Darkane Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

We just released the new album The Sinister Supremacy and couldn’t be happier about that. Making this album was a lot of hard work and it’s great to finally see so many people liking it. We’re currently working on securing some shows for the fall and next year. Hopefully you’ll see us on tour real soon.

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it
differs from previous releases?

I think it’s more experimental with different tempos and some grooves we haven’t tried before. It’s also the most well written album so far, we really took our time to make sure the songs were as awesome as they could be. Our performances are also our best so far. We made sure our playing was top notch and as I said, we’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished. We’ve raised the bar for ourselves and we’ll keep doing that for every release.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the new release
explores?

I like to write about the darker side of our minds. The Sinister Supremacy is a metaphor for “the evil that controls us” and most of the lyrics deal with that in a way. It’s about that dark, selfish part of our minds that make us do bad things like hurt other people and hurt ourselves. We always like to write about psychology and this time I think every song deals with those topics.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

It’s a portmanteau of the words “dark” and “arcane”. I wasn’t in the band when that decision was made but I’m pretty sure all they wanted was a band name that sounded cool. That’s basically all that bands care about.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the
years and how would you describe your stage performance?

I wasn’t the singer back then, but I’m sure the other guys would say Dynamo Open Air of some other festival gig because those shows were so big and the response was so great. My favourite show so far was our first gig ever. It was in my hometown in front of my best friends. I had been talking about this new band that I sang with and it was so cool to show then what the band was all about. First and foremost we want to perform as well as we can but we also want to give the audience a great show. We like to connect with the audience and perform for them, not for our own sake.

6. What are the touring plans for the new release?

I can’t tell you yet since we haven’t decided anything for sure, but we have some touring options and we’ll try to make it out on a european tour this fall and hopefully USA next year and some festivals. That’s pretty much all I can say.

7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your new album by
fans of extreme metal?

Our fans love it, and that’s the only thing that matters to us. The response has been overwhealming in fact. A lot of people seem to think that our music is a breath of fresh air since most bands that do technical stuff usually plays very extreme death metal. Our style of thrash seems to connect with people.

8. What is going on with the other musical projects these days?

I’ve just released an album with my other band F.K.Ü. and Peter is releasing his second album with James LaBrie this summer. There’s not much else going on at the moment which is good as we can focus on Darkane.

9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

Hard to say. We always like to stick to our roots and develop at the same time. I like to experiment but at the same time, I love those fast and intense Darkane songs. We’ll just do whatever we feel like I guess. The music you write is dependent on your state of mind, so it’s hard to know where we’ll be in a years time. Hopefully touring will give us an indication of what kind of songs our fans like, because we always like to talk to our fans. That will also weigh in of course.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your
newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

This answer will be boring since I don’t listen to much new stuff, but the newest band I’ve heard that was really good was Gojira. Not much impresses me nowadays, a lot of stuff just sounds the same. It might sound boring, but the only real influence we have is ourselves.

11.Outside of music what are some of your interests?

I spend so much time with the music that I barely have any free time. I guess just watching movies and TV-series. I’m a big movie buff and like to explore older horror and thriller films.

12.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

Thanks for this interview and I hope as many of your readers as possible will check out the new album. I think it’s got a little big for everybody and hope you’ll like it. If you see us on tour, come and say hi!

Answers by Lawrence Mackrory

The Last Warning Interview

Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
Our album came out a few days ago and we are very busy with the promotion. We are giving lots of interviews and we have also released a new video clip for the song “Devil Inside”.


2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it
differs from previous releases?
I think this time we have a more analog sound than the albums before. That doesn’t mean that it is one of these retro productions what seems to be the trend right now. It is a great modern production and it has a real aggressive sound, what is very important for thrash metal. I also think that my voice sounds much rougher on Progression this time. Last but not least, this time we included solo guitars what worked out very well, I love the solos on the album.


3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores
with the music?
The album addresses different topics. Primarily, I like to write lyrics about personal themes and problems I struggle with, but I also want to write lyrics about different topics, like “The Beast” it is about the Austrian serial Killer Jack Unterweger or “Say Goodnight”, a song about the financial crisis. The “Progression” is a very personal song, in which I describe the personal growing and that I (or everybody) need a target in live.

4. Your new album has some interesting artwork, can you tell us what the
meaning behind the artwork?

The artwork is a symbol for the system we live in. On the cover you can see the dead king who stands for our rotten financial and economic system. We know that the king is dead, but we keep him on the throne because we don’t know any better or we don´t want to change anything. Inside the booklet, you can see the band members surrounded by skulls and bones, what is also a reference that we are surrounded by a dying environment.

5. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
Hahaha, should I tell you the truth? Back in the days, when we were young and drunk a lot, more than ten years ago, the idea came to start the band. And one day, when we were very drunk and were discussing with a friend of us, what a cool band name would be, the idea of the Last Warning popped up, just because it sounds cool. What a great secret, eh?


6. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and
how would you describe your stage performance?
We played so many shows in our career, but I think the coolest shows we had were in Indonesia. We played at big festivals in front of more than 30 000 people, it was awesome.
Our stage performance is very intensive with head banging and stage acting. We also like to interact with the crowd and sometimes I make some stupid things like jump off the stage, what my band mate’s doesn´t like, haha.


