Astral Noize Issue 2

A Word From The Editor I read a rather pretentious editorial recently, from a pretentious editor who shall remain nameless, in a zine that shall also remain nameless. In it, the editor detailed how much he hated writing editorials and that rubbed me the wrong way, because if you’re not happy to write a few words for the readers why the fuck are you an editor?

When I laid hands on the printed edition of our first issue, I wasn’t sure if Astral Noize would last another six months. But here we are, six months on, and thanks to a fuckload of hard work, hard words and hard fucking Noize, we’ve grown bigger than any of us first anticipated.

Astral Noize issue two is jam packed full of music from across the board. whilst we’ve moved on from purely venerating the crushing glories of the UK doom/sludge scene, we’ve expanded - but we’re still in touch with our origins. Every single artist featured or mentioned in this ‘zine - from the tiniest review, to the most expansive lead feature - is an artist that we all listen to and that we all rate. Whilst we’ve moved on from so much more than doom, our passion for the artists and music we cover has stayed as strong as it ever was, and ever will be.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank you, the reader. We couldn’t have grown to the point we’re at now without you, whether you’ve been following Astral Noize since issue one way back in May, or you’ve come across this ‘zine through an obscure twist of fate, I’d like to thank you for reading this. You guys are what drive us to make Astral Noize such an excellent publication.

Thanks :) Richard Lowe

The Team:

Designer: Tom Kirby, Co-designers: Dave Brand & Richard Lowe Deputy Editor: George Parr Words: George Parr, Richard Lowe, Dave Brand, Joe Julian Naitsri, Tom Kirby.

Front cover & pull-out: G Day (insta: @daytimetattoos) Illustrations: Kate Woodward (insta: @Kwoodentop), Natalie Byrne (e-mail: Hello@nat-b.com), Mark Cowie.

Printing: Dave Brand Sub Editing: George Parr & Richard Lowe

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CONTENTS 4. BONG 8. DEATH METAL OR NOTHING 9. GIG STORIES 11. HOUSE SHOW DIARIES 12. NECRO DEATHMORT 14. ALLURING 16. ANAGNORISIS 18. AKVAN 22. UFOMAMMUT 24. LONG ASS SONGS 26. MEMNON SA 28. BOOBS OF DOOM 30. KNIFEDOUTOFEXISTENCE 32. FATHER MURPHY 34. BULMA 36. THE LIVE DIARIES: SIEGE 37. REVIEWS 44. RETROSPECTIVES

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IN CONVERSATION WITH MIKE VEST OF BONG

Photo: Mark Savage

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How was your appearance at Woodland Gathering? Any thoughts on the festival?

Were someone unfamiliar with Bong, they might be forgiven for expecting little more than another stoner rock band. Plenty of archetypal groove-reliant metallers decide to go with marijuana-inspired names, but amongst the bunch of weed-hazed names picked out by people under the influence of the devil’s lettuce, Bong are somewhat of an anomaly.

The Newcastle-bred group have acquired an extensive back catalogue throughout their 12-year existence, one that boasts an eclectic mix of recordings that tend to forego the groovy riffs of their stoned brethren in favour of noisy drone so trance-inducing their prolonged track-lengths fly by. Since signing to Ritual Productions, the trio have been able to produce comparatively more polished albums backed up by solid studio recordings - as opposed to the raw DIY aesthetics of their older work - leading to some of their most hypnotic records yet.

As devoted advocates of the Geordie gang’s spellbinding compositions, we caught up with guitarist Mike Vest (also of 11 Paranoias, Blown Out, Melting Hand and Dodge Meteor, to name a few) to chat about a varied range of topics, including playing live, line-up changes, the advantages of using a studio, future plans and, of course, potential collaborations with Russian throat-singing collectives.

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It went great, we played there a couple of years ago when it first started, and it’s not too far from us in Newcastle so it was easy. Funnily enough, I used to go camping there as a kid, but the festival itself was fairly small, which works well for us, because we prefer to play smaller venues like clubs and pubs and that sort of thing - it kind of felt like a small venue out in the woods.

It was an amazing festival, really small and unique and the sound was banging and really loud! There are not too many people there, which is a positive. It did rain most of the time sadly, but hey, its two hours outside of Newcastle so it’s bound to happen!

So, you were the last band on the Friday then?

Yeah, but not originally, I forget the name now, they’re like a group of contemporary throat singers.

Was it Phurpa by any chance?

That’s the one, I’d never heard of them until a couple of weeks before the gig when I was checking out the other bands we were playing with that I didn’t know and heard them. So, they were meant to be headlining but dropped out which is a shame because it would have been awesome.

So we got to play a lot longer, which is always good.

Funny Phurpa should come up in conversation because I always thought that a BongxPhurpa collaboration would be pretty special!

Yeah, it’s not really proper throat singing, more of a contemporary twist with beats and stuff but to be honest they should stick to the throat singing - the beats aren’t really for me.

We caught you last year at Tor Fest, in Todmorden’s Unitarian Church, and it was probably the best favourite performance of yours we’ve seen. What was your favourite performance?

That’s a tricky one; for starters, I can’t remember all of them! We’ve been a band a long time and played a fuckload of gigs, but the most memorable ones would have to be when we played Roadburn Festival for the second time. That’s definitely the most people I’ve ever played to, we played after a full day in Tilburg and I was totally wasted!

So, it obviously gets a bit stressful, I wouldn’t say it was my favourite but at the time it was quite an accomplishment to play there for us. We aren’t really a band that takes well to being in the limelight, as we’re not the most PR-related band, so doing that stuff is a proper head fuck! In the best kind of way. Ridiculous gig!

The ones I enjoyed the most, though, are probably our outdoor festival performances, especially those at SuperNormal Festival for instance; small festivals out in

the sticks.

What was the reason behind deciding not to continue without Ben Freeth and revert back to a three-piece?

It wasn’t a conscious decision really. It was just the fact that we took a year off a couple of years ago because other people in the band, including Ben, were having children, then when we started getting back into it after Dave approached me. Ben wasn’t really around as much, we played a lot of gigs without him, to be honest most of the times we have played live it’s been without Ben, if you were to count.

So, we just thought it was a bit unfair, especially because he was featuring on all the records but couldn’t make the majority of the gigs. He did have a stressful job, which was a factor, but we kind of just said “look we’re going to do this as a three-piece,” but if he ever was available and could play a one-off, then that would be a bonus rather than a negative. We are disorganised enough without another person in the mix, it works better as a three piece currently, but I wouldn’t rule out him coming back!

What is your preference in Bong’s output?

Your newest releases have been done in a professional manner, with a proper studio with more care and clarity, whereas your older material has a rougher, more DIY aesthetic.

Well the last three full-lengths that came out on Ritual; We Were, Are And We Always Have Been, Manna Yuud Sushai and Stoner Rock were all done in a studio so we would consider those to be professionally done, and anything pre-Beyond Ancient Space was pretty much DIY, I suppose.

A lot of the records, such as Idle Days Of The Yann, were pretty much DIY recordings. Going into the studio was better, because it’s easier to achieve what you want with better microphones and a better drum room, but back in the old days that’s just how we did it. We didn’t have the opportunity to go into the studio back then, and there really weren’t many good studios in Newcastle because you’re talking almost ten years ago. Gladly, things have changed a lot since then.

Any preference on an album, in regards to whether it be studio recorded or a DIY recording?

Generally, Beyond Ancient Space is the album everyone in the band enjoys the most. The album reflects a time in the band when things were flowing quite well. It was our first record for Ritual and was a very exciting time for us, considering nobody really took any notice of us for years before that!

I would say though, if we were to do that album again in a professional studio then it would be one of our best if not the best album, I think that’s fair to say. The playing on it is great, but the recording not so much. When it was remastered for the double LP on Ritual, that brought it out a lot - it sounded way crisper.

I do also like Stoner Rock, I think that album is perfect to process your thoughts to, and when it came to mixing and mastering I found I didn’t really mind listening to it, it was quite soothing, but that did take quite a while because you just ended up getting lost in it!

I do like that record too, it’s a bit of a middle finger to anyone trying to say you’re this type of band or that type of band.

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We do have a laugh about that one, it quite funny to us that it’s been seen as quite a firm statement. That being said though, that element is there, because we got sick of the idea of a band being called a “stoner rock” band, just because you show up and have a toot before you play and repeat a riff more than eight times!

The music itself we do take very seriously, but when it comes down to making statements we do take the piss a bit.

We are right though, in as much as people, and especially media, categorising bands - it just ruins it for me, but people like that subconsciously. If you’re a punter, that would make it easy for you, “oh that sounds like that so I won’t really bother!” So, I’d say it’s not just a bash on people but it’s just something to worry about and it ends up with bands sounding the same, but I think that’s a bigger conversation for another time.

You got your start in live music playing in grindcore/hardcore bands like Joe Pesci and Fuck That, which obviously have a very different sound. Was there any particular reason behind reverting to a slower tempo and more considered drawn-out songs, or was it just the natural order of things?

Well primarily it was due to switching to guitar, because in those bands you mentioned I played bass, you see, but I played in loads of other bands like noise bands and experimental stuff as well. When I was younger, I was obsessed with noise and the rougher end of the avant-garde spectrum - no singing but just instrumentation.

At that time, it was just mates and stuff, anybody who offered me to join their band I would. But yeah, I was mainly into grindcore and hardcore as a kid, but playing bass in bands is totally different to guitar.

To add, I’m pretty sure Bong existed during that time as well, but we just never really did anything serious. We were just messing around, we might have played a few gigs around Newcastle here and there but nothing major.

With Fuck That, Joe Pesci and Ultratrashinferno, they didn’t really last that long, only about a year then they would just implode because it was so chaotic but it was more just something to do as opposed to being inside the music. You would just do your bass bits and then get drunk and play a gig, that sort of thing. It just lacked depth for me at the time, and I don’t really know how the Bong stuff came about, it was just playing together really. There was no real switch, all the music I’ve ever wanted to do in bands is heavy guitars and psychedelia – it’s always been the case. Plus, when you live in a small town and someone asks you to join a band, you just do it!

I know you’re pretty prolific in terms of your output by being in bands such as Blown Out, 11 Paranoias, Lobster Priest and HaiKai No Ku, to name a few, would you say music is your full-time job?

Yeah, pretty much. I do odd jobs here and there but yeah, I play a lot of gigs. I was playing with Bong on Sunday at an all-dayer in Sheffield, and a couple of days before that I was in Portugal playing Milhoes de Festa with Blown Out, so I keep busy doing that. Also, where I live in Newcastle is by the beach in quite a poor part of town so rent’s pretty cheap, so managing this full time is doable.

As well as that, I do sell a lot of records. I used to have a massive collection of all types and genres so I’ve been selling them the last couple of years. To be fair, it’s not like it’s properly working but what else am I going to do, get a shitty job? I’m only on the earth so many years so what’s the point? I’ve hit a lot of bad luck with bands which has

made it hard, plus there seems to be a lot of this booking agent mentality and if you’re not on the inside then you’re going to find it harder. Plus, most of the bands I’m in are quite weird and droned-out so a lot of people don’t know where to put me. Bong are still classed as a metal band, which is fucking ridiculous!

I’d say for me, as well as for Mike and Dave, we don’t need a lot of money to survive and we’re quite resourceful. If anything needs repairing we just fix it ourselves and we don’t use expensive gear and our amps are all in solid states. We don’t practice all the time religiously either, because I think if we did it would lose all of its spontaneity, and when we go into the studio it’s usually up here in the North East so it isn’t too costly. Plus, I know a fair bit about production so can assist the engineer and help him out. So we maximise our profit margins by getting our fingers dirty.

It’s been almost two years since the release of We Are, We Were And We Will Have Been, any word on a new record or something in the pipeline of any sort?

We are going to record an album very soon, we’re just wanting to get a few gigs out of the way first to kind of warm us up for it - it gets your bones and your mind ready for it.

So, the next album will be out on Ritual Productions, we’ll probably lay some stuff down around September but we’ll see. We definitely want to spend more time on this one.

Like, in the past we’ve had time to do albums, but no more than a couple of days, including mixing as well, which isn’t a lot of time if you break it down. So, we’re going to do it hopefully over a few more days and work on the compositions and the vocals.

We’ve been listening to a lot of chanting music so we’re going to try an incorporate that somehow. Another thing we want is the drums to sound like an instrument, rather than just something that keeps the tempo, same with the vocals and guitars to a certain extent, just experiment and make it more psychedelic. I feel the last album, which was good, was quite pastoral whereas for our next we’d like to focus more inwardly, like an infinite spiral. Most of our other output has been quite expansive and outward, we’d like this next album to be very much inward, more of a journey into the mind and more heavily influenced by psychedelia. Who knows? The album could be ready by the end of the year or could take a little while longer, you never know!

When performing live, how do you decide what you’re going to play? Considering you have a lot of material and can’t exactly play many songs considering the nature of their duration.

Normally what we do is when we have a few gigs coming up we’ll stick to the same set for those gigs. Sometimes we’ll do it for eight or nine gigs, that way we find it just evolves naturally. Recently we’ve been playing a new one, which we play at the end of the set and will probably end up on the new record, and we’ve been playing ‘Polaris’ or a variation of it. But we can’t just play one song then randomly play another, they have to blend into one another so selection is quite key to our sets. We usually know what set we’re doing in advance, even if it is the first show in a series of upcoming gigs, and obviously there’s room for improvisation, especially after an all-dayer!

Just before we finish, is there anything you would like to add? Any upcoming shows?

Releases in various bands? Anything fans of

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Bong would like to know about?

We’re probably going to do another album this year, I think.

The same goes for 11 Paranoias, we’re going back to record another album, I’d have thought. Another Melting Hand record [will be done] eventually, and Dodge Meteor’s new record is almost done, which is a project I’m doing with my mate in Italy, but I think that’s about it.

Oh, and I’m doing a solo performance at Super Normal the day before Bong play, it’s a project called Lush Worker which should be good. A lot of album stuff coming soon. I’d obviously rather be playing live, but I’ve come to realise over the years that I need to focus more on albums because I’ve never really had that chance, so I think I’m going to push for that and take full advantage and just progress.

Do you find it easy to just switch between a different band every night, even different bands on the same night?

Well, when I’m playing for two bands in one night it’s kind of weird because your night pretty much disappears, but I never really get mixed up at all. There are very distinct flavours in all the bands so there’s never confusion, but I do get very tired!

There had been a lot of rumours that Bong had possibly called it a day, to the extent that you and Ritual put out a statement putting the myths to rest, what would your take on that be? And do you think that the mystery behind Bong amplifies the rumours and myths that occasionally surface?

Yeah, we had to put out a statement basically saying we were taking a break because Ritual Productions were being asked about it so they said we better say something. We don’t really pay too much mind to it really. People just assume that if you haven’t played in a while that you’ve split up, but in Bong, we definitely like our rests and lie downs!

Interview: Tom Kirby Intro words: George Parr

DEATH METAL OR NOTHING WHEN YOU’RE TRIPPING YOU ABSOLUTE FUCKING MELTS

Whoever said drugs and music don’t mix? As a species, we’ve been gorging ourselves on all manner of intoxicants since we first discovered grapes that had gone off got us fucking wrecked. Moreover, whilst there isn’t much hard evidence, it’s probable that humans have been utilising said intoxicants to enhance our enjoyment of music, ever since Grug ate that funny looking apple and decided to bang three rocks (back in my day we banged two bloody rocks together, never did me any harm) together in a cave.

In a slightly more civilised (read: polite) age, this practice is still commonplace. Every weekend across the world, people cram themselves into tiny spaces and get fucking muntered. Be it those cheeky one and a half bottles of vodka, or boshing three pingers out until you are certifiably chewing your own mouth off, music enjoyed in one of many stages and forms of intoxication is a glorious thing.

For many of us, death metal isn’t all indecipherable vocals and misogyny. The stereotypical meat, potatoes and blastbeat formula we know of today, arguably laid down by the far more soulless rackets espoused by Cannibal Corpse is what we think of when we hear the term death metal, that isn’t the case.

Within the far more atmospheric confines of death metal’s genesis in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, a plethora of sounds of varying degrees of speed, complexity and melody existed. Back then Morrisound was king, production techniques were far murkier, as they still hadn’t quite caught up with the sonic intensity of the genre. It was through rough and ready production endemic of death metal’s earliest days, that evoked an eldritch strain of unspoken, unintentional noise, lending the genre an almost psychedelic atmosphere.

This atmosphere really lends itself well to listening whilst intoxicated, especially under the influence of particularly ponderous substances. Getting caught up within the doom-grind of dISEMBOWELMENt (the 90s Australian band, all other Disembowelment’s are fucking shiters), or having your brain gently melted by the chaotic emanations of Demillich’s prog-death rackets is incredibly enjoyable under the influence of any form of trip-inducing intoxicant.

Acid is a drug that defies expectations –you won’t necessarily see pink elephants, but you will have your mind ripped out of its fucking shell. Ultimately the drug is about breaking down barriers, and what better way to break down barriers than to embrace the darkened violence of death metal? As a fan of murky, violent music, and tripping, you’ll often be told to ‘turn that shit off and whack on some shite dad rock’, don’t listen.

