Interview
he We got t om latest fr You have been picked up by a huge record label at what seems like an early point in your musical careers.
“This all transpired very quickly for us and no one saw it coming. Before we were contacted by Metal Blade A&R, we had not even sent out a single press kit. We were in the process of it that very week if I recall correctly. As fairy tale sounding as this is, we received the fateful email on Christmas morning of 2013. “Here’s the back story. We are friends with an amazing band called Argus. They live fairly close to us, and have been together a long time. They have 3 full length records under their belt and are signed to Cruz Del Sur. Last year they did a short European tour, the first gig being in Dublin. A Metal Blade A&R rep happened to be there and catch the show. While talking to him after the show, the vocalist for Argus mentioned that Metal Blade should check us out if they were looking for new artists. He took the advice from the Argus boys and looked us up. The rest is history, as they say. “This is a great opportunity and a huge honor for us. We grew up listening to what are now considered Metal Blade classics, so to be considered labelmates with such godly acts as King Diamond, Pentagram, GWAR and Amon Amarth is incredibly surreal to us. It’s still sinking in, to be honest. “What sealed the deal? We owe it all to Butch/Argus for referring us and Alan Averill/Brian Slagel for believing in us. Thanks guys!” This new release is a collection of materials previously recorded before you signed to Metal Blade what do you think about this?
“We were kind of blown away when the prospect of re-releasing our existing material got put on the table. The fact that the label wanted to do this with all of our music to date led us to think that we are on the right path with our music and are obviously doing something right. “I can’t speak for the higher-ups at Metal Blade, but it seems they feel our previous songs are good enough and the production values strong enough that the world needs to hear them, regardless of their chronology. We are only a few years old as a band, after all. The first recording was released in 2012, and the second one in November 2013. Not even a year ago! “A lot has transpired since then. We have since got the opportunity to open up for some very venerable acts like Pentagram, Blackfinger and Spirit Caravan. We have also recently re-acquired our original drummer Justin, and we couldn’t be happier with the band dynamic.”
agna Andrew D’Cwords: Dan J. Mitchell The production on the two albums your record comprises of are very different...
“I personally like the individual production values for both recordings featured on the Metal Blade release. The other guys dig it too I’m sure, though I think Corey prefers the more raw/analog approach of the first recording. The second one is a little too clean sounding for his tastes. He loves old 60s/70s productions, and is very fond of the unfiltered/ crunchy sound of more modern records like Uncle Acid’s ‘Blood Lust’. “As for the new material, we have already decided to go as classic and analog sounding as possible. We plan on recording the entire rhythm section live onto tape, making sure the chemistry of Justin and I playing together shines through. In reality, the pre-production demo recordings we’ve made for the upcoming record are exactly the sound we’re looking for, so we plan on just replicating that process. Just two mics on the drums, and an unfiltered bass tone. Then we will overdub rhythm guitars, solos and vocals. “Simple as simple comes! We want it to sound like we are in the room jamming right in front of you” Would you say that your genre fits in with your general perception of the world – or is it an escape from your general mode of thinking?
“I think that I can safely speak for all of us when I say that music is a total escape mechanism, 100%. None of us are downtrodden or have terrible lives, it’s actually quite the opposite. But musician or not, I think everyone on this planet can relate to the trials and tribulations of everyday life bringing you down. Bills suck. Money sucks. Politics suck. “The state of affairs in the world right now in general are not Utopic by any stretch of the imagination. With no temporary escape, life will wear you down, no matter who you are. So music to us is our own little escape pod where we can crawl inside and forget about the woes of the world, if only for a few hours. “I vehemently disagree, however, with being labeled “doom metal”. Number one, I don’t think there is anything “metal” about our sound. Now don’t get me wrong, I love metal. I grew up listening to it exclusively, and it’s definitely my favorite genre of music. And because I’m such a metal fan, I feel I’m adept to dispute the title. Metal is aggressive, we aren’t. Metal guitars have high gain/distortion, we don’t. I would also dispute the “doom” moniker as well. Doom is normally very slow. We are sometimes, but not always. Doom normally employs high gain, down tuned guitars. Once again, not our style. When I think doom metal, I think Candlemass. And while Candlemass is one of my favorite bands ever, I don’t think we sound anything like them. “We call ourselves “dark occult rock”, and to me that’s the only description that truly fits us!”
photo: Megan Gardner How would you describe the metal scene of your home area in West Virginia?
