Slowly We Rot #12 / 2018

Issue 12 / 2018

Well guys and girls, here's the 12th issue of Slowly We Rot. Not sure if I should keep calling it a Fanzine or a Magazine; it's done by fans, for fans, so it's a fanzine, but it's also a magazine since it has plenty of people all contributing to it in a way or another; there are xeroxed zines out there called magazines by their editors even if they release 1 or 2 issues then they quit, so here's another point for calling SWR a magazine; yet this is all my vision and based on how I want it to look like, so again, a fanzine. Call it how you like, but read it and enjoy it as it was done with and from sheer passion!

The month of the deadline is the most frustrating as I have to gather all interview answers, all reviews, and do the lay-out, too. Some bands answer interviews with delay, some never do, and this contributes to the delay, too, so I'd say a 1-2 months delay isn't that of a big deal for SWR, even well-established magazines experience delays, I only hope all bands featured understand and have patience.

For this issue Sonia did a hell of a good job contributing with a lot of excellent interviews, Marcin intensified his work, too, and we also have a new writer joining us, Elena, hopefully she will continue to write for SWR, although her silence lately leads me to believe otherwise unfortunately.

Hope you'll enjoy the re-print of the interview Francesco (now owner at My Kingdom Music, then editor at Vamipria magazine) did with Quorthon, I found it excellent and asked for permission to offer it to SWR readers. Chris contributed with a cool interview this time and hope next time we'll have more from him. I also hope Leslie and Heather will contribute with interviews for upcoming SWR issues, they are always welcome to. All in all I think the new SWR issue is well put together, interesting to read and informative, hope you'll feel the same.

I tried to change something regarding the reviews number as it was way too high for previous issues and having almost half of the zine filled with reviews isn't something I aim for. I apologize for the bands/labels that didn't have their material reviewed in this issue, it will be featured in the next one for sure. Time isn't enough, simple as that.

The number of pages decreased from previous issues because of shipping fees, sending multiple copies abroad was really expensive and distribution started to drop significantly, so I decided to cut out some pages in hope I'll be able to get back on track with distribution, meaning offer more zines for less postage fees.

Let's cut the talk, too, enjoy the new issue of Slowly We Rot, I'm damn proud of it. Thanks a lot to all people involved in it! (Adrian)

Slowly We Rot #12 contents: 03. Editorial 04. Wallachia 06. Human Serpent 08. Dornenreich 09. Horna 10. Haeiresis 12. Abhorrence 13. Dispyt Chasing Death 14. On Thorns I Lay 15. Big Bad Wolf Perennial Quest 16. Deus Omega 17. Infernotion Deathmace 18. Lycanthro 20. Vomitory 22. Lelahell 23. Convictive Piercing Immortality 26. Bathory 30. Early Death 31. Dungeonhammer 32. Vulcano 34. Internal Bleeding 35. Abolishing the Ignominious 36. Insineratehymn 38. Provectus Schattenfang 39. Wrathrone 40. Dungeon Presumption 41. Strip the Soul 42. Reviews 51. Zines & Books

Front cover: Eviga (Dornenreich) Compilation cover artwork “Apotheosis" by Chris from Blood and Fire Ritual art (facebook.com/BloodandFireRitualart) All reviews and unsigned interviews by Adrian All reviews also published in Pest Webzine at www.pestwebzine.com Slowly We Rot Contact: facebook.com/swrzine swrzine@yahoo.com Slowly We Rot Team: Adrian (Romania) – editor – layout/interviews/reviews Sonia Fonseca (Portugal) – interviews Chris Forbes (USA) – interviews Marcin “Mariano” Wawok (Poland) - interviews Elena Silvia Popescu (Romania) - interviews Slowly We Rot Compilation CD #12 01. Piercing Immortality - No Remembrance 02. Perennial Quest - Caged Delirium 03. Lycanthro - Fog of War 04. Big Bad Wolf - Punisher 05. Dungeon - Purifying Fire 06. Strip the Soul - Bloodshed For Days 07. Presumption - Atomic Fear 08. Dispyt - En man i sina bästa år 09. Dispyt - Men Ändå Ska Man Dit 10. Aesthetics Of A Loss - The Callous Cold 11. Those Who Bring the Torture - The Hangman and the Hanged 12. Wrathrone - Bloodline 13. Deathmace - Swine 14. Deus Omega - The Pentagram Theorem 15. Provectus - Pro Semper Absentis 16. Schattenfang - Welke Nächte 17. Chasing Death - Deathbringer 18. Abolishing the Ignominious - Tormenting Depression 19. Infernotion - Vicious Wishes

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Norwegian band Wallachia have recently released a new album “Monumental Heresy” that will definitely put this band’s name on the map once and for all. After some setbacks, Lars has finally managed to pick up the pieces and create something unique… he told Pest

it contains our most dynamic and epic material, and we also pushed the intensity level with a couple of the songs.

Is your album “Monumental Heresy” the album “Path of Satya” under another name?

Yes, as told above it is the exact same material that we started to record in 2014 and it was just a change of the title.

Webzine all about it.

On April 13th you released your fourth full-length “Monumental Heresy”… was the date carefully chosen in order to give you some luck as opposed to the bad luck usually associated with that number… or was it just a random date?

I'm not superstitious at all, so Friday the 13th of April was just a random day for me personally. The release date was decided by our label to fit into their schedule. April 13th is also known as Cristopher Hitchens' Day (R.I.P.), who was a brilliant writer, journalist, well-known atheist and also a person who dared to challenge and question a lot of the theocracy (or I should perhaps say hypocrisy) governed states and people. I found it very fitting to put out “Monumental Heresy” on this date.

The band has two separate phases... from 1992 to 1999 and from 2004 up to the present days… what caused this hiatus?

When our debut album came out in the autumn of 1999 I had just entered my service in the military, and in the following year I took several exams related to my work in the cinema business, so I was pretty occupied with those things first of all. And with the demise of the record label we were signed to, I found myself in the process of starting the band all over again and knew that I wanted to come back more strong and focused.

My personal (family) life was pretty chaotic and reached a peak in those times, so I wasn't in a good place in those years.

Why the title “Monumental Heresy”?

Because it fits to the general lyrical concept, and for me the meaning of heresy in our music is related to mother nature as the only spiritual force as something being worthy of worship. And as the cover artwork shows a monk figure that abandons his faith and walks away from the monastery left in ruins. On the actual disc itself you see the opposite angle and how nature, plants and trees have found their way and grows inside from the ruins. It's has a nice symbolic value related to the music itself.

I know one of the causes was the demise of your label Velvet Music International back in 1999. Why did you think it was best to put the band on hold as well?

I kept working on the music and had written mostly all the material for the 2nd album by the end of 2001, and it was a long process of getting the band active, since it was just me and no other members at that time. In 2004 the debut-album was re-issued on cassette first, and about a year later also on CD, so that pretty much marked our return from the 5 years of silence. Also, I put some new demo tracks out on Myspace in the time that followed, and it was from this that I ended up co-working with Stefan Traunmüller and Thomas Kocher in Austria. And we recorded the album in two sessions during 2007 and 2008 at Stefan's studio. I financed the whole recording myself and sent the album to a few of the labels that I liked myself, and we ended up getting signed with Twilight Vertrieb in Germany. And from this point on everything has been a lot smoother, working with some dedicated and great musicians for these past 3 albums we've done by now.

Who writes the lyrics and what topics do they deal with?

I write all the music and lyrics in Wallachia, and the songs are all written from a personal point of view. Be it experiences from my own life, traumas from the past that you manage to heal and close by turning those thoughts and emotions into words and tunes. And for the most part on “Monumental Heresy” the songs deal with my stance towards religion and how still in this day and age it affects the world in so many negative ways. A song like “Heathen Shores” speaks about the timelessness and majesty of our beautiful nature, and how it stands rough and unshaped since before the spiritual plague came sweeping into our land a millennia back. I like the quote by filmmaker Woody Allen who said that "we all know the same truth, and our lives consists of how we choose to distort it", and this pretty much sums up religion to me. A song like “Returned Favor of Abandonment “speaks about how I at a very young age turned away from a God who wasn't there when I needed him the most, when I saw my life fall to pieces from what my own father did towards my mom and myself. So that song is very personal and it's about turning away from the fatherly figure that wasn't there, in a double sense. The song called “The Prophets of Our Time” celebrates musicians, poets, painters, filmmakers, freethinkers and those who dares to seek, question, challenge and bring a creative diversity into our ever-expanding world. The social control and surface bullshit "rules" that comes from religion is a mental prison that limits the possibility of personal growth and happiness in life. I am so thankful that I have grown up in a way that I have had absolute freedom to become the person I am today. So, the main thread throughout “Monumental Heresy” is about having that personal freedom, and that it's highly about time to put away the dusted, backwards and hostile religious scriptures. I ask in The Prophets of Our Time "where are the miracles of our time and age?", as nowadays for some strange reason we don't see anything on a scale of what happened in the days of Moses, Noah, Muhammad, etc. There are a thousand ways to God(s), but we walk the one and only path of Satya - away from it all and into the freedoms of the real world.

Do you think the band has some kind of curse?

No, I wouldn't say so, but I see your point. We experienced the exact same thing with Twilight Vertrieb too, as with Velvet Music International, as Twilight had to shut down their business just a few months after our album was released. Sadly, because they were a good label. But this was purely due to how the music industry started to suffer the effect of the digital format and the huge problem with illegal downloading. Even though we have been around for a long time, we are still very much rooted in the underground. I would say that we are lucky to have the freedom we have as artists to do what we want with our music and have a solid backing from our label.

The band has been around since 1992 but only in 2015 did you play the first concert… 23 years later… had you given up hope of playing live by then?

Since Wallachia never has been a full line-up band in the traditional sense, playing live was never really something I considered would ever happen. But then we started to play around with the idea after we got some offers to play some shows, and when we got this concrete offer from Dark Bombastic Evening in Romania, it was pretty much a perfect place - an old fortress site in the heart of Transylvania. It was a lot of effort and preparation just for this gig, with us two guys here from Norway and the other 3 in Austria and Germany. We rehearsed as a full band for no more than two days just before catching the flight to Romania, and it was both fun and nervous experience. But for a first gig under these circumstances, I think it was a great and new experience. At least we know what to dive into in case we'll ever do something like this again.

How are people reacting to the album?

All in all, it seems like people have embraced the album well, and I'm especially happy to get the good feedback from those who have followed our musical journey for a while, and that they feel that we are stronger back on track towards the more epic and raw sound from the early days. Our music is, as always, a bit eclectic and diverse, and we pushed it even further this time with having a song with female vocals for instance. It seems like the more epic pagan influenced songs are what people like most in our sound, and that is also the core direction of what we do. So yeah, I'm happy with the feedback we've been getting so far. I feel that those who really enjoy our stuff are passionate fans of music, collectors and that they embrace the whole experience with the artwork, the concepts and so forth.

According to your official Facebook, the band should have released an album titled “Path of Satya” in 2015, which would supposedly be the longest, most epic and savage recording you could do. It didn’t happen though. Why? Path of Satya was the original title intended for the 4th album, as we started the recording process in early 2014, but then the whole concert thing came up by the end of that year, and thus the album was put on hold for a while. I chose to change the name of the album as I wanted to have a more appropriate title.

Satya translates from Sanskrit language as "absolute truth", and since some of the songs are a natural continuation from the concepts of Shunya (2012), another Sanskrit word meaning "Empty" or "Void". But I didn't want to end up sounding like some Buddhist Yoga type of band. Monumental Heresy sums up the general concept of the songs very well, I think.

The description from your question fits to what became Monumental Heresy, which is our longest album so far. And

The design has a very Van Gogh vibe… was it your decision or was it the artist’s own idea?

How did the idea of using Lucile come up?

The Van Gogh touch to the background was Lucile's own idea, as she suggested that it would be very fitting to the image.

We had a very good cooperation with her and she fully understood our concepts and ideas for this

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Any dates you can announce already?

We have some offers for the Autumn this year, but nothing is concrete and sure as far as dates and number of shows. But we hope to know soon in case we'll jump into this, because we need some weeks of planning and rehearsing in our separate camps. But yeah, it would of course be fun to play live again, and in a more proper way now that we are the full line-up from the latest album.

Being a Norwegian Black Metal band do you feel pressured to do a great album considering the history of your country when it comes to the mentioned genre?

I wouldn't say I feel pressured by it, and we come from the central region of Norway where there was never really a scene for this form of music, compared to the bigger cities such as Oslo and Bergen where a lot of the great Norwegian bands have their roots. I guess the pressure mostly comes from our own musical past and the shortcomings and flaws with the 1st album in particular. I had a lot to prove for myself with the 2nd album, and I think I have gradually evolved with these past 3 album recordings. I am very much inspired by the Norwegian Black Metal scene in the years 1992 - 1999, and I want our sound to have the epic qualities of the late nineties Norwegian Black Metal, with the keyboards and everything. There's a lot of nostalgia within our sound.

Why are you so fascinated by Transylvania?

It comes from my childhood and my interest in the mythical Dracula and learning to know the real origin with the historical Vlad Draculea Tepes from the 15th century. Just the name Transylvania invokes a sense of mystery, and I immediately get pictures of foggy landscapes, majestic peaks and vast forests. When I finally visited Romania the first time in the summer of 2014, we spent a week traveling through most of the Transylvania region, and it was an amazing experience. Beautiful towns and villages, and it was particularly great to visit the places we have used photos of for our album covers in the past. And in 2015 with our concert there, we landed in Bucharest and were able to travel through the vast plains of Wallachia itself, crossing the Arges river, and naturally I need to see more of this region - of my other home, so to speak.

album. And as it turned out we were quite similar in the ways of how we lead our lives.

We approached Dehn Sora who did the design for our Carpathia Symphonia release, and since he was way too busy with his own band, playing live and stuff, he suggested that we could get in touch with Lucile. And via our label I got in touch with her, and it all happened very smoothly. I really love the handcrafted style of the whole artwork and booklet design she did. She applied her technique of being a tattoo artist in the way she made the artwork.

The band is now signed to Debemur Morti Productions… what does the future hold in store for Wallachia?

As I am writing this I'm just two days away from going back into the studio with the band to record something brand new for a special release coming later this year. And you will see more news about this later from our label. So, basically, what lies ahead for us now is to complete the album I have been working on since a while. We have some offers to play live in the fall, so we will see how this turns out. Since we are a long-distance based band we need some time for preparations, and of course have the travel costs and all too.

The main focus is as always to work towards a new album.

Interview by Sónia Fonseca / June 2018

The reviews have been awesome… does it make you feel proud for not giving up and following your dreams?

I would say that with this album it's the first time I feel really proud and accomplished with a Wallachia recording. Before there were always things I wished I had changed or done better when it comes to my own performance.

This time we recorded as a full band and it made it way more fun for me as the creator of the material to have the inputs and added arrangements from the other guys. Having a creative outlet such as music, which also involves writing and a lot of thinking over the subjects, it makes you grow a lot as a person. So, each album is like a diary of where you are at the moment. It has been a long and bumpy road with lots of challenges, but I am glad I have persisted and sacrificed a lot to make music.

The band believes this is their most accomplished album so far… what do you mean by this? Did everything work out the way you had imagined?

By this I mean that it's our most accomplished work as far as how the songs themselves turned out, by our own performances, the guest artists we invited into the recording and also I think this is our best production and sound so far.

We approached the recording differently this time and tracked all the guitars and bass ourselves here in Norway, which was a much better way for us to work. We kept the recordings very natural, real and raw, and I feel there's much more energy in the sound compared to the previous album. We have now found a very good formula for how to work and record.

“Monumental Heresy” was released a few months ago and Wallachia are already mentioning the upcoming album on Facebook posts… are you working on it already? Are you “revenging” yourselves from all the time you were at a standstill?

We had a 3-year gap between the 2nd and 3rd album, and normally it would have been the same for this album too, but as I already mentioned with the concert in Romania taking much of our time and my personal budget, we had to postpone the release until 2018. And, actually, I think it was good that we had this extra time and I am sure we made a better album since it allowed us to include the guest artists that really put an important stamp to the sound.

And I have been working on new material since 2014 and I am on a good way into what will be the next album. As always, I let the songs sort of create themselves over time, and individual pieces become connected with lyrical ideas. So most likely we'll have an album out a lot sooner next time than the six-year gap we had until Monumental Heresy.

Are you planning on playing live in order to promote the new album?

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very close to each other and very good friends. Do you still have the same opinion about remaining a duo or are you open to adding more permanent members to the band?

There are no thoughts of adding any new members, it will be a great disruption in the process and character that we have created. This, of course, is not the issue regarding the live session musicians.

Human Serpent is a black metal band from Lamia, Central Greece, formed in late 2012 as a duo consisting of X - as vocalist, guitarist, bassist and lyricist, and I - as drummer.

With a very original sound (true to the old school black metal roots but also bringing new and original elements) representing the expression of the band’s ideological status, Human Serpent have successfully differentiated themselves from the mass of new black metal acts. Ever since the band’s debut (with the demo "The Eternal Loyalty to Misanthropy", in 2013) and continuing with the full lenght albums ("The Gradual Immersion In Nihilism", from 2014, "Inhumane Minimalism", from 2015 and "For I, The Misanthropist", in 2018), the splits with several Greek black metal bands (such as Funeral Storm, Thaer Os Valael, Varg Order, Opus Magorum, Silent Dominion, Human Parasites, Black Winter ) and the collaboration with Greek black metal band Isolert, Human Serpent have received only extremely positive feedback both from fans and music critics, and rightfully so, as they are one of the best and most original new bands emerging from the black metal scene.

According to Human Serpent, the band’s position is mainly an ideological one, and not a musical one.

Opposing to any form of organised religion, to the excessive self-admiration and materialism of today’s society and making great sacrifices to be able to continue staying true to themselves and expressing their ideology freely, the band has managed to pass all obstacles and sometimes hostile attitude of many fellow countrymen and emerge in its true power, free to speak their mind, crushing everything in their way, an intricate, deep, wise beyond its years and constantly evolving, both spiritually and musically, Human Serpent.

Through the following questions, I tried to shed a light on this magnificent, huge and maybe buried too deep in the underground Human Serpent.

I have chosen not to pose artificially elaborated and sophisticated questions, or worse, dig into their personal space, beyond the message they are trying to convey through their music. I hope this interview manages to throw a light on the magnificent soul and ideology of the wonderful gem of the underground which is Human Serpent.

Evil is everywhere. It’s relatively easy to discover it within ourselves: hypocrisy, hate, meanness, greed, envy, deceit, lie, selfishness, superficiality, dishonesty.

What is, in your opinion, the most evil thing that society does to the young generation?

The answer here can only be completely subjective and biased. We feel that the most evil thing was, is and will always be the nature of human existence. We are doomed to create havoc, pain, suffering and death to all things and beings around us. Everything we do, we do it solely for ourselves. We do it so that we can feel better, feel stronger, feel special and fill our ego and create meaning for our empty lives. Nothing ever seems to be remotely satisfactory to our lives. We exploit, manipulate, destroy, eradicate everything and everyone around us in order to feel better, feel special. On the other hand, we help, create and do acts of kindness for exactly the same reasons, so that we can feel better and special.

Everything that we do we do it so that we can feel better, yet all we ever do is temporarily soothe the hunger that the misery of our very existence has burdened us from the moment we were created. A hunger that grows exponentially with every passing second!

When I listen to a new band/album, I instantly know whether I like it or not, even before being able to find a reason for it in my mind.

You said that when you recorded "For I, the Misanthropist", you didn’t know at first why you had chosen that particular cover art, color, riff, lyric..yet you went through with all, you insisted, persisted and after many great (and worthwhile) efforts, when you finally held the album in your hands, you understood immediately why you made every single effort. I think that if a person has talent and something to say, somehow, despite all adversities and hardship, that talent manages to find its way to surface and the message will come out.

My question is.. do you think that "black metal" is an inherent, internal personality trait which (depending on the circumstances and environment) eventually expresses itself during the lifetime of an individual, or is it something learnt and acquired?

We would say that Black Metal is a defense mechanism that some people “create” so that they can survive some certain aspects of life. A special room in which an individual can escape reality and master some ways to fight it, an island where, although stranded, one can be completely free. It is a way to combat the harsh reality that leaves huge marks and scars on us that can never be

I have thought that the fact that you don’t make your name public and don’t show your face (just like some other black metal bands, such as Batushka and Uada do) means that you don’t need the admiration of a large public. Just you, the music with its message and the ones who listen to you and feel the same way as you do, only they don’t have your courage and, especially, your talent. Regarding the album covers, I think that the faces are blurred/unclear as a message that humanity is inherently rotten, apathetic, indifferent and soulless, and the blurred faces represent the people’s souls. But I think that my understanding could be very rudimentary or maybe completely wrong. So can you please tell us why don’t you reveal your faces and your names and why are the faces on the covers blurred?

Our lives, our existence and by extension our faces are completely without meaning. The only thing that has a meaning is our actions. It is our actions that hold some kind of importance, it is our actions that each and every one of us is being held accountable for. Everything else is just an illusion, it is something to entertain our eyes.

This is the reason that we choose not to reveal our faces and our names. We are our music, not a thing more and not a thing less. The blurred faces in our cover arts highlight the vanity and the unpalatability of our empty human existence.

I know that in the past you have collaborated with other bands and that, many times, the experience wasn’t very pleasant for you. In the interviews, you both are a single voice, sharing the same ideology,

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healed. Essentially, it is something that can be developed, a way to defend against and attack the things that threaten what we stand for.

Unfortunately, I see all around me that, when people start having responsibilities and a lot of work, many quit going to concerts or listening to metal. Why do you think that somebody who used to be a true black metal fan can quit this music?

Taste is something that can change in the blink of an eye.

Yet, we feel that Metal is a more than taste, it is more than a way of life, it is a school of thought, a mindset.

Something that will always stay with us and be our best companion through every little aspect of our lives in a daily basis. The only answer we can truly give to your answer is that the people that you are mentioning simply though or understood Metal as a matter of taste, they saw it as simple notes in a piece of paper, as mere symbols and never felt the soul in it.

And now, a few questions related to your ideals and aspirations. I truly agree that your life beyond the band’s musical and ideological statements is nobody’s business. So please answer any of the following questions, to the extent you think they are connected to your music and ideology. What is it that you want to achieve on a spiritual level?

Understanding.

What is your main purpose in this life?

Finding a meaning in it.

Is there a particular truth you would like to find out?

Why is life wasted in a bunch of organisms that have nothing pure or good to offer and contribute.\ Do you see humanity as a form of energy which can be modified and do you try to change part of this energy through your music?

We do not try to modify or change any part of that energy, we just try to point out the decay and stench of its form.

Do you think that humanity can be saved or is human nature inherently bad?

As you can see from our previous answer, it clear that we strongly believe that human nature is inherently bad.

Do you think that the world was better, more pure in the past, when humanity had different values and ideals than today?

It is easy to believe that the world was purer and better in the past but we are sure that it bore no difference with the one today.

Are you afraid that you will, somehow, lose yourselves one day?

It is a fear that we feel every day, this is why we always try to stay true to ourselves.

Do you constantly battle with yourselves and the world for your own spiritual freedom?

Every single day!

music. Always in our minds are the thoughts of creating music, expressing ourselves through music. There are thoughts on several new releases and one of them is a full-length one. If any particular decisions are made they will be instantly made known by us.

Do you ever feel trapped in this world and in this time?

More importantly than that, we feel trapped in the vanity And now, a few questions from some of my friends on of human life. the Black Metal Amino, many of whom know and appreciate your music very much. (Questions 2 from What is, in your opinion, the weakest aspect of Captain and 1 from Azag Galla are basically identical humanity? and need one answer, but I decided to present them to Its greed and selfishness. you in their original form that they were transmitted to me.)

Is there a fictional character that you wish existed in real life?

Captain (Louisiana, USA): No. Please tell us a few Modern Black Metal bands that are highly respected by you.

Is there a particular song/album of your discography There are a lot of bands that we share a mutual respect that you feel more attached to? with. Too many to try and list them here, actually. We Both of us have a special bond with every song that we would like to say that each and every band that stays true create, each one of us for our own reasons. Every song to themselves and create music to ease and soothe the that we create is a very important part of us, of our soul. aches of their soul, that respect music and what they At this moment in time, the album that has the bigger stand for will forever have our outmost respect. Music is impact on us as a whole is “For I, The Misanthropist”. a piece of ourselves, a piece of our world and that is why we sacrifice so much for that, anyone who perceives In some of your interviews, you said that, despite the music in a similar way will always be respected by us. general hateful attitude of your fellow countrymen, there were some exceptions, some friends who have Also, please fill us in on which Black Metal bands helped you. Would you like to mention them here or have inspired you to write your style of music. would you prefer to keep them in your soul and We are influenced by Metal as a whole, we listen to maybe, in this way, respect their, and your, privacy?

Metal and we serve Black Metal. We are big fans of the This is something that holds great value for us! These Norwegian, the Finnish, the Swedish and The French people are really very important to us and this is scenes. We want to keep an open mind in music and something that will never be forgotten. We think that it integrate everything that we feel that is genuine and true would be best to respect both our privacies and not to the meaning that aims to pass on to their audience. mention any names. We would like, however, to take this opportunity to once again thank them for everything they have done for Human Serpent and for us individually. Azag Galla: We owe them a lot!

What bands have inspired you along the way to help mold your sound to its current state?

What do you think is the main reason that Greece, Each Human Serpent member has his own influences this outstanding (both as culture and landscape) and their own "favorite" bands that make the band sound country has such a strong metal scene and what personality trait of your people has contributed to the birth of the Hellenic black metal sound? Do most musicians in this scene know each other? Is this scene as united as I have read it used to be? What is your opinion on the actual Hellenic black metal scene and what do you think about its future?

There isn’t an input we can provide that will shed enough light in the matter or will eventually be able to fully answer your question.

What would you wish in the future for Human Serpent and what are your future projects and plans? Do you already think of a future album?

We plan to create

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and be what it is today. We take influence from the entire spectrum of Metal, but also from Punk, Crust and Grind.

What mindset or mood do you need to get into when you write and record your music?

There isn’t a particular mindset or mood that is needed to be achieved in order to write or record our music.

Everything that is needed is the feelings that we need and crave to express and the time to get together and start the process. It is something that just comes natural, there isn’t any type of ritualistic things that must or mustn’t be done before we start.

JOY (Sao Paolo, Brazil): In such a rich and diverse black metal scene, how has Human Serpent managed to stand out and be such an unique and original band?

Picture us 12 years ago when we started playing music together and then picture us now! You could say that a lot of things have changed, that we are completely different people now from what we were back then.

Partially you would be right, we have come a long way but the core and the most important thing stays the same throughout these years, we just want to play music, we want to create, we want to express ourselves and let those who chose to listen know our point of view in most of the aspects of our daily lives. Of things that are essential and important to us. So, there isn’t something special that we did in order to try and stand out or anything like that, we did and we continue to do exactly what we need to do, be ourselves. Be true to ourselves and not be afraid to speak our mind, we don’t really care if we offend some schools of thinking, we do not try to fit in the society or “Metal society” norms. We just want to be ourselves!

Thank you very much for your time and kind responses! I wish you all the best in your future plans and I hold the utmost respect for you!

Hails!

Interview by Elena Silvia Popescu - April 201

Eviga is an extremely talented and busy Austrian musician, yet he’s best known for his work with Dornenreich… the band that started out as Black Metal has shifted a bit in terms of sound but still maintains the same intensity, essence and awesomeness. Pest Webzine / Slowly We Rot prepared some questions for Eviga regarding the new album, the projects and the future and here are his thoughts and words…

Dornenreich began their journey in the music world as a Black metal band which seems to be miles apart from the sound of Dornenreich these days... how was the journey from one point to the other? How did you get here?

As to me personally Black Metal has always been characterized by the individual approach every artist seemed to have while establishing its sound and by the spiritual depth of this intense and pictorial music. The best way to underline that is to hint on the fact that on our second album we had this song called ‘Reime faucht der Märchensarg’, which today we play in an acoustic version and on our sixth album ‘In Luft geritzt’, which was a pure acoustic (!) album, we had a song called ‘Jagd’ that nowadays – in a metal version - is an integral part of our metal shows, too. It’s all about the spiritual depth, there are no limits (especially not in terms of instrumentation, song structure etc.) – and that’s exactly what fascinates me to this very day.

Earlier this year, the band has played the “Mystic Places” acoustic tour in iconic venues such as Old Pancras Church, Kultur Palast, the ARTer Galerie… how did the shows go? How excited is it having sold out venues after so many years? What material was played on this tour?

It was an uplifting experience once again and night by night. One enters places like churches with a different attitude, a different and possibly far more receptive and clear mind. And it was fantastic to have full houses on this special tour again and after all these years. I feel that our core audience has grown with us over the years and we are very glad that we have such an open and loyal audience.

When it comes to the setlist we tried to get across a dramaturgically elaborate set including songs of many different albums. Moreover, we played instrumental versions of three songs of our forthcoming album and they blended in very well and were wholeheartedly embraced by our audience.

What’s left of the original Dornenreich in 2018’s Dornenreich? Is the essence still the same?

In my perception it is. 'Intense - mystic - timeless' - that way we put it more than ten years ago and I feel that we

live up to this trinity of attributes still. The passion, the dedication and the spiritual depth - everything is still there and we probably are focused on that more consciously and determined than in earlier years.

However, of course, it at times is quite a challenge to keep up the devotion and quality as life goes by, but because of our now even more conscious approach it gets spiritually even more rewarding every year to express and to be creative.

Eviga will interrupt the recordings for the band’s forthcoming ninth album in order to travel across Europe as guitarist for Empyrium and Sun Of The Sleepless. Does your collaboration with other bands help you focus better on the sound and message you want to portray through Dornenreich?

Of course, my active participation in – for instance – staging music of other bands informs the way I deal with music and expression and makes me perceive and approach my personal artistic vision in greater clarity.

When is the new album set to be released? What can fans expect of it? Will it be acoustic or Black Metal?

The album demands its time and we are willed to do justice to that. From where we stand right now I think that the final development and recording of the album, which we will do on our own largely, will last until summer 2019 and as we will play select festival shows next year, too, it is quite probable that we will release the album in early spring of 2020. As to me this album has to be released in springtime when nature is in full bloom just because of the special and highly vital nature of the album itself.

2019 is set to be a great year for the band as it will see the release of Dornenreich’s Vinyl Compendium and some intense gigs. The setlist for this tour is going to feature tracks from the albums “Hexenwind” and “Her von welken Nächten” which are going to be performed with all clean vocal parts for the first time in more than ten years. This is massive... how did you “achieve” this? Which countries will be included on this tour?

The man who will support the vision on bass and by means of his great and apt voice is Eklatanz from Heretoir and since our common tour back in 2014 we knew that we would try something together one day.

David/Eklatanz is really into Dornenreich and shares our way of approaching emotional expression as musician and performer. We hope to bring the tour even to some countries outside of our classical German speaking corearea (Germany/Austria/Switzerland). Actually, we are talking about a return to Porto within the frame of the SWR Barroselas Metalfest in 2019. We have not been there in nine years, so… it surely would be about time and we have fantastic associations with our stay back in 2010.

These concerts also intend to commemorate and honour your father’s contribution to Dornenreich as painter of the band’s classic coverartworks such as ‘Bitter ist’s, dem Tod zu dienen,’ ‘Durch den Traum,’ or ‘Flammentriebe.’ Is this the best tribute to him? Why have you said that “with his death, an era of the band comes to an end as well”… what do you mean exactly?

Yes, we consider it to be a decent way to celebrate life, life that changes, evolves – and comprises death, - which to me is just another transition, just another shift…

I will always treasure the memories of closing up to my father while working on artworks together. And an era ends because my father had his very own painterly style and vision and there won’t be any further artwork for Dornenreich painted by him specifically for the band and in his distinctive vein, which – over the years – ‘coined’ Dornenreich’s visual appearance massively.

sacrificed in the name of art, for Dornenreich? Do you regret the choices you made? If you could go back in time, would you do things differently?

Referring to going-back-in-time: Usually, I see people answering this question like ‘No, I would do everything all over again just the way I did it because it led me to where I am today’… and to a certain degree I embrace and underline that, but – in all honesty – I, in turn, would say ‘Yes, I would do some things differently when I’d be given the chance to go back with all I know toady’. I won’t go into details here, because that’s far too personal but yes, I would have done numerous things differently, which does not mean that I would not have ended up exactly where I am today, though. In my opinion it would be egocentric and high-handed to assume that my life is exclusively forged by the decisions I make. Life is huge… However, to come to an end here, I would like to stress that I don’t regret the main choices I made. Not at all. Art is deeply rooted within me, I am convinced that I was ‘born with an artistic soul’ as Lisa Gerrard/Dead Can Dance once put it.

Of course I sacrificed or – more neutrally put – dedicated a lot of my time and my energy to art - and I received so much in return, it’s the priceless treasure of my ever evolving consciousness and that also heavily relies on the school of life that art led me through.

How much of a passion is required in order to be a musician and keeping on pursuing your dream?

Would you say your dreams regarding music have come true?

What I have learned – or consciously rediscovered – is the gratifying magic of creation itself. It’s just fantastic and truly magical when something new comes to (artistic) life. And of course it takes a lot to keep up the focus, the energy and the intensity after so many years while life went on. Naturally, my life today contrasts with my life during the early steps of the band when I was just fifteen, sixteen years young. And moreover back then in the mid nineties there was no internet, that is, a totally different way to approach, appreciate and simply perceive music than it is today.

It is no secret that the music industry’s main business – selling physical sound carriers – vanishes by and by.

Things change drastically and fast and so does the perception and appreciation of music in general and we will see where it all goes…

Besides, yes, I truly can say that my dreams regarding music which I had as a teenager have come true over the years. We released many various albums (including one totally acoustic one) of which some were labeled as genre-defining milestones (within German Black Metal…), we also released a live-dvd, played some fantastic tours across Europe and we have achieved all that while staying authentic (including the use of our mother tongue).

So, given both the stage the music industry is and our own development it was and is about time to gather at the source of original inspiration and fascination. And that’s what I did and do. I am deeply thankful for the adventures I had the pleasure to experience via music and the forthcoming album will do justice to that by honoring the creative spirit all anew.

Care to leave a message to our readers and Dornenreich’s fans?

Well, I would like to thank you your loyalty over the years. And, as I said above, we would really, really love to return to Portugal next year and we’ll try to make it happen in spring. It has just been too long since we have played in Portugal for the last time. Hope to see you then!

Take good care!

Interview by Sónia Fonseca / July 2018

How much of your life have you

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Finnish controversial Black Metal outfit Horna are about to unleash yet another split, the 19th of their career, with Pure.

The band’s mastermind Shatraug took us inside a quick “journey” through the main ideals, thoughts and inspirations of the band… read on…

The band celebrates 25 years this year ever since its formation... how proud are you?

I don't really think about it that way, rather surprised Horna is still around but I never had any plans or expectations how far this would go 25 years since. Now I can confidently say I will be making music until my dying time and Horna will certainly go on as long as it feels right.

Have all these years changed your perspective on life?

Hatred has new forms and targets, spiritual growth has been enormous and yeah, we all have families now but one thing that never changed for me is my passion for music and the occult.

The band’s latest album was released 3 years ago. In 2018 you’ll release a split with Pure. This will be your 19th split. What’s so special about splits?

It's always been about celebrating a union with another band, for one reason or another and for us to bring into attention of our fans some bands we personally like, and, in process of doing so perhaps also have fans discover something they will enjoy as well.

Are you preparing material for a new full-length?

Yes, I'm constantly writing even when there would be no "motive" to do so. Inspiration should never be controlled but let flown when it chooses to manifest. We have just finished a special release in support of our tour in Japan in which we have revisioned a collection of old never before recorded songs, some dating as far back as 1994.

This will be a strange release to some and a curious visit to the past for others, showing a lot of different influences from earlier days.

Shatraug is the one responsible for the majority of the work… how big of a responsibility is it?

As the founding member there is no Horna without me, never was and never will be. All members have artistic freedom to work on their own as they wish, though. Any band to remain prolific and true to certain vision there always has to be a primus motor, a devilish driving force behind it all...

American fans are known for their enthusiasm.

Would you agree? How’s your fanbase over there?

It's been very good, but the experience can only be as good as organization behind it and we've been fortunate to have great experiences thanks to local management done perfectly.

Shagraut once said and I quote “On most live rites I elevate into a trance-like state of mind and don't even notice if there's nine or nine hundred people witnessing it. Horna is demonic energy unleashed”.

How do you do that… through meditation, alcohol, drugs, how?

Through music itself. I write only music that touches my own soul and performing live brings it to fullest extent.

Music has always been the most primal way to meditate and find trance, ages back.

The band will finally be playing in Japan this year… what are your expectations?

Hah, I suppose the audience itself will be quite the same, curious to see what the reception will be like, however we are enthusiastic about local food foremost. Simple pleasures in life.

The band just welcomed a new member recently, Vnom.

How do line-up changes affect you as a band? How complicated or easy is it separating from members?

Each line-up change brings about new energy and ideas, but fundamentally "nothing" changes. I have no tolerance, patience or use for people I don't feel comfortable with and whom can't be trusted in doing 100% what they're expected of. That being said, during recent years, line-up changes have occurred only for one reason - the person leaving has needed to do something else in his life. We haven't had any real problems about it.

Horna has been very active live even when there’s no new material to play… how important are live performances for you? Do you prefer playing in smaller or bigger venues and why?

Horna is a genuine live band and to me it's one of the biggest reasons I live and breathe. Either you love it or you hate it, because to tolerate all the travel and sleepless hours you really have to find something special in live performances. I like smaller intimate venues, closer to people and also for the simple reason they are usually there for wanting to, not curiously checking out whatever band is playing at that stage of a big festival etc...

What are your thoughts about Antifa? Has it messed up with Horna’s lives so far?

Since forever. I would even support their fight against real nazis, if they ever dared to go against them but has anyone seen it happen, anywhere? Black Metal bands make an easy target.

After the problem with Blastfest, have you turned down any other offers due to the antifa bullying you once mentioned?

No, we have not.

Of all the gigs you’ve played, which one do you have the fondest memories of?

Ah, this is too hard to say, or remember. As I've mentioned many times before I often don't recall having been on stage but safe to say, any such gig has been great.

The band’s official website horna666.com hasn’t been updated for 2 years almost. Why? Is your Facebook page the place to look out for new information?

There hasn't been much to do about it. I personally don't like websites too much so nobody really takes that good care of it either... Facebook, despite its flaws, is working rather good for all social news and needs.

Do you think there should be more loyalty between bands of the same genre?

No. Just because someone plays the same kind of music, even remotely, doesn't mean it would automatically make us "brothers". If your band sucks, it just sucks. I won't tell you otherwise to make you feel better.

Which bands do Horna identify more with and why?

Impossible to say. We identify with ourselves.

How’s the current Finnish Black Metal scene?

The same as it's always been, full of irrelevant bands doing music, with occasional exceptions here and there, now and then. I keep to myself mostly anyway.

“Satanism is the ever-lasting search for inner enlightenment and wisdom, honour and pride.” How important is it being a Satanist for a Black metal musician? Can it be dissociated? Can a black metal musician not be a Satanist?

To me there is no Black Metal without the satanist's vision involved, otherwise it's just music, which these days seems to be majority of bands... Black Metal is the Devil's gospel.

How do you feel when you see bands that used to label themselves as Satanists now saying they are not and going all commercial? Is all publicity to the genre good publicity?

Traitors, turncoats, quislings. Someone to claim they're no longer something they represented themselves as means simply that they never were in that position or status to begin with. Changing religion to money is a sure way to reveal the less worthy.

After so many years in the music industry… what saddens you the most about it?

Digital, soulless mass productions or mediocrity.

Have you ever thought about giving up your musical career?

What keeps you going on?

So far, no. It keeps me alive and as long as I'm inspired, I have a reason to live.

What changed in the Black Metal scene in these 24 years? Do you believe the scene is stronger or weaker now?

Weak. Back then it used to mean quality if a band actually had an album out, but now it just means labels are forced to push out mediocre, or worse, releases just to stay afloat. There seems to be no judgement or critique about many things, just like all today's social safe space bullshit and other harmless shits. Black Metal is not for you to feel safe, it's an open challenge.

What can fans expect of Horna in 2018? Any special celebrations?

Diabolical live rituals and that special release for Japan I mentioned earlier. This one will be announced soon enough in detail.

Share a message with our readers...

Stay dead or rise above.

I read that your best live experience has happened in Colombia.

Latin

Interview by Sonia Fonseca - April 2018

9

What does Haeiresis mean and where does it come from?

If you refer to the name it would probably seem that it is a typo of a Greek word “hairesis” or Latin “haeresis” which I believe is not too hard to guess means “heresy” and the reasons why it was done are traced way back. As funny as it may look I made this modification to gain a unique word and to avoid confusion with the other bands that may name themselves “hairesis” or “haeresis”. So H A E I R E S I S carries an act of grammar heresy in itself so to speak. Over time the relevance of this meaning to the essence and attitude of the project (which is more of a full band now) has only increased. It is about maintaining individualist approach in this kind of music in any way I can possibly find. It is rather hard to deviate completely from the rule-sets and norms of the genre H A E I R E S I S may fall into at any point but I want to think it does succeed to some degree.

