Sunday, May 5, 2013

Deathillusion/Invisible Lights/2011 Demo Review


  Deathillusion  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  an  occult  form  of  melodic  black/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their self  released  2011  demo  "Invisible  Lights".

  Drums  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  drumming  with  some  fast  playing  and  blast  beats  being  present  on  this  recording,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  occult  black  metal  with  melodic  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  black/death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  classical  guitars  they  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  to  enhance  the  occult  elements  of  the  music.

  Vocals  range  from  deep  death  metal  growls,  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  spoken  word  occult  chanting,  while  the  lyrics  cover  Luciferian,  Anti  Cosmic  Satanism  and  Left  Hand  Path  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  dark  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Deathillusion  are  a  very  great  sounding  occult  melodic  black/death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical genre,  you  should  check  out  this  demo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Invisible  Lights"  "Reflections  Of  Black  ink  II -Chaos"  and  "Holes  In  The  Sky".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Valtari/Fragments Of A Nightmare/2012 CD Review


  Valtari  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  melodic  death,  gothic  and  modern  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2012  album  "Fragments  Of  A  Nightmare".

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  utilized  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars,  as  for  the  synths  when  they  are  utilized  they  bring  a  very  dark,  atmospheric  and  gothic  sound  to  the  music.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  black,  melodic  death,  gothic  and  modern  metal  together  to  create  a  sound of  their  own  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  soft  and  clean  playing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic sounding  black/death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  range  from  deep  death  metal  growls  to  high  pitched  black  metal  screams,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressing  themes,  as for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  dark  and  professional  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Valtari  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  black,  melodic  death,  gothic  and  modern  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Black  Sun  Rising"  "Judas  Lie"  "Inside  My  Darkness"  and  "Dying  Light".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Eternal Storm/From The Ashes/2013 EP Review


  Eternal  Storm  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  progressive  from  of  melodic  black/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  ep  "From  The  Ashes".

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  utilized  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars,  as  for  the  pianos  when  they  are  utilized  briefly  they  bring  a  dark,  depressing  and  atmospheric  sound  to  the  music.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  melodic  black  metal  with  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when  they are  utilized  they  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  to  add  the  progressive  elements  to  the  recording.

  Vocals  range  from  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  to  deep  death  metal  growls,  while  the  lyrics  cover dark  and  philosophical  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  dark,  heavy  and  professional  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Eternal  Storm  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  melodic  black  metal  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "From  The  Ashes"  "A  Picture  In  The  Dark"  and  "Grey  Skies".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Friday, May 3, 2013

Burial Vault Interview


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

We are in the final steps for the release of our new album “Incendium” and can’t await the first reactions. “Ekpyrosis (Periodic Destruction)” was received really well and it will be interesting to hear what people think about our new stuff in relation to that.

Right before the release we are going to play some selected shows and we’ll present some of the new tunes for the first time. Everything is really exciting.


2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from previous recording?

The music on “Incendium” is much more diverse than what we did before. There is a lot going on. We have acoustic guitars as well as interludes with a more symphonic appeal. We extended the range of ingredients a lot. It’s still (Melodic) Death Metal with a progressive attitude and influences of Black and Thrash Metal but the “mixing ratio” is different.

But aside from just being more diverse the new album is also arranged in a way that it sounds more like one big entity. Sometimes we transfer melodies from one song into another by putting them into a different musical context. This may not be obvious in the first place, but even if you don't realize it, it (hopefully) makes the whole record more accessible for the listener.

Production wise, it was also a big step for us. Even if it was the same studio (Soundlodge) and producer (Joerg Uken), we had a lot more time and you can hear that on the new record. It sounds a lot more powerful.


3. Can you tell us more about the lyrical concept of the new recording?

The lyrical concept is influenced by parts of the book “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury. The setting is a near future in which people aren’t allowed to read. The job of the firemen is to burn books and the protagonist is one of them. But something is different with him. Some special incidents change his view and he goes through a metamorphosis, from a blind follower to a resolute opponent of the system.  


4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

Back in the day, we just wanted a name that fits our preferred musical genre. Yet as time went by, the meaning changed. “Burial Vault” is not just a ‘crypt’ but a fictitious icon of a society that is not very careful for its environment. Humanity starts wars, sticks at nothing and maybe one day we all will end in the “Burial Vault”.


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

That’s a tough one. The show at Legacyfest 2009 was a very remarkable one for us. It was the first time we played a festival of that size and it was a blast.

But we also played some very great smaller club shows. Last year we played two shows in a row in Eastfrisia (Northern Germany) and they were awesome, too. Eastfrisia is not that far from our hometown Papenburg and sometimes we think that we know all the “metalheads” over there. But these two shows really surprised us. It felt like it was the first time we played there.

