aUSTrIaS no.1 Free eXTreMe MUSIC ZIne!
REVIEWS: TRYPTIKON
. MAYHEM . DYSCARNATE . EYEHATEGOD . . #8
NOVEMBER 2014
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MIST CreTIn MardUK BroKen hoPe MonUMenToMB GraVeyard GhoUL
„WorK hard and FUCK The hyPe!“
Sven de Gouche (ABORTED)
aBorTed
AT WAR WITH REALITY SOUNDCHECK
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DIE PIONIERE DES MELODISCHEN DEATH METALS AUS SCHWEDEN SIND ZURÜCK! Ein atemberaubender Nachfolger zu dem 1995er Meisterwerk „Slaughter Of The Soul“. Erhältlich als CD (20 Seiten Booklet) · LTD. MEDIABOOK CD (40 Seiten Booklet, 2 Bonustracks & Patch) · LTD. 3-DISC ARTBOOK (48 Seiten Booklet, 4 Bonustracks, 5.1 Surround Mix DVD & Patch) · GATEFOLD 180g. LP (20 Seiten Booklet & Poster) und als 2x10" BOXSET (20 Seiten Booklet & Poster) von Auf Tour mit TRIPTYKON und MORBUS CHRON: 10.12. ESSEN · 11.12. HAMBURG · 13.12. LEIPZIG 14.12. (AT) WIEN · 16.12. (CH) AARAU · 17.12. MÜNCHEN · 19.12. KÖLN · 20.12. BERLIN
SOULBURN
THE SUFFOCATING DARKNESS · VÖ: 14.11.14 SOUNDCHECK PLATZ 4 SPECIAL EDITION ENHANCED CD im Schuber LP (schwarzes + auf 100 Stück lim. goldenes + auf 200 Stück lim. transparent rotes Vinyl)
THANATOS
ULVER
TROLSK SORTMETALL 1993 – 1997 · VÖ: 14.11.14 5CD BOX SET / 4LP+TAPE BOX SET
GLOBAL PURIFICATION VÖ: 31.10.14 SOUNDCHECK PLATZ 7 LTD. CD DIGIPAK (inkl. Bonustrack) CD · LP (schwarzes + auf 200 Stück lim. silbernes Vinyl)
Edles Boxset mit den ersten drei Studioalben, dem legendären „Vargnatt“ Demo sowie einem bisher unveröffentlichten Rehearsal aus der „Nattens Madrigal“ Ära. Beide Versionen der Box (CD und LP) beinhalten ein umfangreiches Booklet mit Fotos, Kommentaren, Linernotes und Lyrics.
NECROWRETCH
EVEN DEATH MAY DIE (Single)
Das CD BOXSET ist weltweit auf 3000 Einheiten limitiert. Das LP BOXSET ist weltweit auf 2000 Einheiten limitiert.
SOUNDCHECK PLATZ 7 SCHWARZES VINYL (400 Stück) und GOLDENES VINYL (100 Stück, exklusiv bei ) METÄLEN#8 2
MORGOTH
GOD IS EVIL (Single) Erhältlich als SCHWARZES und TRANSPARENTES VINYL.
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METAL AUSTRIA STRIKES BACK PT 1 EDITORIAL Design & Layout: Manuel Rainer (M), Wolfgang Adler (WA)
Contributors:
Caitlin Smith (CS), Boris Gasser (BG), Cunal G (CG), Daniel Warnes (DW), Harry Watson (HW)
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Again we have some nice stuff for you to win! To get one of these goodies simply visit Metälen Fanzine on Facebook and click the Like button! Winners will get announced December 23! Grindhouse Music 5 x MONUMENTOMB ‘Ritual Exhumation’ 5 x BODY HARVETS ‘Futile Creation’ Century Media Various T-Shirts from Entombed AD, Dark Fortress, Soulburn, The Haunted ... Einheit Produktionen 2 x E.W.I.G. ‘Geysterstunde II’ 2 x E.W.I.G. ‘’
BereaVeMenT (a) Hi! Please introduce yourself, tell me what you do in the band and how long the band has been together…Tell us the brief history of your band … Hi, I am Dan. I am one of the two guitarists and the backing vocalist of BEREAVEMENT. I am also responsible for the basic songwriting. Everything started in 1993. After having several experiences in different band projects, we came up with the idea to create our own band which we named BEREAVEMENT. We stayed together till 1995. In that time we had some gigs, recorded a demo tape and also two songs for a local compilation. Unfortunately each of us went his own way and the band split up. A few years later I decided to reanimate BEREAVEMENT. That was in the year 2002. It seemed to be difficult to find the right musicians. But step by step the line up got complete and again we were five. We had several gigs in Austria and abroad and in 2004 we recorded the EP ”Mass Execution“. The line up also changed severaltimes. The actual line up is Mani (vocals), Konrad and me (guitars), Chris (Bass) and _jo (drums). We are now the force of BEREAVEMENT since fall 2011. At the moment we have a new album recorded named „Ingenious encounter“ which will be released this year.
dISTaSTe (a) Hi! Please introduce yourself, tell us what you do in DISTASTE, and how long the band has been together…Tell us the brief history of your band … Hi there! Well, we are a three piece in which Lukas plays drums, Phil plays the bass and backing vocals, and me (Armin) playing guitar and doing the main vocals. Easy story: I founded the band back in 2000 with Lenz, our former drummer. Over the years lots of musicians joined and left and since our 2009 Europe tour we share this line up. We released three demos in the early days, two DIY full lengths and one Split-CD with a label. Why did you want to name the band DISTASTE? What does it symbolize and represent for the band? Easy. I was 17 years old when we started DISTASTE, and I was very crazy about US brutal Death Metal at that time. I listened a lot to DISGORGE(US) back then. The thing was, we wanted to form a band that is as brutal as FOETOPSY, but also as aggressive as FLESH PARADE, and when it was to find a name, I searched for something with „dis“. Funny: As we are more in the Crust/Grind scene now, we recognized you get mistaken for a Crust band, since there are thousansd of DISCHARGE copies out there, hahaha Probably not doing us a favor. What are your songs about? What specific themes do they cover? Mainly anger. It‘s all about certain topics concerning poilitics, religions, social issues, sometimes personal stuff. Short: Anger.
Why did you want to name the band BEREAVEMENT? What does it symbolize and represent for the band? I searched for a band name which fits well to Death Metal and to the word death. I flipped through the dictionary and accidentally found to the word BEREAVEMENT. I thought that’s it, this must be our name. I also knew that there was no other band in 1993 named BEREAVEMENT, so we decided to take this name. If you know the meaning of the word BEREAVEMENT, you can imagine what kind of music is behind our band without any explanation previously. For me it symbolizes grief and anger which I express through my music.
What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time? The honest anger you hear on the records. No fucking around, no tricking, no cheating. We play that shit, as good as we can, and if we can‘t play it properly, we do NOT play it. No stupid image crap, just three guys making angry music, not caring about peoples stupid scene-pathos.
What are your songs about? What specific themes do they cover? Well, the themes in our songs are based on the critical few on the humanity and the stupid behaviour of the human being. I think that these are the main subjects of the songs we have written so far. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time? We want to arouse the interest of the listener with our emotional and sublime music style that he gets tempted to listen to our music and to long for more. That is exactly what I expect of a good band. What plans do you have for the near future as a band? Our plans for the future are big festival gigs after the release of “Ingenious Encounter“. We also long to write some good new songs for our next album, which will in fact take some time. www.facebook.com/officialbereavement The bands new album ‘Ingenious Encounter’ will be out soon!
What should fans/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it? Well, there‘s fairly stuff to know about. As mentioned before: Three guys, uncomplicated, honestly raging HC / Grind / Black / Death / whatever, and we always give everything at shows. No matter if 3 or 300 people attending there. What plans do you have for the near future as a band? More releases, maybe some videos. Lots of mini tours, and perhaps a bigger tour in 2015 ...? We‘ll see! www.facebook.com/distastegrind
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METÄLEN#8 3
ABORTED (bel)
As one of Europe‘s leading Technical Death Metal bands there is no small amount of pressure on ABORTED. To follow up 2012‘s seismic ‚Global Flatline‘ they would have to create something utterly bowel destroying. So they did. Its called ‚The Necrotic Manifesto‘ and it is pure, unadulterated horror translated into an audible noise. Vocalist and founding member Sven De Caluwe spent some time going in depth on Is “The Necrotic Manifesto” a concept album lyrically or is an assortment of themes running throughout? the album details, new mem- there It´s not really a lyrical theme, it´s a manifesto of the horrid tales are spread throughout the whole album and everything is bers, the writing process and that tied in together through the exclusive card game that the limilife on the road ... ted edition of the album has, so in a way yes, in a way no haha. “The Necrotic Manifesto” is going to be landing at the end
of April and we´ve had our first whiff of some of the titles. How do you feel about the album as a whole and what kind of response have you had so far? Yup indeed it is! So far the feedback has been great, we couldn’t be more happy with the response and people seem to be excited about the album. we are very thrilled about the whole record and feel it definitely is our strongest to date, I know every band says that about their new album but you know, this is actually the case for once haha. METÄLEN#8 4
How do you approach the writing of an album? Does everyone contribute and how much work is done individually? Everyone contributed really, everyone wrote their base demos by themselves, I worked myself together with Ken and with Danny on some of my ideas or on some of theirs, and then we actually spent a week together in December doing pre-production‘s of all the songs so we would work out all the details as a band and add ideas to each song. This has truly been a group effort.
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Your music is renowned for its blistering technicality. However there´s also some seriously dirty grooves happening on this album. Is there a conscious decision to keep things balanced? Yeah absolutely. Things get boring if you go too far in one direction, be it with too much blastbeats or too much techy shit or breakdowns all the time. We like to keep things varied and dynamic in order to keep things fresh and try to have every song have some sort of build up or climactic moment. How important is the live element in your writing process? Do you aim to write an album that will translate well live or do you have specific “live” tracks and “album” tracks? The live element is very important! A song is not a good song if it doesn‘t stand the live test, I believe most of the songs if not all from the new album would work great live. I think the more Doom and atmospheric tracks on the album though are more kept for a CD only. I don´t see us ever play “Die Verzweiflung” live. Since 2012´s “Global Flatline” you have two new guys handling guitar duties. Did this have much of an impact on the sound of the new album? It surely did have its impact, the leads have taken a serious step up and they obviously added their own style to the writing as well since everyone was involved in the writing process. We gave them carte blanche when it came to all the leads and they def pulled out some nice wizardry there. There were plenty of awesome guest appearances on the last record. What surprises are in store on the new one and what influenced those choices? Well we have Phlegethon from WORMED on a song and Vincent Bennet from THE ACACIA STRAIN on another. I both respect them a lot as vocalists so it was great to have them on board and hear what they sound like on an ABORTED song :) How is the rest of the year looking and where can we expect to see ABORTED on stage? We are pretty much already booked up for the rest of the year. Right now we are on tour in the US with KATAKLYSM. After that we do MEXICO, and then some European release shows before going to Asia and Australia, after which we do summer festivals, South America and a big European headline run. So things are all busy and shaping up to be awesome! What are the best and the worst things to have happened to ABORTED while on the road? The best things would be the line-up we have now without a doubt, and last years festival run was also absolutely killer. The worst thing would be having Eran Segal in your band. Who is the most likely get hammered, laid or pranked while on tour? JB without a doubt. What would be your ideal tour line up? Good question… ummm, I would say PANTERA, CANNIBAL CORPSE, BEHEMOTH, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, ABORTED, BENIGHTED, WORMED … The tech Death genre is quite a niche market. What advice would you give to any bands starting out in the same genre? Work hard and fuck the hype!
You are without a doubt one of the finest Metal vocalists on the scene currently. How did you develop your particular horrific style? I just try to sound like myself honeslty. I don’t try to mimic anyone even if I clearly had my influences. Too many people out there try to sound like someone else, it´s all about being your own person, in my opinion, but thank you! The artwork was handled by Par Olofsson. What brought him to your attention and inspired the fantastic cover work? We always wanted to work with him and I guess the time was right! We knew him already from ages ago working with PSYCROPTIC or even THE FACELESS, PATHOLOGY, or IMMOLATION. He‘s a very talented artist without a doubt. Next year marks two decades of grotesque Metal from ABORTED. Do you have anything special planned to celebrate? We may or may not be talking about a DVD and some special unique tour, who knows! Is there anything from the early days of ABORTED that you miss? Sure, I miss being able to practice or rehearse and hang out with everyone on a weekly base, but since we are an international band its not been all that possible to do this anymore, but on the other hand, when we don´t see each other we miss eachother ;)
“WORK HARD AND FUCK THE HYPE!”
