Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Cibola/Let Us Burn/2022 EP Review

 


  Cibola  are  a  solo  project  form  Sweden  that  plays  a  melodic  and  progressive  mixture  of  black,  death,  groove,  thrash  metal  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2022  ep  "Let  Us  Burn".


  Rain  and  thunder  sounds  start  off  the  ep  before  adding  some  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  onto  the  recording.  Clean  playing  can  also  be  heard on  a couple  of  tracks  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  some  blast  beats  being  added  into  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  and  the  mid  tempo  sections  also  add  in  elements  of  groove  emtal.


  Vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls  while  the  music  also  adds  in  a  great  amount  of  black/dark  metal  influences  from t he  90's  era.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  yet  old  school  style  along  with  some  of  the  faster  riffing  also  adding  in  touches  of  grindcore.


  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  all  of  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also having  a  very  powerful  sound  to t hem.  Some  of  the  riffs  also  show  an  influence  of  thrash  metal  as  well  as  the  music  also  having  its  progressive  moments.  The  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  ylrics  cover  darkness  and  hopelessness  themes.  


  In  my  opinion  Cibola  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  progressive  mixture  of  black,  death,  groove,  thrash  metal  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Circle:  Arise"  and  "Abaddon".  8  out  of  10.



https://youtu.be/FYvRs6NMKr4


https://open.spotify.com/artist/6pHdymicp2YdaPtqKAE41Q


https://www.facebook.com/cibolaofficial
https://www.instagram.com/cibolaofficial/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZIK06HWjN2MsS-mnzaQZpg

https://cibola.bandcamp.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6pHdymicp2YdaPtqKAE41Q
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/cibola/1507076093
https://music.amazon.com/artists/B086QY11DX/cibola

Falamh/Aeons Effigy/2022 EP Review

 

  

  Falamh  are  a  band  from  North  Bay,  Ontario,  Canada  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2022  ep  "Aeons  Effigy"  which  will b e  released  on  March  25th.


  A  very  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  ep  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  vocals  being  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams.


  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  Swedish  style.  Elements  of  melodic  death  metal  are  also  utilized  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  ep  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  a  couple  of  the  tracks  also  being  long  and  epic  in  length,  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  on  a  couple  of  songs


  Falamh  plays  a  musical  style  that  goes  back  to  the  mid  90's  era  of  Swedish  melodic  black  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  perseverance  themes.


  In  my  opinion  Falamh  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  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  "Winds  Of  Silence"  and  "Aethereal  Forger".  8  out  of  10.


https://youtu.be/oA0BBIBhZb4


Falamh.bandcamp.com


Facebook.com/Falamhband

Instagram.com/falamh.official  


        


  

Friday, February 25, 2022

Aktarum Interview

 

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

1-Well it's quite a strange situation actually.

We recorded the album during this health crisis so we got plenty of time for that (or not, as we are professionals to do things at the last minute...).

So now as the concerts remain rare we can focus on the promotion with the help of our record label.


2.In March you have a new album coming out, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

2-For this one we tried to write the songs in a darker and maybe a more violent way, in order to match with the story we wanted to tell.


3.There is usually a 4 year time span between each full length, can you tell us a little bit more about the gaps in between releases?

3-Hmm... Mostly procrastination I would say !

Seriously, actually it was the time we needed to make something we were all proud of, between our jobs, families and other obligations. 

But now as the band continues to grow more and more, we are trying to be more productive and we hope to shorten the gap between the next albums.


4.Most of your lyrics cover Troll themes, can you tell us a little bit more about how your interest in this topic has evolved over the years?

4-Actually it all started with the comic "Troll de Troy". Trollour and Trollaklass are really big fans of these books and so they decided to base the band on them. From there we create our own world, our own troll tribes and stories. "Trollvengers" is the sequel of our previous album "Ragnatroll" and this story arc will end with the next one. 



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

5-It was drawn by the talented Laury Hammer. 

We decided to have some super-hero vibes for this artwork, in our lyrics as well, a bunch of troll super warriors going on an epic adventure... (There could be some comic material here no?!) 

Some of us are big fans of the several cinematic universes form DC or Marvel comics, and we wanted to make a reference/parody of some sort.


6.According the the metal archives page the band takes an antifascist direction of art, can you tell us a little bit more about what this means to you?

6-Hmm we're not aware that they say that about us. But of course we're not fascist and to be honest we're not into politics nor religions (we just praise the God of War of course!). We are Trolls, we just want to drink beer, party and fight! 


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?


7-There have been a loooot of great shows, recently I would say our participation at the Durbuy Rock Festival 2021 as it was one of our only shows in 2 years of Covid. The crowd was on fire, it was a real pleasure to play there after so much time without a show !


8.Are there any touring or show plans for the new album?

8-Well, of course we've got pretty great gigs coming this year, but with the actual health situation in each country it remains quite hard to plan a lot of concerts for now. But hey maybe the end of the year will be more clement, and will let us have more shows !


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

9-It's still really recent, we only have 2 songs officially released now and we will need to wait till the full release of the album but for now we can say that the feedbacks are pretty good! We are also starting to get great reviews from different webzines around the world so yeah, everything's fine! 


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?

10-They are in the same situation as us. These 2 years were really awfull so everyone was in stanby, focusing on new material, waiting for the reopening of the cultural sector.

But that only affects Trollhammer, our drummer, 'cause he's the only one who has other musical projects for now... 

'Cause he's a drummer... 

And drummers are rare... 

Espacially the good ones...

And he is the best, so yeah... That's even worse.


