Brymir 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?

Since release we have been practicing the new material and started general preparations for our upcoming shows. Even though the band has performed the new songs in the studio it is, however, a quite different beast adapting them to a live setting. Other than that, it’s just been an absolute pleasure to see our new creation take flight and follow the positive response to the new album.

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

In the past we had a sound that leaned even more on synthesizers and orchestral elements, this time we wanted to focus on getting the most out of our own instruments and voices. Thus, we reinvented our sonic identity and came out with a heavier sound than ever before!

3.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?

Most of our lyrics are based on personal and real world issues, for example Fly With Me discusses the dark side of social media, Heral of Aegir is about pollution and destruction our waters and Borderland is a stance for the Ukrainian people suffering under Russias invasion. Other than that, many songs are about travel and conquest – things we missed dearly during the depths of the Covid pandemic.

Our process of writing for this album was altered by Covid restrictions as it forced us to work apart and alone. I used to write by programming my melodies and ideas directly into the recording software and have our guitarist Joona Björkroth adapt the riffs to work for a real guitar, but as we couldn’t meet for months I started learning more guitar myself and thus established a new method for composing directly with a guitar in my lap – hence the new, guitar-heavy approach on our songs. Lyrically we used to base lyrics purely on mythological concepts and personal issues but as the world feels like its falling apart around us I’ve had a stronger need to write about current issues plaguing humanity and this blue oasis of life we live in.

4.Over the years you also have covered Norse/Finnish mythology and the Nephilim with your lyrics, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?

As we are from the North, we have always identified strongly with our mythologies and draw a lot of inspiration from that realm. As the actual subjects of our lyrics have evolved, we still like to dress them up in mythological themes or use mythological concepts as metaphors.

5.Orignally the band was called 'Lai Lai Hei', what was the cause of the new change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Brymir'?

We actually only went under the name Lai Lai Hei for a few weeks, it was just a hastily picked name as we performed one Ensiferum cover in a competition when we were 16 years old. Soon after that we decided that we want to keep playing together and after some consideration landed on the name Brymir, which is a combination of two words or concepts from Norse mythology: Brimir is a table or hall in Valhalla where the heroes of Ragnarök feast forever after the end of the world, and Ymir is an ice giant from whose flesh the world of men was created. So in short, Brymir equals to somethin akin to Alpha-Omega – before the beginning and after the end.

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

We wanted the colors and themes of the cover art to reflect the dark times of the past years which strongly influenced the tone of the album. There is also the image of sacrificing yourself at the altar of creation – making, releasing and performing music is often emotionally very demanding and requires immense personal sacrifice.

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?

I think our best memories from shows are our 2019 appearance at Tuska Festival in our home town Helsinki, and our first tour in Japan. However, there have been so many epic adventures, like touring with Children of Bodom, that it’s difficult to choose which ones meant the most.

Brymir is definitely a live band and in my opinion you haven't truly heard Brymir before you’ve seen us on stage! We bring such a relentless onslaught that the crowd is left shell-shocked after our performance.

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

Yes! We finally have a big European tour opening for Finntroll scheduled for November-December. We’ve dreamt about this moment our whole career and couldn’t have hoped for a better slot to kick off touring with our new record. We also have a big bunch of shows in Finland for 2022-2023. Touring is what we missed most during lockdown and we are so excited to head out again.

9.The new album was released on 'Napalm Records', how would you compare working with this label to other labels you have been a part of in the past?

Our signing with Napalm Records is our first proper partnership with a label and it has opened up so many opportunities that we’re inaccessible before. Previously we have done everything ourselves with labels only really releasing the music once completed. With this new ally in Napalm Records we feel that we can finally unlock the true potential of Brymir.

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

We’ve been quite stunned by the positive feedback and it feels as if we managed get our musical message across. It’s also very rewarding to see that our renewed sound and style has been recieved so well!

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

Our music is very diverse and I think that will always be a part if Brymir. We had several very heavy, fast and dark songs that didn’t get quite finished for this album so it might be that our next release has some more black metal vibes! We also successfully integrated power metal into our new sound and I’m sure that aspect will also evolve to new heights.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles you are currently listening to nowadays?

I’ve been listening to a lot of pretty brutal stuff, such as Decapitated and Aborted. But our musical tastes range from classical music through metal all the way to psychedelic trance.

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

Thanks for the interview! We really hope to make it over to the United Kingdom during this album cycle for some shows and when we do… hold on to your hats!