Spinning your mates out aside, there’s something to be said for listening to dissonant, vicious music on acid, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing. While a listen to Teitanblood’s seven chalices whilst peaking may – on paper -seem like a really good way to put you on a fucking nasty one, that may not necessarily be the case. Acid is a drug of purification, and the trip a cleansing of one’s spirit, a vehicle with which to move forward into perceptions unknown to your conventionally conscious self. What better way to move forward spiritually than to embrace what you might perceive to be evil, or discordant, what better way to open your mind than to see the other side of the coin?

Whilst some might complain about extreme metal being too depressing/angry/loud, the fact is it’s deeper than that. Death Metal, especially in its early ‘90s heyday (anything post-1994 is for posers), is an expression of human angst, an embrace of the ugliness of the blackened human spirit. From this it can be argued that the ‘evil’ present in so much of the early ‘90s is merely another side of the human spirit, one that we’re scared to embrace.

Acid is all about embracing concepts and notions alien to yourself, but once you’ve embraced the light, should you not then look to its opposite. So next time you’re tripping your nut, tell your mates to stop spinning The Wall for the fourth time in a row (arguably a far more hellish punishment than exposure to death metal whilst under the fragile duress of acid), whack out those ‘00s vinyl reissues, and embrace the darkness.

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Words: Richard Lowe Illustration: Kate Woodward

GIG STORIES My first ever show was Grindhouse, way back in 2010 when I was 16.

Grindhouse have since disappeared, with their members moving on to Budgrief, Solleme, Bodily Fluids, and most recently, Aerosol Jesus. As the night reached its culmination, Grindhouse incited a vicious wall of death, and in what was also my first wall of death, I got punched square in the face. The blood poured all over my grey t-shirt, which I continued to wear until my mum threw it away.

RIP Grindhouse and my bloodstained t-shirt.

Saw Bongzilla live and the guitarist put a spliff up his nose while he was playing the guitar. The crowd was stoned and drunk and people were screaming like they had just been birthed. That must have been one of the most surreal moments of my life.

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Craziest shit I’ve seen was Unsane in Brooklyn, back when Brooklyn was Brooklyn. We walked up to the door of the venue as the bouncer was trying to deal with a dude who must have been drinking all day, slurring and stumbling. He gives the guy a little push and, you know when you’re falling and try to get your feet under yourself, but you pick up speed and end up running?

He goes head first into a tree, trips over a fire hydrant, bounces off a parked car and lands in the middle of the sidewalk bleeding and groaning. We stepped over him and went right in, I didn’t want to see where this was going.

I looked at my friend as we walked in and I said “Scattered, Smothered, and Covered” and we laughed as we got a beer.

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A HOUSE SHOW DIARY

Photographs: Thomas Kirby

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Necro Deathmort: Saxophones, Jungle And Self-Determination Formed out of a mutual love of hardcore and jungle, and influenced just as much by grind-freaks turned experimentalists Mick Harris and Justin Broadrick as they are by Aphex Twin, Necro Deathmort’s anomalous atmospherics have seen them find a place amongst UK metal’s experimental new wave.

We caught up with Matt Rozeinik, one half of the duo ahead of their latest release Overland, for an insight into Necro Deathmort’s creative processes, their place in the scene, and what the future holds.

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Speaking to Matt, the first thing that might strike you is how chatty and open he is, in complete contravention of the grim, obfuscated public image so many try-hards in the modern extreme music scene might attempt, but Necro Deathmort are not a group who play by anybody’s rules but their own. Fresh from a shift at Dalston’s extreme metal mecca Crypt Of The Wizard, he talks animatedly about Necro Deathmort, a project he’s clearly passionate about, and tentatively jokes about his last experience of an interview (with Noisey): “that interview descended pretty fast into sarcasm unfortunately.

They were saying that the last album that we did last year was kind of ambient, and what happened to all the beats? When they said that, I said, you guys’ll be asking where the ambience has gone on the next one. Overland’s got more beats, maybe like, two”.

Despite the morbid triple threat of their name and their place: nestled comfortably in with the UK doom scene’s recent burst of experimental fervour – Necro Deathmort’s steadfast refusal to be pigeonholed, or to allow their sound to stagnate is the key to their success. The duo aren’t afraid of a bit of a pisstake either, as Matt continues on the subject of gently ripping on the music press, “funnily enough, I wrote a press release when I was pissed. We get bored reading the same shit about us - it suggests people don’t listen to the music as much, so I wrote a press release describing it as being dark, doom metal shit. It had all of these jokey, bitchy things, and a lot of people just wrote about it without actually listening to it”. It’s this disavowal of the processes (and perhaps through this, the pitfalls) of the contemporary music industry, and the enjoyment they derive from this disavowal, that drives Necro Deathmort’s tireless innovation.

This innovation lies deep within the band’s ethos, and it’s the result of a steadfast refusal to attempt to emulate the success of others, as Matt explains: “people listen to metal because they know what it is – they know that it’s going to be x y or z, it’s going to deliver this, it’s going to have blastbeats and shredding and harsh vocals, but once you’re that band, where do you go from there?”. Despite their lack of enthusiasm with regards to being an all shredding, all growling, blastbeat laden extreme metal group, it’s to be noted that Necro Deathmort aren’t ashamed of their metal origins: “That’s our roots,

I’ve played in lots of bands, when I met AJ we were both into heavy music.

Within our music there’s a certain heaviness, it probably is the kind of electronic music that people who are into heavy music would make. All of our friends and peers are in heavy bands, although we’ve never been part of any other scene, so that was always our background, we were always playing with heavy bands, we still do, even though we’re still the synthy bleepy band”.

Through aforementioned refusal to get in line, the duo’s unique brand of noise, and tireless worth ethic have resulted in their signing to forward thinking Canadian label Profound Lore: “The labels we’ve worked with have been great, we’ve never had to DIY it, particularly with this record, as this one has come out with Profound Lore, they’ve been totally on the ball. We feel looked after”. Whilst a major label deal might be – to a lesser act – a ticket to well-paid stagnation through complacency, this definitely isn’t the case here.

Major label deal aside, despite their almost decade long lifespan, the duo’s madcap experimentalism doesn’t seem to be waning or sitting comfortably within a box. Across their exhaustive portfolio, they have consistently strived to innovate – resulting in a plethora of incredibly abstract soundscapes, each with a distinctive identity and theme.

From the frenetic synergy of their 2009 debut This Beat Is Necrotronic, to the ominous cyber-doom of EP1, to the claustrophobic ambience of last year’s The Capsule, the wealth of sounds incorporated into the duo’s varied discography is Matt and AJ’s eclectic musical origins laid bare.

On the subject of musical origins, Matt waxes lyrical about his first forays into music: “My first real love was Hardcore back in 1991, I’ve been into it since then, AJ came into DnB a bit later, but both of us were nuts on it”. Jungle and drum n bass were the first things Matt and AJ bonded over musically, and defined their eclectic musical vision: “we didn’t know anybody who liked heavy music and electronic music, it was one or the other, it was a very tribal division between people, you couldn’t be into both, but now it’s totally normal to be into both”.

However, jungle goes far deeper into Necro Deathmort’s sound than simply having brought the duo together - “if you’ve ever made a jungle tune you’ll know: the thickness of the basslines,

and the fatness of production, that’s definitely rubbed off on us”. With their latest release, Overland, the duo’s diverse musical palette has been expanded again, bringing a wealth of acoustic, unconventional instrumentation and influence to the table: “It’s much less droney, there are more songs on it, it’s a new sound for us, and we haven’t really found an eloquent way of describing it yet. It’s earthier, that’s what the title refers to”.

Despite it’s origins in new wave, Overland is a continuation of Necro Deathmort’s refusal to step into any kind of box, as Matt explains, “It’s a lot more layered, The Capsule was a very minimal, bleak album, and this one is a lot thicker sounding – we tried out new things really. The influences are different on this one as well – there are a few more bits that are cyclical kind of music… Sonically it’s very different from The Capsule. We don’t think it’s as spacey and science fiction oriented, it probably will sound like that, but we don’t think it will”. The album has also introduced entirely new spheres of influence, resulting in a “terrestrial sounding, feet on the ground, hands in the soil vibe”.

It’s this grounded ethos has brought unconventional instrumentation, most notably the saxophone, into the mix on Overland - in contravention of the science fiction-esque sound design which has previously defined Necro Deathmort’s sound, “We pushed ourselves to make it sound like a record we haven’t done before. We are very much in danger of being ‘that band’ with a predictable sci-fi drone sound, so with the new one there are a lot more influences”.

Whilst Necro Deathmort remain firmly nestled within the UK’s burgeoning extreme experimental scene, their creative process is another way in which they stand apart from the crowd, as Matt explains: “We won’t start putting an album together until we have a tonal palette. With The Capsule, by the time we finished EP3, we had three or four songs that were

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from different eras with the same texture and the same vibe, quite a cryptic, minimal sound. Then we get three or four songs together in line with what we want it to sound like, and then that’s when we start really getting our teeth into it. That often happens before we’ve finished the record that’s coming out… A lot of albums that you would have heard, there would be songs on there that would date back from before the last album”.

In modern electronic music, it’s somewhat fashionable for electronic artists to keep an archive of unreleased dubs in holding - but for Necro Deathmort it’s all part of the ongoing creative process. Mirroring their roots in dancefloor-focused, bassline driven world of jungle, the duo retain a seemingly endless back catalogue of experiments and the results of their synth-driven jams.

Whilst in DJ culture, this takes the form of exclusive rarities, pumped out at club nights and in exclusive mixes, Necro Deathmort’s motivations are far more complex. This also enables an entirely non-linear creative process - “You read about how Slayer did Reign In Blood and they say that was the next ten songs they had ready.

It sounds like such a complete work, but for us the concept is more sonic with each record, than anything else.

On The Capsule, there’s a song on there that we did in 2011 and it was completely live, it was a live recording of us making the song on the spot.

It just sat in the archives for a while.

How we work is we like to have a tonal palette between each record”.

This process doesn’t come without excess however: “We‘ve got several hundred bits, we got hard drives of stuff that we don’t know what to do with. With those tapes, we don’t want to present it like it’s our magnum opus, it might be throwaway but it’s still worth listening to”. As a result, the duo have created their own platform Extreme Ultimate, for the purpose of “releasing our more experimental,

rougher stuff. We’re not trying to trick people into thinking these releases are new albums, but it’s a bit of a problem being what might be described as prolific because it can confuse people maybe. I can understand if someone was like ‘oh this bands really heavy’ and then they picked our techno thing or our krautrock thing and they might not be into it, so it requires a lot of patience being into the band”.

For Necro Deathmort, tiredness and apathy aren’t really a thing, and constantly challenging their sound is perhaps what drives them. With the follow up to Overland already on the horizon, there’s no doubt we’ll be hearing a lot more from them, probably sooner than we might expect too: “we’re a third of a way into the recording…There’s going to be some guests on the next record. Our friend Barney is playing sax on it; there’ll be some other real instruments. The next record is kind of like a mix between The Capsule and Overland at the moment, but who knows, that could all completely change”.

Words: Richard Lowe

Alluring: Mourning, Despair and Dead Horses.

Those who’ve followed Colloquial Sound Recordings, or thework of its American founder Damian Master, may have been surprised when a release from his doom project Alluring dropped earlier this year. The bleak funeral doom that comprised the self-titled release had not been heard since 2013 demo The Room, but while the project had been dormant long enough for fans to be forgiven for thinking it was unlikely to return, this year’s new self-titled release marked a surprise but welcome return for Master’s solo doom venture. Comprising a stark and desolate form of doom with an emphasis on a palpable atmosphere, the release is as devastating as it is unique.

This originality aids Alluring in standing out amongst the crowded doom scene, but Master cares little for labels. “Any sort of ‘unique’ or ‘experimental’ tag that gets applied to Alluring because it exists outside of the standard accepted definition of what this thing is – it’s not by my design,” he clarifies. “I just make the music that I want to hear. All of those tags and words have no meaning to me.

It’s nice if they mean something to you, or if you feel that I exist on some different frequency from the norm, but I just make the music. I leave all else to anyone with the ears to hear and the heart and head to interpret.

Whatever someone labels it as, as long as they’ve invested the time and energy into digesting the music, whatever it means to them – that’s valid. I won’t take that away or tell them they’re wrong.” The influence of funeral doom on Alluring does not stop at the instrumentation.

The overarching themes apparentthroughout the release seldom stray far from the established miserable rhetoric. “I did want to stick to the traditional themes and tropes of funeral doom, even though many of my other projects veer from what is traditional content,” Master acknowledges. “The themes are as you would expect: mourning, despair, misery, and the darkness surrounding the human condition. You could wrap that up in a single package and say “depression,” but it reaches slightly beyond that. Like most of my work, it deals with reconciling life on this earth, and the pain and strangeness we live every day – and the hope for something better or perfected beyond this world. A new life, a new creation, a restoration of a soul corrupted by a fallen world.”

Essential to the power of Alluring is a relentlessly heavy edge that seemingly borrows from death metal in its intensity, but Master admits that death metal is his least favourite style of metal. “I hate the technical death metal masturbatory stuff The stuff that’s so musically complicated just for the sake of being complicated. It’s just gross to me,” he exclaims. It seems most clear, then, that the focus of Alluring is not only a forceful heaviness but a profound atmosphere found in the most enchanting of doom metal. ”Doom metal is a huge influence,” he says. “I love how soulful it can be. I love how the guitars often speak where the words cannot, or don’t. I love the atmosphere. Atmosphere is my favourite

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thing in music. I love to listen to something, and just be transported somewhere mentally.”

“Atmosphere is everything,” Master continues. “When we use this word in the context of underground metal, it has a really distinct and unique meaning. It’s not something easily explained.” This emphasis on atmosphere stems from Master’s aspiration to craft a mix of Nortt and Asunder (“no one did it better than Asunder, they’re a perfect band”) and is present throughout the four tracks that comprise the self titled album. “Atmosphere in music has to come naturally, it cannot be forced,” he says. “Atmosphere isn’t busy musicality or technical fretboard wizardry. So, in the context of this topic, atmosphere is the most difficult thing to impart because it’s not what you do, it’s what you don’t do – it’s the breath between the breaths.” In a sense, as Master admits, this atmospheric focus is what sets Alluring apart from traditional doom bands. “It’s almost this alienating thing for some people,” he explains. “They just want to see the meat of something, they want to see the bones and structure right away. I like that too, at times, but for this project I wanted the listener to be forced to engage with the music in a way that isn’t as immediate. If it struck you imediately, then that’s awesome!

However, there are things and sounds buried deep in the mix that are there to be unpacked across multiple listens. I encourage people to put on a nice pair of headphones and get lost in the songs.

There is more to be discovered in time.” Rather than restricting himself to one genre, Master often drifts from sub-genre to sub-genre.

Though he seems to have a passion for breeding captivating but dark atmospheres with Alluring’s funeral doom, he admits that it “is one of those sub-genres that I’ll latch onto for a period. When the mood strikes to listen to funeral doom, nothing else will suffice. It can be so enveloping and suffocating. It can be beautiful and crushing at the same time.” Each of his projects take on a different name, but he would argue that “they are all really under one umbrella.”

Though he has experimented with ambient and industrial, mainly with Locust Leg, the majority of his work falls into the categories of punk and metal. “Even though the styles across the many projects seem quite different, and they are to an extent, I view all the subgenres and styles within metal and punk to be ‘kissing cousins’, if you will,” says Master. “They are not that different, they’re just different interpretations of the same basic idea. I am not one of those guys who puts out ametal record, then a reggae record, then a jazz record, all leaves on the same tree.” Master may see his releases this way, but what’s clear to long term listeners is that Alluring stands out amongst the bunch for its speed, or lack thereof, alone. A Pregnant Light, perhaps the project Master is most known for, may be mostly mid-tempo but most of his

experience, in bands like Aksumite and Prison Suicide, favours a punk-inspired inclination for quick tracks with short lengths. “One thing that intrigued me as an artist about this project was tempo,” he says. “Fast music feels reckless and wild.

It feels like freedom. With Alluring, I really wanted to dig into the other side of things and slow things down. I wanted to let the music breathe. I wanted there to be negative space and tension.

In writing these songs I felt incredibly refreshed and inspired, even though I was in a dark place while writing them. I had gone through, and to an extent still am going through, a dark period of my life and found myself drawn to that emotion – the dirge. I wanted to explore something that was monolithic and slow moving yet maintained melody and power.”

Given that Alluring’s dismal funeral doom had not been heard for some time, it would seem that Master took this time meticulously crafting the release. In truth, though, Master simply revisited the project when inspiration hit. “I just waited until the emotion and time were right,” he explains. “Creativity is not a faucet. It can’t be turned on and off at will. Or maybe a better illustration would be a soda fountain. People think thatI just walk up, and see all these options and flavours of music, and just decide ‘I’ll have this flavour today!’ but that is so far from the truth. As an artist, I have to work every day and chip away at this invisible force you are fighting inside of you, or at least, the force you suspect lives inside you. “I didn’t spend five years composing the follow-up,” he explains. “This full-length was written across two, or maybe three, inspired days. I had to wait for the spirit to come. I was just as surprised when it came to me as many were when they saw the new release from Alluring.”

