Kevel/Mutatis Mutandis/I, Voidhanger Records/2020 CD Review

  Kevel  are  a  band  from  Greece  that  plays  a  progressive  mixture  of  post  black  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Mutatis  Mutandis"  which  will  be  released  in  October  by  I, Voidhanger  Records.

  Drum  beats  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.  All  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  guitar  leads  being  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  style  and  elements  of  post  hardcore  can  also  be  heard  at  times.

  Vocals  are  done  in  a  deep  growling  style  while  the  slower  sections  of   the  songs  also  mixes  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  metal.  Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  black  metal  influences.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  synths  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  an  atmospheric  feeling  when  they  are  utilized  as  well  as  one  track  also  introducing  clean  playing  onto  the  recording  and  the  music  also  has  its  progressive  moments.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the lyrics  cover  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Kevel  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  mixture  of  post  black  and  sludge  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Terraforming"  and  "Utopia  Planita".  8  out  of  10.

Bandcamp

Facebook

Google+

Twitter

YouTube

Nocte Obducta/Irrlicht/Supreme Chaos Records/2020 CD Review

  Nocte  Obducta  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  avant  garde  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Irrlicht"  which  will  be  released  in  October  by  Supreme  Chaos  Records.

  Drum  beats  and  heavy  riffing  starts  off  the  album  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.  A  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  keyboards  also  giving  the  songs  more  of  an  atmospheric  feeling  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams.

  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  avant  garde  sounding  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style,  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard.

 Programmed  beats  can  also  being  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  one  song  also  introducing  melodic  vocals  onto  the  album  as  well  as  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  German  and  cover  dark  poetry,  nature  and  depression  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Nocte  Obducta  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  avant  garde  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Zuruck  im  bizarren  Theater"  "Der  alte  Traum"  and  "Noch".  8  out  of  10.

http://facebook.com/Nocte-Obducta-189142951148369

https://youtu.be/_kvThqeEQ6A    

Sarcator/Self Titled/Redefining Darkness Records/2020 CD Review

  Sarcator  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self titled  2020  album  which  will  be  released  in  October  by  Redefining  Darkness  Records.

  A  very  heavy  and  old  school  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats. Melodies  are  also  added  into  a  lot  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  the  vocals  being  mostly  blackened  metal  screams  and  the  music  also  mixes  in  elements  of thrash  metal.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  an  80's  influenced  style  of  extreme  metal.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  all of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  album  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

 The  music  also  mixes  in  a  lot  of  death  metal  influences  along  with  some  growls  also  utilized  at  times  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  synths  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  small amount  of  back  up  shouts  and  acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard. The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Anti  Religion,  Blood,  Fire  and  Death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Sarcator  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  black,  death  and  thrash  metal,  you  should  check  out this  album. RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Abyssal  Angel"  "Midnight  Witchery"  "Heretic's  Domain"  and  "Purgatory  Unleashed".  8  out  of  10.

https://youtu.be/W-dka_z_aKE     

Kromheim/Self Titled/2020 EP Review

  Kromheim  are  a  solo  project  from  Poland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  viking,  folk  and  melodic  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  and  self  released  2020  ep.

  Melodic  guitar  leads  start  off  the  ep  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  the  vocals  are  a  mixture  of  growls  and s creams  which  also  add  in  touch  of  black  metal.  The  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  Swedish  influences  and  when t he  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  elements  of  folk  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording.  When  synths  are  utilized  they  also  add  in  more  of  a  symphonic  style  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  also  being  used  briefly,  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  as  well  as  one  track  also  introducing  clean  vocals  onto  the  recording.

  Kromheim  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  folk,  viking,  melodic  black  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own.  The  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  Vikings  and  Medieval  Fantasy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Kromheim  is  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  viking,  folk,  melodic  death  and  black  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Prayer"  and  "Storm  Of  The  Gods".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56xxRBMscbk&feature=youtu.be

https://kromheim.bandcamp.com/releases

https://www.facebook.com/kromheim/ 

Nocturn Interview

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

Séb : Hello and many thanks for asking. Vincent and I decided in 2009/2010 to create Nocturn with a bunch of old friends who had already
played together on several previous local metal bands .I was abroad a few years and came back at that time, and as all of us, with the objective to mix
all our influences on a melodic black/death basis and have some fun by playing a kind of duo/duel between the guitars
and the keyboards. We realized 2 EP, had a few line up changes like almost every bands, and we are now releasing our first album,
"Like a seed of Dust".

