Deep In Hate Interview

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

Florian (guitars) : Since the recording, we have mostly been working on the preparations on the new album’s release : working with the label to sort everything out, deciding on the new Merch, shooting the new music video… And obviously, working on our new stage show !
Finally, we have done a lot and are now concentrating on planning tours.

2.You have a new album coming out in June, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction of the new recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Florian (guitars) : The past songs were more progressive, less ‘‘songs’’ than ‘‘stories’’. They were based on a more technical approach, more like Beneath the Massacre. It was what we wanted to do then, what we wanted to express.
Yet, as we played the songs over and over in shows, we got frustrated and we chose to evolve and propose something else, a Death metal where the ‘’songwriting’’is at the core of the music. More groovy, more catchy, more melodic, without losing brutality.

3.The earlier material had a more brutal death metal sound and the newer material seems to be more melodic and closer to deathcore, what was the decision behind going into this musical direction?

Florian (guitars) : In addition to my previous answer, I can say that the true conscious decision was the will to be more straight forward this time.
We wanted not to succomb to the temptation of going into too many directions in each songs, and rather focus on the essential, as much as possible.
So, while keeping what has until now made our identity, the new songs are less technical and more catchy.
Then, the change between Death and Deathcore is just a consequence of that, I guess. Probably influenced by what we have listened recently too, but this was not conscious.

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

Florian (guitars) : The lyrics are written like episodes of a History in a post-apocalyptic world.
They are rather straight-forward at first, but of course we hope that they will not only be read for their literal meaning. The stories take place in a fictional world but they do emphasize some aspects of the human nature, whatever the times.
For example, the fact that Men can be whether powerful and brave when in group, or stupid and coward.

Also, the notion of « cycle » is very important, as if human History was only virtually going forward, because it keeps repeating itself.
Humans are immature, at the scale of the world, and only when they evolve will they break this cycle.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Deep in Hate'?

Florian (guitars) : I was not in the band at the time, yet, there was obviously an idea of a state of mind. 
Instead of being in anger, it is more like being drowned in one’s own hate and being a victim of it. Like there is no escape when you are deep and prisoner in your feeling of hate.
But of course, it can be understood like being hated by others, deep in their souls they hate what you are, what you represent.
Finally, the question is : when you are in this state, deep in hate, what do you do ? And how do you express yourself ?

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?

Florian (guitars) : Our best show was at the 2013 edition of the French Sonisphere – an incredible mood and an amazing audience ! The only regret was that it was too short.
There was one night, opening for The Black Dahlia Murder, that was magic too : we were welcomed there (Brise Glace – Annecy) as if we were, let’s say Gojira !
People knew us there and wanted to enjoy metal music, it was great !  

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

Florian (guitars) : First, we will support Arch Enemy for their French tour early June, at the time the album will be released, and after we play in Prague.
Then, there will be some festivals during the summer.
The real promotional tour will take place late 2014 / early 2015, this is what we are currently working on with our dear partner K Productions ! I am excited and impatient to know more myself !
Finally we are planning to play in Paris to celebrate the release of Chronicles of Oblivion « at home ».

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

Florian (guitars) : Our frustration is that our music did not pass the French speaking country frontiers that much until now.
The fact we are now working with Kaotoxin Records is changing that, and reviews from many different countries are appearing, and are quite positive !
The musical direction we took seems to be well understood.
So, it is a little too soon to answer that question correctly, but with the release worldwide of our new record, I am sure there will be plenty of changes !

9.What is going on with the other musical projects these days that

some of the band members are involved with?

Florian (guitars) : Bastos (drums) was with a famous French band, L’Esprit du Clan, which went on hiatus, maybe a definitive one.
Matt (vocals) has his grindcore or « I don’t know what it is » project with Fake Asian Rolex, and I am preparing a new album with my band death metal band Underflesh. But we gave everything we could to this new Deep In Hate’s album, which is our clear priority.

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

Florian (guitars) : We finished recording the album in November/December 2013, so it is still rather « fresh » in our minds.
For now, I think we all appreciate the musical direction we have taken with this album and I think we will probably stick to it.
At the same time, we have not stayed in the exact same spot for the past years, so maybe there will be some surprises !
But this Death – core metal, that mixes brutality and melody, and puts the songwriting at the heart of it is something we want to see evolve.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an

influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to

nowadays?

