Apocryfal Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

We founded the band in 2009 and the line-up hasn't changed since PV joined the band in 2010. We have published two records and there is definitely more coming.
A specific genre is hard to define but we have been calling it assaulting death metal, and any fan on death metal in general should definitely give it a try.


2.So far you have released new ep's, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings?

We have never intentionally tried to create any specific type of music, the style has mostly developed on its own. Ravens was definitely more straight forward, brutal and fast and has a more old-school sound.
Aberration of Mind on the other hand has more of a blackened death sound with a little more variety and more complex compositions, although the original face smashing mentality is still present.


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

On "Ravens" MCD, lyrics revolved more around death and those who have been part of it. It’s a furious celebration of a certain doom, which we are all binded to.
PV does our lyrics and his main inspiration for the lyrics are religious texts. Non-fictional books have a big role in the process as well. Subjects are chewed through and gullible interpretations of subjects are avoided.

The Aberration of Mind EP's lyrics revolve around subjects of beliefs. Themes consider religion and problems around them. The album starts with a verse from Book of Lamentations sung in Finnish. Contra tells you a war story, which is justified by peoples trust in their own Truth. Mother of all revolves around Lilith based on Judeo-Christian scriptures.
Some apocryphal texts suggest that Lilith was also a wife of Adam, hence the name - Mother of All. We didn’t want to make a traditional text about worshiping the demon. We rather wanted to implant the frenzy of a fanatic believer into the text. The title track tells you a story about a man, who really wants to believe but cannot find the Truth, even that he knows what he is supposed to search. Its a tale of growth in a sense, and you can also see this as a story about a man who's faith is fading. The last track, A Theist, sums the album up and its a very essential part of the album lyric-wise.


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Apocryfal'?

It comes from the word "apocryphal", meaning "Of questionable authorship or authenticity". I spotted the word in high school and it both sounded like a great name for a band and also kind of reflected my views of religion.


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

The best show we have played was without a doubt at Steelfest Open air 2014. We got the chance to play there by winning a demo competition and had the honor of opening the second day for such bands as Vader and Primordial.

Stage performance-wise, we just go with the feeling. We don't plan our performance and rather just focus on playing, doing whatever anyone feels at the moment.
We have been described as energetic, and we mostly try to have a great time playing and reflect the passion to the audience.


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

There are a few shows coming up in the spring, the dates should be confirmed soon.


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

Yes, we are looking for a label. There has been some discussion with some small publishers, but so far nothing conclusive has been achieved.


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

We have received generally good reviews everywhere, rating mostly 4/5 or so. Some people have also ordered our merchandise abroad and we have got mostly positive feedback.


9.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

Bassist JV is working with his solo project and drummer JS also plays in Prayed And Betrayed on the side.


10.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We are working on new material for a full length album. When it will be released is a more difficult question. Creating the songs is the easier part, but there is of course the financial side. We have no interest in half-assing the album and raising the money that it requires to make a good sounding album is going to take some time. To give a rough estimate, it is probably going to happen in 2016.


11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Our music is a mix of various metal genres. There are too many influencing bands to name and our musical tastes vary quite heavily, but the greatest inspirations have come from death metal, both old and new, with some tastes of black and thrash metal.


12.What are some of your non musical interests?

I personally study IT in the university and a great chunk of my free time spires around various topics in the industry.
Other members' interests vary from fishing to literature.


13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

I'd like to thank everyone who read this, you are the power that keeps real extreme metal scene alive.
If you got interested, our music can be downloaded for free at http://apocryfal.bandcamp.com/ and there is some merchandise for sale if you want to support us.

Gorelust Interview

QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY JEAN BEAULIEU - VOCALS



1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?

Since the recording of the album WE ARE THE UNDEAD we finally took a break from the production process. The music writing began in April 2013. We recorded the album in the summer 2014. So it has been a long stretch. It was kind of complicated since we all lives apart and far from each others. From 6 to 14 hours drive-boat…We all have our lives , jobs and families so planning and doing  everything was not an easy task. We had not been together since 1996.


2.You have your new album coming out in February, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

The goal of doing this was to keep the 90’s underground spirit and we believe that we succeeded. Presently, most of the bands that claims to be old- school mostly use triggers, samples and modern productions tricks. Sure they got the blast beats but how really old-school they are? I mean, it is ok, it’s cool, but for us our goal was really to return back to a old-school-underground production. You like it or not. We are not trying to change the Gorelust sound. We did the follow-up to Reign of Lunacy but 20 years later. So it goes in the same direction than the 1995 album. The songs are a little more thrash-influenced. But it is still death metal with shocking lyrics.


3.The band was broken up for 16 years, what was the cause of the split and also the decision the reform?

We got to remember that the band splitted in 1996. We were very young and we were building our lives, our futures. So i quit the band to go study sound enginneering in Montreal. 5-6 hours drive from Rimouski. The band quit a few months after my departure. There was also the fact that back in the days, internet was not yet established in everyone’s lives. We were a french speaking band in a isolated little town.  It was not an easy task to get your band name out there. We did a lot of gigs with big major bands and we did an album that got distributed in the international metal underground. For us, only that, was quite a accomplishment.

We decided to reform because of our passion to do music together. To do this second album that we were planning in 1996 but never got the chance to do. Seeing support on the internet was also a great motivation to do it. This is the real reasons. The passion for death metal music and our love and respect for the Gorelust’s fans.

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

I wrote all the lyrics myself. These are coming straight from my mind. I did them the same way i did Reign of Lunacy. They are horror stories. Violent and shocking. I’m not writing to do social or political statements. I’m wrote them in the 90’s death metal horror themes vein. Some peoples think that they are anti-christian lyrics. Which is false. I respect everyone’s beliefs.

Every time i talk against some religions it is against their abuse of power. Or some priests sexual crimes. Like in « Rape the rapist ».   These have different meanings. And most of the titles can be interpreted differently. I mean the titles suggest something but the texts are about something else. Kind of tricky to interpret. The song « Decapitate the holy whore » is not about chopping the head of Mary Magdalene. Hehehe.. It is about revolting against an abusive religion. The holy whore in this case is actually the religion organization itself.

I must confess that in the Reign of Lunacy period there was some reference to satan and devilish stuff. But i wrote them at 17 years old. Did not understood everything and was listening to too much Deicide ! hahaha…


5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Gorelust'?

Oooh.. Back in 92-93 the first idea was to call the band Bloodlust. But finally the guys found out that it was already used. So the gutiarist, Jeff olivier, found the name Gorelust. The goal in those days was the find a violent catchy name. Even today i still think that this is a great classic death metal band name.

