#19-Inside the Darkness by Inside The Darkness

Edition for true metalfans

s19 of T

#19†31.12.2021

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News•Reviews•Interviews•Exclusive

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 Lorena Delgado - Interviewer, Reviewer

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 Jonas Stalhammar (At The Gates) https://destroyerr78.wixsite.com/insidethedarkness Senyt (Dark Mirror ov Tragedy) https://www.facebook.com/InsideTheDarknessMetalZine Wilson (Animals Killing People) https://www.instagram.com/inside_the_darkness_webzine Selena (Nemesis) / NecroN (Dxvxdxd) https://vk.com/insidethedarknessmetalwebzine Daniel (Appalachian Winter) https://twitter.com/metal_webzine Killer (Terror Satan) / Asmodai (Dragsholm) Darksuccubbi (Ritum Tenebriis) Sadomaster (Morcolac) Roman Nemstev (Slice of Sorrow) Hail everyone! Florian (Basarabian Hills) It’s a bit hard to believe, but it’s been 3 years since Tamara & Natalia (Upon Shadows) we started our activity with this edition. The whole Wintergrimm (Drengskapur) world has been through a lot during these years, and The Watcher (Fen) it had a huge impact on us as well, but we’re still here, Denis and Elvira (Anfel) and the horde is still keeping growing. Nowadays we Elkin (Tapias de Pilatos) have lots of difficulties with the regularity of providing Jana Maista (Mater Infecta) our content, but we’re endlessly grateful to everyone of Angela (Coldnight) / Richard (Bloodrust) you for being with us and to the bands for being open to Wanderer and Void (Withering Worlds) work with us. Preston and Bundi (Chovu) In Metal, Olga Schneider, editor Rex Viperon (Viper’s Den)

Editor’s brief

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

CONTENT

Drengskapur Interview with Wintergrimm.............42 At The Gates Fen/Interview with The Watcher......46 Interview with Jonas Stalhammar..................8 Anfel/Interview with Denis and Elvira.......52 Dark Mirror ov Tragedy Tapias de Pilatos/Interview with Elkin.......56 Interview with Senyt........12 Mater Infecta/Interview with Jana Maista...60 Animals Killing People Coldnight/Interview with Angela.......................62 Interview with Wilson Rairan..................14 Withering Worlds Nemesis/ Interview with Selena...16 Interview with Wanderer and Void............64 Dxvxdxd/Interview with NecroN........18 Bloodrust/Interview with Richard.....68 Appalachian Winter Chovu Interview with Daniel George Klyne...20 Interview with Preston and Bundi......72 Terror Satan/Interview with Killer......24 Viper’s Den Ritum Tenebriis/Interview with Interview with Rex Viperon..............76 Darksuccubbi.................26 Morcolac/Interview with Sadomaster.....28 Dragsholm/Interview with Asmodai............30 Passeisme, Туга, Todestriebe live at Бумажная фабрика club, Slice of Sorrow Moscow. 10.10.2021...............p.80 Interview with Roman Nemstev.......34 Basarabian Hills/Interview with Florian.....36 Upon Shadows/Interview with Tamara & Natalia..............38 Best Metal releases..............82

Stories about Metal bands..............120

Inside The Darkness reviews............126

Metalheads are waiting for it............146

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

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Inside the Darkness issues

Extreme

compilation from partners of Inside The Darkness! Our edition recommended it to you!!!

World Metal News

NATRON - (Death Metal)

December 25th, 2021 ... “A Time Of Sorrow”compilation is released, published by Ocularis Infernum and Black Tears Label, with the contribution of Wine&Fog Distribution and Nadir Music. «A Time Of Sorrow» contains 14 songs by as many bands, in the Black and Death Metal field. The compilation is released digitally on major platforms and is distributed by Nadir Music. Subsequently, the physical CD version will be available through Wine&Fog Distro. THIS IS THE LINK: https://bfan.link/a-timeof-sorrow Contacts:

Ocularis Infernum Booking&Promotion

https://www.facebook.com/natronband

https://www.facebook.com/OcularisInfernumBookingandPromotion

https://www.facebook.com/AngelofAngerBand

https://www.facebook.com/blacktearslabel

https://www.facebook.com/inautumnofficial

https://www.facebook.com/Wine-and-Fog-Distro-107829211124278

http://www.facebook.com/DESECRATE.Official

https://www.facebook.com/nadirmusicstudios

ANGELOFANGER-(Black/Death/GothicMetal) IN AUTUMN - (Death/Dark Metal)

DESECRATE - (Melodic Death Metal)

FORSAKEN LEGION - (Black Metal)

Black Tears Label

Wine&Fog Distro Nadir Music

https://www.facebook.com/ForsakenLegion666

GOREPEST - (Black Metal)

https://www.facebook.com/gorepestmetal

HUMANGLED - (Death Metal)

CRONOTH - (Raw Black Metal)

STORMCROW - (Alpine Black Metal)

SERAPHS FROM HELL - (Death/Black Metal)

https://www.facebook.com/Humangled https://www.facebook.com/StormcrowBlackMetal

ORVE - (Black Metal)

https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Orve

REATZIONE - (Death Metal)

https://www.facebook.com/Reatzione

https://www.facebook.com/cronothblackmetal https://www.facebook.com/seraphsfromhell

DOWHANASH - (Draco Black Metal)

https://www.facebook.com/Dowhanash

OBSCURUM MALUM - (Raw Shaman Black Metal)

https://www.facebook.com/Obscurum-Malum-2328130890538447

Awicha / The Witch Collaboration «Blood Fire Magick» December 15, 2021 1. Intro (The Second Coming) 2. Black Blood 3. Blood Offering 4. Resurrection 5. Poltergeist 6. Death by the Rivers of Blood 7. Blasphemic Indoctrination 8. Endless Summer https://thewitch1.bandcamp.com/ album/the-witch-colombia-awichathailand-blood-fire-magick-splitalbum-2021

Chovu / The Witch Split «Uchawi» December 18, 2021 1. The Witch - Intro 2. The Witch - He Who Serves the Serpent 3. Chovu - Into Dust 4. The Witch - Dead Inside 5. Chovu - Kithutu Walk 6. The Witch - Phantoms in the Dark 7. Chovu - Vermilion Diner 8. The Witch - The Root of All Evil 9. Chovu - Ogalo 10. The Witch - Rebel Angel Rise https://thewitch1.bandcamp.com/ album/the-witch-colombia-chovukenya-uchawi-split-album-2021

Dei Tetra / The Witch Split «...and Darkness Prevails» December 20, 2021. 1. Dei Tetra - March Along the Shadows of Death 2. The Witch - ...and Witchcraft Sent Her Daughter 3. Dei Tetra - Hunter’s Realm 4. The Witch - Dark Skies Forever 5. Dei Tetra - Infernal Storms 6. The Witch - Covenant 7. Dei Tetra - Here I Conquer 8. The Witch - A Darker Shade of Black 9. The Witch - Baphomet’s Queen https://thewitch1.bandcamp.com/album/ the-witch-colombia-dei-tetra-thailand-anddarkness-prevails-split-album

Calvarium / The Witch Split «Unholy Prophecy» December 20, 2021. 1. The Witch - Ave Satani 2. Calvarium - Ruata 3. The Witch - Spellbound 4. Calvarium - Apocalypse 5. The Witch - The Sinner 6. Calvarium - Unholy Prophecy 7. The Witch - Heretic Testimony 8. Calvarium - Through the Gates of Hell 9. The Witch - Deliverance 10. Calvarium - Datia Bakeng https://thewitch1.bandcamp.com/ album/the-witch-colombia-calvariumindonesia-unholy-prophecy-splitalbum-2021

The Witch is the Black Metal band of our editor Jay Parker! Inside The Darkness r e c o m m e n d e d to you check band’s splits and colaborations with many interesting bands!!!

At The Gates - Melodic Death Metal from Sweden

Interview with Jonas Stalhammar

Interview by Olga Schneider

1. First of all, I’d like to thank you for the opportunity to do this interview! How does the band feel in such a weird t i m e ? - No problem. Well it’s a been a weird 18 months living with the pandemic.

Luckily we had already planned to spend most o f

ing” so it was mostly just festivals that got cancelled for us. 2. You joined the band in 2017 as a guitarist. How did it feel to join such titans after so many years of the band’s existence?

en e b s a h e lif e s u a p e h or f d o o g I think t be y l l a u t c . n u r g n o l on can a the n i s w o h the live s 2020 writing and recording “The nightmare of be-

What was the most difficult aspect of becoming a part of the band? - On one hand it was me joining a band that has a huge legacy and also replacing a talent like Anders Björler. On the other hand, I was joining a band that has friends I’ve known for 30+ years. So it’s been fairly easy. 3. How do you see your own impact on the band, on its music and history having released two last albums with these people? That one is really a question for the other guys. It’s hard for me to pinpoint the impact I’ve made. 4. When you joined the band, the material for “To drink from the night itself” had already been composed. Was it mentally hard to record something

that was composed without you? Probably you had some kind of wish to change something to bring your own “vibes” to the whole creation? - Not

hard at all. It’s not the first time I’ve done that. Even though you haven’t written anything you still bring your own vibe with your playing. It’s the same in bands i write most music

and others have to play it. 5. As for “ The nightmare of being”, you guys announced that you started recording it a year ago, the time when this bullshit with the pandemy was on top. But this fact d i d n ’ t stop you. W a s t h i s decision to s t a r t recording connected to some thoughts that it was probably the best time for it, when you don’t tour so you can concentrate on the new album? Or it was just a coincidence? - Before the p a n d e m i c broke out we had already planned to record the album when we did so we didn’t have to change any plans for the album. 9

At The Gates - Melodic Death Metal from Sweden 10

The only touring plans during that time was to do a bunch of special shows playing ”Slaughter of the soul” in full to celebrate it turning 25 years in 2020. 6. Lots of time has passed and lots of members have changed since the band was created, but it still manages to keep its own sound traditions, and for a listener it’s so easy to realize after the first 5 seconds: that’s At The Gates. What’s the secret of this kind of magic, in your opinion? - I don’t know. At The

Gates really focus on the songwriting a lot. Always try to change an evolve somewhat on every album. We still maintain the sound mainly because of it’s us playing i think. We don’t see any point of doing another “Slaughter of the soul” for example. You already got that one so why do another just like it. 7. As we can see, you’re already planning a tour in Sweden for December. What are your expectations from this tour after such a long time after

concerts and stuff like that? How might it change the audience? -I actually think the pause life has been on can actually be good for the live shows in the long run. Makes people even more excited to go see a band play live. No matter what it is really. And we feel a big excitement being able to do what we love the most which is playing live again. 8. Do you already plan any tours abroad with the new album, or do you prefer to be a bit careful with planning something in such times?

- We have tours planned but nothing that is official yet. 9. I already mentioned that At The Gates manage to keep their own sound whatever the time and the members are. Was it hard for you personally to follow their principles taking your own part while composing the new material this time and bringing something of your own? - Jonas Björler has once again written all the music but we all get to have our say about arrangements etc. He and i share a lot of the same influences anyway so it’s not quite difficult to adapt to the new songs. And as I said before, we all have our own style of playing so no matter what I bring my own feel into it anyway.

10. How do you see the results of your own and the whole band’s work this time? What do you expect from your further work with the dudes? - I’m extremely satisfied with how “The

nightmare of being” came out. It’s a beast of an album. And it will be interesting to so where we will go after this one. It’s important to always

look forward, not back. 11. Our traditional question: what would you like to say to our readers and crew in the end of this interview? - Big thanks for the support and I hope to see you all somewhere out t h e r e at our shows.

Dark Mirror ov Tragedy - Symphonic Black Death/Metal from South Korea

Interview with Senyt

Interview by Jay Parker

1) Tell our readers about DMOT...when and where was the band formed? Why did you decide to form the band? Who is in the current line up? M. Pneuma (Vocal) formed Dark Mirror ov Tragedy in 2003 in Seoul. He wrote many black metal songs when he was a teenager and he decided to form his solo project band in 2003. But he changed his

mind to run the band as a full line-up band when the debut album came out. Then Confyverse joined in 2005, Rever-

LORD OV SHADOWS is truly outstanding...your music is simply beautiful. Tell u s about it... when and where was it recorded? Who wrote the tracks? Tell about your previous releases... I need to talk about the history of ‘The Lord Ov Shadows’. In 1999, M. Pneuma started writing the song.

a s i n o i t a str T h e o r c h eo f D a r k M i r r o r huge part gedy’s music. Tra ov of joined in 2006, I joined in 2007, Genie joined in 2016 and Zahaquiel joined in 2019. 2) Your latest album,

The Lord Ov Shadows’ has three parts. The part 1 was in our debut album and the part 2 was in 2nd album. Actually M. Pneuma already finished rough sketch of whole song in 2007. And we knew that we had to release the full version of ‘The Lord Ov Shadows’ one day. So we started to arrange the songs in 2016, right after we released the 3rd album. From 2017 to 2018, we recorded “The Lord ov Shadows” in our studio. It was an amazing experience. 3) People will obviously compare you with Cradle and Dimmu... for me your sound is more like the diabolically divine lovechild of Lilith and Beethoven...the orchestration and compository skills in many parts are far superior to both Cradle and Dimmu (and I’m English, I love Cradle!). Tell us about how you write your songs...which bands inspired you? Which bands do you listen to today? As you know, the orchestration is a huge part of Dark Mirror ov Tragedy’s music. so classical music like Bee-

thoven, Chopin or something like that give many inspirations to us. All members have slightly different tastes, but we love Carach Angren from Netherlands, Fleshgod Apocalypse from Italy and etc. Before 3rd album, M. Pneu-

ma wrote most songs in 1st and 2nd albums. But in the 3rd album, two guitarists, I and Gash (Former member) participate in writing the songs. We write song personally. and M. Pneuma arrange the orchestra parts and each member arrange their parts. 4) Tell us about your plans for the future… are you recording new material? The tour was plans of 2020 and 2021, but because of Covid-19, all tours were postponed. So now we are writing the new song. I’m not sure when we show you the new

stuff, but I hope we can meet you guys as soon as possible. 5) Tell us about the metal scene in South Korea... South Korean metal scene very small. In the early 2000s, there were good metal bands in Korea like Holymarsh, Tokkaebi, Sad Legend, etc. But no one knows where they’re gone. But now there are only few metal musicians and metalheads. They struggle to survive in underground. 6) Do you have any other projects? Yes, I have some. Metamorphosis, it’s thrash metal band and now we prepare the next new album. and Ambroxiak, it’s my solo project. 100% PURE BLACK METAL stuff. 7) Do you have a message for our readers? I truly appreciate this interview. I hope you meet you guys on stage someday! Hail! Best Senyt

Animals Killing People - Brutal Death/Metal from United States

Interview with Wilson Rairan

Interview by lorena Delgado

Good night Wilson Rairan. We begin with a review of the band in which year members are formed, their native countries, gender or how they call themselves. The band was formed in 2004 by me (Wilson Rairan) on bass and Manuel Quique on guitar, both based in New York and originally from Colombia, Manuel at that time was the bassist of the NY band Secrecy and I had just left Copremesis, we decided to ask Edwin, Maybe ex Internal Suffering drummer, to play drums, and Alex Beck from

Copremesis for vocals, after composing a few songs and brainstorming what we really wanted to do with the style. We decided that the best thing was for me to play the drums and let Edwin continue with his other projects and the same with Alex, so Manu-

de Pustulated recorded the vocals for us, which came out under the Sevared Records label in NY. That was our beginning and what consolidated the band in the world underground death grind scene, there have been several lineu p s from that moment to the present and the current lineup is: Horacio Diaz on guitar and vocals, Maca on bass, Carlos Andres on guitar and I on drums.

me e r t x e o t ing n e t s i l p e e g K n i l l i k p o d st n a l a t e m . s l a m i n a g and eatin el and I decided to record together our first EP in which I played the bass and drums, Manuel on guitar and Andres

I say hello and we start.

1 - How are they articulated to create the lyrics and musicality? The lyrics are entirely created by me and are about how the band’s name says it: Animals Killing People and looking for the balance of all the destruction that humans leave behind, especially how they take advantage of animals, on the other hand, the music is created by everyone in the rehearsal room, each one brings their contribution to the creation of the music and sometimes each one creates their own songs or we bring the parts in the head and share it with the others and so on. they create other songs. 2 - What is the philosophy of Animals Killing People? It is a Gore philosophy that seeks balance for animals, with them doing the same thing that humans do with animals, with the sole objective of bringing awareness and awakening humanity of how we destroy everything, starting with the innocent animals that they are trapped in our reality. 3 - What physical works have been completed? We have our first EP called: “Human Hunting Season”, from which 2 runs were released and which is exhausted, we released our

first full length “Kentucky Fried Killing”, followed by a Split CD with my other band: “Andromorphus Rexalia” called: Phylum Morph Apokalupsis, then we released our second Full Length: “Eat Your Murder” and finally our Last work, another split CD called: Maleficis De Saltu with the band Gorepot from Taiwan and at the moment we are working on our new album that we hope will be released in mid-2022, we have also been part of many compilations around the world . 4 - How can you acquire a physical job of the band taking into account the economic barriers of shipping to other countries, what do you think about this issue? Our physical and digital works and other merchandise can be purchased at www.animalskillingpeople.bandcamp.com or also at: www.akpandromorphus.bigcartel.com and we have ver reasonable prices for all parts of the world. 5 - They expected such acceptance from the public since its inception and what has been the best event in which they have participated? Well when we started we didn’t know how well received the band would be, but so far the reception from

the public has been very good and we really enjoyed playing at the Obscene Festival in Czech Republic as well as that European tour in 2017. 6 Future projects? We hope to play many more festivals, in two weeks we will be playing SlaughterFest in Las Vegas, which used to be Las Vegas Death Fest and focus on releasing new material. 7 Could Colombia soon receive Animals Killing People? At the moment we do not plan to go to Colombia to play, I think two years ago we were there playing for the Abomination Fest, but if someone decides to take us, it is clear that we would go. 8 - Final message from you. Thank you very much for the interview Lore, and keep listening to extreme metal and stop killing and eating animals. Social networks, links and contacts to find your music IG: www.instagram.com/ animalskillingpeople/ FB: https://www.facebook. com/AnimalsKillingPeople Bandcamp: www.animalskillingpeople.bandcamp.com Big Cartel Store: www.akpandromorphus.bigcartel.com

Nemesis - Melodic Death/Metal from Serbia

Interview with Selena

Interview by Jay Parker

1) Tell us about Nem- Aleksandra Petrović - guitar esis, when and where Tijana Milivojević - guitar was the band formed? Biljana Sovilj - bass guitar The band was formed in Selena Simić - drums Belgrade, Serbia in late 2013. 3) Describe your At first we started as a cover sound in 5 words band, playing songs by our Catchy, energetic, raw, favorite artists such as Arch m e Enemy, Kreator, Death and Pantera, but we are currently focused only on our original material. 2) Who is in the l o d current line up? ic and groovy. Sanja Drča vocals 4) Now I love the fast

thrashing guitars drums and the spitting angry vocals... very 90s, very nostalgic... I love Uprising, been on repeat for a while now hahaha… who writes the tracks? What’s the inspiration behind the songs? M o s t l y Aleksandra writes all the music and we all collaborate around her ideas. Our inspiration comes from our rebellious spirit which is fueled by injustices

by d e r i p s n i We aren thoughts and our ow l hardships. persona

we face on every day levels not only here but on the global level. Also we are inspired by our own thoughts and personal hardships. 5) Tell us about your discography. We released 1 EP in 2016 which was used in promotional purposes only and in the beginning of 2020 we released our debut called “ T h e War Is On” under the G r o m Records label. We are currently preparing material for our second album. 6 ) W h a t are your p l a n s for the future? We plan on releasing our next album in 2022 and hopefully we’ll get to tour as much as we can since the global crisis with COVID19 ruined most of our touring plans.

7) Tell us about the Serbian metal scene… recommend some bands... The underground scene in Serbia is actually not that big but it is very dedicated and devoted to metal music. We would always recommend listening to our great band such as Infest, Quasarborn and Alitor.

Yes and no. :) some of our band members used to play in other bands and have their own solo projects but we decided to dedicate ourselves to Nemesis only. Also most of our band members are involved in Girls rock camp in Serbia where they teach and support little girls in their desire to become musicians. 10) do you have anything y o u ’ d like to say to our readers? Thank you for taking interest in our band! Y o u r support means a lot to us! Hopefully we will see each other one day and stay metal!

8) What was the last track you girls listened too? The last tracks we listened to was Body Count by Morgoth and Sacrament by Lamb of God. 9) Are you involved in other projects? 17

Dxvxdxd Sxlf -Symphonic Black/Gothic Metal from France

Interview with NecroN

Interview by Andrew Stanton

Hello and welcome to Inside the Darkness. - Can you tell our readers a bit about your history, please? The band was formed in 2017 by our bass player and composer Adam DSX. We started as a mix between goth metal and rock (Of Wolves & Men - 2018) and our sound evolved quickly in a more extreme way (Scorpio Rising - 2020). Now the band seems to have its own entity which is Symphonic Black Metal with strong gothic in-

fluences (Before The Dawn - 2021). We are currently recording our new album with our new singer Necron. - How do you describe your music? Dxvxdxd Sxlf

ences and freedom in experimentations. Our symphonic arrangements are important and bring a kind of sensitive and gothic touch but we have that black metal fuel in us. - What are your lyrics and themes about? L y r i c s m a i n l y come out from personal experiences, associated to a passion with esoteric literature, complentative movies, spirituality and sxlf destruction. What does Dxvxdxd Sxlf mean?

Black y l n i a m is f l x ge r S a l d a x d x h t v i x D sic w u m nd k a r a D s , e l c a t n e e u l M inf f o m ns. o i t a t spectru n e m i xper e n i m o d e e fr is strongly influenced by metal productions from the 90’. So it is mainly black metal, dark music with a large spectrum of influ-

It means Divided Self. It comes from the book “The Divided Self: An Existential Study in Sanity and Madness” by Ronald Laing. The four X’s can stand to hide something, can be the graphical visual for the four members of the band, can be something mysterious or occult... can be whatever you want it to be... can be something greater than us. - Your sound seems very different to everyone else. Is it intentional? If you mean different in terms of composition and arrangements, yes of course. We know which are our influences and we make our path from them, not to them, not to look like them. - What French bands should our readers check out? Igorrr, Horshk, Deathcode Society, Varsovie, Black Chamber Orchestra... - What can fans expect from Before the Dawn? An album without compro-

mises, aggressive and epic. It was composed and recorded at home by the 3 members of the band at the time, with a lot of love, sincerity and alcohol. - There doesn’t appear to have been much time be-

tween your first two albums. Did you work right through the pandemic? We lockdowned together, the 3 of us. So we enjoyed our own company and composed, recorded and mixed Before the Dawn, without external bad influences. - Where did you get the title ‘Before the Dawn? It is inspired from a song of the band The Wounded Kings.