Florian (guitars) : On our newer music bands like Whitechapel, Despised Icon or Beneath the Massacre still influence us, but it felt to us like we mixed these influences with bands like Behemoth, Gojira or Decapitated for the more « straight to the point » feeling, and the emphasize on trying to create a mood for the album.

I am currently listening to the last Aborted, The Necrotic Manifesto, that kicks ass, and to The Satanist from Behemoth.Next will be Whitechapel’s Our Endless War. Of course, I am trying just to quote a few here.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Florian (guitars) : Women. 
Oh, not the expected answer ? (laughs)
If I had more time, I would like to get involved in some movie making projects, and on writing. Besides that, I am afraid to be addicted to video games. I am working on desintoxication here !
Some of the members are into snakes, sport, sci-fi movies, or wine, or porn movies, rather classical interests in short!

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

Florian (guitars) : Thanks for this interview !
We are on the verge of releasing our new album, and I hope that it will bring the band to a new level.
That being said, I hope I will have the chance to answer new questions in the future to talk about our evolution until then !

http://www.kaotoxin.com/

Meadow's End Interview

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

 

JD, guitarist, songwriter: As we're in the middle of releasing THE SUFFERWELL much of our time goes to promoting and trying to reach out. We have a show in our hometown on the day of the release so we're preparing for that and besides that we're preparing to print up some new merchandise, Sufferwell t-shirts, hoodies, posters etc.

 

2.You have a new album coming out in June, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction the new recording takes and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

 

JD: Overall this album feels more genuine and worked through. We (Robin) have worked extremely hard on the orchestrations and that have resulted in that the songs feel more like they belong together. The songs on Ode To Quietus for example were written over many years where we had a lot of member changes, so they were a mishmash of very old an newer riffs where perhaps not all were built to carry such symphonics.

 

The Sufferwell is a lot heavier, a little darker, more powerful and have better song structures. Probably a result from that we could focus more on the songs instead of tutoring new members. :)

 

3.According to the Metal Archive page, the band has been around since 1993 but remains very underground and obscure what do you think has been the cause for that?

 

JD: 1993 is a misleading year actually. We were four teenagers that started out in a Sepultura influenced band back then. Then came the Gothenburg wave and in 1997-98 we brought in a keyboardist and a new vocalist, we changed musical direction and that's when Meadows End got born.

 

We recorded a demo, Beyond Tranquil Dreams, and after that it got bumpy. University studies came in the way, members got ill and some grew tired. Years of demos and periods of hibernation followed and not until one or two years after the release of the EP Dead Calm Rise in 2006 we decided to really give this a try. In 2009 we found the last missing piece in vocalist Johan Brandberg and then it was time to start working on Ode To Quietus.

 

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

 

JD: Many of the songs deal with the dark and fucked up sides of our everyday society. KINGS OF GREED for example, the world's 85 wealthiest people have as much money as the 3.5 billion poorest people on the planet. Society is so stuck in money and materialization that it's sick.

FUNERAL OF A PORCELAIN DOLL is about getting some loved one, a child, a partner or the like, ruined by rape, incest or even murder. And the perpetrators most often gets away, repeating their deeds.

 

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Meadow's End'?

 

JD: We actually got the idea from a page on the web that were named "At The Meadow's End". Some of us were deep down in fantasy books and games back then so we found Meadow's End fitting. We later changed to Meadows End due to technical and graphical reasons.

 

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?

 

JD: The 'best' show was probably our comeback here in our hometown in 2009. We had struggled for quite some years and didn't really know if we could pull it off to get back again. The feeling of standing on that stage, headlining, people were crazy, barriers were overrun and the feedback we got were immense. That was a big moment for all of us. Besides that it has to be a gig in a town called Sollefteå in 2012, the place were shutting down for good so the liqour was cheap on sale. The audience even headbanged while we tuned our instruments between songs, the atmosphere was indescribable.

 

Live we try to give our 110% and interact with the audience. We love when they are a part of the show, coming up on stage headbanging, cheering over beers between songs etc. If we get the audience to let go and perform with us, then we're satisfied. :)

 

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

 

JD:  We only have two shows booked atm, the festival gig on the release and then one in the fall. We've had a hard time finding any booking agencies to hook us up and finding gigs ourselves has always been hard. The competition here in Sweden for example is killing and our geographical position doesn't make things easier unfortunately.

