Arkveid/Self Titled/Metal Scrap Records/2018 Full Length Review

  Arkveid  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  an  atmospheric  mixture  of  black,  doom  and  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2018  album  which was  released  by  Metal  Scrap  Records.

  Fire  burning  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars  a  few  seconds  alter  which  also  gives  the  recording  more  of  a  folk  music  feeling  while  stringed  instruments  and  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  keyboards  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  song.

  The  song  is  almost  40  minutes  in  length  while  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  when  they  are  utilized  and  after  awhile  grim  black  metal  screams  start  to  make  their  presence  known  along  with  the  slow  heavy  riffs  bringing  in  elements  of  doom  metal  as  well  as  some  clean  vocals  also  being  used  at  times  and  some  of  the  riffing  also  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  tremolo  picking.  and  whispers  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Arkveid  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  doom  and  folk  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Paganism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Arkveid  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  mixture  of  black,  doom  and  folk  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  8  out  of  10.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Arkveid/3540439066

Primitive Man/Steel Casket/Tartarus Records/2018 EP Review

  Denver,  Colorado's Primitive  Man  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  where  they  move  away  from  their  blackened  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  by  bringing  in  more  of  a  mixture  of  harsh  noise,  drone  and  ambient  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  2018  ep  "Steel  Casket"  which  will  be  released  on  April  25th  by  Tartarus  Records.

  Ambient  style  drones  start  off  the  ep  while  clean  guitars  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  they  give  the  music  more  of  an  experimental  and  avant  garde  feeling  along  with  both  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  after  awhile  power  electronics  and  harsh  noises  make  their  presence  known.

  After  awhile  the  music  gets  more  diverse  along  with  both  of  the  tracks  being  instrumentals  along  with  some  natural  noises  also  being  used  at  times  and  both  of  the  songs  sound  very  different  from  each  other.  and  the  acoustic  guitars  have  more  of  a  dominant  sound  on  the  second  track  and  towards  the  end  spoken  word  samples  can  also  be  heard  briefly.

  On  this  recording  Primitive  Man  move  way  from t heir  blackened  sludge/doom  metal  style  and  go  into  more  of  an  instrumental  mixture  of  harsh  noise,  drone  and  ambient  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Primitive  Man  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  ambient,  drone  and  harsh  noise,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "A  Life  Of  Turmoil".  8  out  of  10.

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The Canyon Observer/Noll/Vox Project/Kapa Records/2018 CD Review

  The  Canyon  Observer  are  a  band  from  Slovenia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  post.  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "Noll"  which  will  be  released  on  April  20th  as  a  joint  effort  between  Vox  Project  and  Kapa  Records.

  Distorted  sound  drones  and  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  before  adding  in  some  guitar  leads  while  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  the  vocals  also  bringing  in  a mixture  of  growls  and  black  metal  screams  as  well  as  bringing  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  and  doom  metal.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  music  also  mixes  in  elements  of  post  metal  along  with  a  small  amount  of  melody  also  being  used  at  times  as  well  as  the  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion,  elements  of  harsh  noise  and  experiemntal  can  also  be  heard  at  times.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  and  crust  punk  influences  can  also  be  heard  while  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  playing  is  added  onto  the  recording  and  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  progressive  feeling  and  on  the  closing  track  the  vocals  go  into  more  of  a  melodic  sludge  direction.

  On  this  recording  The  Canyon  Observer  expands  on  their  mixture  of  black,  post,  sludge  and  doom  metal  by  adding  in  elements  of  crust,  experimental  and  noise  to  take  their  sound  to  a  different  level,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark and  disturbing  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  The  Canyon  Observer  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  post,  sludge  and  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Noll"  "Abstract"  and  "Circulation".  8  out  of  10.

www.kaparecords.com
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Stortregn/Emptiness Fills The Void/Non Serviam Records/2018 CD Review

  Stortregn  are  a  band  from  Switzerland  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  2018 album  "Emptiness  Fills  The  Void"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Non  Serviam  Records.

  Acoustic  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  direction  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  vocals  bring  in  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  along  with  the  music  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  90's  era  Swedish  influences.