With almost two decades of experience behind you how much has changed on the live scene and within the music industry from your perspective? A lot has changed, be it either whats popular at a certain time or just the way things work, album sales have dropped and merch sales go up because people can´t really download merch yet :) The way the business works with the labels and agents etc. has vastly changed as well and where bands used to have to tour less frequent cause they could rely on album sales or what not. Now bands try to tour as much as possible to be able to live from it or what not, its a totally different world now than back then, not to mention that back then there used to be a distance between the bands and the audience, a certain mystique where you didn´t know the musicians and you couldn´t talk to them unless they hung out after the show or so. Now everything is accessible through the internet and sadly a lot of times it has become a place to talk shit about bands rather than talk about the good they do do, or did, or respect for their work, because they are the ones busting their backs on the road for your entertainment while you get to sit at home and complain about albums. Something to think about. Aside from technical Death Metal what other genres would you like to experiment with? Depends, within ABORTED we are confined within certain boundaries of course, but in a side project? Anything goes as long as its good music! (HW)
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METÄLEN#8 5
Album of the Issue BODY HARVEST Futile creation Grindhouse Music Style: Death Metal For fans of: Diabolic, Deicide, Krisiun, Morbid Angel Rating: 4/5 Death Metal with a generous helping of Grind and Gore smashed into the mix! With so many bands out there today its a battle to be heard above everyone else. Gimmicks and cross genre experimentation have become common place to try and stand out from the rest of the pack. It is here that BODY HARVEST have succeeded where many others have failed. Not for them the progressive / doom / sludge / rap / black / dubstep crossover genre mix‘n‘match - this is straight forward hate laced carnage! The word relentless gets thrown around a lot these days, but its use here is totally justified. From the moment the opening track (Sadistic Existence) drops in, to the sudden and unexpected finale of the final track (Death Sphere) you are locked into a high intensity, unrelenting orgy of buzzsaw guitars, thunderous percussion and guttural abuse. Spattered throughout each track you‘ll find some classic sounding lead work reminiscent of legendary players such as Trey Azagthoth and The Hoffman brothers taking you straight back to the late ‚90s Florida Death Metal scene. Its not just the lead work that captures the classic Florida Death Metal sound either, the tracks themselves have been written and arranged in such a way that they stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the titans of the genre from that era. There are some very subtle elements of modern Metal that permeate the overall sound but ultimately what you have here is an album that captures one of the best era‘s in Heavy Metal. Whether intentional or otherwise, this album is a very rare treat for someone who, like me, has a great deal of affection for the mid to late ‚90s metal scene. The albums production and mixing is notably fantastic, eschewing some of the traditional modern techniques and as a result giving the album a refreshingly old school vibe. The mixing, mastering and production all handled by Craig Daws of Serrated Edge Studio‘s in Swindon is proof once more that the UK has some incredible talent both in front of the desk and behind it. I believe Craig‘s ear for classic aggressive Metal combined with the band‘s obvious passion for the same is the combination that makes this a fantastic throwback to the ‚good old days‘ of aggressive and brutal Metal. The only notable and very minor criticism I could throw towards ‚Futile Creation‘ is its vocal content. The guttural depths and tortured heights that both Jake Ettle-Iles (guitars/vocals) and Gaz Nash (guitars/ vocals) can reach are very impressive, however, their lack of experience shows in very minor ways and of course the pacing and placement of the lyrics suffers slightly for having to work around playing and singing at the same time. To some people this will be a non issue, the passion and aggression is still here in spades and these criticisms do not effect the overall quality of the record at all. Knowing the circumstances by which both Jake and Gaz came to fulfilling these dual roles I am confident in saying that this wont remain an issue for long. They have adapted incredibly well and with this line up firmly in place they will only excel further. All of this from a UK band who are still relatively early in their career. Having suffered some setbacks that would have ended most other bands, its an incredible testament to the commitment and passion of the members in BODY HARVEST that this album is here today. The example they have laid down is one that many bands in this genre and others could do with taking on board. If you have a taste for bloodlust inducing, classic ‚90s Death Metal such as DEICIDE, MORBID ANGEL, and DIABOLIC then you will be very impressed by what BODY HARVEST have put together here! (HW)
METÄLEN#8 6
Metälen Fanzine Rating: 1: Bullschit | 2: Try again | 3: well done 4: should be in your colection 5: legendary ABORTED The necrotic manifesto Century Media Style: Death Metal For fans of: Cannibal Corpse, Carcass, Suffocation Rating: 4,5/5 ‚The Necrotic Manifesto‘ is proof absolute that ABORTED are leading the way when it comes to technical death metal. The trademark frenzied riffing, furious percussion and devastating bass is all present and accounted for, topped off of course by Sven de Caluwé‘s utterly disgusting and masterfully projected snarl to bring you another selection of unrelenting carnage. Influences that combine the gory surgical precision of bands like CARCASS and CANNIBAL CORPSE with the technical prowess of SUFFOCATION and ENTOMBED form the back bone of what ABORTED have crafted here, however, there is a definitive identity to their sound that is entirely unique, modern and unparalleled by most of their contemporaries. Amidst the gluttonous chaos of technicality and frankly amazing musical brilliance you‘ll find down tempo destruction, reminiscent of other artists who specialize in the field of titanically heavy riffing such as THE ACACIA STRAIN. These brutal refrains are expertly blended into the frantic pace and rabid delivery found in the bulk of the album as the track ‚Chronicles of Detruncation‘ aptly demonstrates. This blend of high speed and down tempo aggression means that these tracks will translate live perfectly, offering stunning musicianship and crushing brutality in equal measures while keeping the overall sound modern and very relevant. ‚The Necrotic Manifesto‘ retains its penchant for brutality while expertly slipping melodic lead work into the maelstrom. Every track swings confidently from crushing heavy weight riffs to adrenaline inducing speed, dropping expertly placed land mines of precise and fluent guitar virtuosity while never missing a beat or breaking your immersion. Tracks such as ‚The Davidian Deceit‘ and ‚Sade De Libertine Lunacy‘ display the fast paced savagery and mind melting lead work you can expect from ABORTED while ‚Your Entitlement Means Nothing‘ is a fantastic lesson in how to drop a skull busting riff into the middle of the aforementioned insanity while keeping a track under two minutes in length. ‚Cenobites‘ represents a rarely seen epic and theatrical side to ABORTED that doesn‘t impinge on the well established horror that is so recognizable and would certainly be good to hear more of. Ken Bedene‘s drumming is as outstanding as ever and his talents are put to fantastic use, the track ‚Die Verzweiflung‘ being a particularly good example of his expressiveness behind the kit. J.B. Van Der Wal‘s ability to compliment such exaggerated rhythms is equally extraordinary. Danny Tunker and Mendel Bij De Leij make their recording debut with this album and prove that they are exceptional musicians while adding their own flavor to proceedings. Sven de Caluwé once again demonstrates his unearthly talents vocally, making a variety of sounds that I would lay good money on being demonic in origin and forcing most listeners to question whether he is in fact a human being and not some kind of hell spawned entity. Making everything sound incredible once again is Jacob Hensen who was responsible for ‚Goremageddon‘. ‚The Saw and the Damage Done‘ and of course ‚Global Flatline‘. Either due to his familiarity with
the band or the genre in general, his ability to create such a balanced and clear sound is nigh inhuman and should be soundly applauded. If ‚Global Flatline‘ was to your liking I can guarantee that this album will definitely sate those same desires. To the uninitiated, it may represent a cacophony of screaming and visceral noise with the occasional reprieve of intelligent lead guitar. With repeated listening however the album will get its sharp and unforgiving hooks into you, crushing with its meticulous instrumentation and addictive arrangements and becoming firmly entrenched in your mind. While not as instantly gripping as its predecessor, it offers more over time and gets better with each play through. (HW) AGELESS OBLIVION Penthos Siege of Amida Style: Death Metal For fans of: Decapitated, Neurosis, Akercocke Rating: 4/5 Immediately engaging, confident and beautifully arranged, ‚Penthos‘ starts out with a blistering track called ‚Wolfs Head‘. Keeping a consistent pace throughout, it becomes clear very quickly that this band know exactly what they are doing and what they want to achieve. A delicious blend of death metal tropes and modern prog metal combined together with effortless style in the same vein as modern DECAPITATED. However, throw in some NEUROSIS inspired dirge and AKERCOCKE themed theatricality and in doing so you get this album. The initial familiarity makes the album instantly satisfying, but on repeat listens its true depth is found. While the addition of post rock/Black metal influences does leech away at the overall aggression you would expect to find here it doesn‘t do so in an intrusive manner, this album is still fucking heavy, but there‘s also a very cerebral quality to it. To truly appreciate such amazing writing and musicianship you need the quality in the production and in no way does this album disappoint. Chris Fielding (ELECTRIC WIZARD, NAPALM DEATH) handling production and Hertz Studios (BEHEMOTH, DECAPITATED) managing the mixing duties is evidence that these guys knew exactly what they wanted to achieve and who to approach to get that. Tracks such as ‚The Midas Throat‘, ‚Submergence‘ and ‚Where Wasps Now Nest‘ are evidence of a well founded and well deserved confidence usually found in veteran bands with multiple releases behind them. All killer, no filler, this is an album that raises the bar for newcomers and veterans alike. At some point it was inevitable that a band would come and revitalize the established genre‘s with something innovative, fresh, theatrical, intelligent and pure - this album and this band have done exactly that. (HW) ANGREPP Libido Unexploded Records Style: Blackened Thrash Metal For Fans Of: Hellhammer, Marduk, Sodom Rating: 4.5/5 Far from the first band to combine the sounds of Black Metal, Punk and Thrash Metal, but maybe one of the more stylish and vicious of recent years; ANGREPP are out to make heads bang and throats shred with a cacophony of scything, tremolo picked guitars, constantly-changing drum beats and some
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good, old-school riffs for the pit enthusiasts. The brilliantly titled ‘Hellführers Fuckcunt’ opens the record with all the piss and vinegar that one would expect of a band such as this, before things get simplified for ‘Roadkill Glory’; violent, riff-based Metal that perhaps answers the question of what VENOM would have sounded like if they were technical musicians. Later in the album, ‘Party In Hell’ pretty much sums up the attitude inherent in ANGREPP’s style, which would clearly go extremely well with beer! Without a doubt, the star of the show here is drummer Jakob Hallegren, whose skin-beating on this record saunter effortlessly back and forth between being impressive and downright ridiculous, propelling the entire record to a standard that makes it an ideal album for anybody wanting to bang their heads from dusk ‘til dawn. (DW) ARCH ENEMY War eternal Century Media Style: Melodic Death Metal For fans of: Dissection, At The Gates, Carcass Rating: 4,5/5 Angela Gossow leaving Arch Enemy has been one of the most talked about events in Metal this year, with many people instantly becoming naysayers against whatever future the band had ahead of them. It’s an attitude that should be blown apart considering the quality of this album. The first four songs keep to the band’s trademark sound in a vigorous and impressive fashion. The opening song ‘Never Forgive, Never Forget’ is easily the fastest song the band have written, meanwhile the title track shows off a solid riff and some great shredding from new guitarist Nick Cordle. ‘As The Pages Burn’ has an incredible anthemic catchiness that made Arch Enemy’s classic cuts so enticing. The second half is where this album gets truly interesting. The first stand-out track on this record is ‘You Will Know My Name’, which boasts a personal lyrical theme and some brilliant guitar melodies at the chorus. The real talking point here is the strings which give the tune a great, thoughtful flourish. ‘Stolen Life’ is a great showcase of the vocal range possessed by new singer Alissa White-Gluz. She makes it very obvious that her range is more dynamic than Angela Gossow’s was, and just as extreme. The groove-smothered main riff heard on ‘Time Is Black’ is like a butcher’s hook that will catch onto your brain with little effort. The string section is again utilized for this song and by this point it’s become a great addition to the band’s song writing style, rather than a one-off experiment. The shredding displayed by Nick Cordle and band leader Michael Amott is as flashy, yet tasteful, as everyone would hope and expect. The guitars lay down all the melody on War Eternal, and the compositions show that the Arch Enemy sound is evolving. It is important that this was the case, since Khaos Legions seemed so stagnant and lacklustre, especially for a band that enjoys the kind of acclaim that Arch Enemy have received for many years now. The only thing that may prove controversial amongst the long-time fans of the band is the minor use of Alissa’s clean singing on the song ‘Avalanche’. It’s easy to be taken aback when you first hear it, but the moment is gone before you’ve fully noticed it. Then ‘Down To Earth’ brings things back to a brutal and intense pace, so those who feel like they want to vomit at the idea of clean singing on an Arch Enemy album need only hear the impressive growls that the new front woman delivers here.
It’s worth noting that the usual fist-in-the-air theme that Arch Enemy’s lyrics have built upon heavily in the past are still present, though the way that it is expressed on War Eternal is oftentimes done through more personal messages that are perhaps more relatable for the individual listener. Though the songs ‘War Eternal’ and ‘As The Pages Burn’ do fly the flag much more blatantly than elsewhere on the album. It’s a refreshing take on the band’s rebellious spirit. A fresh injection of new life is what War Eternal signifies for Arch Enemy; a new guitarist and front woman, as well as some bold steps in terms of song writing may have been exactly what the band needed. What the band and Angela Gossow have done up to now can never be forgotten nor underestimated, but this album and line-up show that there is power in the doomsday machine yet, and whilst many listeners may feel the blatant stab of change, the quality of the material here should balm the wound more than sufficiently. Arch Enemy step out into the light of a new chapter, and you’d likely be a fool not to follow onwards. (DW) BLACK ANVIL Hail death Relapse Records Style: Black/Thrash Metal For fans of: Deströyer 666, Watain, Celtic Frost Rating: 5/5 After making many aware of their presence with their second album, 2010’s ‘Triumvirate’, Black Anvil have released ‘Hail Death’. Four years is no small amount of time between albums in this modern time, but this record is definitely worth the anticipation that all Black Anvil fans have felt, and it’s more than worth checking out if you’re new to the band’s music. While Black Anvil’s sound is clearly rooted in Black Metal, what gives them their instantly recognisable edge is the clear Thrash Metal influence that can be heard in the power of the riffs heard throughout ‘Hail Death’. It’s extremely refreshing and satisfying to hear; seeming like a great fusion between old-school sensibilities and the cutting edge extremity of the modern Metal scene. The production quality of this album leaves everything perfectly audible to the listener, and really boosts those riffs. Gang vocals appear in opportune places, and are well utilized, with a near-ethereal quality thanks to the aforementioned production. Their instrumental chops are well exercised on opener ‘Still Reborn’, which features almost every ingredient of Black Anvil, changing tempo and even featuring a short bass solo. ‘Eventide’ starts out as more of a Black Metal song than many on the rest of the album; it runs at a high speed more often than not and has a lot of atmosphere, particularly during the instrumental section in the middle of the song. ‘Until The End’ is doubtlessly the best song on this album, though there isn’t a bad song, not even an unexpected cover of KISS’ ‘Under The Rose’. It’s a huge, sombre number that has an almost ballad-like feel to it. There’s a lot of emotion on show here, and as always some truly powerful and emotive riffs and some great bluesy soloing as well. It’s almost impossible to fault this album; as a fan of extreme music, this album gives me everything I could want from a record. Black Anvil have always had the potential to craft a masterpiece, but many will be surprised that it’s come so soon. Expect ‘Hail Death’ to become one of your favourite albums of 2014, if not one of the most memorable. (DW)
BLOOD MORTIZED The demon, the angel, the disease Chaos Records Style: Death Metal For fans of: Grave, Entombed Rating: 3/5 Power-mode Swedish Death Metal is what BLOOD MORTIZED is all about. It’s comparable to the Rogga Johansson bands again, but this band is more rooted in the old school Swedish Death Metal sound of bands like ENTOMBED, GRAVE, and DISMEMBER, also UNLEASHED and creates music that’s a dead ringer of all of that. It’s like a nostalgic trip, updated to modern production levels a tad, but as long as it’s well done with a powerful delivery, who’s to complain? Obviously there’s a lack of originality and the band isn’t making qualms about it either, it’s just dishing out one solid album after the other of authentic Swedish Death Metal with that essential tinge of melody to add depth to the music. It’s memorable because it’s so catchy, it’s almost as if the band has eschewed the traditional long-winding structures for something more simple, more effective, and to that end, it works. This is a quick dose of Swedish Death Metal brutality, nothing more, nothing less. Job done. (KC) COLTSBLOOD Into the unfathomable Abyss Candlelight Records Style: Doom Metal For fans of: Eyehategod, Celtic Frost Rating: 5/5 COLTSBLOOD are a primitive Doom three piece spawned from Liverpool, they came to prominence with the release of there first demo “Beyond the lake of madness” on Ulthar Records and a subsequent UK tour with WATAIN. “Into the Unfathomable Abyss” is there debut album which is out now on CD via Candlelight Records and on Vinyl via Dry Cough and Burning World Records. The album commences with the war like intro of “Valhalla Awaits” before merging into the opening of the skull crushing “Beneath Black Skies”. The sound is a distinct cacophony of crawling doom fed through black metal mannerisms. The vocals force themselves through the dense noise like distant victims caught in some horrific nightmare and the guitar leads add a layer of tranquil sorrow over the gargantuan riffs. What follows on “Blood” is a chaotic Black Metal attack fed through glorious low end which quickly changes into something wildly epic in scope. The sound on this album is perfect and its a wonder that the band can play shows without sinking continents. The Penultimate song, “Ulfoenar” is a huge sounding track, clocking in at eleven minutes, it begins with pounding drums acting as a warning for the punishing horror which ensues, it is hard not to be dragged into the battle ridden world that COLTSBLOOD evoke. The release ends with “Return to the Lake of madness” a swirling cinematic instrumental which acts as a reflection to the previous carnage. Black misery is trapped within every moment of this release, it is akin to an aching ritual in which a tide of unrelenting depression is forced over the listener until they are transformed into an euphoric dribbling mess. The riffs are unrelenting and the band often switches between sections of lurching doom and frantic groove, never allowing the listener to become complacent. COLTSBLOOD sound like no one else, and have committed to record perhaps one of the most original sounding doom albums in the past decade. (DN)
