Goat Of Mendes/Hagzussa Riding The Fence/Witches Brew/2017 CD Review

  Goat  Of  Mendes  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  pagan,  folk,  death,  doom,  thrash  and  heavy  metal  with  a  musical  style  they  refer  to  as  'Wiccan  Metal'  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Hagzussa  -  Riding  The  Fence"  which  was  released  by  Witches  Brew.

  Nature  sounds  along  with  some  viking  horns  start  off  the  album  as  well  as  some  tribal  beats  and  melodic  female  chants  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  ritualistic  feeling    and  after  the  intro  melodic guitar  leads  start  to  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  as  well  as  giving  the  songs  more  of  a  traditional  feeling.

  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  while  also  mixing  in  clean  pagan  vocals  at  times  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be heard  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length,  when  death  metal  growls  are  utilized  they  give  the  music  more  of  a  demonic  atmosphere.

  A  decent  amount  of  melody  can  also  be  heard  in  the  guitar riffing  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  doom  metal  along  with  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  music  also  mixes  in  a  great  amount  of  thrash  elements,  as  the  album  progresses  acoustic  guitars  and  ritualistic  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  and  touches  of  folk  music  are  added  onto  the  closing  track.

  Goat  Of  Mendes  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  pagan,  folk,  doom,  death,  thrash  and  heavy  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Wiccan  Paganism  and  Magick  themes.

  In  my  pinion  Goat  Of  Mendes  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  pagan,  folk,  doom,  death,  thrash  and  heavy  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Maiden,  Mother  ANd  Crone"  "Samhain  (A  Visit  From  The  Veil)"  and  "Mabon  (Impending  Darkness)".  8/5  out of  10.

 https://witchesbrewthrashes.bandcamp.com/album/hagzussa-riding-the-fence

Wolfhorde/The Great Old Ones/Inverse Records/2017 EP Review

  Wolfhorde  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  black  metal  influenced  form  of  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  ep  "The  Great  Old  Ones"  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  Inverse  Rewcords and  consists  of  cover  songs.

  The  ep  starts  out  with  a  cover  of  Finntroll's  "Jaktens  Tid"  which  brings  in  a  very  heavy  sound  along  with  some  keyboards  and  folk  instruments  while  the  screams  are  done  in  more  of  a  black  metal  style  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard.

  Next  up  is  a  cover  of  Moonsorrow's  "Kylan  Paassa"  which  starts  out  very  heavy  along  with  some  atmospheric  keyboards  a  few  seconds  later  while  folk  instruments  are  also  utilized  at  times  and  growls  and  screams  are  also  used  in  some  parts  of  the  song as  well  as  the  track  being  7  minutes  in  length, melodic  vocals  are  also  used  briefly.

  Closing  the  ep  is  a  cover  of  Amorphis's  "Sign  From  The  North  Side"  which  starts  out  with  heavy  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  while  also  adding  in  keyboards  briefly  as  well  as  a  touch  of  doom  metal  and  the  music  sticks  to  mostly  a  slow  or  mid  tempo  direction  as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  ethnic  style  instruments  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  mlody.

  On  this  recording  Wolfhorde  pays  tribute  to  the  band  that  have  had  a  huge  influence  on  their  side,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  a  mixture  of  Finnish  and  English  and  cover  Paganism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Wolfehorde  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black  and  folk  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Sign  From  The  North  Side".  8  out  of  10. 

https://youtu.be/ANk_f1LWYCo       

Temnoles,ye/Skazaniya/Grimm Distribution/2017 CD Review

  Temnoles,ye  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  mixture  of  folk,  pagan  and  melodic  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Skazaniya"  which  was  released  by  Grimm  Distribution.

  Female  pagan  vocals  start  off  the  album  and  they  also  mix  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  along  with  a  great  amount  of  grim  black  metal  screams  while  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  harps  and  keyboards  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  death  metal growls  are  also  used  at  times  along  with  the  music  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  90's  influences,  throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

    Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  as  the  album  progresses  symphonic  elements  can  also  be  heard  at  times while  some  songs  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  guitars  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  clean  male  vocals  are  also  added  on  one  of  the  tracks.