“The scene here is very peculiar, in the respect that it seems to rise and fall in waves. Some years, the scene here is overflowing with a ton of talented bands. Then there are other years where it seems to be difficult finding bands around here to play shows with. I truly feel that this area is a vastly untapped resource, musically speaking. “I think we get overlooked because we are generally regarded as a mostly rural area, which isn’t entirely true. There’s not been many bands from here that have had the opportunity to transcend the confines of our little valley. It’s a shame, really. There’s been many worthy candidates over the years that the world should have heard, but due to either lack of support/attention or the normal internal affairs they never made it to the next level they deserved. “As far as present day, I could cite many bands that are delivering the goods. There’s Argus, Mother Hawk, Null Result, Curse The Wicked, Traitors Return To Earth, Supervoid, Fist Fight In The Parking Lot, Doctor Smoke, and even more. I could go on and on, the scene is really strong here right now.” What does the future hold for Brimstone Coven? Europe would very much like to see you soon!
“The future seems wide open for us right now. We get more opportunities every day to expand ourselves as musicians, and we are very thankful for this. We have been given an opportunity that a lot of bands can only dream of and we’ll be damned if we’re going to squander it. The sky is the limit for us and we vow to make the most of it. “A new recording is right around the corner for us, so definitely expect to see that by the beginning of 2015. Between now and then we plan on gigging as much as possible, meeting new people and visiting new parts of the world. We would love to come over to your side of the ocean and rock the UK and the rest of Europe! This is only the first of many chapters in the chronicles of Brimstone Coven. We have only just begun!”
Brimstone Coven Self Titled Out Now! Metal Blade
he We got t om r latest f
e e T e c e e R of
(London S
k) toner Roc
Interview words: D.J.G. Mitchell The London stoner, sludge, and doom scene is one that has grown strong over the past half-decade. Showing no signs of letting up, the community is only growing stronger: represented through an increase of bands, albums and concerts; the most important, and monolithic culmination being Desertfest – where Steak performed earlier this year!
“Getting signed to Napalm [Records] was the main reason [we decided to record]. Having that financial support to be able to really concentrate on making a good body of songs was really important to us. We never wanted to make an album without the whole support, it just felt a bit of a waste to do that. Before we were signed we had a plan of releasing a run of 4 EPs, all part of the comic story, and then release a comic with the last one linking them all. “With support from Napalm, it allowed us to concentrate on a full length earlier than we had anticipated. We still kept the comic theme going and still plan a comic in the future. The new album continues the story of Steak with a comic in the booklet of the cd and the gatefold of the record.” “Napalm wanted us to release a full length and felt that we had some great material from the frst two EPs that would be cool to add to the album like ‘Liquid Gold’ and ‘Machine’.
Creating that deep stoner fuzz sound isn’t an easy task, and every band has their own way of achieving it. A large component of this is the equipment: pedals, amplifiers etc
The stoner/doom/sludge scene appears to be on a forward trajectory. How have you watched it grow, and do you have any predictions or thoughts on its future?
“We play through Orange rigs that give a nice fuzzy tone anyway, then the bass plays through a big muff and the occasional Boss FZ-5 guitar fuzz pedal to give triple fuzz! The bass sound is really important to us so it really is the foundation of our sound.
“I have noticed that a lot of bands are now getting much bigger exposure. Festivals such as Desertfest catering for genres that before went mainly unnoticed and labels such as Napalm really supporting great bands have really helped build it up. It’s great to see and may it continue.”
I play guitar again through an Orange Rockerverb head using the gain channel and a modded Russian big muff. I also like to play solos and lead through a delay pedal that gives a nice rich tone. Man when you write it all down there is a lot of fuzz right there!”
If STEAK had a motto, what would it be?
“We had a write up in the Cochella valley music mag and it was titled ‘Desert Stoner Rock Band, Steak… Because Meats Meat and a Girls Gotta Eat’. We kinda liked that! “ “Believe it or not, there was a vegetarian drummer originally in the band. He sdon’t drum for us any more…”
We always want to do things the best way possible. Releasing a budget album just wasn’t an option for us. If Napalm had not supported us, it would have been another E.P.”
With Steak’s latest album, and with the investment of a large record label the accomplishment of a perfect sound is made a more reachable goal.
“The brief for this album was that we wanted it to sound raw, have that live feel. We wanted to produce an authentic Desert Rock record, so where better to do that than in the desert? We went out to Palm Springs and recorded at Thunder Underground. We didn’t get too bogged down about getting everything perfect, it was more about the feel of the take. We all got in a room together and played as a band. It felt right that way and I think it works with this album. “We called in help from Arthur Seay (Unida) to co-produce along with producer Harper Hug and Trevor Whatever who worked on Songs for the Deaf to name a few. Arthur put down and awesome solo on a track plus we had a guest vocal for John Garcia (Kyuss, Unida, Vista Chino). They all done an amazing job and we a really pleased with the outcome.”