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collectors will gain very much in acquiring this album. Unfortunately; ‘Procession Of An Old Religion’ greatly lacks the kind of power and charisma that would convince you to listen to it very often at all. There’s potential in DEUS IGNOTUS, but these songs do not see that potential reached. (DW)
CROWBAR Symmetry in Black Century Media Style: Sludge For fans of: Eyehategod, Down Rating: 4/5 Well as if was orchestrated, NOLA‘s big 3 sludge exports have all released material at once, Eyehategod‘s self titled LP along with Downs second in their series of E.P.‘s is joined by new material from sludge-core pioneers Crowbar. This is the first Album from the band since front man and riff guru Kirk Windstein left Down to focus solely on Crowbar so the expectations are high. The album kicks off with “Walk with Knowledge” the guitars sound thunderous and the production is crystal clear as you would expect for a band on there 25th year. The material is incredibly catchy and Kirk‘s vocals sound just as soulful as they ever have. Crowbar balance there sound in-between upbeat hardcore influenced tunes with huge hooks and slower more epic arrangements, its refreshing for diversity to be present in a sludge release. Sludge being a genre which has the capacity and tendency to be stagnant. CROWBAR have forgone many line up changes with Kirk being the only stable member. However, there signature sound has still remained. Over the years, like all of the NOLA mainstays there have been an infinite number of bands who have copied their style but no one has quite hit upon the feeling that they are able to infuse in there music. Highlights are found In such tunes as “Amaranthine” which is a more introverted and haunting offering. The band have pushed the music sightly further in terms of development but its still pretty much what you would expect from Crowbar, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Lyrically the music is also just the same as its ever been, with titles such as “The Piety of Self Loathing” and “A Wealth of Empty” Kirk seems just as miserable as he always has been. But through his pain he has yet again provided us with a smattering of earth shaking sludge. (DN) DEUS IGNOTUS Procession of an old religion Forever Plagued Records Style: Black/Death Metal For fans of: Black Witchery, Demoncy Rating: 2/5 Although there is plenty of blitzkrieg-level aggression and scattered sections of chillingly minimalistic atmospherics, ‘Procession Of An Old Religion’ is a bitter pill to swallow. A short five-track album, with one of those five being an intro track, it’s clear to see that each musician that makes up Greece’s DEUS IGNOTUS knows their instrument well, and that the band are dedicated to the type of blackened Metal that they play. The problem lies in the song writing; sheer furious abandon is the bread and butter of most extreme Metal bands these days, and as such it doesn’t guarantee a great release, so the application chaotic approach on show here is nothing exciting. The bands that stand apart from the crowd do so because their songs are crafted well – with identity and a stamp of individuality to utilize therein. On this release, DEUS IGNOTUS seem to run a bit too closely with the pack. On saying all that; ‘Blood of the apostles’ is a decent enough song that is sure to please some Christ-hating Black Metal fans, but aside from this one track, there were only scattered moments that turned my head. The material here may well be better in the live setting, who knows! Otherwise, only genre
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DYSCARNATE And so it came to pass Siege of Amida Style: Death Metal For fans of: Misery Index, Dying Fetus Rating: 4/5 I come to DYSCARNATE completely unbiased by any of their previous releases, safe to say, after hearing ‚And So It Came To Pass‘ I shall be endeavoring to rectify that situation. This album has the polish and production you would expect to find on a veteran Metal band‘s release, which immediately demonstrates the quality of musicianship you‘re getting with this album. Three guys producing such a monumental amount of noise is an achievement in itself, overshadowed only by the inventive song structures that both suprise the listener with technicality and rewards them with monstrous chunks of down tempo brutality. I can hear elements of DYING FETUS spattered throughout the album. The similarity in line up, the chunky, pit inspiring riffage, the explosive drumming and visceral dual vocals all go a long way to making them comparable. However, when taken as a whole, DYSCARNATE feel like they have more going on, the drumming is less flat out and more nuanced, riffs come very thick and fast which makes the brutality feel that much more progressive. For me, this albums greatest achievement is that at any given point during its runtime I can head bang, and more importantly - I want to! (HW) EYEHATEGOD Eyehategod Century Media Style: Sludge For fans of: Down Rating: 4/5 NOLA‘s finest, EYEHATEGOD return with their first album in 14 years, the time in between saw the band experience; natural disasters, addiction, imprisonment and shortly after the recording of this album, the death of their drummer, Joey Lacaze. To say it hasn‘t been easy for EYEHATEGOD is an understatement. The legend of the band however, has done nothing but grow. After years of straddling the underground, they are now rightly recognized as one of the most influential Metal bands and the undisputed kings of Sludge. The albums kicks off with “Agitation! Propaganda!” which is a frenzied crust laden burst of energy wrapped in D beat and feedback, it is unmistakably EYEHATEGOD and is as if they have never been away. Mike Williams‘s vocals are as harsh as ever and his disposition remains just as bleak as it was some 20 years ago, screaming “lots of luck, its all been bad.”. The trademark groove is also present in droves. Whilst the sound is without a doubt EYEHATEGOD, there is an effort to experiment on this album. It contains a lot of Blues orientated licks , whilst they have always had that influence, it seems to be much more present this time around. Some of the tracks even sound somewhat akin to one of the band‘s many side projects, THE MYSTICK KREW OF CLEARLIGHT. Obviously the EYEHATEGOD clones are numerous, but while countless
bands attempt to capture despair and anguish in their music, EYEHATEGOD are able to summon it at will, and transform it into something incredibly catchy. They also dabble with some noise and spoken word on the intro and outro for “Flags and Cities bound”. Mike Williams has been releasing spoken word recordings for years and is heralded as something of a poet when the words he is screaming are close to audible. For some reason the band often end up with riffs or songs recycled on there releases, this time “The age of boot camp” gets the treatment closing the album. Overall its a solid release and whilst there isn‘t anything too left field they are not playing it too safe either. More importantly the album serves as a fitting testament to the legacy of Joey Lacaze. His drumming holds its power throughout and its a real shame that this will be the last time we are able to hear him. (DN) MARS RED SKY Stranded in arcadia Listenable Records Style: Stoner For fans of: QOTSA, YOB Rating: 4/5 MARS RED SKYE are a French Stoner/Psyche trio who have been been on the rise for the past four years. They are currently scheduled to do the rounds on the festival circuit, including a slot opening up this years valley stage at Hellfest. “Stranded in Arcadia” is the bands second release and is a highly distinctive work. Opening up with the laid back “The Light Beyond” this is a million miles away from the teeth shattering abrasive doom I‘m accustomed too, with the incredibly surreal ethereal vocals of “Julien Pras” carrying the track along in a fairly unassuming way, which is by no means an insult as it compliments the music perfectly. Near the end of the track a crescendo of sorts is reached which adds some nice variety. The second track is almost a hybrid of QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE and YOB; with introspective passages counter acting the more doom laden riffs. This is a pattern which the band repeat throughout the album. The tracks tend to ebb and flow with proficiency towards more epic moments towards the end. The band certainly have a sound of their own: bass heavy and drenched in a multitude of effects, and sometimes the tracks blend into one meaning that there are not a great deal of stand out moments here. Pushing the guitar solos higher in the mix might have elevated this somewhat. However, this is a minor criticism for what is otherwise an enjoyable listen. The music is a perfect blend of psychedelia and stoner which allows the listener to simply be taken along on a cosmic journey without ever having to leave their body too far behind. (DN) MAYHEM Esoteric warfare Season of Mist Stye: Black Metal For fans of: Bathory, Gorgoroth Rating: 5/5 In 2007, Mayhem’s album ‘Ordo Ad Chao’ divided opinions dramatically with its avant-garde song structures. This bizarre execution is present upon the new release ‘Esoteric Warfare’ although the songwriting shown here is much sharper and even has a definite linearity that makes this new album a whole lot easier to follow. To call it accessible is a stretch, but there are definitely moments where the songs
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feel very well focussed, with a satisfying flow. The dangerous, arcane quality that makes Norwegian Black Metal so enticing is present in droves within the sheer chaotic attack that is Mayhem’s sound. Hellhammer makes it clear that he is a force to be reckoned with behind the kit, shifting instantaneously between all-out blast beats to jazzier, more haunting passages, all the while fitting in brilliant fills (near the end of ‘Pandaemon’, he displays such furious skill that the jaw will likely drop listen after listen). Attila Csihar’s vocal capabilities are displayed with the force of a sledgehammer to the face; through larynx shredding screams, stomach churning death growls and other noises that sound simply inhuman, he proves himself one of the most flamboyant and truly extreme Black Metal vocalists on the scene. The songs themselves carve their way into the mind of the listener with such vigour and purpose that one would come to expect of Mayhem. While this is an album that is doubtlessly most enjoyable as a whole entity, highlights include the slow-burning intensity of ‘VI Sec.’, the maddening multi-layered ‘Posthuman’ and the vicious onslaught of first single ‘Psywar’. This is by no means easy listening, nor should a Mayhem album ever be; but the solution is to simply embrace the suffocating, uncomfortable darkness and reap the rewards that this album has to offer. ‘Esoteric Warfare’ serves as a welcome reminder that however many bands have tried, nobody delivers this kind of Black Metal with the same ferocity as Mayhem. (DW) MORTALS Cursed to see the future Relapse Records Style: Blackened Sludge Metal For fans of: Goatwhore, Eyehategod, Celtic Frost Rating: 4/5 Brooklyn’s three-piece MORTALS’ debut fulllength album sounds more focussed than most band’s first efforts do. This is a band that show a plethora of influences from the off that range from MASTODON to TAAKE, along with more left-wing influences such as Balkan and gypsy music. Refining such a wide array of inspirations down into one cohesive sound seems like a ridiculous notion, but MORTALS have managed to craft something here that is distinctive and memorable. There’s a twisted, dark core to the music on show here that is no doubt assisted by the lyrics. These focus on the nowstandard Metal fare; destruction, apocalypse, dark magic, empowerment. At this point, these themes are far from original, but the strength shown here is in the delivery, both musically and vocally. The riffs on this album, while simplistic to the ear, are powerful and never outstay their welcome. Indeed, the well of riffs that Mortals dip into is as deep as any. The vocal abilities of bassist Lesley Wolf are well utilized, with each line weaving through the music, serving as the eye of the music’s suppressive, pummelling storm. The shifting dynamics of each and every song make this a compelling listen from start to finish. The six tracks never tire, from the opening mid-paced powerhouse ‘View From A Tower’ right through to the closing colossus that is ‘Anchored In Time’ contain enough satisfying music to keep all but the most ardent dullard entertained and entranced. It’s a potent mixture of heavyweight attack and darkly seductive nuances that this album hits you with even on the first listen, but from there on out it only gets better. (DW)
SARGEIST Feeding the crawling shadows W.T.C. Productions Style: Black Metal For fans of: Horna, Behexen, Taake Rating: 4/5 After the brilliance of SARGEIST’s 2010 album ‘Let The Devil In’, I was all too keen to get stuck in to this follow-up. The first notable thing about ‘Feeding The Crawling Shadows’ is that the album sounds rawer than its predecessor did. This only helps to convey the ritualistic nature of the ten tracks that this album comprises. Shatraug’s recognisable guitar tone accounts for the twisting tones and misanthropic mayhem that fuels this record right from the off, with some functional and fluid drum work keeping the chaotic arrangements tied together. Hoath’s vocal delivery is savage and unpredictable throughout the record, shining through the suffocating fog that is the instrumental work. Particularly on ‘In Charnel Darkness’ and the spellbinding ‘Return Of The Rats’, which seethes with misanthropy, while attaining some sense of otherworldly majesty. The musical progressions that Shatraug yields from his guitar are what truly gives the music of SARGEIST it’s grim beauty, and it delivers a kind of euphoria that will be appreciated to the Nth degree by those who have been truly initiated into the realms of old school Scandinavian Black Metal. This is an album that feeds off of the very darkest elements that have attracted so many fans to the Black Metal scene, and regurgitates that darkness as something far more threatening, and at the same time, more compelling. ‘The Shunned Angel’ is a prime example of comparatively minimalistic moments that tie together the whirlwind approach of the traditional Black Metal sound. It seems a tricky task to try and pinpoint individual traits that make this album so bewitching; perhaps it’s the conviction found in the lyrics, and their themes of Satanism, misanthropy, hatred and nihilism. Whatever it is that is at the core of this music, it gives SARGEIST the kind of larger-than-life feel that attracts us all to extreme Metal in the first place, and almost uniquely in this day and age, it achieves this grandiose aura without coming across as pompous or over-the-top. Finland’s darkest sons have released a twisting, glorious monstrosity of an album that is best described as being addictive. There’s an unidentifiable black magic laced through this album that hooks you very quickly, connecting the listener with the most uninhibited and primitive spirit of Black Metal music. ‘Feeding The Crawling Shadows’ is a very apt name for this album; which has taken the roots of original Black Metal, thrown in the Finnish scene’s sense of class, and challenged the benchmark of the underground scene in 2014. Not an album to be missed, nor taken lightly. (DW) SERPENTINE PATH Emanations Relapse Records Style: Sludge Doom For fans of: Asphyx , Hooded Menance Rating: 3/5
“supergroup”, they are not merely rehashing UNEARTHLY TRANCE through the haze of Tim Bagshaws previous incarnations, which does sound appealing non the less. Instead they are producing something closer to HOODED MENACE and ASPHYX but with more eerie atmospherics. While it is refreshing to see musicians attempting to create something fairly different from there previous work, the dizzying experimentation contained within Trance and Wizard would not go amiss here. The songs are fairly straight forward and only divert from the severed survival formula on occasion but if your into that sound you have nothing to complain about here. The highlights of this album however are the slightly more left field moments when the musicians are free to go on tangents adding an epic scope to the tracks. Perhaps more variation would benefit this release, as non of the tracks really stand out. Nothing necessarily new here but never the less its a satisfying peace of monstrous death. (DN) TRIPTYKON Melana Chasmata Century Media Style: Doom/Black For fans of: Celtic Frost Rating: 4/5 2008 saw the disbanding of what was arguably one of the most influential bands in extreme metal. Traces of CELTIC FROST can be found time and time again across so many bands performing today. Mastermind Tom G Warrior has returned with CELTIC FROST’s bastard child TRIPTYKON, releasing their second studio album this year. While their debut, ‘Eparistera Daimones’ was aggressive and intense; ‘Melana Chasmata’ is more somber and introspective, fitting considering the lyrics are inspired far more by personal events on this album. Simone Vollenweider once again appears on the album after her appearances on CELTIC FROST’s ‘Montheist’ and TRIPTYKON’s ‘Eparistera Daimones’. Although I am not often a fan of clean female vocals, her pure and piercing voice sits in perfect contrast to Tom G Warrior’s dark rumblings. Although this album is a lot more mature than Warriors older works, there is still a sense that it could have been taken straight out for the FROST era, particularly track ‘Boleskin House’. The clash of the older sound and the longer introspective passages does however lead the album prone to wandering passages while closing song ‘Waiting’ does not feel like a closing to such a powerful sounding album. Despite this, it’s still a solid album and a strong return from Warrior and TRIPTYKON. (CS)
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Serpentine Path are an entity featuring three members of the now defunct, but ultimately amazing, UNEARTHLY TRANCE, and one Tim Bagshaw of ELECTRIC WIZARD / RAMESSES fame, “Emanations” is their second album. It is a huge offering of death doom which oozes pure black negativity from every pore. While Serpentine Path are rightly refereed to as a
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ALNAMROOD (sa)
THAW (pl) ‘Earth Ground‘ is a fantastic new album. How much have you been grown as a band since your debut release? I think we‘re growing every day. We‘re very proud of our new record. We did almost everything we wanted to do with this material. Arrangements are good, the sound is good, everything works for us. All satisfied with the media and fan reaction so far? We‘re getting fantastic feedback. I havn‘t read any bad reviews yet. Actually they‘re all rather enthusiastic. It looks like people are getting our music. That is a great time for our band and I think it‘s only the begining. Is there any lyrical theme on the album? No. The lyrics are concentrated on different subjects. One thing that they all have in common is that they are not literal. Sometimes they‘re even „stream of consciousness“ kind of lyrics.
