i Helvete/Sinisten Puiden Niity/2021 Full Length Review

 

  i  Helvete  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  goes  for  more  of  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2021  album  "Sinisten  Puiden  Niity"  which  will  be  released  on  November  26th.

  Rain  and  thunder  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  playing  a  few  seconds  later  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  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  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Elements  of  doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  some  tracks  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  keyboards.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Back  up  shouts,  whispers  and  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  as  well  as  a  couple  of  later  tracks  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  small  amount  of  female  vocals  and  stringed  instruments  can  also  be  heard.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Finnish  and  is  a  concept  album  based  upon  an  individual  whose  future  does  not  look  promising. 

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  i  Helvete  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  black  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  " Kunnes  Kuolema  Meidät  Erottaa"  and  "Hirsipuu'.  8  out  of  10.

Website: https://www.ihelvete.com/

Bandcamp: https://ihelvete.bandcamp.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ iHelveteband/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ channel/ UCEs1W3FVRH2ujQJtXImolyg

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/ artist/1hqfWpaEEb9wI4HqLvCEoc

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/i_helvete/  

  

    

Civerous/Decrepit Flesh Relic/Transylvanian Tapes/2021 Full Length Review

 

  Civerous  are  a  band  from  Los  Angles,  California  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  death,  drone,  doom  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "Decrepit  Flesh  Relic"  which  will  be  released  on  November  19th  by  Transylvanian  Tapes.

  Dark  yet  ritualistic  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls.  Black  metal  screams  can  also  be  heard  at  times  while  evil  sounding  melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  and  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  and  doom  metal.

  The  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  90's  influences  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  lot  of  blast b eats  can  also  be  heard  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  style  along  with  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  one  song  also  introducing  clean  playing  and  stringed  instruments  on  the  album,  drones  can  also b e  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording,  one  of  the  tracks  is  also  an  instrumental.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  disease,  death  and  decay  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Civerous  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  death,  drone,  doom  and  sludge  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "From  The  Crypt  To  The  Cavern"  and  "Spiral  of  Eyes".  8  out  of  10.

  http://www.instagram.com/civerous_disease

        

Paradise in Flames/Act One/2021 Full Length Review

 

  Paradise  In  Flames  are  a  band  from  Brazil  that  plays  a  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2021  album  "Act  One".

  Symphonic  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  at  times.  During  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  vocals  also  bring  in  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls.

  Melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  while  operatic  male  and  female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  album.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also h ear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  music  also  being  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  when  they  are  utilized  as  well  as  some  songs  adding  in  whispered  vocals,  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  clear  vocals  and  clean  playing  are  also  utilized.  The  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Evilness,  Darkness,  Anti  Christianity  and  Misanthropy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Paradise  In  Flames  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  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  "Old  Ritual  To  An  Ancient  Curse"  "Dancer  Of  The  Mist"  "Unseen  God"  and  "The  Way  To  The  Pentagram".  8  out  of  10. 

  https://www.facebook.com/paradiseinflamesband

https://linktr.ee/paradiseinflames%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%8B

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD8wjdtUb20 

    

3xperimental/Dimorphis/2021 Single Review

 

  3xperimental  are  a  solo  project  from  Germany  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  atmospheric  and  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2021  single  "Dimorphis"  which  will  be  released  on  November  24th.

  Sci-fi  orientated  keyboards  start  off  the  single  along  with  some  programmed  drum  beats  later  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  Melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  the  music  also  adds  in  a  great amount  of  atmospheric  and  symphonic  elements  as  well  as  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  when  they  are  utilized,  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  second  track  is  also  an  instrumental  version  of t he  first  song.

  On  this  recording  3xperimental  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  atmospheric  and  symphonic  sounding.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  while t he  lyrics  cover  space  exploration  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  track  from  3xperimental  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  and  symphonic  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  single.  8  out  of  10.

Bandcamp: https://3xperimental.bandcamp. com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ 3xperimentalofficial

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ channel/ UCV4Sr1ddDzpS3XmqaezEHwQ

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/ artist/7FfVUqDrJou7hZpMuNpMdB

  

    

Tine/Mergae Maris Profundi/2022 CD Review

 

  Tine  are  a  solo  project  from  Pennsylvania  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  album  "Mergae  Maris  Profundi"  which  will  be  released  in  2022.

  A  very  heavy  yet  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording.  Symphonic  elements  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  songs  along  with  the  vocals  bringing  in  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  A  lot  of  the  album  is  also  heavily  rooted  in  the  mid  90's  era  but  mixed  with  a  more  modern  style  along  with  some  choirs  also  being  utilized  on  a  few  tracks.

  Some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  as  well  as  some  of  the  faster  riffing  also  adding  in  some  tremolo  picking,  melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  riffs,  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  and  a  couple  of  later  songs  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  vocals  and  the  recording  closes  with  an  instrumental.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Lavey  Satanism,  Philosophy,  Anti  Christianity.  Darkness,  Horror  and  the  writings  of  H.P  Lovecraft.  

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Tine  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  symphonic  black  and  death  emtal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "From  The  Deep  Ir  beckons..."  "A  Cetacean  Dirge"  and  "The  Kracken's  Lament".  8  out  of  10.

  https://tine.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/Tine.BlackDeath/

https://www.instagram.com/tineblackdeath/

https://twitter.com/TineBlackDeath

https://www.reverbnation.com/tineblackdeath

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPblkNcP1wvLM1M669YCyMg

  

Agnes Vein/Deathcall/Venerate Industries/2021 Full Length Review

 

  Agnes  Vein  are  a  band  from  Greece  that  plays  an  epic  mixture  of  black,  sludge  and  doom  metal and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "Deathcall"  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  Venerate  Industries.

