LIISI PUSS (EE) DAVIS BURMEISTERS (LV) ARTURS VILMANIS (LV)
ARCHIVHATE@GMAIL.COM HTTP://ARCHIVHATE.BLOGSPOT.COM HTTP://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/ARCHIV.HATE
Somewhere in the middle of the February 2008 I called good friend of mine. I had decided to make my first tattoo and he was kind enough to help me fulfill my dream. As of now I remember that day meeting my old friend who I had not seen for many years. I had no experience in getting tattoo’s, nor hadn’t seen any of my friends getting them. Uncertainty with heavy hangover resulted in indifference, yet enduring interest about this tattoo process. Still, I felt that this is the moment where my life started to change. There was an amplifier and a huge Radiotehika loudspeaker in the room. Rosetta “Wake/Lift” was set as a soundtrack for my life changing process. It started with the “Wake”. Yeah, I was really surprised how painful it was. Definitely, life changes come through pain, in every possible way. I started to become addicted to this pain. Heavy tattooing has followed during couple years – making, remaking and improving. Pain! The best part of being tattooed was exploring new sounds. Friend of mine shared his music collection’s best releases every time we met. It started with already mentioned Rosetta, then Cult of Luna, Isis, Old Man Gloom Cavein, Tesa, Neurosis, YOB, Minsk, Nadja, Kongh, Mastodon, US Christmas and many more. I just can’t name them all. Some of you might remember one of the best blogs in the world – Sludge Swamp (RIP). There was EVERYTHING! Sludge Swamp served as inspiration for many bloggers and it was incredible source for music exploration. I also was inspired by almighty Sludge Swamp, but I decided to make a different kind of an approach – share only free of charge legally downloadable music provided by artists. I made my call. I called it - ARCHIV HATE.
ARCHIV HATE founded in January, 2011
CONTENT: SLAVES BC
HYDRA HEAD RECORDS BENEATH OBLIVION MONSTER ALPHABET DARK OMEN RECORDS/DEPRAVATION VON DRAKUS MOST WANTED RELEASES FALL’12
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INTERVIEW WITH A HARDCORE BAND SLAVES BC
SLAVES BC
INTRODUCE US TO SLAVES BC. We're just a group of dudes that share a love of music. Jason plays bass with lots of fuzz (from his Sanford & Sonny Bluebeard). Sean plays guitar with his beard. Rick has a hundred guitars but usually just plays one…for recording (Gibson Les Paul), for shows (Gibson SG), for practice (Fender Telecaster with a Dimarzio Tone Pro pickup), you get the idea... Josh screams until he throws up or passes out. And Stephen bangs his drums... and sometimes plays them. IT’S NOT A SECRET THAT YOU HAVE FREE SPOT IN SLAVES BC LINEUP. YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A NEW DRUMMER. STILL LOOKING AND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR? Yes. (Don't tell Stephen) Just kidding. We're very happy with how fast he's learned our songs. He's a great guy and most importantly he's reliable. I MUST ADMIT THAT I’M PRETTY IMPRESSED WITH “THIS WORLD SHALL PASS AWAY” DEMO. IT’S ONLY A DEMO, BUT IT’S .. IT’S A KICKASS DEMO! IS IT A SELF-RECORDED? Thank you! The songs came together really naturally. Each practice someone has a new riff or makes one up or has some sort of creative idea. We still can't stop making new songs. Josh's Dad recorded us in his personal studio. We call him Dr. Weedbeast aka The Wizard because he's just magical behind the boards. “BELIEVER'S RESPONSE” AND “LUCIFER BOUND” ARE THE SONGS WHICH I LIKE THE MOST FROM YOUR DEMO. CAN YOU NAME ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS FROM THIS DEMO RELEASE? We all have our personal favorites but we all agree that we enjoy “Hide Us, O' Death” quite a bit. We had a lot of fun making it and once we had all the parts organized, I think we played the ending over one hundred times… and then played it slower and slower a hundred more.
SLAVES BC ARE WORKING ON A NEW MATERIAL. WHAT CHANGES CAN WE EXPECT IN SOUNDING & STYLE? We've become more comfortable playing together and have a more focused direction on our own style and what we want to create. You'll hear a lot of the same elements that make Slaves BC songs what they are, but with a lot more influence of black, stoner and doom metal forming the foundations of the songs. DOES RECORDING PROCESS DIFFER FROM THE DEMO RECORDING SESSION? THIS TIME IT SHOULD BE MORE COMPLICATED, RIGHT? Actually, we don't know yet. We're going in to record at Very Tight Recordings (Code Orange Kids, Heartless) on October 6th and 7th, and it will be our first experience in a professional studio. WILL THERE BE SONGS INCLUDED FROM “THIS WORLD SHALL PASS AWAY” DEMO TO THE UPCOMING RELEASE? No. This World Shall Pass Away is still being worked on, and it will be its own full-length album, separate from the new stuff. WHAT INSPIRES BAND FOR THE LYRICS AND TITLES OF THE SONGS? The lyrics on This World Shall Pass Away come directly from the Book of Revelation. It is basically a concept album that tells the story of Revelation from the viewpoint of different people that are experiencing it. The new stuff will reflect some of the ideas found in the Book of Ecclesiastes. WHAT ABOUT ARTWORK - WILL THERE BE THERE? Josh has done most of the artwork for Slaves BC and will continue to do so. There are artists that we would love to do work for us. Jacob Bannon would be a dream. NAME THOSE SPECIAL RELEASES OR EVENTS WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO DO WHAT YOU ARE DOING RIGHT NOW – SLAVES BC? We
have all had a passion for music from early on. So we've always been involved in music in one way or another. Also, whiskey.