  A  great  amount  of  melody  can  also  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  along  with  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  whispers  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

 Some  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  while  acoustic  guitars  also  make  a  return  on  some  of  the  later  songs  along  with  a  couple  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  some  of t he  faster  riffing  also  bringing  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  instrumental  can  be  heard  before  returning  back  to  vocal  tracks.

  Stortregn  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  their  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  scientific  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Stortregn  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  black  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Through  The  Dark  Gates"  "Nonexistence"  "The  Eclipsist"  and  "Children  Of  the  Obsidian  Light".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/Stortregn

     

Aethyr/Cruor/Zero Hour Recordings/2015 EP Review

  Aethyr  are  a  band  from  Moscow,  Russia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  played  a  blackened  mixture  of  drone,  sludge  and  doom  metal  while  this  recording  shows  more  of  a  melodic  black/death  metal  style  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  ep  "Cruor"  which  was  released  by  Zero  Hour  Recordings.

  Distorted  sounding  drones  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  heavy riffing  and  melodic  guitar  leads  a  few  seconds  later  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  the  music  speeds  up a   decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  mix  in  elements  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  along  with  the  riffs  also  bringing  in  a  decent  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  as  well  as  some  death  metal  growls  also  being  used  at  times  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and fast  parts.

  On  this  recording  Aethyr  goes  into  more  of  a  melodic  blackened  death  metal  direction  while  style  keeping  in  some  elements  of drone,  sludge  and  doom  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism  and  Esoteric  Discipline  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Aethyr  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  black/death,  sludge  and  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "VI".  8  out  of  10. 

https://aethyr.bandcamp.com/ 

Kamikaze Zombie Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?  Sure, The band started in 2014 With myself (Clint) And Damon, who at the time was the drummer. we just wanted to do something that was different than most of the shit around us at the time. We both grew up with 80's thrash/punk/hardcore and the metal bands of the 90's and we just wanted to make music we wanted to hear. lol

2.In 2017 you had released your first album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording? A Car wreck - just a nasty, heavy sound. I like music to be kind of like a tornado, you don't really know where we are going, you just gotta ride it out.

3.On the album you had a variety of many different metal styles ranging from 80's to modern era, which era of metal do you prefer to the most?  The album was based off of 80's punk/ hardcore and 90's era melvins and metal bands like, White Zombie,Slayer, Crowbar, Pantera, Sepultura Ect. and of course our gigantic love for the New Orleans music scene. Necorphagia was also a big influence. Rest in power - killjoy.

4.Your lyrics cover a lot of horror movie themes, can you tell us a little bit more about the horror films you had explored on the new album?  yeah, so I love movies as you can tell. A lot of our song titles are movie titles. lyrics I use metaphors most of the song are about real life shit, with horror movies and other sifi themes to express the real life emotions in the songs. The song "The Stone Giant"  I used the movie: "Daimajin"  its a japanese horror film from the 60's to its about, a Giant stone statue that guards the gates of hell comes to life to protect japan. I also, used my favorite book "Moby Dick" on this one. Other songs, I use werewolves, Satan, though with Satan- its never about him, just Satan is the great antagonist. 1226 and Death Rides A horse. both are real life monsters. 1226 is about the Chinese Cultural Revolution, that shit is worse than horror movie you could imagine. Death Rides A Horse ( one of my favorite western) is about the Mason Murders. "Manhunter" and "The Story Of Jane Doe" are Mirror's of each other.  Silence of the lamb and ManHunter are the movies I pull from.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Kamikaze Zombie'? It means nothing. That was the point. I wanted a name that was just Weird but cool. Something we could make whatever. KZ was it!! the idea of a Zombie being a kamikaze was absurd to me, I couldn't stop laughing. We originally were going to be "The Crude Mutants" so we kept it to describe or fans and ourselves. So now we are Kamikaze zombie - "the Crude Mutants"  but with Kamikaze Zombie- I really make a conscience effort not to have anything to Kamikaze Japan, I try to steer clear of all of that,shit. lol

