Usnea 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?

The new album just came out today, which is really exciting. We have a record release show in the works for next month and we're working on Spring touring plans. Nothing final yet, but next year we're hoping to do some US as well as European touring to support the album.

2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the new recording and also how does it differ from your previous split and full length?

I think our new album definitely is a progression from our last. Musically the same elements are there, but this album feels much more to me like a complete album whereas our first album was four songs that didn't all fit together as well since they were our first output as a band. The new album also shows some differing influences and ideas for us. Vocally we tried some different things: Joel's vocals are much deeper on this album and they came out amazing. And Justin has a few soft singing parts that really add an excellent contrast to the music. There are other things too: more death-doom style parts, things like that. As a band we are constantly evolving and trying out new ideas, so I expect each album will do will be a bit different. We also put out a split 7" this year with a shorter song for us and something that wouldn't have really fit with what's on this album, so it was the perfect spot for that song.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?

The name of the album, Random Cosmic Violence, comes from a Carl Sagan quote: “It is a characteristic conceit of our species to put human face on random cosmic violence.” We are not the creation of some benevolent being or divine inspiration. We are here because of a random series of events that occurred over millions of years. I think that idea is beautiful in its own way and that was what Carl Sagan was really good at conveying - the beautify of the natural universe and the chance that brought us here. In contrast, our society goes to war over dogma, kills over religious ideology, destroys the environment. So our lyrics explore some of those juxtapositions and I suppose we focus a bit on some of the negativity of the random human experiment. As as species what are our conceits, what insanity moves us to do certain things.

4.On the fb page you had some horror and science fiction authors along with a few philosophers listed as influences, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?

A lot of the ideas in science fiction shed some light on what it means to be human, what we could become given the best and worst of choices and circumstances. So I see a connection there between some science fiction and philosophy - they both can inform our perspective of what we are as a species.

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

Usnea is the name of a lichen, which is actually pretty common up here in the northwest and is nicknamed "Old man's beard". We were trying to come up with a name for the band and coming up with all kinds of ideas. I was looking at lists of names of plant tinctures and I saw that and it just instantly fit. As far as I know, there aren't any other bands named Usnea so that's a plus. And the word has a sort of mysterious sound to it which fits out music well. And its local to our area with medicinal properties, so that's pretty cool as well.

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 think my favorite show as a band so far was with Yob here in Portland. They are such an incredible band that we look up to that we were humbled to be able to share the stage with them. Also the nicest guys you will ever meet. Mike wore our shirt when they took the stage that night which was pretty incredible, he is such a caring dude, it's hard not to be awed and inspired by his presence and amazing music.

As for our stage performance, playing in a slow doom band is a bit funny. It's not the sort of thing where you're going wild, head banging like crazy, getting the crowd wound up. Live we really just try to project the music and the energy it brings - whether it's a meditative, introspective feeling or a sort of angry, cathartic feeling. Music is meant to make you feel, so that's what we try to convey; if the crowd felt the music, then we succeeded.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new release?

We have a record release show scheduled in Portland for December 13th, and we're going to follow that up with a tour this Spring. We'll announce more soon.

8.A few months back you had released a split with 'Ruins', how would you compare their musical style to yours?

Ruins are a great band and awesome dudes. Their music is pretty different than ours for sure but I think that makes the split interesting and I think what we do is very compatible with each other. Some of my favorite shows are those with a diverse lineup. No one wants to see a show with four funeral doom bands unless you're a total masochist. So I think it's rad to mix it up a bit, within reason of course.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your newer music by fans of black metal, doom and sludge?

The feedback we've gotten has all been really positive and sometimes overwhelming. I'm curious to see the reaction to our new album since it should be hitting a few more ears than the last. And although we've sold a few dozen records overseas, shipping costs these days are prohibitive. So I'm stoked that more people overseas will get to hear our new album and get the vinyl. And we will be there ourselves in not too long, playing the songs, so that's exciting too.

10.Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects or bands these days?