Formed only back in 2008 ALNAMROOD already released their 4th album this year (they also have 2 EPs and 1 Split). Where do you get all this inspiration to be such an active recording band? We are driven by the oppressive reign and poisonous influence of religion in the land of Arabia, apocalyptic event of tyrannical ages, religion enslaving and event that occurred in our history and possibility still carrying on. AlNamrood basically is the intensive way to exert our rage, whereas our music is the only oxygen for us to breathe.
THAWs music is an original blend of Black Metal, Sludge/ Doom and sonic experiments with noise, electronics. How would you best describe yourself? What ́s your main influences? Music and sound are our influences. For us, tones that can be generated by amps, effects and instruments are as important as the music itself. We listen to a lot of different stuff. I‘m sure that everything we like to listen has an impact on our music. But Black Metal are foundations of our music.
What else can you tell us about your latest record? “Heen Yadhar Al Ghaq” mainly articulates the time after the “Kitab Al Awthan“ album. The Arabs on paganism and their lives depend on the nature of tribal least stable of royal life where the wars that Chubb between tribes continuously for various reasons, whether economic, such as felon and the dust bowl and the war Halima or for protection from thieve or to honor the pay for the injustice which generates wars continuous bonfire of revenge. We have translated this theme into seven tracks. Your lyrics are about ancient history, evil, darkness, and anti-religion. Can you tell us some more about it? AlNamrood was created based on the strong influence of historical events; the establishment was set on an originality concept, directly from our real world experience and knowledge, to bring the shattered monstrous Arabian past to present in addition, characterizing the archaic era of Arabian line of descents, such a timeline which emerging the beginning of religion wars and conflicts. Aspects including the originality of pagan gods, the originality of inherited culture and traditions and also the contribution of tyranny and kings dominance. As you are from Saudi Arabia. Do you also play live or is there any scene around? No, we don’t play in public. Any other bands you can recommend from your area? Unfortunately no.
Your performances and photos are all hooded. Are you such ugly guys or is that the concept of THAW? Actually I think we look better than average metal bands (haha). It‘s a concept. We want to show the band as something consistent. Don‘t think about THAW as 5 individuals. We‘re different parts of one entity. You were touring with BEHEMOTH already. Any more touring activities planned for the future? Yes. Right now we‘re playing a tour in Poland but 2015 will be the time for Europe. You‘ll hear about it really soon. (BG)
You are stating bands like MELECHESH, MARDUK, DARKTHRONE, or NILE as influences. What makes them interesting for you? To put it in simple description: Melechesh: the finest middle eastern tone. Marduk: the real sound of aggression and harshness blended into great melodies. Darkthrone: Masters of old school Punk/Black Metal and our first Black Metal band to listen to (huge respect). Nile: the real definition of reviving the pharaoh age, in sound and words. (BG)
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METÄLEN#8 11
EDEN WEINT IM GRAB (ger) ‚Geysterstunde II (Ein jenseitiges Kuriositätenkabinett)‘ already is the bands sixth full length album. Fully satisfied with the result? Of course! I see no reason to release an album, we’re not fully satisfied with. Of course the opinions within the band often vary, but we worked so long on the new songs, till we reached a point, that every member loved the album. And now, some months after the mix and mastering have been completed, I wouldn’t change a single thing. But I guess that will only last a while, because when you move on as a musician, there will always be things, you’d like to do different. It’s called ‚Geysterstunde II‘, but you had an album called ‚Nachtidyll‘ between ‚I‘ and ‚II‘. So did you have any songs recorded which didn’t make it on ‚I‘ and didn’t fit in for ‚Nachtidyll‘? Well, ‘Nachtidyll’ was an accoustic album and something we did beside the regular albums. One of the poetry pieces, ‚Rad der Reinkarnation’, had already been written for ‚Geysterstunde I’ three years ago, but that was the only older track. The rest of the songs were written right in the process of the ‚Geysterstunde II’ production. Thus this album is not a ‚Resterampe‘ of the first part, but a complete independent album. It only circles around the same subject matters ... ghost stories and supernatural apparitions and share the same black humour. What’s the main difference between ‚I‘ and ‚II‘? Well, three years have passed between the albums and we’ve developed as people and musicians and beside that the line-up has changed. Another difference is that ‚II‘ is more a real band album, although I wrote the songs, whereas ‚I‘ was still more a solo thing of mine with less influence from the other musicians. When it comes to songwriting and sound, I’d say, that ‚Geysterstunde II‘ sounds also more mature. Some people said, it’s also a bit more Pop-influenced, which maybe true in two or three songs, but that was not a conscious choice. And I think among the 17 songs there are still enough typical EwiG tracks.
SEE PAGE 3 TO FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN WIN 2x2 EDEN WEINT IM GRAB CDs!!!
Your debut album ‚Traumtrophäen toter Trauertänzer‘ saw a re-issue this year. What was the intention to do this release? I had offered the album as a free download after its release, because I didn’t find a label and wasn’t able to afford a professional cd pressing. I also expected at first, that nobody would be interested in this project. But fortunately the reactions were overwhelming, which inspired me, to go on with EwiG. But all those years I missed a real CD of the debut album and I thought, the 10th anniversary might be a good moment to rerelease this album together with six bonus tracks, liner notes and a remastered sound for the first time on CD. It was a very selfish thing for me, haha. Luckily some fans told me, they also liked the idea and were very glad that they finally could complete their EwiG collection. How did it came you named your band EDEN WEINT IM GRAB? The abbreviation means ‘ewig’ (engl. eternal), which creates a meta level for the name. ‘Eden Weint Im Grab’ symbolises a kind of lost paradise – eden, the paradise, is buried and cries due to the loss. I think it’s a perfect name for the band, since on one side we deal a lot with death, decay and darkness, but on the other side there is always a spiritual, transcendental level in most of the lyrics, which is symbolized by the abbreviation ‘ewig’.
How important is getting those “theatrically” clothes for you as a band? I didn’t wear those clothes on the first few albums, so it’s not really essential for survival ;-) But we tried to build up an image for ‘Geysterstunde I’ and ‘II’, which fits to the content and we wanted to make the whole appearance of the band a bit more interesting and special. That’s why we chose those new clothes. And we all like it, so I guess, we’ll continue in this theatrical way also in the future. Let’s see.
PROMETHEAN HORDE - Ashes of the Empyrean -
Stellar Black Metal from Florida for fans of GOATWHORE, EMPEROR ... Features members of AMON, PATHS OF POSSESSION... Cover artwork by Kris Verwimp
CD out January 30, 2015 METÄLEN#8 12
How would you best describe the music of EDEN WEINT IM GRAB? We play Dark Metal with poetical German lyrics and a lot of variation. The influences reach from Black and Death Metal to Rock, Gothic, Doom and even Waltz, Tango and Polka ;-) I believe that you can hear a typical EwiG sound in all our albums, even though they are very different from each other. On ‘Der Herbst des Einsamen’ for example, which contains only poems from Georg Trakl, there were no guitars at all, it sounded more like a morbid score. And as I said, ‘Nachtidyll’ is a pure accoustic album. But still there was this certain something, that turned them all to an EwiG album. Whats next on the bands agenda? We hope to play some more shows, since we believe, that we can reach new people this way and can convince them on stage. Apart from that we’re working on a new album of our second band AETHERNAEUM, which plays mythical Folk Black Metal, and I hope some time in 2015 I’ll start to write songs for another EwiG album. (M)
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Hi Marcelo! Please give us a short brief about who you are and what you do … My name is Marcelo Vasco, I’m a cover artist born in Rio de Janeiro/RJ and living in a small city of the extreme southern brazilian mountains called Carlos Barbosa/RS. I act in the graphical underworld of music since the middle of 90’s focusing all my goal and creativity on projects for printed media, specially publishing as digital illustrations, CD/LP/DVD/BOOK covering, merch, promotional design and campaigns for the metal music culture. As freelancer artist I have worked from small to major worldwide bands and labels, and since 2007 I’m on board as the in house designer for the biggest Norwegian label & distro Indie Recordings. Here some of my worldwide clients: Machine Head, Soulfly, Dark Funeral, Dimmu Borgir, Obituary, Borknagar, Vader, Belphegor, Enslaved, Absu, Satyricon, Mortiis, Audrey Horne, Sahg, Chrome Division, Keep of Kalessin, Vital Remains, Lord Belial, Gorgoroth, Legion Of The Damned, Kvelertak, Solefald, Einherjer, Vreid, 1349, Job For A Cowboy, Manegarm, Taake, Shining, Ov Hell, Godseed, Malevolent Creation, Gehenna, Suffocation, Decrepit Birth, Carnifex, Grave, Misery Index, The Faceless, Nuclear Blast, Century Media, Roadrunner, Napalm Records, Grindhouse Music, Metal Blade, and many more … For any extra info and to see more of my artwork, here’s my website: www.p2rdesign.com When did you start doing artworks? Was it your aim to do artworks for bands? My interest for art came when I was very young at the school, even before start to listen Heavy Metal music. I was fascinated for drawing monsters and stuff like that, probably due my passion for horror and sci-fi movies that I always had since my early years. Once a colleague student gave me a cassette with an awesome monster on the cover. This “monster” was Eddie and album was “Killers” from Iron Maiden. Then I started to draw many “Eddies” and suddenly came my interest for the Heavy Metal music. It was in 85’ or 86’ I think. After that I started to consume Heavy Metal vinyls with those fantastic covers and my life fucking changed, for much better (lol)! There’s a long history in this void of time… But in the middle of 90’s, with my first personal computer, I started to be more interested for the graphical art world. I did some very raw shit for my own bands and friends and by 99’ I started to dedicate myself more seriously and take it in a more professional level. What I do until today. Did you get inspirations through other artists? Of course … To name a few: HR Giger (He will live forever) and Dan Seagrave. I love these guy’s works and they’re a huge influence to me, probably the top ones. Although I’m not sure if their influences are so evident in my artwork but I already heard people doing this kind of connection. At last but not least I’m constantly searching to develop my own identity and style along the years, having my own vision and perspective of the art. That’s my goal. What´s the normal process when you start with a new design? Getting inspiration and some research about the theme are probably my first steps. The most part of my work are made in front of my computer, then when I have some ideas in mind I simply sit in my desk and start to draft in Photoshop. Then when I reach a good direction, I send to my client. Once approved, I work on details, making it better until finally finish it. I don’t have a formula or something like that, each project works in a different way. It’s not a mechanical thing or anything that goes in a chronological order. It normally takes from a week to a month to complete a cover, for example. Most of your work is music related. Do you also work on other projects like movies or advertising? 99,9% related to music I would say. That has been my main focus in the last 8-10 years. But I would love to work for movies, I never had a real opportunity. I’m a big cinema enthusiastic. So, movies producers please contact me and contract my services … I’ll make your movie looks better (lol).
