Stake Driver/Lycanthropy 666/Cemetery Horror Productions/2021 Full Length Review

 

  Stake  Driver  are  a  band  from  Dayton,  Ohio  that  plays  a  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "Lycanthropy  666"  which  will  be  released  on  cassette  by  Cemetery  Horror  Productions.

  A  very  fast  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  while  symphonic  elements  are  also  mixed  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  as  well  as  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  the  music  is  also heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  era.

  Elements  of  thrash  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  a  couple  of  the  songs  also  having  brief  interludes  in  between.

  One  track  also  introduces  clean  playing  onto  the  album  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  as  well  as  the  vocals  also  deeper  sounding  briefly  as  the  recording  progresses,  classical  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  spoken  word  parts  are  also  added  on  the  closing  song  which  is  also  very  long and  epic  in  length.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Anti  Christianity  and  Darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Stake  Driver  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Engorged  Remains"  "Beyond  the  Cemetery  Gates"  and  "Washed In  Cursed  Blood".  8  out  of  10.

https://stakedriver.bandcamp.com/album/lycanthropy-666  

  

    

Les Chants Du Hastard/Livre Troisieme/2021 Full Length Review

 

  France's  solo  project  Les  Chants  Du  Hastard  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  goth,  orchestra,  classical  and  opera  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2021  album  "Livre  Troisieme"  which  will  be  released  in  April.

  A  classical  orchestra  orientated  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  operatic  male  vocals  are  also  utilized  at  times.  Tortured  black  metal  screams  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  along  with  the  music  also  having  its  avant  garde  moments  and  stringed  instruments  are  also  utilized  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  songs.

  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  symphonic  sounding  while  soprano  style  vocals  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  songs.  A  couple  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  some  operatic  female  vocals  also  being  utilized  more  on  the  later  songs  which  also  gives  the  recording  more  of  a  gothic  atmosphere  as  well  as  all  of  the  drum  beats  also  being  programmed  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  children  voices  can  also  be  heard  briefly,  spoken  word  parts  are  also  added  on  the  closing  track.

  On  this  recording  Les  Chants  Du  Hastard  takes  black  metal,  goth,  classical,  orchestra,  opera  and  avant  garde  and  mixes  them  together  to  take  his  sound  to  another  level.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  French  and  cover  darkness  and  despair  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from   Les  Chants  Du  Hastard  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black  metal,  goth,  orchestra,  classical,  opera  and  avant  garde  music,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Les  Prismes"  "Salve  Regina "  and  "Le  Repos".  8  out  of  10.

http://www.facebook.com/leschantsduhasard

http://leschantsduhasard.bandcamp.com  

Karma Violens/Mount Of The Congregation/2021 Full Length Review

 

  Greece's  Karma  Violens  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  a  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2021  album  "Mount  Of  The  Congregation"  which  will  be  released  in  April.

  A  synth  orientated  intro  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  brief  use  of  operatic  voices  before  going  into  a  faster  direction  which  also  introduces  blast  beats  onto  the  recording.  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  thrash  style  shouts  and  death  metal  growls  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  The  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  synths  also  making  a  return  on  some  of  the  later  tracks.

  Black  metal  screams  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  music  and  tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  faster  riffing  along  with  one  of  the  songs  also  introducing  clean  playing  onto  the  album,  as  the  recording  progresses  a  brief  use  of  stringed  instruments  can  also  be  heard  as  well  as  one  song  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  melodic  female  vocals.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  world,  creation  and  nature  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Karma  Violens  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  black,  death  and  thrash  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Embrace"  "My  Storm  Upon  You"  "Mount  Of  The  Congregation"  and  "Light  Beyond  the  Event  Horizon".  8  out  of  10.

www.facebook.com/karmaviolens

www.youtube.com/user/karmaviolens

www.instagram.com/karmaviolens

karmaviolens.bandcamp.com

https://youtu.be/IK3JrlAS5sI      

Demande a la Poussiere Interview

 

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

Vince : The first album has been released on September 2018, that's the moment when we started to prepare the future live version of this record, it was fun. Actually this project started in studio, we enjoyed playing the songs live, it sounded a bit different, the sound started to change already. From the 1st March 2019 until the lock down we played over 25 shows, it was great, we met a lot of great people who invited us, we are very grateful. At the early beginning of the fall we started to compose  the upcoming album « Quietude Hostile » which was recorded in the summer of 2020.

