Torii/A Judgement Divine/2018 Full Length Review

  Torii  are  a  duo  form  Arkansas  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  post,  sludge,  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2018  album  "A  Judgement  Divine"  which  will  be  released  in  June.

  Heavy  yet  melodic  riffing  starts  off  the  album  while  the  solos  and  leads  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  along  with  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  bringing  in  elements  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  after  awhile  grim  black  metal  screams  start  to  make  their  presence  known.

  At  times  elements  of  post  metal  can  be  heard  in  the  music  while  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  some  death  metal growls  also  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  songs  as  well  as  some  tracks  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitar  playing.

  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  the  music  finally  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  one  of  the  tracks  is  an  instrumental  and  also  introduces  synths  onto  the  recording  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction.

  Torii  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  doom,  sludge,  death  and  post  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  Conspiracy,  Fantasy,  Social  Issues  and  Mythology  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Torii  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  doom,  death  and  post  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  duo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Army  Of  Sand"  and  "A  Judgement  Divine".  8  out  of  10.

torii.bandcamp.com/album/a-judgement-divine

  

Sciolism Interview

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



The band was formed after Allan filled in on Bass for a show with MetalTower and the three of us decided to have some fun playing some covers. However, we ended up writing some songs quite quickly instead and decided to to record them and released the EP.



2.Recently you have released an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?



Death metal with elements of black metal. The style progresses somewhat as the EP progresses, with more black metal elements forming the main thrust of the style where the last song is possibly a bit more progressive with some thash metal influence. The vocal delivery is mainly in the realms of death metal, although there are some more black metal vocal parts here and there.



3.The band formed out of the flames of 'MetalTower' and 'Nullifier', what was the decision behind leaving those bands and forming a new one?



Those bands still exist, although Nullifier is without a guitar player at the moment. None of us left those bands, more that we formed Sciolism as a side project as something to do while those bands were taking a break and other members went on long holidays.



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



The main theme of the album is the process of losing belief and shunning rigid ideology while embracing  unrestricted thought and freedom of the mind. The theme of the lyrics roughly follow on from each other as the EP progresses, building a consistent narrative throughout all of the songs.



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



Sciolism is the act of pretentiously expressing opinions about subjects on which one has limited knowledge or superficial understanding .



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



So far we have played only one live show, which was just before the release of the EP in January this year. Leading up to this we spent all of our time writing, recording, rehearsing and mixing the EP. Stage performance is straight forward, no gimmicks or anything.



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



Yes, we are playing at "Under the Southern Cross"  very soon and are playing as a support act for the upcoming Belphegor show in Auckland in May.



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



We're not actively looking. There has been some interest, but nothing worthwhile for us.



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



Pretty good, and more than what we've seen locally. That might change after playing more shows locally this year, we'll see.



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



Not sure at this stage, but we do have some new material ready to go. We're debating whether we should perhaps just do another EP or a split release in order to get a follow up release out faster.



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



As for influences, bands like Anata, Dissection, Voices and Thy Primordial. We listen to a range of different music, Dan listens to a lot of Ambient, Punk and Black Metal, Steve is into Power and Death Metal and Allan listens to Thrash/Death Metal and Prog.



12.What are some of your non musical interests?



Movies/TV shows, reading, making beer.



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



Cheers for the interview, hopefully there will be a new Sciolism release soon.

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Unflesh Interview

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

Ryan Beevers: Unflesh is an extreme metal band that is driven by a need to express several thoughts and emotions and the spiritual aspect of these thoughts that I feel binds all of them together. The band both musically and lyrically is extremely dark and seeks to channel nothing but darkness.

2.So far you have released an ep and have your first full length coming out, how wold you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings and also how do they differ from each other?

Ryan Beevers: I’d say the sound of the band is quite chaotic and relentless with an underlying sense of rawness to it. The material on the new album differs from the first EP in terms of just the style of Unflesh expanding and morphing into a clearer vision than the first EP.

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

Ryan Beevers: The bands lyrics deal with the praising of Death and the inevitable downfall and deterioration of Creation.

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

Ryan Beevers: The Unflesh name was inspired by the Dark Fortress song “The Unflesh”. The meaning of the band name has a strong relation to the lyrical subject matter. I’ll leave it to the listener to draw their own conclusions in regards to what the name means

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

Ryan Beevers: I had several talks with the guy who designed the cover “Junki Sakuraba” and after explaining to him extensively what the album was about and telling him what I thought would be appropriate visually, he then created the album cover you see now. He did a fantastic job and he’s extraordinarily talented.

