"Milfits" issue 1

MAY 2013 I ISSUE 1

I ACRANIA I BEHEADED I INFECTED FLESH I LYCANTHIA I NERVECELL I I OCEANS OF SLUMBER I REVEL IN FLESH I STAGNANT WATERS I SYMBOLYC I

CONTENTS

MILFITS'ZINE INSIDE

COVERSTORY EDITOR'SLETTER

INTERVIEWS 3 REIGN OF VENGEANCE

6 ACRANIA

8 BEHEADED

11 INFECTED FLESH

13 LYCANTHIA

15 NERVECELL

18 OCEANS OF SLUMBER

20 REVEL IN FLESH

22 STAGNANT WATERS

24 SYMBOLYC

REVIEWS FROM PAGE 26 TO PAGE 53

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Arizona death maniacs “Reign Of Vengeance” got the cover spotlight on “Milfits” issue #1.

The band has released two EPs ("Revenge By Bloodshed" and "The Final Solution; The Final Rebellion") and one full­length album (“Disemboweling Swine”) so far. “Reign Of Vengeance” is not the kind of band that engages in the conventional nature of metal.

Their sound is hard to pinpoint. In this regard, take a look at page 47 where band's latest release has been reviewed. I had a chance to speak to Marshall "Fucking" Beck, the outspoken frontman behind this project, who is also a published author. To get an inside look at what went into the backyard of this unconventional band, check out at page 3 the interview I made with multi­faced artist Marshall "Fucking" Beck.

Back scenary photography: Romina Tripaldi

Hail!

Something like twenty years have passed since my last words written on a 'zine page.

It was time when I was co­ editor of “Koito” 'zine (together with Max Cocco and Xeb Leoni), back in early 90's. I didn't think it would be happen again. Life has brought me outside from the frontline for a while, although I have never stopped to follow extreme metal music. Recently, I started to be nostalgic of the early days when 'zines were printed and spreaded worldwide by mail. Even if a traditional printed 'zine looks less fancy than a webzine, even if it's not possible to update instantly what happen in the underground scene nowadays...I think the passion and dedication are here.

They're still here! Before leaving you to read issue #1, I would like to thank my wife and daughter for patience, and all the artists and bands, the labels and all the promotional people who have contacted me and submitted items for review, without these dedicated people I wouldn’t be here.

Rossano Lattanzio Contact Information: milfits@gmail.com Follow me: facebook:Milfits­extreme metal­zine twitter: @Milfits_Zine issuu: /Milfits May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

REIGN OF VENGEANCE

What were the initial intentions and goals in forming “Reign of Vengeance”? Have they changed during time?

The initial goals of “Reign of Vengeance” were to simply release one cd and then be done with the project. It started as a side project but has since become and developed into something much more serious.

Looking back at "Disemboweling Swine", are you still satisfied with how it turned out?

For what “Disemboweling Swine” was, I am still very satisfied with the way it turned out.

We were signed to one of the largest distributors of Indie Horror movies at the time and I think that the music, lyrics, and artwork portrayed that extremely well. I think that it is still the most thoroughly Brutal album that May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

I’ve heard while still maintaining a high level of musicianship and variety.

“The Final Solution; The Final Rebellion” is overwhelming and extremely enjoyable.

Where, when and how did the EP begin to take form?

The Ep and its concept first began when I was made aware of certain esoteric organizations as well as the inner workings of the Elite within these organizations. My published book had caught THE EYE of a few individuals that felt as if it demonstrated something “extra”. At the time, I had no idea what they were talking about. But, now that I am very familiar with the subject matter, I know exactly why this book stuck out to them. After learning much about these organizations in relation to their religion, their goals, and their beliefs it seemed 3

REIGN OF VENGEANCE best to apply this wisdom musically and give them the proper REIGN OF VENGEANCE blood bath ritual. I contacted Tim and told him about the concept and we began the writing process immediately. James and Doug joined us for this Ep after the initial guitar tracks were completed. Overall, each member of the band is extremely satisfied with the final product.

That matters more to us than anything else.

What lyrical or musical themes did “Reign of Vengeance” want to embrace on “The Final Solution; The Final Rebellion” that may have not been previously accomplished?

We have always doused our lyrics in plenty of blood, guts and gore.

However, “The Final Solution ; The Final Rebellion” is without any underlying humour and really has no sexual themes, at all. It deals with real organizations, real life scenarios, and the brooding class warfare that is currently lingering within the folds of everyone’s mind that few are willing talk about publicly. There will never be a more massively heavy album lyrically. For the way in which the world truly works currently, it is not possible.

Do you find difference in writing lyrics for “Reign of Vengeance” compared to “Rebirth”?

Yes. The difference is night and day, it is like comparing an owl to a hawk.

Does “Reign of Vengeance” represent your main focus? Are “Rebirth” or your solo stuff (as author, producer, etc) going to be on the back burner for a while? In general, how difficult is it to balance being in different bands and solo stuff?

Both “Reign of Vengeance” and “Rebirth” are currently the main focus. The day that we finished with this “Reign of Vengeance” album, Tim and I began writing the “Rebirth” album. The toughest transition is the mental 4

aspect, to jump from one sort of mentality back into the other. “Reign of Vengeance” is like the destroying Tyrant while “Rebirth” could be mentally alchemic of the labourers that rebuild what has been or should have been destroyed. I am currently working on two books right now. One is a novel and the other a short collection of children’s horror stories.

It has been said “He who owns the youth, owns the future.” As for producing and booking shows, those are more or less focuses to do something when I’m not busy making music or writing. Aside from music, writing, working out, and reading I’m not quite sure what else I enjoy anymore. After having slept with a ridiculous amount of women, spent so many mornings hung over, taken or experimented with plenty of drugs­ all of that shit becomes extremely boring after a while if an individual has any extra mental capacity beyond the physical plane and doesn’t get sucked into their potential pit falls.

I see your as a fairly unconventional band in that you do things (artwork, lyrics, management, etc) very much on your own terms. Could you describe the positive and negative aspects of such a “hands­on” approach?

The positive is that you and the band can do whatever you want to do whenever you want to do so. You can sound how you want, look how you want, release albums when you want, and make the art look like you want. Its complete and total control without some fucking parasite telling you to sound, look, act, and be like every other band out there that is currently turning them a profit. I can guarantee you that we would not have been able to release this EP with another label. They would have told us to “tone it down” for the sake of sales and mass appeal. The negative approach is that the “industry” people HATE you and your band for not abiding by their system. It makes sense for May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

them to hate you as well as every bit of success that you achieve without them. By simply being successful without them an individual is then showing the world that all of THIS can be done without “industry” people. That threatens the income of the “industry” people, their livelihoods, etc.

Therefore, any success that a person has or a band has without them makes the “industry” look less and less important/useful/necessary.

I have come to terms with the fact that the industry does NOT like me or my bands and that there are plenty of people out there that will do what they can in order to ensure my failure and undermine every one of our successes as much as possible. Unfortunately for these pathetic morons, WE are already successful. I am successful. People with much more POWER, influence, and intelligence than the majority of the “industry” people will ever have­ have already embraced me, my works, and my bands. ▲ What are some of the most rewarding aspects of creating music?

What are some of the most challenging?

A rewarding aspect would be the ability to channel the inner workings of one’s mind and turn them into something that even the most common moron can then understand simply by listening to and engaging in the atmosphere of the music.

If people are unable to grab certain concepts mentally, they will still be able to feel them emotionally through the musical atmosphere. Music is its own universal language. To be able to talk and effectively communicate within that language is extremely rewarding and well worth the years of effort that it takes to learn how to effectively do so. In terms of creating music, there is no challenge as the music practically writes itself these days. It is dealing with the “industry” that is the challenge.

What actually decides, that some bands do get recognized and others don’t. Have you ever thought about this issue?

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

REIGN OF VENGEANCE Having put together well over 700 shows myself, I can now spend time with a band and within 30 seconds know when, how, and why they will break up or if they will be successful in accomplishing their goals. If you have a shitty work ethic, then quit. It is also wise to treat your allies with respect and gratitude while destroying your adversaries.

Most bands and especially most people have a hard time grasping that concept. I’ve noticed with many local bands that there are far too many of them that think if they pick up a guitar 15 minutes a day and go to band practice twice a week that this will automatically make them an international rock star. They then get angry when they wake up the next day and people don’t recognize them as they walk down the street. Ha! Another rule: if you aren’t making the promoter or bar owner money, especially if you are costing them money, then don’t piss them off with your bullshit attitude.

Most of what I’ve said above is “common sense”­ which unfortunately is far from common. That phrase should be removed from the English language as it does not make any sense.

Anyway, there are many copy­cat bands going around the metal scene. Does it disappoint you that bands cannot come up with their own ideas?

Of course. In the beginning “copy­cat” is usually how bands or artists learn the craft.

If they aren’t willing to progress and adapt past that phase then they will surely meet their own demise. This problem tends to take care of itself. It is like Darwinism, but in music.

What are your upcoming band/artistic plans?

Make music, write, record, tour, rid the world of illogical people, HATE, KILL, and incite the full Revolution of Horus’s Aeon.

Thanks Marshall! Anything else you’d like to mention?

Yes. ~▲~ 5

ACRANIA

U.K. death metal act “Acrania” (not to be confused with the Mexican group of the same name) has only been around since July 2012, but they have already put out good releases so far. The band’s first release was a split two track EP, “Galactic Infections”, with American grinders “Blue Waffle”. Soon after, they have made available their first single: “A Trophy of Corporate Disfigurement (Feat. Kevin from “Pathology”). Out for free download on September and November 2012, respectively, the two tracks got a huge underground spread.

After that, “Acrania” released a five­tracks EP, “The Beginning of the End ”, on January 2013, that went to number one on the "Bandcamp" metal charts. Here is a brief interview I made with guitarist Jack Simmons before the release of “The Beginning of the End ” EP. First of all, thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions. Can you describe what the band sounds like for anyone not familiar with your music?

You're welcome! Thanks for taking the time to write these questions and for your interest in the band. We are a death metal band based in and around london, UK. We're trying to get more people into this sort of music again in the UK. There's a Progressive Death/Jazz metal band formed in Mexico that share with you the “Acrania” name. Do you think this may represent a problem for the band?

We do slightly feel that we should of researched the name a little better while choosing it but we liked the name so much and felt it was something a little different but by the time we found it was too late and would of wasted the effort we had already put into the social networking sites etc.

The track “Susceptible to Retinal Based 6

Reprogrammability” has recently been released online as two­track digital split album with “Blu Waffle”. What's the significance of the title? How have the fans liked this song?

The track title is very significant for the song, especially where the lyrics are concerned as its about how people let TV just control them and how they believe everything they see on TV, no matter how absurd or untrue it might be.

What I like the best is the variety in which this song is written. What happens during the writing for a new “Acrania” song?

The two tracks we've released so far have been a combination of myself and our old guitarist Will Shaw. But we have really stepped our game up on these new tracks (on the EP) and as well as future releases. It has that the sound and feel from the other tracks but we're so happy with how they turned out. So really the writing process is just me sitting down with a guitar for May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

a few hours until something decent is done!

Who did the artwork for the split release “Galactic Infections”? It seems like a Sci­ Fi cover. Is there a meaning behind it?

The artwork was handled by “Sarafin Concepts” (check out their Facebook page, amazing artist!) But no there isn't a real meaning, we just love the old doom style/sci­fi games and felt that Sarafin would of executed that so well.

Are you going to release online any more songs?

We have our EP dropping january 28 th as well as a new track from that in the next couple of weeks.

How do your songs play out live, compared to the studio?

We've tried really hard to get everything as tight live, and we feel we have already done a very good job of that in such a short space of time.

What has been your favorite show to date with the band?

We are yet to play a show! (Oops, I didn't realize how young are you. Ed.) Our first show will be on our UK/EU tour with “Cerebral Bore” at the end of january though.

What kind of touring is the band looking to do next?

We have this 10 date tour with “Cerebral Bore” (plus “Warpath” from Ireland and “Cemtex” from UK. Ed) coming up and then a small break to keep writing our next release before going on another UK tour in May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

ACRANIA May. With a great band from the UK as well, which hasn't been announced yet but we're really stoked to be on it!

Do you prefer a live lineup with bands all in a similar style or with bands with different style?

As a fan, I do prefer the line up to be varied but it does depend on that bands. As long as the bands are good and the turn out is great then any show is killer really!

How do you see the band in the current time and where do you think you could go from here?

Right now we are looking at getting our debut EP out and just touring/worki ng hard on promoting ourselves and really getting our name out there to people.

We will be working on a full length for early 2014 as well as much more touring to happen.

Is there anything else you would like to say?

Thank you to yourself and to all the fans that have already bought our single, a shirt or just said some kind words. Really awesome to see and keeps us going! Cheers!

"Acrania" online: www.facebook.com/Acraniauk www.acrania.bigcartel.com jack_simmons1@hotmail.co.uk

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BEHEADED

The latest release from the long­running Malta­based death metallers “Beheaded” is "Never To Dawn" ("Unique Leader" Records, 2012). The band has a couple new members since their last album, with guitarist Robert Agius and vocalist Frank Calleja joining “Beheaded” within the recent years. I caught up with front­growler Frank, to get the inside scoop on "Never To Dawn" release.

What was the band doing in the eight years leading up to this “Never to Dawn” album release?

Following the release of “Ominous Bloodline” in 2005 and some touring + shows to promote the album the band went in somewhat a hiatus for a few years due to the departure of members including long time member and main songwriter for “Ominous Bloodline” Omar Grech for personal reasons. The band attempted to regroup in 2008 with various new musicians doing a European Tour and appearing in festivals such as “Brutal Assault & Death Feast” Open Air however the issue of a steady line up was still not settled. In 2009 Omar joined “Beheaded” again drafting me in on vocals since we had played together since 2006 in another band called “Slit” and since than work has been steady and constantly progressing to the better. Live shows, tours and festivals appearances consolidated the band's strength and we started working on new songs which eventually went into the release of our new album “Never To Dawn” in November 2012.

