Demande a la Poussiere Interview

 

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?

Vince : The first album has been released on September 2018, that's the moment when we started to prepare the future live version of this record, it was fun. Actually this project started in studio, we enjoyed playing the songs live, it sounded a bit different, the sound started to change already. From the 1st March 2019 until the lock down we played over 25 shows, it was great, we met a lot of great people who invited us, we are very grateful. At the early beginning of the fall we started to compose  the upcoming album « Quietude Hostile » which was recorded in the summer of 2020.

2.This March you have a new album coming out, musically how does it differ from your previous release?

Vince : I think this new album is a continuity of the debut album in terms of composition. What differs from the first release is the way we created it. The first album has been made in one week, this one took us a year. We spend some time to « mock up » the songs in the Lower Tones Place Studio that owns Ed (guitar), where the first album has been made too, we took some time to think about the production, the sound, we tried a lot of recording technics with Ed to build the sound we wanted, then finally recorded the songs. We didn't want to rush any step for this new album. The sound of the band has been matured during the year of gigs and this is what we can hear on « Quietude Hostile ».

Neil : The sound has been a part of the composition very early in the process. It is more organic and this makes a huge difference with the first album.

3.I know that the band's name means 'Ask (to) The Dust' in French, how does this name fit in with the musical style that you play?

Neil : The book of John Fante is a common stepstone for all of us. It's crude tone with it's specific writing rhythm fits in the dark, disillusioned mood that is the main material of our music. It is contemporan, doesn't give any political message, but has a cold gaze upon the human beings and the society.

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

Neil : The artwork was made by the very talented french photographer Aurélie Raidron. She works with old out-of-date argentic films, and her work fitted perfectly with the color of the album. We wanted to make something different than the painting on the first album, and we are very happy with the result. It is gloomy, undefined, cold and threatening.

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

Vince : We had the chance to play on a lot of great shows. I liked the first shows at Nantes and Clermont-Ferrand because, according to me, they changed the way we played this music. It was more brutal, more instinctive. It felt more natural to me. And this is the way I would describe our stage performance, brutal, instinctive, natural. 

Neil : We try to give on stage the heavy doom energy that we want our music to give. We are working on new things for the shows to come but we cannot tell anything yet about it ! One of the most crazy shows we've played in is the Arrrgh Kollektiv Fest in Dubaï. Crazy guys in a crazy city ! We feel very grateful for the opportunity we had to play there.

6.The new album is coming out on 'My Kingdom Music', how would you compare with this label to your previous label 'Argonauta Records'?

Neil : We are grateful to Argonauta for the first release, but we had some issues that we won't discuss here. Krys (singer) already worked with My Kingdom Music with his other projects (Omrade, Ophe), and the connexion was easy. Francesco (My Kingdom CEO) is a great guy and does hell of a work with his label, we are very happy to work with him.

7.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black, sludge, doom and post metal?

Neil : The reactions on the first album were good, because most fans of those genres are open to a wide range of sounds. We cannot predict how this album will be received though. Time will tell.

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

Neil : We are discussing about the next things, but we cannot tell anything for the moment.

9.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Neil : Our influences are very wide, from Mayhem to Neurosis with many influences of past and present scene. For the moment I am listening to Harakiri for the Sky, Ilsa, Bethlehem and Darkthrone.

10.What are some of your non musical interests?

Vince : I'm curious so a lot of things... 

Neil : Books, comics and martial arts./

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

Neil : Thanks to all of you webzines who make the scene alive by spreading the music. We hope that we all come back to normal soon.

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Blod/Serpent/Malpermesita Records/2021

 

  Blod  are  a  duo  from  France  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  sludge  and  funeral  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "Serpent"  which  was  released  by  Malpermesita  Records.

  A  very  slow,  dark  and  heavy  sludge  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Clean  vocals  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  along  with  some  aggressive  screams  also  being  utilized  at  times  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  blackened  touch.

  The  riffs  also  bring  in  the  heaviness  of  funeral  doom  metal  while  spoken  word  parts,  ritualistic  chants  and  percussions  can  also  be  heard  briefly.  Dark  sounding  melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  some  songs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  as  well  as  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length,  one  of  the  tracks  also  introduces  synths  onto  the  album  and  the  whole  album  also  sticks  to  a  slower  direction.

  Blod  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  sludge  and  funeral  doom  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  a  more  clean  vocals  approach  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyri cs  cover  Occultism,  Thelema,  Witchcraft  and  Mythology  themes.  

