Incursed Interview

Media: A Different Shade Of Black Metal zine, USA
Band: Incursed
Answering: Narot Santos - Main vocals, rhythm guitar
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?
Since we finished recording “Elderslied” we’ve started our rehearsals and we’ve been improving our playing costumes for our new 2015 shows. We have also been contacting with bands and management all over Spain and Europe so we can prepare as many shows for this new year as possible.

2.In 2014 you had released both an ep and a full length, how would you describe the musical sound of the newer music and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
We think that our new music has a really professional sound, specially if you compare it with our older albums. The main difference could be the quantity of instruments and audio tracks per song. These new songs are richer and deeper in composition. For example, for Fimbulwinter we had songs composed years before its release and new songs made for the album, so it was kind of chaotic. This new
music is more coherent in this way.

3.Your lyrics cover some Nordic Paganism themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this subject?
Some of us are quite interested in Paganism and History. It is quite cool to see how some of this Pagan beliefs are mixed with other religious views, or how are they shown in movies, comics, video games and modern stuff. Basically, we were interested in Norse and Germanic mythology way before the band started, more than seven years ago, and we found in music a great way to spread this interest and share it with people worldwide.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name ‘Incursed’?

The name was formed after the combination of “Incursion” and “Cursed”, but also is the past tense of “Incursion”, so it’s like some kind of pun too. Beware of the spanish cursed raiders!

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?
Probably, our best show was in Ukraine, at the Carpathian Alliance Fest, in 2013.
What makes it the best is, mainly, the fans there. They were incredible! We have played in some nice shows here in Spain, for example Keltoi Fest in Zaragoza, HOM Fest in Burgos and Arrowsnight Live, in Bilbao. The newer the shows the better they are, mainly because of the experience we’ve been achieving during these years. Our shows are quite powerful, we try to give our best in each one. We dress according to our music, with ragged clothes and fake fur, bones, and any kind of “barbaric” stuff, so we can get in our roles easier onto the stage.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
We are presenting “Elderslied” in our hometown, Bilbao, on February. We are  closing some gigs across Spain to play our new songs, but it can’t be described as a tour for the moment.

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

We are working with some promotion agencies as, for example, Metalmessage, but we are currently unsigned. However, we are open to check any offer that could be received.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of viking, pagan and folk metal?

It has been really positive! People all around the world have bought our albums and we’ve got lots of highly positive reviews for our previous album “Fimbulwinter”.
We’ve received some reviews for “Elderslied”, our new album, and they are really nice too. It is so rewarding to see that people really like something you’ve put so many work, time and effort on it.

9.Are any of the band members involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?
Our keyboard player, Jonkol, plays in a death/power metal band named “Orion Child” and our drummer, Asier Amo, has a doom/death metal project named “Hex”

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Well, right now we have to exploit “Elderslied” to the max, as it has just been released. But probably by the end of 2015 we’ll start composing and working again on new songs. We will try to keep the essence of our music intact so we can improve our music without changing our spirit.

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?
We have been influenced by many of the latest albums of big bands playing our musical style, such as Finntroll, Moonsorrow, Turisas... but our influences are so, so different and multiple! We like bands as different as The Algorithm or Mike Oldfield.
Try to imagine the huge amount of influences that can be found in this spectrum of musical styles. We even love the new japanese sensation, Babymetal!
12.What are some of your non musical interests?

All of us are into videogames. Asier and Jonkol are big fans of soccer. Juan, our bass player, is a digital painter. We like watching series as Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones. Asier Amo is a big fan of trekking and medieval fighting shows and Narot likes to read sci-fi books, specially Asimov. I guess we are just normal guys after all!

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

We want to thank you for this great interview and tell all our fans to follow us on our facebook account (facebook.com/IncursedOfficial) and to not hesitate and tell us what do they think about our music, shows, etc. And we hope to play in the States someday, that would be super cool!

Keep pagan!

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Mystic Wonders Interview

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

A. It all first started when Shahyd and Iku started jamming in the studio and on one of those jamming sessions we found ourselves playing something unique, sounding really different than the projects that we work on. We decided to record the materials, that was then the journey with Mystic Wonders began. We take Mystic Wonders as a Melodic Death Metal band. Yet, experimenting with a lot of other genres such as black metal, progressive, technical and such, infusing them in our own way. From the feedback of the audience, Mystic Wonders is hard to classify as to which genre the band truly is. Just as how our name implied, it was our motive. We don't want to stay in one specific genre. We implement different elements but still maintain our melodic vibe in it.

Q. Recently you have released an album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented in the recording?

A. It's aggressive yet has the kind of melodies that will carve into your mind and stay there for a long time. Each songs of this 9 track album entitled 'Prophecy of The Chosen' will be unique and has many variations to feast on for the progressive fans. Also theres power implemented in some tracks and others feels like it came out of a black metal album. In short, every song is a theatrical play with a different story behind it.