 

8.According to the fb book the band is looking for a label, what kind of label do you feel that would be a perfect fit for your musical style?

 

JD: Our melodic/symphonic music has been very well received in southern/middle Europe so a label with muscles/connections to take us on a European tour to start with would be perfect. We've had our eyes upon some labels that really looks interesting that have the kind of genre we explore, Napalm Records with Ex Deo for example, just to mention one.

 

We're actually planning quite long ahead and at the moment we can see at least two more albums to be created.

 

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

 

JD: We have often felt that we've lurked somewhere inbetween heavier death metal and softer melodic metal, many thinks we're to soft while many thinks we're to heavy. But we've never played anything else than what we love ourselves so with Ode To Quietus we really started to get respons from all over the world. Since our music lands somewhere between those two fields we've really needed to reach out to find our fans, but the response we've got from fans of our music has been overwhelming. Hopefully The Sufferwell will get us even further.

 

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

 

JD: The jump from OTQ to The Sufferwell can feel quite far if you listen to them, but much of that is production and now that we know what we can pull off production wise we will probably expand on what sounds really good and make that stand out even more in the future. But mostly we go with guts and intuition and that is often what has turned best for us. So we'll continue on the road The Sufferwell has turned us into and develop that even further.

 

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?

 

JD: That's a tricky question for us. We're a six man piece and many of us have quite different taste in other music. Johan for example is a big fan of faster and darker music like Watain, our drummer Daniel is a big fan of Gojira, I (JD) am deeply in love with Katatonia myself. So we cover a wide spectrum of influences and I guess that goes into our songs without us even getting the whole picture of it ourselves.

 

During the Meadows End startup we had great influences from band such as Embraced, Dark Tranquillity, Gates of Ishtar and In Flames. Nowadays it's not that simple anymore, guess we somewhere have our own style coming out of it.

 

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

 

JD: All of us are video game enthusiasts, loud, screamy NHL tournaments on our parties is not unusual. Our lead guitarist Rik hates everything that has to do with sports however. Besides that, four of us has kids and that take up a lot of our time of course, watching movies and television series and cheering on our hometown hockey team, MODO Hockey.

 

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

 

JD: We really hope that you will enjoy THE SUFFERWELL, we're extremely satisfied with the results and hopefully we'll see you on the road in the future! We also have plans for our next recording already so stay tuned! Thanks a lot for the Interview! Cheers! / JD

 

Meadow's End/The Sufferwell/2014 CD Review

  Meadow's  End  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  symphonic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "The  Sufferwell".

  Keyboards  start  off  the  album  adding  in  a  symphonic  feeling  along  with  some  female  vocals  which  leads  to  a  more  heavy  and  melodic  death  metal  direction  and  the  band  also  bring s in  growls  and  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  the  band  has  a  huge  90's  metal  feeling  in  their  musical  sound  and  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  utilize  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  their  attack.

  While  the  album  has  a  lot  of  symphonic  elements  the  music  sticks  to  mostly  a  heavier  direction  and  never  has  an  happy  sounding  melodies  that  the  mixture  of  the  2  genres  usually  utilize  and  a  good  amount  of  high  pitched  screams  are  also  utilized  through  a  great  amount  of  the  tracks  as  well  as  some  of  the  slow  heavy  sections  bringing  in  a  more  modern  metal  feeling.

  As  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  psychedelic  keyboard  sounds  are  added onto  one  of  the  tracks  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars  being  used  on  a  later  tune  while  the  main  focus  is  still  on  symphonic  death  metal  and  the  female  vocals  also  get  more  time  focused  on  them  in  one  of  the  songs  and  the  last  track  also  bring s in  clean  singing  male  vocals.

  Meadow's  End  creates  a  symphonic  form  of  death  metal  that  is  very  dark  and  heavy  sounding  while  also  having  a  decent  amount  of  depressive  sounding  melodies  in  their  musical  sound,  the  production  is  very  professional, sounding  fro  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics cover  dark,  metaphysical  and  fantasy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Meadow's  End  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic,  symphonic  death metal band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Kings  Of  Greed"  "Devilspeed  Loathekill"  "This  Coming  Nightfall"  and  "Insurrection".  8  out  of  10.

