Stone Circle 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?

We've just done a successful album launch show, and now we are booking as many gigs as possible, including a tour with Meta-Stasis in July, and some headline shows leading up to that. We're also working on some more video content to put out as well. Never a dull moment!

2.In December you had released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

We've had a bit of a gap between the last album and this one, we feel the song writing has matured, and more concise, but remaining diverse. Obviously over this time the recording quality is better, and more assured in how we sound as a band.

3.The band has been around since 2004 but so far has only released a demo, and 2 full length's, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap between releases?

We have released several EP's under a different name, which were a valid part of our evolution, however we decided we didn't want to re-release them under the new name. This is before the days of Facebook and even Myspace!

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

Mostly dark stories with some mythological themes, with some of our thoughts on religion, society and humanity thrown in for good measure! Easter Island, for example, is about the rise and fall of human life on the island, as a model for human life in general, and how self destructive humans can be.

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

We are all from Gloucestershire which is in between, both the Avebury Stone Circles, and obviously Stone Henge, and we feel the subject matter of the band connects with nature, mythology and early humans relationship with the earth.

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

We've been lucky enough to play some fantastic shows in our time, including Bloodstock, Download and supporting Fleshgod Apocolypse, Breed 77, Evil Scarecrow (those guys are funny bastards), plus we love a packed out club gigs. We focus on playing well, enjoying the music ourselves, and hopefully transferring that energy to our audience.

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

Yes (As above!), we're very excited to be joining the gruesome Meta-Stasis in July, but we have lots of other bands we want to tour with in the future as well!

8.The new album was released by Terrorizer Magazine, do you feel having this legendary magazine behind you has helped get your music out there a lot more easily heard?

It's certainly been an honour to be on the front cover of such an awesome magazine, and definitely helped us reach a wider audience. We wanted to make this album as easy as possible for people to get their hands on, so this was the best way to do this (along with free bandcamp downloads, soundcloud etc)

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

So far, the feedback has been very positive for the new album, especially by fans of progressive death metal. We like to think we've brought together our favourite parts of the metal genre, so there's plenty to appreciate, regardless of your usual preferred sub genre!

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

The band will always evolve, but no matter what changes happen as long as we're enjoying the music and feeling fore filled by what we're written. Hopefully people will want to come along for the ride!

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?

We all have quite a diverse taste in music in general between the four of us, and metal is only one part of it. There's some post-rock influences on the album, as well as classic metal bands like Gojira, Opeth, Meshuggah, Katatonia who are obvious influences. But in terms of song writing, we often take elements from other genres that are less closely related to metal.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

We all have quite different other interests! Joe does Martial Arts, is a coffee connoisseur and travelling. James (Rambo) is very into video/photography, media production and does marketing, and a qualified snowboard instructor! Sams main interest is playing rugby (if you ever see us live, you'll see why!), and enjoys a quiet fishing trip on the lakes of the countryside. Skelly (Tom) is a water sports instructor, and likes getting shitfaced...

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

Ha Final Thought is the last track on the album... We hope you enjoy the album and if you like it, share it!

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Mortals/Repellers/Broken Limbs/2015 Split EP Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  New  York's  Mortals  and  Pennsylvania's  Repellers  and  we  will start  off  the  review  with  Mortals  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge  and  crust.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts out  with  horror  movie  samples  and  a  few  seconds  alter  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  heavy  and  melodic  sludge/doom  metal  direction  along  with  some  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  you  can  also  hear  a  touch  of  post  metal  in  their  musical  style  and  you  can  hear  the  crust  influence  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  bit  and  the  lyrics  are  very  dark  along  with  a  powerful  sounding  production  on  their  8  minute  long  track.

  In  my  opinion  Mortals  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge  and  crust  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.

