Empyrean Fire/Deliverance/2020 Full Length Review

 

  Empyrean  Fire  are  a  band  from  Portland,  Oregon  that  plays  a  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2020  album  "Deliverance"  which  will  be  released  on  December  26th.

  A  very  dark  and  synth  orientated  intro  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  brief  use  of  ritualistic  spoken  word  parts  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  symphonic  direction.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  yet  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  along  with  some  deep  growls  also  being  utilized  at  times.  Melodic  vocals  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  recording  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  A  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  all  of  the  drum  beats  being  programmed.  One  of  the  songs  also  introduces  clean  female  vocals  onto  the  album  as  well  as  a  couple  also  bringing  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  as  the  album  progresses  spoken  word  parts  also  make  a  brief  return.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  based  upon  John  Milton's  "Paradise  Lost"  and  "Paradise  Regained"  with  some  touches  of  occultism,  pain  and  darkness.

  In  my  opinion  Empyrean  Fire  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Gathering  Storm"  and  "Final  battle".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCya0242W32bKGm4WrC2K4ew

https://www.instagram.com/empyreanfire666/

https://www.facebook.com/empyreanfire666

https://empyreanfire666.bandcamp.com/album/deliverance  .  

    

Ensom/Civilizations/Vacula Productions/FogFoundation/2020 CD Review

 

  Ensom  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a  symphonic  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Civilizations"  which  was  released  as  a  join  between  Vacula  Productions  and  FogFoundation.

  Heavy  riffing  and  symphonic  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  while  the  faster  sections  of the  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Choir  vocals  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  music  along  with  a  great  amount  of  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  The  songs  also  mix  in  a  great  amount  of  classical  music  elements  along  with  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  All  of  the musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  music  also  mixing  in  the  more  melodic  side  of  death  metal  at  times  as  well  as  the  music  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  orchestra  sounds.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Ancient  Astronaut  Theories  and  a  retrospective  of  a  history  of  mankind  and  the  last two  tracks  are  also  written  in  Spanish.

  In  my  opinion  Ensom  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.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Civilizations" 'Brotherhood  Between  Stars"  "The  Eye  on  The  Pyramid"  and  "Portdor  De  Luz'.  8/5  out  of  10.

Bandcamp

Facebook

SoundCloud

  

Seraph In Travail/A Black Death Incense/2021 Full Length Review

 

  Seraph  In  Travail  are  a  band  Pennsylvania  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  symphonic  form  of  blackened  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  album  "A  Black  Death  Incense"  which  will  be  released  in  March.

  A  very  heavy  and  symphonic  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also ad  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking.  The  riffs  also  utilize  a  lot  of  melody  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  clean  vocals  are  also  utilized  at times.

  Black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  one  of  the  tracks  also  introducing  choirs  onto  the  recording.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  also  getting  very  technical  sounding  at  times.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  dying,  the  inevitability  of  death  and  being  dead.       

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Seraph  in  Travail  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  symphonic  blackened  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Fixed  And  Dilated"  "Dead  Scream  Kill"  and  "Across  Bloody  Waters".  8  out  of  10.

 

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SeraphInTravail
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seraphintravail/
• Bandcamp: https://seraphintravail.bandcamp.com/
• Spotify: https://rb.gy/pvkci7
• Website: http://seraphintravail.com/

       

Kaamos Warriors/Kirous/Inverse Records/2020 Full Length Review

 

  Finland's  Kaamos  Warriors  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  more  of  a  symphonic  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  dark  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Kirous"  which  was  released  by  Inverse  Records.

  Symphonic  sounding  keyboards   start  off  the  album  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  at  times.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  while  death  metal  growls  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  on  some  of  the  tracks.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  adding  in  some  elements  of  black  metal.

  On  this  recording  Kaamos  Warriors  remains  true  to  the  melodic  and  symphonic  mixture  of  black  metal  that  was  established  on  previous  releases.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the lyrics  are  written  in  Finnish  and  cover  Darkness,  Winter,  Night  and  Chaos  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Kaamos  Warriors  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  symphonic  black  and  dark  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Kuilu"  "Kirous"and  "Usva".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/KaamosWarriorsOfficial

https://spoti.fi/2B5wCB2 

https://kaamoswarriors.bandcamp.com

   https://youtu.be/ipPMApS5jEA

  

The Advent Equation/Remnants Of Oblivion/2020 CD Review

 

  The  Advent  Equation  are  a  band  from  Mexico  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  very  progressive  and  melodic  form  of  metal  with  some  touches  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2020  album  "Remnants  Of  Oblivion"  which  will  be  released  on  December  4th.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Progressive  rock  style  synths  are  also added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  the  riffs  and  solos  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  prog  metal  elements.

  A  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  melodic  vocals  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording.  The  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  along  with  the  music  sticking  mostly  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  tempo  direction  as  well  as  one  of  the  tracks  also  introducing  death  metal  growls  onto  the  recording,  acoustic guitars  are  also  added  on  some  of  the  songs.