Master always plans to continue his projects, but he keeps no sche dules. “It’s my job to be a willing and dedicated artist who takes the craft seriously,” he says. “It’s a sacred art to me. It might not be to some people, and that’s fine, but it is a very serious and holy thing to be able to create this music. It’s an honour, privilege, and tremendous responsibility.

Whatever I do, I want it to be of the highest quality I can give it.” A solo project in every sense of the word, Master taught himself to record out of necessity and has recorded an array of releases himself under the Colloquial Sound Recordings banner. “I just want to play guitar,” he admits. “Ideally, if I had the financial means, I would go to a proper studio and work with an engineer on every project.” Using the same equipment for seven years and knowing the minimum required to produce the albums, he admits that any change in fidelity or quality is just him gaining experience in the skill. “It’s just me using what I have, which is very simple and meagre,” he clarifies. “In short, yeah, I record and mix stuff, but it’s only because I can’t afford to pay someone else to do it since I record so often and frequently, so don’t ask me for advice!” Though it would seem that Alluring has benefitted from Master being able to fully realise his vision alone, he admits that he prefers the group dynamic possible in bands, and he has enjoyed working with others whilst co-producing for local acts.

“The vast majority of my output is solo. I really never intended it,” he confesses. “Some of my stuff, like A Pregnant Light, will always be, at its heart, a solo venture for writing songs. Alluring isn’t solo for any reason other than when I am inspired to work and be creative, I don’t want to be at the mercy of other people’s lives or schedules or limitations for the creative process. I very much enjoy the process of a band working on an idea together, but I’m not going to sit around and wait for that perfect dynamic, which is incredibly rare to find anyway, to come along and bring Alluring to life.” Though he would be open to adding more members, Master

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would rather wait for them to come to him. ”I’m of the theory that if someone is meant to be a part, hopefully, they will present themselves in some way,” he says. “If not, things will continue as they have been. Creation, the act of making music – that is the only obligation I will honour in any situation. It’s very much a ‘many are called, but few are chosen’ type of situation.”

Master even made the album’s artwork himself, a striking cover utilising an image he observed in a history book. “The future, technology and that sort of thing, it has no bearing on me – I don’t care. I am totally obsessed with history,” he explains. “I believe history gives us a frame of reference as to how we are the way we are today, and perhaps, if we interpret it and study it carefully, we can make decisions that make for a better today.”

Whilst perusing books on his favourite era of history to study, World War II, Master says he came across the image and it stuck with him for years. “WWII seems so far away, but yet, in the scope of time as a whole, it was really only seconds ago. We live in this age where anyone has access to anything at any time, and things are more extreme than ever. The way to access those things is easy. We can see murder, war, pain and suffering on demand. I’m intrigued partially by WWII because it was sort of the last Great War that wouldn’t be shown on television or viewed on people’s phone screens. It was a major conflict, and for Americans, Pearl Harbor excluded, it was in a far-off place.

Americans had some film footage and photographs but this country wasn’t touched like Europe was. Cities were not ravaged and destroyed. The innocent didn’t feel the blade of war like many in Europe did.” The theme of war seems fitting for the gloomy music of Alluring, but in regards to the particular image chosen for the cover, Master explains that “I have always been captivated and intrigued by horses. They play a very interesting role in history.

They appear in a lot of my work, in lyrical references. This era wasthe dawn of the tank and major air-based warfare, but the horse still played a vital role. A horse is a living thing, but it is almost like a machine. They’re amazing animals and humans have done amazing things with them. The image of those dead animals, it just struck me as much as it would for many if it were a pile of dead bodies.

Of course, they are surrounded by destruction and the fallout from war.

It just seemed like a perfect way to pay tribute to the emotion of the album. Grief, death, and taking thefight as far as you can. We all will fall, we will all die, some will lead insignificant lives and never be remembered – and some will do great things and be brave. I’d like to think those were brave horses. The image on its own was strong, but it was so raw and had so much power, I felt the need to frame it with something else. The border image is taken from a photo of some woods, with a hole leading to some place unknown, slightly visible in the lower right-hand corner.

The natural world alongside the chaos of the human world. Some people have reached out to me saying they really liked the art as well as the music, so that really excited me – I was glad I was able to convey something visually.” The visuals of the artwork are undoubtedly effective, but it’s the desperate anguish of Alluring’s coarse metal that makes the project’s latest release truly memorable. Master may have put his name to an array of different projects, but Alluring is perhaps the most sorrowful – a menacing form of desolate doom that deserves full commendation for its atmospheric weight and commanding riffs. It’s unknown whether the mood will strike Master again for another Alluring release anytime soon, but the impressive natureof its stately doom will have listeners hoping it does.

Words: George Parr

ANAGNORISIS: NAZI PUNKS FUCK OFF There’s a history of otherworldly aesthetics in heavy metal, and debatably the sub-genre most guilty of this is black metal. Often aiming for an evil or inhuman appearance, black metallers have long covered themselves in corpse paint, adorned album covers with Satanic imagery and undecipherable band logos and used pseudonyms plucked straight out of horror novels and Satanic literature. All of this, one could argue, seeks to distract from the human nature of the music, but it is also the result of a genre that embraces ideals like iconoclasm, pride and self-rule. American metallers Anagnorisis care more about the latter than the former. The band’s third full-length, Peripeteia, created after the passing of frontman Zachery Kerr’s father, is a cathartic release with genuine emotional weight that burns up the black metal rule book and forges something original from the ashes. It’s a hard-hitting release, but one that doesn’t shy away from what black metal is really about – independence.

The loss of Kerr’s father seeps into the touching emotive side of the music, and the album is interspersed with audio tapes from Kerr’s childhood that he found after returning to his parents’ home. Peripeteia uses blistering black metal, brooding shoegaze textures, gothic gloom and crushing post-hardcore to tell a personal tale for Kerr, whilst breeding an entirely original take on black metal. It’s fair to assume that some resent being pigeon-holed into metal’s endless sub-genres, but there’s a broad range of bands now categorised within black metal, arguably meaning there’s enough space to innovate and experiment without too many purists accusing you of the leaving the genre. “Black Metal to me means liberation,” says Zak Denham, the band’s guitarist. “Liberation from the standards and musical rules that define what is acceptable. This liberation could also be called freedom, and we all know from [former Gorgoroth frontman] Gaahl’s famous interview that freedom = Satan, and Satan = freedom. Thus, to me, Black Metal = Satan.”

“Freedom from the constraints of convention is paramount to Anagnorisis creating music,” he notes. This attitude extends throughout the creative process, and Denham, as the band’s chief songwriter, envisions the potential musical creation as its own entity, perhaps even a human being. “I try to make my musical and aural decisions to respect that ‘goal’ of a being,” he explains. “This pursuit of respect often manifests itself in experimental ways, integrating all sorts of different instruments, sounds, rhythms, harmonies, cadences and effects, even mixing techniques, leading me to create a ‘being’ that I view as being an upstanding exhibition of the album’s thesis.”

With each release, these techniques seem to push Anagnorisis’ sound further and further from traditional genre conventions.

When asked if this is their aim, Denham explains, “I believe creating good art often involves challenges. Challenging ourselves to create works that are innovative and inspiring means that we have to look past the typical conventions of our genre and music production in general. Our aim for each release is

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to create a unique artefact, an aural movie that moves the listener/viewer. How else would this be created without pushing the envelope? Peripeteia does this in spades. Pushing the aural envelope with a large variety of instruments and effects whilst also integrating the tape samples from Zachary Kerr’s childhood. Conceptually, the cyclical design of Peripeteia, Beyond All Light and the integration of both records in a macro cycle pushes the envelope of what a contemporary metal composition looks like.”

Indeed, freedom, be it from genre limitations, religion, fascism or anything else, is a mainstay ofAnagnorisis’ work, not only in terms of boundary-defying instrumentation, but thematically, with the band’s name itself supposedly meaning “self-realisation and personal discovery.” Such themes tie in nicely with the atheistic, and occasionally Satanic, motifs presented across Anagnorisis’ work, given that they seem to favour personal achievement over those valued by any kind of God. “Our EP Alpha And Omega was titled that for precisely this reason,” explains Samuel Hartman, the band’s keyboardist. “You - the individual - are the beginning and the end, not god. We spoke out against religion on Overton Trees and have continued to do all the way through Peripeteia, while still following the path of our protagonist’s (in this case our vocalist) narrative.”

One could see how an attitude of personal discovery could be applied to writing their material, ultimately making it a cathartic experience. “Anagnorisis creates our works in thematic and conceptual ways focusing on the passion, pain, pleasure and persistence of life,” says Denham. “Through this creation process we discover new perspectives on our lives and realise our past, present, and prospective futures in more meaningful ways. Yes, I think the process can be cathartic, that isn’t the purpose for myself, though others in the band may have different opinions. The purpose of Anagnorisis is to create intensely emotional artistic dichotomies between real life themes, with the ultimate intention of affecting the listener/viewer/consumer of our art in a meaningful way.”

Denham notes that the band care little for how people think they should sound, and that the band prioritises choices based on how best to present their artistic vision before anything else. It’s clear that the various elements of the band’s sound stem from their wide range of influences, with Denham name-checking Pink Floyd, Nachtmystium, Death In June, Abigor, His Hero Is Gone, Claude Debussy, The Cure, and Alban Berg. Also key to Peripeteia, though, is an electronic edge, with Denham clarifying that “many of us in the band grew up listening to industrial music like Skinny Puppy or Nine Inch Nails, so it’s logical that we would draw on those artists and their use of synthesizers to add to our music.

From the start, Anagnorisis has always incorporated electronic elements into the music, initially to fit into the ‘symphonic’ black metal motif, but more so now to do something different

and have synth-lines woven throughout the record. The ambient noise, tape samples, and textures are all part of that.”

Synths and other electronic textures may not have been a part of black metal from the beginning, but one thing that has is a complex and strained relationship with religion. Black metal and Satanism have, in particular, been partners since its origins, something Anagnorisis don’t deny, but there’s an important difference to be noted between the small number of self-professed theistic Satanists, mostly from the Norwegian black metal scene, and atheistic Satanists, who are often associated with Anton LaVey and his Church Of Satan.

“Anagnorisis has always been an atheistic band,” Denham states. “Satanism to us is more centred around worshipping oneself and ‘mocking the cross’ or blaspheming the absurd Christian worldview. Though we don’t really support the Church of Satan officially, our brand of ‘atheistic Satanism’ could be branded LaVeyan Satanism. Theistic Satanists, or Luciferians as some prefer, are by definition theists. As I am sure you are aware, the second wave Nordic black metal scene largely didn’t support LaVey. However, the actual theistic beliefs of the early second wave black metal scene are difficult to define. Yes, they seem to be theistic Satanists, believing in some sort of obscure Gnostic deity/deities but, with the exception of Jon Nodtveidt and the M.L.O., I am unaware of bands like Bathory, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Enslaved, Emperor etc. referencing any specific texts that actually laid out their spiritual beliefs. Thus, it would make little sense to try and compare their spiritual view versus our non-spiritual views.”

“Many tenets of the Luciferian religion and worldview don’t agree with our largely scientifically based worldview, thus, we don’t live by them,” he continues. “That is not to say we don’t like their imagery, passion, hatred toward Christianity, misanthropy, or their tastes in music. In fact, we are into many things regarding theistic Satanism, we just don’t believe in shit that doesn’t have a scientific/factual basis.”

In many ways, Anagnorisis are something the metal scene should see more of, as they shamelessly put across progressive ideals. “I think it is up to the individual musician or group to both hold their beliefs and exhibit them in a respectful way,” clarifies Hartman. “This only goes so far, however; there are times when respect falls short when violence or tragedy strikes, and direct action is the only viable option.”

Such opinions are refreshing to see in black metal, not because they are uncommon, but because they fly in the face of any misguided stereotypes that the genre is a breeding ground for devil-worshippers and neo-Nazis. “’Devil-worshipper’ is a catch-all term levelled at anyone who might wear black clothes and appear iconoclastic,” claims Hartman. “As noted above, we are all atheists; and even our sympathy with Satanism doesn’t extend to actually worshipping Satan or any such nonsense. If one wants to claim that people who listen to heavy metal are ‘evil’ for writing minor triads or tritones and that writing about the darker side of life is ‘Satanic,’ then, by all means, hail Satan. But we don’t worship the devil anymore than we worship Zeus or Yahweh. In contrast, neo-Nazis, and their fascism, is a real problem in both the United States and abroad. Anagnorisis has tried, in some ways, to be progressive against this narrow-mindedness, but our words often fall on deaf ears. Many fans are more interested in headbanging and shredding than thinking about any politically charged topics.”

Hartman notes how this has become a struggle for him, with any narrow-minded people who might hear his strongly held leftist and anti-fascist beliefs being alienated by him speaking out about them, thus removing the possibility of changing their mind. “As a band, we struggle with the same thing,” he explains. “With Trump, however, things changed - we came out openly against him, and continue to support liberal, pro-feminist, pro-LGBT+ ideals. This is not to put up a wall between ourselves and our fans or non-political bands, but to stand up for what we believe is right in a respectful and compassionate way.”

One may expect that the band would experience a backlash from the small minority of bigoted metal fans, but Hartman

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clarifies that such encounters have only happened online. “[There have been] no seriously notable incidents in person,” he recalls. “[Which is] a testament to the fact that the metal community is, by and large, a warm and welcoming bunch.

Most of the music we listen to today can be traced back to the rock, gospel and blues music of the early 20th century, which was largely originated by non-whites. ‘Nazi punks, fuck off!’”

Anagnorisis are no political band, but Denham argues that with the current political climate, they feel the need to state, and stand up for, their beliefs. “There are many bands that, like us, are not overtly political,” he begins. “But these bands have chosen to remain quiet in regards to a variety of important political topics that are at least, in our opinion, plaguing the metal/extreme metal/black metal subculture. Their silence is akin to stepping aside as the bigots spout their ignorance, which does not help to support a healthy and progressive music culture. We want to make it clear where Anagnorisis stands regarding politics and what we view as acceptable in the music scene that we are a part of. However, we respect that the crux of the art we create is apolitical. This places us in a precarious position as we have to constantly balance discussing and promoting our art vs. our political stance.”

“We all identify as leftists of some variety,” he continues. “We rose as individuals and musicians from the punk/hardcore/DIY scene and still identify with proletariat, progressive, anarchistic, atheist, and do-it-yourself ethics. We deplore the racist, sexist, ageist, classist, nationalist, homophobic, transphobic and exclusionary political climate that seems to be on the rise with the election of the fascist Donald Trump. Black metal has always been provocative and misanthropic, an ethos which we embrace and agree with. Accepting and understanding that, we should also acknowledge that often black metal is played, performed, written, promoted, and consumed by white, often cisgender men. Thus when our hate of religion, or simply people in general, gets too specific, we sound like bigots and privileged fucks.”

Though he admits that passionate hateful tenants also played a role in the birth of the black metal scene, Denham argues that key to its mindset were, and are, “intelligence, acceptance, and liberation from mental and socio-economic restraints.” Anagnorisis embrace this side of black metal, and offer the world an alternate view of a genre some fear. Black metal, as Denham notes, is about liberation and acceptance of those different from the norm, and the band show these principles through their unashamed voicing of their views.

“Balancing and vocalizing our strong beliefs while not adding to the oppression of the oppressed is important to us,” he says. “But with the increasing volatile political climate, it seems many (especially white men) are more comfortable spouting insensitive and ignorant opinions. Informing oneself of the struggles of the few will undoubtedly illuminate that these struggles are extrapolated to the many in varying degrees. Their problems are our problems. We hope to combat this ignorance and regressive behaviour through standing against the fascists, fascist sympathizers, and ambivalent or silent parties that perpetuate the objectives of our enemies.

‘The most violent element in society is ignorance.’”

Anagnorisis are far from ignorant, and one could argue that more the band is just what the metal world needs, but with the band’s members living in different US states, progress can be slow. The band have just completed a show with extreme metal goliaths Behemoth in Louisville and are planning to embark on a three-week tour in October, where they’ll be visiting the Midwest and West Coast of America. Beyond that, all may be quiet on the Anagnorisis front for the rest of the year, but the boundary-pushing power and emotional weight of Peripeteia provides a unique listening experience that should tide fans over until work eventually begins on a follow-up.

Words: George Parr

AKVAN:

TRVE IRANIAN BLACK METAL Pre-Abrahamic belief systems have, since the genre’s inception, been the subject of some considerable attention from within extreme metal. Ever since Bathory’s embrace of The Eternal Fire way back in 1987, black metal maniacs have been looking to the ways of their ancestors for musical and spiritual guidance.

Whilst this embrace of ancestry hasn’t always been without it’s pitfalls, with some black metal group’s ancestor worship unfortunately falling victim to bigoted hatred.

Another, far more positive trend, enabled by the hyper-connectivity of the modern age, has been that of bands from outside of Europe infusing the musical traditions of their mother cultures into their music.

It’s through this that the white supremacist notions surrounding black metal have been challenged – and the simplicity, but durability of the black metal template further solidified.