  Next  up  is  Repellers  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  crust  and  grindcore.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  some clean  playing  and  after  a  minute  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  heavy  direction  while  also  having  melodic  riffs  at  times  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  they  are  grim  screams  that  also  gives  the  music  a  black  metal  influence,  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  music  you  can  hear  some  d  beats  and  the  songs  at  times  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  on  the  last  tack  clean  playing  makes  a  brief  return,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Repellers  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  crust  and  grind  with  black  metal  style  vocals  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band  and  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "False  Solace".

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

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Sabhankra 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?

Hey guys ! We had a very fun recording session and finally we have released Seers Memoir prior to christmas time. For the moment we are very busy with getting prepared for our upcoming shows and writing materials for next album. (Yeah, there is no end for creation)

2.In December you had released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Well, everything is different than before now. Before recording this album we had to fullfill our military services and it was quite dark and boring. So this album is result of a military service in -20 C. The sound is dark and cold in comparision with our old releases. Genre is much closer to black metal but also still not that evil to call it black metal for me. Guitar sound is as raw as this music can handle, since we hate this modern extremely compressed ENGL/MESA sound. People criticize this a lot but this is the sound that we like. More than that, now we do a "guitar music". We no more have a keyboard player and we write much more guitar melodies. Still there are some keyboard parts but we use samples for that when it comes to live shows.

3.This is the first album to be released in 3 years, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap between releases?

This is a very ugly answer to give, "military service"

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

We always wrote about wars, legends, power and hate. And this time we poured a bit blasphemy on it.

5.The band was originally known as 'Constantinopolis' what was the decision behind the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Sabhankra'?

Constantinopolis was my music project. I released 1 demo and 1 album with it. Then when it came to live shows, we decided to start SABHANKRA. It doesnt have a meaning, except the music we do.

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

For stage performance all i can say is "we love headbang". Just check youtube :) Our best shows were with Amorphis (2010) and Necrophagist (2006-2010) I guess. We had nice time with funny people.

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

Of course ; we plan a turkey tour and Russia and Balkan (i wish so) tour.

8.The new album was released on Haarbn productions, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Haarbn is a sub-label of russian Metalism Records. They deserve some salutes with being so interested in our music from the beginning. They usually work with black/folk bands.

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

Response is very good. The first press is almost sold-out. The feedback we got is mostly positive. (As I mentioned, some guys are so much in love with compressed guitar sounds. There is no need for every band to sound like Rammstein )

10.Are any of the band members also involved with any other musical projects or bands these days?

Indeed. I played with so many bands in past from very different genres. Our bass player now also playing with Crimson Hill. Our lead guitarist is obssesed with 80's rock and plays mostly glam when he is not with us. Drummer Mehmet earns his living as a drum-tech. Touring with famous turkish rock bands as a drummer and sometimes as a technician.

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

I dont think that we will go back to that era which we used to use those turkish folk instruments. At least not in near future. This epic real metal music that we do was our target since a long time. We are really happy with what we did in "seers memoir".

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?

Mithotyn, Thyrfing, Lost Horizon, Wintersun and Istapp. We used to listen King diamond, Death and Iced Earth for a very long time. But not the latest albums (at least for iced earth)

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

I am a gamer. I play Starcraft a lot. Also addicted to Final Fantasy and Resident Evil series. Süha spends most of his time with painting war vehicle and machine figures and plays paintball too. He has enough gun and rifle in his room to start a war :) And we all have a common hobby called "BEER"

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

Buy cd's, get the smell of a booklet hold it in your hands, support and feed the bands you like and give birth and faith to new ones. Thanks for nice question and for your interest. Good luck guys !

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Maleficentia/Finis Gloriae Mundi/Khaos Division Productions/2014 CD Review

  Maleficentia  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  very  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Finis  Gloriae  Mundi"  which  was  released  by  Khaos  Division  Productions.