WHAT BANDS ARE YOU LISTENING TO DAILY? PLAYING GIGS WITH MENTIONED BANDS? TOUR PLANS FOR SLAVES BC THIS YEAR, NEXT YEAR? We haven't made any plans to tour yet. We're mainly focused on recording right now. So far we've played with Cousin Sleeze,
the recently reunited Once Nothing, and The Atlas Moth. The shows keep getting better and better. We're super stoked for an upcoming show with Nachtmystium, Jarboe, and Weapon. Jason has been listening to some new stuff like Fister, Grime, Dopelord, Dopethrone, and a lot of old stuff like Cream, Taste, Josefus, Blue Cheer, Blind Willie McTell, Son House and older Blues and Rock bands. Josh has been jamming to Converge, Electric Wizard, Graveyard, Watain, Nachtmystium, and Lord Mantis. And political news talk radio shows. Which is a mistake. Sean doesn't listen to music. He spends most of his time grooming his beard in silence and tending to his zen garden. But if he were to listen to music, it would probably be a lot of Dog Fashion Disco, Knives Out, Lamb Of God, The Chariot, Neutral Milk Hotel, Amanda Palmer, Deftones, and Portishead. Rick has been listening to an assortment of things lately. The last four things he played in his car are Elliott Smith, At the Drive-In, Hopsin, and The Smashing Pumpkins. A whole lot of late '90s alternative music as well. MAYBE THERE IS SOMETHING MORE WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOUR FANS? We're all on a constant search for new music and hope all of you are too. Don't be afraid to research music history and visit music blogs like Archiv Hate, Metal Sucks, and Cvlt Nation and explore your mind.
SLAVES BC http://www.facebook.com/SlavesBC http://slavesbc.bandcamp.com
‌The decision to pull the plug has not been an easy one, and in some ways is a not a choice at all. The simple fact of the matter is we've been running on empty for a while now and cannot afford to keep our doors open for much longer. Years of imbalance between creative ideals and financial realities, personal problems amongst the label operators, an unwillingness to compromise our aesthetic standards, a tendency towards releasing challenging (i.e. unmarketable) artists, and the steady decline of the music industry in general, are amongst the chief reasons for our inability to continue. It is a harsh but undeniable reality, and one which we are attempting to confront with as much integrity and grace as is afforded by the circumstances. There is no way to sum up nearly 20 years of incredibly important music, experiences, and evolution other than to say a big heart felt "thank you", and that we hope this closing will provide an opening into other even more positive and rewarding experiences for all of us and all of you who have been a part of our shared experience. For now we bid you all a very fond farewell.... -Aaron Turner 09/10/12
As a look back at the history of Hydra Head Records, ARCHIV HATE magazine has selected significant records, released by record label. These albums are not sorted by relevance and all of these records, to author confidence have been significant in the history of the record label. XASTHUR – A GATE THROUGH BLOODSTAINED MIRROR (RE-ISSUE, 2008) Re-issue of Scott “Malefic” Corner, one-man black metal project, first album. Most depressive artist issued by Hydra Head. Release held the best traditions of black metal - a lo-fi, dark shades, depression, suicidal behavior (considered to be affected in one case), ambience, at the same time without Satanism, paganism or racial parity properties. Heavy influenced by Burzum and early Graveland. The album was released 2003, only in 150 copies. Over time several record labels re-issued this release, including the Hydra Head. Hydra Head issued 4 more Xasthur records - Subliminal Genocide (2006), Defective Epitaph (2007), All Reflections Drained (2009). Demo material recorded in 2005 was re-issued via Hydra Head in 2010. Xasthur ceased in 2010 and created a new project Nocturnal poisoning. OLD MAN GLOOM – CHRISTMAS (2004) Sludge supergroup made up of members from bands like ISIS, Cave-in, CONVERGE, Zozobra. Fourth, the most valuable album of the Old Man Gloom marks a new approach to the sludge genre. Extremely atmospheric and heavy record. This record will appeal to Cult of Luna and U.S. Christmas worshippers. Aaron Turner to have one say on Old Man Gloom - one of the most engaging projects I have been involved with both musically and visually. Issued with Hydra Head Records subsidiary label Tortuga, where you will find other records - Meditations in B (1999), Seminar II: The Holy Rites of Primitivism Regressionism (2001), Seminar III: Zozobra (2001), Christmas Eve I and II + 6 (2003), NO (2012). JESU – CONQUERE (2007) Calm melodies with heavy rifs and a variety of ambient insertions. Like the Pelican, clean post-metal definition. With this record Jesu set a sound definition for genre. Later Jesu focused more on electronic sounds, multiple textures, mixing sound with forms, characteristic to post-rock. Band has released several splits with Envy, Eluvium, Battle Of Mice. Hydra Head issued the album Jesu (2004) and several EP’s. Last one is Post Ascension (2011). TORCHE – MEANDERTHAL (2008) Drone, punk, stoner, sludge - all combined with a good dose of humor and a powerful sound. A vivid record that will appeal to the postpunk, as well as Sunn O))) fans. Torch musical genre often enters extreme cases, that is why diversity is extremely strong. Hydra Head released Torche's EP On the EP Healer/Across The Shields (2009). In April 2012 Torche released a new studio full length Harmonicraft (Volcom Entertainment).