7. Do you have any touring plans for the new release?
Oh yes. We will play Festivals in summer, then we promote “Progression” throughout Austria in September and in October we have an East-Europe tour.

8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your new album?
The feedback was really great. We got a lot of good reviews in the leading magazines. There were also some really bad reviews in some smaller mags, but that is part of the game. It seems like that people either love our music or they hate it.


9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
It´s hard to say what the future brings. We are promoting “Progression” right now and we also want to start to work on new material. We want to do the next step in our career and play cooler shows and make great albums in the future. Above all the main target is to have fun with music.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your
newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Man, there are a lot of bands we listen to. We grew up in the 90s and all of the band members listened to the big acts that days like Machine Head, Sepultura, Fear Factory etc.
Nowadays we all listen to all sorts of music from Stone Sour over Lamb of God to Suicidal Silence. Sometimes you can hear the influences of these bands in our music.


11.Outside of music what are some of your interests?
Me personally, I´m an extreme runner and do Ultra marathons, and that keeps me busy. Roland runs his own company for booking and management of bands. Stefan, our bass player, plays soccer and ice hockey. Markus, our drummer, is a video gamer and Stefan, our guitarist, likes to explore music and new bands, he is also a party animal.

12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Thanks a lot for reading this interview and I hope you motherfuckers enjoy our new album “Progression”!!!

Dichotomy/Paradigms/2013 CD Review

 Dichotomy  are  a  band  from  Ireland  that  plays  a  very  technical  and  melodic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  album  "Paradigms".

  Drums  range  from  slow, mid paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  good  amount  of  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very strong  and  powerful  sound  with  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mod  paced  to  fast  technical  death  metal  riffs  that  utilize  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  technical  and  melodic  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  which  are  only  utilized  briefly  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  to  add  more  progressive  elements  to  the  recording.

  Vocals  range  from  deep  death  metal  growls  to  high  pitched  screams,  while  the  lyrics  cover  philosophical  and  metaphysical  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Dichotomy  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  technical  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Empyrean"  "All  Seeing  Eye"  and  "Of  Strife  Of  Discord".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

The Last Warning/Progression/Massacre Records/2013 CD Review

  The  Last  Warning  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  mixture  of  melodic  death  metal,  metalcore  and  thrash  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Progression"  which  was  released  by  Massacre  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  with  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  melodic  death  metal,  metalcore  and  thrash  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  old  school  sounding  thrash  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads  that  utilize  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Vocals  are moslty death/thrash  screams  and  growls  along  with  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts,  melodic  thrash  parts  and  hardcore  style  vocals,  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  hateful  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  The  Last  Warning  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  melodic  death  metal,  metalcore  and  thrash  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Beast"  "Devil  Inside"  "Haunted"  and  "Say  Goodnight".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Darkane/The Sinister Supremacy/Massacre Records/2013 CD Review

  Darkane  are  a b and  from  Sweden  that  has  been  around  for  a  long  time  with  a  musical  style  that mixes  melodic  death  metal  with  thrash  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "The  Sinister  Supremacy"  which  was  released  by  Massacre  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music  at  times,  while  the  synths  which  are  only  used  briefly  on  the  recording  bring  a  very  epic  sound  to  the  album,  as  for  the  bass  playing  it  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  melodic  death  metal  with  thrash  and  groove  metal  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads  that  utilize  some  traditional  metal  influences.

  Vocals are  mostly  death/thrash/groove  metal  style  shouts  and  growls  along  with  a  good  amount  of  clean  singing  as  well  as  a  great  amount  of  thrash  style  vocals,  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  hateful  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Darkane  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Sinister  Supremacy"  "The  Decline"  "Humanity  Defined"  and  "I  Author  Of  Despair".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Your Last Wish Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?
-First of all, we're a female-fronted melodic death metal band from Montreal, Canada. Your Last Wish was formed in 2003, and we released our self-titled debut album in 2007. From that album, guitar player JF is the only remaining member still in YLW.  Roxana (lead vocals) joined the band in 2009, and Dave (lead guitar) in 2010, so we can say that our actual sound has been like what you hear on the new album "Desolation" since 2010. We released the 2nd album "Desolation" independently in the summer of 2012, and since we inked a worldwide deal with Maple Metal Records, it was re-released by the label in 2013.  We're an "in-your-face" type of band 'live'.  The stage presence during our shows is very important, and we want people to remember us not only for our music, but also for our energy when playing live.


2.How would you describe your musical sound?
-It's mostly a blend of very aggressive melodic death/thrash metal. The Black Dahlia Murder meets Exodus with some pretty heavy riffs!


3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
-Philosophical topics; the way we see the world today, and where it could lead us. In 'Mutation' and 'Desolation', Roxana sings about how mankind is gradually killing itself, and is the main reason for its upcoming destruction. In 'Autistic Mind', we take the listener into an autistic kid's mind, and how he sees the world around him.


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
-There's no real meaning or inspiration behind the name 'Your Last Wish'... When the band was at it's embryonic stage, we were looking for a good name and a friend suggested "Your Last Wish" and we really liked how it sounded. It's as simple as that!