Akvan is a one-man black metal project,

having begun as a more straightforward black metal act incorporating themes of Zoroastrian poetry and Iranian history, Vivasera infused in true *folk metal* style with traditional Iranian Sonati music.

Akvan’s grasp of Zoroastrianism is an interesting one –Vivasera’s desire of a return to a pre-islamic belief system, romanticizing the glories of the Persian empires of history. Through this, paralells to black metal’s second wave can easily be made, Vivasera’s rallying against the abarahamic power structures, and his desire to return to a pre-islamic Iran show obvious parallels to the nihilistic, sometimes murderous ideology on display in 1990s. However, whilst Vivasera is caught up in a struggle between worlds, the aggression so commonly misasociated with black metal does not manifest itself, as Vivasera’s deep respect for the people of Iran is perhaps Akvan’s most prominent driving force.

We caught up with Vivasera for a deep, and incredibly informative discussion regarding Iran, zoroastrianism and black metal in the middle east.

Having recently released ‘‫ ‘ شتآ ورملق‬a track from your upcoming EP: ‘‫ ’ییایرآ نوخ‬in April of this year, how do you think your sound has evolved since your first release ‘Born Ov Fire’?

With each new release, I get closer to the sound I want to achieve. If you listen to Akvan’s catalog from its inception on Born Ov Fire to ‫شتآ ورملق‬ (Realm of Fire), I’d say it’s fairly obvious to see the shift in composition toward the inclusion and gradual focus on traditional instruments.

When I first started writing and recording music for Akvan, I knew what I wanted to accomplish, but had very little knowledge of how to get there.

At the time, I didn’t have access to instruments like the tar and setar, and I was recording with a microphone that was attached to a children’s tape recorder. My knowledge of the Dastgah system and musical recording was also very limited. But I feel that my understanding of both has definitely improved and is evident in my more recent work.

As far as the raw, lo-fi sound that is associated with the genre, I will embrace it until the end, at least for this project. I’ve upgraded the microphones I record with, but my setup remains the same. I use a Roland Cube Lite practice amp for my guitar and vocals, Shure sm57 mics to record the instruments with, a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface, and Audacity as recording software.

Frankly speaking, I don’t see myself moving away from this stetup anytime soon. It’s portable, simple to use, and honestly reflects my abilities as a musician. I believe it creates a musical atmosphere that genuinely illustrates what it is to be an underground musician in Iran. I believe that’s why I am fond of black metal and Sonati (traditional Iranian) music in the first place. What is played is what you get. There are no filters or sugar-coating through cookie cutter machines.

No compromise. Just raw, human emotion

As we understand, you moved to Iran indefinitely to focus on Akvan. What has this decision to move enabled you to do with your music that staying in the US wouldn’t have?

I believe that environment certainly affects and influences human beings. Thus, I came to Iran because I want the music I create to accurately capture the spirit of this country. Even if I had access to traditional instruments back home, I don’t think the sound would be the same. The move wasn’t just for the sake of pursuing music either. Although I’m a natural born citizen of the United States and have lived there my whole life, I’ve traveled many times to Iran since infancy.

So the narrative of the US media has had zero influence on my perspective regarding Iran. I’ve seen the place with my own eyes, so the rhetoric won’t work on me.

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back home. In Iran, when you purchase an internet plan, it works the same way as data on your phone. Anything you download or upload is deducted from the total allotted amount. So, it’s much smarter to upload a song once instead of sending it to different people individually via email or messenger.

Performing in Iran is definitely not going to happen, at least with the way things are now.

Would I perform in Iran if I could? Does that even need to be asked? It would be a dream to play in front of an audience here.

But, unfortunately, given the circumstances, that would be impossible without risking the lives of audience members, and of course, my own. Defying the law and taking that chance for myself is one thing, but I would never deliberately put that on anyone else. I know it’s hard to believe for a lot of people, myself included, but what I’m doing is illegal and punishable by death here. I try not to think about it, and, knock on wood, so far, so good.

But I guess subconsciously , the fact that what I’m doing is considered a crime so severe that it warrants a death penalty is the reason I continue doing it.

I believe that environment certainly affects and influences human beings. Thus, I came to Iran because I want the music I create to accurately capture the spirit of this country. Even if I had access to traditional instruments back home, I don’t think the sound would be the same. The move wasn’t just for the sake of pursuing music either. Although I’m a natural born citizen of the United States and have lived there my whole life, I’ve traveled many times to Iran since infancy.

So the narrative of the US media has had zero influence on my perspective regarding Iran. I’ve seen the place with my own eyes, so the rhetoric won’t work on me.

Yes, there are terrible aspects to life in modern Iran. Yes, there are numerous human rights violations carried out by the current Iranian regime. But for me, all of this is immensely overshadowed by the noble and hospitable nature of the Iranian people. The art, the cuisine, the ecologically diverse landscapes, the history, the music, the literature.... Iran is simply one of the most amazing places on the planet. I don’t know about living here indefinitely, but for now, I’m quite content.

What have been some of your biggest musical influences? And are there any projects both traditional and non that fans of your would be excited to check out?

This is always a difficult question to answer because I listen to a lot of different artists from varying genres and am influenced by pretty much all of them. If we are talking specifically Sonati (tradional) Iranian music, my favorite artists and influences would include Shahram Nazeri, Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, Faramarz Payvar, Hossein Alizadeh, Mohammad Reza Lotfi, Sahba Motallebi, and Kayhan Kalhor.

For fans who appreciate world music or the Sonati elements of Akvan, I highly recommend these artists and would also include Niyaz.

Superb group of musicians right there.

I don’t think there is enough time in the world for me to list the metal artists I am influenced by. But off the top of my head, I’d say Dissection, Watain, Emperor, Darkthrone, Sargeist, early Behemoth, Death, The Black Dahlia Murder, The Crown, Kreator, Necrophagist, Spawn of Possession, Vital Remains (specifically Dave Suzuki’s lead work on

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Dechristianize)...this could go on forever. Metal is like a religion for me. I think fans of Akvan would enjoy Cosmic Funeral and Ohol Yeg from Turkey, Zebulon Kosted, Chasmlurk, and Mi’raj Aswad from Singapore. I also strongly recommend Vukari from Chicago. Excellent musicians. Again, right off the top of my head.

Other than yourself are there any other Iranian black metal artists operating in Iran that you know of?

All the ones that I know of have either left Iran or disbanded. As far as I’m concerned, there really isn’t a scene, per se. Beyond a few friends here and there, I don’t really know too many people that listen to this genre of music, let alone perform it. That isn’t to say there aren’t any talented musicians or bands here.

Quite the contrary. But due to the restrictions implemented by the current regime, forming any kind of organization between fans, bands, and musicians has proven a rather arduous task.

Communication is another issue that hinders the establishment of a metal scene. Social media sites like Facebook are censored and the internet is very slow in comparison to what we have in the States. If you use a VPN to access restricted sites, your internet speed slows down even more, and the sheer frustration of attempting to post a link on Facebook or upload a video on Youtube is enough to deter even the most patient of people. The metal scene in Iran, if it can be called that, is quite scattered and isolated.

Is Akvan a purely online commitment for you or have you played or considered performing your music to a live audience in or outside of Iran?

I honestly don’t know at this point. I love composing and recording music, but I haven’t really thought that far ahead. I’ve received invitations to perform from some of the unlikeliest places. I think it’s worth mentioning that a good chunk of Akvan fans hail from Israel. Which is pretty awesome. It’s a wonderful example of music’s ability to transcend boundaries. Truth of the matter is, I never had the intention of Akvan becoming anything more than a personal pastime. I put my music on Bandcamp because it was the cheapest and most practical means to share my work with friends

It appears as though one of your aims of ‘Akvan’ is to reveal Iran’s deep history especially it’s art and literature. Would you have any recommendations/references for any of our readers wanting to research Pre-Islamic Iran and Zoroastrianism?

For individuals curious about Zoroastrianism, I would recommend going straight to the source: The Avesta. This is the holy book of Zoroastrians. Tom Holland’s Persian Fire does an excellent job covering Iran’s ancient history. I also highly recommend Abolqasem Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh (Book of Kings), Iran’s national epic poem. It’s where I get at least 80% of my inspiration from. It’s one of the most metal works of literature out there. I also draw lots of inspiration from artists like Mahmoud Farshchian and Kamal ud-Din Behzad, among many others. The art of Persian miniature is something that has always fascinated me. But if you really want to learn about Iran’s history, you have to go there to get the full experience.

Cities like Shiraz and Isfahan are pretty much museums in and of themselves.

Your 2016 release ‘‫( ’ثاریم‬Heritage) features an ideology of opposition to Islamic Iran and the notion of a return to pre-Islamic Iran, is this fair to say?

I’d say all of my releases feature this ideology.

The inception of Akvan was based on this ideology. It’s not that I have a problem with Islam or religion in general. I just believe that people have a right to choose what they believe and have the right to determine the course of their own lives. I also believe they have the right to know the truth. In my honest opinion, Islam doesn’t belong in Iran. It was forced on us by Arab invaders and is in direct opposition to the Iranian instinct. Iran’s is a culture of art, wine, and literature. The majority of the people who live here, in my experience, hold very secular attitudes. I embrace Zoroastrianism thematically because it is ours. Good thoughts.

Good words. Good deeds. These are the tenets of the religion that gave rise to the greatest empire the world has ever known.

What is it about pre-islamic Iran that interests you specifically?

To put it simply, it’s epic. Iran is one of the oldest civilizations in the world, and the history is full of mythic heroes, wars, dragons and demons, the list goes on. Not to mention how well Iran’s history serves as inspiration for writing black metal.

The second track on ‘‫ ’ثاریم‬features a reading, what is being read and what is its importance to your music and message?

What is being recited at the beginning of the song is a Farsi translation of the Cyrus Cylinder.

The Cyrus Cylinder serves as the first declaration of human rights and stands as a testament to the progressive mindset of the ancient Iranians.

King of Kings, the song the reading is featured on, serves as a direct plea to the spirit of Cyrus the Great, the most celebrated figure in Iranian history, to return Iran to its former glory as the world’s greatest empire—an empire built on tolerance, equality, bloodless conquests, and scientific innovation—from the claws of a vile foreign ideology...I’m sure you can figure out which one. Since the song was about him, I believe it was absolutely necessary to include it. The song celebrates and promotes a return to pre-islamic Iran, and is intended as an opposition anthem.

From a Western perspective, Iran has a reputation as being a very strict country on matters of religion, have you encountered any problems as a result of your embrace of Zoroastrianism in your music?

Not really. Zoroastrians are protected by law here. So are Christians and Jews. Fun fact: Iran is home to one of the largest populations of Jewish people outside of Israel in the Middle East. The context in which I use Zoroastrian symbols and references is what would be considered problematic. And the nature of the vocals.

Doesn’t even matter what I’m saying. But so far, so good.

Your latest release has seen a change in the visuals you use – utilising ancient Iranian

The Zoroastrian Avesta

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art in place of the more conventional artwork of your earlier material. Could you tell us what they are and why you use them?

The album covers for Born Ov Fire and Aryan Black Metal are both photographs taken by myself on location in Iran. They feature ancient architecture from historical sites located in Isfahan. The interior of the dome of the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque is featured on the Born Ov Fire cover and the cover of Aryan Black Metal features the mirror hall of the Chehel Sotoun pavillion. My more recent work features historical Persian miniature art. Legacy features the Abduction of Zal by the Simurgh taken from the Sarai Albums of Tabriz and Realm of Fire features Rustam Slays the Div-e-Sepid, whose author remains anonymous. I don’t have a good reason as to why I shifted from photos of historical sites to miniature art. But I think the art featured on my newer releases serve as a better gateway to exploring Iranian history and the beauty of such a gorgeous country.

Black metal as a genre has somewhat been marred by right wing extremism and elitism with a lot of bands as well as fans taking a ‘white power’ stance. What would you say to European artists claiming they’re ‘Aryan’?

I wouldn’t say anything to them. I would feel sorry for them. It’s a waste of energy. Hate is very unproductive. The people who suffer most from hatred are the ones who harbor it. It always ends in failure. I feel that to deny the fact that all cultures are influenced by each other is to deny the existence of human beings. Rock and Roll is a major precursor to metal. It’s also a style that was created by African-Americans. So the very idea of genres like NSBM or ‘white power’ metal is rather foolish. In regard to the use of the term Aryan, it’s clear to me that many of the practitioners of the aforementioned genres and those that submit to such beliefs have no idea what it means or where it comes from. It’s a term that originated in ancient Iran to denote individuals of nobility. The word Iran means “Land of the Aryans.” So you tell me. Are they Aryans? As is obvious, ideologies that center

around concepts of racial supremacy are born out of a lack of education and an inability to take responsibility for one’s personal shortcomings.

Any idea as to when ‘‫ ’ییایرآ نوخ‬will be released and what can people expect from the latest instalment from Akvan?

Your guess is as good as mine in regard to when I will complete the new EP and what to expect.

It’s been quite difficult given the nature of my professional career...it’s very time-consuming, which has caused several delays in producing material. Hopefully, sooner than later. I’m also trying to work out scheduling to have some guest vocalists and instrumentalists on some of the newer material. But that’s not a given as of now. We’ll see.

What is it you hope to accomplish with Akvan other than promoting a return to Iran’s Zoroastrian roots?

I hope to inspire fans and curious passersby to conduct their own research into the ancient and epic history of Iran. Hopefully, they will come away with a more positive outlook in regard to this beautiful country. They will probably find that the Iran they hear about is nothing like the real thing. I would like them to see Iran as it isan ancient, captivating and ecologically diverse land filled with romance, adventure, amazing people, exquisite cuisine, gorgeous art, a lustrous history, and a culture that has influenced every corner of the globe. For some odd reason, we are taught to judge nations based on their leaders and governments, and we lose sight of the actual people who live there. It’s a shame, really.

We have so much to gain from embracing one another, and so much to lose when we reject the opportunity to do so. And I hope my music, a mix of East and West, will serve as a model of what can be achieved when two different and seemingly unrelated elements are joined as one.

I suppose the ultimate message behind Akvan is that nothing in this world is black or white.

Words: Tom Kirby & Richard Lowe

The abduction of Zal by the Zimurgh 21

Ufomammut: Eight Into Infinity How was the release party for 8?

Very few doom bands can honestly say they have a sound that’s unique and instantly recognizable as their own, but Italian cosmic doom trio Ufomammut have been pushing the psychedelic boundaries of the genre for nearly 20 years now.

As their global fan base has grown, Ufomammut have become peerless masters, combining otherworldly, Hawkwind-esque trip outs with Mariana Trench-dwelling heaviness.

Famed as much for the vivid imagery of their soundscapes, as they are for their bludgeoning mastery of the riff, Ufomammut’s live show is an engrossing experience in itself. We caught up with the band ahead of the release of their 8th Studio album, aptly titled 8 , to discuss the new album, their career so far and what’s enabled them to maintain such a consistent line-up.

It was the first time we worked on a release party for one of our records, so it was a huge surprise for us when 500 people attended the show in Milano, and it’s been great to share our new album 8 with them.

We also presented the re-release of Godlike Snake that we’ve worked on in the last years and we had an exhibition with all the artwork Malleus did for the band since the beginning. It’s been really rad to see all these people coming to support us!

You released 8 through Neurot Recordings rather than your own Supernatural Cat label, what was the thinking behind this?

This is our third album out for Neurot, our collaboration started with 8 and working with them is amazing, it’s like we expanded our family - everything is super easy and all done with the heart. As usual, we’ve worked on a limited hand-printed edition on vinyl of 8 with Supernatural Cat, as well as a vinyl version for Europe.

The album is a single continuous piece; are you going to play it in its entirety on the upcoming tour?

Of course. It’s born this way and it’s how we’re gonna play it. Since Eve, we have played our works from the beginning to the end.

For the first time, was this a conscious decision or more of a natural occurrence during the song writing process?

Since the first album, we kept all the songs flowing one into the other - every Ufomammut record is a

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continuum, a unique flowing of music. We consider 8 as composed by eight different songs: they flow one into the other.

Symbolism has been incredibly important to you guys throughout your career. It features on 8 as an extension of the infinity symbol, which also has a historic link depicting Orobourus. Is this an intentional link to the ‘Oro’ albums?

No, when we finish an album, we close a door and we start a new path.

8 is Ufomammut’s eighth album, consisting of eight tracks flowing one into each other without interruption, and this flow is the sonic representation of the infinity symbol, the algebraic leniscate that you can obtain by rotating 8 horizontally - ∞ -.

The infinity symbol, as the number eight, is continuous lines meeting in the middle of their movement, we read this as the continued togetherness of the essential elements of the band – the three of us – since the beginning of the band’s history.

The music. The cover is also important because it’s the way you show yourself to the world outside. Since the beginning, Poia and Urlo, together with Lu and their art collective Malleus, has taken care of the band’s imagery. There’s been an evolution from the beginning and this album is what we are now, musically and graphically.

You’re nearing 20 years as a band now, what have been your highlights so far and what keeps you motivated to making music that is still fresh?

Another thing is that we chose this name because there’s not a singular pronunciation of the title, 8 is to be spoken in every language. There’s a good amount of symbolism in this 8, but it’s not linked to Oro.