  Temnoles,ye  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  melodic  black metal,  pagan  and  folk  metal  and  takes  the  genres  back  to  their  90's  roots,  the  production   sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Russian  and  cover  Paganism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Temnoles,ye  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  pagan,  folk  and  melodic  black  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Gamayun"  "Videniye"  "Khvalynskiy  Pokhod"  and  "Bylina".  8  out  of  10.

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Daedalean Complex/After The Fall/PRC Music/2017 CD Review

  Daedalean  Complex  are  a  band  from  Quebec,  Canada  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  symphonic  mixture  of  black,  goth  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their 2017  album  "After The  Fall"  which  was  released  by  PRC  Music.

  Symphonic  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  a  few  seconds  later  while  the  music  also  mixes  the  symphonic  and  heavy  parts  together  along  with  the  riffs  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  along  with  a  few  death  metal  growls  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  as  the  album  progresses  elements  of  goth  can  also  be  heard  and  some  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  male  and  female  vocals  and  a  couple  of  the  songs  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Daedalean  Complex  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  their  symphonic  and  melodic  mixture  of  black,  goth  and  death  metal  from  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  mythological  and  metaphysical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Daedalean  Complex  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  symphonic,  goth,  black  and  melodic  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Fall  Of  Icarus"  "The  Illusion  Of  Freedom"  "The  Cosmological  Riddle"  and  "To  Etemenanki".  8  out  of  10.

https://prcmusic.bandcamp.com/album/daedalean-complex-after-the-fall-cd



          

Sar Isatum/Shurpu/2017 Full Length Review

  Sar  Isatum  are  a  band  from  Denver,  Colorado  that  plays  a  very  technical  and  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  album  "Shurpu"  which  will  be  released  on  November  17th.

  Symphonic  keyboards  and  ritualistic  drums  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  while  the  symphonic  elements  also  mix  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  vocals are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.

  A  great  amount  of  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  mid  90's  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  along  with  growls  also  being  heard  at  times  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  as  well  as  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  can  be  heard  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  getting  very technical  at  times  along  with  some  clean  playing  also  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  music  also  has  its atmospheric  moments.

  Sar  Isatum  plays  a  style  of  symphonic  black  metal  that  is  very  aggressive  and  technical  sounding,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the lyrics  cover Sumerian,  Annunaki  Empires  and  Northern  Wabanaki  Legends  and  Darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sar  Isatum  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  and  technical  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sar  Isatum"  "Black  Gate"  and  "Halls  Of  Pestilence".  8  out  of  10.

 http://www.indymetalvault.com/2017/11/10/track-premiere-sar-isatum-black-gate/ 

      

Dracena Interview

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

A lot of planning and waiting. Right now I am working on arranging the new material for the next album and planning the album concept for the lyrics and graphic appearances. Besides that we are waiting with excitement for the response of the latest album, Cursed To The Night.
We’ll see what the future holds…


2.How would you describe the musical sound of the current material?

I would call Cursed To The Night a classic Dracena release, there are a lot of typical Dracena riffs all in the vein of old school metal genres, thrash/black/heavy metal. We asked shred machine Fredrik Folkare (Unleashed/Firespawn) to spice up the songs with lead solos and melodies and he played some really outstanding stuff which took the album to a higher level.

For the sound of the album itself we were looking for a cool and raw sound as a follow up to the previous mini-CD release, Ravenous Bloodlust, and I am very pleased with how great the production turned out, thanks to our main studio - Studio Cave  - where all the mixing and mastering was made by Pontus Ekwall

This album was recorded in 3 different studios, I recorded the vocals, the guitars and the bass at Studio Cave, additional vocals by Ola Malmström (Sorcery) and the drums was recorded and played by Jocke at MediEvil Studios and all the lead solos and melodies was recorded and played by Fredrik Folkare at Chrome Studios.



3.Since 2001 there has only been 3 releases, can you tell us a little bit more about the gaps in between releases?

As I am writing all the music and lyrics myself, as well as playing most of the instruments and vocals too, it usually takes a few years to get the whole album arranged and rehearsed for the studio. This means I spend practically every hour I am not occupied doing ”necessary” stuff with my guitar and home studio.
I also design the graphic appearance of the albums, with artwork ideas and lay out, the photos, web sites and take care of all correspondence and social interaction… and working a full time job.


