Sarcator/Alkahest/Black Lion Records/2022 Full length Review

 

  Sweden's  Sarcator  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  the  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  from t heir  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2022  album  "Alkahest"  which  will b e  released  in  October  by  Black  Lion  Records.

  A  very  heavy  and  aggressive  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  brutal  direction  which  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.   Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  also  being  utilized  at  times. 

  The  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  and  aggressive  style.  Elements  of  thrash  metal  can  also  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  along  with  the  album  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  couple  of  songs  also  introducing  clean  playing  and  acoustic  guitars  onto  the  album,  some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length, one  song  is  also  an  instrumental  and  synths  can  also  be  heard  briefly  towards  the  end.  

  On  this  recording  Sarcator  takes  their  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  into  a  different  direction  from  previous  releases.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  blood,  fire  and  death  themes.  

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Sarcator  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  black,  death  and  thrash  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ascend"  "Dreameater"  and  "Alkahest".  8  out  of  10.

  Pre-Order CD/LP/Cassette/Digital:

https://snd.click/Alkahest (physical pre-order + digital pre-save)
https://sarcatorblacklion.bandcamp.com/album/alkahest

https://linktr.ee/Sarcator
https://www.facebook.com/sarcatorband
https://www.instagram.com/sarcator
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClYGnOD_JYbtVacFw4emX-g

Medieval Demon/Black Coven/Hells Headbangers Records/2022 Full Length Review

 

  Greece's  Medieval  Demon  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  the  melodic  and  symphonic  style  of  black  metal  from t heir  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2022  album  "Black  Coven"  which  will  be  released  in  September  by  Hells  Headbangers  Records.

  Evil  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times  as  well  as  giving  the  recording  more  of  a  symphonic  feeling.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  yet  high  pitched  sounding  black  metal  screams.

  Most  of  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  era  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  Clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  on  some  of  the  tracks  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  along  with  a  couple  of  songs  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast beats  can  be  heard  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Clear  vocals  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well  as  a  few  tracks  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  ritualistic  feeling,  saxophones  are  also  utilized  in  some  parts  of  the  album.  The  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Witchcraft,  Greek  Sorcery  and  Death  Magick  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Medieval  Demon  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  symphonic  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Where  Witches  Dwell  And  Labyrinths  Confuse"  "Baptismal  Blood"  and  "The  Grave  Dwellers".  8/5  out  of  10.

  https://youtu.be/6Ae9Q70_A7s

Wolfheart/King Of The North/Napalm Records/2022 Full length Review

 

  Finland's  Wolfheart  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  a  a  melodic  death  emetal  style  with  some  elements  of  black  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2022  album  "King  Of  The  North"  which  will b e  released  on  September  16th  by  napalm  Records.

  Keyboards  start  off  the  album  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Clear  vocals  can  also  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  while  elements  of  doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs.  Clean  playing  and  acoustic  guitars  are  also  added  into certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  tracks  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats.

   At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  atmospheric  and  symphonic  sounding  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in a   great  amount  of  melody.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts,  a  small  amount  of  tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  music.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Northern  mythology  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  form  Wolfheart  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDE D TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Skyforger"  "Desolated  Land"  "Cold  Flame"  and  "Eternal  Slumber".  8  out  of  10.

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Diabolical Raw Interview

 

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

Hello everyone, Ozan Erkmen here (All Vocals)!

After the recordings were completed, we looked for a label for a while and agreed with Base Record Production. The album will be released in September. We have been working hard on PR work lately. Exciting process. Besides we are in touch for possible concerts after the summer season.

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

The new album has more catchy riffs than the first album. Orchestration is like the trademark of our music, we worked on it in more detail on the new album. We simplified the chaotic structure in the first album a bit, I can say that the orchestration is at a more digestible level. There are parts that can be accompanied more in vocals. I am sure that the fans will join us in the performance of these parts at the concerts. Lastly, there are very nice guitar and violin solo performances. Apart from that, I am sure that those who listen to the album will find details that surprise them every time.

 

3.From2005 to 2019 there was no music being released, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame? 