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Do you think it was a benefit for the band to wait so long before going into the recording studio for the new album?

The long wait wasn't one which was planned but dictated by different circumstances which are part and parcel of the difficulties any band can face, especially when coming from an island such as Malta. Finding dedicated musicians who are into death metal is no easy feat. I believe that the somewhat long “break” has brought good and bad things to the band. Obviously it stopped the momentum “Beheaded” had gained with the release of “Ominous Bloodline” but at the same time a certain anticipation and curiosity was created for the successor of OB especially since the album had been so well received. The important thing is that “Beheaded” managed to pull through the hard times and come back with what the band itself believes is the strongest line up and best release to date.

When were the tracks for “Never to Dawn” written and what does the band’s writing process usually look like?

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

We started writing the tracks as soon as the band regrouped and after playing a few live shows so I would say circa 2010. We did not want to rush or force things but compose and write what felt natural at the right time. In most cases songwriting starts with Omar bringing some riffs to the rehearsal room, drum and raw vocal patterns are added to give the song a skeleton structure which is then polished up and completed once the vocal lines and lyrics are done.

Music for “Never to Dawn” was recorded at “Temple Studios” in Malta while vocals were recorded at “16th Cellar Studio” in Rome with producer Stefano Morabito.What were recording like?

This was one of the reasons the release took a bit longer than expected.

Recording for the album started in 2010 with a first session at “Temple studios” and 2nd session later on. The album was mixed and mastered also at “Temple Studios” however we felt that the final product did not pay justice to the music, which is why we decided to work with Stefano Morabito to record the vocals from scratch at “16th Cellar Studios” in Rome, Italy and let him handle the final mix and master of the album.

Did the band have any definitive goals before the recording process began for this album?

As I hinted earlier, the objective was always to write an album that felt natural to us without forcing things in one direction or another. Truly the only thing we aimed for is to write a death metal album. Without necessarily it an old school, or modern, or brutal, or technical, or ground breakingly original album, but an album that reflects “Beheaded's” character throughout the band's 20 plus years of existence. A death metal album, and I am very confident we have succeeded in doing so.

Were you more inspired by the past or did you check out what was happening in the current May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

BEHEADED

underground metal scene?

There is a lot of 'old school' in “Never To Dawn” but yet it is not an old school death metal album.

We did want to bring something of the past especially from the 90's but at the same time not get stuck in some sort of nostalgic frenzy. I cannot say that I like most modern death metal bands to be honest but still I think it is important to stay relevant in the spectrum of what is going on in the scene. One way or another you can't help but notice what is happening around you if you are involved but ultimately I think it's important to stick to your guns and do your thing.

All songs follow a common concept, the water element. Does it reflect “Beheaded's” Maltese origins?

“Never To Dawn” is a loose concept album which means there is a connecting theme in all the songs. The concept rotates around the element of water which is a source of all life and yet possibly the greatest destructive force known to man.

Being from Malta which is an island, the idea of water surrounding you is something we can connect to on a more tangible level. The way I have written the lyrics for the songs is vaguely similar to a way a painter creates his work. I use words to describe an environment and create a setting in which the listener/reader can be taken to and use his/her imagination to freely roam and discover. In this case “Never To Dawn” depicts a surreal world, vaguely inspired by the myth of Atlantis in which a great civilization is destroyed by water but still living, trapped in a surreal state of life/death under the delusion of achieving the lost greatness. The title itself “Never To Dawn” projects the idea of a sun, a life, a hope which will never come again. I must say on a personal note that writing the lyrics and working on the concept for this album has been very challenging but very rewarding on an artistic and creative level. I do believe that the way the music, the theme, the song titles, the lyrics and the artwork 9

BEHEADED have been combined to work together can take the listener somewhere. That as a listener is something I personally strive for in an album, which is why I'm very pleased with this effort.

Are there any particular moments on this album that you are proud of when you step back and look at the album?

I think the album culminates it's full potential in the last part of the song “The Ancient Acumen” …the riffs, the leads, the harmonies and the voice repeating ''DEATH WAS INSCRIBED BY THE ANCIENT ACUMEN'' create an atmosphere which gives the album a very dramatic closure truly reflecting what “Never To Dawn” is all about.

What’s your favorite of the new songs to play live?

If I had to pick two I'd probably go for “Lament of a sordid god” and “Dead Silence” but that doesn't mean they're my favorite tracks off the album.

What do you think of '90s metal bands reforming? Do you see passion, money (although there aren't so much around) or something else behind this trend?

I'm sure every situation is different but there is a little bit of all the things you have mentioned. For sure many of the musicians from the reforming bands of the 90's are grown men and more capable of handling all the ups and downs of being in a band more wisely also vis­a­vie the music industry, business and labels. The fact that there is a demand for old school bands to reform makes it more logistically and financially viable in practical terms. Possibly there is a buck or two for grabs yes, but definitely no amount of money which would drive one to do it for the sole purpose being financial especially in this day and age.

Do you think the metal scene is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse then it has been in previous years?

Without wanting to sound too generic or some kind of nostalgic old school 'elitist'

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because I'm not, but when it comes to death metal I'm not a big fan of many of the modern bands. I'm not completely sure what the reason is exactly because musically I see very capable musicians playing good extreme music but somehow I find it hard to connect to their music in the same way I connect to the death metal I'm head over heels into, the more classic stuff “Deicide”, “Malevolent Creation”, “Death”, “Immolation”, “Suffocation”, “Pyrexia”, “Autopsy”, “Dismember” etc.

Maybe because music sometimes can be like a good wine, matured in time. Currently the best “emerging” death metal in my opinion is coming from Italy with bands such as “Hour of Penance”, “Fleshgod Apocalypse”, “Hideous Divinity”, “Antropofagus”. They have the intensity, personality and character which I look for in death metal. Wether the metal scene is now getting better, worse or the same is partly subjective but above all I think the scenario is completely different now as to what it was in the 90's or in any other period of time for that reason. The situations for bands and musicians are not alike and cannot be really compared. I think that bands nowadays have less personality then before but that is a normal thing when one considers how much extreme music has evolved and 'perfected' itself in terms of sound, style, genre defining etc.

Is there anything you have/want to add?

Thanks a lot for the time and space you have given “Beheaded” for this interview. For anyone who wants to keep updated on what's going on check our page facebook.com/BeheadedMT. Hail Death Metal!

"Beheaded" online: www.myspace.com/BeheadedMT www.twitter.com/BeheadedMT www.youtube.com/BeheadedMT store.beheaded.eu www.reverbnation.com/Beheaded beheaded.deathmetal@gmail.com May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

INFECTED FLESH

“Infected Flesh”, a brutal death metal band from Catalonia, was formed on 1997. After the first full length CD, “Anthropophagical Devourment”, recorded on 1999, the band was dissolved due to internal issues. Six years after the dissolution, Roger Borrull decided to refound the band alone. “Infected Flesh”, as a one man band, released, through “Hecatombe Records”, its second full length CD entitled "The ascension of the abysmal aberration". By 2010, Seth van de Loo, drummer for Dutch brutal death metal act “Severe Torture”, started collaborating with “Infected Flesh”. The brand new album of “Infected Flesh” it’s called “Concatenation of Severe Infections”, out for “Comatose Music” on December 2012. The album features Seth, on drums and a bunch of guest (in)famous vocalists like Robbert K. (“Disavowed”), Dennis (“Severe Torture”), Joost (“Cliteater”), Roi (“Haemophagia”), Albert & Jofre (“Pesta Porcina”), Regius (“Nemesis Aeterna”). An onslaught of blasting drums, putrid guitar riffs and guttural vocals is what you can find on this latest album. This is an interview I made with Roger, the mastermind behind this pungent band.

Hi Roger, what is the main reason that made you decide to refound the band alone, after the dissolution some years ago?

Hi Rossano. I started jamming alone and collecting some ideas. When I had already a few songs my idea was, initially, to go and look for other musicians. However, by then, I was living in a pretty remote place and also I could not find any reliable musicians around. Once I realized that I actually could play the songs alone jamming over the drum machine then I May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

decided to move forward alone.

The drummer Seth van de Loo (“Severe Torture”) joined your band. How is it going between you and Seth? Will there be any stable adding members next?

It is going great. It’s been a while we are working together. It is easy and fun to work with Seth and we feel our cooperation is bringing up lots of ideas and delivering pretty insane musical results.

I feel it's natural to ask about your latest 11

INFECTED FLESH offering “Concatenation of Severe Infections”. How was the fanbase response so far?

It is awesome so far. We keep getting many support messages and feels like a lot of people is digging and enjoying this new release.

“Concatenation of Severe Infections” is hosting several guest vocal performances.

How did you go about choosing them, and how did that change the way the album was recorded?

We visualized the vocal patterns for every track, we worked out some ideas and then we chose what vocalists could work better on every track.

The idea was that each guest could add some fresh hints of his own vocal style giving the song some additional feeling of insanity.

I consider “Inoculation” the most groovy and experimental song of “Concatenation of Severe Infections”. What types of emotions do you hope to express on this track? Will there be more songs like this in future?

“Inoculation” is a rare one, indeed. The song is divided in two parts. The first part, the “pre­ inoculation”, is slower and heavier, pretty dark...I already had some draft lyrics when started writing that part, so reading the lyrics helped me to dive in a world of twisted, dark and insane impressions...how would you feel if you were going to be inoculated with some kind of infectious material?...The second part of the song is faster and we could call it the “post­ inoculation”. Once the shit starts flowing through your veins...then madness overcomes...

I don’t know if there will be more songs like this in the future...it will depend on the feelings when songwriting takes place.

Is there a certain process you go through when selecting riffs and creating noise for tracks?

Sure there is. Usually we collect many riffs and ideas, so we can choose the ones we think that fit better into the song.

How important do you think the lyrics are for “Infected Flesh”? Where do you get inspirations? Movies, dictionary about the human anatomy and microbiology, or something else?

Lyrics are important. I always like to have an idea on what the song will be about, so when you start writing riffs, you can let yourself sink into the topic of the song. Usually it goes very well, because then the music is filled with 12

energy and feelings. Sometimes I do consult some standard dictionaries just to make sure a word is correctly spelled, but I have never looked specifically to any anatomy or microbiology dictionary.

Have you ever paid attention to the gear used by the musicians that influence you?

Of course. I’m sure all musicians do it. It is good, because if you plan to invest money on gear then you can see what works and what does not work for a similar kind of musician.

What has been your biggest challenge as an artist and how have you been able to overcome it?

It was a pretty big challenge to travel to Central and Eastern Europe by car on 2008, with the car fully packed, with a good friend helping me out and with the total uncertainty on how things would work out.

However, I think the biggest artistical challenge is to have a clear idea on what you want to create and then being able to make it real. Every song is a big challenge!

What do you learn about yourself from music?

Music is like communication, you are sending a codified message for a certain group of receivers. I learned that I’m able to transform inner stuff into public stuff that is transmitted outwards throughout the music and that only very few are able to understand. And this is what makes it very important…it means that it is not for everybody, just for the chosen ones hahaha!

Also I learned that music is absolutely cathartic.

As long as I´m able to channelize my impressions through the music, my inner self improves and chills out.

What follows next for the band? Is there going to be some more shows? Are there any ideas for new songs?

More “Infected Flesh” for sure. We still don´t know about shows. Seth and I will keep working together on new pieces of sickness as soon as we find some spare time.

I will give the last words to you. Thanks for your effort.

Ciao! Thanks to you Rossano and best luck to “Milfits”!

"Infected Flesh" online: www.facebook.com/fleshinfected

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

LYCANTHIA

Hailing from Sydney, Australia, “Lycanthia” are a death­doom/gothic metal band featuring dual female vocals meshed with death vocals, that shine alongside violin, keyboards/piano's, guitars, bass, and drums arrangiaments. After the release of their highly regarded debut “Myriad”, in 2012 “Lycanthia” are back with their latest album “Oligarchy”, which is a definitive statement of a band in top form. Questions answered by Lee Tassaker (Bassist and Vocalist) are following below.

What were the band members musical backgrounds prior to the formation of “Lycanthia”? How did everyone hook up to form the band?

I’ve been doing this band, in one form or another, since I was quite young. For Lachlan and I, it was pretty much our first band ­ although we have and do play in other bands outside of that. Basically all members have joined the band at various points over time.

Most have played in metal bands, and all have a strong influence in doom, metal, classical and all things dark.

Why did you name the new album "Oligarchy"? Is there any special meaning behind it?

A number of songs that we had written for the album focus on our lack of freedom and how we are controlled by the powers that be; the May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

elite and powerful. So we decided it would be a great idea to title the album based on these concepts and to coincide it with the cover art, which is a giant creature cloaked and unseen, holding the world in the palm of its’ hands, squeezing it until it bleeds.

Are you satisfied with how the album came out? Was it a difficult album to make?

I’m completely satisfied. Definitely exceeded all our expectations, we could not be happier.

It was rather difficult to make, it took a long time to put together and we scrapped the original version of it because it wasn’t up to standard and there were too many technical issues. So initially, it was a little bit of a tedious and frustrating process, but when we eventually found the right people to work with, it was very exciting watching it all come together.

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LYCANTHIA Many of the songs on the album are quite lengthy, but very focused as well. Is that something you set out to work on, or is it a result of a natural songwriting?

Definitely natural song writing, but we never have any preconceptions of how long a song is to go for. Once the basics of a song has been laid down, we spend some time playing through it and either extend parts of remove parts, depending on what we see works best ­ but on lighter note it is really cool to write a long drawn out doom song hahahaha, it works wonders in maintaining a set mood.

Are there any leftover tracks that were recorded but won’t be appearing on the album?