5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
-We where lucky enough to share the stage with Kalmah in 2011; it was in the biggest venue we played and it was almost full. It was a really nice experience and playing with such a big band, you just sit back, enjoy and learn from the best. The same could be said when we shared the stage with Unexpect, in 2011 also. We would describe our stage performance as energetic and intense. So far, we believe our presence has been getting better at every live performance we play, and after each show we look back and try to figure out how to make the next one even better.


6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
-We have no tour scheduled as of now, although we'd like to start with a small tour in the eastern provinces of Canada in the Fall and see where this takes us. We'll be playing in Montréal in mid July, and we'll be filming a new official live clip from the show.  Aside from that we started talking with some promoters, but only one date has been confirmed so far, that of a Toronto show in September.


7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic death metal?
-So far we've had really good comments. The most common comments we've had were concerning Roxana's vocal and how strong they were. It's pretty encouraging when reading different reviews, to see that most people have really enjoyed our latest album and say that we're ready for the "Big Leagues".


8.Are there any other musical projects going on these days?
-Dave is also playing in HolloW, which is a popular melodic black metal band from Montreal. Aside from that, nothing too serious for now. We all have some solo projects we're working on, but nothing that's even close to being released.  Our main focus is the success of YLW !


9.What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
-Faster, more melodies and heavier parts. The latest songs we wrote where "Crisis To Creation" and "Desolation" and they are a good example of the new Your Last Wish direction.


10.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
-When it comes to writing the songs; At The Gates, Nevermore, Slayer and Black Dahlia Murder are JF's main influences.
System Of A Down, Lamb Of God, As Blood Runs Black, Miss May I, Skeletonwitch, Architects are Steven's biggest influences on drums. 
Roxana's vocal aren't influenced by any band in particular, but old school Death Metal has been a big influence on her.  Right now she's experimenting and learning some Tibetan singing techniques, which gives you a good idea of how wide the possibilities are with your vocal cords. 
Dave learned the guitar while listening to bands like Tool, Opeth and Metallica so they all had a big influence on his playing, and so has Exodus (being a big fan of thrash metal) and Death. Louis has been influenced by old prog rock and jazz for his bass playing technique.

Curently on JF's playlist are bands like Between The Burried And Me, Periphery, Nile and Ihsahn; Steven listens to The Ghost Inside, While She Sleeps, I The Breather, Vanna; Roxana is currently into bands like Immolation, Bolt Thrower, Anata, Hypocrisy and Beyond Creation (great new band from Montréal) but she's very open minded and likes to listen to jazz, classical and other styles of music; Louis listens to Anciients, Intronaut, Russian Circles, etc..


11.Outside of music what are some of your interests?
-JF is into sports, mostly hockey and running, board games and good beers; Steven likes Rollerblade, longboard, rats and movies; Roxana is also a fire artist so she likes to manipulate and breath fire; she also likes dancing and acting (she studied dramatic art); Dave is into Rollerblading and used to like freestyle skiing but he hasn't had the chance to ski recently; Louis likes good beers, riding a bike and fixing old electronic equipment.


12.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
-We are all very passionate about music; we do this because we love writing new songs and performing them live to see the audience reaction. If you like a good mix of melodies and brutality in your music give us a listen, and tell your friends about Your Last Wish. Being an underground band, the fans are our greatest publicity! If you want to support us, go check the Maple Metal Records website where you can purchase our latest CD release or a shirt.  Also look for a new release from YLW to hit stores in 2014! Keep listening to great metal music!


Thank-you very much for taking the time to interview Your Last Wish.

Questions answered by JF Gagné
Your Last Wish - guitarist

Crescent Moon Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?

 1. First some details about the band for those who have never before heard of us. We are five young musicians from Switzerland. The two girls and three guys are between 17 and 20 years old by now. We all know each other since childhood, we went to school together, the frontman Dave is my brother... So as you see we have a quite familiar relation to each other. At the age of ten me and my former friend had the spontaneous idea of creating a band with our school colleagues. This is how we texted handwritten letters to the children in our class and to some of the class below ours. Our luck was that my parents both are musicians and for that reason we already had all the equipment we needed provided. This is how the whole story began. In the starting years there were some personal and instrumental changes. With increasing age our sound changed as well of course. We all came more and more to the heavier sound and so in spring 2009 some of us decided to change the bandname to Crescent Moon and become a metalband. By that time we were between 13 and 16 years old. From that day on we had a fix lineup which we kept up to nowadays. Our sound changed constantly to the heavier side but later in this interview I will tell more about the sound of Crescent Moon.

2. How would you describe your musicals sound?

2. Our musical style is to be set somewhere between death-, melodic- and symphonic metal. It has got a quite own touch though. I would say build your own opinion about this by going and hearing some of our songs ;).

 3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
3. The lyrics in our music treat all fantasy, social critics, personal concerns or science fiction themes. Frontman Dave writes most of them by himself. Often he writes in a metaphoric or ambivalent style so there is much space to put your own interpretation and identification into the lyrics. 

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name? 