STEAK Welcome to Slab City Out Now! Napalm Records
We Spoke to
Bassist
Dan Briggs
The style of Trioscrapes might be described as a fusion of Jazz and Metal. Dan Briggs, bassist and songwriter explains the origins of their fresh, original style.
“It’s really the three of us having different backgrounds, the stuff that we were all able to agree on seemed to be stuff like King Crimson and Frank Zappa, some of the fusion bands from the the fusion bands from the 70s; Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Return to Forever. Our interests individually have grown over the last couple of years, but it’s still a mix of our three different personalities. “Our drummer Matt [Lynch] and I come from a very structured world of rock and metal so, for us, we have really precise notated charts written out, and we talk in terms of time signatures, bars, “this many times” etcetera. Our saxophonist, Walter [Fancourt], is into more of an afrobeat-psychedelic, West-African kindof music mixed with jazz interests, and he’s much more loose... Our sound and our compositions are a mix of having that loose, free improvisational feel mixed with densely composed, multi-part written music... “[With] the last record we didn’t really know what we had on our hands, but we definitely didn’t think of it as a jazz record at all – and we weren’t even really that comfortable with using the term fusion. And then it appeared on the jazz charts, which is just the weirdest thing to us. Since then there’s been more interest, and we feel a little bit better about catering to that style and those people. I think our connotation with it was that we were “too outside the box” for how straight a typical jazz mind is - you know, unless they’re into freakier stuff like John Zorn or Annette Coleman. They’re gonna hear the sounds that Walter’s making on his saxophone and its just not gonna be pleasing to their ears. On the flipside, a lot of metal publications hear saxophone and they kindof don’t get it. I think we might be a tough group to sell, but in we’ve had good luckhas with since a lot ofachieved progressivea Having performed a band that rock outlets and so far. They20 seem to latch ongives to it cause legendary cultstuff status over years ago mostthat ofthat the whole genre is based of off of weirdly arranged music general, the current members Sigiriya something ofinan edgesoover combination of bass, sax and drums is not – there’s definitely been many bands of similar size in theweird scene. Additionally, Siweirder,wasn’t and more progressive rock.” giriya formed until 8 years after the dissolution of Acrimony. The band’s new full-length album, ‘Digital Dream Sequence’
is their second release so far – both released on Metal blade. “I’m learning lessons all the time but I suppose in terms of being in a band, Their debut ‘Separate Realities’ boasts a different sound, we just enjoy it for what it is - no big plan to take over the world, and we immediate where the new album is more expansive, and don’t take ourselves too seriously. As long as you don’t believe your own features some longer compositions. hype you’ll usually be OK. I think we are a bit more focused than in the “Wedays, wrote titlematured track “Digital Dream Sequence” around orthat 4 old andthe have a very small amount since those days3 so months ourplaying first record came It just happened because we’d now, we after put the first, and theout. getting smashed a close second. We been playing bunch after way it came out and it was just inevitable always did get athat one right the wrong around, ha-ha! that ideas would start coming “Thenew main philosophy of the bandabout. is to not give a fuck [about] what’s trendy or what other people are doing. Just sail your ship and course I think those dynamics come naturally out of what own you’re writing. We and what anyone saysburners or does. fact,song we do have abut habit coulddon’t haveworry just written 5 insane likeInthe Hysteria, it of producing music that’s the antithesis of what’s trendy just to be different. ended up that we only had Hysteria and a few other moments on the Usually afterhave 10 years people then want you reform youpart wereofdoing record that an insane pounding feel to to them and cos I think that something unique or a bit different - just like with calls for [an] Acrimony is that we’re feeling more comfortable writing outside of ourselves and reunion, we say ‘fuck you and you should have been there the first time really trying our hand at thing “fusion” thing – whatever that is – it’s our around’ ha-ha. take on it. A more melodic, wild burst.”
Interview words: Dan J. Mitchell photo: Chuck Johnson
Replicating the sound on a record in a live setting is not always easy, especially when there are lots of effects pedals, and technical/progressive elements involved in every second of the music.
