Tellus Terror Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Felipe Borges: We are a band from Brazil – Rio de Janeiro, and we do a mix of Metal styles in our songs throughout our album. We have just released our first album entitled EZ Life DV8 (read as: Easy Life Deviate), which we did work hard for 1 and a half year from creating the songs to record, edit, mix and master, to finally release. We have decided not to do any shows before we have our album released also.

2.Recently you have released your first album, how would you describe the musicla sound that is presented on the recording?
Felipe Borges: The musical sound is something that we can not describe. We know that we do mix some Metal styles through the songs, but is something that each and every person have a different opinion. Mine is that it is just ourselves trying to do something for the public (which is what we do value the most).

3.You label your musical style as M.M.S (mixed Metal Style), can you tell us a little bit more about your desire to mix every genre of metal together and also do you hope this could possibly create a new musical direction for future metal bands?
Felipe Borges: That is correct. I did create this style only to try to explain what we do with the music we create for the people. We do love Death Metal, Black Metal, Thrash Metal, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Heavy Metal etc… but we wanted to blend it all to see what happened. As I said, we do it all for the people, and if they think this is good and if they want to use M.M.S. (Mixed Metal Styles) in their bands, it will be a pleasure for us. Without new invents, Human Race would not progress right?

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Felipe Borges: EZ Life DV8 talks about how life and everything happened as per our specimen knows, how it did transformed into our planets and galaxies, how our home was positioned in our galaxy, what we Human Race do with this gift of living here at Tellus (Tellus means planet Earth in Latin Language), we talk about the wonders such as the Equinox where light and Darkness are equal, passing through the Panorama of the end of the times, and getting to the conclusion that everything that we could possibly imagine about ow our world will end it is an Error.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Tellus Terror'?
Felipe Borges: I wanted to have a common name that could allow me to write about things and situations that were commom for every Human Being and living being here at Tellus. So I thought of a name wich was easy to speak, which were global in a way, and were commom independently of everyone´s choices of Religion, politics and commom to every race. For us, everyone have the same value no matter if you are black or white, rich or poor, and Tellus Terror was a perfect fit for this idea (Again, Tellus means Planet Earth in Latin Language)

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Felipe Borges:  We will be playing now here in Brazil with Behemoth on November 08, 2014, and November 09, 2014. These 2 shows together will gather a little bit more than 4 thousand people. That will be awesome. Behemoth is fantastic!!

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Felipe Borges: We do, but still is soon to say something about it, but we do aim to hit China, Japan, India and South Korea in our actual conversations with a producer. Also we really want to hit EUROPE.

8.You had some big names help produce your first album, how did you get in contact with some of these legendary musicians and producers and also van you tell us a little bit more about their contributions to the recording?
Felipe Borges: When I was thinking about giving our best to the public, I realized that we should seek the best also in everything regarding the process itself. That is why I choose to work with Fredrik Nordstrom, Pat Power and Seth Siro Anton for this album, and the result was great! I did called them and sent some e-mails to explain and discuss our project ideas, and how we would like this to look like.
Seth Siro Anton did create our band Logo and Symbol, and he also did create 100% our EZ Life DV8 album artworks. He is awesome!! I told him “Seth, whatever you think that would be better, do it. We know you are the best”
Fredrik Nordstrom did mix and master our album, and we did send lots of e-mails to listen to each and every track to check on minimal details, it was a very long and extensive process, but the result was great. Fredrik is the Master!
Pat Power, I remember that I did send one picture of our drum to Fredrik Nordstrom, and He showed the picture to Pat Power, and he volunteered to do the drums click corrections in our album, because he liked the size of our drum and the fact that we did use 24 channels to record only the drum. Pat Power is awesome also, and we love this guy!

9.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
Felipe Borges: We are open to hear from the labels, but meanwhile we are working the best way we can by ourselves. Right now we are working on our 2 album, and we intend to record the new album 100% at London-England.

10.What is going on with some of the other musical projects or bands these days that some of the band members are a part of?
Felipe Borges: Everybody disbanded from their other bands, and we are all working only for Tellus Terror

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Felipe Borges: To whatever the public tends to be as long as it is Metal.

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?
Felipe Borges: Well, I listen to everything within Rock And Roll and Metal, these days I was listening to New Order, Johnny Winter, Morbid Angel, Agathocles, Marduk, Cradle Of Filth, Septic Flesh, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Soundgarden, Systers of a Mercy, The Offspring, AC/DC, Smashing Pumpkins, Beherit…

13.What are some of your non musical interests?
Felipe Borges: I ride ATV´s (All terrain Vehicles), like racing and doing aerial stunts, I am very good doing barbecue´s (believe me that is true), these days I have been doing stand up paddle a little, I love a good wine and I am fascinated with Video Games

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Felipe Borges: I would like to thank you for the opportunity and space, and also encourage people to know the work that we have been doing for you all. Hope to see you all soon in some GIG´s!!