There were some tracks in the works that didn’t make the album; it’s not anything to do with them not being quality enough to appear.

It was just a matter of simply how much room we have on a CD. We don’t really go in for the 75minute long albums or anything like that. So those songs weren’t on this album, they will appear on future albums though.

With such a contrast of vocals, from elegant and bright female vocals to rough and scream male vocals, the band seems to have no problem creating perfect harmony. Is this a difficult task?

No, I wouldn’t say it’s difficult. We lay something basic for starters, usually these days we do a lot of our writing in front of the computer and have very rough tracks to start with, so the idea is down, and then we can start building the layers on top of that, and trying things out.

Have you any favorite female metal singers playing around?

“Lycanthia” has never really had any female vocalists that have inspired us specifially, however we do enjoy a lot of bands with female singers. A couple of my favourites being Lisa Johansson, “ex­Draconian” and Anneke van Giersbergen, “ex­The Gathering”.

Do you consider your non­metal influences as important as your metal ones?

Yeah, we definitely take all our influences as seriously as the others. Just as an example, some of my current influences go from "Primordial" and to another extent, recent "Anathema", which these days I wouldn’t put 14

into a category of Metal ­ but I draw influence from both equally. Obviously the classical influences come out in our music.

It’s sometimes suggested bands are a product of their geography and environment, have your surroundings inspired or influenced you?

I wouldn’t go to say that, I don’t think Sydney is the worst place to live and half an hour or so in each direction I can be on the coast or I can be up in the mountains, but definitely the fact that I have to go to work every day, money, society, politics, environmental problems; but these things would affect me anywhere that I could be living in the world.

What do you think about the Australian Metal scene? Are there any bands that you specially like?

I think the Australian Metal Scene is awesome, and very underrated. Here is a number of Australian bands that I enjoy, and anybody reading this should definitely check them out: “Subterranean Disposition”, “Myraeth”, “Futility”, “The Veil”, “Okera”, “The Eternal”, “Ne Obliviscaris”, “Be’Lakor”, “Avrigus”, “Cruciform”.

What are the goals that you hope to achieve through “Lycanthia”?

Long term: more albums, and hopefully to tour overseas. Short term: we will be touring a number of dates on the Australian East Coast, with label­mate “Subterranean Disposition”.

Our album “Oligarchy” will be released in March 2013, world­wide, in a digipak format, through “Hypnotic Dirge Records”. In May we will be supporting Swiss band “Eluveitie” in Sydney, and then we will be spending some time focusing on completing songs for a new album.

Any final thoughts or comments?

I hope to see you all at one of our shows in the upcoming months, check out our website or facebook page for any Merch and information. www.lycanthia.com www.facebook.com/LycanthiaOfficial

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

NERVECELL

Formed in 2000 as one of the first extreme metal bands to emerge from Dubai, U.A.E., “Nervecell” are playing a mature and solid death/thrash metal with some middle eastern sounding atmospheres. They independently released their first E.P. entitled "Human Chaos" in 2004. Their debut album "Preaching Venom" was released in 2009 under German label “Lifeforce Records” (Europe) and “Spellbind Records” (Middle East). In May 2011, “Nervecell” released their new album entitled "Psychogenocide". With the success surrounding "Psychogenocide", the band had opportunity to be on tour consistently. By playing at nearly every major music festival imaginable, “Nervecell” have steadily built a devoted following of metalheads worldwide. The interview available below features “Nervecell” guitarist Barney Ribeiro.

Can you name the line­up? How solid has it beenthrough the years?

“Nervecell” consists of James (bassist/vocalist), Rami (guitars) and myself (guitars), unfortunately we don’t really have a permanent drummer simply because there isn’t any drummer based in the Middle East who is either committed or capable to work to the extent we do. Its just something we’ve constantly faced as a limitation based here among many other factors too of course. I only ended up meeting James and Rami at one of the earlier “Nervecell” gigs during that initial stag. We had instantly become friends and changed numbers, about a year later they eventually ended up joining the band too. It was kind of inevitable as they shared the same interest musically and passion for May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

music that I had myself, ever since then (2003) onwards the 3 of us have been the key members in "Nervecell".

You guys are from Dubai, what about coming from that part of the world affects your approach to metal the most both as players and as fans?

Dubai has only been around for 42 years and we’ve been a band based here for the last 12 years, so you can imagine there is still a lot more to learn here with regards to the music industry. Just like everything in Dubai it’s all completely westernized and completely trendy. So the music scene that exists here has always been dominated by the same chart topping hits you’ll hear all around the world on radio stations, of course there is also the Arabic 15

NERVECELL pop music that seems to dominate here too. Having vocals/lyrics in the song “Shunq” and that was a said that, we only experienced a rise in rock and really challenging step for the band since it’s not metal music pick up in the Middle East somewhere really that easy to have Arabic growls in a death around the late 90’s. This had a lot to do with metal song, we did work on that and it turned out channels like MTV being broadcasted here, music pretty good! The track also features Karl Sanders magazines and the Internet starting to become more from “Nile” on guest vocals, which makes it extra accessible for all of us to discover new bands. You special. It’s very important for us, as musicians to also need to realize that we never had access to be 100% satisfied with our songs and if we keep the going to a music store and buying a metal CD as the fans satisfied too then there is nothing like it! stores here at the time didn’t really have a metal Do you think you reached in this album the section. So it wasn’t very easy or common to get sound you guys have always had in mind for into metal music in the first place. Regardless of all yourselves? the lack of initial support we’ve still been able to I think it’s important to stand out amongst all the accomplish a lot as a metal band based in Dubai, other great bands playing metal today for sure. I right from releasing albums, touring etc. if you believe we have reached to a certain level where we were to tell me 12 years ago that we would one day have found our sound and I think in get to open for “Metallica”, I would of thought your “Psychogenocide” you can hear our strengths as either being too kind or assumed your crazy! But composers and definitely hear the progression in hey what do you know, it did happen in 2011 with the band. So yes, I believe we have reached and us and we’re out there tody continuing to put Dubai achieved that sound that we like ourselves to sound on the map for heavy metal! like but we still want to stand out and be unique Has recording “Psycogenocide” been a different within our style as well, so as long as we feel process from recording the first album? comfortable and natural experimenting with our When we wrote our first album “Preaching Venom” music we will keep trying to push the boundaries it was different because those songs were written no matter what. over 4 years, since we were all still in university Karl Sander (“Nile”) appears as guest vocalist studying and balancing working on the band as on the track “Shunq”. How did you get in touch well. So we were only able to focus more on the with him, or him with you? band once we had all graduated in 2006. Of course The idea to work with Karl actually came about a lot of those songs were played live too which when our singer James decided to write Arabic helped us when we went into the studio to record lyrics for the song “Shunq”. So since the lyrics the album as a lot of changes were made along the were written in a story telling form we decided that way to those songs. Also you need to realize thatweit would be cool to have someone guest on the track were insigned at that point and it was only afterthe and have him sing in English to compliment the album came out that “Lifeforce Records” heardus Arabic lyrics on the track. So after a few days of and immediately signed us soon after. So with discussing who would be the right person for the “Psychogenocide” we had a bigger budget and we job we all agreed that Karl Sanders would be the wanted a good follow up to “Preaching Venom”. best match, not only cause we were all fans of We wanted to write a heavier and faster album, yet “Nile” but also considering his style and theme’s he keep an overall darker feel to the songs. So we uses in Nile’s music too. It just made perfect sense created more dynamics within the songs and added to reach out to him and so we had our management a whole lot of different feels for the album, which reach out to his management and make it happen. It happened in a very natural way. We did take our wasn’t too long after that then when Karl came to time writing since we recorded and tracked the Dubai and even ended up recording the video for entire album in Dubai ourselves, and then handed “Shunq” with us in the U.A.E. It was an amazing the recordings over to “Hertz Studios” in Poland for experience working with Karl and he has become a the mixing and mastering stage. You’ll notice we good friend to us today. experimented a bit too by adding a little touch of Tell us what it’s been like touring with legendary Middle Eastern/Arabic instrumentations on the death metal bands such as “Morbid Angel” and album on tracks such as “Anemic Assurgency” and “Suffocation”. also added Arabian­Gulf­style percussions in the It's been really amazing getting to tour with such instrumental track “The Taste Of Betrayal”. The legendary bands for sure, we’ve been fans of both most interesting addition to the album is Arabic bands for years of course so getting to tour with 16

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

them and see them live for an entire month each was just an incredible experience. It’s always great when you get to hang out and chat with these guys who have been doing this for 25 to 30 years now playing extreme music. The entire industry has changed over the last few years, so by doing such tours not only do we get to experience life on the road but we also learn and understand how the business side of things work in this line of work too. Especially for a band like ourselves, we are a band from Dubai playing extreme music. For us touring with bands like “Suffocation” and “Morbid Angel” is only a sign that heavy metal is here to stay and is truly without any boundaries.

“Morbid Angel” put out their last album “Illud Divinum Insanus”. What were your impressions, and do you think it was as awful as everyone (including me) has said?

Well to be completely honest I was shocked by certain tracks and I don’t need to mention them haha. But I have to admit, there are still some real solid tracks on “Illud Divinum Insanus” – The first track I heard off that album was “Nevermore” and I liked it instantly. There are songs such as “Existo Vulgore” and “Blades for Baal” for example, which has classic Morbid Angel elements. So no I wouldn’t say it’s an “awful” album because it’s not!

What I think is really awful though is that remix album they put out after – Now that wasn’t cool at all!

In October 2011, you open for “Metallica” in Abu Dhabi. How was the response received from Metallica's metalheads?

You know fortunately for us we have quite a big fan base in the Middle East. So there was a lot of people there who knew us from the region or have either heard or seen us live before. I don’t think “Metallica” ever have had many extreme metal bands open for them before, so for that gig in Abu Dhabi it was really special because it was their first time playing in the Middle East region in their 30 year career and for us to open that show was seriously a dream come true! I think we made a lot more fans from that one show alone. From what I hear with our performance at that show we made a lot of people become aware of the fact that there is an actual metal scene growing in the Middle East and we’re proud to be that one band to push this further.

You headlined many shows in East and Middle­ East so far. How does it feel to be the main May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

NERVECELL

attraction in an headlining tour?

I mean it feels great when you reach such a status for sure, as long as the shows go well and the fans come out to support the band then that’s all that matters really. I mean headlining a tour or shows in general is always something any band aims for at some point, in this day and age its important to make sure its not just the band who benefits from a show, but the promoters who book you, as well as your fans leaving satisfied too, all of that combined together is what makes a band successful and able to grow further in the long run. For many years we have put up with rough conditions and limitations playing shows in the Middle East and overseas too, so having done this for 12 years now its great to finally see things start to change.

Do you guys work on new material while you’re on tour?

We are constantly writing but when we’re on tour we don’t really have the luxury and space to get into the writing mode. So far we’ve never really written on the road, we focus more on that when we’re back home and in a more comfortable environment.

What can we expect from “Nervecell” in 2013?

You can expert a lot of touring to take place this year, we still feel there is a lot more places we want to play in before we start writing the next record.

So we will be doing a bit of both, which is write new music and tour through out the year as well.

Do you have any other messages you need to get out before the end of the interview?

Well just thanks for having this interview with me, I wish you all the best with “Milfits Zine” and hope to see you when “Nervecell” play next in Italy. For all the readers do check us out on www.nervecell.net or www.facebook.com/nervecell to keep in touch with the band and get all our latest news and updates instantly. Ciao!

"Nervecell" online: www.nervecell.net www.facebook.com/nervecell www.twitter.com/nervecellband www.myspace.com/nervecell www.reverbnation.com/nervecell info@nervecell.net

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OCEANS OF SLUMBER

This is an interview I made with progressive death metal band “Oceans Of Slumber”.

Hailing from Houston, Tx, “Oceans Of Slumber” featuring members of “Demoniacal Genuflection”, “Ingurgitate”, and “Insect Warfare”. The band has just released its brand new album "Aetherial". The group is also seeking a label for the release, with interested record companies urged to knock on their door immediately. Their sound is original with multiple styles of metal melded into one piece of art. I sent some questions to Dobber Beverly (drummer), to discuss the new album, “Aetherial”, and what to expect from the future from “Oceans Of Slumber”.

Congrats on releasing such a strong album as "Aetherial". Are you happy the way it turned out? What will you remember most about the recording of "Aetherial" album?

Thank you very much and we are super stoked with the outcome of this album. "Aetherial" is something the 5 of us have thrived and struggled to do our whole lives, so it's certainly a happy moment in recorded history for us!

Did you have the album title "Aetherial" going in, or did you pick it once the song was written?

We picked it once the song was written. We'd basically just started coming into our own and decided that the title of the record should signify a beginning and something beyond us as a group.

You worked with producer Russ Russell. What about his style works with the band?

Russ is our fifth Beatle. His ball out Rock 'N' Roll style fits perfectly with us. We like organic sounds and the idea of the band creating the music and the live feel being present is exactly what we strive for on a record. He literally knew exactly the direction 18

we wanted to go while mixing and without us being present. Russ Russell fucking rules!

You have so many styles and sounds infused into the band’s sound, how long did it take you guys to find a balance between everything?

Honestly, no time at all. We are all life long musicians and professional musicians at that, so to us it's just what came out. “Oceans of Slumber” is certainly a fortuitous happening for each of us. All of us are metal heads and share many of the same favorite bands as well as many other diverse, and specific, personal influences. So that has been the creative force that allows us to kind of go wherever musically. It's an awesome feeling to finally have a band full of like minded individuals that are focused on the same overall goal; creating music.

In my opinion what makes you different from all other progressive metal bands is the brutality that emerges from in between all the layers of your sound, which eventually creates the unique and original vibe of your music. Do you have any particular emotional guidelines you would May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

like to achieve when composing?

It certainly seems that you've listened to the record enough to catch what we're trying to do! Thanks so much for that!! The heavy stuff is just a given.