“We’ll take liberties in the studio, doing some things like playing with effects and sounds that we wouldn’t be able to replicate, but the material that we play is all stuff that is able to be duplicated live for sure. “When we play live, even outside the practice room: something we didn’t realise when we made the first record: we didn’t really know how energetic the music was. It takes on this crazy force live, we really wanted to capture that better on this record [Digital Dream Sequences]. I think we did, and the fun thing with the improv sections is that we seem to be more dramatic with things like dynamics, things get either really wild or really tame during those sections and that’s not something you can normally plan on but it depends on how a show is going: what kind of energy there is... “We’re able to just pick up and play 2 weeks of shows in the East Coast in the States, cause we’re right here and it’s so easy – [but] getting over to Europe, you can’t really have that same approach. It has to be planned out well in advance, you have to get your tickets which are super-expensive but you know, honestly, we’re down and we wanna do it just as soon as there’s an offer. Literally one-offer that comes in, we’ll take it! (laughs).” As well as playing in, and writing for Trioscapes; Dan Briggs is also a core member of the surprising, progressive metal act Between The Buried And Me. Both progressive bands, but very different in style
“People kindof get confused when a member of a known band starts another thing, this tag of “side project” or whatever gets thrown around. I’ve never adhered to that, I don’t understand it because the music I Regarding scene in the band’s of Swansea, write – if I’mthe taking my time, which to me hometown is pretty valuable and precious Wales... when I’m actually at home and not on the road, to work on a band that’svery different from[and] my “main” Between Thefair, Buried andsince Me: the at “[It’s] healthy, alwaysgroup has been to be even absolutely means just are as much me as anything else. band, Prosperina Acrimony days. HARK doingtoreally well and a great are also out there doing the that do, IThe Arteries are well in theI I put 100% into everything do so I’ve never reallyestablished liked that tag. punk too.probably Continents are another banddone making across thinkscene people thought it was aheavy one and sort strides of thing, but Europe and beyond, and Suns of Thunder are also well known around the we were out there playing shows in between BTBAM tours and working stoner scene. on new music – we never thought twice about it. “Swansea has always punched way above its weight when it comes to “In BTBAM I write and as piano andtramp-core we arrange our songsthese like heaviness. We’re sortonofguitar regarded the old anti-heroes that,with but aformix meofbass is sortof this afterthought that and I’m adding days delight and wonderment that extra we’relayer still alive making at the end, when the song is totally put together: and that’s because a right din.” the whole time we’re writing I have a guitar in my hand, I’ve got my keyboard – whatever. And for Trioscapes I’m solely composing on bass, On the future... and sometimes on keyboard. I just generate a lot of melodies on the “Ipiano. really want to get another album done as soon as we can and just see what happens. What’s done is done, and we move onwards and As for my actual role, Between the Buried and Me, I’m a “bassist” upwards:no medalsbass to ‘til the in battles done!.” – I use very few effects. And with Trioscapes sometimes I’m laying down a bassline that I’m looping, soloing, or I’m adding other effect layers on top to create textures or I’m doing unison lines with the saxophone. “There’s not a dull second in Trioscapes. Live: in BTBAM my mind will wander, thinking about anything except for whats going on on-stage sometimes. I would be horrified if my mind ever wandered during a Trioscapes show: it’s just so intense.” DIGITAL DREAM SEQUENCE IS OUT NOW VIA METAL BLADE
Interview Interview Alex Webster
Bassist and Founding Member
The new album sounds very inspired. Where do you feel this came from?
“It’s really the usual stuff. Pat has definitely been more active than normal in the songwriting process and wound up doing the music for 5 songs, Paul did all the lyrics for those. They’ve got some pretty good teamwork going on that end, and I think that they came up with some amazing songs! Rob wrote a few too which are killer. I wrote music and lyrics for four of ‘em. “The four of us who write are all pretty inspired to keep making the heaviest death metal we can. There’s generally no ‘overarching plan’ for our albums, we just write them one song at a time, and try to make them as heavy as possible. Pat’s song ‘Funeral Cremation’ or even the title track, another one of Pat’s ones ‘Skeletal Domain’, my song ‘The Murderer’s Pact’. I feel like these all have a really dark element to them: not that we weren’t going for that on other records: it’s really just how they turned out. We’re always going for darkness and aggression so I guess it’s not really unique to this album! (laughs)“ How do you manage to find the inspiration to create such an extreme style, after so many albums?
“It’s fun music to write and play: I think you can have a pretty normal, well-adjusted life and still be able to write aggressive music. Only one or two emotions are being expressed with Cannibal Corpse music – clearly the guys have a lot more going on in their heads than just aggression, and that sort of thing. “The dark aggressive sort of music that we do is only one part of our personalities. We only choose to have that sort of stuff in our music. I wouldn’t to have any kindof happiness (laughs) or anything to it: only the dark and aggressive stuff comes out of this.