CAVE-IN – ANTENNA (2003) One of the most prominent Hydra Head issued recordings (although the main publisher of the album RCA). Material includes a very large diversity of sounding with powerful performance. Melody interspersed with serious riffs, aggression with smooth chants, creating an interesting and even original set of alternative and heavy music synthesis. Cave-in was heard around the places with the pieces comparable to radio singles and the band performed shows with the Foo Fighters and Muse. With the next record band returns to the more mundane, heavier and more aggressive sound as were criticized about the record, the promotional methods and the people involved. However, Antenna has taken a major role in the development of the genre diversity. Hydra Head issued all Cave-in records - Until Your Heart Stops (1998), Jupiter (2000), Perfect Pitch Black (2005), White Silence (2011). ISIS – CELESTIAL (2000) Not to mention Aaron Turner cherished project ISIS, without which the sludge scene can’t be imagined. This is one of the few records issued on the Hydra Head. Celestial is planned, together with the record SGNL> 05, together creating a long album, which consists of the sludge, as well as the ambient and electronic pieces. This approach later was overtaken by lot of sludge bands, issuing several albums that are conceived as a combination. ISIS has disbanded, leaving behind a lot of records, which is very important for the formation of sludge scene and genre definition, leaving a strong influence to new European sludge bands. Latest releases ISIS tried to create very clean, seems even overproduced sound, yet not so entwined in this record. It is worth mentioning the ISIS and Melvins split, released on the Hydra Head, who was the last one issued after the announcement of disband in 2010. Melvin can certainly be termed as one of the most influential and important bands in the US, they often collaborate with other artists, issuing the common records. ISIS severity seems sometimes overrated, entering with playfull approach and unpredictability of Melvins. Isis in general has issued five studio albums. HARVEY MILK – S/T (RE-ISSUE, 2009) Existed from 1992-1998 cult group, reunited in the 2006 after which they issued several more records. Harvey Milk played typical for 90's noizrock and punk, by adding heavier sounds. The band was highly recognized, even performed with REM leader Mike Stipe. The first album in terms of sound and composition is still very topical, therefore re-issued on Hydra Head in 2010. KHANATE – CAPTURE & RELEASE (2005) One of Stephan O'Maley projects involving the Hydra Head's founder Aaron Turner. Khanate plays a very atmospheric and dark music, mostly with guitars and vocals. This album consists only of two long compositions. Each of them consists of a strong mood, not the most positive (in the best sense), sometimes becoming the stories, landscapes without limiting structures. Khanate generally released four records - Capture & Release (2005), Clean Hands Go Foul (2009) released by Hydra Head, the other two Khanate (2001) and Things Viral (2003) - Southern Lord.
PELICAN – THE FIRE IN OUR THROATS WILL BECKON THE THAW (2005) Instrumental post-metal, a genre definer. Varied record, became a model for many post-metal and sludge artists, released in Pelican popularity peak. Very typical record of the new US heavy music trying to combine different genres of music, but doing it consistently across all records. The Pelican released four full-length records, as well as four EP’s and five splits. The Hydra Head issued all full-lenght records Australasia (2003), City of Echoes (2007), What We All Come to Need (2009). BIG BUSINESS – MIND THE DRIFT (2009) Cogent classical stonerrock representatives, experimenting within the genre on this album - a bit slower and more complex than other band releases, however, an interesting and varied, which often was a problem for many stoner rock performers. Two more releases were issued on Hydra Head label - Head for the Shallow (2005) and Here Come the Waterworks (2007). BOTCH – AN ANTHOLOGY FOR THE DEAD ENDS EP (2002) Cult group, which ended their activity in 2002. Mathematical modern hardcore, which highly influenced the surrounding scene. A convincing performance in the original approach. After the break-up, the members of Botch formed many different major bands, such as These Arms Are Snakes, Russian Circles, Narrows, Minus The Bear, whos sound already appears on records Botch. Without a mentioned EP, Hydra Head issued the bands studio recordings The Unifying Themes Redux (re-issue, 2006), Death and Religion (re-issue, 2006), American nervosa (1999), We Are the Romans (re-issue, 2007).