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

A. The lyrics are laid in a fantasy-like theme, but it can be related to anyone or everyone in general. Most are based on violence, corruption, a few about politics and real life situations that society needs to be aware of or to think about. To add a bit of flavor, we added a bit of human suffering to the lyrics as well and bringing it on like a story.

Q. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Mystic Wonders'?

A. Unexplainable, or mysterious wonders. Those term describes best on our compositions and decided to use that name for the band. Shahyd actually has a song composed named 'Mystic Wonders' among a lot of other unused tracks which was planned and composed for the Sacred Legacy's album 'The Legacy Begins' which was later put back on the shelf with several others before the release of that album. One time, we're going through the tracks we previously recorded and found the track Mystic Wonders and found the name quite perfect for our band and thats when we decided on using that name.

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

A. Iku and Shahyd played a lot of shows with their other projects, especially in Sacred Legacy. Since Mystic Wonders is a recent project, there aren't much shows played but we do plan on playing a lot of gigs soon. The first show we gave with the Mystic Wonders line-up was in 11th of November this year in Maldives. It was really fun. We enjoyed it to the last moment. Our performance has a good vibe with an aggressive sound, very exciting for both the audience and us. We had great feedbacks on our performance.

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

A. We have plans for next year to tour. Definitely an european or asian tour will happen along with a new concept album in early 2015. We will also be playing in some big festivals in Asia, we're already confirmed for Maelstrom Festival 2015 in Sri Lanka.

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

A. It's very hard to get major labels in Asia, it takes a great lot of effort. We aren't approaching any labels as of the moment but we're interested. We get some offers but we also have to give attention for both sides of the party as to be sure its a label that we can comfortably work with and understanding without compromise, be it a major or an indie label. And we can guarantee we can give a sound that can satisfy the ones that we're dealing with.

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

A. Its been a couple of days since we released our debut album 'Prophecy of The Chosen' and we already got a large audience of both Death and Black Metallers. And surprisingly, we even get positive feedback from ones that goes with Blackened Death Metal audience. Also, this recent week we're approached by several agencies and a few of our songs are played in Radio Channels. We have been getting lots positive comments about Mystic Wonders and the album in social networks. We haven't even started with the paid promotions or with a PR agent, but we are happy with the results we got so far.

Q. 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?

A. Shahyd is working with his solo project. He is releasing his 3rd solo album soon entitled 'Through The Ashes' and also working on the new album for Sacred Legacy 'Generation of Chaos'
Iku will be releasing his solo album as well on early 2015 entitled 'Prismatic'.He works with Shahyd in Sacred Legacy too and several other bands such as Ovnivium (A Symphonic Black Metal band lead by the front man of Sacred Legacy Lord Hoochy Pharmacist) Disruptia (Progressive Death Metal) Unholy Rising (an old school Black Metal band) and several others including the works from commercial scene in Maldives.
Kattaray has been giving out bass lessons on his youtube channel. Also, covers various songs.
Mukay has been in the commercial scene for sometime now and is now well known.

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

A. We'll be going to places. One thing for sure is we'll frequently release albums. We think our future as a band is very solid and we don't think our journey together will be a short one. In our perspective, there is no end looking at the horizon, just that the beyond lies newer paths and a bigger picture to look at.

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

A. Shahyd has a large influence for solo artists and gets inspiration from artists like Yngwie Malmsteen, Micheal Angelo Batio, Andy James and such. Iku's inspiration comes from Devil Doll, Belphegor and gets the influence from such Bands/Artists.
Kattaray too is influenced by great artists like Cliff Burton, Steve Harris, Billy Sheehan and those Lords and great Legends (new and old) Bassists.
Mukay lives out in the world of old school Thrash Metal. Still, some of his favorites are Metallica, Sepultura, Slayer, Lamb of God, Testament and them giants of Thrash Metal
Modey takes his influences in a different angle from the rest of us. Power Metal, Folk Metal, Gothic Metal are some of the genres that inspires him like Dragonforce, Iced Earth, Dio, Ensiferum, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden.

Q. How would you describe the metal scene in your home country of Maldives?

A. Its depressing actually. The metal scene here is going through a huge downfall. Due to this, several bands are disbanding. We remember the glorious days the Maldivian Metal Scene had back then. With a lot of bands, countless followers of metal, Shows frequently happening and If a Metal Album is released, its news will be every where in the local media. And back then, bands get a lot of opportunities to play shows and funds. There used to be a lot of sub-genres of metal bands in Maldives, and its sad to see them disbanding. At present, there are avenues that metal is used to play but not allowed anymore. Its also very hard to get sponsors or funds for the bands as well. And there are hardly any practice rooms or recording studios left in Maldives. Due to all this, very few bands survives, while others looks for other alternatives to continue their music career such as involving into commercial industry. Honestly, we don't see much help or contributions by the Entertainment Industry in Maldives that would make a positive impact to the scene here. Even in the midst of this, there's still a large fan base here that still doesn't give up. We won't be giving up either. We'll contribute however we can and help to get back the glorious days of the Maldivian Metal Scene.