Vince : Nocturn is a melodic death/black project with various influences. Seb founded the band, then called me to renew our past collaboration in music.
We released a first EP in 2013, had a few live dates until 2015,until we had to face a big line-up change.
We took the time we needed to get the perfect members for Nocturn, and with the new team we entered in studio in summer 2018. The mixing and mastering were performed in summer 2019,
and after a while seeking for a good label, we signed with Sliptrick Records, that we thank for their trust in our project, in february 2020. The next album is in advanced process.

2.In September you have a new album coming out, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recording?

Vince : We always wanted to play something dark, speed, but with no limits of in songwriting influences or orchestrations. Black and death metal are present in our music,
but also a backing of heavy/speed metal, thrash metal, classical music...
The keyboards orchestrations explore  various parts from choir melodies to teknical beats, we try to keep rich instrumentation's and harmonies between the instruments without becoming a mess.

Seb : The main style is mainly death metal, but we also love other styles and the fun for us was to add something else and different on every song, so you can sometimes find a reggae riff or
some little electro/techno moments. Anything that we liked and without fixing us any limits because it's not "trve"
or something else, just to have fun. A big patchwork.

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

Vince : Death, life, war, love, destruction, anger, drugs, hope, duality, fragility of existence... Some texts are allegories told like a story, some are thoughts, some may be personnal. 

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Nocturn'?

Vince : I like the night. The veil of darkness covering the land, predators hungry for flesh, creatures of evil hidden in the shadows or in our hearts...
Not about the Skyrim deadras !

Seb : We tried a few other names but this one was really the one we prefered.

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

Vince : It was created by Jean-Philippe Sonnet at Threadbare artwork. I was seeking for a drawing that represented beauty and fragility of life, decay and rebirth.
Our album is released for the fall, that perfectly suits with the concept.

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

Vince : Our best shows were in little and medium stages at Chambéry, at the Brin d'Zinc and at the APEJS. People were completely crazy, it was a killer public both times. Our performance was good, but we always can do better.

7.On the new album you also have a few guests, can you tell us a little bit more about who they are and also their contributions on the recording?

Vince : The first album guest is now part of the band, it was Sophie , singer and composer in her project 'From Hell with Love'. She performed all the clean female vocals of the album
and a part of dual voice with her harsh vocals upon 'The wraith in bloodied wings'. It worked so perfectly that she joined our crew definitely a few while after, and now I share
the microphone with her in dual voices.

Gilles Croset is a saxophonist that we met as the friend of a friend, who gently helped us with his instrument for a very special part in the song 'Under the Darkest Sea'.
We were glad to record a real saxo instead of the emulated sound on keyboards.

The other guests were a surprise for me too, because our two producers Rob and Arnaud who are also extremely talented singers in their own bands,
came behind the microphone to perform backing vocals, and they recorded killing material.

Rob Carson is the engineer who recorded us at his Carsonian Studio Solutions, and the singer of Xaon (they record their 3rd album lately). He came to perform with Léo and I for the gang vocals
on several songs : Pandaemonium, Liberhate and Odyssey. He was also a real support in some complexes studio situations and dilemmas, findind solutions to every production matter we faced.

Arnaud Ménard is the engineer who recorded all the bass guitars and vocal additionnal contents, and mixed our album with this incredible sound in his Sicarius Productions studio.
He is vocal teacher at 'Ecole La Sirène and also the singer of Alkemyst. He performed the vocal harmony with Sophie upon the song 'Infernale', and the melting of their crystal voices sounds incredibly good. 

8.The new album is coming out on 'Sliptrick Records', how did you get in contact with this label?

We contacted many labels but as a little band we had some propositions that was not always interesting, with A&R good reviews but no good deals in sight before Sliptrick Records proposition.
Carlo, their A&R, and the team took the time to really listen to our album before making us a proposition, and they were honests.
We took the time we needed to find a label, because autoproductions are complicated to promote and it's important for the future of Nocturn. The next album is under preparation and
everyone is hot to play the past and the next songs. 

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

Some years ago, I started to invite people all over the world to like our music.
I was positively surprised by very good feedbacks, and we have people that liked our music almost everywhere : Europa, Russia, North and South America, Africa, India, Indonesia, Japan...
It's great !!