- Your album covers have very unique designs. Who paints them? A friend of our bass player Flore Shokushu AKA enfant. de.pluton. An artist, painter and fashion designer we respect a lot. She painted a series of work about planets and astrological relations. We intend to collaborate with her on that matter and devellop our own musical interpretation. - Do you have a message for our readers? Be curious, be interested in the world around, remaining honest with yourself. And support the underground music! ( Б у д ь т е любопытными, интересуйтесь миром вокруг, оставаясь честным самим с собой. И поддерживайте андеграундную музыку!) Thank you for your time. And thank you! (Вам спасибо)

Appalachian Winter - Symphonic Black/Metal from United States

Interview with Daniel George Klyne

Interview by Jay Parker

1) Tell us about Appalachian Winter? When and where was the band formed? Sure thing. It’s a solo project, the name of which I came up with in March of 2008, I think. I was originally writing the music for the first album, Silence Before the Great Mountain Wind, under my real name (D.G. Klyne or something like

that) but then felt I needed a better package for the material than sim-

long and sometimes rough winters here. A small handful of friends contributed at times, but the project is now and for a majority of the time has been just me. 2) Explain your sound in 5 words. Wild, symphonic, threatening, proud, imperfect. I’m a perfectionist, so that last one hurts. A lot.

e u n i t n o c l l i w y l e k i l l s e a r t e n e m g b k u c s a l o B t n i t i l p s s g , n i e h v l t o e v e h t o t o d d n a n w o of its musical movements do. that ply my name. I’ve lived in the mountains of Pennsylvania my whole life, and the music is a response to our

3) Tell us about your albums / eps. are you recording new stuff at the moment? As of now (10 October 2021) there are ten full albums, one EP, two singles, one split album, and one special collection. The collection is “special” because I took a bunch of my most recent tracks at the time (2014) and simply left out the guitars, bass, drums, and vocals and leaving only the orchestration. The two EPs are not original material – one being a cover of a track a friend wrote and another being a remake of a song from the Middle Ages. The split is with another one-person project (now inactive) called Draumar. All of them can be streamed and downloaded for free (please go to https://appalachianwinter.com for more on that). Many but not all can be streamed on a bunch of streaming services as well, including Spotify. Some are available physically, though at the time of this interview, the label the represents me, Nine Gates Records, has temporarily closed its doors while its owner gets some personal things taken care of. We expect to be selling records again in November of 2021. As of now, the first four albums,

the EP, the two singles, and the collection are not offered physically. The split is offered as a 12” vinyl record. The more recent six albums offered are in CD form. I am getting ready for album eleven, which I expect to start before this year is out. I already have the song list (titles) and countless musical ideas for this effort. I’m looking forward to the one, especially since the last two albums were a bit more personal and a bit dark for my taste, even as far as Appalachian Winter is concerned. I look forward to focusing on the concepts of winter and the mountains again as more their own thing rather than a reflection of something else going on within me. I can say that the new album is going to be called Wintermountains Rise, although I’m doubting the sound is going to be a proper follow-up to the last two albums. That said, the music should still have Appalachian Winter’s signature sound to it. 4) Your sound really takes the listener on a long stroll through cold forests and mountains... you really captured the landscape in your music, it’s fantastic. Tell us about that sound... what instruments do you use? Do you use any different guitar tunings? What

equipment do you use? Well, first off I really appreciate the compliment! First things first – piano and keyboards. My orchestration comes from a combination of native sounds from a Yahama PSR 1500, and Korg M50, a Yamaha YDP 223 electric piano, and MIDI banks that come with Cakewalk’s DAW. Up until the album I’m starting work on now, my drums came from that same Yamaha keyboard. What’s exciting (and terrifying) is that the drums are going to be an actual set from here on out, and they won’t be sample replaced. I have a humbucker Telecaster and a couple Les Pauls (Epiphone, PRS) that I use for the guitars. My main amp sound comes from a miced JSX half-stack, often hybrid with some kind of amp modeling to fill out the sound. The bass is a five-string fretless ESP Ltd through an older model SansAmp. Vocals are courtesy of my untrained and often uncooperative throat. That is the vast majority of the sound, and those guitars are standard tuning. You’ll also hear at least three acoustic guitars from time to time (and I usually use these all at the same time) – one is a Martin in standard, a Washburn high-strung, and a ¾ size Taylor in A standard. 21

Appalachian Winter - Symphonic Black/Metal from United States 22

I’ll also use a Godin nylon-strung guitar (standard tuning) mostly on its own. Less often, you’ll hear a banjo, hammered dulcimer, mountain dulcimer and even a harp. Mandolin family instruments, including bouzoukia, also make an occasional appearance. I’ve even used a jaw harp on at least one track a long time ago. 5) Tell us about your musical influences when you were growing up. Well, when I was a kid, I was listening to the same stuff my parents were listening to. That was either Classical music or the popular music Boomers like. That’s not a slam against any of that music. I love it to this day. My favorites of those two were Tchaikovsky and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. I was born late in the year 1980, and much of the music going around in the ‘80s as a whole feels eternal and awesome to me; the metal, the pop, New Wave – those things, and I love that stuff, too – all of it. Even “Hey Mickey.” When the ‘90s hit, I

was like every other teenager at the time who enjoyed Nirvana, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., and especially Live in my case. Despite Live being my favor-

ite, I remember driving through the mountains listening to R.E.M.’s Out of Time album and being stuck by how well that music seemed to go with the mountains, and I think that experience wired me to start associating music with place. But, it was in the middle part of that decade when I got my hands on Metallica’s self-titled album. I could not stop listening to it. That tape was in my Walkman for weeks. Some years later, I picked up Dimmu Borgir’s Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia, and that’s when I knew I had

been a metal head since hearing the Black Album. That was another album I could not stop listening to. I couldn‘t believe something so heavy was also orchestrated. By this time, I had been a musician for a few years, and I knew that sound was something I wanted. There’s so much more to the story afterwards, but it really gets complicated – finding out the roots of Second Wave black metal with both the music and events in Scandinavia in the ‘90s that I had no idea about, exploring folk metal after finding out about Falkenbach, and again not being able to listen to anything besides Ok Nefna Tysvar Ty for a long time. 6) What bands do you listen to today? Do you like the new black metal generation? It’s mostly the same as when I first found black metal and folk metal – Borknagar, Dimmu Borgir, Ulver (all eras, they can’t do wrong by me), Emperor, Wintersun, Ensiferum, Moonsorrow, Falkenbach, Einherjer, Tyr, Die Saat, and Elffor to name a few. It’s not limited to those kinds of

bands, though. I love Hammerfall, Nightwish, Alestorm, Devin Townsend, Edguy, Sabaton, Epica – those kinds of musicians as well. There are all kinds of newer bands/projects that are doing incredible things. My favorite right now is a project called Havukruunu. There are so many others, like Draugnim, Bal-Sagoth, and greyfleshtethered. I don’t follow music like I used to, mostly for the twofold reasons of Appalachian Winter taking a tremendous amount of my energy, and the fact that I’ve known for a long time now what I’m meant to do musically, so I just do not consume like I used to. Yet another part is I’m old now, and I can’t keep up. I’m 41 years of age! Like a proverbial old fuck, I’m also assuming that by “new black metal generation,” you refer to anything post second wave, so my apologies should I be incorrect. 7) What is your opinion on the future of Black Metal? Where do you see it in 10-15 years? It’s difficult for me to say, but I’m optimistic. Music that’s this far un-

derground I don’t think can ever really go stale (unlike, unfortunately, individual projects may – something I keep in mind as I consider how long I’ve been doing Appalachian Winter), so I have a hunch that the music styles can stay fresh. Black metal likely will continue to evolve, split into subgenres of its own and do the things that musical movements do. You’ll have purists who will want their music to pay homage to ‘90s Norway, and you’ll have other folks who will try to push the genre into something else. They won’t all succeed, but man, the ones who do are going to be incredible. I can’t wait to hear what’s coming! 8) Do you have anything you’d like to add for our readers? These were some damn good questions. They made me think about this stuff in ways I’ve never bothered to do so before. I kind of just do what I do without considering why or what motivates me. Looking back, especially at the question about my influences, I now see why Appalachian Winter works for me the way it has. I hope

I can keep going with it for a long time yet. I apologize for my wordiness, and I appreciate your time! Thanks, Jay! Massive thanks Danny, love the music, keep at it man! Make these mountains sing!!! Jay

Terror Satan-Black Metal from Colombia

Interview with Killer

Interview by Jay Parker

This is Jay here in Bogota , Colombia... Today we are joined by vocalist / guitarist KILLER, from the Bogota Black Metal band TERROR SATAN. An old school sound with the roaring energy that we’d expect from the Bogota Black Metal scene, let TERROR SATAN guide you down the dark path to damnation... Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with our INSIDE THE DARKNESS readers.

1) Tell us about TERROR SATAN, when was it formed? Who are the members of the band? Dark greetings! thanks for the invitation to Inside

2002 and 2006 it was a period of construction and searching for members who had affinity to the concept of raw, fast and aggressive Black metal. The band has had several line-up changes, currently we are working with Barbas on bass, Fo on drums and I am in charge of the guitar and vocals, things are going quite well and the experience of each one contributes in devastating passages and themes full of a heavy and sinister essence.

t its a s i l a t e ck m a l B nd n a a i d b n u m o o l s o C nique u a s elf a s t h i t i n , o i t t s i e s b to po d e g a ene. c n s a d n u o r has m derg n u d l r o w in the the Darkness, Terror Satan was formed in 2002 with compositions that would later come out in the first EP, between

2) Where and when were the discs recorded? The first work was recorded in Bogota Colombia in 2008 EP “Puro Odio a Cristo” released with the Brazilian label Nyarlathotep Records in CD format. Our second work recorded in Bogota Colombia in 2012 is the Split 3 way “Impetuous Infernal Terror” with the bands Impetuous Desdem (Brazil), Infernal Execrator (Singapore) and Terror Satan (Colombia) with the Nyar- l a t h o t e p Records label in CD format. The third work recorded in Bogota Colombia in 2015 is our first full lenght “Terror Satan” released with the Nyarlathotep Records label in CD format. We are working on our next full length called “Manifiesto de las Revelaciones”we are in the process of production soon we will have news. 3) Describe your music in 5 words. just Pure metal from hell.

4) Where does the pas- At this moment I have been sion and inspiration behind working with Opus Lucifer since your music come from? 2016 and with Esbbat since 2020. From the darkest labyrinths 7) How do you see the future of the mind, entities that be- of Black metal in Colombia? hind their macabre influences He recommends are the gateway to the some bands for search for our readers. I think that Colombian Black metal is at its best, it has a unique sound and has managed to position itself in the world underground scene, new b a n d s have also emerged that lead me to remember when this was for a k n o w l - few who were looking for jewels edge and reason, among the darkness of real metal, finally understanding these some great bands like; Infernal, planes allows us to see beyond Utuk Xul, Thy Endless Wrath, the veil and discover internal The Witch, Esbbat, Bitru, Ritthings that lead us to the su- ual, Melej, Jezabel, Mahdyhell, periority of being and the evo- Dantalian, Misantrope, Torlution of our consciousness. ment Of Abyss, Austral Wolf, 5) Who were your influences? Septemtuary, among others. The first bands that attract- 8) Do you have anything you’d ed me with their sounds and like to add for our readers? essence were; Absu, Satyricon, Fucking Black MetImmortal, Gorgoroth, Dis- al and Good Health!!! section, Impaled Nazarene, Beherit, Mayhem, Enslaved, Emperor, Inquisition, Esbbat, Maniac Butcher, among others. 6) Do you have other projects in development? 25

Ritum Tenebriis - Black Metal from Ecuador

Interview with Darksuccubbi

Interview by Andrew Stanton

Ritum Tenebriis are one of the greatest Black Metal bands on the planet. Andrew Stanton got to chat to one of his heroes, Darksuccubbi, about this great new band.

losophy, focused on Luciferianism and Satanism of DARKSUCCUBBI, who is Blasphemer, and Terrenal Demon from Colombia in the rants, accompanied by

m a I t a h be w y l l a my e r s s e r p x e I can to e e r f m a g. n i l e e and I f l a t k Me c a l B w a R

- Can you tell our readers a little about your story, please? “We going to the call of hell, only five black souls we were summoned to open and start this Profane and DAIMON, Black Ritual!!! This is like RITUM her firm and evil Ecuadorian menTENEBRIIS was born, on October tor, manager of the band. The 31, 2017, with the feeling and phi- cursed sounds of RITUM TENEB-

RIIS vibrate the evil black souls with a heartbreaking composition, thus forming the Raw Black Metal style in their melodies, with choruses and voices from the underworld. Four months after his foray into the genre, in March 2018, he released his first work as a demo in CD format, it which the same name as the band RITUM TENEBRIIS composed of 5 infernal songs of his own authorship. With the support of Daimon, the cover art is captured, based on the philosophy of the band.

The lyrics are inspired by Luciferianism, Satanism, Occultism and Demonology that intoxicates the human being with cursed power, totally profane and blasphemous... The demo is recorded at Pluteras Records in the city of Quito - Ecuador. In 2020, the 4 songs for the Split are recorded, released in 2021 in the company of the Bogotana band, HASSATAN, called “CULTO A LOS RITUALES ANCESTRALES”, The Split is released in Tape format, thanks to the support of Ah Puch Records USA.” - Who are the members of Ritum Tenebriis? “Currently Ritum Tenebriis is formed by: Darksuccubbi: Lead Vocalist and Founder of the band Abigor: Leading Guitar Rawen: Drums Omnimous Caligo: Bass Daimon: Manager, Backing Vocals, Graphic and Advertising Designer.” - What bands did you like growing up? “I have always liked the sounds of Bathory, Hellhammer, Old, Mayhem, Marduk, Darktrone and Gorgoroth, as well as Colombian bands such as Maleficarum, Manitu, Typhon, Infernal and Leviatan among many others, but mainly these bands have marked my journey a lot. on the Metal.”

- Why is Ritum Tenebriis so raw compared to their previous bands? “Because Ritum is the band of my authorship, I am the founder, it highlights my essence and my passion, I can really be what I am and I am free to express my Raw Black Metal feeling.” - What are your lyrics about? “Our lyrics are based on Luciferian ideology, Satanism and the occult.” - What was your main

r e a son for moving to Ecuador? “It was personal reasons, but wherever I go, I will always make Black Metal.” - Do you have a release date for your album?

“At this moment we are starting the recordings of our official album, we have just launched the Split with Hassatan from Bogota and we hope that the album will be released in early 2022.” Is the Ecuadorian scene very different from the Colombian one? “If it is very different, I love the Colombian scene because of the brotherhood, the union, the commitment, the firmness, the seriousness and the conviction that we have in Black Metal, very difficult to match in the world, but in Ecuador it is beginning to move the spirit of the BM very much.” - What can your fans expect from Ritum Tenebriis? “Total Power, total devastating force in hell, commitment, effort and dedication. Everyone in the band loves what we do, we do it with passion and therefore, full advancement and progress can be expected to position ourselves in one of the best Black Metal bands in the world.” - Do you have a message for our readers? “Long live Raw Black Metal, long live Metal. Black Metal is the law!! Thanks for your damn support! Hail Lucifer! Ave Ritum Tenebriis!”

Morcolac - Vampiric Black Metal from Italy

Interview with Sadomaster

Interview by Jay Parker

1) Tell us about morcolac. ber to be considered permanent contagious… I love it… tell us Where does the name comes as composer of the songs. For about it… when and where did you from? Who is in the band? When the recording of the debut album record it? Who wrote the tracks? and where you formed? Sadomaster: the album was recordI recruited a.b. as a session drumSadomaster: the name of the proj- mer, as well as sound ened in the studio ect comes from the fusion of words g i of a.b. during l l u f s i ‘’morto’’ (‘’dead’’ in this summer. e cen s l a t e M k italian) and ‘’varI previoushe Blac r the As e v o l colac’’ (ancient Nowadays t ly pointed out, l a rom f s d n bloodsucking I am the only a e b r alid en to mo t s creature of roma- of very v effective memi l n a c e n o y r e nian folklore, the ber of the projev tes. d s n a a t n d l r w o o original prototype w ect for which or their f s d n a of the vampire as I only take b e mor we know it), and and care of the composiI conceived it n e e r . tion of the songs. From his part, in the summer of this year in my 2) Your new album a a.b. perfected the drum scores home. And, being conceived as a vampiir is born is a real gem, during recording, making the whole one man band, I am the only mem- melodic and dark, creepy and work of an even higher quality.

3) Tell us about the inspiration behind your music and lyrics… Sadomaster: regarding the lyrics, it was my intention to deadl with specific topics in this album focused on vampirism and lycanthropy by deepening them both, and by personally conceiving stories of my imagination attached to those topics, which blend well with the musical part, for which I took inspiration from band of finnish black metal scene mainly, as well as french ones, but also by others who try to recreate that atmosphere that charactereizes a vampiir is born. 4) What were your musical influences growing up? Sadomaster: personally, I grew up with bands that for the most part I still listen to today: the depressive, symphonic and finnish types of black metal were ones I always listened to the most, so they inevitably contribued to the conception of morcolac. 5) What equipment do you use to get that vampiric sound? Do you use any different guitar tunings? Sadomaster: guitars and bass are tuned in d tuning, which contributes to dive dark feeling and power to the whole work. For the recording of the guitars, we have resorted to a stinger amplifier with the addition of a boss’ blues driver pedal. Bass and orchestrations have been obtained from plug-in of pc programs, and another sound en-

gineer worked with us regarding orchestrations. To obtain the typical vampiric sound I recommend to use souns of violin, viola, flutes and harpiscord.

6) What are your plans for the future? Are you recording new stuff? Sadomaster: I am currently busy recording my other project griverion, but despite it being the priority, I am continuing to compose new music for morcolac. We will undoubtely produce more material, and the release of a second album is a sure thing. 7) Tell us about the scene

in italy… recommend some bands for our readers… Sadomaster: here in italy the scene, already not very vivid in itself compared to other countries, also suffered a severe blow due to the pandemic, since the few concerts that could have been attended, had to have been canceled. I am not a great fan of the local scene, but I can advise readers to listen to works by Infernal Angels, Suicide Emotions, Infamous, Handful of Hate, Nocturnal Degrade, Forgotten Tomb and Prison of Mirrors to realize the musical quality also prposed by Italy. 8) What is your opinion of the current black metal enviroment and how do you think it will develop in the future? Sadomaster: nowadays the scene is full of very valid bands from all over the world and everyone can listen to more and more bands for their own tastes in terms of stylistics and sub-genres: I hope this contributes to giving life to other equally valid bands. 9) Do you have anything to add for our readers? Sadomaster: thank you for the appreciation that a vampiir is born is receiving, I guarantee you will hear more of morcolac in the future. In the meantime, I suggest you give a listen to my other projects ghostly aerie coven and griverion as well. Hail!

Dragsholm - Vampyric B lack Metal from United States

Interview with Asmodai

Interview by Jay Parker

1) Tell us about Dragsholm... who is in the band? When did you form the band? Why did you decide to create the band? Dragsholm currently has two members in the band. The official members include Wesley Andurium on drums and myself on guitar, bass and vocals as well as some sessions members. Dragsholm started in 2017 as a one-man project with myself playing all instruments. Eventually I found Wesley and he joined to play live shows and as of this year became an

official member of the band. I started Dragsholm for my own enjoyment and to create a new wave form of gothic vampyric black/death metal and to create the soundtrack to vampyric horror movies.

as Dark, Gothic, Sinister, Vampyric and Horrific. 3) Run us through your previous releases... The latest EP Vapmyrism In The Halls Of Worship is an absolute belter, dark and doomy and all things D r a c u la... Reminiscent of Blasphemy’s early stuff, but more structured, melodic and Vampyric... When and where was it recorded? Who wrote the music/lyrics?

pcoming u d n a w e n r o My advice f other o t t u o h c a e r o t aid bands - not be afr s and to try and build n bands and musicia ngst your peers. o your own scene am 2) Describe your music in 5 words. Our music in five words would be best described

For our latest EP I wrote all the music and lyrics. Malicer a session member and Myself recorded all the instruments in our home studio in Malicer’s basement. 4) What is the inspiration behind your sound? What bands influenced you? The inspiration behind the band’s sound is a combination of goth and black/death metal. The bands that influenced Dragsholm would be bands such as Behemoth, Belphegor, Bathory, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Satyricon, Dissection, Gorgoroth, Dimmu Borgir, Deicide, Morbid Angel and bands such as Type O Negative, Christian Death and She Past Away. 5) What are you plans for the future with Dragsholm? Are you recording? Playing live? Our Plans For Dragsholm are to continue what we are doing and to put ourselves out there more. We are currently recording for a new release and plan on playing live soon around the New York and New Jersey area. 6) What instruments do you use? Your tracks

are quite down tuned, D and C... Do you find that gives you a more gothic effect when songwriting? For Dragsholm we record with two guitars, bass and drums. We down tune to get a more heavier sound but in the past we have even used standard tuning. I do not think that the tuning used gives it a more gothic feel rather what gives the gothic feel is in the songwriting and structure. 7) What is your opinion of the current Black Metal scene? Which new bands do

you listen to? Recommend some bands for our readers around the world... My opinion on the current black metal scene is very mixed. I do enjoy seeing new bands but I feel a majority of the bands try to copy the bands of the past too much and do not understand that we live in a different era. I do strongly believe that it is important to keep metal primitive but I feel new bands need to also try to come up with a new riff instead of repeating the same Darkthrone riff over and over. The black metal scene also seems to be very broken as there are so many black metal bands and subgenres of black metal these days. New black metal bands I enjoy would be Hulder, Ieschure, Nocturnal Departure, Lamp of Murmuur, Hellmoon and Vargrav. 8) If you could play with any musician/band, live or dead, who would it be and why? 31

Dragsholm - Vampyric B lack Metal from United States 32

If I could perform with any Musician/band dead or alive it would have to be Type O Negative because they have had a huge influence on Dragsholm. 9) What is your favourite album of all time, why? Which album influenced you/inspired you the most? My Favorite album of all time would be Dimmu Borgir Stormblast. I enjoy this album a lot because I feel this album is very unique and I enjoy it during my personal downtime. The album that influenced me and inspired me the most would have to be Cradle of Filth’s Dusk and Her Embrace. This album has had a huge impact on me and still to this day influences me on creating music. This album in particular has also had a huge impact on the sound of Dragsholm. 10) When did you start as a musician? Why did you become a musician? I started as a musician when I was very young. I be-

gan playing music at about ten years old. I started out by taking guitar lessons and then playing bass and learn-

i n g vocals. I play music for my own enjoyment and to be part of the music scene. 11) How do you think Black Metal will evolve in the next 10 years? I do not know how the Black Metal scene will look in 10 years but I do hope the scene is still strong by then and Black Met-

al will continue to stay as how Black Metal should. 12) Do you have any advice for up and coming bands/ musicians that are reading? My advice for new and upcoming bands would be to not be afraid to reach out to other bands and musicians and to try and build your own scene amongst your peers. 13) Would you like to add anything for our readers? Make sure to keep updated with Dragsholm. We are on all social media platforms so be on the lookout for new music and live shows. Spread the cult of Dracula. Thank you for the interview. Thanks Asmodai, J.

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Slice of Sorrow - Melodic Death Metal from Russia

Interview with Roman Nemstev

Interview by Andrew Stanton

Slice of Sorrow are a cool band from Moscow, Russia. Andrew Stanton talked to Roman Nemstev about the new album. Hello and welcome to Inside the Darkness. “Hi, thank you.” - Can you tell our readers a bit about your history, please? “Slice of Sorrow is a Metal band from Russia, it was founded in 2015. The style is hard to determine, we just call it atmospheric Death Metal but after our second album I don’t know

how to describe it. It’s a mixture of Melodic Death, Heavy, Gothic, Industrial Metal and even a little bit Blues. We’ve released two albums and two singles so

manage so many bands? “Well, my main secret weapon is a calendar in my phone. It really helps to keep things in order and not forget anything important.” - Does singing in English stop you from gaining local fans? “No, I don’t think so. Of course, there are some people who prefer to listen to songs only in Russian but the majority of people listen to bands in any language. For example, there are plenty of fans of Rammstein

d n a d e t n e l a t y er v f o y t t n e l p e r There a nal bands in Russia atnhdas. professio equal to the famous b could be far, played in different cities of Russia and outside of it, opened for Cradle of Filth.” - How do you get time to

here and their songs are in German, Iron Maiden’s songs are in English. I think it’s just a matter of taste regardless of what country you are in.” - Do people expect your style to be completely different from Instorm? Slice of Sorrow isn’t to show fans what else you can do? “Yes, very often people tell me that they like Instorm and don’t like Slice of Sorrow and the other way around as well. So, yes people expect something completely different from my bands and they get it. Slice of Sorrow is heavier, more melancholic and experimental, also it’s less neoclassical. I think the music of SOS is a little bit simpler for understanding.” - Why is it very rare for great Russian bands to make it big outside of Russia? “Oh, if I only knew I would make my bands big worldwide. Frankly I don’t know and I could cry about hard life in Russia but I’m not that kind of a guy. I can tell you this there are plenty of very talented and professional bands in Russia that could be equal to the famous bands. So, it’s not due to the lack of talent

or professionalism. For example, Russian Heavy Metal band Aria for my taste is better than Iron Maiden, actually they both are in list of my favourite bands. So why Aria is not so famous as Iron Maiden? I don’t know, I think in the end it all comes down

to finance and management.” - What do you think of Grindcore? “Oh, I don’t think about it at all. I listen to very different styles of music but Grindcore is just not for me.” - Do you think Cannibal Corpse gives Death Metal a bad name? “I don’t know, what did they do? I don’t follow the news and gossips at all. I just can say about this band that they have a huge number of fans and it means that the band is very professional and they have my respect for it.”

- What can fans expect from your new album? “They can expect very diverse album with 12 different songs. You can’t listen to one song and think that you heard the whole album. You should check out every song. It’s a mixture of a bunch of different styles, Melodic Death, Gothic, Industrial, Heavy Metal. It has fast songs and also has some slow ballads. There are extreme and clean vocals, very atmospheric keyboards. And the lyrics are not the usual “I hate the world” type of stuff. It has much deeper meaning. The album is about egoism and how it affects people and the world itself. There are themes about aging which is also a story of countess Bathory, sopor, hypocrisy, human negative impact on nature, horror on Chernobyl nuclear power plant, social media addiction, harem. Also, it has one instrumental composition. Well, just check it out and pick something for yourself.” - Do you have a message for our readers? “Thank you for reading this interview, I hope you enjoyed it. If you want to support us listen to Slice of Sorrow on Spotify, buy our CDs or simply share our music with your friends and family. It means a lot to us. Live with passion and fire! \m/”

Basarabian Hills - Atmospheric Black Metal from Moldova

Interview with Florian

Interview by Jay Parker

Describe your Hi guys this is Jay report- name of my country. Due to 2) ing from Bogota, Colombia... its beautiful scenery it was sound in 5 words. Today I’ll be talking to Flo- called a “ Piece of Heaven”. I - Melancholic, Soothing, rian, from the awesome at- decided to pay a tribute to my Magical, Mystic, Sadness. 3) Tell us mospheric BM band Basara- native land creating about your bian Hills from Moldova... Florian, thanks e when r e l e a s e s f i l n i s first to for taking the oment tude, from m i l o e s r a newest. time to talk to f o e her time e m our readers... T o s er to - Spirit d r d o e e n n i you ughts . Of The Nao s h n t o i t r s u e o u tive Land 1)Tell us put y tant q r o p m (Fullabout Basara- to i ome l e n g t h bian Hills. decide s 2 0 1 2 ) . When and where was the band - A Breath Of The Wide the band formed? Why Basarabian Hills in Valley - (Full-length 2012). was the band formed? 2011 in the town Fales- - In The Stillness Of The - Basarabia was the old ti, Republic of Moldova. Codrii - (Full-length 2013).

- Groping In A Misty Spread - (Full-length 2014). - Enveloped In The Velvet Cloak Of Midnight (Full-length 2015). Attraction (Full-length 2016). - Eerie Light Of Fireflies - (Full-length 2018). - The Path Of Hope (Full-length 2021). 4) Your sound is like a Black Metal Forest, rich with nature and harmony. What inspired that sound? How do you write your epic songs? Who has been your biggest influence? - There are moments in life when you need sometime of solitude, to put your thoughts in order to decide some important questions. The best place to achieve is the midst of nature, a path in the woods. My music expresses the conection between nature and humanity, love for the hills and valleys of the Motherland and The Spirituality of The Night Forest. In creating my music, I was mostly influenced by Lustre, Burzum, Nokturnal Mortum, Fear of Eternity, Negură

Bunget, Austere, Summoning, Woods of Desolation Evilfeast and many others... 5) What are your plans for the future? - Soon there will be released a new album “The Path Of Hope” - (Full-length 2021), which contains 4 songs. In them I tried to express the idea that, “In Order To Search For The Light, You May Have To Cross The Darkness”. 6) Tell us about the metal scene in Moldova, recommend some bands for our readers to check out! - In Moldova Black Metal is not very popular,but we have some bands that you can check out! - Viscol, Advent Fog, Ad Patres, Caligo, Chorde-

wa, Witch Desire, Mapoi Tarani, A Refraction. 7) How do you see Black Metal evolving in the next few years? - Nature is Beauty and Eternity. To my mind Atmopheric Black Metal is the link to it. So it definitely has a future and may be new styles will apear as this kind of music became so popular. Its purpose is to make people aware of the uniqueness of our planet, of its heavenly scenes. 8) Would you like to add anything for our readers? - I hope that people will enjoy listening to my music, which mainly expresses the feeling of walking through the Eternal Forest.

