economic issues was definitely an inspiration when writing Planet Loss. "1984" is a powerful piece of literature which resonates with us on several levels and we think that comes across in the lyrics and story we present.


5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Wallowing'?

T. Planet Loss is a sentimental album to us for many reasons, but one of the biggest is because of how much truth there is behind the music. As we have said before, this album was made to highlight human errors that have failed society and the world in general, a world that we are a part of and have had to endure as much as anyone else. All of the topics we highlight on the album are things that have affected us as people, and in order to put that across effectively whilst writing the initial drafts for what eventually would become Planet Loss, our minds had to "wallow" in some horrible memories and experiences, so the name seemed natural from the start.

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
T. The artwork is a piece we commissioned from Luke Oram. His work has always stood out to us for his attention to detail, unique use of colour, contrast and overall style. Not to mention he has worked on cover art for some incredible bands such as Monolithian, Human Future, Iron Eagle & his own  band Atomck to name a few.
The idea behind the cover was to create an image with huge scale to mirror the music, whilst detailing the overall themes behind the story. The foreground shows a group of “Lizard Men” patrolling human slaves, whilst an evil overlord kind of figure looks down over the loading bay of his ship to see hoards of human slaves lined up by these ominous gigantic droid/robotic figures. The “overlord” has two curious, childlike and dependent droids on either side of him in a kind of metaphor to our views on the UK government. There are several metaphors within the piece which mimic metaphors within the music itself.
There is a real retro vibe to the piece which we really appreciate, from the Giger influenced spaceship-interior to the use of colour.

7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
T. We were fortunate enough to be a part of Cardiff Psych & Noise Fest alongside Ohhms, Cattle & Part Chimp as our first ever show, which was a great opportunity and awesome time  Although admittedly a daunting first ever show, we feel like it went incredibly well! Since then we have been lucky enough to play Dreadfest 2019 alongside WormRot, Rotten Sound - FukPig as well as Creeping Death Fest alongside BONG, & Riffmas Fest in Brighton alongside bands such as Telepathy and Diesel King. We have been very fortunate for a band with limited music and media available!



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

J. We’ll be doing a run of shows around the album launch. Exact dates & locations still to be confirmed, but we’ll be announcing them as soon as possible. We’ll be looking at sorting out more dates for 2020, obviously, too.

9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of underground metal?

J. It’s hard to tell on a worldwide level, yet. We put out a demo for Phosgene a few months ago, and it got a great reception - and things have been going down really well live… but only a select few have heard the album for now - so it’s hard to get an idea of what the reaction will be outside of that!

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
T. Musically we are keeping that door wide open. We aren't ones to pigeon-hole ourselves and despite having some rough ideas for new music in the works, there's no telling which direction it'll take just yet. It will be heavy, it will be disgusting and 100% as out there as “Planet Loss”, but we aren't going in with any specific ideas for a specific sound. We are a band who 100% like to feel things out naturally and let our emotion do the talking, so it's all very dependent on where we are in our lives at that specific point. It's real exciting as we are just as clueless as everyone else.


11.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?
T. Our influences are incredibly varied but all tend to stem from heavier music. Although saying that, the main ideas behind "Planet Loss" were inspired by Rush's "2112". We wanted to create an album that was, at heart, a prog concept album but executed through our own medium. Bands such as Haasts Eagled and Space Witch also had a personal influence on me when playing with initial ideas for the record.

We all spend a lot of time playing and running events in the UK Heavy Scene, so naturally we love bands such as Torpor, Opium Lord, Pet Brick, Grim Existence, Calligram, Monolithian & Geist to name a few.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
T. Hooning cars, eating beans, creating art and spending time (drinking beers) with loved ones.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
T. Just thanks for taking the time to put these questions together. We enjoyed answering them. We hope you enjoy the record

https://www.facebook.com/wallowingnoise

Ov Lustra Interview

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

Of course! We’ve been a 3 piece (Myself, Tyler, and Ryan) for just about our entire time as a band. (Drummers have been hard for us to come by, minus a few talented studio musicians) We started in early 2017 with the main intent being that we felt our local scene was lacking in the specific style we aim for, so we sought out to change that.