Hell's Guardian Interview

 

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

This is, for us, our first album in studio and it is titled Follow your Fate. It was recorded in the recording studio Media Factory di Esine (BS), produced by Fabrizio Romani. The album presents eleven tracks which eight are inedited, two intros and a medley based on the main themes of Lord of the Rings’s soundtrack. The album presents some special guests, such as Lisy Stefanoni (Evenoire) , Davide Cantamessa (Taste Hematic Chains), Mauricio Carrion (Taste Hematic Chains, Faust, infinity), Fabrizio Romani (infinity, skylark) e Sabrina Moles. The artwork was realized by Jan Örkki Yrlund (Darkgrove Design), graphic artist, which has worked with famous bands like Manowar, korpiklaani.

Recently you have released your first full length album, how would you describe your musical sound on the new recording and also how does it differ from the demo you had release din 2010?

Our sound is characterized of melodies,  growl and Clean voice that remind of Amorphis’s style . A Powerful mixed between melody and aggression .  Since the demo , the full length cd certainly the sound got better, instrumentation and recording’s techniques as well. We also matured very much as musicians.

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

In our Lyrics, we talk about the theme of legends of our place: tales handed down from father to son, that we worked out again and adapted  for our music genre; these legends talk about commons which deal with adventures between reality and fantasy. 

What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Hell's Guardian'?

“Hell’s Guardian” is like an impulse, a symbol that can transform a quiet boy into an “animal” full of anger and violence, just as a hell’s guardian can be when finds himself in the situation of quarrelling and giving vent to emotions, releasing repressed anger, but that are kept controlled anyway.

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

We had the luck to share the stage with band like Vision Divine, Folk Stone, Furor Gallico, Diabula Rasa, Evenoire, Ulvedharr, but the most significative concert was our Follow your Fate’s release party with Diabula Rasa. On stage we try to reproduce in the better way possible what is on the album.

Do you have any touring plans for the new release ?

We’ve got the project to play the most possible in Italy firstly, but in the future we would like plan our shows in all Europe.

According to the Metal Archives page the band is signed to Record Union, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

No, Record Union is not a label, but a digital distributor on the web (Spotify, amazon, Itunes etc…)

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

Obviously we can’t be appreciated to everyone, but someone think that we play Melodic Death Metal, while others not. Up to now reviews and comments on the web are more than positive.

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

We’re composing some new material for a possible future album, and soon we’ll publish the video of Away from my fears, as well as the single extracted from “Follow your Fate”.

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?

Bands which certainly infuenced our music are early In flames, Amorphis e Ensiferum which refer both to growl, clean voice and the different melodies. In this period I listen to power meral, but mostly it depends on the day, I’haven’t got a favorite genre, I like to listen all kind of music .

Does Paganism play any role in your music?

I have always been fonded to greek, roman and northern mythology, so I think that they influenced involuntarily the way to compose both music and lyrics.

What are some of your non musical interests?

Music is obviously my first interest, but I quite like also gym and practicing sports.

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

Hope we created a good job and hope you like it. Support metal and thanks to give us the opportunity to let us know.

Incarnated Interview

Hey
here are the answers:


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


Hallo it`s Bartosh (drums) from INCARNATED, actually we are promoting new stuff by internet, radio auditions and zine`s. We are sending promo materials to radio and tour managements and of course we are answering the interview requests. :-)

2.You have a new album coming out in may, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction of the new recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?


Yeah, it’s more Swedish then last one and we think it is harder and faster then our first records. Still we have the same target – we named it GOREOPHOBIC SLAUGHTERING METAL. That is Incarnated and people shouldn’t expected any changes.


3.This is the first recording to be released since 2008, can you tell us a little bit more about what was going on during that time?

First time we recorded “Try before Die” in 2010 but we didn’t like sounds overall. It wasn’t what we wanted to get. So we started recording again in 2013 and everything was very good. We played some gigs, Pierścień recorded 
some stuff in his studio Bloodline, played with Dead Infection a lot of tours...nothing special:-)

4.The band has a history that goes back to 92, what is it that motivates you 
to keep going after 20 years?

We do what we like, it isn’t our job. We like music, noise, shows, meeting 
with friends and fans.....we cannot see ourselves sitting home and watching 
TV doing nothing, so you know.....

