Saturday, January 6, 2018

Verikalpa/Taistelutahto/Inverse Records/2018 CD Review


  Verikalpa  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  folk/troll metal and this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "Taistelutahto"  which  will  be  released  in  February  by  Inverse  Records.

  A  very  heavy  and  epic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  folk  instruments  also  being  mixed  into  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  black  metal  screams  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  When  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  melodic  fashion  while  clean  vocals  are  done  in  more  of  a  shamanistic  and  folk  music  fashion  along  with  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  the  music  also  mixing  in  elements  of  melodic  death  metal  and  back  up  shouts  are  also  utilized  at  times.

  Verikalpa  plays  a  style  of  folk  metal  which  also  mixes  in  the  heaviness  of  black  and  melodic  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Finnish  and  cover  drinking,  trolls  and  blood  splattered  eternal  battles.

  In  my  opinion  Verikalpa  are  a  very  great  sounding  folk/troll  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Viimseen  Asti"  "Kuoppajaiset"  "Viinapiru"  and  "Rautatammi".  8  out  of  10.

 https://youtu.be/J_6rKZNNYkY 



  

Friday, January 5, 2018

Agrimonia/Awaken/Southern Lord Recordings/2018 CD Review


  Agrimonia  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  post  metal  and  crust  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "Awaken"  which  will  be  released  on  January  26th  by  Southern  Lord  Recordings.

  Atmospheric  yet  heavy  riffing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodies  and  elements  of  post  metal  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  as  well  as  a  great  amount  of  black  metal  influenced  screams  and  clean  singing  and  death  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Most  of t he  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  slow  riffs  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  sludge  and  doom  metal  along  with  some  songs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  and  synths  and  as  the  album  progresses elements  of  crust  can  also  be  heard  in  the  mid tempo  sections  of  the  songs.

  Agrimonia  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  sludge,  post  metal  and  grindcore  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  Agrimonia  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  post  metal  and  crust  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Astray"  and  "The  Sparrow".  8  out  of  10.


  

Vile Creature/Cast Of Static And Smoke/Halo Of Flies/Dry Cough/2018 CD Review


  Vile  Creature  are    band  from  Ontario,  Canada  that  plays  a  blackened  form  of  sludge metal  and  this  is  a  review  of their  2018  album  "Cast  Of  Static  And  Smoke"  which  will  be  released  in  March  as  a  joint  effort  by  Halo  Of  Flies  and  Dry  Cough.

  Clean  playing  along  with  some  nature  sounds  start  off  the  album  while  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  after  awhile  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavier  sludge  and  doom  metal  direction  as  well  as  introducing  tortured  screams  onto  the  recording  which  also  add  in  a  touch  of  black  metal.

  All of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  some  hardcore  style  shouts  and  death  metal  growls  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  riffs  start  using  more  melodies  as  well  as  all  of  the  songs sticking  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction  and  melodic  guitar  leads  can  also  be  heard  briefly.

  Vile  Creature  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  doom  and  sludge  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own, t he  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  involving  a  science  fiction  and  dystopian  story.

  In  my  opinion  Vile  Creature  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  doom  and  sludge  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Circuits  Bending  And  Breaking"  and  "Sky,  In  Descending  Pieces".  8  out  of  10.

bandcamp / facebook / twitter

Monday, January 1, 2018

Chrch/Fister/Crown And Throne Ltd./2017 Split Album Review


  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  California's  Chrch  and  Missouri's  Fister  which  was  released  by  Crown  And  Throne  Ltd.  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Chrch  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom  and  sludge  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  clean  guitars  along  with  some  drums  being  added  onto  the  recording  a  couple  of  months  later which  also  takes  the  music  into  a  heavier  direction  along  with  some  sludge  style  screams  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  their  side  of  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  their  track  is  over  16  minutes  in  length  along  with  a  brief  use  of  clean  vocals  and  spoken  word  parts  as  well  as  the  music  always  remaining  slow,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Chrch  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal.

  Next up  is Fister  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  doom,  sludge  and  stoner  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  drum  beats  along  with  some  black  metal  screams  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  along  with  the  track  being  20  minutes  in  length  as  well as  some  growls  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  all  of  the musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  When  guitar  solos and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  while  the  music  also  brings  in  elements  of  stoner  metal  along  with  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  the  music  always  sticks  to  a  slow  direction,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  track  from  Fister  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  sludge,  doom  and  stoner  metal,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.