Having performed in a band that has since achieved a
Iflegendary we wanted cult to explore of emotions wouldmost be in of some statusother overkinds 20 years ago itgives the other outlet and not this band. I think everybody’s side to current members of Sigiriya something of got an that edge over many bands similarway sizeto in scene. Additionally, Sithem and this is of a positive getthe it out.“
giriya wasn’t formed until 8 years after the dissolution of Acrimony. You’ve changed producers for this record, breaking a streak of releases EricbutRutan. “I’m learning lessons allwith the time I suppose in terms of being in a band, we just enjoy it for whatait new is - noproducer big plan to (Mark take overLewis) the world, and we Has working with brought don’t take ourselves too seriously. anything to the new album?As long as you don’t believe your own hype you’ll usually be OK. I think we are a bit more focused than in the “It a bithave of amatured different sound. comesince into those the studio with oldbrings days, and a very smallWe amount days so that all of we ourput songs alreadyfirst, written, so getting the producer doesn’t have now, the playing and the smashed a closereally second. We always didtoget onethat. the wrong way itaround, anything dothat with We have almostha-ha! entirely written apart “The main philosophy of the band is to not give a fuck [about] what’s from a few harmonies and guitar solos and things. trendy or what other people are doing. Just sail your own ship and course The difference changing producer howa you and biggest don’t worry what anyone says or does. In makes fact, we isdoinhave habit work in the studio, howthe they go about doingtrendy things.justEverybody’s a of producing music that’s antithesis of what’s to be different. little different. They’ve found ways of doing things that work really Usually after 10 years people then want you to reform cos you were doing something unique or a bit different - just like with calls for [an] Acrimony well for them. reunion, we say ‘fuck you and you should have been there the first time I’ve never worked with a producer that’s exactly like the other one: around’ ha-ha.
we’ve worked with 5 or maybe 6 different producers by this point
words: Dan J. Mitchell photo: Alex Morgan and they all have their own little things that they do that make the album sound great in a way that they think is great. Eric made the heaviest sounding Cannibal Corpse albums he could, and that’s Mark’s goal too. “When I do bass, for example, I normally (with Eric) would mic up a cabinet and also have a direct-box or something like that to have a couple of different signals to blend. With Mark, we just used two direct signals: one of them overdriven and the other one clean, and then blended those and it ended up working out really well. With the guitars we quad-track. Quad-tracking is where we record two guitar tracks for the right side, and two for the left: so four tracks in total. With Eric, he would quad-track the first two for every song, and then go back and do back and do every song again for tracks 3 and 4. With Mark, he would prefer to get each song completely finished at once – do all four tracks and move onto the next song. “So its smaller stuff like that. It’s not like there’s some drastically different approach or anything. We’re still playing our instruments in there and recording.” Your tour with Aeon and Recovation includes a big Halloween show in London. What can fans expect?
“One time we played in Glasgow on Halloween and that was
Regarding the scene the band’s hometownshould of Swansea, fantastic. Playing in inLondon on Halloween be also Wales... incredible. It’s gotta be the most holiday of course (laughs) cause
everything’s horror[and] oriented. “[It’s] very healthy, always has been to be fair, even since the Acrimony days. HARK are doing really well and a great band, Prosperina “We’ve toured with Aeon before but we’ve not toured with are also out there doing the do, The Arteries are well established in the Recovation. We are friends with Revocation, particularly their punk scene too. Continents are another heavy band making strides across drummer [Dubois] because he drum for known us when he’s not Europe and Phil beyond, and Suns of Thunder are techs also well around the busy scene. with them. So, yeah we’re really looking forward to it, and I stoner think both bands are killer. It’s gonna be a great tour.” “Swansea has always punched way above its weight when it comes to heaviness. of regarded as the old tramp-core these Do youWe’re havesort any news regarding either anti-heroes of your side days with a mix of delight and wonderment that we’re still alive and making projects: Blotted Science and Conquering Dystopia? a right din.” “Yeah. With Blotted Science, we’re currently working on material
On forthe ourfuture... next album – we’re hoping we’ll have it ready to record
the end We’ll (Cannibal touring “Iatreally wantoftothe getyear. another album done asCorpse) soon asbe wedone can and just in what December – soWhat’s I’d likedone to take a couple of days and we’ll see happens. is done, and we moveoff, onwards and upwards:no medals toget ‘til right the battles done!.” (Blotted Science) to work on that. And from there, we’ll hopefully be able to get the record out midway through next year.
And then for Conquering Dystopia, the other side-band that I’m involved with, that’s with Jeff Loomis who used to be in Nevermore, Alex Rutiger from The Faceless, and Keith Merrow. That’s been an awesome project to be involved with and hopefully we’ll have more material coming from that soon as well.”