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

Last time we played on a stage was in 1996. So it has been quite a while. Gorelust’s performances were known to be energetic and brutal. The guys are great musicians really. We did a lot of cool shows. The band played with Cannibal Corpse during the Tomb of the mutilated tour. With Deicide during Once upon the cross era. A few gigs with Gorguts – Erosion of sanity.  With Cryptopsy – None so vile and a few also with Suffocation – Pierced from within. Among many others, Dying Fetus, Malevolent Creation… Many great shows !

7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

There is no touring plans. Maybe a show in Rimouski our hometown. Maybe Montreal. But even this is not sure… We will see how it goes…




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

Gorelust is an underground band. We have a pretty cool following and peoples who know the band were really cool and happy about it. The facebook page is getting a lot of new « likes ». This is so great. All this would have seemed completely impossible a few years back. Man…i still can believe it. I had not talked to the guitarist for something like 12 years. Even the Pascal (bass) and Francis (bass). I saw them like maybe 1 time in 10 years. For my voice, when i began doing the demos for the new songs. It was my first time doing vocals since 1996. This is crazy !!


9.Are any of the band members also involved with any other musical projects or bands these days?

Oh yeah… Except for me, the others Gorelust’s members have played in many bands in the past years. Presently there is Francis (drums) who is playing in Spirit of Rebellion. A band from our hometown of Rimouski. He is also playing in a Ozzy-Sabbath tribute band with Martin (guitarist).

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We don’t know if we will do another album. If we do it, we will do it in the Gorelust style. Again. This is who we are. We play death metal. I don’t even call it brutal death metal. I don’t like all this categorizations. For us it is just « death metal ».

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

For Gorelust’s is obvious that we took our influences in the early death metal scene. We came just a few years after the birth of it. In 1992, 1993. Death metal was in his early stages. We came from this period. There is also a lot of thrash influences, the old Forbidden, Exodus… As for our musical tastes is range really wide. From rock to extreme music. Just don’t try to made me listen to techno music or others drums looped electronic stuff.. Not for me.


12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Got a lot of interests in movies, international movies. Can’t live without nice food and great wine. Trying stuff.  And travelling is also one of my favourite thing. I plan to return to Europe soon…

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
I want to thank you for your interest in the band and your support. This is a true underground band and we love every fans and really appreciate all support. All the new « likes » on Facebook means a lot to us. Making an album 20 years later was quite a ride and it is so great to see younger peoples who understand and appreciate it. This is death metal in his purest form. In the early 90’s vein. Raw production and sound, horror themes, true dedication to this style. Keep it brutal, Keep it real.
Jean Beaulieu
I

Kevlar Skin/Transmigrator/Eclectic Productions/2014 CD Review

  Kevlar  Skin  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a  very  brutal  and  technical  form  of  death  metal  with  elements  of  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Transmigrator"  which  was  released  by  Eclectic  Productions.

   Movie  samples  which  also  appear  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  as  well  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  heavy  and  brutal  death  metal  direction  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  sound  as  well  as  a  great  amount  of  growls  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  to  speed  up  a  bit  and  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.

  The  songs  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  with  the  faster  sections  bringing  in  elements  of  grindcore  and  at  times  the  vocals  get  more  guttural  while  the  focus  is  more  on  a  traditional  style  of  death  metal  growls  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  brings  into  the  music  are  very  melodic  and  technical  sounding  while  still  able  to  compete  with  the  bands  brutal  musical  style  and  on  some  of  the  tracks  the  rhythm  guitars  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  the  bass  guitars  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  leads  at  times.  

  Kevlar  Skin  plays  a  style  of  death  metal t hat  is  very  brutal  and  technical  sounding  and  also  brings  in  the  speed  of  grindcore  and  the  album  is  brutal  from  beginning  to  end  and  there  is  never  a  soft  or  weak  moment  to  be  heard  anywhere  on  the  album,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Genetic  Engineering,  Altered  States  Of  Mind  and  Death  Themes.

  In  my  opinion  Kevlar  Skin  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  and  technical  mixture  of  death  metal  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dawn  Of  A  Nation" "Self  Proclaimed  God"  "Voluntary  Extinction"  and  "Rebirth  From  Collapse".  8  out  of  10.

  

Cyhyraeth/Servant To The Fire/2014 CD Review

  Cyhyraeth  are  a  band  from  Texas  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Servant  To  the  Fire".

  A  very  hard  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  and  adding  in  elements  of  thrash  along  with  some  deep  death  metal  growls  as  well  as  some  high  pitched  screams  and  the music  has  a  very  modern  sound  to  it  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  When  solos  are  added  into  the  music  they  add  in  more  melody  along  with  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  singing  female  and  male  vocals  and  clean  playing  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  songs  start  bringing  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Cyhraeth  takes  a  very  modern  style  of  melodic  death metal  and  mixes  it  with  thrash  and  a  touch  of  groove  metal  to  create  the  sound  that  is  presented  on  the  recording,  the  production  sound s very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Cyhraeth  are  a  very  decent  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "As  The  World  Burns"  "Confliction"  "Aftermath"  and  "Final  Relapse".  7/5  out  of  10.

     

Haddah/Through The Gates Of Evangelia/Beyond Productions/2014 CD Review

  Haddah  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Through  The  Gates  Of  Evangelia"  which  was  released  by  Beyond  Productions.

  Dark  and  tragic  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  melodic  death  metal  direction  along  with  a  good  mixture  of  growls  and  screams  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  also  add  more  melody  to  the  bands  musical  style  and  after  awhile  the  songs  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  In  certain  sections  of  the  recording  you  can  hear  some  elements  of  groove  metal  while  the  faster  sections  also  add  in  blast  beats  in  some  of  the  tracks  and  as  the  album  progresses  some  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  and  some  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  an  influence  of  metalcore.

  Haddah  plays  a  style  of  melodic  death  metal  that  is  influence  by  both  the  old  school  and  modern  variations  of  the  genre  and  they  also  add  in  a  touch  of  groove  metal  and  metalcore,  the production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  epic  tales  and  mythology  themes.

    In  my  opinion  Haddah  are  a  very  decent  sounding  melodic  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  7th  Autumn"  "The  War  Of  Wars"  "Live  Your  Existence"  and  "Thoth".  7/8  out  of  10.         

NilExistence/Existence In Revelation/2014 Advanced promo Review

  NilExistence  are  a  band  from  new York  that  plays  a  very  extreme  and  brutal  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  advanced  promo  "Existence  In  Revelation".