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The Magik Way/Dracula(25 Years Anniversary/My Kingdom Music/2022 Full length Review

 

  Italy's  The  Magik  Way  has  returned  with  a  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  a  mixture  of   ambient,  ritual,  experimental,  black  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2022  album  "Dracula(25  Years  Anniversary)"  which  will  be  released  in  October  by  my  Kingdom  Music.

  A  very  experimental  and  avant  garde  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  also  introducing  keyboards  onto  the  recording  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  darker  sections  of  the  songs  at  times.  Clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  some  tracks  also  add  in  female  vocals.  

  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  ritualistic  sounding  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  the  atmosphere  of  a  horror  movie  soundtrack.  Touches  of  ambient  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording  along  with  the  male  vocals  also  adding  in a  mixture  of  clear  singing  and  grim  black  metal  screams  and  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  elements  of  doom  metal  as  well  as  the  spoken  word  parts  also  enhancing  the  occult  side  of  the  music  when  they  are utilized,  melodic  guitar  leads  can  also b e  heard  briefly.

  On  this  recording  The  Magik  Way  takes  ambient,  ritual,  experimental,  black  and  doom  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  very  diverse  recording.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  lyrics  are  based  upon  Bram  Stoker's  "Dracula'.  

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  The  Magik  Way  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  ambient,  ritual,  experimental,  black  and  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Castel  Dracula"  "Lucy"  and  "Van  Helsing".  8  out  of  10.

  ttp://facebook.com/themagikway

Defacing God Interview

 

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

I founded Defacing God back in 2015 with a clear vision.

I´ve been a singer most of my life and I always knew that this was the way I wanted to go but I also knew beforehand that I needed to meet the right people to work with to make my vision come true. 

It happened when I met my drummer (Michale Olsson) more or less a decade ago. He lives and breathes for music as well and always had the same attitude towards things as myself. ´´If we do this, we do it properly. Whatever it takes, whatever it costs´´.

It took us some years to complete the constellation of the right band members though. Around 2017 we had our lineup complete as you see it nowadays. It just clicked and we were lucky in that.

We started out with experimenting with several styles, but mainly focused on the melodic death genre, to find a style of sound and expression that we personally felt complete with and the creative process has been long since then. You can have a vision and a goal, but that´s the fun thing about creativity. You never know where it goes and sometimes things take a turn. I guess my personal interest for the dark and occult shines very much through in our sound and visuals that we have, but it is hard to put us in a specific box since each our personal taste and style are different from each other’s in the band but I think we found mutual ground after years of experimenting with our creativity. Defacing God is not just about the music, but the whole package. The theatric and cinematic aspect is a big part of it for us as well. 

2.You have your first album coming out in September, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?

Yes, that´s correct. 

If I should put a simple label on our sound or style, then I’d say we play melodic death metal. A very darkened version of it! Very atmospheric with a lot of layers and details due to the symphonic parts. We like to span the arc between raw death metal, symphonic grandiosity and the massive Scandinavian metal traditions. We are completely aware that melodic death metal isn´t a new genre at all, nor did we intend to try to invent one. We simply wanted to create something personal and twisted, out from some old traditions. 

We are very proud of the Scandinavian metal traditions so the intention has always been to play a genre that we love and adore but then put our own personal touch on it. We do mix our music with different styles. For example, you´ll hear a lot of black metal influences, some progressive inspiration and even classical components. Luckily creativity has no limits so with the experimenting and mixing in your own interests and influences- that´s the way you can create something that is very personal and unique. I think we hit something more unusual by mixing styles the way we did.

All the symphonic and atmospheric parts are mostly seen in the modern black metal and not that much in melodic death metal. Personally, I think that many tend to over-use the symphonies or keyboard parts. I wanted to challenge that and find a fine line and create some more balance in the use of it, so that one thing doesn´t take over the other. Our guitars doesn´t drown in keyboard parts for example and the groove is still to be found. At the same time, the orchestrations remain very clear in the sound collage. That is a hard balance to find, really! But if you ask me, I think we found especially on our latest album. The personal mark on the expression is there, also without being bound to certain rules. Our sound is what came out of this experimenting so far but I am definitely not done with the experimenting part and the development of our sound. Let´s see what the future brings. 

3.A lot of your lyrics also cover Occultism and Witchcraft themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in the dark arts?