MARCELO VASCO (bra) Are you inspired by any movies or books as well? Indeed! Specially the sci-fi, epic, thriller and horror movies. I’m most inspired by movies due the visual approach but I enjoy to read some good books about philosophy, science, the universe and autobiographies. Always a nice reading! Do you have any design you are most proud of? Any piece you would wish to never have done? Humm, that’s tough… Actually I’m even not sure if I have a favourite one but I like very much what I have made for SOULFLY, BORKNAGAR, EXHORTATION, CRONIAN, KEEP OF KALESSIN among others. Honestly there’s many pieces that I wish to never have done (lol), but it’s part of the job and the natural course of my growth and learning as graphic artist. I can live with that. There’s also a few not so good covers due the damn band trying to act like a GOD. I hate that and I allowed this in the past, not anymore. Obviously I prefer don’t mention names here for ethic reasons, but as I said most of them are old artworks already. Now I work only for bands who really respect my vision and let me free to create the art based on my own understanding and perspective. It’s a great start because avoids bad results most of time. You have worked with big names already. Are there any bands you would like to work with? I would love to work for bands/artists like SLAYER, DREAM THEATER, STEVE VAI, RUSH, BURZUM, MERCYFUL FATE, DEICIDE, MUSE, AMORPHIS, EMPEROR, CANNIBAL CORPSE, VAN HALEN, IRON MAIDEN … Most of your work is for Norwegian or Scandinavian bands. How did you come from? It happened naturally I think. Scandinavia is the cradle of the Black Metal that we know today. Everything before them is not exactly Black Metal in my opinion. And that kind of Black Metal approach is something that really catches me. All that dark visual, atitude and gloomy atmosphere is really magical for my eyes. The first Scandinavian band I worked for was Lord Belial from Sweden in 2001. Since 2007 I have been worked as graphic designer for the norwegian label Indie Recordings, when I dedicated my daily work exclusively to the metal underworld. After that I started to work for many worldwide bands and consecutively tons of metal bands from the frozen north. I love the Scandinavia… Beautiful place and very nice, polite and friendly people! I have a special connection and esteem with Norway, where I have many great friends/partners today. What project are you working at the moment? I just finished the new MACHINE HEAD artwork, I’m doing some new merch for SOULFLY from Max Cavalera and also started to work on the cover art for a band called VIPER SOLFA, featuring musicians from LIMBONIC ART / MAYHEM, TRAIL OF TEARS, RAM-ZET / ENDLING) among others. You are also involved in some bands. What other projects do you run beside the artworks? Music is my biggest passion. I really can’t say if my art came because of music or the music came because of the art. Probably a little bit of both. They complete each other … Everything in my life was surrounded by music. I’m involved with many projects without much compromises but my main band now is PATRIA. We recently released the fifth full album “Individualism” by Indie Recordings! Currently I’m working on a new material for a project called HELLSCOURGE… It’s a more old school Thrash/Death/Black noise and that will be our third full album called “The Devil Worships Us”, planned to be released in the first semester of 2015. There’s also another bands and projects but they’re all a bit stopped right now, so no reason to mention. Will we see any exhibitions or books from you in the future? Exhibitions unfortunately not, at least not in Brazil. Seems like there’s no interest on real art in this country. All remained culture here is dying slowly. That’s a shame! Regarding the books … I already featured with my artwork on some like METAL & HC GRAPHICS and PANDEMONIUM. There’s no concrete plans yet but I would be proud to have my own exclusive art book released in the future. This is something that I’ll definitely go after… Let’s see what happen! (M)
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METÄLEN#8 13
DAN DEAGH WEALCAN (rus) These months will see your debut full length album “Two Straight Horizontal Lines And The Organized Chaos In Between: Director´s Cut” coming out. What can you tell us about it? I started working on this album back in 2012. At that stage, I did not even imagine what it will be and how it will sound. A lot of time was spent searching for the sound and concept of the album. There have been several turning points when everything changed completely and it was very hard mentally, but at the same time it was very exciting. During this time, I have developed a kind of workflow that is the composition of music and its record is a unified process for me. This was a very large and valuable experience for me. Now, looking back, I am extremely glad that I did not throw it all on the half way and continued to work. I‘m really proud of the result. For someone this stuff may seem strange, but it is a reflection of one of my sides, and stands very dear to me. I would call it very personal. I wanted to make not a «one-day» album, but the one that would reveal a new side at every hearing. I would like the listener to try to understand it. I would also like to thank all the people who supported me and Eugene. Through their words, this album will be released. Thank you all! The title is as strange as your music. What does it mean? In fact, this is just my metaphorical definition of life itself. Two faces of morality that we pierced our whole existence as lines on which we base, be it religion or just estimate of our actions. The God and the Devil. Heaven and Hell. Good and Bad. Yes and No. And the chaos that we create in spite of these lines, the Brownian motion, without which we would not exist. This is the „Two straight horizontal lines and the organized chaos in between“. And «Director‘s Cut» is a cinematic term means that I am not the truth in the first person, and I express only my point of view. And I do not give evaluation of the entire process, I only exist in it and stating it as fact. Such a personal philosophy. There´s a strange mix of various genres in the music DAN DEAGH WEALCAN plays. What was the intention to mix all these genres together in one pot? What´s the main inspiration genre for you? This is all that I love. So simple. I just did not want to limit myself to a single genre. And I think that I should not do this. Besides, it was very interesting to find common ground between non-comparable things. But our life combines all. Drama and comedy. So why can not music do this? It‘s like looking for a new taste by mixing known products. Like a musical kitchen. Distinguish some basic genre is very difficult. Perhaps for this album, I tried to rely on a mixture of post-hardcore and postpunk mixed with industrial touches and noise. But this is what I had in mind and not what happened in the end. Probably. I cannot judge. Listeners can judge. But when writing I like to use a multilayer structure of sound as one that creates Trent Reznor of NIN. Perhaps he is an inspiration to me as a sound engineer but not any style of music. Which themes do you cover with your lyrics? As I said - this is a very personal album. And every song tells about what I went through or going now. All lyrics have been written by Eugene, based on topics that I have defined for the tracks in the process of creating instrumental versions and he handle it well because for him these things were close. At least I think so. So this album is, to some extent, personal for me and for him, too. Maybe for each in our own way. If brief, on what each track is about: „Beware of Lines!“ - A warning against direct roads and standardization. „Paranoia? I‘m Aim! Assure you!“ - Of self-deception as a way to survive. „I‘ve Just Threw Out My Phone And Sanity“ - To release your self from falsity and hypocrisy. „Logical - Version 3.76“ - An attempt to give meaning to this world (which it does not have), using logical chains and number. „Well, Just Burn it Down“ - That sometimes burning bridges is the only way to move forward. „The Number Was Too Long, So I Forgot It“ - Just a joke. METÄLEN#8 14
„ICD10Q031V2010WTF!?“ - A track of my own madness and the fact that it makes me the way I am. „Defy Yourself By Yourself“ - About the hardest enemy in the world. About yourself. „Mediterranean Sky“ - Probably the most important track on the album. About life itself. “Pointlessness“ - The fact that you cannot even trust your own mind. DDW was formed in early 2012 as a solo project by Mikhail A. Repp. Is it still a solo project or do you have other musicians (apart from your singer Eugene Zoidze-Mischenko from UNGRACE band) to intent to play live as well? Yes, in the beginning it was a solo project. But now it‘s a duo. Eugene is an integral part of this project. At this stage, there are only two of us. Live performances are not part of my plans and are not included now. For various reasons it is not possible. But I do not completely exclude the possibility of live performances. We‘ll see. Time will tell. This will depend on the audience’s willingness to hear us and our capabilities. Now I am very keen on the process of creating and recording. UNGRACE is more orientated in groovy Thrash/Death Metal. How did you convince Eugene to take part as your vocalist for DDW? I had various options for the development of this project. One option was to leave the project purely instrumental. And I‘m really adhered to this trend for a very long time. I just could not imagine the vocals with my music. And I had no idea what it should be. But at some point, I changed my mind. And I decided to share all of the tracks between different vocalists. So I chose Eugene just for aggressive part of the album, in regards to the latest full-length album of UNGRACE. But ... he surprised me very much and chose to perform those songs that were more melodic and showed himself from an unexpected side. So you could say that not only I chose him, but he chose himself for this project. He was indeed a great versatile vocalist. I am very lucky with him as an artist and as a person. Before you started with DDW, did you also play in other bands as well? Nope. There were several school projects but nothing serious. Maybe it‘s my fault. My creative selfishness did not let me converges with people. I could not share with other people writing process. I always psyched and disagreed. Yes, and my partner does the same. In this rehearsal turned into a kind of a psychiatric hospital where everyone is talking but no one is listening (I guess that‘s why I easily worked there later). With Eugene things are different. He does what I can not do - he sings. We do not conflict. Each of us is doing his part. And it‘s great. Or I have just become older and wiser. Do not feel this way, though...))) What’s next for DDW, after releasing your debut album? The next album. I‘ve been working on it since I’ve completed the debut album. So it’s already 80 percent ready. I just realized that I cannot stop. I just can’t enough of this. And this is a very different album as by genre and by the sound and meaning. It’s just different. I do not want to make the same records throughout my life. It‘s just not interesting. So expect from us something new. Always. I want to surprise myself and the listener. This is the main power of music. Otherwise, the music is dead. (M)
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METÄLEN#8 15
MONUMENTOMB (uk)
MIST (uk)
The bands first release ‘Ritual Exhumation‘ is now available on CD as well. How is the response so far? It‘s been very well received so far, all the reviews and feedback we‘ve had so far has been very positive and appraising. The running time is nearly a full length album, or in case there are some bands who release full length albums with less running time. Did you run out of songs to record or was it your intention to do an EP as your first output? To do an EP was the very first intention, just to set the first stepping stone for us. The material was written in a fairly short space of time, just to keep the energy and feel at the time as fresh as possible. In summary, we did run out of songs we were happy to record, there was other material that could have been used, but we didn‘t feel it had a place to flow on the EP. You signed a multi album deal with Grindhouse Music, who also released your EP. So your next release will be your debut full length album. Could you give us some info on that already? Has the writing process already started? When are you going to record it? At the moment, we are due to release one full length with Grindhouse Music. We have got some songs written already, and are still in the process of writing more. As it‘s been a very, very active year for us already for gigs, festivals and other commitments, the writing process has taken a slower tempo from this time last year as a result. We‘re aiming to record it next year, but as to when it‘s tough to say at the moment I‘m afraid.
What will the lyrics be about? Same themes as on the EP or will there be any concept? The lyrics will follow continuation of the themes already touched on ‘Ritual Exhumation‘. Generally morbid, occult based stories almost. As for concept, there won‘t be a specific one as such but it‘s a subtle one throughout the songs nonetheless. With the EP, it‘s essentially focusing on a necromancer and following his experiences. The experiences are inspired from several sources like horror/splatter movies, short stories and books etc. You had some guest appearances on your EP. Is this something you are also going for your album as well? There aren‘t any current plans at the moment, but depending on how the writing process transpires in due course that may well change! Are there plans to see you guys on European mainland as well in the near future or do you concentrate playing shows in the UK? It‘s more intention that actual plans currently. We‘re going through a line-up change again, so once we‘ve played a few gigs in the UK to warm-up and settle-in again we will be more confident to play overseas. Saying that, our label is currently having talks to potentially bring us over to Europe for some shows. To be honest, we don‘t want to play the UK all the time, so making a start on the live circuit in the rest of Europe is definitely something we want to do as soon as possible. (M) The bands CDep ‚Ritual Exhumation‘ is out now via Grindhouse Music. For more merchnadise please visit www.metalmusic.at/shop
METÄLEN#8 16
MIST is a Doom band from Ljubljana (Slovenia) who recently signed to Dutch based Soulseller Records. Formed as an all-girl band you have now added a male guitarist to the band. It is more unusual to find an all-girl band which also plays that kind of music. How did that start? Our drummer and singer met at a concert and decided to form a band and some time later the bass player and guitarists joined. Since we all listened to completely different genres of Metal we started looking for common ground and we found it in Doom. The songs came soon after but our creative process was not based on what we wanted our music to sound like, but on ideas that had been waiting in the back of our minds for a while, maybe even before the band was formed. It is something unexplainable, everything just fit. As said you signed to Soulseller Records who are releasing your new EP on vinyl and CD, including your 2013 demo. What can you tell us about this release? The re-release of our demo is something we are extremely proud of, we never thought it would get this much attention. We were very lucky to have a good audio engineer and a friend with a passion for promoting bands. ,were also many other lucky coincidences that led us to where we are today - signing with Soulseller Records and releasing an EP, playing festivals like Malta Doom festival and Hammer of Doom. We are looking forward to the release of our EP, we put our hearts into the music and we loved it, but I don‘t feel the need to explain it further. When the time comes it will speak for itself.
You are from Slovenia and toured a lot of other countries already. What has been the best experience so far? Playing abroad has always been a good experience for us, but I must say that Malta Doom festival really stands out. The people, the atmosphere, the bands and even the weather were amazing and the whole trip was just incredible. Before that there was the UNCLE ACID and the Deadbeats show in Vienna and playing in Holland (with CAUCHEMAR) and Belgium was very cool aswell, as it was a very intimate and cozy place. Also we always enjoy each others company, It is never boring when we‘re together. Is there any scene for Doom Metal in Slovenia? Slovenia is a small country so the scene is quite small as well, especially for Doom. It is an entirely different experience going abroad than playing back home. But we have noticed some Stoner bands forming, maybe the scene will change in our favor, you never know in Slovenia. What´s next for MIST? More touring? A debut album? We will see what the release of ur EP brings, nothing is certain at this time. Trying not to make big plans and schedules, we are just going where the path takes us and of course making new songs in the meantime. (BG)
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METÄLEN#8 17
AUTOPSY (usa)
Hi Chris! What´s up in the AUTOPSY camp!? Hi yourself! The new album ‚Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves‘ is out now. That’s the big news in Autopsyville at the moment. Check it out and brace yourself for an audio nightmare! How was the recording process for your latest album? Same as always. We record drums, bass and rhythm guitars live. Then we fix any guitar or bass goobers, then add harmony/solo guitars and then vocals. After that, it’s time to mix, then master. Next thing you know....boom, new album! The album was again recorded at Fantasy Studio. What makes this place special for you? Fantasy is such a cool place to record. Adam knows his shit behind the mixing board, the owner and staff there are friendly and helpful, it’s close to home and we can get the sound we want there. Plus at the bar around the corner you can get a can o‘ beer and a shot of whiskey for five bucks. Are you sold yet? What do you think of the response so far? Really stinkin‘ good. It’s going over great according to what people are telling us. Sick bastards. You teamed up with Wes Benscoter for the new album art, who also did ‘Macabre eternal‘ for you. Was there any concept for the cover artwork? Just what you see on the cover. That was all Wes‘ idea. It came out really killer and looks like the music sounds I think. I love it!!! Where does the new album stand in the discography of AUTOPSY? Firmly in the „T“ section I would say. That is if you alphabetize your collection. AUTOPSY’s always had this mix of speedy old school Death Metal and doomy, plodding sections. The recent releases did sound a bit grindier, more driven. Was that intentional? If you ask me, I would note that every album has it’s share of fast, medium and slow stuff. That’s something that we’re pretty much always done. I’ve never compared slow versus fast riffs on any particular album in comparison to another though. Don’t know if that really answers your question. Haha! METÄLEN#8 18
There is always a lot of Doom in your music. Which bands do you get inspired most when writing those parts? Just ourselves these days. When we first started, we listened to plenty of BLACK SABBATH, PENTAGRAM, TROUBLE, WITCHFINDER GENERAL, SAINT VITUS, CANDLEMASS, etc. We still like all those bands, but when we write, we aim to sound like AUTOPSY rather than someone else. When writing the lyrics, is there anything that really disgusts you at all? You mean my own? I’m not really sure what you mean, but when it’s time to write lyrics I try to make them fit the music so it sounds like what the lyrics are saying. Sure we’ve had plenty of disgusting lyrics and still do, but it’s not just for the sake of being disgusting. Ok, maybe a few times. Heh heh! There was just a break of one year between your last and new AUTOPSY album. You are also releasing your debut album with VIOLATION WOUND, your punk/rock/metal project. Where do you get all those ideas to release all those things? I guess if inspiration is there, things are gonna happen, ya know? Where it comes from, I don’t know, but I offer no apologies for anything! There seems to be a revival of old bands like CARCASS, AT THE GATES, MASSACRE… What do you think is their main reason to come back? Do they need the money, do they get bored sitting at home, or do they just get pissed off from that Deathcore shit coming out these days? All of those could be viable reasons. I suppose each band has their own story, just like we have ours. The most important thing is how it actually sounds. I can tell you we took our reformation very seriously and refused to jump back into the pool of gore unprepared or uninspired. Will there be any more VIOLATION WOUND releases or was this just a one record thing? Yeah, there will be more indeed. The debut album is out now and we’re recording another batch of stuff soon for some cool split releases. Stay tuned! What´s up next? Will we see AUTOPSY touring Europe at any time again? It doesn’t look like we’ll be going overseas this year, but of course stranger things have happened. Right now we’re psyched to have the new album out and stomping it’s way throughout the world. Cheers! (M)
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MARDUK (swe)
once again being “La Grande Danse Macabre” and “World Funeral” aretion with Regain made available. Since MARDUK ended their coopera haven’t been Records, who later went defunct, these titles among others Productions worked officially available for quite a while. So, Blooddawnbring back these closely with its partner Century Media Records to essential MARDUK albums. ..