  Horror  movies  samples  start  off  the  first  track  and  a  few  seconds  later  the  music  goes  into  a  brutal  death  metal  direction  along  with  some  growls  that  also  takes  the  music  into  a  faster  direction  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  you  can  also  hear  some  melody  being  mixed  in  with  the  brutality  along  with  a  good  mixture  of  slow  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  solos  and  leads  in  the  song  are  very  dark  yet  melodic  at  the  same  time.  

  The  second  song  which  is  also  a  9  minute  track  starts  off  with  a  very  heavy  and  dark  sound  that  also  bring s in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  along  with  a  good  amount  of  growls  and  morbid  sounding  melodies  and  at  time s you  can  also  hear  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  and  the  song  also  switches  back  and  forth  from  being  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  and  towards  the  end  of  the  track  a  small  amount of  keyboards  are  added  into  the  music  before  returning  back  to  a  more  heavy  and  brutal  death  metal  direction  as  well  as  adding  in  some  solos  and  leads

  NilExistence  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  heavy  and  extreme  and  also  avoids  following  any  of  the  modern  trends  that  have  watered  down  the  genre  over  the  years,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  violent  themes.

  In  my  opinion  NilExistence  are  a  very  great  sounding  heavy  and  extreme  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  promo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "The  Quietus".  8  out  of  10.    

Slup/Dramatorgie/Bizarre Leprous Production/2014 CD Review

  Slup  are  a  band  from  Czech  Republic  that  plays  a  mixture  of  old  school death  metal  and  goregrind  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Dramrtorgie"  which  was  released  by  Bizare  Leprous  Production.

  Electronic  music  sounds  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  brutal  death/grind  direction  along  with  growling  vocals  and  high  pitched  screams  and  after  awhile  the  music  gets  more  faster  along  with  some  guttural  vocals  and  blast  beats  and  after  awhile  the  music  brings  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  You  can  hear  a  lot  of  old  school  death  metal  element s in  the  bands  musical  style  and  at  times  the  music  also  incorporates  some  melodies  and  at  time s you  can  hear  some  modern  elements  of  deathcore  being  added  into  their  old  school  death/grind  sound  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  songs  also  incorporate  a  great  amount  of  groove  and  brutality  and  some  of  the  later  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  samples.

  Slup  goes  back  to  the  90's  style  of  death/grind  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  groove  as  well  as  update  the  sound  with  some  deathcore  elements  and  guttural  style  growls  to  give  the  music  a  more  modern  feeling  while  also  keeping  around  an  old  school  style,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in t heir  native  tongue  and  cover  gore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Slup  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  old  school  death  metal  ans  goregrind  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Prst  v  klade"  "Hoven  se  nezbavis"  "Viva  Lila"  and  "Jen  zeny.cz".  8  out  of  10.

    

Apocryfal/Abberation Of Mind/2013 EP Review

  Apocryfal  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  very  dark  and  heavy  form  of  death  metal  with  a  blackened  touch  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  ep  "Abberation  of  Mind".

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  death  metal  guitar  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  deep  growls  that  evoke  a  demonic  feeling  at  times  and  you  can  also  hear  some  melodies  in  their  music  at  times  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  having  more  of  a  modern  death  metal  feeling  while  the  fast  parts  and  blast  beats  bring  in  more  of  an  old  school  Swedish  feeling.

  Throughout  the  ep  there  is  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  as  the  ep  progresses  black  metal  screams  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  the  musical  style  sticks  mostly  to  a  death  metal  direction  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  ep  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to t hem.

  Apocryfal  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  incorporated  both  modern  and  old  school  elements  along  with  the  darkness  of  black  metal  to  create  their  own  sound,  the  production  sound s very  dark  and  powerful  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  Death,  Mythology  and  Religion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Apocryfal  are  a  very  great  sounding  dark  and  heavy  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Contra"  and  "A  Theist".  8  out  of  10.      

Gorelust/We Are The Undead/PRC Music/2015 CD Review

  Gorelust  are  a  band  from  Canada  that  plays  a  very  old  school  and  brutal  form  of  gore/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  album  "We  Are  the  Undead"  which  will  be  released  in  2015  by  PRC  Music.

  Horror  movie  samples  start  off  the  album  before  adding  in  heavy  guitars,  drums  and  growls  and  after  the  intro  those  3  instruments  take  over  and  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  brutal  90's  death  metal  sound  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  they  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  adding  high  pitched  screams  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  At  times  the  band  adds  evil  sounding  melodies  in  with  the  brutal death  metal  sound  as  well  as  adding  in  solos  and  leads  that  bring  back  the  Florida  style  death  metal  sound  of  91  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  do  they  part  to  add  to  the  brutality  of  the  songs  and  as  the  album  progresses  you  can  hear  some  grindcore  elements  and  the  early  90's  take  on  slam  death  metal  being  added  into  the  songs  at  times  while  one  of  the  alter  tracks  also  brings  back  the  horror  movie  samples  of  the  intro  before  making  a  return  back  to  a  brutal  sound.

  Gorelust  goes  back  to  the  90's  and  brings  back  the  brutal  gore/death  metal  sound  of  that  era  as  well  as  showing  a  different  side  to  old  school  death  metal  than  some  of  the  bands have  seemed  to  forgotten  about,  the  production  sounds  very  old  school  yet  very  professional  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  violence,  gore,  and  anti  christian  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Gorelust  are  a  very  great  sounding old  school,  brutal  gore/death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Rape  The  Rapist"  "We  Are  The  Undead"  "City  of  the  Cannibals"  and  "Wretched  Life".  8  out  of  10.    

One Step Beyond Interview

Interview with Matt

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?

Greetings. In this time we’ve been recording another album. It’s taken a long time between finishing The Music of Chance and having it released. It was a drawn out and frustrating process with very little opportunity to feel that the band was progressing, so to create some momentum I wrote another album. I’m very excited by it and feel it’s our most accomplished work yet.

2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also hoe does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

The axis of our musical style is extreme metal. Death, black, thrash, grind and doom all feature heavily. But crucially, if we feel a song benefits from a passage drawn from a non-metal genre, then we’ll incorporate that too. As with all our albums it’s also important that no two songs are alike. Most extreme metal albums can be casually heard as 10-12 versions of what’s essentially the same song, which is fine. Many of my favourite albums do this, but it’s not my intention for this to happen on a One step beyond album. Ideally all our songs sound distinctly different to each other, but retain a coherent identity.