H A E I R E S I S comes from Vilnius the capital of Lithuania if geo-location is what you ask about.

I know the band was started in 2000, was it a oneman band back then? You released your debut material in 2008, how come did it take you so long?

2000 was the year I took a guitar into my hands for the first time and I almost instantly new what I wanted to do with it alas didn’t know how. Hence this I consider the beginning. It took three years to finally compose my first track which is “Hallowed but Hollow” from “Transparent Vibrant Shadows” (which should be considered as stand-alone debut album of H A E I R E S I S). The split release with Seagull Overseas from 2008 was a spontaneous move and stylistically has very little to do with metal at all. It just happened that on the summer of 2007 I have met a guy behind Seagull Overseas Kiras (who is now a vocalist in H A E I R E S I S by the way) and we quickly came to the idea of making a split. I was heavily immersed in experimentation with dark ambient, noise and industrial composition and sound design at that time and had a material that I didn’t know what to do with so the split release turned out to be a perfect medium to publish it along with excellent Seagull Overseas tracks.

So to answer your question about the big gap of inactivity it basically was the time during which I was composing and learning how to record the music I wanted to present and do it as best as I could with very limited resources and knowledge.

Most of your releases, if not all, are limited to 50-100 copies only. Do you think that's enough to display your art, or do you feel that the lucky ones who will buy a copy are the ones really interested in it and they deserve it?

Well, “Transparent Vibrant Shadows” CD was limited to 1000 copies and it proved to be way too much. It is just an over-abundance of released music in recent times leads me along with many others to believe that releasing small quantities is the most reasonable thing to do. It is better to have less and do a repress in case of a bigger demand rather than to let it gather dust on the shelf. Also increasing amount of people prefer to stream digital versions via Spotify, Youtube channels or buying from iTunes and Bandcamp so a limited pressing is just for those handful few who are willing to obtain the physical.

Your latest material, the The Bleaking EP is released

by The Other Records in cassette format limited to 100 copies. How do you feel about this whole revival of vinyl, then tapes, will it last or the World is so "busy" nowadays it has no more time for physical anymore?

I think that both vinyl and cassette never really went away and have continued to circulate around. Especially if we talk about vinyl, the demand for it was always steady among the collectors. The tape became somewhat of a standard in the underground circles. Metal, more so various experimental noise/industrial, lo-fi propagating artist in general heavily rely on this format and I believe will continue doing so. The fundamental part of aforementioned formats is that you must invest yourself into listening process so yes, this is very much impractical in this age of ever accelerating pace when to most people music is just a background “noise” if I may to put it that way.

Compared to your previous material, these 3 new tracks are using less industrial soundscapes and focus

on building intricate Black Metal with technical, melodic, even progressive shades, do you agree?

What led to this "new" approach? Maybe the new members?

Well this approach is not “new” really. H A E I R E S I S originally started as metal act but the industrial soundscapes became an important counterpart to communicate same things via different medium. The genesis of “The Bleaking” was something that just came out of the blue. I had drafts for like two and a half seemingly unrelated songs and finding a way how to piece all this together was the result of it. For example a track “Those Tremors” which is a second track in this EP was already composed and recorded as a demo in 2010 with a purpose to be a new song for Jane Doe Drowned (another project we made with Kiras and Lukas from Faršas which is a sort of depressive doom/black metal).

They dismissed the track so it was left aside. At the same time I was composing a lot of material for my main band Inquisitor (a progressive blackened metal) and most of it didn’t really fit into the style of the band for various reason but was decent enough to be kept. Hence the characteristics of the sound you’ve mentioned I guess.

Sometime on the October of 2014 it just struck me that I have nearly enough quality left-over material to make an appendix EP release of H A E I R E S I S so I started to work on it though somewhat inefficiently, pausing it many times in the process, working on other music. Finally when I recorded a demo version of “Amid the Ever Intermingling Portals” track and asked my long-time friend Laimis (Nyksta, and now Faršas) to record a bass for it he suggested to invite another friend and colleague of ours Garloq (the drummer of Inquisitor and Nyksta) to this project. Things paced up significantly from that point and before long all tracks were recorded in second half of 2016.

It took another one and a half year to finally record vocals thus concluding this lengthy chapter.

Even though I composed all the material the outcome is a result of a collective work. So yes, everyone involved definitely made their imprint on this album adding to its character. “The Bleaking” sounds a lot more natural and mature compared to “Transparent Vibrant Shadows” for that reason.

The track titles are interesting to say the least, please tell us about the lyrical side of Haeiresis. Do you use your lyrics as a mean to express personal points to the listener or on the contrary, to encode thoughts into impossible to break labyrinths?

Lyrics are very important part of the whole. For instance the debut “Transparent Vibrant Shadows” for a large part drew lyrical images from Silent Hill series especially the

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3rd installment. Being trapped in some sort nightmarelike otherworld and seeking reasons that led you to end up there in the first place. Wondering in the end did it really happened or just something your mind has played on you. The symbolism and imagery of rusting environment, urban decay and kenopsia are very prevalent and remain core elements in the concept of H A E I R E S I S. This perfectly conveys somewhat terrifying and imminent transition from common mundane reality to an all devouring void and oblivion – an ideal setting for a subconscious terror to spawn. “The Bleaking” does not deviate very far from the aforementioned concept. The narrative revolves around the altered states of mind induced empirical metamorphosis with dire and irreversible consequences losing oneself in infinite intermingling and alien unrealities while on the path of transcendence of sort.

The intention is to make listeners to feel and make own genuine interpretations of what they experienced rather that to give explanation what it is about.

Will a new full-length album follow soon, or will you rather stick to releasing EPs and Splits? There's a new trend in Metal coming from Pop that states bands should better release singles rather than fulllength material in order to remain active in front of their fans, how do you feel about this?

Yes, the next full-length will follow eventually. I’ve been working on it for some time now but it just happen so that bunch of EPs just accumulated along the way. Now as band I hope we’ll finish the second album sooner than I would originally have. At the moment we are finalizing another EP as we speak. I cannot reveal yet when it’s due but it shouldn’t be long before we can present it. It was a logical choice to make two separate EPs instead of lumping them together just for the sake of it. Also extending each of them superficially would have done more harm than good and given their musical nature and density its makes perfect sense to leave them as they are. I believe that regardless the format the release must be kept consistent in as many aspects as possible to maintain artistic singularity otherwise it is just a simple compilation. EP is somewhat a “safer” format and easier to stomach but it also leaves less room for fillers. I do not really care about promotional politics of other bands but H A E I R E S I S has a simple one. We do not feel obligated by any factors whatsoever how regularly we have to release new material. It will happen in its own time and given the nature of our music it usually takes some.

November 2018

How can a band formed 30 years ago achieve a cult status even if they didn’t release a full-length? Well, Abhorrence did make it happen. In order to understand this phenomenon better, Sonia had a chat with Jukka Kolehmainen who disclosed more about the band then and now...

The band was formed in 1989 and released a demo “Vulgar Necrolatry” and a self-titled EP in 1991… then you went mute and in 2012 the “Completely Vulgar” compilation was released and you returned in 2017 with a Live album (recorded live at Tuska Open Air 2013). How have you achieved legendary status? Do you have a reasonable explanation for this?

Explanation? No. *LOLz*. We did what we did, the music was spread profusely all over the underground scene via tape trading and after which everything that happened was out of our control. Luck? Chance? Who knows.

Having had such a great impact on the Death Metal scene, does it put some extra pressure on you to release material that will do justice to the genre?

We decided against it. Instead of trying to create a particular kind of death metal or try to recreate music that was done in 1989, we approached it as a return to fold. We just made music that felt like Abhorrence to us; raw sound, punk-ish approach and fuck all attitude towards trends and outside “pressure to fit”. So ultimately, there was no pressure in making the music, it was… discomforting to wait and hear other people's reactions, but that went away quite soon as well.

“Megalohydrothalassophobic” is the first EP of the band in nearly 30 years… what happened in these 3 decades?

Life happened. But as far as Abhorrence goes, nothing.

Playing few shows first came up around 10 years after breaking up, but I don’t think there was enough traction there and it was forgotten. Several times.

“Megalohydrothalassophobic” is not a simple word and refers to the fear of giant creatures in the water, hence the cover… why use this word as title for the new EP? What are the lyrical themes of the EP? I read they are a combination of H.P Lovecraft’s Cthulhu and the ecological philosophy of Timothy Morton…

That they are indeed. Jussi, who wrote the lyrics, actually suffers from said fear, which strictly refers to fear of massive things within the deep dark oceans (from greek words: µe???? = megálo; "large", ?d?? = húdor/hudro; "water", ???assa = thálassa; "sea" and f?ß?? = phóbos; “fear”.), including massive bodies of water themselves.

The cover sums up the lyrical content and the theme very well, lyrics make up a progression from the start, including the intro, to the end, while each set of lyrics are an individual story if taken out of the context. One should read them and see what kind of ideas they inspire within the individual.

through. And after I get cramps plus feel emotionally drained. As far as recording goes, it was pretty fun. Because the whole crew were familiar with each other, most of us friends for over 35 years, it was also a sort of get-together of old friends.

How old is the material featured on the EP? Some random riffs were from 2012-13, but as whole songs, late 2017. So, everything is new. There might be some ideas that are older, but all of that got refined to fit the EP. How are fans reacting to the new material thus far?

It’s been really positive! Delightfully many people understood what we were doing and understood where Abhorrence comes from and where we are going to. We knew before we even made the new songs that there would be naysayers, people who would only accept carbon copy simulacrum of the old stuff, which is downright ridiculous. Why would we even want to try and replicate those sounds or tracks? For one that wouldn’t be fun at all for anyone, secondly it’d be forced and silly as shit to do. Some of the positive reactions have been funny too though, especially from our perspective, as we’ve seen and heard this whole new genre of metal mushroom from the underground to full bloom death metal of today.

Ever since the band’s return in 2012, you’ve been working with Svart Records… how important is it having a label that wants the best for you? After being ripped off by one label, it is easy trusting another?

I don’t think things would have gone the way they did, if it weren’t for Svart. They were enthusiastic about the compilation and came up with the idea of a live album, even if we all knew that live recordings don’t sell jack shit. Basically, it was just throwing money in the wind, just to have that snapshot if it would happen that we’d stopped playing then and there. We understand that what happened with Seraphic Decay was due to one guy being an asshole, but he did fuck up shit for a lot of underground bands. Also, Svart is local, we know the people there and ripping us off would be a lot more… difficult and far reaching.

Are you preparing a full-length by now? Can fans expect it to be released in the near future? It won’t take you another 30 years to release it, will it?

We decided that we would try and create more new music, but as to when it’s released we couldn’t say. No promises, except that we will try. We won’t force it, so whatever we release is something we can be proud of, otherwise it will not be released nor recorded.

These days, the owners of Abhorrence’s demo “Vulgar Necrolatry” have a rare gem on their hands… did you ever think that demo would become so grand?

Not at all. We just wanted to have our stuff out there as fast as possible, for other enthusiastic extreme metal fans.

New material was also very valuable currency within According to some reviews, tape trading community, especially if it was of good “Megalohydrothalassophobic” is a mix of your quality, so there was that as well *LOLz*. I think the homonymous EP and “The Karelian Ishtmus” by pink Hello Kitty Amorphis… do you agree with this? cassette is the real No, I don’t. I’ve actually not seen or heard this collectors item comparison myself. though, since a lot To me this seems like an opinion that is based solely on of the scene was the fact that Tomi is in the band and not something to do taking themselves with the music. I find the comparison to be very lazy way too seriously journalism or lack of understanding regarding the history and we really of this genre of music and the history of both of the didn’t. I think this bands. attitude was very prominent in the Did you miss the adrenaline of recording new Helsinki metal material? How did it go? scene, all of the I don’t think there was that much adrenaline in recording, speed/thrash metal it’s mostly repetitive and a lot of waiting around for the and hardcore next part of the sequence to happen. I have to say that I bands were sort of didn’t really miss the adrenaline of live performance proud of their fuck either, because I quite frankly dislike getting on stage. posers/there are no After few songs it’s fine, with adrenaline pumping and rules -attitude. the energy of the band and audience feeding each other.

For some reason I’ve never gotten over the stage fright What’s the main and to me it’s a constant battle beginning a few days difference before the show to until the show is almost halfway between 1989’s

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Abhorrence and 2018’s Abhorrence?

The amount of grey hair. Possibly the amount of experience as well, now we’re all very precise about what we do, as compared to the happy-go-lucky way of doing things in the past.

After the band broke up, what did you do? Tomi played with Amorphis… what about the other members? Were you involved in other projects?

I wrote to several magazines and zines, mostly doing reviews and interviews. I DJ’d a lot, had few clubs of my own and later joined a collective that organized small festivals and club events that brought a lot of underground bands to Finland. I didn’t do vocal work for a long time, but I did do some guest vocals for a few bands, like Stench of Decay and a friends hardcore/grind project called Paskajänis, but nothing serious or long term. Jussi played in several bands as a guitarist, few of which released several albums. Kimmo quit playing right at the end of Abhorrence, Kalle had a few projects in the 90’s but he also quit playing for over 10 years. Our second drummer Arkki later joined Impaled Nazarene as a bass player.

Tomi and Waltteri play in other bands, Amorphis and Paradise Lost respectively. How much does it interfere with Abhorrence? How complicated is it setting priorities with the bands?

It does affect us quite a bit, but that was something we knew going in and it is actually a sort of a nice thing. As a group we don’t really want to tour properly, meaning several weeks in a van, sleeping on floors and so forth, because none of us want to do that anymore. We are too self-indulgent middle-aged men for that. Priorities are not complicated at all, the professional musicians and their bands go first, just like the day jobs the rest of us have. Which is why we’ve had to turn down a lot of festival requests and such lovely opportunities.

Due to your cult status, one can assume the band’s been receiving a lot of proposals to play live… will it happen? Will you tour to promote the new EP? Where will you go?

No tours, I’d have to say. It might happen if everything pans out, but highly unlikely. We have a few upcoming festivals and things that are waiting for confirmation, but we can’t confirm any of them until everything else is sorted, so no news there. Sorry.

In Abhorrence’s dream tour, which bands would be included?

Well, before we go to booking bands to play with, we’d probably need tour support and that is so pricey. As to which bands, I really have no names to give. I’d love to have two or three other bands, each different from each other, so the gig would have variation in styles. Maybe some doom metal, some heavy metal, some psychedelic stuff to accompany our death metal.

All the best for Abhorrence! Thanks for your time.

Please leave a message to Pest Webzine / Slowly We Rot Fanzine readers.

Support your local bands, ‘zines and venues! Buy merchandise and music magazines, especially go to gigs and buy tickets in advance so they won't get cancelled!

All the best for y’all! Thanks for the interview. Iä! Iä!

Interview by Sónia Fonseca - November 2018

Mathias, you're a member in a ton of bands, most notable being Finntroll I guess. We're talking here about Dispyt, is it your most recent offspring? How serious do you guys take things in Dispyt, and what future do you think it has?

I’m actually just part of three bands right now and we are taking it pretty easy gig-wise with Finntroll as we trying to finish the next album.

This gives me quite a nice break from travelling which means I can focus on the other bands.

Dispyt is the latest spawn and I was asked to join in 2016. Owe, our drummer, and former guitar player Philip had a new crust punk band and needed a singer. After I heard the first songs it was pretty clear that I wanted to be a part of this. Me being a bass player asked if I could play bass as well and the rest is history.

We have had a quite relaxed attitude towards Dispyt and not trying to force things to happen. We haven’t actively looked for gigs or record deals, if it’s meant to happen then it happens! And that attitude has taken us pretty far already.

You've released your debut album last year, by yourselves. How come you didn't work with a label? Or was Dispyt like a surprise for the scene, you popped it out from nowhere?

As stated before, we haven’t really been looking. We also sort of decided to keep this project quite DIY and releasing it ourselves was sort of cool idea to try. It’s worked so far, the limited edition C-cassette version of the album is almost sold out and we recently had to restock on CDs, so I guess that tells quite a lot. We are not against being on a label and would not say no if somebody approached us either. It’s just not too big of a concern right now.

What reactions do you have so far for this album, what are your expectations with the band?

We have gotten really good feedback on it so far and people within the punk and metal scene has said that the album is something that has been missing for many years and yet being quite fresh breeze to both scenes. I guess this is what to expect when four Black Metal guys are trying to make crust punk the way they did in the 90s in Sweden.

Do you also play live? I surely hope so since this music you do is most suitable for live display? What's the best environment for the band to play in: Punk, or Metal shows? What's the difference between the two, since you know them well both? Is Finland a good place for playing live?

Dispyt is totally a live band and we have played quite some gigs in Finland during the last years. We will also embark on 15 gig tour in Europe in the end of September and first weeks of October.

We have tried both environments and it’s been working very well in both. I have found that the punk scene is a bit more open and don’t mind to lend a helping hand without charging for it. The metal scene is way more competitive and people are more sceptic towards new bands where the punk scene welcomed us with open arms. Metalheads in Finland are a bit more stiff than the punks, I guess.

The album was recorded at Wolfthrone Studios by Owe Inborr, have you worked with him before? I find the production really good for your type of music, how happy are you of the final result?

Actually… Owe Inborr is our drummer and he happens to have a great studio which also is our rehearsal room, so the choice was quite easy. I also work in that studio from time to time. We decided to try to make it a bit more Hi-Fi than your average punk album, but without making a modern metal album. I really like how it turned out, especially the heaviness in the guitar sound but still having that Swedish-all-the-knobsturned-to-max-Boss-HM2-sound.

Why have you preferred writing your lyrics in Finnish rather than English? What are they about, and how important are they for a band like yours?

It’s actually not Finnish, it’s Fenno-Swedish. We belong to a Swedish speaking minority here in Finland. The lyrics tackle quite dark and anxiety-filled subjects about being a part of a quite melancholic country where it’s bad weather and cold people around you. The lyrics are important and being in Swedish it also has quite a different sound than your typical English songs would have.

As an experienced musician, what would you say is the future of Extreme Metal, and what's your opinion of the present state? Do you feel like people have (or spend) less and less time for actually listening to the music? Is there too much music out there?

What makes a good record stand out from the crowd, is the music itself enough to make it?

For many years now I have seen what is to me a decline in the industry. Too many bands around, which has led to record companies controlling what people listen to.

You can also really feel that less and less people are coming out to gigs or buy your material in any kind of form except vinyls. People nowadays have this attitude towards music that they listen to your album once then throw it in the trash.

Also feels like bands are just copying other bands and that all personality quite often is lost. A good album is an album that bring something new to the table and keeps you wanting more. At least that’s how it’s for me!

September 2018 I'm a bit confused, is the band currently a duo, or are there 5 members in the line-up?

Please present Chasing Death to our readers a bit.

Chasing Death was founded from Steven Holl (guitar) and Alexander Seifert (vocals). The idea in the beginning was to produce some Death Metal in the studio, just to see how the reactions from the crowd will be. With the time Chasing Death recorded their first EP Deathbringer. The time pointed out that the music has to come on stage very quickly. The band signed a Label contract with Martin Quast from Neckbreaker Records/Magdeburg in 2017. From that point on Anthony Nebe (bass), Maik Badowski (guitar) and Patrick Neuman (drums) join the Band.

When one hears of Swedish Death Metal made in Germany one immediately thinks of Fleshcrawl and/or Lifeless, right? How does your music differs to theirs?

Grind and Crust seem to be high in your preferences (and influences) as well, correct?

We´re definitely not a Grind band! Our music is based on the old Sweden Death Metal like Dismember, At The Gates, Black Breath, Entombed and so on... But we also work with some Black Metal elements in our songs. It´s more like a mix between old school Sweden Death, Death Metal and crusty Punk.

You also can use the following sentences as well: "Chasing Death is playing Death Metal and a marvellous as well! The base is the old / Swedish school with a pinch of black crust. The vehemence of the crusty sound, in / combination with power and brutality gives you a gloomy, intensive and powerful brew after / his taste your ears will bleed and a horde of evil creature will come over you."

You've just released your debut EP, Deathbringer, on Neckbreaker Records, a young local Death Metal label. How's the cooperation so far? How are the reactions to this EP so far? By the way, let me congratulate you for a tremendous cover artwork, who's responsable for it, and what's the link with your music and/or lyrics?

The work with Martin Quast from Neckbreaker Records and us is pretty relaxed. We had no problems during the production of the album. The most of the work Martin did for us. Mainissues we communicate with him directly. We had planty of good reviews for our EP,especially after our release. 2017 we become song of the week in the Weekly Warfare from Metalhammer on YouTube. This year we´re chosen for Metalhammer Demozone "Heros From Tomorrow" in the upcoming magazine 10/18.

The artwork for our cover did a friend of us. We think it catches the atmosphere of our music quite good.

By the way, what are your lyrics all about and how important are they in the overall offer of the band?

In our lyrics we´re singing about Death. It´s Death Metal!! Right?! But on the other hand we have to face the Death every time and every minute in our live. He´s there, somewhere... Sometimes he wanna catch us all. That´s for sure! This is what we´re trying to say in our lyrics.

As far as I know you've only played inside Germany so far. Do you plan touring Europe sometime soon? Or at least some festivals abroad? How's the German public reaction to underground bands, do you get support from other than close friends, too?

If we would have the possibility to play abroad, for sure we wanna use that chance directly! No doubt! We had a lot of good reaction for our EP. It´s quite impressive for us. We hope our upcoming studio album will kick some asses as well! Now we´re planning a small tour with a couple of other bands in January next year. But that´s not official jet...

What's your main aim or target with the band for the near future? What would you like to do next?

We´re working on our full length studio album right now. That´s our main goal for the future. And a bunch of live concerts. August 2018

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anything to do with those who lost their lives on the Aegean Sea? Aegean is nowadays a sea tomb, were thousands of lives faced death trying to escape from hell...

On Thorns I Lay have gone through some tough times in their long career but now things seem to be getting right on track… their latest effort “Aegean Sorrow” is proof that the Greek band is here to stay and are doing the best music ever. Time to read their thoughts and ideas about the new album, the new era and the upcoming concerts…

After so many years of activity how different is On Thorns I Lay? First of all, I would like to thank you for the interview.

We are for sure older... hehehe. Really now I think our sound is more mature heavier, doomier and darker. We pay more attention to every detail now and I mustn’t forget to mention that we have the best line up in our history.

After the album “Egocentric” the band ceased its activity for 12 years or so… why did you return? Did you miss music? Were you involved in any other musical project during those hiatus years?

We missed playing music. Back in early 2000, we felt that we lost our musical identity so in 2004, after the Egocentric album, we just stopped. Of course, we were into things cause, first of all, we are death metal fans but none of us was involved in any special project.

Do you think those years helped forge the “new” sound for On Thorns I Lay? I think that time showed us the way to our new era. I do not regret this long hiatus as now we are back with our best album of our 25 year career so far.

Your most recent album “Aegean Sorrow” is among the best albums of 2018. How exciting is that?

It’s really amazing all this incredible feedback we are getting from the press and from the fans so far. But, to be honest, we knew that this time we made something special...

This album is a return to the roots… why do it after so many years?

There is no answer to this one... sometimes life has so many surprises, it was supposed to be like this...

What were the main sources of inspiration for this awesome album?

Of course, our fave bands and our previous albums.

Aegean is a mix of our 4 first albums and our demos. It’s a 100 % OTIL album, darker, heavier than before. We are fans of the old Paradise Lost, old Anathema, old Katatonia, My Dying Bride, old Opeth and of course many other newer doom death bands that influenced our sound.

The sound of “Aegean Sorrow” was mixed and mastered by Dan Swano. Does the producer make a different on the final product? What did Swano add to your album that wouldn’t be there if it had been done by someone else?

Dan is a great producer and an important inspiration for us as we are fans of Edge of Sanity and of his newer projects like Witherscape. He was the right person to mix our album. He gave us an organic, huge sound and we are more than happy with the result. In the next one we will work with him again for sure.

How did the release party go on 18th May? Were there many fans attending the party? How did people react to the album?

As I said before, the reactions are the best. The release party went very good surprisingly as we announced it just a few days before it happened. It is very honorable for an artist to reach the fans and thank them... I think this is the best sentiment that music can give you...

OTIL will be headlining a gig in Athens for the first time… how excited were you when you got the invitation? Do you think it is a long wished for recognition?

We were not sure if it was a good idea to have a headline show for this album as 12 years is a long period away from the scene. 2 months after the release of the album and after 3 gigs with SepticFlesh and Satyricon here in Greece, we realized that many fans are waiting for a full show from the band. So we are working on this event hard as it will be a special one with a unique atmosphere and violin and female vocals onstage for our older songs.

We will play material from all of our 8 albums of course with our new sound back in our 90s roots and we are anxiously waiting for this night.

The band has recently played with Satyricon and SepticFlesh and has some dates lined up already… is playing live important for On Thorns I Lay or are you more of a studio band? Do you think logistics complicate things and stop you from playing live more often?

To tell you the truth, I personally prefer being in a studio creating music but all the others really love playing live hehehe. It is very important for a band to play as much as possible nowadays and we will try to have as many shows throughout Europe as we can. We just signed with Flamming Arts agency (Venom inc, Behemoth, Marduk, Satyricon etc ) for touring so, I think, in a couple of weeks we will announce new dates for Europe.

The band is already planning a new album and has already started the pre-production part. Wow! Isn’t it too early? Are ideas flowing free right now? Is this a great creative period for you? It is a very creative period after so many years.

We are planning to support this album as much as we can through gigs but having also a new album coming out in

“Aegean Sorrow” is a concept album. Tell us more about it.

What issues are approached?

“Aegean Sorrow” describes with a poetical way all this pain and misery that exists right next to our door.

All this catastrophe and misery that humanity provoked again. It’s a main characteristic of the human race, this way to self-destruct and we are very pessimistic for the future...

Why the title “Aegean Sorrow”?

The cover portrays the sea… does it have

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no more than 2 years. So I am writing new material and I can say that it is doomier and heavier... very excited with how the new tracks sound...

The band has been signed to Holy Records (4 albums), Black Lotus Records (2 albums), Sleaszy Records (1 album) and Alone Records (1 album). What have you learnt with all these label changes? Are their interests the same? Do you think money speaks louder than music these days?

Of course, this is the way that things are happening. It is important to have a label that believes in you and works for you all the time. We did not have this before as we felt that our name would have been bigger if we had more support. On the other hand, we also were not very careful with what we were doing and we did many mistakes through all those years. But all this just belongs in the past now and a second era has just started for us.

Most of your musical influences are bands that have evolved into a sound completely different from the sound they became famous for… do you think a band’s identity can evolve so much that it loses all of its essence?

Yes, I totally agree with you. It happened to our band also with this change of style. Music is progressing but as an artist you have to be very careful cause you may lose your identity and this can be catastrophic for a band.

It is important to progress but you have to know when and where to stop and this comes with time and maturity.

Greece has an intense and great underground scene with powerful bands. Do you share the same opinion?

Are there newcomers to the scene that the fans of these musical genres should pay attention to?

Yes, we are proud of our scene and for bands like SepticFlesh and Rotting Christ that are well known worldwide. In the past years many local stoner bands appeared and they have a great response from the crowd here. It’s not the style of music that I like, but it is really great to see a Greek metal band sell out gigs for 3000 people. I have to admit that all this is awesome to the local scene. .

If you were organizing a festival in Greece and could only invite local bands, who would you invite? Who would be headlining? Who would be opening the shows?

In our headline show we will play with Ocean Of Grief and Decemberancre, 2 very good Funeral Doom Death Metal bands from Athens and with March Funebre from Belgium.

Is there an album from a Greek band that influenced On Thorns I Lay at some point of their career?

Being a fan ever since their beginning, SepticFlesh is my fave Greek band and their first album “Mystic Places of Dawn” is a cult masterpiece that every death metal fan should listen to one day.

Thank you so much again for this interview. I hope you will like “Aegean Sorrow” and we are looking forward to seeing you in one of our future live shows.

Interview by Sónia Fonseca / May 2018

Speed Heavy Metal isn't a genre we find often these days, or is it?

Is this something you wanted to play even before starting Big Bad Wolf, or it just came out naturally?

You know it’s funny – we weren’t able to describe our genre in a very long time. We just played what we love and think sounds good. I think our bassist Damjan and our rhythm guitarist Rok have had the biggest influence on our early style. Both are huge early thrash fans, Rok more on the Metallica side of the coin and Damjan on Slayer and Overkill. Our drummer Stane is a groove fan, so there are some groove elements in some songs here and there. The vocalist absolutely loves speed, is a big fan of Midnight and Speedwolf so he influences this as well. As does his vocal style, which some describe as similar to Mötorhead, even though this is not something we were aiming to achieve; or even really agree with. Our Solo guitarist Golja has a great feel for melody and that is a skill that gives us another layer.

Sometimes we don’t really want to be categorized. We have very different tastes, and I think that is the reason behind the fact our music is hard to describe and why we have a variety of different songs. Which is a plus and a minus. Sometimes we feel our listeners and or event organizers don’t know what to expect from us or where to put us, as we don’t fall into any clean-cut traditional categories. But on the other hand, we believe it makes us unique. We have been described as “old school revivalists”, and yeah, that is what unites us all and we’re really happy this is evident. It just comes naturally to us.

The metal scene in Slovenia is really good. There are gigs happening weekly. Big names visit us rarely, but there are a lot of local bands and small venues all around the country to support them. We often go to these shows to support the bands, buy their shit and have a good time. Crowds are of course not big, but it can get quite wild on occasion. In addition to these smaller shows, Slovenia also hosts one of the biggest metal festivals in Europe called Metaldays. It is located on a beautiful spot in the alpine valley of Soca river and attracts visitors all around the world with big names of heavy metal. Judas Priest visited us this year.

There are many local bands to check out. We have some awesome thrash bands like Eruption and Panikk who are also starting to be known beyond our borders. If you're a fan of underground, filthy speed metal, I would recommend Hellsword or Vigilance.

There are also a few bands with long tradition that are still sometimes seen on stages like Kaoz, Sarcasm or Interceptor. And also some old legends that have stopped performing live like Orange and Heavy Company.

Are you really scientists in your "daily" life? I guess there's a lot of tension that needs to be reprieved after all that lab work, and BBW should be just perfect for that. Are you what we call nerds, or on the contrary, you're not the typical scientists?

The original line-up was all scientists, except for the drummer - both guitarists were microbiologists, working at the Institute of Microbiology, and the bassist was a toxicologist, working on generic drug development laboratory. As one of the guitarists left, he got replaced by our current vocalist and a new solo guitarist, who are not officially scientists, but we're all nerdy skeptics, so we're still very compatible. Most of Getting back to Outrage of Modesty, how do you plan on supporting / promoting us however have demanding jobs and we just could not live without the release of metal. this release? Is it a digital only release, or it's on physical support also?

And the "band of scientists" story stuck.

It's also available as a physical copy. We've been having much bigger success with actual CD sales than digital downloads. Especially after live shows. I think metal Your debut album, Outrage of Modesty, was just released this year, after 7 years crowds like to have a CD in their hands instead of owning music on a server in the making, why did it take you so long? Tell us about the recordings and somewhere. It is also our wish to release it on vinyl but we haven't gotten around to that production process. yet. We're doing some social media and magazine advertising, and we recently got This is a very good question. The band started up very slow, as a hobby of two of our ourselves a promoter, who'll hopefully find the right kind of listener for us. members, Damjan, the bassist and Rok, the rhythm guitarist. Sometime later, Rok's coworker, a solo guitarist and vocalist Luka joined the band and they all joined forces In the end of our short chat please tell me how would you advertise Big Bad Wolf with Stane, the drummer soon after. as mentioned before, most of the band consisted of to someone who never heard of you or your music before. scientists at that time. After the initial two years of learning, meeting-up, jamming, We're a band of old school revivalists, making music featuring influences from playing covers and being really drunk, the band entered a creative stage and wrote the different genres of metal. From D-beat rich songs with pure speed metal vibes, to original versions of Big Bad Wolf, Belgrade 41, Faith no More and Ocean of Madness slower, groove metal inspired riffs. There are no ballads. Play it loud, don't forget to and Rock ‘n’ Roll Love. Then, Luka had to leave because he moved to Singapore for rock and stay inappropriate! work, and David, Damjan’s brother joined the band as a replacement vocalist. The issue after that was finding a solo guitarist. For more than a year, the band switched several September 2018 solo guitarists, some not having or investing the time to play well, while others just left because they did not “fit”. You need to understand that Big Bad Wolf members, while being very “cultured” in our day-to-day lives, can be intense at practice; and that is too According to Metal Archives the band has been active between 2010 and 2015 as much for some. During this time, the songs Punisher, Release the Spiders and Colours NightSlasher, what made you change the name? Was it of the Night were made. In 2016, Golja answered our post for a solo guitarist on a metal because of the line-up additions and actually the evolution forum. He came one day to try out – he had skills, but more importantly, he “fit” into from a one man project to a full line-up band? the Big Bad Wolf culture perfectly. And this is culture of drinking, having fun and not Andrew: That is actually wrong, giving a fuck. Which is also a bit detrimental to productiveness, as you can imagine. So NightSlasher was a totally is the fact that we only meet once a week if that – because we all have many responsibilities, families etc. outside of BBW. We recorded our debut album in P.L.C studios located in famous Slovenian wine region. That proved to be a bonus. The recording studio is in the hands of Matej Srebrnic and he is a truly stand-up guy, very easy going. He owns very good tech and had some interesting producer skills. Most metal bands nowadays are reaching for either rough, old school sound to the point that you cannot even recognize each distinct instrument, or a fully polished style, that is missing that natural sound. We were going for somewhere in between; mostly looking band, we to somehow capture the mood of our songs and to bring out the drive in our listeners to different most of the put our songs on repeat again and again. Matej paved a good base recording, that was did consist of members though haha so I later in production less stressful to fine tune as close to our liking as possible. With a same people see it as very modest budget, we had to be quite creative but the final result came out better than can see why some more of a name change, but that was more of a we anticipated.

Thrash Metal band and over time we were losing we just weren't getting Slovenia is a rather small country, but perfectly located to easily reach both the interest in playing that style and start something new and fresh.

West and the East Europe if you plan on touring. Have you toured so far? How anywhere after 5 years so wanted to Davy: I wasn’t in the band at the time of the end of NightSlasher but I are your live shows like?

You're absolutely right, the region is ideal for touring. Had we more time, I'm sure we'd think that the direction Andrew and other members wanted to go in was so different be going on more tours, but we can do two per year. This year, we had a small tour in that there was some creative differences Czech Republic with an awesome band from Austria called Tulsa Doom. We're Sam: We overall wanted a clean slate. Me, Andrew and Kevin, the 3 core members of planning to do a South-Eastern Balkan tour during the winter. We're always up for NightSlasher weren't getting what we wanted out of the project. I feel like we all felt more though, if only we can squeeze it in! We now have a small following here in we weren't pushing ourselves in NightSlasher enough, musically and using our Slovenia and some guys and girls attend our gigs regularly. We always aim to have a resources to their best ability. Now it feels as we're all getting what we want out of our good time during our shows, which means audience has to have a good time together sound and everyone is truly involved in pushing this band as far as we can go. with us. Our live shows are usually fueled by as much booze we can take and still Your debut demo seems to have had a warm welcome from fans, correct? Please sound good. tell us some words about what's happening on this demo and where can one listen How's the Metal scene in Slovenia, and how easily a band can make a name for / order it. How do you see it after almost a year, what could have been done better? themselves within the country's confines? Can you suggest some other local bands Andrew: I was very happy with the response that people gave the demo, most people seemed to really like it. It's pretty much just very fast, epic, catchy Power Metal, it's worth checking?

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distribution here in America. I'm a bigger fan of the European style of Power Metal, it tends to be faster, bigger, and more epic.

Sam: I believe the genre is still alive and well, and definitely has popularized a lot more in the last few years. I think every power metal scene has many different things to offer, and that's what I love about the genre. I see bands like Galneryus, Dragonforce, and Kamelot constantly pushing their sound each release and see new bands emerge that bring a lot to the table.

streaming on bandcamp, youtube, spotify, itunes, pretty much every major music streaming platform. You can order physical copies through our bandcamp page! After looking back on the demo I still really like it, but if I were to change anything I'd change the mix around, the tone of the guitars could've been much better and the vocals should have been louder. Overall though it was the first release I ever made that I'm happy with and proud of so even if I had the chance I'd still keep it the way it is, we can always redo these songs on a full length anyways, which we probably will do since there are many new additions and changes to the songs since we made the demo.

Davy: I personally think that this demo was a good intro into the Power Metal community. There’s really something for everyone when you take a good listen to it.

However, with every project, you pick at it and strive to become better than the last. I feel like it was good but we could definitely do better. You can find it on all streaming platforms Sam: All the positive reactions on our demo made me really happy. At the time, I was playing keys for the band and we had a small lineup shift since then also. We have a total of six songs and I'm really happy with how they came out. Although next release I definitely want to stack more layers of keys, and take our time much more with the recording process. You can find our music on most music streaming platforms. We also have physical copies available at shows.

You mentioned there were "so many ups and downs to getting this thing recorded and released". Please tell us more about this.

Andrew: During the making of the demo Sam actually left the band for a little while, he was playing Keys back then but now he's back in the band on Guitar, but that was definitely a huge blow to the band, we still haven't found a replacement Keyboardist and it's been over a year! Leading up to the release we also parted ways with our Guitar players Josh and Krys, Krys had actually left only a few weeks before the demo came out and I was ready to call it quits myself after that, if it hadn't been for Sam and Davy joining the band at the 11th hour I don't think we would still exist.

Sam: At least on my end, when I was recording, I had a lot of life issues hitting me at once, almost hindering my ability to practice for recording. I unofficially quit a month before recording the demo but agreed to record my keys parts. I never viewed myself as a "proper" keyboardist either, guitar was much more my calling. Tracking was a challenge on my end due to not having a lot of time to commit to keys and composing parts didn't come as natural to me at the time on keys. During the recording process, aside from my personal issues, I wasn't in touch with the band as much so I can't really say much else, after I left as keyboards (before I joined back as guitar) the only work I did with the band was coming to the studio to record my parts.

Are you guys ready for a debut full-length album? By the way, in your opinion, when should a band release its debut album? What are demos good for nowadays?

Andrew: I'm trying to just take things day by day currently and haven't thought of putting out a full length yet, I think our next move will be to make another demo or EP early next year, we have enough songs written for one, just have to tighten them up. I think an album should come either once the word of your band has spread far enough and you have a decent fan base, or if you already have big connections and can gain a wide release without having to go through making smaller releases first. I believe demos are good for being able to make a recording quickly and they help with spreading your name around. I believe an album is a big deal and should be anticipated by fans, there's no sense in making an entire album if you don't have anyone to listen to it.

Davy: I think demos are a good way to showcase a broad idea of what a bands “sound” is Sam: We plan on releasing another demo before jumping to a full length. We've been hard at work songwriting as of late and really want to push a demo with our newly solidified lineup before jumping to a full length. In my opinion, demos are meant to briefly show what a band has to bring to the table, so fans know what you have to offer.

Since our past few lineup changes, we've tweaked existing songs and a few new ones, after we take the time to show everyone what we really have to offer, then we're definitely ready to put out a full length.

What do you think of the current state of Power Metal in the World, where do you think there's still space for progression? Is there? Do you prefer the American or the European breed of Power Metal, and why?

Andrew: I think Power Metal is in a pretty good state for the most part, it's definitely very big in Europe and Japan, but America still has some catching up to do I believe, but it's getting there, I know this year's Prog Power festival just sold out in only 3 hours, so there is definitely an audience for Power Metal here in America, and most people I show it to who haven't ever listened to it always seem to like it, it just needs better

Tell us about your lyrics, are they just stories you made up, or is there a deeper meaning behind them? Are lyrics important for a band like yours?

Andrew: Personally I don't write any lyrics so I can't say too much about the meanings of the songs, but I know Tony takes his lyric writing very serious and puts a lot of thought and passion into them. We try to keep the fantasy lyrics to a minimum since that's been very over done, but we still have some songs that have your typical power metal lyrics, like the song Warriors Through Endless Time. A lot of the lyrics are definitely up for anyone to interpret in their own way, but all the songs do have either a story in them, or a specific theme. I think more Power Metal bands should take the lyrics seriously because I think that's part of the reason some people may be turned off to the genre, a lot of the lyrics are too cheesy and goofy.

Davy: When I listen to these songs I take bits and pieces of lyrics and the fictional songwriting and translate them to my own life. Tony does a good job at expressing his meaning for writing what he does Sam: Our lyrics are a huge part of us as a band. Painting vivid imagery of fantasy and dystopia is a crucial part to the musical landscape we pave. I think every band should have lyrics they stand behind on an artistic aspect.