List made by Davis Burmeisters
INTERVIEW WITH A DOOM METAL BAND BENEATH OBLIVION
BENEATH OBLIVION, part1/3 Q. PLEASE INTRODUCE TO YOURSELF AND TELL US WHAT YOU DO IN A BAND, AND WHERE YOU ARE FROM. My name Is Scotty T. Simpson and I am the screamer-singer and rhythm guitar in Beneath Oblivion, out of Cincinnati, Ohio USA. Q. STORY ABOUT THE BAND NAME? The name came from some lovelorn poem I wrote a long time ago. One of the lines read ‘to go beneath oblivion,’ and I’d been working on the band’s first demo around that same time. The name seemed to fit the music, sum up everything without saying too much, and be something that wasn’t going to pigeonhole a band that wants to evolve just a little bit as time goes on. I think it’s pretty safe to say that a lot of bands out there don’t put much thought into their names, almost as though they did it at the last minute. Then again, I don’t see a lot of people out there putting much thought into anything at all. Q. BENEATH OBLIVION IS WHAT YOU DO FOR THE LIVING? To say we are doing BO for a living would be to say that we are making money from it, and that’s pretty far from the truth. Speaking just for me though, it takes priority over jobs, relationships, friendships, money, rent, sanity, etc., so I guess that kind of makes it like a living. I think of it more like having a child though. The reality is that we all have dayjobs and pour much of our life-savings into our gear and our touring vehicle, while trying to stay afloat with rent and bills in this failing economy we have over here. Q. I KNOW THAT BENEATH OBLIVION IS YOUR COPING MECHANISM FOR DEPRESSION, HAS IT ALWAYS BEEN THIS WAY? WHAT MAKES PEOPLE TO SUFFER FROM DEPRESSION? Well, yes. It’s far too intense to not be emotionally invested while playing this kind of music. Perhaps even to listen to it, but I have a hard time listening objectively so I wouldn’t know. There are many other much less healthy outlets I could use to cope and I suppose that playing doom metal is better than taking Prozac or seeing a therapist. When I was younger it seemed to be more anger and depression, now that I’m older I think it’s about bitterness and resentment. I’m doing better now [laughs]. I don’t want everyone to think I’m someone who enjoys being depressed, nobody actually likes that and if they do it’s somewhat of a sad statement of their character; but it is the most inspiring emotion if you ask me, because that is where all of the sincerity is in art. Depression is a familiar entity to me and fortunately in time I learned that making the darkest and most emotionally devastating sounds could lead to the greatest catharsis of which I know.
BENEATH OBLIVION http://beneathoblivion.bandcamp.com/ www.beneathoblivion.com - band's website www.mylenesheath.com - the label's website http://www.facebook.com/BeneathOblivion
BENEATH OBLIVION, part2/3 Q. BENEATH OBLIVION HAVE RELEASED 6 RECORDS. CAN YOU SHARE EXPERIENCE WITH YOUR SELF-RELEASED RECORDS? The self-released ones are the Melancholy Demo (2004) and Existence Without Purpose (2006). We also had a drone recording we did in 2005 called Hell’s Half Acre, but it’s nothing special other than it being something that never saw the light of day except for 20 or 30 CDR copies with a label printed on them, whereas the other two releases had some really cool DIY packaging to them that we glued together ourselves. The Melancholy Demo was recorded in my basement with a friend of mine on drums and myself playing the rest of the instruments. It was tracked and mixed in 1 day, and burnt to a hundred CDRs with my contact information written on them, and then a day later I left to attend school for a semester in England, and ended up backpacking about 9 countries in continental Europe. Doom metal and melancholy rock were so much bigger in Europe at the time than in the states so it was no problem finding people to trade demos with in the record shops I went to. By the time I got home I had a few more songs half written and had people to jam with. Existence Without Purpose was the first and only time Beneath Oblivion had ever recorded in a real recording studio. This place was super nice and slick, and should have been way out off our price range but the engineer/owner gave us quite a deal because he’d heard doom before, but said he’d never heard anything like what I was describing and didn’t want us to go to some other studio. It was a bonus that other bands we admired, including thrashcore legends, Hellnation, recorded there. It was then mixed and mastered by Doug White in New York, and released upon the world with the heaviest sound I’d ever heard. It was even a little too good sounding for what I was used to listening to at the time. This was also about the time when Nate Bidwell joined the band on drums, and we started touring a little bit regionally. Q. 2 OF THEM ARE SPLITS (WITH SIN OF ANGELS & ANGEL EYES). WHAT WERE THE REASON FOR THESE SPLITS AND WHY DID YOU CHOSE THESE ARTISTS? The Sin of Angels split 10” record came to us from our friend Reuben Little, who was the bassist in the now defunct band Ocean. We were on tour and stayed at his place in Portland, Maine, when he told us he wanted to put out a split between us and a Providence, RI band he was into, Sin of Angels.