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance? Ok, Best shows? Last year at Full Terror Assault 3 was pretty fucking rad!!  We have been lucky enough to play with a lot of the bands we look up too, which RULES. But some of small local shows that just come together can be some of the best.  Stage performance - We are in the works to scale up the stage stuff. we want movies and crazy shit going on the background. We also try to have samples from the albums live. I hate to hear a album then live it's completely different. but, also with us. Steve and Myself,especially. we like the show to be fun and light hearted. I get tired of seeing night after night of dudes coming out beating their chest and all. So we just come out telling jokes and cutting up. keeping it fun. We let the music speak for itself.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future? YES!! we have two tours booked this summer with our friends in HailShot. We are going Cost to Cost. We start in denver, Co and end in Savannah, GA . other than that. We play with Eye Hate God in a few days. We have a couple of festivals we are in the works to play. which will takes us through the rest of the summer. Then come September we hit the road again. Gonna go North after that tour. We come home and start work for our next Album. We start recording back at LedBelly December 2018 and that is our plan for this year.

8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest? YES!! We are definitely looking. We are in talks with a smaller but very cool label now. but We gotta keep it under the hat for now. One of our major goals is HouseCore Records. that would be a dream come true.But we will see where the road takes us.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme metal?  Actually and quite honestly -surprisingly we have been getting a lot of great feedback from Europe!!! which rules. So I've been trying to push that interest. Who knows? we may get froggie enough to jump across the pound in the next year or so...We will see.

10.What is going on with the other bands or musical projects these days that the drummer is a part of?  Lol I don't really keep up with them. to be honest. I just focus all my time on KZ. everything else, is none of my business.

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?  We have 8- or 9 songs in the works now, for the new album. I can tell you. They are more trashy than this album. but they are also, heavier and lean on grindcore stuff .. but its still very much KZ. We haven't deviate that much from Night Of The Nuberus". But, we will let you guys decide.

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?
Black Flag, Minor Threat, The Bad Brains, Celtic Frost, CrowBar, SuperJoint, Slayer, White Zombie, Pantera,The Melvins, Gwar, Goatwhore, Acid Bath, Suicidal Tendencies, Metallica, The Misfits and about a million others have all influenced us.  Currently There are two bands that I love to death. the Band Child Bite. which I am lucky to call my friends. The have some amazing tunes. I jam their stuff on the daily, A fun fact - Shawn knight of Child Bite, did our album cover. Dude is a super talented dude. The other band I cant seem to get enough of is Us Bastard. I'll jam their album for like a week straight. Just really good shit!! My buds in Against the grain and Hailshot also have great tunes out right now, that are worth checking out.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?  None music.I teach 8 step preying mantis kung fu, I love drawing and then of course horror movies, comic books.I screen print all of our KZ's shirts and Im a massage therapist for my day job.

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? Yeah, thank you for you time. thanks to all our Crude mutants for their support and check us out at www.kamikazezombie.com - See you on the road.

https://kamikazezombie.bandcamp.com/releases

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Kamikaze Zombie/Night Of The Nuberous/2017 Full Length Review

  Kamikaze  Zombie  are  a  band  from  Birmingham,  Alabama  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  thrash  metal  and  crossover  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  album  "Night  Of  The  Nuberous".

  A  very  dark  yet  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  horror  movie  samples  also  being  used  at  times  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  along  with  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  being  very  heavily  rooted  in  sludge  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  A  lot  of  80's  era  crossover  and  hardcore  punk  elements  can  also  be  heard  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  along  with  a  great  amount  of  thrash  influences  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  as  well  as  most  of  the  tracks  being  very  short  in  length  and  throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts,  death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  at  times and  when  guitar solos  and  leads  are utilized  they  remain  very  true  to  an  old  school  style  of  metal  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Kamikaze  Zombie  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  death,  sludge,  thrash  metal,  hardcore  punk  and  crossover  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  horror  and  slasher  movie  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Kamikaze  Zombie  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  death,  thrash  metal,  crossover  and  hardcore  punk  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Manhunter"  "In  The  Mouths  Of  Madness"  "Death  Rides  A  Horse"  and  "As  The  Moon  Stares  At  Death".  8  out  of  10.

kamikazezombie.bandcamp.com/album/night-of-the-nuberus