Messora Interview

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



Z- Messora is a band that plays a seemingly non-identifiable subgenre of Metal, but we attach the label Progressive Death Metal for the sake of fitting somewhere. It’s pretty much a one-man band/solo project with me, Zach Dean, at the head of the project. The first live lineup was formed in early 2017.



2.Recently you have released a new album, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recording?



Z- The style that we were going for was definitely within the “Progressive Death Metal” realm, but we weren’t trying to sound “Proggy” or like any particular prog band. I had lots and lots of ideas that I wanted to put into each song and lots of moods that I thought should be explored and touched on in each piece, which resulted in the record having many long, multi-faceted songs, and each song bringing a different atmosphere and mood to the whole. The idea was also always to be conceptual, in the traditional sense in terms of lyrical theme, but also musically by having each song fit perfectly with the others and creating an overarching work and not just a collection of songs.



3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored so far with your music?



Z- The Door is a concept album that explores the desire to escape from the world, how one achieves this escape and what one is running from in the first place. I think that many people can relate to this situation in a variety of ways, so the lyrics are fairly obscure and “big picture” rather than focused on a particular situation.



4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Messora'



Z- The name is extremely meaningless. I wanted to use the name Messorem, which is Latin for the word Reaper. There were already a few bands using that name, so I altered the word and that that it was fitting.



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



Z- The artwork was drawn by my sister Maya. She’s a phenomenal artist, and she’s only 17 years old. It’s meant to depict the “character” that the lyrics revolve around, the person wanting to escape. The figure is being pulled towards outside of the frame, representing the deep desire and pull that they feel to escape their world and be thrown into a different one.



6.The band started out as a solo project, what was the decision behind expanding into a full line up?



Z- I was playing in a band called Whispers in the Maze with Ben, our current bass player. I had asked him to record bass on an early version of the song The Door, and we were both so happy with the way that that song turned out that we decided that the project needed to expand into the live world, and not stay just a solo recording project. At the time the project didn’t have a name or anything behind it, but we completed the live lineup pretty quickly and it’s been going well ever since.



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



Z- Montréal has been very kind and welcoming to us. The band was originally formed in the Ottawa region but I’ve relocated the project here, and it’s been very nice here. The first time that we played at Piranha bar here in Montréal was extremely memorable. Everyone was so into it, the whole place was on fire. Rob the Witch from Necronomicon was there, and came up and congratulated all of us on our performance. I still see him wearing one of our shirts sometimes. More recently, we played our release show for The Door at a place called O Patro Vys. It’s a smaller venue but it has a cool vibe and we packed the place. It was super satisfying, everyone had great things to say about the show and the album, and the atmosphere was full of love and support.



8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?



Z- Unfortunately the current live lineup is not extremely well equipped or touring, so we’re not going to be able to hit as many cities as I would have liked to. We did our release show in Montréal, and at the moment we’ve got Pembroke and Ottawa coming up, with a possible date in North Bay as well. The touring will definitely get more intensive in 2020.



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



Z- I honestly don’t know whether I want to work with a label in the future. I am planning on doing a bit of “label shopping” for our next release, but my decision to work with a label will come down to the type of deal that we get. As it stands working independently is going very well for us, so I would need to be offered a beneficial deal in order to want to give up this independence.



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



Z- The record has been receiving a lot more attention internationally than I had initially expected. We’ve had Bandcamp sales in Poland, Slovenia, Mexico, Japan, the US, and the Netherlands to name a few. Most of our Spotify listeners are also American rather than Canadian, which I found surprising. It’s cool to see, I really didn’t expect the record to reach this far after having been released for not even two weeks. The record has also been reviewed by many foreign publications, and always positively.



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



Z- I have plenty of ideas for the future of Messora, and I think we’re going to have a heavily varied discography in the coming years. I think it’s going to get more experimental and progressive, and at the same time more simple and streamlined. I think it’s going to stay generally conceptual. The Door is already fairly out there and challenging, so I don’t feel that we’ve painted ourselves into a corner musically or anything like that. I think that those who enjoy our debut will be along for the ride for wherever we go in the future. I’m very excited to see what we come up with.



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?



Z- The bands that I listened to the most when I was getting into the heavier side of metal, around the time that I was 15ish, were Slayer, Opeth, Lamb of God, Children of Bodom and Whitechapel. I think that naturally your first influences are often the ones that stick with you the most. I don’t think that our music sounds like any one of these bands at all, but you can absolutely hear the influence there. I’ve obviously discovered and fell in love with countless bands since then, but I feel like these five bands are the foundation of what I do in terms of heavy music. Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of old Prog, namely Emerson, Lake and Palmer, King Crimson and Camel. It’s crazy to me how out there these bands wanted to be and how far they wanted to push Rock music. I’ve also been interested in simpler and more textural music, like Swans and the latest Daughters album.