None of us are doing much else really. We all have little projects here and there but Usnea is definitely our focus.

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

I see Usnea heading down the same track we always have: constantly evolving, getting excited about new influences and ideas, etc. I don't see our sound changing much, but as I mentioned before, I think each album will be a little different than the last and I'm excited to see where this journey takes us. I really have no clue what will be the inspiration for our music several years down the road and that's pretty exciting.

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?

Some favorites of mine that have had a big influence are Yob and Neurosis. As a band we all like a great variety of music, but for this project are obviously focused on creating doom metal. In the context of that, we are free to pepper it with other ideas and create our own unique take on the genre.

13.How would you describe your views on Occultism?

The occult is a dark and weird entity and so it has an appeal and draw to non-mainstream folks and a strong foothold in metal for sure. At the very least, occult themes are an interest in the art that Justin does for the band, and because of our influences lyrically from horror and sci-fi a la Lovecraft and others, the occult finds it’s way in to our aesthetic that way. To be honest though, we are all skeptical critical thinkers and none of us really have any kind of spiritual connection to the occult or any religious thinking at all really.

14.What are some of your non musical interests?

When we're on tour we often play chess and this last tour we had some epic late night games of Carcassonne going.

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

Thanks for the interview!

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Hombre Malo/Persistent Murmur Of Words And Wrath/Disciplin Media/2014 CD Review

  Hombre  Malo  are  a  band  from  Norway  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge  and  hardcore  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Persistent  Murmur  Of  Words  And  Wrath"  which  was  released  by  Disciplin  Media.

  A  very  dark  and  melodic  sludge  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  aggressive  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  that  also  use  some  rough  sounding  melodies  as  well  as  a  great  amount  of  high  pitched  screams  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  and  samples   being  utilized  at  times  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  bringing  in  a  more  melodic  side  of  noise  rock.

  You  can  hear  a  heavy  influence  from  post  hardcore  in  the  bands  musical  sound  along  with  the  heaviness  of  doom  metal  and  after  awhile  blast  beats  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  as  the  album  progresses  you  can  hear  more  of  a  black  metal  style  being  mixed  in  the  bands  musical  sound  as  well  as  a  great  amount  of  punk  rock  style  energy  and  the  band  also  uses  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  A  good  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  they  also  add  times  bring  in  the  rawness  of  crustcore  and  a  good  portion  of  the  music  has  a  90's  feeling  to  them  while  the  black  metal influence  updates  the  music  for  the  modern  day  and  every  track  has  a  sound  of  its  own  while  you  can  still  tell  that  it  is  the  same  band  playing  them  all.

  Hombre  Malo  plays  a  style  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  sludge,  punk  and  noise  rock  from t he  90's  era  while  also  mixing  it  in  with  the  energy  and  grimness  of  black  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  a  mixture  of  both  Norwegian  and  English  and  cover  dark  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Hombre  Malo  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge  and  hardcore  punk  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Crosses  And  Marching  Feet"  "Reaching  the  Shore"  and  "Deathbed  Confession".  8  out  of  10.

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Unfathomed Of Abyss/Arise Upon Oblivion/2014 CD Review

  Unfathomed  of  Abyss  are  a  1  man  band  from  Texas  that  plays  a  very  symphonic  and  avant  garde  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2014  album  "Arise  Upon  Oblivion".

  A  very  dark,  heavy  and  symphonic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  and  blast  beats  which  are  utilized  a  great  amount  throughout  the  recording  and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  keyboards  being  utilized  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  there  is  also  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  present  throughout  the  recording  and  most of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  When  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  they  are  in  a  very  grim  and  high  pitched  direction  of  black  metal  and  you  can  also  hear  death  metal  growls  being  added  into  the  music  at  times  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  very  symphonic  style  while  still  being  very  heavy  and  melodic  at  the  same  time  and  you  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  in  the  way  the  instruments  are  performed.

