#17-Inside the darkness

Edition for true metalfans

s17 of T

#17†30.07.2021

rve MetalZines

News•Reviews•Interviews•Exclusive

1

CREW

Evgeny-Destroyer Editor-in-chief, design https://www.facebook.com/ evgeny.dubovskoy Mail: destroyerr78@mail.ru WhatsApp: +79180242178

Olga «Blackie» Schneider Editor, interviewer, text corrector, reviewer https://www.facebook.com/ olga.metalheart Mail: olgaschneider.1997@gmail.com Inst:https://www.instagram.com/blackie_metalheart/

Jay Parker - Editor, Interviewer, Reviewer Luc St-Clair - Editor, Reviewer of Melodeath albums

Andrew Stanton Editor, interviewer, text corrector corrector, reviewer https://www.facebook.com/ andrew.stanton.71216 WhatsApp: 0044 07527 362762

A special thanks to...

Helmuth Lehner (Belphegor) for his TOTAL support ...and especial y to these people for the interviews https://destroyerr78.wixsite.com/insidethedarkness Claudeous Creamer (Power Shift) https://www.facebook.com/InsideTheDarknessMetalZine Nyoman Sastrawan (Devoured) https://www.instagram.com/inside_the_darkness_webzine Christophe Chatelet (Gorgon) https://vk.com/insidethedarknessmetalwebzine Arched Fire (All band) https://twitter.com/metal_webzine Jay White (Overthrow) Roman and Marina (Instorm) Hails to everyone!

Tobias Rydsheim (Wormwood) Some circumstances made us postpone this issue Lilita Arndt (Ieschure) again, but we’re glad to announce that we have some Andred (Angel of Anger) new people on board. We’re going forward and we’re Alex (Path of Destiny) endlessly grateful to each of you dudes for your support Jay Parker (The Witch) and interest.

Asbath (Darkestrah) It’s also killer to see that the whole world is getting back Alastor (Maleficarum) to the normal life faster and faster, so we’re actually full Rubber Witch (Rubber VVitch) of expectations from the autumn.

Jan Oblak (Zorya) Stay tuned & enjoy.

Matti Sorsa (Evil Drive) In Metal, Olga Schneider, editor.

Javier (Stenches Beyond Repulsive) Ralf W. Garcia (Requiem)

Editor’s brief

2

News from hell..........................................6

CONTENT Power Shift Interview with Claudeous.......8 Devoured Interview with Nyoman...................12 Gorgon Interview with Christophe...10 Arched Fire/Ari, Janne, Kristian, Assu........18 Overthrow Interview with Jay White........20 Instorm Interview with Roman and Marina........24 Wormwood Interview with Tobias.............28 Ieschure Interview with Lilita................32 Angel of Anger Interview with Andred...34 Path of Destiny Interview with Alex....................38

The Witch Interview with Jay Parker......42 Darkestrah Interview with Asbath......44 Maleficarum Interview with Alastor.......46 Rubber VVitch Interview with Rubber Witch........48 Zorya Interview with Jan Oblak......50 Evil Drive Interview with Matti....52 Stenches Beyond Repulsive Interview with Javier.......54 Requiem Interview with Ralf W. Garcia..............56

Best Metal releases..............60

Stories about Metal bands..............102

Inside The Darkness reviews............118

Metalheads are waiting for it............140

3

ATTENTION! AN EDITOR NEEDED. Since our edition is actively growing, we

have

realized that we need more people to our board.

We’re

looking for an editor for reviews, active

contact with bands and labels and for making interviews.

The main thing we demand is being a true Extreme Metal fan. If you’re really one of them, other things simply go by themselves.

If you’re open for such kind of work, feel free to contact us: https://www.facebook.com/InsideTheDarknessMetalZine https://www.instagram.com/inside_the_darkness_webzine https://twitter.com/metal_webzine

Also you can contact with all our editors personally on our personal pages.

IMPORTANT! We’re pure enthusiasts,

and the payment is

strong experience of collaboration with massive

Extreme Metal

4

bands and lots of new killer

contacts in general.

Inside the Darkness issues

5

World Metal News

Beyond the Gates Festival, USF Verftet, Bergen, Norway, 6-7 August.

Schedule Beyond the Gates: Uprising Friday August 6th 18:00 Doors 19:00 Phantom Fire 20:00 Vulture Industries 21:00 Whoredom Rife 22:00 Helheim 23:20 Gaahls WYRD Saturday August 7th 16:00 Inculter (Free all ages show in Ferikolonien - outside USF) 18:00 Doors 19:00 Sahg 20:00 Vemod 21:00 AETERNUS 22:00 Djevel 23:20 Taake

Metal On The Hill 2021 Graz, Austria 13-14.08.2021 Lineup Beast In Black Marduk Darkfall Fleshgod Apocalypse Freedom Call Harakiri For The Sky Lordi Nanowar Of Steel

6

6

Nervosa Pain Is Samael Silenzer Temperance Tyr Warkings Wind Rose

For the second year now, due to well known circumstances, Brutal Assault cannot take place in its usual form JOSEFSTADT is a threeday festival taking place at the Fortress Josefov from 12-14 August 2021.

Fest shedule: Sea Shepherd Stage Thursday 12th Aug ANIME TORMENT 14:00 - 14:35 DISTANT 15:10 - 15:50 HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY 16:35 - 17:25 DEBUSTROL 18:20 19:15 DECAPITATED 19:55 20:50 VADER 21:40 - 22:40 DESTRUCTION 23:40 00:50 Octagon Stage BOHEMYST 17:30 - 18:15 GRIDE 19:20 - 19:50 STÍNY PLAMENŮ 20:55 - 21:35 BELZEBONG 22:45 - 23:35 SICK SINUS SYNDROME 00:55 - 01:30 Friday 13th Aug Sea Shepherd Stage MEAN MESSIAH 11:30 - 12:05 BURNING WITCHES 12:30 - 13:10 TEETHGRINDER 13:35 - 14:15 MENTAL CRUELTY 14:40 - 15:20 SKYWALKER 16:05 - 16:50 IMPLORE 17:45 - 18:30 IMPLORE 17:45 - 18:30 ČAD 19:30 - 20:15 MARDUK 21:15 - 22:25 HYPOCRISY 23:25 - 00:40 WITHIN DESTRUCTION 14:50 - 15:35 GRUZJA 16:25 - 17:15 CRIPPLED FINGERS 00:50 - 01:30

Octagon Stage INSISTENT 15:25 - 16:00 TRUCHLO STRZYGI 16:55 - 17:40 E-FORCE 18:35 - 19:25 DORDEDUH 20:20 - 21:10 AD NAUSEAM 22:30 - 23:20 THE MATERIA 00:45 - 01:30 Saturday 14th Aug Sea Shepherd Stage SPASM 11:30 - 12:10 INNERSPHERE 12:35 - 13:15 CATASTROFY 13:40 - 14:25 AZARATH 18:05 - 18:55 S.D.I. 19:45 - 20:35 IGORRR 21:30 - 22:40 MGLA 23:35 - 00:45 Octagon Stage ALTARS ABLAZE 15:40 - 16:20 DOOMAS 17:20 - 18:00 MINDWORK 19:00 - 19:40 SNĚŤ 20:40 - 21:25 REACTORY 22:45 - 23:30 CRIPPLED FINGERS 00:50 - 01:30

77

Power Shift - Death Metal from United States

Interview with Claudeous Creamer

8

Interview by Olga Schneider

1. First of all, I’d like to mention again that it’s a big honor for me to do this interview. Musicians/ people like you are really inspiring, and at such fukked up times in particular. But what has

been your main source of inspiration and

Thank you for having me. It’s an honor for me as well.

I started this / writing in the beginning of the pandemic. With so much emotional and tragic events happening around the world.

ke a t s y a alw l l i w ft i h S r e w Possessed o ngP i h t y n A . e . d e s s e s s o precedenc nd P u o r a e b does will tivation up all

m o not to give this time?

2. So, now you’re actively developing your new project named Power Shift. How and when did you get the idea of this project? What was the original goal?

I believe its very important to send a good and positive message for all to e n j o y .

Music really brings us all to a good place in such a bad time.

3.

The b a n d consists of people from b a n d s that have r e a l l y strong impact on Metal scene worldwide. Why did you decide that you wanted these people to join you for the new project, not anyone else? What were your main principles in choosing people?

Or it simply happened

somehow naturally?

Greg Christian and I have been good friends for many years. And have talked about doing something together. I was introduced to

Jim settle from Greg. And we became really good friends immediately. The original drummer we had. Had to leave for personal reasons.

And we found / Gary Neff/ through a mutual friend.

4. How strong was the

impact of Possessed while you started working on content for Power Shift?

Has been no impact. Currently working on new possessed album as well.

5.

The first song of the project was released a year ago.

Are you actively preparing something to get rel e a s e d nowadays or you’re just composing s o m e t h i n g without hurrying?

We have finished a 3 song EP that is set to be released v e r y soon in July.

6. What old school bands inspire you most of all while working on Power Shift?

For this I have been inspired a lot by a lot of different type bands like.

9

Power Shift - Death Metal from United States 10

King diamond, Merciful fate, Helloween, Kreator, Slayer, Megadeth Etc… As I love all music. Felt it important to implement everything for a large listening base.

7. Do you have any special approach while working on this one?

Is that completely different from Possessed or still the same? And what’s the difference if there really is any special difference?

For me it’s really from the heart, an emotional connection.

8. Does the name of the project have any personal meaning for you?

Yes, definitely. I love riding motor cross!

Speed and aggression.

9. Do you plan to promote it actively or it’s first of all some kind of new challenge for yourself? Or do you plan to mix these two aspects?

Absolutely.

Will be going all out for sure.

10. Since Metal culture started existing, lots of things have changed.

What changes are negative and what are positive, in your opin-

ion? What should have never been changed?

To me metal has really flourished. And come

a long way. The beautiful thing about metal is all are welcome. there are no limitations or exclusions. And it will continue to morph and change 11. How do you plan to combine your intense work with Possessed and your new project, regarding tours and stuff like that in particular?

Possessed will always take precedence. Anything power shift does will be around possessed.

12. What are your plans

regarding Power Shift for the nearest future?

Releasing 3 song EP. And we have some great shows coming up.

13. How can you define the genre of this project? As I understood, it’s some kind of mix of different old school genres…

Yeah I think that a good analogy. It really is a mix of all the old school genres with a modern sound.

14.What’s the future of Metal worldwide for the nearest 1-2 decades, in your opinion?

The sky is the limit!

I am excited to see what comes. So many amazing musicians and creativeness.

15. In the end of this interview, we’d like to thank you once again for this opportunity and wish you really good luck with everything. What would you like to say to our crew and audience?

Thank you so much for having me and all the support. I’d like to say.

I love you all and hope to see you all again soon.

Claudeous Creamer.

Our radio station Spider Music was born from the Metal group All Roads Lead To Metal, which has been active for two years. Spider Music is a radio station conceived to broadcast the best of the metal scene in the world. Both the station and the group are spaces designed to know the best of the underground

Metal

bands from all over the continent.

In

our programming you will find a

selection of music designed for those extreme listeners, with extreme tastes for extreme metal. sounds of

We want Spider Music.

to expand our web so that everyone gets caught in the

All Roads Lead To Metal II https://www.facebook.com/groups/1076102342807748 Radio station: https://zeno.fm/spider-music

11

Devoured - Death Metal from Indonesia

Interview with Nyoman Sastrawan

Interview by Andrew Stanton

Devoured are a brutal Death Metal band from Indonesia and their new album The Curse of Sabda Palon is awesome. Andrew Stanton talked to frontman Nyoman about the new album.

Hello and welcome to Inside the Darkness.

Hello Andrew, Nyoman Sastrawan here from Devoured, Indonesia.

- Can you tell our readers a bit about your history, please?

Devoured was found in Yogyakarta 1998. We play Old School Death Metal like Entombed, Dismember, Bloodbath. We just released the new album ‘The Curse Of Sabda Palon’.

It was released by Sadist records & Vrykoblast Production.

- What bands did you listen to growing up?

I listen to many bands and many genres. But this week I listened to some old school death metal stuff like Autopsy ‘Mental Funeral’, new CD

our readers check out?

Indonesia is the biggest metal scene in Asia. Death Metal has a big fansbase. If you are interested with Indonesia Metal scene, you will find a lot of good quality bands.

Death Vom- it, Jasad, D e a d squad, Viscral, Pure Wrath, Vallendusk, etc.

Who is Sabda Palon? Is this a concept album?

Yes, the concept of the album.

Read the short story below - A story from the age of kings in Java dwipa; the great Majapahit kingdom, about 1294-

s a h l a t e M k c la B Death Metal & . a i s e n o d n I n i e a big fansbas

12

of Cannibal Corpse ‘Violence Unimagined’, some Black Metal & Doom Metal bands.

- What is the Indonesian scene like? What bands should

1478. An unwritten tale comes to us from the end of the kingdom’s golden years; that a kingdom as great and luxurious as Majapahit can fall apart and disappear without a trace! War broke out due to a power struggle, the outcome was a religious revolution which caused the split of the kingdom.

Sabda Palon was an honorable advisor to the king of Majapahit who led and gave advice for the benefit of the Kingdom’s prosperity. However, during the rule of King Bre Kertabumi/Brawijaya V (of the fifth generation of Brawijaya rulers) at the end of the fourteenth century, the counsellor’s advice fell on deaf ears.

Eventually, war broke out and the kingdom was invaded.

At last, the king bowed down to the enemy and was helpless. The people of the kingdom and the advisor were heartbroken by the king’s decision.

The king’s advisor, Sabda Palon, swore an oath. The 13th curse of the oath, which was believed already to have happened several

times before, describes a flood. In this flood, people will lose everything: family, wealth, even their lives. Everything will disappear, swallowed by the flood. This 13th curse will happen and hit civilization when the pattern of humanity’s behavior exceeds their provision.

What are your lyrics about?

Story of the Great Empire called Majapahit. It existed from 1293 to circa 1527. Yes, the story is dedicated to Idonesian history. So many people are interested in reading their history again.

- Do European bands ever tour there?

Many European bands were touring in indonesia. We have many

big festivals like Hammersonic Fest, Rock in Solo, Jogjarockarta, etc.

- Why do you think so many Metal magazines ignore Black and Death Metal?

Maybe Black Metal & Death Metal contain explicit lyrics, some brutal and gore stuff. But not for Indonesia, Death Metal & Black Metal has a big fansbase here.

You cannot ignore them.

- Do you have a message for our readers?

Hail for readers, check out Indonesian bands. You must try to listen to them.

13

Gorgon-Black/Metal from France

Interview with Christophe Chatelet

14

Interview by Andrew Stanton

Hello and welcome to Inside the Darkness.

- Can you tell our readers a bit about your history, please?

I formed the band in 1991 in the South of France.

With different line-ups we have published 1 demo (Call From U n known Depths) in 1992, 1 EP (Immortal Horde) in 1993 on the Italian label

Wounded Love Records and 4 albums afterwards (The Lady Rides A Black Horse -1995, Reign of Ob-

years and we came back in 2019, with our 5th album The Veil Of Darkness, out o n the French label Osmose Productions.

Recently our new a l b u m Traditio Satanae has just been released, also on the same label. Between 2019 and 2020, our first 4 albums have all also been reissued in a remastered version.

the most s a w l a t e M h t a gs, De At our beginnin tal scene. e m e m e r t x e in the popular style ck Metal. la B o t d e n e t s uys li Only a few g scenity -1996, The Jackal Pact -1998, The Spectral Voices -2000. The band was put on hiatus for a few

- What bands did you like growing up?

I started with Venom, Celtic Frost, Bathory, Sarcofago, Bulldozer, Torture which at the time we could find on vinyl format. Subsequently, I slipped into the underground scene with Samael, Acheron, Tiamat or even Impaled Nazarene. Nowadays, thanks to the internet, we have the possibility to listen or get what we want in demo, EP or other limited prints. But back then, that wasn’t the case, unless you knew someone who had the right contacts or that you received mailing lists in paper format.

- What was it like making Black Metal in 1992 compared to now? What was the French scene like in the early 90’s?

At our beginnings, Death Metal was the most popular style in the extreme metal scene. Only a few guys lis-

tened to Black Metal, because the French mags or fanzines were not focused on this dark music. With the exceptions of Gorgon, Mutiilation and Maleficum Orgia, there wasn’t much happening in France back in 1992. I

was in contact with the leader of Mutiilation and we performed 2 times with Malefi-

cum Orgia in 1993. Blessed In Sin or Osculum Infame for example, were formed a bit later. All that changed, with the arrival of the Scandinavian scene, with acts such as Cradle Of Filth, responsible for launching the trend. National metal mags started publishing interviews of them and the audience followed this trend.

As usual, indeed.

- What are your lyrics about?

They mainly revolve around death, occultism, witchcraft, darkness.

Classic themes in short, but which are quintessential for me, for a Black Metal band. It’s all about the way they are written and presented, in order to bring originality. We spend a lot of time on our lyrics, so as not to repeat ourselves, even if the majority of the guys who listen to this style are mainly interested in the music.

15

Gorgon-Black/Metal from France 16

- Was singing in English a hard decision to make?

On the contrary, it was clear from the start that this was the language in which I wanted to express myself. Over the years, groups have started to stand out by singing in their native language.

Again, more or less Scandinavia initiated the thing, and then it started spreading throughout the world.

But, take for example the original artists such as: Bathory in Sweden, Hellhammer or Samael in Switzerland, Necromantia or Totting Christ in Greece, English was their basic language. It’s not that we wanted to go with the flow, it happened naturally that’s all. I maintain that our choice was the correct one, as far as Gorgon is concerned.

- There is another French band called Gorgon. Was this ever a problem for you?

I would have preferred that they take another name, it would have been more logical, especially since they knew of our existence. 2 extreme metal groups in the

anymore, that’s no reason for a new group to use that name. This is what happened to us. This fake gorgon has split up about a year ago, but the name their productions

same country with the same surname, it’s not the most intelligent thing. This must have created confusion among listeners for sure. Our group was on a break when they started, from the panel of names available it would have been wiser on their end to pick a different one altogether. Slayer doesn’t exist

and some merch are still circulating on the web. There was also another gorgon, a Japanese heavy-metal band, which was created after we were already established. But at that time, since the internet did not exist, it’s conceivable that they did not know of our existence. This is not the case with these Frenchmen.

- What can fans expect from your new album?

Everything they love about Gorgon but pushed to the limit. To sum it up, more energy, savagery, hatred, catchy melodies at the service of powerful riffs. It’s in continuity of the previous one, very direct, with a 90’s spirit but a modern sound. There is the desire not to repeat oneself while remaining faithful to a certain path. Each song must be easily distinguished from one another. We have very good feedback for the moment both from those who follow us and those who’ve just discovered us.

It’s a great offering to those who have loved us a long time.

- Will there be a tour?

No, I don’t think so.

There will only be occasional concerts, like during festivals. This is what happened for the previous album and in my opinion, it will be the same. Afterwards, if opportunities arise, we will of course consider it. Now that Traditio Satanae is out, it’s towards the stage that we turn our

gaze. We have a new set list that we need to work on.

- Do you have a message for our readers?

As I said previously, there is an ease of listen-

pages. You put us in the spotlight and we thank you for that. Also that your readers see for themselves of our potential and judge accordingly if it corresponds to their expectations.

Maybe some will prefer our past discography, but Traditio Satanae really represents the best features of what we could offer in 2021.

Thank you for your time.

ing now. So with that being said, I encourage those of you who do not know us to take a moment and hearken, but to also do the same with the other groups present in these 17

Arched Fire - Speed/Thrash/Metal from Finland

Interview with Ari, Janne, Kristian and Assu

Interview by Andrew Stanton

Hello and welcome to Inside the Darkness.

- Can you tell our readers a bit about your history, please?

Ari: We’ve only been together for three years, but there was a thirty-year gap in between. We started the band as 14-15-year-olds in Finnish Lapland. We were all excited about the speed/ thrash wave of the late 80s, and also about the metal and rock bands before that.

Arched Fire was our first real band, and although we didn’t really know what we were doing, we played ten gigs and wrote a lot of songs before we called it

18

a day in the summer of 1990.

Thirty years later we decided to finish what we started. We found the perfect singer, re-created our old songs, wrote some new stuff, got signed by Wormholedeath Records and released our first album ”Remote Control”.

Basically, this is everything

Väntänen (rhythm guitar), Mika Rytilahti (bass), Aslak Purojärvi (drums). Mika, Aslak and Ari formed the band inthe spring of 1989, and Janne joined them in October the same year. Kristian stepped in ”a bit” later, in 2019.

- What bands did you like growing up?

Ari: I got into music when I was ten, I liked 80s heavy rock like WASP, Twisted Sister and many others. Five years later I got into speed/thrash but also rock’n’roll like 70s Alice Cooper and Hanoi Rocks, and punk rock bands as well.

Janne: I have always liked many kinds of music and styles.

ck a b t o g d ban e h t n e h ly W l a u t c a g n i eryth v e , r e h t e g . t to s a f y l real d e n e p p ha we wanted to happen in 1989.

- Who are your band members?

Ari: Kristian Herkman (vocals), Janne Särkelä (lead guitar), Ari

My C-cassette collection included bands like Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Rainbow, King Diamond, Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, Stone, Megadeth, Kate Bush etc.

- Why has it taken you so long to release your first album?

Ari: It really didn’t take that long. Back in 1989-90 releasing a real record was more like a dream than a realistic option. We were so young and from the middle of nowhere with no contacts to record labels.

When the band got back together, everything actually happened really fast.

It’s just that the band was hibernating for thirty years.

Some of us didn’t even see each other during those three decades. But when we started the band again, it worked like a dream.

- What are your lyrics and themes about?

Kristian: They are about different aspects of power and about controlling people. Back on Track is about substance abuse and addiction.

Remote-Controlled End is about social media. Crawling Down is about lust. ...And Ride Away is about freedom. A.T.W. is about uniting people for revolution. Wormhole is about raising children. Escape is about the effect that power may have on those who get it. Futile is about burnout and self-esteem. From Dust to Dust is about death.

- Do you believe Remote Control was worth the wait?

Assu: Yes. There was a great Fire burning back in ’89, but I’m very pleased of what we have done for those songs of ours. Arched Fire is now what I think it should

have been then. Getting better with time like good wine.

- Sometimes you remind me of Accept. Were they a big influence?

Janne: I’ve never listened to Accept.