Our stage performance is very minimalist on the one hand but very energetic on the other hand. The focus is always on the music. So we go on stage, dressed in black and give the best of us.


6. Do you have any touring plans for the new release?

We don’t have particular touring plans so far. But we want to plan something in the near future so keep on checking our page.


7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme metal?

To be honest, we’re blessed if we know ;) But we realized that something’s going on there. On Facebook the number of followers increased immensely since the release of “Ekpyrosis (Periodic Destruction)” and sometimes we achieve mails from somewhere outside of Germany by people who like our stuff.


8. What is going on with the other musical projects these days?

We’re not sure about this question.

If you want to hint at other musical projects in general, we’ll say that it is quite hard for musicians these days. You can’t blame people for downloading music that they are interested in. Music shall be for everyone. The problem is that people don’t worship what they hear. It is hard work to write, rehearse and record music. And it costs a lot of money to do this. Don’t misunderstand that, it’s not about the money. We don’t want to be the next big thing and get rich, but it is indeed an immense cost factor to be an artist (or whatever you want to call us ^^).


9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

Our main goal is to not record the same album twice. We try to evolve and to extend our musical range. We have no idea where this rollercoaster ride will take us but it will be different from “Incendium”.


10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

The musical influences are more or less the same. It's obvious that you can find more than 90% of these influences in the extreme metal scene. When we write music nowadays, we try to get inspired by things outside of music. The musical influences are important to create a certain sound but how it's meant to turn out depends on an idea. The fact that “Incendium” is a concept album had a bigger impact on how the music turned out than new musical influences.


11. Outside of music what are some of your interests?

We all have very different personal interests. Some of us like movies, others are more into sport. We also have our jobs or go to university. Life is a full-time job.


12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

Thanks for the interview. We really appreciate your support. It truly means a lot to us!


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Thursday, May 2, 2013

Odraedir Interview


1.Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?
Odraedir is a young epic/pagan metal band coming from Prague, the capital of Czech Republic lying in central Europe.  The band was founded in 2009 by guitarist Křen, who did his best efforts to turn his dreams real. Nowadays Odraedir consists of five members. Guitarists Křen and Mtyperys, bass guitarist Oggy, drum master Artiller and growling vocalist Dub.

 2. How would you describe your musical sound?
In general, songs have a quick rhythm inspired by Nordic “humpa”. We play many melodic solos that are still changing with sampled instrument as flutes and bagpipes and many more. These samples are filling small music gaps, making it more complex, dynamic and making the sound “epic”

 3. I know that the band covers alot of Paganism and Occultism in the lyrical topics, how would you describe your views on these topics?
Nowadays our lyrics describe Nordic paganism. We are slowly preparing a CD fully focused on a tale from north, but in our Demo CD Pagan Forest, we dealt with a kind of unspecific pagan topics, including our pilot song Pagan Forest describing a band of druids living in a forest and a song called Occultism and Mystic Practics in Pagan Forest, that is more blackened and describes summoning of daemon horde to punish, let’s say, bad evolving if human society. I was trying to touch a change between pagan and “post-pagan” times but I am probably the only one who takes the text like this, all in all it has a success. Other two songs are dedicated to Norse mythology. Taken from the wider range, our repertoire includes even Celtic topics, like in song called The Rise of Cernunnos that came out in our recent release, EP Troll’s Cave. To shortly describe our view, our relation to the topics, we like making stories that can be “illuminating”.

 4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
Name Odraedir comes from mythology. It is a one of three mead vessels. Odraedir is kettle, others are wooden. The mead gives the one who drinks it an ability of versing and singing. There is a story connected to Odin that he gained the mead from a hideout and as he was drinking in a hurry, a few drops felt down to Midgard, thus giving people that ability.

 5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
Our performance on stage is living, we enjoy movement definitely. As the music is fast, we are so. Give us a large stage and we will use every meter of it.
Our best performance we had was in Brno, the second largest city of Czech Republic, where we played with Russian band Arkona. That was really nice performance because that time it was our first larger concert and we saw, that people enjoy the music even they had nearly no chance to know us. We played as second ones and we heated up the audience that was nice feeling. Later we took the advantage of visiting the city and decided to organize a small Czech tour called Dawn of Heathen Warriors. One of the stops were in Brno. Connected to the tour, these are our next best performances we did so far. We are proud that we can connect foreign bands and play together and possibly show people new bands that fit our style. We did two DOHW tours so far and we would like to continue and make a tradition.

 6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?
From the nearest future we are preparing a tour of middle Europe in September in cooperation with German band Knaat and Austrian band Heathen Foray. We’ll visit bands’ home countries and we plan to stop in Hungary. There are also some more distant plans like this December but only in the phase of “we could” so I wouldn’t like to say any certain data but for sure we’ll do our best to accomplish them. Next planned is the Czech one as I mentioned.

