Saturday, July 20, 2019

Formicarius/Rending The Veil Of Flesh/Schwarzdorn Production/2019 CD Review


  United  Kingdom's  Formicarius  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  the  symphonic  and  epic  style  of  black  metal  from  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Rending  The  Veil  Of  Flesh"  which  will  be  released  in  September  by  Schwatzdom  Production.

  A  very  fast  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  while  symphonic  elements  are  also  added  into  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music.  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  A  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  while  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  some  growls  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  music.  The  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  one  track  also  introduces  acoustic  guitars  onto  the  recording.

   Female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  at  times  as  well  as  the  music  also  bringing  in  a  decent  amount  of  mid  90's  era  influences  but  keeping  it  modern  at  the  same  time  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  dark  ages  and  the  corruption  of  the  Christian  religion  in  that  era.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Formicarius  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  symphonic  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Beyond  The  Veil  Of  Flesh"  "Inherit  Our  Sickness"  "Stalker  Among  The  Stars"  and  "O  Dread  Impaler".  8  out  of  10.

http://www.formicarius.co.uk       

Vereor Nox 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?
Fenrir: Right now we are concentrating a lot in the rehearsal room to play live. We have always been a studio band, and so we find ourselves playing together only now, despite having two albums behind us. We are refining the songs and adding a few more of those, while we ask for publicity and media spaces, looking for some interviews and sending some albums to get some more reviews. We already have the head in the third album and, ideas, in a still very approximate sense, already has its own written score.

2.In May you had released a new album, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
Gwyn: Certainly what is most striking is the orchestration: in the new album they are perhaps the most important part, even more than the guitars, and it is a sound that tends towards theatricality which wants to paint atmospheres. Nevertheless, this does not deprive Vereor Nox of his violence and its impact. The first cd is certainly more "classic": metal gets the fundamental part, it's a cruder cd, not in a negative sense, of course. The stylistic evolution between the two CDs is given above all by the change of formation; the only original member left is Fenrir while the composition and arrangement was passed to Gwyn. Let's not forget one of the fulcrums of the band: Seath on bass, which gave us some excellent counter-melodies on this album.

3.A lot of your lyrics deal with Paganism and Mythology themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?

Gwyn/Fenrir Our approach to pagan/mythological figures is slightly anomalous, I would say. Our intent is to analyze and narrate the emotions, the suffering and the psychological experience of the characters we chose to describe beyond the music. The first album is in fact nothing but the representation of some mental pathologies through gods and mythological and folkloristic creatures; Vereor Nox, our eponymous new album, is no different. We investigated the stories and lore related to each character and in the end we chose seven Dark Souls bosses to set to music by turning their suffering and heartbreaking story into lyrics, song and sounds

4.What are some of the other lyrical topics and subjects you have explored over the years with your music?
Gwyn/Fenrir the contents developed by us are those that we have presented in Noli Respicere with the gods and in Vereor Nox with the world of Dark Souls. We are already working on the new album which will develop in a more "historic" context.
Unfortunately we cannot say more yet

5.I know that the bands name means 'night must be feared' in Latin, how does this name fit in with the musical style that you play?
Fenrir: I think the name Vereor Nox, literally "the night must be feared" is a great name for a black or death metal project. It undoubtedly describes perfectly the decadent and romantic atmospheres of the new album as well as representing the obscure sounds of Noli Respicere, our first cd.

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
Gwynthe cover of the new album represents humanity which, in the Dark Souls universe, is the object that allows the chosen undead to return human. Humanity is perhaps the main emblem of DS, which is the reason why we decided to use it on the cover of our concept, precisely because it is about DS.

7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Fenrir: The fun thing is that we have never played live since the project was born to be destined to be in the studio: we are working in the rehearsal room and we hope to start between November and December!

8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
Fenrir: Nothing certain. We would have some proposals between November and December but for now nothing is safe.

