Bloodred/The Raven's Shadow/2020 Full Length Review

  Germany's  solo  project  Bloodred  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  the  melodic  style  of  blackened  death  metal  from  his  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2020  album  "The  Raven's  Shadow"  which  will  be  released  in  May.

  Dark  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  while  a  couple  of  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  Death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  as  well  as  some  blackened  screams  also  being  utilized  on  all  of  the  tracks.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.  Clean  playing  is  also  added  on  a  couple  of  the  tracks    along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them. Tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing    along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style

  On  this  album  Bloodred  remains  very  true  to  the  melodic  style  of  blackened  death  metal  that  he  has  established  on  his  previous  releases.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  feat,  anger,  solitude  and  loneliness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Bloodred  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  blackened  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Raven's  Shadow"  "Blood  On  Thy  Hands"  "Shadow  Warrior"  and  "The  Northstar  Whispers  (To  The  Blacksmith's  Son)".  8  out  of  10.

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Golden Blood Interview

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

Golden Blood came to life in early 2020. I was writing the debut album for Order of Ištar at that time and the songs came out a lot thrashier and heavier than I thought, so Golden Blood was born to give home to these songs.



2.Recently you have released an ep, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recording?

I didn’t have a specific genre or style in mind. I spent my early teens listening to mostly punk and hardcore and I think you can still hear that in the songs. They turned out quite catchy and don’t need a huge build up or get lost in repetitive structures.



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

The title track of the debut EP deals with sex & drugs and Nightfall captures the feeling of being out drunk with your crowd. So everyday life. Golden Blood is not about deep and meaningful lyrics, it’s about fun and pleasure.



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

I like shiny things and I like blood. That’s it. And it has a an aristocratic vibe to it, I like that.



5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the ep cover?

The Indonesian artist Deggeha is responsible for that. Mother Mary is torturing a demon and then has a drugged feast with her son in the other picture. There is no deeper meaning or anything open to interpretation in it. You get what you see. That applies to the music as well.



6.With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?

For the writing process I prefer to work alone The album will be recorded with a drummer and a couple of guest musicians. My solo guitar abilities have definitely reached their limit. And if I find enough time and the right people, I’d love to hit the stage.



7.The ep was released on 'Witching Hour Productions', how did you get in contact with this label?

I’ve been knowing them for a while because of their work for Vader and Helheim and their huge distro. So I gave it a shot and contacted Bart and he was immediately interested in my stuff. The upcoming album will also be released by them and I’m really grateful for their work.



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

Mainly positive. Of course you always have people complaining about it, that it’s not true enough, the sound isn’t right and whatever. But that’s how it is, fuck ‘em.



9.Are you also involved with any other bands or musical projects?

I’m writing the debut albums for Order of Ištar and Rheingold and the first demo for Ad Victoriam right now. I’m also still working on new stuff for Der Toten Lebend Schein. All of these are more or less black metal projects. My focus is on the Golden Blood album though.



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

The drum recordings will begin as soon as the quarantine restrictions here in Europe are eased. I plan to finish the album in summer. There are plans of playing live, but I cannot promise anything right now.



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?

Midnight, Deströyer 666 or Inculter are a huge influence. But also bands like Helloween, Mystic Prophecy, Primal Fear or the 90s punk bands on Fatwreck Chords. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Savage Grace, Sortilége and Glacier. I don’t really observe the scene right now, so mostly I just discover gems from the 80s I didn’t know about.



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

Yes. Both are pillars of our existence, so they are also the inspiration for everything I do.



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

Listen to Agazul!

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Baron SAMEDI/The Priest Devar/Nailed Nazarene Industries/2020 Full Length Review

  Russia's  solo  project  Baron  SAMEDI  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  into  more  of  an  experimental  mixture  of  black  and  dark  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2020  album  "The  Priest  Devar"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  Nailed  Nazarene  Industries.

  Programmed  beats  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  industrial  elements  and  demonic  growls  a  few  seconds  later.  The  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  while  the  keyboards  also  give  the  songs  more  of  a  gothic  touch  as  well  as  some  melodic  singing  also  being  used  at  times.

  Elements  of  doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  along  with  some  blackened  screams  also  being  utilized  at  times.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  style  while  the  music  also  adds  in  a  decent  amount  of  90's  influences.

  One  track  also  introduces  Gregorian  chants  onto  the  recording  along  with  the  music  also  getting  very  experimental  at  times.  All  of  the  tracks  also  sound  very  different  from  each  other  and  all  of  the  music  sticks  mostly  a  slow  or  mid  tempo  direction  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  fast  playing  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  death  and  occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Baron  SAMEDI  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  experimental  black,  doom  and  dark  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Aryan  Golem"  "Rage"  "Kammala"  and  "Mass  Graves".  8  out  of  10.

https://nailednazareneindustries.bandcamp.com/album/the-priest-devar  

Wolfheart/Wolves Of Karelia/Napalm Records/2020 Full Length Review

  Wolfheart  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black,  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Wolves  Of  Karelia"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  Napalm  Records.

  A  very  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  music  also  bring  in  elements  of  doom  metal.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  vocals  bring  in  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  blackened  metal  screams.

  Symphonic  elements  can  also  be  heard  at  times  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  one  track  also  introducing  clean  playing  onto  the  recording.

  Tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  faster  riffing   along  with  the  music  also  having  its  atmospheric  and  melancholic  moments  as  well  as  a  couple  of  tracks  being  long  and  epic  in  length.  As  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  classical,  acoustic  guitars  and  stringed  instruments  can  also  be  heard  on  a  couple  of  tracks  and  one  of  the  songs  is  also  an  instrumental.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while the  lyrics  cover  winter,  nature,  apocalypse,  wolves,  warriors,  bloodshed,  battle  and  melancholy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Wolfheart  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hail  Of  Steel"  "The  Hammer"  and  "Ashes".  8  out  of  10.

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Inherently Lost Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Originally started as a side project with the members from Torso Murder/Orwellian(Mark), Khai/All In(Joe) and Psyclosarin(Ian). Took a couple years but we finally got the debut Ep done.

2.Recently you have released an ep, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical styles you went for on the recording?
Really we were just trying to be as original sounding as possibly with still letting our individual influeces shine through. Noreen brought in all the clean vocals with the symphonic metal singing sound on parts; Mark added a melodic death metal and blackmetal feel; Joe added groove and melodic metal guitars; with Ian showing his blackmetal and death metal blast beats pounding away.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music?
The title track Our Last Midnight is about the rise of machines to the point the eliminate all humans that they see as a virus. The breakdown in this song is pretty epic. Overall the songs are a pre-apocalyptic warning.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Inherently Lost'?
After a year of jamming together in between our other projects started some hard brain storming. I was reading a lot about Sigmund Freud's theorys about how humans Inherently know how to do things straight out of the womb. Mixed with other days thinking about humans being programmed to consume and then bam! Narrated like the begining of a scifi movie "In an world filled with endless consumption, there is no wonder why, We are all Inherently Lost" just popped in my head.

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the ep cover?
The artwork was inspired by images of the nebulus galaxy's that NASA released. With the Inherently Lost (IL) symbol. Being a metal band we were looking for different imagery versus the normal doom and gloom metal ideas.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance? 7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
With being a side project we only managed few shows last year together in Inherently Lost. However once this Covid-19 pandemic calms down we are getting on track for a string of dates hopefully.

8.The ep was released on 'Entwined Recordings', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
Entwined Recordings is Mark's independant record label and music production studio. Since there is no need for Major labels these days; Orginally only a recording studio, he decided to fully dive in to music marketing with the same name. They had a couple releases with different bands over the years, one of which included Joe's old band Khai.

9.On the ep you also did a cover of Cradle Of Filth's "Nymphatamine", what was the decision behind doing your own version of one of their songs?
The main drive was that it was dark, heavy, and 50/50 on clean/heavy vocals. Along with never hearing anyone else covering, it was the perfect song for us.

10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of symphonic, black and death metal?
Pretty positive so far. You'll always have metal "elitists" that hate anything the isnt a carbon copy of a specific scene. You know the type "Its not kvlt, I hate clean vocals, I hate keyboards, etc." We are not playing music for them. We are playing for ouselves.

11.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We are going to record 1 more Ep then follow it up with a full length. We are still continuing to evolve, right now it feels we are in the post-black metal, melodic death metal area. I can see some doom type riffage in our near future.

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?
Influences? Really too many to list but to just pick a handful; Epica, Lacuna Coil, Gojira, Heaven Shall Burn, Cradle of Filth, & Dimmu Borgir.
We are listening to new releases by Lacuna Coil, In This Moment, Code Orange, Heaven Shall Burn, Tool, Insomnium, and Cattle Decapitation

13.What are some of your non musical interests?
Traveling, Craft Beer, Wine, Mortal Kombat, Scifi,Horror shows and Art Museums

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
If your reading this and enjoy our music, follow us on any social media and leave a comment saying hello.

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Consumer/Self Titled/Fresh Outbreak Records/Mother Ship/Impeto Records/Boned Factory/Nut Records/2020 EP Review

  Consumer  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  sludge  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2020  ep  which  will  be  released  in  April  as  a  joint  effort  between  Mother  Ship,  Boned  Factory,  Fresh  Outbreak,  Impeto  and  Nut  Records.

  A  very  slow  and  heavy  sludge  metal  sound  starts  off  the  ep  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Death  metal  growls  are  also  used  quite  a  bit  on  the  tracks  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard.

  Black  metal  screams  are  also  utilized  at  times  while  tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  faster  riffing.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  all  of  the  tracks  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length,  all  of  the  music  also  sticks  to  a  heavier  direction.

  Consumer  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  sludge  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Consumer  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  sludge  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Witchslayer".  8  out  of  10.

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Golden Blood/Cum, Coke & Blasphemy/Witching Hour Productions/2020 EP Review

  Golden  Blood  is  a  solo  project  from  Austria  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black,  thrash  metal  and  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2020  ep  "Cum,  Coke  &  Blasphemy"  which  will  be  released  on  March  30th  by  Witching  Hour  Productions.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  a  few  seconds  later  while  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody.  Elements  of  thrash  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  the  vocals  being  mostly  angry  sounding  black  metal  screams.

  The  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  Swedish  influences  while  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  during  the  faster  sections  of  the  music.  Keyboards  can  also  be  heard  in  the  background  briefly  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  At  times  the  music  also  captures  the  raw  energy  of  punk  rock  as  well  the  recording  having  a  lot  of  roots  in  the  80's  and  90's  era  but  keeping  it  modern  at  the  same  time,  clean  vocals can  also  be  heard  briefly  on  a  couple  of  songs.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  blasphemy  and  drug  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Golden  Blood  is  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  black,  thrash  metal  and  punk  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Cum,  Coke  &  Blasphemy"  and  "Empress  Of  The  Unholy  Reich".  8  out  of  10.

https://witchinghourproductions.bandcamp.com/album/cum-coke-blasphemy