S.K.O.A Magazine issue 1 by S.K.O.A Magazine

Issue 1

Ing

Lisa Jablonski clifford crabb thunderfuck and more...

the sixth string 06 ING 10 TERMINATRYX 12 ODALISQUE 16 THE UNGUIDED 20 DIVINITY 28 EMILIE AUTUMN

the singularity 34 CLIFFORD CRABB 38 PAUL BLOM 42 PAUL’S CORNER

tHUNDERFUCK 45 V.O.D

INK & BEAUTY 52

ADAM’S EDEN TATTOOS

LISA JABLONSKI

REVIEWS 67

ALBUM REVIEWS

THE EDGE 72

EDWARD THEODORE GEIN

EVOLUTION OF DISTRIBUTION

THANK YOU!

FROM THE EDITOR As music lovers, you always think of what it would be like to be smack in the middle of all the action, interacting with bands, and people in the alternative community. That’s what our aim is here, to be involved, and to meet people from all over the world who have an affinitive love for alternative music, and the alternative culture. Music is what binds us, there will always be differences amongst people, but when you are out there, moshing to your favourite bands and the entire crowd’s hearts start pulsating together, that’s when all the petty shit just falls away. Music brings people together, and hopefully so will S.K.O.A Magazine. Some great bands, artists and models will be featured in this issue, and it has been a real privilege to have them on board. Sleazy does it \m/

Editor In Chief Riaan Jooste

Associate Editor Zoey Els

Contributing Writer Leon Calvyn Kemp

Graphic Artist Brendon Nox

Paul’s Corner Paul Hodgson

ing terminatryx odalisque the unguided divinity emilie autumn

From Left to Right: Darren Webb (bass) Marius Theron (drums) Bryan Villain (vox & guitar) Henk Kruger (guitar).

In South Africa’s alternative scene, very few stand out like ING.

With elements from Thrash metal to heavy metal and punk, ING Combine just the right amount of toxicity that’ll melt your eyeballs and have them dripping out of your sockets in no time! Hailing from Cape Town South Africa, ING have been dominating the alternative scene for years. Playing the most aggressive live shows whilst producing more energy into the crowd then nuclear fusion! Even the most aloof person can’t help

but bang their head and smile from ear to ear. ING’s controversial lyrics address all sorts of issues, from our local government, to religion, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation while putting a humorous spin on it. Their latest album titled “Inquisition” was released in 2012, and set to feature material with an African focus. We were fortunate enough to set up an interview with the band and discuss their latest album, and talk about ING.

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Because all good verbs end with ....ING.”

ING formed in 1999, and after various changes Henk and Bryan reunited. What made you guys decide to continue on with the band? Well the band never parted on bad terms. I (Bryan) had to move to Cape Town for a career opportunity and the other guys decided to call it a day. We all remained close friends afterwards and when Henk moved to Cape Town, we decided we would just pick up where we left off. We only revived a few tracks when we started again, but set in motion a whole new feel in our music. When ING started it was a death metal band but on reuniting the focus was more

towards a thrash metal outfit with large punk overtones. Seeing that this was our origin when working together, we decided to maintain the name......the history was already there. Generally ING would be used to form the present participle of verbs, like “seeing”. What made the band decide to choose that name, and how would you say it defines your music? We prefer hacking, slashing, killing, hating LOL. Basically the idea was to not be confined to any specific subject matter. Because all good verbs end with …ing, the door is open to tackle anything. Each subject can be

moulded to the feel of the music we write. Because there are no constraints we are able to cover areas that require humour and areas that cover more serious topical issues. This allows us to create a wide variety of lyrical content. Your latest album titled “Ingquisition” was released in 2012, and features material with an African focus. What was your inspiration behind that? What processes did the band go through while making the album? We figured that singing about our own circumstances would be far more intriguing and interesting to an international

audience, than singing about everyone else’s culture/ environment. South Africa has such a wide variety of topics to cover. Naturally the politics in this country can be very frustrating, so there were a few songs dedicated to that. From a local perspective we tackle rampant corruption in government, farm murders, Julius Malema, our most famous serial killer Moses Sithole, and gangsterism on the Cape Flats. We basically started with riff ideas and built the songs from there. After jamming the tracks together for a few months we laid the scratch tracks down after building tempo tracks. Marius then came in and we recorded the drums over 2 days. Once the drums tracks were finalised we started recording guitars. During that process we started writing the lyrics to go with the feel of the songs. We prefer to have the emotion of the music dictate the content it should have. After the guitars and bass all the lyrics were ready to be tracked. Altogether it took us 9 months to write, record and master the album. Your music is available free of charge. What are the reasons behind this decision? The CD’s we did before our latest release we used to give away for free at our own expense. Even though there was a lot of work involved in their production, it was more to say “hey here we are”. However, when the Ingquisition album came out we sold the CD’s and charged for downloads. This was merely to recover the costs involved in the production, never to make any serious money from it. Nowadays we still sell the CD’s near cost, but decided to make the album downloadable for free. We live

in an era of piracy and for us it is more worthwhile to have a better understanding of how many people out there have it and are listening to it, than the quest for money. We have never taken this as a money making venture. We are all afterall too seasoned to be delusional and think that we are going to be whisked away to fame. Rather, we firmly believe it is of greater importance to leave a legacy, however small, in the metal world. Our motivation is mostly from giving back to metal what metal has given us all these years. On which sites are your albums available for download? The album can be downloaded via www.ingtheband.com and press the relevant button that will take you to the Bandcamp link or you can go directly to Bandcamp via http://intheband. bandcamp.com/album/ ingquisition. Bandcamp has “name your price”, so if you put in zero it will download for FREE and take you straight to download right away. However, if you really want, you can place an amount in there and it will be treated as a donation, that is of course, if you want us to spread the hate a bit faster LOL. Your straightforward, and relatable, lyrics appeal to fans on a grassroots level. Do you try to create a correspondingly carefree environment during live shows for fans to let their hair down? We encourage the crowds that watch to really knuckle down and burn away their frustration. The music is aggressive and fast so it is meant to whip people into a frenzy. There are the few that stand and just watch, but what they don’t understand is

we don’t care whether they are better guitarists/drummers/ vocalists than us. That is not the point. The point is to burn away anger with us, and nothing more. We preach brotherhood amongst metalheads and like to explain what each song is about....sometimes with humour, sometimes deadly serious. The real aggression of our music hits after the first note is played and we largely rely on the metalheads to take over from there. We are a very outspoken band that might leave many feeling uncomfortable, but this is our way of creating awareness of the world around us. Over the years of tearing up the alternative scene in South Africa, what bands have been inspirations to you guys? I would have to say all the thrash bands of old. They all managed to ride out the grunge era by making killer albums. Bands like Kreator, Testament, Exodus and Slayer have all weathered the storm and are inspirational out of their longevity. The same applies to punk bands like The Exploited and GBH. They have never given up the fight no matter how old they are. Do you have any upcoming shows in 2013? At the moment we only have one show planned for 13th of July. We join Anarchy (Egypt) and Maximum Carnage (Pretoria) for the Rabbit Hole leg of their Maximum Anarchy tour. There will be the odd show here and there, but we are more focussed on getting our next album done before the end of the year. It will be an album that contains most of our back catalogue from “it’s

The Sixth String a hate thing” and “it’s a sick thing”, plus a few surprises (15+ songs). We have decided to do this, as all the releases before were done without a drummer. Unfortunately, during those times we had no drummer and played our live shows with the help of programmed drums via an ipod. We really want to get our drummer into the studio so he can give his interpretation of the feel on those songs as he did with Ingquisition. Is there any pertinent advice you can give to local bands relating to the start-up phase any band must go through? I would say the main thing is to remain humble and modest. If you put in the effort you will eventually reap the rewards. Respect is earned, not given. METAL4AFRICA WINTERFEST 2011

Being in a band is not as easy as people think. You need to be friends with each other or the gel that brings it all together will be missing. You need to be patient and understand that conflict will always arise. If you can be mature enough to steer your way through those tougher times, you will be able to keep it together. Too many times I have looked at posters of gigs we have performed at just to see how many of those bands no longer exist. As final note, I would say that South Africa is a very limited market and bands seem to fight for the attention of a very small audience. Rather work together locally, or move overseas if you really want to have a go at that spot in the limelight.......it is a rocky journey and will really test your mettle.

Thank you so much to each of you for taking the time to do this interview. Any last words from the band? Thank you so much for featuring us in the first edition of SKOA. Hopefully soon we can cause some chaos in your neck of the woods. Until then, keep up the great work of building the underground scene. Catch you soon \m/

Terminatryx Photo by: Dr-Benway

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X Y R T A IN

M R E

Terminatryx formed in 2002 and has become an esteemed band. With female-fronted vocals and their industrial panorama infused with compelling metal riffs, it is certainly no surprise they have blasted their way to the top of the South African

alternative scene. Terminatryx is set to work with renowned South African producer, Theo Crous, at Bellville Studios in Cape Town till late July, for the recording of their new self-titled album “Shadow”, which is aimed to be released in mid-September 2013. As an independent band Terminatryx has taken matters into their own hands. They’ve started a funding campaign on www.Indiegogo.com, joining many other bands in the creation of their new studio album. With only 11 days left till the campaign closes, we urge everyone who loves Terminatryx to go check out the campaign and make a contribution to the new album. There are some fantastic perks involved! As for

what the rest of 2013 holds in store for Terminatryx fans, well, let’s just say a highly anticipated album and some great gigs to follow! So if you’re a Terminatryx fan, this would be the year to stay in the loop!

Be sure to check out Paul Blom from Terminatryx in the Singularity section, for an exclusive interview. Official site: www.terminatryx.com Videos: www.youtube.com/Terminatryx Follow on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Terminatryx Like on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Terminatryx ReverbNation: www.reverbnation.com/Terminatryx

We are a very visual group in some sense!â&#x20AC;?

Vivian Shockley

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Odalisque

tarting off in Helsinki, Finland, Odalisque was formed by front man Vivian Shockley, and drummer Jude Natas on June 6th 2007. After winning in the semi-finals of a band contest called Emergenza, in Helsinki Finland, Odalisque gave their audience the first taste of what a shock rock performance should be like, as a result paving the way towards the recording of their first demo back in 2008 and the completion of 6 tracks in 2009. Forced to disband in 2009, Odalisque are now back and ready to shock with two new members who complete the line-up, Quantum Prana-Guitars and Jason DeVile-Bass. With the release of their new album titled “Fuck Parental Advisory” set to be released on the 9th of July2013, Odalisque are back on top in our books and ready to blow your mind straight out of your nose! Recently we sat down a spoke to

the guys about Odalisque and the concept behind the band. Odalisque was formed in 2007.