There was a member changing problem that we couldn't avoid until 2005. At that time, we were working on the compositions of the first album, and each member change prolonged this process, carried the songs to a point that was very different from where we started and actually did not satisfy us. After the accumulation of different minor problems besides this main problem, the band split up. During that time, I moved to Germany, each band member continued his life in different ways. After a long time, we got in touch with our composer Ozan Tunc (We have the same names:) at the beginning of 2019, we talked a while about the past, after that we encouraged each other and finally we started to produce new songs again.

 

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

Central Asia is the region where Turks stepped into the world history scene. The first documented Turkish presence is in Central Asia. There are many known historical details such as the Great Hun Empire, Attila's invasion of Europe. There is an age between me and Ozan, our education started and ended in the same period. We have already learned Central Asian Turkish history at school, a subject that is not foreign to us. Although the religious form of the Central Asian Turks seems very simple, in fact, when you dig deeper, you find many exciting details. In addition to having similarities with the most known Greek and Scandinavian Mythological and religious forms, there are also unique sections. It has a fantastic form and I can say that it is an untouched area in the Metal music scene. As I know the Black and Folk Metal bands that write lyrics on this theme, such as Gökböri, Yaşaru, Yabgu. Apart from these bands, there is no other Metal band that comes to my mind, if there is, I haven't heard it. It is probably easier to continue with familiar lyrical themes. It is definitely not easy to produce Metal Music on this theme. And we're glad we made it

 

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Diabolical Raw'>?

When the band was formed it was called "Diabolical" and after we started writing songs again, we found that the resulting songs were completely different from what the band produced in 2005. We thought it would be unreasonable to claim that the band that produced music again after 12 years was the same band. On the other side, the past of the band dates back to 1998, which is also a fact. We didn't want to break away from the band's past, and also we wanted to emphasize a new beginning. Another reason is that there are many bands called "Diabolical". Thus, we have prevented the problems that may arise from the band name confusion.

 

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

Before I started writing the lyrics for the new album, I wanted to write a short Story entirely of our own and to have the lyrics come out of this Story. And so a unique concept was born. Artwork creator Mukadder Karaoglan (Muko) listened to all the songs and read this short Story. And before she started painting the Artwork, she chose the final battle part of the story. She created the main character Kaygun, her fierce enemy Erlik, the last battle and the battlefield in perfect harmony.

 

7.Currently there are only 2 members in the band but you have had a full line up in the past, are you open to expanding your line up again in the future or do you chose to remain a duo?

We will continue to be a duo because we are both very perfectionist people and working with us could be hard time to time. We are not hesitate to criticize each other harshly. And we work on songs in detail for a long time. If someone wants to work with us who can both put up with us and keep up with our discipline, we are open to it :) But for now, we are happy to continue on the road as duo. We also know musicians for gigs, it is not a problem for us to take the stage, everything is fine as it stands.

 

8.Had the band done any live shows or open to the idea?

We both live in separate countries; but this does not prevent us for play. After the first album came out, as you know, the Pandemic started and many concert possibilities have already disappeared. The new album will be released soon and we are very excited for it. After the summer season, we want to play as many shows as possible both in Turkey and in Europe.

 

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

Everyone we could reach loved our music, But it is a fact that we couldn't reach as many people as we want. After the release of the first album, we were weak in PR. That's why we're working hard on PR for the second album. We get professional help from Grand Sounds Promotion and they are very good at it. As I said, the fans we reached liked it very much, as a cliché many guys said that our music sounds like Septicflesh or Dimmu Borgir, but it definitely does not bother us. We have not heard anything negative about the sound, which makes us very happy.

 

10.What is going on with the other bands these days that both of the band members are a part of?

Other projects that I am currently involved in are not active. We are still working on the songs with the Death Metal band Human Harvest, which Ozan and I are in, but the recording process has not started. Ozan's own project Amras Numenesse is active and will even take the stage in Istanbul on August 24.

