Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Dark Portrait Interview


Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
Currently, our singer fulfils his army duties that are obligatory in Greece.  The rest of the band is constantly jamming and rehearsing in order to compose and create new material for future songs.

2. In April 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?
Our previous release was an EP named “Fiend Incarnate” and was released in the band’s early stages.
In April we released our full length album named ‘’A Harrowing Atrocity’’. We think of this album as a leap from our previous work because it was exactly what we had in our minds about our sound; from the music to the lyrics, from its power, presence and length to its meaning and ability to make the listener travel via our music.
The sound cannot be easily defined or categorised and we are fine with that. We like to refer to our music as ‘majestic black metal’ as if it is a new genre that we can call our own.

3. This is your first release in 4 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?
In Greece, where we live, there is only a small portion of the population that listens to metal or any kind of heavy music. These 4 years that passed since our last release we were on the hunt of Greek audience. We were constantly trying to book as many live gigs as possible and meet as many people as possible because we wanted to create a fan-base that could provide feedback about our work as we were working on it and because the contact with the audience is what feeds an artist’s mindset to keep up the work and channel the positivity and energy to our music compositions or lyrics.
‘A Harrowing Atrocity’ is an album that derived from what was given to us spiritually through our fans.


4. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
Main topic of the song writing are Greek Mythical characters unveiling their darkest sides through sinful tales or even imaginary entities that praise what’s dark and part of the occult and chaos. But if you let yourself think and dream, or even try to think yourself as if you were inside the stories, you can relieve past experiences  through a weird, distorted and dark feeling if you translate our lyrics’ metaphors.

5. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Dark Portrait'?
It was not an easy task to find a proper name for our Band.
We always had the vision of our music making the audience part of our lyrical stories; and we wanted to incorporate this vision to our band’s name. Our main goal was to let those who want to relate to our music create an imaginary picture of them that defines their image when being a part of our tales.
‘Dark Portrait’ is not our portrait. It is a portrait of one’s darkest and unexplored – or even unknown – self.

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 joined many shows here in Greece. Metal stages and gigs are difficult to be booked and organized and we had to hunt them down. I guess our connections lead to the most renowned metal stages in Greece, opening a couple of huge names of the scene and that got us the experience needed to have a consistent stage performance.
When we are on stage, we all feel that we have the cue to bring our own Dark Portrait characters to perform. We appear as dead and weak corpses that have risen from their tombs but when the melody starts, one can feel the darkness that seems to drive us on stage.

7. Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We are currently working on our new album and trying to rehearse and jam as we wait for our singer to complete his army duties. When his duties are fulfilled, we have plans about touring Greece for the second part of 2017. After that, given that our second full length album is completed and released, we discuss about touring through Europe.

8. The new album is going to get re-issued on Xperiment XIII, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
When we were in the hunt of a label to promote us, we contacted as many people as we could so that we could find what deal was the best for our band and our schedule. We found many of them wanting to sign us but we decided to sign with Xperiment XIII because we knew that Clive that runs it was a fan and supporter of our music and our band and because the deal was really close to what we had in mind.

9. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic and symphonic black metal?
Our music tends not to have a lot of things in common with melodic and symphonic black metal. It is an unorthodox approach to both of these genres. In our band’s early stages, we were contacting individuals from other countries via facebook in order to spread the word and gain followers from other countries and different cultures.
Feedback was our next priority.
In general, even people from countries as Finland or the Netherlands that are used to the heaviest and styles of black metal were constantly giving us positive feedback especially for ‘a harrowing atrocity’ album and after its completion we knew that this was the route that both we and the listeners loved.
People from all over the world are still curious about what we have going on

10. 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?
Only our drummer is a part of another musical project. He is a part of a thrash band. They are currently working on a new album as well as they are back from a tour all-over Greece.

11. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Fast forward to the release of our second full length album. After that an after its promotion we will pull as many strings as possible in order to tour Europe to say the least.
Our band is all about interaction with the people, so, after providing the second album, we will try to perform on stage wherever there is an audience.