How did everyone meet back then?

Vivian: Well me and Jude Natas met each other a couple years before Odalisque, and in 2007 the time was right for us to form Odalisque with Stan Damone and Andi Torchia. In 2009 Damone left the band during the recordings of our first EP, that became the album “Fuck Parental Advisory” later on, and we kicked Andi out in 2012 when album bass-lines were about to be recorded and he was too untalented to do those. So, we had to find a new guitarist and we had many guitarists trying out but on the last quarter of 2012 we got contacted by Quantum Prana and tested him and hired him after his first try, same happened with Jason Devile. In the beginning of 2013, our first practises were so good that it could have been a gig!

The name Odalisque, if searched in a dictionary, means female slave or concubine. What is the meaning behind the name, and what made you decide to use it for your band? Vivian: Well the name Odalisque was my invention, I actually came up with it when I was really young, about sixteen years old, and it’s always been a name I had in the back of my mind for a band. Prana: I think it explains the concept that we have for our music very well, that it’s twisted, but elegantly twisted in a way. Do you consider Odalisque to be a shock rock band? Yes, in the sense that Shock-rock is more of a concept, meaning the whole package, like what are you doing in live show and also what is the visual-style of a band! We follow the long tradition of shock-rockers. Starting from Elvis, white men made black men-style of music, and the shocking part was the way he moved his hips and

What process does the band go through when writing lyrics for songs? Who writes the lyrics? O.K., so usually we do the music first, then I get an inspiration from some feeling/state of mind or then a theme for the lyrics comes from my own life or from someone close to me. For example, “Shizophrenication” came from someone very close to me who is suffering from schizophrenia. So, most of the lyrics are also something that, that person has said to me (or to himself). But on this album we have one exception, the track “Family Issues”. There I’m talking about very serious issues, namely incest/sexual abuse. This song was really a tricky one to write, because I don’t have any personal experience about the subject. So we asked our fans on MySpace if they have some experiences and if they have any stories they are willing to share with us! I won’t EVER tell you who gave us the inspiration for this, just that there were

a number of fans who were willing to share their horrible life stories, so that we could put this into a song and give them a voice.I think that this is something people should talk about, and that sexual-abuse should not be taboo like it still is! So we did the first version (that we were not too happy about) and posted the demo online...what happened next was that I got my first death-threat on this suomi24.fi website, and LOTS of hate mail saying we should not talk about these kind of things. This just proved our point, and we made a new version that we were happy with and put it to this album. So you can see that in the lyrics there are some really serious things that I had to speak out about! After some conflict between your two founding members back in 2008 when your first album was recorded, which resulted in the other band members leaving, you now have a full line-up after the damage was repaired. How has the band changed after? Vivian: Our ex guitar player, quit the band, and he actually quit playing guitar altogether, so that started the mess. And then back then me and Jude, we had some personal differences that resulted in the band breaking up for about a year, but luckily we could resolve the issues, and now Odalisque is back in full force. But it took a long time to find the right players, because there are some things that can be really tricky for an amateur player to play on our songs. Moreover, we have had many guitar and bass-players trying out but even if they could play, Odalisque has the LOOKS as

well; i mean we need serious musicians who look good on stage and pictures as well! We are a very visual group in some sense! If you built up a big enough fan-base, or ever have the opportunity to travel to SouthAfrica for a show, would you consider it? Yeah definitely we would love to if given the opportunity. Your latest album is titled “fuck parental advisory”. What made you decide on that title and how does it correspond with the albums track list? What was the inspiration behind this album? What makes the latest album different from the first one? Well you know that box they use that warns people they are about to see something with explicit content, we always hated that box, so we thought it would be appropriate for an album cover, and to kind of say fuck it altogether. And for the record this is our first REAL album, there have been demos but this is our debut. And to give you Jason Devile (Bass)

that`s what made him one of the first shock-rockers. Next was The Beatles, their long hair, and then came Iggy & the Stooges, the way he acted on stage and the provocative behaviour. After that came Black Sabbath/Ozzy. The way they permanently changed music by “inventing” Heavy-metal. Osbourne’s solo career and live performances such as the incident with the bat was a big example of shock rock. Next one in line is Marilyn Manson (NO EXPLANATION NEEDED) and this brings the line to us! But we don’t recognize shock-rock as a musical genre, just as a state of mind!

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Do you have any up and coming shows in 2013? We don’t have any official dates to give you yet, but there are definitely shows coming up, so we can’t really say anything official right now. Does the band have a Facebook page or twitter account? Are there any sites where your music is available for download, or where fans can listen to tracks? You can find us at Facebook under www.Facebook.com/

odalisque.official, on Twitter you will find @odalisque666 and @quantum_prana. Also you can find us on Reverbnation.com and MySpace under myspace. com/odalisquesou. Our album will be released digitally by digital distribution-channels such as: iTunes, Amazon, Last FM, Spotify and NokiaMusic etc. Any last words from the band? Vivian: We are about to shoot a video for two songs “Schizophrenication” and “Rotten Apple”. These will be done with no budget and by ourselves, so it will take some time and effort to make them look good or even decent. The first one to come will be “Schizophrenication” and the shooting starts this week. But it will take at least a month to get this ready! Another thing

we would like to say is that, not take anything away from the recorded songs or the album. Odalisque is about the whole concept. Meaning live shows which also function as a performance art, that is where you experience the real Odalisque. Our main goal on our gigs is that everyone in the audience will remember the concert for the rest of their lives, even someone who doesn’t really listen this kind of music. Jude: Gigs are something that we will always give 110% of ourselves to. Thank you and see you at our shows.

schizophrenication

a theme that I have based the lyrical part of the album, is to abuse and being abused! And this comes in many forms of violence like, lies, sex, mental illness and drugs, etc. So these are really primitive feelings for a human being.

From left to right: Quantum Prana (Guitars) Vivian Shockley (Vocals) Jude Natas (Drums)

ith three former members from Sonic Syndicate, the Unguided was announced in November 2010, by founder Richard Sjunnesson and brother, Roger Sjunnesson. By the end of November 2011 Richard revealed their new member, former Sonic Syndicate vocalist Roland Johansson. With the original trio back together, The Unguided ignited hope in fans missing the old days of Sonic Syndicate. Their eleven track debut album titled “Hell Frost”

was released on 20 November, 2011. Recently we were fortunate enough to talk to Richard Sjunnesson about The Unguided and their journey till now. The Unguided was officially announced in 2010 by Richard, whom then later announced the “mysterious new member” Roland. What made you guys decide to start The Unguided back then with 3 original

members from Sonic Syndicate? Richard: It was a fairly simple decision; since both I and my brother were really disappointed in the commercial path Sonic Syndicate was going down, and Roland left the band in 2009 hence other reasons. We saw a window of opportunity there with the three of us. Initially it was just me and my brother talking about a new metal project during the recording of “We Rule The Night”, but eventually when I was about to

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leave Sonic I had a couple of discussions with Roland, and he was on board as well. How did you guys come up with the name, The Unguided, and how does your music incorporate the name? Richard: Basically the name is a statement on all that went wrong in Sonic Syndicate. We had managers and other organizations just going over the band’s heads and calling all the shots. We were done with that

in our carrier and wanted to start with a clean slate and do it right this time around. Basically we trigged every landmine there is in this business with the old band, and we had no intensions of putting ourselves in that situation again. We only work with people we trust and we only surround ourselves with people we need. There’s no kindness in this business, if someone makes a decision for you, you can be certain there’s an ulterior motive behind it. If you aren’t naive, and understand

from left to right Henric Carlsson (bass) Roland Johansson ( Lead guitar and clean vocals) Richard Schill (Drums) Richard Sjunnesson (Harsh vocals) Roger Sjunnesson (Rhythm guitar and keyboard)

Today we just try to listen to our own souls and our own hearts and see where it takes us!”

that, you can evade a lot of problems in your career. The album “Hell Frost” was released on November 30th 2011. What was it like for the band to make their first new album together? Richard: We started writing songs for the album late 2010. Also we had some “leftover” songs which we never used in Sonic written by my brother and me. Those songs were considered “too metal” previously, and in The Unguided we are all about that, so we kind of saw the opportunity to use them in the new band. We also revisited two old tracks back from 2002 when Sonic was still called Fallen Angels, during our demo days. It was a really interesting and creative writing and recording process. We got the luxury to pre-produce everything on “Hell Frost” before we went into the studio, and that made us filter out a lot of things in the songs before they reached end production. Other than that it just felt like we worked previously on “Only Inhuman” and “Love And Other Disasters” basically. We kind of still have the same way of working. Who writes the lyrics for your music? What processes does the band go through when writing songs? Richard: I write all the lyrics. Usually Roger composes the main part of the songs and record rhythm guitars, scratch synths and puts some programmed drums on the track. This gives me a good framework to start making

the lyrics and some vocal arrangements. When that’s done, Roger usually co-produces his synths with Pontus Hjelm (Dead By April), Richard Schill later records the drums, Henric records blast in the bass, and Roland records the solos. When this is done me and Roland meet up in the studio to record vocals. He produces his vocal melodies and we work on all the arrangements. Then we fire away everything for mixing. For the coming album we’ve used five different studios to get the end result. Are there any melodic death metal bands in particular that have inspired you guys over the years to continue making music together? Richard: I’m not sure if we’re a melodic death metal band, we’d like to just label us melodic metal. But we are not really inspired by any bands at the moment as we were in the past. Today we just try to listen to our own souls and our own hearts and see where it takes us! Can fans expect a new album from The Unguided to be announced anytime soon? Richard: I think we are really close on announcing what will come in the future. There are some great moments to come! Do you guys have any upcoming shows in 2013? Richard: In September we will hit Russia. Next weekend we’ll travel to Germany for two shows and other than that there are some Swedish festivals. The winter and spring have been

really busy with our “Command & Conquer” tour and album recording. So we’ll try to slow down a bit to recharge batteries. Where can fans purchase your music and merchandise? Richard: All our official merchandise is available through our web shop at : http:// theunguided.tshirtshopen.se/ Would The Unguided ever consider coming to South Africa for a show, given the opportunity? Richard: It would be really wicked. And I mean; nothing is impossible. But there’s nothing planned as of now. We could ask our booker to look into it! Hehe. I would personally love to go there. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. Is there anything else the band would like to share? Richard: Hold your eyes and ears open for the coming album! And also be sure to check out our videos to “Phoenix Down” and “Betrayer Of The Code” on YouTube. Thanks for the interview!