2.This March you have a new album coming out, musically how does it differ from your previous release?

Vince : I think this new album is a continuity of the debut album in terms of composition. What differs from the first release is the way we created it. The first album has been made in one week, this one took us a year. We spend some time to « mock up » the songs in the Lower Tones Place Studio that owns Ed (guitar), where the first album has been made too, we took some time to think about the production, the sound, we tried a lot of recording technics with Ed to build the sound we wanted, then finally recorded the songs. We didn't want to rush any step for this new album. The sound of the band has been matured during the year of gigs and this is what we can hear on « Quietude Hostile ».

Neil : The sound has been a part of the composition very early in the process. It is more organic and this makes a huge difference with the first album.

3.I know that the band's name means 'Ask (to) The Dust' in French, how does this name fit in with the musical style that you play?

Neil : The book of John Fante is a common stepstone for all of us. It's crude tone with it's specific writing rhythm fits in the dark, disillusioned mood that is the main material of our music. It is contemporan, doesn't give any political message, but has a cold gaze upon the human beings and the society.

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

Neil : The artwork was made by the very talented french photographer Aurélie Raidron. She works with old out-of-date argentic films, and her work fitted perfectly with the color of the album. We wanted to make something different than the painting on the first album, and we are very happy with the result. It is gloomy, undefined, cold and threatening.

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

Vince : We had the chance to play on a lot of great shows. I liked the first shows at Nantes and Clermont-Ferrand because, according to me, they changed the way we played this music. It was more brutal, more instinctive. It felt more natural to me. And this is the way I would describe our stage performance, brutal, instinctive, natural. 

Neil : We try to give on stage the heavy doom energy that we want our music to give. We are working on new things for the shows to come but we cannot tell anything yet about it ! One of the most crazy shows we've played in is the Arrrgh Kollektiv Fest in Dubaï. Crazy guys in a crazy city ! We feel very grateful for the opportunity we had to play there.

6.The new album is coming out on 'My Kingdom Music', how would you compare with this label to your previous label 'Argonauta Records'?

Neil : We are grateful to Argonauta for the first release, but we had some issues that we won't discuss here. Krys (singer) already worked with My Kingdom Music with his other projects (Omrade, Ophe), and the connexion was easy. Francesco (My Kingdom CEO) is a great guy and does hell of a work with his label, we are very happy to work with him.

7.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black, sludge, doom and post metal?

Neil : The reactions on the first album were good, because most fans of those genres are open to a wide range of sounds. We cannot predict how this album will be received though. Time will tell.

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

Neil : We are discussing about the next things, but we cannot tell anything for the moment.

9.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?

Neil : Our influences are very wide, from Mayhem to Neurosis with many influences of past and present scene. For the moment I am listening to Harakiri for the Sky, Ilsa, Bethlehem and Darkthrone.

10.What are some of your non musical interests?

Vince : I'm curious so a lot of things... 

Neil : Books, comics and martial arts./

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

Neil : Thanks to all of you webzines who make the scene alive by spreading the music. We hope that we all come back to normal soon.

Bandcamp

Bandcamp 2

Facebook

Blod/Serpent/Malpermesita Records/2021

 

  Blod  are  a  duo  from  France  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  sludge  and  funeral  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "Serpent"  which  was  released  by  Malpermesita  Records.

  A  very  slow,  dark  and  heavy  sludge  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Clean  vocals  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  along  with  some  aggressive  screams  also  being  utilized  at  times  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  blackened  touch.