Thanks!

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Tellus Terror/EZ Live DV8/2014 CD Review

  Tellus  Terror  are  a  band  from  Brazil  that  combines  various  of  metal  and  hard  rock  genres  together  with  a  musical  style  they  call  M.M.S (Mixed  metal  Styles)  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "EZ Live  DV8".

  Melodic clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  psychedelic  70's  rock  elements  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavy  doom  metal  direction  as  well  as  using  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  before  adding  in  some  melodic  guitar  leads  and  blast  beats  and  after  awhile  elements  of  deathcore  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  symphonic  sounds  and  the  album  also  brings  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  After  awhile  melodic  yet  rough  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  traditional  metal  influences  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  on  the  later  tracks  elements  of  hardcore,  metalcore  and  clean  singing  gothic  metal  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  and  every  track  has  a  very  different  sound  to  them  along  with  all  of  the  music  being  a mixture  of  all  different  extreme  metal  styles  and  a  few  of  the  tracks  also  shows  the  band adding  in  a  small  amount  of  female  vocals.

  As  the  album  progresses  the  band  starts  adding  in  more  old  school  death  metal  and  modern  deathcore  influences  and  the  symphonic  black  metal  elements  start  having  more  of  a  powerful  sounding  presence  on  the  recording  while  all  of  the  other  metal  and  hardcore  styles  remain  a  huge  part  of  the  bands  musical style  and  there  are  also  a  few  tracks  that  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Tellus  Terror  take  influences  from  every  genre  of  metal  along  with  some  hardcore  and  rock    to  create  some  music  that  is  very  melodic,  heavy,  brutal,  symphonic  and  original  sounding  without  belonging  to  a  particular  sub  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  original  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  space,  life  and  death,  history,  aliens,  life  and  suffering  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Tellus  Terror  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic,  symphonic  and  brutal  mixture  of  all  metal  genres  and  if  you  are  looking  for  something  that  is  very  original  and   hard  to  put  in  a  category,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Stardust"  "3rd  Rock  From  The  Sun"  "Civil  Carnage"  and  "Endtime  Panorama".  8  out  of  10.  

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Mandatory 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?

Answer: We’re currently focusing on playing gigs to promote Catharsis, but we also started writing some songs for an upcoming concept album.

2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

Answer: If we had to find a definition, it would be a mixture of melodic death and thrash metal linked with progressive elements in terms of song length and structure. But we’re not really friends of that whole subgenre thing so we prefer to just call it metal :)

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

Answer: The lyrical concept of five of the songs can be described as “don’t be fooled by yourself, believe in your skills, and don’t let anyone tell you what or have to do”. Songs like “Shadowmaker” tell the story of war from the viewpoint of an atomic bomb, “Emperor” is a homage to Charlie Chaplin’s speech in “The Great Dictator”, “For The World To See” deals with bullying and the worst of all outcomes, a killing spree and “To The Streets” is for all the people around the globe who risk their lives to spread the idea of equality, freedom of speech or democracy.

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

Answer: We stumbled upon the word by accident and we just thought it sounded cool. After looking up the actual meaning we can say it’s quite well chosen: “MANDATORY is mandatory listening”! :)

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?

Answer: Our performance is mostly built on having fun on the stage and delivering an energetic show. We always try to get that vibe across to the audience. The shows which are most fun for us to play are definitely at our yearly self-organized events called MANDAFEST,  although we have to admit that our STAR TREK gig at the open-air Maifest 2011 in Vienna’s Prater is also a candidate for the 1st place.

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

Answer: We are currently booking shows to promote the album, but there are no concrete dates yet.

7.The new album was self released, are you open to working with another label again in the future?

Answer: Yeah, we’d be open to work with another label again because on one hand self-releasing an album is nice ‘cause we can set all the deadlines for ourselves and set plans according to our job schedule but on the other hand it is quite a workload to handle.

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

Answer: The feedback has been real good so far and we hope that it will even get better.

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

Answer: Our next plan is to work on a concept EP or Album, depending on the writing process, but musically it’ll be quite in the same Melodic Death/ Thrash métier we’re in now. Maybe the songs will get a bit more complex. We’re also trying to work with a label again that supports what we do and that can help us reach more people with our Music.