‚La Grande Danse Macabre‘ was the third part of the Blood, War & Death Trilogy of albums, a three part representation of how the band perceives Black Metal; is this still how you see Black Metal? Yes absoultly that is 100% the way that I still see it. Blood Fire Death is te essence of th spirit of Black metal. Does the subject of Death still stand as a lyrical or musical inspiration for MARDUK? Correct and I thinnk that is being reflected very clear in the last 1012 yer of the marduk history and wwill most likelby be for another decade as well. ‚World Funeral‘ was the last album on which Marduk worked with Peter Tagtgren, after five albums in seven years, was prompted the choice to change producers for 2004‘s ‚Plague Angels‘? As you mentioned seven year and five albums, we felt that its was time to move on as we had a picture in our mind how we wanted the next album at that time to sound and we felt the need for a change. We relocated to a studio in our own area and began to work in a diffrent way which works far better for the nature of this band. Some accused the band of trying to achieve a more mainstream sound on ‚World Funeral‘, what were the bands thoughts on this, then and now? Well some people are retards and idiots and don´t understand the power contained with in our works. The album still stands as a tower of dark energy and most people are unworthy to comment on it. They simply don´t have a clue. Im still as proud of the album today as of the time it was recorded.
12 studio albums in 20 years is a considerable feat for any band, especially in such an extreme music scene as Black Metal; to what would you attribute MARDUK‘s longevity to? Loyality, dedication and genuie desire to create dark music that comes from within. Believing in the triumph of our creation ... Are there any plans for a new album as a follow-up to 2012‘s ‚Serpent Sermon‘? Of course, we work with full power on the next assault. How far things have come I will not mention right now, but sooner than later the next album will be out and we will be back on the roads marching across this world! Aside from the summer festival appearances, are there any other touring plans in the works? As soon as the next album is out a world tour will take place. Plans and marching routes are being drawn as we speak. Announcents from the propaganda headquarter will come as time draws near. After 20 years in Black Metal, and seeing the scene develop since its birth, how do you feel about the state of Black Metal in 2014, given all the musical evolutions and progressions within the genre? Overall I would say very crappy with the exception of selected few who keep the black flame burning. (DW)
The rendition of ‚Phantasm‘ by POSSESSED may seem an unusual choice of cover song to some, coming from a Black Metal band; have POSSESSED been any sort of influence upon MARDUK? POSSESSED has been an influence on MARDUK from the day we started. “The Seven Churches“ and “Beyond the gates“ albums should be essential to anybody who claims to have any connection to Black or Death Metal or extreme Metal overall. Timeless classics! FOLLOW METÄLEN FANZINE NOW ON FACEBOOK.COM/METALENZINE AND TWITTER.COM/METALENZINE
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DARKESTRAH (ks)
DARKESTRAH are hailing from Kyrgyzstan (located between Kazakhstan and China) and play Epic Shamanic Black Metal. That could sound strange to some readers. Please tell us more about this band and the style you play … Greetings! Well there are two main sources of our musical inspiration. The first one is definitely the Black and Doom Metal classics, like EMPEROR and MY DYING BRIDE. The second and a very important one is the Kyrgyzian folklore tradition. Traditional central Asian culture is deeply rooted in Shamanism and the folklore music often sounds ritualistic or what you can may “mystical”. And we are trying to reproduce this feeling in our music. On the other hand our songs often deal with the topic of war and mythology, and for that reason some of our songs are pretty bombast, or you can call it “epic”. What are your lyrics about? The history of central Asia is the history of war and nomadic conquest. A big part of our lyrics deal with great wars and warlords of the past, for example our MCD “Khagan” is dedicated to Genghis Khan and our latest release “Manas” deals with the history of Kygyzian tribes and their struggle for freedom and unification. Other topics that are very important to us are mythology and nature. These two topics are closely entwined, since a lot of Kyrgyzan legends are connected with some special locations like the lake Issyk-Kul and the legend of a ghostly underwater city. Metal Archives states DARKESTRAH as the only active band from Kyrgyzstan (although there are only four bands listed). Are there any other bands around or is there any scene in this country? I don’t know any active bands now. In the late 90‘s the Metal scene flourished in Kyrgyzstan. There were a lot of interesting and very original acts, but because our country was poor and rather far from the active part of the world there was no decent recording equipment and all these bands have left little to no trace. That we’ve managed to record our first album in Kyrgyzstan in early 2000s was a huge archievement for that time. What´s the country like? A lot of people imagine central Asia to be a land of the vast steppes, huge, flat and mostly greenish-grey. This would be completely wrong if we are talking about Kyrgyzstan. It is a country of high mountains, covered with snow, deep lakes and winding rivers, of ancient ruins and modern cities under the vast blue sky. Your 2008 album ‘The great silk road‘ is now re-issued on vinyl via Shaytan Productions. What can you tell us about this record? “The Great Silk Road” is dedicated to the silk road, a big trading route that went through central Asia and connected China with the Mediterranean and Europe. The conception of journey, both real and spiritual is crucial for this album. For example the song “Cult Tengri” is about Khan Tengri, the lord of the blue sky, the main deity of the Turkik and Mongolian pantheon and, on the other hand it is about the mountain Khan Tengri in Kyrgyzstan, named after him. Musically this is most surely the album where our folk influences have reached their peak. Some songs are based directly on traditional melodies. We’ve used traditional instruments such as temir-komuz for this record. What other plans do you have for the next months? Shows are being planned around Europe, some are already announced or are being announced even as we speak, some are still on the stage of discussion. But we are planning to play live as much as possible. We are also going to re-issue “Epos” on LP through Shaytan Productions. (BG)
GJUTJÄRN (swe)
Hey! Please tell us a bit about GJUTJÄRN … We are simply four guys that had the incedible luck to meet eachother. I say incredible luck because we are completely on the same track when it comes to what to play and how to play it. We have almost no restrictions when it comes to musical ideas. Rather the opposite: too standard is boring. We try to not be held back by what we have done before so much, but to explore unusual harmonies and rythms. Also we meddle in each others playing, something that can be sensitive in other bands. We all have played in different bands over the years, mainly traditional Hard Rock and Metal, so now we‘re trying to do something different. Well, trying is not the right word. It comes quite naturally and it is very liberating. You label the band ‘Hardcore progressive Rock or as we like to call it: Scandinavian Noir‘. What influences Scandinavian Noir? We can of course not speak for others, but for us it‘s a drawing in to the desperation and the very hard times of simple people centuries ago. Looking at these drawings and paintings from those times is captivating. The labour they had to perform just to be able to eat! Not to mention the justice system and the punishments. There‘s a story there to be told. I guess as you are playing that kind of music you are also like to party and drink a lot? ;) No, not much. Mainly carrot juice and lettuce. Seriously, we‘re simple rockers and we have a responsibility to uphold certain traditions. That includes drinking stupid amounts of alcohol and behaving like an unresponsible out of control child. Your latest output is called ‘Härd‘… How was this album created? Well, it is the result of our first jams and what happened after. We started making songs that ended up on the album from day one. Really crazy. Never been in such a band before. Are the lyrics as funny as your clothes? Or what are they about? Are they all written in Swedish? I definitely would‘nt caracterize the lyrics as „funny“. On the contrary. They are very dramatic and often uncomfortable. Yes, they are all written in Swedish. We thought if RAMMSTEIN can write in German, why can‘t we do it in Swedish? So far so good ... Was it your intetion from the start that you wanna wear strange/funny clothes when performing live? We thought that we had to put up some kind of show other than just play. So we put on what we all individually felt like. Lesley is perhaps the one that stands out a bit, but that‘s the way he is. Leave him thinking he‘s cool... As far as the show goes, we have some really untraditional ideas. Would be really funny to be able to realise them one day. Are the members of Gjutjärn active in any other bands or is this your main project? Yes, Garm and Strävbjörn are active in a cover band and a tribute band to the Swedish singer Cornelis Vreeswijk. (M)
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heLLFeST 2014 [BLaCK SaBBaTh + BeheMoTh + KaTaKLySM + eMPeror...]
01 & 02/03/2014 CLISSon, FranCe
words by Daniel Warnes, photos by Hellfest
Friday: The first band to strike the iron at the main stages is France’s own NIGHTMARE (3/5). Their slightly lower-key Power Metal is a great, riff-fuelled way to start a festival as a generous crowd basks in the thirty degree heat. They may have suffered from some first-band sound glitches that can occur at any festival, but the few scattered headbangers don’t mind at all. Over on the Temple stage, the UK’s ORDER OF APOLLYON (3/5) serve up a nice course of blackened Death Metal. The music and sound quality make up for the band’s rather static stage presence, but the band clearly recruit some new fans in the tent, with no small amount of help from a great reimagining of the METALLICA classic ‘Creeping Death’. While CROSSFAITH’s (2/5) crowd may be considerably large, one cannot help but see the cheapness in the generic electro infused Metalcore bandwagon they’ve jumped on and see them as more of a passing fad than anything with real substance. IMPIETY (4/5) on the other hand are going as strong as any younger band you can think of! Their twenty-four year career has imbued them with a fire and a chaotic professionalism through which they deliver nothing short of a pummelling, Blackened tour-de-force to be reckoned with. The UK’s reformed SATAN (3.5/5) enjoy a wealth of appreciative fans, main stage exposure and a great welcome at their first ever French show. Their NWOBHM style brings fun, riffs and a noteworthy vocal performance from Brian Ross. A mixture of classic cuts as well as the equally strong material from ‘Life Sentence’ goes down very well indeed. Unfortunately, Norway’s Black Metal titans suffer among the stock of more visceral bands at the Temple. What then was breakthrough now just seems rather typical for Black Metal. Faster blasts twist into doomier passages that plod on with shuffling feet. The crowd had little energy for GEHENNA’s (2/5) misanthropy, even as far as BM crowds go! It’s never good when you can’t tell when one song ends and another begins. An unfortunate misfire for band of their stature. LOUDBLAST (4/5) on the other hand, packed the tent out as they tore the Altar apart with their relentless Death Metal fury. Headbanging and pits were abundant throughout. METÄLEN#8 22
Turn back around to the Altar again and DESTRÖYER666 (4/5) more than live up to their moniker. Their sound was satisfyingly sharp for their loyal followers and the curious bystanders alike. Blackened Thrash Metal makes for great headbanging, and K.K. Warslut’s exuberance is infectious to say the least. The Altar and Temple tent keeps on impressing as HAIL OF BULLETS (5/5) absolutely destroy their packed crowd. Martin Van Drunen knows how to work crowd at this point, and his trademark, rough-and-ready Death Metal vocal sounds brilliant as it cuts through the mix. From the opener ‘Swoop Of The Falcon’ right to the end, band and audience are joined by energy. HAIL OF BULLETS have the best sound yet, everything is clear, audible and pulverizing. Over to the second main stage and there’s a time of real confusion as TRIVIUM (2/5) take the stage. Bad sound problems with Matt Heafy’s microphone plague the whole set, and professionalism clearly gives way to frustration. The band persevere and Corey Beaulieu does well at filling in vocally while the sound problems are (unsuccessfully) addressed. There are solid moments, but the divisive ‘Anthem (We Are The Fire)’ grinds the set’s momentum to a halt and the lack of ‘Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr’ is noticed by everyone, making the set feel criminally incomplete. ROB ZOMBIE (1/5) doesn’t fare much better at all. All who were awaiting giant robots and fire will be disappointed. There are some decorations featuring images of Frankenstein and King Kong, but this is a pale imitation of a ROB ZOMBIE stage set. With the man himself relying solely on his voice, it becomes clear that singing has never been his strong suit, especially when he’s missing entire lines. A long pause precedes ‘Living Dead Girl’, leaving the crowd rather unenthused. John 5’s guitar soloing and Ginger Fish’s drum solo feel like pointless fuck abouts that scoop what little energy there was right out of the show. A real anti-climax for what is usually such a dependable festival draw. SEPULTURA (5/5) take things back up to boiling point, drawing mainly from newer material rather than relying on the Cavalera era classics. ‘The Vatican’ and ‘Kairos’ get an equally spirited reaction as ‘Arise’ and ‘Refuse/Resist’. Derrick Green is on fine vocal form and
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the whole band seems rejuvenated after the release of last year’s ‘The Mediator …’ and by the time ‘Roots Bloody Roots’ sounds over the fields of Hellfest, SEPULTURA have already made this a testament that there is life after Cavalera. At the same time that IRON MAIDEN take to the main stage, KATAKLYSM (5/5) pull an impressive crowd and proceed to prove exactly why they’re rising up to the upper echelons of the Death Metal scene at last. Opening with new song ‘Elevate’ they set the tone brilliantly, and frontman Maurizio Iacono takes the prize for the best vocalist of the day. Through songs like ‘Animals’ and ‘The Resurrected’ they never lose power or focus, and their grasp on the audience’s collective throat only tightens until there’s nothing to do but give in to the raw, brutal power on show. First class. After such a spectacle, WATAIN (4/5) were almost doomed to suffer. There was plenty of fire and inverted crosses, such as you would expect from the Swedish Satanists, but it couldn’t be ignored that the overall energy was not as high as it could be. ‘Reaping Death’ and closer ‘Holocaust Dawn’ sound great but while the band are clearly far from at their worst, this is not their best. Headlining the Temple like this, you could be forgiven for expecting better, though this was greatly enjoyable nonetheless. Following that on the Altar comes one of the more special sets of the weekend. DEATH (TO ALL) (5/5) take this opportunity to pay a great tribute to the late Chuck Schuldiner, and they do so with all the furious grace that DEATH’s legacy would call for. Steve DiGiorgio’s bass playing is virtuosic, while Paul Masvidal clearly enjoys himself while playing the guitar. It’s Max Phelps that sends chills down your spine, standing in Chuck’s place and playing the part to perfection. The emotional level in the tent is at a record high as the fans show nothing but fervent appreciation for stone cold classics such as ‘Suicide Machine’, ‘Leprosy’, ‘Spiritual Healing’, and the evergreen ‘Zombie Ritual’. If Chuck could have seen it; he’d be proud, and if you missed it, you missed out pure and simple. SABATON (3.5/5) take the midnight slot on the main stage, and all Village People-based stage banter aside, the band pull of a foreseeably solid set. Joakim Broden is on strong vocal form and their following are out in force despite the late hour, which the band express their appreciation for. Their new album ‘Heroes’ stands as a highlight album of the year, and the new songs ‘To hell and Back’, ‘Resist and Bite’ and ‘Soldier of 3 armies’ fit in perfectly with classics ‘The art of War’ and ‘Carolus Rex’. If there’s any better way to end the first day at a festival than jumping along to ‘Primo Victoria’, I’ve yet to discover it. Saturday: TEMPLE OF BAAL (3/5) supply a decent dose of blackened Death, with more energy than you’d expect for such an early band, which their crowd seems to appreciate. However, it’s when the mighty BENIGHTED (5/5) attempt to steal the day that it truly begins. Their fans are rabid, the band feed off of their energy, with frontman Julien owning the stage with his ferocity of movement and voice. Complete chaos is their business and everyone enjoys it as the kind of dangerous, modern Death Metal show that you just cannot beat. Later, SKYCLAD (3/5) put the Folk into Folk Metal, with the kind of crowd you’d expect for genre pioneers. Theirs is a solid, exuberant show that gets a ‘jig pit’ going from start to finish. Folk Metal may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you could do far worse than catching this band Schirenc take to the stage next to play the music of PUNGENT STENCH (2/5). Unfortunately, the momentum doesn’t manage to pick up, leaving the no-frills Death Metal sounding samey from one song to the next. The crowd is unexpectedly static, and all in all it feels as though this would be better suited to a small venue rather than a festival crowd. It also leaves question as to whether PUNGENT STENCH’s music has aged very well. SHINING (4/5) fair much better. Their trademark brand of Depressive Black Metal is creepier than Hannibal Lecter wearing a Jimmy Saville mask, and as infamous frontman Niklas Kvarforth stalks ac-