To close this in good fashion, tell me what's the best compliment you got for your music so far, and if there ever was a moment when you were so down it made you think of ending it.

Andrew: Best compliment ever was when someone reviewed our live show and called us "DragonForce on speed" I thought that was really cool. Only time I ever thought of seriously ending it was when our old Guitarist Krys left the band.

Davy: So far the best compliment I’ve ever gotten was “sick set bro.” Which is a blessing in the New England Metal Scene Sam: We've gotten a lot of positive feedback since we started circulating our sound.

Picking a best compliment is definitely difficult. Though one time at a show, someone told me we sounded like Dragonforce on steroids. I'm very critical of how we sound, so it warms my heart whenever people really like our stuff. We definitely have had our fair share of frustrations but it always ended up dissipating after tackling any sort of issue coming our way.

October 2018

Quote from your bio: "Deus Omega, a one man metal act like no other."

What makes you say this? On your FaceBook page you listed a ton of genres to describe the one Deus Omega offers, but would you be able to describe your music in 3-5 words?

Yes there is quite a blending of genres, mainly because when writing I don’t often think in terms of genre and style and the tunings I use along with my bleak and atmospheric sound is what I feel sets me apart. To sum up what makes so unique in fewer words my music is a bleak and crushing sonic cataclysm.

The band name, Deus Omega, makes one think of a Christian band, but what are your lyrics actually talking about? Do you have a message to the listener, or are your lyrics more like stories?

Deus Omega is far from a Christian band, as for the lyrical content I often take inspiration from many different areas such as historical events and figures as well as comics and manga along with antichristian views and ideas. As for overall message of songs and/or album it is very much up for interpretation.

Deus Omega is a one man band, is this on purpose, or you weren't able to find suitable band members yet? Are you a difficult person to work with in a band with full line-up? If it were for Deus Omega to become a full band, would you feel like you've lost your "grip" on it?

Yes the one man band idea is on purpose, reason being the ability to not hinder the flow of my creative process though I do plan to collaborate with others in future as well as assemble a full line up for live performances.

You've just released your second album, how different is it from the previous?

How would you describe it to our readers?

In Absentia Of Light is actually the third album release, the main difference between it and prior releases is that it is a further evolution of my sound and style along with fact that for lyrical content I turned my creative lens further inward on a few tracks.

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members?

Because I live in Berlin, finding band members wouldn't be a problem. Nevertheless Infernotion always was a solo project and I never had ambitions to play live. Maybe my storm and stress period was over after my really great time with my former bands Burning Cross and Breath of Purity? We had fantastic shows and as students we had enough time for that. Maybe I just want to keep these awesome experiences in mind and don't want to destroy it with a not half as good new band? Maybe I'm much more the songwriting guy, who only has the desire for creating and producing music? Maybe I need to be flexible and my own boss? To be honest, I can't tell you a real cause, maybe I will decide to play a live show one day, who knows?

There are no less than 23 tracks on it, so from my point of view this would easily make it as a double-album. Was it released in physical format, too, or do you plan on releasing it this way, or do you stick to digital?

The plan was to release a double album though I was unable to successfully do so through my distributor, one of the drawbacks of being an independent artist so for now it looks like it will remain a digital release until such time as I’m able to put it out on physical media.

Have you got any reactions to it yet from fans and press? How happy are you of its outcome? What would be the best fedback for you after releasing an album, I mean what would make you the happiest? Or should I rather ask if feedback is important for you?

I’ve had several positive reviews which has been great and the fan response has been very pleasing so far, though my fan base may be small at the moment I am grateful for each and every one of them.

How do you see Australia as playground for Extreme Metal? Is it an open minded environment where nothing really shocks anymore, or does it have its own prejudices, too?

There is quite a following of metal in Australia though not quite as large as Europe but the matal community here is very passionate and fiercely loyal, that being said some of the best acts here are quite underground.

August 2018

To me it seems Habits is a concept album when it comes to lyrics, correct? Please tell us more about the topics you chose for it.

Primarily I'm a guitar player. I love writing riffs, melodies and harmonies and so on.

The whole instrumental construct of Habits was ready before I even started to think about a lyrical concept. The lyrics belong together only in a kind of meta level. At least to me the concept makes total sense, well, I thought about it very much. I think I spent much more time in just thinking about the concept than in writing lyrics. I try to draw a concentrate of the root bad habits of humans and how these habits can be assigned to leading and/or following people. The chain, or more the circle, begins with an exagerated drive for recognition and inflated self esteem, followed by envy, with a transition into hypocrisy, later collectivism and, as a climax, the lowest instincts: fear and faith. For me Habits is a fast abstract about all basic kinds of bad behaviour and how they inter-relate. We all know people who can be categorized in one of these habits, don't we?

How would you describe your music to someone who never heard it? they be interested in your music?

My main musical influences during the years were The Ramones, Motörhead, Six Feet Under, Urgehal and Dimension Zero. Some Infernotion is Black Metal, some people say, Infernotion is by no means Now you MUST be curious about Infernotion.

Why should Turbonegro, people say, Black Metal.

What's your aim with Infernotion? Is it a form of repression for your anger / frustrations, or is it also a mean to express and transmit messages to the audience?

I just need to write songs. Often it starts with a guitar riff, in the end I have recorded an album. I don't care when only 2 or 3 people have a listen to my music. Admittedly, nearly no one can live from making Black Metal. So I don't have to fulfil conventions and can do what I really like. Frustration and anger are not relevant for me. I would say that I'm quite satisfied with my life and I'm in a good mood when playing music. The lyric part is like a servant for my music, but of course I want to write thoughtful lyrics, otherwise it wouldn't meet my requirements.

September 2018 I don't recall seeing another band releasing so many demos before their debut album, in the 2000's, how come you chose this old-school way of displaying the band's potential? Do you think this process helped in building up experience for the debut album?

To be honest, there was never a master plan or an overarching ideology that made us think “we have to put out a tonne of demo recordings.” It just kind of happened over the years. I don’t think we ever

Hi

Peisestratos (btw, are you of Greek origins?), you've just released your second full-length album, Habits, how come you decided to do it yourself and not search for a label to release it?

Hi there! I don't think that I'm Greek but there is a little story behind my pseudonym: When my last name was Peise and some pupils at my school probably learned something about Greek history and Peisistratos, they called me Peisestratos a few times.

That was nothing more than a joke. I guess that was years before my first Metal activities but when I started writing Black Metal I found that this name fits perfectly.

Back to the actual first question: Habits is some kind of hybrid release. I made a self release with just a few copies and also a second one which was released via Ukrainian label Depressive Illusions Records.

How come Infernotion is a one man band, is it by choice or by lack of suitable

seriously considered a professional recording until about 2016.

Until I had the idea of self-financing an album, demos were our sole medium of expressing ourselves outside of live shows.

Having DIY recording experience certainly helped when planning and recording ‘Bleeding Frenzy’. We learned the hard way that you shouldn’t spread yourself too thin if you want to sound your best – in 2015 we attempted to record 17 songs (everything we had at the time) in a single session! The result was very sloppy, and we ended up scrapping most of it. So, when it came to the album, we compromised from the beginning instead of being forced to do so later. We chose our eight best songs and we took our time with the recording. “Less is more”, as they say…

Bleeding Frenzy is your first full-length, self-released this year. How come you decided to do it all yourselves and not work with a label? You decided to work at Reel Recording Studio with Dave Boothroyd, why?

I guess we were used to putting out all our demo recordings ourselves, so doing the same for the full-length felt natural. We chose to record at Reel Recording Studios for pretty mundane reasons: they were local and within our budget. It turned out to be a great choice though! Dave likes his heavy stuff, but is not a diehard metalhead, so he didn’t try and pigeonhole us. He just listened to the nonsense we spouted, and somehow managed to capture exactly what we were looking for.

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Thats a funny story actually, Death Wish was the name of the old band I was in that was more straight-up thrash, but we split up a long time ago, when I got the new lineup together we decided to keep the name and we kept it for about a year. Then one day I walked into a local record store here in Ottawa and in the metal section I found an album called "At the Edge of Damnation" by a British band also called Death Wish, so I immediately bought it and then told the guys about what I found, thats when we decided to change the name to

Lycanthro.

From my point of view a combination of Heavy and Power Metal requires very skilled musicians in order to be really successful, do you think you have what it needs to make your music stand out? What's your musical background?

I personally have been playing guitar for about 12 years now and singing for about 5.

Power metal is absolutely a difficult genre to play at times but all the guys in the band all have the capacity and talent for it, and in terms of standing out, we never try to write the same song twice and all of our songs we genuinely care about and always try our best to make them as best as they can be, and also because it is not very often nowadays that young bands will blend the genres of power and thrash metal, we love them both so we figured why not do both?

Your music is a mix of many Extreme Metal sub-genres, but how would you describe it? How would you describe what's happening on your debut album?

Was it released in physical format also, or only digital?

I personally think of it as a death/thrash hybrid, but there are other parts bolted on! The eighties death/thrash style is the chassis, but it’s got a black metal gearbox, doom metal exhaust, grindcore windscreen wipers… You get the picture. I don’t care too much about how people categorize us as long as they enjoy the music, really.

The album was released digitally in May and was followed up by a physical release in July. You can stream/download it on a few sites (Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music etc.) but hard copies are only available via our Bandcamp page (deathmace/bandcamp.com) or at gigs.

You're the only original member still active in the band. Or was Deathmace actually started as a one man project? If so, what made you go for a full line-up at a certain point, and what changed since then? Do all members contribute to the final shape of Deathmace's tracks? Would you go back to a one man action for some reason?

Deathmace was indeed a one-man project for a couple of years. This was out of necessity and convenience rather than choice. I couldn’t find collaborators where I was living at the time. Plus I was a student, so I had minimal money to spend on transport or gear. I consider Jack Bamber (bass) an ‘original member’ though. He was the original full-time bassist, joined in 2011.

As far as songwriting goes, I write most of the original music and lyrics, but the others guys do put their stamp on it when we’re arranging it. Fine-tuning at rehearsals or at each other’s houses, coming up with new twists.

I would only return to being a one-man band as a last resort. I get too much pleasure out of collaborating with others to make total solo work palatable. Even if I did end up doing a one-man project, I don’t think I could call it ‘Deathmace’ anymore. Deathmace is these four guys now, replacing any one of them would be very hard. Replacing all of them would be impossible!

Some of you, if not all, are part of other bands as well, so how you determine priorities? Don't you think playing in multiple bands waters down the writing potential? Or is it on the contrary?

Not at all. For better or for worse, there is a certain formula to our songs and riffs. I try to break the mold occasionally, but in most cases a song that is destined to become part of the Deathmace catalogue will begin to sound like Deathmace early in the songwriting process. So, even though I do have other bands for which I write music, it’s always music that could not have been used for Deathmace.

What's the biggest dream for a band like Deathmace? And do you think what you can do on your own as a band can make you reach this dream, or do you need support from labels / agencies?

This is gonna sound corny, but the ‘dream’ is to make an impression on people; to inspire or empower them. If someone hears our music and has a good time as a result – whether it’s a gig or a recording – that’s the main thing for me. Could an outside influence help us reach more people? Maybe. We’ll have to see how we feel about it when we’re ready to record the next one!

I'm not usually talking about political matters, but Brexit is about to take place in a few months, how do you see this and how do you think it will affect your band?

As tempting as it is, I’m going to stay away from this subject. I have my views on Brexit of course, but I’m not going to use Deathmace as a platform for those views.

Thank you for your questions and I hope you have a good day!

September 2018 The band activated between 2014 and 2016 as Death Wish, how come you decided to change the name? Did you change genre as well, or was it Heavy Power Metal from the begining?

You've released two EPs so far, should we suppose you're gearing up for a debut full-length? Will you use the same tracks as on the EPs, or will it be made of completely new material?

We actually are entering the studio in December to start work on our first full length!

We plan on including re-recorded versions of the 4 tracks that were on our first demo EP. We want to give those songs some good production value since the 1st demo EP's production is demo quality. We are also including 5 new tracks on top of that and a metal cover of legendary Canadian band Triumph's "Rock N Roll Machine" I think your music is more influenced by the US type of Heavy Power Metal rather than the European one, what do you think? What do you think of the current state of these genres? Is it still in fashion to play this music nowadays, or is it rather an underground movement?

I completely agree, our sound is definitely more similar to bands like Manowar or Jag Panzer than bands like Stratovarius or Rhapsody. But we are hugely influenced by both and even the newer material we are writing currently is more in the style of European power metal. In terms of the current state of power metal, I personally see it as its both underground but somewhat fashionable. What I mean is there isnt that many young power metal bands in North America, but the few that are are getting lots of well deserved acclaim. Theres a many great newer North American power metal bands like Unleash the Archers, Judicator, Lords of the Trident, Cry Venom, Master Sword, Seven Spires, Manacle and Silver Talon to name a few that are all gaining great notoriety.

You recorded keyboards on your second EP, on all tracks, but there's no keys player in the band's line-up, do you plan on adding one?

We are strongly considering getting a keyboard player! It mainly comes down to a factor of logistics like touring as well as having a 5th member in general. Also a lot of our newer material that we are writing has keyboards but a lot of our live staples dont use them either. We are certainly considering it but we are on the fence on it at the moment.

Is Ottawa a good place for playing Metal? Being so close to the US I guess it's easier for you to setup tours in both countries. What do you like most about playing live? What about touring?

The Ottawa metal scene used to be extremely small and its only gotten bigger recently.

I find that the metalheads in Ottawa are very grateful so their always really great crowds to play in front of, and even though it has grown immensely, everyone still knows each other and its like a big family and we are all really close. Because of this we've had some really big bands come though Ottawa recently that never would have came a few years ago like Exodus, U.D.O, Diamond Head, Children of Bodom etc... and all the metalheads here go crazy and go to every big show that comes through and I think thats amazing! My personal favourite thing about playing live is definitely the crowd interaction, watching a crowd go insane while you are onstage playing is one of the most gratifying things and interacting with them during the set is simply amazing!

In terms of touring we have toured around Ontario and Quebec our fair share of times and touring is always a lot of fun meeting new people and making new friends is always the best, even though touring can be tiring. The US is actually a bit hard for Canadian bands to get into because of their strict visa/border policies but its not impossible and we do plan on playing in the US in the near future.

August 2018

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Tobias, thank you so much for being with us here today. Above all, I wonder what is happening today around Vomitory since your last "Opus Mortis VIII" album was released in 2011. Do you have written some new stuff for your next recording? Do you know what form of release it will be?

I'm sorry to tell you, but there are no plans on writing and releasing new music with Vomitory. This reunion is for 2019 only, and only for playing live shows. We have no plans to continue after that, but we will see when the time comes. One should never say never.

Can you describe how did Vomitory start and what purpose you put this unholy band together for? Which bands and musicians influenced you most in your early days, do you still exactly remember your beginnings?

What were your initial ideas and how much they had changed, or transformed till now?

Vomitory was started in October 1989 by guitarist Urban Gustafsson in Forshaga, Sweden. The reason was solely for the passion of playing fast and brutal music.

We didn't have big ambitions to make any kind of career out of this. We only wanted to enjoy it for our own satisfaction.

Eventually, more people liked what we did, which lead to playing more local shows, we released our first demo, played more shows etc. Our earliest influences were Sodom, Slayer, Sepultura, Celtic Frost, Kreator, Entombed, Napalm Death, Bolt Thrower and Carcass. And those bands are still close to my heart, 30 years later. In the beginning, our style and sound was very primitive compared to what it turned out to be just a couple of years later. Our sound evolved over the years, and I think that around "Revelation Nausea" (2000) we cemented the sound that we've become recognized for. I still remember the old days quite clearly, and it was a very exciting and inspiring time.

Vomitory's first official 6-track demo, was recorded in 1992, which brought Vomitory's name on the map of Death Metal for good, I think. How well do you still remember those times, when you got that demo recorded and out for the people? I guess getting your first demo out worked out a real stepping stone for the band - and right after its release, you received tons of fan mail from all over the world, am I right?

The first Vomitory demo had three songs - "Moribund", "Untouchable Challenge" and "Undivulged". Recorded and released in 1992. We sure got some recognition in the scene, but we were a bit late in the "Swedish death metal wave", and by 1992 the interest for brutal death metal had slightly faded. People were getting more into the melodic and atmospheric styles of metal as well as Norwegian black metal. But the die-hards really liked what we were doing, and we got lots of credit for not giving in to the shifting trends within the death metal scene. And the demo got really good reviews in the underground media.

What about the recording sessions of Vomitory's classic debut album, "Raped in Their Own Blood". I can only imagine the pressure coming from outside was already there as a part of your recording sessions during those days but despite this enormous pressure factor, you really nailed it down in the studio and got a very good debut album recorded. How much do you still remember about the circumstances of getting your debut album recorded?

Honestly, there was no such pressure whatsoever.

Not even from

no

ourselves.

We just went into the studio and did our thing. The album was recorded in a very simple studio which was located in a school in Forshaga. I was the engineer and "producer", we did everything ourselves, which naturally made us feel comfortable and relaxed in the studio. I remember it all very well.

Already back then we wanted to record it in a better studio, but frankly this was what we and the label could afford at the time. Still, "Raped In Their Own Blood" became a death metal classic eventually.

Your debut is like the epitome of falling into the endless abyss of abomination and monstrosity. Listening to it always I find myself in unknown haunted dungeons full of disgusting repugnancy.

Also the sound is killing, heavy as hell; the music is crushing, raw, without any signs of trendy ballast; a perfect Death Metal according to the ideas of many fanatics. Is morbidity your main idea at the writing process?

I agree, this is a very raw album and I love it for that. And it was released in a time when people almost was despising brutal Swedish death metal, which makes this album scream "fuck you" even louder haha. In the writing process - then and now - I always try to focus on aggression, intensity and heaviness.

In 1992, there already was a strong Death Metal scene in Sweden - bands like Grave, Nihilist/Entombed, Unleashed, Dismember, etc. being the better known and leading forces of Sweden Death Metal at the time. Can you still remember how Vomitory was taken among other musicians during those days, was there any kind of competition between some bands? Was Vomitory warmly welcomed to become a part of the big Sweden Death Metal family right away, or were there some band members in some other bands that sort of started to envy what Vomitory were both image as well as music-wise?

As far as I know, there was no envy between bands or competition either. Everyone was very supportive to each other. That was what made this era so special. But sure, there were some exceptions, although they were very few.

One thing that made Vomitory different from many other death metal bands in Sweden, was that we came from an area where there were basically

other death metal bands, except for

Macabre End/God Macabre. I don't know if we benefited from that or not. In any way yes, since we didn't get compared to the typical Stockholm and Gothenburg bands as much themselves. And in a way no, since we lived quite far from where the scene was alive and actually happening (i.e. Stockholm and Gothenburg), which made us miss out on a lot of shows that would have given us well-needed exposure. But in the long run, obviously none of it really mattered anyway. We went our own way, got ourselves a name and gained lots of respect in the scene.

I'm very proud of what we achieved over all these years.

How do you feel nowadays in 2018 about “Revelation Nausea” and “Carnage Euphoria”era? I mean the material has been written and recorded in the early and middle 00s, so there’s a huge time distance between it. Do you still stand behind it or are there always some little mistakes and points to complain about them when you throw them into your player? Personally I think that both albums have been really outstanding and original for the times when they have been released...

I stand behind all our music to 100% and will always do. Of course there are always a few tiny mistakes or things that could have been done better or different in some way on all our albums, but that's just how it is. It happens every time, and I don't think that I'll ever record an album that I will consider to be "perfect". And honestly, I don't want that. Both those albums are indeed outstanding, and especially "Revelation Nausea" is fucking relentless! I think this is the groundbreaking album of Vomitory. Not only was it our first release on Metal Blade Records, but it presented the updated sound that we stuck to more or less until our final album "Opus Mortis VIII". It was also our most intense album to date, and our first as a four-member band, which we remained until the end.

Did your musical influences change

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throughout the years? I mean, would you say that you've became more open minded when you grew older?

I definitely think that we've become more open-minded musically when we've grown older. But the fundamental musical influences have remained the same, more or less. The one band though that really made a huge impact many years later (around 1998), both on me as a composer and drummer and the band as a whole, is Vader. They really hit bulls-eye in our worm infested death metal hearts.

Vomitory is a band with a rich history and an impressive discography, yet the band is still fairly unheard of by the general public. Where would you contribute this to?

Well, we did our thing, worked with a great label for many years, did a lot of tours (mainly Europe) etc. We did our best and I guess we got what we deserved haha. But in my opinion, death metal is not for the general public, so that doesn't bother me at all.

What happened to Vomitory in 2011?

It’s definitely a sad chapter, but why have you closed the doors after a brilliant album like "Opus Mortis VIII"? I mean you’ve had a respected name in the scene, so which has been the real reasons? Didn’t you get along with eachother personally or did you simply develop other musical interests?

The decision to call it quits was something that had been building up for a couple of years. It was nothing that came overnight. We got along with each other personally, so that wasn't an issue. But we had been an active band for 24 non-stop years, and that takes its toll. For me the band was running out of fun. It was turning into a heavy burden instead. So the motivation to continue gradually dropped during the last few years. There were of course many reasons that altogether made us make the decision to disband Vomitory in 2013, and we went out with our heads held high.

When exactly did you start talking to each other about bringing Vomitory back? Once the news of the reunion of Vomitory got out how many other labels showed interest in signing the band and what made you decide in favor of Metal Blade?

It actually started already in December 2016, when Summer Breeze Festival in Germany got in touch with me and asked if Vomitory would be willing to do a oneoff reunion show to honour the memory of the former Metal Blade Records European label manager, Michael Trengert, at the festival in August 2017.

Trengert sadly passed away in 2013. He

was also one of the founders of the Summer Breeze Festival. He was the one who signed Vomitory to Metal Blade in 1999, and he did so much for the band so we definitely wanted to do this special show in his honour. We played the show, had lots of fun and afterwards we agreed that we maybe should keep the door open for more possible live shows in the future.

In early 2018 we began talking again loosely about maybe doing something temporary for the 30th anniversary in 2019. No new music or new album, only live shows. And from that everything went very fast. Our booking agent started asking around for the interest for Vomitory shows, and it kinda exploded.

So just to make it clear, this is a temporary reunion for live shows during 2019. There are no plans to write new music or release new albums. So therefore there are no labels that have showed interest in signing the band, since we're not "back in business" in that way.

Death Metal as an extreme subgenre of Heavy Metal, has been having a second coming for the last few years. Many disbanded Death Metal bands have collected their troops back together and are making new music and putting out new albums. How does this make you feel? Do you believe most of them are back just to feel like being a teenager and/or young again and do you believe some of them are only back because they are trying to earn some easy, extra bucks?

If you had asked me this when I was younger, I would probably have answered that they sucked and were sell-outs. Now, when I'm older and know better, I don't blame them. I know for sure that playing death metal is not the easiest way to get some extra bucks. There is so much more

hard work behind it than people in general think. So there are hundreds and hundreds of easier and better ways to make some extra cash, if that's what drives you. I don't think that they - and even myself for that matter - do it to feel young again either. I think it's simply because they enjoy playing music. It's what they/we do. Because at the end of the day, playing in a death metal band, or any kind of band really, is first and foremost for your own personal satisfaction. Getting paid to play shows is great of course but it's not the reason why I play drums.

Were you happy with how the Metal Blade staff treated Vomitory treated you compared with the other bands on their roster back in the day? Did you get any financial support for tours and how much did they promote you guys?

We had a very good collaboration with Metal Blade, and still have actually. They are great people that have a genuine passion for metal. As with most (I guess) labels, they sign and work only with bands that they like, and the bands get treated thereafter. Metal Blade did a lot for Vomitory and helped us grow. Lots of ads in metal magazines, we got shitloads of interviews etc. And in the early 2000's we got tour support for some, for us, very important tours.

Despite the lack of proper financial support, Vomitory played a good bunch of shows around the Europe.

You shared stages with such names as Morbid Angel, Monstrosity and many others. Can you still recall how Vomitory was received by the crowds back then when got to play all of those gigs? Is there a particular gig that has

stuck in your mind, for one reason or another?

That is not correct. We sure got some proper financial support for tours in the early 00's. But as record sales went down in the whole industry, it got more difficult to get that. I don't think we ever did a tour where we lost money. Well, maybe one in 2002, but it gained us in the long run anyway, so it's difficult to say. Mostly the reception from the crowds was really good, but it differed from country to country, and from year to year. One show in particular comes to mind, and that's Summer Breeze in Germany in 2009.

That show - and especially the crowd was absolutely fantastic! Definitely one of THE best Vomitory shows ever. We shared stages with many of the heavy names in death metal: Cannibal Corpse, Vader, Krisiun, Deicide, Hate Eternal, Nile, Monstrosity to name a few. I don't think we ever played with Morbid Angel at any point though.

A lot of technical bands have arisen over the last few years. Bands like Cephalic Carnage, Textures, Dillinger Escape Plan push the envelope of the genre by including parts of jazz, fusion etc into their extreme metal. What is your take on this subject? Does it contribute to the loss of atmosphere and emotion, etc that metal usually is linked to?

Everyone and every band are free to do whatever they want. I think it's a good thing that music evolves. If it didn't, we would never have death metal or even rock, right? What some find atmospheric and emotional in music, someone else maybe don't. It's very personal to every listener. If these kinds of bands aren't atmospheric or emotional enough, then

21

listen to something else. I prefer my death metal straight in the fucking face though.

When you compare the early days of Death Metal with the scene of today, what has changed to the better and what has become worse since then?

What are your faves of that time?

Back in the days there was this strong feeling of camaraderie in the scene, which is not as present today. Everyone was very supportive to each other. To some extent, also the music itself has become worse haha. But what's positive is that the genre has become more accepted as a whole, which means better exposure, better distribution of the music and better venues for bands to play and fans to go to.

What according to you is essential for being Metal? How would you define the Death Metal lifestyle? What does it mean to you?

If you are metal, all of it comes naturally I guess. It's hard to put it into words, really. I think being yourself is crucial.

And not letting anyone tread on you and to stand up for your friends and your likeminded. Metal and music is a huge part of my life - creating, playing and enjoying it.

I couldn't imagine living without it.

Thanks for the interview! Good luck with Vomitory. I would like to extend my praise for your persistence in keeping the ancient flame burning. The last words are yours.

Thank you. I hope everyone takes the opportunity to catch Vomitory live somewhere next year, because it may very well be your last chance before we put the band to sleep again. Cheers!

Interview by Marcin "MARIANO" Wawok / November 2

band), and devast. I was also running a paper zine (lelahel’zine) , and a website called lelahel metal which is now a facebook page for promoting metal stuffs .

The metal Algeria exist for almost three decades and still suffer from the same problem, is the lack of venues and places to play lives.

This problem will take time to be resolved, the government have to support the culture and the young people which isn’t the case .

Hi Redouane, Lelahell has just released its second full-length album, Alif, how do you feel? Please tell us some words about its conception, recordings and release. Are you happy of the final result?

I feel very satisfied and accomplished! Releasing a second album is always a challenge because it must be better than the first! So you have to proceed in a different way!

It was composed and arranged in 3 months. The guitars, bass and vocals were recorded at my studio in Algiers, and the drums were recorded in Germany with Hannes Grossmann (ex Necrophagist, ex Obscura, Alkaloid, Blotted Science, Hate Eternal) one of the most admired players in the world of technical death metal at Mordor sounds studio (Hannes studio). It was mixed and mastered by the Wieslawsky brothers at the Hertz Studio from Poland (Hate, Vader, Behemoth, Decapitated…). It was released worldwide by the legendary Slovakian label Metal Age Productions, and locally by Ostowana editions.

We are more than satisfied by the result, we got amazing reviews and a lot of support from Fans!

I think the lyrics on this new album are quite spiritual and somehow personal, am I right? What are the topics you touched on Alif and why? What does the album title mean and what's the connection with the cover artwork?

Yes that’s true, the lyrics are more aporitual than the previous album. There are many topics touched on alif , some philosophical subjects about the society like: Paramnesia (confusion between dream and reality), Ignis Fatuus ( the phosphorescent light seen at night in the forest talking about those illusions that are in the modern society: money, power, ….), The fifth (an hybrid season created by humans, that will be the only season) , Parasits (talking about all the politicians, they are just parasites!)

Some spiritual subjects like adam the first (the story of adam and eve), Thou shalt not kill and Ribat Essalem Alif is the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. In Arabic calligraphy we use it as main reference to determine the size of the next characters. We choose this name because this album will be the main musical reference of the next upcoming releases.

The cover artwork is a courtesy of German artist, Björn Gooßes of Killustrations (Dew scented, Aborted, Sodom,...). When Lelahell got in touch regarding a possible artwork, Bjorn knew this would be something special.

I approached him with a quite elaborate lyrical concept about a person named Abderrahmane and his tale of woe.

He had to convert that into a striking image and He came up with Abderrahmane sitting on desert soil, while drawing a circle of blood around him in order to protect himself from danger. I think it turned out to be a quite unusual image and captures the feeling we wants to evoke with our music You were involved in your local scene even before starting Lelahell, in a band called Litham since 1996 and in a printed zine as well if I'm not mistaking, so how do you see the progression and current state of the metal scene in Algeria? Do you have problems with authorities over there or is it pretty much more open minded nowadays?

I started playing metal in the early 90’s. My first band was Neanderthalia wich gave birth to Litham. With Litham we released the first Algerian metal album “Dhal Ennar” and we were the first Algerian metal band to play in a foreign country (Morroco , Belgium and France). I evolved also in Carnavage (the first Algerian grincore

You did your fair share of touring already, and I guess you're planning more tours for the future. What countries were best to play in for Lelahell, where have you had the best reception so far?

We have made 3 tours and 2 mini tours, and the next tour is for November to promote that new album ‘Alif’. We played a lot in France because it is easier to communicate and we have a common history and the crowd responded well to our music. Our fan base is mainly (after Algeria) located in France, we sell a lot of merchandising here.

We have also played on time in England in the incineration fest with Sodom as headliner, and it was amazing! After the show of Sodom an old guy came to me and said: “thank you guys it was amazing, next year you must play in the main stage!”

I find the nowadays fans are more interested in merch, in showing off, rather than actually buying and supporting the music itself, what's your view on this? How is it in Algeria, do the fans support Lelahell by buying your CDs, too?

I think that people just don’t buy cds anymore, so that gives us the impression that they are more interested in merch. We have to look in the future and invest more in digital and streaming sales. We just have to be patient because we are in a transition era but in some years the musicians will get more and more money than all the history of the music industry! Wait and see…

Gettings back to Alif, I find the compositions quite technical, almost bringing a progressive vibe.

Was this something intentional or it just happened?

How would you describe your music to someone who never heard it before?

The technical aspect is intentional because Alif features a phenomenal German drummer Hannes Grossmann (ex Necrophagist, ex Obscura, Alkaloid, Blotted Science, Hate Eternal), one of the most admired players in the world of technical death metal and the progressive vibe is just something that happened because we mixed the death metal with a subtle touch of Algerian folklore.

The music of Lelahell is death metal with some local influences.

It is fast, brutal and melodic at the same time. Like a sandstorm crossing the desert valley!

Is there yours playing reason

any track of you avoid live for one or another?

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What about the best track live, one that gets the best reactions from fans? And talking about this, tell us the most memorable event happened to you during a live show or during touring.

There are some tracks from the new album that we haven’t played live yet, because the second guitar play a great role and we are only 3 on stage, we will may try one of them for the next tour to see how it will sound.

The best track played live in my opinion is “Adam the first”, because that song contain its main riff an Egyptian rhythm (also used in the Algerian traditional music) called “malfuf”, it is very catchy and it is not common to have those kind of rhythms in death metal, and the fans headbang differently than usual.

The most memorable moment on tour was in 2014 during our second euro tour when our van crashed in the middle of nowhere between Switzerland and Germany, we spent the night in the van; it was raining and fuckn cold! Fortunately we just missed one show, because the tour promoter has a lot of friends so he brought another van from Germany!

You've changed labels from a US based (HPGD) to a European one (Metal Age), why? What kind of impact do you think or expect this will have on your band? How important is a label for a band nowadays?

Where and how does it helps?

With HPGDP it was a contract for one album only. They did a good job for a first album.

After finishing the mixing and mastering of Alif, I sent the final product to some labels, and the one that immediately show interest was Peter from Metal Age productions, He was very excited to release it!

Metal Age is one of the oldest underground label in Europe, they are also representing Emp distribution in Slovakia and Czech republic, and the magazine Rockhard. They have a large network.

To be honest we are doing PR and promo things by ourself, because today things have changed a lot, it is the new era of music promotion. The most important for a band is not to be signed but to have a good fan base and having a good communication with those fans.

August 2018

Convictive as a band name doesn't

necessarily take your thoughts to a Black Metal band, yet your band is as Black Metal as it gets. Who came up with the name and what's the meaning behind it?

Hi Adrian, my name is Sascha. I´m the guitarist in Convictive. The name actually dates back to a time when the musical direction of the band wasn´t as set as today.

Yet we felt strongly about keeping the name and by now, we are known by the name to a degree that would make it difficult to rename. Since Convictive means persuasive or convincing in a way, that takes an act of open mindedness and selflessness to let yourself be convinced by different ideas and it takes a well formed character to let yourself in on new views, so in a way, our name describes the mindset one needs to appreciate the newer, more modern ways of black metal, that we strive to explore.

Schemen, your debut album, was released earlier this year. I've noticed the short titles to all your tracks (most of them one word only), what's the purpose behind this? And talking about this, please present us your lyrics topics. Is there any link with the cover artwork, too?

I´m glad you noticed that. It is in a way a concept, that the title needs to be interpretable but still leaves enough space to the imagination of the listener. Our music is full of metaphors and imagery, so we want to fuel imagination without giving too much away. The lyrics revolve around the concepts of the individual in a modern society and the struggle to find a place in a world

just by putting high detail on the pronounciation and by using the adjacent vocabulary. So, as a band, we thought that we´d be much more precise and respectful by using our mother tongue. I would describe our music as a sometimes aggressive, sometimes atmospheric and always melodic black metal with a focus on the individual in a modern world. Many people that aren´t too much into black metal told us that they nevertheless like us. So there also seems to be a bit of post black or showgaze elements to our music, too.

Do you think having a female vocalist will help differentiating your band from the rest? What else do you think makes your band stand apart?

A female vocalist is still something special to a black metal band, so that´s for sure something that made us stand apart in the past. Another thing that distinguishes us from the genre is for sure our usage of melodies and the openness of letting other elements and genres into our style. For instance, it feels natural to incorporate blues solos or acoustic passages into our songs and interludes, something that you wouldn´t expect of a black metal band of the earlier waves but comes natural for a modern black metal group.

You all use face-paint, but a different type than we're used to within Black Metal, care to explain? Was it chosen just to stand out, or does it have a deeper meaning? How important is image for a band like yours?

We started using face-paint to pay homage to the founding fathers of the genre but wanted to give it our own twist. When we started to paint our faces, we also put dust on our stage clothes to show where we come from. We all grew up in a surrounding that was somehow affected by the downfall of the coal industry in our area, that is known as the Ruhrpott. We wanted to incorporate

right and helps us to dive deeper into the essence of the music.

You've had your fair share of line-up changes during the years, but since 2015 the current members seem to get along very well, am I right? how important is for a band to have a stable line-up?

It´s funny you mention this, because days ago, we parted ways with our singer. Even though we got along very well and Jalina is a stand-out vocalist and person, we couldn´t work together anymore. That is unfortunate but sometimes things like that happen. While a stable line-up is always very beneficial for a strong live performance and musical excellence, fresh blood and new members can add new views, experiences and ideas and even help a band to break old barriers. We will try to move on even stronger and more intense and are looking for an individual that will join us on vocals.

Metal in Germany is extremely "advanced", but how do you see your country's underground scene? is it tough for a band like yours to make itself heard between all the others? What are your aims with Convictive?

It´s actually pretty tough to make yourself a name. We are lucky to have seen three very successful years of playing live with growing audiences and more festival slots, playing more shows than most bigger bands have in the last years. Yet it takes a lot of work and promotional activities to keep on going strong. There are a lot of deserving bands in the German underground scene, yet it´s hard to break through the first walls, since there is an unlimited number of bands that will play every stage at any time, making the live scene of many bigger cities incalculable and vast and making it harder for more sustainable bands to make themselves a name.

Yet, there are cities with nearly no live clubs at all, so that is another problem for many musicians. But all in all, the scene is very big and flourishing and that is a good thing for us metalheads and fans and it´s kept alive by people that organize festivals, write reviews, plan shows and so on. So as long as we have that support, metal is well alive!

It´s our goal to grow naturally and to keep writing good music that comes from the heart and be able to perform this music to people that share our passion. We invite all your readers to give us a listen and to join us and thank you for taking your time to talk to us.

October 2018

where it is as hard to come to terms with yourself. We often put that struggle into a metaphorical setting, or as on “Schemen”, into a story of life, death, renewal and rebirth. When I did the artwork, it was basically about the concept of finding something inner that keeps the spark alive. The ruins are a concept of something anachronistic, standing against the time and thus withering and deteriorating, whilst the statue still reminds us of the dignity, every day a new sun sets. So the process of a life cycle is, in a way, also present in the artwork.

Black Metal with female vocals takes your mind to a melodic music, yet Jalina has one of the most abrasive and aggressive vocal timbres I've heard in this genre, and singing in German also helps in this as yours it's a very tough, cruel sounding language from my point of view. How would you describe your music to someone who never heard it?

Jalina´s voice was a rare blessing. German might sound harsh and in a way, it adds beautifully to the strict and dark black metal imagery. But we decided to use German lyrics in order to be more precise with our metaphors.

When writing and performing lyrics in English, I think it´s necessary to be able to do the language and listeners

that into our appearance. Lately, having played smaller tours and many shows in a row, that became unpracticable and our stage clothes started to decay quickly, so we just focus on our paint these days.

Standing apart and having a strong image as a band helps the audience to remember a group and to immerse into their live shows. We think it´s important to help people enjoy the show and to help them forget their everyday struggle. And it helps us to let loose on stage and to dwell more deeply in our music.

Although your form of Black Metal is an aggressive, straight-forward one, there are also plenty of guitar leads and solos bringing a touch of melody and even a hint of Post Black Metal in it, correct? Do you think of maybe orienting the band towards the Post fields, of experimenting more in the future?

That is a very good question, indeed. We always felt very close to the post black metal scene yet wanting to give black metal our own impulse. All our songwriters in the band listen to a variety of music and thus we are also influenced to add new layers of melodies and try things we haven´t done before when approaching new songs. I think, in the future, we will explore that even further. We might even add longer instrumental parts, when it feels

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Hey Keith, I'm curious on what's the meaning of your band name. You started this band in 2016 as a one man band, was it intended to remain as such, or you had in mind a full line-up from the start?

I have never wanted for this to be a one-man project I always wanted it to be a full band. At that particular time, I didn't have the right people yet. So, when it came time to record the EP I set out to find the right musicians for the band. It just so happened that the people that I wanted were in bands themselves so it was just a matter of them finding the time to do it. But we all made it come together in the end which worked out for the best.

As far as the name it was something that I came up with one night that I really liked and as a result it worked.

What's your background as musician? What made you discover and remain hooked on Heavy Power Metal? How would you describe the music you do with Piercing Immortality?

I got into music when I was about 10-11 years old and so I grew up with the glam, thrash and traditional metal bands that were around at the time. I later got into death and black metal bands as well. I also started to play guitar too around this time. I was always in and out of bands but when it came time to put this band together I knew what I wanted to do and accomplish. I always liked the clean singing because that was what I grew up with and what felt right, but I also liked the harsh vocals as well. So, to try and find a balance between the both and have it balanced out so that it would be a perfect fit within the context of the song. I would probably describe

the support from radio and podcasts that we have been getting really blows my mind. I believe with the continued exposure and support from these people as well as magazines such as yours we definitely become a have the potential to be a worldwide level band.

To the Grave was your debut single. Did you use the same version for the EP, or was it re-recorded?

Please tell us about the lyrical side of this EP, too.

To the Grave was a song that I had written back in early 2000's when I was in another band that I had re-recorded in order to give it a more updated sound. Unfortunately, when it came time to record the EP we did not have the time to do it again because we only had a limited amount of time in the studio so it is the same version as the single. As far as what is begin said lyrically with the songs No Remembrance is about finding out who your friends are as far as doing a lot for people and them not appreciating it in the end. Open the Flames deals with the story of a phoenix rising so rising above it all and finding your way to something better. And To the Grave more or less deals with religion.

our music as traditional heavy metal with elements of heavy rock.

Your band mates are all (or most of them) also playing in other bands, some with a serious following too (as Crossing Rubicon). What makes or will make them dedicate the needed time to Piercing Immortality? Do you plan on touring, too? When do you see that happening and do you think you're ready to take this next step?

I believe that if you are supportive of something that you will find the time to dedicate to it. And because this is something new to them I think that they enjoy it because it is a fresh approach to what they might be used to. With us me and John (drums) come up with the music and then when I have something to say lyrically I will start writing the words and will then give them to Scott (vocals) or if I have an idea for lyrics I will try and explain what I am going for and he is able to run with it.