  The  riffs  also  bring  in  the  heaviness  of  funeral  doom  metal  while  spoken  word  parts,  ritualistic  chants  and  percussions  can  also  be  heard  briefly.  Dark  sounding  melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  some  songs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  as  well  as  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length,  one  of  the  tracks  also  introduces  synths  onto  the  album  and  the  whole  album  also  sticks  to  a  slower  direction.

  Blod  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  sludge  and  funeral  doom  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  a  more  clean  vocals  approach  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyri cs  cover  Occultism,  Thelema,  Witchcraft  and  Mythology  themes.  

  In  my  opinion  Blod  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  sludge  and  funeral  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  duo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Lvcifer"  "Serpents"  and  "Selene".  8  out  of  10.

https://youtu.be/LRdGlybtTaQ

Ischemic/Scabs/20221 Full Length Review

 

  Ischemic  are  a  band  from  Toronto,  Ontario,  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2021  album  "Scabs"  which  will b e  released  in  April.

  A  very  slow,  dark  and  heavy  doom  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  morbid  sounding  melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing.  The  vocals  are  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.

  The  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  90's  influences  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  The  slower  sections  of  the  music  also  add  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  metal  along  with  all  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

 When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  old  school  style  along  with  one  of  the  tracks  also  introducing  clean  playing  onto  the  recording  as  well  as  the  music  also  adding  in  touches  of  crust  at  times.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkn4ess  themes.

  In  my  opinion  ISchemic  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  sludge,  doom  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Scabs"  and  "Illusions  Of  Humanity".  8  out  of  10.

https://ischemic.bandcamp.com

Facebook.com/Ischemic
Instagram.com/ischemiccanada

  

Upon Shadows Interview

 

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the musical project these days?

At this moment we are launching a series of lyric videos from our latest album "Modern Obscurantism", and we are also recording a new single to be released on October 18th.

2.In the last couple of years, you have released a full length and a single musically how do they differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

All our releases are different between each other, musically and also lyrically. In the case of "Modern Obscurantism" which is our seventh album, there is a kind of sinister atmosphere apart from the darkness always present in our music. Is a heavier album also, and is also the first time we record the full drums with a real drummer. In the past we had done a couple of singles with invited drummers. "Geometry of music" with Sir Kimmo Luttinen (ex Impaled Nazarene, ex Beherit), and "Fatal Stigma of the Realist" with Matti Torro (Myon), but before that all our albums and single have been done with programmed drums until our latest album "Modern Obscurantism" where we recorded with the sessionist drummer Joonas Alaräihä.The incorporation of real drums made an improvement in sound, in relation with our older albums.

3.The lyrics on the album you released in 2019 where a concept album, can you tell us a little bit more about the story that you had covered with this release?

The concept of the album is based on the idea that we are living in a new era of strong censorship and repression, even bigger than the obscurantism of the middle ages, because now everything has the magnitude of being global. So Natalia and I were talking for months about this idea to put the things as clear as possible... so we focused on the biggest points and so per song there is a topic.

First the album opens with an intro called "Back To The Dark Ages" which is very direct in the message, and musically helps to put the listener into the mode of the album.

Then the next song ``Vanity's Bonfire" talks about all the knowledge and precious art we had lost under the censorship of the church in the middle ages and the message is a question mark about how many precious things are we losing just now because of the new forms of censorship. The album has 10 songs and all presents a different topic related to the same concept. I tried to write the lyrics as poetically as I could, without affecting the original feeling. And we closed the album with an outro called "Lucifer" which is an extract of a text by Oscar Wilde, in which he let very clear the importance of keeping rebellion alive, as a motor for producing changes.

We closed the album with a text, a poem written by Ricardo Arocena, (Natalia´s father), because he made reference to the importance of fighting against indifference. I think these two last texts close the album with a positive message, despite all the darkness we were putting on the table along the whole album... Nothing is eternal, and everything can be changed by keeping the seed of rebellion in our hearts and fighting against indifference.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Upon Shadows'?