We want our fans to feel as if they’re a part of what we do”

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n religious terms, Divinity is the state of things to come from supernatural powers or deities, such as Gods or spiritual beings, and is therefore regarded as sacred and holy. But this is no paranormal phenomenon. It is a blend of Thrash, Death, Classic and Progressive metal delivered with absolute precision, and technicality from Western Canada. A cut above the rest, their music is unique in both conception and delivery;

Jay Nerada (Guitars)

devising new ways to push metal and its boundaries into the future. Apocalyptic metal with enormous riffs makes Divinity the real adventurers, innovators, and mould shattering band we should cherish. Since the band’s formation in 1997 Divinity continues to progress as one of the scene’s most esteemed acts. We caught up with Sean Jenkins and he spoke about life and the scene in Canada, touring, and the new album ‘The Immortalist Trilogy’.

James Duncan (Guitars)

Our influences range from Simon and Garfunkel to Devin Townsend to Nile”

Nick Foster (Bass)

i Sean. Tell us about the new album, the concept and topics around it.

The new album is called “The Immortalist”, which will be a trilogy. Part 1 - Awestruck - was released earlier this year, and we will finish parts 2 and 3 by spring time 2014. The album concept will involve many different real-life topics with a sci-fi story wrapped around it. It will be a journey of man who figures out how to become immortal and able to guide humanity via the subconscious dream world. The story will involve: crop circles, covert operations, DMT, lucid dreaming, aliens, government conspiracies, and technological warfare. This was the first time we have written an album like this, and we are very excited to finish the writing process and begin tracking the rest of the album later this year.

ou want your fans to join the band in building the new album; tell us more about the Divinity Collective.

We’re trying an approach that is straight from the band to the fan. We want our fans to feel as if they’re a part of what we do, so we’re offering a separate line of merchandise and other special offers for these fans. This is for people who want to help the band out in any way, including street teams, online promotion, and modelling merchandise. So far, the approach has been successful. We are approachable people, and we want to meet and talk to our fans. So come say ‘hello’ at shows, write emails, send hand written letters, recruit fans, learn to play our music, and eat higher quality food. Many metal heads don’t eat a balanced diet, and we want our fans

to live a long, healthy life.

ou are also creating all the visual artwork on the album yourself?

We usually get an artist to create 2-3 different pieces of art for our albums, and then I take parts of those pieces and create the booklet out of different layers of the artist’s pieces. This time around, I really felt that I could do the job on my own, and with the help of my amazing, caring band I created the artwork for ‘The Immortalist’. It’s got swirls, circles, colours, smoky kinda stuff, and will also include actors, sexy upward angle band pics, creating an illusion that we are all over 6’3” tall, even Jeff. This was a challenging album to do artwork for as there are so many different pieces that go together to make the concept album. Luckily for me I kinda rule at doing graphic art, so CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. Yaigh.

hat is it like working with Sacha Laskow?

Being that Sacha was in Divinity for many years, we’ve already worked together numerous times in writing and recording, so he knows everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. He is well on his way to becoming one of Canada’s best metal producers, so he brings the best out in us when we do our tracking, which is a bonus for us. He knows what he wants out of a song, and he’s picky about it. But he is going through a lot right now, being that he’s in his third year of his wizard degree. It’s a very hard program from what I understand, so we don’t take it to heart when he makes snide remarks about the drum tracks being ‘stock’, or when we’re working on vocal tracks and

he says, “Timing. You have none.” Good thing he makes us sound fantastic.

hat is the metal scene like in Canada?

Canada is a HUGE place, so the scene is different all over the country. In the last 10 years, we’ve seen metal gain a lot of popularity over the western part of the country, so a lot more bands travel here now. Before, big travelling bands would only play Toronto and Montreal, Canada’s 2 biggest cities, which are thousands of km’s east of where we are located in Calgary, Alberta. But now that there are a lot more people that are into metal, playing in bands, we’ve seen almost every touring band make a stop here in Calgary as well, which is great for us and our scene. On the other hand, for a band to tour Canada is a huge feat. The last tour we did across Canada, we put in around 15 000 km’s in one month. Many cities are 800-1000km’s apart, which makes it very hard for bands to afford to tour. So when you see a touring band in a club, buy merch!! They need your support.

ho would you say influenced your music and inspired you and the other guys in Divinity?

Our influences range from Simon and Garfunkel to Devin Townsend to Nile, and everything in between. Now that we’ve been together for 15 years, we try and take influence from anything and everything. From a catchy song on the radio, to some asshole giving you a hard time at work. It doesn’t just have to be music that influences you and your writing. Ideas can come from

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Like if you were being recruited for the army. Be the best you can be.â&#x20AC;?

absolutely everywhere. Sometimes just watching the news can give you lots of ideas on topics for song writing. Our world is full of hate and destruction, and it’s also full of beauty and good people. We try to take influences from all kinds of events and music. If you want to write a nice acoustic type of song, go sit on a park bench over-looking a lake, and talk to an old man about his past. If you want to write a crazy tech-death type of song, listen to a motorcycle idle, and go punch a biker in the face. You will definitely have a story to tell when the ordeal is over, assuming the biker doesn’t throw you off of a bridge.

remember the first time I heard the Allegory album and thought wow, what a tight piece of unrelenting metal. You changed the direction on Singularity to a heavier even more progressive style. What can fans expect on The Immortalist?

We never really thought about how we want to sound, we just wrote tunes and they sound how they sound. We had a more straight up approach to Allegory, and a more technical approach to Singularity. I think that there will be elements of both records, as well as new sounds and ideas on the new album. We have been experimenting with new soundscapes, as well as adding a lot more vocal parts to our music. We’re going to spend more time on song writing this time around, and really try to play to what the song needs, instead of the more technical way of writing, which has a lot more parts and riffs. We still want the progressive metal sound in our tunes; we will just spend more time in making sure it’s the best it can be. Like if you were being recruited for the army. Be the best you can be. We feel these are the best

songs we’ve ever written, and we’re excited to finish recording them and release them to the world. I just love a good release, don’t you?

ell us about the composing, recording and touring process for the band.

We usually start with riffs. Jam on them 48 times, find good beats, change the beats, and then pick and choose riffs which go together well. One thing about our main guitar player, James Duncan, is that he shits out riffs every day. His nickname is Riff Machine! He always has a backlog of about 33 things that he’s working on, so we always have something to jam on. So once we get the basic format of the song complete, we work on vocals, solos, samples and keys, finalizing all drums, bass and guitars, and then, and only then, are we allowed to present the idea to Sacha. We will usually go back and forth for a few weeks with him, exchanging ideas, and each arguing our points to make the song the best it can be. Once we start recording, we do each instrument individually, starting with drums. Brett makes noise, hits stuff, and eventually he’s done. Next are guitars, which is the most time consuming part of the recording. Being that Sacha is a fantastic guitarist, he spends a lot of time with James making sure everything is juuuuuust right. Then while bass is being recorded, we’ll do all the samples and backing keyboard tracks. Then comes vocals, again, a time consuming process as lots of changes usually occur. Sacha has always been a big help with vocals, and this time around we have 2 main singers as well as 3 backup singers. So vocals will be huge on this new album, with lots

of screaming, growling and 3 and 4 part harmonies, something for the whole family to enjoy. As for touring, we are planning to go to the States and Europe in 2014. We aren’t the band that is going to sit in a van for 5 years, constantly touring and trying to ‘make it’. We are working men. Everyone has full time jobs that we need to pay for our homes, vehicles, dogs, and our expensive gear. We have girlfriends/ wives; some of us are going to be fathers in the near future. We want to maintain our band and the people in it, which is why we don’t tour often. Hard touring at our level will indefinitely break up our band, and quickly. We’ve had people in the business tell us that we HAVE to be touring, or no one will care. Well, if you want to sit in a van, be broke, sleep in the van, shower once a week, and share McDonalds fries to ‘make it’, you go ahead. We prefer to be able to sleep in beds, shower daily, and be able to afford a new pair of socks, if such an occasion should arise. Too many bands suffer tremendously for their art. We won’t do that. So we keep our band fun, and play shows when we can. We’ll let you know how that works out.

s there a major label release or distribution in the works for the new album?

Signing record deals is a thing of the past for Divinity. We’ve done it twice, and we don’t fit the mould of what the industry wants. We have a problem with record label mentality. If someone is going to take just about all of the album and merch sales, shouldn’t the band get something in return? Not enough bands tell the truth about their deals. That’s one reason we have the Divinity Collective, to show the

The Sixth String fans the facts behind the band. There’s a reason why your favourite band always has a new member every time you see them. There’s so many things expected of you when you sign a deal, and usually the band goes into serious debt to obtain a deal. The label holds all the cards, and will get rid of you when they decide you’re not good enough anymore. After our last tour, we took about a year or so off, as we needed to individually look at our band, and why we were a part of it. Now, we want to keep things fun and interesting. Use the band for a reason to travel, an outlet for everyday life, and to have it as a positive part of our life. We’re happier as a band now than we ever were on a label. Once we finish the album, we will look into ways to market and promote the album worldwide, and find a way to see different parts of the world. It may not be how most bands do it, but we will do it our way and keep our lives intact.

lights, farming, oral hygiene, fine wines and cheeses, and walking dogs. These are only some…

hat does the future hold for Divinity and might this include a visit to South Africa?

We just want to continue to write music and play shows. We hope that over time that we will be able to play shows all over the world. We don’t need to make a living out of music; we just want to experience playing metal in different cultures. We will continue to maintain our friendship and business relationships with each other, and together we can find a way to do anything we want to do. As for playing in South Africa, show us some plane tickets and a hotel room and we’ll show you our new songs. We can show you more, but it will cost extra.

and interests?

Oh goodness. Camping, hiking, hunting, video games, muay thai, working out, fixing the van, South Park, Seinfeld, rock n roll, guns, archery, chastity, rsp’s, working 15 hour days, beer, cooking, accounting, drilling great big holes and filling them with concrete, forestry, media design, concrete and paving estimating, electrical, HVAC controls, Warehouse management, starting a clothing line, beards, photography, strobe

We’re happier as a band now than we ever were on a label.”

I will never lose the drive to create as long as art retains the capacity to help others.â&#x20AC;?

et’s start out by saying that if you are in search of finding something quite crazy, yet elegant and enchanting at the same time, I believe you have just found it. Welcome to the strange world and sounds of Emilie Autumn. It is quite hard for me to put her music to words, but I will try nonetheless. It is fair to say it’s like describing a beautiful display of abstract art; at a first glance it could appear to be rather chaotic, and after a closer observation, you might start to notice more form, then structure, and after a while realize that what you are looking at is, in fact, perfectly constructed. So many different questions may arise, but isn’t that what makes art truly good? Is it madness or is it genius.... could it in fact be both? Well, I would recommend that you should experience it for yourself to obtain the answer to this question. As the saying goes, some will get it and some won’t. She calls her style Victorian Industrial, due to the use of classical elements and themes mixed together with the harsh electronic overtones of what only Industrial music has to offer, and on top of this, the look and feel of some Dark Cabaret. Her influences include the likes of Nigel Kennedy, The Smiths and Morrisey to name just a few. Quite an unusual few to name, differing a lot from the normal influences your regular alternative band would name. So this really makes things interesting and above all truly unique.