  On  this  recording  the  Advent  Equation  focuses  less  on  the  black  and  death  metal  elements  that  where  a  very  huge  part  of  their  previous  release  and  goes  into  more  of  a  progressive  metal  direction.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  The  Advent  Equation  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  progressive  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Patterns  Of  Spiraling  Reality"  "An  Eternal  Moment"  and  "The  Creation  Part  II:  Thanatos".   8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/theadventequation/

https://www.instagram.com/theadventequation/

https://www.youtube.com/user/THEADVENTEQUATION 

Plaguebreeder Interview

 

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

Plaguebreeder is a symphonic extreme metal band from Finland. Current line up is a trio: Ardeath (vocals/bass/orchestras), Klaath (guitars) and Kalmisto (drums).

2.Recently you have released a new ep, musically how does it differ from the previous demos? 

I think it’s more diverse and ruthless. We spent more time on planning and recording the guitars and vocals than before, so we could get most out of them. Also adding the orchestras makes a big difference to the previous recordings.

3.This is also the first release in 7 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span? 

During the 7 years the line-up has changed a couple of times. Two previous guitarists, Hornthrone and Mr. Bleedy, left and Klaath joined the band. There was a different bass player, Azagrath, for a while but things didn’t work quite well, so I decided to take the bass again. Also my personal life has been quite busy these years, so I had to re-schedule a lot of band related things.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with the newer music and also how would you describe your progress as songwriters over the years? 

The new EP deals with topics like war, nuclear destruction and ecocatastrophe. I’d say that war in different perspectives is the binding theme in all of the songs. 

Our songwriting process has been quite the same all these years: I write basic skeleton at home and we all add some meat and blood on it at our rehearsal place. It usually takes 3-5 different variations to get the track good enough. On this EP the most straightforward track was I Believe in Misanthropy, which I wrote entirely at one session. The Arrival of Fire took 8 different versions to get it right if I remember correctly. The writing process always starts with a killer guitar riff or a kick ass melody. When the track has been tested enough at rehearsal’s I start composing the orchestras and writing the lyrics.

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

When I came up with the name, I wanted to create music that would be as brutal and vile as the black death back in 1347-1351. So breeding the plague is breeding our music. 

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

I’ve always made the covers myself. This time I wanted to create a symbol that you can recognize instantly as the symbol of Plaguebreeder. The symbol consists of nuclear and chaos symbols and it has 12 spikes which symbolize time. Since most of the lyrics were ready and their theme was quite violent, I came up with the idea of making our symbol as the Earth itself in the breaking point. In the cover Earth’s seas have turned to blood, rivers to fire and continents as ash. Total annihilation that is.

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? 

On stage we try to be as ruthless as possible. You can get an idea of what we are about live if you watch our music video The Root of Extinction on youtube.  It was filmed at our rehearsal place on live like situation. We have done quite a few good gigs. I think you can get a really good show even with a small audience (in this Covid-19 time especially) if the crowd is fully with you in the music. I always get a real energy boost when the crowd is screaming. Our biggest gig was at Steelfest Open Air which was also pretty awesome. 

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

I think we have reached the global audience better than before. Big thanks goes of course to our record label Inverse Records since they have done quite good job with the marketing. I can’t really say how black, death and symphonic metal fans have reacted to our music since our stuff is a mixture of all of these genres, but all in all, the feedback has been very positive. 

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

I’m currently writing lyrics to MMD which is an old band. Years ago, I was a bass player in the band but Abyss (guitarist) asked me to rejoin the group as a vocalist. We released a single Seeds of Evil last summer and we are currently working on our debut album. I’m working with Plaguebreeder’s Klaath on Northern Genocide, an industrial melodic death metal band, and we are also writing a new album. We released our debut album Genesis vol. 666 over a year ago and got a really good response from the audience. Kalmisto is also working on a new album with his pornogrind band Inferia, which is one of the oldest, if not the oldest grind band in Finland. So we are quite busy all the time. 

10.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future? 

We have been working on new tracks quite some time already and we have 4 songs completely ready. Also there’s roughly 3 good skeletons on the way. I hope we can start recording next Summer or Autumn maybe. Musically we are going towards more diverse, orchestral and melodic direction. In general we have slowed the tempo a bit but we still have some really vicious things coming up.

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? 

We as a trio, listen to variety of material from black metal to power metal and even ebm and synthpop. But the stuff that influence our music and have always influenced are such bands as Immortal, Vader, Behemoth, Dimmu Borgir, Anaal Nathrakh and Marduk.