 

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

I don't think that our way of writing songs will go through a big change, but we are open to new stuffs and we like to blend new elements with our music without breaking the balans. Guitars may be more intense in the third album. A little spoiler:)

 

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

The bands that have influenced our music are definitely Septicflesh and Fleshgod Apocalypse. As for our personal playlists, we're not obsessed with a few styles. We listen to almost all of the metal music genres except for a few. But Black and Death Metal come first for both of us. Bands such as Emperor, Marduk, Nile, Suffocation have deeply influenced me. Of course, I listen to many more bands than I can count right now. These are just the first names that come to mind. Apart from that, I've been listening to ethnic music, classical music and Hard Rock classics lately.

Ozan is also a big fan of bands like Emperor, Gorgoroth, Mayhem, Devourment, Deeds of Flesh. Apart from that, he loves to listen to classical baroque music.

 

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

The questions were very good, thank you very much for your time. Thank you in advance to everyone who will read this interview. Be sure to listen to the album, it will be worth your time. Open your mind to Symphonic Extreme Metal madness.

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Rosa Nocturna Interview

 

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

Thanks for the interview. We are currently working on promoting our English album. This is a lot of work and takes a lot of time. In addition, we are finishing the music video for the song Fear. It should be out in September. And of course, we are already working on material for the new album.

2.Musically how does the new stuff differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

We try to keep our style on the border between symphonic metal and folk. The new album is much more sophisticated and heavier. It offers more melodies and we also featured more guests on it.

3.Recently you have released an English version of your 2020 album, what was the decision behind releasing the recording in 2 different languages?

For our Czech fans, we normally release music in Czech. But we have already released a few singles in English and we can see from the numbers that they are played much more. English songs are better accepted worldwide than songs in a little-known language such as Czech. So we decided to try to release the whole album in English. Also because albums are promoted more easily than individual songs. We will see if our music will be liked abroad.

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

We tell captivating stories, romantic ballads, or mythical epics. We tell stories from ancient times, which are sometimes nostalgic, sometimes full of struggles. It narrates about love and betrayal, death and fear, and it brings a great range of moods and feelings We try to convey a positive vibe and we invite listeners to contemplate.

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

From Latin, Rosa Nocturna means Night rose. Roses are beautiful but also they have thorns and they can hurt you. And so is our music. Sometimes beautiful and touching as roses in the moonlight. Other times hard and fierce as thorns on dark nights.

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

Of course. The cover was drawn in Finland, in the famous graphics studio Darkgrove. The cover artwork depicts a werewolf and an angel. As representatives of two opposing sides, good and evil. Our whole album is about the old-time struggle between good and evil and the picture is quite accurate about it.

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?

Hard to choose one, or several, because we played many great shows. Though we played only in the Czech Republic until now. Here in our city Brno we have quite a great fan base, so all the concerts in our hometown are blasts.

Concerning stage performance, we are a costumed band. We play in coats and costumes reminiscent of the Gothic or Victorian era. Our trademark is a top hat. And we are not a static band at all. We enjoy playing with the audience, jumping, and headbanging all over the stage. We also invite fans from the audience onto the stage to play with us during the shows. They simply love it.

8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Of course, all upcoming shows can be found on our website www.rosanocturna.cz, or on our socials.

9.On the new album you also have 13 guest musicians, can you tell us a little bit more about who they are and also their contribution to the recording?

Our songs are very musical. There are stories with many characters in our songs. And because we need different voices to portray them, we invite guest singers. They are great singers from other Czech bands. E.g. Viktorie Surmová from Surma, René Perry David from Flowerwhile, Shirley Tracanna from Wishmasters, Lenka Ereis Šíková from Ertha, etc. With them, we can convey the right emotions for every song. We invite also guest musicians for instruments we don't have in our band as band members. The main ones are Klára Šindelková from Emerald Shine on violin, Hanka Osifová from Wolfarian on flute, and Adam Langer from Rebel on djembe and bass.

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

Unfortunately, we haven't received any interest from labels yet. It would be nice to have one. So perhaps with this new album, we will be able to find a decent label.

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

Angels and beasts is our first English album. So we are looking forward to the reactions and review. We hope the fans will accept our music warmly. Our English singles have good reactions and in Czechia, we are praised by fans.

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

We will definitely stay metal, perhaps even heavier. But we would like to utilize more orchestra and more cinematic elements in the future.

13.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?