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?
These days, the bands that we tend to listen to the most are Carach Angren, Septic Flesh, Rotting Christ, Carpathian Forest, Cradle of Filth, Dark Funeral, Bathory, Watain, Dimmu Borgir and others.
Our influences are our inspiration and we try to create music that they could head bang to the way we do to their songs.

13. How would you describe your views on Occultism?
Occultism is all about what is there to find but the world tends to refuse its presence and functions. It is the rails that our lives roll on but no one will ever admit or accept it because darkness is an unknown place that only few want to discover or even be a part of.
For us, it is a part of one’s self that is definitive and infinite.
It influences us but we try to incorporate it to our music as less profoundly as possible and the reason for that is that we do not want to throw it into the listener’s face. We want him or her to prepare for its truth.

14. What are some of your non-musical interests?
We all enjoy having a beer or two listening to good music or hanging out discussing about our plans and views on the band.
Yeah, some of us have their own hobbies but most of our time goes into our every-day jobs and our band.

15. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
We want the world to know that we create the music that we would listen and head bang to. Our lyrics have many meanings and can be translated to feelings and thoughts that will give you the chance to live them.
Our music for us is not about getting famous or getting payed. It is all about touching hearts and inspires our point of view of the music’s darkness to the listener.
We would keep composing and creating even if no one listened but we are grateful that the world keeps being interested in us and supports us.
That’s the truest thing that drives us.

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Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Bearstorm/Biophobia/Grimoire Records/2016 EP Review


  Bearstorm  are  a  band  from  Richmond,  Virginia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  progressive  and  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  post  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "Biophobia"  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  Grimoire  Records.

  Nature  sounds  start  off  the  ep  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melodic  direction  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  and  progressive  structures  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  some  of  the  leads  also  have  a  stoner  rock  edge  to  them  and  clean  guitars  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  riffs  also  mix  the  heaviness  of  post  metal  into  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  the  whole  recording  sticks  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  the  last  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Bearstorm  remains  true  to  the  melodic  and  progressive  mixture  of  black,  death  and  post  metal  from  previous  recordings,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Bearstorm  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  progressive  black,  death,  and  post  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Biophobia"  and  "Cryptobiotic  Filth  Destroyer".  8  out  of 10. 

http://grimoirerecords.bandcamp.com/track/cryptobiotic-filth-destroyer

Monday, November 7, 2016

In My Embrace/Black Waters Deep/Sliptrick Records/2016 CD Review


  In  My  Embrace  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a review  of  their 2016  album  "Black  Waters  Deep"  which  will  be  released  on  November  10th  by  Sliptrick  Records.

  Nature  sounds  along  with  some  clean  guitars  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  atmospheric  sounds  and  melodic  leads  being  added  onto  the  recording  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  awhile  the  music  gets  a  lot  more  heavier  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody and  some  of  the  faster  riffing  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking and  pianos  are  added  on  a  later  track  while  most  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  heavy  musical  direction  and  they  close  the  album  with  an  acoustic  instrumental.

  In  My  Embrace  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  from  the  previous  release,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  sorrow,  anger,  hatred,  life,  death,  religion,  society  and  existential  matters.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  In  My  Embrace  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  black  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Black  Waters  Deep"  "The  Road  Of  Hanging  On:" and  "Killing Spree".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQ25HZC/

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Ill Neglect/Lambs/Trisma/Drown Within Records/2016 7 Inch Review


  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  from  Germany's  Ill  Neglect  and  Italy's  Lambs called  "Trisma"  which  was  released  by  Drown  Within  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Ill Neglect  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge  and  grindcore.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  spoken  word  samples  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  and  when t he  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  screaming  vocals  can  be  heard  while  also  adding  in  touches  of  crust,  d  beat  and  grindcore  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  are  influenced  by  sludge  and  post  hardcore  and  death  metal  growls  are  added  onto t he  second  track,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  angry themes.

  In  my  opinion  Ill  Neglect  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Permenant  Euphori".