Upon Shadows - Black Metal from Uruguay

Interview with Tamara and Natalia

Interview by Jay Parker

1) Tell us about Upon Shadows... when and where was the band formed? Who is in the current line up? Tamara: Upon Shadows was formed in 2002 in Montevideo, Uruguay. Natalia Arocena on bass and Tamara Picardo on keyboards, guitars, vocals and drums since 2021, before we had sessionist drummers and in the earlier albums we used programmed drums. In the beginning we were

three with Marcelo Aguilar on guitars and vocals, until the end of 2009 when he left and we decided to stay as a female duo. 2) Tell us about your releases...

new every year on the same date... every 18 of October, that’s our tradition for many years already. The reason for choosing that special date is because it is my birthday (Natalia’s birthday is in September so we are pretty close on that too). I used to hate my birthday until I had this idea, and now I have every year a real reason to celebrate. A new release is always the best that can happen to me.

k r a d e h t s i s w o d a h S U p o n o f t h e m u s i c a nydrti chse. feeling heart of the l poetic Tamara: We have seven albums, a couple of Eps, and a few singles. We try to release something

Our latest album is called “Modern Obscurantism” and was released in 2019 by the Finnish label Ground Media Group in a very beautiful 4 panel digipak with a 12-page booklet. For the album we hired a Finnish drummer who recorded the drums at Soundmix Studios. In 2020 we released a single called “Encuentro / Kohtaaminen” for which we had the special participations of the Uruguayans Lucía Sena on drums, Gabriel Brikman on guitar arrangement and the Colombian super talented Angela P. Coldnight who did an incredible DSBM vocal part. On that occasion the drums were recorded in Montevideo Records, in Uruguay. On the 18th of October 2021 we released a new single called “Virtus Dormitiva ‘’ and the special feature in this song is that it is the first time I record the drums by myself which was quite a personal challenge. Every release we do, has a dif-

ferent concept so from one album to another the listener will find a totally different world. All our releases are available in Bandcamp and in all the biggest music platforms but we also have

a free download option of all our music at our blog: http://tamarapicardo.blogspot.com/ 3) You have a deep, dark, doomy sound, which reminds of the early 90s doom bands, with cutting black metal vocals and riffs, its very pleas-

ing on my demonic ears hahaha... tell us about your sound, the inspiration behind the music and lyrics... how and where do you record? Tamara: Natalia and I started to make music in the early 90s being part of other bands. I started playing keyboards and writing lyrics for a local death melodic band called Eclampsy from 1995 to 2002 when I left to start my own band. And Natalia has a very long list of bands in which she was playing across the years... she started around 1994 creating Asgard, what would become the first extreme metal female band in the country. So the sound of Upon Shadows has that mix of what we are, the things we grow listening to, and so the sense of the 90s is part of ourselves. Basically Upon Shadows music is a mix of Extreme Metal and Dark Ambient. 39

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The inspiration behind the music and lyrics is changing from one album to another but if we look for things that can be identified Upon Shadows is the dark feeling of the music and the poetic heart of the lyrics. Our latest single for example was released the past 18 of October, is called “Virtus Dormitiva ‘’ and is inspired by the comedy “The Imaginary Sick” (Le malade imaginaire) by Moliere (1673). And the lyrics are a reflection about modern life. About our way of recording, we keep doing the things as in the very beginning, recording everything at home and doing the mix and master in a professional sound studio with a sound engineer. Session drums recorded at a real studio of course. When we both were living in Uruguay, Natalia used to go to my home and we recorded everything there. Now things are a little bit different because since I moved to Finland in 2013 what we do is that Natalia records her parts by herself at home and then she sends me the bass tracks to be added to my mix. Since then we have been doing the mix and master at Soundmix Studios in Oulu, Finland with the sound engineer Mika Pohjola. 4) What inspired you to become a musician? What are

your musical influences? Tamara: Music has always been a very important part of my life, in my family everyone can play an instrument. So I grew up learning to play the piano by the old method, playing only classical music. What made me realize that I wanted to be an active part of

the music was extreme metal. The passion that extreme metal music awakens in me has been the motor of my life and it will continue until my last day. My influences are mixed from one side bands like Abigor, Necromantia, Impaled Nazarene, Samael but also dark music bands like Sisters Of Mercy and The Whores of Babylon. Natalia: I started playing bass at around 14-15 years old, more than anything I was

fascinated by it as an instrument and despite having tried several others it will always be my favorite. Musically, I think you have to explore everything even if you incorporate certain things that may differ from band to band. My first favorite bassists were Geezer Butler, Cliff Burton, Flea. 5) Tell us about the metal scene in your native Uruguay… recommend some new bands for our readers... Tamara: From my point of view the metal scene in my country is surprisingly big if you think about the amount of bands related to the population of the country (Uruguay is a small country of around 3,5 million inhabitants). It is also quite a complex public to please since a big percent of the fans are also musicians who have their own bands or musical projects. Uruguayan bands that I would recommend to listen to are Cross, Requiem Aeternam, Thy Dominion, Cryptogram and Chaos Rebellion. And for those who like postpunk La Memoria is a great band.... and for those who also like experimental music with industrial touches I will recommend listening to Natalia’s side project Korax Mvd.

Natalia: The metal scene in Uruguay is not too big but it has been active, obviously during this period with the restrictions that we all know everything has been a bit paralyzed but new dates are beginning to appear. I think it’s interesting that despite being a country with a fairly small population, there are actually bands of practically all styles of metal and punk. I prefer not to recommend one in particular, perhaps I could recommend listening to one of the compiled or playlists

since there are many things. 6) What are Upon Shadows’ plans for the future? Tamara: A new album for which I already started to compose. 7) How do you see the future of Black Metal music? Tamara: In the beginning of the 90s we were all listening to Venom, Hellhammer, Ba-

thory, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sarcófago etc, and the Black Metal was in a stage in which no one imagined that it could develop in the way it actually did. Is difficult to imagine the future of a movement in which being unpredictable was one of its strong points since the very beginning. And here we are over 30 years later ... and just a few days ago Necromantia released a masterpiece album, Abigor latest album is among their best, Rotting Christ’s latest two albums are darker than

ever, Tom G. Warrior keeps inspiring and summoning generations with Triptykon, Impaled Nazarene released an amazing new album this year ... and a horde of new bands are making quality BM like NEDXXX or Aethyrick to mention the ones I listen to the most. Natalia: I think it is a style

that remains quite active. 8) Do you have anything to add for our readers? Tamara: I would like to give thanks to all the readers and invite them to check out our music. What we do is Dark, profound and melancholic music with all the passion that is possible to have. Natalia: “And if one is to express the great inevitable defeat that awaits us all, it must be done within the strict confines of dignity and beauty.” Leonard Cohen Upon Shadows at social media: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/03MsvGZRthT6Cr4nSoqTje Bandcamp: https://uponshadows.bandcamp.com/ YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/ TamaraPicardoUponShadows Free Download Links at: h t t p : / / t a m a r a picardo.blogspot.fi/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Upon-Shadows-128947133826217 Instagram: https://www.instagram. com/uponshadows_official/ Contact: uponshadows@gmail.com

Drengskapur - Black Metal from Germany

Interview with Wintergrimm

Interview by Andrew Stanton

Hello and welcome to Inside the Darkness. - Can you tell our readers a bit about your history, please? Hail from Germany! DRENGSKAPUR was founded in 2002 and released the first record one year later. Until 2013 we released three full lenght albums. Afterwards were released

some splits with NEMESIS SOPOR (great horde from Saxonia/GER),

rast verschlang“. In November we published a live album on MC „Nächtens am Lübbesee“ of a concert we played in september this year at the old venue of the festival „Under The Black Sun“. - Why did you decide to release your last three albums as split CDs?

ess r p x e o t e m r o f e r e i s a It is e in my native lang uag myself use another one. than to Heilnoz (ESP) and Szarlem (GER). Last year was released the latest album „Was der Mo-

After the first three albums we decided to do the split with NEMESIS SOPOR because we are good friends and felt that this was the right moment for a collaboration. The split with HEILNOZ was a result of the tours we played in Spain and Portugal. And the split with SZARLEM was a common tribut to the old Black Metal scene from Poland. Because of the big influence of polish Black Metal on DRENGSKAPUR it was clear to realize this split. What are your lyrics about? The lyrical concept is based on nature, processing deep mental themes and personal emotions. The last two full lenght albums have one main theme. The album “Der Urgewalten Werk” was dedicated to the four elements fire, earth, water and air. Every full track tells a history of one element. The histories are about the difference of value of the elements in

the past and present. The latest album “Was der Morast verschlang” is about the subject of swamp. It’s about the graceful-looking picture, but also about the deceptive side of the swamp. Do

y o u ever think you lose global success by not singing in English? We never thought about this. But you are correct. It could be an aspect to be less „famous“. But nowadays it is possible to translate the lyrics very easy and fast by the listeners. And the last album was sold very well all over the world. So, you can say the language is no obstacle for us. Besides it is easier for me to express my-

self in my native language then to use another one. - Why do you write songs so long? That is an interesting question. We already tried to compose shorter songs. But we failed mostly. I think it has something to do with the music style and atmosphere which is crea t e d in the songs. It takes s o m e time to c r e a t e it and to reach the climax of a song. Shorter songs wouldn’t have such a musical depth in my opinion. - Do you think shorter songs are easier to listen to? I think shorter songs can be understand and comprehend faster. But on the other hand longer songs with a more complex structure and compositorical depth can be listened a longer time with interest. We often got the feedback that with every run of the record the listener discovers a new detail in the music. 43

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I think that is the difference and not „easier to listen“. It is another kind of listening. - What can fans expect from your new album? In the moment there are planned two split LPs. One is already finished and in the mastering now. It will be released next year. You can expect a continuation of the last album but with an ongoing development and some new elements. Another split LP is planned for the next year too. The composition has started a few weeks ago. - What German bands should our r e a d e r s check out? I can recommend these hordes: NEMESIS SOPOR, DAUTHUZ, S H O R E S OF LADON,

- Will you be touring? Yes, we still have plans to tour. In the past we toured in Spain, Portugal, Brasil und USA. So, we like to play abroad. In the moment it is difficult to plan with this situation. But nevertheless we played some concerts this WOLFHETAN, AR- year. Our plan is to organize a CHAIC THORN, THRO- tour in the eastern part of EuMOS, THANATOMANIA. rope. We will see what is possible next year. - Do you have a message for our readers? Support the real Black Metal underground – don’t waste time and money in superficial music. Music is the destiny! Thank you for your time. Thanks a lot for your support and good luck for your zine!

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Fen - Atmospheric Black Metal from United Kingdom

Interview with The Watcher

Interview by Jay Parker

Hi this is Jay reporting from Bogota, Colombia... Today I’ll be talking to UK black metal geniuses, FEN… 1) Tell us about Fen... when and where was the band formed? Who is in the current line up? The first real seeds of what would become Fen were sown in the winter of 2005. I’d experimented many years before this with some atmospheric black metal ideas when I first encountered the

genre but this fell to one side in favour of more aggressive, discordant material. It was in the second half of 2005 – and after more than half a

more elegiac with a focus on soaring, depressive melodies and billowing ambience. I spent time that winter forging several pieces and then in the new year presented them to the bassist and drummer of the band I was in at that time with a view to creating a studio-bound project. They too were in a similar creative space – yearning to bring elements of post-rock

t s u m e en c s K U T h e e g a r d e d a s oa n r e be r s y a l p u . serio e g a t s l the globa decade of pursuing ever-more dissonant sounds – that I felt the pull to create something

and post-metal into black metal and meld this together to create a more layered, enveloping form of music. We had a few rehearsals in the early part of 2006 and really felt the energy, inspiration and above all - excitement - flow from these sessions. There was a tangible sense of having discovered something that resonated quite deeply within us. We recorded our first EP ‘Ancient Sorrow’ in those same few months after perhaps a handful of rehearsals and then things really gathered momentum from that point. The lineup still consists of myself on guitar and vocals and Grungyn on bass/vocals from those days. At the risk of sounding a little Spinal Tap, we have unfortunately had a few drummers in the ranks now, however JG joined us on the drums midway through last year and has quickly immersed himself in the world of Fen. 2) Describe your sound in 5 words. A bleak, immersive sonic journey. 3) Run us through your releases, first to last... where do you record? What are your future plans for albums? OK, so to start at the beginning, we recorded Ancient Sorrow in the Spring of 2006. This was very simply put together on an old digital 16 track I own and was essentially created as a demo for us to listen back to

more than anything. It was the first three songs we played as a band together and we really wanted to catch the energy of those early rehearsals. We put the songs up onto Myspace and fairly soon after, Northern Silence Productions approached us about releasing it physically. This really set things in motion for us as a band and we quickly started receiving a lot of attention – far more than we could have originally anticipated. We then set about recording the debut album, ‘The Malediction Fields’ in 2007-2008. This consisted of a variety of material – a few of the pieces dated back to those early writing sessions in the winter of 2005, the rest were built up by us as a band. Again, we self-recorded this on the same equipment as the EP – though we spent more time focusing on tracking this, you can still hear the limitations of the equipment we were using. Still, for us this was a milestone release – we were just discovering that ‘post’ black metal or ‘blackgaze’ was really emerging as a concept and we felt somewhat at the vanguard of this movement. I think this album has a very distinct, misty, timeless quality to it. Yes, it’s shaky at points but I think it’s a supremely honest record, steeped in conviction. ‘Epoch’ followed – this was predominantly tracked at a friend’s home studio with mix-

ing being carried out by myself (I’d upgraded my gear a bit by then). It’s a much more layered, dense recording – far more tracks involved – and we had committed to ‘upping our game’ with this one. We felt the pressure to follow up the debut on this, there’s no doubt about it, so we really pushed ourselves on the songwriting. The compositions here are more complex, longer and denser with a focus on weaving a mood. In many respects, it’s almost like one long song (and we’ve heard this as a criticism) but I think in the right frame of mind, it really fulfils the brief of a sonic journey that we set ourselves when we commenced work on it. The next record ‘Dustwalker’ followed fairly quickly, though represented the first big lineup shift for the band – gone were the keyboards and we also brought on board a new drummer. We felt we needed to prove we were still a strong unit as a band so really focused on this record – this time, we wanted each piece to stand apart rather than the record having this feel of one long movement. The recording set up was the same as it was for ‘Epoch’, though we did look to pare it back somewhat, make the record a little more direct. ‘Dustwalker’ gets overlooked I think – there are some powerful, evocative pieces on the album and the opener ‘Consequence’ always gets a good reaction at gigs. 47

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‘Carrion Skies’ was our first venture into a professional studio – we felt it was about time and I also needed to step away from production/mixing duties as this was becoming an increasingly demanding job being placed upon the shoulders of an increasingly tired man! We spoke to some people we knew and then reached out to Greg Chandler who runs Priory Studios (and also fronts doom legends Esoteric). He seemed on our wavelength and we booked ourselves in to record there. We really pushed ourselves with this one – we wanted to cement our intentions and our definition as a ‘metal’ band and therefore concentrated on making the material harder and sharper. The days in the studio were long but we were all 110% focused on putting together a real ‘statement’ album. The lineup was settled and we all drove each other to step up. For me, it’s a landmark album for us – having an external perspective from a production point of view real-

ly added another layer to the experience and we were really driven to push against what a lot of bands of our ilk were doing at the time (i.e. moving fur-

ther away from the metal aspect of their sound). We wanted to deliver real riffs and intensity alongside the more delicate, atmospheric elements to forge something primal and affecting.

As we started work on the follow-up ‘Winter’, we decided to embark on something even more ambitious – a single song concept album broken into several ‘movements’ which was heavily inspired by oldschool prog acts such as Yes and King Crimson. We took an almost ‘classical’ approach to composition with themes/ melodies weaving in and out of the pieces, returning in different guises but always with a sense of forward momentum. We really spent ages forging the material and as we got closer to recording, we knew it would be Derwydd’s last record with us – so we pushed the boat out and recorded with the renowned Jaime Gomez Arellano at Orgone Studios. He really helped us deliver a massive, earthy sound to underpin the lengthy, winding pieces we were working on. Lyrically, this album dug into some quite personal depths which only seemed appropriate to accompany the material. ‘Winter’ really garnered a lot of attention for us – the huge sound, the intricate songwriting, the extended length – and definitely felt like something of a one-off.

I don’t think we could do something that progressive again without it seeming almost like some sort of pastiche. But it’s still a huge entry in our canon – a lengthy, challenging, demanding listen but with plenty to reward the patient listener. And lastly we have ‘The Dead Light’ – with a new drummer on board and with the complexity of ‘Winter’ behind us, this was an opportunity to look to do something different again. This time, the key word was focus – rein in the indulgence and concentrate on creating concise material that nevertheless retained the Fen identity. We also wanted to inject an element of the ‘cosmic’ into this record – colder, starker, glittering. This album was recorded with Chris Fielding at Foel Studios – a legendary place and legendary man, combining to really inject this album with creativity and energy. The sessions were long and demanding but always a pleasure given the wonder of the spacious, rural surroundings of the studio and Chris’s insightful input. ‘The Dead Light’ has some classic songs on it – and in ‘Nebula’ one could argue almost our first hit! The more stripped-down approach might have caught people off guard after the complexity of the album before it but it absolutely was the record we needed to make at the time, perfectly capturing the more

spatial atmosphere of the ambience we were looking to create. Of course, earlier this year, a seventh full-length was completed… and of course all will be revealed in time. 4) Who writes the music/ lyrics? The majority of the music is written by myself and Grungyn – a lot of the time in isolation before presenting it to the full band for input, arrangement and honing. There are some pieces which come together almost entirely within the rehearsal room but generally speaking, we like to have at least the semblance of an idea in place before we spend valuable rehearsal time working on things. Some pieces evolve significantly at this point, others remain more or less as they were when originally written – it all flows from the feel and the ambience when all three of us are playing. A simple change to a drum pattern can add a wildly different interpretation to a riff for example and send a song down a completely different path. As for the lyrics, I tend to pen the majority of these – Grungyn has contributed to some songs in the past, predominantly the pieces for which he performs lead vocals – however, certainly for the last few records, I have shouldered the responsibility for forging the words that accompany the mu-

sic. This is fine with me but is by no means some sort of manifestation of ‘control’ or whatever – anyone within the band is invited to contribute if they so wish! I guess I have just had lot to say over the last few years and the others seem happy to let me get on with it… 5) Your sound is a vast dark cold wasteland of metal and melodies... what is the inspiration behind your sound and the lyrics? It’s always driven by what’s taking place within – the moods, the roiling swirl of emotion, the darkness, anger and despair that’s always there. It’s in all of us, deep down, somewhere, waiting for release or expression. This music – and the lyrics that lend it tangible definition and meaning – are my way of confronting this, of dealing with it and somehow managing to exorcise these notions. I’m not really interested in telling stories with Fen – of literal expressions of ‘reality’, of materialism, history, geography, whatever. This may sound massively pretentious but I prefer to take a more philosophical, interpretive approach to writing lyrics – I certainly like to leave a lot of ambiguity in the imagery therein, I always find it more satisfying when there is scope for the listener to interpret, to set their own mind’s eye against the images described. 49

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As for the music, it’s just about what flows… about what I need to hear when the hour is late, the guitar is in my hand and the whisky is in my glass. It needs to resonate; it needs to accurately reflect whatever desperate darkness is coursing through me at that point. 6) Your sound is very technical and symphonically polished, when did you start as musicians? What inspired you to become a black metal musician? I first picked up a guitar in 1994, 1995 – so quite a long time ago now! Almost immediately, I wanted to play extreme metal – my descent into black metal coincides completely with my learning to play the instrument so by about 1996, all I wanted to play was black metal. The possibilities of the sound to me back then were boundless – to take something heavily distorted and a backdrop of aggressive percussion, using these tools to describe something bleak, intoxicating and stirring. It was a wildly exciting time of musical discovery – of SELF discovery – realising how inspiring it was to explore these sounds and to forge my own path within it. Back then, myself and Grungyn lived in the fens with no real contact with other musicians – there was no internet for us, no way to collaborate with anyone else and I think this really fed into a sense of

‘isolated inspiration’. We were doing it our way and despite moving to the city a year or two later, those early times were crucial in developing a sense of identity that runs through Fen today. In many ways, the seeds of what Fen has become here in 2021 were sown almost a quarter of a century ago during those bleak times of creative growth. 7) Now I grew up in the UK and I obviously have a massive soft spot for UK black Metal...but I’ve been away for a while now, and I’m a bit behind... bring myself and our raiders up to date and tell us about new bands there and the evolution of the scene. The UK scene has seen it’s fair share of ups and downs but right now, it must be regarded as a serious player on the global stage. It has taken a little while for us to reach this point I guess – of course, Cradle of Filth were the key standard bearers back in the early-mid 90s (and it must be reiterated that they were a huge inspiration for many UK musicians looking to make their way around that time) and we also had Bal Sagoth, Thus Defiled and Hecate Enthroned around that time. As with most scenes at that time however, I think the UK struggled in the shadows of what was pouring out of Scandinavia and as we entered into the 2000s, the UK black metal scene seemed to wither a little.

Anaal Nathrakh garnered attention and there were more underground bands such as Reign Of Erebus putting out records but it was a quiet time really. I think things started to really gain momentum when Winterfylleth, Wodensthrone and A Forest Of Stars began to garner serious acclaim, not just at home but also in Europe and the US. This was around 2008-2009 I think, with things really gathering momentum from around 2010. It’s really been something of a continuous upwards spiral of quality since this point and right now, we have a huge scene here with a large number of hungry, creative bands all supporting each other and mutually inspiring each other to push themselves further with each release. Our most recognized acts are of course Winterfylleth, Saor and A Forest Of Stars but just off of the top of my head, the following are really starting to make names for themselves – Necronautical, Wode, Abduction, Wolvencrown, Aklash, The Infernal Sea, Old Corpse Road, Ante Inferno, Cistvaen, Heathen Deity, Thy Dying Light, Terminarch, Necro Ritual, Ninkharsag and many more. I have no doubt several of these will take that next step to become established acts globally. And that’s without bringing some of the more death/black acts into the conversation like Scythian, Adorior and Craven Idol. And of course Akercocke.

Just reading back on this list of names literally from the top of my head has underscored how rich the scene is here right now. 8) What music do you listen to today? A wide, wide variety of things – extreme metal features highly of course and I have recently been spending a fair bit of time digging through the Celtic Frost and Carcass back catalogues. That said, I’m quite happy firing up some classic stuff like WASP or Whitesnake when the mood strikes and I’ve also a lot of time for oldschool prog like Yes or Camel. I like to keep an open mind however – good music is good music, irrespective of genre and a well-crafted song transcends boundaries. It would probably sicken some people to realise that I’ll often throw on a bit of A-ha or Tears for Fears but these acts made some fantastic music and crafted some timeless songs. As long as something is made with true creative integrity, shot through with authenticity and atmosphere, I am willing to give it a chance. In terms of new stuff released this year, it’s been a good one – the new Ruins of Beverast, Cult of Luna and Year of No Light albums have been excellent but I’d put the new Bicep (atmospheric electronica) record up there as well. 9) Do you have any advice for up and coming

musicians out there? Play from the heart, always. Don’t try and force yourself into crafting something that you think will sell or you think will get you signed – the foundation HAS to be something that you genuinely feel. Authenticity is so important when it comes to metal (and extreme metal in particular) – play with feel and passion. And don’t worry too much about being ‘different’ – if you’re playing from the heart, you’ll eventually forge your own sound and originality will come. But if you’re forcing it, it just won’t be right. And work at it – there’s this oft-propagated trope within the metal scene that inspiration somehow strikes from on high (or down below!), that a moment of sheer, unbridled creative energy hits from the blue that results in genius just flowing from the fingers. Not true. Well, not often. Sometimes this can happen but more often than folk care to admit, inspired music arises from focus, dedication and craft – hours spent working on riffs, reworking melodies and digging through to the very essence of what it is you are writing. Keep playing – and for focused sessions. Not just 15 minutes of noodling around, hoping something will sound good. Go deep, power through and hit that intangible moment when the music starts to flow. Record everything. If you get

an idea, get it recorded asap. These moments can be fleeting – with the abundance of affordable recording technology, there’s no excuse not to have something to hand now. Even record it on a phone – everyone has one of those. Sometimes an inspired idea can be ephemeral and needs to be captured. From a business perspective, never undersell – if you don’t value your art, no-one else will. If you’re fortunate enough to reach a point whereby you have a growing, dedicated listener base, respect your music and demand to be paid accordingly. Extreme metal is hardly a fasttrack to big cash but it’s only fair that if you’re stuff is in demand, that you as an artist are recompenses in some way for it. Those who repeat the mantra ‘there’s no money in extreme metal’ are the ones making it. 10) Would you like to add anything? I think we’re good, thanks – just keep an eye out in 2022 for big noises emerging from the depths of the fens…

Anfel - Symphonic Gothic/Doom Metal from Russia

Interview with Denis and Elvira

Interview by Andrew Stanton

ANFEL are cool band from Russia. Andrew Stanton talked to them about their new album. Hello and welcome to Inside the Darkness. “Greetings to you and all readers and thank you for your attention to us and our humble music work.” - Can you tell our readers a bit about your history, please? Denis DIONIS Lobotorov: “ANFEL is a studio Goth-

ic Doom, Gothic Metal, Piano, Instrumental project formed in 2009 in Tver. Since then ANFEL has gone through many trials

world and still looking for it. There are 10 albums in our discography at the moment, besides 10 solo albums by Denis DIONIS Lobotorov. Also we have a few instrumental cover albums and participated in different compilations.” E l v i ra ALCHEMIDA Lobotorova: Already as 12 years we are engaged in music creativity. And we don’t plan to stop.

a o t n i d r a w r o f e ow v o We muture, no matter h new f t may be at times. hard i and changes, achieved its own special recognizable sound, found its listener in different parts of the

Current Line-up is: •Denis DIONIS Lobotorov - Founder, Ideologist, Composer, Vocals (growl) •Elvira ALCHEMIDA Lobotorova - Vocals, Guitars, Arrangements, Sound Discography: 1. In Memory About (2009) 2. Blind Me (2010) 3. Pain Of A Thousand Tears (2011) 4. Fragments Of Memories (2012) 5. The Heart Of The Black Queen (2013) 6. Silhouettes Of Consciousness (2013) 7. One Last Touch (2014) 8. Icy World (2015) 9. Echoes Of Buried Hope (2019) 10. The Origins Of The Soul (2020) - What bands did you like growing up? D.: “I’ve been a melomaniac since childhood, I’ve always listened to and loved a lot of different kinds of music. Of course, I was more impressed by classical music, music from silent movies and old romances.” E.: “I also grew up with classical music, finishing my music school as choir singer and pianist. Later I was engaged by hard rock starting with Scorpions and Roxette ballads, later my tastes became heavier and shifted more to Symphohic/Goth-

ic metal, Sympho Black/Extreme metal, Doom Metal etc.” - What does Anfel mean? D.: “ANFEL is an acronym for And New Future Ever Lives. For us it is the slogan and style of our musical activity, that regardless of situations and life’s twists and turns of fate, we move forward into a new future, no matter how hard it may be at times.” - How do you manage to work on and release so many albums every year? D.: “It’s very difficult to give any

specific answer to this question. Probably the main reason is our special feature of our musical life and our musical family in that we are very prolific in terms of creativity, practically every day we compose something new.