  The  symphonic  black  metal  style  of  the  album  is  more  closer  to  the  mid  90's  era  of  the  genre  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  awhile  you  can  hear  some avant  garde  elements  being  added  into  the  music  but  done  in  a  more  heavier  fashion  and  at  times  you  can  hear  a  touch  of  funeral  doom  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  music  while  the  symphonic  elements  also  bring  in  influences  from  orchestra  and  classical  music.

  Unfathomed  Of  Abyss  creates  a  style  of  symphonic  and  avant  garde  black  metal  that  is  closer  to  the  90's  style  and  also  has  more  of  a  darker  and  heavier  edge  than  most  bands  of  this  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  doom,  existence  and  oblivion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Unfathomed  Of  Abyss  are  a  very  great  sounding  avant  garde,  symphonic  black  metal  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "To  Unequal  The  Balance  Of  the  Cosmos"  and  "Within  the  Void".  8  out  of  10.

https://unfathomedofabyss.bandcamp.com/releases

Saille Interview

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

Dennie: We took it easy for a while, so to speak. The recordings were quite heavy, since we (and especially Reinier) did almost everything ourselves and bad luck punched us in the face several times. So we only played 2 shows and focused on personal stuff for a couple of months. The only significant happening is that we made the sad decision not to go further with our bass player Didier. He was replaced by Kristof who's currently preparing with us for the release shows. But busier times are ahead, so nap time is over.

2.You have a new album coming out in November, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Dries: We'd describe our music and sound as epic black metal. We used symphonic and melodic black metal as "tags" in the past, but that just doesn't cover our sound completely. The songs and general sound on "Eldritch" differs quite a bit from the previous recordings. Guitars form the base of the songs this time, in stead of keyboards being the start of the composition process in the past. We think "Eldritch" is much more guitar-oriented and we're very pleased with that. Soundwise we also changed the working process, Klas Blomgren did a great job and mix & mastered this album almost perfectly.

3.The lyrics on your album cover a lot of Lovecraft and Mythology themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?

Dennie: I've been a passionate reader since I was a kid and horror has always been my favorite genre. Especially nihilistic “it is not going to be okay” sort of stories have stirred something in me since my teens. So I was immediately sold when I stumbled upon Lovecraft several years ago. The cold atmosphere, the grotesque descriptions, the destruction of our ethnocentric beliefs, … Simply brilliant. And of course it makes killer source material for lyrics, especially if the corresponding music has the same uneasy vibe that Lovecraft's stories often have. Same for mythology actually. I've been reading tales of classic mythology since my childhood and developed a great interest in Norse-Germanic mythology a small decade ago.

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

Dries: Saille is a letter in the old Irish "Ogham" alphabet. All letters in this alphabet are represented by a tree (Saille thus means willow) and were carved in rocks and trees. It was that combination, the willow tree and the carving in wood/stone, destruction with a purpose, that made us choose the band name. The general idea we want to bring with the songs and lyrics is exploration of the destructive powers everywhere. Spreading the beauty of destruction that's sometimes hidden.

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

Reinier: I can fairly say playing both Graspop and Eindhoven Metal Meeting were awesome experiences for us. Playing gigs in the Netherlands are generally fantastic every time. In our tiny country we remember the Tongeren Metal Fest and a support show for Mayhem in the famous Ancienne Belgique in Brussels the most. And, to top it off, we did some great club shows in the UK in the past two years en we felt very welcome.

It's quite crowdy on stage with the six of us and we keep things going. We add extra musical ideas, to avoid playing exactly what has been recorded and we have some visual aspects, but it depends on the size of the stage. Every now and then we bring a guest musician too. Like I said, it's pretty busy on stage.

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

Dennie: We're currently negotiating with a certain party about touring next year and you'll read all about that when it's official. When it comes to shows we have some great things planned. For starters we'll have a 3 show mini-tour in Belgium and Holland with our British friends in Winterfylleth. Next we'll be playing Eindhoven Metal Meeting again, which is the greatest indoor metal fest in the Netherlands with bands like At The Gates and Morbid Angel headlining this year. Several other shows are booked and even more are in the making, so people will have plenty of opportunities to watch us play.