The Sixth String Emilie Autumn’s interest in music started at a very young age. She started playing the violin at the age of four, her goal was to become a violinist that could play and perform at a world class level. With her mind firmly set, she decided to leave school to pursue her dream of becoming one of the best. This would give her enough time to build up the countless hours of practice that is needed to obtain such a high level goal; however she did carry on with home schooling and further studied a vast amount of literature. Studies in the past reveal that it takes a person roughly ten thousand hours of practice to develop the necessary skills to become a master at his or her craft. I am convinced that Emilie Autumn is hard proof of this statement. She released her first album - On a Day : Music for Violin and Continuo at the age of seventeen. This album was fully recorded within one day, and that is where the album title derives from. This release was only intended to serve as a rather lengthy demo at the time.

In 2003 she released her album Enchant, which is the first to showcase her fantastic vocal abilities. By the look of things, it seems that Emilie Autumn has no time to waste, and does not intend on slowing down anytime soon. Having released six EPs, three albums and two instrumental albums proves that well. She has also released three books up until now, “Across the sky & other Poems” also re-released as “Your sugar sits untouched”, including an audiobook performed in full. She has also released her first book that is more of an autobiography with a few twists and turns in it, entitled “The Asylum for Wayward Victorian girls” We caught up briefly with Emilie (the most talented of all wayward girls) to share a few words with us.

You started with the violin at a very young age, did you have any idea of where you were heading, or did your unique style simply evolve over time? EA: I had a very clear idea of what I wanted, of what I expected, but what has happened since is absolutely beyond anything I even knew existed. I suppose the particular career that I have at this moment really didn’t exist at the time. I wanted to be a world-class violin soloist, and I attained those skills through years of toil, and I can honestly credit everything I’ve created or become since, to that skill and knowledge. But I’m so grateful that I’ve found so much more, while never leaving those skills behind. What would you approach differently now, apart from when you started you career in music? EA: I don’t think I would approach anything differently. I would change nothing about my work or career today, and so I couldn’t possibly want to alter anything that led me to this moment. If you ended up on a deserted island, what would your 5 items be that you needed the most? EA: Journals to write in, a large parasol, several pounds of quality green tea leaves, one fine china teacup, and a very large bottle of excellent champagne. Why did you stick with the violin, instead of the more conventional instruments that are so frequently heard? EA: I’d say the violin is one of the most convential instruments there is. It’s been around hundreds of

years longer than any instrument in modern rock, and is about as oldschool as it gets. If there was a song by another artist that you would have loved to make your own, what would it be? EA: Different every day…today that would be ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’, New Order. What keeps you motivated and inspired? EA: I will never lose the drive to create as long as art retains the capacity to help others.

to you, and trust me, if you’ve got a great song and are not only a great musician but also a great performer, no audience is going to care whether you’re on Universal or a label you created yourself. If you were tied up in a chamber but were given the choice of 2 CDs to be played endlessly, what would you pick? EA: David Allen Stern’s ‘Acting With An Accent,’ French, and a CD audio book on astral projection so that I could get the fuck out of there and go to Paris, at least mentally.

Seeing the current state of the music industry where only the mainstream pop gets overly promoted and widely accepted, what different steps would you or other less conventional artists take to be able to make the best of their situations, and still be a success above the odds?

Which character would you like to become if you could transform yourself into any fictional tale?

EA: I believe the first step towards independent success is to truly realize that you do not need major support. The trick is to find a way to connect with your potential audience directly, and this is easier to do every day with the advent of the Internet, social media, the ability to manufacture your own albums, etc. If you choose the indie, DIY route, you’re actually in very good company, as not only myself but hundreds of well known musicians have ditched their labels, and are doing the same thing as you are. Spend less time seeking major support and a large monetary advance and more time developing your skills to a worldclass level and finding exactly what makes you different. The more interesting and unique, and even mystifying you are, the more people will want to see and listen

EA: My manager, Melissa King. She puts up with me, after all.

EA: Probably Robin Hood…though wasn’t he real, as least partially? Who do you admire above all?

Who is your favourite of the Bloody Crumpets? EA: ‘Suffer’, The Bear. Thank you Emilie for taking part in this interview :) EA: It is my absolute pleasure! I’m delighted to finally have the opportunity to speak to the Plague Rats of South Africa. I would be even more delighted to meet them in person! Interview by Leon Calvyn Kemp for Some Kind Of Alternative Magazine.

The Sixth String

clifford crabb Clifford Crabb

Photo by: Liquid Vision Photography

Rumours Lounge

The Singularity With his mighty stage presence at every Agro show, we just had to hook up an interview with Clifford Crabb, and chat to the man with the big personality.

we continue to make new fans but sadly that often results in us being ignored or overlooked by the general media, or so called “rock” festivals cause we are “too metal”...so yeah, in that sense nothing much has changed.

You’ve been a metal head for a long time, and you’ve certainly made your mark in our local metal community. If you think back on when it all started, can you remember the first metal album you ever listened to?

What have been some of the lessons you have learned as a musician over the years, and what advice could you give to bands that are trying to make it today?

The first heavy metal albums I ever listened to actually belonged to my brother, and that was in 1983. They were Van Halen (1984), Quiet Riot (Metal Health), Def Leppard (Pyromania) and Black Sabbath (Born again). I used to listen to his albums all the time and bands like Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest made a huge impact on me; but it was in 1986 when I bought Manowar (Hail to England) when I realised that THIS is who I am and THIS is who I will be forever!!!! What’s your take on the current metal scene in South Africa? How do you think it’s changed since Agro first started? Well, I have seen a lot of changes since we hit the scene 20 years ago, but I guess for us it’s been a case of “the more things change, the more they stay the same”. We are still a hard working heavy metal band who will never sell out! Sub genres come and go, and we ignore the trendy ones i.e. grunge, nu metal and metal core, and this strengthens our credibility and

Never let corrupt family members manage your finances!! Always keep your “manager” at a level where it’s easy to fire him/her. If your manager is a band member, parent, spouse, sibling etc., things can get complicated! Just ask Diamond Head or Sepultura, or Agro haha. CD or Vinyl, and why? BOTH!!! I still spend around R2000 a month on original hard copies!! Yes, I do download, but then I source the original and pay my dues to the scene I love so dearly!!

What’s your favourite place to gig at in South Africa? Anywhere, any time!! It never gets tired!!! Agro have been fortunate enough to play at Wacken Festival in Germany a few times. Tell us about your experience when you played on German soil for the first time? The first time we played in Germany was many years ago, and believe me, it’s very different from here!! The level of professionalism there is so high. There are unions protecting the bands!! So it is an “offence” if clubs/venues don’t comply to sound/stage requirements!! We once played a festival over here and the “engineer” left the desk to smoke a joint WHILE WE WERE PLAYING!!! I was like” can we have more guitar in the monitor”, then I realised I was shouting at an empty desk!!! Shit like that does not happen in Germany!!!

What are some funny moments that you’ve had on stage?

Back in the day, Agro was known as “Agro Grannies”. What’s the story behind that name and why did you decide to change it to just “Agro”?

Too many to mention. But the one that will live for me forever was when Nick (ex-keyboardist) he fell through the stage!!! I laughed the whole show!! In fact, 10 odd years later I still laugh when I think about it, especially when we pulled him out of the huge hole he made. His pants got caught on a piece of wood while we were pulling him up, and his whole ass appeared!!! You had to be there!!!

In 1989 Phillip DuToit (original Agro bassist) wanted to form a band, and came up with the daft name Agro Grannies!! (incorrect spelling and all) he wanted it to be a hard core band in the vein of Lawnmower Death, Spastic Blur, Old Lady Drivers, Concrete Sox etc., and by the time he got the original line up together the name Agro Grannies had spread like wild fire!! I mean, people came to our early shows just to see this band

with such a dumb name! Haha. I don’t think he was thinking long term when he came up with the name. I didn’t think the name represented the style of music we were evolving towards, so I insisted on a name change!! Because of the following we had gathered and the attention that was drawn to the old name, it made sense to just shorten the name to AGRO, as to not disassociate ourselves from our then rapidly growing fan base... It would have been hard to write serious songs dealing with sensitive issues such as rape, child/woman abuse, drugs etc., if people don’t take your name seriously!!! Any chance of Agro releasing a new album in 2013? Absolutely!!! Work has begun on our 8th studio album!!! New sound, new members, same true HEAVY METAL!!!

Do you have any hidden talents or strange hobbies people don’t know about? Not really. I do enjoy running and have done 6 Comrades ultra-marathons, but I would hardly call that a hidden talent. It’s more like a dumbass talent haha. If you had to pick 5 albums in your collection that stand out to you most, which would it be and why? Manowar, Hail To England. Helloween, Keeper Of The Seven Keys (part 1 and 2). Metallica, Master Of Puppets. Inflames, The Jester Race. Hammerfall, Glory To The Brave. Judas priest, Pain Killer. Tourniquet, Psycho Surgery Nightwish, Once. Blind Guardian, Imaginations From The Other Side. Gamma Ray, Land Of The Free. ...sorry that’s ten!!!

If you could organize the biggest metal event South Africa has ever seen, which bands would headline, and what would you call the event? Manowar and Bring Me The Horizon!!! And I would call it THE DAY TRUE METAL DESTROYED METALCORE.... fest!!! I would pay good money to watch BMTH and their fans squirm, as they see real musicians play real music, and have their faces melted off by the power of steel!!!!!!! Thanks so much for taking the time to chat to us, we look forward to seeing you at the next Agro gig. Any last words? Well done with your magazine and good luck for the future. Metal will never die!!

PAUL BLOM Paul Blom Photographer: Ronnie Belcher

The Singularity If there is one man who’s capable of keeping the S.A. Alternative scene alive, it is Paul Blom. His vision, drive and belief in film making, music and journalism is strong enough to push him all the way to the top. What better to celebrate his accomplishments than an interview with the Zeus, like Mr. Blom himself. Terminatryx has a very different sound to most of the bands in South Africa, what made you decide to go the Industrial route? Paul Blom: Yeah, I’ve played in a Hardcore / Punk / Metal garage band Moral Decay with my brothers Francois and Henri in the mid-‘80s, in the regular Metal band Metalmorphosis after that (also with Francois, and ex-Phoenix members Cliff – who went on to Ravenwolf, and Diccon – who also played bass for V.O.D), and the Thrash / Death fusion of V.O.D – Voice Of Destruction from the late-‘80s onward. In the late-‘90s I bought a bass guitar in the UK while on our V.O.D European tour and started my solo project F8 (a bass driven Grind / electronic fusion). When Sonja and I started Terminatryx 10 years ago, I wanted to do something different – never having been in a band with female vocals and incorporating the programming / electronic side I experimented on with F8, and fusing that with our extensive interest in movies and their layered emotional moods. Back then SA also didn’t have much of a tradition up until then of heavy edged music with female vocals (with exceptions throughout the years like Misery and Axe). I love Ministry, Fear Factory and bands like that, so I was keen to do

something in that direction.