And, of course, in the end our strict systematic principled work matters. In addition, now we are in re-record previously composed instrumental discography, which partly creates a small illusion, that there are so many releases.” E.: “Indeed, the releases go one by one in connection with the fact, that we are closely engaged in re-recording and re-mixing of the previous albums, and the new material will follow later. In addition, instrumental songs without vocals are proceeded faster than songs with vocals, and they are mixing according by the finalized algorithm, which has been developed for years, i.e. we don’t waste much time on searching for the new sound. So our plan is to finish re-recordings of the old instrumental discography for this year and next year, 2022. We already have plans to start presenting new instrumental albums to the world as they are released. 53

Anfel - Symphonic Gothic/Doom Metal from Russia 54

More distant plans are to record already released instrumental albums as well as new albums with vocals (clean and growl), which of course will take longer. But not everything at once, ANFEL is originally an instrumental project and we stick to these priorities.” - What are your lyrics about? D.: “Our lyrics include many different branches: stories of the lives of our loved ones, relatives and their fates and ourselves. It is also a constant theme of internal struggle and reflection on the goodness and evil of this world, on the power of faith, honor, love, human vices and their actions in the present, as well as in the historical past and some imaginary moments. And, thanks to our collaboration with text writers, these stories become more diverse, more frank, and allow any listener to see these new insights. Simply said, our lyrics are a philosophical abstract romance decorated with various reflections and themes.” - Does working with your husband cause a lot of arguments?

E.: “There’s an old proverb: husband and wife live the same life) We are a family and our work is mutual and honest work with each other as one living mechanism (“We are a Groot” (c) Guardians Of The Galaxy) We understand and accept each other with all our ideas

and all our dark sides. Of course, we also like to discuss with each other in the process of musical experiments.”

How do you describe your music? D.: “At the present, our music has completely reached its final and recognizable sound, which we came to after many years of trying and experimenting. According to our friends, relatives and many listeners, our music in its performance and construction is simple, accessible and full of tenderness, romanticism, lyricism and beauty, with a touch of unbearable weight of worldly sadness and melancholy. If we describe it as a whole, our music is a balanced mixture of symphonic, gothic and atmospheric doom with a touch of minimalism.” - What would you say to people who say Anfel isn’t Metal? D.: “In this case, I completely agree with this opinion. I never thought that project ANFEL - is just Metal, the presence of heavy guitars does not define the music itself, but rather gives opportunities to describe it more fully and more simplified search in the modern musical world as a result. I believe ANFEL is music for the heart with certain stylistic additions.

Being an addicted melomaniac, I basically do not like certain kind of stylistic cliches, because in modern music all styles and directions are closely mixed and exist in all music artists, if not in description, then in sound. However, even without these musical terms, too, it is impossible, because any website, interview or compilation requires at least some approximate description of the band’s style. We have to deal with this reality and go to some compromise.” E.: “Metal can be different) In this case metal is just a part of the arrangement, and the core of the music - piano melodies with

who are far from heavy music. And you know, there is kinda unique that so different people can find in ANFEL something for his own mood and desire. That’s why we always record several versions of the album.” - What can fans expect from your new album? D.: “Our new instrumental album will be the 11th in our discography. Exclusively for the readers we will reveal its title: The Ghosts Of Lonely Destinies. It will be recorded in our traditional atmospheric sound. As always, our instrumental album is a particular musical story, with its own im-

a sad romanticism and justified in symphonism. So it’s not surprising that among the ANFEL fans there are a lot of listeners

ages, characters and destiny. Listening to our new album, as well as our previous albums, you can dive into this music

and feel yourself in these situations or help yourself overcome your mental difficulties. We hope you will enjoy it. The artwork was designed by Aina Tornheim who is probably known to many of you from Blackthorn and whom we have been working with for many years. Because we really think, she is the one who is so good at bringing out in our humble covers the atmosphere we feel when we drop into this album. She is also successful in finishing the work of our friends, whose drawings or photos have become the basis for some of the album covers.” - Do you have a message for our readers? “Take care of yourself and your loved ones, Never give up, Listen to good music, Yours, ANFEL. Our web-links: https://www.facebook.com/anfelband h t t p s : / / a n f e l . b a n d c a m p . c o m / https://vk.com/anfelgroup https://www.youtube.com/c/anfelband Thank you for your time.

Tapias de Pilatos-Black Metal from Colombia

Interview with Elkin

Interview by Jay Parker

Hi this Jason reporting from Bogota, Colombia... Today I’ll be talking to Elkin from Tapias de Pilatos a Bogota based Black metal band, deeply influenced by the darker side of Colombian culture and history... thanks for taking the time to talk to our readers Elkin... 1 - Tell us about Tapias de Pilatos... when and where was the band formed? Greetings, Thanks for this space.

The band started in 1995 in the city of Bogota, together with my brother Adolfo and two friends, Cristian and Nelson. We really

what Ancient Rites and Amon Goeth, from Colombia Nameless and Massacre, did. We had a special taste for Iron Maiden and I think for this reason the band varies so much in rhythms. We weren’t looking to keep a line, we played what we liked, but always with the intention of sounding dark and aggressive. 2 - Who is in the band?

g n o r t s y ver a d n s i e h e t h a t e D like , n of o i t d a n e e h inspir t g, n i h t y r e ia. t of ev r e n i l a t , to s e s n e s e th liked Nordic black metal, at that time Dimmu Borgir, Satyricon, Mayhem, Immortal. Also

The band is made up of my brother Daniel and I, my cousin Fabian and Andres support us live. 3 - Describe your music in 5 words. Darkness, death, reality, history, rawness. 4 - Tell us about your records, from the first to the last. The first recording we made was in 1999, it contains 4 songs, with a great variety of rhythms, you can hear black, death, thrash, punk and some heavy. We recorded it with the guitarist’s computer. Each of us had these songs, but they had not been released in a physical format, over time I wanted to have this work in some format, I uploaded them to YouTube and some people began to ask me about the material. David Davila de la Caverna records suggested that I take them out on tape, and so it was, I found just 66 black tapes, I designed the arts and started recording them at home, I took them out in 2019, 20 years later, I sold them in

two months, it reached countries such as Spain and Ecuador, which encouraged me to continue promoting Tapias de Pilatos by generating content on social networks with a gloomy

and dark concept. Living Metal released the reissue of this work in which I added a live song recorded in 2000. For the year 2022 we are going to launch the second

production called “Cemetery of Excommunicated», which contains 8 cuts of black metal. 5 - What is the inspiration behind the band’s lyrics? Your art on the covers is impressive, very abstract and dark at the same time... as if it were telling a story. The art of the cover is the last photo that exists of the Tapias de Pilatos cemetery, this place was on the slopes of the Cerro de Guadalupe in Bogota; Suicides and those sentenced to death were buried there in colonial times, until 1861, they could not be buried in churches because they were excommunicated beings, for this reason the place was also known as the cemetery of the excommunicated. The inspiration of the lyrics is the dark history of Bogota and Colombia, telling how evil is generated by the human being, towards himself and towards other living beings, it is the only being that creates evil, since nature itself she cannot do it herself. Death is a very strong inspiration, like the end of everything, the end of the senses, total inertia. 57

Tapias de Pilatos-Black Metal from Colombia 58

We draw on stories such as the suicides of the Salto del Tequendama, the executions of the Plaza de Bolivar, the dark devotees of the dead in the Central Cemetery of Bogota, the Tapias de Pilatos cemetery, the Black Christmas of Pasto, the Mutilated Christ of Bojaya, always talking about the dark, but on a real plane. 6 - Who writes the music and the lyrics? The music is composed by my brothers Daniel, Adolfo and me, the lyrics are written by me. 7 - Tell us about your plans for the future... Finish the recording of the album Cementerio de Excomulgados and be able to press it with a stamp that gives us the possibility of reaching other countries. Hopefully fruits of this album. 8 Do you have any other projects? Daniel, Fabian and Andres participate in the Spectral Tales band, totally recommended, it’s brutal. I am only in Tapias de Pilatos.

9 - If you could play with a band or musician, alive or dead, who would it be and why? I would like to play with Typhon, Inquisition, Nameless and Grimorium Verum from Ecuador, they are bands that I admire a lot.

10 - What is your favorite album of all time and why? Uff, what a question, I think Emperor - Anthems to the welking at dusk, the creativity and composition are impressive, very innovative and brutal. 11 - Tell us about the metal scene here in Colombia --- recommend some bands for our readers... It is a scene with the imprint of darkness and rawness, I think that due to the same violence

that we have experienced and seen, it is implicitly reflected in the music, it has a unique color. I recommend: Spectral tales, Satanic Supremacy, Crocell, Zaqum, Templa in Cinere, Horncrowned, Nosferatu, Satanic, Murmur, there are too many, in truth whenever they choose some Colombian metal they will be surprised, guaranteed. 12 - What has been your best and worst experience playing as a band? We have only had two concerts and they have been excellent experiences, especially playing in Medellin and knowing that we had fans, that surprised me. 13 - Do you have something else to tell the readers? Thank you very much for this space, I extend the invitation to listen to our funeral hymns and be aware of our new production. Thank you for your time.

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Information for bands, labels and metal fans: If you have a video and want to see it in our channel, just send it to us and we will promote it and support you!!! 59

Mater Infecta-Black Death Metal from Italy

Interview with Jana Maista

Interview by Andrew Santon

Mater Infecta are a cool new band from Italy. Andrew Santon talked to frontman Jana Maista about the new album. - Can you tell our readers a bit about your history, please? “Mater Infecta is a Black/Death Metal project born in Foggia (Puglia, South Italy) in 2018. Following some lineup changes we’ve stabilized in the current lineup: drum (Nico), Guitar (Naz), bass and vocals (Jana Maista). A dear friend of ours, Giovan-

ni, support us in concerts as second guitarist.” - Who is in Mater Infecta? “Mater Infecta is a concept. It’s an image, an metaphor that describes the human condition, It’s the corrupted matrix that gener-

should our readers check out? “The Italian B.M. scene is really rich and varied. We quote and thank the “Museo Del Black Metal Italiano” for his meticulous research and c o l l e c tion work of Italian B.M. They supported us with a great review. The bands we would like to mention are: Opera IX (Symphonic Black Metal/Gothic/Doom/Death Metal), Imago Mortis, Fiave, Selvans (Atmo-

t n e d n e p e d in f o t r s o m p r p o u f S ll a t h ” g . i e F c . n c e i l s o i u v m d n a e c n a ignor ates us already sick, poisoned…” - What is the Italian Black Metal scene like? What Italian bands

el “The colloquy of Monos and Una”.” - What bands did you like growing up? “For example: Belphegor, Emperor, Bathory, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Dark Funer-

ect… In concerts we had a lot of positive feedback.” - Do you have a message for our readers? “Support independent music. Fight all forms of ignorance and violence.” Thank you for your time.

spheric Folk/Black Metal), Dispnea (Depressive Black Metal)...” What are your lyrics about? “Our lyrics are about mystical and disparate experiences in the na-

ture (see “Venomous Foams” and “Discendo Dai Monti), existential drift, stream of consciousness... “Colloquium” is a tribute to E.A. Poe’s nov-

al, Deathspell Omega…” - Are you planning a tour? “Yes, we’d love to, maybe in the summer! But first we want to work on the new songs.” - How have fans reacted to your EP so far? “It was wonderful that so many people liked our proj61

Coldnight - Suicidal Depressive Black Metal from COlombia

Interview with Angela

Interview by Jay Parker

Hi, this is Jay reporting from Bogota, Colombia... Today I’m fortunate to be talking to Angela from DSBM one girl project, Coldnight... A beautifully disturbing trip into the darkness... Hi Angela... Thanks for talking to our readers... 1 - Tell us about Coldnight? when did you form the band? where was the band formed? Coldnight is my own project of ambient dark metal, inspired by ghostly and desolate passages of sadness, all made by

myself, I’ve formed Coldnight in 2008 in Colombia, Bogota. 2 - What was the inspiration behind the band? When I had the idea of start this project I was focus in the art, I

Light, Elend and Aghast, when I started to do this dream called Ambient DSBM I was a very friend of bands as Exile from Light, Thy Light and Moloch, so I felt identificated with the genre and the way to do music. 3 - Your music is bone chillingly beautiful, creepy, haunting vocals against some chiming piano melodies... your piano work really stands out. When did you start playing piano? When did you decide to base black

t s r i f y r e v e h t s i o Pian ument when I start . s e i instr d o l e m e h t e t i r to w loved to draw and made some melodies to complete the art, being an artist completely, also I was fan of Drowning the

metal around your piano? Piano is the very first instrument when I start to write the melodies, even Guitars and some other instruments are modeled with Piano. 4 How do you write your songs? To write music is for me a personal ritual, first I think in the art, a cover to describe the intention of the album, the story will be between the album, after I made the art, I’m going thinking in the lyrics, or what songs will be only instrumental but all under parts, then the magic starts, the music, every chapter of an story made in pictures, music, lyrics, voices and effects, the very first instrument is the keyboard, there I think in tempos, rhythms, fx and everything is flowing. Two albums were the result of a long study about the Tequendama waterfall and its story about suicides, this process takes some years. 5 - Tell us about your album...when and where was it recorded? Run us through the tracks... my favourites are Mourning Train and The White Crow... My albums were made by myself, all recorded and produced by me in the years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018 and 2019,

and many other participations, except on Celestial Sepulchral where I had the participation of other musicians around the world. Paths of Sadness is a split album with Annorkoth, I made my part inspirated in suicide, so, as I told you, the first part

was the paint of the art, and this album were based in tell some ways to suicide, in the case of Mourning Train was a departure telling in a poetic way to commit suicide in the train rail for me is one of my favorites songs, makes me so sad every time I play this song, I’ve recorded this in United States in a home studio. Celestial Sepulchral was a poem, White Crow is the 3Th song, the chapter when the soul sees

the dawn of the sunset about to jump to the abyss of the waterfall and see his soul goes away. 6 - What are your plans for the future? Are you recording new material? I have many plans, for the moment I’m learning about some programs to make better recordings, still not recording but the inspiration is here, at the moment I‘m doing participations in vocals with Lifeless and Zenith Maudlin. 7 - Which bands did you listen to growing up? Which do you listen to now? I listen to everything, but I’ll always be a very big fan of Drowning the Light, Harvest, Nihasa, Strigoii, Elend, Lustre, Heteroir, and other more… 8 - What is your opinion of the Black Metal scene in Colombia? Recommend some bands... I’m not familiar with the scene, and I don’t have anything to say about, only recommended Melancholiam. 9 - Do you have a message for our readers? Sure, to all our readers I invite you to listen to Coldnight, a one woman band from Colombia, to all the people who like my art thanks for all the support. Thanks!!! Angela P. Coldnight 63

Withering Worlds - Atmospheric Black Metal from Netherlands

Interview with Wanderer and Void

Interview by Jay Parker

1) Tell us about Withering Worlds? where are you from? When was the band formed? Who is in the current line up? Wanderer: Hi Inside the Darkness, thanks for your interest. Withering Worlds is a melodic/ atmospheric black metal studio project currently based in the Netherlands. I started Withering Worlds in late 2014. At the time, I was based in the United States but later moved to Western Europe. I wrote the album in many different places both in Europe and North America, each of which

influenced me to an extent, I guess. During the 2014-2019 period, I worked alone on the music, lyrics and production. In late 2019, Void joined the project as lead vocalist, and lent his beauti-

small and rural area called Townley, Alabama in the United States. 2) Describe your sound in 5 words. Atmospheric, intense, aggressive, melancholic, honest. 3) Your album, The Long Goodbye, has just been released... an epic cascading symphony of raging riffs, heinous harmonies, driving drums, perfectly balanced with clean vocals and some fine NWOBH style solos and drumbeats....and dramatic classical interludes...

e h t l a t e m k c Bloast verssaict.i le menre of mu g ful, versatile voice on the music. Withering Worlds solely consists of Void and I. Void: I’m from an extremely

It’s a real pleasure for the ears.... Tell us about the album? when and where was it recorded? run us through the tracks... Wanderer: Thank you. We are honored by your kind words. All the music except Void’s vocals was recorded in the “Den”, my home studio, which is a small portable studio that followed me in the various places where I lived and composed the album. Everything was composed and arranged earlier, but most of the actual recording (including Void’s vocals) took place in the 2018-2020 period. Void: My vocals were recorded at my home studio, Bedroom Studios, where I record all my other projects. Wanderer: The album consists of 7 tracks, and has somewhat of a classical structure with an opening track, two long metal tracks, a middling interlude, two long metal tracks again and a closing track. The album opener, “In Search of the Withering Worlds”, serves as an introduction to our sound, aesthetics, and the overall journey the album takes the listener on. It is instrumental and heavily orchestral, and is the very first song I composed over some months in the late 2014, early 2015 period. “Hour of Trial” is the first heavy song on the record, and incidentally also the first heavy song I finished writing in late 2015. The song is about loneliness and hope in times of personal trouble. It is quite progressive, with multiple

sections and has some neoclassical influence, especially in the lead keyboards sections. It also features a kinda 80s metal solo and some clean choir sections. “The Long Goodbye” is the title track of the album, and is probably my favorite song on it. It is more markedly in the atmospheric black metal tradition in terms of sound and arrangement than “Hour of Trial”, and is also darker in spirit. Stylistically, it features prominent orchestral arrangements,

especially around heavy strings in the orchestral bridges later in the track. I got a friend who is a trained classical singer to lend her wonderful soprano voice on some portions of the track, and I like the final result we got. It also features a spoken poem in the final section. This song is about loss and the inescapable passage of time when worlds, persons, places we once knew inescapably wither away. It was written between 2015 and 2018. “Memories” is a short instru-

mental with woodwind leads that provides a breather between the heavy and dense songs around it. It is a song about the bygone era of one’s youth. “Transcendence” is the more “doomy”, slower track on the record, without any blast beats. It was written between 2016 and 2018. It is also quite progressive in its structure, with several distinct “peak” moments such as a long and slow guitar solo and another fully orchestral break with brass and wind lead sections towards the end of the song. “Journey Through The Black Winter” has more straightforwardly atmospheric black metal undertones, with faster tempos and dyadic tremolo riffing and overall a rawer, simpler sound, mixing raging lead vocals with clean choir-like choruses, as well as a long, ambient break in the middle. It is a song about solitude. I wrote it in early 2018. Finally, “Watcher of Fading Stars” is the concluding track – a very slow, dreamy song evoking feelings of drifting away in space, and away from the warmth and light of familiar stars. It as a somewhat simple chord progression that is heavily layered upon with various orchestral sections, and some distant guitar leads. Then everything slowly fade away to silence. I wrote this last track between mid-2017 and mid-2018. 4) What is the inspiration behind the music? How do 65

Withering Worlds - Atmospheric Black Metal from Netherlands

you write the songs? Do you use different guitar tunings? The raw inspiration for the music comes from my personal life and experiences. In many ways, this music is like a soundtrack to my soul if it makes sense, but it deals with universal themes and my hope is that it resonates with others. That’s why I generally do not wish to reveal too much about the meaning of the songs, simply because I wish others to put their own personal stories and find meaning in the music. In terms of composition, I try to translate raw feelings into compelling but simple riffs or chord progressions, which I often come up just on the guitar or the keyboard. I then build them up and arrange them in large wall of sounds made up of many different layers. The songs are rather long and consists of many sections, each of which may take a long time to write and progressively build up. I never set a time limit of when a particular song needs to be finished, and I find inspiration to be very elusive, so I have learned to be patient. I am typically willing to wait months to have something I am happy with, writing wise or arrangement wise. In terms of tunings, the album is written in D and Drop D tunings. 5) What bands did you listen to growing up and what bands do you listen to now? Wanderer: I have been listening to metal for most of my life.

I think I was truly awakened to melodic yet extreme guitar and vocal sounds by Children of Bodom, especially the Hate Crew Deathroll album. I have had a long love story with Finnish metal bands more generally, including more mellow stuff like Sonata Arctica. Ensiferum, Amorphis, Moonsorrow, Wintersun and many other Finnish bands have been important at various points in my own musical journey and growing up, as have been some classic

epic/melodic black metal acts like Summoning and Windir. These days, I like listening to bands focused on layering multiple keyboard and guitar lines in massive sounding arrangements, like Summoning, Woods of Desolation, Aquilus or While Heaven Wept to cite a few different bands in different genres that have influenced our sound, including black metal-identified bands but not only. However, I think these days I spend more time listening to non-metal music,

especially contemporary classical / orchestral stuff, old 19th century composers associated with Romanticism in various European countries as well as lots of film music. Void: Until I became a teenager I was forced to listen to modern country and r&b. The first taste of metal I got was The Blair Witch 2 and Dracula 2000 soundtracks. Those movies introduced me to bands like Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, System of a Down, Slayer, and other heavy artists. These days I have a very broad taste in music, mostly metal, rock, and orchestral, I can’t really narrow it down but suffice to say all subgenres of those three styles. 6) Why did you choose to play black metal? Wanderer: Well, I did not necessarily choose, nor was I ever exclusively into black metal. To me, black metal stands for artistic freedom and a viscerally personal approach to creativity – that is, being unaffected by commercial concerns, but also other concerns, such as “what will others think? It is too raw, or is it too simple, too technical enough, too kitschy or cheesy, or this or that?”. In its very nature, black metal blows away these types of mental constraints on what counts as good music and I think this is very valuable. Black metal has to be one of the richest subgenres in terms of sub-sub genres, it’s just incredibly fertile as a scene. It just sticks to one cardinal rule in my view, which is “be honest in the music

you put out”. I think this is very powerful. Black metal also has a rich tradition of one-man metal composers working away silently on their craft, producing compelling records with very little resources, which is very inspiring to the independent musician who has no money but emotionally honest music to give and a story to tell. Black metal allows the ordinary, resourceless, underprivileged artist to shine at the margins and possibly propose something unique or new by disregarding conventions established by more powerful players within the music industry. Void: Black metal, in my opinion, is probably the most versatile genre of music. It has so many subgenres; you can mix black metal with practically any other form of music. Blackened death metal, melodic black metal, raw black metal, I’ve even heard what i could only describe as “blackened circus metal”. 7) Tell us about the metal scene in Holland... recommend some bands for our readers... Wanderer: Well, I am not so well acquainted with the local scene just yet as I only recently moved here. I am aware of some great Dutch metal acts though, like Carach Angren and Ayreon, so there’s a definitely a tradition of epic, orchestrated metal in the Netherlands. Ask me again a few years (if I am still around that is, I tend to move often). 8) If you could play with any musician or band, live or dead, who would it be and why?

Wanderer: Mmmh…that’s a tough one. Probably Jari Maenpaa from Wintersun and Hans Zimmer. I regard both of them as musical masterminds, telling great, moving stories with massive sounding music, and they’ve influenced WW’s music a lot. Void: I would absolutely love to be part of a project with Attila Csihar or Mayhem in general. I think Csihar has the most sickening and inhuman vocals in any form of metal today. His live performance of Deathcrush from a few years ago when Mayhem became a 5-piece... Haunting and disturbing. 9) What are your palns for the future? Are you recording? Wanderer: We have a multiple album deal with Northern Silence Productions, and we plan to keep releasing records in the future, hopefully in a somewhat faster fashion than how it was during that first album, which was a challenging but valuable experience for me – hence taking a very long time to complete. I am already working on new material and have ideas for where I want to take our sound in the future, but I also want to take a bit of a breather for now because the last couple of years have been very intense in terms of work involved in the final aspects of mixing, production and release for The Long Goodbye. Right now, I am happy to get back to working at a leisure-

ly pace and noodling around on my guitars and keyboards, which I feel like I could not really do for a long time once things were locked in place for the first record and I was just working on production. But you will surely hear more from us in the future. Void: I’m looking extremely forward to our next album. Wanderer is a brilliant composer; I can’t imagine what he will come up with next. I have multiple albums for multiple projects in the works right now in my studio, only one if which is black metal. Anyone interested can check most of my other projects out https://thebedroomstudios.bandcamp.com 10) Do you have anything to add for our readers? Wanderer: Thanks to everyone who has taken a listen to our music, and showed support in any way either by liking, commenting, sharing, or writing to us. This means the world to me. Others who have not heard of us, check us out if you want more epic melodic black metal in your life. We hope you like what you hear! Void: Thanks to everyone who has supported us in even the slightest way. Whether you pre-ordered the album or simply left a kind comment or a “like” on Youtube or Facebook, thank you. It means a lot.

Bloodrust - Death Metal from Falkland Islands

Interview with Richard

Interview by Jay Parker

Hi this is Jay reporting from The band and I say that in the all joining in on certain parts. Bogota, Colombia... Today I’m loosest terms as it is just me. I want the band to be able to talking to Richard from the Going forward I would like to play life so ideally having that Falkland Island based Death get other people involved in the as an option would be ideal. Metal band, BLOODRUST. band to add new ideas in terms 2) Describe your sound in Richard, thanks for taking of songwriting. I’d really like 5 words. the time to talk to our readers... to have H e a v y , m elodic, l Head a t e M h t 1) Tell us BangDea d l o t u t o a b about Blooding metal. I like a ion, th t a t n e rust... When The thing 3) Run m i r ce us through xpe ie e p r e a h it t u and where g s ds i classical a e was the band ban v beat. your rea t h s o la t b s a s r e formed? Who willingn leases, first tion ove c e s d r a o b y e is in the current to last... k or a big line up? where do you The band record? What are your fuinitially was more than one person han- ture plans for albums? formed back in 2010 and I put dling the vocals have that kind So both the records have been a few demo songs out in 2011 of Nile vocal thing going on. 2 recorded here in the Falkthen put the project to bed. or 3 guys trading off vocals or lands by me in my spare room.