4. We came up with the idea for our bandname because we were searching for something that represents the cycle of life. We all are convinced that in every life there are better and worse times. Sometimes you reach the bottom of your life when everything appears to be bad and nothing goes the way you wished it to go. And in this fuckin moments you have to put your head down, hold your breath, close your eyes and stand it through the best you can. For sure one day there will be better times again. You get new hope and strengh to get up again, you gain energy and joy and out of this latter misery you are will learn for your life. After every hard part in your life you will be stronger and wiser than before. This is why hard times are not only hard times but also the teacher of life lessions. They make it possible that after them you can shine even brighter. This 'life philosophy' is easily comparable to the moon cycle. And as you know Crescent Moon is the phase in the moon cycle after new mon. So the moon is growing again. We chose that phase because it is actually exactly the point where you realize what went wrong, what you have to change and where you finally get new hope to stand up again. The desicion to not totally give up your life at a difficult point is what we concider very important. There is always something to fight for. Friends, family, hobbies, whatever has a great personal value. Compared to the moon cycle Crescent Moon is the point where you decide to fight on and not to give up so this is why we chose that bandname. 

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

 5. In the four years of Crescent Moon we have already played nearly 30 shows. The best was certainly the one at a local band contest where we reached the second position out of about 35 bands. Our fans estimate our life appeareances quite a lot and they describe it as very powerful and energyspreading. Maybe something extraordinary in metal scene is that Crescent Moon includes two girls which are headbanging the same as the guys. Maybe an special point about our music and life performance is that we not mainly want to bring a super-important concrete message surrounded by a musical environment but we all love music. The sound, the feeling, the playing together. We want to bring joy through our music and we want ourselfs to have fun on what we do. During our life performances the audience can see that quite clearly as we spread the energy of our songs. Of course the lyrics are important too, but most of the time we first write the music of our songs and just weeks later we start thinging 'oh fuck, we still need lyrics.....' .

6. Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

 6. In future we hope to be able to increase the amount of shows per year because we are more a live band than a rehearsal-room-band. As soon as we do not have any concert in the near future we do not have the same motivation in rehearsing as if when we are looking for a gig in the upcoming weeks. We have just lately started a new project. We are about to create plans how we could build a studio in our rehearsal room so that we could start recording some demos ourselfs. But this is a project apart from the life appeareances which now fills the capacities we before used for the recordings and promotion of the EP Captured.

7. Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or received any interest?

 7. There are some things going on about searching label and that stuff but nothing official at the moment.

8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic death metal?

 8. Well, as I already mentioned many people estimate our stage presence and the gender balance in our band. They like our creative songwriting and the realisation of a sound which includes various influences. After the prerelease of the titletrack of the upcoming EP Captured we received an amount of positive reactions among some constructive critics.

9. Are there any other musical projects besides this band or is this a full time line up?

 9. Since four years this lineup is the same. Me for my part I have got different musical projects apart from Crescent Moon as my main-instrument is singing. For example singing in a choir, in an acoustic coverband, in a big band and so on. In addition I practise a lot on myself because I do not take piano lessions neighter singing lessions - I teach myself. This requires investing lots of time in practise. But I consider Crescent Moon as my main musical project. 

10. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

 10. I guess our music develops all the time. Many people might not know that the three songs and lyrics on the EP were written by us nearly three years ago I feel like on the EP songs there is still some 'childlike'/'innocent' ambience. Thats because of the age we had when the songs were written. We were 14 - 16 years old and I think you can hear this a little bit while listening to the songs and the lyrics. The songs we write today are already harder, less symphonic and have new influences (as our musical horizon wided up and spread individually over the years). We pay much more attention to the songwriting and of course we all have advanced on our instrumental + vocal skills. Our lyrics have changed in the same way as the music. They are more 'adult' you could say.

11. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

11. Every member of Crescent Moon has a slightly different taste of music. We listen to genres from Djent, Deathcore, Black Metal, Death Metal, Folk Metal, Symphonic Metal, Melodicdeathmetal to several non-metal artists and bands. Of course there is a red thread through all our songs but if you listen to them several times you recognize more and more that there are these different influences. We always try out anything that comes to our mind. We don't want to make every song sound 'the same'  too much.

12.Outside of music what are some of your interests?

12.  Everyone of us has individual hobbies: Fishing, doing party (we go out together very often), seing concerts and visiting festivals, skateboarding, mowing the grass for the father ;-) me for my part I don't have much time for other interests besides of music, work and studies. Often I have rehearsals in the evening (Crescent Moon three times a week and also for different other projects that I am part of), I do management stuff or I practice on my singing. But I think if you have a passion like music you don't really need too many other occupations: If it fills your heart and gives you a balance to the pressures and stress of everyday life that's already everything you need :)

13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

 13. Thank you for asking these interesting questions and sorry for the long time I needed to answer all of them. Finally for the ones who are interested in up to date information please visit our homepage www.crescentmoon.ch! Thanks again and cheers!

I Killed Everyone Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?