13.What are some of your non musical interests?



Z- I like reading quite a bit, fictional novels as well as comic books. I’ll usually try to discover new books by buying ones that seem interesting for super cheap at thrift stores. Sometimes I’ll find an absolute gem (The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran comes to mind), but sometimes I end up loathing what I’ve gotten myself into and just want to finish it so I can move onto something else (Twilight of The Idols by Nietzche, total wankery). I’ve recently been enjoying bouldering with my friends as well, but that takes a toll on my arms and makes it difficult to play guitar so I don’t really see myself becoming a climber any time soon.



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



Z- Go listen to The Door! It was extremely satisfying for us to make it and I’m extremely proud of the album. Go read the lyrics while you’re at it.

Thanks a lot

FacebookInstagramBandcamp
EPK

Immanifest Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
1. Immanifest technically began conceptually in December of 06. Asgrim had I (Anton) had both been session members in a band (keyboards for Royal Anguish) and we grew to admire
each other's work. Asgrim was the mastermind of a band I basically worshiped in my teens known as Yeti. In 2006 I was working at Sam Ash Music and I remember listening to the
Revelations in Darkness demo in Asgrim’s truck and feeling inspired to start a band. From there we wrote 5 songs and named the band Immanifest in 08.

2.In November, you have your first full length coming out, musically how does it differ from the ep you had released in 2010?
2. Macrobial features some music that was originally supposed to appear on the Qliphotic EP and also tracks written afterwards. I'd say each song has its own identity. None of us would
consider the album any particular style other than Extreme Metal – an amalgamation of many different styles. Perhaps we just took some elements that we had began to experiment with
on Qliphotic even further this time around. We don’t rely on technique as a means to an end,but rather employ techniques in expressing the songs.

3.This is also your first release in 9 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?
3. Hiatus. Non – band related.

4.In the press release you mentioned that the lyrics are inspired by the works of Michael Tsarion whoe in turn is infleunced by the works of John Dee, can you tell us a little bit more about the songwrting that is presented on the new album?
4. Tsarion is most certainly a major influence. Basically, he describes how a 16 th century black magician Dr. John Dee (Mathematician, astronomer and council to Queen Elizabeth I)
established ritual contact with extra-dimensional beings. It’s a classic demonic evocation ritual story but gives it a ‘scientific’ depth when the nature of such entities are explored. Tsarion
called them “Macrobes”. Thus Macrobial is an exploration of this theme- a deal with devils –exchanging blood for power and knowledge. Some tracks, lyrically, explore the theme of
Global Wars acting as strategically planned mass blood rituals – the pain and horror released into the ether, siphoned off by Macrobial parasites.

5.Your also go into the concepts of ultraterrestial's and astral travel, can you tellus a little bit more about your interest in the paranormal and metaphysical topics?
5. The term Ultraterrestrial denotes the concept of a divergent timeline – for the concept of free will to be ultimately true, all possibilities of every infinite divergent timeline (or worldline)
must exist somehow in the universe – perhaps enfolded, and then unfolded when navigated or chosen. For a sci-fi example- Dinosaur-Humanoids evolving out of the Mesozoic era,
developing advanced space and time displacement technology and then exploring our timeline. We would meet as Ultraterrestrials.

In regards to Metaphysics, there is much that can be said of our interest in such a topic, but to quote the father of atomic theory Max Planck “I regard matter as derivative from
consciousness.” The key to connecting it all- the one thing that makes up the majority of the universe and even the atom – space. Within the seemingly empty space that constitutes the
fabric of existence might lay a multitude of dimensional realities.

6.Some of your other lyrics mention Nifelheim, Egypt and Jahbulon, a name that is mentioned in Freemasonry, how did you get interested in the various forms of occultism?
6. Interest in occultism was sparked by David Ickes work in the late 90s, specifically “The Biggest Secret”, and from there Jordan Maxwell whom took inspiration from his connection to
Manly P. Hall (writer of The Secret Teachings of All Ages). The term ‘Occult’ means hidden or obscured – and largely in my experience there is much to history and reality that is obscured
either purposely perpetuated by oligarchies or naturally lost to time. A burning desire to understand reality and existence therefor necessitates a study of the occult.