Upon Shadows in other words means "about darkness".. we all have our shadows and Upon shadows is all about my shadows.

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

Yes, I made the artwork thinking about representing the shadows taking over our lives, in a global way. A darkness that is over us all and represents censorship and control. So I get the idea of basing the design in an advanced but not total eclipse.

6.Originally the band was based in 'Uruguay' but now reside in Finland, can you tell us a little bit more about the mover?

I moved to Finland in 2013 because of personal reasons, not because of music. I needed a change in my life, I am a person that is all the time fighting against conformism and always needs new challenges.

But my move didn't affect our way of working in Upon Shadows. We have been keeping active all the way.

7.The last album was released on ;'Ground Media Group', how would you compare working with this label to other labels that you have been a part of in the past?

We have been releasing mainly independently, because we have the characteristic that we always release our music for free download, and this is something that is not attractive to most of the labels. Despite that, this is a decision we made from the starting point of Upon Shadows and we are not going to change it.

But we had released CDs with Satanica records from New Zealand, Depressive Illusions Records from Ukraine, and Underground Devotion Zine from Chile also had our permission to print and sell our music as a way to support the underground scene.

Ground Media Group is a new Finnish label that is growing a lot, and is made by people whose main purpose is to keep the underground alive. They give us the opportunity of releasing the album in a very beautiful edition where the Cd comes in a 4 panel digipak with a 12 page booklet. The printing quality is magnificent, the colors are very alive so the design is displayed in the best possible way.

We are very happy with the result.

8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black, dark and gothic metal?

The reaction is more than positive. 

We are very underground, but we have people who have been following and supporting us through the years, and are the kind of people that really listen and pay attention to the lyrics, and are open to feel and think with us, which is the most important thing for us.

We know that what we do is out of the standards of what most of the people wants to hear in these genders, and despite of that, and despite that we are a female duo,(which many times is enough for some people to deny us the opportunity to be listen), we have been making extreme metal music for the last 19 years. Offering a different proposal and keeping absolutely loyal to our ideas.

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

I think we found our own style which is the most difficult thing to find, an identity. And the goal for the future is to keep improving in technique and sound, and keep on this mixture of emotions and darkness.

10.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?

The styles that influenced me the most are Black Metal and Dark Ambient. I grew up listening to Abigor, Necromantia, Impaled Nazarene, Samael, and so on.

And the Dark Ambient... I found it through experimental music while I started to work as a music producer for a TV show called "Voces Anónimas" about ghost stories and urban legends in my country, where I was creating sounds to make the audience feel the uncomfortable tension and the fear related to the stories.

But I also have an strong influence from what my generation calls Dark Music (now people use the term "goth" or "gothic" wich I personally don't like) with bands like Sisters of Mercy, Christian Death, or The cure and its mix with metal music like The whores of Babylon. I think this influence is very visible in my keyboards.

Nowadays I'm listening to some new bands like Yoth Iria, NEDXXX, Aethyrick and Vermilia.

I also discovered some bands that are old but new to me like INFERNO and their album "Gnosis Kardias" which is a masterpiece.

And from the old bands I´m absolutely fascinated with Abigor´s new album "A Saintslayer's Songbook", and Rotting Christ "The Heretics".

11.Does Occultism play any role on your music?

Mmm...not directly, but if I think about it from the point of view that it is something that has always interested me, and is something about I have read a lot over the years...then I assume there are influences that I cannot deny.

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

First of all, thank you very much for the opportunity to express myself and present my music to your readers.

All Upon Shadows music can be download for free at :

http://tamarapicardo.blogspot.com/

And my final message is this: Keep the seed of rebellion in your heart like the most precious gift we have, because it is the core of our artistic creation and a consequence of our reasoning ability.