And then when it is time then the rest of them will come in and add their parts. I would like for us to get out there and start touring within the next year or so in order to keep spreading the word about us. As we enjoy playing and meeting people all the time it's what makes it fun for all of us.

I find your music absolutely great, but how do you feel about it, is this debut EP, Systematic Global Poisoning, reaching to your own expectations? Do you think you have what it takes to be a Worldwide level band?

I am completely happy with the way that this EP came out. And when I had a chance to listen to the final product and what we had done for the first time I was blown away by all that we had accomplished together.

And as a result, it is reaching beyond what I had expected from it. I never thought that people from other countries would be digging it as much as they do. And

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What reactions you got so far on this EP? Do you plan on recording a full-length album anytime soon?

Tell us about the new tracks, will there be any major change in style, or will you follow the same path?

So far, the reactions that we have gotten have been positive. I am always being contacted with good news that people want to help us in spreading the word. We are currently in the works to record a full-length album to have out by May - June of next year. We will be heading in the studio again by late Nov to start work on it and we will be working with Nick Bellmore again because he is able to get the sound we like and he is also very easy to work with. The new tracks will defiantly follow the same path musically with maybe some slight variations but it will definitely be us. There won't be a major change in style as I have never been a big fan of that. We may work in different elements but nothing too major it will definitely be Piercing Immortality. We are also going to be filming a video that will be out by mid Oct for the song No Remembrance so be on the lookout for that.

September 2018

There is not too much to say and write here.

Quorthon is a true LEGEND of the Extreme Metal.

Without him and his creature, Metal wouldn't be the same. During this interview, Quorthon goes through his fantastic last album, but also through his career, since his early days at Heavenshore Studios, passing throughout the main steps of his long voyage through the meanders of the epic, obscure and extreme music.

He has written unforgettable pages of the extreme music, memorable acts of pure and incomparable art that are example of great music for a lot of new coming great bands. It is not a mystery that bands like Satyricon, Mayhem, Marduk, Dissection, Emperor, have more than one time declared their devotion to the true lord of the Extreme Metal.

Greetings Quorthon, I hope everything is fine to you during these days. How do you feel now that finally a new album of yours has been released?

“Thank you. Well, first of all I am still surprised how fast everything went by. The recording of Destroyer of Worlds took only 112 hours. I just checked the studio report and it is accurate. 112 hours, that is only five f***ing days when compressed Destroyer of Worlds to effective time. That makes Destroyer of Worlds the second fastest recording in the history of BATHORY. I am also a little puzzled as to the response so far. 99% of the response has been overwhelming. Most radio stations, magazines, fanzines and e-zines with which I have done interviews over the past five weeks (124 in all) have titled Destroyer of Worlds “the release of the year”. I don't know whether that is because Destroyer of Worlds is such a great album or whether it is a BATHORY album and everybody has been waiting for so long for a new one…”.

It is the first time in six years we hear about something really new from BATHORY's world and you do it in a very impressive way, with a various and solid album that surely will be an essential listening for each single BATHORY addicted guy. My first question is why a so long time between this and your last studio album and above all do you think it has permitted you to create more various songs in style than the previous ones?

“Well, it's true that we haven't had anything released since “Jubileum Volume III” (1998). And “Blood On Ice” came out in 1996. My second solo project release was out in 1997. If one looks to the history of BATHORY, we have a somewhat schizo back catalogue.

The first couple of albums were satanic Death Metal.

During the 80's we evolved doing a mix of Epic and Death Metal. There was Viking Metal album out in 1989 (“Hammerheart”). We then ended up at the end of the 80's doing something people called Epic Metal. Then came two Hardcore albums (“Requiem” and “Octagon”).

Just after that there was a concept album based on a saga (“Blood On Ice” in 1996). If musically you have that kind of diverse past, you need to ask yourself what the hell really is your sound. So what we did in 1997 when I had completed that second solo release (“Purity of Essence”), was to take a two-year break. I didn't even touch my guitar until the end of 1999. I then began to write the material for what was supposed to be the album to take BATHORY into the 21st century. This material was rather progressive; it incorporated both medieval and classical instruments and reminded of film music in a sense. So we entered the studio to begin pre-recording and told our record company Black Mark that they could let everybody know that there were a new BATHORY album on the way. When the release date was made official, we began to receive so much fan mail from all

over the world. The fans were first of course very happy for a new BATHORY album, some even thought that BATHORY had split up. Then they expressed a wish for the new BATHORY album to sound like a mixture of the 1987-1991 albums, that is the so-called golden age and sort of classical BATHORY sound. The problem was that the material we were working was nothing like. We then had a meeting with Black Mark during which it was decided that is was probably best if we scrapped this new rather progressive material for the future and begin to write material which reminded of this 1987-1991 period.

I didn't have any BATHORY albums myself, so I asked Black mark to send me some BATHORY albums. I listened to them and tried to remember how I wrote material in those days. I began to write the material for Destroyer of Worlds on June the 10th. We entered the studio on August 24th. I hope that people will not get the idea that we have been working forever on this album. It was a very rushed compromise. Apparently it was a good move, for everybody says that this is a very good album.

Somebody told me that the pre-sales figures reached close to 40.000 copies in Europe. But there are some fans that miss the “Viking” topics. Some imagined that because there has been a Black Metal boom in the past years, BATHORY was going to come up with an album reminding of Black Metal to get a free ride. But to fully answer your question did all this time allow me to write tracks more varying in style? Well, all the material was very quickly written in only a matter of weeks in the middle of this summer. I didn't have the time to dig deep into any specific topics. I fought a battle against the almanac. The canceled project in late 1999 to mid 2000 and our subsequent change of heart regarding the style of material had made time very precious indeed. We knew we had to put out an album as fast as possible”.

It has been enough the first sound of the acoustic guitar in 'Lake Of Fire' to make me forget your absence from the scene and go inside a magic world again like only you are able to create. With which premises did you started to realise this new creature and now that everything is ended and so realised, is there anything that “Destroyer Of Worlds” has more than the previous albums?

“Well, given the story how Destroyer of Worlds came about, I guess it was a case of routine and the experience of the past 18 years that made Destroyer of Worlds happen at all. Actually the most important thing about making a BATHORY album is that it must have that unique BATHORY atmosphere. It may be a heavy, brutal, slow, fast, short or long track, it may be a demonic satanic lyric or any other subject, but it must have that genuine BATHORY atmosphere to it. The people that has emailed me in response to the album and the media people with, which I have made interviews during the past five weeks, says that it has that original BATHORY atmosphere. Whether Destroyer of Worlds has anything any other BATHORY album does not have, is really up to the fans to say. Like I just said, Destroyer of Worlds was a compromise. Some fans wanted a new BATHORY album to be “Hammerheart” part II, so I had to write a couple of tracks that sounded just like that.

Others asked for a mix of styles to be found on “Blood Fire Death”, so I had to take that into consideration as well. There were a lot of fans expressing expectations of a new “Twilight…” album, which forced me to come up with a couple of tracks that would match that style and sound. Finally we have the 20-25% of the BATHORY fan base which does not accept any other style than Black/Death Metal. We had to please them as well by doing at least two or three tracks in that style. So Destroyer of Worlds is more than anything else a compromise to try to please as many of our fans as possible”.

You have always divided BATHORY's audience in two categories: the first one closer to the epic stuff and the other one closer to the hellish side of your creature. I think that “Destroyer Of Worlds” is maybe the album that more than others creates a bridge between these two sides.

Do you agree and if yes, can be it considered like a real summa of all the facets of your music?

“The dividing of our fan base is something that has

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happened constantly over these 18 years, so it hasn't exactly been news to anyone that BATHORY is a diverse act. If “Enter the Eternal Fire” and “Call from the Grave” on the “Under the Sign…” album hadn't received such an amazing response, then we would not have evolved into what would come. This evolution and experimentation resulted in a 50/50 album (“Blood Fire Death”). We then more than doubled our sales figures and just took it a step further by making “Hammerheart”.

By the early 90's we realized that a lot of our Black/Death Metal fans had been begging for a while for some brutality, and so we did “Requiem” and “Octagon”.

Neither one of these two albums were appreciated by the majority of our fans. It is impossible to please 100% of our fan base with just one album. This has been a neverending problem for the past 12-13 years or so. It is true that Destroyer of Worlds sort of bridges several styles, but then the whole idea of Destroyer of Worlds was to cover all the sides of BATHORY in an effort to please as many of our fans as possible. If Destroyer of Worlds to succeeds in bridging the most important styles of BATHORY's past, that is good. But is no guarantee that the majority of our fans will accept the album. Most albums you see out there are either 1000% Epic or 1000% Black. I wonder if even the BATHORY fans will accept a blend of styles”.

Is there a particular song of “Destroyer Of Worlds” that could summarise your essence in this moment?

“No. I wasn't thinking much when I wrote the material for Destroyer of Worlds. Like I said, it was battle against the almanac. There are so many different topics on the album and, given the unbelievably short time I spent writing this material, it is impossible to achieve any bit deeper meaning behind what you're doing when just trying to finish things off asap”.

Also lyrics seem to go in different directions. It has impressed me a lot this point above all for the fact that we have now also not-typical topics for BATHORY like a song about ice hockey like 'Sudden Death'. Was it just a new experience or simply another aspect of Quorthon's world?

“I was actually asked by this Canadian (what else) journalist how come that I, being Swedish and an outspoken Hockey-fan, had never done a Hockey track.

He was of course making a joke but I took it for real and decided that I should write a Hockey track just for the fun of it”.

What do you like of Ice hockey?

“It's my favourite game. The Hockey described in “Sudden Death” may not be the style of Hockey that I enjoy. I guess the Hockey in “Sudden Death” best can be described as BATHORY Hockey”.

Remaining on lyrical affair you said that you wouldn't use anymore Satanic lyrics due to a question of credibility. Can you explain me better this point and above all what did it push you to write about Evil topics during the first years of your musical career?

Was it just a youth's charm or something more?

“Of course there was certainly an interest in the dark side of life (and death) as well as the whole black magic thing in the early days of BATHORY. I remember collecting books and paraphernalia on the subject around the time 1980-1984. I believe that too many bad horror movies on

the subject and the very intended satanic hints to be found in Black Sabbath imagery and lyrics were the main reasons for our interest in these things. It was all though really totally innocent and shallow. In 1984-1985 I came to the conclusion that Satan and Satanism was created by the Christian church itself, so here we had a hoax made up by another hoax to terrify people into the arms of the Christian faith. It's all religious bullshit anyway.

Totalitarian people into controlling and directing other people's lives. As much as I still find it satisfying spitting at the church and religion as subjects on a whole every now and then in my lyrics, I realize that it makes little sense wasting your time and effort striking blows in the air which is exactly what you're then doing. But no, BATHORY was never a satanic act. BATHORY however used the satanic, demonic and dark imagery and symbolism, for no other apparent reason than to create a clearly definable atmosphere. Also, one must remember that we were three kids aged 16-17 when forming BATHORY in March 1983. We knew nothing of the life and deeds that our personal gods i.e. Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy would air in their lyrics. Blasting through the night Destroyer of Worlds the highway, swigging Jack straight from the bottle and f***ing all these loose women was a life we nothing of. But we knew a great horror movie when we saw one and we could tell a great story in a horror comic magazine from a less good one.

But we couldn't tell you Satan's birthday had you asked us. I tried to come across as much information on the subject as I possibly could get my hands on around the time of forming BATHORY. But I couldn't make anything out of it. Once I had read enough, of both the satanic gibber and the Christian bible. I came to the conclusion that it was all very silly and bullshit really, at least trying to be serious about it. We'd still use the satanic topics and demonic imagery for a couple of more years but in a slightly different form. I was only too happy to find that the majority of our fan mail around the time we did “Under the Sign…” and “Blood Fire Death” mentioned the more elaborated and arranged stuff as so much more interesting than the purely satanic stuff on the two first albums”.

Another great topic used for your lyrics is the Nordic / Viking argument. It represents maybe your most amazing aspect almost in my opinion. When did it born your great interest in the epic subject and do you think that it was simply due to your Scandinavian origins or is there anything more behind it?

“We wanted to write other things than flying up to heaven on black leathery wings, raping all them vestal angels, masturbating on the golden throne and wipe our asses with the scalp of God. And so on. Once I came to the conclusion that Satan and Satanism was a product of Christianity, it made little sense in continuing to deal with that shit, at least from a semi-serious point of view.

I went further back in time to see what was there before Christianity came around to become the dictatorial way of life and death. I didn't need to go too far from my front door, to be reminded of the rich culture and history in Scandinavia before the Christian church came around.

It all felt very close in more than one sense, and it presented a fresh well from which to draw inspiration when writing lyrics. The music of BATHORY had

already started to change by then, incorporating acoustic guitars and multi-track backing harmony vocals. The tempo of the songs had changed and the songs had become longer. We wanted more and more to tell a story and be more elaborate doing it. It worked out pretty well and clearly opened doors to new sounds and styles not just for BATHORY but also for an entire generation of bands out there. We didn't call it Viking Metal ourselves.

We didn't even mention the word Viking anywhere on record, but the connection was obvious. BATHORY was a Swedish thing, and we'd wield swords on mountains and in the woods on pictures. That period in Swedish history has been immortalised through countless of Hollywood productions and no matter where you're from you'll have at least a superficial image of the Vikings.

Thankfully, there are things other than Volvo cars, tennis players, absurd taxes and blond long-legged women, that Sweden is famous for. The sound effects on record clearly helped creating a pre-Christian Swedish atmosphere. When you heard those oars work the water, when several minutes of ice cold waves had washed up on a pebbled shore and we'd sing about dragon ships and ravens, then you were in “Viking”-land. Though, the sound effects didn't do it for all. The ancient Swedish bronze horn, used on the “Hammerheart” album, was misinterpreted by English Metal Hammer as a moose farting in the distance…clearly indicating how ignorant and non-interesting they were in anything that wasn't the militant veggie flavour of the week or save-the-planet kind of bullshit. The fans loved the atmosphere on the records, the albums doubled in sales figures and the period 1987-1990 itself was a very happy and creative time of which I have very fond memories”.

Just a curiosity of mine: do you imagine yourself as not a Swedish man? Is there another place in the world where did you like to live in or in your heart there is space only for your beloved Sweden?

“Well, apart from the unbelievably high taxes, Sweden is a pretty good place to live. But I wouldn't mind living in the US. I speak no Italian so Italy would not be an option.

I don't know if I am considering myself to be a typical Swedish person. Lastly, I have no “love” for Sweden. I just happened to be born here and here is where I live”.

Once I read that BEATLES is your favourite band. Is it true? And what do you adore about the band of Liverpool?

“I guess it wouldn't need too much explaining. The Beatles is simply the greatest thing ever to happen to the music scene. I am the first one to admit that even The Beatles wasn't always perfect and they didn't always produce great stuff, but overall they were unique. It has sort of become this “thing” in the extreme metal scene that I like The Beatles. But I am not saying it to be hip or eccentric”.

A jump in the 80's: the Scandinavian scene was moving its first steps into a more extreme way to see Metal thanks to you. What do you remember about those years and above all what is changed about the attitude of the people in Sweden and not only who played and listened to extreme Metal during that period and the ones who do it today?

“I have absolutely no contact with the scene of any sort. I never listen to the radio, I never buy records and I never go to concerts. I have absolutely no idea what is fashionable to listen to. I can't name any bands out there today. You could give me ten names on Swedish extreme metal acts and I wouldn't even know what they sound like or if they are Swedish at all or if you are bullshitting me. Nobody believes me when I tell them this. They have this idea of me as some sort of a spider in the centre of everything, knowing all and with at least one finger in every cavity. But I am totally oblivious to what is going on out there. So I couldn't give you any personal reflections on the present scene in Sweden or anywhere else. But as for the 80's, it has been made out to be his golden pioneering age. Sure it was a decade of pioneers but it wasn't golden in any sense. There were no places to play;

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there was just one shop in all of Stockholm where you could get a Motörhead vinyl. There were radio shows, no metal magazines and no scene at all”.

Now the people who listen to your music are composed by thirty-forty years old men like the one who writes here, and guys who are 14 15 years old.

What is your sensation in front of a so various audience?

“One thing that always puzzles me is when you receive a letter, like “Hi Quorthon! My name is George and I am 15 years old and I live in California. I just bought the “Blood Fire Death” album and it is the best album I have ever heard!” You sort of realise that he was born exactly the same we recorded that album. So you have an entire new generation of extreme metal fans picking old BATHORY up. They regard BATHORY as something you just have to have. That is the great thing. You have this link between the first generation of extreme metal acts like BATHORY, Venom, Hellhammer and Slayer, and the acts of today. They grew up listening to what we did back in the early 80's. You have a new generation picking up the torch making sure that there will be extreme metal in this century and millennium as well”.

Going back to first BATHORY's steps… give me just a memory of the old times in the Heavenshore studios.

They were hard times, but I think it was also thanks to those moments that we can listen to a similar album now. Do you agree?

“I didn't quite understand your question. But of course I have memories of Heavenshore and the year between 1983-1989 when we recorded there. The memory bank on the thousands of hours we spent at Heavenshore is too big to dig too deep into. But one memory I'll never forget is one day when we came to the studio to begin recording what was going to be the “Hammerheart” album. The whole place had been torn to pieces. It was originally a garage and the owner of the house was now turning the place into a workshop for all his old Porsche cars. So while we are working on “Hammerheart”, we have to find out new ways to record due to the fact that there was no studio left to record in. So we'd record the drums on top of this waving landscape of gravel, we had no electric light in the studio and I'd stand knee-deep in dirty laundry and boxes of washing powder in a bathroom/toilet doing most of the guitars and vocals. To air the fine dust out we'd have to open the garage doors at times or we'd suffocate. Then the neighbour's lawnmover or a car or an aeroplane passing by would end up on tape. Also I will never forget the first time we came “Destroyer of Worlds” to Heavenshore to record the first album. There were car-parts all over the place. You couldn't move one step in any direction. When thinking back, I am amazed that we could even make one album at Heavenshore. The equipment was very primitive and old. We would sometime have to settle with using only 8 recording tracks. There could be up to 3 or 4 things on a number of tracks. One track could start of with an acoustic guitar. A few minutes into the song, the same track carried a sound effect or backing vocals. At the end of the song you could have an acoustic guitar or a sound effect again. And there could be up to 5 or 6 other tracks carrying all sorts of things. We had no computers but had to mix everything by ears every time. With every mix we had to change the filters and effects by hand while the tape was played back. If we fucked up we had to do it all over again. Sometimes we were so tired and exhausted, we couldn't care less for small mistakes”.

I know that Heavenshore are now a simple garage…

If you could, would you like to transform it in a true studio? I know that the same atmosphere cannot be created, but don't you believe that it could be a great idea?

“I am not even sure if the garage is still there. I haven't been to Heavenshore since we ended the recording of “Hammerheart” in 1989. I don't know who owns the house now a day. But I would much rather spend the time and money to build a BATHORY studio of my own than trying to re-build Heavenshore”.

You define yourself as an antichristian and not as a Satanist. Don't you think that nowadays the two things are very confused and related? And what does it mean to you to be against the Christianity?

“Christianity is a Jewish fairytale and I am not Jewish.

Christianity is a fascist religion and I am not a fascist. I am not a Satanist and I never have been, but I am antiChristian in the sense that I do not accept the Christian God or the Christian self-righteousness. Satanism is a product of Christianity and just as much a hoax and bullshit”.

What is freedom for you? Do you consider Quorthon a free man? Do you remember a moment in your life in which you felt a sense of imprisonment?

“Freedom is to know who you are and not having to live your life in accordance with what other people say.

Quorthon is not a person but just a name that I use when I do anything that has got even the slightest bit to do with BATHORY. I think we all feel a sense of imprisonment every now and then. But life is also about those moments in life when you know you are not imprisoned or constrained in such a way that it changes you against your will.

Struggling can make a lion out of a mouse. The fight for survival will develop you as an individual. That what does not kill you will make you stronger”.

Black Metal fanzine a couple of weeks ago, and they asked me only about the occult and Satanism. Then I made this interview with a Pagan oriented Norwegian fanzine, and they asked me only questions on the Viking culture and our epic stuff. If BATHORY had been exactly the same for all these 18 years, then BATHORY would have been easy to either discard or praise. As it is now, BATHORY is a multi-headed serpent. You can't cut the head of a beast if it carries a multitude of them.

And for as long as all the young bands still claim BATHORY to be their main source of inspiration, I believe BATHORY has done some interesting and original stuff over these past 18 years that still inspires and lives on through the younger acts”.

You are considered by many to be the creator of Black Metal, the grandfather of Death Metal, and the father of Viking Metal. Maybe we have no reasons to doubt about this, but in your opinion what does BATHORY represent for the extreme Musical scene and what does this creature still mean?

“I am not exactly the right person to ask and I am not exactly objective to the issue. BATHORY is too much just a work thing for me to be able to come up with a fair review of the stuff that I myself have written. If we are talking Black Metal, I know that there are tons of Black Metal bands out there, that are more influenced by BATHORY's Viking and Epic Metal than purely Black Metal. If you listen to Venom and compare that with

What is the thing you are most proud of musically as well as personally?

“I actually haven't thought about that. I don't reflect upon things that way. I guess I am never satisfied with anything”.

In which way do you consider music and what is in your opinion its most important aim? Can we consider it a sort of absolutely personal and egotistical need?

“I think music is a natural need for some. Not a lot of people know how to play an instrument or write a song.

Few can sing and even less have sense of rhythm. I hear music all the time. I don't have to play a record. There's music playing in my head 24 hours a day. If I had a studio in my apartment I would probably never leave my home.

I'd probably play and record all day long”.

You have changed a lot not only musically but also as man. Is there inside of you anything of the young boy that almost 20 years ago started the LEGEND? “I am the same person, and I have changed very little even though it has been nearly 20 years ago. When thinking about it, it amazes me how little I have changed. If BATHORY would have done only that first album 17 years ago and no more, I would probably have changed a lot more.

Being connected to BATHORY for all these years, even though BATHORY has changed musically and all, sort of has preserved a piece of that young brat who formed BATHORY in March 1983”.

During all these years the scene has changed a lot, but you have always been a fixed point of reference in this.

But has there ever been inside of you the fear that the actual scene didn't need BATHORY anymore?

“I have never seen it quite like that. Probably because I have always kept such an enormous distance to the scene itself; never listening to other acts, never reading the magazines and never visit any concerts. I have never felt to be a part of the scene in the first place. I know of the impact BATHORY has had on hundreds of thousands of fans and thousands of acts. And I am aware of the importance of the BATHORY albums for the evolution of all of the branches of extreme metal. If the present scene does not need BATHORY anymore is not for you or me to decide. Venom does not sell any albums anymore and the vast majority of people out there think that Venom hasn't been any good in over 15 years. But nobody can ignore the fact that without Venom not a single band out there today would sound and look the way they do. The same can be said about Slayer.

Everything that Slayer will ever do, will always be compared to “Reign in Blood” even if they should come up with an album that was generally regarded as a far better album than “Reign in Blood”. And Slayer is reaching out to a bigger audience today than they ever did. BATHORY is such a diverse thing it is very hard to pin BATHORY to a specific style and sound. A Black Metal fan may regard BATHORY to be the pioneers of Black Metal that whimped out. A Viking Metal fan may regard BATHORY as the Gods of Viking Metal with a dark past. BATHORY is a lot of things to a lot of different people. I made an interview with this German

“Who is Quorthon? When we picked the names, it was intended as a joke. We never thought that anybody was ever going to get to know anything about BATHORY. But just the same, for us it was a joke more or less. I found the name Quorthon in a book on Satanism I read in 1982. Quorthon is supposed to be one of Satan's warriors.

While Satan himself is going to fight God on the day of judgement, Quorthon is destined to fight the Nazarene. I thought it sounded cool and picked the name as an alias.

The reason as to why we picked those stupid names in the first place was because we couldn't take it all these Swedish rock bands at the time had Americanised their names. We picked these demonic names knowing people were not going to have an easy time pronouncing them.

That gave us sort of an edge. And then there was that phonetic "th"-sound which we don't have in the Swedish language, which went hand in hand with the "th" in Bathory. There are still one or two who writes Quarthon with an “a” and I have heard tons of pronunciations throughout the years. What do I desire right now? I would very much like to go back inside a studio and work on the next album. We hope to have the next album ready by the summer or same time next year”.

today's Black Metal scene, Venom is Black Rock. So if Venom compared with today's Black Metal acts is regarded as Black Rock, then what really is Black Metal?

Well, to me it is not a specific style of music, but the usage of Satanic topics and a Satanic image (either fakes or real). I think people confuse themselves by using all these labels too much and define people and acts by these labels. I too use these labels at times to make it clearer what style one may be referring to. What BATHORY represents for the extreme metal scene is really for each and every one out there to judge. But I believe that BATHORY is not about trying to connect with a certain fashion or scene. BATHORY is about creating an atmosphere on record and making the listener feel that a BATHORY album is different than any other album. If you feel that all you're getting from this or that act or album, if really it is just a lot of noise for 45 minutes without too much thought behind the arrangements or lyrics. If you are dead tired of the same topics and screams of Satan, facial make up and unreadable logo's. Well, then there are plenty of styles and sounds out there to enjoy. And hopefully BATHORY has been a major factor helping in making the scene interesting and diverse”.

A personal question now: who is Quorthon now and what does he still desire?

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A last question: in which way would you like that people remember you within 10-15 years?

“The one thing that would probably feel the best would be if people mentioned BATHORY as an interesting act which inspired, influenced and enriched the entire scene for a couple of decades. I think BATHORY broke many rules, made up it's own rules and crossed many boundaries. If BATHORY hadn't been so unique, original, yet innovative and ever changing, then BATHORY would never have been able to exist for two decades and sell more records for every year and have young acts come up and say “You made me wanting to play music!” I have had heroes myself, so when people write me and call me their hero and the sole guiding light out of misery and hell, that gives you perspective on things. I have had young people write me and say that BATHORY's unique music and lyrics about freedom, independence and the struggle for survival gave them the strength to carry on when things didn't look too good. I wonder how many acts get to read fan mail like that. We have the best fans in the world which is why “Destroyer of Worlds” is dedicated to the fans”.

We are at the end of the interview; I hope you have had a good time answering to my questions. I thank you a lot for the time dedicated to me. I wish you all the best… Any last words are from you?

“I would like to take the opportunity to thank all the BATHORY fans whoever you are, wherever you may live, regardless of how old or young you are and no matter if you only enjoy one side of BATHORY. You are as much a part of BATHORY and the legend as I am.

BATHORY is because of you and for you all. Hail the Hordes!!”.

Interview by Francesco Palumbo initially published in Vampiria Magazine #6/2001

Hey Costa, we know you from Greek band Satan's Wrath, but you're also a sound engineer for such names like Cathedral or Electric Wizard among others, and as far as I know you were residing in the UK, but Early Death is a German band.

Are you all over the place or ma I missing something?

Hi Adrian, first of all thank you very much for having Early Death on your fanzine…Early Death started as a London based side project of Nathan (Satan’s Wrath drummer) and myself around 2012. When we joined Satan’s Wrath during the second album “Aeons of Satan’s Reign”, we both thought that the band will be an active live band. Very soon we realized that Tas (main member of Satan’s Wrath) was happy to keep the band as just a studio project. That was the point that I started jamming with Nathan on the side, with ambition to form a band that not only record’s albums but also performs live. I manage to get a second guitar player and a bass player on Early Death’s line up, but unfortunately we weren’t able to find a suitable singer to complete the band. Therefore after a few months we decided to put the band on an “early death”!!! In late 2014 I moved from London to Berlin. Very soon I got the itch to put the band back to life, and after a few failed attempts with musicians from the local scene, I managed to bring together the current line up of the band: Marcelo (vocals), Dorian (guitars), Tobi (drums), Ray (bass) and myself (guitars). Since mid 2018 I moved back to Athens, but I am planning to keep Early Death going as a Berlin based band. As you mentioned, my “day job” is live sound engineer for metal bands as Electric Wizard, Triptykon, Grand Magus, High on Fire, Rotting Christ, Enslaved and others. That means that I travel a lot throughout the year, so having a reason to travel in order to work with music is not something strange for me. In current days traveling within Europe is easy and affordable, so I do not think that it is an issue for band members to reside in different cities or countries. It is actually bringing an extra level of focusing on the band, cause when we are all together for rehearsals, recordings or shows we are trying to make the most out of it.

How come you decided to join / start Early Death, I know the other members are also involved in other bands, so what drove you to form this new band?

I was lucky enough to go through my teenage years in the late 80’s/early 90’s, a period that extreme metal was thriving. I got from early on hooked up on Thrash metal bands like Slayer, Kreator, Sodom, Dark Angel etc and I experienced the birth of Death metal with bands such as Death, Possessed, Morbid Angel, Nihilist etc. The only reason that I decided to put together a band like Early Death is simply because that style of music (old school Thras/Death), it has been the biggest passion in my life and it is the only style of music that defines perfectly who I am. I feel extremely lucky that I manage to meet the rest of the guys in the band, cause this is how we all feel about what we do with Early Death.

The bands and projects that the rest of the members are involved are significantly different from what we do with Early Death. It is actually funny that when we first met for a jam with Tobi and Dorian, they said that they were aiming for a long time to start an old school Death/Thrash project but they never got down to it. I guess that my offer to join the band came on the right time for the right reason…This is the style of music that we all in the band grew up with and that we will take in our graves when death comes!!!

Last year you released your debut EP, The Bleakest Force, please tell us about the music on it. Do you think this is what you were looking to create, or at least similar to what your aiming for, or do you still have work to do to achieve your own perfection? What's there to improve still?

The four songs included on “The Bleakest Force” EP were written during the London jams with Nathan. Off course when I started jamming those songs with the current line up in Berlin, things changed since every musician adds his personality in the song. But the overall vibe and the musical direction of the band was very specific from the moment I decided to put the band together: I wanted to create an old school Death/Thrash band that takes inspiration and influences from the music that I grew up with. However I do not think that we sound as a copy band, since I am trying to filter my influences through my personal style of writing riffs and composing songs. Also the rest musicians add their own “demons” during the writing process and in the end you can trace the influences that everybody brings in, but the “blend” is unique, since it is a process that brings five individuals together with a common vision. Personally I am extremely satisfied with the end result of our debut ep “The Bleakest Force”. It really captures the ancient Thrash/Death Metal spirit of the past, but at the same time sounds relevant and fresh. I am also very satisfied with the production and the artwork, since they enhance the overall experience and they add a unique vibe to the release. In terms of improvement, it might sound strange but there isn’t a lot of stuff that I would like to change on our next release. The way that we have already started working on new

material is not different of the way that we put the debut EP together: I write the main riffs of each song and then I bring it down to the rehearsal room with the rest of the band and we put the songs together. We all are on similar wavelength of what we want to achieve through this band, so there isn’t a case of arguing or trying things just for the sake of it. It is old school Death/Thrash for fuck sake!!!

The creepy, horror-influenced atmosphere around this EP (cover artwork, tracks titles, even the band image) lead my thoughts to King Diamond, although the music definitely on a different territory. Are you, actually, influenced by the King? What influences would you name when thinking of Early Death's music?

I am afraid that I am not a huge King fan myself. I mostly like the two classic Mercyful Fate albums (“Melissa” and “Don’t break The Oath”) and that’s about it with King, at least for my part. Not sure how the rest of the band members feel about the solo King stuff to be honest. To me King on his solo albums went a bit over dramatic and flamboyant, at least for my taste. I prefer my music more to the point. What I know for sure is that the creepy, horror-influenced atmosphere you mention is mainly down to Marcelo: he is an old Italian horror movies fanatic, he is also really into stuff like Master’s Hammer, Tormentor and other obscure bands from Eastern Europe and other remote places. He is solely responsible for all lyrics, song titles and the vocal deliverance. I really like what he does and I believe that he is one of the main reasons that our band sounds different compared to other bands that are playing old school Death/Thrash. Marcelo definitely adds a creepy dimension to our music, but at the same time he does it in a way that doesn’t steer us away from our target.

My main influences are down to the following bands: Slayer, Kreator, Dark Angel, Possessed, Death, Sepultura, Nihilist/Entombed, Grotesque, Merciless, Unleashed.

Do you take things seriously with Early Death, I mean do you rehearse a lot, do you plan on touring, or is it an activity for when you have some spare time, a good time with and among friends?

I am actually taking things very seriously with Early Death. We are old enough and for so many years in this game, that we have no time to waste. We all have been in bands since our early teens and we are all still doing it for the same reason: we are obsessed with our music; we breath, eat, shit and live METAL!!! The older you get, the less time you have to put into your passion since life is catching up and takes most of your time with responsibilities, work, relationships, kids etc.

None of us in the band has the luxury to spare some time by coming down at rehearsals just to get drunk. Every time we meet, priority is to get the most work possible on our music. Since I recently moved from Berlin to Athens, rehearsing on a weekly basis is not an option anymore. But that brings another level of commitment and acts as an extra focus point: whenever we are all together in a room, is our time, it is time for Early Death only and nothing else. We already had two great shows in Berlin in 2018 (our first show was opening for Venenum and the second with Degial). We are currently waiting for the official release of The Bleakest Force EP via two great record labels. The EP has been released only on tape so far from Me Saco Un Ojo in December’17, and as far as I am aware, it sold out straight away. Me Saco Un Ojo will release the vinyl version and Dark Descends the CD version in fall’18. I am planning to start booking shows in Europe for late’18/early’19, in order to promote our EP and to approach as many heavy metal maniacs as possible. We have actually talked about putting a short European tour with Indian Nightmare at some point in early’19 (…another great band and good friends from Berlin, go and check them out).

What do you think an old-school band like Early Death needs in order to achieve a certain fame within the underground? Or is good music enough to "make it" in the genre? What's your aim with Early Death?

I believe that all the bands that I fall in love as a kid had one thing in common, except the great music: the whole package was there. Great artwork, killer live show, obscure and spooky pictures, strong logo, filthy and satanic lyrics…the whole lot was there.

Can you imagine if Possessed “Seven Churches” had a pink album cover and on the back where four dudes on swim pants and surf boards? Would that album had the same impact on me as it did the first time I saw the record on my local record store? I really

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don’t think so!!! Off course having the image or the album cover is not enough if the music is crap. Especially nowadays so many bands solely rely on image, without taking the time in the rehearsal room to craft their instruments and to create good music. I do not want to name any of those idiots, but I am tired of watching occult and ritualistic performances with dudes hiding their freshly trimmed fringes and beards under robes and hoods, on a stage filled with candles and skulls. And what get’s me the most is that I would accept all of the above paraphernalia if the music was killer. But I am afraid that in most cases those bands play repetitive, boring, generic riffs that don’t do anything at all to me. With Early Death, priority has the riff. When a few good riffs are down, then we put on our spikes and bullet belts and we go for the kill!!!

Bands with very young members usually base their live performances on their tremendous energy and testosterone. What's left for bands with more mature members to impress the audiences live? What are you guys bringing live for the public not only to enjoy your performance, but also to come back or even recommend the band to their friends?

This is another interesting aspect of the modern “Speed/Thrash revival” scene that took place in the last 10-15 years (I call it the “Party-Thrash” scene). All those kids deliver a high energetic performance full of shrieking vocals and dive-bomb guitar leads that, to me at least, sounds like a handful of kittens having an argument over a fluffy toy. The old school Death/Thrash shows that I attended as a kid and inspired me to put our band together was more similar to a wolfpack gathering going for a kill. Shows like Slayer, Sodom, Kreator and Sepultura back in the late 80s/early 90s were scary. Metal hooligans with spikes and bullet belts were intimidating Satanic Warriors of Death back in the days, nothing to do with the colorful, cheesy vibe of the “party thrash” scene that is so popular today. With Early Death we are aiming to create a similar atmosphere with the ones I mentioned above. We are serious about our live performances and our aim is to deliver a solid, hateful dose of pure Satanic Thrash.

Your EP is quite straight-forward, no intro/outro, no intermezzos, just the four tracks, plain and simple. Do you think the above-mentioned have no place in your music? Have you ever thought of something no band had used in their music so far and you'd like to try it (don't know, a special instrument, or a special way of

Nowadays using an umlaut or an diaeresis (the two dots above a letter) seems to be a fashion among old-school bands, and indeed if you see a band name with such a letter you immediately think of old-school, do you agree with me? What was your drive in including such a letter in your band name? And where does the band name come from?

Oh yes. You definitely know what you're getting into when you see the ö! We came up with the name so long ago that I honestly don't know anymore why we did it like that.

The band name is a simple merging of the words Dungeon (coming from the Darkthrone song "The Winds They Called The Dungeon Shaker") and Hammer (Hellhammer reference ofcourse). Basically: you know what you get when you hear or see the name DungeönHammer.

Your music is organic, simple and straight-forward, how would you describe it?

Have you reached the goal of making the music you actually like to listen to yourselves?

Thanks! That's exactly what we're aiming for.

Your recordings sound very organic, analog, but you're from two different countries. Have you recorded it live? How does the recordings process usually takes place, do you use professional studios, or record at home?

We always record separately. First drums, then guitar, bass, vocals and solos. It's cool it all turns out so organic. We try to achieve that in the mixing process. The EPs have been recorded at home and in the rehearsal space. Our upcoming debut album has been recorded in a professional studio: White Noise Studio in The Netherlands. A very cool place with a very professional studio technician: Marlon Wolterink.

Is there something new in plan for DungeönHammer in the near future? I'm talking about a new EP or even better, a debut album. Wouldn't it be the tiem to release a full-length? By the way, why have you released so few material so far?

Oh yeah, the debut album will be out late 2018 through Me Saco Un Ojo records (LP) and Pulverised Records (CD). We're very excited. Moving on from where we left off at the split 7"-es. Everything is better on the album: production, songwriting, playing. It all took a while, mainly because we live in different countries and both have families and other musical projects. Besides, we really wanted to take our time and perfect the songs.

Do you think there's still place for improvement in this genre? And I'm not talking necessarily about bringing something new, but just doing something better, or more exciting for the new generation. Or there's no need for anything like that.

What do you think?

There's always need for improvement, but in this genre it's impossible if you're not bringing something new to the table. Faster, slower, whatever. It will never top the old Bathory or Celtic Frost albums.

I think the kind of music you make is better displayed live than on a record, do you agree? Do you plan on playing live as well?

Sure, but we're not doing any live shows at the moment, so the album is the best you can get.

recording, or something weird)?

As I mentioned on a previous question we all in the band are very satisfied with how our first EP came out. I personally like the straight forward approach of our EP. The idea behind this band is to create music similar to the bands that we grew up with, with adding our own twist but without diverting too far from the source. “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it” kind of thing. I do not see us adding any crazy instruments or experimental techniques, just for the sake of it. I am not against a creepy intro played on our instruments, but I am not big fun of adding keyboards, samples or any of that unnecessary crap to a well established and proven formation of drums, bass, two guitars and vocals. Do not expect anything very different on our debut LP. If someone is looking for musical experimentations or expanding their musical horizon via our band, is looking on the wrong place I am afraid.

It's almost a year since the release of your EP, do you plan a full-length album for anytime soon? Can you please tell us some words on the new tracks? How would you describe your music?

We have already started working on our first full length. I have written and demo-ed eight songs already. We have rehearsed and pretty much finalize four out of those songs altogether in the rehearsal room. In October we are meeting in Berlin to finalize another two songs. My aim is to complete all writing and rehearsing of the album in early ’19 and to start recording by mid’19. Would be great if the album get released in late’19/early’20. As I mentioned before, do not except something very different from our debut EP. Most songs are straight forward, fast paced Thrash/Death songs. A couple of tracks have more of a mid-paced Heavy Metal vibe going on (similar to “Don’t be Afraid of the Dark” song of our EP) and for first time we will include a longer and slower Doom/Death style song, paying our tribute to bands such as Celtic Frost and Asphyx. I am generally a big fan of short length albums (“Salyer’s “Reign In Blood” is my all time favourite album, 28 minutes of pure aggression and rage), so I would like to keep the album short. My aim is to be an eight songs album, clocking around the 30-35 minutes total length.

You've worked with Bestial Invasion Records so far, and now you're working with Me Saco Un Ojo, too. Are these deals release-based, or are they multiple releases worth? How does a label (or more) help an underground band nowadays when many also chose to release their stuff independently? Can it also be consifdered as a proof of quality, a recognition of the band's potential?

It's 2018 and we're a small band. The music industry changed significanly compared to 10 years ago. Music can be found easily online and the amount of releases coming out on a weekly basis is insane. We are very greatful to have the support from labels, now and in the past. The labels generally have a great network to get your music onto the record player of maniacs all around the globe. In our current situation, the labels are even helping with PR, which is a blessing and will help to spread our name even further.

Are you guys in your 20's or in your 30's? How familiar are you with printed zines?

Do you have such zines in your collection? Maybe some fave zines?

We're familiar with them, but never bought them. So alas... no favorites.