A1. Well the band has been around since 08' and has had some line up changes along the way but with those changes and all of the different members that the group has had it has helped us mature and progress with our songwriting capabilities. All five of us now that are in the group live pretty spread out from each other but we're all so dedicated to making it to meet up to practice and write and whatnot and I think that is what really matters cause I really enjoy when there are other members willing and almost sacrificing in a way to go that extra mile just to be together and make some killer music.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?

A2. If I had to describe our sound now I would say that it is a cross between technical deathcore and modern death metal. Only reason I throw those two genres out there is because we still share some of the old I Killed Everyone qualities while fussing it with death metal. Overtime while writing and recording the album some of us if not most of us would be listening to a lot of different metal groups but primarily we pulled influences from some old and new death metal bands that are still around today making music.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

A3. The lyrical content on this album is pretty heavily influenced by H.P. Lovecraft literature. When we would write the music and Tim would work on his lyrics he would send us messages through texts or facebook IM's showing us what he had written and and worked on basically telling us the overall story or idea behind what he was writing and a lot of it he said was influenced from stories from H.P. Lovecraft whom I think was a terrific writer and has such amazing weird twisted stories that making music out of it I thought was a cool concept. Of course not all of the songs are based on H.P. Lovecraft but a majority of them are influenced by his work. So pretty much the albums lyrical content, whether it was an influence coming from H.P. Lovecraft or not is, basically like reading one giant horror novel haha.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

A4. Back when Jack was in the band he would always say, and I still quote him on this, is that the meaning behind the band name is describing how one individual is contributing to the extinction of the human race by poor choices that they have made. A good minor example would be like second hand smoker. Someone who is smoking a cigarette isn't only giving themselves cancer but to others as well which in a way means that that person and that individual is killing everyone because of his smoking habit. It's probably the only best way I always describe what the name really means but hopefully from that example it kind of gives you a clue to the big picture of other things there that are harmful to people that are being cause by other people.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

A5. I think one of the best shows that the band has done would be when we opened up for Oceano last year at the Bottom Lounge in Chicago for Cinco De Mayo. Just the reaction from the crowd and the audience doing their thing, going nuts, and moshing is always a fun sight and that they demanded us to play one more song which led us to doing an encore is always the best thing to hear cause then you really know that you played a fantastic show and that people really want to hear more from the band. I mean when we go up there and play we don't just start playing out of the blue or say "Hi everybody!" we sort of put on an act. We always do these epic creepy haunting intros to get people pumped up and to make others feel unsettled and I think that it really contributes a lot to our live performance cause it's like seeing something from a horror show just lash out at you from the screen. 

6. Are there any touring or show plans for the future?

A6. With an album coming out I would hope so haha just kidding but in all seriousness there is talk about having a tour setup but I am not really at liberty to say much about it until things are confirmed.

7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal and deathcore?

A7. That is a good question. I think it's a little hard to say since we haven't really traveled to many places before but for the most part through the internet and different social network sites we always get good comments from fans on our facebook page or at shows and we get nice remarks from other bands that we play with. We get a lot of kids from random foreign countries too always having something to say. I can't remember all of them off hand but there are a lot out there that like our music. Hopefully when we travel more we get to see the real reactions of these fans in person as oppose to just seeing the numbers on facebook cause the internet isn't always going to add up with what's out there in the real world. You sometimes just have to go out there and take a look at it for yourself.

8. Are there any other musical projects besides this band or is this a full time line up?

A8. Well by August or September I can't really remember, I made a rhyme, but we had just recruited Tim for vocals and Aj for guitar around that time and since it's almost been about a year that they had joined the group I would like to call it a full time line up. All of us in the group and including our producer, Don Byczynski, we put a lot of work into this album and now that it's all been written and recorded and everything we're all excited to share what we spent time working on and are just anxious to here feedback not just from people who will review our music but from the fans who go out and buy it as well.

9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

A9. Again that's a little hard to say but I would guess the future releases would primarily kind of stay the same where we keep that dark creepy value to it and the only difference would probably be that we just write more technical music because we love to challenge ourselves and I know there's always room for improvement not meaning that you're playing your worst but it's not your greatest either but the more you work on certain things with your playing you can progress and that's one I thing I liked about the material we wrote on this album was we wanted to challenge ourselves and I'm pretty sure and I hope I'm speaking for everyone that would try to challenge ourselves more and more.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

A10. Man where to start I mean all of us we listen to so many different groups but I know Tim is really into The Black Dahlia Murder so I know without asking and I guarantee you right now this very second he is listening to The Black Dahlia Murder haha. As far as everyone else it varies honestly I know some of my influences are Suffocation cause there new album when I was hearing the new tracks that they had out it was such a big influence for me cause they're like one of my favorite bands and I love everything that they put out. Others were like Decapitated and Aborted and I can say Dimmu Borgir as well. I know Bill likes some of those groups too and he is also a big Behemoth fan and is always rocking the new Whitechapel album so I would think he drew influence by some of those groups as well as others. Aj I know was always listening to Job For A Cowboy and some of the Australian stuff like Signal the Firing Squad and Thy Art is Murder and that's where he would get his influence so it really just varies to us I guess even as far as what we are listening to nowadays it varies we all like different groups and music which I think is cool cause that I think is what helps collaborate the sound in any band.