9.The new album was released on 'Earth And Sky Productions', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
Seath: This label was born thanks to an idea of ​​Marian Robert Peron, a friend of ours who decided to call us to be part of his band roster. The Earth And Sky Production is one of those labels organized and structured as they should be: it is a label that bets on, invests and risks on the bands it wants with it. And this is what every label should do, while for several years the mechanism seems morbidly reversed. Therefore, the EASP has all our trust and all our support.

10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of symphonic, black and death metal?

Seath: The album was averagely appreciated and positively reviewed on several occasions, bringing together musicholics of extreme genres but also those who have a penchant for orchestrations and go beyond a purely creationist approach to the whole genre. In reality, it was scorned by those who appreciate the cruder and "primitive" part of this genre: in short, from those who are more connected to the old school. Honestly, after an initial disappointment, we have developed a thought: we do not want to tell anyone how a particular genre should be done, but the fact that the album was appreciated by those who do not set limits on the music implies a more genuine appreciation, according to us, and that is what makes us happier. We want to make music and not untie ourselves from extreme metal styles, but we don't want to start even with the fear of doing something that moves away from a prototype, for example, of symphonic death metal. Music is naturalness, in any form, and in any form it must grow spontaneously.
11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Gwyn: The needs to evolve the style change from album to album, depending on the concept. The music in fact must be inclined to represent the concept and help the listener as much as possible to immerse himself in the story we are going to tell. Surely the style we want to carry forward can be framed as "cinematic black metal" or "black metal opera" and just as sure is our intent to improve the exhibition ability to create suggestive and hypnotic atmospheres. Projecting the listener into the music for us is everything.

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?

Gwyn: As far as metal is concerned, certainly bands like Xanthochroid and Ne Obliviscaris are our main sources of inspiration, but let's not forget Summoning, Carach Angren, Sojourner and Agalloch. Of course classical music too is and remains a huge source of inspiration for us. Surely Wagner most of all influenced our orchestrations, but let's not forget the same OSTs as Dark Souls.
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Seath, Gwyn,Fenrir: Always be yourself, see you on stage!

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Necronautical/Apotheosis/Candlelight Records/2019 CD Review


  Necronautical  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  misanthropic  form  of  symphonic  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Apotheosis"  which  will  be  released  in  August  by  Candlelight  Records.

  Ritualistic  sounding  bells  and  melodic  chants  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction.  The  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  melody  while  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  during t he  faster  sections  of  the  music  along  with  the  symphonic  elements  being  added  into  the  heavier  parts  of  the  songs.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  yet  high  pitched  sounding  black  metal  screams  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  A  lot  of  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  mid  90's  style  as  well  as  most  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  some  songs  also  bringing  in  clean  vocals,  death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  acoustic  guitars  are  also  brought  onto  a  couple  of  tracks.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  a  melancholic  journey  through  an  empty  and  brutal  existence  along  with  some  inspirations  from t he  writings  of  Friedrich  Nietzsche,  Chuck  Palanuik,  and  Neil  Gaimon.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Necronautical  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  symphonic  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "All  Is  Vanity"  "Apotheosis"  and  "Down  The  Endless  Spiral".  8  out  of  10.

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Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Wedrowcy-Tulacze-Zbiegi/Marynistyka Suchego Ladu/Devoted Art Propaganda/2019 Full Length Review

Wedrowcy-Tulacze-Zbiegi  are  a  band  from  Poland  that  started  out  as  more  of  an  experimental  black  metal  band  but  on  this  recording  have  evolved  into  more  of  an  experimental  rock/metal  style  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Marynistyka  Suchego  Ladu"  which  will  be  released  on  July  20th  by  Devoted  Art  Propaganda.



  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  avant  garde  and  experimental  elements  also  being  used  at  times.  Clear  vocals  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  music  as  well as  some  synths  also  being  used  in  some  parts  of  the  music  and  during  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.