What was it is like doing your Terminatryx debut shows with Diary Of Dreams on their “Dream Collector Tour” in 2003? Paul: People got wind of our band before we played any live shows, and now as back then, there aren’t too many bands that fuse organic and electronic music within true alternative genres (except maybe for Battery 9). Diary Of Dreams is a very popular German Darkwave group, and the organizers asked us to be the support act on their SA tour. We played in Cape Town and Gauteng. Sonja (vocals) happened to be a big fan, so it was quite an experience for her to have her very first live shows with an international band she respects (but at the same time also quite daunting). We had a great time. Back then we hadn’t really decided exactly what one can call our genre (since it has different elements from Metal and Industrial, to Rock, Electronic, Gothic etc., depending on the song) - but we eventually settled on Industrial-Metal to simplify having to go into long explanations and lay out what sub-genres are relevant. For me Alternative music would describe genres like Metal, Punk, Gothic, Psychobilly, anything that’s not mainstream commercial - but nowadays solo guys with acoustic guitars get labelled as such…(?!) Three years after those first live shows we were invited by SAMEX as one of 4 SA bands to play in Berlin, Germany (on Diary Of Dreams’ home turf), at the Popkomm music convention and expo. That was fantastic. On Halloween 2008, you released the “Terminatryx / Nosferatu” DVD featuring that classic silent

vampire film with your new soundtrack, as well as the shortfilm by titled “imPERFECTION”. What was the short film about? Paul: We made the short film

in 2004 (starring Sonja, with a performance cameo by the band in a bar scene). It is a dark trip through a woman’s downward spiral into psychosis and murder. It is an experimental piece anchored around the symbol of a perfect circle which recurs throughout, and the blurring between reality and fantasy. It has a Terminatryx and F8 soundtrack and runs for 16 minutes. We included it in our first DVD as a bonus feature. The short was selected and screened at Edinburgh Africa and the Short Cuts event and others. We created the new soundtrack for Nosferatu with collaborative musician friends Simon and Sean from Lark, Francois (V.O.D and K.O.B.U.S.), and Matthijs Van Dijk. Since then, Sonja and I, Sean, Simon and Matthijs have named the project The Makabra Ensemble and we’ve done 7 of these silent films, performing these new soundtracks live to the screen, at the South African HorrorFest film festival, Oppi Koppi, the Celludroid, Sound On Screen, and Sound & Motion’s White Room Sessions and Cape Town’s Creative Week. We plan to release all of these movies with our new soundtrack renditions.

You are one of the creators and directors of the “South African Horror Fest”, what is the South African HorrorFest and when was it started? Our short film “imPERFECTION” was a big catalyst for this. We made the movie in 2004, and

realized there were very few if any platforms to screen it in South Africa. Being Fangoria Magazine readers, we were very much aware of Horror events and festivals around the globe, with SA never exploring something like that. So, we created the HorrorFest to get like-minded movie fans and movie-makers who get sidelined to make exciting, crazy and limitless movies without boundaries, as there is now a place to have them screened to the public. We’re in our 9th year, and get an overwhelming amount of feature film and short film submissions from around the world which gets screened across a week during Halloween season. We include Halloween dress up, incorporate sneak previews, new films, classics, rarities, and for the most part give Horror / Chiller fans the chance to see a wide range of movies they wouldn’t normally see in a cinema. We’ve incorporated a literary chapter with live Horror readings by local authors at The Book Lounge in Cape Town, added a short story competition and have released 3 e-book anthologies of the best stories submitted (the 2nd volume available in print form as well). Every year we also do a new Makabra Ensemble live movie soundtrack performance to a classic silent film. We screen the film festival segment at The Labia Theatre in Cape Town, and have also linked up with The Bioscope in Johannesburg to run an event there at the same time. Since then we’ve created other film festivals like the X Fest Extreme Film Festival, the Celludroid Sci-Fi / Anime / Fantasy Film Festival, Sound On Screen Music

Film Festival and Daring Doccies Documentary Film Festival. www.flamedrop.com/events

What are some of your favourite horror films? Paul: That is a difficult one!

There are so many… Old silent classics (linked to our Makabra Ensemble) include Nosferatu, Häxan, Maciste In Hell. George Romero’s first three zombie movies, Night Of Living Dead, Dawn Of The Dead and Day Of The Dead. Then obviously Sci-Fi horrors like the Alien series and John Carpenter’s The Thing (as well as his original slasher flick Halloween). Re-Animator and the original Nightmare On Elm Street, Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead movies (incidentally, early-August we’ve arranged for a special South African HorrorFest Cape Town theatrical sneak preview of the new remake with Ster Kinekor, before it hits theatres – for free ticket info, check out www.horrorfest. info Then of course I’m a huge David Cronenberg fan, so anything by him is great (from Shivers and Videodrome to Dead Ringers and The Fly remake). But one of the top ones has to be Stanley Kubrick’s version of Stephen King’s The Shining – everything is perfect, the cinematography, the mood, the soundtrack, Jack Nicholson’s performance. Still great after 30 years!

You are also involved in media production, and have produced and directed all the Terminatryx music videos, what other media productions have you been involved in? Paul: I started editing on one of

the first digital non-linear editing systems in the early-’90s - the Media 100 for the Mac (which got replaced by Final Cut). Since then I’ve been doing freelance editing of a wide range from private to corporate productions. But, for the most part I work on our own productions, from producing, directing and editing our music videos, to documentary subjects we find interesting.

With Terminatryx’s new studio album titled “Shadow”, due for release this year, you have taken part on www.indiegogo.com, where fans can help towards the production of this new studio album (and your 5th release), and there are many perks involved for the people who partake. What can you tell us about the making of this studio album as an independent band, and what can fans expect from this album? Paul: We’ve decided to kick things

up a notch. So we’ve gone from the usual DIY route (which has served us well), and this time went into Bellville Studios to co-produce it with Theo Crous (and we should be wrapping up mid-September with October aimed at for the release date). A serious studio (with an SSL analog desk and more compressors, FX and gadgets than you can shake a stick at) makes a hell of a difference. Regardless of great software (as we used with Pro Tools on our previous recordings), is no match for a fully kitted studio. We wanted to step things up on a sonic level and feel we’ve accomplished that. Sonja also wrote many of the new songs, giving it a different perspective and

The Singularity new, fresh approach, adding to the diversity and wide range of moods and intensity on the album. On our debut album we programmed the drums, but this time round we’re combining it with live drums for added kick - Theo is also recording the live drums onto analog 2 inch tape giving it a much more intense sound. This has also made it a more expensive process and Theo also wants to have it mastered in Los Angeles (and the Rand / Dollar is sucking at the moment!) - that’s why we set up the Indie Go Go crowd-funding campaign to assist with the cost. All participants get something, escalating with each amount bracket, from pre-release downloads and physical CDs, to executive producer credit, tattoo & body piercing vouchers, custom Terminatryx coats, Jackson King V guitars and loads more. The album’s title track can be accessed for free at the crowd-funding page: http://igg.me/at/terminatryxshadow For the cover design we’re working with our photographic collaborator Dr-Benway.

You were a judge for the “Wacken Metal Battle” this year, what’s your take on our local bands? If you are able to choose, who were some of your favourites? Paul: I’m impressed with the quality of the bands coming forward. What I would like to see more of is a wider range of Metal sub-genres, and for bands to stick it out and develop, in stead of breaking up so quickly. The bands that made it to the finals were all scored in my top ranges. As with picking a favourite Horror movie,

the same applies here!

Aside from the new Terminatryx studio album, what’s on the map for the band in 2013? Any gigs in Johannesburg? Paul: The album is the main focus. We play very few live shows a year (give people something to look forward to in stead of becoming over-saturated with too many gigs), but we made a concerted effort to step it up for the second half of the year and play at least one show per month. Then, we also plan to make a few music videos and maintain the quality we set out to with our previous ones. A Johannesburg tour is an expensive undertaking, but we’d love to do so again soon. Upcoming live shows: 10 August @ ROAR (Observatory, Cape Town) 7 September @ Rabbit Hole (Durbanville, Cape Town) 11 October @ Mercury Live (Zonnebloem, Cape Town) 23 November @ Aandklas (Stellenbosch, Cape Town) December - TBC Thank you so much for doing this interview with us, we are very excited for the new album. We wish you luck and continued success in 2013. Anything else you would like to mention? Paul: Thank you – all the best with the new mag! www.PaulBlom.com www.terminatryx.com www.horrorfest.info

What I would like to see more of is a wider range of Metal sub-genres”

r e n r o

c s â&#x20AC;&#x2122; l u a $1 HOTDOGS p Paul Hodgson Photo by: Chan Shisler and Carel Scheepers

Hey, everybody. My name is Paul Hodgson and I play guitar in The Parlotones. This column will mostly be me, just talking about what we’re doing these days, as well as answering any questions anyone out there might have for the band. This month’s column was kind of last minute, and I wrote it quickly, but I really wanted to be part of the first issue. So we’re currently in Los Angeles, we’ve spent most of this year in America, but recently spent a few weeks back in South Africa to record our next album. We’re still working with Theo Crous in his studio in Bellville, Cape Town. It’s truly a world-class studio and Theo does a fantastic job. While we were back in Jo’burg we also recorded another two songs with Darryl Torr in Open Room studios, another amazing studio. Darryl and Theo have very different approaches to recording, and it will be interesting to see how their different recordings come out. The album should be out in September or October, and it will be called “Stand Like Giants.” A lot of people ask what life is like in America, and it’s often hard to answer because our life in America is basically always being on tour. We drive a big Dodge Ram van with all our gear in the back. A tour is normally six to eight weeks long, and we do around 15,000km per tour. America is BIG, the drives between towns are at least seven or eight hours each day, and sometimes it’s twelve to fifteen hours. We’ve crossed the country dozens of times, and seen almost every State, but it’s always just for a day or two, we hardly ever get to experience the place or spend some time doing anything besides interviews, sound checks and gigs. For most of August, however, we’ve only been in Los Angeles. There have been a couple of shows, we played the Viper Room recently, but for the most part it’s been a lot of meetings, press and networking, that sort of thing. We normally all wake up around 8am; it’s really hot here now so you can’t sleep late. Once that sun comes up it’s too hot to stay in bed. Then we have a rehearsal for a few hours, normally until lunch time. We are practicing in the garage again, just like the early days. Neil is playing an electric drum kit, and we all have our amps down low. We are running over old songs, but mostly learning to play the songs from the new album. Then we make lunch and have a swim, and the rest of the day and night is for whatever else has been planned. The sun only goes down around 8pm, so the days feel much longer. We’ve got a bunch of bicycles, and we use those to get around the neighbourhood. There are some tennis courts up the road, and Neil and Kahn play almost every day. On Monday nights we go to a local restaurant that has a $1 hotdog special, so pretty much every Monday we go there, eat a bunch of hotdogs, and have a beer or two. We are back in South Africa during September and October for the release of the new album, so hope to see you at a show. Cheers! Paul.

