ChaosPath Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Hi, this is Viides Ratsastaja (guitar) writing. I founded the band 2016 together with God of Carnage (guitar) after we all had different bands for many decades. We are no greenhorns and were educated by the first waves of Death and Black Metal back in the old days. We come from Kassel, Germany and we are playing “Kaotysk Metal” which means to combine old German Teutonic Steel with Thrash, Melodic Black and Old School Death Metal. Currently our second vinyl “Downfall” was released as a follower to the previous “The awakening” Mini LP (2018). If you like a crude mixture of Primordial, hanging out with Kreator, then add Satyricon, Gates of Ishtar, Mayhem or Bathory…

2.So far you have released an ep and a full length, musically how do they both differ from each other?

 We developed our style and our skills and were concentrated to show our own trademark elements. We always need the catchy melody line, crushed with brutal and fast guitars. We love to change rhythms and turn the songs into different directions by having traditional song structures or changing the style of Metal. This is “high risk songwriting”. It costs a lot of time to get those influences working together. For sure, there will be more hymns in the future, strong melodies and finger crushing riffs. I think most of other guitar players would get stressed to hear what we played. We are changing the lines very often, giving complexity into our riffs while ignoring regular scales very often. Enjoy the chaos!

3.You refer to your music as being 'Kaotysk Metal', can you tell us a little bit more about this term?

It is a pun, a play on words: In Sweden “Chaotic” means “kaotisk”, “tysk” means German. We share the old school Teutonic Metal and the traditional early 90´s roots of Death and Black Metal to elaborate our very own style.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music?

The first Mini LP „The Awakening“ released in 2018 showed a path to the „Church / cathedral of Chaos“, as you can see on the cover. The lyrics introduce the new age of chaos that will develop into the final and very last apocalypse. The new Album “Downfall” (2019) shows the chaos priest in the cathedral who infiltrates the chaos hordes who also showed up. Now the final battle may begin, we pray for chaos, we laid down all institutional religion, here is the manifest of chaos, enjoy! The trilogy of chaos will hopefully get its third and last part in 2020.
5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'ChaosPath'?

Probably this is satanism 2.0. Just listen to Dissection or Cirith Ungol if you enjoy the many chaos theories and beliefs. The “Left hand path” (Hi to Entombed and our buddy  LG) is the way to the dark side, the path to the goathorned father and master of the dark side. We mashed up and invented Chaos Path to describe our aims and our roots as well.

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

It is part 2 of a trilogy. Mini LP number 1 “The awakening” was the path to the cathedral of chaos, crossing a huge graveyard. Now on Downfall you can listen and see the chaos priest preaching to the ugly hordes of chaos. They will be out soon for the final overkill. Your time has come. The apocalypse is near.

7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

We played unbelievable shows and opened for bands like Night Demon, Morgoth, Attic, Mantar, Entombed or Aborted. All of them had a very special feeling, some of them felt like a chaos ritual and we really enjoyed supporting some of our favorite bands. As for me it was a show at Palettenfest Festival in Göttingen. The night was cold, stage time was badly late, but we killed that audience instead. That show deeply proved, that we have the perfect 5-piece weapon called Chaos Path that is independent from all other bands sharing the stage with us or not. This is our path and you are welcome. We love to paint our faces, our singer wears a cowl/robe/frock and we add our blood & sweat into a brutal show of blood, smoke, skulls and bones.

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

For sure we have all upcoming gigs being mentioned on our homepage and Facebook site. The next shows will be on Weser Metal Meeting Reinhardshagen and in Berlin, some other festivals will come too and we negotiate with different people to book more shows. A tour would be a dream, probably together with Mayhem, Primordial, Mantar or Marduk.

9.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

We got lots of positive label feedback, but sadly we denied all CD offers because we just want to release vinyl now. That is our path, we love black gold and vinyl. If the labels won´t share this intention, we´re done with them. If there will be a label releasing our history on CD somewhere along the line, we would not deny . Now we manage everything DIY and just produce vinyl. You can listen to our stuff at all streaming media like Spotify, iTunes and so on, enjoy!
10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black, death and thrash metal?

Now the album is out just 2 months and at the moment we recognize that our albums are going around the world. We can see from which countries the people stream our media and the path grows and grows. We also shipped some records to other countries, like Finland and Belgium. The most urgent German Metal media pushes us right now, for example Rock Hard Magazine. Thank you, brothers! If you are into classic Heavy Metal as well as in 90´s black and death sounds, check out Chaos Path! The feedback is overwhelming.