ross the stage, he is bizarrely charismatic despite his abusive treatment of the crowd, Jack Daniels in one hand, microphone in the other. GORGUTS (5/5) may have taken to the stage late, but it’s unlikely that the enthralled crowd give a damn. These are the masters of Progressive Death Metal, and their set is both crushing and ambient in equal terms. There’s no pits and crowd surfers here; this is a showcase of true musicianship that mesmerises everyone in the audience. Luc Lemay may not be the most engaging showman, but the music more than does the talking. At the Valley, there’s a ridiculously large crowd packed into the tent for one reason; CLUTCH (5/5), who may be another late-coming band, but the sheer volume and Neil Fallon’s effortless talents as both a singer and a frontman more than make up for slight tardiness. Their adoring crowd hang onto every note and sing loudly to openers ‘The Mob Goes Wild’ and ‘Earth Rocker’ right through to ‘The Regulator’ and other hits that are perfect for this time in a summer evening. Over on the main stage, SOULFLY’s (2/5) set is given a severe handicap by technical issues which leaves the guitars all but inaudible for their whole set. Percussion and bass guitar alone cannot carry the real strength of ‘Prophecy’ and ‘Back To The Primitive’. Things are made worse when Max’s son’s Iggor and Ritchie Cavalera are victims of inaudibility during the family rendition of ‘Revengeance’. It’s testament to Max’s professionalism that he keeps going with energy and poise, but sadly this is nowhere near victory for the band. However, things take a turn towards Metal-asfuck back at the Valley when PHIL ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS (5/5) storm onstage. The man of the hour celebrates a long and esteemed career in Metal tonight, starting off with the PANTERA song ‘Hellbound’. What’s baffling is how Phil’s voice only seems to be getting better with age, and tonight he sounds beastly, pulling off churning growls and his signiature high screams with great gusto. The ever commanding legend remains humble, even as the crowd goes apeshit for ‘Death Rattle’ and ‘Betrayed’. There’s a couple of SUPERJOINT RITUAL tracks played which make for a pleasant surprise, and a rendition of ‘United & Strong’ by AGNOSTIC FRONT is a great tribute. The day is made when both crowd and band become one for the unforgettable ‘A New Level’, which is enough to make the hair on your arms and neck stand on end. Phil is the man, and he takes the whole day by storm, leaving all others in his dust. Sunday: A late start on the last day of Hellfest leaves it up to CROWBAR (3/5) to kick things off, and I’m certain that a lot of extreme hangovers reflected CROWBAR’s delivery; Heavy and pounding. The band are as tight as you would expect, and their huge riffs forcefully blast across the fields of Clisson. Kirk Windstein is clearly far better utilized as a frontman than he was as the second fiddle in DOWN. POWERWOLF (3/5) bring the bombast with their theatrical brand of Power Metal, drawing a fair crowd. Their sound is crisp and the general feeling of their fortyfive minute set is one of great fun. They’re a reliable, great band doing what they do best. REPULSION (4/5) unleash a wall-of-sound Deathgrind assault which gets a great fan reaction. The bass is thunderous, the guitars are scathingly sharp and the vocals are sickeningly brilliant. No REPULSION fan can be disappointed when they’re treated to a whopping seventeen tracks of gory goodness, complete with two covers; SLAUGHTER’s ‘Death Dealer’ and VENOM´s ‘Schizo’. When it comes to sick, headbanging fury, you can’t get a whole lot better than ‘Helga (Lost Her Head)’ and ‘Maggots In Your Coffin’. It seems clear that a new generation of REPULSION fans was just recruited. Next up; Brazilian proggy Power Metal band ANGRA (4/5), who get a smaller crowd than their massive sound deserves, especially when Fabio Lione’s hugely impressive singing voice is added to the equation. The classy textures of their sound are done great justice as far as the mix goes, and the aforemention frontman knows how to entertain. The
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band put their all into the show, not seeming to care for the somewhat meagre audience. Those present are the die-hard and the curious, and all greatly enjoy ANGRA. “Welcome, warriors!” is the cry that signals UNLEASHED’s (5/5) arrival at the Altar. Their Swedish Death Metal comes complete with frequent, searing guitar leads and constant windmilling from guitarists Fredrik and Tomas. It’s like watching a vamped-up SLAYER! They celebrate 20 years as a band this year, and (somehow) this is their first appearance at Hellfest. It’s certain to be remembered as a complete success. EQUILIBRIUM (4/5) have similar success, instead with somewhat epic sounding Folk Metal. Even though they’re only four albums into their career, they clearly have one hell of a following. Newer songs like ‘Wirtshaus Gaudi’ get just as strong a reaction from their fans as any of their more established songs. There’s a grandiosity to EQUILIBRIUM’s music that saves them from being another self-parodying Folk Metal band. ANNIHILATOR’s (5/5) fans kick up an insane amount of dust when they get going, and it’s no wonder why; the band are on solid form with a good mix of classic and newer material. Of course, it’s songs like ‘Alison Hell’ that get the best reaction, but regardless of this, Jeff Waters demonstrates why he is undisputedly the most underrated guitarist in Metal. The riffs and solos alone are enough to force a grin onto any Metal fan’s face, and with the rest of the band on fine form as well, this is yet another top-class ANNIHILATOR show. With MEGADETH having dropped out, it’s left to DARK ANGEL (5/5) to keep the Thrash Metal vibe going, with one of their few shows this year. The weight of their sound and the enthusiasm of the band members shows that they’re having a lot of fun playing their cult Thrash songs. Their crowd is huge, and their overall performance is professional, doing songs like ‘Darkness Descends’, ‘The Burning of Sodom’ and the evergreen ‘Death Is Certain (Life Is Not)’ immense justice. Especially with drumming legend Gene Hoglan giving artillery-like power to their assault. After releasing one of, if not the best albums of 2014 so far there’s a lot of anticipation for BEHEMOTH’s (5/5) show. They do not disappoint, kicking off with a triple-whammy of ‘Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel’, ‘Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer’ and ‘Conquer All’, it’s brilliant from the word go. The conviction of Black Metal’s most charismatic frontman, Nergal is infectious even through the blasphemous ‘Christians To The Lions’. Their stage show is admirable; complete with fire, smoke, fake blood. The finale of the majestic ‘O Father O Sa-
GRAVEYARD GHOUL (ger)
tan O Sun’ sends a palpable energy through the heart of Hellfest. Rather than being theatrically evil, this set is life-affirming and deeply moving. EMPEROR (5/5) taking to the stage is damn near a religious moment for all fans of Extreme Metal that are present. Running through ‘In The Nightside Eclipse’; the band, now rejoined by drummer Faust, are tight, atmospheric and utterly colossal in stature. The enthusiasm of both the band and the crowd is great, and the stage show of fire, sparks and the lights against the setting sun suit the occasion perfectly. Ihsahn’s iconic presence demands attention and the music itself is timeless. It can be felt in the air just how amazing it is to be before the stage celebrating such a classic band and album. A moment not to be forgotten. There’s one perfect way to follow that, and that’s by watching the Godfathers of Metal music; BLACK SABBATH (5/5). Every member is on form, and the crowd that gathers is simply huge. The anthemic riffs of everything from ‘War Pigs’, ‘Children Of The Grave’, ‘Iron Man’ and others unleash celebratory euphoria across the whole field. ‘God Is Dead?’ fits in with all the classics, and even a drum solo from Tommy Clufetos cannot harm the momentum of their set. ‘N.I.B.’ is a particular highlight, but obviously it’s the closer ’Paranoid’ that sets the festival afire. Tony, Geezer and Ozzy stand like giants over all others and when you consider the fact that every other band that’s been present at this festival owes a massive musical debt to BLACK SABBATH, it feels fitting for them to headline and all but close this year’s Hellfest like this. It’s safe to say this will go down as one of the best festivals of the year and recent times. Here’s to a bright future for this fantastic fest. (DW) since the beginning or was there no better singer to find? There is no plan behind that. AUTOPSY, respectively Chris is a biiiig inspiration for me. Drumming together with vocals makes more fun, haha. And it works! Death Metal in the old veins… that´s surely the best way to describe GRAVEYARD GHOUL. If you are listen to your music, and look at the artwork and photos you get reminded to the old days when there were no over the top produced records. Which way do you record? Do you start with an advance demo? Me and Disgracer started GRAVEYARD GHOUL as a two man project in 2011. We recorded the demo “Necrocult” with one microphone on tape. The quality was horrible (good!) and the demo was very successful. We send copys to Japan, Sweden, Chile and more…by the way the demo is sold out! Apart from Death Metal from the late 80´s and early 90´s you are also inspired by old horror movies. With halloween just past, which of the old classics do you recommend? Ohhh…not easy. There are a lot of good old movies. But my all time favorites are Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Fly, Evil Dead I&II, Braindead, Frankenstein (with Boris Karloff), Plague of the Zombies, Woodoo (Fulci lives!)… This is a fuckin little (!) piece of my great collection.
With a new split LP with CRYPTIC BROOD out now, your secound full length earlier this year, and your previous debut album and demo since 2011 you are extremly active with recordings. Nothing else to do? ;) Haha, sure … drinking beer and working like a dog! Like the almighty AUTOPSY you are also doing the drums and vocals by one of your members. Was this planned METÄLEN#8 24
You already shared the stage with great bands like SADISTIC INTENT or POSSESSED. Are there any upcoming shows or tours you fans can look forward? Which previous show experience will stick to your mind for long? Yes, the two shows with these legends were awesome! And we are doing a short tour with our friends from CRYPTIC BROOD in Nov. We haven´t booked any shows for 2015 yet, so contact and book us! Uuuurrggghhhh! (M) Contact the band via graveyardghoul@web.de
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CRETIN (usa) Your new album “Stranger“ will be in stores this december. Why did it take so long for a new record? Marissa: I needed to step away from the band back in 2007 while I dealt with a divorce and my gender dysphoria. It took me roughly 3 years to rebuild myself and reach a point of confidence where I was no longer distracted by trying defining who I was. While healing from my final surgery I picked up my guitar and started writing again. Between 2010 and now, there have been a number of projects that slowed our progress with writing the new album. We only have the time to rehearse once a week. So, whenever we have a show, rehearsal switches from writing new material to practicing a set list. Col and I were both in REPULSION between 2011 and 2013 as well. Shows for either band could cause month long delays for us before getting back to writing new music. Between 2013 and now I’ve only had CRETIN to focus on, so that helped us get the album done. Widener: For my part, I was doing some other music and needed a break from CRETIN. I was also trying to get my professional life together – trying to find a profession, really, and that takes an enormous amount of work. I imagined that CRETIN was only going to have one album, so it didn‘t feel like a break to me. It felt like we were done. But then things started happening a few years ago and it surprised me. There‘s something great about that, the fact that this band may not be prolific, but it only musters when we‘re all really interested in making a statement. If we did an album every year, I doubt they‘d be as good. The cover looks awesome, what was the idea behind it? Widener: I wanted the album to be more serious than our previous one, so the art had to reflect that. My friend Emerson Murray is a painter. His new silhouette series really seeped into my mind, and I found myself writing music and lyrics while imagining his art. I would periodically read him my lyrics and a month later new paintings with those themes would be hanging in his house. It was a really neat case of artist and composer collaborating over a span of about a year. Even though we‘re in the digital age, I still love the idea of „the album“ as an artistic artifact, so I‘m glad Stranger looks like a weird story book or art coffee table book. Are the lyrics still about all those strange things? Widener: Pretty much. It‘s a little less perverted and more enigmatic this time around. Less silly. But darker. The lyrics are told mostly in prose form now, more like short fiction. What was the recording and writing process. When did you start working on those new songs? Widener I started writing my songs about three years ago, but Marissa has had some of her songs for a lot longer. The whole recording process was long and fractured. We recorded various elements in four different studios. It took six months. Marissa: My writing process for a song pretty much goes like this: I write a riff on guitar, and then immediately transcribe it into my tablature application on my PC. I’ll either start to create a song based on that riff, or I’ll just keep it as a riff to revisit one day. Back in 2006, after we released the “Freakery” album, I started writing new material. Then I took a break. When I was ready to start up again, I had a bunch of material to work with stored on my computer. After I’ve written a song to the point where I feel like I’ve done enough, I export the midi from the tab to a .wav file and send it to the guys. They listen to it and think up any additions or changes they want to make, and we work them out in rehearsal until the song is done. Somewhere between then and when it’s time to record vocals, Widener writes the lyrics.
without therapy, and supportive therapy is the only thing that helps. Because of the negative views of trans people, we’re often rejected from our family and friends. There are many states and countries that don’t legally protect trans people’s rights to employment, housing, medical care, education, or right to live without harassment, violence, or being murdered. So, yeah … I was terrified. But, by the time I came out to the metal scene, I had already come out to my friends, family, and co-workers. So, I already had a huge support system. I’m extremely fortunate to be surrounded by some of the most honest, sincere, and kind people I could ever hope for. They help me to thrive, in one way or another, everyday. Since you’ve shared your story, have you heard from other people in the scene who are going through similar struggles? Marissa: Yes! I’ve heard from a number of metalheads who are trans. They vary widely from people who are struggling in the closet with a trans identity, or completely out. I find it extremely touching that they see my existence as positive influence in their lives. Again… I’m extremely fortunate. So back to the band. How was the experience on the Decibel tour with CANNIBAL CORPSE, and NAPALM DEATH? Marissa: AMAZING!!! We had such an amazing time! I personally can’t thank Albert (Mudrian EIC Decibel Magazine) enough for giving Cretin the opportunity to go on our first tour. and to be part of such a huge bill. The experience was mindblowing! We were all really sad when our last show was over and it was time to go home. We got to spend a lot of time with the Immolation guys, who were so welcoming, and told great stories. One of their cousins came out to the Portland show and brought homemade Italian food that was to die for! We also spent a lot of time with the guys from Napalm Death who we really get along with. Seeing Barney screaming his brains out every night, had a huge impact on me. There’s so much unique performance in his vocals. He influenced me a lot. I tried to bring some of his style into the vocals on our new album. Will we see you touring Europe for “Stranger“ as well? Marissa: We would love to have the chance to tour Europe. We’re talking about the idea of touring. There’s a lot for us to consider when planning for touring. As important as the band is to us, it’s really more of an indulgence than a primary responsibility. I suppose that’s not a very exciting way to end an interview… But, it means that when we do come together and make something happen, we’re really motivated and it becomes a special moment. (BG)
Of course CRETIN is also known for Marissa being a transgender woman. When you first went public were you scared about how it would be received, or did you have faith that the metal community would be accepting? Marissa: Honestly, I was terrified with every step of my transition. Whether it was coming out to myself, my family, friends, and co-workers. Trans people are one of the most marginalized groups of people in the world. We’re regularly denied basic human dignity on all levels. A lot of people immediately dismiss our identities as a delusion that needs to be fixed with therapy, without realizing that people usually can’t legally transition METÄLEN#8 26
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`Promulgation of the fall` is one the highlights so far this year. How is the response so far? The response has been great as far as we can tell, amazing reviews, lots of requests for shows and lots of copies of the album moved. However it‘s a bit disappointing for us to read in almost every review that we sound like INCANTATION to be honest. We definitely feel that we have our own identity, even if we have a few parts that have this dense suffocating atmosphere which is usually connected with INCANTATION, but overall our music is much much more than that.