11.Outside of music what are some of your interests?

A11. I think a lot of us share some common interests such as certain movies and games and things like that cause I know we all enjoy Call of Duty and Breaking Bad and the usual modern guy stuff like that but aside from those hobbies we all have our own personal hobbies as well like for instance I know Bill is really into trucks. Tim is really into different craft beers, not saying he's an alcoholic not everyone is an alcoholic for drinking craft beer haha, and enjoys different science fiction and horror literature. Aj I know enjoys working out and being an active kind of dude and sporting stuff which isn't a bad thing and he also enjoys motorcycles. Tom I know enjoys video games whether it's on PS3 or PC and I know he likes getting tattoo's. As far as me I enjoy horror flicks and classic arcades.

12.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

A12. Is this going to be on the test? Just kidding but I guess I would like to cast off saying I hope everyone out there goes out and buys our album "Necrospire" it comes out July 9th. through Pavement Entertaiment and just keep the metal faith alive everyone. Thank you.

Jason Cordero, bassist from I Killed Everyone.

Science Of Sleep Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never
> heard of you before?

1. Hey everyone! We are Science Of Sleep from Germany. We make brutal 
Deathcore music and are about to release our album "Exhaust" on 
Bastardized Recordings. We have been around for three years so this is 
our second release and we are very stoked about it.
>
> 2. How would you describe your musical sound?
2. Brutal modern death metal and mosh music for all fans of blast beats, 
extreme vocals and mosh parts.
>
> 3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores
> with the music?
 3. We are not into story telling. Our Lyrics are about the big evil 
things in nowadays world. Evil politicians and vile religions. We hate 
both of them from the bottom of our heart. No gods no masters. Stick to 
that! Wherever religious idiots try to surpress other people or make 
them want to believe certain things or politicians are responsible for 
other peoples suffering we are there to write about it in our songs.
>
> 4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
4. Its a french movie but we dont really have a deeper connection. The 
bands name isnt that important. Its the music, the lyrics and the 
members that matter.
>
> 5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and
> how would you describe your stage performance?
5. We are a live band. No doubt on that. Its hard to pick a favorite 
show but i think our last shows with Suffokate or Thy Art Is Murder were 
something special for everyone in the band. Good times.
>
> 6. Do you have any touring plans for the new release?
6. Yes we have! Those will be revealed shortly! Cant tell you anthing 
more right now. Its gonna be with another awesome band from our label 
who are also close friends to us.
>
> 7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans
> of deathcore?
7. Amazing! We are getting a good response from all over the world. 
People are celebrating the first single we put out and ordering merch 
like crazy. Its just awesome! We hope this will go on like that!
>
> 8. Are there any other musical projects besides this band or is this a
> full time line up?
8. Marcus (our vocalist) and Me are doing local shows in our Hometown 
area. I think that is all we do besides our band on the music level.
>
> 9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
9. We hope to reach the next level with our album. We aim high and want 
our hard work to pay off!
>
> 10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your
> music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
10. I think every modern deathcore band we listen to did influence us. 
Molotov Solution, Aversions Crown, Thy Art Is Murder and so on but also 
bands like War From A Harlots Mouth, Mastodon or the old metal gods.
>
> 11. Outside of music what are some of your interests?]
11. Music is pretty much my life. When im not on a show or playing a gig 
myself i usually try to party with my friends or play FIFA all night 
long with them. Also sports. Sports are cool. Almost all of them.
>
> 12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
12. Keep your eyes on SOS! We are coming for you! And we are willing to 
crush your ear pussies! Love, Phil.

Panzerchrist/The 7th Offensive/Listenable Records/2013 CD Review

  Panzerchrist  are  a  band  from  Denmark  which  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical  style  I  would  describe  as  being  a  very  heavy  and  melodic  death  metal  with  some  black  metal  influences  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "the  7th  Offensive"  which  was  released  by  Listenable  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  utilized  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  death  metal  riffs  that  are  very  heavy  and  melodic  sounding  with  some  black  metal  influences  being  thrown  into  the  riffing  at  times,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic,  evil  and  technical  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  all  deep  guttural  death  metal  growls  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  samples  and  high  pitched  screams,  while  the  lyrics  cover  violence,  darkness,  satanic,  and  evil  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Panzerchrist  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out t his  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Foreign  Fields"  "Stronghold  Of  Hill  666"  "Kill  For  Revenge"  and  "Napalm  Alarm".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Destroyers Of All Interview

    1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?

    Hello! Destroyers Of All was founded in 2011, in Coimbra, Portugal as the result of the gathering of a group of friends who wanted to create a project in which they could explore different sonorities. We wanted it to be a serious thing so once we had our intentions straight, we began planning everything. Rehearsals started, then came the EP recordings. Our plan was to only appear to the public when we had something to show, and that's exactly what we're doing right now. We kept the band in the shadows until it was time to come out and show what we've got. Of course that our friends knew about it, but the word didn't spread much before it was the right time.