V.O.D

interview with

Paul Blom 1994

for

Thunderfuck ‘Zine V.O.D INTERVIEW 10/04/1994 What does it feel like being S.A’s foremost and longest surviving metal band?

voice of destruction

It doesn’t feel different from normal. We don’t feel superior and will befriend anyone,whether they like us or not. It does however make us proud to know we’ve managed to stick it out and improve as time goes by. It also proves that in SA especially, you can’t expect overnight success or any related bullshit. It’s hard work. This should motivate new bands. Some bands can also be discouraged when they see how long it takes to make an impact on the scene. I don’t know exactly when we cracked it,but I know since V.O.D.’s birth we made people stop and listen. The mere fact that we’ve been around since 1986 has one major advantage, which is the experience gathered over the years, from singing structure, live sound and performance, to working in the studios and marketing yourself. Many people are envious of the impact we’ve made on the SA music scene. To bad

V.O.D. Will never disappear and to those who wish us the contrary can fuck off and die! Big time! We’ve built up a lot of supporters from all around and we wish to keep them and satisfy them the best we can while rounding up more and more V.O.D was initially formed as a hardcore thrash band. How would you describe your style today? I suppose it’s necessary to be categorized in one way or another in order to attract the type of folks you want to reach. We fall somewhere along the ever growing spectrum which was once simply defined as heavy metal. Today there are so many hybrids and categories it makes you dizzy. We definitely fall under the more extreme side of metal. We’ve got lots of speed and the powerful growling vocals. Many people class it as death and the slow pieces will remind some of doom/atmospheric metal. Intricate time changes and melodic parts can have a thrash identity for some while cool moshing parts will have

many recognize the hardcore roots. There are so many different sounds present in our songs that it can appeal to a broad spectrum,something which is quite useful in SA with the marginally small metal crowd segmented into separate movements within the genre which even includes punk and alternative. All these and more constitute the segment of the population susceptibility to our type of music. Another fact which makes it difficult to categorize us is the lyrics by Francois. It cover various subjects/ emotions instead of being stuck into a limited category. We do what we feel like at the time and it seems to work pretty well. The 12 minute epic “If I Had a Soul” is your most ambitious project to date and the song also enjoyed some success in Europe. Tell us more. It initially consisted of the first part alone and one day we just thought to double it up and had Diccon compose a transitional bass solo. It worked great although we

Thunderfuck as soon as he’s up to it. The songs a differ a lot, from hectic speed to slow atmospheric parts. “If I Had a Soul” will be recorded with an extra part added. “Black Cathedral” will make an appearance ‘A Beast is Born”,”Religion” and “JMSP” our first Afrikaans song and a couple others will make it clock in at over an hour with music interludes as well as a couple of surprises. It’s the best songs we’ve came up with so far and it’s variation and versatility will not only please a couple of folks but will also shock a few who thought we weren’t capable of it. It’s definitely not going to be boring and will flatten many established foreign bands.

Have you clayed down any new material for an album yet and what can we expect?

Yes, he calls it “Uncle Vinnie”, sort of bizarre mixture of anything and everything. He calls it non-music. He’s been working on it on and off for a few years and it’s resulted in an hour plus compilation called “The Fuckin’ Complete Uncle Vinnie” The songs vary from evil stuff to hilarious rip-offs of any subject imaginable. They consist of sound fx, samples and multi-vocal tracks. It’s well worth a listen

We’ve had material ready for about a year now. Inn House told us we’d get our album early this year, but it didn’t happen. So we just kept on working. Getting the songs as tight as possible and at the same time a couple of extra tracks got added. We recored a preliminary demo for ourselves a couple of months ago to hear what they sound like, especially with the extra guitar. We were going to record and release our album independently in September but Diccon messed up his hand and has been out of action for a few months. It’s getting better and we’ll be recording

I know Francois did a side project,can you let us in on it?

You are also busy putting the final touches on a live V.O.D video? It should be done by the end of December, maybe sooner. There is only four more songs to do as well as the cover and lyric sheet. The video consists

of over twenty songs and interviews, etc. I’m editing it on of the few digital edit suites in Cape Town with real cool fx and titles. It’s almost a V.O.D “Best Of ” with most of the songs leading up to the brand new material. A few songs from the forthcoming album is also to be seen, not yet in their fully matured states, but you’ll get the basic idea. With bands like “Empty Sepulchre”, Ravenwolf ” and yourself, Cape Town have established quite a scene. Your comments?

voice of destruction

had to sit down and work at it. The long running time wasn’t our main objective. We wanted to do something rarely attempted, not only in SA but abroad as well. We wanted something else from the usual 2-3 minute burst. It contains many different parts, styles, sounds and time changes that the length became irrelevant as you get into the song and all of its dimensions. You either love it or hate it. I haven’t heard anyone complain about it though, only one dude from Cape town who played bass in a Guns n Roses wanna be rock band. Say no more, although the song made quite an impact with only favorable reviews in zine’s like U K’s Terrorizer and Germany’s Rock Hard, etc Locally “Thorazine” and even “Top 40” music magazine.

The Cape Town scene is a weird one. Bands and fans come and go. Ourselves and Ravenwolf are the only metal bands who’s been around more than two years. Bands don’t want to persist and break up either because of petty shit, or because they’re not sure what direction to take. Some just give up. The fans also vary from die-hards to seasonal supporters. The scene’s getting better, but if we could reach the Transvaal figures or even

voice of destruction

surpass it, that would be great.

When can we expect another V.O.D tour up in Jhb?

Any other SA metal outfits you like or admire?

As soon as we can. We’re dying to play Transvaal. The crowds there are excellent. Some of our best gigs have erupted up north. And I’m sure there will be plenty to come in the future. It all depends on how soon Diccon’s hand will be fully healed. We plan on having a video launch type thing. Keep a lookout for posters and flyers. We’re really looking forward to it. If we just could, we would play the whole country, even the world! But costs have to be considered, and we ain’t Metallica you know.

Ravenwolf has a flutist, which soups up the traditional metal sound. Interesting! I like Retribution Denied because like Ravenwolf I know them personally. They’re great. I like the fact that they don’t sit around waiting to be discovered, but push and promote themselves.

Johan joined when Greg wanted an extra guitar for pieces which needed extra kick. Pieces he couldn’t play alone. It’s there to enhance the current sound,making it more diverse. Our progression called for it.

From left to right: Diccon Harper Paul Blom Greg McEwan Francois Blom

A foreign record deal. At least one album a year. Proper music videos and loads of gigs all around!

Yo ue it or ithe ha r l te ove it”

Since your Black Cathedral release you’ve added an extra member. Who and why?

Finally, what does future plans for V.O.D include?

as it is in eden creating a devine race of tattooed humans, one at a time from the cradle of tattooedhuman-kind: edenvale

ink

I like taking realistic objects and juxtaposing them alongside 2 dimensional patterns and elementsâ&#x20AC;?

When did you start tattooing? What inspired you to pursue it?

What is your favourite style of tattooing?

I started about 2 and a half years ago. I started because I was tired of getting bad tattoos essentially. I had designed tattoos for people only to see them completely botched by the artists they were going to, and I couldn’t find any artists doing the kind of work I wanted done on me. So one thing kinda led to another and here I am.

I would say my favourite would be colour realism, but again it is hard to narrow it down to just one. I also enjoy black and grey, Trash Polka and new school. Personally, when people give me some free range, I like taking realistic objects and juxtaposing them alongside 2 dimensional patterns and elements, I like the way the different planes in the picture seem to oppose each other but also make each other pop.

Do you think being a tattoo artist requires a natural talent, or is it a skill anyone can cultivate? I think natural artistic ability is imperative. I do not think it is a career just anyone can pursue. If you can draw and paint, you can tattoo. There are a lot of similarities between tattooing and other art forms; it is basically just a new medium to master. Line-work is definitely an acquired skill, one which takes a lot of practice, but I think colouring and shading would come fairly naturally to anyone experienced in drawing or painting or any area which requires an understanding of form, lighting, colour etc. That said, I don’t think one should ever stop learning as a tattoo artist, and I don’t think your ego should stop you from being willing to learn new techniques and try things outside of your comfort zone.

Who are some of your favourite tattoo artists? There are so many, but foremost I would say Dmitriy Samohin, Jeff Gogue, Nick Baxter, Xoil, Peter Aurisch, Rich Pineda... the list is long and distinguished.

How often do you get to do original work? Well the majority of my tattoos I design myself, but the subject matter is generally the choice of the client, so it is normally a case of marrying the picture they have in their head, versus the design I have in mine. This obviously is often the more challenging aspect of my job.

Aside from tattooing, what other interests or hobbies do you have? I enjoy painting, drawing, and family time with my wife and dogs, photography, generally anything visually creative. I am big into online gaming too. Time is an issue though, working 7 days a week doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for much else.

What advice would you give someone interested in becoming a tattoo artist? Start at the beginning. Like I said before, focus on your artistic skills and tattooing should come pretty naturally thereafter. Understand too, that tattooing is more like a lifestyle than a job, you pretty much eat, sleep and breathe tattoos

every minute of the day. It is a commitment, and not a normal 9 to 5 career. The rewards are there to be reaped (not merely monetary) but you have to pay your dues too. There is a learning curve to be endured which can be frustrating at times, but a little perseverance will see you through. As a selftaught artist it would not be reasonable of me to advocate doing an apprenticeship as your only means of getting into tattooing, but I would strongly stress that you should learn everything you possibly can before you go sticking needles into people, and it is obviously a huge advantage if you have someone to walk you through every step and assist you. There is a lot of information and material available. Do the legwork and go and find it; learn it all and apply it every time you pick up a machine. There are way too many people out there with some pretty horrific tattoos on them, don’t be a contributor to that; be responsible, the ink is permanent, make sure every piece you do is something you would be proud to have in your own skin.

ink

Adam Megens Adamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eden Tattoos

Photographer: Braden Nesin.