Ari: Accept certainly was one of the bands I liked as a kid in the 80s. As ten year-olds we argued about whether the band’s name should be pronounced ”Assept” or ”Akkept” because we didn’t know any better. I actually told this to Accept’s Wolf Hoffmann a few years ago and he thought it was hilarious. I never really saw them as

a direct influence, but recently when I came up with a new riff, Mika said it sounded like Accept, so there you go. There’s a lot of classic heavy metal in our music, and that’s Accept, among others.

Assu: I was very young when I got my first Accept tape. But Metallica and W.A.S.P. were my first touches to metal.

- How do you describe your sound?

Ari: Back in 1989 when we had our first radio interview, the DJ called us ”hevispiidi”, which is ”heavy speed” in Finnish. We thought it was a silly word and it still made us smile 30 years later… But it was true as well. We’re a heavy metal meets speed metal band. With some thrash influences to boot.

- Do you have a message for our readers?

Ari: If you like good old-school metal, do yourself a favor and check Arched Fire out! We have some cool videos in Youtube, and the album ”Remote Control” is available for streaming everywhere.

For those who dig cd’s, go and find our music in Record Shop X and Aural Music Store.

Assu: Never stop dreaming. Sometimes you just happen to be in a wrong place at a wrong time, sometimes not, and that’s it.

That’s just what happened to us.

Thank you for your time.

19

Overthrow - Blackened Death/Metal from United Kingdom

Interview with Jay White

20

Interview by Andrew Stanton

Overthrow are a Brutal Blackened Death Metal band from London. They are releasing their debut album in September. Andrew Stanton talked to frontman Jay White to find out more. Hello and welcome to Inside the Darkness.

Hi. Thank you.

- Can you tell our readers a bit about your history, please?

Overthrow started in 2011 in London (where I’m from) with myself and our former guitarist

jamming on riffs together. We very quickly realised we had something cool, got a full line-up together and played our first live shows within a year. Fast forward 10 years later, the band has had numerous line-up changes and various u p s

Musically, we feel we have evolved into something truly wicked and spectacular, so obviously it’s been a lot of hard work. And we finally have a debut album to show for it.

- What bands did you like growing up?

Personally, I grew up in a very musical household. My parents were always playing me and my siblings lots of different styles of music (all of my siblings are musicians too!) but I naturally gravitated towards Rock & Metal.

oud r p y l b i d e r c We’re in we’ve achieved. of what and downs (what band hasn’t right?) but we’re still here and stronger than ever.

The first band I can consciously remember hearing on the radio at the age of about 4 or 5 was Oasis, as they were the biggest band at the time, and being mesmerized by the sound of the guitar. Another major musical memory I have is my Dad taking me for a ride in the car and full-blasting ‘Black Dog’ by Led Zeppelin on the stereo, when I was about 11 or 12, that made a huge impression on me. In my teenage years, I first found out about Metal through friends and watching Metal music TV channels like Kerrang, Scuzz and MTV2. I also discovered Punk when I was a teenager and loved bands like Dead Kennedys, Sex Pistols, Ramones, Minor Threat, Black Flag, The Casualties and Lars Frederiksen & The Bastards. The first bands that made me want to play Metal were Metallica, Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Motorhead, Slayer and Slipknot.

- How do you describe your music?

We’ve been called ‘Blackened Thrash mixed with Death

Metal’, so I guess that sums it up.

There’s definitely an amalgam of different components to Overthrow’s music, we just throw loads of different ideas together that we think sound awesome

and if they work, cool. If not, we try something else. Our motto has always been “don’t think, just do.” You can’t really put a definitive label on us, which I quite like. Someone once said to me: “Your music is the perfect soundtrack for driving your car off a bridge.” Praise doesn’t get much higher than that.

- Unlike most countries, the UK Metal scene seems to be dominated by more vintage bands like Iron Maiden or Judas Priest, do you think it will always be this way?

I don’t think so. Maiden and Priest deserve to be where they are, as they’re both legendary bands that have been around for the best part of 50 years so good luck to them if they can keep going (I hope I’m doing the same in 50 years!) At some point in our lifetime, however, they will probably have to call it a day. All good things must come to an end at some point.

Look at what happened with Black Sabbath and Slayer. But I think it’s good to appreciate these classic bands while they’re still around, touring and writing music, because one day they’ll all be gone and someone else will be at the top of the Metal food chain. Circle of life.

- What are your lyrics about?

Our lyrics cover a variety of topics from hatred, internal conflict and mental illness to death, philosophy, religion, war and chaos. It depends on the song; 9 times out of 10 I write the music first and the lyrics second, so it just depends on what the music is making me feel/think about and I just go with it.

21

Overthrow - Blackened Death/Metal from United Kingdom 22

I don’t usually write your typical graphic/gory Death Metal lyrics and I consciously avoid writing anything political, as it is something I absolutely despise. The lyrics are personal but written in a way that they’re not so obvious as to what exactly I’m talking about, which is usually the goal. Outside of music, I am also an English teacher in a school and I enjoy reading a lot of classic authors, as well as stories from ancient, archaic mythology, so that helps to fuel my inspiration when it comes to writing lyrics. As well as listening to the music of bands, I also enjoy reading their lyrics, therefore I definitely put as much work and thought into the lyrics as I do the music of Overthrow.

- Will your new album be very different from Now Fear the Mercenary?

Very different.

It’s basically an entirely different band on the new album, but it’s still Overthrow.

The songwriting is better, the production is incredible, the performances are

outstanding and the overall vibe of the album is both sinister and uplifting.

It’s a perfect storm made up of blood, sweat and beers from the last decade.

We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved.

- Bolt Thrower said they split up because they were sick of all the subgenres. Is this something that affects all bands?

It certainly doesn’t affect us. We’ve never really given a shit about sub-genres, we kind of transcend them.

I think bands (particularly younger bands) can get too obsessed with fitting into the mould of a particular sub-genre. They like the sound of it and want to recreate it themselves. Some do it really astutely and more power to them, but there is also the danger of oversaturation and not being able to tell two bands apart from each other, because they follow the same formula. They forget to put the time into actually creating something unique to themselves.

We’ve had the opposite problem; you can’t really put a label on us, as we’ve devoted all of our time to creating the music that we love, without any real regard for what category we fall into. We let the music speak for itself and then others say “You sound like this or that.” and we don’t dwell on it too much, we just keep doing what feels right to us. When we first started, we marketed ourselves as a straightforward Thrash Metal band, so initially we would only get on bills with other Thrash Metal bands, which was great in the beginning. But as we’ve evolved as musicians and individuals, we’ve ventured into other avenues of music and Extreme Metal (particularly Black and Death) but with one foot still dragging back into Thrash, I think. Being the only original member from our inception, it’s important to me to keep the band going with the same attitude/goal

in mind: writing killer Metal songs, while also maintaining a healthy level of awareness but also not getting preoccupied with labels and sub-genres.

- Have you toured much around the UK? Where are the

best and worst places to play?

We haven’t really toured that much to be honest. In the early days, we played a lot up and down the UK and obviously we’ve played loads in our hometown of London, particularly Camden Town. Camden will always be my favourite place to play, because it’s where I was born and basically where the band started. I also have great

memories of playing in Southampton and Norwich. Hard to say where the worst place is.

We once played in the basement of a pub in East London which had no stage and people were sitting down in armchairs watching us play, that was memorable. We’re very keen to get back out there and start playing live again, once this pandemic has dwindled.

- Do you have a message for our readers?

If you dig Extreme Metal in all its twisted forms, Overthrow is the band for you.

Listen to our music, share our videos and support us by buying our merch and spreading the word about us. Hopefully we’ll be coming to a town near you in 2022.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you for the interview.

23

Instorm - Melodic Death/Metal from Russia

Interview with Roman and Marina

24

Interview by Andrew Stanton

Instorm are a very cool band from Moscow, Russia. Andrew Stanton talked to band members Roman and Marina about the future of their great band.

- Hello and welcome to Inside the Darkness. Can you tell our readers a bit about your history, please?

R o m a n : “Hello! Thank you for having us. We’re Instorm band from Russia.

We play Melodic Death Metal with lots of lead guitars with neoclassical influences. The band was formed in 2011 by me and Marina,

since then we’ve released two of our full-length albums, a single, played many concerts in Russia and Europe.”

- Did you release anything under the name Deadlake?

M a r i n a :

ed to change the name to something that sounded better and more interesting, so we’ve changed it to Instorm.”

- Who are the members of Instorm?

Roman: “Our current line up is: R o m a n Nemtsev guitars, vocals, music, lyrics M a rina Nemtseva - guitars, music, lyrics Polyana Archangelskaia - drums Michail Tatarinov - bass.”

What bands did you like growing up?

overs c m u b l a all o d d n a I : f a l n e i s r y a M y m b m he r t o t s n i n I m r e o h f te t a e r c o t I try . same style “No, actually we didn’t release anything under that name. Right when it was the time to release our first demo we decid-

Marina: “When I was a kid about 11-12 years old I started listening to Rock music.

My first big love was a Russian rock band called Агата Кристи (Agatha Christie). I had their poster on my wall and listened to them every single day. Then I moved to something more aggressive, I discovered Nirvana.

My brother played their record and after I heard their song “Smells Like Teen Spirit” for the first time I was immediately hooked and became obsessed with this band and the song. I asked my brother to play that song over and over again, to the point where he started to regret that he ever showed them to me :D And after that it was Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Extreme Metal bands like Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Children of Bodom.”

Roman: “I started to listen to Rock music when I was about 7 years old I guess. It was Russian band called Kino.

I always loved the sound of

an electric guitar. After that I listened to Sector Gaza, it’s a Russian Punk Rock band. But I always felt that they lacked something, something heavy.

And then I discovered Metal music, it was it. I realized that it

was exactly what I was looking for. My first Metal band was Aria, it’s kinda Russian Iron Maiden. Then I started to listen to KISS, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Children of Bodom, Cradle of Filth, Yngwie Malmsteen.”

- Will ‘Slipping Edge’ be on your next album?

Roman: “Yes, we’re thinking of adding it as a bonus track to our third album. So it will be there but only on a CD version.”

- What can fans expect from your future work?

Marina: “I don’t think that there will be huge radical changes, sure there will be

some unexpected things just to make the album more interesting, stuff that we’ve never done before. But it still will be Instorm and if you liked our first 2 albums, you’ll probably appreciate the new album as well. There will be 9 completely new songs and 1 bonus track that we already mentioned in the previous question.”

- Have you played outside of Russia yet?

Roman: “Yes, in 2019 we toured Europe with Russian Symphonic Metal band Imperial Age. It was an awesome experience, we liked the crowd very much, the people that attended the shows were so positive and supportive. And we really liked playing in those european clubs, there were good lights and sound, and the staff that worked there were very friendly and professional.

We can’t wait to tour again!”

- All the covers of your albums and singles have similar designs. Do you want this to become a trademark?

Marina: “Well, actually I think that now it is a trademark. The first artwork was kind of a happy accident.

25

Instorm - Melodic Death/Metal from Russia 26

We needed a cover for our first album and tried to work with one artist but his style didn’t match our music. So I did my own version and thought that there may be something to it, it looked interesting. I showed it to Roman, to know what he’s thinking about it and he said that it looks good and it’s exactly what we need. And since then I do all album covers for Instorm by myself and I try to create them in the same style.”

- What are your lyrics about?

Roman: “Our lyrics are mostly about the human mind, emotions and feelings. Also some songs have philosophical topics about the meaning of life and finding your own path in the world.

But most of all we like to write about psychological and mental disorders and about the ways of overcoming them.”

- Are you planning any festivals after the lockdowns are lifted?

Marina: “This Sum-

mer we were gonna play at a festival called Metal In Tachov Heart 2021 in Czech Republic but it got cancelled and postponed to 2022.

Well, actually this fes-

chance to check out our music yet, go to Spotify and listen to Instorm or watch and listen to us on YouTube. Have a great day and stay metal! \m/ “ Thank you for your time.

tival still can happen, I guess, but it will be only 1 day long now and only with Czech and Slovak bands. So we hope that in 2022 we’ll get to play this festival after all and maybe some others too.”

- Do you have a message for our readers?

Marina: “Thank you for reading this! We appreciate your interest very much. And if for some reason you haven’t had a

Roman: “Thank you for your questions! \m/ “ Marina: “Thank you very much! :) “

Subscribe to our channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmLDw_n39t3M_Loc3hgzX1g

27

Wormwood - Melodic Black/Metal from Sweden

Interview with Tobias Rydsheim

28

Interview by Olga Schneider

Answered by: Tobias Rydsheim, main composer and guitarist of Wormwood.

1. First of all, glad to see you as a part of this upcoming issue!

As we can see, you have been keeping really active during all this time of pandemy and working on the new album. What has been the main source of inspiration for you so far?

Hi, and thanks for having me!

Yes, despite all the canceled gigs, fes-

ly takes place a couple of years into the future, just at the moment when society collapses. We criticize humanity, how we have treated our planet, animals and nature, and how stupid we are who continue on the destructive path.

The inspiration really comes from reality.

t i s i v o t e k i l d t l a u h o t w e y W r t n u o c every us to come. asks tivals, etc., we have been busy creating and recording.

The new album is a concept album that most-

We try to stick to scenarios that feel relatively close to reality. In our doomsday story, there are only ordinary people, no heroes or superpowers.

2. As lots of bands worldwide, you had to postpone some really massive shows. But still, what do you expect from those shows in 2022? Do you see any positive sides for yourself in that, as for example getting even more ready, stronger, more excited audience etc?

We have high expectations for 2022, to just get out and play again will be great fun.

Since so many gigs planned for 2020 and 2021 never happened, we hope that all organizers and events will book us again. The bigger shows are already confirmed, but the smaller

ones are still unclear. I fear that many organizers have gone bankrupt during the pandemic. We will see how it goes. The positive thing about these years is that we had time to put all the focus on the record and other important things related to the band and the future.

3. While composing your upcoming new album, you touched lots of really deep and personal topics, the depths of human mind etc. Was it hard at any moments somehow?

And what was the hardest while trying to express such things in lyrics?

Nine (Vocals) has written most of the lyrics. Although I have some insight into his work, I can not answer in detail about every specific lyric. However, often the thematic bit around thoughts and concepts is something

that Nine and I brainstorm back and forth with each other. We always want to evoke emotions with our lyrics and music, and the topics we deal with are often something we consider important or interesting in one way or another. I think you have to be a thoughtful person and have the ability to feel emotions in order to then be able to express them. Whether it is difficult or not, well, is difficult to answer. Creating any form of art can be damn hard, or flow with ease. It can be very different depending on what mood you’re in that day and the inspiration you have at the moment.

4. Aren’t you afraid of misunderstanding of your lyrical content for the upcoming album? Or do you believe that people are free to take it depending on their own mind’s possibilities?

29

Wormwood - Melodic Black/Metal from Sweden 30

Whatever you do that many people can take part of, there will always be a risk of misunderstanding.

All people have the right to their thoughts and interpretations of the material. However, there is only one “correct” meaning of our “message”. And it is a message that does not belong in any established belief system or any “-ism”. It is to some extent about facts, being an eye opener or pure contempt for how our world works. All this mixed with sentimental-

ity, contemplation and melancholy. With that said, I’m not afraid of what other people think. The main thing is that they think at all, and then we have won.

5. Do you feel like the new album is gonna be way stronger than the previous ones? And what’s gonna be its main strength? Sound, lyrics, something else or everything in combination?

As a songwriter, it is not easy to compare my own music in an objective way. An album represents that specific

time in life in some kind of way, like a tattoo or whatever. Of Course I want to say that the new one is better, I am sure a lot of people will agree, and others won’t.

6. The band was founded actually not that long ago, in 2014, but since that time you have released really lots of great content. What makes you stay so active at any times?

I have always been very active in my creating, and always been in bands or/and had art projects going on.

The only difference now from then is that Wormwood has started to gain attention worldwide. But for me, personally, it’s just another day in life. Striving to create and express what comes out from the mind, and getting better at it.

7. How do you see the results of your activity for all this time? What are your strongest sides, in your opinion, and what things still have a lot to work on?

I think we have decent songs that some people apparently appreciate. That must be considered as a strength. As soon as our wallet grows bigger we can start to put some more money on the live show. I want that to grow bigger and become more visual than we can afford right now.

8. Are you already planning any tours to promote the new album seeing that the situation with concerts is getting better?

What countries you’ve never been to would you like to visit first of all?

Yes and no, we have already planned some festivals. But as I said earlier, we still await some of them to rise from the dead. We will take as many opportunities to gig and tour around the world as we can, if the deal is fair enough, Let’s go!

We would like to visit ev-

ery country that asks us to come. We have been through the Nordics, Baltics, Balkans, Eastern, Central and Southern Europe, there are of course many blindspots in those regions that we could cover. And as a European musician it would be cool to tour in the Americas also, so I guess that’s one of my personal goals when it comes to touring at the moment.

9. Our traditional question: what would you like to say

to our readers and crew in the end of this interview?

A traditional question requires a traditional answer, so...

Thank you for having me! I hope you all will like the new album, and I hope to see you on the road in the near future!

Have a good day!

31

Ieschure-Black Metal from Ukraine

Interview with Lilita Arndt

Interview by Andrew Stanton

Ieschure is an amazing one-woman Black Metal project from the Ukraine.

Andrew Stanton talked to the legend herself, Lilita Arndt.

- Can you tell our readers a bit about your story, please?

I started Ieschure in 2015, when I began to write music for “ The Shadow”. Before my project Ieschure I tried myself in various genres. But I forever wanted to create music with real darkness and evil in it in that

way I felt this, and I began my own project “Ieschure”.

- Why do solo projects exist? Does being in a band cause too many arguments?

I created my own project because it is more convenient for me to create all

dependent on someone else in my creative process.

What is the Ukraine scene like?

It is hard for me to say something interesting about the scene in my country. Because I don’t care about this.

The situation nowadays has changed and it is different than it was even a few years ago, and more and more independent projects appear, projects that have their own sound and own approach to music creation.

ay w n w o y a m e b o g o t I y r t t ’ n o d and of some «scene». part

32

alone, to be a mastermind of my music. I don’t like “team” work. I don’t want to be

I consider myself as one of them. I go my own way and don’t try to be a part of some “scene”.

What Ukrainian bands should our readers check out?

Hateforest, Drudkh, Moloch, Astrofaes, Ygg, Lucifugum, Xul… - What are your lyrics about?

Death, Occultism, Darkness, Individualism.

The main theme is the dark side of human existence, all that is in “shadow”, that the majority of people try to avoid, to reject from their lives. So my whole creativity is devoted to this theme.

What bands influenced you?

I think the main influence on me was made by Burzum. Also, it is old albums of the first and second wave of Black Metal with their raw sound and another not Black Metal styles of music.

- Is it harder for

Black Metal bands outside of Norway?

It depends on your expectations. I create music I like and that is enough for me. If to talk in general, yes, there was some additional aura of being “ true” above Black Metal bands and projects

from Norway, but at the same time there are many other bands from other countries who are popular and have good music. So I think it is not a problem at all.

- Sometimes your music seems influenced

by DSBM? Is it something you like?

I cannot say that I like DSBM, maybe some separate tracks of such bands.

But maybe yes, there is something depressive in my music that makes it close to DSBM. - What will your new album be like?

It is too early to talk about this. I can say only that it will differ from “The Shadow” by sound and atmosphere.

- Do you have a release date yet?

No, I have no exact release date. I am an underground project and independent from dates, contracts, etc.

All depends on my inspiration and when I will decide that my album is ready for release.

- Do you have a message for our readers?

Thanks to everyone who supports my music.

33

Angel of Anger - Black Death/Gothic Metal from Italy

Interview with Andred and Lord Axl Mato

34

Interview by Andrew Stanton

Angel of Anger has quite an odd sound. Kind of Black, Doom, Goth. Maybe not for everyone, but definitely worth a moment of your time. Andrew Stanton talked to singer Andred and guitarist Lord Axl Mato to find out more.

Hello and welcome to Inside the Darkness.

“Hi Andrew, thank you. It is a pleasure!”

- Can you tell our readers a bit about your history, please?

ANDRED: “Angel of Anger was born from my idea, in November 2003, with the intention of giving life to my lyrics. The first line-up

Fist), Animal on drums and Los on lead guitar. The live activity of the band begins in 2005, we collect a lot of acclaim among the public and professionals, thanks to a strong sound impact and a careful stage presence.

During the summer of 2007 we recorded our first self-produced work with the same title: “ANGEL OF ANGER”, at “Lo Studio dell’Arcano” in Altedo (BO).

me e r t x e e h is t r e g n A ergy n f e o e l r e u g p n A , it is n a m f Evil. o d t n h a g u o d o h t nd Go o y e b s e o that g sees Lord Axl Mato on rhythm guitar (Winged), Lo Spezz on bass (Relic, Basic Dreams, Tarchon

The CD contains 5 tracks (32 minutes) and a multimedia session with the video of “Wake Up Spirits”, biography, official and live photos of the band. At the end of the recordings Animal decides to leave the band, replaced by Grodnah.

In November 2007 we made our first official video clip “Wake Up Spirits”.

The release date and presentation of the album “Angel of Anger” takes place on April 12, 2008 at Fabrik / Faster (Turin, Italy) during the concert “In Nomine Lilith”.

The CD “Angel of Anger” receives excellent reviews both in Italy and abroad; an intense live activity continues and having the pleasure of sharing the stage with valid bands of the Italian Metal scene, such as; Necrodeath, Mortuary Drape, Cadaveria and with many valid underground bands. In September 2008 we started an Italian

mini tour (Rome, Bologna and Turin) as co-headliner with DEICIDE (USA). In 2009 due to various technical and personal problems we decided to take a break, which lasted for a very long time ... In November 2019 I

decided to recreate the project again with the historic guitarist of the band, Lord Axl Mato. After some auditions we completed the line up with Yunus on lead guitar, Zhu on bass and Filippo Loria (Phenomena) on drums.”

What bands did you like growing up?

ANDRED/LORD AXL MATO: “Personally we have always loved Death,

Morbid Angel, Paradise Lost and Slayer, surely they have influenced our sound.”

How do you describe your music?

ANDRED: “The band’s sound is not exactly be labeled, built on a base Gothic/Death it is however strongly influenced by Black Metal, all in search of a unique and innovative style.

The voice ranges from screaming to melodic, to growl in a natural and expressive way, characterizing the lyrics centered on arcane themes.”

What are your lyrics about?

ANDRED: “My lyrics see the concretization of my visions in reality... they are mainly oriented on the search for one’s inner self and how to relate to shocking events, such as death in “MY GRAVE” and in the realization that sooner or later we will have to leave these mortal remains in “THE ONLY CERTAINTY”.