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?

Answer: Our early influences where bands like Children Of Bodom, In Flames, Metallica, Testament and a bit of Dream Theater but also more recent artists like Opeth, Darkane, Soilwork, Scar Symmetry and so on.

But  there’s so much music going on in our lives from metal to folk over classical music to jazz that ist’s quite hard to tell what influenced us on this album. We’d say all of it! :)

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Answer: Some of our interests are sports, workout, design, video production, electronics, coding, family and playing computergames - just random things dudes do in their freetime. :)

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

Answer: First of all thanks for the interview and as mentioned above, dont forget: “MANDATORY is mandatory listening”!

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Withdrawn/Demented/Things Change Others Remain/Great Dane Records/2014 Split CD Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between France's  Withdrawn  and  Demented  called  "Things  Change  Others  Remain"  which  will  be  released  later  this  month  by  Great  Dane  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Withdrawn  as  band  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  blackened  death  metal.

  Drums  and  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  start  off  their  side  of  the  split  before  going  for  more  of  a  death  metal  direction  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  and  after  awhile  blast  beats  and  growls  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  band  also  uses  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast parts.  and  on  the  second  track  black  metal  screams  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  brutal  blackened  death  metal  sound.

  Withdrawn  takes  the  old  school,  brutal  and  melodic  styles  of  death  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  a  heavy  black  metal  influence  to  create  their  own  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  violent  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Withdrawn  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  brutal  blackened  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Relentless  Fear  Hammer".

  Next  up  is  Demented  a  band  that  plays  a  very  dark  and  old  school  form  of  death  metal.

  A  very,  dark  and  melodic  old  school  death  metal  sound  starts  off  their  side  of  the  split  before  getting  a  lot  more  heavier  and  adding  in  growling  vocals  and  after  awhile  blast  beats  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  their  side  of  the  split  and  you  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  in  the  way  they  approach  the  instrumental  assault  and  the  band  also  sticks  to  mostly  a  slow  to  mid  paced  musical  direction  while  the  last  track  shows  the  band  going  for  more  of  a  faster  direction  before  slowing  down  a  band  and  giving  their  music  more  of  a  ritualistic  feeling.

  Demented  plays  an  early  90's  style  of  death  metal  that  displays  a  great amount  of  talent  and  skill,  the  production  sound s very  old  school  yet  professional  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  a  dark  subject  matter.

  In  my  opinion  Demented  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Mystical  Experience".

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  black  and  death  metal.  8  out  of  10.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Withdrawn/58937#band_tab_discography
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Demented/3540281093#band_tab_discography

Maahlas/Nightmare Years/2014 Full Length Review

  Maahlas  are  a  band  from   Norway  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  progressive  form  of  black/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Nightmare  years".

  A  very  fast,  aggressive  and  melodic  black  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  aggressive  screams  and  angry  sounding  shouts  and  a  few  seconds  later  they  start  adding  more  symphonic  elements  in  their  musical  sound  as  well  as  a  good  mixture  between  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  You  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  progressive  death  metal  parts  in  the  bands  musical  style  as  well  as  acoustic  guitars  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well  as  being  showcased  in  a  brief  instrumental  later  on  during  the  album  which  also  bring  in  an  early  Opeth  influence  and  after  awhile  the  vocals  starting  adding  more  of  a  deeper  death  metal  orientated  sound  while  also  still  using  black  metal  vocals  and  after  awhile  the  faster  parts  start  adding  in  more  elements  of  thrash  and  the  modern  Norwegian  black  metal  sound  as  well  as  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  are  in  more  of  a  melodic  musical  direction  and  the  band  also  adds  in  elements  of  prog  to  both  the  synths  and  guitars  and  on  some  of  the  alter  tracks  there  is  the  addition  of  clean  singing  which  also  adds  more  to  the  atmospheric  side  of  the  bands  musical  style  while  the  heavier  and  faster  parts  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  at  times.

  Maahlas  takes  a  very  melodic  style  of  Norwegian  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with  death  and  progressive  metal  to  create  and  album  that  is  very  heavy  yet  atmospheric  and  original  all  at  the  same  time,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  on  the  confusions  and  frustrations  of  life  along  with  a  touch  of  mythology.

  In  my  opinion  Maahlas  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sun  Of  The  Sumerian"  "An  Ancestral  Memory"  ":Nightmare  Years"  and  "Simulacrum  of  Reality".  8  out  of  10.