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

These are typical gore stories, humans vices, abuse, pain, sins and other 
feelings

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Incarnated'?

We see ordinary human being as a incarnation of weaknesses of body and soul 
mentioned above .....

7.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 is hard to say...we played a lot of  gigs some were better some were worse but every one was special for us. We have one direction... to enter the stage, kill everything by our music and then we can step down – so it’s simple but not clear to all

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

Yes, we have, but now we are concentrate for promotion in media. Autumn is a good time for shows....

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

of course we have positive feedback, we have fans all over the world, not so many as Vader or Dead Infection but in America we know there are many of them

10.Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects 
these days?

as you know Pierścień play in Dead Infection and working in his studio Bloodline Studio as a producer. Thomas our guitarist drumming in rock band Godzina12 and I....well....sometimes I want to do nothing :-)

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

We don’t want any revolutions:-) Everything is all right. We still want to play with new energy, we want to record new stuff so ..... live is going on

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

We listen many kind of music, classic, rock, metal, death metal, grind core. 
We are Incarnated as I sad, we have our target and don’t look around for 
other bands. Of course many influences in Incarnated music you can hear, 
specially form Swedish scene and bands.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

It is hard to say non musical (ha ha ha).... because even books we read, 
music producing, playing guitars, drums ...all that we doing it’s still music.

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

we want to see you on shows, dink some beers and feel your energy on the stage \m/ and remember ...make gore not war. Thx for the interview

Deus Otiosus/Rise/Deepsend Records/2014 CD Review

  Deus  Otiosus  are  a  band  from  Denmark  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  that  plays   a very  old  school  form  of  death  metal  with   elements  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Rise"  which  was  released  by  Deepsend  Records.

  A  very  heavy  and  old  school  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  growls,  melodic  riffs  and  leads  as  well  as  blast  beats  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  you  can  also  hear  traces  of  thrash  metal  in  their  musical  sound  along  with  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  You  can  hear  a  good  amount  of  the  raw  and  old  school  brutality  of  early  90's  death  metal  in  the  bands  musical  sound  along  with  a  blackened  feeling  in  the  darker  side  of  the  bands  music  and  all  of  the  songs  remain  true  to  a  thrash  influenced  old  school  death  metal   sound  with  no  modern  or  trendy  elements  being  added  into  their  music  and  towards  the  end  more  brutality  is  added  into  one  of  the  tracks  while  the  band  does  not  lose  its  old  school  approach  and  the  last  song  shows  more  of  a  black  metal  influence  in  certain  sections.

  Deus  Otiosus  remain  true  to  their  thrash  and  black  metal  influenced  old  school  death  metal  on  this  album  as  well  as  staying  away  from  anything  post 90's  influenced,  the  production  is  very  professional  and  old  school  sounding  and  the  lyrics  cover  horror,  violent  and  occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Deus  Otiosus  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Rising  War"  "Dont  Fuck  With  the  Dead"  "Stand  Up  And  Fight"  and  "Fall  Of  the  West".  8  out  of  10.  

  

Infecting The Swarm/Pathogenesis/Lacerated Enemy Records/2014 CD Review

  Infecting  The  Swarm  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  brutal  and  slamming  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Pathogenesis"  which  was  released  by  Lacerated  Enemy  Records.

  Sci  fi  sound  effects  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  brutal  direction  along  with  blast  beats  and  guttural style  growls  and  the  band  also  brings  in  mid  paced  slam  parts  and  the band  also  has  a  technical  feeling  in  their  brutal  approach  at  times  as  well  as  remaining  heavy from beginning  to  end.

   While  the  main  focus  is  on  heaviness  and  brutality  the  band  also  has  its  melodic  moments  and  when  yo  start  to  think  the  band  never  uses  leads  her  comes  a  very  technical  and  melodic  guitar  solo  in  some  of  the  tracks  while  they  are  only  used  briefly  and  are  not  a  huge  factor  in  their  musical  sound  and  on  the  last  song  acoustic  guitars  are  added  into  their  music  as  well  as  bringing  back  the  sound  effects  from  the  first  track  and  the  song  also  maintains  a  brutal  edge.