2.Recently you have released a new mini album, musically how does it differ from your previous full length?

I’d say it’s a good bit different while still keeping to our roots. We got a lot of “deathcore” comparison on our first album, which wasn’t the intent lol, but this new release hasn’t seen as much of that, so we’re happy. The orchestration is much more epic this time around (thanks to Francesco from Fleshgod Apocalypse), the riffs and progressions are catchier (in our opinions), and the song structures are a little more mature than our first album.



3.The lyrics on both of the recordings have a concept to them, can you tell us a little bit more about the story that you cover on both albums?

To keep it as short as I can, our music has revolved around this story that Tyler (who is an English major) has been writing since we formed the band. Our first album begins with our main character, Oranys, waking in a field on an almost Earth-like wilderness planet, with no other intelligent life. This place is a purgatory of sorts known as “Ov Lustra”. Oranys was exiled here as a punishment, along with his loved one, Azure, who actually ends up dying. Oranys first has no memories or recollection of who or where he is, and the journey across Ov Lustra that follows is what our first album entails. His search for answers, which brings back his memories and details what he must do next. This new release, Tempestas, follows directly after the first album, detailing our characters feelings of loss/rage after recovering his memories and recalling the reason for his exile and Azure’s death, as well as his route for escape from Ov Lustra. It’s a rather in depth story that Tyler is actually writing entire books about, so I don’t want to give away too much right here.



4.Originally the band was known as 'Sun Speaker', what was the cause of the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Ov Lustra'?

We received a cease & desist letter from an artist who trademarked the Sun Speaker name after our first album released. We did what we could to try to retain the name, but did not succeed. So, we decided to try to keep things somewhat familiar to our followers and went with “Ov Lustra” because it was the title of our first album and an important location in our concept story.



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

The artwork on the new cover was perfect for this release as we wanted to try to give a glimpse into what we envisioned some of the landscape of Ov Lustra would look like.



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?

Well, due to our struggle with finding live drummers, we have actually only performed live once as a group, however, it was a great show and we had amazing support from our local scene. We do have plans of making more live appearances though.



7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

At the moment, no. But, we are in talks with a new drummer, so that could change soon.



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

We’ve actually gotten a better reaction than we initially anticipated when we started, which is amazing and humbling. We’ve received mostly all positive feedback, with the exception of a few haters, but that’s all good with us. We just like creating music for those that care to listen.



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

I’m glad you ask. We toned down some of our “deathcore” elements in Tempestas in favor of more blackened progressions and riffs. Moving forward we plan to further move our sound to a more black metal focus, while still retaining some of the death metal riffs and such we are known for at the moment.



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?

Overall, I’d say our biggest influences for this group have been Behemoth, The Black Dahlia Murder, Fleshgod Apocalypse, and Fallujah. I’ve been on a major Dark Funeral/Hate binge the last couple months though



11.Does Occultism play any role in your music?

To a degree, yes. It’s not apparent at face value, but a lot of the detail/premise behind our story is our own fictional rendition of Christianity’s early history. We put our own spin on the creation of man, Adam and Eve, God, and more. We do so in a VERY cryptic way, which honestly only reading the actual story would make more noticeable. However, we do plan to eventually publish these stories, so there is hope yet to discover our secrets yourself!



12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Outside of the band, Im also an audio engineer and graphic designer. Music is part of my daily life. But when I need a break I work on designing stuff, photography, and the like; which is actually my day job. I’m just an overall creative person.



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

I’d just like to let any readers know how grateful we are for the support we have received thus far. You all have been so good to us and we hope to keep pushing out music you will enjoy.

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Sick Sad World/Imago Clipeata/Atypeek Music/2019 CD Review

  Sick  Sad  World  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  mixture  of  atmospheric  black  metal,  sludge,  hardcore  and  post  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Imago  Clipeata"  which  was  released  by  Atypeek  Music.