‘A SKELETAL DOMAIN’ COMES OUT SEPTEMBER 18 VIA METAL BLADE
w
Reviews
combining favourable elements of their inspirations into a complete sounding package. Brutality and accessibility prevail on this album, and this is by no means a bad thing.
D.J.G. Mitchell
together makes for a very listenable outing. The third and final song, Into Ruin, brings on crescendoing cymbal crashes, more sludgy riffs and nice pieces of occasional sound effect filler in form of a barely noticeable whispering guitar in the background. H. Chruicshank
Alestorm
Sunset on the Golden Age | Napalm Records
Another full-length release, and another chapter in the Scottish band’s trademark alcohol-fuelled modern metal voyage. Alestorm have forged a unique style that borrows elements from a great many genres, which results in a very modern sounding menagerie. There is a lot of inspiration behind the songwriting here – a fusion of partymetal anthems, rebellious shanties, folk, and power metal. A surprisingly powerful, if sometimes a little confused-sounding album. For what seemed like a one tick pony, Alestorm have proven themselves to be a considerable player in British Heavy Metal. The album even stretches to a few slow/acoustic songs – the faster songs, however are better suited to them.
Blues Pills Self Titled
Brimstone Coven
| Nuclear Blast
Vocals are clearly a spotlight feature of this distortion blues-rock band. Cross-over music: a fusion of blues-jazz with psychedelic, stoner rock and doom – with an old school vintage sound. Recommended to fans of Swedish psych rock outfit GOAT. D.J.G. Mitchell
D.J.G. Mitchell
Bongripper Miserable
Belphegor
Conjuring the Dead | Nuclear Blast
The latest from Austrian blackened death metal warlords Belphegor continues the band’s recent streak of near perfection. Conjuring the Dead summons destructive power from both death and black metal (siding more with the former) – creating something bleak, rhythmic and offensive at the same time. This album doesn’t let up from start to finish constantly surprising with inventive leads, and masterful songwriting: never lingering on one riff too long while still having the decency to exploit them for all they’re worth. While there is nothing casual about the writing or riffage on display here, the album is surprisingly accessible:
Self Titled
| Metal Blade
A reissue, which combines the debut EP and full length from the newcomers from West Virginia, USA. Classic doom metal, in the vein of Black Sabbath. Riff-heavy, with a vintage sound (and a clarity of production that can be attributed to the current-day) and very catchy. At once accessible, and an album whose hooks grow on you over time. The EP is more rough around the edges, but also has more of an edge – whereas the LP sounds a little more subdued, if more professional. The LP of course, being the main feature in this special package, is a standout piece that best represents the band as they are now. The future certainly looks bright for fuzz-heads, so long as the band have plenty more tricks up their sleeve. D.J.G. Mitchell
| self released
Chicago doom dealers Bongripper are out with new EP Miserable; an epic three song and 69 minute long musical journey through a smoke-heavy, eerie, instrumental soundscape, painted by chugging guitar riffs and a slow, steady drumbeat interspersed with flares of increased tempo. The near 18 minute long ‘Endless’ kicks off the whole shebang, and as you might think songs that long would be boring and lengthy; you’ll be inclined to think again. The variation in the songs keeps things interesting, and the instruments are played with such skill that you’ll find yourself unable to turn the music off. Miserable certainly makes for a suitable name for the output, as the atmosphere of these three doomy dirges is very much dark and gloomy. That said though, the record as a whole does have an undeniable feelgood groove to it. The variation in the drum playing perfectly accentuates the guitars, and the way the instruments blend
Eluveitie Origins
| Nuclear Blast
A very strong modern folk metal album with a great consistency and flow from start to finish. Not too dissimilar from prog-metal band Orphaned Land, but with European historical themes instead. Arguably this album is perhaps the greatest of the bands career, and tops the majority of content by the aforementioned band, although even less extreme metal oriented - although black metal roots are audible in the almost gothic rock-metal. With an expansive line-up featuring many
contributing musicians on various instruments. Eluveitie have a rich and diverse melodic based sound which utilises both clean and harsh vocals. D.J.G. Mitchell
Entombed A.D.