Lisa Jablonski

Model: Lisa Jablonski

beauty

Hi everyone! My name is Lisa Jablonski, and I am a musician, model, photographer, and licensed cosmetologist.

Model: Lisa Jablonski

Photographer: Emspace Photography

Outfit by Devoid and Deveil

I am a vocalist and guitarist. I have been in several Metal bands, and currently have a new project in the works that I will be fronting. I began playing music at age five, starting with the piano. Throughout my youth, I switched instruments a few times, and at 16, vocals and guitar is what stuck. Modelling became a hobby when I attended my first shoot as a hair stylist and makeup artist. I was told to give modelling a try. I shot with some of the photographers that hung out a bit later, and ended up having some fun with it, that was over four years ago, and I continue to model occasionally to this day. Photography is a more recent hobby of mine. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m still an amateur; and I mostly stick with photographing live concerts. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to shoot more nonconcert photography, but that will have to happen when Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m spending less time on school.

Model: Lisa Jablonski

beauty

Photographer: Absinthe Moon Photography

“Sabaton at 70,000 Tons of Metal 2013 © Plagueflower Photography”

You are a very versatile artist, and you cover many different categories in media. How do make time for everything, and which would you say is your favourite? Currently, as I am a student attending classes over-time, and have been doing so for both the summer and spring semester of this year, I have had time for absolutely nothing but school. When I’m not in school, the only time-consuming activity that interferes with my hobbies is work, and I’m fine with that. Otherwise, when school is not in the way, I am able to balance everything pretty efficiently.

You have captured some amazing shots of bands during live performances, what are some of your favourite bands you’ve had the opportunity to photograph? I haven’t photographed nearly as many bands as I’d like to. So far, my favourite concert photography experience was 70,000 Tons of Metal 2013. I photographed Turisas, Sabaton, In Flames, and many others. I also really enjoyed taking photos at Mayhem Fest 2012.

Aside from photographing bands, what other kinds of photography are you interested in pursuing, and would you ever want to do photography on a permanent basis? I would like to do every other kind of photography, as long as it doesn’t involve nudity. I would love to spend more time on photography, but I need the time to be available first.

You have done some beautiful photo shoots, When did you start modelling? What about modelling intrigued you to become a model yourself? Thank you! I began modelling in 2010. I attended a group shoot as a hair and makeup artist, and was recommended to model as well. It ended up being somewhat enjoyable. I never saw myself as someone who could be considered a model, so I never really felt intrigued by it. It just happened to become something I ended up doing.

Being a licensed cosmetologist, do you do all your own make-up and hair before a shoot? I always prefer to do my own makeup, since the average makeup artist is trained to only work with a standard model face, whereas mine looks nothing like one of those. As for hair, I have the ability to do basic hairstyles on my own head, but for anything complex I prefer to have a hair stylist do it. The only time where someone else will do both my hair and makeup is if someone else that is partaking in the shoot requires it.

You play the guitar, piano, accordion and you have the vocal capabilities as well, when did your love for music begin? Who are some of the bands you’ve been involved with over the years? I began playing piano at the age of five. I didn’t really enjoy music at the time, so I wasn’t too enthusiastic about playing it. At some point I decided to switch to saxophone, and then eventually guitar, despite still not liking music

much. I began to enjoy music and Metal around the age of eleven or twelve.

What was it like working on 70 000 Tons Of Metal? What are some of your most memorable moments on the cruise? Despite all the negative comments and insults, I had a fun time. I didn’t care for the girly outfits, but I enjoyed photographing bands, and spending time with friends. It was definitely an interesting experience.

You are currently working on a new band which you will be fronting. What can you tell us about this? I will be on vocals and guitar in my new Folk Metal/Melodeath project. Any shows and information about this band will be posted on my official page.

Thank you so much for doing this interview. Is there any advice you could give to people trying to pursue photography, modelling or music, and is there anything else you would like to add? I would like people to realize that if they have a passion for any of these things, that a back-up plan or primary job is still required. I make no money off any of my hobbies. Freelancing is difficult work, and it takes a lot of effort to do it. If you would like to keep up with my hobbies and activities, please like my page! http://www.facebook.com/ LisaJOfficial

Model: Lisa Jablonski

beauty

Photographer: Black Pearl Photo “As I Lay Dying at Mayhem Fest 2012 © Plagueflower Photography”

turns into a ballad. The band’s eighth studio album is a must have for any fan of metal music!

Agathodaimon

Black star riders

In Darkness

All Hell Breaks Loose

If your bag is Black Metal with touches

BSR includes Scott Gorham and Jimmy

of Goth, then you will enjoy this album

Degrasso from Thin Lizzy’s classic, and

Chthonic

from Germany’s Agathodaimon. Fierce

post Lynott’s days. “Bound For Glory’ and

Bu-Tik

guitar riffs, symphonic elements, high

‘Hey Judas’ reminds one of the ‘Jailbreak’

pitched growls, blended with clean vocals

era, and ‘Kingdom of The Lost’ with its

Taiwanese militant extreme metal!

and rapid drumming. Great musicianship

pipes, it adds a romantic, Irish feel to

Chthonic is back with a bigger and more

and dynamic engineering! The band is

the album. Singer Ricky Warwick even

polished sound on Bu-Tik.

on top of their game. A merger of Black

surpasses Lynott in his delivery at times,

‘Set Fire To The Island’ and ‘Defenders Of

Death melodic atmospheric doom, totally

which will fit neatly, should they decide to

Bu – Tik Palace’ once again sees the use

amazing! Agathodaimon is as graceful and

resurrect Lizzy again. Produced by Kevin

of the band’s group singing in Mandarin.

impressive as Dimmu Borgir!

Shirley, the dual guitar sounds will rock

Plenty of melancholy use of violin, and

a stadium of fans, though one can hardly

synths but yet violent with fast and hard

accuse BSR of originality, this is a good slab

hitting guitar solos. Freddy Lim sounds

of rock n roll.

great, though there could have been more clean vocals from Doris Yeh. Still a hardhitting and striking album, with great music, and excellent artwork.

Black Sabbath 13 13 is the nineteenth studio album by British band Black Sabbath. It is the

Children Of Bodom

first studio album by the band since

Halo Of Blood

1995’s “Forbidden”, and their first studio recording with Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer

Children of Bodom are back, with a few

Dark Tranquility

Butler since the live album Reunion in

new tricks up their sleeve. The title track

Construct

1998. Super producer Rick Rubin reignited

with its unexpected black metal riffs and

a psychedelic bluesy feel with plenty of

blast beasts, followed by “Bodom Blue

Probably the most different and diverse

molten sludge in the album, which is

Moon”, which in my book might be the

offering since 1999’s Projector .While

prominent on tracks such as “Zeitgeist”

single greatest track the band has ever

still bearing the unmistakable mark of

and “ Live Forever”. My favourite is “End

done. Alexi pushes himself almost to the

Dark Tranquillity, their 10th studio album

of the Beginning”, a hell beast of a track,

point of overheating, while utilizing all of

“Construct” continues in the tradition of

filled with extra heavy Iommi riffs, and

his skills on this track; and the keyboards

their past records by not straying from

a deafening volcanic wail from Ozzy. 13

blow you away. Peter Tagtgren did an

the band’s roots, while also putting a fresh

is apocalyptic and essential in any metal

awesome job on the recording, and also

spin on their trademark sound. The ten

head’s collection.

helped out on the production a bit. “Dead

compositions that make up “Construct”

Man’s Hand On You” is the slowest track

are the most well-crafted and striking

on the album, and my personal favourite

collection of songs the band has ever

with a gothic vocal approach, it almost

produced. Mikael Stanne’s vocals are

impressive, both growled and clean,

melodic. The music is laden with dazzling

town based thrash – heads make you yearn

expressing a depth of emotion that is

proficient riffs, strong rhythm sections,

for the heady days of the late 80’s, but add

unique in the world of extreme metal. Jens

stinging melodic solos, and the drums fill

a bludgeoning modern twist. From the

Bogren (Paradise Lost, Opeth, Katatonia)

out the bottom end well. “Destroy Your

opening cut ‘Ingquisition’, the band is up

took care of the mix. After over 20 years

Life”, “Blood Sisters” and “Alpha Tauri”

and at you, and simply does not let up for

together, DARK TRANQUILLITY yet

are my favourites. The album shows

the next 12 tracks. They’ve perfected that

again proves that they are more vital than

tremendous growth in their song writing,

skin – tearing riff sound, giving Bryan

ever.

with ambitious and imaginative music. I

Villain a full throttle thrash chassis to

highly recommend this album to fans of

vomit his vocals over. This is far more than

80’s era, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.

an exercise in nostalgia, as with the new

Check out the bonus track, a cover of

thrash breed, ING is a timeless blast of

Priest’s “Running Wild” from the Stained

adrenalin – packed fresh blood.

Class album. This band has it all!

Edenbridge The Bonding Grand Symphonic power metal! After an absence of three years, Austria’s Edenbridge is back with their eighth studio

Immolation

album and this time they recruited the

King

Klangvereinigung Orchestra Of Vienna to

Judas Priest

make those symphonic parts sound even

Mastering their love for technical death

grander, and the arrangements neither

metal, Immolation is back with their latest

lead nor smother any song. With big riffs

offering, and what a rewarding wait it was.

Throughout their entire musical career,

and even bigger solos, smooth controlled

Less offbeat and down tempo repetition

Judas Priest’s live shows have been a

clear vocals are as impressive as they

with the band’s signature harmonies,

spectacle to which all other heavy metal

are inspiring. The title track clocks in at

alongside a pristine production makes,

acts are judged and based upon. Besides

over 15 minutes, and more than a little

this a memorable experience like no other.

the usual visually captivating stage effects,

epic, closes the album with absolute bliss.

“Echoes of Despair” and “The Great Sleep”

from Rob Halford’s motorcycle to crowd-

Edenbridge is the perfect level of Melodic,

had me in fist pumping mode. This is off

spanning laser lights and pyrotechnics,

making ‘The Bonding’ one of the best

the wall, wonderfully weird, untrendy and

the renowned band seems to be musically

releases of 2013.

masterful Immolation! Thank you Robert

stronger live (as hard to conceive as that

Vigna. Pure genius!

may be). Their extended plays, expansive

Epitaph

solos, and the occasional wild primal screams, all lead to a wild listening as well as visual experience. The band captured purely in their element at London’s Hammersmith Apollo Theater, as they tear through a masterful and generous 23-song set list comprised of tracks from all throughout the band’s career. As Huntress Starbound Beast

soon as you pop the disc in, you feel as ING

though you’re right there in the front row.