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

Ryan Beevers: So far I think each show we’ve played has been special in their own way. Our stage performance mainly is just to present the music to the best of our abilities and to channel the energies that reside within the music.

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

Ryan Beevers: We are playing a special CD release show on May 19th and we have some tour plans in support of the new album that will be during the summer of this year. We will be announcing the dates very soon.

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

Ryan Beevers: We haven’t gotten any offers at the moment and we are sailing by our own winds at the moment in terms of being unsigned.


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

Ryan Beevers: The response generally has been quite positive towards our music. This is great to see but I’m hoping to see in the future a little bit stronger opinions of the music whether it be positive of negative.

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

Ryan Beevers: My other band Solium Fatalis is getting ready to release our forth record called “Genetically Engineered to Enslave” which should be out around August. In regards to the other guys I know Chris Dovas and Pete De Reyna are busy with Seven Spires stuff and they are supporting their latest record “Solveig”. Chris Gardino just released a new album with one of his bands called Wolfsmyth and it’s a self titled album, it kicks ass.

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

Ryan Beevers: To deeper and darker depths and expanding the sound of Unflesh through more records and more live shows.

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?

Ryan Beevers: Myself personally its always been bands like Dissection, Mayhem, Angel Corpse, Necrophagist, Iron Maiden, Judas Preist, ect… I still listen to all those records these days as well. I’m also a huge classical music fan. Composers such as Shostakovich, Beethoven, Hayden, Elgar, Mozart ect….

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

Ryan Beevers: Not too much for me personally, music takes up so much of my time that I don’t have time for much else really.

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

Ryan Beevers: I’d encourage fans of true extreme metal to go and pre order our new album on unfleshband.com or on bandcamp. We will hopefully see you on tour, thanks for the interview.

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Majesty Of Silence/Zu Dunkel Fur Das Licht/Extreme Metal Music/Rockshots Records/2018 CD Review

  Majesty  Of  Silence  are  a  band  from  Switzerland  that  plays  a  melodic,  symphonic  and  gothic  influenced  for  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "Zu  Dunkel  Fur  Das  Licht"  which  will  be  released  in  May  as  a  joint  effort  between  Extreme  Metal  Music  and  Rockshots  Records.

  Spoken  word  parts  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  a  few  seconds  alter  which  also  takes  the  music  into  a  heavier  direction  while  the  fast  sections  of the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  along  with  the  tracks  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and fast  parts.

  A  great  amount  of  melody  can  also  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  keyboards  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  symphonic  feeling  along  with  spoken  word  parts  also  returning  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion and  also  add  in  a  touch  of  goth  metal  as  well  as  some  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  as  the  album  progresses  operatic  female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  on  a  few  tracks,  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound to   them.

  Majesty  Of  Silence  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  it  is  very  melodic  and  symphonic  sounding  along  with  son=me  goth  influences,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Swiss  and  cover  darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Majesty  Of  Silence  are  a  very  great  symphonic  and  melodic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Der  untergang"  "Endstille"  "Sonne"  and "Erlosung".  8  out  of  10.

 https://www.facebook.com/Mosmetalband
http://www.majestyofsilence.ch/

[BOLT]/(04)/Narshardaa Records/dunk! Records/2018 Full length Review

 


  [BOLT]  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  an  instrumental  mixture  of  black,  drone  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "(04)'  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Narshardaa  and  dunk!  Records.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  while  the  music  gets  very  repetitive  at  times  along  with  the  synths  bringing  in  elements  of  ambient  when  they  are  utilized  as  well  as  the  songs  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  drones  as  well  as  all  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  No  vocals  or  songwriting  are  ever  utilized  while  the  music  gets  very  atmospheric  at  times  and  when  the  music  gets  heavy  it  brings  in  elements  of  black  and  doom  metal  along  with  all  of the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  on  the  last  rack  the  music  speeds  up  briefly  and  also  brings  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.

  [BOLT]  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  drone  and  doom  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  as  well  as  keeping  everything  instrumental  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark.