Hell, I played for some of the heaviest bands to ever come from Texas like “Infernal Dominion”, “Insect Warfare”, “Sect of Execration”, “Ingurgitate”. “Oceans of Slumber” also has an alter ego in “Demoniacal Genuflection”, which is our super intense extreme metal band. That band takes all of the stuff that's to dark for “Oceans”, though we plan to infuse more and more on the new record. So we have a plethora of material and sounds to get out.

What sort of themes are present on the album and how are they expressed through the lyrics?

Lyrically the band follows along the path of adversity in and around the life of a man, or woman. Topic wise it's everything from love and loss to addiction and the otherworld. Just normal shit we deal with as adults and our pitfalls as human beings. Hope and hopelessness.

"Aetherial" gives you the longitude to do more experimentation down the road. Do you have anything else similar in mind?

The next record is about halfway finished and we have certainly pushed the envelope in both directions. It's heavier and faster with more tech stuff and more prog stuff. More experimenations in the fusion and jazz departments too! We figure that we've prepared everyone with "Aetherial" so now we can start really letting loose on what we really want to do. Haha. Think Jeff Beck playing “Immortal” and “Morbid Angel”, or something along those lines (Wow. Ed.).

Are you guys unsigned by choice? If so, why, and if not, are you exploring any opportunities/what would your ideal label be and why?

We are certainly not unsigned by choice! We'd love to get on a lable like “Prosthetic” or “InsideOut” that takes care of more progressive bands. The band is certainly primed and ready to tour! We've had a few offers, but nothing set in stone. That would be something we'd love to remedy at some point. So if you know someone....Hahaha! (no dude, but if I had a record label and bucks I will pick up you for sure. Ed.) How does self­releasing instead of using the label change the dynamics of getting your album out there and covering your costs and all that?

It sucks. We've got so much money tied up in this record and the distribution element is awful too.

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

OCEANS OF SLUMBER Haha. We essentially have to wear both hats and self promote, which isn't free, while we maintain the band as musicians. Which isn't new to any of us, but it is a bit more expensive when you have to pay to do anything. We're taking it in stride and burning those bridges as we cross them. Not looking back and only looking forward to our futures. Hopefully more hard work will pay off for us!!

What has your stage experience been like?

Personally, I've played 1000's of shows and have played all over the planet in my other bands. As a band we've all had a significant amount of live experience and certainly are in our element on the stage. We are a live band by all means. We've been fortunate enough to share the stage with “Crowbar”, “Prong”, “Fear Factory”, “Dio Disciples” and many more. The band will hopefully be on the road by years end and hopefully in Europe by next year sometime. Fingers crossed!

What does the immediate future hold for “Oceans Of Slumber”?

Right now we have to finish writing for our follow up and get all the necessary business stuff together for getting the band on the road. Around late summer/early fall we plan to do a live studio recording of re­arrangements of songs from “Aetherial” and a few other surprises. The plan is to rework a few songs and present them in a acoustic environment. This whole session will be filmed in multi­camera HD and played completely live with no overdubs and no studio trickery.

Possibly as a digital only release or digital and DVD. Not sure yet (I hope it could be finalized. It seems intriguing. Ed.) Anything else you’d like to add?

I, on behalf of the band, would like to thank you for the interview and say that we really appreciate you listening to our record (my pleasure mate. Ed.).

Now if we can just get it out to everyone and play it live in front of them, we'll have a complete success in our eyes! Support local musicians and support metal!!

"Oceans Of Slumber" online:

www.facebook.com/oceansofslumber

www.reverbnation.com/oceansofslumber dobberbeverly@gmail.com

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REVEL IN FLESH

German death metallers “Revel In Flesh” returned, after their highly regarded debut "Deathevokation", with sophomore album “Manifested Darkness” (the review section contains my thoughts about it), mixed and mastered (again) by legendary Mr. Dan Swanö.

The core of the band consists of Haubersson (vocals, bass and guitars) and Maggesson (drums and lead guitars), supported on stage by efforts of permanent members. Musically, “Revel In Flesh” plays a death metal in the early 90's style. I got the chance to catch Ralf Haubersson for an interview to find out what “Revel In Flesh” are all about and what is going on next for the band.

How did the members of “Revel in Flesh” start making music together?

Cheerz to the “Milfits” readership! This is Haubersson, vocalist of “Revel In Flesh” answering up to your questions. Well, all members of “Revel In Flesh” are still or have been in active in other bands like “Apophis”, “Dawn Of Dreams”, “Immortal Rites” (R.I.P.), “Chaosreign”, “Graven”, “Deathvastation” or “Demonised” (R.I.P.). Shortly said when we’ve started “Revel In Flesh” – ca. Autumn 2011 – we’ve had a clear vision in mind about the musical agenda also about the way the things shall work together within this band.

When you start writing death metal music, do you plan on making it more old school, or is that just how things turned out?

“Revel In Flesh” was formed with the defined masterplan of creating a pure Death Metal band – Death Metal in the way we’ve used to know it

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from the 90’s. Of course in some way we’ve started with a sort of tribute attitude, but I think it’s important to get a sort of own charm and style within your music to get an own identity. Today the scene is heavily loaded with all kind of retro styles, so it’s important to new bands to get a sort of own face sooner or later. “Revel In Flesh” makes no big deal about our musical roots, but I think you hear a huge step if you you compare the songwriting and production from our debut up to “Manifested darkness”.

What is characteristic of your sound is also the fact your songs are catchy. I think it’s not easy to be heavy and catchy at the same time. Do you agree?

We simply write the stuff in the way it feels good to us; we simply let the music flow. Regarding lyrics – chorus parts etc. – I always try to have some remarkable moments within each track.

Death Metal in the way of “Revel In Flesh” lives May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

from its intensity and to catchiness is more important than technical bullshit or speed to the max.

What will you remember most about the recording of “Manifested Darkness” ?

We’ve had massive sort of creative boost after the release of “Deathevokation”. In the time from February 2012 until November 2012 we’ve written and recorded all in all 13 tracks. It was a real flow that we’ve unleashed on weekly recording sessions. We write and record mostly in “Vault M. Studios”, which is owned by “Revel In Flesh” guitarist Maggesson. Working this time with Dan Swanö also on the mixing of the material was pretty inspiring as well. You learn a lot and you also get to know on which aspects you have to improve for the next recordings.

In what ways does “Manifested Darkness” go musically wider and deeper than “Deathevokation” debut album?

“Manifested Darkness” has more feeling; it’s darker and production wise it’s more massive and brutal than “Deathevokation”. Tracks like “Rotting in the void” or the titletrack show new aspects without betraying our classical Death Metal roots.

How did the album title “Manifested Darkness” come about? Do you feel it's always good to have a strong album title? Were there any other album titles that were considered for “Manifested Darkness”?

“Manifested darkness” is one of the strongest and most outstanding tracks on our 2nd album and we think it also reflects really good the vibe and atmosphere we like to transmit with the music and lyrics of the other titles feat. on the album as well.

It’s a good summary for the whole album and coming along with the coverartwork it fits like fist in the face.

Your albums have been released on “FDA­ Rekotz” who have released some fantastic albums whilst they have been around. What’s it like working with them?

Rico, the guy behind “FDA­Rekotz”, works really hard for his label and he’s a really good scout when it comes to find promising new bands within that scene. It’s a growing label with a growing reputation; but behind the scene it’s hard work and each small firm has to fight to survive in this business scenery, which is more or less ruled by some big names.

The internet has become a blessing and a curse for many bands. Do you consider abusive internet downloading as a problem or do you May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

see some benefits from it?

It’s a give and take!!! Half of the “Revel In Flesh” line – up are of an age of 30 +, means we’ve grown up with tapes; collecting the original stuff etc. – there was more magic in discovering music before the internet days; but on the other hand today you can reach so many more people with a few mouse clicks; so it’s curse & blessing combined.

It seems that to survive in this underground lifestyle system it’s important to keep high enthusiasm for touring, for playing music and traveling. Is this the case for you?

Of course! We simply love and enjoy this music.

We see us as a FAN – band, means we like Death Metal. You need dedication, madness and passion to keep a project like “Revel In Flesh” growing because economically it’s closer to a head­shot situation than to any sort of plus on your bank account, Ha! Ha! What kind of touring does the band look to do in support of “Manifested Darkness” ?

We have a few weekend shows and festival appearances already booked to promote the new album. Playing live is important to spread the news and to keep the band growing. It makes a lot of fun; but it’s also hard work in organisation and also realisation.

How does each of you feel about touring anyway?

We have not played any longer tours so far; so hard to say. All of us have jobs and let me say “normal lifes” as well; so it’s not that easy to get off for more live dates on the quick way. To us it’s important to play good and dedicated shows. It’s not about business; it’s about enjoying ourselves!!!

What are your plans for “Revel in Flesh” in the near future?

“Manifested Darkness” will be out on CD/vinyl in April 2013. There will be new marchandise available as well. We currently work already and two split 7”Eps that will be announced within the next couple of weeks. Furthermore we try to play as much as possible live. Simply keep yourself updated by checking our webtombs at: www.facebook.com/pages/Revel­inFlesh or www.revelinflesh.jimdo.com/ Thanks mate, the last words are yours!

Thanx for the chat & good luck to your fanzine!!!

Check out our new album “Manifested darkness”, drink beer (Yeah! Ed.) & support real & dedicated Metal of Death!!! HAIL THE DEATHCULT!!!

REVEL IN FLESH

21

STAGNANT WATERS

French­Norwegian band “Stagnant Waters”, unleash their self­title album of extreme black­metal enriched with electronic, free­jazz, noise and industrial fragments, resulting in a totally new kind of music. This is a fully crazy project formed by Norwegian vocalist Svein Egil “Zweizz” Hatlevik (“Fleurety”, “Umoral”, "ex­DHG/Dødheimsgard”), drummer/electronics operator/clarinetist Aymeric Thomas (“Pryapisme”) and guitarist/bassist/keyboardist Camillle Giraudeau (“Dreams of the Drowned”, “Smohalla”). I had the opportunity to get in an interview with the Frenchman Camillle Giraudeau to talk about this band project. Read the full interview below.

Your self­titled album received a lot of hype in the underground press. Were you surprised of that?

A bit yeah, because the process for finishing it has been so long I wasn't that psyched about this recording anymore. Hated it at some point to be honest.

How long was the writing/recording process for this album? What was the experience like?

90% of the album has been written and recorded within 2008, then vocals were recorded in 2010, and basslines / mixing / mastering took the two other years. For me, it was a very exciting experience because I deeply respect and admire Aymerics and Svein Egils past work. And yeah, had the feeling of exploring. I live for this.

Your mashing of different styles seem a trademark of your sound. What degree of attention is necessary to fully appreciate your music?

I guess you just have to drop the etiquettes.

Otherwise you’ll keep thinking “why are they melting this and that”.. And it will prevent you from listening.

What bands have influenced your sound the most?

For me and for this album especially: free extreme

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music such as “Disco Volante” era “Mr Bungle”, “666 International” era “Dodheimsgard”, “Smohalla”,“Fleurety”,“Atomsmasher/Phantomsm asher”, and “Pryapisme”. For Aymeric and Svein Egil ­ a whole bunch of even weirder stuff, I guess.

Hehe. I'm the conventionnal one here!

Do you have a particular favorite song on the album or any segment that you are particularly proud of?

All those songs have a story of their own, but Svein Egil kind of said something like “this his how Dodheimsgard should have turned after 666 International” about “Of salt and waters”, and that made me proud.

Can you talk a little about “Stagnant Waters” songwriting process?

Yeah. Good memories. Wrote four songs by my own (“Algae”, “Of salt and waters”, “Castles” and “Bandaged in suicide notes”), in a very tormented era of my life. It would have ended up in the trashcan as most of what I'm doing if my friend Nico from “Pryapisme” didn't introduced me to Aymeric (who plays in this wonderful band as well). He agreed to collaborate, sent me some supersick patterns ­ and assembling them into songs turned my summer into one of my dearest memories. It was all shrouded in colours, magic.

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

I was really having fun in a really creative, childish way. Then he kind of pimped the four first songs with magic of his own, finished the others that I had just written with his recordings, and by the end of august, the album was done ­ except for “Axolotl” who was finished months later, and was written differently (I wrote the first part with Aymeric patterns, and he wrote the second part by himself). After that, we began looking for a vocalist. Joey Hopkins proposed himself but sadly and absurdly died. Svein Egil took his place ­ they were long time collaborators, and I hereby suggest you to check out their superb album “Zweizz & Joey Hopkins”. In february 2010, he came in Aymerics place to record his parts, and it was a very fun and productive week.

Then we had to finish the whole thingie and it was just shitty, long and non instictive. Wont be the same for the next one. I learned.

How much of what you write do you end up keeping?

For this album, I'd say 90%. “Concrete” used to be way longer and richer, but we got tired of it. So Aymeric kind of rebuilt it the way it is now.

Otherwise, we used the whole thing. Instant magic ­ nothing to throw. For the rest of my music, I'd say...10%. I'm cursed with self loathing, and I have regular absurdity attacks which prevents me to do a lot of things. But for “Stagnant Waters”, two wonderful individuals got my back, so its easier. Maybe even three, now.

What's the greatest challenge to recreating your songs live?

Won't ever happen. Not the way its supposed to be.

Those songs are a studio experiment ­ besides, it wouldn't be do able, as we all live far away from each other, and we would need to hire other musicians, and stuff.

Do you have any tour dates in support of the album?

Nopes..

If you could tour with any band, who would you like to tour with the most?

I'd say...”Pryapisme”. Its one of my favorite bands, May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

STAGNANT WATERS really, and seeing them every night would surely be a wonderful experience ­ havent been able to witness it yet. Need to fix this. By the way, their new album is coming in 2013, and it's a masterpiece.

Are there any plans for a new, full album yet?