 7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of folk and black metal?
We have been abroad once so far on a festival. It was an underground festival called Darkness over Paradise held in Austria in  Wolfsegg am Hausruck. Festival ground was situated on a hill with nice view on distant Alps that was really nice experience. Unfortunately while we had our performance, it was raining, so many people were hidden in a tent just in the front of the podium. On the other hand, some brave ones stayed out and were enjoying the music and compared to other bands we had quite a success.
But what is more interesting is that from the beginning of the year, there were quite lot webzine reviewers, radio moderators and so on who were interested in making review at our EP or just in promoting Odraedir in their programme. Messages were coming from Germany, Poland, also Czech Republic and even Great Britain and Greece. The last one from America was quite a surprise.

 8. Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label and if so what kind of label do you feel that would be a perfect fit for your music?
Yes, a label would be nice to sign a contract with. But there is a huge problem. In the area of pagan, folk and black metal, which would fit us well, labels risk a lot of money if they sign a contract with young band like us. The “market” of bands vary and not one label met this problem.  It can be told that these labels sign a contract only with that bands, which are well based yet and this will take us a bit more time.
 9. Are there any other musical projects besides this band or is this a full time line up?
Instead of drummer and bass guitarist, who were recruited from underground type of black metal, this is our first music project. Artiller played in three bands before, Oggy played in one together with Artiller and in a rock
 10. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
To be honest this question is hard to be answered. Taken from beginning, from Demo Pagan Forest, the sound was harsh and raw. We used only guitars to make melodies and we were satisfied. We were looking for a keyboard player to underline the melody but no one stayed long with us. Despite of Křen's imagination, me personally, I was really sceptic about adding a keyboard sound and I wanted to leave it like it was that time, just guitars. But last year we decided to record an EP, but there was a bit problem with having exact bass drum as we use it in long and fast passages. It was necessary to start to hold the rhythm by metronome and as we started to use a computer, we decided to try to make some samples. Křen quickly managed everything around that and started to produce not only underlining but complex sound that fills up guitars and gives them more.
Nowadays sound fits us perfectly, we enjoy much every song of “new generation” Odraedir sound every week during band practising, they make us move.  And what is important, people also enjoy them during concerts.
So by the end I can conclude, that as our EP has epic influence, our next release will be “full-epic”.
I don't want to make any prognosis about farther future because you can see style changes even in the sphere of large bands. This is a kind of evolvement, let's be surprised...

 11. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Musical styles that influenced our music are pagan, folk, black and partially melodic death. There are influences of Ensiferum, Equilibrium, Finntroll and Moonsorrow. The music style we listen to cannot be described in general, you know, different people have different taste. But of course we are connected by pagan metal. The range is really wide, starting from pagan metal, folk, technical and melodic dead, black over grind, punk, gothic rock, Irish traditional and folk, up to some rock and even some popular music, dark wave or dubstep.

 12. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
Artiller is interested in breeding of tarantula. I don't have any special interests instead of my work, that is connected to study and that's molecular microbiology (in the meaning of study of bacterial cell, let's say, molecular interactions). Maybe you say “what the fuck is this” but metalists are clever people. I met Křen in the first year of study and that time he was founding Odraedir.  This leads me to him, he likes conspirative theories and he is also porn specialist. Oggy likes fishing and Mtyperys cycling and painting that fit us well, we are really looking forward to the front of upcoming CD, which he will create.

13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Thoughts? Our thoughts are encrypted in our songs. Needs to be listened and felt. And final words? I’ve heard, that after long years of American metal history, where took the main part trash metal and hardcore, came an era of pagan metal. My friends, listen to the voice of wild, maybe one day you will hear a whisper, announcing arrival of Odraedir brotherhood.

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Thoreous/Black Crow King/The Grace Of Pettiness/badGod Music/2013 Split Review


   This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  Thoreous  and  Black  Crow  King  called  "The  Grace  Of  Pettiness"  which  was  released  by  badGod  music  in  the  year  of  2013  and  we  will  start  of  the r eview  with  Germany's  Thoreous  which  mixes  drone,  doom,  experimental  and  noise  together.

  Drum  programming  ranges  from  slow  to  mid  paced  beats,  while  the  sound  effects  and  synths  bring  elements  of  drone,  experimental  and  noise  to  their  side  of  the  recording,  as  for  the  bass  playing  it  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

 Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  riffs  that  combine  doom  metal,  drone  and  noise  together  along  with  a  great  amount  of  heavy  distortion  behind  the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  distorted  sounding  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  range  from  weird  vocals,  deep  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  which  brings  a  black  metal/noise  sound  to  the  recording,  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Sadistic  and  Perverted  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  heavy,  raw  and  primitive  sound  to  it  with  some  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Thoreous  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  doom  metal,  drone,  noise  and  experimental  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The Genital  Scalps  Of  The  SS  Impressing  Our  Prurient  Lollipop  Balding"  and  "Occult  Masturbation  Wets  The  Sceptre  Of  Darkness  Injected. R ECOMMENDED.