    2. For those that have not heard the EP, how would you describe your musical sound?

    That's a tricky question, because it's complicated to say "Oh they play Death Metal" or "they play Thrash Metal", you know? Since our member's influences are rather diverse, we tried to make it possible to unify a part of everyone's musical influences. Our songs are a bit schizophrenic-sounding, because we have many influences in our music. In one song you can listen to parts that sound like Thrash Metal, Death Metal, some Black Metal, and even Prog & Hard Rock. For example, any dissonances that you find are our drummer's influence, the catchy parts like the beginning of "M4" by Guilherme, or the Technical Death Metal parts like in "Soul Retrieval" are Bruno's fault, or the Hard Rock part in "M4" could be Alex's trademark...
    But in conclusion, I could say that we play a Thrash/Death Metal full of twists and turns here and there, that go from Black Metal to Hard Rock and a bit of Progressive Metal. But maybe it's better let the people decide by themselves and get back to us with their own idea!



    3. Can you tell us a little bit more about some of your song writing and what are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

    In our band everyone is free to bring suggestions to our rehearsal room. If one of us has a crazy riff, we just gather around, listen to it and debate if it could be used or not. Sometimes it's difficult, but then we manage to find a way of linking our ideas in a strong and coherent way. Jam sessions are also a good way of finding new riffs, which we then develop. Hopefully everything goes smooth between us because of effective communication between the members, so we end up building songs which might sound complicated but they are also rich. That's why songs like "M4" are almost 7 minutes long.
    Lyrically it depends on the song, really... We approached some metaphysical subjects such as Astral Projection, Out Of Body Experiences, the influence of the subconscious in our acts and thoughts, and also the consequences of mass brainwashing by religious or political leaders.



    4. I have read that the members are veterans of the metal scene in your home country, what are some of the things that you bring out in this band that you where not able to do with previous bands?

    That's true, 80% of our members have previously been in other bands... I can say that in this band we can expand our musical personality and experiment even more. The fact that we're all pretty much open minded when it comes to music allows us to have the freedom to compose whatever we feel like, at that moment.



    5. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

    The name was chosen after a long time trying to come up with a name that would, not only fit and express our music, but at the same time sound good. After a long time, and a big list of possibilities, we chose Destroyers Of All, because it express how we want our music to be. The suggestion came our drummer who loves a very underrated band from New Zealand called Ulcerate, whom have released an album with the same title.



    6. Has the band done any live shows and if so, what are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

    Due to the fact that we decided to release everything at the same time, we haven't played live yet. So our very first show is scheduled for the last days of June. We are working hard to deliver a strong and mindblowing show.


    7. Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

    We are currently on the search for shows, we want to play and tour everywhere we can and share the stage with awesome bands!



    8. Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or received any interest?

    Yes, we are searching for a label who is interested in our work, but haven't received any contacts yet.


    9. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme metal?

    The feedback that you have received so far has exceeded our wildest expectations! We are very happy to see that people enjoy what we do and are supporting us and still can't really believe it!



    10.Are there any other musical styles going on these days?

    I'm sorry but I don't understand what you mean, exactly?


    11. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

    It's impossible to predict how we will sound in the future, we are not closed minded when it comes to the song writing process, but you can try to expect the unexpected!



    12. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

    Now that we can stop for a moment and listen to our songs, bands like Death, Pantera, Slayer, old Sepultura sound like direct influences. Now, regarding what have been listening to lately, maybe it's easier to point out individually:
    Bruno: Septic Flesh, Black Sabbath, Ulcerate, The Faceless, Opeth, Diablo Swing Orchestra.
    Filipe: Deathspell Omega, Mgla, Ulcerate, The Faceless, Benighted, Animals As Leaders, Ghost.
    Guilherme: Old-Megadeth, Warbringer, Evocation, Obituary, Bloodbath, Angelus Apatrida, Severe Torture, Ghost.
    João: Cobalt, Darkspace, Pentagram, Cattle Decapitation,Angelus Apatrida,Dissection and so much fucking more.
    Alexandre: Hard rock bands such as Deep Purple, Kiss,Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin, Guns n´roses, Skid Row. Progressive rock/metal bands such as Camel, Dream Theater, Symphony X. Metal bands: Black Sabbath, Pantera, old Metallica, Megadeath, Kreator, Testament, Judas Priest, Avenged Sevenfold, Slipknot.



    13.Outside of music what are some of your interests?

    Sports, beer, traveling, cinema, metal shows and festivals, graphic design, our drummer's also a photographer. Just cruising through life with great friendships and new experiences.


    14.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

    Thank you very much for your interest in us, feel invited to check out our music, add us on Facebook, spread the word: Destroyers Of All are coming!