7.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Immanifest'?
7. The inspiration for our band name comes from Dr. David R. Hawkin’s work entitled ‘The Eye of the I’. Described as the “Unmanifest” formless ground of being in which all of dualistic
reality arises from.

8.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
8. The cover art for Macrobial is a nightmarish re-envisioning of the 6th Tarot Card – the Lovers. This card denotes many things, including the bond between flesh and lust – but also
of life, union and spirituality. Our interpretation is an inversion of that – what we feel represents the world more accurately in the age of Kali Yuga – the suns elliptical journey
furthest from galactic center – the galactic winter.

9.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
9. The most memorable shows were probably opening for Tyr and Korpiklani in Tampa and then in Ft. Lauderdale with Kult ov Azazel. The crowds were extremely enthusiastic and
supportive. We are a six piece so I think the size of the band brought a bigger presence – not to mention our front man Eric carries with him an ominous and foreboding vibe. We have not
yet performed with our second vocalist but we think that would bring things to the next level,for sure.

10.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?
10. No plans currently – but not ruling anything out.

11.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black, death and symphonic metal?
11. Any fan of extreme music is a friend of ours. We’ve made friends/listeners from Canada to Europe to South America to Malaysia. We all speak different languages but the music bonds
us. We flirt with different styles of metal but Symphonic Black/Death Metal is what we do – we feel like there are less rules there – which is critical in breaking limitations and exploring
creatively. Fans of that style tend to be cognizant of this, and we dig that.

12.What is going on with 'Shadow Society' these days, a band that shares a lot of the same members?

12. Shadow Society releases a new EP next year and will follow that up with live shows.
They are working on some cool multimedia content as well – 2020 definitely their year.

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

12. Shadow Society releases a new EP next year and will follow that up with live shows.
They are working on some cool multimedia content as well – 2020 definitely their year.

14.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?
14. We are lovers of Metal in general – so many amazing bands from our home state and abroad. Without beating a dead horse – obvious influences are Late 90s/Early 00’s Cradle of
Filth and Dimmu Borgir (what we would call their “Nick Barker” era) Old Man’s Child, Dissection, At the Gates, Dark Funeral. Listening to Borknagar’s True North and revisiting my
Naglfar discography currently.

15.What are some of your non musical interests?
15. We are all nature lovers. A lot of boating and water sports here in sunny Florida. The winters are lovely with many forest excursions and bonfires. We also tend to voyage to
Tennessee yearly to experience the Appalachian mountains.

16.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
16. Thank you for the interest and thoughtful questions. Ave atque Vale!

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Tragedy In Hope Interview

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



 ‘Tragedy In Hope’ is a black metal based music project, where a lot of attention is paid to small details in the lyrical and musical elements. For example, you can hear the tiger’s roar on “Smile At Death” single, which is a reference to the “Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger”, or if you are attentive enough, you can figure out the estimated date when events of “Grim Love Story” happened.



2. In November you have a new ep coming out, musically how does it differ from your previous full length and singles?



It is much better produced, a structure of some tracks is more complex and the lyrics contain more little details.



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



It’s really complex question, because I structured the lyrics the way they contain the whole world behind almost each phrase. You can take a random quatrain from any song and separately from the lyrics it will mean one thing, with the near quatrain it will mean the second thing and in the context of the whole track itself it will mean the third one.

In short, basically, it’s all about tragedy in hope.



4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Tragedy In Hope'?



Actually, the name can be understood in very different specter of meanings. Everything depends on how a certain person sees ‘Tragedy In Hope’ and I prefer it to be so. All I can say, for instance, it can be a feeling, a situation, a way of life etc.

As for inspiration, I love running, especially at the evening, when it is already dark outside. Sometimes it feels just sad.  I usually go running, when I feel it. The state of sadness goes to the different level, when you run. It doesn’t really feel sad anymore. I would say, it rather feels like euphoria, but in a quite twisted way. I wanted to find the word or the phrase, which would most closely convey this feeling. Eventually, I came up with ‘Tragedy In Hope’.

There were many factors, which played a huge role in it as well, I chose running just as an example, because ‘Tragedy In Hope’ applies to many situations in our lives.



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



The devil is in the details. This artwork contains a lot of references to the lyrics of the EP. Like, for example, you can see a falling star at the upper-left corner of the artwork. The thing is, it’s not a star, it is Halley's Comet, which is mentioned in the track “Pierce The Heavens”.



“Halley's tail seems so pale

Compare to void inside us,

An ember of joy smolders.”



1. In short, the whole track is a wordplay about space.

2. One of the meaning of ‘Tragedy In Hope’, as I said already, is a twisted feeling of euphoria, when you feel sad and happy simultaneously.