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

Just drummer Chaosblaster is playing with Pagan Black Metal Band Gymir from time to time. All other members are totally focused on Chaos Path. We give all our attention, power and blood for Chaos Path….

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

After the release we are now working on three new titles parallel. All of them have the true Chaos Path trademarks, especially the catchy melodies, cool breaks and chaos, chaos, chaos. But we recognized that we left the first position from the beginning in 2016, our very new songs develop more and more into conclusive and stronger epic but brutal songs, still combining Heavy, Thrash, Black and Death Metal. The riffs inside a song don´t sound “additionally”, we focus on sharing different metal vibes into a new style. This is Kaotysk Metal!

13.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and what are you listening to nowadays?

I am listening to different styles from Crust to Grind and from Primordial to Bathory. Guitarist God of Carnage is listening to The Exploited as well as Gorgoroth, Dark Funeral and Mercyful Fate. Richy loves old Slime Punk and Mayhem as well. Drummer Chaosblaster would like to have Immolation mentioned and all the other death stuff. Singer Ancient weapon loves Visigoth, Night Demon, Satyricon etc., this is a crude summary and shows that we all have very different styles we like.

14.What are some of your non musical interests?

Nonmusical interest? C´mon! Ok, I have three daughters but… There is no more life defining love like music. I live Metal, I love Metal, I breathe Metal and I´ll die for it. There is no second without a stronger interest than music. We drink some booze or …. Fuck, that’s all dudes.

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

Please check us out on Bandcamp, Facebook or YouTube, ok? Give us a like and share the path. If you need us for a show, write us, we will play the world if we get it offered and until the apocalypse will catch us. Write for some vinyl, ok? We need some more distributors, so get in touch.

http://www.chaos-path.de/ (http://www.chaos-path.de/)
https://www.facebook.com/chaospath666/ (https://www.facebook.com/chaospath666/)
https://chaospath.bandcamp.com/ (https://chaospath.bandcamp.com/)

Emerald Shine Interview

Band members answering in this interview are:

Kamil - drummer

Klára - violinist

Leena - singer, lyricist



1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Kamil: I think Emerald Shine is a band that makes pretty unique music that is very hard to summarize. We call it fantasy metal even though sometimes it's not even metal, sometimes it's folk-metal with progressive elements but we don't usually brand ourselves like that, because it's very hard to describe it with just a few words. I'd say: "Buy a CD or go to Spotify and hear for yourself."



2.Towards the end of 2018 you had released your first full length, musically how does it differ from the demo you had released in 2016?

Kamil: Misty Tales is quite a huge leap forward in every way, also we had a lot more experience with recording and it was recorded by a line-up that suited the band perfectly.



3.The lyrics are based upon your own fantasy fiction based in Tolkien's world, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in his work and what inspired you to write your own version of the fantasy world he created?

Leena: I have loved fantasy literature and especially Tolkien’s world for some 15 years. When I started writing my own lyrics, fantasy themes like the elves and Middle-earth often appeared in them.

And what inspired the story of the album Misty Tales – I would say it was the music itself. In the spring of  2017, when we had most songs and their lyrics for the album ready, I was wondering if they all could be joined into one larger concept… And after some time of thinking and listening, this fan-fiction-like story suddenly appeared in my mind crystal clear. All those already finished songs fitted the story very well, so all I had to do was to create the last missing parts, to write several more songs. It went very well, soon the whole story for the album was finished and I was satisfied with it.



4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Emerald Shrine'?

Klára: First of all, you got the name wrong - it's Emerald Shine, not Shrine. But it's ok, don't worry, we're not upset. :D When Leena and Richmonde were establishing the band, they were just throwing to the ether some random ideas and one of them was Emerald Shine, but it doesn't have any deeper meaning.



5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the album cover?

Klára: We were looking for something minimalistic, simple but enlightening. The final artwork is made by the amazing artist Morgana La Fay and it tells the story of our album. Misty Tales is about a war between men and elves, how they used to live together in peace, which is being represented by the white thread in the hands of this dark character on the cover. Inside the booklet there is a similar picture, but the thread is torn and the war has begun.



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?

Klára: I’m sure they had already played some good concerts even before I joined the band at the end of 2017, but since then, my most favorite performance was Housle, Chlast a Rock 'n' Roll in Prague, CZ.