Do you mean THE dark arts or just ´´dark´´ art in general? Cause the dark arts refer more to black magic, which is any type of magic, mainly used to cause harm. I´ll go with the second one – I´d only use black magick when I am really pissed! 😉 

Anyway, I´ve always just been drawn or intrigued by darkness, the occult, horror or unusual things as long as I can remember. I can´t really tell you necessarily why. I like the adrenaline rush you feel when watching some really creepin´ horror. I guess from a psychological aspect, it can be explained with that it is stimulating, cause it triggers different kinds of emotion; fear, sadness but also excitement (in my case) it somehow makes me feel more alive. Horror or dark art can make you escape your own reality for a moment (every form of art can) but when you are exposed for some real terrifying horror or whatever form of darkness, it makes you think and reflect. Maybe you even appreciate your own reality a bit more after you come back from it? Or maybe you can identify some of your own inner feelings in the horror, which makes you feel safe in a freaky way? It´s hard to say what exactly does it for me. Somehow darkness in any form just feels honest, raw and vulnerable to me. It is not some kind of fake, glossy, shimmering image so to say. The world does that enough already. Covering up for all the horror that happens out there but most of us like to paint our existence in pink and rainbows and then refuse to deal with what reality also looks like underneath. Dark art is a reminder of how the real world is out there and I believe it´s healthy to deal with both sides of life. We need the contrasts to create a better understanding. 

Especially the occult and witchcraft have always been a thing for me. I think I was influenced by my mom from a young age. She has always been a ´´real´´ witch and taught me the importance of our nature and how much we can seek and use nature itself for healing. She learned me how to make tea of the beautiful herbs we can find in our own garden and how everything is very much alive out there and vital to us. She also learned me about spells and the importance of mindset if you practice them and last but not least, to read tarot cards which is a little silly and cozy ritualistic tradition I still have nowadays when I sit in solitude with my coffee. When it comes to the paranormal or super-natural beings, then I must say that I do not believe in it… as such. I do believe that there is things that we humans can´t explain. I also don´t believe in any religions or celestial beings in general. Not at all. But I think if you would call me something, i think you maybe could call me some kind of spiritual maybe? I believe very much in science first of all, but I do also believe in the law of attraction for example, even though it is considered as a form of pseudoscience, without any empirical scientific evidence to support it. Well.. Our universe is a giant pit of pure energy. Everything consists of these energies and we are surrounded by it, so I really believe everything that we send out comes back to us somehow. What we give our time and focus, we give life. I just experienced that so many times in my personal life so it is hard for me not to believe. Maybe it was just pure luck, who knows? I just know I strongly believe in the power of our own mindset and what kind of energy we send out. It never failed me.

I also believe that there is so much that us simple humans can not even comprehend and never will. We are not the center of the universe even though we like to believe that we are that important. Compared to the size and power of the universe, we are nothing.. So, yes.. not everything can be explained from the minds of a simple human creature. That is why I believe that we can´t and never will be able of explaining everything or completely get the big picture which is fine I guess. 

But it is interesting indeed. I easily get ´´lost in space´´if I think about it.  

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Defacing God'?

The name Defacing God simply just stuck to me. You can analyze it into many things. Mostly offending, I guess. For me it litterally means that we remove the mask from the so called "God" and behind that mask, you'll find humanity exposed. It´s like defacing the image of God, remove the mask and smash it into a wall to reveal what´s behind it so to say. Destroy it or write over it you know.

Religion and the term "God" is by fact created by humans and the name of God has been used in many cultures to cause fear, to manipulate or control a certain group of people and humanity has even killed and justified it in the name of the so called God many times throughout history. The name "Defacing God" is for me a term used to destroy that cover up and expose people and hold humanity responsible for their own deeds and behavior, not hiding behind some celestial being or creature. That is what the name means to me.

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

We worked together with Peter Sallai from Mortpaintgraphics on the cover artwork and it simply symbolize a woman held down by people, most likely servants of the church but also all the expectations from the society that surrounds her. Out of her chest you see the hand of her inner Lilith breaking free from her chains. What actually happens is a kind of revolution inside her. She breaks free from the invisible chains that held her down, her own negative thoughts and self-restrictions and she will rise as a new, stronger version of herself and we wanted to visualize that in the whole picture of the album.

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

This is a hard question. I barely remember shows anymore because of the pandemic, haha. Things have been a bit slow post corona and we just focused on making the album the last 2 years. 