We think that every new record is the step for a better one that has still to come. We don’t like to repeat ourselves with the same album and music and mostly we don’t care about sounding like someone else. We’re still looking for a lot of things, we like to experiment and create different things. We have had a lot of highlights so far, but we hope the best is yet to come, otherwise it’d be boring!

You had your longtime sound engineer Ciccio working with you in the studio this time round, what did you gain from that?

How has the music scene in Italy progressed since you started? Do you feel any burden being at the head of the doom/psych Metal scene there?

The aim we had in our minds was to recreate the same powerful sound that we have on stage. We wanted to feel the power of these songs and we didn’t want to record them like we did in the past, instrument by instrument without knowing how they’d be at the end.

We needed to feel them and hear them immediately to know the value of what we were doing. I think we’ll record everything this way, from now on.

There’s a lot of bands in Italy, lately, and a lot of them are really interesting. Things are growing and there are a lot of bands really peculiar in our country. As Italians, we’ve to “fight” a lot to come out in the music world - I think this is a good thing, because we try to do something different.

8 seems more nuanced than its predecessors, whilst still maintaining the huge sound we’ve come to expect. Is this a maturing of your sound or more of a representation of where you were as a band at the time?

It’s what we are now and also an evolution in sound.

Recording it live, without overdubs and such, has been challenging for finding the real Ufomammut sound.

Photo: Barba

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Being involved with Malleus Rock Art Lab as well as Supernatural Cat, the whole package is something that is obviously important to you.

Beyond the actual music, what do you think makes a great album?

Words: Dave Brand

Long Ass Songs Words: George Parr When stoner metal legends Sleep retreated to the studio after the success of 1992’s Holy Mountain, few, least of all their new label London Records, could have guessed what they would emerge with. Appalled by Dopesmoker, the onetrack, 63-minute beast their new signing presented them, the label refused to release it, branding it unmarketable, even after a leaner 52-minute remix split it into six tracks and renamed it Jerusalem.

It would take a self-released bootleg of Jerusalem, followed by official releases from The Music Cartel and Rise Above Records before a one-track, 63-minute version named Dopesmoker would finally emerge under Tee Pee Records in 2003.

Nowadays, the release is legendary. Few could blame London Records for not seeing the potential in such a release, but over time it would become one of the stoner metal scene’s most famous records. Not only did its various versions receive positive reviews, but many consider the longer versions, released

by Tee Pee Records and Southern Lord Records, as the superior renditions.

If Holy Mountain had been their more conventional album, sitting alongside the works of Kyuss and Monster Magnet in inspiring a generation of stoner rock and metal, then Dopesmoker was their nonconformist album that would inspire a generation of underground doom and sludge acts. Indeed, nowadays lengthy songs that take the idea of expansive concepts and extravagant recordings to the extreme are common amongst the section of metal acts who favour slowed paces - American sludgers Bell Witch are recently released Mirror Reaper, an album comprising one 83-minute track, in October.

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Album after album of time-consuming tracks have emerged from the metal undergrowth, almost trying to one-up the magnitude of past releases. Some, like Sabazius’ eleven-hour monstrosity The Descent Of Man, take the concept too far and seem only to create prolonged recordings out of a desire to garner imagined doom credentials, but amongst the bunch are some monumental releases deserving of their ambitious runtimes.

There’s certainly something to be said of the song-crafting ability, not to mention the raw ambition, needed to create an unconventionally long track that holds interest, rather than resorting to unwarranted repetition or lengthy intros that do little more than provide waves of feedback. Bearing this in mind, the uptick in long-lasting songs recorded after Dopesmoker is a weird trend. After all, most would surely argue that packing quality content into a more succinct runtime is a superior songwriting method – a five-minute track that comprises a variety of ideas and an unmatched power, not to mention greater commercial appeal, is surely more impressive than an hour of elongated mediocrity for the sake of it? Conversely, though, the attraction of such lengthened songs does not solely stem from an intrigue created by their unusual runtimes, but from the timelessness such records can reach when executed skillfully. The scope of such songs feels almost limitless, and what better way could there be to convey ambitious concepts than a singular piece of musical grandeur? With this in mind, here’s a handful of metallic monoliths that beat the half-hour mark.

Monolithe - Monolithe III

Perhaps modern metal’s masters of lengthy songs, Monolithe’s biggest triumph is undoubtedly their third full-length. Each of the band’s first four releases would fit amongst this list with ease, but whilst Monolithe III may not be the French doomsters longest track, it still manages to surpass its peers in scope. The third instalment in a four-part series, the album uses every inch of space within its 52 minutes as it refrains from resorting to hypnotic repetition, instead transcending its genre through elegant melodies and stimulating riffs. A more sophisticated affair than its predecessor, and indeed its successor, it oversaw the union of dark keyboards, expressive twin leads and a monumentally heavy rhythm section.

Rorcal – Heliogabalus Ignoring the general rule that albums of this type require a slow monotonous wind-up to an eventual crescendo, Rorcal’s Heliogabalus introduces monolithic guitars within the first two minutes, drowning the listener in roaring feedback and minimalistic but unrelenting riffs.

Conceptually following the eventful life of Roman Emperor Heliogabalus, this 70-minute track is a grisly sludge-fuelled monster that, unlike others on this list, is more interested in the grind than the groove. It is a harsh and challenging release driven forward by maniacal yells and scorching guitars, and it is distinctive purely for its fondness of punching the listener in the gut where others of its type would instead seek to hypnotise and captivate.

Sleep – Dopesmoker It’s easy to forget how old Dopesmoker really is.

Perhaps that’s down to the various releases and rereleases that have emerged over time, with the most recent Southern Lord reissue coming as recently as 2012, but it’s undoubtedly also down to how utterly superior the masterpiece is compared to any and all rivals that have arisen. The boundless track is a marijuana-adoring odyssey of transcendental riffs and hypnotic rhythms that surpasses the hour mark without so much as a dull moment. To this day, it is the go-to long metal track, the band’s peerless magnum opus that is undoubtedly set to stand the test of time as a legendary album.

Bongripper – The Great Barrier Reefer “We intentionally set out to make an 80-minute song, to be longer than Dopesmoker” said Bongripper guitarist Nick Dellacroce of their debut album. The final cut falls just short of this goal at 79 minutes, but it’s expanded length nevertheless shows. Moments feel stretched to fulfil this goal, something made apparent early on during the largely superfluous intro. As such, The Great Barrier Reefer is far from the stoner metal genre’s best long song. However, given that it was the Chicago outfit’s debut effort, its scope and

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execution are downright impressive, and there are more than a few moments here where the band begin to show the songwriting prowess they flaunted so flawlessly on 2010’s Satan Worshipping Doom.

Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard – Nachthexen This welsh band’s Bandcamp page claims that whilst listening to them, “You may feel dizzy. You may have difficulty focusing. You may need to breathe more rapidly. You may be subject to fits of hysterical shouting or even laughter. You may experience a shift in consciousness.” None of this is true, of course, but it draws attention to the spellbinding nature of the quartet’s monolithic metal. Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard’s brand of doom is much less silly than their name, using the kind of devastating, crawling riffs that all doom fans crave and stacking them up against the ethereal vocals of bassist and frontwoman Jessica Ball. As the band’s debut EP, Nachthexen was their statement of intent, a sprawling epic that morphed from one colossal eruption to another whilst also displaying a talent for tantalising melodies and mystical vocals that would only become more versatile on 2016’s Y Proffwyd Dwyll.

Bong – Polaris Polaris is one of Newcastle outfit Bong’s most remarkable songs, an epic that builds masterfully into an awe-inspiring wonderland of doom-infused psychedelic drone. The band may somewhat resent being referred to as a stoner band, as shown by the tongue-in-cheek album title Stoner Rock, but they share an inclination for expansive tracks with many of the genre’s big names. Regardless, Polaris is far from a simple stoner track, foregoing groovy riffs in favour of noisy drone so trance-inducing its 36-minute runtime flies by. It may be lengthy, but miraculously, it doesn’t feel stretched or inflated, something many who create long songs should undoubtedly take on board.

Ommadon – Ommadon If your average doom song is a river, flowing monotonously but forcefully along, then Ommadon’s self-titled album is an ocean – unpredictable, immeasurably strong, and seemingly endless.

The Glaswegian band’s career is lined with gargantuan instrumental tracks, but their self-titled album finds them at their best. An expansive exploration of grating doom and discordant drone, it is menacing, utterly bleak and holds an atmospheric weight that is almost claustrophobic in its stifling impact. It takes a lot to be able to create over 40 genuinely enjoyable minutes of drone-doom, but the band weave and transmute often enough to hold interest, and the promise of drums that thud like a fallen boulder is enough to keep any listener willing to stick around for more.

Words: George Parr

Memnon Sa: Music For Ancient Aliens.

Amidst a society in breakdown, the socio-political commentary and escapism so often offered by the science-fiction genre has once again become incredibly relevant in music. Almost everywhere you look in the worlds of television, film, video games, and of course music, science-fiction has once again become a prominent force in our lives.

In sharp contrast to the mournful, post metal-laden doom of 2014’s Citadel, Memnon Sa, the brainchild of veteran studio engineer Misha Hering, has returned with Lemurian Dawn. Taking its cues from Misha’s musical heritage within electronic music’s vibrant origins in the experimental, sci-fi induced new-age mysticism of 1970s avant garde. The influence of sci-fi is also incredibly important to Misha, who has built Lemurian Dawn around the concept of a primordial alien incursion to earth.

Memnon Sa’s fresh take on his sound acknowledges his contemporaries within UK drone, doom and post-metal, whilst incorporating analogue synths and influences from the new age synth-work of krautrock and cosmic jazz into Lemurian Dawn’s take on doomy, post-rocky landscapes. It’s this fresh, psychedelically-minded approach to post-metal which lends Memnon Sa’s sound a vibrant, almost cinematic dimension on the release.

We caught up with Misha to discuss the effects of professional studio work on the creative process, the tenuous existence of ancient aliens, and audial worldbuilding.

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How has your work as a studio engineer influenced your creative process?

It’s a real gift and a curse. In a certain way, the technical side of things can get in the way of the spontaneity of creation. Instead of focusing on composition, ideas, melodies, I might spend an afternoon trying to get a synth to ‘sound right’ or fill up a certain part of the frequency spectrum. While these things are important, I honestly don’t think they are as important as good ideas, arrangements and melodies. In a way, I wish I could only focus on those things, but alas, my ears and everyday experience of working in a studio constantly gets the better of me.

On the flip side, working with other bands and understanding how things are recorded, and more importantly mixed, has helped a lot in terms of showing me what works and what doesn’t. This isn’t to say there are any hard and fast rules, but having countless hours of studio experience can function as a guideline, to either follow or knowingly disregard.

You’ve stated in the run-up to the Lemurian Dawn that the next Memnon Sa release will be very different to previous releases. With such a varied sound, how would you say we would be able to recognise Memnon Sa? What defines Memnon Sa’s sound?

I think, and hope, that you’ll always be able to hear that a Memnon Sa record is a Memnon Sa record. Ultimately, textures and instruments will change over time, as they did between Citadel and Lemurian Dawn, but in terms of tone, I think I will always aim more or less towards a certain thing, or couple of things. I love the fine line between the feelings of awe, euphoria and terror.

It’s a hard-balancing act, if you lean too far towards awe you can end up sounding pretty, but too far towards terror and a record can become draining and hard to digest. I like records that fall into both of those categories, but finding a middle ground is really interesting for me and is something that, when I encounter it in other people’s work (films, paintings, music) resonates the most.

Another element that I hope defines the music I make is that I’d hope for it to be seen as “cinematic”. Films, in general, are my biggest influence, and when writing music, I always have images or sequences in mind rather than emotional or melodic beats.

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Is the concept of ancient aliens just a concept to you or do you believe there’s some truth to them? If so, why do you think so many discoveries pertaining to the idea are covered up? Do you think it could be a ploy on the part of the scientific community to cover up the true history of humanity?

Herzog films in my late teens that I really became interested in German experimental psychedelic music.

I cannot overstate how important Popol Vuh (who soundtracked a lot of Herzog films) were to me in terms of a gateway drug into the music that I listen to nowadays. Ever since I heard their soundtrack to Aguirre I was hooked, and haven’t looked back since.

Great question! First and foremost, I am a staunch believer in the existence of extra-terrestrials, and in the UFO phenomenon (I actually recently saw, along with close members of my family and friends, what the Swiss authorities have now described as an ‘unidentified’ aerial object above my parents’ house in rural Switzerland).

That being said, the notion of ancient aliens and the pseudo-scientific world that surrounds it, for the most part, is farcical.

I love the idea of an extra-terrestrial race seeding our planet and helping us become the civilisation that we are now. However, for me, until any scientifically proven and corroborated evidence is presented, it remains a great story that can inspire us and stimulate our imaginations more than serious topic of scientific, historical or archaeological debate.

Tell us about the world portrayed in Lemurian Dawn - that you’ve been imagining in your mind’s eye?

What is your favourite science fiction film of all time? How has it influenced Lemurian Dawn?

Incredibly hard question, but I would be disingenuous if I said anything other than Alien.

When, in your mind, was the golden age of science fiction?

Traditionally, I’d say from the early 60s until the late 80s (in terms of films and books), but I think we are seeing a real resurgence of hard science fiction, at least in cinema, at the moment, with big Hollywood studios investing properly in new original ideas that aren’t linked to franchises or pre-existing material (a great example could be Denis Villeneuve’s film Arrival from last year).

How did you get into krautrock originally? A lot of artists seem to be implementing neu and krautrock influence within the more experimental side of drone/doom these days, why do you think this is?

My father is German and I grew up listening to a lot of jazz and kraut, so it was something that I was exposed to long ago. That being said, it was upon watching my first Werner

Lemurian Dawn is set on earth, but tells the story of individuals coming into contact with our secret history.

Clandestine black-ops missions and subterranean portals confront these individuals with universal truths too grandiose and terrifying to comprehend. Lemurian Dawn itself is the mission title, as seen on the mission patch on the front cover.

Where that mission is going and what it is doing specifically can be deduced through the other album art, song titles, and merchandise that has been released with the album!

What can we expect from the Lemurian Dawn’s follow up?

Will it be a total rethink of Memnon Sa’s sound again?

I’m already pretty far into writing the next record and sonically it follows on quite closely from the foundation that Lemurian Dawn lay in, but I can say now that I want to tell a very different story. The music is going to be very celebratory, but in an incredibly sinister way. A joyous fanfare for something horrible beyond human definition!

Do you plan to play any live shows or tour as part of the new release? Or will Memnon Sa remain a studio only venture?

I would love to play shows, but it is a huge challenge. As the music is so dense and songs don’t necessarily evolve in a traditional chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, verse manner, the commitment to learning and bringing this kind of music to stage is pretty daunting. In order to properly perform Lemurian Dawn, for example, we would need at least three to four synthesisers, a drum kit, percussion, guitars etc. It’s a lot. A few people have expressed a lot of interest in helping me bring Memnon Sa to stage, and I’m taking their proposals very seriously, but for the moment, it’s going to stay in the studio!

Words: Richard Lowe

Boobs Of Doom: Mutated Daw

You guys are constantly putting out material, what drives your work ethic?

Whilst synths and artificial programming are increasinglydeveloping a healthy partnership with droning extremity, it’s still a rare thing that bands utilize these as primary instruments.

BOOBS Of DOOM, hailing from the frozen Caledonian wastelands to the north of the border, are an experimentalist duo fully embracing synthetic noise - summoning darkened, droning landscapes from a joyous mess of loops and uncanny digitized fuckery.

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Since their inception in 2014, the duo’s punky, do-what-the-fuck-wewant-to sound and neon-inflected public image has enabled them to stand out from the crowd. The duo, forced to forgo conventional touring as a result of mutual illness, have instead set about tirelessly creating new material. It’s this prolific ethos that’s seen the band garner increasing acclaim in the UK extreme music underground In fact, their upcoming release on Odd Chorus (also the band’s first physical release) is their 10th since the duo’s debut release in 2014, with an 11th on its way.

Ahead of the physical release of eXXpre$$ion, we caught up with Sadsack (aka left tit) to chat productivity, the duo’s unique creative process, and the band’s future.

We’re two disabled depressives trying to exist on benefits in Tory Britain and we don’t tour haha.

When chronic illnesses don’t have us floored, or we don’t have doctors and hospitals to deal with, we’re trying to embrace distraction therapy. As much as we’re passionate about gaming and stuff, BOD is a compelling and satisfying distraction from real life.

You guys seem to have a very varied taste in music – what drives this?

An unflinching belief that music and art are one of the few redeeming products of the human race. Neither of us has lost the hunger for new and compelling sounds since we were teens. Personally, music has always been this weird little rabbit hole that I could disappear down and

get lost in my own head. Part of it is this strange compulsion and feeling of catharsis gleaned from creation and expression. Fucking aboot with noise until something speaks to me.

There is an emptiness, a hunger inside me that can only be fed or filled with certain musical soul food.

Plus, nothing beats the feeling of discovery when ye find a new band that just blows ye away.

Most of my friends gave up on seeking out new sounds years ago, content to listen to the same old stuff, or worse still wax nostalgic for the crap they listened to when they were teenagers. That never sat well with me. I’m even a little contemptuous of that attitude.