Kamil: A concert that always comes to my mind is our show at Folk Metal Pilgrims in Ostrava, CZ. Great atmosphere, great food and drinks and most importantly – great fans.



Leena: The both above mentioned shows, as well as some other ones, were really good. I personally also enjoyed most of our concerts in Poland very much, the audiences were crazy and cool.

During our stage performance, we are, above all, simply enjoying the music, dancing during the folky parts and concentrating during those more difficult, progressive ones – but I believe it is better to see with your own eyes, either at one of our shows, or in our live videos, which are available hear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyr-KwUkMFk&list=PLoyC31M6Ef-VCDBTLIfdbRSatb8Ivui_Z



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

Klára: Of course! In March we are going to play at Noc Nárekov and after that we may visit Prague once again for Keltské úterý. We are planning attending festivals in the Czech republic, I think there are also some festivals in Poland and Slovakia (but not 100 % sure) and with some luck we could also visit Germany, Austria and other European countries.



8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

Kamil: So far we don't think that we would have any benefits from labels that are available to us, but this might change in the future. We'll see.



9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of folk metal?

Klára: People have usually positive reaction when they hear/see us for the first time, because we may look like a basic folk metal band with recorders and violin, but our music is also full of interesting rhythms and harmony, unusual bar changes and generally our music is more than just four chords repeating. Especially fans from Poland accepted our music very well, but Czech and Slovak people seem to like our music as well.



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

Kamil: Definitely forward.



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?

Klára: I know that Elvenking and Blind Guardian were an important sources of inspiration, we are also often being compared to Eluveitie and we’ve been getting an inspiration from the band Wintersun lately.



12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Klára: I am an artist. When I don't do music, I like to draw and that's basically all I do in my free time.



Kamil: 90 % of my time goes to either practising or just playing music, but other than that, I like to spend time with my girlfriend or have a glass of whiskey a good cigar from my collection.



Leena: My non musical interests include skiing, hiking and fantasy literature of course. (But still, sitting in a calm place and writing music is by far my favourite activity in my life O:-) )



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

Leena: Thank you for this interview and for spreading the word about our band, as well as other bands in the metal scene!

Klára: Follow us on social media and listen to good music!

https://www.facebook.com/emeraldshineofficial/
https://www.instagram.com/emeraldshineband/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-uRJ8Nozq_4pYHX1pZax0Q

King Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?

The band has been playing a few local shows here in Melbourne after a hiatus for quite some time during 2018/19. We have rehearsed a few times now with some new live session players which now makes the band a 5 piece for our live performances which what l think we have needed for the live stage for sometime . On our return to the stage in July we played one of the new songs live "Mountains Call"
which was a really good for us to play something fresh and new, so that was a really great vibe onstage that night. We have also played a few other local shows and have added another new song "Beyond The Exosphere" to our set whilst our singles were being released over the past month. We have been getting real great feed back and its great to be playing again.


2.You have a new album coming out later in November, musically how does it differ from your previous recording?

Yes, the music differs quite a bit on this album "Coldest Of Cold". You will notice as a listener if you were a fan of "Reclaim The Darkness" that we've picked up the pace a little, this is something we chose to do before writing the new album and it has really made an impact for us not only for the recording but for the live performances also. The music to me feels a lot darker and colder, the songs we chose for the album were worked on for a long period of time, we went over these songs until they were 100%.  So working on getting the right arrangements and chorus's to come together to make the song sound strong and complete was a long task. We are very happy with the outcome.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new album and also how would you describe your progress as songwriters over the years?

As songwriters Dave Hill and myself work very well together to arrange and write to what we think is the perfect song for the band, one step at a time. We work on one song for weeks to get the write balance for what we think is the perfect song which has and must contain all the right layers. As for the lyrical content "Coldest Of Cold" in some way continues on from its predecessor in which there were battles from ancient times amidst the bleak surroundings from Scandinavian landscapes only this time we have introduced more of the galaxy and a lone warrior battling on in this existence as you'll notice with songs such as "Star" and "Beyond The Exosphere".

4.All of the band members are also involved with other bands, what is it that you bring into the music of 'King' that you are not able to do with your other groups?