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

http://crownandthroneltd.bigcartel.com/product/fister-chrch-split-12 or here: http://www.battlegroundrnr.com/product/chrch-fister-split-album

Saturday, December 30, 2017

Northwind Wolves/Dark Cold Grim/Black Lion Records/2017 CD Review


  Northwind  Wolves  are  a  band  from  Los  Angeles,  California  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Dark Cold  Grim"  which  will  be  released  by Black  Lion  Records.

  Atmospheric  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  as  well  as  the  vocals  being  grim  yet  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.

  When t he  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  can  be  heard  while  the  music  also  mixes  in a  decent  amount  of  symphonic  elements  along  with  the  music  being  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well  as  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,

  Northwind  Wolves  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  melodic  and  symphonic  in  the  90's  tradition, the production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Sorcery  and  Black  Magick  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Northwind  Wolves  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  symphonic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dark Skies  For  Black  Sorcery"  "Foul  Wolves  And  Black  Magic"  "Cold  Hearted  Kings  Of  the  Occult"  and  "Celestial  Extinction".  8  out  of  10.


Homepage: http://northwindwolves.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Northwindwolves666

Friday, December 29, 2017

Coilguns/Millenials/Hummus Records/2018 CD Review


  Coilguns  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge,  noise,  d  beat  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  album  "Millenials"  which  will  be  released  in  2018  by  Hummus  Records.

  Dark  yet  melodic  and  heavy  riffing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  drum  beats  a  few  seconds  later  awhile  the  angry  vocals  bring  in  touches  of  sludge  and  black  metal  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Elements  of  post  hardcore  and  noise  rock  can  also  be  heard  in  the  music  at  times  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  bring  in  elements  of  d  beat  and  grindcore  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  musical  gets  more  experimental  and  the  songs  also  bring  in a   decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and fast  parts.

  Coilguns  plays  a  musical style  that  takes  black  metal,  sludge,  noise  rock,  post  hardcore,  d  beat,  grind  and  experimental  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cove  dark and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Coilguns  are  a  very  great  sounding  experimental  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge,  grind,  d  beat,  noise  rock  and  post  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Anchorite"  "Spectogram"  "Self  Employment  Scheme"  and  "The  Screening".  8  out  of  10.

'Millenials' for full on Bandcamp    

Sunday, December 24, 2017

Golden Dawn Interview


1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the musical project these days?
1. I haven't created new music for Golden Dawn since 2010. But I am working as producer, composer or studio musician for a handful of other bands and sometimes, when I donate really cool parts to those other projects, I think to myself something like "shit, this riff would be perfect for Golden Dawn, why are you giving it away". So maybe I will be able to keep the best ideas for myself in the future haha, then a new album could be done, but it is very hard for me to fulfill my own demands.

2.How would you describe the musical sound of the newer music?
2. To be honest, Golden Dawn should be judged on the basis of the early demos, the first and now re-released album, plus the unreleased albums "Sublimity" and "A solemn day" (hopefully they will also see a release, right now I think only a dozen of people has ever heard them). The official second album "Masquerade" was some kind of Gothic Black Metal with Power Metal influences, awfully artificial keyboards and even more awful vocals and production. The third album "Return to provenance" was mid-tempo Black Metal with some good creative moments but also some average songs without climax. Back then I wanted to write simpler songs without too much progressive touches, that could be good on stage, but out of a lack of good session musicians, a live performance never happened.

3.In between 2012 and 2017 ther has been no new music, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?
3. I have my own recording studio and work as producer for a lot of bands. Also I kind of felt that I have nothing more to "say" in terms of progressive or symphonic Black Metal and I wanted to create simpler, more atmospheric and hypnotic music. This is why I started Rauhnåcht, which is my main band nowadays.

4.Some of your lyrics cover Shamanism, Sorcery and Lucid Dreaming, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?
4. This is something I have been connected to since my childhood, I have also experienced lucid dreaming. This is when you realize that you are dreaming and start to have control over your dream. Then you can use the energy that is hidden within the dream to leave your body and take a trip to other worlds. For me, shamanism and sorcery are just ways that lead to an alternative perception of reality. We can walk this path when we understand that energy is much more important than matter and that we can control and use the universial energy with the powers of mind and soul. We are all creators of reality.