August 2018

August 2018

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Slava of back I

Tchortu! How's life Zhema? Are you still excited to be a part Vulcano as you were when you first put the band together in 1981? couldn't say that I'm the same

youth of 37 years ago, but my enthusiasm with 60 YO, leads me to have enough vivacity to continue composing and writing songs, as well doing live performances.

You are in this scene for about 37 years or more... How was the scene then in Brazil? I have often heard from Brazilian bands that the Brazilian fans prefer to support American or European bands and ignore their own underground. What about that?

When you say about the metal fans give more support to the USA bands and European bands you are totally right when you refer nowadays. In the beginning of 80's it was different, the few headbangers of that time gave full support to Brazilian bands.

The things started to change with the arising the second generation of fans in 90's, because at the same time happened the invasion of the foreign mainstream bands, and those adolescents were enchanted with them and they simply left us aside. Many fans do not give importance to Brazilian bands Can you still remember the early Vulcano days? For example, under what circumstances Vulcano started and what was the original idea to form the band?

Do you think your initial ideas have still remained adhered, or they transformed over time?

Vulcano was formed by me and a friend of mine Carli Cooper with the propose to put out the mystic themes that we wrote in that years. We were looking for the sound like Black Sabbath, but it was impossible to get. Did not exist equipment and instruments either talent to do that. So, in few time Carli Cooper left the band and Vulcano remains looking for a way. It was at this time that we recorded the single 7".

Vulcano found its way when Johnny Hansen come to the band. From then on, we evolved with our style, but never falling away from our roots, so I can affirm that we still retain our essence of the beginnings I have to go back to the year 1986 with my next question, as that's the year when Vulcano classic debut album,"Bloody Vengeance" was released. Now if you look back to those times for a short moment at least, what were, from your point of view, the things on that record that made it later such an important and vital piece of the whole Black/Death Metal history?

Impossible to say, because not even I realized that we were creating something that would become cult and important. Maybe the arrival of Flavio Rodrigues brought an unknown essence at the time, and this resulted in Bloody Vengeance.

But one thing I must say, that album has become a kind of stigma, because even today, most critics of Metal music, expect every new Vulcano's album to be the new Bloody Vengeance. Always compare us to that album How do you value your debut "Bloody Vengeance" from today's perspective? To release debut under cult Rock Brigade Records was probably success for you...

I have Bloody Vengeance like an album of the extremely important for me and my band. It' is responsible to Vulcano to get this cult status and carry us to nowadays. I did others 11 albums after them and I thing those have good songs too. I don't believe Rock Brigade Records helped us with that album,even because we were a short time on that label and even for them we were extreme and "dirty" too.

In fact, it was the Brazilian fans who gave support to the album and made it arrive at the Scandinavia, so this support was reciprocal.

would have something to please. It's like that baker who needs to make his own bread to satisfy him.

Do you feel that songwriting becomes harder over the years; because you try to top everything you did last time? It surely isn't always easy to reach perfection, if you know what I mean.

Yes, this is a real fact!. I agree with your entire words, It's very hard to support yourself when we are talking about write songs. There's a graphic curve where you have a steep acceleration and after you goes a platon.

When that happens, you need to write more and more songs, far beyond those you need for a good album, and then choose the best ones.

What are some of the essential elements in Vulcano songs that will always be a part of this band's sound?

When I decide to write a new album, I'm always write more songs that I'll need, so I'll have possibilities to edit that an album more more homogeneity possible, but not bored.

A mix of different songs inside the same context can do your album become more interesting.

I'm always write songs that I like, never do this for critics or something like that, maybe this reason Vulcano is not recognized for great magazines and recorded companies, as well as more modern listeners accustomed to polished and virtuous sonority.

Having said that, the essential elements of my compositions are, a) fast riffs in a kind of blast beats accentuated by snare drum, b) slow parts in the middle of the song and c) a strong and repetitive refrain. But the most important, I don't care to use many different bar rhytimics and time, I abuse this!

It's a hard-boiled fact that every album Vulcano has released thus far has been praised by the fans and media. People tend to say that Vulcano has yet to record a bad album. What's the band's secret?

As I said, I do songs that I like and as I belong to the first generation of headbangers that came out of the 70's and entered the 80's and lived all 90's, I believe these people also like my music. Who entered the scene with Metallica's Black Album maybe does not think the same.

The secret? Don't try to do what you do not know, keep your roots!

I have noticed that the Metal Pride of SĂŁo Paulo, Vulcano, has been playing quite a lot of gigs in the past few months. Would you say this has been a busy year for Vulcano?Is there more demand for gigs than you are able to handle these days?

Here in Brazil, different of Europe, did not happen gigs every days in the week, so we have only Fridays and Saturdays sometimes Sundays. This fact reduce a lot the opportunity to play more than a gig in a week, even because Brazil have a dimension of a continent and the logistic to travel is chaotic.

Even so, Vulcano plays a lot of gig here in several cities. I have in my mind that only playing live you can show yor true talent, so the people realize it and become fan of the band!

This resulted in the latest material, a live album under the very expressive title of "Live III - From Headbangers to Headbangers".It seems to be a completely D-I-Y album. Did you enjoy that process of doing everything on your own and having full control?

It was very interesting how this album came alive.

An old friend of mine Wilton the owner of the heavy metal store, the same guy who promoted the show in 1985 when the live album came out, invited Vulcano to the commemorative gig of the 37th anniversary of his store.

Few days before the gig date, he asked me if we could record the event and possibly produce a new live album. At first I was not excited about this, but when I heard the final result, I put my Producer on the circuit and we did the mixing. There's no overdubs on the album and there are some performance flaws, but we decided to leave it like this, honest! So I used the name: "From Headbangers to Headbangers' Since the beginning Vulcano was an independent Band, I always produced my albums.

When you see a logotype from some record company on Vulcano's album, it's because I gave a license. In 2003 I created "Renegados Records" to manage the copyrights.

Vulcano has had a long history in the extreme Metal scene and the band's name is known all over the world by every extreme Metal fan. When Vulcano started, did you ever imagine that the band would still be alive and breathing in 2018?

Keeping a band going for well over three decades is quite an achievement...Zhema what motivates you to keep Vulcano going?

I like to write songs in my own way because that pleases me, so that would be the main reason to carry the band up here.

What happened to me was that in the 90's, Metal got so annoyed and in the 2000s it got worse, so I thought if I made my own songs I

Have you done any shows where you played one of your albums from start to finish, like many bands seem to do nowadays?

Yes, since the beginning of this year we are performing �Bloody Vengeance� album in full If we start talking about new music you may have composed since "XIV" came out in 2016, is there any news on that front? Is your new material going to follow the same recipe featured on the "XIV" album?

By that I mean highly energetic straightforward Metal with absolutely killer hooks, riffs and

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that I already listened those songs. I think the bands from nowadays have a great defiance most bigger than ever because they need to stand out from a musical ocean where everything has already been done, It' very hard!

I like of a lot Brazilian bands from noadays principaly those carry 80's style.

What music is listening in Vulcano band? I suppose it is some old underground metal. What about non metal influences? Are they present?

Vulcano is formed by different persons when we are talking about musical preferences.

Generally in the band we hear Heavy and progressive Metal from 70's, NHOBH, Thrash Metal, Black and Death Metal, etc.

But in something common we agreed, we did not appreciate Pantera, Metallica, and those sort of bands

melodies done uncompromising Vulcano style?

I have a lot of songs composed since after XIV was released, so I think they have the same atmosphere, I only need to listen them again. By the other hand I started to write new songs that carry the same raw and direct sound that you can listen in XIV, but It'll be a new album, but not a reprise of XIV Now that you have some distance from that record are you 100% happy with it or did it turn out exactly the way you planned? What's your personal verdict on "XIV"?

Yes, I'm totally satisfied with the result! I spent lot of time inside the studio arranging that album and when I decided that it was ready It was because I hit my target.

Have your songwriting methods changed at all since you recorded "XIV"? Has anyone taken more responsibility for the actual songwriting, trying to make sure the new album will come out in near future?

I have in my mind my own way to compose, even without to think it. It's something like known involuntary. I'm always in front of any album that Vulcano will release in future, that's my way!

What can people expect from Vulcano in the following 2-3 years or so? New album, lots of gigging, even more determination to crush the ground below our feet and stuff like that?

With sure a new album, but we'll be working hard to get another European tour for 2019 as well here in Brazil. I hope to found a good Booking Agency to do that.

Ok, it would be all from me, if I forgot something important, you have the space.Thank you Zhema for answering my questions. I wish Vulcano only the best for the future, have a good time, Horns Up! I think we pass for the most important points of Vulcano's present days, and I must to say that we have a great video stuff recorded in last May here in Brazil and we thinking to release in DVD. Also, I should say you guys, try to listen to the EP from 2013 "The awakening of an Ancient and Wicked Soul" Thank you for the opportunity and to take the ideas about Vulcano to your readers and also thanks to the readers for having read this far.

Interview by Marcin "MARIANO" Wawok / August 2018

Since "XIV" , I suppose that you haven't had much time to rest on your laurels but have started working with some new material for your next release?

Will there be any radical changes or total surprises, as far as your plans for new Vulcano stuff?

No changes! You can wait for a strong and the same time simple songs, not polished but raw and intense, short songs but not boring, fast but audible with slow parts and everything that is on the 80's menu with a lot of angry !

How vital is it to stick to a certain formula for Vulcano, without adopting too many crazy or absurd ideas into new songs? How do you balance pleasing yourself with new stuff but also look after the fans?

Like I Said you, firstly I write songs that I like, so when a guy feel the same, he's a fan. Vulcano don't have a million of fans precisely for this reason. It takes a fan to like the same songs I like.

I can feel it here in Brazil, there are many who do not identify with our music, only the older ones, those of the first generation of Extreme Metal.On the other hand, I also can not exaggerate in this opinion, there are some younger fans, but you can be sure that these are also into the 80's and 90's How critical would you say you are toward what you create for the band? Do you think being too harsh or critical of your own work may sometimes work against you?

I don't feel like a severe critic of my work, but quite an enthusiast. I work a lot and hard on a new song because I'm not lucky talented, that is, I do not have a natural gift, I have to work hard to get the same result as a virtuosity of the song After more than 38 years in Metal Underground how would you explain a young Metal fan that Metal is not a trendy rebellion for 15 / 16 years old kids?

And here comes the unholy terror question: please define word Metal!!!.

I would tell him that Metal is not a passion but love. Passion is a passing fire that cools fast, but love is a seed left by the passion that you will carry throughout your life until the end of it. That's what I would say.

Define Metal in our context?

Everything!!!!! I wake up every day and I'm ready for Metal!

What's your relationship with today's new Black/Death Metal bands? Do you believe Black/Death Metal still has something to give to people, even if good things tend to get recycled by this new generation of Extreme Metal bands quite a bit? What are some of the new Black/Death Metal acts that have, in your opinion, something great to offer?

My relationship is limited to watch gigs and listen all those stuff that arrive me, principaly the Brazilian Bands. I can't get excite me because I have an impression

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the lyrical approach on the album. Most every song on Corrupting Influence is about societal factors that corrupt your thinking and morality, and how to overcome those factors through strength, perseverance and a firm commitment to the things you believe in.

Internal fuckin' Bleeding man, the undisputed masters of Slam Death Metal! Regardless of anyone's personal taste this Long Island based powerhouse was, is and will probably always be a proof of passion, dedication, hard work and stubbornness, that's why they have influenced hordes and hordes of new bands along the years. But it was never a soft ride for the band, on the contrary, so having the chance to talk with founding member Chris Pervelis was not something to be missed.

Hi Chris, you're the only original member of the band left, does it feel awkward in any way? Do you feel the band like a legacy you have to continue, is it a burden sometimes, or is it still a "living the dream" type of situation?

Well, I never planned to be the lone original member, I always thought it would be me and Bill (Tolley, original drummer) to the bitter end, but he died on the job last April, so here I am. Sometimes, it is a burden. There is a lot of work involved in keeping a band together, making sure that the music always stays true to the IB sound, keeping in touch with fans, and generally managing things can put a lot of stress on someone, but on the other hand, I am living the dream I have had since I was four years old. I always wanted to be in a metal band that toured and put out albums, and here I am. It’s such a joy to say that I actually achieved my childhood dream. Do I feel I have a legacy to continue? Absolutely yes. Now that Bill is gone, it’s more important than ever to keep the music alive in his honor.

Bay Area Death Fest presented an emotional Bill Tolley memorial video this year where one can see the huge influence he and Internal Bleeding had on other bands and their music. I guess this puts a lot of weight on your shoulders to continue with the band and present the new album the best way possible, correct? Do the new band members feel the same?

We all feel the same way. When we were in the studio last month and putting the finishing touches on our new album, my other guitar player/riff partner Chris McCarthy looked at me and said “everything from this day forward is for Billy.” He is absolutely correct. There is a lot of weight on all our shoulders, because we have to carry Bill’s legacy, but it's something that we gladly accept. The “new” band members were all in the band with Bill for a few years, and they all knew him beforehand, so there is a strong bond between us all.

I guess Bill's tragic loss acted like a barrier in the band's activity. I know he recorded the Final Justice single and even recorded the video for it, but did he do some other tracks on the upcoming album, or were they recorded later by Kyle?

Sadly, Bill was gone by the time we went into the recording studio, so none of his drum work is on the album. That being said, about 1/2 the album was written while Bill was still alive, so there are some of his riffs, arrangement ideas and other fingerprints on the album. Kyle recorded his drum tracks with Bill’s kit, which means there is no doubt that Billy’s soul is completely immersed in this record — we’d have it no other way.

What are the new album's lyrics about? I guess social themes are on the table, correct? Do you think lyrics are still as influential as they were 20 years ago? Are the new generation kids still interested in a band's lyrics and message?

It’s all societal. As I explained about, its about things that corrupt and diminish your thinking and morality. Drugs, the stress of combat, feelings of isolation and loneliness, etc. We touch on many of those topics on the album. Honestly, I don’t know if kids are interested in lyric and message, but I’d like to think they are, and will take something away from what we wrote. We don’t think we’re sages, or prophets of some sort, but we have feelings and thoughts that we like to express through our music. It’s interesting to us, and we hope its interesting to others as well. There is meaning behind every song, and we hope we conveyed that meaning in a clear way.

As for Imperium, for Corrupting Influence you returned to work again with producer Joe Cincotta. I guess you were pretty satisfied with what he did for Imperium, right? What do you like most about working with him, and what do you think he brings to your music?

Joe is the man. He’s not only an excellent engineer that gets great sounds, but he is a really good producer who can help you clarify ideas, smooth out rough edges and help make your songs better than what you thought they’d be. He never steps on your toes, but is always willing to say “hey, do me a favor, try it like this…”; and many times when he says that you play it his way, then sit there and go “damn! I should have thought of that!” He’s very creative like that and he brings a lot to the table.

What's the most challenging aspect of Internal Bleeding's life as a band nowadays?

I guess we're all passed over that whole "internet destroyed music" idea, right?

But how do you still make money in order to afford new gear, or studio/rehearsal time? You're a legendary band that should have everything it needs, but at the same time your "territory" (Slam Death Metal) is a niche or a niche, so it's not that bright money-wise. How can you afford to keep the band afloat?

Well, first and foremost, we are really really smart and extremely tight with our money.

We never spend band money anything non-band related, such as beer, nice dinners, etc.

So when we get paid for a show, we all take a cut, but always leave 20% in the band fund to cover things. Further, we aren’t really confined to the niche of slam, and our music is a lot more accessible to a wider audience, because it’s super catchy and has a ton of groove that any metalhead can get into. That’s a huge factor, because it allows us to play a lot of high profile gigs that pay pretty well. We’re not rich by any stretch of the imagination, but we do make enough money to keep the band going without going into our pockets. Finally — and most important — we’re very lucky to have a loyal fanbase who supports us by purchasing merchandise, etc. while we are on the road, and that contributes greatly to keeping the band running and paying the bills.

Talking about this, are the more kids at your shows nowadays than they were 1015 years ago, or are they less and less, and the majority of your public is made or die-hard fans passed their teen years? Or is it actually both in equal/similar numbers?

There’s definitely more people at shows than say 10-12 years ago. For a while there death metal was in a real slump and attendance at shows was pretty bad. Now it seems its getting to be much better. Not quite as sick as it was in the early and mid 90s, but pretty sick and growing. Our crowds are great, because we have been around for so

At the moment I'm compiling these questions you've announced the artwork and audio files are done and sent to the label already. How do you feel the new album is compared to Imperium for example?

Well, the new album kind of picks up where Imperium left off. On Imperium we tried a few new ideas and we thought they really meshed well with our sound, so with this new album — Corrupting Influence — we added more even dimension to our sound, making it a bit more interesting than Imperium, but never losing sight of what IB is and should be. I also made a conscious effort to reach back into our back catalog a bit and pull out some sounds from our Extinction of Benevolence album, which I think was incredibly heavy.

There were some ideas on that release that we never got to explore more, so we did a little of that on this new one as well. We’re really excited about it!

Who did the artwork and how does it reflects what's happening musically on the album?

I did the album cover, and it reflects

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long that sometimes we have three different generations of people at shows. It’s really gratifying to see that.

As a guitarist, how important do you think solos are for a Death Metal band in general, and for Internal Bleeding especially. How's the process of creating a guitar solo for you, what are you looking for in a solo, or what are you looking to transmit through a solo?

Solos can be important, but in my view, a solo is only good if it takes a song somewhere. A solo should be akin to lyrics, meaning that it should say something that you cannot necessarily express with words or riffs. It must serve a purpose. Usually my solos start with a basic idea, a bit of melody that I think would be important for a song, and from that starting point, I build on that melody and try and write something that is cohesive and fits in with the song. I like my solos to provide contrast to songs, in other words, if the song is heavy, ugly and atonal (which it usually is lol), I like to inject something melodic, slow and thoughtful into the tune, this way it provides contrast and counterpoint to the main bulk of the song. A solo for the sake of shredding or breaking up a song isn’t really my approach, it works for others, but that’s not really what I want to do. I also tend to write very bluesy solos, because that’s where my primary influences are.

You're now sharing with Pyrexia not only the same label, but also the same bass player, Shaun Kennedy, I guess the two bands are more friends than competition, right? Do they have anything new on the way, too? By the way, a curiosity of mine: how do you find your vocalist Joe Marchese's other band, Mother Brain?

Indeed. We always have a blast with the Pyrexia guys. Sometimes we run into problems with bookings because we share a bass player, but other than that we love to chill, we’ve toured together and hung out many times. I know that the new Pyrexia album is done being recorded and handed in to the record label, so I am sure it is coming out around the same time as ours. As for Mothe rbrain, I love them; totally extreme and out of control! They are really fun to watch live.

You've announced a huge US tour to promote the new album. Will you promote it on other continents as well, are other tours in works, too? How much do you still enjoy touring nowadays, what's the best part and the worst of a tour for yourself?

The plan is to go out there and do as much touring as humanly possible for the album.

We have the US tour solidified (announcement coming in a week or two) and we’re in the works with planning the European leg of the tour plus hopefully Southeast Asia, etc.

We have to see how the demand is and how it goes. Hopefully we’ll be hitting a lot of great places! I love touring. I love almost everything about it. For me the best parts are playing every night, meeting new people and immersing myself in new cultures. The worst parts are sometimes having no showers for a few days, sitting around in airports, missing flights, and dealing with the language barriers. But that’s all part and parcel of touring and I’ll gladly take it all! Cannot wait to get back on the road!

Oh yes, there are hundreds of things I would have done differently, but there’s no reason to dwell on the past. That being said, I should have been smarter with our intellectual property, and made sure that we were protected from predators in the industry. But when you are young and hungry, you don’t think about those things, you just want to fucking play, and the business side is uninteresting and boring.

Thanks a lot for your time and I wish you all the best with the new album, I hope it crushes everything and it will become your best to date.

Thank you for the great interview and thank you to all our fans worldwide! Make sure to like us on facebook (facebook.com/internalbleeding) and sign up for our newsletter so you can get emails with all the latest IB news!

July 2018

Looking back at all these years with Internal Bleeding are there any things that you would have done differently if given the chance? What are you most proud of?

I'd say Abolishing the Ignominious is quite a new band being formed only 2 years ago as a duo. As previous or current members of other full line-up bands, how is it to work as a duo and where from this need to create a new band?

It's as smooth as can be. Since Joe and I have similar tastes and vision for the band, we already connect on what we want musically. We've been playing together for about a decade so everything just comes naturally.

Normally when bands are formed, you have your initial stages where everyone has to adjust to each other and their schedules but now as a duo we don't have to worry about that. It's effortless.

special. Is the track Abolishing the Ignominious special compared to the rest? Do you agree the public's expectations from such tracks are way above others?

I try not to focus on the perception of the public too much. A lot of times it creates a false reality that can lead to disappointment. Things can't stay the same way forever. I do believe the title track is something special as it captures all the elements of the band that makes the sound unique with lots of tempo changes that keeps the listener interested.

Your debut album, Vociferous Obsolescence, was released last year through Russian label Coyote Records. Have you worked with them before? How's the cooperation with them so far? How are the reactions to your debut so far, have they reached your expectations?

Joe has worked with them in the past with his band Disgruntled Anthropophagi and everything has worked out great as far as the reaction but I believe there's more I've noticed two out of the ordinary features in to be desired going forward and we're very grateful of your music (for a Brutal Death Metal band I mean): the opportunity to allow us some exposure. the length of your tracks (most of them above 5 minutes) and the complex lyrics. Can you please Your bio discuss those? And since we're here, tell us the mentions bands meaning of your band name. like Immolation, There's a lot to unpack there...but I'm glad you notice Malignancy, the unorthodox style of the band. The song lengths Internal weren't intentional, just the progression of how the Suffering and riffs materialized. However, the lyrics are just my Disgorge as main observations on the climate of the world but with a influences while introspective twist that makes you think and leaves still stating that enough room for your own interpretation. Vociferous you try to "bring Obsolescence just simply translates to what I feel is forth new levels slowly becoming obsolete - loud, abrasive death metal of technical that's not over polished and feels natural and different. brutal death I guess you can say it's an attempt to return to roots metal".

How and I think we're starting to accomplish that or attempt feasible do you to going forward. think that is in our day and age, Usually bands come up with tracks titled the same is there anything as the band when they feel they have something still unsaid in

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this genre?

Good question. There's a reason why so many bands are coming back. There's a lot left unsaid and plenty to prove in death metal. I also feel a lot of newer bands have oversaturated so much that the bands that have paved the way are forgotten about. Considering our material has been written and recorded with 9 strings - a first - I think there's plenty of room for the underground to improve and grow Are you already working on the followup album? If so, will there be any major changes? What do you expect to improve on this one compared to your debut album?

We are definitely in the works on a new record, but musically I don't anticipate any drastic stylistic changes...just extending the style and concepts we started on the first record along with more vocal variety. No lineup changes have been made at the moment...but I expect to improve on making the record more vicious and to the point and maybe not as long as Vociferous Obsolescence.

Lyrically the changes will be more misanthropic and introspective. Only time will tell...

September 2018

Insineratehymn is an absolutely crushing underground band and here is an interview with band member Abraham Garcia.

Do

you

Have you always lived in LA, CA? If not where did you grow up?

Yes born and raised in Los Angeles, CA What sort of kid were you growing up? Did you have many friends and what did you want to be when you were growing up?

I was a chill kid and made a good amount of friends going to school. My crowd of friends was quite mixed I was pretty cool with everyone. However even as a kid and later on as a teenager I tried to keep my circle small and hang out with my friends I was most close too. To this day my close friends go back since elementary. Frank Montero, our guitarist, and I have been friends since third grade. As far as what I wanted to be growing up I honestly had no clue. Once I turned 18 I ventured out to see what was out there for me. Of course music is something I wanted to do but I wanted something else career wise. I’ve grown interest in the medical field recently. Maybe later on once I have the funds to attend a good school Ill jump on it.

When did music start to enter your live and what were some early bands that you got into?

I got into music the day my cousin brought home a copy of AC/DC Live in Donington one of his friends let him borrow. We used to play it quite often and just kick back.

I got hooked on AC/DC and they are the reason I wanted to play in a band. I bought my own copy of that same CD and heard it religiously. When I met Frank in third grade I started to get hooked on Slayer, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Venom, Kreator, Sodom and list goes on.

We had a lot of music available to us because his parents are metal heads so it was quite easy for us to learn this genre. Whether it was thrash, heavy metal, death metal they had it. We got into the heavier bands pretty quick but one thing is for sure, when it came to the underground, we had to go on our own to discover the real deal.

Now how did you end up discovering the underground side of metal? Did you take to it right away or did it take some time?

I started to get into the underground before I started high school. Out here in LA there was a scene that was picking up around 2006 but I didn’t discover it until 2008 and one of the first local bands I got into was a band named HORRID. They were a Blackened Death/Thrash band and had a demo called Worship of Death/Invokers of Satan. The minute I heard that demo I wanted to dig in more into the bands they were into and the rest of scene was playing. That’s when I started to learn about bands like Sepultura, Sadistic Intent, Morbid Angel, Massacre, Obituary, Darkthrone’s “Soulside Journey”, Mortuary (Mex), Cenotaph (Mex), Unleashed, Immolation and the list just goes on. I definitely took in the heavier and underground bands right away. Anything I had played before discovering this was just not enough.

Later on when I started jamming with Frank and other people we met we started to learn about Swedish Death Metal, Grindcore, Blackened Death Metal and anything from Europe and other places around the world from the 90s within that realm. We just wanted to put out a release and become part of the underground like the upcoming bands that were leaving their mark on the scene and the bands we looked up too.

musical interest as him. Mauricio is a longtime diehard death metal fan and around 2008 to 2012, LA was big on the thrash revival bands and shows that were going on. I met him in 2014 I believe so. I wasn’t there when he first put this band on his own. He’s always lived up in San Fernando Valley and I’m from South LA so I can’t tell you about the early days since I didn’t meet him until years later. What I can say is Insineratehymn became official when I put it together in 2016.

How did you end up finding singer Hugo Gomez?

Hugo and I have been friends since 2010 or 2011.

I met him at a show his first band Detest played. And since then we just always stayed in contact and hang out at some shows. For a while we used go cruise up to the canyons when we got into the car scene.

Anyhow, during the recording of our first album our vocalist who had replaced Mauricio, Marco Tocsain, wasn’t cutting it. So I hit up Hugo to come down to do the vocals.

realize that were the band is based out of was “hair metal” city back in the mid 80’s until Nirvana came along in 1994 and crushed it?

Haha! Yes LA is the city where Motley Crue and a lot of those other Glam/Hair Metal bands got big.

Now at what point did decide you wanted to form a band and how did you go about looking for members?

The idea of starting a band goes way back to when Frank and I were kids. Growing up we wanted to jam and it happened once I bought my drum set when I was thirteen or fourteen. We would just jam in my apartment when the neighbors weren’t home doing a few covers we knew and write some original material. It wasn’t until we were eighteen when we put together our first serious band which was Transcendence in 2012. I put that band together with Frank after I hung out with Miguel Perez one summer afternoon. At the time he was in a death metal band named Detest. I like Detest’s music and just asked him if he wanted to jam. The rest is history. As for Insineratehymn, I decided to put this band together because I wanted to take a new path as a musician. Our former vocalist wanted to start a band with me so that’s how we started this and I just reached out to some friends to see if they were down to jam. I wanted Frank for sure in the band when a former member, Alexander left. I met Demitree when he came over to the studio and has been down to jam and keep this band going since day one. I had a good network of people I had met or Demitree had knew about and we’d bring them in to jam.

I read that there is not a lot of early info on the band and that there's not much information on the band, but that between 2008-2012 that Mauricio Lopez was the only solid member. The band had lack of stable members from 2008-2012 and he postponed the band in 2012. In 2016 you joined and he put the stable line up together and now even Lopez is gone. Please fill me in on the early days of the band and members.

From what Mauricio has told me the early line up did not last long and he decided to postpone the band because he couldn’t find serious members to jam with and also there wasn’t anyone in his hometown who had the same

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What were the early practices like? Did you just do cover tunes and when did you start to write originals?

When I started to get Insineratehymn going with a solid line up I already had ideas and songs written. By that time all of us in the band had experience from our previous bands so we went straight to originals and writing some new songs from the ones I already had written. We didn’t ever think of doing any covers and it still doesn’t come into our thoughts or bring it up about doing a cover. Just not something we do.

Who pens the lyrics and what are some of the topics the band covers in them?

Demitree our lead guitarist writes the lyrics. The topics are pretty straight forward. We like to write about humanity in all aspects and details we don’t put much attention too in our daily lives. This could be anything about humanity from diseases, depression, feelings, death, mental disorders, poverty, spirituality just things in life we don’t put much attention too sometimes. We know in this genre the lyrics won’t be understood with the low deep growls but if any listeners out there like to read lyrics maybe there is a song they can relate too because of a situation they’re going through or went through it.

Who came up with the band name (Insineratehymn) and where any other names thrown around?

Mauricio came up with the name. Him and I like the name for the reason that we didn’t find another band with that name whenever we searched it up. We also like Deicide and he got off the album entitled “Insineratehymn” and even though we don‘t like that album like many other fans, the name to us sounded cool.

Once he shown me the logo I liked the name even more.

Who came up with the bands logo?

Once again Mauricio had the logo done by an artist he contacted online. I can’t remember the name and where he was from Did you put any demos or stuff prior to the release of

your debut album?

No demos were put out before the album aside from a pre-production track of Seeking Immortality with Marco on vocals. We uploaded it to our Bandcamp and used it for promotion purposes to get on shows.

Tell me what your 1st live show was like? Were you as a band nervous at all and how do you feel it went after you were done?

Our first show was pretty cool. We played some popular west coast death metal acts such as Disembowl from Portland, Skulls, Mysticism and my previous band Transcendence. We were a bit nervous at least for Frank and I just a bit. It was our first time playing alive after a cool while so we just had to adjust to it again. As for Demitree we are his first band he’s ever played live with but he did good. That first show was a good turnout.

Now your debut release is out and it is called, “A Moment in a Vision”. Any meaning behind the title?

The meaning behind the album title is basically someone who is passing away and as they are dying they are having a good vision of everything they lived. The persons dream is joyful at first but slowly all of that starts to fade away and things start to look dark. The end to their dream is death. Tears start running down his/her face and in the reflection of their eyes is a graveyard.

How was it going into the studio for this release and around overall how much money was spent recording it?

Going into the studio was great. We worked with Allen Falcon. A guy that likes to get things done properly and will tell you without hesitation to get your act together if something in the song isn’t working well. Very blunt dude. But those are the people who are best to work with.

We learned a lot about some of the flaws we encountered and fixed it. Definitely someone we recommend for any band or artist out there. As far as costs it was under $500.

Also Chris Monroy of Skeletal Remains recommended us to go to him because Allen has good deals for good quality recording in LA and like most bands we have a tight budget at first but we are glad we were able to find the right place.

How did you end up working with Narcoleptica Productions and how have things worked out so far considering they are from Russia.

I was looking for a label to release our album and Andrey (who runs the label) picked up on it quick. He was very helpful in making the packaging for the CDs and showed us the progress on how the booklet was coming out and the same goes for the CD layout and Jewel case inlays. Because of the label we started to pick up more of a fan base out in Russia and other countries in Europe.

How do you feel this release stacks up against all the other new music that comes out in the underground daily?

I can’t answer that. That’s something a listener would be able to tell you and they would be the best to ask that question. (I think it stacks up quite well myself-cf) For someone who has never heard the band before, describe what you think you sound like?

We many influences but for the sound of our first album for anyone who’s into bands like Edge of Sanity, Death, Pestilence, Entombed and early Unleashed then give our album a listen.

Around how much time in any given week is spent doing band related stuff?

We jam very often during the week. About 2 to 3 days in the weekdays.

How do you plan on promoting this release so it doesn’t stick in with all the other mediocre death metal and underground metal bands out there?

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In these times definitely through social media. It’s a tool we gotta use now to get anything known out to the world.

Aside from that also building a network with labels, show hosts and other bands within the scene. We’re also doing a North West Tour in August with Pestilent Death.

Getting on the road is a must for any band.

Any last words, horns up for doing this interview.

Thanks for reaching out to us and interest in the band.

Shout out to our friends, Narcoleptica Productions, Nexcro Records, Metal Vault, old and new listeners for your support! Cheers!

Interview by Chris Forbes - June 2018

How important is the band image for Provectus, and why have you decided to use corpse paint? Since we're here, how important band image is or should be within Black Metal? Is music enough to transmit all a band wants to?

The logic behind the band's image is a combination of showing the pure rawness and emotion of the art behind the band and the music as well. As a band you want to pour the entire concept into a solid image that people can relate to and understand the meaning and essence of. We stand tall and proud and bring forth the music with fire and passion. So in that note that's why the image of Provectus is of great importance. The corpse paint is a reflection of channeling these traits into the entire Black Metal concept within the ideology of our band. Our image is also our statement on and off the stage... aside from the music we want to leave a memorable impact!

So corpse paint plays a very important role in Black Metal and is one of the most identifiable aspects of the genre.

In your statement, Provectus is Old School Black Metal. What makes it old-school? How would you describe your sound?

Nowadays there are a lot of subgenres within Black Metal, especially the Atmospheric and Depressive Black Metal genre is getting very popular. If you analyze music from this genre you'll notice a huge difference in tonation and song structure in comparison to the old bands from the late 80's and 90's. In our view and personal taste of music we prefer old bands and more recent bands that keep the roots of Black Metal alive. Our goal is also to keep those roots alive but we try to be unique (which is very difficult of course) and give it a slightly more modern touch.

When it comes to the sound and composition of our music we can proudly say each instrument is equally important. For example, the bass arrangements bring an additional dynamic to the music, also the drumlines are not always typical to the genre and the vocals have a big range in tones and cover a wide spectrum. With this and a mix of influences from old bands, Provectus is dedicated to the roots of Black Metal, which makes it old school with an open mind to more modern influences.

We've also chosen not to overproduce our sound on "Existential Delusion", but keep it more natural to maintain a proper yet old school sound.

Especially in the '90's there was a serious ideological battle between Black Metal with and without keyboards. On your debut EP, Existential Delusion, you're using keyboards but on very few occasions, so what's your view on this topic?

It's not our place to say what's the pure ideology behind every individual band from that period. In our opinion with or without keyboards, if the music has a true soul or spirit behind it... who are we to say what's the best? Of course we all like the pure raw untouched Black Metal without keyboards, yet we're also open minded towards bands that use synths or keyboards. It's a fact that bands with keyboards often bring a different yet very emotional or epic aspect to the music, so it becomes of great value.

I may be wrong, but your lyrics seem to discuss rather depressive, melancholic topics, your EP cover seems to touch religious matters, but your music sound really fierce and brutal, how do the three mix together? What do you try to transmit through your lyrics and music?

The lyrics are indeed rather depressing and melancholic, however it's not that we're leaning towards depressing black or doom. It's just the lyrical transmutation of our concept. It sounds brutal from a point of view that one suffered certain emotions for too long. Example: some people get consumed by being in a state of sorrow too long, while it gets vocalized the other way around. You had enough of it and that sorrow becomes anger, even hatred. So it's kind of a reversed emotional explosion.

The album cover: Well that's a very good question, because indeed you can see what appears to be a religous cover, yet is not as religiously based as it appears. We are a philosophically based band in the lyrical themes, so we understand the visual theme raises some questions.

The artwork as you see it is the Demon of time and space, and of course many demons have minions to do their bidding. Yet the biggest mistake people make is when they think it looks satanic, it must be satanic... it has a slightly demonic sub-tone, yes, but that's all. The actual meaning of it is an entirely different story. It's all in the spirit of time and space and the perception of it.

In the words of the demon: limited beings lost in the vastness of the cosmos, destined to oblivion the moment of death. "We've been eaten by the demon" and completely lost touch with our own inherent transcendence (what u see on the album cover). It's critical to realize that the demon of objective space-time robs us of transcendence and creates all suffering. It's all a very extremely wide time-based concept, as Provectus stands for 'the passing of time' in Latin. So to wrap up that subject, it all bends towards the human condition or existential crisis, merged with the time and space concept.

That also created the title for the album "Existential Delusion"! This answers the question referring to how the music gets mixed with the lyrics within our concept.

Everything behind our band is really rooted deeply into a solid concept and has the ability to cover a wide range of themes within this concept.

Black Metal is such a vast territory nowadays, it's close to impossible for a new band to make its way to the top (if I can name it like that). How do you plan on reaching more and more people? How come you're not signed yet, I'm sure there were offers so far?

We have no label so far, because we want to hold the ropes and have more control ourselves on every band related aspect at the moment. Of course we are open minded to eventually close a label deal under the right conditions... We are pleased that we get plenty of offers to play live and to play with great bands so we are reaching more people. The Black Metal scene struggles everywhere around the globe, that's a fact. We do have a management deal and great support. Our kick-off as a new upcoming Black Metal band in the Belgian scene feels like we already hit a small jackpot. We see our merchandise move, and more and more people contributing to the Provectus horde. As to reaching a larger audience: this is something that happens naturally by playing live and nowadays social media (even though we are not too keen on that). Of course promotion and spreading the word plays a huge role here. Fortune flavoured the bold!

On the other hand Black Metal seems to have some of the most loyal and devoted fans, which I'm sure you are, too. No one is getting rich through it, but how important is for a band to have it's music and merch bought by fans? Or are views on YouTube and likes on social media enough for a band to carry on?

You nailed it there, we're all true fans for life! Black Metal fans are the most amazing fans to the genre you can have. Once they're fan, they really are in it forever!

As mentioned earlier, we have our steady fanbase, and an ever expanding one as well. Of course no one is getting rich of it. If you are in it for the money, you have chosen the wrong kind of genre to be involved in, then you might as well get a second job. It is important to keep selling merch because you always have a load of expenses as a band. Yet that's how it goes, you invest in the progression of your band for the bigger picture. The social media side of things: it's helpful when it comes to event planning and getting the word out. Yet we don't rely on it to do anything for us. If it does, well then that's also great. We consider it a necessary evil, because that's how the world turns these days.

There's more than half a year since you released your debut EP, what were the reactions so far? Are you planning a debut album for anytime soon? If so, can you please tell us about it?

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We had amazing reactions regarding our EP "Existential Delusion"! Even people that never listened to Black Metal started listening to us and started to like Black Metal in general. How amazing is that? We can say that we actually turned people to listen to Black Metal because they heard our album. It's a humbling experience and yet so amazing! We are working on new material for our debut album at the moment. It's based on our existing concept but pushes it further a lot more. To not reveal too much at the current time, we can say this: get ready to experience Provectus going way harder than before with the same traits, only more explosive, rhythmical and melodic. It will be a worthy follow up, for we are innovative and true to our concept and ideology!

September 2018

How come Schattenfang is now a one man band? Or is it? Was it ever a live band, or we're talking about a studio project?

Actually it is or was not planned to be a One Man Band, but the circumstances these days look pretty bad,so i decided to pre-record the stuff i need for the next album with Arhymanoth before he left the town and do the rest by my own and some friends as special guests. the good guys i recruited over the last years had to move to other city for work and the bad guys betrayed the horde and/or myself and left for relentless stuff or reasons or get kicked out. Since beginning of this project i formed the material of it according to my visions, processed my thoughts and concepts in it and managed all the stuff in the background, Unfortunately I can't play all the rest of the instruments or do the vocals so i of course need people to realize this ideas. In the last years that worked sometimes good but at least bad every time. At the moment i try to find new people to play live again and realizing the requests for gigs again in 2019. It was actually ever a live band, and i would prefer that it stays that way, but for this i had to find good people again and unfortunately nowadays here around in this area its pretty hard. But giving up was never an option, especially not in times where you are surrounded so much by rootless assholes that found anew project every week or switching their style as much as their woman change their clothes.

Your most recent, second album, is called Ex Cineribus: Was blieb, als du gegangen bist, and reading about the lyrics on it, I found it very interesting. Please tell us what the title means and what topics do you talk about on it.

This album is a concept album witch concept is viewable from three views. on the first look it tells a story about an German soldier who participated on the battle near Tannenberg 1914 and came back home alive, vicotrous but broken. he can't handle the fears and horrors he has been through and subsequently first loses his wife, his mind and then kills himself as a last redemption. on the second view it's also the metaphoric look on the story of a broken relationship of mine. On the third view its also the story of the band as such, that nearly had to kill itself over and over again to rising up from the ashes more stronger then ever again. As an tribute for the fans that stayed over the years of silence, we decided to record the "Mentale Disharmonie" in a new, extended way. the first part of the title is Latin and means "out of the ashes", the second part is German and means "what

remained, as you left" - the title reflects all the aspects of view on these story(s).

The album was recorded by a full line-up, and I found the production also improved from your debut album. Where was it recorded and how happy are you of the final result?

While the concept and the lyrics were written between 2013 and 2016 The album was recorded from march 2016 to September '16 at the Lost Generation studios here in Erfurt, which was a short while ago founded by a long term friend of mine. during this time we had to fight with some technical issues, so for example one day the whole damn PC crashed when we nearly finished the material and all of it were lost. But this story gave us the chance to improve some details we weren't really happy the first take with.