What other important ideas do “Stagnant Waters” hope to unleash upon the world?

I know it would sound more erotic if Id tell you we have ideologies behind our music. But as far as I'm concerned, for our debut album, I wasnt thinking anything specific while writing those songs other than ­ wow, this part sounds wonderful !! or ­ this riff rules ! ­ I was hanging out with my girlfriend, it was sunny, I was playing Chrono Trigger when I wasnt recording.

Far from anything psychopathic or remotely dark I'd say, sorry. It was just about music, and magic. Fun to see how people perceive it now. I guess the whole weirdass shouting, dislocated lyrics and dark artwork shaped it into a whole new thing, and its good.

It simply makes it the way it is ­ multifaceted, hybrid.

Some say, wonderful. Our french multicolours meets norwegian absurdist darkness. I'm five years older now, so its going to be entirely different for the second album, which will definitely happen if nobody dies first. Im done paying hommage to other bands or trying to impersonate other musicians. And I've got five new years of awful and dark experiences to transcend into music.

Svein Egil will also have a lot more input, musically speaking.

Is there anything else you would like to say?

Yes. Thank you for the support, and keep your ears opened. Be sure to check out Pryapisme’s upcoming album. And I guess I'm also going to release a shitload of things soon, as “Dreams of the drowned”, so yeah, check it out if you liked “Stagnant Waters”. Thanks.

"Stagnant Waters" online: www.facebook.com/eauxstagnantes

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SYMBOLYC

“Symbolyc” is an italian death metal band active since 2003. The band has released three EPs on their own, and one full­length album, “Engraved In Flesh” (2009), through “My Kingdom Music”. The debut full­length release was able to already show a band with high­ level of musicianship and a great sense of songwriting. Their proposal is a technical, at times melodic, death metal with varied range of riffing and sound, enriched by commanding vocals, that's able to carry emotions. Recently, “Symbolyc” has finished to record tracks for upcoming sophomore full­length album, “Apocrypha”, set for release soon in 2013. A collective interview, with almost all “Symbolyc” members, is listed below.

First of all, how are you doing? Could you start this interview off with a little update about “Symbolyc”, it’s been 4 years since you released your album “Engraved Flesh”?

Sox (Guitar) ­ We're currently working on our second album, named “Apocrypha”, which recordings will start on February 21st at “16th Cellar Studio” by Stefano Morabito, for the second time. We're very excited about that, it has been a time of changes, from changes in style to changes in the line­up, which now include Andrea Sacerdoti; in the last months we've promoted “Engraved Flesh” at our best, bringing it on stage, luckily, with many famous names of national and international metal scene. We're satisfied of the results so far.

“Engraved Flesh” got a great reception on its release. You guys must have been thrilled?

Sox ­ Yes, we're very happy of the results; thanks to our label, “Mykingdommusic”, the album was

24

distributed almost everywhere. Feedbacks are very good both for listens and for sales.

What did you focus on the most while writing and recording it?

Raffaele (Drums) ­ When our first album was created we focused on writing and composition, taking care of power and arrangements, leaving nothing to chance. This kind of work will be more emphasized and refined on our new songs, the new album sounds even now more elaborate.

Your sound is technical but melodic even for being extreme. Who are your influences, past or present?

Raffaele ­ As Italians, melody is part of our music background! As a death metal band we had many influences from the beginning, from classics like “Metallica”, “Slayer” and “Sepultura” to what really influenced us, Polish death metal (“Behemoth”, “Hate”, “Vader”, “Decapitated”) without discrediting typical American integration May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

like “Deicide” and “Morbid Angel”. Our goal was to mix these influences obtaining the right dimension between melody and power.

Your guitar work is also well structured. What were you going for while creating your riffs and leads?

Sox ­ We surely were never satisfied by the first riff brought into the studio, especially myself, many songs, especially the newest ones, were developed many times before finding the right shape. We were looking for a total impact, sophisticated but simple at the same time, reaching listener's ears in the best possible way.

How do members’ musical backgrounds combine to form the “Symbolyc” sound?

Sox ­ I think attitude is our characterizing background, the quest for a compact sound. I leave this question to the newcomer in our family, who can better explain, since he has come in a almost ten­years­old world.

Andrea (Guitar) ­ My first impression was of a rhytmically powerful and determined sound, with a noticeable melodic part, which isn't just aggressiveness for its own sake, is just the right mix. The most fascinating thing is the experience that shines through the sound.

What song by “Symbolyc” holds the most meaning to the members?

Sox ­ Personally, “Denied” for its maturity.

Raffaele ­ “Dead Inside” and “Suffering” 'cause I feel them very personal.

Salvio (Bass) ­ “Oncoming Apocalypse” for its structure, I like the fact that its title fully reflects its dynamics.

Andrea ­ “Wingless”, even if it was written before I became part of “Symbolyc”, is a song in which I can really put myself in, it perfectly describes the horrible sensation of being stuck on the ground.

Which song is your favorite one to play live?

Which song do you feel is the most challenging one to play live?

Raffaele ­ “Suffering”, starting gigs with it is always an endeavour, is a really tight song... and I still have my muscles tense when we begin!

Sox ­ “Denied” again, I think is a really captivating song... it involves even me on stage!

Salvio ­ “Oncoming Apocalypse” for me Andrea ­ “Within the realms of Human Awareness”. A charm.

What is your personal look on the death metal genre in general in relation to old school and the more modern and extreme technical bands?

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

SYMBOLYC Sox ­ Our look is a mixture, we're trying to make it more personal but it's really hard being original today, because musical scene is extended and there's always the risk of emulating someone, even unconsciously.

Since the band is almost a decade old, is there anything you wish you’d done differently over those years?

Sox ­ I wouldn't personally change anything, everything was very beautiful, maybe the only thing I'd change is the place in which the band was born, if we were in another country where metal isn't swerving this much and where places to shoot it off at extreme volumes won't lack, it would be much better, but we can't complain.

Surely everyone of us, in time, as I believe and hope, will have a great memory of everything we passed through together, from nights hanging out, laughs, jokes, and beers, to difficulties, and having played with famous bands we listened to when we were young boys... I think it's all worth it!

Will the next album build on the last or do you think it leaps further ahead or takes a different path?

Raffaele ­ It will surely be different, the first one has a simple and straightforward, the second one will be more elaborate and fast, there will be more arrangements. Aggressiveness along with melody, we can't wait to record our new songs and let you hear some new stuff! (I can't wait. Ed.) Anything else you'd like to mention or promote?

First of all we wanted to thank you for this opportunity... Thanks from the bottom of our hearts 'cause it is thanks to people like you that Italian underground still survives. We wanted to welcome again Andrea in the band, a great personality and a great musician who's truly doing his best, I have to say, from the first day into the studio... Like us, he's bending over backwards to work at his best on “Apocrypha”... Stay tuned 'cause we got much more stuff going on!

"Symbolyc" online: www.myspace.com/symbolyc www.mykingdommusic.net www.reverbnation.com/symbolyc www.youtube.com/user/Symbolyc info@symbolyc.com 25

ABIDETHEREIN

Title: The Dislocated And The Sisyphean Project Format: Single Release Date: 2012 Genre: Black Metal

Formed in 2010 in Damascus (Syria), the band is composed by two members: “Goraal”, who plays bass and guitar strings and vocals, and “Typhon”, with duties at drums and programming and also behind guitar. Their first album, “Paralysis Engulfed the Myth”, date back to January 2012. Here, I'm reviewing their new single, “The Dislocated And The Sisyphean Project”, which was made available online at the end of 2012. It's a long track, but the song structure is strong enough to shine through the more than 11 minutes of an abrasive black metal, that alternate between oriental atmosphere and skull crushing brutality. The first part of the song is characterized by a ferocious blast beat drumming, soon to be interrupted by some guitar riffs pretty “Nile” oriented.

Around the halfway mark, the song becomes much more moody and moves at a slower pace with a thrashy staccato chords that segue into black style grooves and the melodic solo into which the song eventually collapses. In conclusion, “Abidetherein” has created a truly expressive piece of black metal track that feels both genuine and musically­accomplished.

Band: Goraal­Guitars/ Bass/Vocals Typhon­Drums/Guitars

Contact Band: www.facebook.com/Abidetherein www.twitter.com/Abidetherein www.reverbnation.com/abidetherein www.myspace.com/abidetherein

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May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

AD PATRES “Ad Patres” is a death metal band from Bordeaux (France). “Scorn Aesthetics” is their debut album

available via “Kaotoxin” Records. After a short (and pretty insignificant) intro, “Ad Patres” fly right out

of the gate with “The Lock”, and it’s immediately apparent that the energy levels are quite high.

Infectious riffs, good drum patterns, and growled vocals present on this track set the tone for what’s

to come. “Ad Patres” manage to deliver a good combination of old violent death metal riffs, melody Title: Scorn Aesthetics Format: CD Release Date: 03.09.2012 Label: Kaotoxin Genre: Death Metal Track Listing: 01­ .…

02­ The Lock 03­ Scars of Compromise 04­ Circles of Red 05­ To the Fathers 06­ Scorn Aesthetics 07­ In Vivo 08­ Emphasize Nihility 09­ Anti 10­ All that Remains

and big fat grooves. Every song on this release is able

to

keep

up

the

interest

without

actually

sounding new. There’s solidity and depth to this

album and the consistency in songwriting really helps make “Scorn Aesthetics” a solid outing for a debut

release.

In

conclusion,

if

straightforward

excellent death metal is what you’re craving, then “Scorn Aesthetics” will fulfill that role very nicely.

Band: Canard ­ Guitars Olivier Bousquet – Guitars Axel Doussaud ­ Vocals Yann Herrera ­ Drums Arnaud Pecoste ­ Bass

Contact Label: www.facebook.com/kaotoxinrecord Contact Band: www.adpatres.net

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

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AGONY LORDS

Title: A Tomb For The Haunted Format: CD/DVD Release Date: 26.11.2012 Label: Chaos Records Genre: Heavy/Rock/Progressive Track Listing: 01­ Enter The Mausoleum 02­ Raising The Occult 03­ Dead Eyes 04­ The Spirit In The Tower 05­ Emily 06­ Witches Board 07­ Writer Of The Dead 08­ The Phantom Book 09­ The Tree Of The Hanged 10­ A Tomb For The Haunted 11­ Torture Never Stops (W.A.S.P.) *

Mexicans “Agony Lords” are an established band formed in 1989 under the name of “Ripping Flesh”, who have not released a studio album since 1999, they are here in 2013 with their third record named “A Tomb For The Haunted”, released by “Chaos” records.

The band presented “Tomb For the Haunted” as a melodic death metal release. Well, “A Tomb For The Haunted” is not a death metal album. It's actually a melodic Heavy/Rock/Progressive record merging with elements of thrash metal. The sound as a whole is strong, powerful, heavy and professional, and the songs are clearly distinct from each other, which is a plus. There is an excellent use of guitars to keep things interesting, which adds a different mood to any given song without going too far into hyper­technical territory. Vocals range a lot throughout the songs, changing often from growls to thrash style vocals, and from clean singing to spoken word parts. There aren't any instantly iconic tracks, but “A Tomb For The Haunted” shows that “Agony Lords” can create a formula that honestly blends rock and metal without going too soft.

* Limited edition exclusvie Bonus Track Band: Lordbrave ­ Vocals Oscar Pinon ­ Drums Mauricio Barami – Lead Guitar Jorge Inukai – Lead Guitar

Contact Label: www.chaos­records.com Contact Band: www.facebook.com/agony.lords www.myspace.com/agonylords

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May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

Title: The Blessed Sleep Format: EP Release Date: 2013 Genre: Progressive Brutal Death Metal Track Listing: 01­ Entitled Ascension 02­ Demise of Reason 03­ The Blessed Sleep 04­ Despair Personified 05­ Abyssal Banishment

ARA Milwaukee­based project band “Ara” released their debut EP, “The Blessed Sleep”, in early 2013. Composed by members of progressive instrumental band “Concentric” and sludge band “Northless”, “Ara” presents its brand of death metal, assembling the brutality of bands like “Morbid Angel” (early) or “Cannibal Corpse” and fused it with the frenzied technicality and progressivism of “Atheist”. Conventional songwriting is not part of “Ara's” repertoire. The songs explode into an never ending juxtaposition of blast & groove beats and dissonant riffs until the EP turns over. The riffs overload based on technical notes somehow incorporate a faint theme of melody and catchiness. The bass playing is pretty refreshing, it doesn’t only supports the guitars, but in fact leads it on few occasions. The record naturally became more interesting after listening several times, not that the album is boring at first but it just took a little time to truly digest its angular obscurity. In conclusion, “The Blessed Sleep” leaves a very powerful impression overall. It's highly recommend to anyone who wants a little more than just really fast, brutal songs when they listen to death metal.

Band:

Jerry Hauppa­ Guitars James Becker­ Bass Guitars / Vocals Adam Bujny­ Vocals Erik Stenglein­ Drums

Contact Band: www.arawi.bandcamp.com jerryhauppa@yahoo.com

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

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A TRANSYLVANIAN FUNERAL

Title: Gorgos Goetia Format: CD Release Date: 20.03.2013 Label: Forbidden Records Genre: Black Metal Track Listing: 01­ Cold Blood and Darkness 02­ Burning Astral Hunger 03­ Light Cast Out 04­ The Supreme Rite of Transmutation 05­ Fear 06­ Mars Exalted in Capricorn 07­ Moonchild 08­ Night Hags 09­ Percival in Black Armor 10­ Ten of Swords 11­ Hymn to a Gorgon 12­ Goliath Resurrected

A Transylvanian Funeral’s “Gorgos Goetia” sophomore full­lenght album has been recently released under “Forbidden Records”. This is a one man band.