, part3/3 I heard that one of the guys was in the band Warhorse, so he didn’t get any argument from me. For those songs, Jay, Nate, and myself recorded in our practice space where we rented a room in a decrepit old mansion that had a caving in ceiling. At the end of practices we would have to wipe all of the asbestos and dry wall that had crumbled and fallen onto our amps while we were playing. The Angel Eyes split was something we did as a precursor to the ‘FMtD’ record with a different mix and different master than the Billy Anderson version on the album. ‘Be My Destroyer,’ is easily my favorite, and one of the deepest songs we have, so it was an easy song choice. We’d been label mates with AE for a year or two on the Mylene Sheath, and always admired each other, so it’s something I’m glad was able to come together because they broke up shortly thereafter. We just played with their new band Ironborn, when we were in Chicago a couple months ago. Q. LATEST “FROM MAN TO DUST” IS MASTERED BY BILLY ANDERSON (ACID KING, BLACK COBRA, HIGH ON FIRE, LIONS OF TSAVO, MELVINS, NEUROSIS, OM, SLEEP, WEEDEATER). Indeed. Billy Anderson did a great job mastering the album. Maybe next time we will have him play an even bigger role and mix, or perhaps even engineer the next record. He said he’d love to, but that’s at least a year from now and I can’t see that far down the line. Q. WHAT IS THE ATMOSPHERE OF BENEATH OBLIVION GIGS? A lot of very stoned people. Q. WHAT ABOUT NEW MATERIAL? CAN YOU SHARE MORE DETAILS? There’s a lot of new material in the works, but I’d say there won’t be a new full-length record for about a year or so. Until then we will have a cassette release limited to 50 copies and a couple of split 7” or 10” records sometime in 2013. As far as the sound, I don’t want to tell you much because the sound is still very much evolving. Q. WHICH BANDS ARE ON YOUR DAILY PLAYLIST? Katatonia, Tiamat, the Gathering, My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, Skepticism, Nick Cave, Pallbearer, Yob, Agalloch, Magnolia Electric Co., Junius, Swans, Buzzov-en, Grief, Rwake, Sleep, Monarch, State Song, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Silver Mt Zion, Dead Can Dance, Alice Cooper, Waylon Jennings, the Beatles. Q. ANYTHING MORE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY TO READERS? Thank you very much for the interview and for the support Arturs! Thank you very much for the stickers you sent, as I hope the package you received from me is treating you well. Keith and I have been putting your stickers all over our gear. A big thanks to everyone else for checking out this doom metal band from ‘Middle America.
MOST WANTED RELEASES TESA - IV CONVERGE - ALL WE LOVE WE LEAVE BEHIND PLANKS - FUNERAL MOUTH ANAAL NATHRAKH - VANITAS YAKUZA - BEYUL PYRAMIDS - MAMIFFER/PYRAMIDS SPLIT PIG DESTROYER - BOOK BURNER THE SWORD - APOCRYPHON GOD SEED - I BEGIN GRAVEYARD - LIGHTS OUT NEUROSIS - HONOR FOUND IN DECAY CRADLE OF FILTH - THE MANTICORE AND OTHER HORRORS SHINING - REDEFINING DARKNESS EARLY GRAVES - RED HORSE NADJA - DAGDRØM ISIS - TEMPORAL DRAGGED INTO SUNLIGHT - WIDOWMAKER BEHEADED - NEVER TO DAWN BLOODBOUND - IN THE NAME OF METAL NIGHTWISH - IMAGINAERUM MACHINE HEAD - MACHINE FUCKING HEAD LIVE DEFTONES - KOI NO YOKAN SOUNDGARDEN - KING ANIMAL KYLESA - FROM THE VAULTS, VOL. 1 BAD BRAINS - INTO THE FUTURE AEON - AEONS BLACK RINGS OF SATURN - DINGIR AMENRA - MASS V AENAON/STIELAS STORHETT SPLIT SHINING/MONUMENTUM SPLIT
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MONSTER ALPHABET WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/MONSTERALPHABET HTTP://XNEIGHBORX.TUMBLR.COM
INTERVIEW WITH LINA, FROM MONSTER ALPHABET
It’s all started pretty long ago, I remember myself drawing since early childhood. My style's been changing for years, sure. The topic never changed, though.