My producer works out of Cyprus so he does all the production elements there. Dean the producer also a phenomenal guitar player so he did all the solos on the first album and 2 on the upcoming record. Any acoustic guitars were done by him, as well as the keys. 4) Who writes the music/ lyrics? I write all the music and the lyrics. 5) Your sound is a nostalgic trip back to the 90s for me, reminiscent of early Unleashed, Grave, Dismember… I love it... what is the inspiration behind your sound and the lyrics? I love all types of metal but when I started to write the first album what naturally came out and what I felt most comfortable playing was Death Metal, old death metal. I class what I play as Old School Death Metal or as I heard Donald Tardy from Obituary class it as Classic Death metal which is what he classes them as. I like that description of the band. The thing I like about old Death Metal bands is the experimentation, that willingness to have a classical guitar piece or a big keyboard section over a blast beat. Take Bolt Thrower, they have a sound and you can tell its Bolt Thrower, it just gets hold of you and grinds you to pieces by the end of the album but they sound different to say Death who

sound different to Dismember. Yet it’s all Death Metal. The other thing is I’m not a fan of the High screams in metal and that’s put me off so many bands so I’ve always looked at the past more than the present, give me Karl Willets from Bolt Thrower/Memoriam or Dave Ingram from Benediction when it comes to vocals. The only guy that gets a pass is Chuck when it comes to the high vocals. Lyric wise I stick to the staple subjects of Death, War, horror that sort for thing. I’ve got a few political songs, probably one on each album but generally I’ll leave those up to Barney from Napalm he does a far better job than better I can. I have a pretty good imagination and can churn out lyrics really quickly once I have an idea so I tend not to need external inspiration. The first album had a fair amount of Warhammer 40k Inspired Lyrics which is another nod back to Bolt Thrower. 6) Your sound is very technical and symphonically polished, when did you start as a musician? What inspired you to become a metal musician? I grew up in musical house as my Dad was a Pro Sax Player in the Army so I was surrounded by other instruments and other musicians. When I started to my own taste in music I started with Queen then progressed onto Maiden, Guns

and Roses, Metallica. I was lucky that a guy who worked for my Dad was into the old 70s/80s band so he gave me a tape with Purple, Rainbow and Die on it, It’s all been downhill from there. Instrument wise it was Steve Harris who made me want to pick up an instrument but I wasn’t committed. It was 93 when I got a copy of Chaos AD and that really made me want to play guitar. A mate gave me copies of Chaos AD, Bolt Thrower Real of Chaos and For Whose Advantage by a UK thrash band called Xentrix, the best UK thrash band I might add. Those 3 albums I listened to constantly. The polish on the album is all down to Dean my Producer he wants albums to sound like albums and to have balance and depth, much like the old records you would have heard in the 70s and 80s. I love how albums sounded from that era so it works for me. That balance where everything is built on a foundation of a great drums sound. 7) Your sound is obviously influenced by your harsh, cold windy environment... you are just a few miles from Antarctica…what’s it like being a musician in the Falklands? Do you have a metal scene? I know similar small, hostile, places like the Faroes, Iceland are a breeding ground for great metal... 69

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As far as I know there are no other metal bands here and I think my 2 albums are the first metal albums to be recorded down here. One thing being here does give you is time as there are not thousands of distractions you have elsewhere. 8) What music do you listen to today? Pretty much 90% metal of varying types. The other 10% is probably taken up by Soundtracks films or Computer games. The Skyrim soundtrack is fantastic and I’ve spent countless hours spinning that one. Metal wise apart from the classics Death, Bolt Thrower, Dismember, Obituary. I really enjoy Gruesome, albums that sound like Chuck could have written them, count me in. I really enjoyed the last Asphyx album, that’s a headbanger. The last

Cannibal Corpse album with Eric Rutan on, those songs are almost making me want to get back in the pit then I realize I’m 43 and well I’d rather watch and enjoy a beer then get crushed in a mass of sweaty bodies. I’m a big Sepul-

tura fan so that discography gets a fair amount of listens. I like classic metal so Maiden, Priest, Accept, Angel Witch. Newer Trade metal bands like Grand Magus, Wolf from Sweden they can’t put a bad album out. Smoulder, Cauldron, my kids love Burning Fortune by Cauldron so it’s on when we go on long car journeys. They also have started to learn the lyrics to the Resales and Wild album by Accept. Fine by me. Eternal Champion I am a big fan off and sing along with my bad clean singing when I get the chance. I love Cynic and there is never a bad time to put a Cynic album on. I remember having a conversation with my wife when we had kids and she said I had to be careful what I had on the car due to lyrical content. Turns out Cannibal

Corpse is great for kids as they can’t understand Corpsegrinder, whereas Pink and all that well that’s pretty clear what they are saying. I’m lucky my wife likes metal up to a certain point and has been to many gigs and festivals with me, Wacken 4 times so she contended that one. 9) What have been your best and worst experiences as a musician? My best was getting my debut album out, it was very emotional sitting back and listening to it for the first time when I got it back from Dean. The worst probably realizing that you’re up against it as there are thousands of bands putting out Demos, albums, playing shows but the audience is limited in terms of numbers. 10) What is your favourite album of all time and why? I hate this question as it changes so often but only between 2 or 3 so it depends on which day of the week you grab me. I’ve never been one that delves deep into the underground and the bands I listened to were ones that had big coverage in magazines or on Headbangers ball back in my mid-teens. Death - Human. I think

enough words have been said about this album and the impact it had on Death Metal. I was a late comer to this album and spent hours and hours listening to it whilst I was recovering from serious surgery. I spent hours on youtube listening to albums I hands heard in years or had never listened to. I had ITP for years, since it came out and really enjoyed that just never went backwards into the catalogue or forwards. This leads me onto. When Chuck passed away it was such a Huge loss to metal, the first Control denied album is really good and I think the best was yet to come from Chuck, constantly changing the game. Cynic-Focus. Same time as I started listening to Human I came across this Gem of an album and they both flew to the top of the tree in terms of listening, I mean constant listening. Even now it’s gets a listen at least once a week. The loss of both Sean’s was horrible. The drums and bass work on Focus influenced so many people and you look at the Tech Death scene. It came from one place and a handful of bands. Death and Cynic being 2 of those. 11) Do you have any ad-

vice for up and coming musicians out there? Keep working hard, keep writing songs, practice your instrument or writing lyrics. Be nice to everyone you interact with as you never know where it might lead. Most of all enjoy what you’re doing and support fellow metal bands. 12) Would you like to add anything? Thank you for your time, your kind words about the album and your support for smaller metal bands.

Chovu - Black Death Metal from Kenya

Interview with Preston and Bundi

Interview by Jay Parker

This is Jay here reporting from Bogota , Colombia...Today i’ll be talking to vocalist Preston and guitarst Bundi, from the Kenyan Black/Death Metal sensations CHOVU... The band released an Ep called what sorcery is this ???? A dark, doomy trip through Kenyan folklore and magick... 1) Tell us about Chovu...when and where was the band formed? Who is in the current line up? Hey Jason. Chovu started in the year

2019 as Rot Paper Jesus, basically doing bedroom demos here and there, until we started a project with obsydian media and the name changed to Chovu, native Swahi-

our members are: Brian Bundi on guitars, Trieste Franco on rhythm guitars, Charles Frank Komora on bass, Barbra Simaloi on drums and Preston Saman- da on Vocals. 2) Tell us about your ep, w h a t k i n d of sorcery... w h e n and where was it recorded? What was the inspiration for the ep... Our ep is a five song compilation involving a popular folklore in Akamba tribe of Kenya,

l a t e m a ite notes, r w n a c You with 5 song right gear and the ght mood. the ri li meaning ‘kitu kibaya’ something bad and we took nativity as a theme and Black Metal as the genre,

it’s basically following the tale of a maiden who in the original story is believed to haunt people in the road at night, we took the twist added Abit of fiction to it and threw in some rituals and kamba native language just for fun in songs like kithitu walk, plus Swahili and English in all. 3) Tell us about your other material... are you recording at the moment? So regarding new material yes we have demos and singles at hand we are trying to create a new album, the native theme still holds spoiler alert we plan on using different tribes in one album, basically an evolved sound is to be expected. Plenty more where that came from picture an epic tale of vices and darkness with melodies from a mortician’s playlist, plus more tribal package than our previous works. 4) I love the darkness in your sound, very original and refreshngly heavy... who were your influences growing up? Our influences vary from black metal, death metal to other subgenres like doom and symphonic. Personally I am deep in thrash metal roots pref-

erably blackened thrash and a twist of gothic doom and death metal, currently death grunge, our drummer she kinda is in too deep into black metal, guitarist is into stoner metal and post punk, bassist death metal,

funeral doom and shoewave, rhythm guitarist, psychedelic, progressive and post punk, the mantle bands are, darkthrone, skinflint, moonspell, saturnus, myrkur, toxic Holocaust, uberserker, nervosa, mydyingbride, and more. 5) Tell us about the metal scene in Kenya... recommend some bands for our readers... The scene here is explosive but

underground, everyone knows everyone plus we have shows once in a while plus collaborations ,bands range from grunge to dark ends of metal, most of the bands doing an original sound for metalcore we have bands like, Irony destroyed and Last years tragedy... for grunge, we have petrika and dead skin remedy involving Chovu members partly, for grindcore and a little twist of electronic, top dogs Duma, who are currently on their European tour, for darker elements of metal comes Chovu, seeds of datura, in oath, lust of a dying breed, and more. 6) Do you have anything to add for our readers? Give kenyan metal a chance and watch hordes dark and supreme March from the underground. I am Saibore Bundi. The lead guitarist • Who writes the songs? Tell us about your song writing process... First, Zorth The rhythm guitarist and I create the riff. We jam out and structure the song, while Komora and Preston work on the lyrics and make sure they fit in the structures. 73

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Then in case any of us is needed to add to the lyrics, we do it while Komora adds the bass parts. Writing a Chovu song takes about an hour if the riff was created before, or two to three hours if the riff has to be created at the moment. However some songs may a take a couple of months, where we have all the ideas but need a certain inspiration or boost to finally write them into a compositionю • What inspires the songs and the lyrics? Anytime we meet as a band away from our instruments we take this time to discuss various topics we have come across. Any interesting events in our personal lives in the recent days. Our greatest and most unique influence is our different cultures. So we exchange our different cultural practices and use them to tell stories. Preston skill lies in taking these practices and mixing languages to tell brutal tales that resonate with the cultures involved. Sometimes we just plug our instruments and work around one member’s progression, we just wing it and then work on what we have at the end of the session. • What tunings do you

use and what equipment? So far I have been using a Deviser brand guitar with a Floyd Rose bridge, which I really enjoy creating a slightly off tune feel with, especially in interludes for that eerie offsetting sound. And an Ultra Distortion Behringer pedal. Zorth uses either a Jackson or a Fender both of which are avail-

able to us through an acquaintance. But for full set jams we are forced to rely on instruments at various commercial rehearsal spaces around town. We have used a half step down tuning for all recordings and performances so far. It started as a way of keeping our strings from breaking constantly, but then we grew into the sound and if we were to change, we would only go lower to a whole step down.

• What inspired you to become a metal musician? Sometimes I thing being a metalhead is a response to various personality traits. Because many people are exposed to metal but very few are drawn by it. Those that are barely ever come back from metal. It is like a way of life.. Haha. I had been playing guitar for a while doing mostly classic rock covers since I thought metal was impossible for my level of playing at the time. This changed when I really got into black metal; specifically Darkthrone and decided I had to learn the song Transylvanian Hunger. I discovered metal is not necessarily about technicality but the feel. You can write a metal song with 5 notes, the right gear and the right mood. And ever since Chovu has been an expression of our various states of mind at different times. Massive thanks Preston and Bundi :) Jay

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.

Viper’s Den - Asian Black Metal studio from Bangkok, Thailand

Interview with Rex VIperon

Interview by Jay Parker

Hi Rex... For the first part of our series focusing on Black Metal Producers, ‘The Demons Behind The Darkness’, we’ll be talking to REX VIPERON, the man with his demonic claws on the controls at VIPER’s DEN STUDIOS, Bangkok, Thailand.... a breeding ground for demons and some of the hottest Asian Black Metal... Hi Rex, thanks for talking to our readers, man :) ‘Hail! Thank you so much for this opportunity!

1) Tell us about the history behind Viper’s Den? -Viper’s Den is the name of my home studio. It is my “mancave” and where I create my music. It’s a small home studio that I use

worked with over the years? -Mostly my own bands and some other projects. These include Dei Tetra, Awicha, Stratosfear, Evil Singing Pandas, Nebula’s Eye, Ihllus, and Plaguebringer. 3) Tell us about your experience working with different bands... what has been the best/ worst/ funniest/most rewarding? -One of my most favorite time was when we were composing and recording a band called Stratosfear.

ays w l a l l i l w a t e not M s ’ t I . Black l Meta g n i k h c t a l e B m o s be not s ’ t i , e l b a fashion ome and go. that will c to record guitars, bass, and vocals (sadly, it is too small for drum recording). 2) What bands have you

There were 4 members in this band (including me), and the best thing was that we never hesitated to contribute ideas and help each other shape the music that we played. There were tons of jokes, but we still got things done. It was one of the most inspiring moments for me. As for my worst experience, it wasn’t with a person, but it was with my studio equipment. There have been many times that my computer broke down during the recording sessions. Sometimes, it wiped out all the recorded materials, settings, templates, programs, etc. It was very frustrating, but it taught me to always backup whatever is on my studio computer. Now, I backup my materials in three different places. 4) Tell us about your work schedule? How many hours do you dedicate to music every week? -When I was younger, I

would spend days and nights in my studio. Now, sadly, I am unable to do long sessions, but I still keep it a daily routine of 4-5 hours (mostly at night, because of insomnia). 5) What inspired you to record/produce Black metal? -Black Metal to me is special. It is a genre that isn’t just about music. It’s a place where you are able to truly express yourself and your art freely. We don’t have to spend too

much time worrying about the sounds and the productions, because, personally, I believe that those shit ruin the rawness of the art that we want to portray. Most of time, I get most of my influences from different situations (past/present) that occur around me. It can be historical events, personal experience, or even from the news. I think this works well for me, because there is no restriction. Apart from that I enjoy playing Black Metal because it challenges me to create various types of sound and musical textures that help express my views and emotions. 6) Tell us about your plans for the future with Viper’s Den? -In October, 2020, I have decided to take Viper’s Den to a higher ground. It is now called Viper’s Den Productions, acting not only as a place where I create my music, but a place where I can produce materials for both my bands and others’.

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My goal is to contribute my part to help spread underground Black Metal as far as it can go. I firmly believe that there are countless Black

For bass, I’m using my own bass called “Torched Bass”, a 4 string burned alder body bass. I don’t use amps that much anymore. I can’t crank them

Metal bands like mine that need attention and exposure. 7) Is there any band that you’d like to record? -I would really love to work with new local bands that have the same goals and passion. Musicians who are dedicative, and most importantly hardworking. 8) Tell us about your equipment and all your demonic techno toys... -I don’t really have any high end equipment. Most of them work well with me, and that’s the main reason why I use them. Let’s first talk about guitars. I fucking love BC Rich guitars. And at the moment, I own 9 of them. Some I only use for recording (mostly the Bich, Eagle, and Warlock models), and some for live shows (Jrvs).

up as loud as I want them to be (neighbors...). So, I have been using the Avid ElevenRack as my main amp ‘sim’ unit for both guitars and bass. I also use various type of distortion pedals to boost the already distorted amps. At the moment, I’m using the Boss Hm2, Hm3, Ds1, Arion Metal Master, Aria Adt1, Proco Rat, and TC Electronic Eyemaster. The recording interface I’m using is the Focusrite Scarlett 2i4. And I’m using 4 studio monitors. That’s about it I think. 9) Do you have any advice for young up-and ‘coming producers out there? -I think the only thing I can say to them is to get out there and follow your passion or else you will regret it. Stay focused and

keep pushing. You don’t have to have high end equipment or pay loads of money to hire anyone to make music. You can do it yourself. Don’t spend too much time editing every fucking thing, music today sounds too perfect, it’s not art anymore; it’s like a clone now. I don’t even fucking tune my guitars to 440....lol. 10) How do you see the future evolution of Black metal? -Black Metal will always be Black Metal. It’s not fashionable, it’s not something that will come and go. We (both listeners and musicians) will keep on going. There will always be Black Metal bands emerging everywhere in this world, and there will always be people who understand and appreciate this art. Thanks man :) -Thank you very much brother!

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Live on stage Reviews Passeisme, Туга, Todestriebe live at Бумажная фабрика club, Moscow, Russia. 10 October 2021. Review and photos by Olga Schneider

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It’s been a while since I reviewed any concerts at all, but now I guess this time has come. As long as foreign concerts are still limited here in Moscow, local booking agencies are trying really hard to keep some activities regarding local underground concerts, and RITUAL BOOKING agency is definitely rocking so far. So 10.10.2021 was

the day of one of the loudest local gigs of this Autumn. The first band was local band named TUGA. What do you personally imagine when you hear about «Russian death»? Deep forests of Siberia, abandoned wooden houses, burning heretics, yelling in the night... All their lyrics are about the

seamy side of hidden Russia of sketes and Old Believer villages, they always try to turn their live shows into some kind of liturgy. And actually this time was specially successful, cause in the walls of the club which is actually a part of an abandoned fabric and which is still looking like this, all that looked and sounded s p e c i a l l y creepy. The second b a n d , PASSÉISME from Nizhny Novgorod, brought a completely d i f f e r e n t spirit and atmosphere, that was some kind of massive explosion & sudden awakening after Tuga’s cold mass. As you could understand by the name, the band takes lots of inspiration and impact from old French Extreme Metal. The dudes became a great warm up before the headliners, they created some real LIFE

Reviews

in the concert place with their mix of harshness and almost hysterical madness. As for the headliners, TODESTRIEBE from Moscow... I must say 3 very important words: I have survived. Their shows = always dark ritualistic atmosphere, and it always turns into real madness within the audience. It’s like

getting into trance and letting all your madness out from the depths of your soul. It’s strongly related to wildness and fury, for someone also with cold and pain... As for the pain, this time that was literally, cause all the concert time I was pushed into the stage with each of my bones, haha! As we say here in Russia, my soul is demanding the continuation of this feast (during the plague)!

Latest releases

Cataleptic Melodic Doom/Death Metal band from Finland released the third Full-length album The Tragedy on October 1, 2021. ‘The Tragedy’ is a phenomenal outstanding and extremely catchy piece of a Death/Doom Metal f.f.o. Temple Of Void, Saturnus, Insomnium, Wine From Tears or early Tiamat. Cataleptic was formed 2003 and contains members from well-known acts like Gorephilia, Corpsessed or Solothus. Cataleptic about ‘The Tragedy’: «After a few crucial line-up changes and with the help of a producer from outside the

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band our new effort The Tragedy is a Tracklist: truly ambitious offering. Musically it 1. Alpha Strike takes a leap forward: The most diverse 2. Disarmed. Disowned. Betrayed record we’ve done, while still sounding 3. Whipped to Drudgery very Cataleptic. Lyrically it revolves 4. Lost around a theme of war, betrayal and 5. Recompense in Death revenge. Bronze clad Champion of 6. To Burn This World (Omega the battlefield faces betrayal and Campaign) commences the Age of Fire. Want to hear some music with character without metal sub-genre boundaries? Lineup Give this album a spin.» Juha Karjalainen - Drums Sami Iivonen - Guitars, Vocals Tami Luukkonen - Bass Tuomas Kulmala - Guitars

Gloosh Atmospheric Black Metal band from Russia released the second Full-length album Sylvan Coven on October 1, 2021. The band name is Russian for «backwoods/ wilderness». GLOOSH continues to explore deep forests, to talk with spirits, to admire woodland dances and songs, to be enchanted by witches and to hide from the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons. This time you foresters are waiting for harsher and more evil thickets.

Tracklist 1. Swampsong 2. Woodland Waltz 3. Hexenring 4. Incantation 5. The Mist of Sleep 6. Hyakki Yagyō

Lineup George Gabrielyan - Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Keyboards Vladimir Udarnov - Guest drums

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Latest releases

Northsong Viking Metal band from United States released the third Full-length album Northern Winds & Winter Hymns on October 2, 2021. Northern Winds & Winter Hymns is the first Northsong album in over five years. It contains 12 tracks of Epic Viking Metal goodness, making it Northsong’s biggest release yet. Included in those 12 tracks are re-recorded versions of «Titan» and the three songs from «Forgotten Tales». It is also Northsong’s most diverse album, with heavy influences from many different genres from the cold grimness of black metal, to the heroic

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optimism of power metal, and many more. To put it simply, this album is Northsong at its best. Let the cold atmospheres and epic tales of Northern Winds & Winter Hymns bring you back to another time in the frozen north - distant and forgotten, yet familiar still.

Tracklist 1. Northern Winds 2. Oblivion 3. Forogtten Tales 4. Kimbulvetr 5. Titan 6. Forest’s Song of Sorrow 7. Beyond the Mists of Avalon 8. Thunderous 9. Vinlander 10. Obsidian Sword 11. Mjjolnir’s Might 12. Winter Hymn Lineup Cort Runyon - Everything

Cenotaph Brutal Death Metal band from Turkey released the seventh Fulllength album Precognition to Eradicate on October 6, 2021. Formed by vocalist Batu Çetin and a few friends in 1993. A full lineup was acquired in the summer of 1994. Cenotaph are part of the TRDM movement; a movement consisting of a variety of Turkish brutal death metal bands that Çetin organized in 2006.

Tracklist 1. Anti-Pathogenic Morbid Incubation 2. Progeny of Embryonic Congenital Malformations 3. Anomalous Necrotic Breed 4. Virus Induced Dehumanization 5. Recombinant Extraterrestrial New Form 6. Isolation Turned into Cannibalism 7. Precognition to Eradicate 8. Pandemic Bacterial Reverse Mutation 9. Into the Septic Molecular New Form

Lineup Batu Çetin - Vocals Eren Pamuk - Bass Florent Duployer - Drums Mattis Butcher - Guitars

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Hegemon Black Metal band from France released the fifth Full-length album Sidereus Nuncius on October 7, 2021. HEGEMON came to life in the winter of 1996 with one and only goal: to create music full of rage coming from the deepest part of each of its founding members, A, N and F. The birth of the band never followed a plan nor had any great expectations. As years went by other shadows came in and out of the band, leaving their mark only momentarily. AD and D were the last souls to slip

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into the den to call it home and to form a strong, determined, united front that nothing nor anyone could ever break. Several albums were released, enabling the band to assert its music and to forge its identity regardless of trends, conventions, and outside expectations. HEGEMON simply plays the Black Metal that burns in its soul with sincerity, honesty and integrity, never having claimed to be trailblazers, the group’s only creed. Together with this wild desire for freedom, independence, and complete rejection of

anything that could reduce man to slavery, more and more the band profoundly rejects its human roots, as witnessed by the substitution of the band members’ names for a simple letter, because only music and disobedience count. Tracklist 1. Heimarménè 2. Mellonta Tauta 3. Shamanic Cosmocrator 4. Ascendency of Astral Chaos 5. Shape Shifting Void 6. Ad Astra per Obscura 7. Black Hole Womb 8. Your Suffering, My Pillars

Blood Red Throne Death Metal band from N o r w a y released the tenth Full-length album Imperial Congregation on October 8, 2021. Blood Red Throne started in 1998 when Død and Tchort (while playing in Satyricon at that time), decided to form their own band and show their passion for death metal. Tchort had been playing death metal since 1989 with his band Green Carnation, which was one of the first death metal bands in Norway, and Død had been a huge fan and of the genre since 1992. Tchort was also the bass player in Emperor in the early 90’s and has been involved with bands like Carpathian Forest and Einherjer. The band soon got in touch with a very skilled drummer living in their hometown by the name of Freddy Bolsø, and BRT was born and soon after bassist Erlend Caspersen joined the newly formed Blood Red Throne.

Tracklist 1. Imperial Congregation 2. Itika 3. Conquered Malevolence 4. Transparent Existence 5. Inferior Elegance 6. We All Bleed 7. 6:7 8. Consumed Illusion 9. Hero-Antics 10. Zarathustra

Lineup Freddy Bolso - Drums Dod - Guitars Ivan Gujic - Guitars Yngve «Bolt» Christiansen Vocals Stian Gundersen - Bass

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Blackdeath Black Metal band from Russia released the tenth Full-length album Also sprach das Chaos on October 8, 2021. Blackdeath was founded back in 1995 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. From the very foundation and up to now Blackdeath has chanted and is chanting the Apocalypse which befalls everywhere, from the deeps of human psyche to the chasms of the endless Space. Blackdeath plays Apocalyptic Black Metal exclusively. While going through creative experiments and musical development Blackdeath is still faithful to its credo:

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«Blackdeath means Black Metal». “Also sprach das Chaos” consists of two songs: 14 and 19 minutes, respectively. Both as glacial and hostile as the Russian winter, with a plethora of surprises lurking in the icy darkness.

Tracklist 1. Paralysiertes Äquinoktium / Мир рухнул 2. I’m Labyrinth

Lineup Colonel Para Bellum - Bass, Vocals, Lyrics Abysslooker Guitars, Vocals, Songwriting Polar Maya - Drums, Vocals

Aeon Death Metal band from Sweden released the fifth Full-length album God Ends Here on October 15, 2021. With 2012’s «Aeons Black» standing as one of the defining death metal albums of the twentyfirst century it has been a long wait for the follow up. In 2021, Sweden’s Aeon finally return with its successor, «God Ends Here», and in doing so only up the ante with a record that is bigger, harder and stronger in every way. «I wasn’t feeling any pressure after such a gap, we don’t do shit half assed and I feel like this is our strongest album yet,» states guitarist Zeb Nilsson.