  A  very  sci-fi  and  symphonic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  classical  elements  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  for  more  of  a  melodic  black  metal  sound  along  with  some  grim  screams  and  blast  beats  while  also  keeping  the  symphonic  elements  and  the  band  also  adds  deep  death  metal  growls  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  There  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  present  throughout  the  recording  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  all  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  remain  true  to  a  melodic  black  metal  tradition  and  a  good  portion  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  At  time s the  synths  bring  in  a  feeling  of  an  old  gothic  horror  movie  soundtrack  and  they  also  bring  in  a  brief  instrumental  before  returning  back  to  vocals  on  the  following  tracks  along  with  some  songs  also adding  in  a  brief  use  of  classical  guitars  while  the  main  focus  remains  more  on  a  melodic  and  symphonic  style  of  black  metal.

  Maleficentia  plays  a  style  of  melodic  black  metal  that  is  very  symphonic  and  more  closer  to  the  90's  style  than  the  modern  day  version,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  war  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Maleficentia  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Among  Wilted  Hellebores"  "The  Crimson  Path"  and  "My  Last  Curse".  8  out  of  10.

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Nightland/Obsession/2015 Full Length Review

  Nightland  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  originally started  out  as  a  folk  metal  band  with  elements  of  power  and  death  metal  but  have  evolved  more  in  a  symphonic  and  melodic  black/death  metal  band  with  the  new  album  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015  album  "Obsession"

  Avant  garde  and  classical  music  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  symphonic  elements  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  to  get  heavier  while  also  keeping  the  symphonic  elements  of  the  intro  and  also  adding in  blast beats  and  when  vocals  are  added  in  they  are  grim  yet  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.

  Clean  singing  vocals  can  be  heard  at  times  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  on  the  alter  songs  the  vocals  start  adding  in  more  growls  and  the  music  also  incorporates  a  great  amount  of  modern  melodic  death  metal  riffing  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  choir vocals  and  spoken  word  parts  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  in  more  of  a  melodic  direction  and  they  close  the  album  with  an  orchestra  track.

  Nightland  takes  a  very  melodic  and  symphonic  style  of  black  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  more  of  a  modern  death  metal  sound  to  create  a  musical  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sound s very  powerful  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  poetic  and  mythological  themes.

  In  my  opinion  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dreamless  Life"  "Icarus"  and  "Last  Dance  Of  A  Treacherous  Mind".  8  out  of  10.

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Wrathage/Discipline/Maa Productions/2015 CD Review

  Wrathage  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  symphonic  and  extreme  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Discipline"  which  was  released  by  Maa  Productions.

  Clean  singing  avant  garde  vocals  and  heavy  yet  melodic  guitar  riffs  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  symphonic  elements  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  awhile  the  music  incorporates  more  black  metal  screams  and  blast  beats  which  they  mix  in  with  the  avant  garde  and  symphonic  elements.

  Melodic  guitar leads  can  be  heard  on  a  regular  basis  throughout  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  you  can  hear  quite  a  bit  off  the  90's  avant  garde  Norwegian  black  metal  sound  throughout  the  album  while  some  tracks  also  bring  in  more  of  a  modern  blackened  death  metal  sound  along  with  some  blast  beats  being  utilized  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  some  of  the  songs  also  incorporate  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  and  some  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  they  close  the  album  with  a  cover  of  Morbid  Angel's  "Dawn  Of  Angry".

  Wrathage  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  heavily  in  the  symphonic  and  avant  garde  Nordic  black  metal  tradition  while  also  updating  their  song  with  elements  of  blackened  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  fury,  hell  and  misanthropy  themes.

  In  my  opinion Wrathage  are  a  very  great  sounding  avant  garde  and  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dark  Matter"  "Walking  To  Death"  "Reptilian"  and  "The  Crawlspace".  8  out  of  10.

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Zaria Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
The band was founded in 2011. Initially we’ve experienced some line-up changes, but have stayed the same since 2012 (Inez, Nika, Miha, Jakob, Rok and Gašper). Our wish is to write original songs. We prefer an epic, folky touch to the music and this reflects strongly in our style. Each member contributes a part of themselves to what we do and create.