5.I know that the music project was named after the Hermetic Order Of The Golden Dawn, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in Hermeticism and Western Occultism?
5. I read some books of Aleister Crowley and other "western sorcerers" when I started Golden Dawn, so yes, the name comes from there but for me, it is also a synonym for the state of enlightenment. Nowadays I am no longer into any kind of "system" or "teachings". I think that the core of most of this reflects a deep truth but also it is subject to man's misinterpretations and problems with our ego. The ultimate truth you can only find when you step beyond all systems and realize that they are all true and also wrong at the same time - which is in fact an "Eastern" thought out of Zen buddhism. As soon as something like spiritual truth is written down or put into systematic patterns, it loses its pureness as it can't be understood with the mind. Meditating or doing some Qi Gong moves in nature while focussing on my breathing often takes me closer to ultimate truth than anything that is written down in books.

6.At different times this band has been either a solo project of full band, can you tell us a little bit more about the decision behind forming a full line up before going back to working solo?
6. Well, I have the impression that I am quite good at taking basic ideas from others and enrich them. The results are often better than what I can create from scratch on my own. On the other hand I never found someone who really harmonizes with my way of perceiving music and also on a personal basis. Also I have to deal a lot with other musicians in my studio work, where it is my job to subordinate to their wants and needs, so I need the freedom to have projects where I am my own boss.

7.What where some of the best shows that the band had played back in the day and also how would you describe your stage performance?

7. Golden Dawn has never performed live so far.

8.Recently 'Casus Belli Musica' re-issued your 1996 album, can you tell us a little bit more about the newer version?
8. It is limited to 100 pieces on vinyl and has the original tape sound with only slight remastering. The cover artwork is looking really great, finally after more than 20 years this is how it should have looked like on the original. I want to express my discontent with the capitalist practises of Napalm Records here, they did the first repress on CD in I think 2001. Back then, the original label Dark Matter Records was already defunct, so they got the rights for free. Now they demanded 300 EUR for the rights to press the 100 LPs and even offered me to buy back all rights on my own for 1000 EUR. Dudes, that feels like when Nestlé takes the water from the poor and sells it back to them. When somebody out there is interested in "The Art of Dreaming", please either look for the original CD or for the new LP, but keep your hands off the Napalm release (which also has a bad remastering and artwork).

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?
9. In the mid 90ies I got good feedback and letters from all over the world but when Black Metal turned bigger and hundreds of new bands emerged, of course Golden Dawn was not really in the focus anymore and got forgotten in the course of time. All the more surprised I was when I realized that my old demo stuff is still hunted by some collectors and all demos now finally saw a release on CD or LP. In general I think that many people are actually bored by today's Black Metal which rarely offers something fresh, also I think that today's highly edited digital fast food productions make people appreciate the older bands.

10.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that you are a part of?
10. Actually quite a lot. With Rauhnåcht I have released a new split and plan an album (or double album) for early 2018. I am also working as "ghost writer" for a new band called The Negative Bias, the first album has been released via ATMF from Italy, in 2018 we will release a split EP with one Golden Dawn track from 2010 via Seance Records. Also I can mention the current/upcoming releases of Wallachia and Nocturne, where I also contributed arrangements and production. Then I am also about to finish a very calm Dungeon Synth/Ambient album, I still have to decide under which name and on which label it will be released. Oh, and I forgot to mention A portrait of flesh and blood, a new "international" band, the music comes from Japan, vocals from the USA and I am in the middle so to say and contribute keyboards and some additional arrangements. It will be a good mix of Symphonic Black Metal and Post Black Metal/DSBM, the first album will probably come on Zero Dimensional Records from Japan.

11.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?
11. I think I will produce more calm, Synth-driven or symphonic stuff in the future but I am pretty sure that I will still feel the drive to do blast beats and tremolo guitars also. The way my music will go will reflect my personal development, so I am curious myself how it will sound haha.

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?
12. Definitely Bathory was a major reason for me to start making music, both the "Viking era" and the old albums. Also the advent of the second Black Metal wave with especially Emperor, Darkthrone, Burzum and Satyricon influcended me a lot. But I was also listening a lot to Doom and bands like Tiamat or My Dying Bride, which can also be recognized in my early demos. Apart from Metal I was a big fan of Dead can Dance and also listened to Ambient as well as Synth pioneers like Jean-Michel Jarre. I think that it was this big range of influences that made "The Art of Dreaming" a really diverse record. I must say that nowadays I still listen to many of the stuff I already liked as a teenager. Admittedly I do not follow the current extreme Metal scene very much.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?
13. I love to take trips through nature and do hiking or mountainbike tours in my local mountain areas. This is my way to set me free from all stress or daily routines. But music is part of nearly each and every of my days.

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
14. Thank you for your support and the opportunity to share some of my thoughts. To the people out there, even though Black Metal is an extreme style and most bands sing about negative or nihilistic topics - don't forget that music is art and there is no art without soul.

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