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

Vince : We will continue to play a melodic and technical death/black metal, and Sophie will sing more harsh vocal parts.
The next album will be in the same vein that the wraith in blooded wings, liberhate... with still many types of passages and ambiences.

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?

Vince : When I was young I studied classical piano in a music school during some years, that explain my neo-classical tastes sometimes.
I fell into distorded guitars when I discovered Scorpions, Deep Purple, Van Halen, Clapton, Aerosmith, AC/DC ...
I discovered something that could aggressive and beautiful at the same time and it surely defined my taste for metal music.
I still listen to old school heavy metal, thrash, death black metal. Bands like Iron Maiden, Blind Guardian, Gamma Ray, Angra, Sepultura, Pantera, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer,
Death, Cradle, Immortal, Dying foetus, Dimmu, Behemoth,Children of Bodom, Godkiller, Summoning, Dissection, The Faceless, Origin, SOAD, Dagoba, Rammstein, Guns'n Roses, Hendrix,
only a part of each's discography; also mostly classical, blues and rock influences, there are countless .
But during the songwriting processes I don't listen much music, to avoid parasitizing the creation and fully express myself.

Seb : About the influences, they are really a lot and really different too ! We could say from Chuck Schuldiner to Jean michel Jarre for example !

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

Vince : Thanks again to our producers Arnaud and Rob, and to all the artists involved in this project. I hope you will enjoy this album.
Thanks to you and to A Different Shade Of Black Metalzine for your interest, and hails to your audience ! Cheers !

Seb : Thank you again for this interview and your interest in our music, we hope you will appreciate it. Cheers

Facebook 

Juodvarnis/Nerimo Dienos/Dangus Productions/2020 CD Review

  Juodvarnis  are  a  band  from  Lithuania  that  plays  a  progressive  and  melodic  mixture  of  pagan,  black  and death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Nerimo  Dienos"  which  was  released  by  Dangus  Productions.

  Viking  war  battle  sounds  start  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical direction  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Atmospheric  sounding  keyboards  are  also a dded  into  some  part  of  the  recording  along  with  the  vocals  also  adding  in  a  thrash  style  bordering  on death  metal.

  Clean  vocals  are  also  utilized  at  times  while  the  music  also  gets  very  progressive  sounding  in  some  parts  of  the  recording.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  the  music  also  mixing  in  a  great  amount  of  dark,  black  and  pagan  metal  elements, sitar's  and  percussion's  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  recording  and  the  album  closes  with  a  cover  A.M's  "Trys".  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Lithuanian  and  cover  Paganism  and  Nature  themes,.

  In  my  opinion  Juodvarnis  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  and  melodic  mixture  of d ark,  black,  pagan  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Is  Amziu  Saknu"  "Tik  Dulkes"  and  "Sielos  Dugne".  8  out  of  10.

 Facebook • 
Instagram •
 Spotify • 
Bandcamp    

The Reticent/The Oubliette/Heaven And Hell Records/2020 Full Length Review

  The  Reticent  are  a  band  from  North  Carolina  that  plays  a  very  progressive  and  melodic  mixture  of  black,  doom  and  death  metal and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "The  Oubliette"  which  will be  released  in  September  by  Heaven  And  Hell  Records.

  Spoken  word  parts  start off  the  album  before  adding  in  some  clean  playing  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  progressive  feeling.  Clean  vocals  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  while  the  heavier  riffs  also  bring  in  more  of  a  prog  metal  style  and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  at  times  while  the riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  while  all  of  the  musical instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic style  and  keyboards  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  music.

  Touches  of  jazz  and  psychedelic  music  are  also  added  on  some  of  the  tracks  along  with  some  black  metal  screams  also  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  the  heaviness  of  doom  metal.

  One  track  also  introduces  percussion  onto  the  recording  and  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  tribal  feeling.  Death  metal  growls  are  also  added  into  the  more  brutal  sections  of  the  tracks  as  well  as  one  song  also  introducing  saxophones  onto  the  album  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  operatic  female  vocals,  orchestra  and  symphonic  sounds  can  also  be  heard.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  a  man's battle  with  Alzheimer's  Disease.

  In  my  opinion  The  Reticent  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  progressive,  black,  doom  and    melodic  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "His  Name  Is  Henry"  "The  Dream"  and  "Stage  7".  8  out  of  10.

https://metalinjection.net/video/the-reticent-unleashes-the-prog-metal-on-new-song-stage-2-the-captive