Q. What are some of your non musical interests?

A. Gaming!!! Especially mmorpgs like ArcheAge, DragonNest, Eden Eternal, Onigiri. And we love anime and manga. Anime plays a role in our musical aspects as well. In our song structures and melodies. Coffee is all our favorites and very important in our lives... and IKU LOVES CHEESECAKES! we always gather in the same coffee shop and catch up on stuffs. Not to mention the rides in Kattaray's car (sometimes we find Kattaray headbanging playing loud music in the car while driving) haha.
Mukay is a fitness freak! He goes to gym on a daily basis. And we have a hunch he's going to be a gym instructor soon. Movies is also one of our major interests.

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

A. We'd like to thank our families, friends and fans. They're the reason that kept us going and the start of our journey of Mystic Wonders. We have a lot of plans ahead, we will be revealing the title of our 2nd album very soon. And a shout out to Hoochy, Arkane, Ibbe, Shaulaan, Avas.Mv, Sharippe, Musthain, Vitte, Emp, Dani, Abo, Rasha, Munthi, Wisham, Marsh, Nasih, Altho, Keshan and AWN crew, Chippe, Andu, Dante, Music World, Wadde brothers, Jessy, Bloody Ayya, Usham, Tom, Irey, Meksie, Hoosh, Husy, Milo, Azmeen, Humaidh, Thithi, Legacy Studios crew!! And Thank you for this interview, we really enjoyed it! \m/


Regards

Shahyd Legacy

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Incursed/Elderslied/2014 CD Review

  This  is  another  review  of  a  recording  from  Incursed  that  continues  the  pagan/folk  metal  sound  of  previous  recordings  with  the  album  being  self  released  in  2014  and  called  "Elderslied".

  Dark  sound  effects  start  off  the  album  giving  the  music  and  atmospheric  and  ambient  feeling  along  with  some  nature  sounds  in  the  background  and  the  synths  also  bring  in  an  epic  feeling  that  you  would  hear  in  a  fantasy  movie  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  heavy  and  melodic  blackened  death  metal  sound.

  There  is  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  present  throughout  the  recording  along  with  some  blackened  metal  screams  and  growls  as  well  as  a  great  amount  of  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  and  the  songs  also  mix  the  folk  and  symphonic  elements  in  with  the  heavier  sections  along  with  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Melodic  viking  metal  vocals  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  and  there  are  also  a  great  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  added  into  some  of  the  songs  and  they  add  in  more  folk  influences  to  the  recording  along  with  a  touch  of  70's  progressive  rock  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  long  with  a  few  tracks  that  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  towards  the  end  a  brief  use  of  female  vocals  are  added  into  the  music.

  Incursed  creates  a  very  epic  sounding  folk/viking  metal  album  with  this  recording  which  they  also  mix  in  with  the  heaviness  of  melodic  blackened  death  metal  to  create  some  truly  pagan  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  Norse  paganism,  Fantasy,  Battles,  War  and  Nature  themes.  

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Incursed  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  both  viking  and  folk  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Heart  of  Yggdrasil"  "Raging  Wyverns"  "Lady  Frost"  and  "One  Among  A  Million".  8/5  out  of  10.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/IncursedOfficial

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/IncursedOfficial

Twitter: https://twitter.com/IncursedBand

Bandcamp: http://incursed.bandcamp.com/

Incursed/Beer Bloodbath/2014 EP Review

  Incursed  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a  pagan  form  of  viking/folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  ep  "Beer  Bloodbath".

  Melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  start  off  the  ep  along  with  a  symphonic  background  and  a  few  seconds  alter  grim  black  metal  screams  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  leads  also  remain  a  huge  part  of  all  of  the  tracks  and  you  can  also  hear  some  folk  instruments  in  the  music  at  times  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  At  times  clean  singing  and  spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  there  is  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  present  throughout  the  recording  along  with  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  when  acoustic  guitars  are  utilized  they  bring  in  more  of  a  medieval  pagan  feeling  to  the  bands  musical  style  and  at  times  both  the  synths  and  solos  bring  a  progressive  feeling  to  the  songs.