There is so much music out there I’ve never heard and it just might be something revelatory, life-affirming.

Gave up on genre years ago.

Why restrict yourself? Maybe we are just two people who never lost the childish wonder of the power of music. Or maybe it’s that most of the music I like these days is extreme and depressing, that none of my friends ask for mixtapes anymore haha. Anyway, we want people to feel aboot our music the same way we feel listening to our favs. The same way I feel listening back to a fresh BOD track. We try to make our music evocative in the same way that bands we love make us feel. I’ll be honest; call me narcissistic, but I listen to BOOBS Of DOOM a lot because it’s the sound I’ve been searching for since I was old enough to be in bands. Basically, I’m driven trying to exorcise the musical demons in my head.

came up with the weird wee beats and drones demos that were pretty cool, but very rudimentary. I sent them over to Thump and something clicked. She was like “Dude. These are fucking good.” Thump already knew how to record her guitar straight into the computer; a few weeks later she sent them back with these repetitive spidery guitar lines and riffs over them. It sounded fucking amazing! It wasn’t long after that we started meeting up in my

What was it that first made you guys have the idea of creating drone/doom purely with synthetic instrumentation?

flat, crowding around my monitor for hours getting totally lost in these weird loops and stuff, cranking out a load of really cool sounds.

A happy accident: downloading my first Digital Audio Workstation (which is so shit it shall never be named, but we still made some damn good choons with it) and figuring out I could actually do this; make decent music. It came with a bunch of horrible cheezy samples to play with and I had to be creative with effects and programming to warp and twist them to suit my needs. It’s no secret that we both love Sunn O)) and their propensity for collaborating with really interesting people.

Thumper (second half of BOD) and I were joking about a Sunn O)))/ DJ Shadow collab (yes please -ed) and the idea really took seed in my brain.

I used it as a rough template and

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“Most of my friends gave up on seeking out new sounds years ago, content to listen to the same old stuff, or worse still wax nostalgic for the crap they listened to when they were teenagers. That never sat well with me.”

Do you guys produce anything outside of Boobs Of DOOM? Not really. I have few ideas set aside for a power ambient spoken word poetry thing that I might get round to one day if I can get over myself and have some faith in my prose. But nearly everything gets channelled into the band. We do a lot of work solo and then hand off to each other to mess with it.

What’s the creative process behind your music?

Lately, I get a walloping great zip file with tons of loops and half

finished project files sent from Thump in my inbox. I fanny about with them in my DAW and send them back. They go back and forth for months while we argue about arrangements on Skype. Oddly, we do all the artwork similarly with photoshop files. I missed the days of sitting in my living room passing joints around while my wife laughed at us.

Years ago we went into an actual recording studio. We spent two days recording lots of drums, guitars and synth jams with the intent of taking the recordings home and cutting them up into loops. The engineer just didn’t get what we were trying to do and was a bit of a dick, to be honest. The whole thing nearly killed us, but we’re still mining those loops to this day.

Where is it you want to go With BOD? How do you plan to progress musically in the future?

We feel that after being in bands all our days we’ve finally hit upon some sort of personal best creative gold here. Now we just wanna get it into as many ears a possible. I know in my gut that there is an audience for this weird shit. We’re just gonna keep doing what we’re doing until we physically and emotionally cannot do it anymore, go deaf or die.

If we manage to sell a few more records we’re gonna get some new gear; some new noise making gadgets that will open up some new possibilities. Although, we’re pretty damn proud of our sound considering the absolute shite gear we made it on haha. In fluffy la la land we’re buying a house in the middle of nowhere; moving in together (my wife is cool with this btw, Thump is kinda like the weird sister she never wanted) and turning half into a disabled friendly studio, then we introduce a more live element (I’m thinking Dark Buddha Rising here), invite loads of weird friends to collab, finally kill ourselves trying to up the ante with each album!

Back in the real world Thumper is gonna travel up to my house before the year is out and we’re gonna spend a few weeks cramped in the ‘living room studio’ hammering out some new stuff. Hopefully.

Words: Richard Lowe

KnifedOutOfExistence: Gods Of Genocide.

“When you find the gods inside yourself, you’ll find the gods of war, you’ll find the gods of genocide, and they will be the most powerful passions in you, and you have to knife them out of existence” As Dean Lloyd Robinson, the tortured genius behind KnifedOutOfExistence quotes Howard Bloom, he rather well sums up what Knifed’ is all about. Musically, Knifed is a violent conduit for the negativity in Dean’s life, but behind the violent imagery is a far deeper meditation on the human spirit.

“Knifed has always been a vehicle for negative thoughts, emotions and experiences. It’s a way of making something constructive out of frustrations and upset I feel. I’ll be channelling different things for different sets, but it’s generally me working through something I’m struggling with or expressing negative emotions in a creative and cathartic manner.”

Based in Brighton, Dean is at home playing with just about any artist “I have a lot of friends in punk/ hardcore/heavy kinds of bands, so I end up playing those kinds of shows a lot. I often don’t fit the bill as such, but this project is essentially an entirely selfish venture, so I just play with bands I enjoy and with people whose company I enjoy. I think it’s good to keep it mixed up too. I love noise and experimental music so much, but bills that are completely made up of similar sounding harsh noise acts can become very tedious.” In fact, this kinship with Brighton’s innovative metal scene has led to Dean’s involvement with up-and-coming noise-noise rock/no wave act Bodily Fluids: “it’s a style of band I’ve been wanting to do for years. It’s a completely different process to how I work with Knifed, as not only is it not a solo project but it’s there for a different purpose entirely. Just basic, loud and nihilistic. No skill no hope no talent…Bodily Fluids is working on getting 8 tracks ready to record an album”.

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Performance is key to the Knifed’ experience – anyone who has had the pleasure of catching the live show will have left enthralled. Dean’s vicious performances - often involving a labyrinthian setup of weird and wonderful equipment - are a sight to behold. It’s through his live performance that Dean transports the audience into an almost fugue-like void of audial immersion, a state increasingly associated with noise music in the modern day “Playing a benefit show with Deadwood in a pub in Southampton that prompted a woman to sit behind me and meditate was definitely surreal.” It’s this cathartic release that drives Dean’s creatively insane live show: “I crave the empty feeling after you’ve played a set and given your all to it.”

However, Dean doesn’t limit himself to the south coast, and the last five years have seen him taking his performance ritual across Europe, playing sets anywhere and everywhere from crust punk all-dayers to local pop-punk shows. “The RAMP show was definitely a surreal one” He reminisces on his rather odd performance at a pop-punk show in Ireland “The opening bands were considerably more melodic than myself or Unyielding Love, and younger too. I felt like I was ruining some kid’s party.” Gate crashing aside, Dean is also intimately comfortable playing at house shows. “I like the honest and personal nature of house shows. They’re totally removed from any business or entertainment element of shows in bars and clubs. Those shows happen purely for self-contained reasons and not to help an establishment get people through the door…

The act of letting people into your home, the space you live in is pretty intimate too so I feel there is a certain complimentary nature there.” It’s the intimacy of playing a show in a kitchen, with a handful of people crowded around him that makes the house show such an appealing prospect “A performance that is very personal like mine benefits from this setting too. You are getting to see me expose thoughts and feelings that I may not want to discuss in a regular way, or would have a hard time doing so. There’s less of a barrier between performer and audience as well. I think that helps provoke discussion. It’s a lot easier to approach someone when they’re sitting in your friend’s home than it may be at a bigger venue.”

With the release of his upcoming project Inhibitors, Dean believes that his sound has progressed into a far more mature format “It’s definitely a lot more focused. The project now has a clear purpose and function. I know a little bit more about what I am doing as well in terms of equipment and sound, though I still consider myself an absolute amateur in the field of equipment. I think I have continued to push myself so that the project has developed but kept it recognisable and true to its intentions.” For KnifedOutOfExistence’s unspoken catharsis, the future looks bright.

Words: Richard Lowe

Image: Chloe Imbach

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Father Murphy: Guilt & Conscience Whilst many extreme and experimental acts of the past have challenged the polite notions of conservative christianity through violent imagery, Father Murphy’s commentary on christianity is a unique one.

Originating from the Italian avant-garde scene just over a decade ago, Father Murphy are an experimental proposition centred around the life and experiences of their enigmatic namesake. Said namesake is Father Murphy, an abstract figure whose journey through life is depicted through the duo’s droning, darkened psychedelia, and through whom the philosophical meanderings of Father Murphy’s sound resonate.

It’s this fascination with their catholic background that has led the duo to collaborate with Swans progenitor Jarboe, on what is to be their penultimate release, an EP centred around the concept of catholic guilt.

In the wake of the release, we got deep with Francisco Zanatta, one half of the duo, for a conversation on the religious and philosophical concepts central to Father Murphy.

You guys have been incredibly prolific since your inception, what was with the break between your previous release and this one?

Between 2014 and 2015 we’ve been touring and recording non-stop, to the point where we felt like we were becoming part of a routine of recording/ touring/recording/ promoting/touring as if it was a Jesuit rule we imposed to ourselves. So we decided to stop instead, sometimes you need to know how many words you have left, and how to use them.

How did you and Jarboe initially get together?

We met several years ago during a Jarboe European tour. Once touring US couple of years after, she attended a show of ours in Atlanta and shared with us comments on our performance that are written in bold in our memories now. In that

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occasion, and in others to come, she fed us and gave us hospitality. She’s a great host and she has so many great stories to tell.

How influential has Jarboe been to you guys musically?

Children of God is one of our favourite albums ever, we love Jarboe’s synths and vocals, and in general how Swans changed so much after she joined the band.

Change is freedom.

Moreover, Jarboe has always been an example for us of what real DIY attitude means, an example of a 360° performer able to collaborate with so many and different artists, able to adapt without losing her trademark true and unique voice.

How would you define the sense of guilt, fostered from yourselves and Jarboe’s Catholic upbringings,?

Where does it come from?

If I were to summarize my experience as a child

growing up in a catholic parish with one word, that would need to be “fear”. Fear of me being wrong, of being unfit, of being different, of being guilty. It is not easy to answer but I feel like that a certain sense of guilt comes from an imposed feeling of being unfit. They forge you with fear, they mark you with guilt, they offer you freedom from all this by ceasing to think and to feel.

They call this convinction Faith, I call it fear. That’s where the Guilt, and whoever is able to manage it, becomes a mean of power and control.

Often within extreme music there is either a pro/antiChristian/faith message, with the upcoming EP, it doesn’t seem like either is apparent, what are your personal beliefs regarding Catholicism?

We have the most of respect toward people’s need of (a sense of) religiousness, while we regard with suspicion and scepticism

any form of organized religion.

You have described Father Murphy as ‘a personal rewriting and abstraction of the Bible as a pretext to say something different’ what does this mean to you? What kind of different statement do you want to make?

We like to abstract single episodes or messages of the Bible as pretext of working on concept albums, as our music somehow sounds like a soundtrack, and working on concepts helps us in fully express ourselves musically. I mentioned the Jesuit Rule in a previous answer. There’s a sort of strictness in the way we work and we try to commit to what we do that helps first of all us if we vehicolate simple messages through what we do: do you want to obtain something? Work hard, be ready to sacrifice something. Are you afraid of pain? Breath the pain in and make it part of what you are. We have no resolution to offer, we mostly acknowledge and describe the journey itself.

How has the collaboration with Jarboe worked? What is it that you guys bring to the table, and what does she bring to the table? Do you feel you have worked well?

Each started writing a song for then letting the other

party adding contributions.

Each wrote a song, recorded the BASIC tracks, and sent it over to the other party. Once we received the contribution back, we each finalised the song.

Both contributions made the tracks become richer and reflecting both artists, influencing one another back and forth.

The final result shows both FM droney composition with dark and darker textures, and Jarboe ability in writing perfect 3 minutes songs, I believe the two things mixed together made the EP a more eerie and richer experience.

Is your live show an improvisational show or do you perform previously recorded material? Will collaborating with Jarboe on your tour affect how you perform at all?

We never improvise, we have written sheets for everything we perform, we give ourselves the chance of extending the time of this or that movement, but in general our performances are pretty much similar one to the other. We like repetition, it is like a prayer, in a continous prayer you find yourself going beyond the meaning of the words, concentrating on the sound and on the separation from what it’s around, making it a unique moment, a ritual.

As for performing with

Words: Richard Lowe

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Jarboe, it will surely affect how we perform, she’s just so full of life while she performs, she’s furious and she’s peaceful. It’s a challenge we look forward to.

Your releases deal with an individual’s journey through the catholic faith, what stage of one’s journey does your upcoming EP cover? Do you have an end point planned as of yet?

This EP, mostly thanks of being a collaborative effort together with Jarboe, and for all we’ve got from her, covers a very peculiar moment that I would refer to as “awareness”. Better, “naked consciousness”, and I refer to the definition Kerouac gave of W.S. Burroughs book Naked Lunch, where our consciousness is the exact and frozen moment of when you have total awareness of what you’re about to undertake, of what you’re committing to.

Using a biblical example, when Jesus left the desert, after resisting Satan’s temptations, I feel like it is there when he got full awareness of what he was about to do.

Our next release will be our last. It’ll be titled Rising: a requiem for Father Murphy and we’ll be celebrating Father Murphy’s death in sounds.

Bulma: Suicide Club

Having appeared seemingly out of nowhere in late 2015 with his thundering strain of 90s flavoured club production, Belgian based club-mentalist Bulma has been taking the darkened underworld of the club music spectrum by storm.

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Bulma’s sound is a maddening, clattering fusion of disparate influence, which has taken him to releases on WDIS and most recently, US avant-bass label Symbols for his Crime Scene EP. On paper, his formidable synergy of sound, encompassing bass, trap, thundering along at 10,000mph and channeled through a videogame inspired vaporwave aesthetic might seem a little generic, but on record, it’s anything but.

In the wake of the release of Crime Scene, we chatted to Bulma about genre hybridization, Dark Souls and his upcoming projects in 2017.

What’s the reception to the Crime Scene EP been like?

Really good, lots of feedback from people listening to my music and from some of my favorite producers.

Where’d you get the name Bulma from?

I took it from Dragonball, as Bulma is a cute character, I wanted the name to be the opposite of my music.

When and how did you start producing?

I was playing in a band and my drummer introduced me to Fruity

“Nothing like this has been done before, so it is really exciting.”

Loops, I never played the guitar again. When I discovered I could do all the instruments and rhythms by myself, it changed everything. Then 4 years ago I downloaded Ableton and started to produce seriously.

You have a unique sound that to us, sounds like WWWINGS doing videogame OSTs on steroids, how would you define your sound?

I see it as if the characters from Dark Souls were producing club music. It’s violent music but in a club way, using horror/nightmarish samples. I define it as suicide club.

forward thinking club music scene like in Belgium? Has the internet helped you out in terms of collaboration?

Actually, there are quite a lot of great producers and party crews implied in the Belgian scene, like Heartbroken, Midlife, and Slagwerk.

When I started to live in Belgium I was following Evaa, Buga and Beejah Bob on Soundcloud, then I realized we were all living in Brussels so we linked up and started to hang out.

How does working and collaborating via the internet work for you? Is it something you’ve always done?

I prefer to meet people in real life so I can learn things directly from watching them using the daw and plugins and see their workflow. I like to collab because there will be more ideas, more influences and details on the track, but it’s also a difficult job because you have to do concessions on behalf to make everybody happy.

You recently remixed some deathcore, what are your thoughts on the prevalence

What influences, musical or otherwise, drive your productions?

My influences are mainly in metalcore, deathcore, dark drum n bass (like Therapy Session), club music in general, and US rap/trap. Then I mix the whole things together.

For the moment most of my music is dark and industrial, it’s what inspires right now.

How did you link up with the Schism guys?

I met them when I played in Leipzig, in a WDIS party.

We had a good contact, and I thought of them to remix one of the tracks of my first ep.

They are my top producers right now.

Belgium isn’t somewhere you’d instantly think of when you think of forward thinking club music - What’s the

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Words: Richard Lowe

of metal influence in hip hop/ electronic music today?

Nothing like this has been done before, so it is really exciting.

Since I’ve been into electronic music, it’s what I wanted to do.

The only problem is that Metal influenced electronic music doesn’t have yet so much space in the club. On the one hand I think it is mainly because screaming voices are really difficult to get into if your ears are not used to it, but on the other hand, there are also a lot of people in this scene that were really into heavy music when they were teenagers. I think this style will be more popular in the future, screams in rap are also on the rise, it will help.

What have you got coming across the second half of 2017?

I’m working on a lot of things right now. I have some collabs with Evaa and Buga that will be released on Genome, some tracks I’m working on with Merca Bae, and Kurama, a track on the Beatgathers compilation, and some remixes on the way.

THE LIVE DIARIES

& It’d been a while since I last attended a metal gig. I believe my last was Oathbreaker on their 2016 tour in Brighton, while I was undergoing treatment for depression and psychosis. Nothing much had changed when we set out to see Grave Miasma alongside Siege - the latter’s last ever performance. We’d been up all night at an experimental electronic music rave beforehand and turned up on the low end of an acid trip. Given the circumstances it was a welcome re-introduction to the metal scene.