  In  my  opinion  Blod  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  sludge  and  funeral  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  duo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Lvcifer"  "Serpents"  and  "Selene".  8  out  of  10.

https://youtu.be/LRdGlybtTaQ

Ischemic/Scabs/20221 Full Length Review

 

  Ischemic  are  a  band  from  Toronto,  Ontario,  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2021  album  "Scabs"  which  will b e  released  in  April.

  A  very  slow,  dark  and  heavy  doom  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  morbid  sounding  melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing.  The  vocals  are  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.

  The  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  90's  influences  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  The  slower  sections  of  the  music  also  add  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  metal  along  with  all  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

 When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  old  school  style  along  with  one  of  the  tracks  also  introducing  clean  playing  onto  the  recording  as  well  as  the  music  also  adding  in  touches  of  crust  at  times.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkn4ess  themes.

  In  my  opinion  ISchemic  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  doom  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Scabs"  and  "Illusions  Of  Humanity".  8  out  of  10.

https://ischemic.bandcamp.com

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Upon Shadows Interview

 

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the musical project these days?

At this moment we are launching a series of lyric videos from our latest album "Modern Obscurantism", and we are also recording a new single to be released on October 18th.

2.In the last couple of years, you have released a full length and a single musically how do they differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

All our releases are different between each other, musically and also lyrically. In the case of "Modern Obscurantism" which is our seventh album, there is a kind of sinister atmosphere apart from the darkness always present in our music. Is a heavier album also, and is also the first time we record the full drums with a real drummer. In the past we had done a couple of singles with invited drummers. "Geometry of music" with Sir Kimmo Luttinen (ex Impaled Nazarene, ex Beherit), and "Fatal Stigma of the Realist" with Matti Torro (Myon), but before that all our albums and single have been done with programmed drums until our latest album "Modern Obscurantism" where we recorded with the sessionist drummer Joonas Alaräihä.The incorporation of real drums made an improvement in sound, in relation with our older albums.

3.The lyrics on the album you released in 2019 where a concept album, can you tell us a little bit more about the story that you had covered with this release?

The concept of the album is based on the idea that we are living in a new era of strong censorship and repression, even bigger than the obscurantism of the middle ages, because now everything has the magnitude of being global. So Natalia and I were talking for months about this idea to put the things as clear as possible... so we focused on the biggest points and so per song there is a topic.

First the album opens with an intro called "Back To The Dark Ages" which is very direct in the message, and musically helps to put the listener into the mode of the album.

Then the next song ``Vanity's Bonfire" talks about all the knowledge and precious art we had lost under the censorship of the church in the middle ages and the message is a question mark about how many precious things are we losing just now because of the new forms of censorship. The album has 10 songs and all presents a different topic related to the same concept. I tried to write the lyrics as poetically as I could, without affecting the original feeling. And we closed the album with an outro called "Lucifer" which is an extract of a text by Oscar Wilde, in which he let very clear the importance of keeping rebellion alive, as a motor for producing changes.

We closed the album with a text, a poem written by Ricardo Arocena, (Natalia´s father), because he made reference to the importance of fighting against indifference. I think these two last texts close the album with a positive message, despite all the darkness we were putting on the table along the whole album... Nothing is eternal, and everything can be changed by keeping the seed of rebellion in our hearts and fighting against indifference.

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

Upon Shadows in other words means "about darkness".. we all have our shadows and Upon shadows is all about my shadows.

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

Yes, I made the artwork thinking about representing the shadows taking over our lives, in a global way. A darkness that is over us all and represents censorship and control. So I get the idea of basing the design in an advanced but not total eclipse.

6.Originally the band was based in 'Uruguay' but now reside in Finland, can you tell us a little bit more about the mover?

I moved to Finland in 2013 because of personal reasons, not because of music. I needed a change in my life, I am a person that is all the time fighting against conformism and always needs new challenges.

But my move didn't affect our way of working in Upon Shadows. We have been keeping active all the way.

7.The last album was released on ;'Ground Media Group', how would you compare working with this label to other labels that you have been a part of in the past?

We have been releasing mainly independently, because we have the characteristic that we always release our music for free download, and this is something that is not attractive to most of the labels. Despite that, this is a decision we made from the starting point of Upon Shadows and we are not going to change it.

But we had released CDs with Satanica records from New Zealand, Depressive Illusions Records from Ukraine, and Underground Devotion Zine from Chile also had our permission to print and sell our music as a way to support the underground scene.