  Incursed  plays  a  style  of  pagan/viking  metal  that  also  incorporates  a  great  amount  of  folk  music  elements  along  with  s  heavy  influence  from  melodic  blackened  death  metal  and  a  touch  of  progressive  rock  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  has  a  very  professional  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  beer  drinking.  paganism,  battle,  war  and  nature  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Incursed  are  a  very  great  sounding  pagan/folk  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Beer  Bloodbath"  and  "Die  By  The  Sword".  8  out  of  10.

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Solarsteinn/The Challenge Of Thor/2014 EP Review

  Solarsteinn  are  a  1  man  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  viking,  pagan,  melodic  black  and  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2014  ep  "The  Challenge  Of  Thor".

  Thunder  sounds  and  viking  warships  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  dark  sounding  synths  which  leads  up  to  acoustic  guitars  and  flutes  that  add  in  a  medieval  folk  music  feeling  to  the  18  minute  track  which  can  also  be  very  epic  at  times  and  after  awhile  heavy  and  melodic  guitars  are  added  into  the  song  taking  the  recording  into  a  pagan  metal  direction.

  When  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  they  are  growls  and  screams  that  are  more  in  tune  with  both  black  and  death  metal  and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  in  the  track  and  in  certain  sections  of  the  track  you  can  also  hear  melodic  viking  chants  and the  synths  also  make  their  return  at  times  giving  the  music  a  symphonic  feeling  and  closer  to  the  end  the  song  speeds  up  a  bit  and  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats.

  Solarsteinn  creates  an  18  minute  track  that  brings  in  a  melodic  black/death  metal  sound  and  mixes  it  in  with  pagan,  viking  and  folk  metal  to  create  an  epic  song,  the  production  has  a  very  professional  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  are  based  on  Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow's  Norse  ballads.

  In  my  opinion  Solarsteinn  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  viking,  pagan,  melodic  black  and  folk  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  8  out  of  10.

https://solarsteinn.bandcamp.com

Mystic Wonders/Prophecy Of The Chosen/2014 Full Length Review

  Mystic  Wonders  are  a  band  from  Maldives  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  blackened  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Prophecy  of  the  Chosen".

  A  very  melodic  and  technical  sounding  guitar  solos  starts  off  the  album  and  they  are  also  a  huge  part  of  all  of  the  tracks  and  some  of  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  traditional  metal  feeling  at  times  and  on  the  second  track  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  melodic  black/death  metal  sound  along  with  a  good  mixture  of  growls  and  screams.

  You  can  hear  a  heavy  thrash  influence  in  the  bands  musical  sound  at  times  along  with  a  good  balance  between  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  singing  power  metal  style  vocals  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  some  of  the  later  tracks  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  which  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  brutal  death  metal  to  the  bands  musical  sound  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful  and  the  band  also  adds  in  elements  of  neo-classical  in  the  leads  and  solos  at  times.

  Mystic  Wonders  plays  a  very  modern  style  of  melodic  death  metal  that  is  heavily  mixed  in  with  black  metal,  neo-classical  and  a  touch  of  thrash  to  create  an  album  that  brings  in  the  perfect  balance  between  melody  and  heaviness,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  realistic  themes  with  a  touch  of  fantasy.

  In  my  opinion  Mystic  Wonders  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Maiden's  tear"  "Purgatory"  "Utopia"  and  "Prophecy".  8  out  of  10.

 https://mysticwonders.bandcamp.com/releases
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Dystopian Wrath/Self Titled/UKEM Records/2014 EP Review

  Dystopian  Wrath  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  symphonic  form  of  black/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2014  ep  which  was  released  by  UKEM  Records.

  A  very  epic  and  symphonic  sound  starts  off  the  ep  before  going  into  a  faster  direction  along  with  some  grim  screams  and  brutal  blast  beats  which  they  also  mix  in  with  the  symphonic  elements  as  well  as  adding  in  death  metal  growls  at  times  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  incorporating  more  melodies  into  the  songs  which  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts..

  As  the  ep  progresses  you  can  hear  more  traces  of  thrash  and  death metal  being  added  into  the  bands  symphonic  black  metal  sound  and  it  also  gives  the  music  more  of  an  aggressive  sound  than  most  bands  of  this  genre  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music  they  are  very  melodic  sounding  as  well  as  demonstrating  a  great  amount  of  skill  and  talent  and  one  of  the  tracks  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples  while  one  of  the  alter  tracks  brings  in a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  and  the  band  also  closes  the  ep  with  a  cover  of  bathory's  "Woman  Of  Dark  Desires".

  Dystopian  Wrath  take  a  very  symphonic  and  melodic  style  of  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with  the  aggression  of  death  metal  which  also  makes  there  music  more  heavy  than  most  symphonic  black  metal  bands,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Dystopian  Area  Philosophy  and  Psychology.

  In  my  opinion  Dystopian  Wrath  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  black/death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Suffering  State"  and  "Black  Sea  of  Tree's".  8  out  of  10.

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