I think this album differs from our previous in that it’s a little more driven by the guitars. It’s certainly more layered with guitars. Previously most songs were written bass first, this time it was guitar first. The bass is still an integral bridge between the drums, guitars and vocals, but it doesn’t lead things as much as before. Also this is our first album with a live drummer.


3.The band has been around since 1997 but so far there are only 3 full lengths, an ep and a demo, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap between releases?


Both The Music of Chance and Beyond Good and Evil suffered long delays between completion and release. For Beyond Good and Evil it was initially a financial issue, but then our founding guitarist Jeremy Lammas passed away in a car accident. We lost a great friend and band mate, which seriously halted our momentum for some time. The Music of Chance had a long recording process. I used it as an opportunity to learn how to record and mix an album. This meant it was a much slower process than just booking into a studio for a couple of weeks. There was a lot of re-recording, mixing and re-mixing. Trial and error basically. This was followed by a long wait for artwork. Fortunately I think the wait was well worth it!


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


Lyrically we try to keep things eclectic and unique. If we’re singing about common themes, we hopefully do so from an uncommon perspective. For The Music of Chance the lyrics
 share the themes of chance and co-incidence and how they can impact the average persons average day. Contexts we use for this include addiction, gambling, relationships, upbringings and more. It’s often very much every day, everyman, relatable stuff, but hopefully written with a particular insight that you wont find elsewhere.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'One Step Beyond"?


Well I’m a huge fan of the band Madness. When I was trying to name the band I read the track listings of all of the hundreds of cds in my collection at the time, documenting any title that might translate into a decent band name. The Madness song One Step Beyond was the last name standing. As for the meaning, I prefer for that to be a subjective decision for the listener. Whatever it means for the listener is what it means.

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

It’s been a while since we’ve been on stage. Our last show was good. We supported Nile and Hate eternal. The crowd were kind.

On stage we are very honest. No posing. No make-up. No masks. It’s just us, as we are, playing our music and displaying whatever energy it naturally provokes in us. We aim to play tight and with precision, but to move around a bit too.

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

Nope. Nothing currently. We are auditioning guitarists with an eye to some more shows in the near future, but writing and recording is the priority.

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

Mostly positive beyond our hopes. Of course when you like to mash a funk passage into a death metal song some people will take offense. But many kind things have been written.

9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?

For me it’s been almost exclusively One Step Beyond for a few years now, though currently I am recording bass for the death metal band Intellect devourer, which also features members of Stargazer and Mournful congregation.

Justin is playing in a few other bands currently. He does a porn grind band named Bukkake, their demo has just been released. A death/thrash band named Brutaliate and a long running war metal band named Slaughter thou, who have a few releases out.





10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

It’s tough to say. I don’t want to contrive a particular direction. We will always be predominantly an extreme metal band and we will always draw inspiration from an eclectic variety of bands and styles.

At some point, with the right players on board, I would like to include some more improvisational passages, especially live. I think this can be the most honest form of musical expression and for me that’s a desirable trait.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Countless bands have influenced our music. The bands that intitially made me want to play extreme metal include Napalm death, Death, Suffocation, Bloodduster, Carcass and more. The bands that made me want to write unique and varied material include Fishbone, Frank Zappa, The Clash, Living colour and Infectious grooves. All those bands would release albums where every song had its own independent identity. More so than the average band.

As for current listening, the list is long and always evolving. Just this week my ears have been indulged by Godflesh, Gridlink, The Melvins, Vakula, Lykathea aflame, CV313, Smith and mighty, Augustus Pablo, Napalm death, Dying fetus, Suffocation, Cormega, Jedi mind tricks, The beta band, Canibus, Grave, Decapitated, Aril Brikha, Repulsion, Sigh, Dawnbringer, Insomnium, Warning, Black twang, Cult of fire, Model 500 and much more.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

I’ve been formally and informally studying brewing for a couple of years now and I love craft beer, the modern American and traditional Belgian styles in particular. I’m very passionate about cinema. I watch films from any country, any era, popular or obscure. It’s an incredible art form. A real melting pot of so many other forms. I read. Literature, educational, magazines, what have you. I’m a sports junky, mostly cricket and EPL. I’m awake at 3AM to watch Liverpool play. In between albums I also like to indulge in some gaming. PC mostly.

Outside of music Justin loves gaming too. He also practices MMA and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He’s been at it for a few years and holds a blue belt with 2 stripes. He’s currently a silver medallist in state level competition.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thanks for the interview mate and thanks to those who read it. Cheers.

Redacted Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
  Jon: We are <Redacted> and we play rock and roll. In all seriousness though, the world of independent music that hasn't been through any sort of 'profitability' filter like a record label or a producer is a really exciting world of half-finished ideas, spastic creativity and endless optimism. You'll hear stuff that is the love child of a few people that was made because they thought the world needed to hear it, rather than because they needed to eat or pay rent. It can be inspirational and theatrical. It can be whatever you want it to be. The World Commander and I have been lifelong metal fans, particularly extreme metal, and we wanted to write music together that was interesting and heavy but uncomplicated. We wanted there to be that DIY aspect to it. We respected the work ethic of bands like Death and Bathory where you've got some incredible music with its own mindblowing ethos behind it, but played by a few guys in hi-tops and Motorhead t-shirts.
  We spent a year writing the sort of out-of-nowhere death/thrash that we like to play. We settled quite early on with lyrical themes and song concepts, intentionally choosing esoteric sci-fi and paranormal themes with a tasty twist of tin-foil-hat wearing conspiracy theory. Death metal lyrics should be intimidating, but the Satan thing has been done so many times, so well, by such brilliant artists that it can be very hard to come across as anything other than cliché at worst, and a tribute at best.
  Richard: We play a bit of thrash, a bit of death metal, we smash it with some melody, and then grind it into a fine wine to pour into your ear holes.

    2.Recently you have released an album how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
  Jon: The demo came together miraculously well. I'm really pleased with the end result. These songs were written between the two of us, over the space of a year and yet there's a real feeling of 'togetherness' on the album. We definitely have a sound emerging, despite the fact that we would write a song and think "That sounds NOTHING like the last one I wrote!". It came out very well, and the quality of production for a free and independent release is something we can both be really proud of.
  Richard: It's definitely a "prequel" sound. Jon and I started this on a larf, but it's only since realising we have something that /clicks/ that we are taking it a bit more seriously. Just a bit though. Alien Nation is an important stepping stone, a lesson in what to do and not do next time.