In general, are very hermetic texts and to understand.”

35

Angel of Anger - Black Death/Gothic Metal from Italy 36

- What do you think of magazines who ignore Black Metal?

LORD AXL MATO: “Black Metal was born as a niche genre; I think it is normal that they talk about it in a few m a g a zines.”

- What are you working on now?

A N D R E D : “We are currently making a new single “ARS MORIENDI” which will be part of the compilation “A TIME OF SORROW” made by Ocularis Infernum Booking & Promotion and published

by Black Tears Label.”

What will it be like?

LORD AXL MATO: “We will see it together.”

- What do you think of the Gothic Metal scene in Italy?

ANDRED/LORD AXL MATO: “We follow the Black and Death scene

more, as they are the prevailing genres of our music. In general, we believe that post covid there is finally more union between the bands

of the Extreme Metal scene. Indeed, in Italy we have many valid realities, we are proud to be part of them!”

- Do you have a message for our readers?

“Angel of Anger is the extreme thought of man, it is pure energy that goes beyond Good and Evil.”

Thank you for your time.

ANDRED/LORD AXL MATO: “Thanks to you! We are honored

to appear on Inside the Darkness!!! See you soon! Angel of Anger.”

The Ocularis Infernum “Booking & Promotion” Association was founded in 2002 dealing only with extreme metal Founded by musicians for musicians... The primary desire of the Association is to create a valid network in Italy and abroad through a booking and a targeted promotion to offer the bands the opportunity to make themselves known without prohibitive costs. In 2004 the Association celebrated the first two years of activity with the first edition of the OCULARIS INFERNUM FEST in Rimini, in 2009 the second edition in Milan, including both bands on the roster than world famous artists. Many artists have collaborated with Ocularis Infernum over the years, for example: Deicide, Vital Remains, Order of Ennead, Ancient, Opera ix, Necrodeath, Cadaveria, Mortuary Drape, Rain, Angel of Anger, etc. performing both in events organized by the Association itself and in various clubs in Italy and abroad. The third edition of the Ocularis Infernum Fest will be on April 9th 2022 at the Alchemica Music Club in Bologna (Italy) with: Ancient (Black Metal) from Norway and special Guest.

Currently the Ocularis Infernum Booking & Promotion in collaboration with BLACK TEARS LABEL is making a compilation г for Underground Black and Death Metal bands, entitled «A TIME OF SORROW». It will be published in 500 physical copies and distributed digitally all over the world. There will be a huge promotion for all participating bands through many radio interviews / Webzine’s and Fanzine’s worldwide.

Physical copies will be distributed in Italy by WINE & FOG Distribution. In September we will be announced all project participants, including several bands of our Roster.

A big greeting from Italy to all lovers of real METAL!!!

Contacts: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/OcularisInfernum BookingandPromotion/ Instagram - andredocularisinfernum E-mail - oinfernum8@gmail.com Phone number: 0039.333.8300372

Andred - Head Manager Of Ocularis Infernum.

37

Path of Destiny - Symphonic Melodic Death Black Metal from Germany

Interview with Alex

38

Interview by Olga Schneider

1. First of all, we would like to thank you for this opportunity to do this interview and your quick reaction. How is the band feeling nowadays?

Any kind of activity still going on or have you decided to take a break after releasing the new LP? Hello and thank you too!

Currently we are doing really well and are in high spirits because of the release of our new album. We got a lot of positive feedback from

our old and new fans via social media and word of mouth. Well, as usual in our band, there isn’t really that big of a break after the release, maybe only for

do in terms of sending out merch and CD/vinyl-orders to fans all over the globe. Also we are preparing and rehearsing for some concerts that will hopefully take place in the next few months.

2. As we can see, the situation with concerts and festivals in Europe is getting better little by little, and you’re even planning some live shows in the second half of this summer.

y l t n a t s n o c s i Man ing and changing decidwn path. its’ o songwriting, that’s true. The band will take some time to start it again.

Besides of this there is a lot to

What are your main expectations from these shows after such a hard time?

Well I think that this will be very satisfying and maybe partly surreal experiences for us as a band. All of the people and metalheads out there are hungry for concerts and the live atmosphere so the reception will be awesome, I think. Of course it also will be kinda strange to be up there again after such a long time period.

We only had 2 concerts in 2020. One of them before Covid19 in January and one right in the middle of the pandemic under some contact regulations in October. So we are really eager for live shows, too.

Currently there are 5 shows coming up in the next months till January 2022.

One of them will be some kind of private thing, whilst 2 of them will be Open Airgigs in July and August.

Mainly these upcoming shows will be some kind of relief for us.

3. Besides these activities, are you planning any tours to promote the new album? Which countries you’ve never been to before you’d love to visit most?

Currently there are no tours planned, but who knows what there will be coming up soon?

I have to admit that we never left Germany for gigs before, but this wasn’t because of us not willing to do so. There just wasn’t any opportunity.

So yes, we are eager to discover some foreign ground, but maybe just after this Corona-stuff has settled a little more. Maybe this will hap-

reflections about real things like human’s mind and everything related to this. How do you see the connection between these two aspects?

First of all, we as a band are really open in terms of lyrical content. So it is ok to sing about summoning a demon but also ok to reflect on one’s

pen all naturally and we will soon have shows in Poland, France or Spain. My personal favorite would be Sweden or Norway just because I really love the landscapes and the music coming from there.

4. Now a bit more in details about your lyrical content.

On one hand, your lyrics are dedicated to mystical worlds, but on the other hand, it’s your way to express your

own past or questions to the meaning of life. That explains the variety of lyrical topics you can find in our songs.

Furthermore I would say that the connection between those two aspects you mentioned is mankind itself. It doesn’t matter if one is dwelling in a strange world far far away or sitting right next to you in a bus, thinking about the cruelty of this world or society.

39

Path of Destiny - Symphonic Melodic Death Black Metal from Germany 40

In the end those are things happening within the human mind or under involvement of man.

Not to forget our band’s name is “Path of Destiny”. This very unique pathway for all of us may take place in a future or fantasy world but also nowadays whilst you are walking down the street. Man is constantly deciding and changing its own path. May it be to the bad or the good, no one ever knows.

5. Tell us a bit more about the idea to create the band years ago. What original ideas/concepts have changed since that time and what of them have remained the same? And what impacted this factor most of all?

Path of Destiny started as a follow-up to “Spalter” a small Heavy Metal-project back in February 2007. So as you can see the music genre changed a bit after that. The intention of the bandmates back then was to deliver some dark and mystic music with harsh vocals, catchy guitar-lines and some kind of dark stage outfit to differ from the other local bands.

I would say this first version of the band was some kind of mixture of Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth. Besides the stage-outfit, some of the band-members also tried out a slight form of corpsepaint and contact lenses. Especially our second singer was the visual centre of the stage because of that. The main perception of us

was as of a Gothic-band, what we couldn’t stand to be honest.

In the following years our music got harder, faster and more professional in general. Together with this our stage outfit got more streamlined to simply black clothes without an all to “gothly” touch. Also no corpsepaint or so was used at all.

What stayed the same was the attitude to create MeloDeath with a little twist to it.

6. Last years we’ve started noticing that Germany is going more and more forward regarding the development of its underground Black and Death Metal scene. What do you think about it, as people who know it all “from inside”?

Well, of course this is a development we are welcoming a lot. You just cannot overstate the importance of a strong underground scene with fresh and new, aspiring bands that deliver high quality Metal to the masses. At least we are one of those bands by ourselves.

For sure the modern world with all its possibilities in recording music and distributing it is also a factor that speeds up this development a lot, something that just wasn’t possible several decades ago.

7. What tendencies of your genre you try to avoid, seeing current situation with MDM worldwide? And what bands from your country and from

the whole world are the most outstanding, in your opinion?

With ongoing experience we tried to take on the more “harsh” side of Melodic Deathmetal. So we try to avoid too much cheesiness in our songs.

This means leaving aside too much keyboards and electronic samples and pushing our orchestral influences way into the background of our music.

Also we try to avoid using too many guitar melodies. In our opinion, not every riff needs to have a lead guitar-line on top of it. Sometimes the saying “keep it short and simple” is more important to us during songwriting. Of course main parts of the song – for example the chorus – will oftentimes have a hookline in it. May it be single notes or tremolo picking-lines. This is how we try to differ from other bands.

Our singer’s Sebastian’s voice is also helping with that because he has a very distinct way to growl and scream.

Regarding bands. Well I think “Parasite.Inc” is a pretty wellknown one from Germany, but we also like to point the reader’s attention to “Burn Down Eden” a band from Dresden that integrates a lot of technical Death Metal-influences into their version of Melo Death.

Our dear friends in “Deserted Fear” are also becoming more and more (Old School)-Melo Death like.

Not everyone likes this development as they are moving away from their pure Old School Death Metal-sound, but you should definitely keep out an eye for them!

If we take a look at bands from all over the world, I would like to highlight “This Ending” from Sweden, playing really cool old school-like Melo Death, “Plaguestorm” from Argentina, who integrate really nice clean v o c a l s into their sound and “Shylmagoghnar” from the Netherlands, implementing keys and black metal riffing.

I explicitly left out all the big names of Melo Death so that your readers have some new listening-fodder to check out.

8. As for the audience, do you plan to extend your own impact rather in your country or do you plan to discover some new space and promote your creativity worldwide?

Currently we are noticing that there is a growing number of fans and listeners of our

music around the whole globe.

For example we recently sent some merch and CDs to Japan, the US and Great Britain. So I think the digital aspects of social media, our website and selling stuff via bandcamp also pay out and spread our word to people

worldw i d e .

It seems like that all of this is directly connected to the release of our new album. So we would be very happy if it would work as some kind of gatebreaker to the international markets.

Of course, we highly appreciate that. So if this would also lead to playing concerts abroad, this would be cool!

9.

Traditional question: what would you like to say to our audience and crew in

the end of this interview?

We are really grateful for this chance to present our endeavor “Path of Destiny” to your readers and would like to shout out a big “thank you” to everybody supporting us now and in the past. May it be via buying merch or CDs and vinyls or may it be as moshers in front of the stages we entered.

If anybody is interested in checking out our music, we recommend paying a visit to our bandcamp-store at https:// pathofdestiny. bandcamp.com.

Of course, our music is also available at all the big streaming services like Spotify, Itunes, Deezer and so on.

Stay safe and keep on moshing!

41

The Witch - Black Metal from Colombia

Interview with Jay Parker

42

Interview by Andrew Stanton

The Witch are a cool new band from Bogota, Colombia. Andrew Stanton talked to front man Jay Parker about the band.

Hello and welcome to Inside the Darkness.

“Thanks for your time and greetings to all Inside the Darkness readers.”

- Can you tell our readers a

bit about your his-

What bands did you like growing up?

“I grew up in England...

My father listened to Sabbath, Deep Purple, The Who... So that influenced me... when I was a teenager I listened to Emperor, Gehenna, Samael, Cradle...I was and still am a big fan of Carcass.”

h g u o r h t g in lk a w e Our music ismliekdieval graveyard a misty ight with the Devil at midn u by the hand.” leading yo tory, please?

“The Witch was formed in Bogota, Colombia in 2019 by myself and Carlo Quiceno.”

- Who are the members of The Witch?

“The Witch is Jay Parker vocals guitars strings / Carlo Quiceno guitars production synths / Ivette Fagua vocals / Diego Rosero drums / Danniel Fonseca bass.”

- What is the purpose of three singers?

“Why three singers??

Hahaha we have five girls that sing, a whole coven. The female voice is a powerful instrument, we use it to create different tones and dark atmospheres.”

How does modern Black Metal compare to old school Black Metal?

“Modern Black Metal is a much wider spectrum.

All music must die or evolve. Black Metal evolved. I love the roots, and also the fruits that the old forest tree is bearing now.”

- Why did you decide to

film your video in the UK? “Our video was shot at Lumley Castle UK by our dear friend

Ashley Cowie. He had filmed a documentary and used the leftover footage to make our video for The Witch as a favour. Top man Ashley!”

How do you describe your music?

“Our music is like walking through a misty medieval graveyard at midnight with the Devil leading you by the hand.”

- What are your lyrics about?

“Our lyrics deal with witchcraft, the occult, anti-religion, misanthropy...Our recent EP A SICK FOETUS TORN FROM THE ROTTEN W O M B OF HISTORY is 4 songs about 4 women who were abused by the hands of history.”

- Do you have a message for our readers?

“A massive thank you to all at Inside the Darkness and all their readers. Stay true.

Black Metal for ever fucking more!!!”

43

Darkestrah - Epic Black Metal from Germany

Interview with Asbath

44

Interview by Andrew Stanton

Darkestrah are a cool Black Metal band from Germany with quite a history. Andrew Stanton talked to drummer Asbath to find out more.

- Can you tell our readers a bit about your history, please?

“Greetings Andrew! Asbath here.

Well, here is how it all happened. We’ve started Darkestrah in 1999 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

This is also where we’ve recorded our first album

“Sary Oy”. Me and our singer Kriegtalith have moved to Germany around the turn of the century. This maybe could be the end of

German soil with local musicians. Until now we’ve recorded 6 full-length albums, the latest being “Turan”, released in 2016 by Osmose Productions, plus 2 EPs and split CD with AlNamrood. Our latest single “The Gift of Mud and Venom” was released on New Years Eve 2021 and a new EP “ChongAryk” will follow soon.”

e m i t n w o d k c o l r u o d e We ustively, and we haevaeday effec program r new recorded. to be D a r k estrah, however I chose to continue on in Germany. So Darkestrah was rekindled on

What bands did you like growing up?

“Too many to name. I was into metal almost my whole life, since I first heard Metallica on the radio as a child.

Emperor, Helheim, Samael and My Dying Bride were the ones that defined the Darkestrah sound though.”

- What was it like making Black Metal in the ‘90s compared to now? Was the attitude different?

“In the 90es we were still playing in Kyrgyzstan. And yes, it was very different from what is happening now. Kyrgyzstan, a faraway Central Asian country back in the middle of post-Soviet depression, was definitely not the best place to do music. Instruments, equipment, rehearsal

rooms were extremely hard to find. However the enthusiasm was immense. The scene was big, a lot of bands and fans, gigs every weekend. Here in Germany we have everything we want, well at least before the pandemic we had at least… So, the scene is oversaturated, fans are overfed with music and info, so the conditions are much better, but the enthusiasm is much less.”

- What are your lyrics about?

“Traditional Central Asian beliefs and legends, shamanic rituals, the nature of Central Asia, nomadic cultures in general.”

- What does Darkestrah mean?

“It is a secret.”

- Is “The Gift of Mud and Venom” going to be on a new album?

“A different mix of it will be on the new EP “Chong-Aryk” that will hopefully come out later this

year. And get this, we used our lockdown time effectively, and we now have a completely new full-length program ready to be recorded. So stay tuned.”

- Does Black Metal get played on the radio in Germany?

I don’t really listen to the radio. We have a local metal radio show I guess, but I never even heard it. But I think no Extreme Metal band can expect any serious rotation. Who needs radio in 2021 though?”

- How big are Accept and Helloween in Germany now?

Legends or forgotten?

“Both are still very big.”

- Do you have a message for our readers?

“Stay strong!

Support underground!”

45

Maleficarum - Black Metal from Mexico

Interview with Alastor

46

Interview by Jay Parker

MALEFICARUM needs no introduction, a legand of BLACK METAL LATINO and a regular on my playlists...

Hi ALASTOR, thanks for participating with INSIDE THE DARKNESS and taking the time to talk to our readers.

- When did MALEFICARUM first start? Where and why was the band formed? Who is in the band?

M: Maleficarum was formed in late 1994 early 1995, the

band was formed by myself (Alastor) and in its beginning it had several members but the main initiators were: Alastor: drums

- Tell me about your albums and where and when they were recorded...

M: two demos were recorded in the nineties: The Malefic Prophecy.

Darkness Is Rising.

Later those demos were reissued with some changes and under other names.

Opus Tenebrarum Maledicta Deus Malignum Abruptum And recently in 2020 we released the first full-length

e l y t s r u o n i a t n i a m o t y we tr e have had durintginaulel that wime, but we conands. this ting to classic b listen an Auca: Murmur: Bass Necros:

D e m i guitar and voice keyboards

album Together We Summon The Beast….and we are about to put out an album of unreleased songs this year.

- Who were your influences back in the day? Which new bands do you listen to?

M: In those times our biggest influences were Samael, Rotting Christ, Burzum to name just a few.

At present, we no longer seek much influence from new bands, since we try to maintain our style that we have had during all this time, but we continue listening to classic bands.

- What is your opinion of the black metal scene in Mexico and how is it viewed by people outside the circle?

M: In Mexico there are still many black metal bands, from bands of many years ago to new bands.

I think there is a very good underground scene, both by national bands and international bands that come to play in Mexico.

- Do you have any side proj-

ects or plans with other bands?

M: At the moment I’m still working with MALEFICARUM and I have an alternate project, a one-man project called Aldabaoth, which recently came

o u t with the first compilation album of songs made several years ago. And I’m working on the next Aldabaoth album.

I am also recording some vocals with a Colombian band, The Witch, from Bogota.

- What are MALEFI-

CARUM’s plans for the future?

M: As I was telling you, this year MALEFICARUM will have an album ready of unreleased songs, called “Diabolical Splendor Light” and we are working on another album but we still don’t know when it will be ready, we are just working on some songs.

Do you want to say anything to our readers??

M: The main thing is to thank all the people who have supported us throughout all these years, who continue to keep the underground black metal scene alive.

And if anyone is interested in getting MALEFICARUM albums, they can contact our record label Caligo Arcanum productions, or directly with the band.

And thanks to all the readers at INSIDE THE DARKNESS!!!!!

ALASTOR (MALEFICARUM)

47

Rvbber VVitch - Industrial Black Metal from Canada

Interview with Rubber Witch

Interview by Andrew Stanton

Rubber VVitch is a relevantly new solo Black Metal artist from Canada. Andrew Stanton talked to the woman herself about her style.

Hello and welcome to Inside the Darkness.

“Horns up readers.”

- Can you tell our readers a bit about your history, please?

“Well I got a cd released last January. It’s called Mastvrbations Malveillantes. You should check it out.

A LP version is planned this year by Werewolf records which is distributed via Hellsheadbangers Records.

48

I also self-released 2 tapes recently.

Rvbbervvitch est Morte is basically 5 tracks that were on my bandcamp without physical format. Obedias sub pœna maledictionis, is a split cas-

“I can dig all sorts of music to get inspirations but generally speaking I like the sound of diabolical guitar riffs, solid bass lines and heavy drums.

I won’t list everything but I can tell you that lately I listen to Pantera, Ozzy, Danzig, Infernalien, Portal and Leviathan.”

- Do you feel your image is more important than your music?

“It goes together. To me music is what matters the most because it’s my passion but image is not less important if you want to share it to the world.

s e n e c s t o h t a h th t a d b b a S I fin e h . t g n i s m u o o r r f a y r e v e can b sette featuring Orbyssmal from Australia. It’s complete terror.”

- What bands do you listen to?

It has an impact on the whole atmosphere. That’s just my way.”

- Because of your image, do you feel people judge you before hearing your music?

“Sure, I don’t know what people expect but it’s probably not what they get.

Who doesn’t first judge a book by it’s cover?”

- What are your lyrics about?

“It’s about the Devil’s cock. How monstrous and cold it can be. I find that hot scenes from the Sabbath can be very arousing.”

- What is the Canadian Black Metal scene like?

“I guess like any underground Black Metal scene but with all the conveniences of buying your sweet leafs at the dispensary shops. Canada is a great place to play Black Metal.”

- Do you put yourself in the same league as Genitorturers or Rockbitch? Or do you think you’re much darker?

“I don’t put myself in any league. If I ended up labeled like so I’m fine with it. I think my music is more Metal. To promote Mastvrbations Malveillantes, you can read in my bio: « Rvbbervvitch is a Canadian Extreme Metal solo project whose style is an unorthodox fusion of BDSM, Black Metal, Dark Ambient, Industrial, and experimental. » If someone ever got a simpler 2

words term for this just hit me up. I see what I do as a form of Punk Rock expression but corrupted with a sinister twist.”

Is your inten-

tion to shock or intrigue?

“Maybe a part of both. My intention is to release materials I personally enjoy. That’s it. Having some fans out there just keeps you motivated to move forwards. It’s ok if people are offended or get it

all wrong. I create my own universe in a society where anything can be viewed as outrageous or controversial. Intrigues can be perceived as entertainment or some hidden agenda, it’s up to the audience to decide. When your craft is out there it’s not yours anymore.

As the world is turning into this growing modern inquisition, I certainly believe more shocking artworks needs to be done. Anybody who thinks outside the collective is at risk to be put on trial and burned by the angry crowd.

Artists shouldn’t fear to be canceled.”

- What can fans expect from your new album?

“Expect the album to suck, it will be better without huge expectations. It’s gonna be unpredictable evil shit, blast beats, madness & unholy riffs. Sometimes I even add tortured noises for extra pleasure. You can check the track titled «Sacrifices». It’s a little teaser of my upcoming tunes.”

- Do you have a message for our readers?

“Hail Satan, trust no one, kill the trends and be authentic. Go listen to my band if you’re still a Rvbber VVitch virgin. Salute to all my fans around the globe with very special thanks to those who support me directly via rvbbervvitch.bandcamp.com.”

Thank you for your time.

“Stay vvicked, smoke pot, signing off.”

49

Zorya - Post - Black Metal from Slovenia

Interview with Jan Oblak

50

Interview by Jay Parker

Hi to all our readers at INSIDE THE DARKNESS MAGAZINE. This is Jay here, reporting from Bogota, Colombia.

Today I have been lucky enough to speak with Jan Oblak from Slovenia, Vocalist, songwriter and multi –instrumentalist with the band ZORYA. Jan is just 21 years old and has released 2 self-recorded and self-produced EPs (Rusalka and Primeval) with a standard of musical

ability, knowledge and technique that is way, way beyond his years.

Today we take our hats off to a Black Metal Master in the making and we salute the

rya...when and where was the band formed? Who are the band members?

Zorya is a Slovenian atmospheric postblack, Blackgaze metal duo, consisting of Jan Oblak (all instruments, screams) who was joined by Sara Jeremi (clean vocals, lyrics) in March 2021.

The band was created in 2019.

2) tell us about your EPs, Rusalka and Primeval…

h t i w c i s u m y m soul I do heart and w ay my that’s my and eating it. of cr new generation who will soon be flying the flag for our beloved genre.