The first band on the agenda (not the line-up, just ours) was Drowned, an outfit self-described as obscure Death Metal, although their set wasn’t as obscure as I would have hoped, considering they were supporting Grave Miasma. Alas, they managed to play a by the numbers set, something to be expected at a death metal gig - churning out a brand of death metal influenced by Incantation and Dead Congregation.

On the tail end of an acid trip and after a copious amount of coke - accompanied by the seeping depression from that consumption, they provided the antidote and made me wonder why I ever neglected the scene in the first place. However, one incident de-railed our night, my girlfriend was walking through the crowd to the toilet when two leather strapped men grabbed her by the wrists to get her “involved” in the pit. An unfortunate aspect of a scene still dominated by the patriarchy, taking too many references from Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, and quite solipsistic in nature. (More on that later).

We managed to catch Siege after 30 minutes of suspense while they set up. For those of you who don’t know Siege, they’ve been cited as the progenitors of the Power-Violence movement.

Although I’d say they preceded Grindcore (i.e Napalm Death) by a significant amount of time. For men of their age playing a final show, you might expect a by the numbers set, akin to whenever a band decides to cash in on their legacy. Instead they came out seething. As if all the rage they’ve built up since their inception had its final catharsis against the Trump administration, and with that, they could retire into their other projects. The show was a final nail in the tomb for a band who have spawned a whole entire movement, laid to rest at their crucial moment. I saw D.R.I support Godflesh in 2012 and Discharge Support Neurosis in 2016, and both acts came off as trying to cling onto their old reputations. This wasn’t the case for Siege, who brought a dose full fury for their entire 30 minutes. Although their material predates, and is unfamiliar, with most kids getting into metal now. They will always remain essential to the scene, even if its unbeknownst to some.

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We managed to catch the last 30 minutes of Grave Miasma. By that point we were exhausted, mostly from the pit at Siege but also because of the coke we needed to stay awake with. We sat by the side and discussed the evening, taking in what we could.

Grave Miasma have been in the scene for a long time and probably on tier with bands such as Watain in aesthetic and Blut Aus Nord in terms of atmosphere and technicality, and it came through. On the verge on a depressive episode, they were the perfect soundtrack. By that point, the incident during Drowned and the liberation of Siege had tired us. However, Grave Miasma have been a forbearer of experimental death metal in the UK for 15 years now and, if you want spectacle and psychedelic extreme metal, it’s well worth catching them as soon as you can.

Overall, the gig was enjoyable, especially as a re-introduction to metal. The past decade has seen an influx of bands transgressing archaic expectations of how metal sounds, in direct parallel to what is currently going on in the electronic music scene. Yet the scene remains divided. The Grave Miasma gig appeared insular, and, as mentioned above, solipsistic. There were no political motives and I believe this is detrimental to the scene.

Whereas Siege, 20 years on from their last release offered a show which was empowering, the way extreme music should be.

As it was two gigs in one, there was a noticeable division between audiences’ worth mentioning. The grind and power-violence takes a left libertarian approach (as implied by the band itself). While the Grave Miasma gig offered nothing in the way of catharsis for our current political climate (this isn’t an aim at the audience or the band themselves). Siege offered what we needed. We face another four years of conservative-enabled oppression and Siege mobilised an audience into frenzy. It’s no secret that the majority of extreme metal bands from the US are left libertarian in politics even if they don’t admit it. We need more bands like Siege, for people who feel displaced in society, to rally around and find their voice, while the death metal scene should reach out to their audience and the world around them.

If death & black metal want to stay relevant, they’ll need to address the socio-economic situation of their audiences more rather than myopically focussing on aesthetic and technicality.

Words: Joe Julian Natasri

Reviews

Gravetemple - Impassable Fears (Svart)

Featuring the talents of none other than Mayhem crooner Attila Csihar and Sunn 0))) mainman Stephen O Malley, Gravetemple’s latest release Impassable Fears is an oddity, and anyone expecting a run of the mill post/drone/doom release to hit bongs to will be sorely disappointed.

It’s difficult to put into words exactly what Gravetemple’s sound really is on the release – instead, it’s far easier to put into words what it evokes. Written from a shamanistic perspective, the record’s aim is to challenge our perceptions through musical trance – which the album’s noise ridden psychedelia does incredibly well.

Through the walls of noise, droning guitars, and off-kilter drum beats, the album’s myriad compositions are an audial illustration of the angst and hatred burning through our collective subconscious as a species, boiled down into a droning death metal cacophony.

Impassable Fears isn’t a difficult listen, but it is a challenging one – at no point does the ensemble’s esoteric collection of noise tire, as the album’s droning hymns to decay (punctuated by two shorter, bleepy interludes in the middle), collapse and fade flawlessly into one another. The album is an almost hypnotic experience, gripping the listener through its unconventional sound design, and a disparate pool of influences.

The crux of Impassable Fears success lies in its fusion of

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conventionally unfashionable experimentalism – taking its cues from a wide range of weirdo-metal. The album’s sound is one part off-kilter madcap improv ala Abruptum, one part walls of screeching guitar noise ala Spanish occultists Teitanblood, and one part neu-induced death ala Pan-Thy-Monium, somehow pulled into a crawling, droning context and accented by layers upon layers of noise. It’s through these eclectic roots that Gravetemple pull off a masterfully unique 37 minute compendium of vicious, hypnotic psychedelia.

Impassable Fears makes a very good case for the existence of a post death metal genre – bringing the apocalyptic atmospheres of 90s death metal into it’s slowly brooding atmospheres, influenced just as much by the droning weirdness of krautrock and Neu as it is by the dissonant machinations of extreme metal.

In conclusion, for the forward thinking listener, for those thirsting for trance-inducing noise, or just for the listener slightly bored by the gimmick laden humdrum of music in 2017, Impassable Fears is an essential listen, purchase and experience.

Words: Richard Lowe

DDENT - ‫بائتكآ‬ (Self-released) Though they’re likely to find themselves somewhat pigeonholed into the subgenre of post-metal, ‫( بائتكآ‬pronounced ‘akitiaab’ according to Google Translate), the debut fulllength from Parisian instrumental four-piece DDENT, is a master-class in ultra-slow progressive metal. The band deserve full commendation for the multifaceted nature of their music that goes beyond conventional notions of the metal subgenre. By definition, post-metal is a relatively broad and adventurous subgenre, but DDENT do much more than imitate the proclivity for slow-paced and hypnotic riffs demonstrated by the genre’s kings, Neurosis.

CELES7E – HEAR7LESS (SVBKVLT) Over the past year, Russian collective Celes7e have maintained a cryptic presence in the shadows of the internet, surfacing only occasionally to share their powerfully bleak productions with the wider world.

HEAR7LESS, released via Shanghai-based art collective and record label SVBKVLT, showcases a mastery of expansive, industrial grimescapes – tracks which summon forth storm clouds that rumble across thundering percussion.

Its track titles – ‘IRON’, ‘BLIZZARD’, ‘METAL’, ‘CRYSTALITE’ and ‘NUMBING’ – are reflective of those sonic qualities; evoking the acrid tastes of harsh, polluted winters. Signified by the Frost-bitten breakbeats scattered themselves across melancholic synthscapes; it’s apparentthere is a tension to this music, a beauty to its aggression, and an aggressive quality lurking below ground in its softer moments. White noise, gun shots, snatched metallic clicks and echoing rap samples are deployed on ‘BLIZZARD’ at a rapid pace, accelerating until the track almost consumes itself.

Musicians such as Burial and Total Freedom have been celebrated for taking the noisy industry of jungle and grime, and the saccharine love letters of garage and RnB, and inverting them into something more forlorn. CELES7E are similarly concerned with inversion, but there is a rage here, in the grit, a visceral dirt which coats the sound like a smog-cloaked cityscape.

Across five tracks, and less than twenty minutes, the producer explores a broad creative palette. The hymn-like opening paen of ‘METAL’, for example, quickly breaks into bombastic corrupted trance. The submerged rumblings of ‘CRYSTALITE’ occasionally erupt into a tearing cacophony of hurtling kicks. For all its terrifying intensity, the EP ends on shimmering, evanescent snare rolls.

An appropriate soundtrack for our torrid, uncertain age.

Words: Alex Mcfadyen

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On ‫بائتكآ‬, DDENT create great sprawling masterpieces full of mournful tones and psychedelic grandeur. The snail-paced guitars and mesmerising atmospherics are masterfully executed, but what truly makes ‫ بائتكآ‬such an underappreciated release is its need to be different. Throughout, DDENT weave elegant melodies into the hazy textures that comprise their hefty guitar-work, but they always stay just short of becoming post-rock, consistently proving themselves too heavy to fit into that world. Also key here are the electronic-sounding drum beats, adding an industrial edge throughout that aids in the album’s darker moments.

Recorded in the now famous Skyhammer Studio with familiar doom producer Chris Fielding of Conan, the album packs a substantial punch when it feels the need, but what is apposite given that the title roughly translates to ‘melancholy’ or ‘depression’ is that an emotional weight, conveyed through brooding guitars and poignant melodies, is just as important. More than a simple combination of low-end riffs and more moving melodies, ‫ بائتكآ‬can be defined by breathtaking songwriting and a progressive vision.

Words: George Parr

Dephosphorus – Impossible Orbits (Self released) It’s always alarming when a band gives their style its own unique classification. After all, in a scene where genres and sub-genres are becoming more and more difficult to define, many fans and journalists only really use them as a means of describing a band’s sound to a potential new listener.

So, what exactly does “astrogrind” sound like? If the third album from Greek outfit Dephosphorus is anything to go by, it’s a noisy and suitably eclectic style of music infused with smatterings of punk, various subgenres of extreme metal and, you guessed it, grindcore.

If that’s the “grind”, then the “astro” is found within the album’s themes - “cosmology, astronomy and science fiction literature, as well as the associated socio-political and existential repercussions,” at least according to the press release.

Impossible Orbit’s coarse music comes from the sort of subgenre you’d sooner associate with an exceptionally dreary sewer than the grandiosity of the cosmos, but there is an unmistakable air of otherworldly allure to the album.

Fans of non-stop intensity have nothing to fear, however.

Impossible Orbits’ brutal style doesn’t take ethereal pitstops to justify its sci-fi themes, nor does it haphazardly throw psychedelia into the mix. Instead, it wastes no time in doing the opposite. From the get-go, the band brandish a proclivity for straight-forward, thrashy crust punk, choosing to set a benchmark before going in search of more complex and inventive textures.

Dephosphorus steadily build a unique identity over Impossible Orbits’ nine tracks. Barely audible but effective ambient noises begin to creep into the final moments of opener ‘Above The Threshold’, setting a precedent for the madness to follow. From here, the band gleefully jump from one subgenre to another, giving the album a challenging but irresistible power that finds itself enhanced by convulsive grooves and sudden changes of pace. ‘Rational Reappraisal’ builds with a shimmering, sludgy riff before launching into blackened extreme metal, ‘Asteroskoni’ introduces hardcore-tinged grindcore, and the title-track, the album’s shortest track at one minute and 29 seconds, blasts forward with a thrilling burst of blackened thrash.

Astronomical themes are often saved for subgenres like post-metal, perhaps due to genres like grindcore and death metal often favouring grotesque themes that centre around despair and life’s ugliness rather than the mysterious but stunning realms of sci-fi and astrology (at least in the modern day), but Impossible Orbits does an excellent job of breaking the trend. Perhaps more impressive, though, is Dephosphorus’ decidedly original style of extreme metal that wields sublimely impressive musicianship. Though it may seem ambitious and grandiose to proclaim your band fits a style that doesn’t (or didn’t) actually exist, Impossible Orbits is impactful and adaptable, with the “astrogrind” tag seemingly liberating the band from the limitations of existing subgenres.

Words: George Parr Dvne –Asheran (Wasted State Records) Comprised of members from Scotland, England, France, and Germany, Dvne are a clashing of worlds in more than just one sense, with the music they create seamlessly drifting between an array of diverse genres.

The young band may have turned some heads with their two compelling EPs, but as their first full-length, Asheran stands as a full realisation of their epic potential. Not only is the release centred around ambitious concepts (ranging from dystopias to utopias, environmental issues to the future of humanity), but musically it seamlessly bounces back and forth gleefully. If pushed, one could say that Asheran’s sound is primarily rooted in stoner-esque doom, but the biggest misconception one could make about

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this album is to assume it staggers forward with slow, monotonous riffs.

Instilled with a brawny strain of prog that both embraces big riffs and creates colossal soundscapes worthy of the album’s sci-fi themes, the album proves itself willing to slow things down for moments of respite as well drive forward with uninhibited aplomb. Asheran’s tracks are lively and versatile affairs that, more often than not, are worthy of their longer than-average song lengths. The band display writing ability and musical chops worthy of veteran musicians, expertly utilising palpable moments of restraint to increase the dramatic impact felt when the imposing guitars are let loose.

The riffing on the album is seldom overly technical, but its rich production ensures they pack a gargantuan punch, the likes of which rival the prowess of genre giants like Baroness and Mastodon. Perhaps the most thrilling thing about Asheran is just how unrestrained its tracks feel. Dvne go wherever they please across the album’s 60 minutes, and are as comfortable throwing in melody, melancholic atmospherics and emotional croons as they are guttural growls, death metal intensity, and skullcrushing riffs. Opener ‘The Crimson Path’ melds MiddleEastern textures with potent guitars, ‘Viridian Bloom’ offers staggering emotional weight and closer ‘Scion’ is one of the most boundary-pushing tracks you’ll hear all year.

Asheran is a remarkably dynamic release that drifts through stoner rock, post-metal, doom, death and prog without dropping in quality. It’s a rare thing that an upand-coming act should live up to their potential so quickly, and Dvne deserve full credit for creating an album that’s able to live up to expectations by being as epic as it is ambitious.

Words: George Parr

Words: Richard Lowe

Eaves - Verloren (Purple Tape Pedigree) “A lens to the relationship we have with digital environments, operating in the uncanny valley in which we seem to find ourselves” This statement from Brooklyn experimentalist Eaves arguably destroys the point of writing this review – as it so perfectly sums up what he has so flawlessly done on his debut Verloren.

Upon first listen, Verloren may seem a somewhat messy take on the deconstructive post-whatever-club-fusion currently perpetrated by an array of labels, collectives and weirdos in uncovered corners of cyberspace. However, upon repeated listens, the release takes what could most easily be described as noise music, and masterfully funnels it through the thundering landscapes of internetbased avant-garde. Through an almost hour long series of movements, Verloren’s transcendental psychedelia is sometimes abrasive, sometimes hauntingly beautiful, but always in complete defiance of any sense of grounded reality.

The releases individual tracks function as movements within a whole, an uncanny symphony, illustrating the abstract narrative told through an alingual collage of digitized noise. It’s this eldritch strain of noise that makes the release so intriguing. So well done is Eaves’ championing of otherworldly form and sound on the release, that the listener, enraptured by eaves’ masterful weaving of palettes of otherworldly sound, will see and feel the real world (or at least what they perceive to be reality) as if a total outsider to our conventional reality.

The release is almost lynchian in it’s motifs and otherworldly aura, but to give it this label would do it a disservice by tieing it to the tangible, real world. It’s through this that Eaves takes the moniker of ‘lynchian’ and flies with it. The sounds of Verloren don’t necessarily sound like that of a David lynch production, but it’s the transcendent, otherworldly nature of the release which makes this moniker so easy to attach to his music.

Just what Verloren is, is almost impossible to describe.

Whilst you could probably write an academic paper on the musical features of it’s myriad movements, the uncanny valley-esque digitization is unlike anything ever heard before. Verloren is an unspoken statement on the uncanny valley of existence in the digital age, and an essential listen.

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Harvestman – Music For Megaliths (Neurot Recordings) Painstakingly created, Harvestman’s third album is a solo project in every sense of the word. Neurosis main man Steve Von Till performs everything from guitars to hurdy gurdy to grendel drone to synthesisers on the release, and even recorded the album at his home studio in Idaho.

Throughout, Von Till creates epic soundscapes centred around drone as if the album is the sound of the stone megaliths for which it is named – namely the humming of a mystical power. Von Till merges this drone with psychedelia, doom and folk in an album imbued with a melancholic spirituality, that retains the experimental nature of Neurosis, but embraces a different strain of heaviness, one more reliant on an intense atmosphere of foreboding.

Music For Megaliths’ style is an experimental one, seldom confined by genre boundaries. Instead, Von Till creates a coherent style by maintaining a consistent supernatural concept that lingers as the release drifts from folky psychedelia to doomy drone. ‘Ring Of Sentinels’ relies on electronic elements, but retains a paganistic air of spiritual enchantment like a 21st century-inclined Wardruna.

Similarly, ‘ ‘The Forest Is Our Temple’ is befitting of an ancient ritual but is underpinned by pulsating synths and the doomy vibes of ‘Levitation’ retain a gloomy atmospheric weight but, unlike Neurosis, this mood festers rather than bursting into pounding percussion and roaring riffs. If one song breaks the cohesive mystical air, it’s the huge droning of ‘Sundown’, which booms louder than a foghorn but with a sinister layer of ominous interference that’s more Blade Runner than Vikings.