Science Of Sleep/Exhaust/Bastardized Recordings/2013 CD Review

  Science  Of  Sleep  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  heavy  and  brutal  form  of  deathcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Exhaust"  which  was  released  by  Bastardized  Recordings.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced to  fast  drumming  with  a  good  amount  of  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing that  are  coming  out  of t he  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  deathcore  riffs  that  are  very  heavy,  technical  and  brutal  sounding,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  and  technical  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  range  from  deep  death  metal  growls  to  high  pitched  screams,  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent,  political  and  everyday  themes,  as  for t he  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  brutal  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Science  Of  Sleep  are  a  very  great  sounding  heavy,  brutal  and  technical  deathcore  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Exhaust"  "Annihilate  &  Revive"  "Bonesmen"  ad  "Parasites".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Mortal Form Interview

  Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

Everything is going pretty well at the moment. In cooperation with My Kingdom Music (ITA) we released our 2nd album “The Reckoning” on the 13th of May 2013 and the reactions so far are great. We`re pretty excited about that. The album release party also kicked ass. We did a after party show for Artillery, Gama Bomb, Torture Squad and Tantara in our hometown. Besides that we also put a video clip online for the songs “At Fever Pitch” (go check it out!) and are negotiating with a booking agency that can help us with arranging gigs for autumn this year. I guess we can`t complain.

How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from previous releases?

The sound can be best described as a combination of modern death and thrash metal with a melodic touch. It differs from our previous album in the way that “The Reckoning” has become more of a thrash then a death metal album this time. The songs are more high paced and there are more melodic elements added to the songs then before. It has become a mature album and a logical next step in Mortal Form`s band sound. Also the vocals are different due to a line-up change. The deep death grunt of our previous vocalist made place for the more thrash alike vocals of our new vocalist Ralf that makes Mortal Form sound more aggressive.    

What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new music?

For Mortal Form lyrics are very important. They display our meaning or point of view on different (actual) subjects. Just like on our previous release, “Taste the Blood”, the lyrics on “The Reckoning” are based on a theme. Where the lyrics on “Taste the Blood” were mainly based on war & conflict, the lyrics on “The Reckoning” handle about disasters caused by nature & mankind. Inspired by shocking events of nature like the big flooding in Holland of 1953, the always returning Tornado season in the USA or, more recent, the Tsunami. But also the riots in relation to the Arabic Spring or the constant torture of prisoners in Asia have been a lyrical inspiration.

What is the meaning and inspiration behind the band’s name?

At the time Mortal Form was found we were searching for a good sounding band name and came up with Mortal Form without a deeper thought behind the name. The only explanation of the band`s name is that a Mortal Form can appear in different shapes and forms. This has a relation with our music, in the way that we also play different styles of metal and combine these together.


What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

The best shows we ever played were, without doubt, the Zwarte Cross festival in 2009 (one of the bigger outdoor (metal) festivals in Holland) and the Eindhoven Metal Meeting (biggest indoor metal festival in Holland) in 2010. By playing these shows we were offered the opportunity to play with some great international metal acts and present our music to a bigger crowd (Thanks to TMR Music Promotions).

Our stage performance can best be described as a sledge hammer hitting you right on the head. Mortal Form is definitely known for their tight live sound and active performance. We have a reputation to keep up on this point!

Do you have any touring plans for the new album?

We have just one gig planned at this moment. Furthermore the summer period is always a relatively quiet period due to the closure of the Dutch venues in this period (at least most of them) and our own well deserved vacations (hehehe). Besides that the summer festivals had their programs ready before the release of “The Reckoning” so hopefully we can attend some of these festivals in 2014.  Our main focus is autumn / winter 2013. We hope to do a lot of shows in this period. As I said before we hope to have a booking agency to back us up on that one at that time. We also hope to do some shows abroad. There are a lot of fans outside of Holland who would like to see us.  


On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to the new recording by fans of death and thrash metal?

At this point most of the reviews are very positive! We are really satisfied! We don`t have so much reactions from the fans so far, since “The Reckoning” has just been released recently. We hope that everybody likes it!

What is going on with the other musical projects these days?

At the moment I`m also active guitar player in the stoner/grind/metal act Colonel Decker. Our other guitarist Vince used to play in the black/death act Autumnal Reaper but they quit some time ago. At the moment he sometimes plays as a stand in guitarist for the pagan metal act Heidevolk. Our vocalist Ralle is also active member of the German thrash act Witchtower.  

What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

That’s a little hard to predict, but I can guarantee you that it will remain a mixture of death and thrash metal with a melodic touch. We started writing new songs some time ago and the new songs pretty much cover what we have always done. Perhaps we`ll be exploring the edges a little more. From very hard and intense to fragile and serene. But as I said before, with Mortal Form it`s a little hard to predict. We do have our own rehearsal space since a few months and we are planning to record our own demo`s there in a while. That means we have more time to work on the songs at home so I hope, and think, that technically there will also be a musical improvement in the future.

What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

That`s always a hard question because we all listen to a very wide range of metal and rock music. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we don`t really keep up with all new bands at this moment and that we tend to reach back to the good old classics. Bands that mainly influenced Mortal Form are mostly thrash and death metal acts as Slayer, Kreator, Arch Enemy, At the Gates, In Flames, Dark Tranquility, Cannibal Corpse, Vader, Hypocrisy, The Haunted, Iron Maiden but also less know acts as Hypnosia (RIP, go check em out!!!), The Crown, Dies Irae and many others. On the other hand we also listen to black metal as well as rock and stoner music so the list of bands that I could mention here is really too big (from Gorgoroth to The Sword).

Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

Thanks for your interest in Mortal Form and keep up the good work with your magazine! I hope to meet all of you at one of our gigs in autumn / winter this year! Stay Brutal!