3. An ember of joy is a reference to the whole ‘Tragedy In Hope’ meaning and to the track “Smile at Death”, where hopeless madmen try to save their embers (hopes) after realizing that life isn’t that easy, as it seemed to before.

4. Thus, I mock at Halley's Comet. It is bright, but its brightness incomparably dull when it comes to the darkness inside us. Our sadness is darker than brightness of Halley's Comet itself, in other words. However, in the same time, just slight light of an ember (hope) can be seen in the darkness inside us.

5. WHICH MEANS, our hope, even if it is little, is brighter than any light in the universe.

6. Anyway, we should never forget, tragedy is in hope.



As you can see, it’s just one little detail, but there is a lot behind, and there are many such details, which is just crazy. The EP is just around 12 minutes, but I tried to put the whole world in it.



Also, there is an artwork for each single, which contains such little details as well.



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



It’s a studio project so far, but I don’t exclude a possibility of live shows in the future. Right now, I am alone writing music and lyrics.



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



I am not looking for a label at this point. Cooperation with a label is just unprofitable for both sides right now. I am sure as soon as I and a label have something interesting to suggest to each other, this question will be reviewed.



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



I would say, it has been quite mixed. On the one hand, there were people who really admired my previous work and told me how dramatic and passionate it was. On the other hand, I received comments like “Just some hysterical girl squeals. Nothing interesting in it”. I can understand such hate comments, for I think some people just didn’t get the point I wanted to say. It isn’t about production after all, it’s about the content I put in my songs. Wordplays, mindgames etc.



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



I am writing something right now, but I don’t want to spoiler anything. All I can say, it will still be black metal based music, but slightly different from the EP.



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?



I would say, there were tracks or rather pieces of tracks, which affected my music style. For example, I am not really into this band, but in teenage years I loved listening to “Gorgoroth – Funeral Procession” 1997 version. I still think it is a great, underestimated track.



Here are last three projects I’ve been listening to recently:

1. Lingua Ignota.

2. Gost.

3. Pryapisme.



11. What are some of your non musical interests?



Nothing can be better for me than a good run, especially at the evening. Plus points if it is the full moon.



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



Some people say that music is twice as good if it is enjoyable even without words.

I say that lyrics are twice as good if it is enjoyable even without music :)



Pre-order: https://smarturl.it/tragedyinhope  

Birth Of The Monolith Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
1. We're - Birth Of The Monolith. We play post-metal / post-back / sludge music in the cold heart of Siberia, Russia. Gathered together in 2016, released 2 EPs since.

2.So far you have released 2 ep's, musically how do they differ from each other?
2. The first EP "S/T" has more sludge/doom sound, while second one, "Cult", is more inclined towards post-black. Lyrics on both releases are immersed in atmosphere of gloom and despair, and there're references to works of H.P.Lovecraft also.

3.Your lyrics cover Occultism and Rituals and the logo also has a Thelema symbol, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in the esoteric arts?
3. We always liked occult literature, its thoughts and ideas. For example, the works of A. Crowley, "Kibalion", etc. As for the hexagram (the Thelema symbol) in our logo, it was an excellent replacement for the pentagram, which is a sort of stereotypical symbol for metal music.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Birth Of The Monolith'?
4. The name of band was born under the influence of Robert Howard's Black Stone, which included The People of The Monolith.

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the ep cover?
5. The cover of the first EP was inspired by the work of artist Valnoir Mortasonge. The second is Jeff Grimal.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
6. As you know, Russia and Siberia in particular are very large, so all our shows are still held in Siberian cities. It is difficult to single out any show, but it is worth noting that recently we have changed the visual appearance - the members of the group perform in the clothes of cult followers, which further immerses the audience in an atmosphere of darkness. Such a change in appearance definitely pleased the audience, we received a many positive feedbacks.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
7. So far, plans for shows in Siberia and in the Russia in a whole. Huge distances limit us, but nothing is impossible)

8.Recently you covered a 'Downfall Of Gaia' song, what was the decision behind doing your own version of one of their songs?

8.'Downfall Of Gaia' really influenced our music, and their footprints are also in our other tracks :) We were torn between two of their songs - In The Rivers Bleak and Ephemerol. The choice was not easy but, in the end, In The Rivers Bleak seemed more suitable to us :)

9.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
9. Actually there were some offers, but none are really interested us. So, at the moment we're in search of proposal we couldn't refuse.