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic and symphonic black metal?

Reinier: We do get a lot of feedback, now more than ever, which means we're spreading. Apparently we're getting more fans outside Europe, mainly in South-America, probably because the metal genre is sort of booming there finally. There's some work to be done in Eastern Europe and for instance in France and Spain, but we're working on that. All in all the response is fantastic and motivating and so far positive, for which we are grateful of course.

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

Reinier: Besides Kevin (drummer) none of us is really doing anything else on the side. Nothing big, that is. It's just too much hassle and not feasible to combine 2 bands at the moment and it gets in the way at some point. Eventually you get in trouble with schedules, dates and obligations and Saille doesn't cancel shows. I can understand the urge to do something else on a creative level, but we are a busy band and it's better to keep focused.

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

Dennie: Not an easy question, since we're a six-piece with quite different musical tastes from time to time. Personally I hope that we'll succeed in creating a darker, more atmospheric sound that sends shivers down your spine. I have several ideas, and I hope that I'll also be able to contribute music wise, instead of just lyrics and vocals. But let's focus on Eldritch first, shall we?

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?

Reinier: Naturally, there are influences from all kinds of styles, without actually realising it, but I can't say we deliberately make use of influences.

The thing is we try our best to combine all our personal styles and taste with cool riffs and great orchestral stuff, without too much boundaries and that's already hard as it is. We all like different music and at some point we find overlaps, luckily... What we did for "Eldritch" was trying another formula for composing this time, by working the other way round: the first album Dries (keys) started with the orchestral layers, while for this album the guitar parts were ready before anything else.

While the others are more open to all styles of metal and some even to jazz (Dries), I'm enjoying this year's Behemoth, Cannibal Corpse and Calm Hatchery the most.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Dries: Every band member has his own personal interests of course. Dennie loves literature, Reinier is traveling the entire world, Kevin is racing his car and Jonathan, Kristof and myself are, amongst other interest, raising their children. We share the passion for science, knowledge, nature, but of course we're most of all loving music in all it's forms.

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

Reinier: I would like to invite everyone to come to shows, of course to ours, but to all shows in general. It's very important for bands to have an audience and it's just not the same to watch it afterwards on YouTube, you've got to be there. Without an audience there are less shows and that would be sad.

And finally, please check us out and listen to a song or 2. Buy the album if you like it, because it looks pretty awesome.

Thanks for the interview!

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Havenless/The Crimson Lines/WormHoleDeath Records/2014 CD Review

  Havenless  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  melodic  and  progressive  form  of  black/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "The  Crimson  Lines"  which  will  be  released  by  WormHoleDeath  Records.

  Nature  sounds  along  with  some  synths  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  prog  metal  direction  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  adding  in  more  melody  as  well  as  getting  a  bit  more  heavier  along  with  some  solos  and  leads  that  are  very  melodic  and  progressive  sounding  along  with  a  couple  of  tracks  that  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  When  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  they  are  in  the  growling  death  metal  vein  and  they  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  which  also  enhance  the  progressive  nature  of  the  music  while  still  focusing  mainly  on  a  heavier  sound  and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  early  Opeth  influences  in  the  bands  musical  sound  and  some  of  the  later  tracks  add  in  elements  of  psychedelic  music.

  In  certain  sections  of  the  recording  clean  singing  vocals  are  utilized  and  most  of  the  death meal  elements  of  the  bands  musical  style  are  more  closer  to  the  90's  European  sound  and  you  can  also  hear  keyboards,  symphonic  and  atmospheric  elements  being  utilized  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  you can  hear  some  influences  from  later  day  Enslaved  and  Ishann  albums  which  also  add  in  a  touch  of  Norwegian  black  metal  and  you  can  also  hear  a  slight  influence  of  that  genre  in  some  of  the  screams  when  they  are  utilized.