King is a total different band compared to other bands we play or have played in. We all enjoy our heavy metal from all types of genres but for us we wanted to start a band that is dark, grim and catchy and very melodic, this is something we have wanted to do for a long time. We are big fans of the Swedish and Norwegian metal scenes so to start a band and write songs that we enjoy listening to as well as playing live is very satisfying for us. We all have played in grindcore bands in the past so writing songs for longer that 2 minutes and pronouncing words in full was a big achievement for us haha!

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

I think the band name suits our style of music, it was just a name that came to mind and I pitched it to the others and it stuck. Its a strong name and we all like it, people and fans find it hard to find us on social media and music platforms because its just King. But we are around and you will find us!

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

So the artwork was once again delivered to us by our good friend Xavier Irvine in which he had worked on the previous layout of "Reclaim The Darkness". This time musically we have delved into the galaxy so we though maybe we should opt for an image from outer space. So this album cover has captured an image of a nebula which was taken by Nasa for which we had to get a tick of approval for us to use. I think it works well for us and captures the essence of what you'll hear on the album as a listener and looks amazing. We are very happy with the whole layout of the artwork for the album and it suits.

7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

The recent shows we have performed with a full band really shows that we are back and we are a band to be reckoned with. The force is strong and the stage presence is alive and ferocious. Having had a break over the past year really gave us a boost for our live shows. Also adding some new songs to the mix gives the set some fuel to create good strong energy between us and our crowds watching us.

8.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

Yes we are about to do a small run of shows with "Wolves In The Throne Room" in the next week so this will be the first run of shows for us now that the album is out. We are also planning a headlining tour to start sometime early 2020 for Australia and hopefully we can bring this tour abroad for the first time and play a handful of shows in Europe next year.

9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your newer music by fans of melodic black and death metal?

We have been getting some great feedback and the reviews so far a really good. Our label really do some great work and we appreciate the work they do for us as a band. This time Metal Hammer Uk have streamed our album and this helps get our music out there immensely, its all about spreading your brand and thats what we are trying to do. Its good to see that fans are enjoying our creation from around all parts of the globe. Its a humble feeling.

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?

Apart from King,  Dave Hill And l have gone back to our grind roots and have started a band called "Remains". This band is going well the live shows are great and we have a great time playing smaller venues and its good to see and play with fresh younger bands here,  the Australian grindcore scene  is really strong. As for our drummer Dave Haley he is also busy doing work with "Psycroptic" so as you can tell we live for metal, we love to play metal and we'll die playing metal!

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

As a band you want to write a better album for a follow up and this is what we hope to achieve but for us l think just sticking to our recipe for writing  great catchy songs is what we like and is what we'll stick to...it works!

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

We all love all kinds of heavy metal music but for us to write the music for King we have been greatly inspired from many class act bands from Norway and Sweden and you can probably pick up some elements from songs we play that will make you say "hey that sounds like this band or that sounds like that band"...so you'll definitely hear some of these classic bands we are inspired by and love. As for now l enjoy listening to my Spotify weekly playlist, it introduces me many different bands that l've never even heard of so thats always fun. Plus l'll throw in my need to hear weekly bands that are a must for my ears.

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

We hope you have bought and are enjoying our new album and we hope to come a play in your neck of the woods real soon. Keep it grim and all hail the KING!!

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ChaosPath/Downfall/2019 Full Length Review

  ChaosPath  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2019  album  "Downfall".

  Rain  and  thunder  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  a  brief  use  of  demonic  voices  and  spoken  word  parts  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  The  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  along  with  the  vocals  beign  mostyl  grim  black  metal  screams  and w hen  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Clean  vocals  can  be  heard  briefly  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and fast  parts.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  also  show  an  influence  of  traditional  metal  while t he  music  also  adds  in  elements  of  thrash  metal.

  You  can  also  hear  a  lot  of  melodic  death  metal  touches  throughout  the  recording along  with  the  vocals  also  adapting  more  of  an  80's  approach  and  semi  spoken  at  times  but  keeping  the  music  mostly  in  a  modern  direction  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  heavier  direction.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Apocalypse,  Death  and  War  themes  and  a  couple  of  the  songs  are  written  in  German.