  In  my  opinion  [BOLT]  are  a  very  great  sounding  instrumental  mixture  of  black,  drone  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "[22]".  8  out  of  10.

http://04.wearebolt.com
Bandcamp: https://wearebolt.bandcamp.com/album/0-4
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1bVbUDqLOIORxPqwNAYCrS

    

Heron 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?

Jamie: We have been working hard with little tours and local shows to promote the album as well as writing new material. We have a few original tracks in the works as well as some killer covers that we hope to add to the set soon.

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

Scott : The new album A Low Winters Sun is almost an extension of our last EP Fire Twin. We re recorded two of the three songs and added them into our full length. The Great Attractor and Fire Twin are both such epic tracks that we felt they belonged on a full length. The album was recorded by Jesse Gander at Rain City Recorders in Vancouver. He has worked with many amazing, heavy bands so it was an easy decision to decide to work with him. The album as a whole is quite aggressive and definitely much heavier then our first EP. We are really fucking stoked on the outcome.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore on the new album?

Jamie: Ross and I tend to touch on topics and themes such as loss, longing, depression, philosophy, and cosmology. Ross' lyrics are very stark and brutal while mine are longer and more like prose.

4.Some of your lyrics also deal with existentialism, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?

Jamie: The aspect of existentialism I am most drawn to is the idea that each individual is responsible for giving their life meaning. There is probably no god, and I probably only get one go around, so I'm going to try and enjoy it. To some that is very depressing. For me it's encouraging.

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

Scott: Honestly, there isn't much meaning behind the name. Ross and I played in a Sludgy Grind band back in 2011 called Cathar. The first song we wrote was called Heron. Ross drunkenly leaned into me at the end of jam and said "Heron would be a sick name for a doom band and we should make that happen" here we are 7 years later.

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?

Scott: We have been very fortunate to play some really killer gigs over the last two years. Most of them have been opening for bands rolling through town like High On Fire, Pallbearer, Weedeater, Conan and a bunch more. Many thanks go out to Vancouver's hard working promoters for giving local bands a shot to play. In terms of our stage performance we just giver from start to finish no matter how many people are there to see us play or wether or not its a Monday night or a packed Friday gig.

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

Jamie: We just wrapped up a short 5 show run in BC and Alberta. The shows were busy and we feel we were well received. Lots of copies of the album were sold and we are stoked on that! Planning to venture farther from home every tour so we plan to try an Eastern Canada or a Western US tour next. Ideally we would go to Europe after that. We have been booking more festivals lately and that is taking us to some unique shows closer to home.

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

Jamie: We can't thank all the Metal blogs and listeners who have supported us enough. We are just four friends who like to write and play music together. The fact that other people come to shows or write reviews is very humbling and greatly appreciated.

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

Jamie :Scott plays in Sand Witch and they have a newer record out and play locally often. Bina has 900 projects on the go at any given time but has been playing in Mendozza for years. I have a solo project called Night Mother that is an outlet for more electronics-driven music. Ross is too busy being handsome for more musical projects.

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

Scott: Every album seems to get heavier. We hope to continue to combine sludgy doomy riffs with lots of post metal breaks. We are currently working on a few new tracks that are long and pretty devastating.

11.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?

Jamie: We wear our musical influences like ISIS, Sleep, Sumac, and Corrupted on our sleeves but we also listen to lots of different styles of music that contribute to our sound. On the road bands like 1914, Russian Circles, Cage Grind Noire, Burning Witch, and Midnight always end up on the playlist.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Scott: Bina and Ross ride Motorcycles, Scott walks dogs and Jamie is a tired Dad

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

PLAY SLOW OR DON'T
HAIL SATAN, WORSHIP DOOM

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Sciolism/Released To Chaos/Visionaire Records/2018 EP Review

  Sciolism  are  a  band  from  New  Zealand  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  2018  ep  "Released  To  Chaos"  which  was  released  by  Visionaire  Records.

 A  very  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  ep  before  going  into  a  faster  direction  which  also  introduces  blast  beats  onto  the  recording  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and fast  parts  while  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  black  metal  elements  along  with  some  screams  also  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  as  the  ep  progresses  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  on  a  couple  of  tracks.

  Sciolism  plays  a  musical  style t hat  takes  melodic  black  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  heavy  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sciolism  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Released  To  Chaos"  and  "Experiential  Empiricism".  8  out  of  10.

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