  Spoken  word  samples  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  playing  a  few  seconds  later  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction  which  also  introduces  high  pitched  black  emtal  screams  onto  the  recording.  Elements  of  sludge  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  music.

  The  songs  also  mix  in  elements  from  the  post  genres  of  metal,  hardcore  and  rock  while  the  riffs  also add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  atmospheric  sounding  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Some  of  the  riffing  also  adds  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  piking  along  with  most  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  some  blast  beats  also  being  utilized  when  the  music  speeds  up while  a    decent  amount  of  melody  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of the  guitar  riffing.

  One  track  also  introduces  clear  vocals  into the  music  as  well  as  clean  playing  also  making  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  as  the  album  progresses  spoken  word  parts  are  also  used  briefly  along  with  one  track  also  adding  melodic  shoegaze  influenced  guitar  leads  into  the  music  and  death  metal  growls  are  also  added  onto  the  closing  track.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sick  Sad  World  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  atmospheric  black  metal,  sludge,  hardcore  and  post  rock  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Battlefield"  and  "Market".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PUIxXevhLc      

Formicarius/Rending The Veil Of Flesh/Schwarzdorn Production/2019 CD Review

  United  Kingdom's  Formicarius  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  the  symphonic  and  epic  style  of  black  metal  from  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Rending  The  Veil  Of  Flesh"  which  will  be  released  in  September  by  Schwatzdom  Production.

  A  very  fast  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  while  symphonic  elements  are  also  added  into  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music.  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  A  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  while  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  some  growls  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  music.  The  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  one  track  also  introduces  acoustic  guitars  onto  the  recording.

   Female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  at  times  as  well  as  the  music  also  bringing  in  a  decent  amount  of  mid  90's  era  influences  but  keeping  it  modern  at  the  same  time  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  dark  ages  and  the  corruption  of  the  Christian  religion  in  that  era.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Formicarius  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  symphonic  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Beyond  The  Veil  Of  Flesh"  "Inherit  Our  Sickness"  "Stalker  Among  The  Stars"  and  "O  Dread  Impaler".  8  out  of  10.

http://www.formicarius.co.uk       

Vereor Nox 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?
Fenrir: Right now we are concentrating a lot in the rehearsal room to play live. We have always been a studio band, and so we find ourselves playing together only now, despite having two albums behind us. We are refining the songs and adding a few more of those, while we ask for publicity and media spaces, looking for some interviews and sending some albums to get some more reviews. We already have the head in the third album and, ideas, in a still very approximate sense, already has its own written score.

2.In May you had released a new album, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
Gwyn: Certainly what is most striking is the orchestration: in the new album they are perhaps the most important part, even more than the guitars, and it is a sound that tends towards theatricality which wants to paint atmospheres. Nevertheless, this does not deprive Vereor Nox of his violence and its impact. The first cd is certainly more "classic": metal gets the fundamental part, it's a cruder cd, not in a negative sense, of course. The stylistic evolution between the two CDs is given above all by the change of formation; the only original member left is Fenrir while the composition and arrangement was passed to Gwyn. Let's not forget one of the fulcrums of the band: Seath on bass, which gave us some excellent counter-melodies on this album.

3.A lot of your lyrics deal with Paganism and Mythology themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?

Gwyn/Fenrir Our approach to pagan/mythological figures is slightly anomalous, I would say. Our intent is to analyze and narrate the emotions, the suffering and the psychological experience of the characters we chose to describe beyond the music. The first album is in fact nothing but the representation of some mental pathologies through gods and mythological and folkloristic creatures; Vereor Nox, our eponymous new album, is no different. We investigated the stories and lore related to each character and in the end we chose seven Dark Souls bosses to set to music by turning their suffering and heartbreaking story into lyrics, song and sounds

4.What are some of the other lyrical topics and subjects you have explored over the years with your music?
Gwyn/Fenrir the contents developed by us are those that we have presented in Noli Respicere with the gods and in Vereor Nox with the world of Dark Souls. We are already working on the new album which will develop in a more "historic" context.
Unfortunately we cannot say more yet

5.I know that the bands name means 'night must be feared' in Latin, how does this name fit in with the musical style that you play?
Fenrir: I think the name Vereor Nox, literally "the night must be feared" is a great name for a black or death metal project. It undoubtedly describes perfectly the decadent and romantic atmospheres of the new album as well as representing the obscure sounds of Noli Respicere, our first cd.