3.I have seen the band labelled as a 'Hypocrisy' rip off, do you feel you have evolved from that on the new album?
  Jon: Haha! That is a running joke between us. The sci-fi horror stuff, the electronica-touched death metal parts. Hypocrisy got there first. They're a huge influence on us and our sound and we both feel like they're hugely underrated and really deserve the same level of respect and acclaim afforded to bands like Obituary and Morbid Angel for their contribution to death metal. We'll keep paving our own way in the songs we write and flexing our muscle in different creative areas, but our roots will always lie in the incredible bands that came before.
  Richard: To be honest, I'd love to sound /more/ like Hypocrisy sometimes, haha. Peter Tagtgren's voice is huge and so versatile. That being said, I think we are bringing a lot of influence into the band: Katatonia, Lich King, Celine Dion, the list is long.

  4.Your lyrics cover some esoteric, Illuminati, conspiracy theories and u.f.o themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in those topics?
  Jon: We're not crazy. We're the last people you'll ever hear shouting "Bush did 9/11!" outside of a song lyric. But the conspiracy theory, the paranormal, the fear of the unknown is such a juicy topic that's ripe for song lyrics and inspiration. Some have been touched on before in great depth. I know the illuminati is a common theme in metal music, but who's singing about aliens and big black Northumbrian dogs? Us! That's who!
  Richard: We're both skeptics, we just fucking love The X-Files.

  5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Redacted'?
  Jon: When classified documents are released under the secrets act, any information which could be potentially damaging to that government or national body is removed with the term <Redacted> in its place. Often, in highly sensitive documents this almost renders it unreadable. We loved the idea that you were telling people something while telling them nothing. In our mind it's a really clear signal from your leaders that they're watching you and that you can't be trusted. It seemed to fit with the lyrical themes.
  Richard: A Twitter joke gone wrong... and then appropriated for a serious band. <Redacted> is the sanitisation of information. In this far flung Orwellian future we are the truth behind layers of red tape.

  6.Has the band done any live shows or is this a studio project?
  Jon: It started as a studio project and was always meant to be one, but the interest generated and the love we have for this project and how much it's grown with us in the last year, it would be a tragedy if we didn't consider the possibility of taking <Redacted> on the road at some point.
  Richard: We haven't done any shows /yet/. Jon lives in Leeds and I live in London. We are currently recruiting a live bassist and drummer for some attempted shows... sometime down the line.

  7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
  Jon: We aren't signed and currently we're not the sort of band that would be considered by a major label. They're looking for regularly touring acts with an already profitable fan base. We're passionate musicians giving our work away for free. If the right opportunity came along, we would love to sign to a label that would let us reach a wider audience and be able to stay alive while we travel the country doing what we love.
  Richard: We are definitely looking for a label, but it's hard in this day and age. There are a lot of good bands out there who have been unsigned for a long time. We're not gonna let that get in the way too much though. The response to Alien Nation has been huge and we are gonna keep at it if only for ourselves.

  8.On the new album you did a Motorhead cover and Sepultura medley, what was the decision behind doing your own tributes to these bands?

Jon: I wish I could give a really deep reason behind that but we just think those bands are really cool. The Sepultura medley came about because we couldn't decide which song to cover so we decided to do them ALL. Trivia buffs may have noticed a Soulfly song hidden in there too.
  Richard: Motorhead are just... classic. They injected speed into a genre that sorely needed it. You can never go wrong with some Motorhead when you are in a rut. It's just good balls out, slap you in the face rock.
 The Sepultura medley was Jon's idea as I am not a huge fan of the band beyond a few songs here and there. It was really fun though. We got a lot of riffs packed in that nine minutes!

  9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of underground metal?
  Jon: Overwhelmingly positive so far but we want to reach more people! There's a huge amount of choice out there now. Tape trading exists in spirit only. There's all these amazing bands in South America and Greece and Canada and the United States that are all desperate for you to hear their work and you can get all of it from your bedroom. They are all online. We're part of that scene now and that's really cool but you have to press gang some people into listening to your stuff so the pushing never stops. It's a two sided coin. As a musician I want as many listeners as possible but as a fan, I love that there's so much great stuff out there and that publishing belongs to fans and not labels anymore.
  Richard: We have already gotten messages from fans in North America, the UK, Greece, Brazil... it's been crazy, I was not expecting such a big response so early out of the gate!

  10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
  Jon: We're going to get heavier. A lot heavier. We're pretty heavy already but we're already writing songs for a full length release next year and they're sounding tight and chunky.
  Richard: I can see us doing a lot of different things within the band. The songs we have and the songs we are writing are varied. We kind of straddle the line of complex songs like Truth is a Privilege and simple songs like They Always Wear Black. A lot of people only lean one way: "I listen to Dream Theater" or "I listen to Hawkwind." ...I say listen to both bands!

  11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
  Jon: Oh god 2014 has been an incredible year for metal. Standout albums for me have been Anaal Nathrakh's Desideratum, Cannibal Corpse's A Skeletal Domain, Opeth's Pale Communion, Bloodbath's Grand Morbid Funeral and Behemoth's The Satanist. I've also been revisiting some real classics that I didn't give enough time first time round. Slowly We Rot, Left Hand Path, Domination, Effigy of the Forgotten. All great albums. As for influences, well, Hypocrisy are a given for us but also you can hear splashes of Slayer, Kreator, Motorhead, Sabbath and Priest in our sound in places. They're the sort of things I grew up with so they're heavily rooted in my playing and writing.
  Richard: The bands that inspire me to write <Redacted> material are Hypocrisy, Sodom, and Bloodbath. ...Grand Morbid Funeral is a fucking beast.

  12.What are some of your non musical interests?
  Jon: I don't have many. I'm a big music guy. When I am not doing music stuff, I read or I cycle. Sometimes I play video games but it's not long before it's right back to music again.
  Richard: My hobbies are all over the place. I love video games, but I also love nature. Sitting down with a good game is fun times, but getting lost in the woods is one of my favourite things. Hard to do that in London though. I also love to cook, read about history especially World War II, I'm also a huge fan of A Song of Ice and Fire.

    13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
  Jon: Keep listening to heavy metal and keep watching the skies.
  Richard: Watch the skies!

Squidhead Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
So, the Squidhead is an instrumental metal project coming from Belgium. It has started as a one Man band (me, as you've most probably noticed) and has release a debut EP  "prohibition" this year.
The Music is a mix of modern death metal, with 8 string guitar riffing, melodic licks and a bunch of eletronics.

2.Recently you have released an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
About the EP, it´s a 5 tracks record with some brutal songs, some more atmospheric and a bit of progressive elements. There is also some grooving stuff there and there.