One specific show stands very clear in my mind though, now you ask about it.. We played a show on a new festival in Copenhagen called Copenhagen Metal festival. That show was so intense and the big hall packed to the breaking point. So many came to see us that the security had to close the doors for more visitors because it wasn´t allowed to squeeze more people in there. They were hungry and in the middle of our witchy ritual everything got so heated (we like to think it was because of that at least, haha) that the fire alarm goes off and everyone had to evacuate and leave the place. The situation got under control and we could return to the stage after a while. Rest of the show was even more intense. I could taste the sweat from the whole front row during the show. Damn, I miss that feeling.

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

We are in the brewing process of a tour, but as said; Things have been slow post corona because every band wants to go on tour again so it has been hard to plan anything. Next year we have a tour in my home country (Denmark) and I think we will have a few single shows after the album release. We count on 2023. That´s the year live music comes back full force and the touring will start. 

8.The new album is going to be released on 'Napalm Records', how did you get in contact with this label?

Yes, that is correct. 

After the release of the official video of our track ´´Succumb the Euphoria´´ we got in contact with Napalm Records. They liked our concept and found the expressions of the topics and theme very strong and that is how our collaboration started. We are very grateful for that opportunity. Napalm Records have shown us such professionalism since day one which is very good for a control-freak like me, so that is how and why I know they are the right label for us to support my visions.

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

It has been great so far. Things went faster than I expected so I just can´t wait to get out there on the road. Nothing more to add.  

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

As said; We are not done with experimenting and developing our sound. 

You can never know what the future brings and you never know exactly what comes out of it when it comes to art. That´s what makes the process exciting! I will not follow any ´´rules´´ so to say so I´ll just wait and see what happens in the work process. If I get inspired and want to try out something else, then I´ll do it. I think especially it is important to leave your comfort zone as an artist. So, there is no limits of what you can do.

From each album we´ll try to push ourselves even harder and see what we are capable of. 

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?

This is not a question I can answer on behalf of the whole band since we are very different from each others in style and personal taste. We tried to find mutual ground and meet in the middle on this and what we sound like nowadays is what came out of that process. 

I am personally drawn to and influenced by especially black metal, darkness and the occult in general. I guess that is very obvious in our expression as a whole.

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

Thank you so much for having me. Take care and I´ll see you all on the road hopefully!

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Renunciation/Autelmorte/2022 Full length Review

 

  Renunciation  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  technical  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2022  album  "Autelmorte"  which  will be  released  in  October.

  A  very  fast  and  brutal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  death  emtal  growls  and  high  pitched  black  metal  screams while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  lot  of  melody.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  yet  technical  style  while  aggressive  shouts  can  also  be  heard  at  times.  Acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard  on  one  of  the  tracks  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  faster  riffing  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  both  old  school  and  modern  influences  as  well  as  one  track  also  introducing  back  up  shouts  into  the  music,  spoken  word  parts  and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  one  track  is  also  an  instrumental.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Renunciation  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  technical  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  "Ariopolis"  and  "Kugelblitz".  8  out  of  10.

  https://renunciation.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Renunciation.band/

https://www.instagram.com/renunciation.band/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6I6upPO89YthG7Bbvpnk3a

      

  

Gnash Interview

 

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

Gnash is a 4 piece blackened sludge band out of Central Ohio featuring the Richter brothers of the band Bather.

2. Later in September you have an EP coming out, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?

Absolutely! Myself and Nicky are in several other bands together so with Gnash, we wanted to try something a little different but still in the realm of heavy music. We love the idea of slow and low riffing with groove pockets. When we went to record the vocals they originally were going to be all a lower “deathy” style but we played around with more of a Black Metal High vocal and noticed it cut straight through so it just made more sense to go that route. It complements the music very well and sits perfect with how deep everything else is around it, we think. What was just a playful, in-studio take ended up being the key to the entire vocal performance on the record.

3. The lyrics on the EP are also a concept album, can you tell us a little bit more about the story you have covered with release?

The concept of the record is a story about a set of conjoined twins and one of them dies, so the living twin must live the remainder of his life carrying around his dead sibling attached to him. I wanted to make a very dark and gruesome analogy of what it feels like to carry around the baggage that comes with mental illness and the toll it takes on someone and the ones they love.

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

Gnash originally was going to be the title of the band's first record. The band was originally called Cast Iron Tongue and after thinking on it Gnash just sounded heavier and perfect for the style of music we ended up writing.