Official Website: www.maahlas.net

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Manimalism Interview

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

Manimalism was formed in Oslo in 1992 under the name Taarenes Vaar. We played Black Metal with a dissonant twist, and soon evolved further away from what people associated with pure Black Metal. We released one cassette demo in 1996 and one in 1997. After years of turmoil we have now finished our first album, featuring the same tracks which appeared on the demo cassettes along with two tracks written during the same time period. The line-up is Petter ‘Plenum’ Berntsen (Virus, Audiopain) on bass, Bjeima (Yurei, Alfa Obscura) on drums, Joachim Svebo on vocals, Member 01 (The Konsortium) on vocals, and me on guitars.


2.You have your first full length album coming out in November, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

Metal. To me it is that simple. Some people call it Avant-garde Metal and post-Black Metal, so I sometimes use those terms to describe it, just to make it easy for myself.


3.You had a few demos you released in the 90's but this is the first official album, can you tell us a little bit more about the delay?

The years following the releases of our two demos were a constant struggle. Firstly, I was a young and ambitious man with much too high expectations of myself and those around me. Being a total perfectionist breeds a lot of problems, and problems take time. So, there were years of chaos, with members coming and going and recording sessions not meeting my standards. For long periods of time during these years I simply focused on other music, being fatigued by all the problems associated with Manimalism. I decided to let the album take the time it needed to reach a point where it could be released. That time is now.


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

The Animal in Man. Death, lust, and the labyrinth of mammal insanity.


5.While the music is rooted in black metal, I have noticed that you keep all of the vocals clean are you open to using more harsh vocals on future releases?


We had harsh vocals on both of our demos, along with sung vocals. But I don’t feel that kind of vocal style fits my lyrics or mental state at his point, and it might never fit again.


6.The band was originally known as 'Taarenes Vaar', What was the decision behind the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Manimalism'?

In the late nineties I wanted to part ways with the Norwegian lyrics, and therefore wanted an English name that also felt less melodramatic. The interpretation of Manimalism is open to anyone, but the themes of the lyrics are pretty much mirrored in the band name.



7.Has the band done any shows or is this strictly a studio project?

We have never played any shows. If all the members lived in the same city and wanted to play live I would be ready to play right now.



8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music so far by fans of metal?

It is still early, ask me again in a couple of months and I will know more.


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

This album pretty much nails the sound of Manimalism. Although the core of the more current material is the same, the spectrum is much wider. Manimalism has always been, and will probably always be, Metal with dissonant guitars, sneaky bass lines, great drumming, and crooning perverts.


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?

Some of the early influences are the early days of Norwegian Black Metal, Voivod, Celtic Frost, Morbid Angel, Thorns, Ved Buens Ende, and some Doom bands. And very importantly: a lot of non-Metal music. I am not much into thinking about music in terms of genres. Give me quality, integrity, expression, wisdom, and a proper dose of sadistic entertainment and I am game.


11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Anything that assists me in feeling that I am alive right now.


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

Manimalism will be out November 17. on gold and black vinyl. This is so far a vinyl only release. Order from Adversum via the official distributor Neuropa Records.

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Singularity/Self Titled/2014 Full Length Review

  Singularity  are  a  band  from  Arizona  that  plays  a  mixture  of  symphonic  black  metal  and  technical  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  and  self  titled  2014  album.

  A  very  melodic  and  symphonic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  and  deep  death  metal  growls  and  after  awhile  the  music  speeds  up  and  adds  blast  beats  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  they  also  add  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  spoken  whispers  on  one  of  the  tracks.

  At  times  the  music  can  be  very  progressive  which  they  display  very  well  on  the  instrumental  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  are  in  a  very  melodic  musical  direction  and  on  the  later tracks  the  band  starts  bringing  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  few  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  one  of  the  later  tracks  brings  in  a  sampled  choir  along  with  the  synths  using  a  variety  of  many  different  keys  which  also  does  not  take  away  from  the  heavier  elements  and they  also  bring  in  s  brief  use  of  clean  singing  on  a  couple  of  the  songs.  

  Singularity  takes  a  very  symphonic  and  melodic  style  of  black  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  the  more  progressive  and  technical  side  of  death  metal  to  create  a  very  different  approach  to  the  way  black  metal  is  played  as  well  as  helping  the  genre  to  evolve,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  science  fiction  and  utopian  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Singularity  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  symphonic  black  metal  and  technical  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "A  Withdrawal  of  Salvation"  "Monolith"  "Utopian  Flesh"  and  "The  Resolution".  8  out  of  10.

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YEJvX8NRYc
BUY: http://singularityaz.bandcamp.com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/SingularityAZ