3.The project was formed in 2009 and you waited until 2014 to put out a release, can you tell us a little bit more about the five year wait?
A lot of things! The project, at his early stage, was supposed to be a side project with guests playing the different parts. Unfortunately, the people were not always available and I was still involved in local bands so, the process tooks much longer than expected.
At the time, I also had no experience in home studio recording so it tooks me a couple of years to buy decent equipment and gain enough skills in music production to be able to make a record that worth it.

4.On the ep all of the musical was instrumental, are you planning on using vocals in the future or do you prefer the instrumental approach?
I would definitely love to have vocals on the next record. I have made this first record instrumental simply because I'm not good enough at singing. I focused on writing Music that was interesting enough (to my opinion of course) without vocals. But the future of the Squid will have some vocals if I can find the good person to do it.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Squidhead'?
I'm a big fan of roleplaying games and fantastic universes and I love Lovecraft (the writer of the call of Cthulhu). I wanted an image close to a humanoid with octopus like head inspired by those universes.
I was also looking for some sort of Alter-ego image that could be useful to represent myself as a musician.

6.Currently you record everything solo but have worked with quest musicians before in the past, are you interested in forming a full band or do you prefer to remain solo?
If I'm able to find the right people to fit in a Line-up, I would love to! I'm currently looking for those guys and I hope it will work for the next album. I will only remain solo if there is no other way of making this music.

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
Not yet, as the project as been revealed only one year ago, it´s still new. But we will see where the future leads. Who know? Maybe someone will be interested in the future.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal?
The first feed-back is very good but, I have to be honest, only a few people outside of Europe did show enthusiam about the Squid so far. Anyway, death metal fans in Europe seems to like it.

9.Are you also involved with any other musical projects?
Nothing serious so far, as I've decided to make the Squid my main focus now. I don't want to wait for 5 years to make a new record. I'm open to other proposition but not looking for it right now.

10.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
I'm already working hard on composing the first full length album and hope to have it ready during 2015. The new music will be more "live band music", made for the stage. There will be more industrial elements also in the sound and more room for singing in general.
And, as I said, there will be live shows!

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
I'm a big fan of Devin Townsend, Fear Factory, Meshuggah, Steve Vai, Nine inch nails, Morbid Angel, etc.. Those guys have a big influence on my way of thinking the music.
Nowadays, I listen to Slipknot, Sólstafir, Shining (Norway), Decapitated, Dagoba, Stephan Forte, Krimh, the ocean, Resistance, etc.. A lot of stuff!

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
I've started Crossfit 6 months ago and I'm a total addict! I also do some leather crafting (I actually made the Squidhead mask you see on my promo pics). I work in the field of Microbiology and love roleplaying games. I'm a busy guy!

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
I would like to thank you guys for this nice interview. It´s not easy for a little guy alone in Belgium to be noticed and what you do means a lot, really.

Greetings from Belgium!

Pish for Squidhead

Nameless One Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before can you tell us a little bit about the band?
1.We are Japanese Melodic death metal band based by five members(Vo,Gt,Gt,Ba,Dr) in 2013. Our sound is affected by traditional heavy metal sounds.

2.So far you have released 2 ep's and a single, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on those recordings?
2.The sound is encrusted melodies people feel a longing for,a lot of riffs by beautiful melodies, shred guitar solo and technical part on high speed rhythms.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
3.Our lyrical subjects are stories of nameless people don't go down in history.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Nameless One'?
4.We are　also ones of nameless people don't go down in history.Therefore We chose the name"Nameless One".

5.What are some of the best shows that the band ha splayed so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
5.Our performance influence Gothic band.We perform one story in the concert.

6.Do you have any touring or showing plans for the future?
6.We don't have plans.If we are requested, we want to go anywhere all over the world.

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a lable or have received any interest?
7.Yes,we are. We look for a label that spread our music around the world!!!

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of meloidc death metal?
8.They often say that our music is very beautiful.However there are opinions they need more brutality.

9.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
9.Within one years!

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
10.We mainly influence heavy metal band.(For example Arch Enemy,Iron Maiden, Children of Bodom,,,and more.)
Nowadays I listen to Japanese pops music,and we try to adopt Japanese original melody to our music.

11.How would you describe the metal scene in Japan?
11.The metal scene in Japan gradually swells. This is because overseas famous bands come and concert in Japan recently.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
12.Books,movies and animations. This is because we are the band sing stories.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
13.Thank you for the interview and your reading!!!
Please listen to our songs and spread!!!

Destroying Divinity/Hollow Dominion/Lavadome Productions/2014 CD Review

  Destroying  Divinity  are  a  band  from  Czech  Republic  that  plays  a  brutal  form  of  death  metal  and  also  bring  in  a  black  metal  influence  this  time  around  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Hollow  Dominion"  which  was  released  by  Lavadome  Productions.

  A  very  heavy  and  brutal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  death  metal  growls  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  after  awhile  high  pitched  screams  and  melody  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  bring  in  more  of  a  chaotic  edge  to  the  bands  musical  style.

  When  the  band  goes  into  the  other  songs  they  stick  to  a  very  brutal  style  of  death  metal  while  also  having  a  more  of  a  black  metal  influence  which  can  be  heard  in  both  the  riffs  and  vocals and  as  the  album  progresses  acoustic  guitars  are  brought  into  the  music  briefly  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  sound  and  incorporating  some  melody.  

  Destroying  Divinity  creates  another  brutal  sounding  death  metal  album  and  also  brings  in  more  of  a  black  metal  influence  this  time  around  which  helps  expand  their  sound  and  take  it  in  a  different  direction,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  blasphemous  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Destroying  Divinity  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Burning  Divine  Domination"  "Suffering  Redemption"  and  "Inner  Slavery".  8  out of  10.  

Sexcrement/XXX Bargain Bin Vol 2/2014 EP Review

  Sexcrement  are  a  band  from Massachusetts  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  brutal  death  metal,  groove  and  porno  grind  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  ep  "XXX  Bargain  Bin  Vol  2".

  A  very  heavy  death/groove  metal  sound  starts  of  the  ep  along  with  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  grindcore  screams  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  you  can  also  hear  some  melodies  in  the  songs  being  utilized  at  them  along  with  a  small  amount  of  back  up  gang  shouts.

  At  times  the  music  bring s in  some  metalcore  style  breakdowns  and  on  the  second  track  they  do  their  own  version  of  Alice  In  Chains  "We  Die  Young"  and  adds  in  more  of  a  death  metal  sound  to  this  song  while  the  guitar  lead  sounds  like  the  original  version  and  they  do  another  original  track  and  close  the  ep  with  a  cover  of  Pat  Benater's  "Heartbreaker".