1) Tell us about Zo-

The EP’S references are Slavic mythology. The music is an interesting mix of background ambient wash, screaming black metal vocals, peddling percussion and melodic post-rock, which is sometimes dark. Music might be considered as much noise as it is post-black m e t a l / post-rock.

In some songs the attitude seems experimental; especially in the way the mood in individual tracks develops and is sustained by pauses or sparse instrumentation with little distortion. Songs certainly come across as fragmented, with the metal or rock parts suddenly dropping into ambient or orchestral wash and backdrops.

3) Zorya has a very unique hypnotic sound, a lot of natural elements and a forest-like atmosphere? How did you create that Jan? All I ever wanted is sound that isn’t true Black and

that isn’t a rock :) I am always experimenting what I can do better. I spend hours searching for the best tones and melodies that prick up my ears. I do my music with my heart and soul and that’s my way of creating it.

4) You are very young and are riding high on the crest of the new wave of black metal...which bands influenced you? Was it newer bands or do you listen to old school music?

My influences are Behemoth, Alcest, Eldamar, Elderwind... I am not such a fan of True Black metal. Only bands that I like are Mayhem and Enslaved.

5) Tell us about the Black

metal scene in Slovenia...

The Black Metal scene in Slovenia is small, just like our country.

We have few great bands like: Srd, Cvinger, old Noctriferia, Marax and Veldes. Only problem is because Slovenia is small country with just 2 million people and we don’t have so many places for playing. The biggest problem is that Slovenian people don’t listen to metal so much.

6) What does the future hold for Zorya?

Our future is that we release more new material, and that people start listening to Zorya in my country and all around the world.

7) Do you have a message for our readers?

Thanks to the writers for giving us a chance to be part of your magazine.

51

Evil Drive - Melodic Death Metal from Finland

Interview with Matti Sorsa

52

Interview by Andrew Stanton

Evil Drive are a Melodic Death Metal band from Finland. Andrew Stanton talked to bass player Matti Sorsa.

- Can you tell our readers a bit about your history, please?

“Evil Drive is Melodeath-band formed in Kotka 2013.

B a n d ’ s trademark sound includes Twin Guitar-harmonies, Thrashy riffs and on top of that Fe-

male growl-style vocals.”

- Who is in Evil Drive?

“Evil Drive current lineup: Viktoria Viren -

Matti Sorsa - Bass.”

What bands did you like growing up?

“I myself have liked Iron Maiden from early childhood.

Other influences to mention are Slayer, At The Gates etc.”

What do you think the main difference is between Melodic Death Metal and real Death Metal?

e b y a m s i l a t e M h Deat ggressive than m o r e ac D e a t h .

Melodi V Ville Viren JP Pusa Antti Tani -

ocals Guitar Guitar Drums

“Melodic Death Metal is more based on Guitar-melodies than Death Metal which focuses more on technical riffs. Death Metal is maybe more aggressive than Melodic Death.”

- What are your lyrics about?

“Our lyrics deal with war, tragic things people go through in their lives, society criticism etc.”

Are bands ever surprised by their own success, or did you know you will be huge?

“I think in band’s view it’s really hard to say how big following or fan base band has nowadays.

Outside our home-region I mean.

Million would be nice.“ - When people think of Finland, they think of Folk Metal. Was this a style you were

tempted to create?

“Actually we don’t have much Folk-Metal influences, but I personally like Finnish Folk-Metal bands like early Amorphis. Maybe we have some Folk-melodies on our

riffs also. Different kind of atmospheres can be heard throughout the album.

Lyrics deal with personal Demons people have to deal with in their lives.”

- Do you have a message for our readers?

“I hope to see you all in metal-festivals raising horns up for Evil Drive and remember to stay safe.”

Thank you for your time.

“Greetings, Matti Sorsa.”

fourth album who knows (I’m one who writes music in this band). “ - Can you tell us about your new album?

“Our new album is very melodic but also has brutal 53

Stenches Beyond Repulsive-Grindcore Metal from Colombia

Interview with Javier

54

Interview by Jay Parker

This is Jay, reporting from Bogota, Colombia…

Today I’m talking to the brutal Grindcore monster that is STENCHES BEYOND REPULSIVE….

The band was formed in Bogota in 2018 and has recorded various demos, a split CD and the awesome album, HORRIBLE CANNIBAL TALES, dedicated to the bone munching madness of cannibalism…

Javier, thanks for taking the

time to talk to our readers here at INSIDE THE DARKNESS… Now I love Grind, I grew up on Carcass, Terrorizer and Impetigo…

Your sound takes me

PULSIVE formed?

Who are the current members?

The band was formed in 2018 as a continuation of the now extinct Project, Mortuus Neurons. We’ve had various members and invited musicians, but today the band is…

P a o l a Correa (Sinister Babythief) - vocals Sergio Mayorga (Mincer) guitars Andres Izasa (Semyaza) - bass

e v a h e w r a e y Next er split pladn.n ed anotha Brazilian ban with back to those gore-filled splatter-happy times…

1) When and where was STENCHES BEYOND RE-

Javier Melo ( Rakasa) - drums…

2) Describe your music in 5 words…

Overwhelming…Explosive…Rhythmic…

Powerful…Interesting.

3) Tell us about your influences and the bands that you listen to today…

Our principal influences come from classic European and American death metal bands, but we also draw from bands like Haemorrhage, Rompeprop, Pungent Stench, Haggus, Dead Infection, Ahumado Granujo, Carcass, Impetigo, Repulsion, Excruciation, Gutalax, Purulent Spermcanal, Pulmonary Fibrosis, Meatknife, Gut. Newer bands we like are Eggore, Vomit Noir, Sick Sinus Sindrome, Panzram, Bowel Evacuation, Cock Pit, Big Chef, Spanky Ham, Fotze.Duramater, Rectal Wench.

4) Where do you get the inspiration for you horrifically fantastic lyrics???

Our songs are inspired by horror

films and books from the 80s and 90s.

5) How do you see the Grindcore scene in Colombia today?

Recommend some bands for our readers…

The grindcore scene here can be divided in different genres… Grindcore, Power Vi-

olence, D-Beat and there are many very good bands…everyday there are new Grind bands coming onto the scene, and many of them can hold their own on an international stage...

Let me recommend… Visceral 666, Deathrow, Cementerio, Mortado, Anger Blast, Supremacía, Gorenography,

Monstruo, Postmortem, AxCxMxE, Alien Squirt, Prolapso…

6) Tell us your demos, split and the awesome album, HORRIBLE CANNIBAL TALES, and your plans for the future…

Well, the demo was released in 2018, 6 brutal Death/ GRind tracks… Then the album, Horrible Cannibal tales in 2021, on Rawhead Productions, a German label…we are currently producing a split CD with Postmortem and Deathrow from Colombia, Rectal Wench from China, and Get Sick from Mexico.

After that, we have another split with Gore Cannibal records, with the bands Purulent Sperm Canal, Pulmonary Fibrosis, and Monstruo… next year we have another split planned with a Brazilian band…

7) What’s the best thing about playing in a Grind band?

The power, the force and it moves my soul.

8) Anything you would like to add for our readers?

Thank you so much for sharing time with us…soon we hope to be taking our gore to European shores!!! Thanks!

Massive thanks to Javier and THE STENCHES! 55

Requiem-Death Metal from Switzerland

Interview with Ralf W. Garcia

56

Interview by Andrew Stanton

Hello and welcome to Inside the Darkness.

Ralf W. Garcia (Bass, Lyrics): Hello Andrew, thanks for having us.

- Can you tell our readers a bit about the history of Requiem, please?

Ralf W. Garcia: Well Requiem is a Death Metal band that started in 1997 in Switzerland - so almost 25 years ago and we’ve had 8 international releases so far.

We’ve developed our very own style in the course of these decades but still have some influences drawn from classic oldschool Death Metal

we did full tours in Europe with bands like Dismember, Vital Remains, Vader, Belphegor, Lividity and a few others and played countless club gigs and festival appearances with all the well-known names in the Death Metal scene and Metal genre in general. On the 25th of June we released our newest full-length album worldwide via Massacre Records entitled “Collapse Into Chaos”.

. o d e w t a h w o d t s u We j

. s u o t t h g i r s l e e f What with a lot of blast beats and a pinch of Grindcore and Crust/Punk as well.

Throughout the past decades

In the past we’ve been with Massacre Records for two albums before so we already knew each other quite well.

We’ve a very stable line up with Phil (Guitars, songwriting, founding member), Reto (Drums, Songwriting), Michi (Vocals), Matze (Guitars) and myself (Bass, Lyrics).

- What bands did you like growing up?

Ralf W. Garcia: I started to listen to Metal, Hard Rock and Punk in the early 80s. So I started with bands like Iron Maiden, Dio, Motorhead, Ozzy Ozbourne, Twisted Sister and so on followed by a lot of Thrash Metal like Dark Angel, Forbidden, Overkill, Razor, Sodom, Kreator, Slayer of course or Testament and stuff like Cryptic Slaughter, D.R.I., Carnivore, Black Flag, GBH etc. until Death Metal became a thing in the late 80s and early 90s.

I discovered and bought all these albums that are nowadays considered classics when they were originally released from bands like Death, Autopsy, Bolt Thrower, Morbid Angel, Entombed, Obituary, Deicide, Napalm Death, Dismember and many more.

In addition to that I was always fond of Doom Metal as well like Cathedral, Saint Vitus, Solitude Aeturnus

and Candlemass for example.

- How big are Celtic Frost these days? Are they forgotten or are they like a national monument now?

Ralf W. Garcia: I didn’t expect that kind of question at all. So to be honest I have no idea. I’m still friends with the drummer of their very

Black Metal genre I guess.

Apart from that I wouldn’t honestly know what kind of status they have these days.

They’re surely not forgotten and are still named in the Metal media quite often.

- What are your lyrics about?

Ralf W. Garcia: In comparison to other Death Metal

last line up and I knew the late Martin Ain personally as well. But just because we used to live in the same city and have had mutual friends in the same circles. So I personally think they are still a very known and iconic band just because they did stuff very early on when no one sounded like them and of course the influenced so many bands within the Death and

bands our lyrics are about real life topics like global catastrophic events, socio-economic struggles, social problems in most societies, the state of our planet, the widening gap between rich and poor, the failing neoliberal capitalist free market system and other sociological, psychological and philosophical topics that are based on studies and or scientific reports.

57

Requiem-Death Metal from Switzerland 58

In the past we had some stories about serial killers or some corruption and/ or cover up stories of some well-known governments as well. Summarised it’s always about aspects and topics which more or less has an impact on all of us as human beings in todays’ world. We just do our thing as we always did. The splatter/gore/ horror thing as a concept for a Death Metal is fine too of course but that’s the thing of other bands. We just do what we do. What feels right to us.

- What do you think is the main thing stopping Metal from reaching mainstream status?

Ralf W. Garcia: Alright so here’s a counter question. Is it really a goal for Metal to even reach mainstream status? Was it even a goal in the early days? In some regards Metal has already become a mainstream thing. In some countries some bands are regularly featured in the charts. In all the Scandinavian countries for example. I grew up with a lot of different music during the late 70s and very early 80s. Metal has come a long way since then.

To me at least it was a counter culture. Something that set us apart from the well adapted and mainstream way of life in society. All of that has changed drastical-

ly since then which is fine.

It’s probably just the way things go. Life always means change. It is what it is. Metal is not that marginal kind of thing anymore. It is part of the cultural and music-related landscape in most countries anyway. Look even we as Requiem just received word this week that our new album “Collapse Into Chaos” entered the official Swiss charts at #18. Who would’ve thought that a band like ours would be ever recognized by a vast group of listeners. So that’s it I think. I wouldn’t honestly know what more I could say about that.

- Can Metal live forever while staying underground?

Ralf W. Garcia: It absolutely can and it absolutely will. Just because Metal is always developing, evolving and changing anyway.

It was always like that and there will always be creative metal loving people trying to push the envelope. Trying to find new ways of the extremes as a form of individual expression. Another big aspect of Metal is that fans like us will always prefer to buy physical releases with nice cover artworks and merchandise and all that stuff. So that’s just one reason why there’ll always be a Metal underground. Just be-

cause there will always be a scene and people who’ll support bands by buying their releases, shirts and other stuff. The past 40+ year are proof enough that it works I’d say. Naturally there were a lot of changes during that time since the beginning of the Metal genre and Metal was sometimes more popular and sometimes less popular but there always was at least some kind of scene going on across the globe.

- What other Swiss bands should our readers check out?

Ralf W. Garcia: There are quite a few internationally acclaimed Swiss metal bands that your readers most likely already know.

But apart from that I suggest for example our friends Messiah for sure. One of the very old and original Death/ Thrash bands. Then for example a few other friends of us like Punish, Carnal Decay or Disparaged. They’re all longtime running and hardworking bands within the more extreme side of Metal. Our drummer Reto and I have two more projects called Neolithic Regression (Thrash/Grind/Punk) and Wolf Counsel (Doom Metal). Both projects will release new albums next year as well.

- What can fans expect from your new album?

Ralf W. Garcia: “Collapse Into Chaos” is a mix of our own way of playing Death Metal with all the ingredients that we used on other albums before like old school Death Metal riffing that’s a mixture in itself between the Florida style and European style of the genre, loaded with very intricate rhythmic mid-tempo grooves, lots of blast beats, grind/crust styled parts, a few harmonies and melodies and very fierce and brutal vocals that act like a vent of expression to get the message of our lyrics across. In a nutshell it’s another rather classic Requiem album.

We worked very hard on the songwriting, the song forms and all arrangements in order to get to the essence of our own sound. It’s reduced to the max so to say. This time we got rid of all unnecessary repetitions and embellishments and rather focused on the strengths of all our individual instruments and songwriting capabilities.

- What is the album cover of?

Ralf W. Garcia: The cover artworks of our last three albums “Global Resistance Rising”, “Within Darkened Disorder” and “Infiltrate…Obliterate…

Dominate” were created by no one other than Dan Seagrave.

This time around Phil (Guitars) who himself is a graphic designer did a bit of research prior to the final studio recordings. He

just wanted to find someone else for a change. He got in contact with Tata Kumislizer an illustrator from Indonesia who graphics for a lot of Death Metal bands like for example Annotations Of An Autopsy. He was instantly up for it to work for us. The actual final cover art is something that depicts the mean-

ing of the album title “Collapse Into Chaos” and fits our own style of 90s Death Metal very well from our perspective.

- Do you have a message for our readers?

Ralf W. Garcia: We’re very grateful for those who supported us over the past 25 years.

We don’t take it for granted and naturally we hope to see all your familiar and maybe even new faces at club gigs and festivals very soon.

For those who might not know us by now.

If you like the info in this interview a b o u t our music and if you’re a Death Metal fan just spend some time to check us out. You won’t regret it. Thanks a lot and take care. Stay safe out there.

Thank you for your time.

Ralf W. Garcia: Thank you for the interview Andrew.

Mind yourself and all the best.

59

Latest releases

Killing Addiction Black Metal band from Death Metal band from United States released the second Full-length album Mind of a New God on June 1, 2021.

Killing Addiction is a band that originated in the Ocala, Florida, music scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Their style is based in politically and philosophically charged themes combined with musical influences that span Death Metal, Grindcore, and Thrash.

«Mind of a New God» is

6060

an incredible work of brutal, technical and catchy old school Death Metal with a current sound that carries influences from bands like CARCASS, INCANTATION, GRAVE, MORBID ANGEL...

Tracklist: 1. Mind of a New God 2. As Utopia Burns 3. Prophecy Armageddon 4. Destroyer of Worlds 5. Lives Unworthy of Life 6. Dark Realm Atrocity 7. Condemned to Nothingness 8. The Chaos Older than Time 9. Altered at Birth Lineup Patrick Bailey - Bass, Vocals Chris Wicklein - Guitars Chris York - Drums Devon McDonough Guitars

Myronath Black Metal band from Sweden released the second Full-length album Djevelkraft on June 4, 2021.

Myronath started out as a side project of Hellcommander Vargblod (H.V), sole member of Khaospath and Draugul – together with Bjarkan who also plays in various other bands; Ragnarok, Throne of Heresy, Kala, Blood of Serpents amongst others.

Djevelkraft it’s 56 minutes across 11 tracks of intense black metal, dark melodic passages and ritualistic atmosphere!

Featuring members from Ragnarok, ex-Amon Amarth, Khaospath and Serpesta. instills ‘Burn In Many Mirrors’ with t h e

elements necessary to sear itself into the fervent heart of the faithful.

Tracklist 1. Evil Unchained 2. She Who Dwells in Flames 3. Radix Diaboli 4. Effigy of Malediction 5. Till aska 6. The Sword of Satan 7. Evigt mörker 8. To Walk the Paths of the Dead 9. Reborn in Chaos 10. In Regno Tenebris

11. Beyond the Veil of Death Lineup Hellcommander Vargblod Bass, Vocals Bjarkan - Guitars Fredrik Andersson Drums Myrkheim - Guitars

61 61

Latest releases

Inhuman Condition Death /Thrash Metal band from United States released the first Full-length album Rat God on June 4, 2021.

Florida death metal legend Terry Butler (OBITUARY, DEATH, MASSACRE, SIX FEET UNDER) has joined up with fellow former MASSACRE members Jeramie Kling (also of VENOM INC, THE ABSENCE, GOREGANG) on drums/vocals and Taylor Nordberg (THE

6262

ABSENCE, GOREGANG) on guitar to form INHUMAN CONDITION. The music for «Rat God» was written by Kling and Nordberg in the fall of 2019, when they were writing for what was to be a new MASSACRE album. The pair left the group the following year and teamed up with Terry Butler to form INHUMAN CONDITION to release the music.

Tracklist 1. Euphoriphobia 2. The Neck Step 3. Planetary Paroxysm 4. Killing Pace 5. Gravebound 6. Tyrantula 7. Rat God 8. Crown Of Mediocrity 9. Fait Accompli Lineup Jeramie Kling - vocals/drums Terry Butler - bass Taylor Nordberg - guitars

Winter Eternal Melodic Black Metal band from United Kingdom released the third Full-length album Land of Darkness on June 4, 2021.

Winter Eternal formed in 2011 in Athens, Greece but now located in United Kingdom. Thrillingly chilling yet breathtakingly emotional, Land of Darkness absolutely bristles with an ancient-days mysticism and melodicism that bring black metal’s majestic past into the present. So authentic is WINTER ETERNAL’s understanding of classic songcraft as well as sympathetic production, agonized and effervescent in equal measure, you’d be forgiven for thinking Land of Darkness was some lost relic released in 1997. However, again like its full-length predecessor but more so here, WINTER ETERNAL poignantly taps

into that wellspring of creation the aforementioned legends did and feeds his own lifeforce into it, flexing fluid chops along the way - always in service of The Song, of course - and returns with a ninesong/40-minute document of dreams both dark and beautiful.

Nodding to his forebears, Soulreaper reverentially concludes the album with a cover of Gates of Ishtar’s «Dawn of Flames.»

6. Faded to Silence 7. Isolation 8. Shaped by Grief 9. Dawn of Flames (Gates of Ishtar cover) Lineup Soulreaper - Vocals, Guitars, Bass

Tracklist 1. Crossind the Blackest Skies 2. Land of Darkness 3. The Illusive Wings of Death 4. Lord of False Reality 5. Crown of Stars

63 63

Latest releases

A n c i e n t Wisdom Atmospheric Black Metal band from Sweden released the fifth Full-length album A Celebration in Honor of Death on June 4, 2021.

It has been 17 years, but finally the time has come for the reaper to wield his scythe once again. Ancient Wisdom is the musical alter ego of Marcus E. Norman, veteran of the Swedish black metal scene and member of Naglfar and Bewitched.

A Celebration in

64 64

Honor of Death, the fifth full length album from Ancient Wisdom and their comeback after such a long time, displays a dismal and more sinister side of this Swedish entity that has been spreading its darkness since 1992. 7 tracks of the purest death worship, draped in haunting melodies and an atmosphere reeking of broken coffins and graveyard dust.

Tracklist 1. Haec Est Mors Secunda 2. Breaking the Circle of Life 3. Architect of Death - Laudamus Te

4. The Coronation 5. Those Who Do Not Exist 6. And God Saw 7. Towards Your Destruction Lineup Vargher - All instruments, Vocals

Crypta plus signficant extreme Death Metal band from Brazil and black metal elements, to / Netherlands released the first create a sound of their own.

Full-length album Echoes Of The Soul on June 11, 2021.

Formed in June 2019, the four- Lineup piece line up consists of vocalist Luana Dametto - Drums and bassist Fernanda Lira and Tainá Bergamaschi - Guitars Luana Dametto on drums, both Sonia Anubis - Guitars former members thrash metal Fernanda Lira - Vocals, Bass frontrunners NERVOSA, plus supremely talented guitarists Sonia Anubis (Cobra Spell, ExBurning Witches) and Taina Bergamaschi (Ex-Hagbard). These four powerful women enforce a heightened level of potency and experience from their successful past and current projects, enhancing influences from both classic and modern death metal genres,

Tracklist 1. Awakening 2. Starvation 3. Possessed 4. Death Arcana 5. Shadow Within 6. Under the Black Wings 7. Kali 8. Blood Stained Heritage 9. Dark Night of the Soul 10. From the Ashes

65 65

Latest releases

Gorgon Black Metal band from France released the sixth Full-length album Traditio Satanae on June 11, 2021.

Pioneers of the Black Metal scene in France, GORGON was formed in 1991 in the south of France and spearheaded the second wave of French Black Metal along with bands such as MUTIILATION, STREGOICA or MALEFICUM ORGIA. Following the 2019 release of their comeback album The Veil of Darkness, the cursed phalanx is now delivering it’s new offering. Consisting of 11 tracks, of the most brutally savage, tempestuous and virulent Black Metal music.

6666

In creeping dimness, the band’s core has birthed their most aggressive body of work, yet. Utterly and undeniably compelling, hardhitting riffs and heinous vocals. You deserve this punishment, may your ordeal be painful.

Tracklist 1. Blood of Sorcerer 2. Death Was Here 3.

Entrancing Cemetery 4. Let Me See Behind 5. Sacrilegious Confessions

6. My Filth Is Worth Your Purity 7. Traditio Satanae 8. As Dawn Will Be Slow to Come 9. The Long Quest 10. Scorched Earth Operation 11. At the Beginning There Was Hate Lineup Christophe Chatelet - Guitars, Vocal, Bass

Path of Destiny B l a c k Symphonic Melodic Death/Black Metal band from Germany released the third Full-length album The Seed of All Evil on June 11, 2021.