10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black, sludge and post metal?
10. We haven't faced negative or devastating reviews yet. And, honestly, we were really pleasantly surprised by many good, positive foreign reviews, despite that our songs are in Russian. Although our lyrics are also available in English. We try to add local flavor to songs through the language. Hope we succeeded well, and our music will stay in listeners hearts for a long.

11.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
11. We are currently working on the next release. Part of the material is ready, another part is at the writing stage, the concept and topics have been already worked out. The songs are writing long enough (the latter one took more than half of a year), and we hope that it is worth it. The release is scheduled for 2020, but we would not like to rush things. After the release, we want to arrange a short tour in Siberia. The release will be available at https://botm.bandcamp.com and probably published as a limited edition on physical media.

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?
12. As we said earlier, our music is heavily influenced by Downfall of Gaia. Also Cult of Luna, Amenra, Black Table, it's not the complete list, just major ones. Currently in playlist are: latest releases from Cult of Luna and Mgla, The Ever Living, The Ocean.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

13. Actually we're all different. Each has own hobbies besides music. For instance, our guitarist is fond of electronics and making guitar effects pedals, drummer - owns craft-beer pub

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

14. First of all, thanks for the questions:) Listen to Russian music, there're alot of interesting black-, post-, post-black metal and dark-hardcore bands. Hope you'll like our music :)

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

SoundCloud

VKontakte

Barad Guldur/Frammenti di oscurita/2019 CD Review

  Barad  Guldur  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2019  album  "Frammenti  di  oscurita".

  Fire  burning  and  spoken  word  parts  start  off  the  album  before  adding  some  acoustic  guitars  on  the  recording.  Bag  pipes,  flutes,  fiddle's  and  hardy  gurdy's  are  also  used  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  tracks  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  as  well  as  the  vocals  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  clean  pagan  singing.

  The  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  along  with  the  music  also  adding  in  some  speed,  heavy  and  power  metal  influences  at  times  and  when  growls  and  screams  are  utilized  they  bring  elements  of  black  and  death  metal  onto  the  recording.

  Some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  the  music  also  having  its  shamanistic  and  ritualistic  moments  and  at  times  the  music  captures  the  atmosphere  of  a  fantasy  film  or show,  female  vocals  are  also  added  onto  some  of  the  tracks and  as  the  album  progresses  an  instrumental  is  also  added  onto  the  albums.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Italian  and  cover  tales,  legends,  mountains,  horror  and  fantasy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Narad  Guldur  are  a  very  great  sounding  folk  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Canso  de  Bouye"  "Nella  notte  piu  nerra"  "Per  chi  ela  la  nocc"  and  "Frammento  di  oscurita".  8  out  of  10.

Facebook

Homepage

Instagram

Twitter

YouTube

  

Tragedy In Hope/Smile At Death/2019 EP Review

  Tragedy  In  Hope are  a  musical  project  from  Russia  that  plays  a  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2019  ep  "Smile  At  Death"  which  will  be  released  in  November.

  Tragic  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  ep  while  also  introducing  symphonic  elements  onto  the  recording  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs.  Cries  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  the  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  the  vocals  being  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams.

  A  decent  amount  of  mid  90's  and  early  2000's  era  symphonic  black  metal  influences  can  be  heard  in  the  musical  style.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  beats  are  also  utilized  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style,  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts,  shouting  vocals  are  also  added  in  some  parts  of  the  music  and  clean  singing  is  added  onto  the  closing  track.

  Tragedy  Of  Hope  plays  a  style  of  symphonic  black  metal  that  goes  back  to  the  mid  90's  to  early  2000's  era  of t he  genre.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a s elf  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Tragedy  In  Hope  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  black  metal  musical  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Grim  Love  Story".  8  out  of 10.

https://www.facebook.com/tragedyinhope/ 





  

Northwind Wolves/Mountains And Darkness/Black Lion Records/2019 CD Review

  Northwind  Wolves  are  a  band  from  Los  Angeles,  California  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  melodic  and  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2019  album  "Mountains  And  Darkness"  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  Black  Lion  Records.

  Symphonic  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music.  The  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  music  also  adds  in  a  decent  amount  of  90's  influences. When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  as  well  as  some  growls  also  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  album,  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples  can  also  be  heard.

  On  this  recording  Northwind  Wolves  remains  true  to  the  melodic  and  symphonic  style  of  black  metal  that  was  established  and  previous  releases.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Winter,  Death  and  Darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Northwind  Wolves  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  symphonic  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Lord  Of  Winter  And  Death"  "Pale-Winter  Storm  Lightning"  "Ludmilla  The  Witch"  and  "Curse  Of  Ages".  8  out  of  10.

Bandcamp

Facebook