  Havenless  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  progressive  bringing  back  to  the  early  Opeth  sound  while  also  mixing  it  with  some  of  the  more  progressive  element s of  the  Norwegian  scene  to  create  a  very  dark  and  heavy  sounding  recording,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  mysterious  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Havenless  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  blackened  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sons  of  the  Raging  Season"  "Orphans  Of  Magic"  "In  The  Sorness  Chamber"  and  "Shades  in  The  Moor".  8  out  of  10.

http://httpv://youtu.be/0r0y4kIWXFw         

Frostbitten Kingdom/The Winter War Symphony/WormHoleDeath Records/2014 EP Review

  Frostbitten  Kingdom  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  blackened  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "The  Winter  War  Symphony"  which  was  released  by  WormHoleDeath  Records.

  Acoustic  guitars  and  atmospheric sounds  start  off  the  ep  and  you  can  also  hear  elements  of  classical  music  being  added  onto  the  track  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  heavier  guitars  and  folk  music  elements  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  a  symphonic  background  which  also  leads  up  to  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  making  their  presence  known  on  the  recording.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music  they  are  in  more  of  a  melodic  yet  extreme  metal  direction  and  at  times  death  metal  growls  can  he  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  most  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction.and  on  a  couple  of  the  tracks  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  is  utilized  and  they  bring  in  a  progressive  touch  to  the  bands  musical  style  and  on  the  last  track  the  music  starts  to  go  for  a  more  faster  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  beign  added  into  the  song.

  Frostbitten  Kingdom  brings  back  a  90's  style  of  melodic  black  metal  and  also  adds  in  a  great  amount  of  symphonic  elements,  death  metal  influences  and  some  of  the  more  modern  metal  sounds to  create  their  own  musical  style,  the  production  sound s very  dark,  heavy  and  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  Fantasy,  Gore  and  War  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Frostbitten  Kingdom  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  blackened  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Warfare  And  Wilderness"  and  "Lucid  Nightmares  Of  barbaric  Brutality".  8  out  of  10.

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In Tormentata Quiete/Cromagia/My Kingdom Music/2014 CD Review

  In  Tormentata  Quiete  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture of  folk,  progressive  and  avant  garde  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Cromagia"  which  will  be  released  on  November  17th  by  My  Kingdom  Music.

  Progressive  style  synths  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  playing  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  slowly  leads  up  to  a  heavier  direction  along  with  a  good  amount  of  melody  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  the  intro  there  are  some  elements  of  electronic  music  being  added  into  the  mix.

  When  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  they  start  out  with  some  clean  melodic  singing  along  with  a  good  mixture  of  both  male  and  female  vocals  and  after  awhile  they  start  bringing  in  more  grim  black  metal  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  prog  metal  influences  in  the  bands  musical  sound  along  with  some  violins  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  acoustic  guitars  have  a  very  powerful  sounding  presence  throughout    the  recording.

  At  times  the  music can  be  very  avant  garde  and  experimental  and  every  song  manages  to  sound  different  from  each  other  along  with  a  few  long  and  epic  tracks  as  well  as  a  few  instrumentals  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  bring  in  more  of  a  melodic  sound  to  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  black  metal  influence  gets  even  more  powerful  as  the  album  progresses  and  on  one  of  the  tracks  you  can  also  hear  some  elements  of  death  metal  with  the  growls  and  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats.

  In  Tormentata  Quiete  creates  a  very  interesting  style  with  their  music  taking  the  90's  avant  garde  black  metal  sound  that  a  lot  of  Norwegian  bands  where  doing  back  then  and  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  folk  and  progressive  music  to  give  their  style  more  originality,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Italian  dark  and  melancholic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  In  Tormentata  Quiete  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  progressive,  folk  and  avant  garde  black  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "II  Profumo  del  Blu"  "Verde"  "La  Carezza  del  Giallo"  and  "La  Visione  del  Nero".  8  out  of  10.

web: wwwintormentataquiete.com
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