A darker, even more epic collection, it is everything an Aeon fan could want with a few surprises in store, pushing the genre in new directions and once again asserting that they are one of the most important bands in extreme metal. Lineup Zeb Nilsson - Guitars, Choir, Songwriting Tommy Dahlström - Vocals, Lyrics Daniel Dlimi - Guitars, Keyboards, Songwriting Tony Östman - Bass Janne Jaloma - Drums

Tracklist 1. The Nihilist 2. Liar’s Den 3. Let It Burn 4. Opheus Indu Inferis 5. Church of Horror 6. Deny Them Eternity 7. Forsaker 8. Into the Void 9. God Ends Here 10. Severed 11. Just One Kill 12. Mephistopheles 13. Let the Torturing Begin 14. Despise the Cross 15. Overture: Magnum Reginae 16. Queen of Lies

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Necromantia Aristocratic Black Metal band from Greece released the fifth Full-length album To the Depths We Descend... on October 15, 2021. Necromantia is a Latin word which derives from Greek, and means «Divination of the Dead». The band was created in late 1989 by two likeminded individuals: The Magus (bass/vocals) and Baron Blood (8-string bass). Their aim was to create original, powerful and innovative Diabolical music, replacing the usual 6-string guitars with 8-string bass and joined forces with various musicians in

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drums, lead guitars, keyboards and innovations in order to complete their magical formula. Their first recordings earned them a cult status in the scene since their music was original, ritualistic and utterly sinister. NECROMANTIA never hesitated to use “non-metal” instruments like saxophone, percussions etc. in addition to their standard metal orchestrations, and that option made them unique and

established their own individual sound. In 2019 Baron Blood departed from this world. The Magus decided to dissolve the band but not before creating a last opus as a tribute to his lost brother in darkness. The album is entitled “To the depths we descend….”. Tracklist 1. Daemonocentric 2. And the Shadows Wept... 3. Give the Devil His Due 4. Inferno 5. Eldritch 6. To the Depths We Descend... 7. Lord of the Abyss MMXXI 8. The Warlock MMXXI Lineup The Magus - Bass, Vocals, Keyboards Yiannis Votsis - Drums George Emmanuel - Guitars, Keyboards

Destinity Melodic Death Metal band from France released the ninth Full-length album In Continuum on October 15, 2021. Pushing ever forward. That has been Destinity’s driving force since the creation of the band in 1996 when the three founding members, Mick Caesare (vocals), Stephan Barboni (rhythm guitar), Florent Barboni (drums), joined as teens in their small village just outside of Lyon, France around their mutual fascination for extreme music.

Tracklist 1. The Sand Remains 2. Reject the Deceit 3. Reflections 4. Shadows 5. Dawn Never Breaks 6. Architect of Light 7. A Lucid Strain 8. Snakepit 9. Salvation

Lineup Morteüs - Drums, Vocals (backing), Keyboards, Programming Zephiros - Guitars (rhythm) Mick - Vocals Seb V.S. - Guitars (lead) Dave - Bass

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Hate Blackened Death Metal band from Poland released the twelfth Full-length album Rugia on October 15, 2021. No one combines death and black metal quite like Poland’s Hate. With unflinching viciousness and a sense of atmosphere unique to the band, on Rugia, their twelfth full-length, they push the boundaries of their craft even further. “It was clear to me that it should build upon and evolve from our previous record ‘Auric Gates Of Veles’ (2019) both musically and lyrically. However, every Hate record stands as a separate journey, and never twice to the same place. You never know exactly

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where it will lead you” states vocalist/ guitarist ATF Sinner, who has led the band since 1991. Fresh blood in the band’s lineup also helped contribute to Rugia’s unique sound. Pavulon (drums), who had played with the band since 2014, was forced to step down from the band due to serious health issues. The band tapped Nar-Sil (Neolith, Virgin Snatch, Embrional) to take his place. “Working with a new drummer this time around was a fascinating experience for me. Nar-Sil’s technique and presence are quite different from Pavulon’s and that definitely comes across. I believe we managed to construct a refreshing new chapter to our discography, composing nine truly sinister onslaughts of pure rage.”

Tracklist: 1. Rugia 2. The Wolf Queen 3. Exiles of Pantheon 4. Saturnus 5. Awakening the Gods Within 6. Resurgence 7. Velesian Guard 8. Sun of Extinction 9. Sacred Dnieper Lineup Tiermes - Bass Domin - Guitars (lead) ATF Sinner - Vocals, Guitars Nar-Sil - Drums

The Agonist Melodic Death Metal band from Canada released the EP Days Before the World Wept on October 15, 2021. Canadian extreme melodic death metal juggernaut THE AGONIST took the world by storm with the release of their bludgeoning 2019 full-length, Orphans – garnering fantastic critical acclaim and even a revered Juno nomination. With that undeniable skill in tow, THE AGONIST takes another bold step in their musical and lyrical progression with Days Before The World Wept. Inspired by real life experiences, it explores a grim, conceptual tale of greed, gluttony, confusion, pain, redemption and hope enveloped in a new level of aggression and cohesive, technical prowess. THE AGONIST pulls

out all the stops, showcasing their chops in all directions with breakneck instrumentation and staggeringly superb vocal approaches. Soaring through a kaleidoscope of blistering metal mastery and hopeful lyrical dramatism, the opus dominates as one of the most impressive works of the band’s catalog.

Tracklist 1. Remnants in Time 04:53 2. Immaculate Deception 03:35 3. Resurrection 05:11 4. Feast on the Living 03:22 5. Days Before the World Wept Lineup Chris Kells - Bass, Vocals (backing) Danny Marino - Guitars Simon McKay - Drums Pascal Jobin - Guitars Vicky Psarakis - Vocals (lead)

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Cradle of filth Extreme Gothic/Black Metal band from United Kingdom released the thirteenth Fulllength album Existence Is Futile on October 22, 2021. Cradle of Filth have hit an unmistakable hot streak of creativity and urgency. As a new line-up coalesced around the creation of 2015’s «Hammer Of The Witches», fresh impetus propelled the band to new heights, as the revitalised crew became more in demand around the world than ever before. 2017’s «Cryptoriana -The Seductiveness Of Decay» repeated the trick with even

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more explosive flamboyance. Until a global pandemic brought the music industry to a jarring halt, Cradle of Filth were almost permanently on the road and absolutely fucking flying. As a result, it should surprise no one that the band’s brand new album, «Existence Is Futile», is yet another monumental and electrifying journey through the dark. A bewitching, fearless nosedive into the abyss, the band’s thirteenth studio album confirms the ferocious efficacy of CRADLE OF FILTH in 2021. Bold, brave, wildly imaginative and heavy as hell, the band’s latest runaway trainride through the flames is the perfect album for these most imperfect of times.

Tracklist 1. The Fate of the World on Our Shoulders 2. Existential Terror 3. Necromantic Fantasies 4. Crawling King Chaos 5. Here Comes a Candle... (Infernal Lullaby) 6. Black Smoke Curling from the Lips of War 7. Discourse Between a Man and His Soul 8. The Dying of the Embers 9. Ashen Mortality 10. How Many Tears to Nurture a Rose? 11. Suffer Our Dominion 12. Us, Dark, Invincible

Massacre Death Metal band from United States released the fourth Fulllength album Resurgence on October 22, 2021. Florida-based death metal legends Massacre are back! Featuring the very same creatures that appeared on the Chamber of Ages (1986) demo, as well as some of death metal’s most prolific and malignant songwriters, new album Resurgence is the perfect soundtrack to the gruesome plague era in which we all reside. That’s right, returning to the fold are vocalist Kam Lee (Mantas, Bone Gnawer) and original bassist Mike Borders. Joining them in their journey between space-time are: inhuman death metal machine Rogga Johansson (Megascavenger, Rib Spreader) on guitars, Jonny Pettersson (Wombbath) on guitars, Brynjar Helgetun

(Crypticus) on drums, and solo fiend Scott Fairfax (Memoriam, As the World Dies) on guitars. Normally, we’d call this profane configuration a ‘supergroup,’ but the Great Old Ones have spoken, hailing the new Massacre lineup a ‘stellargroup.’ With cosmic horrors reanimating and Resurgence emanating pure, unadulterated death metal, the Massacre principals couldn’t be more pleased. The six-piece have retained the nasty nebullic strength and aggression they invoked all those years ago on cult classic debut From Beyond (1991),

but multiplied Resurgence.

for

Tracklist 1. Eldritch Prophecy 2. Ruins of R’Lyeh 3. Innsmouth Strain 4. The Whisperer in Darkness 5. Book of the Dead (Neconomicon Ex Mortis) 6. Into the Far-Off Void 7. Servants of Discord 8. Fate of the Elder Gods 9. Spawn of the Succubus 10. Return of the Corpse Grinder

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1914 Blackened Death/Doom Metal band from Ukraine released the third Fulllength album Where Fear and Weapons Meet on October 22, 2021. 1914 continue to reflect the gruesome tales of World War I, its soldiers’ fate, their death, fear and feats to be never forgotten, and unleash their new opus, Where Fear and Weapons Meet, on October 22nd, via Napalm Records. Its eleven tracks of pure historic harshness follow up to the band’s sophomore

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full-length, The Blind Leading the Blilnd (2018), and debut, Eschatology of War (2015), both highly acclaimed amongst critics, and create a sophisticated variety of massively brutal blackened death metal accented by dramatic and realistic audio soundscapes and disquieting melodies spiced with the approach of sludge and doom! Authentic forces like ambient sonic war samplings transport these stories even further into the present and make Where Fear and Weapons Meet another heavily intense and deep-reaching output that will grant 1914 even higher appreciation than the five-piece is already credited with.

Tracklist: 1. War In 2. FN .380 ACP#19074 3. Vimy Ridge (In Memory of Filip Konowal) 4. Pillars of Fire (The Battle of Messines) 5. Don’t Tread on Me (Harlem Hellfighters) 6. Coward 7. ...and a Cross Now Marks His Place 8. Corps d’autos-canonsmitrailleuses (A.C.M) 9. Mit Gott für König und Vaterland 10. The Green Fields of France 11. War Out

Zornheym Symphonic Black/ Death Metal band from Sweden released the second Full-length album The Zornheim Sleep Experiment on October 22, 2021. Founded and led by multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Zorn, who was determined to shake up the traditional «metal-meetssymphony» approach after leaving iconic black metallers Dark Funeral, ZORNHEYM quickly grew from an ambitious idea into a dramatic musical and narrative driven concept revolving around the horrors of a mental institution and its prisoners. The band’s critically acclaimed debut album, «Where Hatred Dwells and Darkness Reigns,» opened the doors of the asylum in 2017, introducing the terrifying concept and gruesome characters within. Four years later and featuring 10 new tracks of powerful, cinematic and mesmerizing symphonic extreme metal, ZORNHEYM’s album picks up where they left off, inviting the listener on a distracting journey, straight into the depths of the asylum! Once again, ZORNHEYM create their very own wall of sound by using a real choir and a string quartet and bring the story to life in a graphic novel that accompanies and expands upon the stories behind the album!

Tracklist Disc 1 1. Corpus Vile 5. Whom the Night 2. An Evil Within Brings... 3. Dead Silence 4. Keep the Devil Away Lineup 5. Slumber Comes in Time Scucca - Guitars, Vocals 6. Black Nine (backing) Disc 2 Bendler - Vocals 1. The Veiling of Bettelheim’s Zorn - Guitars (lead), Bass Eye Steve Pygmalion - Drums 2. The Revelation 3. Keep Cutting 4. The Madness That Lurks Wi t h i n (Epilogue)

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Be’Lakor Melodic Death Metal band from Australia released the fifth Full-length album Coherence on October 29, 2021. Be’lakor is the name of a demon from the tabletop game Warhammer. Since their debut, The Frail Tide in 2007, Australian Progressive Death Metal powerhouse BE‘LAKOR has made a huge impact on the international metal scene, turning heads with their technical-driven yet melodic songwriting. Now,

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almost 15 years later, the legendary five-piece returns with their new album Coherence, proving themselves to be on top of their game with their most ambitious project yet! Eight tracks on Coherence display BE’LAKOR’s impressive spectrum of musical abilities, ranging from 12-minutelong journeys on “Much More Was Lost” to the atmospheric, fully instrumental “Sweep of Days”.

Tracklist: 1. Locus 2. The Dispersion 3. Foothold 4. Valence 5. Sweep of Days 6. Hidden Window 7. Indelible 8. Much More Was Lost Lineup John Richardson - Bass Shaun Sykes - Guitars (lead) George Kosmas - Guitars, Vocals Steve Merry - Keyboards, Piano Elliott Sansom - Drums

Thulcandra Melodic Black/Death Metal band from Germany released the fourth Full-length album A Dying Wish on October 29, 2021. Death metal veterans THULCANDRA are back! Since its foundation in 2003 by Steffen Kummerer (mastermind of Obscura), THULCANDRA has established themselves in the European extreme metal scene. It’s their fourth studio album after six years of silence. A Dying Wish was produced, mixed and mastered at Unisound Studio by the renowned Dan Swanö (Dissection, Opeth, Bloodbath, Katatonia and more). It’s again a journey back in time to the origins of the genre, as it was musically and visually shaped by bands like Dissection, Entombed, Sacramentum and Unanimated. On A Dying Wish, the four-piece around Steffen Kummerer o n c e

again draws the listener into dark 3. Orchard of Grievance and cold soundscapes. A Dying 4. In Vain Wish is a detailed album that 5. Nocturnal Heresy combines clashing guitars and 6. The Slivering Silver epic mid-tempo moments with 7. In Bleak Misery discreet acoustic guitars and rapid 8. A Shining Abyss outbursts to create a versatile and 9. Devouring Darkness rich sound. It’s an homage to classic 10. A Dying Wish death metal, performed at an 11. The Spirit of the Night inarguably technically proficient (Live) level, keeping the tradition of Jon 12. Night’s Blood (Live) Nötveidt’s Dissection sound alive (Dissection cover) and worthy. Tracklist Lineup 1. Funeral Pyre Steffen Kummerer - Vocals, 2. Scarred Grandeur Guitars Erebor - Drums M. Delastik Guitars Christian Kratzer (R.I.P. 2020) - Bass

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Helheim Viking/Black Metal band from Norway released the eleventh Full-length album Woduridar on October 29, 2021. The harshness and extreme sounds of “WoduridaR”, is a return to the roots for the viking metal legends Helheim. The album is a result of a fusion between their former releases “LandawarijaR” and “Rignir”, and they’ve returned to the aggression one could hear on “LandawarijaR”. However, as “Rignir” presented something new and exciting

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that the band enjoyed, a lot of the atmospheres, focus of melodies and the use of clean vocals is also a big part of the new album. “WoduridaR” is an Old Norse word, that can be translated to “the wild rider”. You can draw lines from that to Odins many names and meanings. For Helheim and their new album, all the songs are conceptual free from each other, and tells their own story. It has never looked darker in the realm of Helheim, and songs like “Tankesmed” and “Litil vis madr” is good examples for that.

Tracklist 1. Vilje av stål 2. Forrang for fiender 3. Woduridar 4. Åndsfilosofen 5. Ni s soli sot 6. Litil vis made 7. Tankesmed 8. Det kommer i bølger 9. Hazzard

Carnival of Flesh Symphonic Black Metal band from Serbia released the second Full-length album Anthems of Extinction on November 1, 2021. The story of Carnival of Flesh starts in late 2002, when two guys, Dachaz and Dam, wanted to reshape the Serbian black metal scene with a sound that escapes the traditional black Metal boundaries. This sound was commonly described as a refreshing mix of heavier guitars and more mindblowing symphonies than usual. Fuelled by profound misanthropy and driven by humanity’s hunger for environmental and social decay, they forge the opus that truly is a sign of the times. “Anthems of Extinction”, was recorded in mid-2021. and

released in November of the same year, followed by a local Lineup tour. Dam - Keyboards Dachaz - Vocals Tracklist Vorat - Drums 1. Angst TarKalion - Guitars, Bass 2. The One 3. Tropical Plunder 4. Can of Sorrow 5. Mask of Humanity 6. Rapacity 7. The Great Escape 8. Liberation 9. Requiem for a World

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Omnium Gatherum Melodic Death Metal band from Finland released the ninth Full-length album Origin on November 5, 2021. Omnium Gatherum is a five-piece melodic death metal band from Finland, founded in the autumn of 1996. Although the band mainly follows the path of the melodic death metal genre, much of their work shows strong influences from progressive metal, especially their later albums. The band name is a Latin phrase that is literally

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translated as «a grouping of all things.» It does not specifically infer this as people, objects, or intangibles but simply as anything and everything. Lineup Markus Vanhala - Guitars Tuomo Latvala - Drums Aapo Koivisto - Keyboards Mikko Kivistö - Bass Jukka Pelkonen - Vocals, Lyrics

Tracklist 1. Emergence 2.Prime 3.Paragon 4.Reckoning 5.Fortitude 6.Friction 7.Tempest 8.Unity 9.Solemn 10.In Front Of Me (cover version)

Bryan Eckermann Melodic Black/Death Metal band from United States released the eighth Full-length album Plague Bringers on November 5, 2021. Bryan’s latest effort is Plague Bringers, which serves as Part II to his 2018 concept album, Winters Plague (The Final Eclipse). Winters Plague (The Final Eclipse), or Part I, detailed an alien invasion of earth by blocking out the sun with a giant ship and freezing the planet in which humanity inevitably arises to defeat the aliens. Plague Bringers, or Part II, details the aftermath from the aliens’ perspective as they resurrect their long dead queen, clone an army, and escape their dying planet to enter earth once more. Using the power of a magic orb they open a portal through space, then hide in the darkness, manipulating humans’ minds to force mass suicides in their attempt

at revenge. The mission however is in itself a suicide mission without their ship anymore to block out the sun (which is their weakness), they know they will perish along with the humans, leaving earth as a mass grave of emptiness... «Tomorrow is a lie, we won’t survive» but revenge is sweet. Tracklist 1. Ice Queen 2. Sands of the Hourglass 3. The Devouring Sun 4. Reflections in a Dirty Mirror 5. Moonlight and Frostbite

6. Plague Bringers 7. An Oath of Scrying Souls 8. Astral Realms 9. Skinwalker 10. Of Death and Decay 11. Tomorrow’s Lie 12. Oblivion Lineup Bryan Eckermann - Guitars, Bass, Drums, Keyboards, Vocals

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Bornholm Black Metal band from Hungary released the fifth Full-length album Apotheosis on November 5, 2021. Apotheosis not only showcases BORNHOLM’s tonal development, but also goes back to the origins of the band’s history and the heavy, often almost doomy influences mixed with indispensable atmospherically dark and raw flavor. Accompanied by sinister sacral sounds of historic proportions and a hypnotizing, incantatory chant, intro track «»I Divine»» heralds the dark ride to nowhere. It is precisely in the void between Pagan and Black Metal that the sound finds its home, with tracks

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like “Spiritual Warfare” and “Black Shining Cloaks” - including its sinister, atmospheric intro “The Key to the Shaft of the Abyss”representing the mellowness and extremes of the band. The almost melodic borrowings and acoustic guitar inserts in combination with the pure rawness of “To the Fallen” and the hammering fast attacks of the track “I am War God” highlight the band’s variety and sonic progression. The title track “Apotheosis” is a slow, howling homage mixing aggressive, shrieking vocals and melodiously grim anecdotes. Album closer “Enthronement” closes the metaphorical and musical bracket and provides the 52-minute piece with a venerable, instrumental conclusion.

Tracklist 1. I Divine 2. My Evangelium 3. Sky Serpents 4. The Key to the Shaft of the Abyss 5. Black Shining Cloaks 6. Spiritual Warfare 7. Darkened Grove 8. To the Fallen 9. I Am War God 10. Apotheosis 11. Enthronement

Unleashed Death Metal band from Sweden released the fourteenth Full-length album No Sign of Life on November 12, 2021. Swedish Death Metal Legends UNLEASHED are back to defend their throne! With the release of their 14th full length studio album No Sign Of Life on November 12 2021, the Death Metal pioneers that influenced a whole musical genre deliver another work of sheer brutality. Formed back in 1989 by Johnny Hedlund, UNLEASHED have been delivering supreme Death Metal in the sign of their Viking ancestors from day one! The Einherjar legions of Asgard transfer Viking values and traditions into modernity and forge another uncompromising musical weapon. The rage paves its way straight from the first notes of the album opener “The

King Lost His Crown” and leaves no time to breathe during the entire playing time. The album unfolds as an unstoppable war battalion and builds up on UNLEASHED’s well established trademark sounds and lyrics. Accompanied by shouts hailing Odin, heavy guitar riffs take no prisoners on “The Highest Ideal”, until the album finds a glorious end on “Here at the End of the World”. The Chief Vikings of Swedish Death Metal manage to play modern sounding old school Death Metal and leave no doubt that they are still true to their roots

after 32 years of existence. UNLEASHED are and stay the unchallenged leaders of Sweden’s Death Metal forefathers. Hail Odin! Tracklist 1. The King Lost His Crown 2. The Shepherd Has Left the Flock 3. Where Can You Flee? 4. You Are the Warrior! 5. No Sign of Life 6. The Highest Ideal 7. Midgard Warriors for Life 8. Did You Struggle with God? 9. Tyr Wields the Sword 10. It Is Finished 11. Here at the End of the World

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Swallow the Sun Melodic Doom/Death Metal band from Finland released the eighth Fulllength album Moonflowers on November 19, 2021. At 52-minutes, Moonflowers is an eight-song affair that drives deep into the heart of Swallow The Sun main songwriter Juha Raivio’s disconsolate soul. From the dramatic “Enemy” and the grim “This House Has No Home” to the delicate “Moonflowers Bloom in Misery” and the beauteous “The Fight of Your Life,”

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Moonflowers is as rewarding and dynamic as it is accomplished and intimate. That it features Cammie Gilbert (Oceans of Slumber), Antti Hyyrynen (Stam1na), and Trio NOX—who perform a rearranged classical version of Moonflowers in a Finnish church, which comes as a bonus album to some of the album formats—are more reasons to hold Swallow The Sun’s latest leap into the unknown in the highest regard.

Tracklist 1. Moonflowers Bloom in Misery 2. Enemy 3. Woven into Sorrow 4. Keep Your Heart Safe from Me 5. All Hallow’s Grieve 6. The Void 7. The Fight of Your Life 8. This House Has No Home

Obscura Progressive/Technical Death Metal band from Germany released the sixth Full-length album A Valediction on November 19, 2021. Germany-based metal band OBSCURA launch trilogy concept on stunning new album “A Valediction”. The group’s first (sixth overall) album for Nuclear Blast pivots on many fronts. Advanced, elegant, and yet refreshing, “A Valediction” sums up past endeavors effortlessly as it gazes with purpose and conviction into the future. OBSCURA are fanrenowned and critically acclaimed for challenging and then expanding upon norms. From “Cosmogenesis” (2009) through “Diluvium” (2018), the band flourished and made significant progress in a musical genre unprepared for a creative shot of German invention. “A Valediction” spearheads OBSCURA into a new era of extreme metal. Lyrically, “A Valediction” is layered in structure and meaning. The word ‘valediction,’ by definition, deals with goodbyes and farewells. In a way, this is auf wiedersehen to the fourpart album series while also addressing complex

topics of Kummerer’s personal life. Instead of obscuring issues of loss, death, and abandonment in metaphor and allusion, the German laid bare his torment across songs like ‘Forsaken,’ ‘Solaris,’ ‘In Unity,’ ‘The Neuromancer,’ and ‘In Adversity.’ But for every line of desperation, he also offers positivity. Indeed, new beginnings—physical, emotional, or environmental—can provide light in the darkness. Tracklist 1. Forsaken 2. Solaris 3. A Valediction 4. When Stars Collide 5. In Unity 6. Devoured Usurper 7. The Beyond

8. Orbital Elements II 9. The Neuromancer 10. In Adversity 11. Heritage Lineup Steffen Kummerer - Guitars, Vocals, Lyrics, Songwriting (tracks 1, 3, 5, 7-11) Jeroen Paul Thesseling - Bass (fretless), Songwriting (track 8) Christian Münzner - Guitars, Songwriting (tracks 1-10) David Diepold - Drums

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Exodus Thrash Metal band from United States released the eleventh Full-length album Persona Non Grata on November 19, 2021. When we think of the phrase Bonded By Blood, we think of two things: a brotherhood that is meant to outlast the trials of war, pain, and time... and the almighty EXODUS. With a bond forged in youth and decades-old friendship, the undisputed masters of thrash metal return with their eleventh studio album: PERSONA NON GRATA.

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Literally translating to “an unwelcome” or “unacceptable” person, PERSONA NON GRATA touches on themes of modern societal disgust and degradation. “The people that disgust you cut ‘em out like cancer,” explains guitarist Gary Holt. “Who is that person? It could be anybody. That’s up to the listener. Who is ‘Persona Non Grata’ to them?”

Tracklist 1. Persona Non Grata 2. R.E.M.F. 3. Slipping into Madness 4. Elitist 5. Prescribing Horror 6. The Beatings Will Continue (Until Morale Improves) 7. The Years of Death and Dying 8. Clickbait 9. Cosa del Pantano 10. Lunatic-Liar-Lord 11. The Fires of Division 12. Antiseed

Whoredom Rife Black Metal band from Norway released the third Full-length album Winds of Wrath on November 25, 2021. Epic and grandiose, melancholic and utterly aggressive; Winds of Wrath is truly a tumultuous ride to Hell and back. The album was written, recorded and performed by V.Einride, as always aided by vocalist K.R, whose vocal performance on this album is downright frightening. Rarely do one hear a vocalist spew forth hatred in such a convincing manner. Winds of Wrath is perhaps their most complete album to date in all regards, and features stunning performances by both members, as the band still to this day remains a

two-piece act. leaders of Sweden’s Death Metal forefathers. Hail Odin! Tracklist 1. Curse of the Moon 2. A Thousand Graves Endured 3. Gospel of Hate 4. Hav av Sykdoms Blod 5. Winds of Wrath 6. Einride

Lineup V. Einride - All instruments, Songwriting, Lyrics K.R - Vocals

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Latest releases

Hypocrisy Melodic Death Metal band from Sweden released the thirteenth Fulllength album Worship on November 26, 2021. With governments finally admitting that UFOs do in fact exist, and humanity attempting to heal from a state of recent crisis, the timing couldn’t be more appropriate for the newest addition to the HYPOCRISY catalog: WORSHIP. Aptly titled, the album cover shows a mass of humans reaching up mindlessly to the sky as glowing spaceships shaped like the HYPOCRISY crosses sigil beam down to descend upon earthen civilizations and Mayan temples.