DEAD CONGREGATION (gre)
How was the recording and writing process? Very smooth! Writing is easy as long as you feel inspired to create, sometimes you have long gaps between creative streams but once you‘re in the mood to compose a song everything comes together quite effortlessly. The recording went really well too, we had a perfect communication with the sound engineer and the studio had great equipment. We took our own gear in the studio and managed to get our sound and produce the album as we wanted without having to make tons of adjustments. Any concept for the artwork or was it done before you got a title for the album? The artwork was created with some direction from us, mostly for the general vibe that we wanted to have on the cover. We sent the artist a demo song, the lyrics from all the songs, the title of the album and told him we wanted to have a decadent feel, similar to Larry Carroll‘s work for early SLAYER albums. After that we gave him artistic freedom to interpret our vision as he preferred, we didn‘t want to limit him as an artist, we just wanted to give him some direction. The final result is perfect, he totally captured what we were going for! You also started Martyrdoom Productions, the bands own label. What was the intention to do it and release your new album your own? We just wanted to have the rights for our own material and have complete freedom in everything involving the release of the album. Particularly the release date! We couldn‘t trust any of the big labels to stay silent until the last minute, or not promote the album with marketing campaigns that don‘t fit DEAD CONGREGATION‘s profile. We gave license to Profound Lore to release the CD in the USA and Norma Evangelium Diaboli did the LP, maybe we don‘t get as much attention as we would if we signed to a big label but at least we know that we will always be in charge of our own material. Will there be any other bands on the label as well or just DEAD CONGREGATION? No one knows. DEAD CONGREGATION are hailing from Greece. How is the scene over there at the moment, and the financial situation with living etc.? The scene is quite active, a lot more bands than ten years ago. The country‘s economy is totally fucked and the lower classes really suffer but when it comes to Heavy Metal music you never needed much money to get started. Just a lot of passion and dedication. For sure DEAD CONGREGATION got its own sound, but how much have you been influenced by bands like IMMOLATION, INCANTATION, ANGELCORPSE? We never aimed to sound like a specific band, we just have our own vision of how Death Metal must sound and when we compose music this is what comes out naturally to us. However, we‘ve been listening to all those bands that you mentioned (and many more) since their beginning, I suppose they all influence us subconsciously somehow. Is it true you sold over 10.000 copies of your debut album `Graves of the archangels´? Metal Archives states the album was “limited to 7.000“ copies. The album was never limited so Metal Archives is incorrect. So far the album has sold 7000 CDs, 2.200 LPs (I think) and about 600 tapes and it‘s completely out of stock from everywhere since we had some disagreements with our previous label so now it‘s temporarily out of press. It will definitely be re-issued soon though. (M) FOLLOW METÄLEN FANZINE NOW ON FACEBOOK.COM/METALENZINE AND TWITTER.COM/METALENZINE
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Tyranny enThroned (USa)
Hi! Please introduce yourself, tell me what you do in TYRANNY ENTHRONED, and how long the band has been together … Tell us the brief history of your band … TYRANNY ENTHRONED was formed in 2006 as a solo project, and turned to a full band in 2007. Consisting of founder Winston Alvarez, Anthony George, Jesse McCoy and Dane Diener. Multiple line-up changes happened throughout the years until now we have Jesse McCoy (vocals/guitar), Anthony George (bass), Steve Lee (drums), and Gabe Price (live guitar). Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend? The band is based in St. Louis / Missouri in the middle of the bible belt. Surprisingly, there are a handful of good Metal bands in the area. St. Louis being a very Punk Rock town, there are less extreme Metal bands. Bands like XAEMORA, BASTARD, and BLACK FAST stand out in the scene. What type of band are you? TYRANNY ENTHRONED is a blackened Death Metal band if you place us in a sub-genre. We have influences ranging from old school Death Metal and second wave Black Metal. We have always liked the hybrid genres incorporating multiple sub-genres and creating something dark yet crushing. Why did you want to name the band TYRANNY ENTHRONED? What does it symbolize and represent for the band? TYRANNY ENTHRONED was coined with the idea that man has and always will, thirst for power and control. It is not if someone will abuse their power, it is a question of when. Who are your musical and non-musical influences? Musically it ranges from member to member. Most of us have a Death Metal background. It was in the last five to six years many of us got really into Black Metal. EMPEROR sticks out for me for being innovative musically and creating a new way of playing a usually simplistic genre. Most non music influences come from people tied to religion or governments that aim to control their ci-
tizens. Sadly, there are so many people like this in the world, we could spend an entire life pointing out their tyranny and we‘d still have not scratched the surface. What are your songs about? What specific themes do they cover? Our songs lyrically are based on anti-theism, anti-religion, and personal freedom. What should fans/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it? There are thousands of Metal bands out there. It can seem frightening as a musician to know you are in competition with so many people that want the same thing as you. To push forward, TYRANNY ENTHRONED has pushed as hard as possible on our own. Our first album was funded completely by the band in the beginning. We have begun touring all self funded. If there is opportunity, we stop at nothing. What plans do you have for the near future as a band? Continue to write and tour. We have a few things lined up in the future for the U.S. and plans down the line for things overseas. (BG)
InFeSTed enTraILS (aUS)
Hi! Please introduce yourself, tell me what you do in I.E., and how long the band has been together …Tell us the brief history of your band … This is Matt Frame (guitars), Matt Budge (drums) Jordan Giblett (vocals) and Lyndon Southwell (guitars) from INFESTED ENTRAILS. We formed in the small Australian town of Orange because it is boring, there is nothing to do and we all like and play Death Metal. We also like to get drunk and the two things fit together rather nicely. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend? We are based in Orange, NSW, Australia. Our local music scene is pretty shit. Lots of covers bands and a few Metal bands but not many local shows for them to play. ASCENDANCE are a good local band who we‘ve played with a couple of times. What type of band are you? We are a Death Metal band but we just like to play good, groovy, brutal riffs. We don‘t have many bells and whistles, we just play solid Death Metal that we think sounds good. Why did you want to name the band INFESTED ENTRAILS? What does it symbolize and represent for the band? Lyndon named the band INFESTED ENTRAILS. He just thought it sounded brutal and most of our lyrics are gore inspired so it fits the general lyrical theme.
Who are your musical and non-musical influences? Our musical influences are mainly old school Death Metal. CANNIBAL CORPSE, CARCASS, MORBID ANGEL, DYING FETUS. We have a much broader range of influences though from early Black Metal like EMPEROR through to Hard Rock like AC/DC. We are also all big fans of the local Aussie scene. Bands like DAMAGED, ASTRIAAL, DESTRÖYER666 and BLOOD DUSTER. Our non musical influences are usually alcohol and weed combined with a mixture of horror/gore films and other concoctions of drugs/ pornography. For his mothers sake Matt Frame does not indulge in said activities (maybe a snifter of well-aged port on a cool Sunday morn‘). What are your songs about? What specific themes do they cover? Most of our songs are a mixture of Gore and rape themes with a huge black comedy aspect. We generally just try to make each other laugh with sick shit and it leads to lyrical material. What should fans/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it? Hopefully the music will speak for itself. We can‘t really sell it beyond saying that we all think it‘s fucking awesome and we hope others do too. If you‘re a fan of catchy riffs, brutal Death Metal or just Metal in general we think you‘ll enjoy our stuff. What plans do you have for the near future as a band? We plan to record another EP in the near future and hope to do a shitload of shows to support the release of our upcoming album ‚Defiling a piece of the Deceased‘. (BG) The European release for `Defiling a piece of the deceased’ is out Dec. 15, via Grindhouse Music / Metal Music Austria
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BROKEN HOPE (usa) What was your first gig? When I was in high school, the first band I ever formed was called, DECIMATION (also with original BROKEN HOPE vocalist, Joe Ptacek). We wrote like, 4 original songs and then got an opportunity to play a birthday party at a VFW Legion Hall in Antioch, Illinois. We played with a few other bands …when we went on, we played 2 songs and then I broke a guitar string…and then the police came and shut down the party/show! This was technically my “first gig.” Which is the worst gig you´ve ever played, where and why? We headlined a show in Hollywood, California in back 1995 that went horribly wrong. We were flown out to do this concert and had a rented van. We got to the venue and someone in the band ended up locking our van keys AND all of our gear inside the van! It took hours for us to get a replacement key and get all of our gear. Because of this, we literally set up minutes before our scheduled showtime … So, we never got a soundcheck, never got our production set up, and when we played, it sounded like shit! It was really embarrassing and the morale went down the tubes. Also, all these music industry people were there from our label and other labels, etc. It wasn’t a good time. We should’ve just smashed a van window and got our gear out … What´s the worst thing that can go wrong at a gig as a band? PA problems and power problems are the worst things for a gig in my experience. Also, breaking strings and shit like that doesn’t help. At this point in our career, BROKEN HOPE pays a professional crew of technicians, soundmen, and roadies to ensure that we don’t have any problems and quickly manage the bad things that might pop-up. Who are the best live band you´ve ever seen, where and when? I’ve seen many great concerts, but one of the “best” that immediately comes to mind is the SLAYER concert on August 17th, 1996 at Metro in Chicago, IL. (capacity 1,100). This was one of their concerts on their “Undisputed Attitude” tour, and on this particular tour, SLAYER were only playing “small and intimate” venues - on purpose - to show everyone that they didn’t forget where they came from. Anyway, I was fortunate enough to get both a ticket and VIP pass for this concert and I was able to watch SLAYER from a balcony, only 20 feet above Jeff Hanneman! But what makes this concert extra special is the fact that SLAYER played a super-long-set that covered tons of songs from ALL their albums at the time. Many old and beloved songs we rarely hear from their catalog. They didn’t disappoint, and it was truly awesome. Who is your favorite person to watch on stage? Glen Benton is probably my all-time favorite. No one delivers onstage banter like Glen… Sometimes it’s shocking, most of the time it’s hilarious. No matter what, Glen always entertains and there’s no one like him. That said, it’s important that I mention that Peter Steele, Dimebag Darrell and Phil Anselmo had all given me my money’s worth when they performed - all very entertaining to watch. Which band (or era of specific band) do you wish you´d seen? If I may, I’d like to choose two bands, as their specific eras all mean a lot to me, and I missed out on them: 1. 70’s-era LYNYRD SKYNYRD (one of the greatest lineups ever, one of my favorite bands of all time, and to have seen, or even meet Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, Steve Gaines, and Billy Powell would have been epic). 2. ‘Master of Puppets‘ era METALLICA (I so wish I could’ve seen and met the great Cliff Burton. He’s a god to me). For playing, which is best, too much beer or too little beer? For me, too little beer is best! This is because I get drunk fairly easy, and I never want to play a BROKEN HOPE concert drunk or even buzzed. It’s important that I deliver the best show possible for the fans. After the show, it’s party time!
If you could join any band onstage for a song, who would it be? And which song? I’d LOVE to join METALLICA on stage and play the song, “RIDE THE LIGHNING” with them. That would be an absolute dream come true! The first album I bought was … I think it was THE CARS debut album in like, 1980. The album I wish I´d made is … METALLICA “Ride the Lightning”. The record that broke my heart is … Hmmmm … probably NAPLAM DEATH’s “Fear, emptiness, despair.” It was just a total let down. That said, ND have certainly made up for “FED” ten times over since then. I love ‘em to death!!! The album I´d want to be remembered for is … Our “The bowels of repugnance” album as it’s a favorite of mine for many personal reasons, and for extreme Wagner reasons. “Omen of Disease” is worth mentioning as it also represents my best work to-date, and it showed the world that I overcame the death of a loved band member and the many years away from the industry. I returned with a monster of an album. The album I break the speed limit to is … TERRORIZER’s “World downfall” The best album artwork is … That’s a hard question! Haha! Off the top of my head, I’d say that SLAYER’s “Reign in blood” album artwork is the best because it invoked fear in me when I first saw it, and also, to this day it really looks like a snapshot was taken inside some level of hell. The album I´d want played at my funeral is … Well, I often fancied that I’d have a compilation of songs I liked played at my funeral. But to your specific question, I’m not sure if I can pick a perfect funeral album for myself, but I’ll say that something a long the “vibe” of say, Peter Murphy´s “Cut you up” would be perfect. I want people to cry at my funeral. Hell, I want people to laugh, too! Haha!
No one will believe I own a copy of … BRITNEY SPEARS “Femme fatal” album. What´s the most damage you´ve ever seen inflicted at a gig? I saw a kid get his entire forehead cut open during our show. I’ve The album that gets me ready for love is … seen fans ram their heads through drywall during our concerts. Right now it’s BRODY DALLE’s new album, “Diploid love.” I love But the WORST damage that ever happened during a BROKEN her sexy fucking voice! HOPE concert was when our beloved fan Julio Serrano got his throat slashed by a maniac in El Paso last October (2013). You Thanx Metälen Fanzine for the interview and support! All the can find the news report here: http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/ best, Jeremy & BROKEN HOPE! (M) victim-of-box-cutter-attack-at-broken-hope-concert-is-doing-well/ METÄLEN#8 30 FOLLOW METÄLEN FANZINE NOW ON FACEBOOK.COM/METALENZINE AND TWITTER.COM/METALENZINE
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