Five years after “Dreams In Splendid Black”, PATH OF DESTINY return with a new album, which again needed a long ripening process. That’s why it presents the German melodic death metal outfit more diverse and more mature than ever before. All ten songs on “The Seed Of All Evil” feature an ominous character, because they mirror the society in a way that makes it even impossible to take a close look into the mirror itself. The anthemic opener ‘The Division Of A Spiral Synergy’ immediately

shows the strengths of the band: melodies that are there to stay and a thrilling heaviness. The midtempo track ‘Erased By Light’ battles its way through darkness in an epic manner, while ‘Endbringer’ is a blast beat driven speed attack. The furious ‘March Of The Antichrist’ lives up to its name and creates a pitch black atmosphere.

Tracklist 1. The Division of a Spiral Synergy 2. Necromantic Storm 3. Erased By Light 4. Endbringer 5. As Stars Collide 6. From Heaven They Fall 7. Kingdom of God 8. March of the Antichrist 9. Wave Goodbye to Sanity 10. The Crown of Creation Lineup Christian Reinhard - Guitars (lead), Vocals (backing) Christoph Silge - Bass, Orchestrations Alexander Helfer - Guitars Sebastian Schaffert - Vocals Jonas Pfeiffer - Drums

67 67

Latest releases

This Ending Melodic Death Metal band from Sweden released the fourth Fulllength album Needles of Rust on June 11, 2021.

This Ending consists of members from bands such as A Canorous Quintet, October Tide, Darkened & Mörk Gryning.

Formed in 2006 by the same members that was previously A Canorous Quintet.

(ACQ disbanded in 1998).

Overall the lyrical themes for the Needles of rust album deal with different kind of nightmare

6868

scenarios. Some lyrics are loosely based on real events and things that has happened over the world. Some are just about nightmares as an overall phenomenon. All lyrics are up for personal interpretation.

Tracklist 1. My Open Wound 2. Annihilate 3. Embraced by the Night

4. Eclipse of the Dead 5. A New Plight 6. Needles of Rust 7. Devastate 8. Hell to Hell 9. The Hunted Lineup Linus Nirbrant - Guitars Mårten Hansen - Vocals Linus Pettersson - Bass Peter Nagy - Guitars, Drums

Dark Vision Death/Black Metal band from Greece released the second Fulllength album Ianos on June 25, 2021.

Hellenic black metallers Dark Vision return with their first full-length album after two decades. «Ianos» revolve around the threshold of their musical transition, featuring a stormy black metal with death elements and lyrics about the struggle of the soul, fragments of nightmares and dystopic visions of the past and future.

Lineup Giannis K. - Drums, Vocals (backing) Mark - Guitars, Vocals Frag - Bass Defiant - Guitars, Vocals (backing)

Tracklist 1. Ignis 2. Absurdity in Abyss 3. Cosmic Storm 4. Asylum 5.

Of Unknown Artist 6. Defile the Pure 7. Sulfur Vision 8. Deathwish (Christian Death cover) 9. Gruesome Tide 10. Keep

69 69

Latest releases

Eye of Purgatory Death Metal band from Sweden released the second Full-length album The Lighthouse on June 18, 2021.

Swedish death metal mastermind Rogga Johansson has displayed a penchant for infusing classic style melodies in his kind of death metal which is most evident in his eponymous band and also to an extent in Revolting and Paganizer. It’s reminiscent of the timeless bands such as Edge of Sanity, Desultory, early Cemetary, early Tiamat, Pan.Thy.Monium and others where they added a

7070

dimension without diluting the heaviness. Rogga’s bands are known to be fast and hard-hitting and such melodic depth counterbalances the pummelling demeanour and adds rare emotive appeal. The music straddles the conventional HM-2 death metal and the more melodic side of it brilliantly, keeping it tasteful and not oversaturating it with too much of either. Teaming up with members of Ribspreader and Venom Inc., he brings to life his vision of classic Swedish death metal with its inherent crunchy heaviness and soulripping melodies. Albums like these are extremely rare in these times especially ones with genuine emotive quality and conviction.

Tracklist: 1. And from the Fog...

2. The Lighthouse 3. Fornever to Awaken 4. Carved in a Stone Bleeding 5. Pieces of a Fading World 6. They Silently Await 7. Where Slowly Life Fades 8. Rotting Pathways 9. Rebirther Lineup Rogga Johansson - Guitars, Vocals Taylor Nordberg (Ribspreader) – Drums, Lead Guitars, Keyboards Jeramie Kling (Venom Inc.) – Bass

Tragedy and Triumph Melodic Death/Viking Metal band from Germany released the first Full-length album Where Mountains Rise and Hearts Fall on June 18, 2021.

Tragedy And Triumph is a long-kept project by Marius Berendsen (Mallevs Maleficarvm, Antares, ExThyrgrim), which has been in the works since 2017 and is now being unleashed on mankind with the debut «Where Mountains Rise and Hearts Fall».

On this album, they present themselves in the best Viking/Melodic Death Metal manner and thus consistently powerful, groovy and of course correspondingly melodic. Stylistically the band mentions, not

unjustly, influences from bands like Bathory and Amon Amarth, and still shows variety and experimentation on these 11 songs.

Tracklist 1. Heldengrab 2. I, Triumphant 3. Five Arrows 4.

Where Fires March Victorious 5. Beneath the Howling Gate

6. Of Mountains and Wardrums 7.

In Pride and Sorrow 8. Ride for Revenge 9. Hymn for a Newborn Star 10. Where Mountains Rise and Hearts Fall 11. Lost War Lineup Marius Berendsen - All instruments Raphael Weller - Vocals Sebastian Auer - Guitars

71 71

Latest releases

Macabre Decay Old-school Death Metal band from Sweden released the second Full-length album Into Oblivion on June 18, 2021.

Macabre Decay was founded in Söderhamn, Sweden 2014 from the ashes of Afterlife.

7272

Lineup Fredrik Gunnarsson - Guitars Henka Andersson - Vocals Henke Edlund - Bass Sami Mäki - Guitars (lead) Martin Knutar - Drums

Tracklist 1. Icon 2. Impenitent Homicide 3. Into Oblivion 4. Utterly Helpless 5. The Becoming of Art 6. Altered Flesh 7. Wall of Bones 8. Last Breath 9. Beauty in Carnage 10. Kräks, förruttnelse och våld

Tristwood Industrial Death/Black Metal band from Austria re-released the third Full-length album Dystopia et Disturbia on June 18, 2021.

As Tristwood celebrates 20 years their third LP «Dystopia Et Disturbia» finally gets a CD version with a massive amount of 9 bonus tracks, recorded between 2001 and 2007. Originally released as a free download in December 2010, this final version not only features the 2011 mix and master by Deimon but also comes with an all-new cover, layout, and liner notes, limited to 50 copies worldwide.

Handnumbered and signed.

«Dystopia et Disturbia» is the third album and fifth release of the avant-garde extreme metal band Tristwood. The album, originally distributed for free in 2010 by Romanian netlabel Asiluum, is now officially released for the first time as a CD and via Bandcamp, making it accessible to a wider audience.

Tracklist 1. Dystopia Et Disturbia 2. Volcanus 3. Irreversible (Monument VII)

4. Terra Incognita 5. Chamaelicon Bizarre 6. The Black Room 7. The New Acid Bath 8. Storm Code (exclusive CD Bonus Track from the Dystopia Sessions) 9. Jythand (2004) 10. Symbiosis 11. Progress Chaos Primitivity 12. Insignificance 13. The Sanctuary Of The Darkest Aberrations 14. Cultic Desecration Of Darkness 15. A Stream Of Deadly Shadows 16. Proto - Vortex 17. Lava

73 73

Latest releases Decayed new album Old Ghosts and Primeval Demons delivers a mostly raw, buzzing quality to the rhythms that features utterly straightforward and truly one-note tremolo-styled riffing firmly entrenched in the crossover area between the first and second-wave black metal movements, containing that fiery, frost-riddled atmosphere while containing the rocking energies and rhythms that manage to merge these two styles together quite well, and given the genesis of their creation it’s quite appropriate to mix together these styles.

Decayed Old School Black Metal band from Portugal released the fourteenth Full-length album Old Ghosts and Primeval Demons on June 18, 2021.

The band started in August 1990 under the name DECAY when JA (vox/guitars) and Nuno (guitars) decided to start a band with real goals. The first official release was the demo «Thus Revelead» from January 1992; the debut album released in January 1994.

7474

The new album from 2021. It was supposed to be recorded and released in 2020 to celebrate 30 years of Decayed but due to the pandemic... it got delayed.

Now it has been unleashed upon mankind!

Decayed have brought a rather charging and damaging attack that has been their main basis throughout their thirty years of existence that began nearly at the birth of the genre itself. With the power-trio having honed their material into a coherent whole.

Tracklist: 1. Damned Souls (Intro) 2. Rise of the Undead 3. Condemned to Hell 4. Dead Choir Hails (The Birth) 5. Nocturnal Creatures 6. Grim Prophecies 7. Old Ghosts and Primeval Demons 8. Cold and Dark 9. Perpetual Slumber 10. Spell of the Gorgons 11. Manitou (Venom cover) 12. Fallen Angels (Outro) 13. Ritos De Iniciação Lineup J.A. - Guitars, Vocals Vulturius - Vocals, Bass GR - Drums

Darkthrone Black Metal band from Norway released the nineteenth Full-length album Eternal Hails...... on June 25, 2021.

Things change, times change, people change, and yet even when sounding fresh and new and delivering just five tracks in 45 minutes on their 19th album, Eternal Hails, the Norwegian black metal legends remain defiantly and eternally Darkthrone.

The album is an exploration of the very finest vintage metal and the best of

doom, all delivered in the Tracklist unmistakable darkthrone 1. His Master’s Voice style, whilst also 2. Hate Cloak incorporating instruments 3. Wake of the Awakened such as the moog to 4. Voyage to a North Pole further expand upon these Adrift soundscapes.

5. Lost Arcane City of Uppakra Lineup Fenriz - Drums, Vocals (additional), Bass, Guitars (additional) Nocturno Culto - Vocals, Guitars, Bass

75 75

Latest releases

Vulture Lord Black/Thrash Metal band from Norway released the second Full-length album Desecration Rite on June 20, 2021.

Eighteen years after the release of their first full length album, Profane Prayer, the legendary Vulture Lord have returned with its caustic, violent successor!

Desecration Rite is an unholy assault of malice and malevolence, a

7676

shocking affirmation of Vulture Lord’s dedication to the dark.

Dripping with spite and venom, a hatred you can taste, the songs that combine to form the Desecration Rite are hymns of annihilation, an adoration of absolute destruction.

Tracklist: 1. Glorification of the Dethronation 2. Bloodbound Militia 3. Stillborn Messiah 4. The Vulture Lord 5. Diabolical Intervention 6. Prepare the Coffin 7. Beneficial Martyrdom 8. Burning the Kingdom of God 9. Perverting the Bible Lineup Sorath Northgrove - Vocals Uruz - Drums Enzifer - Guitars Malphas - Guitars

Pestilence Death Metal band from Netherlands released the ninth Full-length album Exitivm on June 25, 2021.

A new album, on a new label armed with a whole new line-up and a new dynamic: no matter what, PESTILENCE or more specifically their maestro Patrizio Mameli are like the phoenix, rising from the ashes, over and over again. Three years after ‘Hadeon’, the band and their totally revamped line-up – besides former Dew Scented and Creepmime Joost van der Graaf on bass and Bleeding Gods’ Rutger van Noordenburg on lead guitar, former God Dethroned Michiel van der Plicht joined on drums last year – not only prove to be worthy of its golden legacy but actually deliver with ‘Exitivm’ what is

probably their best incarnation in over a decade, with the kind of instantly recognizable sound that will immediately make all ‘Testimony Of The Ancients’ fans drooling with anticipation while proving they’re not a nostalgia act but are living in the now.

Tracklist 1. In Omnibvs (Intro) 2. Morbvs Propagationem 3. Deificvs 4. Sempiternvs 5. Internicionem 6. Mortifervm

7.

Dominatvi Svbmissa 8. Pericvlvm Externvm 9. Inficiat 10. Exitivm 11. Immortvos 12. Personatvs Mortem (Outro) Lineup Patrick Mameli - Guitars (lead), Vocals Joost van der Graaf - Bass Rutger van Noordenburg Guitars (lead) Michiel van der Plicht Drums

77 77

Latest releases

Suidakra Melodic Death Metal band from Germany released the fifteenth Full-length album Wolfbite on June 25, 2021.

Suidakra started as Gloryfication and recorded one demo, known as «XIII» in 1994. Back then, the band played a death/ thrash hybrid, and Arkadius Antonik only played guitar.

Later in 1994 they changed the name of the band to Suidakra, which is Arkadius spelled backwards. The band’s name is often typeset SuidAkrA. On their early albums,

7878

Suidakra’s music was in a melodic black/death metal style with strong folk and medieval influences. Over time, the black metal asthetics began to fade out and they settled into a melodic death/Celtic folk sound. On the albums «Signs for the Fallen» and in particular «Command to Charge», the folk elements were reduced and a more straightforward melodic death metal style could be heard, but starting with «Caledonia» Suidakra moved back to their signature style.

Tracklist 1. A Life in Chains 2. The Inner Wolf 3. Darcanian Slave 4. Faoladh 5. Crossing Over 6. Vortex of Carnage 7. Resurgence 8. Redemption 9. A Shrine for the Ages

Hiraes Melodic Death Metal band from Germany released the first Fulllength album Solitary on June 25, 2021.

Risen from the ashes of the split-up Dawn of Disease, German-based formation HIRAES have just started their journey to take their monumental Melodic Death Metal out into the world.

The band name is derived from the Welsh word «hiraeth», which stands for the nostalgia and yearning for lost places of the past or a home that maybe never was.

Tracklist 1.

Shadows Break 2. Under Fire 3. Grain of Sand 4. 1000 Lights 5. Eyes over Black 6. Outshine 7. Solitary 8. Strangers 9. Running out of Time

Lineup Christian Wösten - Bass Mathias Blässe - Drums Oliver Kirchner - Guitars Lukas Kerk - Guitars Britta Görtz - Vocals

79 79

Latest releases

The Absence Melodic Death Metal band from United States released the fifth Full-length album Coffinized on June 25, 2021.

Formed in 2003, The Absence have survived through the ebb and flow of the metal community. The anticipated new album includes 11 blistering new tracks.

“Coffinized” was produced and engineered by Kling and Nordberg and mixed by Kling. The album was mastered by Jonas Kjellgren (Immortal, Overkill, Scar Symmetry) at Sweden’s Black Lounge Studios.

Includes members of Venom Inc., Massacre, Soulfly/Cavalera

8080

Conspiracy and more.

Lineup Jamie Stewart - Vocals Mike Leon - Bass Jeramie Kling - Drums Taylor Nordberg - Guitars

Tracklist 1. Coffinized 2. Future Terminal 3. Choirs of Sickness 4. Radiant Devastation 5. Cathedral Dawn 6. Black Providence 7. Discordia 8. Treacherous 9. The Consuming Nocturne 10. Aperture Expands 11. Faith in Uncreation

Requiem Death Metal band from Switzerland released the eighth Full-length album Collapse into Chaos on June 25, 2021.

Swiss death metal veterans REQUIEM are back with their 8th studio album «Collapse Into Chaos», and serve uncompromising and brutal oldschool death metal galore!

Since 1997, or for roughly 25 years, REQUIEM is a constant, reliable underground death metal force known for their relentless, authentic, and classic approach in relation to their music and outspoken lyrics.

Having spent countless hours together on European tours with bands like Dismember, Vader, Belphegor and Vital Remains, amongst many others, and festival shows with all the other wellknown names, REQUIEM know exactly who they are without l e a v i n g

anything to chance.

«Collapse Into Chaos» follows their very own way of fierce, blastspeed induced and unapologetic old-school death metal.

«Collapse Into Chaos» is a sonic reflection of the current, past and hypothetical future state of this world, the decreasing worth of a human life, the ever-changing biased use of media outlets and the inevitable approach towards the brink of extinction.

Tracklist 1. Fade into Emptiness 2. Collapse into Chaos 3. Mind Rape 4. Down to Zero 5. All Hail the New God 6. Only Empty Words Remain 7.

Progress to Collapse

8.

Mankind Never Learns 9. Ivory Morals 10. Out of Sight, Out of Mind 11. New World Dystopia 12. World Downfall 2020 (Outro) Lineup Philipp Klauser - Guitars Michi Kuster - Vocals Reto Crola - Drums Ralf W. Garcia - Bass Matthias Schiemann - Guitars

81 81

Latest releases

At the Gates Melodic Death Metal band from Sweden released the seventh Full-length album The Nightmare of Being on July 2, 2021.

AT THE GATES - A genredefining act of the Swedish melodic death metal scene. The band around Tomas «Tompa» Lindberg was formed in 1990 and disbanded six years later. But they never really did a proper farewell tour. Therefore they rejoined forces in 2007 for the «Flames Of The End» tour.

This injected new blood

8282

into them, and so they ended up being back ever since!

“The Nightmare Of Being” was mixed and produced with Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios (Amon Amarth, Opeth, Kreator, etc.) and the featured 10 songs showcase AT THE GATES at their most elaborated, striking and compelling!

The concept album focuses on the realization of your own mortality, nihilism and pessimistic philosophies.

Tracklist 1. Spectre of Extinction 2. The Paradox 3. The Nightmare of Being 4. Garden of Cyrus 5. Touched by the White Hands of Death 6. The Fall into Time 7. Cult of Salvation 8. The Abstract Enthroned 9. Cosmic Pessimism 10. Eternal Winter of Reason Lineup Jonas Björler - Bass Adrian Erlandsson - Drums Tomas Lindberg - Vocals Martin Larsson - Guitars Jonas Stålhammar - Guitars

Taake Black Metal band from Norway released the Compilation Avvik on July 2, 2021.

Over the past months, Norwegian Black Metal icons TAAKE have released a series of 10» splits with three different bands (WHOREDOM RIFE, DEATHCULT and HELHEIM), on three different labels, and, as always happens in the case of vinyl releases, fans have been asking for a CD version.

On the 2nd July, they released a limited edition Digipak CD, along with a Digital version, of the six TAAKE tracks from the series, which include a very special acoustic version of “Nattestid ser Porten vid I”, acknowledged by Black Metal fans the world-over as not only a

classic TAAKE track, but a classic of the whole genre itself.

The release is titled «Avvik», which translated means «anomaly» or «deviation», which makes it a very appropriate title given that the tracks from the splits would never really fit into any of TAAKE’s own releases. You could, of course, also argue that TAAKE mastermind Hoest has always ploughed a very individual furrow with his Helnorsk Svartmetall sound, standing outside the mainstream of Black Metal, and therefore making the choice of title doubly apt.

Tracklist 1. Ubeseiret 2. Heartland (The Sisters of Mercy cover) 3. Nattestid ser Porten vid I (acoustic) 4. Slagmark 5. Ravnajuv (Darkthrone cover) 6. Brotne Bein og Mannefall 7. Ein Baat i Foss Lineup Hoest - All instruments, Vocals

83 83

Latest releases

Diabolizer Death Metal band from Turkey released the first Full-length album Khalkedonian Death on July 2, 2021.

Turkish torchbearers of diabolical abomination Diabolizer finally back with their debut album «Khalkedonian Death»! 8 tracks of unrelenting and savage Death Metal raids that will just leave you mouthwatering for more!

For fans of Centurian, Severe Torture, Hate eternal, Deicide.

8484

Diabolizer was brought to life in 2012 in Kadıköy, Istanbul by Mustafa (guitar) and Aberrant (drums) with the desire to perform a faster, more aggressive and more diabolic Death Metal than their other bands.

Tracklist 1. Dawn of Obliteration 2. Maelstroms of Abhorrence 3. Cloaked in an Aura of Madness 4. Mayhemic Darkness and Possessed Visions 5. Sulphurous Vengeance 6. Bringers of Khalkedonian Death 7. Spearfuck the Throes of Treason 8. Perishing in His Oceans of Blood

Mayhem Black Metal band from Norway released the EP Atavistic Black Disorder / Kommando on July 9, 2021.

Mayhem return this year with an EP called “Atavistic Black Disorder / Kommando” that presents the band in a way that has never been heared before! The lords of darkness have dug deep and reflected their influences to create a musical odyssey that shows them multifaceted in several ways. For this goal, cover versions of bands like Discharge, Dead Kennedys, Rudimentary Peni and Ramones were chosen, which in typical MAYHEM manner impressively fit into their bursting and darkenened s o u n d .

Nevertheless, MAYHEM would not be MAYHEM, if this musical creation would do without own composed songs. In addition to named cover versions, a brand new track called “Voces Ab Alta” was recorded to continue the musical journey alongside previously released tracks “Black Glass Communion” and “Everlasting Dying Flame”, which were used as bonus tracks for the 2019 album “Daemon”.

Tracklist 1. Voces ab Alta 2.

Black Glass Communion 3.

Everlasting Dying Flame 4. In Defense of Our Future (Discharge cover) 5.

Hellnation (Dead Kennedys cover) 6. Only Death (Rudimentary Peni cover) 7. Commando (Ramones cover) Lineup Teloch - Guitars Necrobutcher - Bass Attila Csihar - Vocals Ghul - Guitars Hellhammer - Drums

85 85

Latest releases

Vincent Crowley Black Metal band from United States released the first Fulllength album Beyond Acheron on July 9, 2021.

After 30 years of fronting Black / Death Metal underground alongside veterans ACHERON, lead vocalist Vincent Crowley is pursuing a solo career.

This new musical entity veers to a different dark and macabre path, being influenced by all kinds of metal genres.

“Beyond Acheron” was recorded at Sonic Lounge Studios with Joe Viers as the producer. This 8-track album has a dark sound

8686

while maintaining a great production.

“Beyond Acheron” is a conceptional album that climbs through the ladder of death. From beginning to end it takes the listener on a ghastly journey with sombre tales of doom, casting a Poeesque shadow.

Tracklist 1. Intro: Beyond Acheron 2. Where No Light Shines 3. My Eternal Vow 4. La Muerte 5. Bring Forth The Dead 6. Masquerade Du Macabre 7. Farewell (At Death’s Door) 8. Outro Lineup Vincent Crowley - Vocals Art Taylor - Guitars Ryan Arter - Drums

Sepiroth Death Metal band from Netherlands released the third Full-length album Condemned to Suffer on July 9, 2021.