I've always liked corpses, zombies, monsters, nature and dark motives.
That's one of the reasons why I don't use colors except black and white when drawing (I only draw with pencils and pens). The "concept" has always been to reproduce and depict shapes and textures without using mid-tones and shades and at least try to make the picture look alive. I've been thinking of how to use my pictures outside band-merch and releases, wanted to do something by myself and for myself, in some way. So once at night the thought came down at me and I started choosing the pictures for the zine. I decided to call it MONSTER ALPHABET due to the concept I had under this name:
MONSTER ALPHABET zine is a really small book with a picture matching each letter of the alphabet placed in the alphabetical order. Each is hand-painted and inserted into an individual envelope of random color brown, red, ivory or dark brown.
I made around 78 copies if I'm not mistaken, first 30 were just a test for me, but as far as I could see it had a success and got sold out in less than a week. Then I made the second press and took it to Europe this summer when travelling. I was surprised with all the positive feedbacks I got and I appreciate it a lot. Now the First MONSTER ALPHABET (as I call it) is completely sold out and I'm currently in the process of collecting some material for the new one. Hope it's gonna be of a better quality but still DIY as we all like it, haha.
HOW DID YOU DECIDED TO COLLABORATE WITH BANDS? It started a long time ago. My friend had a band and wanted me to draw some kind of a poster. Then I tried photography as well but failed and decided to go on drawing stuff. To my surprise people got interested and now I consider drawing to be my job. HAVE YOU RECEIVED SOME REALLY CRAZY OPINION FROM PEOPLE ABOUT YOUR ART? SOMETHING WHAT YOU WOULD NOT HEAR ANYWHERE? Once, pretty long ago an anonymous user asked me a question that puzzled me: "Why do you draw pictures that make people feel depressed and worthless?" Sorry, dude, never intended to. Seriously. Well, what I really dislike, as many artists and musicians, I think, is when you're compared to someone else. Each artist and musician tends to become a unique one and that's what leads him or her or them to develop, grow in this respect. Comparisons depress, it feels like you've stolen something from someone. That's the worst, I think. Not necessarily for me, for everyone. Self-criticism does make you stronger. That's the only thing that matters to me. If I don't like what I'm doing I'll never ever let anyone see it, most likely I'll just damage it and start again. And that of course a very hard step to take, frustrations are really hard to overcome sometimes. CRAZIEST ARTWORK MADE BY YOU? Craziest...Well I haven't yet made anything really crazy, I think. But the very unusual to me was the poster I did for Unveil and Run With The Hunted European summer tour. But I really liked the concept and the idea, though. So I was just pleased to do it. FUTURE PLANS? Well, nothing extra - just working further. Still bear tattooing in mind, just need to come up to it one day, I guess. Now I'm about to start working on a very interesting project with Basti (Moment of Collapse). WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO? Never give up! The more you move the more you gain, that's what I think. TAKE CARE. LOVE ANIMALS // LINA
THE KING ON CRUTCHES / MONSTER ALPHABET
THE INVERTED TETRAMORHUS / MONSTER ALPHABET
TATTOO DESIGN MADE FOR DANILA SOCHNEV/DISTRESS, BELONGS TO HIM / MONSTER ALPHABET
SHIRT DESIGN/CONTINENTS. / MONSTER ALPHABET
THE INVERTED SUCCUBUS / MONSTER ALPHABET
SHIRT DESIGN/RUN WITH THE HUNTED / MONSTER ALPHABET
TOURPOSTER/UNVEILXRUN WITH THE HUNTED EUROPEAN TOUR'12 / MONSTER ALPHABET
SHIRT DEIGN/THE TIDAL SLEEP / MONSTER ALPHABET
THE FEAR OF GETTING OLD / MONSTER ALPHABET
THE ICON / MONSTER ALPHABET
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/MONSTERALPHABET HTTP://XNEIGHBORX.TUMBLR.COM
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INTERVIEW WITH GERMAN RECORD LABEL DARK OMEN RECORDS
NTRODUCE TO YOURSELF AND TELL WHAT YOU ARE DOING FOR THE LIVING FOR THOSE WHO NOT KNOW YOU. Hi my name is Jonas. I am 24 years old and I study in Giessen, to become a teacher for elementary school one day, in a future far far away... Since studying alone won't pay the rent I've got 3 jobs...which often is as stressful as it sounds. WHAT CAME FIRST - DARK OMEN RECORDS OR DEPRAVATION? Well, the idea for Depravation came first, but Dark Omen Records was born before. Even though the idea for the label came later. I think it was last fall, when my buddy Jens (who also plays guitar in Depravation) and his band Derelyction wanted to record and release a demo. We talked about on which format they want to release it and stuff. They planned to release it on CD, which I thought was lame (and they have not done to this day ;) ), because I feel that a CD is not such a cool thing as a vinyl or a tape. This was when the idea was born to make a label and release music. It took a while for everything to come together, because we wanted to do something 'special', but this year in spring the first DOR release was finished. DARK OMEN IS OFFERING EXCLUSIVE RELEASES RECORDED IN TO CASSETTE. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS TYPE OF RECORDER? As mentioned above I'm not a huge fan of CDs. I think a vinyl record, or
a tape offers more 'emotional' value. You have to make a bigger 'effort' to listen to a vinyl record. It also makes you listen to the music more intensively. It looks and it feels better than a CD. Well,
unfortunately I'm a broke student who can't afford to release on vinyl. That's why number two on my list was the cassette. It shares many of the above features, but it is way cheaper to produce. It also offers a lot of ways to design every tape indivdually, which is what I try to do. I always like it better when the music I buy has some special gimmick, is limited and is nice to look at. ONLY ONE BAND SUPPORTED BY DARK OMEN IS NOT FROM GERMANY. HOW DID YOU GET KOLOSS FROM SWEDEN INVOLVED? PLANNING TO INVOLVE MORE OTHER COUNTRY BANDS?