2.So far you have released a full length and an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings and also how do they differ from each other?
Our music is a blend of many different metal genres but we mostly describe our sound as a mixture of epic and folk metal and this influence is present in both of our releases. The difference between the two comes down to the EP being our first project, meaning we were still looking for the kind of sound that we wanted to achieve and also the songs have mostly been written by Inez and Miha. By the time we recorded the full length, we’ve already gained more experience and knew what lies ahead of us, allowing for better preparations. The main difference however is that each member contributed something to the full length, making it much more colourful.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Inez' lyrics are mostly about struggles in life and the ability to see good in every situation, but she has also written an imaginary story about our ancestors. Jakob is more into fiction and he's a storyteller. For Gašper, it could also be said that he's a storyteller, but his expression mostly comes through music, inside of which we can discover stories.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Zaria'?
At our first rehearsals (in 2011), each band member prepared some potential names for our band. In the end we have narrowed them down to two potential names, but according to MetalArchives, one of the two had already been »taken«. So the name that was left was Zaria. It is a name of a pagan goddess of morning and beauty. But we have also found out that Zaria is a name of one particular star – so this is where our logo comes from. We understand this name as a beginning of something new with the star as our guide.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Unfortunately, we haven’t had many shows so far, but I can say that each one is a bit better than the previous. We record most of our shows and we try to learn something from it. In general we agreed that the best show so far was when we played at Metaldays 2014, 2nd stage. Many people came to see us there and they were really great. They were dancing, headbanging and even lifted a rubber boat with 4 people in it into the air. The audience was very grateful and they gave us great feedback. Also the stage was bigger than any we have played before and we were able to move about more freely.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
There is no tour planned as of now, but there will be some gigs in the near future, including our first gig outside of Slovenia, which will take place in Waregem, Belgium on February 20th.

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
Having a label would be nice, but for now, we’re just going with the flow. We’ll see what opportunities arise.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of folk metal?
It has actually been great. I would not limit our fans only to those of folk metal, because many people who have expressed their support for us are not fans of folk metal at all. We incorporate elements of many different metal genres into our music and almost every headbanger can find something to their liking.
I have to say we had a great response worldwide even though our lyrics are written in our mother tongue.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
This is something we cannot say as of yet. Our style is developing all the time, because we try not to limit our inspiration and it sometimes leads us to take an unpredictable turn. We'll see what the future has in store for us.

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?
Well, the answer to this question is different for every individual band member. However, in general we all look up to early Nightwish. They really made a mark in metal music. But there are also other bands who inspire us: Eluveitie, Epica, Ensiferum, Dream Theater, Equilibrium ... the great movie composer Hans Zimmer is also a strong inspiration for us.

11.Does Paganism play any role in your music?
Paganism is in some way a part of us. It is magical, full of great stories and beliefs, but I wouldn’t say it plays a great role in our music. It is there, just not too prominent. We get our inspiration from different things: everyday life, stories, legends... and paganism is one of them.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Again, it's different for individual members. Rok does wine tasting and speaks a whole bunch of languages, Gašper is really into Japanese culture, Jakob likes reading fantasy novels, Nika loves to party, Inez studies singing at the Music Academy of Ljubljana and has already had some opportunities to present herself as a soloist in different operas, and Miha is married and has recently moved to his new home, so it is safe to say he has his hands full. We definitely want to let our friendship grow. We all strive for a better tomorrow. Some of us are still students, some already work. We all wish to be good at what we do, to have enough time for our loved ones and gain happiness from our other interests as we do from the music we create.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Music is something that comes from within. It's like a voice of our soul and as long as you're true to it, it can grow and blossom. If you write what you feel and really work from within, your music will definitely touch other’s hearts. So, every musician should stay true to themselves and let their soul blossom.
Also everyone has his or her own path of life. We wish them all to find it and to follow it without any doubt. Just follow your star and you'll find what you are looking for.
Beside this thoughts, we wish that people would enjoy listening to our music. J

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