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

Check out our music videos on youtube, our Spotify and keep listening to metal and spread the plague! 

https://www.facebook.com/Plaguebreeder
https://www.youtube.com/user/Plaguebreederband
https://www.instagram.com/plaguebreeder
https://plaguebreeder.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/plaguebreeder

Blighted Eye Interview

 

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

We are a metal band based out of the Seattle area that I guess would best be described as progressive death metal. Or at least that’s probably the most appropriate sub genre to attach to us. Though we do pull in influences from black metal, doom and rock as well. It’s heavy music, but also very melodically driven with plenty of lead guitar and can be a bit emotional at times. I think our music tends to have peaks and valleys with lots of movement. At least that’s my perception, but I also like hearing how others perceive us. I find it interesting how artists can sometimes view their music very differently from an audience who isn’t emotionally attached to it yet. The band started with me wanting to try and write music on my own since I had always written songs in a collaborative band setting, more or less jamming with others. So it was kind of a challenge to myself to strip all that away and see what I could do alone. This was in late 2017, early 2018 or so. I asked my friend Kyle Chapman if he was interested in performing vocals and playing as the second guitarist. He plays guitar for the band Aethereus and while he isn’t the vocalist for that band I knew he was very good at aggressive vocals. Thankfully he was interested and agreed. Shortly after that I asked John Devos, another friend of mine, if wanted to play drums for us. We did most of the tracking earlier this year and just released the Wretched EP on October 30th. 

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

When I began writing these songs I consciously went into it without a specific genre of music in mind other than it being some form of metal. I really tried to focus on letting whatever influences were in me come out without restraint. I wrote around 10 songs ranging in sound and while the early ones were maybe a bit all over the place, it was that process that helped me define the sound and songwriting that I felt were unique and honest to me from an artistic stand point. So the early experimenting is how the 4 songs on the Wretched EP came to sound the way they do. Which I think is heavy, melodic and ranging in emotion.

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

 The themes in Blighted Eye are more introspective in nature. Kyle and I discussed the themes together early on and then he wrote the lyrics for the songs. The lyrical themes for the EP are about the destructive capacities of depression and the feelings of isolation, anger, and nihility they create in spite of how much a person tries to fight against it. The songs show the progression of a person who silently fights an invisible enemy of the mind, but ultimately succumbs to its pressure and allows it to control their life. 

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Blighted Eye’?

 -It’s a reference to the minds eye and the perception of oneself and how that influences how we perceive and interact with the world around us. And in turn how those experiences and interactions with the world influence the perception of ourselves. So it ties closely with the lyrical concepts in the EP. I also like the way the name sounds.

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

-Yeah Samuel Nelson did an amazing job on the artwork. Kyle and I were in communication with him and ran him through the themes and concepts surrounding the band and release, then we just let him go for it. I was interested to see his interpretation and I think he did such good job. It’s a really cool piece of art to look at. One of those pieces where you see something new each time you look at it. 

6.Are there any plans to do live shows if the pandemic goes away? 

Yes! We would love to play shows, however it’s hard to plan anything at this point, but I am hopeful that can happen next year sometime.

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

The release of Wretched is still very new so we haven’t received any communication from labels at this point, but would certainly be open to that if we receive something that makes sense for us. 

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

So far it’s been very positive! It’s still very early so we are still trying to reach a lot more people. And being totally brand new you're in a uphill battle, but I am encouraged by what we have seen so far and I’m very thankful to anyone willing to give us a listen. 

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

Kyle also plays guitar for the band Aethereus and they are about to start tracking their second full length album any day now, so definitely look for updates on that. That’s also his main songwriting outlet so definitely check it out if you haven’t. John drums and records for a million different bands so he is most likely recording something as we speak. Some of the other artists he works with include Mesmur, Comatose Vigil A.K, Dalla Nebbia and Blood Atonement. I believe Blood Atonement is going to release an album next year. 

10.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

 I just started writing new material for a full length album a few weeks ago. While a release date can be hard to predict this early on, I think sometime in 2022 would be my first guess. As far as the sound I hope to further develop and evolve the sound from the Wretched EP, but also let it be its own entity and bring some surprises to the table as well. Hopefully something unique and interesting. 

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? 

A few of the bands that have helped shape me as a musician are Opeth, Dissection, Enslaved, Cynic, Death, Megadeth, Alice in Chains, Candlemass, Moonspell, Pink Floyd, Ozzy Osbourne. There a ton more but that’s a few off the top of my head. I have been listening to the new Kiko Loureiro solo album Open Source. Great guitar inspiration and really creative songs. Also the new Katatonia record City Burials is great. Usually this time of year I listen to more doom oriented bands and one of my favorites is a band called Slumber. Sadly they only put out one record called Fallout, but it’s a great album if you haven’t heard it. Really awesome bass lines and lead guitar all over it. 

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

 Just thank you for reaching out to me for the interview and for checking us out. Anyone taking time out of their day to give us a listen is very much appreciated! Hopefully we can all get back to seeing live music next year at some point.

-Chris- 

https://blightedeye.bandcamp.com 
https://www.facebook.com/BlightedEye
 https://www.instagram.com/blighted.eye
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJQbFvhBfM-cWXY77wnj6yA