Music For Megaliths is memorable for its original blend of new and old. Taking inspiration from megaliths so pre-historic their purpose is unknown to us now, Von Till is able to provide a unique take on a historical concept with modern instrumentation. He sees this ambition through remarkably well and with a large scope despite the release’s rather solitary creation to create a listening experience characterised by an otherworldly charm that’s as captivating as it is deeply unnerving.

Words: George Parr

Herd Mover: Vol. 2: Rural Banishment.

(Self Released) The term ‘no thrills’ and underground DIY music go hand in hand, with the phrase being littered over every gig poster or record store review since the 80’s to now, usually when it comes to punk music specifically.

With Herdmover’s new record Vol 2: Rural Banishment (although not entirely punk), the Brighton trio live up to the term “no thrills”.

Produced by none other than Slabdragger’s Sam Thredder who has given this record some oomph. Both Sam and Herdmover have put a record together, which works on and improves on the sound crafted on their previous release ‘Vol: 1 (Live)’.

The record surges in to life from track one with a raw powerviolence first track then melds in to the slow to fast style like on the track ‘Swan’. The following track ‘B.M.W.’ sounds almost like a Post Punk track with a Black Metal intro, it will be interesting to see if the band pursue that direction. After this, the record veers off and goes on a riffy rampage over it’s next four tracks. Vol. 2: Rural Banishment fuses a lot different styles like black metal, thrash, powerviolence, post-punk, but they all somehow come together to give you a pissed off riff fuelled battering!

From the fast to slow sections to straight groovy parts, this record was pissed off and raw and hopefully it’ll be as much fun to hear them live as this was.

Words: Thomas Kirby.

Impetuous Ritual – Blight Upon Martyred Sentience (Profound Lore) One of the biggest problems death metal faces in 2017 is a never-ending onslaught of bands creating unintelligible metal so chaotic and esoteric that it’s without any kind of perceptible structure. Comprehension is, admittedly, one of the last things a death metal band considers, but there has to be something stopping it from becoming little more than static.

Australia’s Impetuous Ritual have sidestepped this issue on latest LP Blight Upon Martyred Sentience, with a style that is remarkably dark and carnivorous but has just enough stopping it from descending into indecipherable bedlam.

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Blistering but precise drums help the album’s tracks take form, but also key is a vibrant but cavernous sound that allows room for abstraction. Its guitars, and indeed the inhumanly coarse vocals, find themselves spiralling like a vortex into increasingly more abrasive textures, but they also reach realms of gruelling tonality so ferocious they cross the line into avant-garde noise.

‘Void Cohesion’ uses the album’s clear but hammering production to introduce seismic drones. Closer ‘Intransience’ holds the album’s best display of dark ambience, and the double assault of ‘Apoptosis’ and ‘Inordinate Disdain’ unleashes inharmonious leads that squeal and shriek over the frenzied death metal racket. It’s strange to describe one of the metal world’s most extreme acts as getting more progressive by getting even more extreme, but Impetuous Ritual do so.

Showing off their skilful songwriting by preventing their overwhelmingly fiery and tenacious tracks from becoming unlistenable torrents of noise, Blight Upon Martyred Sentience is an exhausting but thrilling listen that takes the overworked death metal formula and forges something altogether more interesting from the carcass.

Words: George Parr Jute Gyte – The Sparrow (Blue Tapes) It’s not a particularly new observation to say that trying something new is a double-edged sword in heavy metal.

Numerous bands have been ridiculed for their refusal to shift from a style that wasn’t even that unique in the first place, whilst others find their audience abandoning them because they brought in a melodic chorus or two. Outside of this typical genre-restricted rhetoric, though, you’ll find acts like Jute Gyte, the solo project of Adam Kalmbach. It’s easy to say that anyone doing something new is defying genre conventions, but in the case of Jute Gyte, it’s more a case of creating an entirely new subgenre.

The Sparrow’s two tracks each stick to a rigid, minimalistic style (the title-track is largely built around the same nine notes despite a 20-minute runtime) but what gives it its inherently unique identity is that these are styles you won’t have heard before. Microtonal black metal takes the reins on the drone-infused title-track, with unsettling guitars that continuously hover like a power tool instead of focusing on more conventional riffing, whilst dark ambient landscapes take over on side B’s ‘Monadanom’.

Adam Kalmbach has put out over 25 albums since starting Jute Gyte in 2006 and, to further dismiss industry standards, is yet to tour any of them. Originality oozes out of his releases, and whilst The Sparrow can be characterised as black metal handled with the mechanistic approach of drone, it is just as likely to embrace post-metal, industrial and 20th-century musique concrète to aid in creating a release that challenges what it means to be metal in the 21st century.

Words: George Parr

Morbid Evils – Deceases (Svart Records) If, for some reason, you were on a quest to find the world’s heaviest band, you couldn’t go wrong to include Morbid Evils in the nominations. A death-themed sludgefest laid out in six ‘cases’, the Finnish band’s second album sees them evolve from a more-than-capable death metal-ridden sludge outfit into an entirely more dynamic group with a knack for churning out a unique and intensely violent brand of riffdriven bedlam.

Debut album In Hate With The Burning World succeeded in creating a substantially bleak and incendiary listen, sure, but Deceases takes things even deeper into the abyss. Like grindcore played in slow motion, the album is coated in the thickest black tar imaginable as it drives forward at sluggish paces with brutish force. Deceases’ style is raw and unbridled, but it is also twisted and, at times, borders on psychedelia as alien noises and gnarly downtuned guitars work together to provide a strangely captivating form of monstrosity.

Never has an album’s sound so well personified its theme – like death, there is no forgiveness here. There is precious little in the way of salvation also, as the band explore a uniquely minimalist approach to heaviness. Waves of droning guitars swirl malevolently over earthquake-inducing drums and throat-shredding yells to create a sweltering sound sure to make any claustrophobic twinge. It may be easiest to label it sludge, but if drone met grind it would probably resemble this.

Morbid Evils are not brooding post-metallers or experimental doomsters tinkering with notions of subtlety and slow-building tracks - they’re gut-punching heavyweights exploring every sonic definition of hatred.

There are undoubtedly many out there just as capable of proving gargantuan guitars and pummelling percussion of the optimum variety, but the band’s idiosyncrasies help them paint an original and unparalleled mural of utter anguish.

Words: George Parr

Pharmakon – Contact (Sacred Bones) Margaret Chardiet is one of the leading lights of the newest wave of Noise music, and on the eve of the tenth birthday of her cathartic project Pharmakon, Chardiet has unleashed Contact, a release telling of Pharmakon’s growing maturity.

2013’s Abandon - arguably Pharmakon’s breakout release took a cavernous brand of ear-splitting catharsis and went fucking insane with it, but Contact is a far more nuanced, but no less vital beast. Buillt around the concept of biorhythmic trance states, and the transcendent outcomes of such, the release sees Chardiet take far greater steps towards a far more polished musical, and conceptual outcome.

In line with the releases more sophisticated philosophical underpinnings, Contact is also the culmination of far more advanced compositional ideas. Conceptually, and musically in line with the far more tuneful rackets emerging out of the noise spectrum over the past year, Contact blows it’s predeccesors out of the water. What the release immediately evokes is confidence; If Abandon was a cathartic journey through physical pain, Contact is a joyous journey through the embrace of pain - to spiritual ends. This doesn’t just permeate even down to the album’s artwork, the first instance of Chardiet opting to be exhibited on the cover of a Pharmakon release, betrays not only progression musically, but also spiritually.

Contact is also pockmarked with joyous splashings of synaesthetic colour most notably, ‘Transmission’ takes the fuzz-laden walls of noise, and evokes a warm warp of Doppler-effect esque noise. It’s the variance between its movements that makes Contact such a rewarding listen, still engrossing the listener in anxiety-inducing caverns of noise, but taking the listener on a very distinct audial journey with each of its tracks.

Pharmakon’s mutated audial pounding is as impactful as it once was, but has become far more competent, and Contact is the culmination of this. Whilst Chardiet’s sound has developed, pockmarked with colour and bursting with confidence. If 2013’s Abandon was an expression of violent catharsis, Contact is the championing of that pain for the purpose of development – and an embrace of that pain to wonderfully masochistic ends.

Words: Richard Lowe

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The Body/Full of Hell – Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light (Thrill Jockey) 2016 saw the first collaboration between these two boundary pushing groups in the form of the excellent One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache, an album that deservedly made multiple best of the year lists. With both bands already having collaborated with a selection of acts as diverse as Thou, Merzbow, Krieg and The Bug, the album’s melding of minds was perhaps an obvious one between two of the most creative forces in extreme music today.

The follow up, Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light, is far less of a glitchy nightmare than its predecessor was, delving further into the world of electronic music too, none more so than on ‘The King Laid Bare’. Ascending jumps between far more genres too, moving between grindcore to jungle, angstridden sludge to hip hop beats, and even elements of Techno and Jazz. Whilst this eclecticism can, at points, make things seem disjointed, the release was never going to be an easy listen.

The release is seemingly an album of two halves, with the opening tracks providing more grit and gloom from the off - showcasing both bands affinity with the uncomfortable. As the 2nd half progresses, the album ventures into far more experimental realms, the highlight being ‘Masters Story’ which combines elements of harsh noise with reggaeton vibes to great effect.

There’s still plenty of both bands trademarks present here though, the recognisable wails from Chip King that punctuated ‘One day..’ can be heard on opener ‘Light Penetrates’ and the looped synths and sampled drums that are featured throughout will be familiar to fans of the first collaboration. It’s here, however, where the similarities between the two releases end, an entirely understandable phenomenon. Where One Day... accentuated the mutual creative influences they share, it could be theorized that Ascending... is intended to highlight the differences between both groups.

Words: David Brand

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Zeal and Ardor - Devil Is Fine (MKVA) At a time when many metal publications find themselves brimming with heritage acts and bands that offer little more than a high-quality but ultimately predictable style, not unlike what has come before, Zeal & Ardor, the solo project from Swiss multi-instrumentalist Manuel Gagneux, is a breath of fresh air. Debut LP Devil Is Fine may have gone largely unnoticed when it was originally released on Bandcamp in 2016, but it found its way into the rock press this year following a MVKA reissue.

Following conversations with users on 4chan, in which he asked people for two random music styles then tried to fuse them, Gagneux aimed to blend black metal with AfricanAmerican spiritual music on the album, but the resulting release is even grander in musical scope.

Opener ‘Devil Is Fine’ passes by with only hints of the project’s heavier side, but ‘Come On Down’ favours tremolo guitar-work and black metal shrieks, albeit juxtaposed with a relentlessly infectious blues element. ‘Children’s Summon’ sees melodeath riffs merge with extreme metal yells and eerie cult-like chanting à la Ghost, whilst ‘What Is A Killer Like You Gonna Do Here?’ introduces funky bass and rockabilly riffs alongside a sinister atmosphere to create a unique listening experience likely to conjure as many goosebumps as it does sing-alongs and tapping feet.

The short but sweet album clocks in at just 25 minutes, but its seamless integration of seemingly unaffiliated genres suggests that great things could lie in the project’s future, with the tantalising idea of a longer, more epic album being too good not to wish for.

Words: George Parr

Retrospective: Blut Aus Nord – Memoria Vetusta I: Fathers Of The Icy Age Formed amidst the strife of the second wave of black metal in the 90s, Blut Aus Nord’s debut Ultima Thulee took the black metal world by storm in 1995. If there’s one thing to say about their debut, it’s that it lacked character and whilst it stands on its own as a release today, it’s influences still permeate far too recognisably throughout its sound. Ultima Thulee’s follow up – the extravagantly titled Memoria Vetusta i: Fathers Of The Icy Age – built on this sound to great effect, and arguably laid down many of the cornerstones for Blut Aus Nord’s transcendent ethos.

Released in 1996, at a time when black metal was increasingly becoming a transcendent musical force, ‘Memoria Vetusta i was (and still is) a shining example of triumphant, forward-thinking Viking black metal. Twenty years on, Blut Aus Nord are still very much innovating. As their latest release Deus Salutis Meae’s gloriously transcendent industrial landscapes have moved into far weirder, obfuscated territory, the cornerstones of the band’s far more advanced sound, and progressive ethos can be found comfortably nestled within The album’s sound is born of two of black metal’s most progressive forces: Bathory and Enslaved. Whilst the axe-grinding tempos and razor-sharp delivery of the album were very much influenced by the frozen riffscapes of Immortal and Enslaved, the release also looked to the plodding, keenly melodic yearning of Bathory’s early 90s output.

Enslaved’s musical influence on Memoria Vetusta i’s sound is very tangible on the release, but in the abstract, Memoria Vetusta’s connection to Norse Mythology followed closely in the footsteps of Enslaved’s fantastical veneration of their heritage. The focus of the release was far more concerned with the cavernous locales and supernatural creatures of Yggdrasil than it was with drudging up a perceived pre-Christian past. The artwork, a romanticized perspective on Norse mythology, moodily lit and adorned with images of Valkyries and Norse deities, set the tone for the album’s epic, minor-key treatise of Norse mythology.

It’s perhaps the Wagnerian aspects of Memoria Vetusta i that are the releases most intriguing, however, and one of the things that marked out Blut Aus Nord for brilliance on their first album. The tightly wound, staccato riffing, intertwined with vaguely operatic vocal harmonies, blazing leads, and rich synth pads, all tied into minor key movements, immersed the listener in a Wagnerian interpretation of Norse black metal.

Whilst many across the ’90s black metal spectrum may have liked to compare their music to Wagner’s, on Memoria Vetusta, the comparison was (and still is) justified – not only through the album’s operatic melody, but through its supernatural aesthetic, and most importantly, it’s melancholic atmosphere.

To conclude – Memoria Vetusta i is not only a striking example of black metal’s occultic, mystical heydey, it was also a predecessor to Blut Aus Nord’s progressive ethos that still holds up today. The release stands as an act of ancestor worship, whilst the mystical Implications of its subject matter and synth-laden paeans to the Norse pantheon a precursor to the transcendent whirlwind of obfuscated sound and ideology prominent in Blut Aus Nord’s sound in the modern day.

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Words: Richard Lowe

Retrospective: Neurosis - The Word As Law Listen to Neurosis’ career-defining album Souls At Zero now, and you may be given the impression that the influential post-metallers had always been the sonically unique oddballs they were when it dropped in 1992. Indeed, for many, that’s where the band really began, but there’s a musical progression that can be traced through Neurosis’ back catalogue, despite the major jump taken on Souls At Zero. Trace back just five years to 1987 and debut album Pain Of Mind does little to separate the band from the general crop of hardcore punk bands of the era, meaning that in two albums, Neurosis went from eager young punks to avant-garde experimentalists. The mid-point between these two extremities can be found on the band’s sophomore album The Word As Law. For a long time, the LP has been all but forgotten, but a remastered edition to be released on August 25th, through the band’s own Neurot Recordings, could be about to change things.

On the surface, The Word As Law appears to have more in common with its predecessor than its successor. The band were yet to incorporate the keyboards and synthesisers that would come to define their sound, and the album was released on Lookout! Records, a label whose roster boasted Operation Ivy, Green Day and Screeching Weasel, amongst a wealth of other Bay Area punk acts. Indeed, anyone at the time would simply observe that the band had continued where they left off three years earlier, but looking at the release retrospectively unveils the beginnings of a more innovative sound that would go on to inspire a generation of post-metal and sludge.

Notably, the album was the first to feature long-term guitarist Steve Von Till, who aided in creating heftier rhythms and nowadays explores even more underground textures on solo project Harvestman. Nevertheless, whether as a result of this new inductee or not, The Word As Law is entirely more exploratory sonically. For all its upbeat rhythms and punky shouts, it marked a substantial move away from the straightforward punk of their debut, as it embraced melancholy, dissonance and a style much more willing to hit downhearted tones.

The album’s tracks managed to stay true to the band’s 80s punk roots, but beneath the surface experimentation brewed, not to mention lengthier songs. In fact, the more purist punk songs were arguably the album’s worst. The irate bursts that were ‘Double-Edged Sword’ and ‘The Choice’ already lacked the antagonistic conviction of their first album, whilst the more complex arrangements held within ‘Obsequious Obsolescence’ and ‘To What End?’ benefit from more elaborate songwriting and, as a result, fare best when it comes to the upcoming remaster. The latter of these tracks retained a punky air of aggression, sure, but its multi-faceted approach also boasted an eerie dissonance that sounds almost bizarre amongst a punk album. Elsewhere, ‘Tomorrow’s Reality’ was primarily a dingy punk number, but held a section of slowed riffs that, with a bit of work, would not be out of place amongst the discographies of Candlemass or even Black Sabbath, and closer ‘Blisters’ wrapped things up with enchanting melodies and jittery time signatures in perhaps their most progressive song yet.

It will never be the go-to Neurosis album, nor respected and loved as Souls At Zero, Times Of Grace or Through Silver In Blood, but with hindsight it seems clear that The Word As Law is the album the band needed to break free of their hardcore substratum and become more versatile songwriters. In recent years, the LP is most likely only heard by the more curious of the Neurosis fan base, but the upcoming remaster will ensure that many more hear the legendary post-metaller’s most transitional record.

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Words: George Parr