Sleepwalker is the blackned soul behind the band who handling all the writing, recording and production of the album. He composed twelve songs and 72 minutes (generally lengthy compositions around the 6­8 minutes) of traditional black metal package, which is evident even down to the artwork which is all black and white. The production is minimal and lo­fi and really works with the music to give it that raw, old­school vibe. The overall arrangements aren't in tip­top shape. A few of the riffs and movements are a touch too repetitive to truly enjoy, anyway this guy has a good grasp of the black atmospheres. He delivers restless, melancholic and somewhat introspective sound without getting overly chaotic. “Gorgos Goetia” is a nice, funeral march into darkness with so much freezing atmospheres that you’ll probably need many listens to hear everything clearly. Overall, “A Transylvanian Funeral” is not by any means a revolutionary band, but Sleepwalker does a pretty solid job in incorporating hermetic feelings into a typical black metal foundation.

Band: Sleepwalker ­ all instruments and vocals

Contact Label: www.forbiddenrecords.com www.forbiddenrecords.bandcamp.com Contact Band: www.facebook.com/atransylvanianfuneral

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May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

BIRTH A.D. Austin’s Tx “Birth A.D.” released their first full­ length album, “I Blame You”, under “Unspeakable Axe”, a sub­label of well recognized “Dark Descent Records”. This album has a lot catchy songs. After few listenings you can really enjoy all the tracks.

They are played in a thrash­oriented and old hardcore punk kind of way, they are funny and basically short

Title: I Blame You Format: CD Release Date: 08.04.2013 Label: Unspeakable Axe Genre: Crossover/Thrash/Punk Track Listing: 01­ Mission Statement 02­ Equal Opportunity 03­ Burn L.A. 04­ Failed State 05­ Bring Back the Draft 06­ This Scene Sucks 07­ Violent Retribution 08­ No, Man 09­ I Blame You 10­ Short Bus Society 11­ Wrong Again 12­ Fill in the Blank 13­ Kill Everybody 14­ No Jobs (Don’t Work) 15­ Cause Problems 16­ Parasites Die 17­ Popular War 18­ Blow Up the Embassy

(few “Birth A.D.” song clocking over 3 minutes), which sounds perfect for moshing and headbanging.

The riffs, though simples and not much technical, are fast and brutal as Thrash should be when it meets the roughness of Punk. The drumming is sharp and insane. It just sounds perfect combined with the more modern death­thrash style growls. The production is good, the guitar sounds heavy and raw and you can hear all the riffs clearly without missing any note. All in all, it's a pretty good album, very enjoyable one and very catchy. “I Blame You” is sure to please, at the same time, many thrashers and punks adepts.

Band: Jeff ­ Bass, Vocals Brian ­ Guitar, Vocals Mark ­ Drums, Vocals Contact Label: www.facebook.com/UnspeakableAxeRecords Contact Band: www.facebook.com/causeproblems birthad@gmail.com

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

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DECREPITAPH / HUMILIATION

Title: The Carnal Slumber/ Enemy’s Perimeter

Format: Split 7" EP

Release Date: 18.03.2013

Label: Eldritch Lunar Miasma Records / Dybbuk Records Genre: Death Metal Track Listing:

01­ The Carnal Slumber 02­ Enemy’s Perimeter Decrepitaph:

“Eldritch Lunar Miasma Records” (UK), united forces with “Dybbuk Records” (Mexico), to release “The Carnal Slumber / Enemy’s Perimeter”, split 7­inch EP featuring USA’s “Decrepitaph” and Malaysian's “Humiliation” death metal acts. The EP is limited to 500 copies (100 green and 400 black) pressed on 42­ gram vinyl with a four panel folder. “The Carnal Slumber” is the track proposed by “Decrepitaph”. On this track guitar riffs follow a pace that varies from slow to mid­tempo. The vocals are delivered as high reverbered growls, a clear tribute to the old school nature of death metal. The recording and production is a little muffled and suffocate a bit their heaviness.

Otherwise, “Humiliation's” “Enemy’s Perimeter” comes out in full force, with a good death metal tone. This band knows how to keep things accessible with simplistic hooks on song that is more mid­paced, and the brutality mostly coming by way of the vocals. In conclusion, this split 7­inch EP is an enjoyable listen, there is nothing remotely technical here, but the overall atmosphere is dark and sinister. It carries an ancient death metal that old school fans will appreciate.

Sinworm ­ Guitars / Vocals / Bass

Elektrokutioner ­ Drums / Bass Humiliation:

Adam ­ Vocals Agi ­ Guitar

Vman ­ Bass Iho ­ Drums

Contact Labels: www.eldritchlunarmiasma.com www.facebook.com/DybukkRecords Contact Bands: www.decrepitaph.com www.humiliation.my

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May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

Title: Controlled Elite Format: CD Release Date: 27.11.2012 Label: Comatose Music Genre: Death Metal Track Listing: 01­ Bloodties 02­ Body Colonizers 03­ Soiled 04­ Set in Stone 05­ Controlled Elite 06­ Immorally Reborn 07­ His Burden 08­ Root of Evil 09­ None Shall Remain 10­ Man vs. Man 11­ Condemned (bonus track)

DEHUMANIZED New York death metal veterans “Dehumanized” released their debut album back in the late ‘90s, “Prophecies Foretold”, and then promptly disappeared. Recently, two of the original members, guitarist Rich Nagasawa and drummer George Torres, have reformed “Dehumanized” with a new lineup. “Controlled Elite” is the title of the sophomore album, released on November 2012 via “Comatose” Music. “Controlled Elite” has that familiar old school NYC brutal death metal style. The way in which the music is put together doesn’t raise any negative emotions. We can hear all those super­catchy riffs, neck­breaking beats, irregular drumming and plenty of variety with tempo changes. However, the flip side is that they play a catchy riff in a song only for few seconds and just as you’re getting into it, they’ll stop and start doing something else, which makes the album pretty difficult to follow. For the most part though, it's just a continual rocking back and forth of groovy breakdowns to faster and heavier substance. Heaven for some, boring for others. The production of “Controlled Elite” is decent, but it does sound a little muddy at times. On the whole, “Controlled Elite” is a solid effort, not as incredible and original as album, but still a damn brutal, mildly technical, death metal album.

Band: Mike Centrone ­ Vocals Rich Nagasawa ­ Guitar Paul Tavora ­ Guitar Anthony Cossu ­ Bass George Torres ­ Drums

Contact Label: www.comatosemusic.com www.facebook.com/comatosemusiclabel www.myspace.com/comatosemusiclabel Contact Band: www.facebook.com/Dehumanized.NY

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

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DESVIRGINIZAGORE

Title: Eyaculador de Infección Putri Format: CD (EP) Release Date: July 2012 Label:Synister Torn Flesh Records Genre: Brutal Death Metal Track Listing: 01­ Intro 02­ Orgasmo Sexual Pus Sangriento Necrovaginal 03­ Abominable Traficante de Organos 04­ Eyaculador de Infeccion Putri 05­ Enfermo Cazador 06­ El Calor de la Bestia 07­ Creador del Terror

“Desvirginizagore” is a brutal death metal band hailing out of Lima, Perù. This is their debut EP, “Eyaculador de Infección Putri”, out on “Torn Flesh Records”.The band commitment to aggression is total and ensures the solidity of this work. The riffing is sick and exactly what you would expect from a band with the name “Desvirginizagore”. This is a slam infused release with a nice production and enriched with lot of groove and punch and breakdowns. The sound give you a hint of professional recording but still rough enough to sound like some serious underground music. There are also diversity in the vocal section and it helps the record a lot. Even the clean vocals on “El Calor de la Bestia” are perfectly complementary to the extreme brutality of this kind of proposal. There is another special plus in this EP, the song titles in Spanish, which sounds funny to my (Italian) ears. In conclusion, “Desvirginizagore” shows with this EP some great potential. If you like brutal death metal you should check them out.

Band: John Demonio Pokegore Beats of Madness Nekrogore Mardak

Contact Label: archive.org/details/tornfleshrecords www.facebook.com/tornfleshrecords Contact Band: desvirginizagore.com www.facebook.com/desvirginizagore

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May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

Title: Godless Format: CD

Release Date: 01.03.2013

Label: Deepsend Records Genre: Death Metal Track Listing:

01­ Snakes of the Low

DEUS OTIOSUS Danish death metallers “Deus Otiosus” released their sophomore effort “Godless” under “ D e e p s e n d R e c o r d s ” . S t y l i s t i c a l l y, t h i s a l b u m displays a strand of death/thrash heavy on “Slayer”/“Exodus”/“Sepultura” (early) style riffs with some slight modern death metal undertones.

The eclectic death and thrash metal sound merges well with their harsh hate filled and aggressive style, delivering pretty heavy and headbangable moments to the album. The slow­ to­mid tempo groove of songs like “New Dawn” and “Death Dance” show also “Deus Otiosus” clearly comfortable at the slower pace. The band is not out here to bewilder the listener with complex chaos, and the structure and catchiness of the tracks are well delivered. The production is excellent, everything is crisp and clear and the guitars sound good. In conclusion, “Godless” is a good release that will catch attention with i t s c o n s i s t e n c y.

02­ In Harm's Way 03­ New Dawn

04­ Pest Grave

05­ Surrounded By The Dead 06­ Cast From Heaven 07­ Face The Enemy 08­ Death Dance Band:

Anders Bo Rasmussen ­ Vocals Henrik Engkjær ­ Guitar Peter Engkjær ­ Guitar Jesper Holst ­ Bass

Jesper Olsen ­ Drums

Contact Label: www.deepsend.com Contact Band: www.deus­otiosus.com www.facebook.com/deusotiosus.dk

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

35

EXPURGATE

Title: Dementia Tremens Format: CD Release Date: 12.02.2013 Label: Comatose Music Genre: Slamming Death Metal Track Listing: 01­ 86 02­ Viscera Insufflation 03­ Fermented Concubine Ingurgitation 04­ Redemption Through Seppuku 05­ Methamphetamine Induced Surrogacy Malformation 06­ 40oz. Facefuck 07­ Repugnant Torso Defilement 08­ Viscous Human Putrilage 09­ Disgorging Vomitous Anomalies

“Dementia Tremens” is the full­length debut from Denver, Colorado’s “Expurgate”. The songs here are well structured, with many groove passages followed by some blast beat tempo. So if you’re just a lover of fast paced brutal death metal you should listen to “Dementia Tremens” carefully before buying it. Its lenght of 23 minutes is full packed with slams and grooves and, for the most part, “Expurgate” perform their songs well.“Dementia Tremens” is damn heavy, there aren’t breakdowns cluttering up the songs and making the album sound like generic deathcore, and with song titles like “Viscera Insufflation” and “Viscous Human Putrilage,” there’s enough gore to keep any fan of the genre satisfied. The vocals are guttural, although there are some death metal­ish passages. Bass line also retains a high presence throughout the record. The sound between instruments is well balanced, and clarity of tones are maximized for optimum sound impact. Overall, “Dementia Tremens” is a solid debut that worth a listen and especially if one likes slamming brutal death metal it would certainly not disappoint.

Band: Jaymes Grundmann­Vocals Devin Tauber­Bass Fuckin' Ian­Guitar Chris Van Cleave­Drums

Contact Label: www.comatosemusic.com www.facebook.com/comatosemusiclabel www.myspace.com/comatosemusiclabel Contact Band: www.facebook.com/pages/Expurgate expurgatebdm@gmail.com 36

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

Title: Towards the Baphomet’s Throne Format: CD Release Date: 25.09.2012 Label: Horror Pain Gore Death Productions Genre: Black/Death Metal Track Listing: 01­ Intro 02­ After Τhe Gates Οf Hell 03­ With Blood Αnd Vomit 04­ I Αm Death 05­ Walls Οf Worship 06­ From Hell Τhey Rise 07­ A Despondent Theme Τo Μy Own Demise 08­ Hedonistic Heresy 09­ Profecia Negra 10­ Cold Grey Sky

FIENDS AT FEAST “Fiends at Feast” is a black/death metal band from Santa Cruz, California. They self­released their debut EP “Shadows of Extinction“ in 2011, which was recently re­pressed by label “Horror Pain Gore Death Productions”. Actually, they are out with their debut full length album, “Towards the Baphomet’s Throne”, under the same label. The album showcases those sound lines you can find on a blackened death album (i.e.”Behemoth” or “Deicide”) rather than a standard black metal album. The band have a style that is already reasonably mature. There’s a positive feeling of cohesion that you pick up in “Towards the Baphomet’s Throne”. Song variations are fluid and unforced. Vocals bring emotional force, and harmonize well with the elements fulfilling the compositional design. Sometimes songs dive into melodic hooks that break up “Fiends at Feast's” tension fueled attack that is pervasive throughout the record. Overall, “Towards the Baphomet’s Throne” is an enjoyable album, and “Fiends at Feast” are pretty focussed on creating intellectually stimulating death/black metal well worth checking out.

Band: Loki ­ Vocal Sammer ­ Guitar David ­ Guitar Nathan ­ Bass Trevor ­ Drums

Contact Label: www.horrorpaingoredeath.com Contact Band:www.facebook.com/FiendsAtFeast

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

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LACHEROUS NOCTURNE

Title:Behold Almighty Doctrine Format: CD Release Date: 19.03.2013 Label: Unique Leader Genre: Death Metal Track Listing: 01­ Intro 02­ Ouroboros Chains 03­ Bring The Void 04­ Archeopteryx 05­ Those Having Been Hidden Away 06­ Prelude #2 07­ Judgments And Curses 08­ Lesions From Vicious Plague 09­ Caustic Vertigo 10­ Creation Continuum

“Lacherous Nocturne” third album, "Behold Almighty Doctrine", has been recently released via “Unique Leader” Records. Following the intro, “Lacherous Nocturne” pound out of the speakers with their relentless brutal death metal. Blast beats and filthy­sounding slamming riffs, schizophrenically changing from groovy and heavy to break­neck speed, come across all tracks.