  On  the  2  original  tracks  Sexcrement  continue  the  groove/porno  death  metal  sound  of  the  previous  album  while  the  2  cover  songs  shows  the  band  mixing  hard  rock  with  death  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  porno  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Sexcrement  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "We  Die  Young"  and  "Streetwalker".  8  out  of  10.  

      

One Step Beyond/The Music Of Choice/Metal Scrap Records/2014 CD Review

  One  Step  Beyond  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  plays  an  experimental  mixture  of  crossover,  thrash,  death  metal  and  grind  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "The  Music  Of  Choice"  which  was  released  by  Metal  Scrap  Records.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  and  the  music  starts  to  get  more  heavy  a  few  seconds  later  along  with  the  band  adding  in  a  good  amount  of  melodic  guitar  leads  and  after  the  intro  the  music  speeds  up  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  high  pitched  screams  and  you  can  hear  traces  of  black  and  melodic  death  metal  in  the  bands  musical  sound.

  When  growls  are  added  into  the  music  the  album  starts  having  more  of  a  grindcore  edge  and  they  also  clam  things  down  by  adding  elements  of  funk  and  psychedelia  into  certain  sections  of t he  recording  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  and  they  also  stick  more  to  the  heavy  side  of  things  and  also  bringing  in  elements  of  thrash  to  the  guitar  riffing.

  There  is  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  present  throughout  the  recording  and  at  times  the  music  can  also  be  very  progressive  and  on  some  of  the  songs  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  samples  can  be  heard  along  with  a  touch  of  stoner  rock  and  a  few  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length.

  One  Step  Beyond  plays  a  very  original  style  of  extreme  metal  that  has  its  roots  in  death  metal,  grindcore  and  thrash  and  they  also  expand  on  it  by  bring  in  ska,  funk,  progressive  and  experimental  elements  into  the  songs  to  add  a  different  sound  to  this  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  One  Step  Beyond  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  experimental  rock,  death  metal,  grindcore  and  thrash  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Music  Of  Chance"  "Up  In  Smoke"  "Good  World  Gone  Bad"  and  "Snake  Eyes".  8  out  of  10.       

Squidhead/Prohibition/2014 EP Review

  Squidhead  are  a  1  man  band  from  Belgium  that  plays  a  very  melodic,  progressive  and  modern  form  of  death  metal  and  this is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "Prohibition".

  A  very  dark,  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  solos  and  leads  that  bring  in  a  great amount  of  talent  and  skill  and  you  can  hear  a  lot  more  of  the  modern  extreme  metal  sound  in  the  songs  along  with  blast  beats  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  a  great  amount  of  melody  being  added  into  both  the  riffs  and  leads.

  All  of  the  songs  on  the  ep  are  instrumental  and  you  can  hear  a  heavy  progressive  metal  feeling  throughout  the  recording  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  and  on  the  3rd  and  4th  track's  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  is  added  onto  the  recording  and  most  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  mid  paced  direction.

  Squidhead  plays  a  very  modern  form  of  death  metal  that  is  very  melodic  and  also  mixes  in  a  great  amount  of  progressive  metal  elements  and  talented  playing  and  the  production  sound s very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Squidhead  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  progressive,  modern  death  metal  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Prohibition"  and  "The  Ritual".  8  out  of  10.       

Heboïdophrenie/Origin Of Madness/2014 CD Review

   Heboïdophrenie  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  mixture  of  thrash,  death  metal  and  deathcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Origin  Of  Madness".

  Horror  movie  samples  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  slam  style  death  metal  direction  along  with  some  growls  and  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  a  lot  of  thrash  influences  in  the  bands  musical  style  along  with  a  good  amount  of  deathcore  elements  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  to  speed  up  a  bit  and  adds  in  blast  beats.

  At  time s you  can  hear  some  melody  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  all  of  the  tracks  bring  in  a  good  amount  of  variety  while  also  remaining  very  heavy  at  the  same  time  and  on  some  of  the  songs  a  small  amount  of  pig  squeals  are  utilized  at  times  while  other  songs  also  bring  in  a  few  seconds  of  spoken  word  parts  ans  as  the  album   progresses  guitar  leads  are  added  into  some  of  the  tracks.

   Heboïdophrenie  plays  a  very  heavy  and  brutal  style  that  combines  death  metal  and  deathcore  along  with  a  touch  of  thrash,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  gore  and  horror  themes,

  In  my  opinion   Heboïdophrenie  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture of  thrash,  death  metal  and  deathcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band. RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Feast  Of  Death"  "The  Butcher"  "Death  To  All"  and  "Cadaver".  8  out  of  10.

  

Nameless One/Thousand Memories And Nameless Sword/2014 EP Review

  Nameless  One  are  a  band  from  Japan  that plays  a  mixture  of  melodic  death  and  heavy  metla  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "One  Thousand  Memories  And  Nameless  Sword".

  A  very  heavy  and  melodic  death  metal  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams,  growls  and  solos  that  also  keep  the  melodic  tradition  of  the  bands  musical  style  as  well  as  adding  in  influences  from  early  80's  classic  metal  and  you  can  hear  a  lot  of  the  melodic  Swedish  death  metal  sound  in  the  music.

  At  time s the  riffs  bring  in  a  thrash  influence  along  with  blast  beats  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  songs  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  they  manage  to  keep  all  of  the  tracks  into  a  heavy  musical  direction  and  on  of  the  tracks  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  prog  style  guitar  leads.

  Nameless  One  creates  some  very  interesting sounding  taking  the  mid  90's  Finnish  and  Swedish  styles  of  melodic  death  metal  and  adding  in  a  lot  of  traditional  metal  elements  to  the  guitars  to  create  a  style  that  goes  to  the  roots  of  melodic  death,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Japanese  and  cover  fantasy  and  mythology  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Nameless  One  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  melodic  death  and  heavy  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Yuyami  Ni  Kiyu"  and  "Akatuki  No  Machi".  8  out  of  10.        

Redacted/Alien Nation/2014 Full Length Review

  <Redacted>  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Alien  Nation".