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
Gwynthe cover of the new album represents humanity which, in the Dark Souls universe, is the object that allows the chosen undead to return human. Humanity is perhaps the main emblem of DS, which is the reason why we decided to use it on the cover of our concept, precisely because it is about DS.

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?
Fenrir: The fun thing is that we have never played live since the project was born to be destined to be in the studio: we are working in the rehearsal room and we hope to start between November and December!

8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
Fenrir: Nothing certain. We would have some proposals between November and December but for now nothing is safe.

9.The new album was released on 'Earth And Sky Productions', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
Seath: This label was born thanks to an idea of ​​Marian Robert Peron, a friend of ours who decided to call us to be part of his band roster. The Earth And Sky Production is one of those labels organized and structured as they should be: it is a label that bets on, invests and risks on the bands it wants with it. And this is what every label should do, while for several years the mechanism seems morbidly reversed. Therefore, the EASP has all our trust and all our support.

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

Seath: The album was averagely appreciated and positively reviewed on several occasions, bringing together musicholics of extreme genres but also those who have a penchant for orchestrations and go beyond a purely creationist approach to the whole genre. In reality, it was scorned by those who appreciate the cruder and "primitive" part of this genre: in short, from those who are more connected to the old school. Honestly, after an initial disappointment, we have developed a thought: we do not want to tell anyone how a particular genre should be done, but the fact that the album was appreciated by those who do not set limits on the music implies a more genuine appreciation, according to us, and that is what makes us happier. We want to make music and not untie ourselves from extreme metal styles, but we don't want to start even with the fear of doing something that moves away from a prototype, for example, of symphonic death metal. Music is naturalness, in any form, and in any form it must grow spontaneously.
11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Gwyn: The needs to evolve the style change from album to album, depending on the concept. The music in fact must be inclined to represent the concept and help the listener as much as possible to immerse himself in the story we are going to tell. Surely the style we want to carry forward can be framed as "cinematic black metal" or "black metal opera" and just as sure is our intent to improve the exhibition ability to create suggestive and hypnotic atmospheres. Projecting the listener into the music for us is everything.

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?

Gwyn: As far as metal is concerned, certainly bands like Xanthochroid and Ne Obliviscaris are our main sources of inspiration, but let's not forget Summoning, Carach Angren, Sojourner and Agalloch. Of course classical music too is and remains a huge source of inspiration for us. Surely Wagner most of all influenced our orchestrations, but let's not forget the same OSTs as Dark Souls.
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Seath, Gwyn,Fenrir: Always be yourself, see you on stage!

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Necronautical/Apotheosis/Candlelight Records/2019 CD Review

  Necronautical  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  misanthropic  form  of  symphonic  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Apotheosis"  which  will  be  released  in  August  by  Candlelight  Records.

  Ritualistic  sounding  bells  and  melodic  chants  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction.  The  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  melody  while  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  during t he  faster  sections  of  the  music  along  with  the  symphonic  elements  being  added  into  the  heavier  parts  of  the  songs.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  yet  high  pitched  sounding  black  metal  screams  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  A  lot  of  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  mid  90's  style  as  well  as  most  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  some  songs  also  bringing  in  clean  vocals,  death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  acoustic  guitars  are  also  brought  onto  a  couple  of  tracks.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  a  melancholic  journey  through  an  empty  and  brutal  existence  along  with  some  inspirations  from t he  writings  of  Friedrich  Nietzsche,  Chuck  Palanuik,  and  Neil  Gaimon.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Necronautical  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  symphonic  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "All  Is  Vanity"  "Apotheosis"  and  "Down  The  Endless  Spiral".  8  out  of  10.

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