I stumbled upon Koloss somewhere in the depths of the internet one day and downloaded their album. The funny thing is, I really got into this band and their awesome record, when I visited Latvia and Estland last year with my girlfriend. We stayed in Riga, which is right around the corner, where you live, as we noted. So we were on a five hour busride from Riga to Tallin and I listened to the album for almost the entire ride.
The music was the perfect soundtrack to the baltic nature which was passing by. Well...enough of romantic anecdotes and coincidences. I just liked the music and had something nice for the tape in mind. So I figured I'd just give it a try, wrote the guys a message and after a few messages we worked everything out. Really nice guys which make awesome music and actually deserve way more attention, than they have. The paper used for the inlays is handmade by the way. So there are not two copies who look exactly alike. I don't have something planned out yet, but I think one or the other future band on DOR will come from other countries. DEPREVATION FOUNDED IN DECEMBER, 2011. TELL US ABOUT THE BAND AND THE BAND NAME. Though, we were founded in December 2011, the idea to start a band was in Jens' and my mind since 2009, I think. We played in a band before, and when the band called it quits we were sure we wanted to do something together. But finding people, a rehearsal space and time to come together and play was quite difficult at that time, since I was living in Mannheim, which is about 150km away from Giessen. We got together with a mutual friend, Fridge (he now plays drums in Harm/Shelter) to play once, but that was it. So we finally got Depravation rolling two years later, when I changed to Giessen, to
continue my studies here. After that it was no big deal. Pelle (drums) and Philipp (guitar), which where friends with us joined. We looked for a bass player and found one, who only was with us for a few weeks, since I guess the music was not quite his style. We quickly found a replacement in our friend Blöcher. So since February we have a constant lineup. This is Depravation and I can't imagine any of these guys leaving. So I'm positive we'll stay in this constellation until the end. THE LYRICS - IT’S REALLY SOMETHING LIKE WHAT HUMAN EXISTENCE IS GOING TO AND THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT IT WILL END LIKE LAST LINES OF THE SONG “RUINS OF MANKIND”: NEITHER KING NOR SERVANT SHALL BE SPARED, GROUNDS RIP OPEN, SWALLOW ALL CIVILIZATION. YOUR COMMENTS TO SONG LYRICS?
We get a lot of inspiration from stuff like the medieval times, inquisition, plagues, the apocalypse, insanity and other dark stuff. So these lyrics are, as one can easily guess, about the end of the world and humanity. I think they are pretty clear and leave little space for interpretation. The end of days will come and nature as well as all people will demise. Hahaha...sounds as if we're some cheap TV-preachers.
WHAT WE CAN EXPECT FROM DEPRAVATION AND DARK OMEN RECORDS IN NEAR FUTURE? We're planning on recording tracks for a full length with Depravation this October. There might be news on our demo as well in a few days or weeks, but nothing worth speaking of just yet. If you want to stay up to date like us on facebook.com/depravationkills and read the newest gossip. Also we hope to play as much live as possible. So if you have a gig for us just hit us up. We'll play for a little gasmoney, food, booze and a place to sleep. As for Dark Omen Records, I will help out Von Drakus (www.vondrakus.bandcamp.com) distributing and promoting their new vinyl. You should definitely check these guys out if you're into agressive Hardcore/Punk. Besides that, there are no concrete plans for now. But everyone should keep their eyes open for news. The best way to do this is to follow the DOR blog or give the Facebookpage a like. www.darkomenrecords.wordpress.com www.facebook.com/darkomenrecords CHEERS, JONAS.