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Designed by artist Blake Armstrong (Kataklysm, In Flames, Carnifex, etc.), WORSHIP’s artwork speaks to the history of the relationship between humanity and extraterrestrials. “They’re coming back to collect,” explains founder and HYPOCRISY mastermind Peter Tagtgren. It has been 8 long years since the last record, and HYPOCRISY fans can feel the itch. WORSHIP is 11 tracks of precise, ferocious musicianship. Commonly inspired by the fusion of the modern and the ancient, HYPOCRISY has once more found a way to combine innovative ideas with classic sound in order to deliver something metalheads can enjoyably consume with awe and brutal vigor.

Tracklist 1. Worship 2. Chemical Whore 3. Greedy Bastards 4. Dead World 5. We’re the Walking Dead 6. Brotherhood of the Serpent 7. Children of the Gray 8. Another Day 9. They Will Arrive 10. Bug in the Net 11. Gods of the Underground Lineup Peter Tägtgren - Guitars, Vocals, Bass Mikael Hedlund - Bass Horgh - Drums

Archgoat Black Metal band from Finland released the fifth Full-length album Worship the Eternal Darkness on November 26, 2021. 32 years after formation, Finnish iconoclasts ARCHGOAT stand monolithic as one of the most nightmarishly singular bands in extreme music. Helmed with preternatural telepathy by twin brothers Ritual Butcherer (guitars/composition) and Lord Angelslayer (bass/vocals), newest emission “Worship the Eternal Darkness” is a typically depraved set built to mock our contemporary malaise. Continuing on from preceding album “The Luciferian Crown” the hoofpressure is slightly alleviated from the throat, the band’s patented synthesis of occult Finnish Black/Death Metal, harsh Punk, primal Thrash and Grindcore is tempered here with elements of melodic dynamism: a

rhythmic crush less unrelenting, horrorshow vocals slightly more intelligible, a production shorn of murk highlighting potent synthsorcery and welcome NWOBHM influences, not least guitar solos of old-school finesse. Recorded over 2 days in foulest 2021 and clad-as-ever in immortal Chris Moyen artwork, “Worship the Eternal Darkness” has all the thematic unity, arcane knowledge, otherworldly class and divine filth expected from a legendary band stoking underground hellfire which burn stronger than ever. Tracklist 1. Intro 2. Heavens Ablaze 3. Black Womb Gnosis 4. All Christianity Ends

5. In Extremis Nazarene 6. Rats Pray God 7. Empyrean Armageddon 8. Blessed in the Light of Lucifer 9. Worship the Eternal Darkness 10. Burial of Creation Lineup Lord Angelslayer - Bass, Vocals Ritual Butcherer - Guitars Goat Aggressor - Drums

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Latest releases

Unanimated Melodic Death/Black Metal band from Sweden released the fourth Full-length album Victory in Blood on December 3, 2021. Victory In Blood is the band’s first studio album in over 10 years and offers fresh material for the first time after the highly acclaimed 2018 EP «Annihilation». The new long-player can be counted as another milestone in the long band history of Unanimated and proves that they are still true masters of Nordic Black/Death Metal with insane melodies!

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The truly incredible artwork and layout was handled by none other than Daniele Valeriani (Mayhem, Triptykon, Behemoth, Dissection, etc. – just to name a few). Lineup Jonas Deroueche - Guitars Johan Bohlin - Guitars Richard Cabeza - Bass Micke Broberg - Vocals Anders Schultz - Drums

Tracklist 1. Victory in Blood 2. Seven Mouths of Madness 3. As the Night Takes Us 4. The Devil Rides Out 5. With a Cold Embrace 6. Demon Pact (Mysterium Tremendum) 7. XIII 8. Scepter of Vengeance 9. Chaos Ascends 10. The Golden Dawn of Murder 11. Divine Hunger 12. The Poetry of the Scarred Earth

Ofermod Black/Death Metal band from Sweden released the fifth Full-length album Mysterium Iniquitatis on December 3, 2021. Formed back in the dark days of 1996, the band released their debut EP, Mystérion Tés Anomias, in 1998. Although a mere two songs, OFERMOD’s opening salvo sowed the seeds for the orthodox black metal movement that would begin to blossom in the new millennium. Crime and chaos followed mainman Belfagor everywhere he went, and the band’s momentum remained halted. However, OFERMOD eventually became a working entity again, starting with 2008’s Tiamtü full-length, and through magick and will did more recordings follow: Thaumiel (2012), the two-song Serpents’ Dance EP (2014), Sol Nox (2017), and the posthumous Pentagrammaton, originally intended to be

the band’s debut album. Each one put forth a pivotal piece of the everevolving puzzle of OFERMOD – ever the same, yet always different. The production – courtesy of Andersson at Endarker Studios – cuts like a gleaming knife and rusty axe simultaneously, the perfect iron-fisted complement to the band’s ever-surging and ceaselessly unfolding songwriting here. Special mention must be made of the male choirs on the opening title track – courtesy of Thomas Ericksson (Year of the Goat) and Lars Broddesson (exMARDUK)

– conveying a grandiosity beyond compare. Tracklist 1. Mysterium Iniquitatis 2. Inax Ya Lil 3. When the Blacksmith Killed the Shepherd 4. Arteria Uterina 5. Sacrosanctus 6. Poraios De Rejectis 7. Consecration 8. Loyal to Belial Lineup Belfagor - Guitars Nebiros - Vocals

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Latest releases

Majesty of Silence Symphonic Black Metal band from Switzerland released the fifth Full-length album Die Schöpfung Tohuwabohu on October 1, 2021. Majesty of Silence was formed in 1996. Tracklist . Wiederauferstehung 2. Die Korrektur 3. Sei gedankt 4. Das Ritual 5. Das letzte Spiel 6. Es tut uns leid 7. Stechpalmenholz 8. Schoenes Finale 9. Ein Haus am Meer 10. Rolf 11. Willkommen zu Hause 12. Seelensammler 13. Schalt es aus

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Corretja Melodic Death Metal band from United States released the fifth Full-length album The Ancient Wisdom of Lost Generations on October 12, 2021. seven tracks of progressive and melodic death metal, that clock in at just under thirty-eight minutes. Songs which sing the praises of human ingenuity and perseverance. Tracklist 1. Arise from the Ancient Quarry 2. The Groan of the Capstan 3. Not Gods, Not Giants 4. The Lost Pyramidion 5. The Ancient Wisdom of Lost Generations 6. The Shadow of the Megalith 7. The Trilithon 8. .

Starving for Death Black/Doom Metal band from China released the fourth Full-length album An Unkindness of Ravens on October 16, 2021. Tracklist 1. Landscapes of Solitude and Despair 2. Spirits of the Enchanted Forest 3. The Fall of Earth 4. Winter We Shall Fear 5. Your Funeral 6. As Death Approaches 7. Autumn’s Mourning 8. Chalice of Death 9. Dark Winter Queen 10. Horrors From Ancient Times Lineup Leo - Everything

Clouds Atmospheric Doom/Death Metal band from United Kingdom / Romania released the sixth Fulllength album Despărțire on October 14, 2021. Tracklist 1. Deepen This Wound 2. This Heart: A Coffin 3. Your Name in My Flesh 4. In Both Our Worlds the Pain Is Real 5. The Door We Never Opened 6. A Place for All Your Tears 7. See the Sky with Blind Eyes Lineup Mihai Dinuta - Guitars Daniel Neagoe - Vocals, Keyboards Andrei Oltean - Flute Alex Costin - Bass Casian - Drums Corina Gheorghe - Violin Alex Gheorghe - Guitars

Funeralium Funeral Doom Metal band from France released the fourth Full-length album Decrepit on October 29, 2021. Tracklist FuneraliuM (Funeral + 1. I Will Find You Valium) was founded in 2. Lost Boy June 2003 by Marquis 3. A Bloodsoaked from Ataraxie who Symphony wanted to express his own 4. Anticure vision about extreme doom. 5. The Ones That Made Us Funeralium describes their 6. History Is Silent style as «ultra sick doom» 7. To the Wolves i.e. raw extreme doom 8. Orphan with bleak atmospheres, 9. Without You torturous vokills and 10. Without Us lots of old school metal 11. Kin elements. Whitechapel Deathcore Metal band from the United States released the eighth Full-length album Kin on October 29, 2021.

Lineup Gabe Crisp - Bass Alex Wade - Guitars Ben Savage - Guitars (lead) Phil Bozeman - Vocals Zach Householder - Guitars

Tracklist 1. Aviditas 2. Ruination 3. The Lunatic Escalation Towards Extinction 4. The Terminal Purge Lineup Charles Ward - Bass Marquis - Vocals, Guitars Raev - Drums Asmael LeBouc - Bass, Vocals (backing) Berserk - Guitars

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Latest releases

Nocturnal Art Black/Death Metal band from Kazakhstan released the third Full-length album Lilithianna on October 30, 2021. The third album of the group Nocturnal Art from Kazakhstan has undergone drastic changes both in the composition and in the sound, compared to the first albums. This time the band made a greater bias in atmospheric black metal, to the old school of raw black metal and tried to sound louder and fiercer. «Lilithianna» is Atmospheric / Raw Black Metal with a very dirty, but at the same time magical sound. Lyrics of songs in Russian. Tracklist 1. Dark 2. Lamia Feast 3. Night of the Emerald Light 4. Lilithianna

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Asenheim Epic Black Metal band from Germany released the seventh Fulllength album Wohin das Herz uns führt on October 31, 2021. Tracklist Tracklist 1. Intro 2. Wohin das Herz uns führt 3. Trostlos 4. Das Schlaflied der Wölfe 5. Anima Mortalis 6. Der König in Thule 7. Die Toteninsel Lineup Tiwaz - Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Keyboards Valfor - Drums, Vocals, Keyboards

MROH Atmospheric Black Metal band from Russia released the third Fulllength album XII on November 1, 2021.Tracklist 1. I. The Beginning 2. II. Whispers from Nowhere 3. III. Dreams of the Past 4. IV. the Revelation of the Sages 5. V. Secret Scripture 6. VI. Ritual of Change 7. VII. Tree of Knowledge 8. VIII. Dark Ritual 9. IX. Struggle and Confrontation 10. X. Seal of Curse 11. XI. The Nightmare Catcher 12. XII. Midnight Mist Lineup Batogar - Bass, Guitars Silver - Guitars Vlamroh - Vocals, Drums

Svpremacist

Black/Death Metal band from Israel released the first Full-length album Meaningless Death on November 5, 2021. Tracklist 1. Witches 2. Godkiller 3. Drug of Choice 4. Under Siege 5. Spawn (of the Infertile) 6. No Life Matters 7. Unintelligent Design 8. 13 Blank Cards Lineup Maror - Drums Lord Teeth - Guitars (lead) Shkedemon - Guitars (rhythm), Vocals Hell A.D. - Bass

Kôr Black Metal band from Germany released the first Full-length album The Horns of Ylmir on November 10, 2021. Strictly regarded as a sideproject of Sol Records cabals Shores of Ladon, KÔR undeniably bears the signature of St. music-, sound- and atmosphere-wise. Supported by SoL drummer Bavragor and recorded during the sessions of the aforementioned band’s second full length «Witterung», it’s the English language vocals, the Tolkien-based lyrical concept and various very personal intentions that set «The Horns of Ylmir» apart.

Lucifugum Black Metal band from Ukraine released the eighteenth Full-length album Anaphora Lithu Actinism on November 11, 2021. Tracklist 1. Парад пепла 2. Эклиптика отделения 3. Гравий душелома (Нательная душа) 4. Акростихия 5. Дуга рефлексии 6. Иконотопье 7. Кенотаф разума Lineup Khlyst - Vocals Stabaath - Guitars, Bass

1. The Land of Willows 2. White Wrath 3. Towers of Froth 4. The Immeasurable Hymn of Ocean Lineup Bavragor - Drums, Vocals (clean) St. - Vocals, Guitars, Bass

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Latest releases

Demonic Temple Black Metal band from Poland released the third Full-length album Through the Stars into the Abyss on November 11, 2021. Tracklist 1. Nox / Intro 2. Through the Stars into the Abyss 3. Night of Everlasting Fire 4. Secret Temple of Invisible Light 5. Proclaiming the Truth of the Other Side Lineup N.D - Drums, Vocals M. - Guitars

Nervochaos Death Metal band from Brazil released the ninth Full-length album Dug Up... Diabolical Reincarnations on November 19, 2021. NERVOCHAOS has nine full length studio albums out, and is constantly touring worldwide to promote their releases, doing around 100 concerts per year from clubs to festivals.

Wintryspell Symphonic Melodic Death Metal band from Chile released the first Full-length album Against the Gods on November 25, 2021. Wintryspell is a Chilean metal project with Finnish influences that mixes the love for winter and death. Wintryspell started as a melodic/symphonic metal project in the roots of black/death metal on April 15th of 2014.

Lineup Eduardo Lane - Drums Quinho - Guitars Pedro Lemes - Bass Woesley Johann - Guitars Brian Stone - Vocals

Tracklist 1. Dismal Curse 2. Kronos 3. Polku Jumaluuteen 4. Delere Origin Vitam 5. Extinguishing a Star 6. Eternal Damnation 7. Astral Mayhem 8. Baal Lineup Keter Guitars, Bass, Vocals Zephyroth Keyboards, Drums

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Godhead Machinery

Black/Death Metal band from Sweden released the third Fulllength album Monotheistic Enslavement on November 26, 2021. Godhead Machinery is a black/ death constellation with the main purpose to analyze the ongoing greed and corruption that swallows all that can be eaten in this world. Tracklist 1. Sovereign of Nullity 2. Ethereal 3. Dethroned 4. Orbis Non Sufficit 5. Upon His Deceitful Star 6. Helion 7. Monotheistic Enslavement Lineup Tommy Ericson - Guitars Robert Kail Karlsson - Guitars Daniel Forsberg - Bass Niklas Ekwall - Vocals

Lethian Dreams Atmospheric Doom Metal band from France released the EP Last Echoes of Silence on December 3, 2021. Last Echoes of Silence (EP) was composed shortly after the completion of the 4th album, A Shadow of Memories. The inspiration and feeling the band shared in A Shadow of Memories were still there.

Svartalfar Black Metal band from Austria released the fourth Full-length album Geisterwerk on December 13, 2021. The Svartálfar (Old Icelandic for «Black Elves») are, according solely to the Prose Edda, Elves living in Svartálfheimr («Home of the Black-Elves»). They appear in this source to be identical with Dwarves (Old Icelandic Dvergar). Tracklist There is otherwise very little 1. You Remain evidence for an actual belief in 2. What If The Winds the Svartálfar In pre-christian 3. Horizons Scandinavia. 4. Wandering (Acoustic) The lyrical concept of 5. All Seems Far Geisterwerk is partly based 6. Your Silence (Alt. Version) on the novel «Bahnwärter Thiel» by Gerhart Hauptmann. Lineup Its main themes are death, loss, Matthieu Sachs - Guitars, loneliness and murder. Keyboards Tracklist Carline Van Roos - Vocals, 1. Im schwindenden Licht Guitars, Bass, Keyboards 2. Von Geisterhand Pierre Bourguignon - Drums 3. Omen 4. Verwitterung 5. Aus Abendrot und Blut 6. Heimgesucht 7. Im Bannd deiner Stille Lineup Blot - Guitars, Drums, Bass Mallorn - Guitars, Vocals

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Band Links https://www.facebook.com/darkness.blackmetal.indonesia https://www.instagram.com/darknessofficial.id

We would like to tell you about musicians and bands not so well known around the world. This is the story of Darkness - Black Metal band from the Indonesia.

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In 1996 Elaskisum in Sukabumi Indonesia formed a death metal band called ‘Kiamat’, but in 1997 Elaskisum changed the band genre to Black metal and at the same time in 1997 the band name was changed to Darkness. Darkness’ journey is very long and often follows underground music festivals in Indonesia, and at that time Darkness used female vocals to balance their music. And in 2002 Darkness released their first album entitled ‘Under blessing you’ under the label Head in the clouds. Time went on and in 2004 Darkness broke away from the label, over time there was disharmony among Darkness personnel until in 2012 all personnel left the band and only Elaskisum was still standing in the band. Since then Darkness was declared vacuum, then in 2020 Zek entered Darkness and took a position as lead guitarist replacing Undickzenna, with Zek entry Darkness and then rises again by bringing changes to Darkness’ music color to be modern and darker and no using female vocals, then Ducky stood as vocal followed by D’eechka as keyboard and Thronespell as guitar while Elaskisum still remained on bass and backing vocals. Along with this change, in 2021 Darkness released their single entitled ‘Rethrone’, and the single also stated that Darkness had risen again.

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Band Links https://www.facebook.com/Siramandalem-Legiun-287042917992678 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCck43eShF0AhVr2dpMV4UqQ

We would like to tell you about musicians and bands not so well known around the world. This is the story of Siramandalem Legiun - Black Metal band from Indonesia.

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Siramandalem Legiun was established in early 2000 on the land of PENGING HANDAYANINGRAT, with the initial name ARWAH GELAP with the formation of Blackistadz (voc/rhytem), Yusuf Blasstorm (lead guitars), Edo (bass), and Andri (drums). Over time, in mid 2003 the formation changed with the additional vocals replaced by Wongso, the formation changed again in 2005 because the drummer + bass was not in line with the band, then Garut (bass) was replaced, and Agung (drums). This formation lasted only 1 year, the bassist came out again. And the formation that has survived until now there is a slight change in the vocals of Blackistadz (Guitars + Vocals), Yusuf Blasstorm (Bass), and Agung Dalbarian (Drums). In 2005 the DARK SPIRIT was replaced with the name SIRAMANDALEM LEGIUN. This band carries the BLACK METAL genre. This formation lasted quite a long time. Around 2016 Blackistadz left the band. Early 2017 Dark hendrix entered to fill in the vocals and Yusuf Blasstorm as lead guitar. Almost three years of Bass off position around the end of 2019 Suko entered as Bass.

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Band Links https://www.instagram.com/velsen.official

We would like to tell you about musicians and bands not so well known around the world. This is the story of Velsen - Black Metal band from Indonesia.

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Velsen Starting from a solo black metal project, in the name of Velsen in early 2020 which was initiated by Banzeey. Starting to change the view of Black Metal not only about symbols of fear, namely by raising various past stories from an old confidence. A long story, carried away, faith, and chaos. Dedicating all forms of dystopia. Combining Primitive Black Metal and Modern Black Metal, which at the end of 2020 began writing a single entitled Beginnings of Ruin, and finished working in early 2021 at R’Music Studio.

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https://www.facebook.com/haidukmetal

Review by Luc St-Clair Haiduk - Diabolica. Haiduk is a oneman black metal band with thrash overtones from Calgary, Canada. Diabolica is his 5th full-length album. With the exception of the very last song, all the songs have a length of 2 to 3 minutes, much like a punk rock album. Most songs have nice guitar riffs and impressively fast drums, most

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likely due to a drum machine, but I could be wrong. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of information online about this individual and his craft. Now my biggest problem with the album, the voice, it sounds like he’s just breathing

heavily in the mic for every single song. Could be the inferior production or maybe it’s how its supposed to sound. I just couldn’t get into it, which is a real shame because the man has talent, the music isn’t bad at all and that cover art kills, I simply couldn’t get past that voice. There’s probably a target audience for this type of band, it just isn’t me.

https://www.facebook.com/orebzarak

Oreb Zarak - Reyes de la cruz negra. It’s finally here and they’ve certainly made us wait for it. I remember when I first started working for Inside the Darkness, one of my first jobs was writing about this band. I have been dying to hear this album for quite a while. This band has been making headline news lately with something I don’t really want to talk about. The album is definitely darker than I thought it would be. The energy stays high on this one. This is Blackened Death Metal with only one singer. I think the guitars are what make this great. They give the songs a good kick. The blast beats are great too. You hear a

Review by Andrew Stanton lot of big “roooaaarrrs” throughout the album. It’s a really great debut. During their live shows, Kvlt of Eblis frontwomen Metzli joins them on stage for one or two songs, but for the record, she doesn’t appear on this album. For someone like me, this album is

impossible to hate. Not a single word in English, but who cares? There’s a few narrated tracks on here, no idea what they’re about, but they’re very cool and creepy. Colombia has one of the great Metal scenes in my opinion, and if I’m allowed to be honest, it has THE greatest Metal scene. It’s a nice one to get you in the Halloween mood.

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https://www.facebook.com/GloraNexus

Review by Andrew Stanton Glora Nexus - A Grand Monument to Mortality. Not that it matters, but I love album cover. This is a one-man project from Indonesia. It’s not the first Indonesian band I have talked about. This is Black Metal with some quite nice melodic guitar solos. It gets a bit ambient at times. Though the songs aren’t amazing, it’s not crap. It’s nothing that hasn’t been done a million

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times before, but I am enjoying it in parts. I have reviewed a lot of similar albums to this. And I don’t really care who disagrees with me, for one man, it’s certainly impressive. It stays a bit slow for me

personally, but it has a nice sound. It’s a short EP (about 18 minutes). The songs seem to range around the 5 and 6 minute mark. It’s all in English. This is his debut, but he’s released a few singles prior to this (none of which actually appear on here). I would say it’s good for what it is. If you want a short Black Metal CD for your car or whatever. Something short to listen to if you’ve got 20 minutes to spare. That’s about it really.

Cataleptic - The Tragedy. Certainly some very interesting Doom Metal from Finland. All the vocals are growled on this album ( or so far at least ). The production is very good here. The songs stay fairly simple. It’s all in English. If you’re like me and clean vocal Doom doesn’t really interest you, then check this out. Some of the

music on this album is very pretty and relaxing. Sometimes it reminds me of Asarmoth. The album goes on a bit (or a lot), but it’s to be expected for this genre. For Doom Metal heads, it will be very hard not to love. People who hate Doom Metal will

quickly say it never gets going, but they’re clearly just missing the point. Cataleptic have been around for a while now, and after hearing this, I fancy going back and checking out some of their older albums. But I know a lot of great bands have come out of Finland. Definitely check it out. You won’t regret it.

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https://www.facebook.com/catalepticdoom

Review by Andrew Stanton

https://www.facebook.com/atmogloosh

Review by Andrew Stanton Gloosh - Sylvan Coven. Solo project Black Metal from Russia. Quite a heavy album this one. The songs go on a bit, but it’s good. It gets quite atmospheric at times. It’s all in English from what I can tell. For just one man, it’s very impressive. Gloosh released an album last year that I had n e v e r h e a r d c a l l e d

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Timewheel. I’m guessing it’s like this. The length of the songs is really all that is ruining this for me personally. Long interludes at times. At times he reminds me of some Norwegian Black Metal bands from the late 1990s. It’s super heavy in parts. Not an easy listen by any

means. We have some clean vocals at times and some female vocals. But they do nothing to lighten the album. If you love it epic, then this is right up your street. But if you like quick blasts, then forget it. As I said earlier, it’s a good album, but it outstays it’s welcome very quickly. It just drags on. Check it out if it sounds like your thing.

https://www.facebook.com/materinfecta

Review by Andrew Stanton Mater Infecta - Veleno. A new Black Metal EP from Italy. Sometimes it sounds like Raw Black Metal, other times it sounds like Blackened Death Metal, and other times it’s like Melodic Black Metal. It’s quite good. The energy and the blast beats are quite enjoyable. It’s a short EP at 18 minutes. Sometimes it reminds

me of Lucifera. Not really sure what it’s all about or even what language it’s in. Sometimes it goes on a bit. Songs ranging from 4 minutes to 12 minutes. If I’m honest, I love the fast parts, but I find the slow parts not really my thing. I wish it was only the fast parts. Sometimes it reminds me of Bishop of Hexen without the

fancy parts. All in all, it’s a good debut, I can’t wait to hear what they do next. I believe this is a band who will get very good, very quickly, over the years (I hope). It’s definitely worth 18 minutes of your life to check them out. People who follow the Italian Black Metal scene will 100% love it. It’s good.

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https://www.facebook.com/HATEOFFICIAL

Review by Olga Schneider Hate - Rugia. As many other bands, Hate started working on some new content at the hardest and the most fukked up time for the whole Europe, when there wasn’t even any talks about touring and even local concerts, so that was the perfect time to concentrate on working in studio and turn all the hate and anger into pure Metal.

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As the result, the band’s supporters have seen «Rugia» that was released on October. Before the official release, there was lots of hints that this one was gonna be some kind of continuation of the previous album regarding both music and

lyrical content. As we remember, «Auric Gates of Veles» [2019] was completely dedicated to the slavic themes and turned out to be less speed but way more atmospheric than the previous band’s works. As for «Rugia», it has met all the expectations built on all the hints before the release. Yeah, that really sounds like a logical continuation of the previous album, some kind of development of all the material and ideas the band had before. Yeah, if you expected lots of speed content, you will definitely be a bit disappointed, cause the new Hate’s creation turned out to be even more melancholic and atmospheric than their previous work. But it seems like this is what is the band’s current target, this is not about speed anymore, but about the atmosphere and the concept. And I think that’s beautiful.

Review by Luc St-Clair The problem is the lack of diversity, it often feels like every song is the same one with very few tempo changes. It feels and sounds like they maintain the same formula from A to Z, I don’t hate it, but it definitely feels like something’s missing. H a v i n g never

listened to their previous work, In Continuum could be a departure from past albums and I could’ve totally missed the boat on this. Regardless, for my listening pleasure, In Continuum is an ordinary album that feels somewhat uninspired.

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https://www.facebook.com/destinityofficial

Destinity In Continuum. Formed in 1996, Destinity are a melodic death metal band from Lyon, France. “In Continuum” is their 9th full-length album. This is what happens when Dark Tranquility and Mors Principium Est have a baby, they even have uncle Andy Gillion, ex guitarist of Mors Principium Est play a solo on the song “Dawn Never Breaks”. With songs with themes on redemption, human connections and spirituality, the band manifests passion and sorrow with the help of lead singer Mick’s growling vocals, which suits the band very well. The songs are good, wonderful guitar riffs, electrifying solos, talented musicians and nice melodies.

https://www.facebook.com/1914band

1914 - Where Fear and Weapons Meet. 1914 are a blackened death metal band from the Ukraine, if you haven’t guessed by now, they’re a World War 1 themed band. I’ve been waiting impatiently for this new album entitled “Where Fear and Weapons Meet” ever since I discovered their previous release “The Blind Leading the Blind”. These guys are WW1 war buffs that happen to play excellent blackened death metal. They write songs about true stories, horrors and events from that destructive war and blend real sounds from the war and clips from movies without feeling forced. With this new album, they continue to deliver powerful, devasting & sorrowful songs which showcases the sacrifices, bravery and sometimes cowardice of these soldiers. This time around, they’ve added a symphonic and an orchestral flair, they’ve certainly upped their game and it sounds incredible. Lead singer Ditmar Kumargerg is at the top of his game, screaming & growling is ass off with every song, he’s a machine. This album and its songs have an objective view of WW1, nations have suffered equally, the Americans, The British, The French, The Canadians, The Scotts and even the Germans.