line-up; sanding over filler elements and leaving a death-groove machine behind that draws further from its djent inspirations, without sounding too familiar or derivative. Eddie Hermida, formerly of All Shall Perish, shines through on this album – bringing a deeper vocal style to the mix with arguably a greater and more tangible range. The album is also flavoured with some guest-vocal contributions – which further spell out the bands influences to the uninitiated: George Fisher of Cannibal Corpse, and Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape Plan both feature on tracks. D.J.G.Mitchell
Back to the Front
| Century Media
An inconsistent, but not-bad release that should provoke some controversy in the name it shares: akin to modernera Sepultura, the band’s lineup only bears a passing resemblance to its origins. A structurally sound album that has some strong tracks. Overall there is nothing new on offer here but there is enough quality material here to warrant a purchase – there isn’t much that betrays expectations here, but there is arguably a few filler tracks in here. The album firmly captures the sound of Entombed, rather than a cover band attempting the songs (considering the only shared member between A.D. and (any version of) the original band is singer L.G. Petrov, who joined the original band on their third studio release, this is quite impressive), and all the songs will no doubt fit in to the bands live sets. As expected the vocals are very prominent in the mix, and choruses and hooks form some of the best aspects of the album.
D.J.G. Mitchell
Suicide Silence You Can’t Stop Me
| Nuclear Blast
You Can’t Stop Me succeeds as both a comeback, as well as an establishment of the new state of the band: as an entity different from how it was under the previous line-up and yet shares its identity simultaneously. The style of music performed by the band has arguably changed with the
Goatwhore
Constricting Rage of the Mercless | Metal Blade
NOLA’s blackened death metal magicians, Goatwhore, are finally out with their new masterpiece, Constricting Rage of the Merciless. The four-headed beast of a band, fronted by Louis Falgoust II, has inevitably forged one of the heaviest albums to come out of the New Orleans scene this year with their sixth studio album. The first track, Poisonous Existence in Reawakening, blasts through the speakers and sets the bar; even the dog was banging his head to this tune! The following 9 tracks are no let-down for one who’s darkened soul feasts upon the thunderous sounds of truly heavy music. All your senses will take a proper pounding to this. The production is reminiscent of the Gothenburg DM scene in its heyday, perfectly adapted to the band’s sound. Falgoust’s black metal-esque vocal performance is beautifully complemented by Sammy Duet’s deep growls, backed by an impeccable instrumental section. The band’s southern roots really come shining through in the guitar solos, especially on ‘Heaven’s Crumbling Walls of Pity’ and ‘FBS’. The biggest surprise on this outing is ‘Cold Earth Consumed in Dying Flesh’, a powerful dirge that proves the band right, in not letting themselves be pigeonholed. This is so heavy; it will shake you to the core if played at the proper volume. Buy the album, play it loud and let the Goatwhore in. H. Chruicshank
Origin
Omnipresent
| Agonia Records
Relentless technical assault: a steamrolling unstoppable wall of death metal insanity, supported by a production that borders perfection. Omnipresent is a monolithic album bringing 12 tracks of stellar extremity which sound as varied as they are energetically charged. Arguably the album doesn’t sound too harsh considering how evil and complex the music actually is, and provides a comfortable experience on the ears. Intricate technicality and thrashing speed are often worked between simpler, powerful riffage creating a powerful juxtaposition, despite the fast pace heard almost entirely from start to finish. Highly recommended: it’s a good listen if you’re sober also. D.J.G. Mitchell
tRIOSCAPES
Digital Dream Sequence | Metal Blade
A grand successor to their more immediate debut LP ‘Separate Realities’ Digital Dream Sequences expands the freeform semi-improvisational sound of the Jazz-Metal trio’s first album into a larger conceptual set featuring an epic closing track that tops 15 minutes in length! Less immediate and more expansive than its predecessor. Trioscapes perform a progressive style of music that treads a bewilderingly fine line between the two genres; with only bass, saxophone and drums. Atmosphere and density is achieved through complex songwriting, electric effects, loops and layering as well as electronic samples. A must have for any true metalhead. D.J.G. Mitchell
Interview Interview
We Spoke to
Drummer
Zach Simmons of
NOLAs Goatwhore were spawned in the swamplands 16 years ago. Five studio albums and one split later, they’ve just come out with their new masterpiece: Constricting Rage of the Merciless. We caught up with drummer Zack Simmons between gigs on their US tour with Dying Fetus... The new album was recorded with Erik Rutan (Cannibal Corpse) at Florida’s Mana Reording Studios, all to analogue tape, and sounds thoroughly amazing. Rumour has it vocalist Ben [Louis B. Falgoust II] even ran laps around the studio to get the sound of his voice just right… What was the inspiration behind the record, and what was the recording process like?