Also we wasn't very pleased with the end mix we get, so i contacted an old friend of mine, Nino Markgraf from the Abnormal Audio Assault Stidios in Austria, and he re-mixed and mastered the stuff in that awesome quality for us. In fact that this album is the essence of my vision and personal feelings and life in the past few year i'm very happy and honoured with the results.

You've also started working on a follow-up, a third album. Will it be recorded by yourself, or will you try to complete the line-up again? Please tell us about the new tracks.

Like i already indicated up there in point 1, i wrote a handful of new songs in the last remaining month with one of my old guitarists alone in the rehearsal room before he unfortunately had to move to another city far away during personal circumstances. they are a bit more short, harsh and brutal then the ones on Ex Cineribus, but still have the signature of Arhymanoth. from the lyrical side they reflect some traces and scars people i met left and i left in them. also the betrayal that unfortunately once again shocked our horde will be named. It's planned to put these material on a split with old fellows who already wanted to do this back in 2012. the roads of destiny are weird sometimes, because when we started to play live again with the last lineup back in 2017, we had the honor to share the stage with them again. since then, the contact is restored.

Your breed of Black Metal is quite atmospheric, depressive even. How tough do you think it is for such a music to be correctly presented live in order to really transit its feelings to the audience?

It's a small distance between being majestic and ridiculous on stage. the most important thing i think is to be real on stage as you are real on the street. no playacting. If you feel i while you play or sing it - do it, but don't do it because you think you have to, think it would be cool or think it's trendy nowadays. black metal is no trend and will never be. Also the correct frame is important. you can't play atmospheric music in the middle of moshing, growling and stupid acting thrash metal kiddies,that are just there for beer and fun that are far away to understand or feel the music, and with a bunch of stroboscope lights around you. So i think that kind of music need to be presented in atmospheric places with the right light and more selected crowd.

Is Black Metal more than just a music style? Why? Has it lost its mystery and points of interest, or at least part of it, with the nowadays intense use of social media?

Black metal is more than music because you don't discover it and think "uhm, yeah, that's quite easy listening stuff". You grow with it. For me it's some kind of vehicle to express my inner self. to carry out the inner storm. Also its a kind of thinking, to be the wolf and not the lamb in any ways of life. When you listen to it, it's like you open a gate that leads you deep down in something the creator thought or felt once and bleed it down to the paper. that could be hell or heaven.

Of course it changed its face for over the years a bit like everything does, but the essence is the same since the 80's. it just grown up and has been more multifaceted.

And also as everything that grows there are a lots of scum, pimples and follower that just follow a trend or some traces but these are rand phenomena which decays after a few years and the core remains. I saw a lot of rootless creatures that can't handle the unvarnished honesty and hardness and rough manners and vanished over night, just to be seen a few month in another scene.

Social media for sure reinforce this people because they can pose with "trve cvlt grim" pictures for their likes and

to provoke and such shit and two years later they can say that this just was a phase . Disgusting scum.

But also the social media aspect let the worldwide core get in touch. Nowadays you can do a split with an good and real band from the other side of the world much more easier than back then 20 years before. For sure that took away a lot of the old mysticism and nostalgic trueness, but like i mentioned before besides all this bad things there are also new chances and new possibilities to grow in a good way as a genre, even with this small parts of degeneration.

Where do you see the band heading in the future and what are you trying to achieve through it? What are your main goals?

First of all i'm looking forward to record the new stuff in Austria, Graz and working together with Nino in December this year. The next important step for me is to recreate the Live-Band again and realize the gig-offers again (Yeah, Berlin, i know you missed us last year....).

The band is my diary, so for sure there will be a lot more stories to tell, hopefully with the right people who step into battle on my side. Whatever may come, I will stay until i can't stand anymore. Perdurabo.

September 2018

Let's say you manage to take the band to Worldwide fame (still within the confines of the genre, of course), what would you like to inspire other people with? Or what would you like to have as spearhead: music, image, attitude, message, else?

Matti: I think if that kind of scenario should occur, it would boil down to the fact that even if we don’t take music or ourselves too seriously, we mean serious business. When we write songs, we aim for premium results and on stage, we always give 110 %, no matter what. I think that’s an attitude worth spreading, do what you do, as best you can and never give up! We realise that we are not inventing the wheel, but we create music with respect to our influences and still with the distinguished Wrathrone-label.

You've released a new album this year, and as far as I've seen it is pretty well received. What were your expectations when you entered the studio? Were you confident you did some rad compositions? What would you say it's the best thing about this album?

Matti: Yeah, overall “RoT” has received mainly great feedback, it seems that we’ve delivered a fine album. Of which we were pretty confident as the recordings started.

We did two rounds of pre-production on the songs and really rehearsed them to the core. It was evident that Vili joining the ranks on compositions, gave us a prominent boost. We learned a lot in making of the first album, and this time we had more material, we were able to drop some songs that didn’t work that well and finish with really a tight album. All three songwriters, Lauri, Vili and Pekka did amazing job on the songs and the final touch was made together as we arranged them as a unit.

The album's titled Reflections of Torment, and reading the track titles I'd say it's all quite connected, am I right? What are the lyrics on this album all about? Is it a concept album?

Matti: If my memory serves me right, it was Mikael who thought up the album title after some consideration. And yeah, it really does reflect the theme truly well. That being said, it’s not a concept album, although the same sinister undertone is there in all the lyrics. For this album, I got help with the lyrics from Mikael and Lauri, so there’s more than one lyricist also. But as the title goes, the

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album is filled with murky stories about the evil, corrupt and decadent ways of mankind and of the individual. No lack of ideas on that area, it’s all around you.

You're based in a very small Finnish town, is that the reason the line-up is basically the same since the foundation of Wrathrone? It's 10 years now, how can you stand each other that much, haha? Is the town population (the non-Metal followers) aware of your activity? Do they support you anyhow?

Matti: Well, the line-up hasn’t revolved that much but of the original conception there’s just Lauri and me. Still, Pekka and Mikael have been with us already majority of the bands career and Vili also for some years now. This line-up feels really productive and stable, with the same priorities and so on, so were really strong right now. We just came back from a tour in the Baltic countries and it really is something quite extraordinary that we really enjoy being with ourselves. Same stupid humour and violent drinking habits connects us, I guess! Laitila is a really small town, some of the people know of us for sure but we don’t advertise it that much in our hometown, cause it doesn’t have much point. Nowadays, a majority of the band live in Turku, and that has become more like a hometown for us, counting by the gigs played and so on.

How come you decided to work with Russian Satanath and Italian The Void as labels for this album instead of the local Inverse whom you worked with for your debut? Did you or will you tour abroad in support for this album?

Matti: We were looking for a new promotion value mostly on changing the label. Satanath seemed a good label to work with and they managed to offer us the better deal than some of the other labels we discussed with. It is interesting to see how differently some things are done in different labels, but still makes it work. We were also satisfied with the co-operation with Inverse on our first album and they were involved in Finnish distribution of the new album. We have, and we will tour also abroad in support of RoT. As mentioned earlier, we just finished a four show tour in the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania). This time we did most of the tour with our Estonian friends of Deceitome. The tour was a success, the best we’ve done there, and we’ve been there a few times. Looking good! At the turn of October and November, we are heading for a four show sting to Germany with Mortal’s Path, long time friends too, will be good times!

I saw you're preparing for a vinyl release of this album, too. Please tell us more. Do you think the current vinyl revival is a true one, or is it just for showing off? Will it last?

Matti: I’m really not the person who should be answering this. Considering the fact that almost all the other band members have quite a bad case of vinyl mania themselves, hah, I have ducked that for now! But yeah, it’s a cool thing. As we were discussing the deal for CD and digital release with Satanath, Cimmerian Shade Recordings contacted us and told that they would be interested to release vinyl and tape versions of the album.

And so, combined, we really struck a good deal, getting the album out basically in all the formats! We are excited about that! I think the vinyl thing has climbed for a few years now, and it seems that many of the true, hardcore music lovers have gone over to vinyl. And there are cool points in it, the artwork gets more attention in bigger format and as you have to work more turning the record and stuff, maybe you focus more on the music too. I

hope it will last, I’m one for the physical album, cd or vinyl. These days you need to be on the digital platforms also, but I wouldn’t wish to release music solely on them.

Finland has one of the best Death Metal history from my point of view. How do you see your former and present local Death Metal scene, is there room for improvement or for positive diversification?

Matti: I think certain love for the Finnish old school death metal is the one thing combining our musical tastes that are otherwise quite varied. So yes, I am really proud of the great bands that have risen from Finland. There’s a lot of them old bands re-activating nowadays, and many of them quite successfully, which is nice. During the last few years, a lot of promising new death metal acts have surfaced also, reflecting the old school vibe. Though the number of death metal oriented bands, even on quite local level is considerable, I think we have our own take on the subject and we play it with our own rules.

Sometimes I feel it might mean that you don’t get to the center of the scene but that’s sometimes for the best. We prefer to devour the genre-corpse of death metal from the outside in!

October 2018

Although the band has been around since early 2015, you have just released your debut EP this year.

How come it took so long and how important is for your band to have this material out on vinyl, too?

What about the cassette version, is it actually relevant, or is it just for a few collectors?

We actually had our first demo tape out in 2014!

Purifying Fire though was recorded in the first half of 2017 and released earlier this year as you said. While we did also hit some delays with production and release, we pretty much took let the writing process take as long as it needed to - we prefer to take our time over material rather than just shitting out releases for the sake of it.

Our original plan was just to stick with a vinyl version but when we were approached by Dying Victims Prod about doing a cassette version it was a no-brainer considering the quality of their past releases. And yes, cassettes are still 100% relevant - they’re Cheaper than LPs and way cooler on your shelf than CDs! There were many other bands under this name, but apparently you're the only one still active. Does this matter anyhow to you? I think the name is perfect for the music you do, was it intentional to find a short and easy to remember name for your band?

Correct - when were trying to decide on a name we always wanted something short (Venom...Bathory...Slayer….Discharge...Sodom…….).

We went through a few ideas until one night rehearsing in a dank and mouldy basement in a Soho back alley it came to us. We weren’t aware of any other bands with the same name at the time though, I guess the main one is the disbanded Australian power metal group who I think it’s fair to say weren’t really our thing...

You play Speed Metal, I think a not so common genre nowadays, and although you seem to keep things as traditional as possible, Heavy Metal and even Death Metal influences are allowed to transpire. Do you previously discuss how would you like a track to turn out, or it just happens? What are the most important features of your music (important to you) and why?

I guess our approach is “traditional” as you say in that

we try to let the music write itself rather than getting bogged down with this or that influence.

That said we’ve always tried to avoid being yet another cookie-cutter blackthrashspeedwhatever band, so yes, we draw from Mercyful Fate or Judas Priest as much as we do Possessed or Bathory...maybe that's contradictory? Whatever!

The most important thing to us is that songs have their own character and don’t sound thrown together.

Do you feel more support coming from the local scene, or rather from abroad? have you played live outside of the UK? How does a Dungeon live show looks like?

London has always been good to us but lately we’ve been setting our sites further afield...Last year we toured the UK with our friends Insurgency and in March of this year we did some German and UK dates with Savage Master from Kentucky, USA as well as playing Live Evil Berlin in 2016. Touring Germany was a great experience! We were well looked after the whole way and every show was well attended with enthusiastic crowds - we try to put as much energy into our shows as possible so it’s always great when the audience gives something back. The Weimar and Berlin shows stand out in particular as both were in underground punk/DIY venues which is totally up our Straße.

You're working with multiple labels, is it more important to have multiple labels to work with, or to have one to take care of everything? How important are labels in nowadays equation?

At this moment in time we feel better off doing one off releases with labels like we did with both our demos and the MLP...while there are lots of great labels there are always those that are out for a cynical cash grab and having seen other bands get burned in the past, we feel its best to bide our time until we find the right match instead of getting ripped off or tied into a dodgy contract.

Are you maybe preparing for a full-length album release already, or will you spend some more time promoting this EP? By the way, how happy are you of how it turned out, what's your fave track on it?

As far as the current EP goes - yes we like how it turned out overall, some of these songs go back to our very early days as a band so it’s nice to have them on wax finally. It’s hard to choose a favourite but recently we’ve been opening our live sets with Innocent Evil.

I guess the next step is a full length but we shall see what happens, as mentioned previously we don’t feel the need to follow the typical path of signing up for a multiple album deal and then just putting out records for the sake of it...in any case yes we are busy writing!

October 2018

Presumption has been around for more than a decade now. How do you see your music now compared to what you did first, where's the most progress?

Moot : Well, we first explored different musical styles like funeral doom, heavy doom etc. We were 17-19 years old and we weren't really sure what we were going to do.

So we mixed everything we liked. Now, we have found more our own style of riffs and vocals. In this sense, we can say we have progressed.

How come you started releasing recordings only since 2013 and released your debut album 10 years after the band's foundation? And what changed in and around the band since you started releasing recordings?

Moot: Actually, between 2007 and 2012 we had a little change of line up, I was only the singer and Hippolyte, a very good friend, was the bass player.

Adrien was also alone on the guitar. When Hippolyte left, I replaced him as the bass player/singer and in 2012, Marvin arrived as second guitarist: that's when we felt that line up was complete and it was time to do some recording. From the first EP, we started doing a few concerts all over France and also a bit in other countries. However, our method of composition has not changed: we are all working together on a riff idea to produce a track.

Marvin: I think the band wasn't ready before and

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then there was a major change in our musical style! If you listen to the first EP "From Judgment to the Grave" and the LP "Presumption" it's day and night.

Presumption is not only your band's name, but also your debut album's title. What made you chose this title for your debut and not something different?

Moot: The choice of a first eponymous album is indeed a choice. This album has been presented as a summary of the last 10 years: some song names or riffs are very old songs.

Marvin: Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath on Black Sabbath album or if you prefer Saint Vitus by Saint Vitus on Saint Vitus album (laughs). Presumption is first a theme about justice and we wanted to emphasize this, because it is a recurring theme in the lyrics.

What made you write and sing your lyrics in English and not in French? What are they about?

Moot: In fact, in the first two EPs, some songs were in French. But it is very difficult to make French lyrics sound good (especially in extreme music). Some people do it very well like Barabbas or Misanthrope, but I don’t!

The themes are quite varied: different psychopaths or sociopaths stories, post-apocalyptic themes or even on human madness. In a nutshell, legal affairs, which in my opinion are unforgivable.

You mention Cathedral, Black Sabbath, Triptykon and Down as your major influences, but what do you bring new, of your own to your music, or what would you like to bring new in Doom? Actually would you?

Moot : Yes, we like these bands. These bands actually allowed us to understand that having a band that diversifies its universe in several directions is not a contradiction. I don't know if we bring something to the doom metal universe but we have fun. We don't pretend to change anything.

Marvin : Yes, and many others. Those bands helped us in the search for our musical identity but we don’t want to fall into the "tribute band" profile. OK… when you listen Ancestral Rites, you might think about Tony Iommi's riffs ! Anyways, we don't limit our musical knowledge and influences to Metal, that would be very sad…

The album was released on Sleeping Church Records.

Is it your own label and/or was it created in order to release only Presumption material? How important still is for a band having a label behind a release?

Moot : I created this label with my brother (Presumption drummer) and Aymerick the lead vocalist of Father Merrin (French doom metal band). I had been wanting to do it for a few years and I finally did. Releasing the album on Sleeping Church Records has already raised some funds to be able to release a lot of other things afterwards. For a band, being signed can have many impacts. Being signed can give you more importance, for example, to play in more renowned festivals.

Doom Metal seems to be on a revival, not to say fashion, lately, do you agree? What do you like and what do you dislike about the current state of Doom Metal?

Moot : I started listening to doom in 2004 and it has changed a bit from my “younger” point of view. There was already a rush for fuzz pedals and rare amp heads, but now, it seems to be a rule: this is for me a part of the new fashion doom. What is good is precisely a return to the roots and the fact that some people experience new sounds and ideas properly. However, I feel like many bands sound too similar and it's a bit annoying. Covers, names are also too similar. As a good friend of mine said: “make names by merging "mountain", "witch" with a weed species and you will have succeeded in your stoner/doom way of life!”

Marvin : Doomy Hipster (laughs). The only positive thing is that now Saint Vitus and Pentagram are finally well-known. What I like less in the current scene is this desire for perfect dirty sound, but with a shitty riff.

Doom Metal is often an atmosphere based on three different riffs. But for me, the quality of the riffs is the most important.

written wasn't up to snuff and had to be rewritten and recorded. Recording in itself is a really time-consuming process. There are plenty of outtakes and songs that went nowhere that didn't make it. Also most of the songs on the EP started out as something completely different than their end form, so in a way there are about 50 versions of each EP song that also were discarded.

September 2018

Are the 5 tracks connected one with another, I mean is this some sort of a concept material as a whole?

Why is this EP a "cathartic process of healing wounds"?

Yes, they are connected insofar as they all revolve round the event that gave the band it's name and writing about that event was a way of moving forward.

I'm among the 9 out of 10 people who mispell your name frequently, haha. Tell us how did you come up with this band name, and since we're here, tell us why the band rose out of "betrayal and deceit" as you state in your bio.

The name came partially from me liking fancy words and weird / beautiful looking characters. I'm a sucker for words like loss and any word including the character Æ which is very visually pleasing. This mixed up with the fact that the songs are literally the esthetic output of an act of said betrayal and deceit leading up to a loss gave the band it's name. I'm guessing most (authentic) music comes from experiencing something, usually terrible (such as a loss), and having to vent it.

You released your debut EP, l'Egoisme, recently. I find the compositions excellent, especially since it seems the lyrical part is quite personal, quite deep (am I right here?), but I find the production below the bar the music raised, what do you think?

Thanks for the comment about compositions! I've put a lot of time and work into making the songs flow as a whole and I do listen to and enjoy bands that put a lot of thought into getting the both the riffs and composition right. The lyrics are very personal yes. I find it hard to write lyrics or music about things that are shallow or impersonal. The production is I'd say half-consciously made that way. Everything was recorded out of my living room so no professional studio. Same with mixing and mastering which I did to the best of my abilities. All of this makes it less polished than it could have been in a studio with budget. On the other hand I kind of like lo-fi productions. It gives the music a more organic feel.

Some of my favorite albums have terrible production which only adds to the experience. So a part of me wish the production was better and the other part wants to call it an added experience.

Please tell us about the cover art, what's the link of the cover image with the album title and lyrics, if any?

The album art and title ties well in with the concept of the lyrics and the origins of the band.

Is it a digital only EP, or was it released physically, too? In your opinion, how relevant are physical releases at this day and age?

It's a digital only EP for now. This stems from me living in a spoilt western country where broadband is plentiful and can largely replace putting out CDs. I think CDs were more of a stepping stone towards streaming media, more of a distribution media and less an experience in its own. On the other hand I really really like vinyl. The format forces artists to cull their material due to time restrictions to their (hopefully) best songs and you tend to listen to full albums as opposed to just single songs (it's hard to skip to the next song on a vinyl release). And cassettes are also cool in the same way. It becomes more of a full experience.

Plans for the near future? Maybe a full-length album?

Do you plan on remaining a one man band, or maybe to add members to the line-up?

The plan is to continue to dwell in my cave and compose more songs. Possibly a full length with a tad better production. I think I'd rather start up another side-project playing with others than to add members - I like the ability to tinker and re-arrange and record songs 500 times before they come out right and I think having more onboard would drive them insane with the 'nah, this doesn't work'. But who knows? I've been embarrassingly wrong in the past. Playing live as some point just being one person would also be an awesome and scary thing to do.

September 2018

Talking about this EP, labeling it Melodic Death Metal would be a way to categorize it, but it wouldn't describe all what's happening on it. I found some Doom Death, and even some Post Metal influences thrown inthere, so how would you describe your music?

Oh, I really like simple labels. If a band sports some long or obscure category label then I instantly think someone is trying to hard. So Melodic Death Metal I think fits the bill enough. I was thinking of throwing Epic in there at one point but that doesn't really mean anything and will sound pretentious so I didn't. I was aiming for music that has lots of harmonies and melodies, have a sting of melancholy and include lots of ambient (i e epic) parts.

But the label Epic Ambient Harmonic Melodic Melancholic Death Doom Metal sounds like I'm trying to hard.

The band has a long history behind (more than a decade), yet your debut album was released only last year. Why did it take so long?

We recorded a demo in 08’ and followed up with or EP “The World Is…” in 2012. Then in 2015 we recorded and released a single “The Last Step”. The intention was to follow up with the full release shortly after, and at that time line up changes and funds hindered us moving forward. So, as you can see nothing has moved along very quick for us, that may be due to our “local band” mindset, but that way of thinking is quickly changing.

It took you 3 years to complete l'Egoisme, why so long?

Were there other tracks that were discarded and didn't end up being recorded after all, or these 5 are all it is?

Besides an otherwise hectic life and the writing and recording happened in bursts - the full story is that it took about 1 year to write 5 songs.

Then another year to set up and get good enough at recording myself.

Then another year to realize that 3 out of the 5 songs

Inanimatum was recorded at Villain Recording by Byron Filson, who also worked with Vektor among others. How was it? I find the production to be professional and solid yet pushing towards an organic sound, as raw as possible, what do you think?

Working with Byron is awesome! In Arizona he is hailed as the metal master when it comes to recording.

This was our second time working with Bryon, he was also the engineer on the “The World Is…” EP. We are a live band through and through, and that raw organic sound was exactly what we were going for. As mentioned previously this album was a long time coming and our fans have heard some of the songs on the album performed live for years, so

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we knew that capturing the sound of our live performance was going to be key.

A band with a music like yours has chances of becoming a job, especially in the States, yet I'm sure it requires a ton of sacrifices and investments. How do you see this road to fame? Is it possible for Strip the Soul to "make it"?

This is a question that really hits home with Strip The Soul right now. You are correct, sacrifice and investments are key. The release of this album has attracted some of the resources that will be necessary to pursue the path of making a living playing music should we chose to do so moving forward. Now its up to us to put the work in and let the world know we are dedicated musicians with something to prove.

In the year since its release, how were the reactions for Inanimatum? What could have been done better and what are you most proud of on it? What's your fave track on it and why? Do you think the album got the attention it deserved?

Locally the reactions have been amazing, the recordings are everything we could have hoped for. The songs on the album are special to us for many reasons and we are getting that feeling back from the fans. The album got the attention in relation the effort we put in, but we have learned many things that we want to do different regarding the promotion aspects moving forward with our next release. For me it’s hard to pick a favorite track on the album, but if I had to chose one it would be Desist.

This song is very personal, and I was really struggling with some stuff in my life when the song was written and up to recording the album. Desist evokes a ton of emotion and I really enjoy playing it live.

What do you enjoy most on playing live? What about touring, have you done long tours so far? Is this only for fun, or do you get more from it (I'm not necessarily referring to finances here)?

Playing live is the end all be all for me as a musician. It’s what always blew me away growing up as a young metal fan. The feeling on stage and the energy that a crowd can give you is a feeling second to none. We have only played a handful of shows out of town, but we see touring becoming a larger part of our future. This is for fun, and that really is the most important aspect of being in a band for us, having FUN! That’s the way it started and that’s how we plan to continue, having fun. Playing metal music is a release, a form of therapy, and a brotherhood for us.

I guess before being Metal musicians, you're also Metal fans, so what's the latest music (be it physical or digital) you bought? Do you prefer spending money on music, or on merch? How do you see your fans' support taking action apart from the superfluous likes on social media?

I am, and we are old school metal fans, and my music purchasing habits reflect that. The last album I bought for myself was the new Morbid Angel “Kingdoms Disdained”. I ordered a hard copy, for me I still love having a physical product that I can read and enjoy just as I did in the past. I will spend my money on both music and merchandise, I never pass up a chance to get a hold of a new band-T-shirt. Our fans have become friends and vice versa. Support comes in many forms. We have a tight music scene in Phoenix and it always seems someone is willing to throw you support when you need it. We are super fortunate to have a loyal crew and fan base that make playing music enjoyable.

September 2018

REVIEWS - REVIEWS - REVIEWS ADRAGARD (Italy) - From the Burning Mist Perkun - 2018 Black It seems Abruzzo based Adragard was founded back in 1997 by Lord Adragard and didn't become a duo until 2009 when Niferon joined him and together released their debut fulllength album. Since last year two more members were added to the group and so Adragard became a full line-up band hopefully ready for live shows. This is their second album, made of 7 tracks and clocking a bit over half an hour of playing time, recorded as a quartet. The good thing about it is the organic, totally honest sounding production of this album, but the band thing are the actual compositions, way too generic and uninteresting to this day and age. until the 5th track there's virtually nothing to enjoy, all riffs are generic and bring nothing new or even surprising to the table, the rhythm is slow and agonizing, and the vocals are in no way menacing or even evil sounding. The fifth and sixth tracks are the most complex (if I can say so), with more creativity, but still in the mediocre level, and the 7th track is a melodic outro made on semi-acoustic guitar and vocals, by far the best thing on this album. Unfortunately this album didn't convince me at all, but you should give it a listen and make your own mind, maybe it's just me. 5

for real this will only be an extra gift which will filter the "untrue" out. Archemoron quite deserve some true fans, they've been around for almost 2 decades now and this is their fourth full-length album (third under this moniker) and judging by how good it is, I'd say they've reached their maturity peak as a band, as composers.

We're offered here 10 tracks in a bit over 80 minutes, orbiting around Black Metal, and more specifically Epic Black Metal.

The compositions are aired, well-thought and well layered, it's like they took their time, not rushing anything, keeping things exactly how they wanted them to be; there's a place for fast paced uncompromising Black Metal, another for more Doomy moments, traditional Hard Heavy Metal manifests itself through some rad guitar leads and solos, there's plenty of melody all over, but there's also plenty of solemn, commanding passages that transpire respect for the core of this genre.

I'd say Archemoron should deserve more attention from all Black Metal fans, but especially from those into that specific type of Greek Black Metal, they certainly bring that Greek flavour forward. I have one single problem with this release, and that is the last track, Those of the Suffering, which is so repetitive that at my first audition I had to skip a few minutes, and at my second audition I skipped it almost completely; maybe I didn't get the idea behind it, but I find the rest of the album way above and beyond this composition.

8.5

ARCHITECT OF AGGRESSIVE DISEASE MUTILATOR (Poland) - The (Sweden) - Det Eerie Glow of djävlanästet Darkness Viceral Vomit - The End of Time 2018 - Punk 2017 - Black Black The second full-length album from Polish Not sure how this is considered a full- Architect of Desease comes 4 years after length album since it features indeed 8 their debut was released and features 8 new tracks, but clocks only 18 minutes of tracks for a total duration of 45 minutes, so playing time... The band's debut album, there's plenty of stuff to get your teeth into.

Terror, Incest and Death from 2014, The band plays and abrasive, aggressive featured 14 tracks with a total playing time and offensive type of Black Metal but there of over half an hour. Anyway, being are also plenty of influences thrown inconsidered an album, this is the second there this time, and as varied as opus from Swedish duo Aggressive Progressive or Death Metal, Post-Metal or Mutilator, a deeply old-school oriented Thrash, their music is more open to group not only in what concerns its music experimentation than one might think at (primitive, aggressive Punk Black Metal) first, and the members' technical skills and production (organic and rough), but definitely allow them to experiment in a also when it comes to discography style professional, progressive way. Actually the (plenty of demos release) and discography instrumental part of this album is pretty formats (many tapes, even this album is impressive, if you'll give it a chance and release on tape limited to 100 copies). The spend a few spins on it, you'll discover 8 tracks featured here are very different plenty of harmonies you actually haven't one from another, from very Punk oriented heard before or better said haven't heard like the title tracks and the closing track, to played in this matter or in this particular visceral Black Metal like the 6th and 7th mix. The problem comes with the vocal tracks that would make Shining pale (the part, at least for me it didn't to no good to vocals made me think of Shining's Niklas, this album, if at first I found them good, nothing else), to the sinister keyboard opening and maintaining a decaying, interludes that will remind you of the mute cavernous, horrifying atmosphere, horror classic movies like Nosferatu. Lo-fi advancing deep into this album I found Punk Black Metal with devastating attitude, them taking way too much space, more recommended! 7.5 than they should, to a point I found them quite annoying. In my opinion, if the vocals would have been better calculated this album could have made my day, this way after a spin I have to take a break. 7 ARCHEMORON (Greece) - Year of the Harvester Bowel of Noise - 2018 - Black A double album seems like a suicidal attempt nowadays when we allow less and less time for music audition, when all is about speed and the lack of time, but then again thinking straight if one is interested

ASSUMPTION (Italy) - Absconditus Everlasting Spew - 2018 - Funeral Doom Death The beginning of this album was a big surprise, who would ever think a label specialized on Tech and Brutal Death would release a Funeral Doom band's material, but soon enough Assumption's

debut album turns into a putrid, obscure type of old-school Doom Death Metal mostly mid-paced but with it's fair share of fast paced rhythms, too. Yes, the main rhythm of this debut is at snail's pace, obvious for a Funeral Doom release, but the great advantage of this duo is they manage to keep things interesting all throughout these three long tracks (total playing time 36 minutes), they even include a flute / keys / synths passage on the second track that will take your mind to a proper opera act, but from my point of view this sounds somehow unfinished, it feels like raising your interest to a peak where it continues with the same Doom Death a bit forced, a bit abrupt, like the band had no more ideas where to take things further with the opera thing.

Anyway, all in all Absconditus is above expectations, a complex, atmospheric, oppressive piece of Funeral Doom Death that deserves half an hour of your precious time. 8 BEFOULED (Norway) Refuse to Rot Great Dane - 2018 - Death If a mix between Dismember and At The Gates sounds interesting, you might give this band's debut album a chance. Befouled are from Norway, but their music is heavily inspired and influenced by oldschool Swedish Death Metal, and apart that crunchy guitar sound that's a trademark for it, and the fact that Tomas Skogsberg mixed and mastered it, Befouled's debut album offers some serious Swedish Death Metal compositions combining Groovy Death Metal or Death'n'Roll, with that Epic, almost melodic Death lead by catchy guitar lines, and with screaming vocals a la Tomas Lindberg seconded by some growling vocals here and there. 12 tracks in almost 40 minutes of playing time, Refuse to Rot sounds not only promising for a new band, but also convincing, it's clear that we're dealing here with a bunch of musicians that know what they are after.

I'd say they only need to work on delivering catchier choruses, something kids can grab to, and we're off to a memorable band here. 8 BLOOD RED FOG (Finland) Thanatotic Supremacy Deviant - 2018 Black Apparently this fourth full-length album from Finland's Blood Red Throne was supposed to be released at least a year earlier, but they've been through some problems with Saturnal Records so they've decided to switch to German Devian Records which finally released this material composed an recorded between 2013 and 2017, so it was probably intended as a quick followup to 2014's On Death's Wings. The 6 tracks featured here are indeed quite different one from another, but together they form an excellent whole, a fantastic discharge of Black Metal a la '90's, influenced by both the Finnish and the Norwegian scenes, quite analog sounding but also with some touches of synths here and there, with plenty of melody on guitar leads and solos, technical and expressive to the bone, a very good material. The best part of it are the guitar riffs, not simple riffs but complex, curdled and able to build and transmit actual states of mind; you'd feel like they'd be enough to tell the whole story even without reading the lyrics, and

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in my book that's good music I tell you.

Melancholy blends with extreme fury and speed, devastating energy intertwines with despair to a point you'll be totally hooked.

One of the best Black Metal releases of the year so far! 9 BUILDING CHAOS (Greece) - Bourbon Times Independent - 2017 - Blues Stoner Sludge Hey, this is something different, that's for sure! Building Chaos hail from Greece, but their music is heavily inspired by US Country / Blues even though they are as Metal as it gets. This is their debut fulllength album, a 12 tracks effort clocking 50 minutes; just imagine a mix of Blues and Country with Stoner, Sludge, Thrash and Southern Groove Metal and the image on the cover gives you an impression on how it sounds like: dusty, groovy, liquorbased (bourbon better said) and fun. A fun material with plenty to offer, plenty of surprises and cool moments to enjoy during its 50 minutes, but unfortunately with a not so good production from my point of view, or at least the drum programming is close to awful, at times it gets really annoying. With a solid, powerful rhythms section this could have been a blast, but in its current form you can only enjoy the good compositions, clever ideas and tasty combination of such different music styles. Definitely a band to take into consideration and follow, but if I were them I'd try to rerecord at least the drums on this material. As composers and musicians they seem to have good talent and skills, so there's plenty of interesting things to expect from this combo. 6

COLOSSO (Portugal) - Rebirth Lusitanian Music - 2018 - Progressive Death First time I hear about this Portugal based band although it was founded back in 2011 and this is already the fourth full-length album produced under this moniker, yet all of them are independently released so thins might explain a few things. Up until last year Colosso was a full line-up band featuring 5 members, but at the moment it seems it's either a one man band of Max Tome, the founding member, or a duo if drummer Emidio Alexandre is still around (and he should be as he only joined in 2017...). This new material is made of 14 tracks and clocks 35 minutes of playing time, but the 14 tracks are actually only 7 but featured in both instrumental version and with the vocal part; featuring only their final version, with vocals, would have been awkward to name this an album, and still it's awkward naming it that way, but there are no rules anymore anyway. Talking about the music on it, I'd say it's a Progressive Death Metal with occasional Industrial touches, constructing a massive, dense and colossal atmosphere, so from this point of view the band's name is spot on. The production is good but I find it a bit muddy, almost chaotic at times. The growling vocals are excellent enhancing that massive sound impression Colosso's music gives you; I don't like the clean vocals though, I like the idea and the complexity they give to the overall music, but I don't particularly enjoy the final outcome, on the other hand I think the addition of Black Metal shrieks and moans (DSBM like) is an excellent addition. All in all as a general impression I'd say it sounds like a project in formation, experimenting with everything and in

search for its own way, and it sounds promising indeed. 7 CONVICTIVE (Germany) Schemen STF 2018 - Black Although the band formed in 2012 recently announced their split with Jalina, the female vocalist who appears on this debut album, and a member of the band for the past 4 years, Convictive seems to be determined to move further and reinvent itself as a group while preparing to announce the new vocalist; I'm curious if we'll deal with another female vocal or a male one as they had during the first 2 years of activity. Anyway, the thing is Jalina did a fantastic job on this debut album, their vocals are absolutely ravaging, her force and visceral approach are spot on bringing the band a step further than they would have been with another vocal, at least that's the impression I get after spinning this CD for a few times. The instrumental work on this album is also very good, traditional Black Metal mostly fast paced, based on pounding and unrelenting drums and a subtle bass that rises upfront at times too, but the guitar work is the real flesh of this organism they created here, combining epic, melodic leads with easy flowing riffs that give personality to each track. I'd say this is a combination of traditional second wave Black Metal with Epic / Melodic Black Metal all with very sharp edges brought by Jalina's abrasive vocals, especially since the lyrics are in German and we all know how sharp this language sounds on Black Metal. A very good debut album, way better than what one would expect from a band with such a non-Black Metal sounding name, hope their new vocalist will rise to the challenge as it's a serious one. 9

CONVOCATION (Finland) - Scars Across Everlasting Spew 2018 - Doom Death Duo from the capital of Finland, Helsinki, made of members from Desolate Shrine and Dark Buddha Rising, well known names for followers of the underground Doom movement, Convocation presents itself to the audience with a debut album made of only 4 tracks but with a total duration of 50 minutes, quite normal for Doom, right? We're dealing here with an oppressive, depressive form of Doom Death with Funeral Doom influence trail that somehow portrayed itself in my mind as a mortuary carriage dragged by lazy horses, in the night, on a Summer storm (probably because it rains outside at the moment and I can hear the thunders from time to time). Grief, despair, melancholy, even hope at times are all emotions you'll feel here, and spin for a few times the album will reveal more and more interesting elements beside the generic rhythms and trades of Doom Death Metal, namely '70's inspired background keys, DSBM like desperate screams here and there, some very cool clean vocals choirs, some Traditional Doom Metal riffs, and some leads that took my mind to the '90's Doom Death. An interesting debut that reminds of Hooded Menace the most, even though it is far from being a copycat.

8.5

Fifth studio album from Italy's Coram Lethe, 8 tracks clocking 45 minutes of Death Metal to the bone. Although I'm not impressed by the album cover artwork (it didn't catch my attention at all, sory to the guy who painted it...), and even less impressed by the band's logo (usually I have no comments on a band's logo, but this one I don't like at all), these guys as a band certainly look like a Death Metal band, like a band you'd want to be a fan of, especially if you're a '90's teen like me, the band picture presents a solid, serious lineup, one capable of delivering some massive Death Metal music. And to my delight they are actually doing it, the music on In Absence sounds old-school (end '90's - beginning '00's) Death Metal with good, clear production, oppressive atmosphere, some sinister riffs here and there, alongside some progressive and melodic riffs and leads, a visceral vocal the sounds comprehensive enough to let you follow the lyrics, and a rhythm section that will make you say "now this is real Death Metal!". It's not an innovative or groundbreaking material, but it's a very well structured and delivered piece of Metal, professionally produced, as diverse and surprising as it should be, and offering a fine balance between melody, brutality and technical experimentation. Not sure how much this music will appeal to the new generation, but to the '90's Death Metal teens this will be a blast... now let me spin it again and again for the rest of the day! 8 CRYPTIC GRAVE (France) Cryptic Grave Great Dane - 2018 - Death Such a band name should certainly front a Death Metal band, right?

Well this is confirmed by this debut EP's front cover (Chris Moyen work) and ultimately by the band's music: old-school Death Metal clearly reminding the listeners of the good old Obituary, Morgoth and even Asphyx to a certain degree, but definitely a mix of the first two, especially since the vocals are close to Tardy's. The 4 tracks (+ into and outro) material was initially released by the band in 2017 and picked up this year by Great Dane Records for the CD treatment. The music is built on quite simple and unpretentious structures: mid-tempo catchy guitar riffs supported by heavy drumming, intense bass lines and killer long solos here and there, skillfully lead by the impressive ferocious vocals of Richard, a guy who also sings in Orcrist.

For this day and age this music might be less impressive then it was 3 decades ago, but for sure it sounds as putrid and horrifying as back then, so old-school fanatics will certainly enjoy it, and the band has actually a good potential in delivering some tasty stuff for the future, which is something Great Dane might be betting on. 7.5 CZORT (Poland) Czarna ewangelia Under the Sign of Garazel - 2018

- Black Nowadays we're used to bands popping out of nowhere every-time, so this new mysterious Polish Black Metal band's appearance won't be as shocking as one might expect, especially since it seems CORAM they don't perform live either, the line-up is LETHE (Italy) - not even known. But in the end what In Absence counts is what they produce in terms of Buil2Kill - 2018 - Progressive Death music, and what I have here is their debut album, an 8 tracks material clocking

almost 50 minutes of old-school organic Black Metal. Although at first sight (audition) one might feel the music is quite abrasive and difficult to penetrate, it actually has more in it than simple simulation of old-school patterns, the modern Black Metal arrangements have had an important role in Czort's music, too, without watering down that old-school feeling though. An abrasive and evil material indeed, but quite aired and with plenty of hooks to become interesting for a wider audience, not only for the die-hard maniacs. Since the lyrics are all in Polish, I have no idea what they are about, but judging from the artwork accompanying this CD, I'd say they all revolve around the Death topic, pretty fair for this music. An interesting new name produced by the Polish Black Metal scene, check them out!