Sepiroth is a brutal oldschool Death Metal band from Sliedrecht, the Netherlands. The band has been founded in 2003 by drummer Damiën and guitarist Chris. In 2007 the band released their first 3-track e.p. ‘Dying For Hatred’ followed in 2011 by their first full length ‘Breaking The Codes Of Silence’. In 2015 the band released their second full length album ‘Uninvolved’. The album was a concept about the UN forces witnessing the horrors of the civil war in former Yugoslavia. With the current

line-up, Sepiroth wants to take their crushing Death Metal to the stages of world with more power and strength than ever before.

For fans of: Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Vomitory, Sinister.

Tracklist 1. 45362971N126375544E 2. Embedded Defects 3. Agonizing Subjection 4. Six Times a Charm 5. Condmened to Suffer 6. Destined Between the Eyes

7. Psuedoscience 8.

Selective Apocalypse 9.

Pulmarary Barotrama 10. River of Perdition Lineup Damiën Kerpentier Drums Christian Both Guitars Vince den Breejen Guitars Bruno Bakker - Bass Nico Munnik - Vocals

87 87

Latest releases

Night Crowned Melodic Black/Death Metal band from Sweden released the second Full-length album Hädanfärd on July 9, 2021.

Carried with depth through 9 atmospheric tracks and supported in a vivid way by individual, written down interpretations and explanations of K. Romlin, «Hädanfärd» is an infernal, bleak monolith of an album, one that will most likely see Night Crowned step out as one of Sweden’s best kept blackened death metal secrets.

Hailed by critics and fans alike

88 88

as one of the best releases of the year, Night Crowned took the heavy scene by storm with their debut studio album, «Impius Viam» (2020, Noble Demon). Consisting of former and current members of legendary acts such as Dark Funeral, Nightrage and Cipher System and with a musical vision as clear as it is haunting and disturbing, the band created with their latest album an imposing work full of rage, melancholy and pure destruction, offering a true reawakening of the sounds dormant from the most influential acts and masterpieces of the Scandinavian ‘90s.

Tracklist 1. Nattkrönt 2. Rex Tenebrae 3. Fjättrad 4. Ett gravfäst öde 5. Hädanfärd 6. Gudars skymning 7. Människans förfall 8. Grått & ödelagt 9. Enslingen

Chestcrush Blackened Death Metal band from United Kingdom released the first Full-length album Vdelygmia on July 14, 2021.

Vdelygmia” is the second release and first full-length by Edinburgh’s Chestcrush, the solo project by Evangelos Vasilakos.

The Greek-born musician has recently published his first demo that received praises from underground metal community and was then physically released by two European labels and sold out quickly afterwards. On this demo, Chestcrush presented their unique and crushing style of Blackened Death Metal and Grindcore, influenced by raging Old School Black Metal and a shattering Sludge / Post Metal.

And now the time has come for the world to witness “Vdelygmia” in its utterly terrifying yet fascinating might.

O n

“Vdelygmia” Chestcrush reduces melodic influence on a necessary amount, and sets its focus on total sonic annihilation of the listener with vast and severe arsenal of sound weaponry of carpet bombing blast beats, napalm burning guitar riffs and blood chilling war cries.

Tracklist 1. The Digester 2. Different Shepherd Same Sheep 3. Grudge 4. Theocracyst 5. Burden 6. Let Them Crawl 7. Skullcrush 8. Vothrodoxia 9. Vaptizetai O Doulos

Lineup Evangelos Vasilakos – Compositions, guitars, bass, lyrics, programming Thomas Blanc – Vocals (Helioss, Celestial Swarm among others) Krzysztof Klingbein – Drums (Vader, Hate, Deathspawn among others)

89 89

Latest releases

Paradise Lost Doom/Death/Gothic Metal band from United Kingdom released the live album At the Mill on July 16, 2021.

33 years after their inception, England’s PARADISE LOST are not only one of the most influential metal bands in the world and founders of the gothic metal genre, but also among the most varied acts. From death and doom to catchy synth pop hymns, the quintet from Yorkshire never hesitated to cross boundaries and yet always stayed true to themselves.

9090

After a spectacular #2 spot in the German album charts with their latest chef-d’oeuvre ‘Obsidian’, the band now unveils a live album consisting of 16 tracks that cover nearly every style and big hit from their 3-decade-long career.

Tracklist 1. Widow 2. Fall from Grace 3. Blood and Chaos 4. Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us 5. Gothic 6. Shadowkings 7. One Second 8. Ghosts 9. The Enemy 10. As I Die 11. Requiem 12. No Hope in Sight 13. Embers Fire 14. Beneath Broken Earth 15. So Much Is Lost 16. Darker Thoughts

Necrogod Death Metal band from Sweden / Costa Rica released the first Fulllength album In Extremis on July 23, 2021.

Necrogod is the perfect expression of atavistic death metal brutality spearheaded by none other than Rogga Johansson (Paganizer, Revolting, Eye of Purgatory) who has teamed up with the revered The Master Butcher (Morbid Stench, Insepulto) to make this feat possible. It’s a product of careful deliberation and years of experience, with Rogga Johansson laying down the heaviest music of possibly his entire career and The Master Butcher just taking things to another level with his barrage of unearthly roars. This is the culmination of death metal mastery, a groovy, pummeling record that imbibes the best elements of Swedish and American death metal scenes to create a truly

fearsome record without parallel.

What’s surprising is that despite the face-blasting aggression and unbridled vocal delivery, the music is well-rounded with thought-out structures, tempo changes, build-ups, solos and even traces of sick melodies. Clearly a marked deviation from the usual Rogga Johansson fare that one is acquainted with, this is some next level old school brutality that will knock you flat and will have you crawling back for more.

Same Again 5. The Obsessive and the Deranged 6. In the Reign of Gore

7. When Madness Has Taken Control 8. Moribund 9. Transcending to Persist Lineup Rogga Johansson - Guitars, Bass, Drum programming The Master Butcher - Vocals

Tracklist 1. Bringers of Blasphemy 2. In Mortal Confinement 3.

The Brutal Path (Straight to Hell) 4. Remain the

91 91

Latest releases

Netherbird Symphonic/Melodic Black Metal band from Sweden released the sixth Full-length album Arete on July 30, 2021.

NETHERBIRD has blurred the boundaries between black, death and other extreme strains of heavy metal since 2004. The band was founded by likeminded individuals among the Swedish metal scene with the intentions of creating harsh metal while drawing inspiration from black and death metal without any regards, or limitations, to

9292

the structures surrounding each respective sub-genre.

Tracklist 1. Âme damnée 2. Towers of the Night 3. Void Dancer 4. Infernal Vistas 5. Carnal Pentiment 6. Mystes 7. The Silence of Provenance 8. Atrium of the Storm

Lineup Bizmark (PNA) - Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals Nephente - Vocals Tobias Jacobsson - Guitars (lead) Micke André - Bass, Vocals Fredrik Andersson - Drums

Ondfødt Black Metal band from Finland released the third Full-length album Norden on July 30, 2021.

Ondfødt return with their 3rd full length album «Norden», 2 years after their 2nd album “Dödsrikets Kallelse” was released. With Norden (which was crafted during 2019), the band has managed too develop their sound drastically and all for the better.

Magnificence drums who pound right through your speakers entangled in a blasphemous dance with the guitars who provide a strong and straight forward Black Metal sound! The vocals are as unholy as they should be and the bass completes the music with the right dose of power. Every song is a pure offering to

the one true divinity, which is the eternal darkness.

Norden is an album that delivers with No Compromise what so ever and is a must have for every Black Metal and Metal fan without a doubt. Pure Scandinavian Black Metal is what you can expect on this album!!!

Lineup Owe Inborr - Drums, Guitars, Bass, Vocals Juuso Englund - Guitars

Tracklist 1. Höstdröm 2. Höstfurstin 3. Han bor i skuggona 4. Gifti från Tadjin 5. Fyri do dör 6. Mörkri 7. Ti dödas viso 8. Natten 9. Norden

93 93

Latest releases

Ingested Slam/Brutal Death Metal band from United Kingdom released the sixth Fulllength album The Surreption II on July 30, 2021.

‘The Surreption’ was originally released in 2011 as the follow up album to debut ‘Surpassing the Boundaries of Human Suffering’.

Re-recorded in its entirety, this is a pulverising reminder of how Ingested’s material has stood the test of time, cementing the band ever more firmly at the forefront

9494

of the UKDM scene.

Tracklist 1. Crowing the Abomination 2. Decline 3. The Consequence 4. A Coming Unperceived 5. This Disgusting Revelation 6. Castigation and Rebirth 7. Manifesting Obscenity 8. 22 9. Kingmaker 10. The Alpha and Omega

Lineup Lyn Jeffs - Drums Sean Hynes - Guitars, Vocals (backing) Sam Yates - Guitars, Vocals (backing) Jay Evans - Vocals

Dantalion Black Metal band from Spain released the eighth Fulllength album Time to Pass Away on July 31, 2021.

The Galician black metal pioneers Dantalion are back with “Time to Pass Away”, their eighth full-length studio album and, probably, their best work in years, eight intense tracks that mean an unquestionably come-back to their primitive black metal sound, rough, powerful and really really strong...

An album recorded among sanitary lockdowns that also caused the return of Sanguinist to the role of vocalist, in which the band oozes pure negativity and bad vibes, true darkness and despair from the chosen illustration as cover art done by the Russian artist Vergvoktre

to the absolutely obscure artwork developed by el dios perezoso, or this brilliant production done, as usual, by Brais Barreiro...

Tracklist 1. The Call 2. The Relentless Shadow 3. Gate to an Eternal Doom 4. Time to Close the Circle 5.

Constant Mourning Process 6. The Mischievous Faces 7. From Suffering to Oblivion 8. From Consciousness to the Grave

Lineup Naemoth - Drums Netzja - Guitars Sanguinist - Vocals Vorgh - Guitars natnoF - Bass

95 95

Latest releases

Primordial Serpent Black Metal band from Canada released the third Full-length album The Winter Warrior on June 2, 2021.

This album was made over the span of 6 weeks and is much more raw and straightforward than previous release. This album is all centered around Winter whether it be myths, lore, and personal struggles.

Tracklist 1. Intro (Howling Winds Upon Frostbitten Plains) 2. A Dawn of Another Winter 3. Mighty Darkwolf 4. Skadi’s Warth Upon the Prairies 5. Tears of the Hunter 6. The Winter Warrior 7. Unrelenting Storms of the North Lineup Geoff Coran - Everything

9696

Asarmoth/Living Decomposition Asarmoth - Death Metal from Italy.

Living Decomposition - Brutal Death Metal from Venezuela.

Asarmoth and Living Decomposition released the split album Alliance in Chaos on June 2, 2021.

Tracklist 1. Asarmoth - Erszebet 2. Asarmoth - Into the Depths of Hell 3. Asarmoth - Princess of the Darkness (Alt. Version) 4. Asarmoth - Mesmerized (Alt. Version) 5. Living Decomposition - As Heavens Burst into Flames 6. Living Decomposition Trepidation 7. Living Decomposition Internal Defragmentation 8. Living Decomposition Human Induced Hecatomb 9. Living Decomposition Planetary Morbid Slayer

Order of Nosferat Black Metal band from Germany / Finland released the second Full-length album Arrival of the Plague Bearer on June 7, 2021.

Tracklist 1. Arrival of the Plague Bearer 2. Sleepless in Sorrow and Bloodthirst 3. Followed Path of the Carpathian Blood Wolves 4. The Castle of Haunting Silence 5. Fear the Unchained Ghoul 6. Lost in the Crypts of my Need for Affection 7. Beyond Pitch Black Woodlands 8. As She Fades in Lamenting Winds 9. A Trail of Living Coffins 10. Dance of the Wallachian Winter Spirits Lineup Anzillu - Percussion Count Revenant - Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Keyboards

Mother of All Melodic Death Metal band from Denmark released the first Fulllength album Age of the Solipsist on June 11, 2021.

One-man band fronted by multiinstrumentalist Martin Haumann.

The songs are varied and eclectic, but inspiration is drawn from the deep cauldron that is Metal.

Mother Of All’s first full-length album Age Of The Solipsist’ is a collaborative effort bringing together some of the world’s great metal musicians and artists. With a diverse collection of songs, the album tackles existential themes in our current age. The style a mixture of melodic and progressive death metal and is the brainchild of drummer and vocalist Martin Haumann (ex live-drummer for Myrkur and Afsky).

Tracklist 1. Autumn 2. We Don’t Agree 3. Curators of Our World 4. Age of the Solipsist 5. At the Edge of a Dream 6. Blood Still Owed 7. Feel the Pain Lineup Martin Haumann - Vocals, Drums Steve Di Giorgio – bass Frederik Jensen – guitars

DxVxDxD SxLF Symphonic Black/Gothic Metal band from France released the second Full-length album Before the Dawn on June 15, 2021.

Somewhere between Moonspell, Septic Flesh, Dimmu Borgir, Paradise Lost & Tribulation.

The album «Before The Dawn» was born, mixed by Guillaume Smiley and then mastered at Studio Du Lac (Fr) by Arnaud Menard.

Tracklist 1. Man in a Vortex 2. Somewhere Far Beyond 3. After Dark 4. Weal & Woe 5. The Start of the Ending 6. Swan Song 7. Ocean of Possibilities 8. Lux in Tenebris Lucet 9. Darkstones Cathedral 10. The Turin Horse Lineup Mitch Heksen - Vocals Adam DSX - Bass Guillaume Smiley - Guitars Ludy Wotton - Drums

Vaciø Black Metal band from Spain released debut EP Et Destituta Mortis on June 21, 2021.

Emerged in 2019 under the command of A.84 (guitars, bass) and L.77 (vocals, lyrics), Vaciø embody their own vision of black metal. The mysterious duo manifest their path of occultism through misanthropy and esotericism-guided lyrics.

Although a newborn entity, Vaciø involve forces having decades of involvement in the spheres of occult and extreme music.

On the debut EP, Et Destituta Mortis, Vaciø did not only turn back the clock, but they also brandished the glorious past with integrity, devotion, mysticism, and pure artistry.

Tracklist 1. Two Moons (Between Phobos & Deimos) 2. Into the Jaws of Sobek 3. The Knowledge of the Void Lineup A.84 - Guitars, Bass L.77 - Vocals, Lyrics Diogo Mota (Gaerea) Drums

97

97

Latest releases

Artach Epic Black Metal band from Canada released the second Full-length album Sworn to Avenge on June 25, 2021.

Artach is a two-man black metal band based in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. Being from the foggiest, snowiest, wettest, windiest, and gloomiest capital city in Canada, one should not be surprised that this fuels the creation of Black Metal. Their inspiration comes from the land, nature, the bleak weather of the Canadian North, and influential black metal bands.

Tracklist 1. Tuiteam an Duine 2. Ice Throne 3. Shimmer 4. Endless Tundra 5.

Into the Frozen Woodlands 6. The Gathers Leaves 7. Mistress of Black Thorns 8. Winter’s End

9898

Gospod Black Metal band from Russia released the second Full-length album Исход Израиля on June 30, 2021.

This album has been completely reworked and everyone has hotly discussed the scream. Some work has been done for that, and you will hear a completely different sound on this album. Another important point is that now the entire text is in Church Slavonic, and excerpts from the corresponding chapters are read without changing the text and meaning. All this creates a certain, peculiar atmosphere inherent in the project.

In the album ‘Исход Израиля’ the band presented one of the most important biblical events «Exodus». This theme is consonant with the word «salvation», because the Exodus of Israel from the land of Egypt meant the salvation of this people from slavery.

Assault Melodic Death Metal band from Singapore released the second Fulllength album In Aevum Et Illustrata on June 30, 2021.

Assault is a Death Metal band that has become one of the best Singaporean talents, musically they play death metal with an amazing melodic twist and the ferocity of rare modern thrash, sweet riffs with astonishing and mindblowing guitar solos.

The conceptual theme behind the album lyrics revolves around the Bavarian Illuminati which was founded on 1 May 1776 by Adam Weishaupt.

The band hopes to transpire our listeners with our interpretation of this organisation.

Lineup Syaz - Bass, Vocals (backing) Hanesh - Guitars (lead) Clarence Chong - Vocals Noh - Guitars, Vocals (backing) Mitch Goon - Drums

Diagor

Atmospheric Black Metal band from Ukraine released the second Full-length album The Ruining World on July 8, 2021.

Traditionally inspired by Ukrainian bands this album features 10 new songs in the best Slavic style! For those who are already familiar with the work of Khors and Kroda, Diagor will be something else to add to your collection. With passages that verge on the symphonic, “The Ruining World” presents the best of Atmospheric Black Metal, highly recommended for those who have been following the rise of Slavic Black Metal since the mid-90s…

Tracklist 1. Infinite Space 2. Insomnia 3. Monster 4. Eternity 5. Realist 6.

Dead Light, Living Darkness 7. Barely Audible Scream 8. From the Earth 9. New Life 10. The Ruining World

Lake of Depression Funeral Doom/Death Metal band from Panama released the second Full-length album Black Oceans on July 15, 2021.

Lake Of Depression returns with a devastating second album.

«Black Oceans» focuses a lot more into the Funeral Doom style, three songs over ten minutes long, are connected into a tragic story of death, becoming the band’s first conceptual album, and one that surely brings to light the band’s own identity and individuality, very atmospheric, full of darkness, with soul-crushing melodies and a strong influence from the old school masters.

Tracklist 1. Black Oceans

2. Abysmal Fall 3. Our Graves Below the Sea Lineup Ricardo «Lebzul» Brenes Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals Eduardo Vanegas - Bass

-

Zora Death Metal band from Italy released the third Full-length album Soul Raptor on July 15, 2021.

The theme of this album is the mental zeroing to which we are brought and subjected to social networks, information and media in general, it contains ten tracks, and is the third full length of the band, active since 2003, composed by Giuseppe Tat0 Tatangelo on vocal and bass, Glk Molè on guitars and Giampiero Serra on drums.

Tracklist 1. Social Fakework 2. Induced Objectivity 3. Lobotomy 4. Brainwashing 5. Distorted Personality 6. I Can’t Breathe 7. Soul Raptor 8. Hypnotic Obsession 9. Ego Psychotic 10. Outro - The Grand Act Lineup Giampiero Serra - Drums Tat0 - Bass, Vocals Glk Molè - Guitars

99 99

Latest releases

Mortyfear Melodic Death Metal band from Finland released the second Full-length album My Dystopia on July 15, 2021.

Tracklist 1. Circus Called Life 2. Jester’s Downfall 3. Black Noise 4. Plastic World 5. Spoiled 6. Misfortunate Phoenix 7. Delete 8. Dark Waters Lineup Tapio Laitila - Bass Ville Kivimäki - Drums Jorma Muhonen - Guitars Riku Metsä-Ketelä - Guitars, Keyboards Janne Keskitalo - Vocals

100 100

Storm Unleashed Melodic Death Metal band from Germany released the first Full-length album Death Addiction on July 15, 2021.

Tracklist 1. Downwards 2. Drowning 3. Cry of a Dying World 4. Winternight 5. Storm Unleashed

6. Sacrament of Fire

7. Lockdown 8. Defeat and Death Addiction 9. Dark Blood 10. Insanity Lineup Nikolas vom Orde - Drums Lukas Rinke - Guitars Magnus Rinke - Vocals Patrick Bücker - Bass Phil Sprenger - Guitars

Dungeon Serpent Melodic Death Metal band from Canada released the first Full-length album World of Sorrows on July 16, 2021.

«World of Sorrows» is 5 tracks and 30+ minutes of pure brutal melodic death metal. It is focused with laser precision upon a singular musical idea and goal: to create melodic death metal with a higher emphasis on the traditional death metal elements often neglected by so called melodic “death metal” bands, like blasting drums, lower vocals, and percussive & low morbid tremolo riffs, inspired by bands like ROTTING CHRIST, INTESTINE BAALISM, MI’GAUSS, MOLESTED, VEHEMENCE, EUCHARIST, and SADISTIC INTENT, as well as the earliest works of AMON AMARTH and KATAKLYSM. This disk is 30+ minutes of pure old-school, anti-trend, melodic death metal savagery sure to please any fan of the aforementioned bands.

Crescent Blackened Death Metal band from Egypt released the third Fulllength album Carving the Fires of Akhet on July 16, 2021.

‘Carving the Fires of Akhet’ Malevolent piece of Murderous and Crushing Blackened Death Metal infused with Egyptian elements.

1. The Fires of Akhet 2. Moot Set Waas 3. Serpent of Avaris 4. Neb-Pehti-Ra 5. Imprecations upon Thy Flame 6. Drowned in Theban Blood 7. Crimson Descension 8. As Nu Enshrines Death Lineup Ismaeel Attallah - Vocals (lead), Guitars (lead) Julian Dietrich - Drums Youssef Saleh - Guitars (rhythm), Vocals (backing)

Ghorot Blackened Doom Metal band from United States released the first Full-length album Loss of Light on July 23, 2021.

GHOROT is a Blackened DoomMetal Trio from the High Desert of Boise, ID. Devastatingly heavy in both tonality and structure, Ghorot strives to defiantly coalesce the dominions of sludge, doom, stoner, and black metal into a behemoth of sonic ferocity.

Tracklist 1. Harbinger 2. Charioteer of Fire 3. Woven Furnace

4. Dead Gods 5. In Endless Grief Lineup Carson Russell - Bass, Vocals Brandon Walker - Drums, Vocals Chad Remains - Guitar, Vocals

Adventum Diaboli Black Metal band from Greece released the sixth Fulllength album Ο Λόγος Του Σκότους: Chapter I on July 31, 2021.

Adventum Diaboli means «The Arrival of Satan».

Tracklist 1. The 666 Shades of Evil (Introduction to the Occvlt) Intro 2. Against His Light 3. Ιερά Εξέταση 4. Son of Dawn 5. Suffering from Gods Plagues 6. Λεγεών (Ensarkosis of Free Will) 7. For a Lady and the Beast 8. The Hammer of Witches 9. In the Pursuit of Necromancer 10. 1347 (Outro) Lineup Charon - Vocals (lead) Leviathan - Guitars, Vocals, Bass (studio) Panas - Drums

101

101

Band Links https://www.facebook.com/transcendenceinfernal https://transcendenceinfernal.bandcamp.com https://www.instagram.com/transcendence.infernal

102 102

We would like to tell you about musicians and bands not so well known around the world. This is the story of Transcendence Death/ Thrash Metal band from the United States.