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

Yeah definitely, that was all Nicky’s idea haha! He was thinking that instead of having some artwork that would be subtle or have the meaning secretly placed in the artwork that we should go full on the nose with it and show conjoined twins being sewn together by the hands of a creator. He found the artist who was down to take it on and draw it and it came out great. I’m super happy with it.

6. Has the band done any live shows or are you open to the idea?

Not yet! But we 100% plan on it.

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

Oh yeah, we are most definitely looking to get picked up if possible. We would love to push this record to a wider audience as well as get physical copies made. No bites yet but our fingers are crossed!

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

So far just from the single and music video we have gotten a lot of awesome feedback. People seem to really dig the sound so we are very stoked to see what people think of the rest of the record.

9. When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Definitely wanna do a full length. I think the next record will be another EP, then we will crank out a full length. We want to push the extremes of the next EP even further than what we did for Shared Nightmare. Lower, slower, and throaty as all hell.

10. 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 biggest inspiration musically for this band came from Nicky’s love for The Abominable Iron Sloth (if anyone remembers them). We both listened to them a ton back in the day and that band always came up when we would talk about projects. Nicky, for a short while, left Bather and wrote all the music for the soon to be Gnash record with that band and similar styles in mind so I’d say that is probably the biggest influence on the band. Nowadays we have been listening to a lot more sludge based bands and even some classic stoner bands.

11. What are some of your non musical interests?

I'm also a photographer and videographer as well as a podcaster (like most people haha). I'm a big fan of comedy so my podcasts are based mainly around laughing which seems to be a very big contrast in comparison to how dark and depressing my music projects usually end up being haha!

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

Thanks for everyone being stoked on the band and single and we hope you dig the full record. Follow us on all streaming platforms, and also on all social media, and let us know what you think! Also, keep your eyes open for possible shows and touring in the near future!

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/gnashmetal/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/gnashmetal
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@gnashmetal
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/metalgnash

Condra/Aeonic Tempest From The Abyss/Tragedy Productions/2022 Full Length Review

 

  Condra  are  a  band  from  Chile  that  plays  an  anti  cosmic  and  melodic  form  of  blackened  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2022  album  "Aeonic  Tempest  From  The  Abyss"  which  will b e  released  in  October  by  Tragedy  Productions.

  Rain  sounds  and  classical  guitars  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  direction  while  also  introducing  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  onto  the  recording.  When  the  music  speed s up a   decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast b eats  can b e  heard  and  the  music  is  heavily  rooted  in  the  classic  Swedish  style.

  Vocals  are  mostly  black  metal  screams  while  the  music  also  adds  in  a  great  amount  of  melodic  death  emtal  elements.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  music  also  showing  an  influence  of  the  early  Dissection  era   as  well  as  the  classical  guitars  also  making  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

Clean  vocals  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with a  couple of  the  tracks  also  being  instrumentals  instrumentals.  One  song  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  a  couple  of  the  songs  are  also  long  and  epic  in  length.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Anti  Cosmic  Satanism  and  Occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Condra  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  anti  cosmic  blackened  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Aeonic  Tempest  From  The  Abyss"  "Spectres  of  A  Dying  Soul"  and  "The  Omen".  8  out  of  10.

  http://www.instagram.com/condrablackmetal/

https://youtube.com/channel/UChVFwy6ULNY5I21Xo7Kb94g

Chestcrush/Apechtheia/2022 EP Review

 

  Chestcrush  are  a  band  from  Scotland  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  mixture  of  post  black,  sludge,  death  metal  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2022  ep  "Apechtheia"  which  will b e  released  in  November.

  A  very  dark  yet  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  ep  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  the  vocals  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  death  metal  growls  and  elements  of  sludge  are  added  into  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs.

  Black  metal  screams  can  also  be  heard  at  times  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  grindcore  influences.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  tremolo  picking  also  being  added  into  some  of  the  faster  riffing  at  times.

  choirs,  soundscapes  and  noises  can  also  be  heard  briefly  as  well  as  all  of  the  tracks  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  Touches  of  post  metal  can  also be  heard  at  times and  the  closing  song  is  a  drone  orientated  instrumental.The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressing  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording from  Chestcrush  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  post  black,  sludge,  death  metal  and  grindcore,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "The  Despiser".  8 out  of  10.

  

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