  A  very  slow,  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  also  introducing  elements  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  onto  the  recording.  All  of  the  tracks  on  the  recording  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Vocals  are  mostly  black  metal  screams  while  clear  singing  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  album.  Melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  style  as  well  as  one  song  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing,  touches  of  80's  era  epic  doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  all  of  the  music  sticks  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  tempo  direction.

  Agnes  Vein  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  sludge  and  epic  doom  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  inner  thoughts  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Agnes  Vein  are  a  very  great  sounding  epic  mixture  of  black,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Deathcall"  and  "The  Golgotha  Entanglement".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/agnesveinband
https://agnesvein.bandcamp.com/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3BD60vhHcGClnZ9sTD3k2J?si=az_DR_MGRrmPLXP5cHvMMA 

https://youtu.be/P7UafQF9aK0

Orbital Soul System Interview

 

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

I've been interested in cosmic music for a long time. Since I've heard Arcturus "Sham mirrors" and Samael 'Eternal' (still my favourite cosmic metal album) I was trying to find some more space metal albums. There were not so many of them and the balance of guitars and synths was not the one I was trying to find. After some years playing in different bands as a guitarist (Rakoth is the one that should be mentioned) I decided to start creating the cosmic music I'd like to hear all this time. So I left Rakoth in 2008 and started my cosmic metal project. It was supposed to be only studio one-man band (as it is still nowadays), so I had to learn to play bass, work with synths (I don't use virtual synths, only real ones) to perform vocals and many other... The demo of two songs (Into the sun and Eternal voyage) was done in 2010, the process went slow and the album was recorded only in 2017. 

2.A few months back you also released an album, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?

It's hard to describe clearly. It's a mix of black, doom,death and modern metal from my opinion. Maybe with some ambient parts. I must say that it became a problem on particular moment with the promotion because it is not so 'doom' for doom-metal fans, not so 'black' for black metal fans etc. The thoughts about this point  for the second album seem to be scary for me :) But there will be more black metal parts definitely.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with the newer album?

To tell the truth all the the lyrics has been written in one day, so I didn't achieve the lyrical level I'd like to. Some of songs describe inner thoughts and human's self-contemplation (Into the sun, The path, Hollow), the title song "Eternal voyage" describes the thoughts of a space rescue boat lost in the deep space. Someday I will definitely make a concept-oriented album.

4.You also had a solo project a few years ago called 'Orbital Dawn', is 'Orbital Soul System' a continuation of your previous project?

Yes. Orbital Soul System is a rebranding of Orbital Dawn. The album was recorded in 2017 but didn't get a good mixing and mastering. So it was half-released as a demo-album of Orbital Dawn project. My brother Alex Zalessky started to study sound engineering and in 2020 he asked me to give him my tracks to see if he could do some good sound for the album. And the result was very cool (I must say that the recording in 2017 was not performed very correct for great mixing) so I decided to release the album now.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Orbital Soul System'?

The meaning is the question of similarity between human soul and universe. And I like the sounding of "Orbital" word :)

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

The artwork was made by MOSAEYE ART&DESIGN. The idea was mine, I would like to place the image of the rescue boat from the title song. So it came that way. A damaged space ship doomed to eternal wandering in the universe...

7.With this project you record everything by yourself but have experience working with a full line up in a previous band, how would you compare the two?

It was fun and interesting to play in a band but the current format of working on music is as convenient as possible for me. I feel free to make what I want and when I want, to experiment as much as necessary. The only negative thing is the lack of opportunity to play live shows. So I would like to stay alone in music creating  but taking some session musicians for live shows in the future is possible.

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

I would like to get signed on a label really able to bring my music to more listeners. So I'm interested in labels with really good promotion. I didn't really try enough to get signed with the debut album, we'll see if my second album will arouse some interest from such labels. If not- ok, I'll stay independent.

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

The reaction is quite good. Many people really like the album. Some of them didn't like the sound but tastes differ, many people say that the sound is very good. I like the sound of this album because it's really heavy and not so unpolished as it used to be on plenty of modern records. Many of them notice the real COSMIC spirit and the originality.

10.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?

I hope to create some music that will outlive the creator. The music that will become something special for some people.  Maybe I'll make another project to play electronic music parallel to Orbital Some System in future.

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?

Too many of them. Some music can be influential for you even if you are not huge fan of it. As some really influential bands I should name Arcturus, Ulver (great fan of synth-pop Ulver, hehe), Emperor (Anthems and Eclipse), Bad Sector, Pink Floyd, Theatre of tragedy, Soilwork (Peter Wichers), Mayhem, Samael, Meshuggah, Scream Silence, Covenant (swedish synth-pop band), Royksopp. I'm listening to plenty of bands nowadays. From late Bring me the horizon to Atrium Carceri and Rome. There are many interesting bands and styles, it's bad if you are caged just in 5 styles... As for black metal: 90's and 00's bands plus some modern bands as Raventale, Darkspace...

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

Be really thinking, feeling and strong ones.  

https://orbitalsoulsystem.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/Orbitalsoulsystemofficial/
https://open.spotify.com/album/6GAd8pgJ30hpR7A3PCPCzY