Few songs on "Behold Almighty Doctrine" peaked longer than three minutes, and some listeners/buyer may complain about that. The production itself is not outstanding. The guitars sound are often drowned out by drums, but the bass is refreshingly high in the mix. The big problem with "Behold Almighty Doctrine" is that it has little to no memorable moments. There aren’t much of that particularly stands out tracks. The whole album is consistent in intensity, but I was expecting a little more from a band that shows such skill potential. It’s a shame, because the musicianship itself is good, but "Behold Almighty Doctrine" suffers from not so good songwriting, and it doesn’t offer much to separate itself from the already huge concentration of brutal death metal bands out there.

Band: Kreishloff ­ Guitars Alex Lancia ­ Drums Chris Lollis ­ Vocals Ethan Lane ­ Guitars James O'Neal ­ Bass

Contact Label: www.uniqueleader.com/ Contact Band: lecherousnocturne.net facebook.com/lecherousnocturne myspace.com/lecherousnocturne twitter.com/lecherousmetal 38

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

Title: Godconstruct Format: CD Release Date: 01.03.2013 Label: FDA­Rekotz Genre: Death Metal Track Listing: 01­ Praeludium: Endzeit 02­ Godconstruct 03­ Towards Damnation 04­ Moribund 05­ Blood For The Gods 06­ The Truth Concealed 07­ Interludium: Zeitenwende 08­ Seething With Rage 09­ Sworn To Death 10­ Reconquering The Soul 11­ Blindead 12­ Perdition Of The Whore

LIFELESS In March of 2013, “Lifeless” have released their sophomore full­length album “Godconstruct”, via German based label “FDA­Rekotz”. It contains twelve catchy pure classic death metal tracks performed with typical down tuned guitars and D­ beats. It’s the earlier style of Swedish death metal that German’s “Lifeless” unleash on the world. Some tracks remind me a bit the early releases of “Entombed”, “Dismember” and “Carnage”, which is most certainly a good thing for an old death­ metalhead like me. So, there is nothing out of the ordinary here, and nothing you haven’t heard before in any way or form, but they’ve done well with what they’ve done. It’s an album that shows remarkable musical structure and perfect chemistry between musicians. Grinding guitars, ferociously growled vocals (in a “L.G. Petrov” style) and relentless drum blasts are well mixed with melodic passages. They really know how handle these melodies among all this brutality. That’s probably the biggest strenght of this album. In conclusion, you know what to await from “Lifeless” and you get it in a good package.

Band: Marc ­ Vocals/ Guitar Daniel L. ­ Drums Jan ­ Guitar Daniel W. ­ Bass

Contact Label: www.fda­rekotz.com fda­rekotz@gmx.de Contact Band: www.facebook.com/lifelessofficial lifeless.band@email.de

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

39

LOGIC OF DENIAL

Title: Atonement Format: CD Release Date: 2013 Label: Comatose Music Genre: Death Metal Track Listing: 01­ Reek of Perpetual Infamy 02­ Weeping Upon Repugnance 03­ Behold the Throne of Torture 04­ Vile Blessing Prelude 05­ The Ravenous Patterns (of Oblivion) 06­ Sepsis 07­ Catharsis Through Ungodly Annihilation 08­ Apocrypha 09­ Oracles of Iniquity 10­ Ecthra 11­ Despondency

Italian death metal band “Logic of Denial” unleashed their second full length album titled “Atonement” through “Comatose Music”. Mastered at the “Hertz Studios” it consists of eleven tracks of blasting death metal brutality. The production on this album is great.

The drums and guitars come out of the speakers with excellent tone. It’s hard to talk about “Logic of Denial” without mentioning fellow Italian extreme metal acts like “Hour of Penance” and “Fleshgod Apocalypse”, for similarities in sound and style. “Atonement” is loaded with a master class of extreme metal drumming, with the blastbeats and stop­start drum present everywhere, with ferocious riffs to the point where the listener is given a chance to catch his breath rarely. Plenty of catchy riffs are virtually present in every song, but those moments are short­lived in favor of pure brutality. The fast and furious parts leave the main stage to slower grooves only in two songs (“Sepsis” and “Despondency”). All in all, “Logic of Denial” are playing a brutal death metal that has been heard before but performed at a remarkable level of quality. Fans of brutal death metal should definitely give “Atonement” a listen.

Band: Mattia Gatti ­ Vocals Alessandro D'Antone ­ Guitars Daniele Costa ­ Drums Marcello Tavernari ­ Bass

Contact Label: www.comatosemusic.com www.facebook.com/comatosemusiclabel Contact Band: www.logicofdenial.bigcartel.com www.reverbnation.com/logicofdenial www.facebook.com/LogicOfDenial 40

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

Title: Behold The Ascension Of The Execrated Format: CD Release Date: 2012 Label: Deathgasm Records Genre: Death/Black Metal Track Listing: 01­ Behold The Ascension Of The Execrated 02­ From The Darkness Below 03­ Abhorrent Baptism In The Vestal Cavity 04­ Procession To Possession 05­ Denying The Resurrection 06­ Torn Apart By Hate 07­ In Nomine Satanas 08­ Filth Upon Filth 09­ Abolished Holy Conceit

MANTICORE Cleveland death/black metallers “Manticore” are back, after 6 years since their last offering “For Rats and Plague” (2006), with their new full­length, "BeholdThe Ascension Of The Execrated", on “Deathgasm Records”.

This album is characterized by 30 minutes and 9 tracks of simple, and heavy riff­oriented death­black metal. The music is simple to the point of almost deserving the title “minimalistic”. Most of the songs sound the same, with subtle difference in the riffs, with songs structured around a primitive guitar approach. Songwriting is very formulaic and one dimensional. Vocals/rasps are pretty unspectacular, sticking to the most archaic form of early black metal bands. Additionally, the production quality is seriously lacking. Although a rawer sound can be a common feature of black metal, it has a so decrepit, analogue sound, without force and power, which results in a very weak and muffled production. If you enjoy raw, dirty, rough death/black in the way it was performed in the early 90's, then there are chances that you will also like “Manticore”. But for me, “Behold The Ascension Of The Execrated” just doesn’t have any dark feelings that a lot of primitive black metal albums had in those seminal days.

Band: Naberius ­ Guitar, Vocals Ixitichitl ­ Bass, Vocals The Wrangler – Drums

Contact Band: www.myspace.com/manticore666 aypslou@adelphia.net

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

41

MORGENGRAU

Title: Extrinsic Pathway Format: CD

Release Date: 02.04.2013

Label: Blind God Records

Genre: Death/Thrash Metal Track Listing:

01­ Extrinsic Pathway 02­ Antithetical

“Extrinsic Pathway” from Austin, TX­based traditional death metal band “Morgengrau”, has been released through “Blind God” Records on April 2013.

“Morgengrau” gained particular attention in death metal underground scene due to lineup being composed by two women, guitarsist/vocalist Erika (Tandy) Morgengrau (former “Ignitor” frontwoman) and drummer Reba Carls (ex­“Manifestation”). “Extrinsic Pathway” could be seen in the stylistic roots of the heavily death­thrash infused sound of early “Sepultura”, but played with more monolithic, doomy attitude. The album is well­developed and for the most part consistent. The seven songs (one track on the album is a cover of “Sepultura’s” “Inner Self”) are all written in similar style to an effective template that alters each time but keeps the same basic elements, time changes are kept to the same death­thrash mid­tempo to groovy pace and back again formula. The guitar sound isn’t as powerful but is still pretty heavy in proper old school death­thrash metal manner. The lead guitar work is also good but short and concise much of the time, however it adds something to the songs. The only major flaw seems to be the relative straightforward approach that limits a possibility for a great variation in sound. Other than that, “Extrinsic Pathway” is a good enough album for fans of old death/thrash metal school.

03­ The White Death 04­ Inner Self

05­ Choking Grove 06­ Grave Of Lies

07­ Chemosh Enlighten

08­ Polymorphic Communion Band:

Erika Morgengrau – Guitars / Vocals

Reba ­ Drums

Nick ­ Guitars Jacob ­ Bass

Contact Band: www.reverbnation.com/morgengrau www.morgengrau.bandcamp.com/

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NETHERMOST T h e Te x a n s “ N e t h e r m o s t ” f i n i s h e d r e c o r d i n g t h e i r

first release, ¨Alpha,¨ in early 2012. Something a n y p o t e n t i a l l i s t e n e r n e e d s t o k n o w r i g h t o ff t h e

bat is how this EP is firmly based on doom/death melodic roots. There is an all­around presence of guitar melodic leads throughout tracks, with growl

v o c a l s b r i n g s o m e b r u t a l i t y t o t h e t a b l e . H o w e v e r, few surprises are hiding around the corner of these

four songs. There is a lack of distinctive hooks in s o n g s w i t h a n u n w a r r e n t e d r e p t i t i o n o f r i ff s , w i t h Title: Alpha Format: EP

Release Date: 2012

Label: Hypnotic Dirge Records Genre: Doom/Death Track Listing:

the EP frequently sounding like one single track.

T h e r e i s n ’t a l s o q u i t e e n o u g h p o w e r o r f e e l i n g behind the music to make a massive impact. “The

Untroubled Kingdom of Reason” is their best

shoot here with its good mix of style, mood and substance. Overall, this EP is a promising start for a band that shows potential for future releases, but isn't quite memorable yet.

01­ Phasing Currents

02­ The Untroubled Kingdom of Reason

03­ Tower of the Winds

04­ Dance of Burning Beasts Band:

Cinthya Rocha ­ Guitars Waldo Rocha ­ Guitars John Johnston ­ Vocals Edgar Pinto ­ Drums

Contact Label: www.hypnoticdirgerecords.com Contact Band: www.netherdoom.bandcamp.com woekult@gmail.com

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

43

NOMINON

Title: The Cleansing Format: CD Release Date: late 2012 Label: Deathgasm Genre: Death Metal

Track Listing: 01­ Satanical Incubation (Intro) 02­ In The Name Of Gomorrah 03­ Mausoleum 04­ Unholy Sacrifice 05­ The Cleansing 06­ Abhorrent Parasites 07­ Hellwitch 08­ Obliteration 09­ Son Of Doom 10 Infernal Rites

“Nominon” has existed for twenty years at this point, and over the course of their career, have released full­lengths, as well as demo and EP releases. They are bringing here their fifth album, “The Cleansing”, released though “Deathgasm” records. Packaged with a black and white cover, it reminded me the cool covers fellow Swedish “Carbonized” used to unleash back in 90's. Right from proper album opener “In the name of Gomorrah”, it’s apparent the stylistic aim of these guys is to offer without frills, but rather thrills, a classic death metal, and “The Cleansing” delivers these with the harsh guitar sound of the duo Antichristian (aka Christian Strömblad) and Alexander Lyrbo. Of course, add to this vocalist Henke Skoog’s infamous guttural growls, and what you have is a recipe for old school death metal, pure example of how simple, consistent to the point death metal can simply brutalize and annihilate anything within its path. The songs are ferocious, catchy and dripping with intent and intensity. Except for the quiet and very short intro, this album is a non­stop aural assault up to the last second. Their thrash (primarily “Slayer”) and death (primarily “Malevolent Creation”) influences are in full force here and they ring out through every riff and every hook the band are able to present to the listener. If you’re looking for an album that’s going to push the death metal genre’s boundaries then “The Cleansing” is not the album for you but if, however, you are looking for an extremely solid and respectable old school death metal then “The Cleansing” is more than up to the task and will likely not disappoint.

Band: Henke Skoog ­ Vocals Juha Sulasalmi ­ Bass Perra Karlsson ­ Drums AntiChristian ­ Guitar Alex Lyrbo ­ Guitar, Vocals

Contact Label: evan@deathgasm.com Contact Band: www.nominon.com www.facebook.com/nominon666

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May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

Title: Miscreants Of Bloodlusting Aberrations Format: CD Release Date: 01.03.2013 Label: Dunkelheit Produktionen Genre: Death Metal Track Listing: 01­ Atrocity Exhibit 02­ Monolith 03­ Heretical Wisdom 04­ Abyss of Perpetual Upheaval 05­ Ideological Strife 06­ Leviathan

PATHOGEN Old school tastiness! Rising up from San Pablo, Philippines, “Pathogen” delivers seven songs of Death Metal beatings of the soul and body in the form of their sophomore album "Miscreants Of Bloodlusting Aberrations". It was previously available on tape­only in 2009, being reissued this year under the German “Dunkelheit Produktionen”, featuring a brand new album artwork. As an added bonus, “Pathogen” offer up a cover of the track "Afterlife", from old schoolers “Sacrifice”. "Miscreants Of Bloodlusting Aberrations" is an old school, uncompromising, death metal album, with some hints of classic thrash metal as well. The first thing that one notices right from the start is the raw production quality. It sounds more like a demo rather than a proper full length album. Boosted by blast beat tempo, the band is equally adept at high speed tremolo picking in the vein of classic “Morbid Angel”. Some of the guitar riffing even recalls the older Swedish masters. The band’s music is complemented by some sparse, but not so tasteful, guitar solos. The guitar tone is extremely thin and lacking any form of dynamics.

The drumming is also too rigid and repetitive, and the vocals are rather one dimensional. In the end, I think “Pathogen” is too much a product of its influences; the band lacks a unique identity of its own. "Miscreants Of Bloodlusting Aberrations" might just satisfy only a craving for classic and raw death metal of early days.