Definitely, it is Nightwish as one of the biggest influences. But in our band, we listen to a wide variety of bands and music styles. From Metallica to classical music. Because I am still searching for new voices and guests, I listen quite a lot to Czech bands nowadays, to find some interesting voices or musicians. 

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

I would like to thank you for this interview and to encourage fans to support their favorite bands. Making music takes a lot of effort and money. So every band will be very happy for the support of the fans.

Website: https://www.rosanocturna.cz/en/index.html
Bandcamp: https://rosanocturna.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RosaNocturnaBand/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh018nFMYdbh2gXhjUeU8bw
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6iV0BAMaGidShAlpWp7GNR
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rosanocturnaband/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/rosa-nocturna
Bandzone https://bandzone.cz/rosanocturna

Manic Abraxas Interview

 

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

Basically solidifying our live lineup and arranging material for shows.

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

To us it’s a progression from the last time.  We spent more time on details, nuances and getting tone dialed.  That’s not to say this is overly produced, the emphasis is still on a raw sound.

3.Some of your lyrics cover occultism themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?

To us the occult simply means hidden from the public, which describes a lot of our themes.  We aren’t a Satanic band, that shit is pretty much mainstream these days.  Where we’re coming from has no constraints.

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

There’s one song on the new album about a paranormal experience one of us had.  Overall the lyrics tend to be impersonal.  We have plenty of songs heavily influenced by some of our favorite fiction writers…SciFi, Fantasy, Horror etc.  Others can be about how peculiar it is to be alive.

5.I know that the band's name came from 'Gnosticism', can you tell us a little bit more about your research into this topic?

It’s just an interesting topic for us.  Abraxas seemed to be a clouded & unpredictable figure of unknown alignment and that’s the perfect umbrella for our music.

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

We are very proud to have album art by the amazing Gage Lindsten.

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

At this moment in 2022 playing shows seems like a distant memory.  Live is a barely contained torrent - we have forgotten all about society and being human summoning Abraxas in our own primitive way.

8.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

We have a handful of shows lined up for the fall.  We’ll probably never do real tours but weekends and the odd week now and then as we grow would be cool.

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

Unsigned - we have garnered no interest.

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

Overall it’s been positive but we’ve also had plenty of hate.  We don’t fit in any boxes so that excites us.

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

That’s hard to say.  RIght now we have a huge backlog of unreleased & unrecorded songs all the way back to our beginning so that may be our next release, a regression of sorts.  

12.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?

Saturnalia Temple, Darkthrone, St Vitus, early High On Fire, Celtic Frost, Bolzer, Venom, Blue Oyster Cult, Unearthly Trance, ZZ Top - it’s endless really.

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

Thanks for having us.

https://manicabraxas.bandcamp.com

https://www.instagram.com/manic69abraxas

https://www.facebook.com/manicabraxas

Yevabog/Between Two Fires/2022 Full Length Review

 

  Yevabog  are  a  solo  project  from  Seattle,  Washington  that h as  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  atmospheric  and  melodic  form  of  blackened  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2022  album  "Between  Two  Fires".

  A  very  fast  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  while  the  synths  also  ad d in  some  symphonic  touches.  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  black  metal screams  and  death  metal  growls  along  with  the  music  also  being  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  era  and  clear  chants  can  also  be  heard  briefly.

  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  atmospheric  while  the  song  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Tremolo  picking  is  also  added  into  some  of  the  faster  riffing  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  solos  and leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.as  well  as  one  song  also  introducing  clean  playing  and  clear  vocals  onto  the  album.  

  On  this  recording  Yevabog  takes  the  atmospheric,  symphonic  and  melodic  styles  of  90's  era  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with  death  emtal  to  create  a  very  diverse  recording.  The  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  possession  and  betrayal  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Yevabog  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric,  melodic  and  symphonic  black  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "A  Golden  Reaper"  and  "22  Disciples  Of  Hell".  8  out  of  10.

  https://youtu.be/xkSV_U6RcK0

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2QDLelqjXt45lfsNAEStCF

https://music.apple.com/us/album/between-two-fires-ep/1640806806

https://yevabog.bandcamp.com/album/between-two-fires

https://www.instagram.com/yevabog/