  Next  up  is  Black  Crow  King  a  band  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical  style  that  mixes  black  metal,  drone,  experimental,  doom  and  sludge  together.

  Drums  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  drumming  with  no  fast  playing  or  blast  beats  being  present on  their  side  of  the  recording,  while  the  synths  bring  elements  of  ambient,  drone  and  experimental  to  the  music,  as  for  the  bass  playing  it  has   a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  riffs  that  combine  black  metal,  drone,  sludge  and  doom  metal  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  with  a  great  amount  of  heavy  distortion  behind  the  riffing  and  there  are  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  their  side  of  the  recording.

  Vocals  are  all  deep  and  high  pitched  blackened  death  metal  growls  and  screams,  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  occult  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  heavy,  raw  and  primitive  sound  with  some  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Black  Crow  King  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Legacy  Of  Dust"  and  "The  Beast  Within". RECOMMENDED.

  In  conclusion  I  feel t his  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  to  all  fans  of  black  metal,  drone,  doom,  sludge,  experimental  and  noise.  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Monday, April 22, 2013

The Unconscious Mind Interview


1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?
1- We're a black/death metal band, or like many say, “blackened death metal”. We come from the South Shore of Montreal, and the band started officially in 2007. TUM is truly a band of old friends, we've all known each other for about 9 years. We started the band to have a good time and to provide a good time to other people. That goal remains, but with a more focused and professional approach.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?
2- A maelstrom of black and death metal with a touch of symphony.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
3- Our new album Where Philosophers Fall is essentially the concept of the free thinking philosopher who devotes his life to truth and knowledge for humanity but at the end of the line becomes unhappy, solitary and insane. Think of certain great ancient philosophers that ended up in mental asylums (Frederich Nietzsche). Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
4- The Unconscious Mind is the source of creation and of dementia. No one really knows how this mysterious part of the brain works. It's also a metaphor about the unconsciousness of humanity as desired by the media, commercial radio and modern society that tries to model our spirit right under our noses. We say that dreams are the language of the unconscious, which is one of the symbolic aspects of our songs. It happens often that I write a song during the night after waking up from a dream and I ask myself where these ideas come from that I did not have the night before. The unconscious is an inner power that we must harness.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
5- We particularly loved our Montreal show at Le National with The Agonist. We were called upon the day before to replace a band, and it was a big gig on the Domination tour. There were 500 or 600 people there, we weren't on the flyer and more than half of the people had never heard of us. We still got an amazing crowd reaction and our singer even ordered a wall of death. Le National is probably the best venue we've played at.

6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?
6- We have 4 shows in Quebec in June: Montreal, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières and Saint-Hyacinthe. We also intend to expand to the rest of Canada in cities like Toronto and Ottawa.

7. Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label and if so what kind of label do you feel that would be a perfect fit for the music?
7- We just signed with CDN Records for our physical copies and duplication.


8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black and death metal?
8- Very well up to now, but I must say that we just recently started a PR campaign and our physical album is not even out, but I think reviews will start coming in soon thanks to Ricburn Media and CDN Records. We are really proud of the album and we've worked hard for many years to put out something of quality and we hope to get good feedback.


9. What is going on with the other musical projects these days?
9- I (Simon Cléroux, guitars) also play in the technical death metal band Derelict. We have 2 albums out and are currently working on a third, as well as going through a competition to play on the Heavy MTL festival which will conclude at the end of May. I also have an instrumental solo project that should see the light of day in 2013 or 2014.

10. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
10- Our next album will be more collaborative and the writing will be done as a band and not just by one member like on Where Philosophers Fall where it was our keyboardist (Micheal Racine) and I. We want to keep pushing the emotional side for the next one and continue in a more positive direction. Perhaps less technical as well but with added effectiveness.

11. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
11- Personally, I was very inspired by Old Mans Child for the technical and melancholic riffs, as well as by other black metal bands like Dimmu Borgir and Immortal. But I've also always liked the clean and efficient production of modern death metal bands like Decapitated and Meshuggah who probably inspire that modern side of our sound.

12. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
12- Well, drinking beer and seeing people that we love, living it up and being happy. Although we all have jobs or are in school, music remains a constant priority in our lives.

13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
13- A huge thank you to all of you who support us in this adventure, thanks to you we can do this. We hope to see you at our official launch at Foufounes Électriques in Montreal!


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