Ground Media Group is a new Finnish label that is growing a lot, and is made by people whose main purpose is to keep the underground alive. They give us the opportunity of releasing the album in a very beautiful edition where the Cd comes in a 4 panel digipak with a 12 page booklet. The printing quality is magnificent, the colors are very alive so the design is displayed in the best possible way.

We are very happy with the result.

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

The reaction is more than positive. 

We are very underground, but we have people who have been following and supporting us through the years, and are the kind of people that really listen and pay attention to the lyrics, and are open to feel and think with us, which is the most important thing for us.

We know that what we do is out of the standards of what most of the people wants to hear in these genders, and despite of that, and despite that we are a female duo,(which many times is enough for some people to deny us the opportunity to be listen), we have been making extreme metal music for the last 19 years. Offering a different proposal and keeping absolutely loyal to our ideas.

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

I think we found our own style which is the most difficult thing to find, an identity. And the goal for the future is to keep improving in technique and sound, and keep on this mixture of emotions and darkness.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

The styles that influenced me the most are Black Metal and Dark Ambient. I grew up listening to Abigor, Necromantia, Impaled Nazarene, Samael, and so on.

And the Dark Ambient... I found it through experimental music while I started to work as a music producer for a TV show called "Voces Anónimas" about ghost stories and urban legends in my country, where I was creating sounds to make the audience feel the uncomfortable tension and the fear related to the stories.

But I also have an strong influence from what my generation calls Dark Music (now people use the term "goth" or "gothic" wich I personally don't like) with bands like Sisters of Mercy, Christian Death, or The cure and its mix with metal music like The whores of Babylon. I think this influence is very visible in my keyboards.

Nowadays I'm listening to some new bands like Yoth Iria, NEDXXX, Aethyrick and Vermilia.

I also discovered some bands that are old but new to me like INFERNO and their album "Gnosis Kardias" which is a masterpiece.

And from the old bands I´m absolutely fascinated with Abigor´s new album "A Saintslayer's Songbook", and Rotting Christ "The Heretics".

11.Does Occultism play any role on your music?

Mmm...not directly, but if I think about it from the point of view that it is something that has always interested me, and is something about I have read a lot over the years...then I assume there are influences that I cannot deny.

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

First of all, thank you very much for the opportunity to express myself and present my music to your readers.

All Upon Shadows music can be download for free at :

http://tamarapicardo.blogspot.com/

And my final message is this: Keep the seed of rebellion in your heart like the most precious gift we have, because it is the core of our artistic creation and a consequence of our reasoning ability.

Birth Of The Monolith/Passio/2021 Full Length Review

 

  Birth  Of  The  Monolith  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  mixture  of  post  black  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2021  album  "Passio"  which  will  be  released  on  March  10th.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  playing  a  few  seconds  later.  All  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  post  metal  elements  and  the  vocals  are  mostyl  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.

  The  slower  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  metal  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  also  being  added  into  the  faster  sections  of  the  tracks  as  well  as  one  song  also  introducing  growling  vocals  into  the  music.

  On  this  recording  Birth  Of  The  Monolith  remain  true  to  the  mixture  of  post  black  and  sludge  metal  that  they  had  established  on  their  previous  release.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in a   mixture  of  French,  Swedish,  Japanese  and  Russian  cover  suffering  themes  with  some  occult  and  folklore  touches.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Birth  Of  The  Monolith  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  post  black  and  sludge  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Haxprocession".  

  

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The Crown/Royal Destroyer/Metal Blade Records/2021 Full Length Review

 

  Sweden's  The  Crown  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  the  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  from  their  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "Royal  Destroyer" which  will  be  released  on  March  12th  by  Metal  Blade  Records.

  A  very  distorted  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into a   heavier  direction  while  the  vocals  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  death  metal  growls.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  chaotic  style  and  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  thrash  metal  elements.

  Black  metal  screams  are  also  utilized  at  times  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  along  with  some  synths  also  being  utilized  briefly.  Some  of  the  riffing  also  captures  the  raw  energy  of  punk  and  grindcore  along  with  the  guitar  leads  also  having  their  melodic  moments  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Touches  of  doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  as  well  as  some  whispered  vocals  also  being  utilized  briefly,  a  couple  of  songs  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  and  clean  playing. The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Occultism  and  the  Ancient  Nordic  Myth  about  the  end  of  the  world.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  The  Crown  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Let  The  Hammering  Begin!"  "Ultra  Faust"  "Scandinavian  Satan"  and  "Beyond  The  Frail".  8  out  of  10.

http://www.thecrownofficial.com/

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

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Abstrakt 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?