8 DEADLY CARNAGE (Italy) Through the Void, Above the Suns ATMF - 2018 - Doom Black Italian Deadly Carnage continue their journey started back in 2005 with this fourth studio album, a 9 tracks effort clocking 45 minutes of playing time, and after briefly going through their previous material I can say this is clearly their most curdled, most carefully composed and executed album to date, no doubt about that. Experimentation is part of the story here as the band started to have more and more influences from Atmospheric, Post and from the so-called Blackgaze styles allowing itself to become more accessible to a wider audience I'd say, not that they were ever a brutal / traditional Black Metal type of band, but still, their music had some pretty rough edges in the past. The production is better, or better said I couldn't find any problems with it, I found it damn perfect for this music even though the band might think something else after a while (the musicians always do as time passes by). The compositions are aired, smooth, presenting walls after walls of heavy drumming (very good performance), expressive guitar lines, subtle but supportive bass, and a vocal part that offers a wide range of tonalities with the clean vocals as definite highlight, very much improved since the last album but still in the same territory blending desperate Black Metal shrieks and screams with Post Rock / Metal melodic soothing voices. From my point of view this is an almost perfect album, with even a hit, the excellent Divide that is also presented with a video, go check it out on YouTube, Deadly Carnage are shaping themselves a pretty solid path, hope they'll have the strenght to continue and even improve. 9

DEFENESTRATION (France) - Gutter Perdition XenoKorp - 2018 - Death I think we're witnessing a certain revival of Death Metal lately, but a revival of the old, dusty, ugly and sinister kind of Death Metal rather than the technical, as complex as possible Death Metal, and this might be a response to the nowadays over-technical and over-produced music in all areas, even in modern Death Metal. Defenestration, beside the kick-ass old-school band name, offers exactly that, a fast paced (but not too fast though, even incorporating some midtempo passages at times), brutal and sick music, with a certain degree of Thrash

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Metal influences as well, building on atmospheres rather than trying the impossible on the technical side, but don't get me wrong, these guys still deliver some intricate compositions, nothing simple or easily digestible, yet all it's very catchy and memorable. It's great the growling yet comprehensive vocals are so powerful that they manage to perfectly compliment an excellently produced instrumental part so that the overall result is so impressive and infectious you'll be determined to spin it again and again. And if the band members look as menacing as their music sounds, I think we have a winner here, this debut EP definitely presents us a fine new Death Metal name coming out of the nowadays Black Metal lead France, such bands might turn kids to Death Metal again... 9 DEMERSAL (Denmark) - To Mend a Yellow Wound Red Truth - 2017 - Blackened Hardcore What? A combination of Black Metal and Hardcore? Is this even possible? At least that's what Dannish Demersal are trying to produce here and I have to be honest and admit I was pretty suspicious before giving it a spin. But I had a blast giving it a few listens, it's actually based in Black Metal (a few riffs and rhythms are dark and evil a la Black Metal scene) and Hardcore (there are plenty of groovy rhythms and there's also that raw, violent energy from Hardcore), but it's developed towards the Post scene of nowadays, with both Post Black Metal and Post Hardcore elements and I guess the screams come straight from a Metalcore background, so it's way different than I initially thought it would be, but it's definitely interesting, I'd better label it as Blackened Post Hardcore, give it a spin even if only to listen to something new, you might have a surprise like I had.

7.5

DEMONIFICATION (Singapore) Obey the Antichrist Narcoleptica - 2017 - Blackened Thrash Founded back in 1997 under a different name (Disarray), Demonification activates under the current moniker since 1999, so we're dealing here with a true veteran of the Singapore Extreme Metal scene even if between 2004 and 2011 the band was on a hiatus. Obey the Antichrist is their fourth full-length album, released in three different ways, one by the band themselves, one by a label called Love Has Been Taken from Us in only 13 copies (wtf is that?), and the one I have for a review, a 300 limited CD edition by Narcoleptica. This one has also an extra track, a cover of Sodom's Outbreak of Evil, beside the 8 own songs, so you can guess what music they play: fast, dirty, old-school, simple and straight-forward type of Blackened Thrash Metal, nothing original but played with passion and quite catchy I can say, following patterns of the genre that have already proven to be successful. I don't like the vocals though, there's nothing impressive or menacing about this type of screams in my opinion, they are more like yells of fear than screams capable of inducing fear, but this is my personal opinion though, I know there are plenty of bands using this timbre. The instrumental part is quite simplistic, there's nothing too fancy and I'm sure they don't intend to change or bring anything new into this genre, they just like to play it and do a good job offering an energetic, entertaining, fun type of old-school Black Thrash. What I like the most about it are the guitar solos and the organic production, good choice!

They should be great on live shows where genres, too. After spinning it a few times I'm sure they manage to raise hell. 6 I'm still not sure if I like it or dislike it, I guess it's quite in the middle for me, it DEVICE (Brazil) - Godless didn't impress me with anything, but on the Narcoleptica - other hand all here is done tih good taste, 2018 - Death with perfect precision, and from a technical What a strange point of view I don't see what one could name for a Death ask for more. The problem is it doesn't Metal band, I was actually expecting them stand out from the crowd of similar to be some sort of a Groove Metal band or releases, I'm sure there will be plenty of the likes, but definitely not Death Metal. fans of this genre who will love it, and I The band ws founded back in 2004 but so won't blame them one bit, we're dealing far their discography is quite poor with with a professional sounding Melodic only an EP and a full-length album Death Metal, it's just that for me it didn't released prior to this new EP, Godless. do much, so obviously I'd recommend you Compared to the album the band's music to check it and make your own mind on it. lost its Thrash Metal component, they've 6 decided to focus on more straight-forward Death Metal compositions it seems, EMERALD SUN traditional Death Metal that is, fast paced (Greece) - Under and brutal, based on a serious amount of the Curse of Silence riffs, quite varied and interesting, avoiding Fastball - 2018 - Power the routine. 3 new tracks plus a cover of a To tell you the truth I haven't had the Ratos de Porao track, clocking almost 20 chance to listen to a lot of new Power minutes make a good audition for classic Metal this year so I don't know how Death metal maniacs, especially for fans of healthy this scene still is (remember the Vital Remains or Hate Eternal. The band change of the century's Power Metal has some serious potential of delivering boom?), but I tell you we've got a proud dark, oppressive, expressive Death Metal flag bearer right here, the Greek Emerald so keep an eye on them, hopefully a new Sun, a Thessaloniki six-piece founded back album is about to be released soon. 8 in 1998, that reached with Under the Curse of Silence their fifth album milestone. This DEVILGROTH experience is obvious when you start (Russia) - Songs listening to this album, it is so well curdled of the Polar Night and at the same time so diverse that only Narcoleptica / experienced musicians could come up with More Hate - 2018 - Black something like this. I'd compare this This material was recorded as a duo, with material to a clash between Hammerfall, Celestial helping on drums and Aarsland Helloween, Manowar and even Gamma doing all the rest, but since then Celestial Ray, offering something for everyone, was forced to leave the band because of from fast, headbanging songs to anthemsome serious health problems, so like, up-lifting tracks to raise your fists in Devilgroth continues as a one man band. the air, to melodic compositions leaving This new material features 6 long tracks space to long, intricate, catchy guitar solos (one of their is a Ildjarn cover) clocking 43 and leads (twin guitars on multiple layers), minutes of playing time, so I'm not sure and even a ballad song to top things up. why it's listed as a compilation on Metal The lyrical section is as well very varied, Archives, I have no additional info on this, complementing the music, and the from my point of view this could even be a production is absolutely faultless, so all in new full-length album. Since the 2015 all we've got a winner here, a band that Landschaft album, and since their Black will make your day if you're into Power Metal video documentary (search for it on Metal, I have no doubt about it. Almost YouTube), Devilgroth started to be more perfect! If you decide to give it a chance and more active and important in the please listen it start to finish, it will give underground Black Metal scene, and their you a better perspective, just choosing a latest 2 albums, Morena from 2016 and track out of the 12 featured here (actually Ivan Grozny from 2017, got some pretty 11, but one has both English and Spanish good attention. This new material sung versions) won't it any justice. 9 continues the same path, Raw Black Metal with rough, fuzzy shrieks, intense and at ENGULF (USA) times chaotic drumming and a good Subsumed display of both aggression and melancholy Atrocities on guitar work; brutal and razor-sharp Everlasting Spew Black Metal yet containing its fair share of - 2017 - Death melody; a somehow sinister, ice-cold One man band from atmosphere that screams Siberia, yet I feel New Jersey presenting us here 2 tracks there's the need for some more Siberia (less than 10 minutes in length) initially ethnic influences in Devilgroth's music to intended to be released by a debut demo in be really a successful project. The future 2015, a fact that never happened, so they looks good for this band, although are now making it as a debut EP released confronted with line-up problems. 7.5 on Everlasting Spew, for sure a label that sees definite potential in Hal Microutsicos DISEASE and his music. Influenced by the masters of ILLUSION intricate Death Metal, Morbid Angel and (Italy) - After Hate Eternal, Engulf's lyrical side reminds the Storm more of the Nocturnus direction, a sci-fi, Buil2Kill - 2018 - Melodic Death cosmical orientation. The massive guitar The Bologna based band was founded back work built in different multiple layers is in 2006 and 5 years later released their supported by a complex drumming debut album; here we have their second (programmed but sounding excellent), a studio full-length, 7 years distance from powerful even brutal bass line and a hoarse, their debut, so it's either the band relies ferocious vocal, so that the end result is more on playing live, or the band is more a both old-school sounding and modern alike, weekend hobby and their daily jobs don't I think this will appeal to both old-farts allow much more, or they were simply not like me and teens without problems. Too that inspired in the meantime in order to bad there are only 2 tracks here and the 8 come up with more material. Anyway, and a half minutes are quickly gone, but we're treated here with 8 tracks (half an this will only make the album more hour) of Melodic Death Metal inspired by expected. Check this out and keep this the Gothenburg school, but with plenty of band name in mind. 8.5 ideas and influences from other modern

ENOQUIAN (Argentina) - Llamas de gloria primera Satanath / Morbid Skull - 2018 - Black I have no info on this band's line-up, so actually I have no idea if this is a one-manband or a full line-up act, but certain is the band was started in 2015 and this is its debut studio album, an 8 tracks effoct clocking 40 minutes of old-school Black Metal. To me their music reminds of Peruvian Goat Semen's initial works, maybe less bestial and with a heavier influence from Death and Thrash Metal.

There's a lot of raw energy emanated from and on these 8 tracks, but after a couple of spins I can say I miss the surprising element from their music, there's not much to capture your interest in terms of originality, yet the band points on delivering brute power with an evil, dark atmosphere surrounding it all. The production is far from being polished, but fits this music just perfectly, the mix is spot on, and the overall result is more than acceptable. The vocals, brutal and abrasive, are maybe pushed too in front in the mix and after a while they tend to capture the complete attention, not sure how good is that for Enoquian as a bit more variation in vocals would have been a good addition, too. All in all a debut that presents this young band to the fanatics of brutal and traditional Black Metal, a capable band with definite potential. 7 ENTERING POLARIS (Belgium) Godseed Freya - 2018 - Progressive Power This project seems to be the birthchild of Tom Tas, the mastermind taking care of all compositions and guitars, helped by Vincent Van Kerckhove on drums, and on this debut album with the valuable support of a ton of guest vocalists, one more known than the other. Godseed is the debut album of Entering Polaris, although the project seems to have been activated back in 2014, but an album like this, with all these guests, certainly takes a lot of time to get together. The music here is a mix of Progressive Metal with Hard Rock, Heavy Metal and Power Metal but very open to influences and certainly not confined to these genres, highly melodic and deeply technical, based on the titanic guitar work Tom put into it. Although the general impression is of a light, serene material, there's plenty of heavy, traditional Metal in it so you'll never feel there's too much melody, or too much of anything to be more precise, and the fact that every track has another vocalist (from Soilwork, Angra / Rhapsody, Therion, Balance of Power and others) takes them to their own, unique direction; I should mention that these vocalists not just took place on it in a hurry, they all performed their best, they are all notable versions of themselves. A very impressive album, not sure if Tom will ever be able to top it on a followup, but in the meantime I suggest you give it a spin, it's a piece of art! 10 EVIL NERFAL (Colombia) - Bellum Est Pater Omnium Grimm / Morbid Skull - 2018 Black The truth is I haven't heard in quite a long time an album (or a demo, EP, whatever) starting out with a classic music intro; Colombian Evil Nerfal used classic music for both the intro and the outro of this second album of theirs, the intro is Beethoven's Coriolan, well, a part of it, and the outro a part of Egmont by the same composer. Unfortunately both cuts end very abruptly, there's not even a simple fade out used, they just cut parts of those areas and thrown them onto their album, a

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very unsuccessful idea from my point of view, not to mention that if you like classical music too after this intro you'll be tempted to leave Evil Nerfal's music for a new audition of Beethoven's masterpieces.

The Colombians offer a quite raw, unpolished form of Black Metal, 8 tracks (plus the already mentioned intro and outro) clocking 40 minutes of playing time. The production is far from being top notch, but at least in allows the listener to distinguish and enjoy each instrument in part.

Traditional Black Metal with occasional influences from other genres like Heavy Metal or Death Metal, that to me reminds of the incipient Black Metal scene in Greece, even the production reminds me of it now that I think of it better, and the semi-acoustic melodic guitar solos and leads are on the same path as well. If you're a fan of classical Greek and South American Black Metal and you're used to a rougher, dirtier production this material may offer some nice surprises, but if you're in search of the next star fo the "mainstream" of the genre look elsewhere.

7

EXCOMMUNICATED (USA) - Death Devout Satanath / Metallic Media - 2018 - Death Oh, cool, a CD full of nice surprises starting from the band's line-up which features drummer Mike Heller from Fear Factory, Raven or Malignancy among others, and ending with the composition of the new material: all tracks, or most of them to be precise, are cover versions of some of the best Death Metal classic tracks spawned at the end of the '80's - early / mid '90's. Chad's (Excommunicated's vocalist) story featured in the CD booklet explains it all and is such a fine proof of Death Metal devotion most of us who lived those days will get nice memories reading it. This was intended to be a cover of Morgoth's Cursed album in its entirety, but it ended up featuring 16 covers of tracks from such bands as: Napalm Death, Grave, Morbid Angel, Deicide, Obituary, Bokt Thrower, Cannibal Corpse and others, all fantastic gifts for OSDM fanatics, it even features a guitar solo by James Murphy on the Obituary's Intoxicated cover version.

Beside the Death Metal covers the album features a couple of Horror Ambient inserts by Cernunnos from HĂŚresiarchs Of Dis and two covers of non Death Metal artists Anal Cunt and Samhain which I don't know and don't understand the purpose of. Anyway, the band states that a followup album with other Death Metal classics is possible in the future and I hope they'll do more, and also that it's possible they'll go for a Black Metal classics, too.

Cool, recommended material, a nice tribute to the gods of Death Metal.

FLAGELLUM DEI (Portugal) Lord Diabolus Throne Lusitanian Music - 2017 - Black The fifth studio album from these veterans of the Lusitanian Black Metal scene was recorded between 2014 and 2016 and released at the end of 2017, quite strange since in the meantime another album was rleased, Diabolis Enim et Alii Deamones in mid 2016, which means they either had a lot of material they didn't want to lose, or they were carefully planning their next steps and maybe there's another album in works/recording session as we "speak". Lord Diabolus Throne is made of 7 tracks, 6 of their own and a cover of Sarcofago's I.N.R.I. for a total duration of

36 minutes. It starts with fast, whirlwindlike drum patterns and evil guitar riffs so it induces a feeling you're about to listen to an unrelenting material, but by the middle of it heavy, dense and oppressive atmosphere seems to take over the speed driven compositions and we get a Doom influenced, almost ritualistic type of Black Metal to give the whole a bit more substance and from my point of view to reach that level of evilness the band seems to intent to push towards the listener.

Actually looking at it as a whole there's a good balance between the fast, uncompromising Black Metal parts and the doomy, slower, oppressive passages, and I find the almost 7 minutes long keyboards outro a good reprise to link this album with their next one. Bottom line we're dealing here with Norwegian-inspired ('90's type) Black Metal without much originality but with plenty of attitude and a fierce, thrilling atmosphere so it's well worth a chance. 7 FORSAKEN DREAMS (Greece) Shadows of the Past Narcoleptica - 2018 - Doom Death I seriously thought this was a compilation of old tracks, or a re-relase of an old album, but it turns out this is actually the debut album by Greek trio Forsaken Dreams, a young band founded in 2014 by some rather young musicians (judging from their pictures), so it has nothing to do with old recordings after all. This album has the production, atmosphere, sound, song structures and genre orientation of what we were used to back in the mid '90's, Melodic Doom Death Metal with a mix of slow, mid-tempo and fast rhythms, melodic inserts coming from the guitar harmonics, a rather stale but solid sounding drumming, a buried, barely distinguishable bass line, atmospheric keyboards in the background and raspy vocals supported from time to time by clean vocals, it's all following the patterns of the genre back in the '90's. The production is foggy, somehow dreamy but at the same time abrasive and underground that will make this material fit mainly for nostalgics of the period (like I am), but quite inaccessible for the new generation, or at least that's what I think. I still love this old-school sound to bits and honestly hope there will be more and more bands bringing it to attention, even though it sounds unprofessional nowadays. 7 GALVANIZER (Finland) Sanguine Vigil Everlasting Spew - 2018 - Death Grind Young trio from Finland founded in 2013, Galvanizer released 2 demos and an EP before deciding to take the big step and release their first studio album. Sanguine Vigil is made of 10 tracks and clocks half an hour of what I could describe as a combination of Finnish Death Grind and Swedish classic Death Metal the Stockholm version, so abrasive, creepy, energetic music to melt your brains out.

The 10 tracks are quite diverse one from another, and if on some you'll get absolute intensive and extensive brutality, on some others you'll get some melodic inserts a la old Amorphis, and I have to admit I like them all, I love this album to bits, and if it would have had a bit more memorable hooks I'd said it is a perfect opus; this way it's "only" close to perfection in my books.

Wow, a truly outstanding newcomer from Finland I'll definitely keep an eye on, and I'd recommend

the same to you, too! 9 GARHELENTH (Armenia) - About Pessimistic Elements & Rebirth of Tragedy Satanath / The Eastern Front - 2017 Black This Black Metal duo was founded in 2010 apparently in Iran, then relocated to Georgia, and finally now they're based in Armenia, quite a journey, isn't it? This is their second full-length album, a 7 tracks effort clocking less than half an hour of playing time, but what's weird about it is that these tracks were written in 2010, only the lyrics were edited during 2017, even if in 2016 the band released a full-length album and an EP, so I guess they were pretty active in their first year of existence, then just focused on finding suitable labels to release their music. the music is based on simple, repetitive riffs, that remind me of the second wave of Norwegian Black Metal, but there's also a modern Black Death influence surrounding it all. The drums are synthetic and annoying at times, which is the weakest feature in Garhelenth's music, but the good guitar leads compensate, and the expressive, evil vocal section is also a very good addition to the whole. An interesting album with a few good moments, not boring, but not rising up to the expectations when you see the excellent job the labels did for this CD, starting from the cover artwork (apparently done by Satanath's owner) and ending with an exquisite pit-art CD. For fans of traditional Black Metal with repetitive riffs and occasional melodic moments. 7

GASTROSCHISIS (Malta) - Demo 2018 Independent - 2018 - Death Goregrind I rarely get Gore Grind material for review and I suspect that is because most of the bands in this area prefer to play it safe and keep it in their (pretty large) circle of devoted fans of the genre where they will be praised and congratulated most of the time, few of them dare to try opinions of the outsiders or of the profane if you will.

I'm glad Maltese trio Gastroschisis had this curiosity and sent over their debut demo for review, a three tracks material cloking under 10 minutes of fast paced Death Grind with Gore flavour. There's a bit for all fans here, from (Thrash) Death Metal type of guitar riffs to a severely brutal sounding bass line, to organic, live recorded drumming, to gurgling, sickening vocals that, despite the odds, keep things quite comprehensive, to even some deeply technical Death Grind passages that will surely impress you, to a heavy dose of groove inserts all over the place. A very enjoying, open-minded yet damn brutal and targeted material from a band that I hope will bring new material on the table asap. I'm damn curious what cannibal movie the cuts from the second track come from... 7.5 GATES OF DOOM (Italy) Forvm Ivlii Independent 2018 - Melodic Death The Gates of Doom from Italy are far from being a Doom Metal band like their name might mislead you, instead their second EP presented here offers a combination of Melodic Death Metal with Epic Power Metal and even some Folk Metal touches if I'm not venturing too far. The three tracks are a bit less than 20 minutes in length, and talk about the home region of the band, Friuli, which to me seems like a pretty inspired topic for a concept EP, too bad they didn't include a booklet with lyrics so

one could be involved in the whole atmosphere better. There are two other aspects I don't particularly like, namely the synthetic sounding drums (most probably programmed and not recorded live in a studio), and the lack of some very fast passages, except a tentative of double bass drumming on the last track, which might give the band a better impact live, but these are things that can be easily corrected, the important thing is this EP is pretty catchy and offers some good moments to enjoy by the audience, a good step forward for a young band, now it's time for a debut album I guess. 7 GONOREAS (Switzerland) Minotaur Art Gates - 2018 -

will make this band Recommended stuff! 8

a

jewel.

HAK-ED DAMM (Canada) Holocaust over Dresden Satanath / Death Portal - 2017 Black Wow, this new album from Canadian Black Metal beasts Hak-Ed Damm rips everything apart damn it! Celebrating 10 years since the band's foundation, Holocaust over Dresden is a 9 tracks effort clocking abit under 45 minutes of playing time, a concept album I could say, about the second World war, a theme many bands avoid nowadays for the fear of being considered NS affiliated. But what these gguys deliver on this album is fantastic, a devastating proof of annihilating Black Metal mostly fast paced and uncompromising, but with plenty of surprises (like the acoustic guitar intermezzo that makes track 5 bringing a sad reminder of the atrocities at Auschwitz-Birkenau, or the sound effects they so masterfully use during this album).

The guitar work is complex and expressive having no problem absorbing influences from Thrash and Death Metal, too, the drums are no less than amazing, the bass lines have their own, inspiring and influential agenda, and the vocals are the cherry on top of this Black Metal cake, just imagine a more pissed-off, hundred times more aggressive Dani Filth, fantastic pitch on both screams and growls. I'm so impressed on everything about this album than I can hardly find anything I dislike or better said like less than the rest, maybe only the booklet pictures could have been bigger, and maybe I would have liked a bit more or more extended sound effects, to get the war and terror atmosphere even more in my head. Now I'm out, have to ask my wife to check if my ears are bleeding or even there anymore, wow, don't miss this massacre of an album! 10

Power What a misleading name for a band (unless it signifies something else that I'm thinking it does)... I was actually expecting some sort of Gore Grind music, but instead Swiss Gonoreas are actually a Power Metal combo with quite a serious background under-belt this one being their sixth fulllength album to date since their foundation in 1994! Minotaur offers 10 tracks in 45 minutes of playing time, a mid-tempo to fast paced traditional Power Metal with Hard Heavy and Heavy Metal edges, highlighted by a great, great vocalist with both powerful and melodic tonalities and a perfect control all the time, a guitar work that offers both a metallic, powerful approach and plenty of technical ambitions to please the most picky fans of the genre, and last but not least the rhythm section sounds steady and supportive enough for the compositions to sound so solid and massive. Unfortunately the band lacks in offering memorable moments, especially memorable choruses for some tracks to stand out from the rest and actually make the album shine, even Behind the Wall, the album's ballad, sounds hart-warming but like somehow incomplete. It sounds good as a whole but gives you the impression the band is yet to reach its full potential, which is not bad either, isn't it? 8.5 HEAVYDEATH (Sweden) / EXCRUCIATION (Switzerland) GRAVECOVEN Heavydeath / Excruciation (USA) - Auric - 2018 - Doom Death Coughing Blood Swiss Doom Death veterans Ecruciation Godz ov War - are extremely active since 2012 releasing 2018 - Black at least one new material per year hence Death keeping things hot and tasty for their fans It's cool when you know and also exposing their music to new ears what to expect from a release just by especially through these splits. This time mentioning the label that released it, and in they've chosen Swedish Heavydeath Made Godz ov War's case this is true, when you by members of Runemagick and Katatonia) hear something new is out on this label you as companions for a 7"EP release. Not sure know from the start it will be damn ugly, if this is still a supported format between uncompromising and as obscure sounding vinyl fanatics, but a new track from both as possible. GraveCoven are no exception bands should be enough as incentive to at from the rule, a duo started in 2015 that least give it a try. apparently likes to take things slow. They Heavydeath open released two demos in 2015 and 2016 and this split with those are gathered on this new release, a Descending, a 6 total of 4 tracks clocking 20 minutes of minutes track that reminded me of the '90's total violence and debauchery, a mix of fine line between Doom Death and Doom, Black and Death with Doom influences or better said when (mostly English) Doom especially in the guitar tones used, a dirty Death bands started to add more and more production, perfect for this kind of music melody and to used the Death Metal side (similar to what War Metal bands use). of it just as a foundation for obscure, dense Among all this brutality one can highlight atmosphere rather than brutality. I'm the catchiness of the tracks, they all come impressed by how an important role the with a few hooks to stick to your mind, and upfront bass lines are playing in this band, these hooks mostly come from the above- very cool feature. mentioned Doom influences. If you're in Excruciation's for some controlled and well planned track, Haunted, devastation this band might just be your is an almost 5 thing, at first when I saw they re-released minutes catchy Doom Death anthem two demos I was a bit disappointed but highlighted by that half clean half growling now I can clearly say these tracks needed vocal type that always reminds me of more exposure and their re-release on the Benediction / Bolt Thrower's Dave Ingram, same CD is totally legit and well deserved. extremely organic, comprehensive and at A bit more variety on guitars (solos / leads) the same time menacing, one of my fave vocals actually. The instrumental part is

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grave, upfront, extremely oppressive but at the same time delivered with a very clean production, cleaner than one could expect from such a band. I think this band should get more attention, not (only) because they've been around for two decades (of activity combined), but also because their type of Doom is not what we usually hear within the nowadays Doom Metal revival, a band that's doing their own thing. 8 / 8.5 HOODED PRIEST (Holland) - The Hour Be None I Hate - 2017 - Doom Second full-length album from this Dutch band, released at a 7 years difference since their debut, pretty much I'd say, especially since in the meantime they have only released an EP. We're dealing here with a traditional form of Doom Metal, a mix between Candlemass (the theatrical vocals and part of the instrumental) and Black Sabbath (part of the instrumental), slow paced to mid-tempo, both accessible to a wider audience and narrowed down to real connoisseurs when it comes to really understanding it. To be honest I got lost along the way a few times so I have to say I'm not one of those that find it particularly appealing, but maybe that's because of Luther's vocals that transmit a state of somnolence at least to me. His vocals sound better in King Heavy's case (his other band), where the music is still Doom, but heavier, more energetic, and the proof for this is maybe the track Herod Again on this album, which is among if not the best between the 6 featured, where his vocals seem more natural, more fit. Anyway, there are plenty of hooks and inserts that make this album an enjoyable audition, especially for Classic Doom followers, try it yourselves. 7.5 HORTUS ANIMAE (Italy) - Piove Sangue Live in Banska Bystrica multiple - 2018 Gothic Black Pretty cool and unusual to see an underground band releasing a live album nowadays, but it's even more interesting to see a band releasing not one, but two different live albums the same year, and actually I think this is the first time I see a band from the underground doing such a stunt. Besides this, Italian Hortus Animae released another live album this year, Live at Velvet - April the 14th, 2001, but I haven't checked that yet. This one was recorded in 2016 during one of their concerts in the Slovakian city of Banska Bystrica, a 6 tracks mix clocking 40 minutes of playing time. The production and sound quality is way above what I would have thought when I first saw this in my mailbox, so from this point of view Hortus Animae and the other people involved in this show did a great job. From the compositions point of view, if you don't know this Italian sextet (at the time of the recording), they play a fairly melodic and technical breed of Black Metal with occasional Gothic influences, especially inserted by the keyboard, but there's also plenty of melody and melancholy in the guitar work. The band sounds solid and well-rehearsed, but I guess that shouldn't surprise anyone since they have a 20+ years history under-belt. The compositions sound very end '90's - beginning '00's oriented, but that's not a bad thing, especially for nostalgic old farts like me, they leave plenty of room for a good headbanging, plenty of memorable, almost sing-along passages, mid paced rhythms crossed by faster ones, a varied vocal

section (four members of the band are also doing vocals!). All in all we have a good release here, again, better that I initially thought it would be (I have a prejudice on live recordings, I admit it), if you happen to get across this digisleeve CD, give it a chance! 8.5 HOTH

(USA) Astral Necromancy Epicurus - 2018 Melodic Black Not to be mistaken with the Portuguese one man band with the same name, Seattle based Hoth is a duo founded in 2011, and what I have here is their third full-length, an 11 tracks effort recorded and produced by the band between 2015 and 2018, followup to their 2014 album, Oathbreaker. So one can tell these guys are not rushing things at all, and the compositions on this album are the proof of that. At first the quality of the digipak, the artwork and the methodical cleanliness of the booklet contents are quite impressive, at least for me, it gives me the impression of a well-calculated, serious, professional band. Unfortunately as soon as the CD starts I'm blown away by the synthetic sound of the drums and the somehow thin sound, crystal clear indeed, but thin and not powerful at all, so this is a major minus to start with, at least in my books; the drums sound is terribly annoying at times, absolutely no trace of human touch in it. Anyway, passing over that I discover a fantastic band, the compositions presented on this album are all impressive, they all have at least a hook to remember them by, which is fantastic; we're dealing with an accessible type of Black Metal highlighted by melodic guitar harmonies, excellent solos and leads that express the players' open-minded influences, and basically everything is composed with plenty of good taste and of course good technical skills display. If one can pass over the synthetic sounding drums this will make a damn fine audition, just imagine a mix of Cradle of Filth, Immortal, Finnish Melodic Black Metal and American Melodic Power Metal, with a thin rain of Folk Metal over it here and there, an excellent combination that I recommend you test at least once. 8

calculated chaos, fast and dense rhythms, and mesmerizing, mid-paced Post Metal passages to allow the whole to breathe. An excellent new French band to keep an eye on! 8.5 INNER CORE (Germany) Soultaker Independent - 2017 - Symphonic Metal Debut album from this 2013 founded band based in the South of Germany, Soultaker offers 10 tracks of Symphonic Metal clocking a full hour of playing time.

Although the production is a bit too thin for what a band like this would need/deserve (at least on the rhythm section), it is clean and polished and won't give you any headache. At first I thought they'll mostly rely on the female vocalist's abilities, but I was wrong, the band seems to be quite curdled and sounds like a whole, offering plenty of interesting and surprising moments during the 10 tracks (an hour of playing time) although based on generic patterns of the genre. Anna, the vocalist, has a beautiful voice, but my problem is that most of the time I don't understand the words coming out of her mouth, I believe she still needs some more work on this part, on sounding crystal clear, as she manages to reach enchanting tonalities. The keyboards section is my fave, and I guess now that the band added a violin player (after the recording of this album), it all sounds even more fantasylike which is always good for a Symphonic Metal band. I also want to mention the kick-ass guitar work; the riffs are pretty generic, but the leads and solos are tasteful.

All in all a good debut, with a bit more work this could become a serious name in this field in no time. 7.5 INNERSPHERE (Czech Republic) Amnesia MetalGate 2018 - Melodic Thrash Death Quite young Czech band founded in 2015, a band that released its debut EP a year after their formation and after a couple more years here we have their first full-length album presented in all its splendor in form of a Digipak CD with 12 pages booklet featuring all lyrics, lyrics that in this case are quite important.

Amnesia is a concept album about love, loss, grief and nihilism, with a serious topic behind it, one that enforces and give more depth to the material itself. We get 10 tracks in 45 minutes of playing time, a Melodic Thrash Death Metal with serious Doom and Black Metal influences, a complex and classy work with highlights (or emphasis) on the upfront bass lines, good guitar work that gives that classy feeling I mentioned before to the material here and there and on the creation and intertwining of harmonies but at the same time keeping it heavy and massive sounding. Growling but comprehensive vocals are supported by clever guitar riffs and intricate drumming, and all these presented with a crystal clear production.

This is indeed a journey to experience, as a debut album I'm impressed by how curdled the band's music sounds, so I'd say it's a very successful first step, one that makes Innersphere a definite promise. 8

HYRGAL (France) Serpentine Les Acteurs de l'Ombre - 2018 - Black Weird case the one of this album: initially it was released in October 2017 by Naturmacht Productions from Germany, and not even half a year after it was rereleased by Les Acteurs de l'Ombre Productions from France, speculations might be plenty as it's at least an unusual situation. Anyway, the reality is this trio released a hell of a debut album, and being backed up by two (good) underground labels can only do them well. The band was active between 2007 and 2010 probably as a one man project and it released a split with Kairn in very limited edition, then it went silent until 2016 when it resurfaced as a trio and started working on this debut release. 7 tracks (2 of them instrumental), a mix between modern Black Metal and Post Black Metal, so a pretty avantgarde music I'd say, one that ISRATHOUM balances melody, mystery and (Holland) aggressiveness. The audition flows Channeling perfectly, meaning the production is spot Death and Devil on, nothing to bad mouth on it, but also the Altare - 2017 - Black compositions, the song structures are of a Dutch (originally nature to keep you glued to your player for Portuguese) band Israthoum offer us here these 36 minutes of playing time. The their third full-length album, a 9 tracks harmonies of this album alternate between effort clocking almost 50 minutes of

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playing time. Apart from the sulfurous, reek embalmed atmosphere that surrounds the complete material from start to finish, the technical level we're dealing with here is way above the norm, we're getting an opulence of mesmerizing, sombre, original guitar riffs and leads, a highly intense and upfront bass line and an organic, visceral drum section that will impress even the most traditional of fans. Basically we're treated with old-school, traditional Black Metal but with plenty of putrefaction borrowed from the more modern forms of this genre, I'd compare it with an angrier, more severe and more up to date Satyricon of the '90's. It even has different production values so that some tracks sound recorded and produced in a professional studio, and some others in the rehearsal place but still sounding impeccable, even giving a more sinister vibe. Without a shadow of a doubt this is one of my fave Black Metal releases of 2017, too bad I've discovered it only a year later. 10 JACOBS MOOR (Germany) Self Independent 2018 Progressive Power Thrash Fronted by vocalist Ritchie Krenmaier, who also played in the Austrian Power Metal act Stygma IV, a band that did well for itself at the end of the '90's - beginning of the '00 (they even released 2 albums on the mighty Noise Records), Jacobs Moor were founded in 2010 and Self is their second studio album to date, a 10 tracks effort clocking almost a full hour of Progressive Power Thrash Metal. Their music feels like Savatage, Testament, Nevermore and maybe even Crowbar (to a certain degree) met in the same pot and Titchie's vocals are excellent, I'm sure his fans are ecstatic for having him still on the barricades; his timbre is hoarse but calculated and perfectly smooth delivered, with fantastic melodic passages that offer us a different perspective, but also with some angry Thrash Metal oriented parts to spice everything even more. The instrumental part is both catchy / memorable and technical / complex, the guys manage to produce demanding structures and at the same time to involve the listener in a dark, expressive atmosphere from start to finish. The tracks are diverse and cover a wide territory of the abovementioned genres so you won't have a chance to get bored; a well-built and well-delivered album, a very good band! 8.5 KUILU (Finland) - Monumentti Deviant - 2018 Atmospheric Post Black Well, for once I think the album cover, although not designed by the band or for the band (it is an actual painting by German painter Franz von Stuck, Sisyphos), fits perfectly with the music delivered on this debut album by Kuilu. The band waited 8 years since their foundation to have their first album released to the World, but in the meantime they've still tested the reactions through some demo releases. Kuilu's music is presented by the band as Melancholic Black Metal, but I'd say it's a Post Black Metal heavily influenced by Stoner and Sludge, all under an oppressive atmosphere and with a progressive / avantgarde attitude. We're dealing here with only 4 tracks, but the overall duration is 45 minutes; the abrasive and experimental attitude of the band, alongside the desperate, visceral screams of the band's

vocalist are making this record a hard to digest one although there are plenty of instrumental passages where you'll be silenced to a melancholic, meditative mood.

An album that deserves and actually demands to be carefully listened to and dissected before a final judgement is made, I doubt it will leave anyone mouth open after only a couple of minutes of sampling, but if you'll give it a chance and spin it a few times it will grow on you no doubts.

My only problem with it is that it has nothing memorable, to stick to my mind after the audition, but nonetheless this is a good, technical, imaginative effort! 8 LEGION OF WOLVES (Ireland) Bringers of the Dark Sleep Metal Scrap - 2018 - Death Dublin based combo Legion of Wolves was founded back in 2009 yet this is just their debut album, 9 years into their existence, quite delayed I'd say especially since they had only a couple of line-up changes along the way. Anyway, Bringers of the Dark Sleep presents us 10 tracks clocking a bit over 45 minutes of playing time, enough to make yourselves a clear idea on the band and its music. This is Death Metal, not the old-school type, sinister and terrifying, but a new(er) type, more polished, more epic, with plenty of melodic inserts yet keeping things powerful and manly, reminding me of Amon Amarth but without the Viking influence though. Some tracks (like Summoning the Elite for example) are more brutal then other keeping a traditional Death Metal feeling intact, offering also some fast and demolishing structures as well, so don't think of the "melodic" touch as being prevalent in this work, on the contrary, the album is quite brute and aggressive, yet it's a bit more polished than what fans of the traditional way of this genre are used to. I'd say the highlight of this album in terms of production (which is really good!) is the bass line, very upfront, as brutal and metallic as possible, being a serious pillar in LoW's music. An enjoyable debut album that has the ability to please both die-hard fans of the genre and newcomers at the same time. 8 LONELY GRAVE (Sweden) Craterface Discouraged - 2018 - Punk Grindcore I've reviewed quite a handful of Swdish bands lately most of them having a retrograde approach on music, a return to the core of Metal music, to the extreme, abrasive, offensive side of Metal rather than the melodic side of it; who knows, it might be Swedish scene's response to the nowadays over-polished production, to the increase melodic and clean approach even in Extreme Metal, a defense mechanism that makes them plunge deep into muddy, whirling waters. Lonely Grave is on the same path, this debut album (or is it an EP actually?) of theirs being made of 11 tracks (only 16 minutes of playing time) of violent, fast, chaotic, demented Punk Grindcore with Hardcore and Noisecore influences on top of it, so a tremendously aggressive display of Extreme Metal perfectly portrayed by the cover art.

Nothing progressive or innovative here, but definitely passionate, honest, devastating music to discharge your frustrations; I'm curious how their live shows look like. 8 LYKHAEON (Switzerland) - Ominous Eradication Of Anguished Souls Godz ov War - 2018 - Black Lykhaeon was founded in 2013 and debuted with a full-length album two years after. This is the followup release, a two

tracks EP clocking 26 minutes (!) of absolutely devastating Black Metal, fast paced and so dense and menacing it feels like fucking lava, a continuous assault on all your senses, so this is absolutely not an easy listening. The roots of this music are clearly Black Metal, but the density and oppression it generates are influences coming from Death Metal and even Doom Metal to a point their mix sounds like the bowels of hell, and if I were to describe it based on what I hear I'd say: tormented souls screaming and cursing, demons growling, lava pouring all over, and suffocating gases affecting not only your smell but also your sight. Wow, what an apocalyptic release this is, just wow!

Unfortunately the physical format of this release isn't that good as it's almost impossible to read anything on the digipak pages, even the band name or EP title are almost nonexistent, they probably didn't take into consideration the fact factories print in a darker scale than the images actually are. 8.5 MALEFIC BY DESIGN (Finland) Definitive Indication of Supremacy More Hate - 2018 - Black Death Hailing from Finland, Malefic by Design is a new quintet featuring members of Mormant de Snagov (whom I work with personally since I released a couple of albums under Pest Records), Ablaze in Hatred or the defunct Searing Meadow, and the multiple influences are quite obvious inhere, too, I mean some guitar riffs and the backing Black Metal-like vocals clearly remind me of Mormant de Snagov, but I'm sure you'll find similar parts from the other names, too (I'm not familiar with their music unfortunately).

This is the band's debut album, a 12 tracks material clocking a bit over 50 minutes of playing time, a melodic and technical mix of Black and Death Metal, different that what we're regularly used to. Solid guitar riffs combined with melodic, serene even guitar leads and solos, a growling but comprehensive vocalist (I would have liked a bit more variety though), a laid back but supportive rhythm section, that's what makes Malefic by Design's music, but from my point of view their highlight is their ability to create and offer catchy hooks and choruses so that some tracks really stick to your mind for good. Think of a mix between Melodic Death Metal and traditional Black Metal with plenty of brutal and technical edges to make it damn interesting all the time and you get the picture, Malefic by Design did a very good job with this debut album! 8.5

MANIPULATION (Poland) - The Future of Immortality Grimm - 2017 - Death I'm not a big fan of re-releases, especially nowadays when there are so many new materials popping out every day, but if an album is self-released at first, with low promotion and in low quantity, I can of course understand the need of the band to display their work to a wider audience. I think that's the case here, too, as Polish Manipulation first released this debut album in 2007 by themselves, which I don't know what impact had back then, but I guess not so much, so here they are rereleasing it under the Satanath wings, with vocals totally re-recorded by the current vocalist. To be honest I wouldn't think this is recorded back in 2007, there's nothing to

betray the fact it's composed 10 years ago, to me it sound as fresh as any modern material, reminding me of a mix between Behemoth and Cattle Decapitation; fast, merciless rhythms with occasional respiro moments, a fantastic visceral vocal, with production bringing vocals upfront most of the time, giving the whole even more of a ferocious attitude, and with an instrumental part that doesn't refuse any influences and manages to blend them successfully into a form of modern Death Metal recommended to fans of any Extreme Metal fanatics out there, it's a really good material that deserved the backup from a label like Satanath, hopefully the band will come up with something new soon.