  Spoken  word  samples  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  guitars  in  the  background  which  start  getting  more  powerful  after  each  second  and  it  sets  up  the  pace  for  a  good  mixture  of  growls  and  screams  and  the music  also  combines  death  metal  with  a  more  modern  day  thrash  sound  as  well  as  having  a  heavy  Hypocrisy  influence  in  their  musical  style  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Electronica  music  elements  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  after  awhile  more  old  school  thrash  influences  are  added  into  the  bands  musical  style  while  some  songs  can  be  very  atmospheric  at  times  and  the  spoken  word  samples  also  make  their  return  at  times  and  the  music  also  has  a  trace  of  hardcore  at  times  while  some  of  the  vocals  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  bring  in  a  black  metal  feeling  and  they  also  do  a  Motorhead  cover  and  a  Sepultura  tribute.

  <Redacted>  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  that  is  heavily  influenced  by  Hypocrisy  but  also  has  a  sound  of  its  own  and  adding  in  a  lot  of  diversity,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  U.F.Os,  Conspiracy  Theories,  Reptilian,  new  World  Order,  Illuminati  and  Occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  <Redacted>  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Truth  Is  A  Privilege  Not  A  Right"  "Skywatchers"  and  "They  Know".  8  out  of  10.

 

  

Born Undead/Violator Of Humanity/SixSixSix Music/2014 EP Review

  Born  Undead  are  a  duo  with  members  from  both  the  United  Kingdom  and  France  that  plays  a  very  old  school  and  brutal  form  of  death  metal  with  elements  of  grindcore  and  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "Violator  Of  Humanity"  which  was  released  by  SixSixSix  Music.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  death  metal  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  growls  and  the  music  is  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  style  along  with  some  elements  of  thrash  and  grind  and  after  awhile  the  band  brings  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  some  of  the  vocals  having  a  grim  black  metal  feeling  to  them.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music  they  dark  and  melodic  sounding  and  the  band  also  adds  in  melody  into  their  more  brutal  parts  at  times  and  all  4  of  the  tracks  stick  to  a  very  dark,   and  heavy  old  school  death  metal  sound  that  also  brings  in  a  bit  of  the  early  to  mid  90's  brutality  and  there  is  never  a  soft  and  weak  moment  present  anywhere  on  the  recording  and  on  the  last  track  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples  are  added  into  the  music.

  Born  Undead  bring  in  the  feeling  of  a  gore/splatter  film  with  their  old  school  style  of  death  metal  which  is  as  true  as  this  genre  can  be  while  also  being  influenced  by  thrash,  black  metal  and  grind,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  gore,  death  and  zombies  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Born  Undead  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  gore/death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Violator  Of  Humanity"  and  "Splatter  Fuck".  8  out  of  10.

Vortez Of Clutter Interview

Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?


After recording the new album we immediately started getting prepared for the gigs. We will start playing in numerous events around the country pretty soon. We cannot wait for people to hear our album. Also, we have started working on new material for our next album.

2.You have a new album coming out in November, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

We can describe our new sound as a mixture of a few sub-genres. We aimed for people to enjoy our music much more by adding some technical and melodic variations over a raging death metal anger. As a band, we aim to produce songs that our listeners cannot easily consume. This idea had prior importance compared to our previous releases. Get ready to listen to a really heavy album containing many surprises.

3.This is the first full length to be released in 3 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?


By the increasing difficulty of living in Turkey and with the remaining Turkish political authority increasing its oppression over people in Turkey, it has become nearly impossible to execute any kind of work in any branch of art. However, the anger this situation creates is what feeds our music. In spite of everything, we have released 2 singles and an EP within these 3 years. We have played dozens of shows, went out to the streets to protests against the police and composed new songs for our new album.

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

We enjoy using political and philosophical themes on our lyrics. We write about our primary social and political problems or the ones that effect us. We write about subjects like anti-fascism and anti-capitalism. In the new album however, we have added a few post-apocalyptic science fiction stories.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name Vortex of Clutter?

People struggling through the chaos of modern life, our own lives to be exact, is what has inspired us.

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

Our first album debut concert, in which we have heard people singing along our songs, is among the most unforgettable ones. No matter how dark or pessimistic our lyrics are, we enjoy having fun and entertaining when on stage. We recommend for everyone to watch a few live videos of ours on Youtube.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

Absolutely! We play on a local festival on 6th of December right after the release of our new album.

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

We are sorry to say that our music gets much more attention in other countries rather than our own. We have received valuable comments from great people from Greece to Poland and read a lot of inspiring critical reviews.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

It is hard to tell at this point but we will be surely making the music we enjoy the most.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

All the members of the band enjoy relatively different types of music. But our mutual tastes can be described by bands like Death, Atheist and Cynic. Other than these we have been really enjoying bands like Gorod, Revocation and Between the Buried and Me.,

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

We are all working, and our spare time goes to our families. The married members of the band usually spend time with their families. As we cannot earn enough money from music to  support our lives we have to work and that is enough to occupy all our lives.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

If you like to hear the Istanbul sound in metal and open to new music, you definitely listen to Vortex of Clutter’s new album!

Mass Hypnosis/Sanctimonious/2014 CD Review

  Mass  Hypnosis  are  a  band  from  Croatia  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal,  deathcore,  groove  and  industrial  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Sanctimonious".

  A  very  dark  and  atmospheric  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some melodic  chants  that  gives  the  music  and  epic  feeling  along  with  some  spoken  word  samples  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  industrial  metal  direction along  with  some  deep  growling  style  vocals  and  high  pitched  screams  and  they  also  keep  around  the  chanting  that  was  present  on  the  intro.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music  they  stick  mostly  to  a  melodic  direction  and  spoken  word  samples  can  also  be  heard  on  a  great  amount  of  the  tracks  and  on  the  other  tracks  you  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  groove,  metal/deathcore  style  breakdowns  in  the  slower  yet  heavier  sections  of  the  recording.  

  As  the  album  progresses  the  music  starts  to  speed  up  a  bit  and  bring  in  more  brutality  and  blast  at  times  while  the  main  focus  remains  more  on  a  slow  to  mid  paced  extreme  industrial  metal  direction  and  some  of  the  later  tracks  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  keyboard  sounds  which  also  gives  the  album  more  of  a  symphonic  feeling  when  they  are  utilized  as  well  as  adding  in  a more  electro  industrial  feeling  to  the  bands  musical  style.

  Mass  Hypnosis  plays  an  updated  form  of  industrial  metal  which  brings  in  elements  of  groove  metal  and  metalcore  along  with  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  and  deathcore  to  update  this  genre  for  the  modern  day,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  political,   new  world  order,  Illuminati  and  conspiracy  theories  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Mass  Hypnosis  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death  metal,  deathcore,  groove  and  industrial  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "God  Complex"  "Address  To  The  Nation"  "Monotheist"  and  "Novus  Ordo  Seclorum".  8  out  of  10.