4.Some of your lyrics are based upon the writings of Dante, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this author?

A few years before I started writing on the material for Infernal Damnation I found a book in a second hand bookshop, Dante - The Divine Comedy.
This particular copy is illustrated by Gustave Doré and since I have always admired his engraved illustrations of various classical literature I decided to buy it.
Of course the story in itself is a very interesting work with its medieval view of the Afterlife - Inferno, Purgatory - so I used it as inspiration for the album lyrics… although my story ends in Hell.


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

When we first decided to name the band it seemed like all the nominations we came up with already had been taken by other bands. I recall we actually thought of Dimmu Borgir for a while until we were told there was a Norwegian band using that name.
I’ve always been a fan of fantasy and mythology, and ever since I was a kid my favourite mythical beast has been the Dragon, so I decided to find a word for this that we could use and came up with Dracena.
Dracena (the ”c” is pronounced as a ”k” in my version) is a version of the latin word Dracaena, which derives from the ancient greek word Drakaina -  meaning ”female dragon”

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

We had a bunch of shows between 1997-2001, but that’s so long ago I can’t say any show was better than the next. After 2001 Dracena only had one live show in 2014 in Münster, Germany, supporting local act Savagery for their release party.


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

Right now there are no shows planned, perhaps there will be gigs during 2018 depending on opportunities.


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

Actually our audience spans over most of the metal genres despite the listeners main preferences and I guess that is probably because Dracena is playing the kind of mixed metal we do. We mainly get positive feedback both from fans and press.


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

Dracena will keep creating the kind of metal that appeals to us, I guess we will progress in the same direction as our influences  do. Then hopefully there will be a  major record deal so I can quit my job and focus on writing new songs and play a lot of shows!

 10.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?

My favourite bands are mainly from the 80’s heavy/thrash/speed metal scene, like Bathory, WASP, Running Wild, Metal Church, Kreator, Testament etc and I still listen a lot to those albums.
There’s never been any intention in the band to create any certain style or metal genre, I write and chose the riffs I like the most and then I blend it all trying to create an interesting mix using various tempos to build up the specific song and also the album as a whole.

Nowdays I try to find the old metal bands I never had the chance to hear before, and hope they surfaced digitally somewhere, I am also trying to keep up with all the new releases from my favourite acts like Kreator, Testament, Annihilator etc
but I don’t limit myself to any special genre at all as I also listen to a lot of music that’s non metal as well.

11.Does Satanism or Occultism play any role in your music?

No, the inspiration for the songs are a blend of dark fantasy and horror, like short stories of a strange nightmare reality filled with dark desires, blood and death.


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

There will be blood, there will be pain… there will be darkness and death… keep the blood running down the screams!
Thanks for the interview and see you out there!

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Jason Aaron Wood/Emanations/2017 Full Length Review

  Jason  Aaron  Wood  is  a  solo  artist  from  Washington  D.C  that  plays  a  mixture  of  dark,  symphonic,  neo  classical,  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2017  album  "Emanations"

  Distorted  yet  melodic  riffing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  neo-classical  style  guitar  solos  and  leads  a  few  seconds  later  while  clean  vocals  are added  onto  the  recording  a  few  seconds  later  as  well  as  mixing  in  some  death  metal  screams  and  black  metal  screams  at  times.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  progressive,  atmospheric  and  doom  metal  elements  can  also  be  heard  at  times  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  clean  playing  can  also be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  When  synths  are  utilized  they  give  the  songs  more  of  an  symphonic  feeling  while some  songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  along  with  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts,  when  the  music  finally  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  as  well  as  one  of  the  tracks  being  an  instrumental.

  Jason  Aaron  Wood  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  dark,  black,  doom  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  together  with  a  more  clean  vocal  approach  as  well  as  some  progressive,  symphonic  and  neo-classical  elements  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  sorcery,  darkness,  and  mysticism  themes.

  In  my  opinmion  Jason  Aaron  Wood  is  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  dark,  symphonic,  neo  classical,  black,  doom  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Enchanter,  Destroyer"  and  "The  Great  Pestilence".  8  out  of  10.

http://www.jasonaaronwood.com/emanations