  Next  up  is  Lambs  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge,  crust  and  post  hardcore.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  heavy  sound  where  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  their  recording  while  the  vocals  are  high  pitched  screams  that  also  add  in  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  songs  also  mix  in  a  lot  of  sludge  and  crust  influences  while  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  spoken  vocals  are  influenced  by  post  hardcore  and when  solos  and  leads a re  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Lambs  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  blackened  sludge,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Unfeeling".

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  black  metal,  sludge  and  grindcore.  8  out  of  10.

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Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Myrkgrav/Takk OgFarvel; Tide Er Blitt Ei Annen/2016 Full Length Review





   Myrkgrav  are  a  solo  project  from  Norway  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  blackened  mixture  of  folk  and  viking  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2016  album  "Takk  Og  Farvel;  Tide  Er  Blitt  Ei  Annen".

  A  very  hard  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  and  after  awhile  clean  singing  pagan  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  folk  instruments  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  most  of  the  songs  and  the  solos  and  leads  also use  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  music  also  brings in  a  decent  amount  of  clean  playing  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  you can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  after  awhile  grim  black  metal  screams also  make  their presence  known  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  all  instrumental.

  Myrkgrav  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  blackened  mixture  of  folk  and  viking  metal  of  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Norwegian  and  cover  local  history  and  folk  tales.

  In my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album from  Myrkgrav  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  folk  and  viking  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Skjon  Jomfru"  "Soterudsvarten"Torrhard"  and  "Uttjent".  8  out  of  10.

Homepage: http://www.myrkgrav.no/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Myrkgrav/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Fattifolkskremarn
Bandcamp: https://myrkgrav.bandcamp.com/
  

Monday, October 31, 2016

Huldre/Tusmorke/Gateway Music/2016 CD Review





  Huldre  are  a  band  from Denmark  that  plays  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2016  album  "Tusmorke"  which  will  be  released  in  November  by  Gateway  Music.

  Heavy  guitars  and  folk  instruments  start  off  the  album  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  female  vocals  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  songs  and  clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a decent  amount  of  melody.

  When the  music  speeds  up  tremolo  picking  along  with  blast  beats  can  be  heard  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  black  metal  screams  while  most  of  the  music  sticks  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  acoustic  guitars  are  also  used  on  a  couple  of  songs  while  a  later  track  introduces  melodic  guitar  leads  onto  the  recording.

  Huldre  plays  a  style  of  folk  metal  that  is  very  traditional and  melodic  while  also  having  a  slight  black  metal  influence,  the  production  sounds  very  professional while  the  lyrics  are  written  in Danish  and  cover  Danish  Mythology and  Folklore.

  In  my  opinion  Huldre  are  a  very  great  sounding  folk  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Jagt"  :Varulv"  "Morke"  and  "Nattesorg".  8  out  of  10.

Homepage: http://www.huldre.dk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Huldre/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K37Y8ukaAF0
Twitter: https://twitter.com/huldremetal

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Macaria/A Strings Dramedy/Revalve Records/2016 CD Review


  Macaria  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of   folk  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "A  Strings  Dramedy"  which  was  released  by Revalve  Records.

  Record  player  sounds  along  with  some  folk  instruments  start  off  the  album  along  with  the  atmosphere  of  a  horror  movie  and  the  music  also  gets  very  symphonic  at  times  and  after  the  intro  the  music  also  starts  getting  more  heavy  and  melodic  while  also  mixing  it  in  with  the  symphonic  and  folk  music  elements.

  Most  of  the  vocals  are  death  metal  growls  while  clean  singing  pagan  vocals  are  also  used  at  times    and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  operatic  female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Elements  of  the  more  melodic  and  symphonic  sound  of  melodic  black/pagan  black  metal  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats and  a  later  track  also  introduces  acoustic  guitars  onto  the  album  while  a  later  song  also  brings  in  back  up  shouts  and  they  also  bring  in  an  symphonic  instrumental  before  closing  the  album  with  2  heavy  tracks  that  also  include  vocals.

  Macaria  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  folk,  symphonic,  pagan  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Macaria  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  folk,  pagan  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Puppets  Theater"  "The  Hidden  Filth"  "Midday  Strangers"  and  "The  Knot  Of  Wills".  8  out  of  10.

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