Transcendence was formed in 2013 under the name Annihilation playing primitive old school death/thrash with influences such as old Sepultura, Unleashed, Grotesque etc. The name change happened later that year during the recording process of the «Morbid Reality» demo and since then some line up changes have occurred, countless gigs have been played, the second demo «Altar of Disease» was released in 2014, and an EP «Hour of the Summoning» in 2017 before the recording of the debut LP «Towards Obscurities Beyond» in early 2019 which was delayed and released in late 2020 on Blood Harvest Records. Since its inception the band has been continuously evolving its sound into more blackened and melodic territories that will be pushed even further in the next release planned for late 2021 or 2022. inquire at transcendenceinfernal@gmail.com to contact the band. Ave

103 103

Band Links https://www.facebook.com/dxvxdxdsxlf https://www.instagram.com/dxvxdxd_sxlf https://open.spotify.com/artist/5MvNLRtyUPizJVvsNioqzb

We would like to tell you about musicians and bands not so well known around the world. This is the story of DxVxDxD SxLF - Symphonic Black/Gothic band from France.

104

104

From Clermont-Ferrand and founded in 2016, DXVXDXD SXLF (pronounced Divided Self) founding members Adam DSX and multiinstrumentalist Guillaume Smiley (Ad Vacuum) were quickly joined

by Ludy Wotton (Fatass) as drummer. About the singer that’s a long story...

Together they created DXVXDXD SXLF, evoking the endless struggle between good and evil inside us all, referring also to the work “The divided self: An existential study in sanity & madness” from the British author R.D. Laing. The “X” stand for the 4 members as well as the 4 elements, and also as the symbol of the cross... and eventually as the 4 members’ taste for mystery.

After a first EP combining electric and acoustic tracks, Dxvxdxd Sxlf defines its style towards tones of goth / black (Dimmu Borgir, Moonspell, Paradise Lost) with the arrival of a new singer. In 2019 they recorded their first album “Scorpio Rising”, mixed at Equinoxe Studio (FR) and mastered at Orgone Studio (UK) by Jaime Gomez Arellano (Paradise Lost, Solstafir, Ulver).

During the period of confinement and working as a trio, Dxvxdxd Sxlf chooses a slightly more radical direction and develops an ever more singular universe giving wider space to orchestrations and wilder tempos, Ludy Wotton having taken on the paper of singer / drummer in the studio. The album «Before The Dawn» was born, mixed by Guillaume Smiley and then mastered at Studio Du Lac (Fr) by Arnaud Menard.

Necron (Gergovia) performed with the band as vocalist on one song.

And now a new album is on the way...

105 105

Band Links https://www.facebook.com/chestcrushband https://chestcrush.bandcamp.com https://www.instagram.com/chestcrush https://open.spotify.com/artist/2YpMZ9fQn85Ife30oR1QYf

We would like to tell you about musicians and bands not so well known around the world. This is the story of Chestcrush Blackened Death Metal band from United Kingdom.

106

106

Chestcrush - the solo project by Evangelos Vasilakos. The Greek-born musician has recently published his first demo that received praises from underground metal community and was then physically released by two European labels and sold out quickly afterwards. On this demo, Chestcrush presented their unique and crushing style of Blackened Death Metal and Grindcore, influenced by raging Old School Black Metal and a shattering Sludge / Post Metal. And now the time has come for the world to witness “Vdelygmia” in its utterly terrifying yet fascinating might.

On “Vdelygmia” Chestcrush reduces melodic influence on a necessary amount, and sets its focus on total sonic annihilation of the listener with vast and severe arsenal of sound weaponry of carpet bombing blast beats, napalm burning guitar riffs and blood chilling war cries. Nine nightmarish anthems of terror and hate lyrically devoted to coping with own mental and physical health tragedies (the band’s name is chosen for this reason) and unbearable abhorrence to the current political/theocratical situation in Evangelos motherland Greece.

The title “Vdelygmia” is a Greek word originally spelled “ Βδελυγμία“ which means “abomination”, “filth” and “repulsion” of extreme levels and can be used both to define the feeling towards an act, or a person, who is sorely corrupted and depraved. And this title completely reflects the musical part of the album which is so beautifully disgusting, violent, horrifyingly brutal and stunningly ugly as a nearly perfect Blackened Death Metal / Grindcore album can be.

107

107

Band Links https://archedfire.com https://www.facebook.com/OfficialArchedFire https://open.spotify.com/artist/2rOCJxqnlJYY5DUCDKLhcO

We would like to tell you about musicians and bands not so well known around the world. This is the story of Arched Fire Speed/Thrash Metal band from Finland.

108

108

Formed in the small town of Kemijärvi in Finnish Lapland in 1989 by Aslak Purojärvi (drums), Mika Rytilahti (bass), Janne Särkelä (guitar) and Ari Väntänen (guitar), Arched Fire started from scratch. Having started as a heavy rock band, they soon steered towards harder and darker metal, inspired

by American and Finnish speed/thrash bands. Meanwhile, the global metal scene started to take shape - not that the guys knew anything about it. Along with some live and rehearsal recordings, Arched Fire made a four-track demo. When it was (favourably) reviewed in Soundi magazine in late 1990, the band had already split up. As life happened, they lost touch with each other, but not with music. They all kept on playing in different bands, from power pop to black metal, from prog fusion to folk music. Decades flew by until the time felt right to get back together. That required some serious work. They kept their old, simple, energetic riffs, but completely re-arranged the song structures and wrote some new parts where needed.

Arched Fire’s debut album ‘Remote Control’ released on April 30th, 2021.

109

109

Band Links https://www.facebook.com/Living-Decomposition-269373669758180 https://livingdecomposition.bandcamp.com https://www.youtube.com/user/LivingDecomposition

We would like to tell you about musicians and bands not so well known around the world.

This is the story of Living Decomposition - Brutal Death Metal band from Venezuela.

110 110

Living Decomposition is a Brutal Death Metal band from Venezuela formed in 2011 by Nelson Urdaneta (Drums) and Ismael Granados (guitars), they released their first EP entitled “Living Decomposition” in 2013 under the label Rebirth the Metal Productions (RTM). After several years of inactivity they recorded new material, which included old songs that were never recorded and new songs specially made for the EP entitled “Internal Defragmentation” released in 2021 also under the label RTM. As well as the releasing of a Split entitled “Alliance in Chaos” together with the one-man band “Asarmoth” from Italy and counting with the support from White Noise Records for distribution in the United States.

Main influences from Living Decompositions are brutal and technical death metal bands like Inveracity, Disavowed, Braindrill, Unmercyful, Blasphemer, Hideous Deformity.

Line Up Nelson Urdaneta (Drums, vocal) Ismael Granados (Guitar, bass) Discography EP - Living Decomposition (2013) EP- Internal Defragmentation (2021) Split “Asarmoth-Living Decompositon”- Alliance in Chaos (2021)

111 111

Band Link https://www.facebook.com/Mepharis https://mepharis.bandcamp.com https://www.instagram.com/mepharisband https://www.youtube.com/user/MepharisBand

We would like to tell you about musicians and bands not so well known around the world. This is the story of Mepharis - Death/ Doom Metal band from Poland.

112

112

Mepharis from Poznań/Poland plays ambitious and melancholy music. Apart from strong riffs, they can also cry beautifully with their guitars, like masters of doom/death metal music - in the way of early Anathema or Paradise Lost.

So far the band released the LP «Sic Luceat Lux» (2014) and EP «Rebirth» (2016). In June 2021 the band released their second LP «Eternal Night» with a promo video of the song «Before Night Falls». Mepharis is experienced and wellversed in playing live. They played with bands like Virgin Snatch, Percival Schuttenbach, Unborn Suffer and Welicoruss.

Lineup Przemysław “Cygan” Cygańczuk - Rhythm/Lead guitar and Vocal Sebastian “ Simon” Cichy - Rhythm/Lead guitar Michał “Czarny” Wojciechowski - Bass guitar Tobiasz Konieczny - Drums

113

113

Band Link https://www.facebook.com/AngelofAngerBand https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEoI44VWodteK94uUscAz3A

We would like to tell you about musicians and bands not so well known around the world. This is the story of Angel of Anger Black/Death/Gothic Metal Band from Italy.

114 114

Angel of Anger.

Angel of Anger formed in November of 2003. They started touring around Northern Italy in 2005. Critics liked them and they got a small fan base. In 2008 they released their first EP entitled Angel of Anger and quickly ran into problems. Some members left the band and Angel of Anger hit a brick wall. They opened for Deicide in 2008 and then sadly split up.

In 2019 they decided to try again. New members and this time, clearly more direct. Their sound is a mixture of Black Metal, Gothic Metal and Doom Metal.

A new single will be released this December.

Discography - Angel of Anger (2008).

Line up: Andred - Vocals.

Lord Axl Mato - Guitars.

Yunus - Guitars.

Zhu - Bass.

Filippo Loria - Drums.

115

115

Band Links http://www.facebook.com/extremedecay https://extremedecay.bandcamp.com https://instagram.com/extremedecay.grind

We would like to tell you about musicians and bands not so well known around the world. This is the story of Extreme Decay - Grindcore Metal band from Indonesia.

116

116

Extreme Decay was formed on January 1, 1998 with the following initial members: Adhie (guitar), Juli (guitar), Adi (bass), Andik (vocals), Afrl (vocals) and Adim (drums). Since their inception, Extreme Decay has been inspired by grind, crust and punk bands from the 80s, and set to write hard-hitting, fast tempo songs. Short and straight to the point. They represent music through social themes full of protest, questions, and anger.

On 2019 former guitarist Ravi went back to the band. With the current line up of Anizar-Bass, Ruly-Guitar/Vocals, RaviGuitar/Vocals, Afrl-Vocals, Eko-Drums on July 2021 Extreme Decay released an EP “Antiviral” on tape through Disaster Records and 7” vinyl through Samstrong Records, which will come out at the end of 2021.

For 2022, Extreme Decay is planning to record and release their latest full length. New approach to songwriting and recording are coming. Extreme Decay still love heavy hardedged sound - grind our mind forever!

117 117

https://www.facebook.com/Havamalofficial

Havamal The Shadow Chapter.

Havamal is a Swedish folk metal band, they’ve been around since 2016, The Shadow Chapter is their 3rd full-length album. First off, I love this genre, I’m a big fan of mythology, particularly Norse mythology, and this album is steeped in it, it also has a song about an Anglo-Saxon poem. The band has similarities to other folk metal groups like Ensiferum (my favourite), Equilibrium & a bit of Kalmah. By no means do I say that in a negative way, they’re simply influences. Havamal refers to a collection of Old Norse poems from the Viking Age. The album starts with the track “The North Awakens”, an epic instrumental that is a warning of what’s to come. I good portion of the song titles are about the legendary beasts & monsters that roamed the lands of the Nine Realms, others are about

118 118

Review by Luc St-Clair characters & places. The band has a sound that we’re accustomed to when it comes to this genre; shredding guitars, solos & hooks & fast beats with pounding drums. I also love the keyboards with symphonic & orchestral moments sprinkled throughout, it adds a nice cinematic and video game effect to the songs. I’d gladly play God of War on my PS4 with these tunes blasting while Kratos hacks

up his enemies to pieces.

Lead singer Bjorn Larsson’s voice is harsh & throaty with the occasional long-winded scream and in the song “Empire of the Ashen Sun”, he’ll bring it down to this low-level growl instead of the higher voice throughout the album. In the end, this album doesn’t reinvent the wheel for folk metal, but offers a solid musical journey of those crazy Vikings!

If you’re a fan of this genre, it’s totally worth a listen. Favourite songs: Nidhoggr, Empire of the Ashen Sun & Nornirs’s Call.

https://www.facebook.com/codeblackmetal

Code Flyblown Prince.

As a Brit who isn’t really that interested in the UK scene, I was very surprised by this band. First of all, it’s a bit odd. The first two songs sound like two different bands. The sound is almost like a cross between Marduk and Arcturus. Though it’s unusual, I am enjoying this.

Some fast vocals on here. Reading through the titles, it doesn’t appear as Black Metal, but it is. Even the band name is weird. The more I listen, it seems the weirder it gets.

Sometimes it reminds of The Cure, other times it starts to sound like My Dying Bride.

Definitely NOT for everyone. The Arcturus influence is so obvious, but there is so much of other things, it’s hard to describe. I t h i n k some Black

Review by Andrew Stanton Metalheads would hate this, but it is good. I think maybe stranger than Arcturus.

According to my sources, these guys write songs about madness and sickness. I’ll have to take their word for it, because it’s not easy to understand. Also according to my sources, they haven’t always been a Black Metal band, and again I’ll have to take their word for it, because I’ve never heard of

them before.

This is a very good album, but as I said earlier, it’s definitely not for everyone.

It’s for those people who are getting bored of Black Metal maybe. If you’re very open minded about music, this album deserves a minute of your time. If you’re looking for just straight forward Raw Black Metal, just forget it.

119 119

https://www.facebook.com/inhumanconditionband

Review by Andrew Stanton Inhuman Condition - Rat God Terry Butler of Death, Obituary, Six Feet Under has teamed up with exmembers of Masacre to bring us this new band. Basically every legendary Florida Death Metal band is involved somehow. They sound a bit like Cancer, Death, Nocturnal.

Sort of sounds like how you would imagine it to sound. Quite slow Death Metal. If like me, you still love all

120 120

the old school Death Metal, this is for you.

I’m not really getting what any of this is about, if it’s even about anything at all. The songs stay simple throughout, and why not? You won’t hear any complaints from me. It’s an album for those people who still haven’t got bored

of Death Metal. Some say it went stale, but I still love it. If you’re looking for something completely amazing, forget it. It’s just a Death Metal album really. It’s nothing I haven’t heard a million times before, but so what? I’m mostly just happy these guys are still around and are still passionate about making Death Metal. Everything about this screams old school Death Metal, even down to their logo and the album cover. It’s probably a long shot, but I hope they become HUGE.

Review by Andrew Stanton some fairly easy Black Metal to get into. Even though it’s labeled as Black Metal, I think some old fans of Exodus, Slayer, Voivod, Venom and Overkill would love this. It’s very much retro Thrash Metal meets ambient.

The ambient parts might not really appeal to old 80’s Thrash

Metalheads, but it is good. I like it at least. It can’t be ignored, this is epic stuff. Every song is over 8 minutes or near enough.

But it’s mostly down to the ambient interludes which have been added. Fans have waited nearly 20 years for this, you can be the judge whether it was worth it. But it’s definitely not shit. As far as I’m concerned, there are Black Metal bands bigger than Ancient Wisdom who are totally shit. So it’s not that bad.

Welcome back sir.

121 121

https://www.facebook.com/ancient.wisdom.sweden

Ancient Wisdom - A Celebration of Honor and Death Vargher is one of the original Swedish Black Metal guys.

He’s been around forever I think. This is Ancient Wisdom’s long awaited comeback album. The follow up to 2004’s “Cometh Doom, Cometh Death”.

So far I would say it has an early Slayer, early Celtic Frost sort of sound. As soon as it began, it reminded me of ‘Show No Mercy’. A lot of pretty little piano pieces also thrown in. Not quite in the same league as Sigh, but still good.

Even though it drags on a bit, this i s

https://www.facebook.com/pathofdestinyband

Path of Destiny - The Seed of All Evil.

Path of Destiny are a German melodic death metal band with a dash of thrash & black metal.

They’ve been around since 2007, The Seed of All Evil is their 3rd fulllength studio album.

This band is completely new to me, they were recommended by a fellow metal-head friend and so far, I like what I hear. The album starts off with Review by Luc St-Clair “The Division of a Spiral Synergy”, an anthem-heavy intro that quickly morphs into a fast & furious track, Something else I noticed is that I can totally see them certain guitar hooks and solos starting a live show with have that Andy Gillion-like charm that reels you right in. this bad boy. singer Sebastien Some other songs offer Lead a more chugging sound Schaffert’s voice is harsh & with blistering guitars throaty, think somewhere in and thunderous drums, between Dawn of Disease, and Dark but aren’t afraid to speed Gatecreeper things up periodically Tranquility, which completely through & through. Check fits this style of metal like out the tracks “Erased by a glove. Did I mention the Light” & “The March of orchestral elements added to the Antichrist”. I can hear t h i s album? It’s a little bit of Kreator in a couple of tracks, that intense speed & thrashy riffs are present, particularly with “From Heaven They Fall”.

122 122

the cherry on top that brings it all together. For the lyrics, I couldn’t find any as of yet and with the singer’s harsh voice, it isn’t always easy to decipher. From the titles I deduced that there are themes of creationism, beliefs, birth, death & the end of times, but you could guess that just by looking at that stunningly beautiful, but creepy art cover.

I really like this album, it makes a nice addition to my many Spotify metal playlists and I look forward to listening to P.O.D’s previous albums.

Favorite songs: As Stars Collide, The March of the Antichrist & A Dance with the Dead.

slowed down yet. It is a real die hard Review by Andrew Stanton Metal album.

Eleven songs ranging between 4 Sometimes it’s like Immortal, a n d 5 minutes. I think Marduk, Nocturnal and because of its speed, it doesn’t Gehenna. The blast beats really seem like an hour. By never end. The guitars and and large, it’s all very good. bass are also very good. If I Especially the bass player. was listening to this in a car, It’s one of those albums that I would probably be driving seems to be 100% Metal and at 100 miles per hour. I’m proud of it. So expect some about halfway t h r o u g h bad reviews, but ignore them. This is and it h a s n’ t very cool.

123 123

https://www.facebook.com/myronath

Myronath Djevelkraft.

As far as I’m concerned, Swedish Black Metal is very underrated.

From what I can tell, Myronath formed from a few ex-members of different bands.

The energy is quite high with this band. They have no time to relax, they have Metal to create. Certain songs on here are very much Black Thrash in my opinion.

It might be all in English, but I’m not sure. No idea what these songs are about. Nothing really obvious screaming out at me. An hour long, goes on a bit ( or a lot ), but it’s good. Because of its high energy, it will be very hard for Metalheads to resist this. Just Metal done properly really.

https://www.facebook.com/Gorgon.blackmetal.fr

Review by Andrew Stanton Gorgon - Traditio Satanae.

Some energetic Black Metal from France.

From what I can tell, this appears to be all done by just one man. It’s very impressive. I wouldn’t exactly call it Black Thrash, but it’s near enough to it. Short songs and just done properly. Very entertaining. It’s all in

124124

English and it’s Satanic. He hasn’t tried to be clever and decided to keep the songs simple, or simple enough. The blast beats are so extreme and so frequent, you can’t help but love it. The album d o e s n’ t

seem to bother with nice parts, or not yet anyway.

Maybe like a slower version of Deathwitch, but not much slower. I doubt he’s ever heard of Deathwitch (I’m probably their only fan).

Looking at this guy’s credentials, he seems to have been around forever. He was at least around before I got into Black Metal. I can’t really comment on his other albums, but if they’re like this, they’re great.

Sometimes it reminds me of the much faster Sigh tracks.

I’m absolutely loving it. The people who hate this will no doubt describe it as ‘horrible noise’, but for the rest of us, just enjoy the energy. Pretty amazing really. The only way this could get any better is by putting a picture of Aina Blackthorn on the cover. But I love it and so will you.

Review by Luc St-Clair sounding like a carbon copy of those bands. Like a bat out of hell, the album starts with “My Open Wound”, a fast & furious song that has soul-crushing guitar and pounds blast beats like there’s no tomorrow. “A New Plight” is probably my favorite song, it’s got groovy hooks and shredding riffs, not to mention lead singer’s Marten Hansen’s impressive throaty growls, this song is a m o n s t e r .

“Needles of Rust” starts off soft, but then explodes into a very heavy and catchy song. The album ends with a beautiful, but still heavy number called “Hell to Hell”, it’s peppered with acoustic moments, you can tell the band let out its inner Amon Amarth with this one.

I have to say that 2021, musically, is shaping up to be a very good year for me, as I’m discovering bands left and right.

This Ending is no exception.

Needles of Rust is a terrific album, I look forward to listening to the rest of their discography.

125 125

https://www.facebook.com/ThisEndingband

This Ending – Needles of Rust.

Sweden’s This Ending has gone through several name changes and members since 1991, they were first known as A Canorous Quintet, some members left to join October Tide and Amon Amarth, just to name a few. In 2005, the name was changed to This Ending.

They are a melodeath band with the scale tipping a bit more to the death metal style, Needles of Rust is their 4th full-length studio album. I really don’t have to tell you all the awesome talent that has materialized from Sweden, if you’re a true metal fan, you know this already. Having said that, it’s no surprise that when discovering this band for myself, I immediately identified the quality & the talent that was pumped into my ears.

They have a kick-ass style with hard as nails songs with the ferociousness & rhythm of Amon Amarth, but without the Viking mythos and they also have the brutality of bands like Asphyx and Benediction, but without

https://www.facebook.com/Tristwood-117030138385682

Review by Andrew Stanton Tristwood - Dystopia et Disturbia.

A re-release of the 2010 album with new tracks.

So far it seems very different from last year’s Blackcrowned Majesty.

Fans of Industrial Metal and Cyber Metal will love this. Bear with me here, this isn’t so easy to review. So far I would say it’s a much easier listen than Blackcrowned

126126

Majesty. So far I would describe it as Hatebreed with Techno music added to it.

I remember Blackcrowned Majesty reminded me of Emperor and Mayhem, this doesn’t at all. The Black Metal parts don’t seem to appear on this album. If I compare this to Ministry or Nine Inch Nails, I would say it’s 100% Metal. If I compare it to Emperor and Deicide, I would say I don’t like it.

Maybe I’m being a bit unfair or maybe it’s just not my thing. A Nine Inch Nails fan will just call this ‘noise’.

It’s definitely Extreme Metal, I don’t care who says I’m wrong.

The blast beats are pretty intense on this album.

Mostly I just don’t like the songs. But I’m NOT gonna change what I said earlier, Industrial Metalheads and Cyber Metalheads WILL love this. Certain parts of this did remind me of Reek of Unzen Gas Fumes.

Especially “Jythand”, I admit I did nearly wet myself… Very nearly. Maybe my biggest issue really was hearing Blackcrowned Majesty first.

I know for a fact these guys can do amazing things. I’m not really sure why this has been re-released, but if this sounds like your things, check it out, because the right listener WILL actually wet themselves.

Review by Luc St-Clair chants toward t h e midd le and explodes into a fast as fuck death metal freight train. “Beneath the Howling Gate” is probably my favorite song, it’s their signature song as far as I’m concerned, it’s fast, heavy and catchy. The intro to “Of Mountains and Wardrums” could’ve easily been taken from a scene from the Lord of the Rings movies, as Sauron’s army of orcs march through Middle Earth.

This is another blistering war song. Another track I appreciate is the album title song “Where Mountains Rise and Hearts Fall”, it’s an instrumental number and these days in the modern era of metal, I find instrumentals are rare.