MASTERS OF DISGUISE (Germany) Alpha / Omega Limb Music 2017 - Speed Power This band was founded back in 2013 but it members seem to have quite some experience under-belts, and since this is already their third full-length album, normally the expectations are high. 11 tracks (actually 10, but the CD version features an extra track, a mouthwatering cover of Exciter's Blackwitch) clocking 55 minutes of classic, epic Power Speed Metal that fortunately doesn't disapoint at all, maybe a bit on the originality side of things as you'll constantly feel like you've heard this and that before, but the production is top-notch, the compositions and execution are killer and the variety of the material as a whole is enough to keep your interest high from start to finish. The instrumental part is excellent, from the energetic drumming to the classy indeed (they advertise their music as classy Speed Metal) guitar work and solid bass lines, everything sounds right. The vocal part of the album is excellent, but the 9th track, Knutson III: Nemesis (I Am the Law), is the cherry on the cake, Alexx Stahl, the vocalist, also breaks into narration mood, and by the end of the track is joined by a lady that does a fantastic job portraying some sort of a witch (and it's clear she doesn't reach her full potential either), and the final guitar riffs are fuckin' neckbreaking, I tell you, I've replayed the final 2 minutes of this track a million times and I'm still fueled by them, so yes, this is my fave track of the album. In my opinion this lady should be added to the permanent line-up of the band! As a conclusion, the album grows on you and becomes more and more a gem as time passes by, the band only needs to find something to gain originality and I think we'll have a global talent here, maybe the female backing vocals would be a good idea... ;) 8.5 MATTERHORN (Switzerland) - Crass Cleansing Independent - 2018 - Punk Death This one is completely old-school to the point that I actually got a test print of this album on vinyl, accompanied by a handwritten presentation letter with the band's logo drawn by hand by Tim, the band's drummer. Fantastic! This is the band's debut album, and as far as I know their first ever recording even though Matterhorn has been around since 2012.

An 8 tracks LP clocking a bit over half an hour of playing time, a very entertaining and from my point of view original material. The closest I would go as comparing Matterhorn with another band would be Master, mostly because of that prominent, solid bass line used by both bands, but there's more to the Swiss trio than a simple comparison to Master, they have a strong Punk sound and structures to their music, complete with serious Thrash

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and even Hardcore (a slight touch though) influences, a dirty, organic sounding, diverse, old-school type of Death Metal played with the '80's feeling and attitude but with the clean (although 100% organic and analog sounding) production. The tracks are varied and bring plenty of hooks to enjoy them, but I'm sure their complete potential is on live shows, there are parts of calculated chaos (excellent guitar solos) and catchy, headbanging riffs that should fire up the places where these guys play live. Very, very interesting newcomer from Switzerland! PS: The cover artwork is absolutely iconic! 9 MOONREICH (France) - Fugue Les Acteurs de l'Ombre - 2018 Black Here's the fourth studio album from this french Black Metallers, a 7 tracks effort released on an impressively looking Digibook CD with similarly impressive artwork, or at least the cover artwork is both complex and simple/memorable, not sure how else to put it. The music offered

by Moonreich is a modern breed of Black Metal, with plenty of dreamy, atmospheric instrumental passages to clam things down after some dense, vicious, fast paced and fierce Black Metal parts. We're treated with long compositions, all in all the 7 tracks spread over more than 50 minutes of playing time, none of them clocking less that 5 minutes in length. The fast paced parts are fronted by tremendous, carefully calculated drumming, where the sharp riffs are mostly pure Black Metal influenced, but there's also some groove thrown in here and there. The mid-tempo tracks have a more melodic side to them, especially given by the guitar leads and solos, and add a somehow accessible side to the album, one that will be enjoyed not necessarily only by the fans of the genre or the band, but will appeal to other categories of listeners as well. No need to talk about the production, nowadays, especially at this higher level of the underground, all albums sound amazing, and this is no exception from the rule. As I was saying, packing this album in a Digibook was a good idea and I'm sure this will add heaviness to the product itself. I'm curious where this album will take Moonreich, from my point of view, they're ready for mass attention. 9 MYSTIC RITES (Poland) - Threads Independent 2018 - Black Unfortunately Polish duo Mystic Rites isn't the most productive around since the previous release to this one, the Grin as the Jewel Kingdom Falls EP is dated 2014 featuring 5 tracks. The new EP, Threads is made of only 2 tracks, very long indeed (17 minutes of playing time), but still only 2. I'm not sure where they are heading musically speaking since what we get here is a mix of Norwegian (second or even third wave) Black Metal with plenty of Death Metal influences, but also with a huge dose of that Doom Black Metal we hear more often nowadays, with serious emphasis and space for building the atmosphere, which not many will have the patience for. When they are getting to the brutal part Mystic Rites' music sounds really rancid, decaying, especially because of those vomiting vocals of Nebiros, but to get to those parts you'll have to enjoy or endure (depending on the case) a few minutes of synth/effects based thrilling atmospheres. Interesting new material, I hope they start working

more intensively on new material and maybe followup with something pretty soon. 7.5 NYDVIND (France) Tetramental I Seas of Oblivion Malpermesita 2018 - Pagan Nydvind are around since 2000 and this is their third full-length album to date released at an 8 years distance from the previous, Sworn to the Elders, but again this seems to be pretty regular since the debut was released 7 years before, in 2003, so we're dealing here with a band that likes to take its time to create and record new material. 8 tracks, 65 minutes of playing time, traditional Pagan Metal, this is what we get from Tetramental I, a music that reminds me of the beginnings of the new millennium, when Pagan Metal was a stand alone genre, but was still influenced to a certain degree by Black Metal. This is midtempo mostly, with occasional pace speed up, based on repetitive, memorable guitar riffs that transmit a somewhat epic atmosphere even without adding the effect the lyrics have on their music, upfront bass lines and synthetic but not annoying drum machine. The vocal section is made of mostly a hoarse Black Metal like comprehensive vocal supported from time to time by growls and clean vocals, and the above-mentioned lyrics are excellent, creating stories worth following and getting into. As a whole, if you're into Pagan Metal I'd say think of a mix between Eiherjer, Windir and Primordial, all from their beginning of the '00's era; a good album for nostalgics of those times, but also for those who still like their Pagan Metal with some rough edges, not as polish as it's mostly presented nowadays. 7.5 PANICO AL MIEDO (Spain) - Formador Cimmerian Shade / United by Chaos / Symbol of Domination 2018 - Thrash Death Hailing from Barcelona and formed in 2012, Panico al Miedo seems to be a band made of experienced musicians, or at least they are not teens anymore for a good time, and here we are, 6 years after their foundation, witnessing the release of their debut album, 13 tracks clocking abit over 50 minutes of playing time, quite a lot for this type of music if you as me. The band blends technical and intricate Thrash Metal harmonies with the power and brutality of Death Metal and quite a bit of Progressive as well, and the result is good, especially if you're a Spanish speaking listener as all tracks are in Spanish and the vocalist has a hoarse but very comprehensive timbre so you can follow him easily. Mid-tempo to (mostly) fast paced rhythms will guid you through an energetic and diverse album, quite old-school sounding, without influences from the more modern types of Extreme Metal (they are more influenced by old Punk than let's say Metalcore), based on clever guitar work supported by a complex and demanding rhythms section, definitely not an easy album, but one that make it for a refreshing audition. I also have to mention the unexpected guitar solos, this type of tonalities I haven't heard in a long time and I wasn't certainly expecting that in Panico al Miedo.

Excellent debut! 9 PLETHORA (Poland) - Age of Changes Independent 2017 - Modern Melodic Heavy

When I think of Heavy Metal I usually think of traditional stuff like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest or the likes, but there's also a modern form of Heavy Metal that I have to admit I usually tend to neglect, and Polish Plethora are just that, a modern, fresh, open minded form of Heavy Metal built on a somehow traditional skeleton, but developed in ways some might consider out of order or unnatural. Actually what is natural and what's not? Plethora's debut album might appeal to both classic Heavy Metal followers and to those who listen to soft Rock, too, and the fact they are fronted by a female vocalist might be a serious addition towards the band's commercial side, although I'd say this is somehow a forced term, Plethora impressed me through its organic production actually.

The tracks are diverse and surprises are not missing either, like the occasional male growling vocals (more like battle roars than growls though) or the long melodic guitar solos that made my day, so all in all a very good album offering something for everyone, 11 tracks clocking almost an hour but a nice flowing audition, you won't even feel how fast you've reached the end.

The only problem I sensed about their compositions is when the pace become faster they tend to have problems keeping things clean and straight forward, probably just an impression of mine, but I should have had it at all, right? 8

the synthetic sounding drum-machine, as usual. All tracks act as ramps for Pete to show off his guitar skills, his explosive solos are endless and present almost everywhere, while his riffing is a combination of influences from Black and Thrash Metal, fast and furious indeed. All in all I'm sure Pete is a good guitarist, but I'd search for a full line-up band if I were him, this sounds more like a demo project.

6 PSICORRAGIA (Peru) Madremuerte MFL - 2016 Doom Death This is an already old album one could say as it's more than 2 years old now, but I've just received it from the band so I guess this is what represents them still, and there are no other releases after it signed by Psicorragia. Although the band was founded in 1994, so we're dealing here with a veteran name of the Peruvian scene, this is only their second studio album, released no less than 15 years after their official debut material, the album La pasiรณn de lo mortal out on American Line Prod. in 2001. We're treated here with an old-school kind of Doom Death Metal, an analog sounding, visceral, horrifying at times, kind of experimental type of Doom Death that reminded me of the Eastern European scene of the '90's, especially the Czech scene. There's a ton of experimentation here, yet the means used are the ones used in the '90's, harmonies constructed mostly by the guitar work, supported by somehow dusty sounding keyboard tonalities, and to add depth into the sinister atmospheres, a traditional, brutal sounding, American-influenced Death Metal type of guitar riffs to spice things up. Slow to mid-tempo rhythms will keep you glued to your player from start to finish if you're into the '90's Doom Death, that kind of ingenuous yet enthusiastic music that presents to the listener a band that sounds like they are aiming for the stars while being 100% honest and devoted to their craft. Good stuff, we don't hear much of these sounds lately, so I'd say it's dusty and fresh at the same time. 7.5

PORN (France) - The Ogre Inside Echozone - 2017 - Industrial Gothic I have no idea if naming the band Porn was a good idea for the French dudes, but it seems that the major inspiration for this, contrary to what we would think, was the Cure's album "Pornography". This is their third studio album, and it definitely sounds like something done by a band with this name, I mean it's both seductive and raw, both erotic and industrial-cold. There's a lot going on inhere, from multiple layers of synths ranging from industrial to electronic, to metallic guitar riffs, to melancholic keyboards, to a solid rhythm section that will make you bob your head for sure. The vocals are good, warm and fit for this genre, but they lack of something to really stand out, not sure if that's due to their timbre or to the compositions in themselves; I would have liked more QUANTUM catchy passages somehow. Think of a mix HIERARCHY between Fields of The Nephilim, The Cure, (Italy) - Neutron Type O Negative, David Bowie and Breed Tiamat and you'll be close to what Porn Everlasting offer on this third full length album. 7 Spew - 2018 - Death 4 tracks, a bit over 10 minutes of playing PROPHETS OF time, just enough to be blown away by this THE excellent new duo from Italy. This is damn APOCALYPSE brutal as fuck, traditional, technical, fast (USA) - War paced (with some mid-tempo respiro Metal moments), massive sounding, disgusting Independent - Death Metal seriously influenced by bands 2018 - Thrash like Morbid Angel, Immolation and Hate Black Death Eternal. If you're a fan of these bands Prophets of the Quantum Hierarchy will make your day!

Apocalypse is, contrary to what the name What I don't get is how come in 4 years of would suggest, a one man band of Pete activity they've only managed to gather 4 Serro, a veteran on the Metal scene, being tracks, one of them being an intro actually, part of a band called Strychnine all through and I wonder how much time will take the '90's. Pete is marketing his music quite them to come up with a full-length album chaotically, from War Metal to Blackened which I think after this demented stab of Thrash Metal to Epic Thrash Metal, but the Death Metal many are already waiting and truth is close as his music style is indeed cheering for... Everlasting Spew kicks ass quite chaotic, you wouldn't be able to again with yet another great talent from the pinpoint it to a specific genre, but the sure boot. 9 thing is this is not what we call nowadays War Metal, meaning Bestial Black Metal, RABHAS (Italy) - Maelstrom this is actually a combination of Thrash Narcoleptica / Envenomed - 2018 - Death Metal (as root for all), Blackened Metal, Rahbas were formed in 2010 and this is Death Metal and even Speed Metal. Not their second full-length album to date, a 9 sure if Pete is considering this a full-length tracks effort clocking 41 minutes of release or an EP, but I'd go for the latter traditional Death Metal. With lyrics sung since this is made of 7 tracks clocking only in native tongue and with a music that's 23 minutes. The production is quite thin more abrasive and blunt than a brick of for an album, too, and I especially dislike chalk I wouldn't bet on a ton of new

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followers for Rabhas after this album, but the ones into the ugliest, most uncompromising and uncontaminated forms of Death Metal may find it quite a surprise. The only problem I have with it is the constant use of unnecessary rhythm breaks, but when the compositions get in a good flow mood they sound really good, enraging I'd say, raw and terribly ugly like this music should be. I remember these breaks from the '90's when a lot of beginner bands were using them in a futile attempt to become more interesting, more progressive, and I still find them very useless. Fast, demented and ugly, this is how it should sound in my opinion, and Rabhas know how to do it well, they just try too much to be something they're not.

Give this album a listen and make your own mind. 6 REMAIN UNTAMED (Holland) Remain Untamed Headbangers 2018 - Crossover Thrash If it's Dutch Headbangers Records it's another old-school Metal band, of course, but this time we're dealing with a Crossover Hardcore Thrash mix a la S.O.D. (mostly), D.R.I., an even some early Metallica and a bit of early Thrash Death too. A debut EP made of 5 tracks clocking only a bit over 15 minutes of playing time, based on simple but effective guitar riffs that will make you head-bang, a rampant bass line that supports well from the background but from time to time takes the lead role and adds more oppression to the whole, drums that don't stand out much technically, but keep a fine balance between the fast and mid-paced parts, not that there's much room for progression in this style either, and last but not least the vocals that sound like crafted for a Thrash Death band rather than a Hardcore Thrash one, but that's what probably will make the band stand out. A very enjoyable debut EP that bring nothing surprising but digs out some sounds and gimmicks from the past that will make you remember why you love this music. 7.5 SCIENCE OF DISORDER (Switzerland) Private Hell FastBall - 2018 - Groove Metal Holy shit, these guys have been around since 1989, with a short hiatus indeed between 2002 and 2007, but still it's a damn long time for a band that to me at least is completely unknown. It seems they've started as a Death Metal band back in the days, but they've now reached to play a Groove Metal that I'd personally describe as a meeting point between Sepultura (Chaos AD days), Soulfly, Sliknot, Machine Head and maybe some more of such names, but you get my point, SoD sound powerful and professional, and that in small part due to a fantastic vocalist, Jerome Thomas, that will make you feel afraid to ever meet him (then you look at the band picture and that seconds this thought even more, haha). Jerome's vocal timbre is angry, raspy and commanding, perfect for this type of music. The instrumental part is excellent as well, from metallic, aggressive riffing to melodic passages, the guitar work is a joy for any Metalhead, then the drums are precise and fast paced most of the time, supported by a solid bass line that lurks in the background creating that oppressive feeling this music needs. Overall the compositions are catchy and most of them have that hit-factor so I'm not at all surprised these guys have been around for so long, I only hope their

efforts will be noticed as they deserve to step into the mainstream of Metal, that's how good their music is. An almost perfect album that can turn teenagers to Metal without problems. 9 SHATTER BRAIN (Australia) - Demo Independent - 2018 Heavy Sludge Thrash Shatter Brain seems to have been formed by musicians from the most successful Heavy bands from Australia, as themselves mention in the band's bio. Unfortunately I've never heard of these bands before, and Shatter Brain is a first listen, too, but I guess Australia's isolated geographical position might be the main reason to blame. Anyway, Shatter Brain seem to take things seriously and less than a year since their foundation they managed to release this debut demo and are now gearing up for a Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia tour this Summer, pretty sick I'd say. Good thing is this debut material, 4 tracks in a bit less than 20 minutes of playing time, is called a demo by the band instead of an EP like everyone else does these days, honestly I appreciate that even though the recordings quality is top-notch, very professional sounding, powerful and clean, for a perfect first impression on the listeners. The music is a mix of Sludge, Hardcore and Thrash Metal, at times reminding me of both Metallica and Pantera but with a modern approach. I'm sure these tracks kill live, but even on this demo they do a good, very good impression, so I guess we have here a band that might do well for themselves in the future if they decide to give it their all and tour the shit out of their audio material for the kids to go nuts on them. 8 SHRINE

OF ORPHEUS (Greece) - ?

III Damnation 2017 - Black Shrine of Orpheus, a mysterious duo from Greece present us here their debut EP, a material recorded during 2015 and 2016 and released last year by III Damnation in tape, vinyl and CD versions. I have here the CD version, a 3 panels digipak featuring the EP lyrics, too, which are, contrary to the EP title, all in English. All except the last, fourth track, which is more like an instrumental outro that actually sounds like an intro if you ask me, probably in order to preface the band's (hopefully) upcoming debut album. The EP clocks 20 minutes and is made of 4 tracks, enough to understand the band's potential and direction. I'd say they combine the modern occult Black Metal (with dense structures and plenty of rhythm changes) with the '90's Doom a la Paradise Lost, Anathema and the likes; I might be wrong, but this is the vibe it gave me, of a fresh Black Metal band that takes inspiration from the greats of the UK '90's Doom scene, especially on guitars. There are no surprising moments, but it's a nice flowing material that captivates your attention and keeps you involved until the end, I'd say it's a successful debut that deserves your attention and I hope they'll continue working on this, as nowadays there are so many one or two men projects giving up after a first release... 7.5 SHROUD

OF SATAN (Germany) - Of Evil Descent Sol - 2018 - Black There are a few names from the new German Black Metal wave that like to keep things as traditional as

possible, and plenty of them are doing a fantastic job not only preserving but also enriching the genre. Shroud of Satan was a new name to my ears, but they seem to be a proud part of this new wave of classic Black Metal in Germany, their music following all patterns of the second wave (or better said the '90's decade) of Black Metal and playing it with such conviction and devotion that they immediately manage to make you believe they are 100% honest about this. This one is actually their second studio album, released 3 years after their debut was, on the same Sol Records, yet the 6 tracks featured here were composed and recorded between 2012 and 2017, so I don't know how representative they still are for what is Shroud of Satan at the moment. Seemingly the band has kept the same line-up along the years, the same powerhouse trio that keeps things busy now, too, so that's undoubtedly a major influence on how curdled and well harmonized things are in their music. Although I was expecting a rather rough, primitive approach on this music, Shroud of Satan offer us a more majestic, atmospheric at times Black Metal; it is, indeed, a fast paced, extremely abrasive and offensive music, but at times the keyboard inserts in the background (and not only) offer a mystical, atmospheric escape from all this pummeling and that ends up blending perfectly in the whole that makes Shroud of Satan's music. The only thing I don't like are the primitive drums, Punk influenced rhythmed, on a couple of tracks, but overall they do a good job supporting the steady intensive atmosphere. All in all I like this album a lot, and not only the music on it, I also like the band image, the lyrics on it and the cover art used, a material I recommend for sure! 8.5 SKINNED (USA) - Shadow Syndicate XenoKorp - 2018 - Death To be honest I thought this is a come-back from these Colorado, USA based Death Metallers, but actually they released another album just three years ago, even if by themselves, or probably that's the reason I haven't heard much about them lately. Hence Skinned are back 3 years later with their fifth studio album, one that marks not only the beginning of their collaboration with French Xenokorp label, but also a much more experimental approach, a wide opening by the band to an avalanche of influences from Black Metal, to Groove Metal, to Power Metal, to Thrash Metal, plus a lot of atmospheric stuff, more than I would have ever expected from Skinned, but all blended so well into this material that the outcome is simply awesome. The 10 tracks are so diverse and interesting that it's impossible to get bored (well, if you're into this type of music, obviously), and honestly I believe this is the best album to date on that is placing Skinned on an exciting path to discovering their new "face". Brutal Death Metal is an obsolete term for describing the band's current approach, so I'd label it as Experimental Death Metal and recommend it to you all at least for a spin. 9 SKJULT (Cuba) - Progenies ov Light Satanath / Black Metal Propaganda - 2018 - Black Wow, Black Metal has reached Cuba as well, that's impressive. Although a one man band, this Skjult act is if not the first, certainly among the first Metal acts I've heard emerging from this exotic (to most of us) country. And the surprise is Skjult

actually sounds damn well, its form of occult, deep, oppressive sounding Black Metal sounds way better than I would have expected, that's for sure. This is fast paced, pounding, relentless, brutal Black Metal heavily influenced by bands like Urgehal (mostly by them), Dark Funeral or Watain delivered with a seriously dense and oppressive atmosphere which I think is the best feature in Skjult's music. Conspirator, the man behind this project, did his homework well and produced a solid material with plenty of good riffs, brutal drumming that although programmed (I think) doesn't sound synthetic or out of place at all, actually it sounds natural and improves the depth of this material. What can I say, a find discovery, not something to innovate or bring something original to the table, but an act that sounds honest and 100% devoted to its art. 7.5 SYMPHONY OF SYMBOLS (Hungary) Historiocriticism Metal Scrap 2018 - Progressive Death Six years after their debut album was released, Symphony of Symbols are back with a followup studio effort this time focused more on Death Metal and loosing whatever Black / Black Death influences they still had. The compositions, 5 tracks divided into 11 chapters, are way more intricate, faster played and benefit from a better, more powerful production that their debut had. The tracks structures are as complex and complicated as possible, they actually feel rather chaotic, a programmed chaos if you will, but tough, very tough for the listener to digest, so this will narrow down their audience even more. We don't get melodic parts here, now melancholy or acoustic intermezzos, just plain (I'll skip the "and simple" in this case) brutality and fanatic assault on senses.

It is indeed an impressive effort, you'll keep wondering if they can keep this up on live shows, but strictly from a "playing it at home" point of view, this CD is rather repugnant, only the initiated will have the guts to take it to the end. The lyrics are about all sort of stories and myths, nationalism not missing either, but I won't go into that, you'll have to make your own mind. 7 TAIGA (Russia) - Cosmos Symbol of Domination / Final Gate 2017 Depressive Black The fourth studio album from Tomsk based duo Taiga, Cosmos offers 9 sad songs in almost 50 minutes of playing time.

The compositional part of this album, its structures and sequences are absolutely breath-taking, they make you really feel the anguish they try to transmit, but this is mainly due to an exquisite guitar work displaying so much potential and to the subtle but mesmerizing keyboard work, and such an expressive force you won't believe it, but the problems come from the rhythm and vocal departments: the drummachine sounds totally synthetic and annoying to tears, too upfront, too moodkilling even if it displays quite some complex patterns. The main vocals are totally laughable, they sound like an old lady is screaming at you for making noise by playing football in front of her window, exactly like that... And that is the opposite of what these guys I guess tried to express, at least for me these vocals ruined the

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album completely, too bad as on the first track there are also some clean vocals that promise a lot... Change the vocals, change the drum-program and you'll get yourselves a fantastic band! 4 TAVISTOCK (Spain) - Tavistock Art Gates - 2018 - Groove Metal The core of this release is in the Groove Metal territory, but actually it can also be labeled as Alternative Metal for the simple reason it alternates between a lot of genres and sub-genres, it will remind you names like RHCP, RATM, Marilyn Manson, Machine Head, Fear Factory, Stone Sour, with leads of Nu-Metal thrown in the mix, and even newer types of Metal like Djent.

This is the band's debut album, initially released by the band in 2016 and then rereleased on Art Gates with what I believe will bring the band better exposure. Not something we usually feature here, so I can only say I was annoyed by the synthetic sound of the drum machine, and at the same time I was impressed by the band's ability to gather and mix all these influences, so their technical skills might be at an above average level for sure. If you're into Groove Metal, Nu-Metal and/or Alternative Metal, give it a try, otherwise this is not for you.

THE

FLESH TRADING COMPANY (Germany) Necromantic Rituals Independent - 2018 - Heavy Thrash Death Second studio album from this German powerhouse, Necromantic Rituals features 9 tracks (36 minutes of playing time) of Thrash Metal with serious Heavy and Death Metal influences. The music is pretty good but honesty I think it's way better live, I mean I'm sure these compositions work better on live situations than listened to at home, they have plenty of headbanging moments, good memorable choruses, hooks to keep your interest high and clever structures that don't repeat too much avoiding boring moments. I'm not too fond of the drums sound, a bit too synthetic for my taste, but not annoying either to say the truth, and also the vocals are good (growling but completely comprehensive and easy to follow, accompanied by some other more hoarse and higher pitched) but after a while they loose that spark and become somehow monotone at least from my point of view, a second vocalist would do good for the band I think. The music is mostly fast paced, energetic, involving and that's why I'd say it fits better on live shows than on record, a music that would be good for any form of Metal festival, from the Heavy Metal motor-shows to the Thrash Death festivals for die-hard fans of the genre. 7.5 THE OUTSIDE (Germany) - We Feel Through the Dead Green Zone - 2018 - Thrash Death I remember three years ago I reviewed this band's second studio album and back then I was very impressed by it, rating it an almost perfect material, so receiving the new album from The Outside sparked some good memories and at the same time high expectations. The German outfit moved towards a darker, more eerie, uneasy atmosphere inspired by Death Metal, so their Thrash Metal became even heavier, more oppressive than it used to be, like a combination of Kreator and Nevermore with Atmospheric Death Metal sauce. It's fun how the band is called The Outside and all members are from outside of the country but living in Germany, and this most probably affected the lyrics of the band as well: sometimes political,

sometimes social, probably all the time quite personal points of views, The Outside's lyrics have a special meaning and effect on the overall material, so make sure you read them while listening to the music, the tracks will make much more sense and will have a bigger impact on you. The music in itself is, as said earlier, uneasy to digest, it's not that catchy, memorable, easy flowing Metal, it requires more effort from the listener, but from my point of view this is excellent, they are quite original, or at least I wouldn't be able to say another band sounding like this. Here's a band decided to have its own word out, to impact the listener through its own ideas and style, even the cover artwork and the band's image are out of the ordinary. Well worth your time, recommended! 9.5 THE THIRD GRADE (Spain) - Of Fire and Ashes Pt.1 Art Gates - 2017 - Progressive After a couple of EPs and full-length albums released on their own, Valencia based Progressive Metallers The Third Grade inked a deal with the ever expanding Art Gates Records and here's the first fruit of this collaboration, a three tracks EP that probably announces a new studio album.

Actually we get two new tracks here, with one of them, Ice, presented in two versions, the normal one and the radio edit one (shorter - 5 minutes instead of 8). We're dealing with a female fronted band, with a seriously synthetic and soft sound, not my fave production that's for sure. Being a Progressive Metal outfit it's obvious we're dealing with talented musicians that like and want to show their abilities so there's plenty of passages where they display their technique. The vocals are mainly female, supported by male clean vocals and at times even growls and background choirs, so the vocal section is pretty thought out, too. I hear influences from Hard'n'Heavy, Sleaze Rock, Symphonic Metal and even '80's Pop Rock and '70's Prog Rock I'd say, so a wide territory to experiment, and they surely don't mind taking their time and knowledge to try out new things. My only problem is with their soft, synthetic sound (at least the keys sound like they're shy, really!), but the compositions are interesting and they might grow on me if I'd have a full album to digest. 7

TRANSCENDENCE (USA) - Hour of the Summoning Narcoleptica / Grotesque Sounds - 2018 Death New promising name couming out of Los Angeles, USA, not to be confused with two other US based Transcendence bands Metal Archives points out. This quintet was founded in 2012 as Annihilation (another uninspired name if you ask me) and soon after changed their moniker to Transcendence. In 2014 released an EP and a demo, and in 2017 this new EP that promotes the band's already announced upcoming full-length album to be out soon on Blood Harvest. We're getting here 4 tracks (20 minutes) of old-school Death Metal the American way, highlighted by an analog production, low growls supported by screams at times, quite complex and at the same time catchy guitar riffs with Thrash Metal hints and excellent, somehow melodic guitar leads and solos that actually made this EP a very good audition for myself. Although at the beginning of this material I found the drums' sound a bit too upfront and in your face, maybe more than I would have liked, by the end I got used to them and actually

enjoyed the whole material as is, a sinister slab of cryptic and horrifying sounding old-school Death Metal that reminded me of the old US based scene, but with influences from the Finnish school of Death Metal, too. An interesting new band, keep an eye on them as their debut album promises good things for fanatics of this genre. 7.5 TRUCHLO STRZYGI (Poland) - Pora umierac Godz ov War 2018 - Punk Black To be honest I was really suspicious when I saw this band's presenting a mix of Punk and Black Metal because nowadays a lot of bands are using this "excuse" to mask their lack of technical quality and potential, but I'm glad I was proven wrong by Truchlo Strzygi. After using Google Translate I think the band's name means something like "the dead undead" or a "killed vampire", not sure how accurate is that but after browsing this debut album's booklet I tend to go on this option. The graphic art used for the booklet and cover art is very good and I'm sure it blends perfectly with the lyrics, but since they are in Polish I can't understand a thing. Musically speaking we're treated with Punk drum rhythms, guitar riffs and an upfront bass lines, plus Venom-type vocals, but the occasional incursions into the fastest and most evil sounding (traditional) Black Metal are the highlight for me, the combination between these two is just great in Truchlo Strzygi's case, and the great thing is each track has its own sound and path, the band is not afraid in experimenting and changing rhythms all the time. Thinking of it, although I don't understand Polish (would have been fantastic), this is one of the best Punk Black Metal materials I've heard, very diverse and very catchy at the same time with still demonstrating the band's members are not novices either. Polish fans should definitely try this out, I think it will become an instant hit within the local scene, but I also recommend it to any other Punk and Metal fan, especially old-school fans, as it is quite accessible for anyone. 9 TYAKRAH (Germany) Wintergedanken Satanath / Slaughterhouse 2017 - Epic Black Young duo from Germany founded in 2016, Tyakrah present themselves to the World through this debut full-length album, a 7 tracks effort clocking close to 40 minutes of melodic, introspective, melancholic and at the same time cold and abrasive Black Metal. The main attraction point of this material is definitely the lead guitar work, from leads to solos all is done with good taste and plenty of imagination and competence, so from this point of view we've got a winner in Tyakrah, but the rest isn't that good unfortunately. The vocals are ok when on the Black Metal shrieks mode, pretty vicious and cold as ice, but when they venture into clean tonalities it's almost a disaster. The drums are programmed, so expect synthetic sounds and feeling, and the guitar riffs are nothing special although nothing to be ashamed of either. So all in all we've got a mediocre release, but one that shines through the lead guitar work (really worth a listen from this perspective) and also one that offers good atmospheres, I forgot to mention three tracks from the 7 featured here are keyboard based, they remind me of the '90's when keyboards were still used to enhance the atmosphere,

not mellow down the music. Hope they'll manage to fix some things for the next opus. 6 UNREAL OVERFLOWS (Spain) - Latent Great Dane - 2018 - Progressive Death Damn, I've never heard of this band before although they've been around since 2001 and this is their third full-length album, the first two being released on a high reputation label as Xtreem Music; with this third album they seem to have made an important change by switching to Great Dane. Progressive Death Metal is the name of the game here, obviously heavily inspired by the Death legacy, but also incorporating plenty of modern structures and ideas within their compositions Unreal Overflows delivers some carefully crafted and assembled tracks defined by methodically alternated rhythms (plenty of changes that will blow your mind), intricate and expressive guitar work, a fantastic bass line that breathes life by itself in this music, and last but not least what seems to be a drum-program but one that sound astonishing, absolutely spot on, and although I have a big problem with programmed drums all the time, in this case I love them, they sound so warm and somehow human-made, that I have no bad comments whatsoever. The band's only weak point from my point of view are the vocals, very linear and way too abrasive and sharp for this silky smooth kind of Extreme Metal (this expression sounds awful, I know, but once you'll listen to what these guys do on their instruments you'll get it). All in all this is a not to be missed material, especially of you're a Death fanatic. 8 VATIKA (Sweden) - Act No. 1 STF - 2018 - Heavy Thrash New band of three experienced Swede musicians (headed by drummer Richard "Raptor" from Wolf), Vatika was formed only last year and here we already have their debut album, 10 tracks clocking 41 minutes offering a mix of Heavy Thrash Metal highlighted by a tornado of good riffs, excellent leads and solos, a powerful, upfront rhythm section and a victorious, memorable vocal section that ranges from Thrash Metal like angry screams to amazing falsettos a la King Diamond. The rhythms range from mid-tempo to fast paced but they are well selected and blended together so that the audition becomes addictive after a first while.

Maybe at times the production may sound thinner than it should, it is actually raw and cruel as this music requires, I find it absolutely spot on, even when certain hooks and elements may appear like they are from another movie, to me it all sounds original and hopefully this is how they were intended to be. All in all a fantastic debut album I could (and will) listen to again and again. 9 VERATRUM (Italy) - Visioni Independent 2018 - Symphonic Black Celebrating a decade of activity, Bergamo based Black Metallers Veratrum release yet another EP, on their own, without the support from a label, like they did two years ago with Chronicon. Visioni features 5 tracks and clocks 20 minutes of Symphonic Black Metal with Death Metal influences; rich orchestrations and expressive structures are building up some epic atmospheres worth getting into. The keyboard lines are very good, expressive and perfectly supportive

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for the other instruments, but somehow I feel their tone isn't exactly what was needed, they are not bombastic enough, like 80% of what I would have liked them to be, but this might be my impression only.

The music is building up dramatic tones and horrifying episodes so that taken all in all the EP unveils like a concept material, a deeply mystical offering, so from this point of view Veratrum are just spot on, they managed to create a sick atmosphere herein. The fact they've chosen Italian as language for their lyrics give them a bit more originality and hopefully they'll benefit from a better support from the local audience this way. If you're into Symphonic Extreme Metal Veratrum are definitely a band to check. 7.5 VINDORN (Germany) Perdition Sol - 2017 - Black I was not familiar with this band (actually a one man project) at all before this, so the un-German (is this even a word?) sounding vocals made me curious about it. Indeed the man behind this moniker, N., seems to be a Czech living in Germany nowadays, and he seems to combine multiple languages (not sure if this is the truth as there are no lyrics in the CD booklet) but use Czech mostly. I've also listened to the previous release, Hrana, Vindorn's 2013 EP, to better understand where the project is heading to, and I can clearly say there's a huge improvement in production; the drum programming was absolutely terrible on Hrana, but on this debut album they are perfect sounding, oppressive, tight, complex. The compositions hide plenty of surprising elements from Pagan inserts (3rd track) to dense Mgla-like parts, to subtle guitar-made melodies here and there, but the overall impression is perfectly given by the title and cover artwork, a tragic, desperate feeling of loss and, oh well, perdition. Very solid effort, wellworth your half an hour (multiple times, you'll see)! 8 WILL'O'WISP (Italy) - Mot Nadir Music Progressive

2018 Death Trevor Nadir and Tommy Talamanca, both Sadist members, made their mark on this new album from Will'O'Wisp, with Trevor being the producer with his Nadir Music label, and Tommy the sound engineer, so at least to Death Metal fans this should be an extra incentive in testing this album out.

Anyway, even without the two names thrown in the pot, Will'O'Wisp are a household name on themselves being around since 1992 (with a decade of hiatus though), and releasing 4 full-length albums prior to this one. Mot is seemingly centered around ancient Mesopotamian mythology when it comes to its lyrics and visual aspect, but when it comes to the music on it, it has little or nothing to do with anything ancient, on the contrary, Mot presents a very progressive and experimental kind of Death Metal stretched in all parts all the time, reaching dissonant structures that might seem out of place, but they are actually hard to digest and tough to break, I'm sure fans of the genre will be impressed. The frantic drums passages, the Progressive Jazz Rock sounding bass upfront passages, the operatic influences/inserts and the sinister atmospheres they manage to create at times are my favorite elements on Mot, but Will'O'Wisp are complex in all aspects, their music will challenge you, and even though there are 11 tracks crammed in less than 35 minutes of playing time and you might think the music will feel

discontinued, it's actually quite steady flowing. The only thing I didn't like ws the album artwork, I think it could have been clearer and more attractive to the eye, especially in the booklet pages.

8.5

Hida'tu Independent - 2018 - Black Mysterious one-man-band (?) project from Greece presenting hereby its debut fulllength album, a 7 tracks effort clocking a bit over 40 minutes of playing time. Except for an excellent looking logo that leads your thoughts to a Satanic / Anti-Christian YOVEL (Greece) - project, there's not much to say about

Yovel, I think this decision of keeping everything hidden won't help it that much, there are plenty of other similar other bands out there, and the music itself, although at a good technical level and well produced, doesn't stand out either. Actually the logo misled me, the band's lyrics are more about social, historical and political topics rather than religious / anti-religious

as I thought... Somehow the music itself and the only imagistic element of the band don't seem to fit the band's lyrical content and that kind of broke the spell for me. The music is well composed and quite technical, the production, as said earlier, is very good, so if you're into quite analog sounding mid-tempo to fast paced traditional Black Metal this might be your thing, try it out. 6

ZINES - BOOKS - ZINES - BOOKS Blasphemous #1 & #2 Book (Greece) - released in form of a book (150+ A4 pages), pro-printed, black/white, originally released by The Magus (Necromantia, Principality Of Hell, Thou Art Lord), in the beginning of the '90's; reprinted with the original lay-out but with somehow cleaned and enlarged (I think) fonts and pics, this is not that much to read like the number of pages would suggest, but it's a damn fine taste of the attitude and atmosphere from those years within the Black and Death Metal scene, and the names of the bands interviewed should say a lot about it. fryktos.com

and feels like a major magazine but with a content we (the underground Extreme Metal fanatics) will all enjoy; from mainstream to underground, from interviews to reviews and articles, this magazine is an absolute blast! Fantastic! metalegion.com Necrosis #10 / 2017 (Brazil) - 42 A4 pages, photo-copied, clean lay-out mixed with cut'n'paste, easy to read, English written; focused on underground extreme Black and Death Metal featuring interviews, reviews and articles. jrfromhellquidute@gmail.com

Chronicles #2 / 2018 (Norway) 48 A4 pages, proprint, mix of clean lay-out and cut'n'paste, English written; as the subtitles says, the zine is dedicated to Norwegian Death Metal so you know exactly what you get from it; an excellent mix between the modern in-depth documentation and old-school short and "to the point" interviews and reviews, I like it a lot. chronicles.fanzine@gmail.com

Posthuman #10 / 2018 (Hungary) - 68 A5 pages, proprint, cut'n'paste lay-out; the anniversary issue of this Hungarian zine (English written) focused on Extreme Metal, mainly Grind, Power-Violence, Gore, Hardcore and such, but with an opening to anything actually; long, varied, interesting read. Comes with a bonus retrospection zine and a bonus CDR of a band called M-Wave Chthonic Nexus #1 / 2018 (Belgium) - 32 A5 pages, pro- Destruction (actually in the envelope I got a CD with a print; mostly obscure underground Black Metal oriented Hungarian story for kids that's not even playing, that's zine written in English; interviews, ads, no reviews or how bad it is scratched... Not sure if this was a joke or a articles. gospelofashes@gmail.com simple mistake) posthumanzine@gmail.com Metal Horde #23 / 2018 (Portugal) 60 A5 pages, proprint, clean lay-out with some macabre artwork on the borders, too, English written; long-time running zine covering a variety of Metal genres, mostly Extreme Metal featuring interviews, reviews and linereports, a very good read!

The Past is Alive #1 / 2018 (France) - 56 A4 pages, proprint on glossy black/white pages, clean lay-out (with good taste) mixed with cut'n'paste; this zine is usually released in French, so this is the first archive of its material, in English this time; covering mostly Black Metal with an occasional Death Metal insert, The Past is Alive is an excellent zine (maybe the cover is too dull for how interesting the content is) featuring interviews only, no reviews or articles. contact.thepastisalive@gmail.com Three zine and books publishing houses I recommend are:

Schattenmann Publishings from Germany - also writer/editor of the mighty Witchcraft Magazine and now editor of the great Tough Riffs zine. Has a fantastic list of zines and books for sale, make sure you support it! schattenmanns.wordpress.com/

metalhordezine@gmail.com Metalegion #3 / 2018 (Portugal) 92 A4 pages, proprint, glossy color print, professional magazine lay-out, English written, comes with free compilation CD and posters; an absolutely stunning magazine covering mostly Extreme Metal but in a Metal Hammer-like kind of print and attitude, it looks

Cult Never Dies from UK - publisher and distributor of some excellent Extreme Metal (mostly Black Metal that is) zines and books; probably many of you already heard of it, so more details aren’t needed; cultneverdies.myshopify.com

Repulsive Regurgitation #4 / 2017 (Malaysia) - 260 (!)

A5 pages, pro-print, cut'n'paste layout, English written; this is actually the second print of the massive fourth issue of Repulsive Regurgitation zine, who says zines are not selling anymore (well, almost everyone, including myself, haha); mostly based on Death and Grind the zine is made of only interviews from start to finish, but with a variety of people from band members to label owners, graphic artists, store managers all involved in this scene. lawan84@yahoo.com

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Fryktos from Greece just established as a publisher and distributor, but promises to be a very interesting print house; after Blasphemous book, now ButtFuck zine archive was just released‌ www.fryktos.com