   In  my  opinion  ChaosPath  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Fire  Blood  Anger  Chaos"  "White  Kingdom  Of  Ice(An  Ancient  Story)"  and  "Unter  Wolfen".  8  out  of  10.

www.chaos-path.de/
www.facebook.com/chaospath666
www.chaospath.bandcamp.com/
www.youtube.com/channel/UC0_ZMKD9Sifg3GzaqakERoA
www.instagram.com/chaospath666

    

Emerald Shine/Misty Tales/2018 Full Length Review

  Emerald  Shine  are  a  band  from  the  Czech  Republic  that  plays  a  mixture  of  fantasy  and  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2018  album  "Misty  tales".

  Violins  start  off  the  album  and  also  introduces  elements  of  folk  music  onto  the  recording  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times.  Female  vocals  and  recorders  are  also  used  quite  a  bit throughout  the  recording  as  well  as  some  spoken  word  parts  also a dded  into  some  parts  of  the  music.

  The  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  along  with  the  harsher  vocals  bringing  elements  of  black  and  death  metal  onto  the  recording.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  some  songs  also  add  in  some  clean  male  vocals  as  well  as  the  faster sections  of  the  tracks  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats.

  Harps  and  tin  whistles  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well  as  the  music  also  having  its  progressive  moments.  The  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  one  track  also  introducing  acoustic  guitars  onto  the  album.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  cover  their  own  fantasy  fiction  of  the  fantasy world  created  by  J.R.R  Tolkien.

  In  my  opinion  Emerald  Shine  are  a  very  great  sounding  fantasy  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Autumn  Mists"  "Where  Life's  Been  Ruined"  "The  Only  One"  and  "Rainy  Night".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/emeraldshineofficial/
https://www.instagram.com/emeraldshineband/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-uRJ8Nozq_4pYHX1pZax0Q

  

Boreal Hymn/Tundra/2019 Demo Review

  Boreal  Hymn  are  a  band  from  Vancouver  B.C,  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of  pagan  and  folk  metal and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2019  demo  "Tundra".

  A  very  dark,  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  demo  while  clean  pagan  vocals  can  also  be  heard  at  times.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal g rowls  also  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  songs.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  acoustic  guitars  and  folk  instruments  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording.  All  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  direction  as  well  as  adding  in  some  elements  of  goth  and  traditional  metal  and  one  track  also  adds  in  some  female  vocals  and  as  the  demo  progresses  the  music  also  gets  more  ritualistic  sounding,  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  on  the  closing  track.

  Boreal  Hymn  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  pagan  and  folk  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  lyrics  cover  long  forgotten  ancient  wisdom.

  In  my  opinion  Boreal  Hymn  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  pagan  and  folk  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Labrynthian  Graves"  and  "Defiance  Against  The  Breath  Of  Gods'.  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlTT1PttYwQ&  

Bethledeign Interview

1,For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Bethledeign was started by guitarists Phil King and Dan Lazaroff in 2001, joined shortly thereafter by Ron Sirott on drums. They filled out a proper lineup and released the EP An Iliad of Woes in 2003, it featured material in the vein of melodic Swedish death metal with elements of black metal. After a couple lineup changes (Dave Schmidt coming in on vocals and Chris Fleming on bass), a three song demo was recorded in 2004, but never properly released. Those songs were much darker and more mature sounding, treading more solidly into death metal territory. Phil moved out of state shortly after it was recorded, and I (Tony Petrocelly) auditioned and took his place. As we started writing material, I brought a much more straightforward, less melodic approach. We wound up with five new songs which we started recording, but the band split up before the sessions were complete.



2.Your first full length is coming out in December, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Structure-wise, aside from some small adjustments I made to them, they are the same songs as they were back in the day; the big difference is just that they're properly recorded. The lineup is different, and so the new players bring their own style to the songs which really bring them to life. I played guitar on the album, but took over bass and vocal duties as well. Gus Barr from the Arizona death metal band Lago helped out with lead guitar, and Giulio Galati from Hideous Divinity drummed on the album; their contributions are absolutely incredible.



3.The band has been split up since 2005 with the band members focusing on other projects, what was the decision behind reforming the band?

The intent of creating my main band Construct of Lethe was to have a way to record and release the songs I'd written for previous bands. Bethledeign sadly shared the same fate as a couple other bands--I'd write an album, and the band would split up before we could record. Construct of Lethe became its own entity and started heading in a very different direction though, so I felt releasing old material under that name would just serve to confuse people. I've always wanted to release the Bethledeign songs, my love for them never waned. I had some downtime in between recording bands in my studio, so I got a hold of Phil to ask for his blessing to re-record the songs he had written, in addition to just the songs I had a part in writing...just something to do for fun to kill time. He not only encouraged that, he told me to release it as Bethledeign, which I hadn't even considered, that was really the start of it getting serious.



