Ischemic Interview

 

Anthony Abbatangelo – Bassist & Recording Engineer

 

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

 

We’ve been on a long and COVID-mandated break. We were lucky that we had a window over the summer where restrictions eased up in Toronto, and during this time we were able to get together to rehearse and record the album over the course of a few months. I think we moved on to mixing and mastering right as we were getting hit with the second wave in the fall.

 

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

 

The biggest difference sonically is that we handled all the recording & mixing ourselves. Our drummer Kamble and I are both audio engineers and the stars aligned that we had access to a good recording space and enough free time to handle this one ourselves. Musically the tracks are on a very raw, death-doom wavelength compared to our last album “Stagnation & Woe”, which had a more polished, melodic black metal kind of thing going on. The textures are a lot rougher and heavier, but we’ve kept the same twisty and unpredictable song structures that we’ve always had fun with.

 

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

 

Isabelle writes all the lyrics but keeps them pretty close, we’ve never published lyrics sheets. What I love about Isabelle’s songwriting is that she explores that classic metal theme of mortality in a way that avoids the usual horror-movie clichés. The general impression I get from these songs is the concept of death as a freeing and truthful thing, while life can often feel like a march of compromises and contradictions.

 

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

This is from Isabelle’s experience as a registered nurse. A Transient Ischemic Attack is a kind of stroke, and Ischemia, in general, is the condition of blood and oxygen not getting to bodily tissue properly. We wanted a classic, one-word death-metal band name in the vein of “Autopsy” or “Entombed” and this fit the bill haha.

 

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

 

The album art is something I’m especially proud of, it’s a photograph I took of a demon mask which was hand-crafted by an amazing artist and long-time friend of the band, Marcela Calderon Donefer (https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/MarcelasBrainJuice). My partner Danika Zandboer designed the lighting and helped me composite the final image. She’s an incredible photographer and recently shot the amazing cover for Vile Creature’s latest release (https://www.danikaz.com/). Our past album covers were all illustration-based, and I thought changing it up to a minimalist, photo-based design would suit the new material.

 

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

 

I personally love playing DIY spaces and house shows, and usually feel most at home in front of those kinds of crowds. I think we sound best when playing in small rooms with big amps and minimal monitoring. Grumpy FOH engineers have ruined the vibe of more doom metal shows than I can count!

 

In December 2020 we organized and played a house show in Kitchener/Waterloo, opening up for Greber who is easily one of my favorite live bands. The place was packed with metalheads, punks, artists and university kids, and Isabelle did some guest vocals with Greber. Good times!

 

We’ve been doing this for almost 10 years now in some form or another, and on our best days, the live show feels like a big engine pumping away in perfect sync. Isabelle definitely draws the most attention, getting into crowds and up in people’s faces or crumpling inwards in despair depending on the ups and downs of the riffs we’re pumping out up on stage. We like minimal, high-key red or white lighting and have been known to smoke out the audience with a fog machine when the mood strikes us!

 

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

 

We would definitely consider any offers that came our way haha, but I’m not sure it’s something we’re actively pursuing at the moment. Some of us are dealing with pretty demanding and unpredictable jobs/personal lives/health issues. That plus the COVID situation makes us a bit hesitant about tying the future of the band to a label or outside entity. We’re working on getting some copies of the new album out to one or two distros however. 

 

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

 

The reaction to the new single has been great so far! I think our style is slightly hard to pin down, but find that we end up being embraced by all sorts of audiences we aren’t really expecting. As an adventurous music listener and metalhead, the bands I love seeing the most are the ones that I know are going to surprise me during their set, and I feel like we try and bring some of that unpredictability.

 

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

 

Our drummer Kamble produces and plays guitar in a death-band called Mors Verum, I think you can expect something from them later this year. He’s also in the process of opening a studio in Kitchener/Waterloo and is taking on production and mixing work. Isabelle currently sings in Experiment Specimen who is working on some new material as well I believe. Myself, I work as a sound designer for film/TV and score the occasional horror movie. I also play in Qarafa, a droney psych-rock band that’s currently on hiatus due to COVID.

 

https://experimentspecimenmetal.bandcamp.com/

https://morsverum.bandcamp.com/album/deranged

https://qarafa.bandcamp.com/releases

 

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

 

We’re planning to do another round of recording over the upcoming summer, there’s been a low-and-slow sludge song in the vein of Disrotted kicking around that we’re getting to next. There are a couple of bands we’ve been dying to do a split EP with, so we’ll probably use the material for something along those lines.

 

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?

 

As I mentioned we love metal bands that use unusual songwriting to keep people on their toes with stylistic shifts. Great Sabatini, Greber and Fuck the Facts are great examples of this and personal favorites of mine. Some other amazing bands from Toronto that have dropped albums recently are Volur, Sarin and IRN. Personally, I’ve been way into Big Brave recently, a drone-doom band from Montreal with very beautiful, haunting vocals.

 

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

 

Nope! Thanks for having me and appreciate the interest.