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Review by Luc St-Clair Here are a few of my favorite songs; “Vimy Ridge (In Memory of Filip Konowal)” strikes a patriotic chord with me because it’s about Canadian soldiers and their victorious Battle of Vimy Ridge. It has a fantastic beat with ripping riffs a la Amon Amarth. Next is “Pillars of Fire (The Battle of Messines)”, this one’s all about blast beats & ominous horns with a few slower and guitar chugging parts. “Don’t Tread on Me (Harlem Hellfighters)” is a

brutally fast song with slower passages and crunchy guitars on top. “Coward” is a song about a British deserter whose fate is sealed on the battle field, but not the way you would think. It’s an acoustic ballad by Ukrainian folk singer Sasha Boole. In the hands of another band, this song would’ve felt out of place, but fits like a glove. Lastly, there’s the first single “…and a Cross Now Marks His Place” about a British officer who writes a letter to the mother of a fallen soldier, it’s absolutely gut-wrenching. With the vocal assistance of Paradise Lost’s Nick Holmes, this song will cut you to the bone. Simply put, this is one of the best metal albums of 2021, it’s a gem and I can’t recommend it enough.

Review by Luc St-Clair Here a few of my favorite songs; “Foothold” starts with a bang, fast & furious, but eventually morphs into a beast of crushing & chugging riffs, vibrating bass and thunderous drums. Next is “Sweep of Days”, an instrumental song, I’m as surprized as you are that I picked this one, but what a journey of soundscapes, acoustical moments, musical poetry and audio bliss this is. “Hidden Window” is the signature song of “Coherence”, it completely encompasses and defines the nature of this album and the unique style of this band. The album ends with a

l o n g ,b u t amazing slice of modern metal entitled “Much More Was Lost”. At 12 minutes and 11 seconds, it’s not about the length, but about the journey. It throws everything at you, including piano, blast beats, insane guitar riffs and tempo changes that will blow your mind. In the end, what you have here is a tour the force of metal music that rewrites the book of modern metal music, it’s unique to say the least and it’s one of the best albums you’ll hear in 2021.

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https://www.facebook.com/belakorband

Be’Lakor - Coherence. Named after a Warhammer Fantasy character and formed in 2004, Be’Lakor are a progressive death metal band from Australia. “Coherence” is their 5th full-length studio album. The album has 8 songs, 3 of which are instrumentals, which only leaves 5 songs with lyrics, but fear not, they’re all great. All the songs seem to have several parts to them, layers if you will. No riffs are repeated more than twice, it gives the songs an unconventional structure, which is rather unusual, but like pieces of a broader puzzle, they fit. I am definitely not used to this style, but I love what I hear. Beats change, tempos change, guitar riffs change, the songs are in constant motion and flow organically and methodically without a hitch. You need to have patience to appreciate this album, believe me, if you do, the outcome is so rewarding. Every musician in this band are professionals, you cannot deny the talent. Drummer Elliott Sanson is a force of nature. Lead singer George Kosmas has a low harsh voice that is challenging to comprehend, normally this is a huge turnoff for me, but given that the music is so good, I can let that go. I did find most of the lyrics online anyway. I also appreciate the use of “speaking” and whispering vocals that are peppered throughout the tracks, it adds an uneasy and haunting vibe to them.

https://www.facebook.com/whitechapelband

Whitechapel Kin. Review by Luc St-Clair Whitechapel are an American deathcore metal band, the name sorrow and raw emotion which are comes from the Whitechapel feelings close to the heart of lead singer district in East London, Phil Bozeman. England, where Jack the Ripper The band have emotionally charged committed a series of grizzly songs, just like the band Staind, but murders. “Kin” is their 8th full- a thousand more savage. Lead singer length studio album. Deathcore Phil Bozeman growls these intensely metal is not a style I listen to harsh vocals, but brings it down very often, if there’s one band with his clean and soft spoken and that does it justice, it’s definitely sorrowful voice that is the calm before Whitechapel. The last album the devastating storm. Here a few of “The Valley” was released only my favorite songs; “I Will Find You” two years ago, like a lot of bands, being stuck in a pandemic offers you time to write new material. “Kin” starts this album with a punch in the feels strongly like an extension face, it’s very heavy, but also has a softer of “The Valley” with its subject side to it as well. It’s about redemption of child abandonment, parental and how a man finds his inner peace. loss and the disintegration of Next up is “Lost Boy”, a hard as nails family. It’s full to the brim with song that goes for the throat, but

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towards the middle, has a alternative rock vibe to it, it felt like Tool there for a moment. “A Bloodsoaked Symphony” takes the “death” from death metal and bludgeons it to death. The most ferocious song on this album, check out the video, you won’t be disappointed. “Kin” has an acoustic & piano beginning, but evolves into a heavier track. Sung entirely in clean vocals, lead singer Phil Bozeman spills his guts into every fiber of this song. It speaks about how for some people, the goal of having a perfect family life is nothing but an illusion. “Kin” feels like the second half of “The Valley”, but was released 2 years later. It’s no wonder that “The Valley” made my #3 on my Top 10 Albums of 2019 and there’s a distinct possibility that “Kin” will grace my Top 10 of 2021.

Review by Luc St-Clair hits the mark w i t h his growling roars, but doesn’t seem to be as low this time around. Clean vocalist and guitarist Markus Vanhala’s voice still adds that harmonious kick that makes this band with it is.

Here a few of my favorite tracks; “Prime” starts with keyboards and then heavy guitars, which let’s the listener know exactly that this is without a doubt an Omnium Gatherum tune. “Paragon” would be the track that is the closest to old school OG, it’s got catchy riffs

and a catchy chorus. “Friction” blasts off with a style that reminds me of Evergrey, that heaviness and layered out guitar solos are a plenty. “Solemn” is the longest track on the album, at 8 minutes & 46 seconds, it’s an epic song packed with wonderful guitars, riffs & solos with its emotions on its sleeve. In the end, with their past albums leaning more on the heavy side, “Origin” feels a little lighter which might not digest well with long time fans, but for this fan, it’s just right.

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https://www.facebook.com/omniumgatherumband

Omnium Gatherum Origin. Omnium Gatherum are a Finnish melodic death metal band, “Origin” is their 9th full-length studio album. I’ve been a fan of this group since their 2011 album “New World Shadows” and I’ve delved deeper into their discography since then. I enjoy their melodeath sound with harsh & clean vocals, crunchy riffs, electrifying guitar solos and combining them with an abundance of keyboards, giving them a unique inner peaceful soundscape, which totally defines them. I’m a little puzzled as to why they named this new album “Origin”, are they implying that it’s a throwback to their original style of melodeath? If anything, it’s a departure from that older style. Having said that, it’s still a decent album. This time, the keyboards give the songs an 80’s pop flair, which took me by surprise at first, but after several listens, I found myself humming these songs everywhere I went. Harsh vocalist Jukka Pelkonen still

https://www.facebook.com/ThulcandraMetal

Thulcandra - A Dying Wish. Thulcandra are a German black metal band founded in 2003. “A Dying Wish” is their 4th full-length studio album. Now I’ve probably said this before, but black metal is not really my bag. What I really mean is that “traditional” black metal is not really my bag. I don’t really care for bands like Mayhem, Darthrone and Emperor. I prefer a more modernized version of black metal, a subgenre if you will. I much prefer bands like 1914, Carach Angren and Night Crowned, just to

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Review by Luc St-Clair name a few. Those bands are doing extraordinary things with the genre, which makes them a cut above the old school type of black metal bands in my opinion. For me, Thulcandra falls into that category of different black metal, yes, the blast beats are a plenty, but combined with ominous

acoustic guitar, killer riffs, powerful guitar solos and songs

that flow very well into each other makes this a very likeable album with much re-playability. Lead singer Steffen Kummerer has a throaty harsh voice that reminds me a little bit of Kreator’s Miland Petrozza, except a lot darker. The lyrics match the darkness of the music with topics of misanthropy, conjuring dark beings and holy warfare. My favorite songs are Funeral Pyre, Nocturnal Heresy, The Slivering Silver and A Dying Wish. Thulcandra honors a band like Dissection, if you like that band, you’ll love this.

https://www.facebook.com/awichaofficial

Review by Andrew Stanton sound gets very fairytalelike and then other times it gets a bit more creepy. Backward vocals (I think) with music that sounds like something from an old 1940s Christmas film. This is a very good album, but don’t go expecting the obvious. Even though they’re working together, they’re not scared to do their own thing. Right the way through the album I’m reminded of Sigh, Emperor, Gehenna, Notre Dame and

even Mortis. It’s a long album, but definitely give it a chance. I can’t comment on Awicha too much as I don’t follow the Thai scene, but The Witch don’t sound very Colombian (or not to me at least). But they go together really well, with a clear respect for one another. It’s a great album to end the year with… Awesome

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https://www.facebook.com/The-Witch-108091774126489

Awicha & The Witch - Blood Fire Magick (Split Album). First of all, I’m absolutely obsessed with this intro. It’s very Elder Scrolls / Bal Sagoth. This is a split collaboration between a Colombian band and a band from Thailand. Some of the songs are actually both bands together. Awicha are clearly the faster band here, but if you prefer more laid back Black Metal then The Witch are right up your street. Sometimes the

https://www.facebook.com/exodusattack

Exodus - Persona Non Grata. Exodus are an American thrash band formed in 1979 in Richmond, California. “Persona Non Grata” is their 11th full-length studio album. Growing up with teenage angst in the 80’s, Exodus was just what I craved, it was fast and furious and they’ve pretty much kept that attitude and bravado ever since. Going through many band member swaps, for me, the best lineup was with “Fabulous Disaster”, that’s the album that sunk its teeth into me, to this day, “The Toxic Waltz” is one of the greatest thrash songs ever. With a 7-year absence, the boys are back with a vengeance. With old schoolers Gary Holt and Steve “Zetro” Souza on board, it feels like a comfortable old shoe, but an old shoe that could still kick your ass. With Lee Altus on guitars ripping it up side by side with Holt, bassist Jack Gibson and drummer Tom Hunting, who has beaten stomach cancer, “Persona Non Grata” is a thrashing powerhouse with a chip on its shoulder. The songs feel like a melting pot of “Fabulous Disaster” & “Blood In, Blood Out”, familiar speedy guitars & riff changes

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Review by Luc St-Clair with quick jabs of backing vocals. This time around, the backing vocals are meaner & nastier with harsher voices than past albums. Steve “Zetro” Souza’s particular sounding voice is alive and well, he sometimes screams his head off like a spoiled little kid having a fit because he dropped his ice cream cone. My favorite songs are; “Persona Non Grata”, at 7 minutes & 30 seconds, this beast fires off like a missile and takes no prisoners. Next up is “Prescribing Horror”, this one slows things down a bit, lyrically and

musically, it takes a dark turn. It’s about the drug Thalidomine, which was given to pregnant women to help with morning sickness from 1956 to 1963 with disastrous effects. If you don’t know the story, look it up, it’s shocking to say the least. “Clickbait” is another speedy tune with rampaging riffs and crazy guitar solos, it speaks how people on social media are quick to believe in disinformation and we certainly have gone through an abundance of that in the last 5 years. My only complaint is the song “Elitist”, it’s a weak track on an album that is anything but. “Persona Non Grata” is a dirty and angry-sounding work of thrash metal, not bad for a band cranking albums since 1985.

Review by Luc St-Clair The songs have their usual doom signatures and powerful & epic breaks, but also adds this creepy & ominous mood with the use of acoustic guitars and keyboards. Lead singer Mikko Kotamaki continues to amaze me with his three styles of voices; the clean voice, the rendition of the clean

voice, but lower & soothing and of course, the harsh growl. Together,

it’s beautiful & haunting. There’s a lot to love and appreciate here, a song called “All Hallow’s Grieve” is a terrific duet shared with Kotamaki and Cammie Gilbert of Oceans of Slumber. “The Fight of your Life” is obviously about Aleah Stanbridge’s battle with cancer, it’s a tragically beautiful song. My favorite songs are “Moonflowers Bloom in Misery”, “Woven into Sorrow” & “This House Has No Home”. This album hit me very emotionally and spiritually, I think it’s Swallow the Sun’s best work since 2015’s “Songs from the North 1, 2 & 3”.

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https://www.facebook.com/swallowthesun

Swallow The Sun Moonflowers. “Swallow the Sun” are a Finnish band founded in 2000 by Juha Raivio. Their doom style emphasizes melody and atmosphere, and occasionally steps into gothic and black metal territory. “Moonflowers” is their 8th full-length studio album. Doom metal is a genre that I don’t listen to on a regular basis, partly because you have to be in a very dark mood for it. Between this band, Draconian & Paradise Lost, these are the groups that do the style extremely well with depth, wellcrafted songs and of course, the sorrow & despair. I don’t have a depressive personality, but we all get a little down every once in a while. Our brain says “listen to something uplifting”, but our body & souls says “no, no, keep it moody & gloomy”. It’s a fact that human beings can at times be self destructive. Only 2 years since the release of “When a Shadow is Forced into the Light”, it feels like lead guitarist and writer Juha Raivio is still manifesting his sorrow into the songs from the death of his lover Aleah Stanbridge. When the love of your life is taken from you, who could blame the guy. The last album had a few decent songs here and there, but didn’t really leave an imprint on my brain. “Moonflowers” seems more focused and structured.

https://www.facebook.com/hypocrisy

Hypocrisy - Worship. Hypocrisy are a Swedish death metal band formed in 1991. “Worship” is their 13th full-length album. With most of the death metal albums that came out this year, none were really tickling my fancy quite like January’s Asphyx with their new album “Necroceros”, it was brutal and had some slower moments here and there with some very interesting lyrics. Up until recently, that album would’ve been my favorite death metal album of 2021. While there have been some other popular albums released since then like Cannibal Course & Massacre just to name a few, but they didn’t really do it for me. This doubt was brought on by Hypocrisy’s “Worship”, an album that is catchy, has an addictive replayability and is consistently awesome from song to song. The tracks differ with a heavy A.F. song one minute and then moves on to a “slower” tune with impressive rhythm. It’s brilliantly structured with a very clean production. The fast and more aggressive songs are the meat & potatoes of this album, they have monster riffs and hooks. I also love the more “slower” tracks, they add a dark and ominous mood to them. Mastermind and lead singer Peter Tagtren has that gravelly

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Review by Luc St-Clair harsh voice that do the songs justice and you can actually hear what he’s saying, that earns a lot of points for me. This was tough, but here are 3 of my favorite songs; “Chemical Whore” was the very first single released and boy, did I fell in love with it. The song speaks of pharmaceutical companies with their drug dealerlike behaviors and price-gouging. It’s a slower tune with a powerful message. Check out t h e

awesome video. Next is “Greedy Bastards”, a thrashier tune with Amon Amarth-like grooves that goes for the throat. It speaks about

politicians and the powers that be and how they’re only motivated by money and power. Finally, there’s “Children of the Gray” a politically topical song about the threat of global warning. Another slow one with killer riffs and a catchy chorus. By now you can tell that I absolutely love this album, now it’s true, I’ve always heard about Hypocrisy, but never took the time to fully listen to them, that’s on me. According to online hard core fans, they’ve put out much b etter albums, but for this newbie fan, “Worship” is an unexpected surprise and a 2021 album that I cannot recommend enough.

Review by Luc St-Clair Lead singer Otheyn Vermithrax (you gotta love the black metal aliases) juggles 2 voices like a pro, his harsh voice sounds very similar to Dimmu Borgir a n d h i s

clean voice sounds l i k e Jon Aldara from Iotunn, another awesome new band with an excellent debut album of 2021 by the way. The songs are also peppered with battle noises, ominous narrators, dragon roars and witch diatribe. It’s like Lord of the Rings alchemized into black metal. If it wasn’t for the way they write their name, then that cover art would normally belong on a power metal album. I love the artwork, reminds me of those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books I used to read as a kid. My only complaint is that the album felt too short, I wanted more songs. Having said that, this is one hell of a debut album by a band that many people, myself included, will be on our radars for years to come.

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https://stormkeep.bandcamp.com/album/tales-of-othertime

Stormkeep - Tales of Othertime. Stormkeep are a melodic black metal/dungeon synth band with folk metal nuances with lyrical themes of fantasy & magic. “Tales of Othertime” is their 1st full-length album. Formed in Denver, Colorado in 2017, they made quite a splash with their 2020 EP “Galdrum” and were quickly added to fans and critics watch lists as a group with much potential. As my appreciation for black metal continues to grow, Stormkeep caught my attention when positive reviews of their new album kept popping up recently. At its core and from its original roots, black metal isn’t my bag, but these days, I admire the bands that break the mold of what black metal is “supposed” to be. Bands like 1914, Thulcandra and Night Crowned offer a twist on the traditional and conventional black metal. It’s a short album at only 45 minutes with only 6 songs, 2 of which are instrumentals. “Tales of Othertime” is black metal with melodic and folk elements with power metal lyrics. Obviously, the blast beats are plentiful, but they’re cleverly arranged with captivating tempo changes, melodic moments, heavy riffs, wicked hooks and enchanting keyboards. The instrumental songs serve as acoustic interludes for the other, more elaborated songs and works magically, no pun inted.

https://www.facebook.com/calvarium.band https://www.facebook.com/The-Witch-108091774126489

Review by Andrew Stanton Calvarium & The Witch - Unholy Prophecy Split. A n o t h e r collaboration for Colombia’s The Witch, this time with Indonesia’s Calvarium. Unlike what they did with Awicha, on this album the two bands sound more alike. The Witch do seem a bit faster on this album actually. Everytime a Calvarium song comes on, the blast beats instantly kick in. They get quite

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melodic at times. The Witch still seem more laid back (compared to Calvarium at least), but definitely faster on this album. It all seems to be in English, and appears to be Satanic. Some chunky power chords on this album, real chug, chug, chug stuff. The more I listen, I find it hard to really compare either band to anyone else. The Witch often use very Folk Metal interludes. Sometimes they remind me of Sigh, but not often. Calvarium are more all out Metal with a ‘fuck

you’ attitude. I imagine most listeners won’t like both bands on here, it’s probably gonna be one or the other. It’s another good collaboration for The Witch, but Calvarium steals the show for me. The Witch tends to add the more ambient parts. The Witch are definitely the more experimental band here, whereas Calvarium just seems straightforward Black Metal. Give it a try. There’s a lot of cool stuff on here for all kinds of Metalheads.

https://www.facebook.com/TheatresDesVampires

Review by Olga Schneider Okay... This content is gonna be a bit out of our format, but still, this band used to be one of the brightest representatives of Italian Extreme Metal scene, and even though their style has completely changed, they still have a strong influence on Italian Metal scene in general. This band also has a strong personal meaning in my life, and that was the main factor that made our edition crew unite back in 2017. Now I’m talking about Theatres des Vampires who released their new

album named «In Nomine Sanguinis» after a long period of silence. As it was mentioned before, the band has changed the own style for Gothic Metal since long ago, and that was specially remarkable on their previous album «Candyland» [2016]. As for the new creation, it suddenly turned out to be a bit unexpected mix of the previous album and some elements from the way older times. Yeah, you can find there couple of track that sound absolutely modern and have minimum hints on Metal.

But generally... I cannot say that it sounds absolutely like some kind of attempt to get back to the roots, that is completely other music. Nevertheless, there are lots of powerful elements, such as choir singing, some synth elements, almost hysterical vocals etc, that bring some kind of this vibe from the period of their activity related to 2000s. Of course their content will never be what we used to hear from them years ago. But they do have power, lots of power, completely different than before.

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Upcoming albums

Ereb Altor always promises one thing with each release: Epic, Folk-blended Metal inspired by the Norse legends. “Vargtimman” shakes things up again with a true and sincere Pagan theme in its lyrics and art. Each song delivers majestic riffs and some of the best vocal work from the band. Sharp Heavy Metal riffs, Nordic melodies, catchy choruses and pounding drums burst set the tone for the rest of the album. While it does retain the Norse mythological themes in its lyrics, it’s probably the most emotionally song collection that Ereb Altor has released. Aside from the well sung lyrics, both in a harsher blackened voice and incredible epic clean singing, Epic riffs ring throughout the whole album to give it the titanic feeling this juggernaut deserves. This is by far the best composed and therefor mature Ereb Altor album in their already impressive career, thanks to its added keyboards, good blend of epic and more traditional riffs, and the vocals being arguably the best ever laced on an Ereb Altor album. “Vargtimman” is among the best Viking metal albums in many years and possibly one of the better one in 2022! «Vargtimman» will be released on January 14, 2022.

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Sarcasm has had a storied career. Originally formed in Sweden in 1987, Sarcasm would release blistering Death Metal throughout the early and mid-90’s. After a shortlived reunion in 1997, they would come back into the fold in 2015 with a new redesigned version of their lineup. Now they return with their new full-length album “Stellar Stream Obscured”. A conceptbased album that is a journey. Managing to sound like their old selves, the bands launches a fine assault here featuring plenty of furious melodic rhythms alongside their traditional leanings. Although, they clearly have their ties in being an older Death Metal band, their sound still brings with it the youthful exuberance of newer Death Metal bands. They have this almost blackened style of Death Metal that cuts like a knife. Take Black Metal, melodies, and Death Metal and blend it all up then you’ll have “Stellar Stream Obscured”. The music is beautiful, vile, and brutal all in the same. “Stellar Streams Obscured” is a triumphantly diverse Death Metal album that brings a complete and competent sound. Sarcasm delivers on every facet musically. Stellar Stream Obscured will be released on January 28, 2022.

Nervochaos was born in São Paulo – Brazil in the spring of 1996, with the idea of creating aggressive and chaotic extreme music. The band gained cult status in the music scene due to their hard work over the past 25 years, offering a sonic extravaganza in their unique way. The group has nine full-length studio albums out and is constantly touring worldwide to support their releases, doing around 100 concerts per year – from clubs to festivals. “All Colors Of Darkness” will be released on LP (black and transparent orange vinyls, each limited to 300 units), CD and digital formats. Line-up: Edu Lane: Drums Luiz ‘Quinho’ Parisi: Guitar Woesley Johann: Guitar Brian Stone: Vocals Pedro Lemes: Bass ‘All Colors of Darkness’ will be released on February 11, 2022.

ULTRA SILVAM return with their second full-length, The Sanctity of Death. As suggested by its title, The Sanctity of Death bears a more regal aspect to the band’s undulating coils of coruscating violence…but “regal” is only relative here. For ULTRA SILVAM let loose with a whole host of more wholly HEAVY METAL moves that are turned into tornado-like torrents of black metal classicism. Verily, The Sanctity of Death slices and swaggers with addicting aplomb, the band seemingly drunk on their own power as they dole out teeth-gnashing screeds of sin, salvation, and swallowyour-soul darkness. It’s more immediately memorable and more incredibly finessed, as that crazed execution of yore remains but has been tightened up ever so slightly, allowing these eight bangers & clangers to create an allenveloping atmosphere of delirium and dementia. You’ll be winded after the album’s over, perhaps, but emboldened by bountiful visions of a dread future – and one worth returning to again, and again, and again. The Sanctity of Death will be released on February 15, 2022.

New York death metal giants, IMMOLATION, are proud to announce their latest immense creation, Acts Of God. The 11th studio album serves as the next chapter of IMMOLATION’s death metal epic. With 5 long years passed since Atonement, Acts Of God vigorously showcases IMMOLATION’s ability to consistently create fascinating sounds, while still keeping their feet firmly rooted in the old school, New York Death Metal for which they are renowned. Acts Of God saw the return of longtime friend and recording counterpart Paul Orofino of Millbrook Studios (BLUE OYSTER CULT, BAD CO, GOLDEN EARRING) while final touches were brought about on the mixing and mastering by Zack Ohren of Castle Ultimate Studios. For the cover artwork, the band enlisted Eliran Kantor to create the haunting new masterpiece that featured the muted colors and ethereal images that are hallmarks for IMMOLATION’s artwork. “Acts of God” will be released on February 18, 2022.

There are few funeral doom bands out there that manage to express sorrow and despair in such a majestic and beautiful manner as Finland’s SHAPE OF DESPAIR. The band’s latest full-length is a product of their environment, enveloping the listener in cold, eternal darkness like a lonely Finnish winter. And much like the long, funereal winters of their homeland, the atmosphere in ‘Return to the Void’ is bleak but ethereal. The funeral doom icons do not merely offer a soundtrack to one’s agony, but also demonstrate the beauty that can often be found in misery. Between the success of the majestically downtrodden Monotony Fields (2015) and today, the members of SHAPE OF DESPAIR have been composing (glacially) and otherwise ensconced writing/performing with their other projects like FINNTROLL, IMPALED NAZARENE, THROES OF DAWN, and COUNTING HOURS. The Finns have never been or found the need to be prolific, however. The race into the cold darkness is a contemplatively unhurried task. Return to the Void is musically and thematically that same journey, one of perpetual solitude and aching hopelessness, driven straight into the heart of frigid twilight. As ever, this is cheerless music for sunless days. Return to the Void will be released on February 22, 2022.

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#19-Inside the Darkness

Articles inside

Chovu. Interview with Preston and Bundi

Viper’s Den // Interview with Rex Viperon

Bloodrust/Interview with Richard

Coldnight/Interview with Angela

Withering Worlds/Interview with Wanderer and Void

Mater Infecta/Interview with Jana Maista

Tapias de Pilatos/Interview with Elkin

Fen/Interview with The Watcher

Anfel/Interview with Denis and Elvira

Drengskapur/Interview with Wintergrimm

Slice of Sorrow. Interview with Roman Nemstev

Dragsholm/Interview with Asmodai

Upon Shadows/Interview with Tamara & Natalia

Basarabian Hills/Interview with Florian

Morcolac/Interview with Sadomaster

Appalachian Winter. Interview with Daniel George Klyne

Terror Satan /Interview with Killer

Dark Mirror ov Tragedy. Interview with Senyt

Animals Killing People. Interview with Wilson Rairan

Dxvxdxd/Interview with NecroN

Nemesis/ Interview with Selena

At The Gates. Interview with Jonas Stalhammar

Ritum Tenebriis. Interview with Darksuccubbi