Nightderanger: The recordings ended in october and the album was mixed in november. At the moment when I write this, the release date is two days forward. Due to Corona, our recent activity has been mainly online.

2.Recently you have released a new album, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Apostate: Compared to Obsidian, Uncreation is a more cohesive and polished release to me. The riffs are tighter and more intricate, the orchestrations more massive than before, and lots of new vocal sounds as well, with some spoken parts, my backing vocals and some choir parts as well. I think we’ve made a huge leap from Obsidian in overall quality as well, not that Obsidian would have had bad production per se, but on Uncreation I honestly feel we made a great record.

3.This is also your first album to be released in 8 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?

Nightderanger: The main reason for the big gap is all that annoying mandatory stuff like work and school and families. Me and Azul Corax have had kids during this time and all of us are in full-time jobs. We have played some gigs and everything has advanced slowly but surely. The drums of Uncreation were recorded in 2015 so I guess it is fair to say that everything didn’t go according to schedule..

Apostate: Much like Nightderanger said, life happened. In a way it was the most infuriating process for taking so long, but on the other hand it did allow us to really polish the material to the point it is on the record.

4.A lot of your lyrics cover occult themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?

Nightderanger: I’m the main lyricist and yes, I’m interested in occult. Once upon a time, when I was young and stupid I was more or less christian. Even then I was not (completely) a lamb, I had my own thoughts and I was interested in christian gnosticism. I’ve read also lots about hinduism, mainly because my relative was harekrishna. I came to my senses and I left chstianity but my interest in occult I didn’t lost. I only changed my view on it. I’m interested in math and physics and I guess that can be observed in my lyrics.

5.What are some of the other lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored over the years with the music?

Nightderanger: The first album, Obsidian, was more personal. That album was more or less a coherent story about the growth of one person. In Uncreation, well, I’d say every song is more or less occult. Some songs are more abstract (pun intended) like From Chaos to Creation and Inferno is maybe the best example about more traditional black metal lyric.

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Abstrakt'/

Nightderanger: From the very beginning we had some ideas about music and lyrics. Our music was metal but the music during and before the first album was such a mess of genres, it was less black metal than new Dimmu Borgir but it didn’t fit under any other label too. I’ve always been a huge friend of everything surreal and absurd (Absurd was a name that was unfortunately out of question) and then after some reflective thinking, the name Abstrakt came to my mind. If I remember correctly, that was the only name ever that was even considered for the band.

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

Nightderanger: Firstly, all hail to our graphic designer Marjo-Elisa Vaaraniemi who also created our logo ~10 years ago. The name of the album probably tells more than I could ever tell. It is the process of Uncreation going on. Even the stars that would summon Cthulhu can’t escape the ultimate annihilation after which absolutely no trace of this universe would remain.

8.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Nightderanger: The collective answer for the best two gigs were probably our latest show in Puska Metal Festival 2019 and in Mökäfest III.

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

Apostate: Due to our long unsigned status, there hasn’t historically been that much publicity for Obsidian and demos we have released for Uncreation, but lately we have experienced quite a jump up in search hits and have received some pre-release reviews already for Uncreation. The tone of the reviews has been very positive, and overall the reactions we’ve gotten have been quite favorable.

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

Apostate: The future is wide open for us, there’s no real barriers for our sound at the moment, but in all likelihood the major building blocks of our sound are here to stay.

<In fact, we’re currently working on a new song which is in the demo stage already. It has a bit of a different feel than the songs on Uncreation, but I have no fear it wouldn’t be recognizable as Abstrakt once we’re done with it.>

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?

Apostate: To be fair, the process was so long that this list could go on quite a while, but for me some of the bands I listened to the most during the writing, recording and production processes were Opeth, Mgla, Cattle Decapitation, Between the Buried and Me and SikTh. Nowadays I’ve been listening to a lot of Chick Corea, Harakiri For The Sky, post-rock stuff and some jazz, really looking forward to the new Cannibal Corpse album.

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

Nightderanger: AD MAIOREM ABSTRAKTI GLORIAM Äiti lähetä rahaa!!

Thanks for taking the time to read this and check out our Spotify and Facebook for further reference, rock out with your cock out

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