Now for the down side, I wish the production could’ve been better and songs could’ve used some editing, I

really hate when songs just fade away, it’s a pet peeve of mine. A live band in concert wouldn’t finish a song that way. I just think it’s lazy, songs that start with a bang should finish with a bang. Lyrics are important to me, I find they have an emotional connection to the listener and I couldn’t seem to find some online, for an album review, they unfortunately lose mucho points because of this. It’s possible that there is a lyric sheet in the sleeve of the CD, but I don’t buy CDs. In the end, you cannot deny the talent behind this band, but the album as whole isn’t great, but it ain’t bad either. Let’s just say it wouldn’t reach Valhalla after a glorious death, more like it would resurrect to try again.

127 127

https://www.facebook.com/tatvikingmetal

Tragedy and Triumph Where Mountains Rise and Hearts Fall.

Tragedy & Triumph are a death/viking metal band, Where Mountains Rise and Hearts Fall is their first fulllength studio album. Lead singer Marius Berendsen is the brain child behind Tragedy & Triumph. OK, let’s start by talking about the elephant in the room, yes, the band sounds very much like Amon Amarth, except for two minor differences; 1) Lead singer Marius’ voice is slightly lower than Amon Amarth’s Johan Hegg. 2) Tragedy & Triumph seem to have more acoustic parts and Viking chants than our Swedish so-called counterparts. I’d also like to add, that to say that Tragedy & Triumph is a direct carbon copy of Amon Amarth is unfair to both bands, I’m sure that T & T put their blood, sweat & tears in the making of their debut album. There are some good songs throughout this album, “I, Triumphant” has crushing guitars and feels like an anthem song in all it’s pureness epic Viking goodness. “Where Fires March Victorious” starts off slow, has folk Viking

https://www.facebook.com/macabredecay

Review by Andrew Stanton Macabre Decay - Into Oblivion.

The last few weeks, I have been reviewing a lot of old school Death Metal albums and me being what I am, I seem to love them all. This time it’s from Sweden and it’s all about death and pain and all that lovely stuff.

Featuring members of Afterlife, Incarnated, Razor Blade and Divine Sin (No, I’ve never heard of them either). You

128128

pretty much know the score already. Two different growls here - deep and high. Both go together well. Nothing really amazing or original, but it’s cool. Songwriting is very simple, nothing I would call genius. I

think this band isn’t really trying to be innovative.

They just wanna make a

cool Metal album. Certain parts of this album, some melodic parts kick in for a bit. Some of the growls are a bit slow for me personally, but I know so many of you will love it. Even though they don’t really remind me of anyone, it’s nothing really new. Even though I like this album, I think they really would benefit from faster vocals. The drum lines are fast and I personally think the growls should match them. It would be perfect. But on the other hand, I’m quite sure these guys are very proud of what they have created here, so who cares?

https://www.facebook.com/DKD666

Decayed - Old Ghosts and Primeval Demons.

This band came out roughly around the same time as Emperor.

Reading through their discography, there’s absolutely billions of releases. I’m actually shocked I’ve never heard of this band before. It’s Raw Black Metal from Portugal and I’m surprised they’re not bigger just based on their history. If these were from Norway, I think they would be legends by now. It’s very rough around the edges.

Sometimes they remind me of Venom, Carcass, Nocturnal, Deathwitch, and Ritum Tenebriis. It’s not an easy listen by any means, but the songs are short and simple.

They’re one of those old school Black bands that clearly avoid any cool trends. I’m about halfway though and so far I’m really enjoying it. The raw

Review by Andrew Stanton energy is pretty amazing.

The vocals are fast and then the guitar solos kick in and it’s just chaotic. It never becomes a nice listen. This band is here to entertain. If you’re looking for something fast and raw as fuck, look

no further, this is band. I don’t think I the time to listen to entire back catalogue,

your have their but I

want to hear it. Sometimes it reminds me of the very early Sigh stuff but without the weird parts. There were parts of this album I nearly wet myself hearing, and then there were the other parts that were just plain great. The song ‘Grim Prophecies’, oh my god, it’s amazing. I hope Decayed read Inside the Darkness, because I love you. Proper Metal.

129 129

https://www.facebook.com/deathcibel

Review by Andrew Stanton Vulture Lord Desecration Rite.

Though I have never heard this band before, they have been around for quite a while. Featuring members of Urgehal, Endezzma, Carpathian Forest and Beastcraft. Similar to the last album I reviewed, Gorgon, it’s very fast Raw Black Metal.

NOT Black Thrash, but very close to it. This has more melodic parts than Gorgon. If Melodic Metal is just way too pretty and fancy for you, don’t

130 130

be put off, this is pretty extreme stuff. Even though it’s a bit on the extreme side, it remains fairly easy to get into. The drumlines really give this a kick. Though extreme, it’s not particularly horrible. Quite a fun album so far. If you ever wanted to try getting into Black Metal, this might be a good

place to start.

It’s one of the albums that pretty much demonstrates

why Norway is number one as far as Metal goes. It’s pretty much everything Marilyn Manson thinks she is. The energy of Vulture Lord is pretty insane. I really want these guys to become huge. It’s all just a lot of noise for living legends to enjoy. Maybe not the best album of the year, but one of the great ones so far. Fans of Black Thrash need to hear this. So far, I wouldn’t say there’s been a bad minute of the album. Just moved onto the last track, no slow down at all. For the people who hate Black Metal, this very well might change your mind about it.

Review by Olga Schneider strong, but at the same time very moderate and even hypnotic.

Additionally slaying is that each of tracks lasts over 7 minutes, and that makes the listener just completely out of reality. They are slowly swimming into chaos and take you with themselves.

In the end, you kind of wake up and don’t even manage to realize at once what’s happening around you right now. That’s the most exact description of this creation

for sure.

I wouldn’t say that Darkthrone have invented anything completely new with this album. It was just a tribute to the good old times mixed with the tendencies they developed themselves, and if you really need something for some relax and nostalgia, Eternal Hails is absolutely perfect for that.

131 131

https://www.facebook.com/Darkthrone-101075189934422

DarkthroneEternal Hails. ​«Eternal Hails» is the title of 18th full-length album of Darkthrone. Since all the time of their existence, the band has been experimenting a lot, and their music has managed to become an integral part of world Extreme Metal legacy. They have really a diverse discography, but have always been associated with classical Black Metal, whatever they were making.

This time Fenriz and Nocturno Culto decided to make us drown into the endless sea of their own nostalgia as it seems. The dudes had lots of influence from the oldies as Black Sabbath, Candlemass, Celtic Frost...

So the whole new Darkthrone album sounds like some kind of celebration of these titans’ legacy.

The best thing on this album is the fact that the dudes have managed to combine their own raw sound with lots of elements of classical Heavy and Doom Metal. The rawness of the sound is still

https://www.facebook.com/Official.SuidAkrA

Suidakra - Wolfbite.

Suidakra are a Melodic Death Metal band with a touch of Folk Metal, they’ve been around for 25 years, Wolfbite is their brand-new full-length studio album. I’m stunned, this awesome band have been around for a quarter of a century and I’ve never heard of them before. Either they’ve been hiding under a rock or I have, it’s probably me.

This review marks a hat trick because in the past weeks I’ve listened & reviewed 3 metal bands from Germany in a row.

Months before the release of Wolfbite, I listened to their compilation album Echoes of Yore, just to familiarize myself with their songs, style & sound. Being a huge fan of both melodic death metal & folk metal, I gobbled that up like fresh apple strudel.

For those two metal styles, Wolfbite complements and fuses them with such ease, it’s loud, it’s heavy, it’s melodic and it’s fast. They remind me of Equilibrium, like that band, they’re not afraid to experiment.

The album has a very primal feeling to it, animalistic, mystical & spiritualistic with themes of slavery of indigenous people.

The album starts with “A Life in Chains” a very epic sounding song

132132

Review by Luc St-Clair w it h speedy riffs, hooks & thunderous drums. “Darcanian Slave” (did they mean Draconian?) showcases both clean & harsh vocalists with such grace, I wish the album had a few more of these, but I’m just nitpicking. Except for a whispering passage, “Crossing Over” is a terrific instrumental that lets the musicians shine.

With “Vortex of Carnage” the band

has let its inner Kreator expand with wicked guitar riffs, a thrash sensibility and singer Arkadius Antonik’s throaty voice shoots out like a madman.

“Resurgence” is the song that got my attention for this cool band, it’s an amalgam of instruments such as flute, violin, cello and if I’m not mistaken bagpipes too. It’s my favorite song on the album.

This is truly a unique and amazing album, some of the fans online will argue that this is a decent one, but not their greatest. For this new fan, I am more than satisfied.

https://www.facebook.com/hiraes.official

Hiraes Solitary.

I have to admit I was pretty bummed out when I heard the news of Dawn of Disease breaking up, I really enjoyed their music. But out with the old and in with the new and Hiraes: Solitary is born.

DOD’s ex-members with the help of vocalist Britta Gortz have written a new chapter in the world of melodic death metal, a genre of metal I never get tired of. Right off the bat, Gortz’s voice got my attention immediately, I don’t really listen t o enough bands with female singers with growling voices, I know they’re out there, I mean to change that. Gortz does a fine job with the grunts & growls, this is my favorite type of growls,

Review by Luc St-Clair the kind that you can actually comprehend the lyrics.

The album sounds terrific, good production and the musicians do all their part, however, I’ve listened to the album exclusively for the past

week and usually in that time, I can memorize a handful of songs and at least pick out a few of my favorite ones. Even a catchy song like “Under Fire” sounds too familiar, like I’ve

heard that melody a thousand times before. There’s something missing here, perhaps a spark of originality, the songs are mediocre at best, I’m not sure which ex-member of Dawn of Disease is responsible for the writing, but it sure feels uninspired to me. I hate to give a bad review, especially to a new band starting out, but I simply cannot recommend this album.

We’ll see what the future holds for Hiraes.

133 133

https://www.facebook.com/Pestilenceofficial

Review by Andrew Stanton Pestilence - Exitivm.

Right from the start, it instantly reminded me of Obituary. I know this is a legendary band, but it’s a band I have heard much of. But right now I’m wishing I paid more attention.

They actually remind me of a lot of different bands, but they seem to pre-date most of the ones I’m thinking of. Almost like a cross between Obituary and Death. It’s a good sound.

It’s a real old school classic.

All the hallmarks are here.

134134

So far I’m mostly just loving the way it doesn’t try to be clever. It’s all very simple and probably quite an easy listen. Some of the guitar solos get a bit melodic at times, but so what? Definitely NOT a

fault. The songs are short and fun.

They know when to end a song instead of dragging it out. One of the very best Death Metal albums in recent years. Good energy and good everything really. The

vocals have a Hardcore hint about them at times, but you might not notice. I’m loving this. According to Metal Archives, their lyrical theme is pretty much everything ( everything horrible anyway ).

I think it’s fair to say, if you hate this, you’re probably not much of a Metalhead at all. Because if you were, this would be your thing. Some albums I feel it’s an honour to be asked to review them, and this is one of them. Enjoy.

Review by Andrew Stanton you like this or not, that must take some serious talent. It just changes Enslaved style.

Sometimes it reminds me of Mayhem’s Deathcrush, the next second I’m quickly reminded of Stratovarius. I’ve just moved on to the album’s 20 minute track ‘Endless Tundra’. 6 minutes in and I’m not

bored yet. Fans of Voivod really need to check Artach out, but it’s not for everyone. I like it, but buy with caution. The album goes on a bit too much for me, but it is good. It’s one of those albums that needs the right sort of listen, and maybe one which is a bit weird. It’s a very easy album to hate, but give it time. I WOULDN’T be embarrassed to wear one of their t-shirts. It’s an album that really does have everything (or everything cool at least). It’s awful and impressive all at the same time, and I like that.

135 135

https://www.facebook.com/ArtachBlackMetal

Artach - Sworn To Avenge.

First of all, certainly not an easy listen.

This is Canadian Black Metal, which I admit I haven’t had much experience with. Their style almost sounds very lost between very early Voivod and Celtic Frost.

I’m struggling to describe this if I’m honest. It’s VERY raw but not rough sounding. When I listen to this I hear a bit of Black Gaze, Melodic Black Metal, Raw Black Metal, DSBM, Black Folk, Black Thrash. The sound is all over the place. I’m actually quite enjoying this, but I can imagine so many people hating this so much. It will take some serious getting used to, but if you’re a weirdo like me, you might think it’s interesting. I can tell already this is some kind of concept album about some snowy mountain adventure or some shit. This band’s sound often goes from completely piss awful to the most beautiful sound you will ever hear, and often changing very quickly. Not much thought seems to go into it. Whether

https://www.facebook.com/Dark-Vision-Official-171773309559011

Review by Andrew Stanton Dark Vision - Ianos.

Greece has always had one of the important Black Metal scenes.

The sound on this album is very similar to the very early Emperor stuff like “As the Shadows Rise” andsometimes it reminds me of early Gehenna. If you’re one of those people not too keen on the modern Black scene, you might like this. Though I wouldn’t call it old

136136

school per se, it just reminds me of older bands.

I always respect Black Metal bands t h a t avoid

the whole Satanic topic, I probably shouldn’t, but I do. This is quite a slow album for the most part, but it’s not dull. The music often has a nice sound to it (nice

by Black Metal standards at

least). It isn’t ridiculously extreme, it mostly just stays nice. Very much along the melodic side of things.

It’s not a hard listen. It’s quite a laid back Black Metal album. I admit I’ve never heard of this band, nor heard of any of their previous bands ( I am a Metal fan, I promise ). But to be fair, they have been around since 1997 and this is only their second album.

Super extreme, die hard Metalheads would probably find this quite boring, but it’s not really for them. If you’re looking for easy Black Metal to just enjoy, buy this, you won’t regret it.

Review by Andrew Stanton musicianship is all very good, I’m not really finding a lot of faults here. For real Death Metalheads, it should be a crime not to check this out. This is

your thing. It’s all fairly perfect, or perfect by Death Metal standards. I wasn’t really sure what the songs were about, but who cares? It didn’t stop me thrashing out to it. Even the cover is cool, and again, no idea what it’s about, but I like it. It’s an old school Death Metal album, just buy it. Go and treat yourselves.

Enjoy.

137 137

https://www.facebook.com/RequiemSwitzerlandOfficial

Requiem Collapse into Chaos.

Featuring exmembers of a bunch of bands I have never heard of, this is some old school Death Metal from Switzerland. I would say it’s fairly midpaced. I love the growls on this album.

Similar to Incantation.

It’s not very hard to get into. All the songs stay pretty simple.

They never try to be clever. The longest song is 4 minutes.

The songs just get on with it. Fans of the old Florida scene should check this out. The energy is high and stays high, no time for nice parts. I remember a few months ago I reviewed the new Cadaver album.

This reminds me of that album. The

https://www.facebook.com/vetterkult

Review by Olga Schneider At the Gates - The Nightmare of Being.

Swedish Melodic Death Metal is one of the brightest phenomenons of the world Extreme Metal scene and of course its tendencies have changed a lot with the years, as it always happens with any genre somehow. And for me personally At the Gates have always been a great example of a band that managed to keep the solid genre traditions through the years but at the same time they have never done «absolutely the same things». I grew up with their early music and have been a big

138138

supporter since the time when they weren’t even thinking about any reunion. Their works that were released after their reunion also had a really strong impact on me, and especially the previous one, named «To drink from the night itself».

And of course I was really excited about the upcoming «The nightmare of being» when I learned that it was being recorded and wondering what it was gonna be in fact: some kind of continuation for their previous ideas or something completely new.

It turned out to be something completely different. If the previous work was endlessly «cold» and

«biting», then «The nighmare of being» feels like something more emotional, personal and even melancholic from time to time... But of course moderately. This opus has lots of acoustic parts, but the sound still remains solid, and the dudes still manage to keep a bit of this cold atmosphere that has always had a place in their music.

The mix of all these aspects that turned into «The nightmare of being» shows us so clearly that At the Gates aren’t gonna get stuck in their earliest years, they just take the best from the own old creations, keep it through the years and use it as some kind of basis to develop some absolutely fresh ideas.

And even without Anders they definitely won’t split up.

never lets it dominate.

At Review by Olga Schneider the same time, it stimulates your imagination on are perfectly mixed here top: abandoned with melodic elements, battlefields and miserable harshness meets some kind of remains of everything that melancholy here, but was alive not so long ago, and then suddenly new attacks and new positions of this poisonous atmosphere, endless dedication and then suddenly hopelessness... If you’re missing such kind of contrasts, this album is highly recommended.

139 139

https://www.facebook.com/Gates-of-Mourning-143693452358306

Gates of Mourning - Of Raven’s Wings and a Blood Moon.

Gates of Mourning is a Black Metal project from USA, and their third full-length album named Of Ravens Wings and a Blood Moon has been one of the most sudden and killer discovers for me this year.

The whole album can be actually compared to some of creations of the bands like Naglfar, Dissection, Lord Belial etc.

3 years of making haven’t passed in vain, so the whole creation offers 9 truly epic tracks with a very specific medieval atmosphere.

Traditional Black Metal elements here

Upcoming albums

On the threshold of the coming Ragnarok, Graveland comes to you armed with a new full-length album, with music that was created from the ashes of past battles. The new songs that revived like a phoenix from legends and myths and the most epic Graveland works such as «Thousand Swords» are a continuation of this style of the band.

Epic Pagan Metal! Here’s the music to prepare you for Ragnarok! Music from the beginning of the history of Graveland, when it was recorded in a full line-up! A sword, arrow and spear held in a strong hand, hardened in sweat, blood and battle. “Hour of Ragnarok” was forged by a three-person line-up.

Three artisans of war weapons took care of it: Rob «Darken» - vocals, guitars, keyboards, Skyth - bass, Ahrin - drums. The songs for the album were created during last three years, but it was 2020 when the work gained momentum. It took a long time to compose and record the symphonic back tracks that makes up the epic background in music.

«Hour of Ragnarok» will be released on August 9, 2021.

140 140

NUNSLAUGHTER are largely renowned for being an EP band, any chance to welcome a new full-length from them is cause for (devil metallish) celebration: at long last, Red is the Color of Ripping Death, the band’s first album in seven years. Many are still mourning the loss of legendary drummer Jim Sadist (RIP), and while Red is the Color of Ripping Death is their first fulllength without him playing on it, some of the 14 songs contained herein are unfinished/unrealized music that Jim and founding frontman Don of the Dead wrote years ago. Just as importantly, this album comprises material newly written with NUNSLAUGHTER’s current lineup, which is arguably the band’s best to date. And hearing is believing: over the course of the album’s 35 minutes, it becomes immediately apparent that NUNSLAUGHTER are a really good - and really ripping DEATH METAL band above all.

Red Is the Color of Ripping Death will be released on August 27, 2021.

After eight years in the wilderness Swedish Viking/Pagan metal kings Thyrfing return with their brand-new album ‘Vanagandr’.

Thyrfing emerged from the ever-growing underground scene in Sweden back in 1995. After seven full-length albums and numerous live performances all over the world, the band have gained a strong following over the years and an exquisite standing within the metal scene. They are considered one of the top bands within the so-called Viking/pagan metal genre – but in reality, Thyrfing are so much more with their truly outstanding and self-contained musical offerings.

Balancing brutality with melody, blast beats with groove, ‘Vanagandr’ is an album as grandiose as it is vicious, and Thyrfing are a band like no other. The name of the band is taken from the sword “Tyrfing” in Norse mythology – a cursed blade that appears in several tales and myths.

‘Vanagandr’ will be released on August 27, 2021.

Belgiums most infamous Death Metal crew ABORTED deliver a bone-crushing display of of unyielding and odious Death Metal with their forthcoming 11th full length, ManiaCult.

ManiaCult is a whirring blender of Death Metal and further solidifies ABORTED´s stature as one of the most dangerous death metal bands on the planet. You’ve been warned.

Tracklist 1. Verderf 2. Maniacult 3. Impetus Odi 4. Portal to Vacuity 5. Dementophobia 6. A Vulgar Quagmire 7. Verbolgen 8. Ceremonial Ineptitude 9. Drag Me to Hell 10. Grotesque 11. I Prediletti: The Folly of the Gods Lineup Sven de Caluwe - Vocals Ken Bedene - Drums Ian Jekelis - Guitars Stefano Franceschini - Bass Maniacult will be released on September 10, 2021.

Ferocious and uncompromising in their execution, CARCASS’s ability to intricately dissect the innards of death metal, and display them for us to sonically understand has been their point of excellence for over three decades. In 2019 the band released their first single in over 5 years “Under The Scalpel Blade,” followed by a 4 song EP entitled Despicable (October 2020), setting a potent precedent for the full length album to come in 2021: Torn Arteries. With the album title itself referencing an old demo created by original drummer Ken Ownback in the 80’s, Torn Arteries sits as a bookend on the modern side of the CARCASS discography, connecting directly back to where everything began over 30 years ago.

Tracklist 1. Torn Arteries 2. Dance of IXTAB 3. Eleanor Rigor Mortis 4. Under the Scalpel Blade 5. The Devil Rides Out 6. Flesh Ripping Torment Limited 7. Kelly’s Meat Emporium 8. In God We Trust 9. Wake Up and Smell the Carcass / Caveat Emptor 10. The Scythe’s Remorseless Swing “Torn Arteries” will be released on September 17, 2021.

Formed in 1992, Azazel are among the first black metal bands to hail from Finland. Aegrus Satanas Tecum is a long-awaited third album and unique record in that it bridges all the band’s eras whilst opening new portals into the black beyond. Azazel may be predictably unpredictable, but Aegrus Satanas Tecum proves that their twisting saga is far from over.

Aegrus Satanas Tecum is an album that’s equally early ’90s and now Azazel are more undead than ever.

Tracklist 1. Invocation (Hail the Ancient Ones) 2. Jesus Christ Impotent Rotting Saviour 3. Welcome to Church Bizarre 4. I Worship Him 5. Demons Attack the Nun’s Chapel (Aegrum Satanas Tecum) 6. Incubus Rises Again 7. Succubus, My Infernal Vampire Spirit 8. In Nomine Dei Nostri Satanas Aegrum Satanas Tecum will be released on September 24, 2021.

141 141

#1

7

https://destroyerr78.wixsite.com/insidethedarkness https://www.facebook.com/InsideTheDarknessMetalZine https://www.instagram.com/inside_the_darkness_webzine/ https://twitter.com/metal_webzine https://vk.com/insidethedarknessmetalwebzine https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmLDw_n39t3M_Loc3hgzX1g

142