Inquisition

Including, “Painkiller,” “Turbo Lover,” and

The eagerly awaited sophomore release

“Breaking the Law”. “Epitaph” comes highly

is here! An 80’s influenced platter of true

Going for the jugular, with inventive riffs,

heavy metal. Jill Janus hits some extremely

and plenty of blast beat erupting solo’s,

powerful vocal lines, both clean and

and a never -say-die attitude, these Cape

recommended.

Rob Zombie

Seventh Swamphony

Regeneration Vendors

Finland’s answer to ‘In Flames and At The

A hard rockin’ fun album, from beginning

Gates’ are back with their seventh album,

to end. Yes, I am listening to the brand new

and it’s a relentless melodic attack with

Rob Zombie offering, and it’s a nonstop

machine gun drumming, warp speed chops

thrill ride! Zombie’s own take on “We’re

and vicious riffs. Kalmah is back and better

An American Band” and “Rock n Roll (In

than ever! Songs like “Pikemaster” and

a Black Hole) is funky and in your face.

“Windlake Tale” showcases some of the best

The best album since “Hellbilly Deluxe”.

metal I’ve heard, and check out the seven

The opening tunes leave you breathless and

minute “Hollo”. In a genre that recycles

chanting along to “Ging Gang Gong De

itself this is a solidly surprising affair of

Laga Raga”, and gets you in to a nonstop

brutality and adrenaline for all lovers of

party mood! Zombie is stronger than

modern experimental death and thrash

ever. He sank his heart and soul into this

metal. Off to the swamps!

album. The fast paced “Trade in your Guns for a Coffin” is my favourite. Now I’m starting it all over again; “Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor” that is!

Odalisque Fuck Parental Advisory Anyone having Goth Rock withdrawals

Sirenia

can sink their teeth into this album. Deep,

Perils Of The Deep Blue

sultry, plaintive anti-ballads and beefy riffs combined with brooding born as a rock

Sirenia is back! With their most consistent

star looks, and catchy Marilyn Manson

album yet, heavier and more dynamic, with

influenced hooks. An entertaining record

a hint of industrial sound in the guitars.

that pulls no punches, competent, dynamic,

This might be the only fault I find as it was

and convincing, also; they can carry a

pushed up in the mix, and drowns out the

decent tune! A strong release for a band

drums a bit. Ailyn’s vocal range is broader

with the potential to do very well indeed.

and more varied with some memorable

Odalisque is clearly onto something.

operatic parts, and is well complimented

reviews

Kalmah

by the black metal vocal style of the male vocals. The album is an epic one, it’s a mere 77 minutes, one track nearly clocks thirteen minutes. This is a huge feat for Sirenia, and enjoyable from start to finish.

Reviews by: Riaan Jooste

1906 - 1984 EDWARD THEODORE GEIN The Butcher of plainfield

Many may know him better as the man whose twisted mind influenced several fictional serial killers, the most popular being “Leatherface” from the movie Texas Chainsaw Massacre and “Jame Gumb” from the novel Silence Of The Lambs. You may also know him from numerous songs that were written about him, e.g. “Dead Skin Mask” by Slayer, “DeadAche” by Lordi and “Gein with Envy” by John 5, just to name a few. Edward Theodore Gein was born in Lacrosse County, Wisconsin on August 27, 1906, as the youngest son of George Phillip, and Augusta Wilhelmine. The family then later relocated to a farm on the outskirts of a small town called Plainfield, which then became the Gein family’s permanent home. Edward’s father, George, was an alcoholic, who couldn’t

provide stable income. As a result Augusta was left with the responsibility of keeping the family afloat. He died on April 1, 1940, the cause of death was heart failure brought on by his alcoholism. After his death Gein and his older brother, Henry George Gein, began taking on odd jobs here and there to help their mother. She was a very religious woman, being a fervent Lutheran and preached to her sons about the evils of drinking, and that all women, including herself, were prostitutes and instruments of the devil. She would make a point of reading to her sons every afternoon, selecting graphic verses from the Old Testament, usually involving death, violence and divine retribution. On May 16, 1944, Gein and his brother were burning away mash vegetation on the farm, when the fire got out of control. The local fire department was

alerted but when they arrived, Gein’s brother was nowhere to be found. Only after the authorities had left did Gein report his brother missing. Later that night Gein, along with his mother and two local deputies, went out searching for his brother, and found his body lying face down; it was apparent that he had been dead for some time. Since there were no visible burn marks, the county coroner later identified the cause of death as asphyxiation. Augusta was devastated by Henry’s death, and shortly afterwards she suffered a paralyzing stroke. Gein had to take on the role of her permanent caregiver. Over time Augusta’s health rapidly deteriorated and she died on December 29, 1945. The real story of Ed Gein starts after his mother’s death. Gein remained on the farm alone, moving into a small bedroom next to the kitchen. It was then

the edge that his interests began in cult magazines; his main focus including those of cannibalism and Nazi atrocities. When asked to recall Gein as a child, many of his classmates described him as strange; having random outbursts of laughter for no apparent reason. Gein’s first victim was Plainfield hardware store owner, Bernice Warden, who disappeared on November 16, 1957. When investigators searched Gein’s property, they found the body of Bernice Warden in the shed, hung upside down by ropes at her wrists, with a crossbar at her ankles. She was shot with a 22 calibre rifle, and her body was dressed out like a deer. The mutilations to the body were made post-mortem. Aside from the body, while searching the property, investigators also found the following: four noses, whole human bones

and fragments, nine masks of human skin, bowls made from human skulls, ten female heads with the tops sawn off, human skin covering several chair seats, Mary Hogan’s head in a paper bag, Bernice Warden’s head in a burlap sack, nine vulvae in a shoe box, a belt made from female human nipples, skulls on his bedposts, a pair of lips on a drawstring for a window shade, and a lampshade made from the skin of a human face. These items were later photographed in a laboratory, and then destroyed. When Gein was interrogated between 1947 and 1952, he admitted to making as many as 50 nocturnal visits to graveyards; to exhume the recently deceased. During a state crime laboratory investigation, Gein admitted to the murder of tavern owner Mary Hogen, who disappeared

in 1954. He denied having any memory of the details surrounding the crime. There were also reports that Gein kept jars with shrunken heads in his house, but when questioned about it by visitors, he claimed they were relics from the Philippines, sent by a cousin who had served in World War II. Edward Theodore Gein was found guilty of first degree murder during 1986, but due to being mentally unstable, he spent the rest of his life in a mental institution. On July 26, 1984, Gein died of respiratory failure at age 77 in Mendota Health Institution, in Madison, Wisconsin.

References – Wikipedia; The free Encyclopaedia.

the evolution of distribution

Over the years the same old debate has been brought up countless times-this old mummy has been dug up and left restless What is better… Vinyl or Compact Disk, oh, and what about MP3? For the most part, the only factor has always been the quality of the recording. But what about the accessibility and the convenience of these formats, or the nostalgic elements that old timers cling to so much? Well, let’s just say that Vinyl’s quality is superior to that of the CD which is small, more user friendly and sturdier than a fragile Vinyl. Then why did CD sales out-perform Vinyl by so far? Estimated 200 billion units have been sold up until

2007 overshadowing Vinyl sales completely. Yes, it is true that Vinyl offers more of the “warmth” that represents the whole analogue “feel” more accurately when compared to the Compact Disk. Unfortunately, there is wear and tear on a Vinyl being played over and over. Technically, the Vinyl only sounds at its best when it is brand new, but over time the audio quality gradually deteriorates because of that needle that is scraping away at the old classic. A well looked after but old CD would outperform an old Vinyl after many plays and would not deteriorate by itself. The sound

quality would always be the same unless it was damaged in some way. On a personal level I have to admit that I prefer the Compact Disk to the aforementioned Vinyl. I grew up in the Era where CD’s were the standard set for me. Being exposed to the CD format so much more than Vinyl, I came to believe that It would be my natural preference regarding listening to music. I never once listened to a CD and thought to myself “hey, this lacks in quality and warmth” Now you will see teenagers listening to a low quality 128 kbps MP3 and be totally satisfied with its low

the edge performance. Personally, I have never heard them complain even once. The main focus shifts further down the list. It’s all about convenience these days, right? Who is going to care if the quality is a little lower if you can fit your entire music collection on your phone? This is such a wonderful thing…. I find it pretty morbid, actually. Why? It is funny that I have never heard anyone talking about this.

the opening track, “Hammer Smashed Face”, it blew me away and it sealed the deal for me all at once. Listening to this CD always made me feel like a ten-year-old who stole his dad’s cigarettes; as if I was doing something bad but extremely fun at the same time. This is something that I find extremely important: the artwork or the visual side of things, and this, to me, is the glue that brings it all together. It sets the mood along with the music and it makes everything work together as a solid unit, resulting it the full experience.

I recall the very first time that I experienced the genre of Death Metal. Being around the age of twelve years old, I went down to a local CD store where I meticulously browsed through the CD stands. Something caught my eye in the dark corner of the store.

More and more of this gets watered down these days. The lack of artwork when buying MP3 on a site, or, hell forbid, downloading them for free. Somehow, I would never be satisfied with a download; regardless of the quality. I need the artwork and the aura that surrounds a great album.

This was called the Heavy Metal or Hard Rock section. Feeling rather tempted I moved my way over to this side of the store and started to browse through these slightly more controversial looking albums. I picked up a rather ugly looking CD by a band named Cannibal Corpse entitled ‘Tomb of the Mutilated’ being really impressed by the albums gory artwork at the time, and me already being somewhat of a Horror movie fan, I instantly felt that my curious nature took over and forced me to purchase this ‘bad ass’ offering of pure brutality. I had to hear what it was all about. Within the first thirty-something seconds of

Times change, it is all about the convenience and the fast, effortless accessibility of music and everything else these days; changing music into another cheap fast-food option along with everything else. People will get pissed off regardless of the fact that MP3 is taking over. It does have its positive side too. There is so much to choose from only a click away, not to mention getting that one song that you love so much but hated the rest of the album. My final conclusion is that it depends on the Era that you grew up in. So…Vinyl brings back memories while being nice

collectables with the large expanded artwork. Not to mention you will always look like the bigger “fan boy” compared to the rest of your friends. Compact Disks are convenient but still have the artwork for those who care enough for it…..And a shit CD will always make for the loveliest coaster. I recommend one of those dull pop albums with the pretty dolled up blond divas to be ones best option. MP3….Kids love it, they like to bulk it up……for free. It’s an alcoholic, coffee drinker and one of those health nuts slurping down a protein shake and arguing over what drink is the best. The whole point is that they are drinking something, Pick your own brew and enjoy. Article by Leon Calvyn Kemp for Some Kind of Alternative.

CD always made me feel like a ten-year-old who stole his dad’s cigarettes”

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