  At  times  the  vocals also  get  very  aggressive  as  well  as  adding  in  some  grim  sounding  black  metal  influences  into  some  parts  of  the  songs.  Psychedelic  elements  can  also  be  heard  at times  along  with  some  trombones  and  harmonicas  also  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  music  and  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  as  well  as  one  track  also  introducing  whispered  vocals  into  the  album  and  some  tracks  also  show  influences  of  synthpop,  new  wave,  industrial,  post  punk  and  goth  rock.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Polish  and  cover  dark  thoughts  and  depression  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Wedrowcy-Tulacze-Zbiegi  are  a  very  great  sounding  experimental  rock/metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of   this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album. RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Starganiec"  "Sucha  Gora"  "Zelazo"  and  "Hoburgsgubbben  10104".  8  out  of  10.

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Tuesday, July 16, 2019

Solace Of The Void/Self Titled/CDN Records/2019 Full Length Review


  Solace  Of  The  Void  are  a  band  from  Canada  that  plays  a  very  atmospheric  and  symphonic  mixture  of  black,  doom  and  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2019  album  which  will  be  released  on  July  26th  by  CDN  Records.

  Acoustic  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  symphonic  parts  also  being  mixed  in  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music.  All  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  elements  of  folk  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  songs.

  Elements  of  doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  music  as  well  as  some  tracks  also  bringing  clean  vocals  onto  the  recording,  one  track  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  whispered  vocals  and  cellos  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  album  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  vocals  also  start  utilizing  more  death  metal  growls.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  solitude  and  uncertainty  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Solace  Of  The  Void  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  mixture  of  black,  doom,  and  folk  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Before  The  Throne  Of  Beauty  And  Bone"  and  "The  Circle".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/Solaceofthevoid
https://solaceofthevoid.bandcamp.com
E-mail: solaceofthevoid@gmail.com

Polemicist/Zarathustrian Impressions/Folkvangr Records/2019 CD Review

Polemicist  are  a  band  from  Pennsylvania  that  plays  a  philosophical  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Zarathustian  Impressions"  which  will  be  released  by  Folkvangr  Records.



  A  classical  influenced  intro  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melodic  direction  which  also  introduces  black  metal  screams  onto  the  recording  as  well  as  some  death  metal  growls  also  being  used  at  times  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

   Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  At  times  the  music also  gets  very  atmospheric  and  epic  sounding  along  with  some  of  the  riffing  also  showing  some  influences  of  thrash  and  traditional  metal  as  well  as  being  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  Swedish  tradition  and  the  album  also  closes  with  an  instrumental.

  Polemicist  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  melodic  sides  of  black  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  writings  of  Nietzsche.

  In  my  opinion  Polemicist  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  philosophical  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  "Concerning  The  Rabble"  "On  Redemption"  and  "Return  To  Solitude".  8  out  of  10.

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/polemicistband
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/_polemicist

  

Monday, July 15, 2019

Amanita Virosa/Original Plague/Inverse Records/2019 CD Review


  Amanita  Virosa  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  with  a  musical  style  they  describe  as  being  'hospital  metal'  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Original  Plague"  which  will  be  released  in  August  by  inverse  Records.

  Keyboards  and  symphonic  elements  start  off  the  album  and  also  mix  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music. Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  melody.  A  good  amount  of  90's  influences  can  also  be  heard  in  the  bands  musical  style  as  well  as  maintaining  a  very  modern  take  on  the  genres  they  are  influenced  by.

   During  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard and  as  the  album  progresses  one  of  the  tracks  also  introduces  clean  playing  onto  the  recording  along  with  some  songs  showing  the  music  going  into  more  of  a  melodic  death  metal  direction.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  hateful  themes

  In  my  opinion  Amanita  Virosa  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.  REOCMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "I  Walk  Away"  "Weak,  Strong  &  Wise"  "This  Night"  and  "Longing".  8  out  of  10.

https://spoti.fi/2Lmb0rC