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

11-I think it will depends on the stories we would like to tell. Actually we are in a storytelling process that will occurs on 3 albums, so our music evolves a lot according to the ambiance of the lyrics. I think you could really feel the difference between “Ragnatroll” and “Trollvengers” as the themes are precisely differents, and it's really great because it's an awesome way to try something new musically.


12.What are some of the bands or musical styles the band members are listening to nowadays?

12-We are all quite eclectics, of course we are listening a lot of folk, but everyone in the band has his preferred style. Trollbard loves power metal, Trollaklass was really into Heilung recently, Trollour is the real folkman here hehe, Trollhammer loves death and thrash metal and finally I, Trollaflem, definitely heavy and thrash metal.


13.Does Paganism play any role in your music?

13-It certainly plays a role in our imagination, the way we write stories or compose musics (as we don't see many trolls in actual religions...) but we're not strictly into paganism either, it just helps us to create our own style, mixed with other fantasy worlds. 


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

14-Well thank you very much for your interview! We hope to see you and everyone soon on stage!

Thursday, February 24, 2022

Nýr Gata/Luna Aeterna/Nahetal Klangschmiede/2021 CD Review

 


  Nýr  Gata  are  a  duo  form  Germany  that  plats  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "Luna  Aeterna"  which  was  released  by  Nahetal  Klangschmiede.


  A  very  heavy  and  aggressive  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a great  amount  of  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  synths  are  also  added  on  some  of  the  tracks.


  Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  music  also  adds  in  a good  amount  of  90's  influences.


  Tremolo  picking  is  also  added  into  some  of  the  faster  riffing  along  with  the  music  also  adding  in  some  more  modern  touches  at  times  as  well  as  one  song  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars,  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  music  also  has  its  progressive  moments,  clear  vocals  can  also be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  German  and  are  a  concept  album  involving  the  Seraphim.


  In  my  opinion  Nýr  Gata  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  duo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Himmels  Fall"  "Yin"  and  "Lunar  Aeterna".  8  out  of  10.


Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ Ewigtraum/videos  


  


      

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Dimwind/Breaths/Trepanation Recordings/2022 Split EP Review

 


  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  Sweden's  Dimwind  and  U.S.A's  Breaths  which  will b e  released  in  April  by  Trepanation  Recordings  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Dimwind  a  band  that  plays  an  instrumental  form  of  post  metal.


  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  some  keyboards  and  spoken  word  parts  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  The  music  also  brings  in a  great  amount  of  post  metal  elements  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  and  their  only  track  is  over  15  minutes  in  length,  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  briefly  while  the  production  sounds  very  professional.


  In  my  opinion  Dimwind  are  a  very  great  sounding  post  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of t he  split.


  Next  up  is  Breaths  who  return  with  a  mixture  of  blackgaze,  doomgaze,  post  metal  and  hardcore.


  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  song  bringing  in  elements  of  doom  metal.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast b eats  can b e  heard  along  with  their  only  track  being  almost  15  minutes  in  length, when  clean  vocals  are  utilized  they  also  add  in  touches  of  post  metal.


  All  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  shoegaze  style.  Clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  briefly,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  and  the  lyrics  cover  humanity's  abuse  of  the  planet.


  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  track  from  breaths  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  blackgaze,  doomgaze,  post  metal  and hardcore,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of t he  split.


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


Dimwind

Bandcamp  /  Spotify  /  Apple Music  /  YouTube  /  Facebook  /  Instagram  /  Website  /  Email  

Breaths

Bandcamp  Spotify  Apple Music  /  YouTube  /  Facebook  /  Instagram  /  Twitter  /  Email

     

Sunday, February 20, 2022

God Dethroned/The Christhunt/Vic Records/2022 CD Re-Issue Review

 


  God  Dethroned  are  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  played  a  very  melodic  and  blackened  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2022  album  "The  Christhunt"  which  was  re-issued  in  2022  by  Vic  Records.


  A  battle  orientated  intro  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  fast  direction  which  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  while  death  metal  growls  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.


 Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  music  also  adds  in  a  great  amount  of  death  metal  elements.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are utilized  they  are  done  in  more  of  an  early  90's  death  metal  style,  when  keyboards  are utilized  they  also  bring  in  the  atmosphere  of  a  classic  horror  movie  soundtrack  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  slower  sections  of t he  songs  also  show  an  influence  of  doom  metal.  


  On  this  recording  God  Dethroned  went  for  more  of  an  earlier   style  of  blackened  death  metal.  The  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Luciferianism,  Occultism,  Anti  Christianity  and  Death  themes. 


  In  my  opinion  this  was  a  very  great  sounding  recording  from  God  Dethroned  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  this  re-issue.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hordes  Of  Lucifer"  "Necromagnon"  and  "God  Dethroned".  8  out  of  10.


  https://youtu.be/G9XHXrrMJ-I

Thursday, February 10, 2022

Carnage Of Children/Darkness Within/Music-Records/2022 CD Review

 


  Carnage  Of  Children  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2022  album  "Darkness  Within"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Music  Records.


  A  very  ritualistic  intro  starts  off  the  album  while  also  also  introducing  symphonic  elements  onto  the  recording  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  operatic  female  vocals  can  be  heard  on  a  few  tracks


  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with  the  vocals  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls.


  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  yet  technical  style  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  a  couple  of  tracks  also  bringing  in  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  and  classical  guitars  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Darkness  themes.    


  In  my  opinion  Carnage  Of  Children  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  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  "The  Divine  Right  Hand"  "Requiem  For  A  Witch"  and  "Burn".  8  out  of  10.



Facebook: https://www. facebook.com/Carnage.Of. Children.Official

Instagram: https://www. instagram.com/ carnageofchildrenofficial/