07­ Afterlife (SACRIFICE cover) 08­ Uranium Messiah

Band: Nino Jerome Aranza­Bass Vic Jarlego­Drums Jervish Alcos­Guitars Willie Desamero­Vocals/Guitars

Contact Label: www.dunkelheit­produktionen.de Contact Band: www.myspace.com/pathogenonline www.facebook.com/pages/Pathogen­PH pathogenic_virulence@hotmail.com

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

45

PYROCIST

Title: Execute

Format: Single

Release Date: 2012

Genre: Death/Doom Metal

“ P yr oc i s t ” i s a D u ba i b a s e d m e l odi c d e a t h m e t a l ba nd f o unde d i n S e pt e m be r 2011 . “ E x e c ut e ” s i n g l e i s “ P yr o c i s t ” f i r s t e ve r s o ng r e c o r de d i n s t u di o . T h e s ong ha s s e ve r a l t r a ns i t i ons a p i e c e , w h i c h pr o v i d e s e nou gh m e a t t o c he w o n. I t g e ne r a l l y r a nge s f r om s l ow t o m i d­ pa c e d t e m p o, s ur f i ng f r om m e l o d i c de a t h t o a b r a s i ve d oom m e t a l t e r r i t or y. T he m i x of

m e l odi c de a t h w i t h doom u nd e r t o ne s c r e a t e s a s ound t ha t i s n’t e ve r b or i n g, bu t n e i t he r i s i t o ve r l y e xc i t i ng. W h i l e t he r e a r e a f e w i n t e r e s t i n g c ha ng e s i n t e m p o a nd be a t f ou nd i n t he t r a c k , i t i s a l i t t l e f a de d a n d doe s n' t ha ve e n ough po w e r or f e e l i n g be hi nd i t . A ny w a y, t he gu i t a r w or k b y R i dw a n a n d O m e r i s c om pe t e nt . O t he r w i s e , F i l i p' s v oi c e s u ff e r s f r om l ow e n d pr oduc t i on , w i t h voc a l s r e c o r de d w i t h t oo m uc h f uz z a nd r e v e r b e ff e c t s t o m a t c h m y t a s t e .

I n c o nc l us i o n, t hi s i s a g oo d s on g t ha t s ho w s po t e nt i a l f o r f ut ur e ba nd r e l e a s e s , but i s n ' t q ui t e s pe c t a c u l a r y e t .

Track Listing: 01­ Execute

Band:

Filip ­ Vocals

Omer ­ Guitar

Ridwan ­ Guitar Rahim ­ Drums Viren – Bass

Contact Band: www.facebook.com/pyrocist www.reverbnation.com/pyrocist

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May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

Title: The Final Solution; The Final Rebellion Format: CD (EP) Release Date: 19.03.2013 Label:Synister Empire Records Genre: Experimental Death Metal Track Listing: 01­ Fuck The Recession ; Kill Those That Caused It 02­ Amassing Towards Truth 03­ The Master's Summons 04­ The Grande Hecatomb 05­ The Final Rebellion

REIGN OF VENGEANCE The Scottsdale, Arizona act “Reign of Vengeance” released “The Final Solution; The Final Rebellion” EP on “Synister Empire Records”. “Reign of Vengeance” features members of well recognized bands like “Cephalic Carnage”, “Decrepit Birth”, “Rebirth”, “Goatwhore”. Tagged as a death metal band, "Reign of Vengeance's" sound proves to be more eclectic than expected, embedded with plenty of experimental elements and different metal stylings. They are focussed on displaying heavy­ rock­folk­like tones and deathcore breakdowns and infusing them with as much ferocity and crushing energy as possible. Vocalist, Marshall "fucking" Beck, employs different vocal tactics as well, mixing guttural tone with more high­pitched anguish. Overall, the songs are really solid and easy to listen to, performed with huge guitar hooks and soaring vocal chorus that clicks into the brain pan immediately. “The Final Solution; The Final Rebellion” is a gritty record that succeeds not just on the catch brutality of its tone, but also the quality of its songwriting.

Band: Marshall "fucking" Beck ­ Vocals Tim Gibson ­ Guitars Doug Williams ­ Bass James Applegate ­ Drums

Contact Label: www.myspace.com/synisterempirerecords Contact Band: www.facebook.com/ReignofVengeance

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

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REVEL IN FLESH

Title: Manifested Darkness Format: CD/LP Release Date: 12.04.2013 Label:FDA­Rekotz Genre: Death Metal Track Listing: 01­ Revel In Flesh 02­ Dominate The Rotten 03­ Deathmarch 04­ Manifested Darkness 05­ Torment In Fire 06­ The Maggot Colony 07­ Operation Citadel 08­ Warmaster 09­ Rotting In The Void 10­Twisted Mass of Burnt Decay (CD Bonus Track) 10­ Mutilation (LP Bonus Track)

“Revel in Flesh” has returned with the follow­up to their “FDA­Rekotz” debut “Deathevokation”. The band's sophomore release, “Manifested Darkness”, has been put out under the same label. It contains nine tracks plus one special bonus track exclusive to the CD/LP versions. The album was mixed and mastered at legendary “Unisound Studio” by Dan Swanö. The line­up consists of former “Immortal Rites”, “Dawn of Dreams” and “Apophis” members. The songs and riffing are great and have some nice originality even though there are some heavy old­ school European death metal dejavús at some points, but that’s not a bad thing. There are riffs that really stays in your head and makes you wanna go back to that song just to listen to that riff again. At times you really feel the atmosphere shining through the sound, and somehow it's just a pleasure to listen to. “Manifested Darkness” shows a band with a solid technique, smart writing and amazing vocal performances. The drum mid­tempo pattern do get rather repetitive at times, but this is only a minor niggle.

Overall, “Revel in Flesh's” newest full­length album is all around very solid death metal release, and a must­ hear for the death metal crowd.

Band: Haubersson ­ Guitars/Bass/Vocals Maggesson ­ Drums/Guitars

Contact Label: www.fda­rekotz.com fda­rekotz@gmx.de Contact Band: www.revelinflesh.jimdo.com

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May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

Title: Fuck You Very Much Format: Demo

Release Date: 2011

Genre: Death Metal Track Listing:

01­ Infectious Perceptions

ROTTENOMICON “Rottenomicon” has been founded in Malang ­ East Java ­ Indonesia on 2011. They recorded their first demo, “Fuck You Very Much”, on the same year. It consists of three tracks of old­school death metal with political and social critic lyrics. They're influenced by early and mid 90's brutal death metal, especially “Suffocation” and “Cannibal Corpse”. They keep their music simple and brutal, however, without the technicality of the latter bands. The playing is very tight and powerful. However, the songs do sound quite similar to one another. The drumming is based on blast beat loops mode, without many variations. The three tracks are also almost lacking of guitar leads and solos, which is pretty unpleasant to hear. While not very versatile, the growled vocals are quite brutal, just what you’d want from this kind of release. The best track is “Losesdupicia”. It's characterized by heavier and groovier mood. It displays the band true potential, allowing you to see what could come from them in the future. The production is decent, with a heavy sound not so over­saturated. Overall, there is essentially nothing too wrong with this demo, as everything is well rehearsed, played and executed, but while decent, it’s just not a stand­out release.

02­ Losesdupicia

03­ Stench for Enrichment Band:

Anton ­ Drums Jev ­ Guitars

Harry ­ Guitars Gobbs ­ Vocals

Kashmir ­ Bass

Contact Band: www.facebook.com/rottenomicon www.twitter.com/rottenomicon www.reverbnation.com/rottenomicon www.myspace.com/rottenomicon rottenomicon@yahoo.co.id May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

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THOUSAND YEAR WAR

Title: Kingdom of America Format: EP

Release Date: 2013

Genre: Death Metal / Punk Track Listing:

01­ Kingdom of America 02­ Weep As We Die

Based in Shingletown, California and founded in 2008, “Thousand Year War” have released “Kingdom of America” EP, the follow­up to 2011's “Tyrants and Men” debut album. The lineup on this new release feature multi­instrumentalist/composer Hiram Lohr on guitars, bass, and vocals and Fredrik Widigs on drums. They created a sound that pays homage to hardcore punk roots while exploring a more melodic death metal composing style.

“Thousand Year War's” consistent plan of attack includes gracious melodies, simple riffs, energetic structure, thunderous drums, and intelligent vocals.

“Kingdom of America” crushes you with its mid­ paced heaviness, from the opening riff to the hammering last verse. As an added surprise, “Thousand Year War” has included a fresh and well performed cover of “Misfits” (“London Dungeon”).

In conclusion, the spirit of hardcore is strong enough in this EP while the death metal sound toys with much melodic elements. “Kingdom of America” is characterized by lots of energy and delivers an overall well­rounded metal experience.

03­ London Dungeon (Misfits Cover)

04­ Doom Rides These

Mountains (instrumental) 05­ Vulture Eyes

06­ Gather The Wolves Band:

Hiram Lohr ­ Guitars, Bass,Vocals

Fredrik Widigs ­ Drums

Contact Band: www.facebook.com/tyrantsandmen www.thousandyearwar.com

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May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

Title: Frostbitepanzerfuck Format: CD Release Date: 2013 Label: Horror Pain Gore Death Productions Genre: Black Metal/Punk Track Listing: 01­ Roto­Cunt 02­ Goat Sodomizer 03­ Cunt Sucking Cannibal [GG Allin cover] 04­ Frostbitepanzerfuck 05­ Attack of the Zombie Brigade 06­ The Splatterhouse Maniacs 07­ Necro Overload 08­ Exterminate Humanity

THE BEYOND “Frostbitepanzerfuck” is the full­length debut album from Central Pennsylvania's “The Beyond”, on sale through “Horror Pain Gore Death” Productions.

“Frostbitepanzerfuck” is instantly familiar and simultaneously new. The band plays hard and fast, mixing old­school black metal (“Mayhem”) and dirty punk with remarkable skill and grit. The music explodes from the speakers like a thunderstorm with tracks characterized by blackened atmospheres, expecially the title­track and “The Splatterhouse Maniacs” (my favourite), perfectly combined with other songs that got a typical punky taste (“Roto­Cunt” and GG Allin’s “Cunt Sucking Cannibal” cover). Lead guitarist Andy Craven and vocalist/guitarist Danny Starkiller really shine on “Frostbitepanzerfuck”, with Craven delivering some blistering fretwork solos resembling Jimmy Page's stylistic guitar lineages, and Starkiller that goes from screaming, to raw singing, with his effort fueled by some punk gang vocals on some track. The drums are also thundering and keep the band sound tight. In conclusion, “The Beyond” proves more than just another "black metal" act, with a debut album release that pleases the ears.

Band: R:W ­ Bass L. Sweger ­ Drums A.Craven ­ Guitars (lead) D. Starkiller ­ Vocals/Guitars

Contact Label: www.horrorpaingoredeath.com Contact Band: www.facebook.com/thebeyond999

May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

51

THE MODERN AGE SLAVERY

Title: Requiem for Us All Format: CD Release Date: 19.03.2013 Label:Pavement Entertainment Genre: Death Metal Track Listing: 01­ Requiem For Us All 02­ The Dawn Prayer 03­ Obedience 04­ The Silent Death of Cain 05­ Ivory Cage 06­ Opiate for the Masses 07­ Slaves of Time 08­ Icon of a Dead World 09­ Requiem To My Nation 10­ Arise

“The Modern Age Slavery” drop here their sophomore album out on “Pavement Entertainment”, five years after the release of their debut, "Damned to Blindness", which established them in the metal underground landscape.

“Requiem for Us All” is a fast paced death metal album, filled with many sick and powerful breakdowns. The lineup bubbles through the ten tracks (the tracklist includes also the cover version of “Arise” from “Sepultura”) with energy and a tight bond of musicianship. Guitarists Luca Cocconi and Simone Bertozzi are no doubt extremely proficient with their axes.

Their riffs have the technical edge of modern technical death metal bands, and the melodies heard during their guitar lines are well mixed with shredding motifs. The drum work is solid and flows with security between the various moments of the music, performed well by a drummer who has a tremendous resourcefulness for fast parts and also for slamming moments. The vocal lines, although basic, are extremely functional for the structure of the songs. The album sounds very homogeneous and the quality prevails over all tracks. This is a damned fine record, although sometimes it does not sound totally new to my ears. In coclusion, I recommend you to give “Requiem for Us All” a spin on your CD player.

Band: Giovanni Berselli ­ Vocals Luca Cocconi ­ Guitar Simone Bertozzi ­ Guitar Mirco Bennati ­ Bass Stefano Brognoli ­ Drums

Contact Label: www.pavementmusic.com Contact Band: www.themodernageslavery.com www.facebook.com/tmasofficial

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May 2013 I Milfits 'zine

YEARS OF TYRANTS “Leading the Blind” was produced back in 2010 but stayed unreleased until “Kaotoxin” records picked up the band and decided to give new life to this MCD. It features nine tracks of technical and brutal deathcore.

“Leading the Blind” may only last for just 23 minutes, but it probably features more guitar riffs and and drum hits then a lot of bands around the scene. “Years of

Title: Leading the Blind Format: MCD Release Date: 06.05.2013 Label: Kaotoxin Genre: Technical Deathcore

Track Listing: 01­ Stronger than all 02­ Through infamy 03­ Infestation of larvae 04­ (interlude) 05­ Euthanasia 06­ This world is ours 07­ Leading the blind 08­ This is meat 09­ Of those who wasted it all

Tyrants” are highly technical in their style while still being punishing and brutal. The drumming is talented, it shines its brightest during the breakdowns, where blast beats and crashes reign supreme. For these reasons you really need to give “Leading the Blind” your full attention, because it's far away from easy listening. “Leading the Blind” is an album played with impressive musicianship, but on the first few listens it does lack the hooks and memorable sections that are really required to back an outstanding record. But if you give it some time,“Leading the Blind” will eventually reveal its hidden treasures .

Band: Recording (2010) Leny Lecacheur ­ Vocals Brice Gauthier ­ Guitars Florian Himbaut ­ Bass Benoit Peichert ­ Drums

Present (2013) Arnaud Carpentier ­ Vocals Jordy Deregnaucourt ­ Guitar Benoit Peichert ­ Guitar Vincent Guerin ­ Bass Thibaut Wydault ­ Drums

Contact Label: www.facebook.com/kaotoxinrecord Contact Band: www.facebook.com/yearsoftyrants

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