Facebook.com/Ischemic
Instagram.com/ischemiccanada

https://ischemic.bandcamp.com 

Saille/V/Black Lion Records/2021 CD Review

 

  Saille  are  an  international  band  with  members  from  Spain,  the  Netherlands  and  Belgium  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  melodic  and  blackened  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "V"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  Black  Lion  Records.

  A  very  hard  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  presented  on  this  recording.  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.   

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.  Some  of  the  tracks  are  also  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  some  songs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  and  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  The  vocals  also  have  their  grim  yet  semi  melodic  moments  along  with  the  faster  riffing  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  as  well  as  one  of  the  tracks  also  introducing  acoustic  guitars  onto  the  album,  one  song  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  keyboards  and  spoken  word  parts  and  the  music  also  moves  away  from  the  symphonic  elements  that  were  more  present  on  previous  releases,  as  the  album  progresses  a  small  amount  of  clean  vocals  can  also  be  heard.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  fearful,  the  uncanny  and  the  weird.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from Saille  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  blackened  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Suffering  Sanctuary"  "Empty  Expanse"  and  "Mirror  Motions".  8  out  of  10.

  https://sailleofficial.com 

https://www.facebook.com/SAILLE.Official 

https://www.instagram.com/saille.official

https://sailleblacklion.bandcamp.com/album/v

https://youtu.be/5J-5KB0PdHg   

Trollfest/Happy Heroes/Naplam Records/2021 EP Review

 

  Trollfest  are  a  band  from  Norway  that  plays  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  ep  "Happy  Heroes"  which  will  be  released  on  March  19th  by  Napalm  Records.

  A  very  heavy  and  symphonic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  black  metal  screams  a  few  seconds  later.  Folk  instruments  are  also  mixed  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  while  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  at  times  as  well  as  some  clean  pagan  vocals  also  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  music.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  the  riffs  also  bringing  in  a  lot  of  melody  as  well  as  some  of  the  songs  being  their  cover  versions  of  Aqua,  Bobby  McFerrin  and  Pharrell  Williams's  tracks,  at  times  the  music  also  captures  the  raw  energy  of  punk  rock  and  when the  music  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard.

  Trollfest  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  mostyl  rooted  in  folk  metal  on  the  original  track  along  with  their  cover  versions  also  mixing  in  that  style  with  the  different  musical  genres  of  the  artists  that  they  covered.  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  trolls,  drinking  and  humor  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Trollfest  are  a  very  great  sounding  folk  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Happy  heroes"  and  "Happy".  8 out  of  10.

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Minas Morgul/Heimkehr/Trollzorn/2021 CD Review

 

  Minas  Morgul  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  pagan,  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "Heimkehr"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  Trollzorn.

  Epic  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  the  vocals  also  bring  in  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  Scandinavian  influences.

  The  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  atmospheric  sounding  along  with  one  of  the  tracks  also  introducing  clean  playing  onto  the  album  as  well  as  the  music  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  pagan  metal  elements,  melodic  vocals  can  also  be  heard  briefly  on  a  couple  of  songs  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  German  and  cover  hope,  despair,  frenzy,  fire,  damnation,  death,  fantasy  and  mythology  themes.  

  In  my  opinion  Minas  Morgul  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  pagan,  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Heimkehr"  "Teufel"  and  "Dein  Erwachen".  8  out  of  10.

 

https://www.facebook.com/MinasMorgul  

  

  

Fraught Interview

 

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

A lot of planning for this release, lining up artwork, videos, press etc. While our gigging plans were halted with coronavirus we’ve used the time to work on the follow up to this EP. We’re constantly working on new material and moving forward, there’s fewer distractions now so there’s no reason to slow down the momentum or take a step back.

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

Yes, “Splitting Tongues” is coming out March 11th via Cursed Monk Records and Fomorian Hate Records. Musically it’s definitely a similar vein but a natural evolution from our first EP. We’ve consciously tried to avoid boxing ourselves into one particular genre, so there’s still a large Death, Black and Sludge influence on this one, but also some new influences thrown in. As we’ve grown as a group we’ve been able to incorporate new elements into the writing process and try new things. We also had more time to record this EP, so we could spend longer honing in on our sound and controlling the maelstrom of tones we needed to give us the best end product we could.

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

A lot of the themes and lyrics are based off real life experiences, both in our own lives but also in what we have observed in others. The main themes would be misery, hatred, death and the depreciation of society as a whole. Each track is left open to interpretation, but has it’s own relevance to us and is grounded in something we have experienced. Sometimes keeping things totally abstract doesn’t always work, so we also aren’t afraid to go straight for the jugular. 

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

Well, we originally started under the name “Drought” but due to other bands of the same name playing a similar style we felt it better to change it to avoid confusion. To us, the word “Fraught” represents the overall themes that we deal with in the music and lyrics, themes centred around things that would be largely undesirable to most or things that most people choose to ignore - death, self-destruction, the negative impacts society has on itself and the world we live in. 