“I think we set out to prove a point with this record in that we are sick of the processed, lifeless metal records coming out in abundance these days, and really wanted to bring back the old school approach in song writing and production. We recorded to two-inch tape to get a very rich, organic sound and to capture a vibe that digital recording tends to kill.
words: H. Chruicshank “an escape from reality. It’s like a drug but a way more constructive drug. There could be 10 people or 1000 in the audience; It’s going to be the same show.” The band’s touring schedule looks to be taking a lot of their time this year. One begins to wonder how a professional musician fits his personal and everyday life around the band?
“The band has sort of become my life actually. My life pretty much revolves around it.
That’s the way it should be if you are truly dedicated to something. You’ve got to make sacrifices and go after what you want. Everybody has got their own personal situations and we are respectful of each other’s personal lives and space.
What you’re hearing is actually a performance instead of pieced together bits. And yes, Ben did laps around the studio to get an urgent, out of breath sound on certain parts.” Today, it seems most bands do their song writing by sending each other samples online rather than going down to the rehearsal space of the olden days. How does the band go about the song writing process in these digitalised times?
“Pretty much the same way we always have. It starts with just getting into a room, throwing ideas around, and building things from there. Technology has made certain things easier though. We can mess around with arrangements and email ideas Having performed in a band that has since achieved a back and forth a lot easier than20 in the past.ago I guess legendary cult status over years gives most of the it’s safe to say we use technology, but we don’t current members of Sigiriya something of an edge over abuse manyit.” bands of similar size in the scene. Additionally, Si-
giriya wasn’t formed until 8 years after the dissolution of The cover art looks very interesting; filled Acrimony. with dark symbols and showcasing a flat “I’m demonic learning lessons the us timeabout but I suppose in terms of being in a band, out vibe.allTell the design? we just enjoy it for what it is - no big plan to take over the world, and we “Our goodourselves friend Jordan Barlow theyou artdon’t for believe your own don’t take too seriously. As drew long as the He’s abegood of ours doesfocused than in the hyperecord. you’ll usually OK. Ifriend think we are a who bit more aoldlotdays, of our work and has small doneamount past album andtattoo have matured a very since those days so that now,t we putdesigns the playing first,I’m andvery the getting and shirt for us. happy smashed with howa close second. We always get that one the wrong ha-ha! the art did for this record came out.way Veryaround, detailed and “The as main philosophy of the band is to not give a fuck [about] what’s metal hell!” trendy or what other people are doing. Just sail your own ship and course Having as anyone the band’s and don’t served worry what says or drummer does. In fact,for we do have a habit the past ten years. do you enjoytrendy mostjust to be different. of producing music that’sWhat the antithesis of what’s about music, and what youcos you were doing Usually making after 10 years people then want inspires you to reform something to go on?unique or a bit different - just like with calls for [an] Acrimony reunion, we say ‘fuck you and you should have been there the first time “I just love playing drums, and there is a certain around’ ha-ha.
rush I get from playing heavy metal drums that is
You kind of get used to this lifestyle and it’s almost bizarre coming off of a tour and being home. There is a period of adjustment there for sure.” The band is coming to the UK with Dying Fetus in November. What can we expect from you this time around?
really looking forward to run with Regarding the scene“I’m in the band’s hometown of this Swansea, Dying Fetus. We are currently on tour with Wales... them in the US and have toured with them in
“[It’s] very healthy, [and] always has been to be fair, even since the thedoing past really as well. get along so it Acrimony days. HARK are wellWe andall a great band,great Prosperina beThe smooth. are also out there doingshould the do, Arteries are well established in the punk scene too. Continents arecan another heavy band bit making strides across Fans expect a good of new material Europe and beyond, andasSuns Thunder knownThis around wellofas a mixare of also olderwell songs. tourthe is stoner scene. definitely gonna rip the UK and Europe a new “Swansea has always punched way above its weight when it comes to one.” heaviness. We’re sort of regarded as the old tramp-core anti-heroes these days with a mix of delightLastly, and wonderment thattheir we’re still alive andreveals making a trip to website a right din.” Fleshlight as one of the band’s
sponsors… Can we assume it’s a trusted tour companion for those lonely nights “I really want to get another album done as soon as we can and just on tour? see what happens. What’s done is done, and we move onwards and “I guess we are technically endorsed by them. upwards:no medals to ‘til the battles done!.” On the future...
Basically, they sent a box full of random pocket pussies and things. I had forgot mine was in my backpack while I was going through security at the airport. That’s when I got rid of mine. I got sick of buying it dinner as well.”
CONSTRICTING RAGE OF THE MERCILESS IS OUT NOW ON METAL BLADE. CATCH THEM TOURING THE UK IN NOVEMBER