DARK OMEN RECORDS http://www.facebook.com/darkomenrecords http://darkomenrecords.storenvy.com/ http://darkomenrecords.wordpress.com/ DEPRAVATION http://www.facebook.com/depravationkills http://depravation.bandcamp.com/
VON DRAKUS IS WELCOME TO SHARE THOUGHTS AND VISIONS ABOUT THE MUSIC! PLEASE INTRODUCE TO YOURSELF FOR THE PEOPLE WHO MIGHT ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH VON DRAKUS. We are four friends from Gießen, Germany and we play hardcore punk together since 2009. We've so far released a DIY-tape in 2011 called "The Mirror", as well as now a onesided 12", "The End", with the help of Dark Omen and Dingleberry Records. CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE SOUND OF VON DRAKUS? IS THERE SOMETHING WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO DEVELOP, SOMETHING WHAT MAKES YOUR OWN SOUNDING? Although we are influenced by a lot of great bands, we don't strive to sound like any one of them. We also don't care about what sounds hip in today's or tomorrow's hardcore music. We just play music and try to express our feelings... anxiety, rage, despair... this is what comes out of it. VON DRAKUS LATEST RECORD IS “THE END”, RELEASED IN AUGUST, 2012. AVAILABLE DIGITALLY, ALSO THIS RELEASE IS IMPORTANT
BECAUSE IT’S YOUR FIRST VINYL, RECORDED ON 12”. WHAT DOES THE VINYL MEANS TO YOU? We always wanted to release our music on vinyl, it's great. You get a nice large artwork and lyricsheet, and the vinyl itself of course: every piece is unique, it sounds raw, better, and it's overall a much more conscious way of listening to the music. If one insists on a CD, there are 50 handnumbered pieces out there since March, find one, otherwise download it for free and burn it yourself. If one pays for our music, he/she should get something valuable. That's why we chose vinyl and that's why the basic design and artwork was very important to us. Q. THIS IS SOMETHING WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO HOLD IN YOUR HANDS FOR DAYS - THE ARTWORK FOR “THE END” IS A MASTERPIECE. Thanks, we're also really happy with it. We had of course a basic idea of how it should look like, but when Sara and Sam showed us their work, this was something we haven't even dreamt of. The result is amazing and we thank both of them.
INTERVIEW WITH A HARDCORE/PUNK BAND VON DRAKUS
Q. I’M NOT FAMILIAR WITH OTHER SARA WINKLE & SAM WORKS, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE VON DRAKUS “THE MIRROR” (RELEASED IN JULY, 2011) CASSETTE ARTWORK IS DONE BY THE SARA & SAM TOO, RIGHT? No, the tape design and artwork was made by our guitarist Julian. Since Sara and Sam knew this design, and since we did the basic concept for the LP, it shares some similarities with the tape. If you want to see more of Sara's and Sam's work, visit: www.sarawinkle.com/d-e-s-i-g-n bloodbankdesign.tumblr.com And of course, if you don't already know Sam's band GLASSES, you should listen to them: glasseshc.bandcamp.com. BY THE WAY, VON DRAKUS “THE END” IS RELEASED VIA EXCLUSIVE GERMAN RECORD LABEL - DARK OMEN RECORDS. Yes, we're very grateful for Jonas' help. With all his energy, he got Dark Omen Records going in such a short time, releasing quality music. Jonas really puts his heart and soul into DOR, the music and the scene. And so does Tim from Dingleberry Records, who too
helps us with the release and distribution. Like Jonas, Tim is from Gießen and a good friend of us, and he's supporting us since the beginning in 2009. Many thanks to both of them! CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE PROCESS OF THE LYRICS WRITING? I MUST SAY THAT TOTAL DURATION OF THE SONGS FROM BOTH RELEASES “THE MIRROR” & “THE END” DO NOT EXCEED HALF AN HOUR PLAY, BUT SONG LYRICS ARE REALLY LONG ONES. WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO THIS? We play fast, and because we don't want to repeat ourselves over and over again, the lyrics are pretty long. That's basically it. Or André doesn't know when to stop. WHAT IS THE VISION OF VON DRAKUS IN NEAR FUTURE? Right now we concentrate on playing more shows -- having fun, getting to know new bands, people and places. That's always exciting. Of course we keep writing new songs, and if all goes well we will record another release in the coming year.
VON DRAKUS http://www.facebook.com/vondrakus http://vondrakus.bandcamp.com/
Special thanks to team LIISI PUSS (EE) DAVIS BURMEISTERS (LV)
And supporting people JASON CANTU (US) JANIS BURMEISTERS (LV) EDGARS FREIMANIS (LV) DACE LACE (LV) JURIS LACIS (LV) JARMO NUUTRE (EE) JONAS HERDEJOST (GER) LINA (RU)
Try again. Fail again. Fail better. Samuel Beckett
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