4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music and also how would you describe your progress as songwriters over the years?

Dave Schmidt was the lyricist for this group of songs, his lyrics tend to be very anti-religious, with a focus on themes of demonology, christian esoterica, suicide, chaos and death. It's actually pretty interesting to delve back into these early lyrics of his, because as he wrote more and more for Xaoc (the band he and I started to continue on with the material we were writing when Bethledeign broke up) and on into Construct of Lethe, his words got much more learned and inscrutable, not to mention impossibly macabre. His lyrics on this album, just like our music, are a snapshot of a time that served as a crucial stepping stone in our development as musicians.



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

I know that Bethledeign is an anagram for "The Bleeding." Whether or not that was intentional, or what the meaning is, I honestly don't know...I joined the band after it was named. It feels like it means something and it sounds cool, so it works for me.



6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

Kishor Haulenbeek painted it. I don't remember how I came to see his work, but when I first saw it I was blown away. I reached out to him and we talked about art and artists for quite a while; I told him I didn't want a stereotypical metal album cover, so no trite gore/satan/creepy landscape crap. We agreed to use the title Iconography of Suffering literally; he came up with the specific idea and sketched it up, I thought it was brilliant. If you follow from the figure's right hand up and over to his left, you see a crucifixion nail, medieval torture tools, up through modern day capital punishment...suffering through the ages.



7.Are the band members open to doing live shows again in the future?

It's fun to think about, but at the end of the day, this is a passion project. We all live so far apart from one another and have so much going on in our lives that even though the spirits are willing, it's just not feasible.



8.The new album is coming out on 'Edgewood Arsenal Records,' can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

I created Edgewood Arsenal Records as a way to get my projects out in the open. Our first 4 releases were pressed on CD (Construct of Lethe, Pain Tank, Grethor, Turbo Shokk), but subsequent releases will likely be digital only. It's an incredible amount of work creating an album--from writing it to recording it, mixing, creating the art/layout, promotion, etc...and that's on top of paying for it all out of pocket. It's really a losing game if you do it for any reason other than the love of creation.



9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of extreme metal?

Bethledeign made a decent-sized dent in the local scene back in the day, but that was before getting national/international exposure was an easy, realistic thing. As for this new material, we're trying to get the word out as we speak, but so far the reaction has gladly been nothing but positive. I know that releasing an album like this flies in the face of what's going on in the metal world at large, but I'm hoping that it resonates with people who are maybe sick of bands trying to be the most brutal, most tech, most guttural, fastest, etc.



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?

I've got a thrash band that recorded an EP that's getting close to release, I'll be working on the 2nd (already written) Bethledeign album in 2020, as well as a remix/re-release of Construct of Lethe's debut album Corpsegod. Gus has Lago as well as a death metal band called Detritus, both incredible bands. Giulio stays busy with the god-tier Hideous Divinity.



11.Is there any plans for future releases?

There's an 8 song album we wrote under the name Xaoc after Bethledeign originally broke up, I intend to record that and release it as the 2nd Bethledeign album in 2020.



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?

The rhythm playing of James Hetfield and Scott Ian are probably the biggest direct inspiration for my guitar playing technique, but not necessarily writing. People tend to say my riff writing is most similar to Morbid Angel, and while it isn't really intentional, it makes sense because they are one of my all time favorites. As for what I'm listening to now, honestly it's a lot of Rollins Band, Hall and Oates, Jeff Buckley and Elton John. Not much metal because that's what I'm soaking in year-round in the studio.



13.What are some of your non musical interests?

I built a studio in my house, Trepan Studios, which I opened up to outside bands a couple years ago; it's what takes up the vast majority of my free time, so even when I'm not playing it, I'm recording/mixing/mastering it for other bands. I've been drawing as long as I can remember, so illustration always has a spot in my heart, though I don't do it much anymore. Something I did for the first time last year that really surprised me was a 10 mile mountain hike. I wasn't expecting to like it, but I really did. I have never been a real outdoorsy person, but there was something about it that really struck me.



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

Thanks for the interest in Bethledeign, I wish it was a less convoluted story to tell, haha. I'm really happy to finally get these songs out there, and hope others dig what we've done. Thanks again!

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