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

The main artwork was created by Sarah at Black Fever Art with the overall layout being done by the band ourselves. Sarah is one of those that we view very highly and as a direct extension of the music. Her art is not only mind-blowing, but she also has a deep understanding of what we do and how we work. The artwork represents a lot of the lyrical themes of misery and hatred and as with the lyrics, it is also open to individual interpretation. To us however, it most closely relates to the track “Throne of Traitors” and the explicit repercussions that life can have on those who betray you. 

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

To date, given the COVID-19 situation, we’ve only been able to play one show back in Feb 2020, which was a great first show. We feel our music takes its full form when performed live, so we give our all in every performance, 110% and nothing less. From day 1 we committed to creating more than just the 5 of us standing on a stage, we bought our own lighting equipment and got our own lighting guy, so we’re able to do each show on our own terms and give the music the mood and feel we want. There’s a lot of energy in the music and that translates to our live performance well and the audience can feed off that. The more energy and chaos in the show, the better. 

7.The ep is going to be released on 'Cursed Monk Records', how did you get in contact with this label?

Cursed Monk are handling the CD release and Fomorian Hate are handing a limited Cassette release. 

CMR had put out a number of great releases around the time we recorded the EP, particularly the latest TOOMS release and we felt they shared the same interest in and commitment to the style of music we create and that we would be a good fit for their roster. Alex from TOOMS actually gave us Rodge’s details and we reached out to see if he would be interested in working with us on “Splitting Tongues” and thankfully he enjoyed the EP and was eager to work with us on it. 

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

So far it’s been very positive. Obviously given the worldwide situation right now it has hindered our abilities to get outside of Ireland to play shows and promote the release as you typically would. However, luckily the internet has made it much easier to reach people in different countries and share the music. We’re still a relatively new band, but we’ve had some good responses from people across Europe, the UK, the US and Canada. 

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

Writing is already well underway for the next release, but we’ve yet to discuss the form it will take, be it a full length album, a split or another EP, we’ve a lot of ideas for each so it’s a matter of planning it out and seeing what fits best. Musically, we will continue to create the music we enjoy listening to and playing, but as we develop as musicians we’re always looking at new interesting techniques or ideas so the new tracks will showcase a lot more of our abilities as musicians.

10.What are you listening to nowadays?

We all listen to a large array of music, but the main ones would probably be: Ulcerate’s “Stare Into Death and Be Still”

Dragged Into Sunlight’s “Hatred For Mankind”

Skinless “Foreshadowing our Demise”

Moral Collapse’s Self Titled

Nasum’s “Inhale/Exhale”

Nomadic Rituals “Tides”

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

A lot of True Crime documentaries, Horror Movies, Guinness consumption and keeping ourselves sane with various hobbies: Cycling, Reptiles, Photography, to name a few. 

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

Thank you for your time. If you enjoy what we do, consider supporting us by picking up the EP, supporting our labels Cursed Monk and Fomorian Hate and also Black Fever Art. We have a number of exciting things in the pipeline including some new merchandise so keep an eye peeled for that.

https://www.facebook.com/Fraughtband

DxVxDxD SxLF/Before The Dawn/Wolfmond Production/2021 CD Review

 

    DxVxDxD  SxLF  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  gothic  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "Before  The  Dawn"  which  will  be  released  in  the  summer  by  Wolfmond  Production.

  Symphonic  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  at  times.  Choirs  can  also  be  heard  briefly  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  angry  sounding  black  metal  screams  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  a  lot  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  when  the  music  speeds  up.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  tremolo  picking  is  added  into  a  lot  of  the  faster  riffing.  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.

  Most  of  the  music  id  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  era  but  modern  at  the  same  time  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  gothic  metal  elements.  Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  as  well  as  one  track  also  introducing  clean  vocals  onto  the  album.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  DxVxDxD  SxLF  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  gothic  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Man  In  The  Vortex"  "After  Dark"  "Swan  Song"  and  "Darkstones  Cathedral".  8  out  of  10.

https://wolfmondproduction.bandcamp.com/album/dxvxdxd-sxlf-before-the-dawn-pre-order

Stake Driver/Lycanthropy 666/Cemetery Horror Productions/2021 Full Length Review

 

  Stake  Driver  are  a  band  from  Dayton,  Ohio  that  plays  a  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "Lycanthropy  666"  which  will  be  released  on  cassette  by  Cemetery  Horror  Productions.

  A  very  fast  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  while  symphonic  elements  are  also  mixed  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  as  well  as  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  the  music  is  also heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  era.

  Elements  of  thrash  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  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  a  couple  of  the  songs  also  having  brief  interludes  in  between.

  One  track  also  introduces  clean  playing  onto  the  album  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  as  well  as  the  vocals  also  deeper  sounding  briefly  as  the  recording  progresses,  classical  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  spoken  word  parts  are  also  added  on  the  closing  song  which  is  also  very  long and  epic  in  length.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Anti  Christianity  and  Darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Stake  Driver  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  "Engorged  Remains"  "Beyond  the  Cemetery  Gates"  and  "Washed In  Cursed  Blood".  8  out  of  10.

https://stakedriver.bandcamp.com/album/lycanthropy-666