  While  on  a  musical  level  Infecting  the  Swarm  are  not  very  original  they  do  create  some  great  quality  brutal  death  metal  songs  as  well  as  showing  that  the  guttural  vocals  can  sound  good  if  they  are  not  the  right  way,  the  production  is  very  professional  sounding  and  the  lyrics  cover  science  fiction  themes  which  is  rare  fro  a  band  in  this  musical  genre.

  In  my  opinion  Infecting  the  Swarm  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ionic  Anomaly"  "Abberated  Antibiosis"  "Parasitic  Mutation"  and  "Expontial  Growth".  8  out  of  10.    

Hell's Guardian/Follow Your Fate/2014 CD Review

  Hell's  Guardian  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  epic  and  melodic  form  of  death metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Follow  Your  Fate".

  The  sounds  of  wind  and  fire  start  off  the  album  along  with  acoustic  guitars  and  melodic  leads  and  after  the  intro  the  music  gets  more  heavy  and  epic  as  well  as  incorporating  great  amounts  of  melody  as  well  as  mixing  traditional  and  death  metal  together  which  also  leads  up  to  growls  becoming  a  huge  part  of  this  recording.

  When  melodic  vocals  are  utilized  they  seem  to  be  more  in  tune  with  the  modern  melodic  metal  genres  as  well  as  having  a  pagan  feeling  to  them  and  they  also  utilize  high  pitched  screams  which  also  bring  an  element  of  black  metal  into the  music  whole  the  main  focus  is  on  melodic  death  metal.

  As  the  album  progresses  symphonic  synths  are  added  in  briefly  along  with  spoken  word  female  parts  as  well a s  the  following  track  combining  folk  metal  rhythm's  along  with  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  into their  melodic  death  metal  sound  which  also  combines  both  the  Finnish  and  Swedish  takes  on  the  genres  and  towards  the  end  melodic  female  vocals  find  their  way onto  a  fe  of  the  tracks  and  the  folk  music  sound s are  a  huge  factor  of  the  last  track.

  Hell's  Guardian  create  a  very  epic  and  melodic  style  of  death  metal  with  their  music  and  sounding  a  bit  different  than  most  bands  that  play  this  style  and  adding  in  a  more  pagan  feeling  to t heir  approach,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  and  the  lyrics  cover  fantasy  themes.    

  In  my  opinion  Hell's  Guardian  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album. RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "My  Prophecy"  "Cradle's  Lake"  "Neverland"  and  "Middle  Earth".  8  out  of  10.  

Centura Interview

Hi,

Here’s the interview:

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

 We’re a thrash/melodic death metal band from Charleston, South Carolina. We’ve been a band since 2010 and just released a new EP, called “Amerigeddon,” back in February. Currently, we are a two-man band with Nathan Beaty on bass/vocals and Shay Santiago on guitar and vocals. We are currently on the hunt for new members.

2.So far the band has released 2 ep's, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both recordings and also how do they differ from each other?

 To be honest, our first EP, “Black Sheep,” is very amateur sounding. The riffs and songs had potential, but we really didn’t know what we were doing at that point, like in the studio and stuff. “Amerigeddon,” however, we consider to be our ‘real’ first EP. We got a new drummer when we started writing the songs that would end up on “Amerigeddon,” and he really turned it up a notch and put some real thrash and death metal beats into our music, which our material always needed, but our previous drummer was unable to play. Our vocals got better and we really honed our songwriting skills for “Amerigeddon” and are very pleased with the outcome.

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

 I guess you can say a lot of our songs are politically themed, or better yet, they touch on what we consider to be injustices. The title track to “Amerigeddon,” is, although partly hyperbole, a very negative outlook on where we think the U.S. may be heading in the future. It’s really just about the fall of America in the future. In other songs, we also touch on the horrors of war, the two party system in America, and healthcare.

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

 There really isn’t any meaning behind the band, honestly. Before Nathan was in the band, he jokingly suggested random band names, and one of those was “Cetra” (from the video game, Final Fantasy VII). Somehow, “Cetra” turned into “Centura.”

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

 We’ve played a lot of local shows in our time as a band, but two shows that really stand out are when we opened for Nile and the time we played with Lich King. As far as our stage performance goes, we try to just put our heart and soul into what we play and not just stand still and be boring. We let the music take us over and just thrash out.

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

 Well, due to some line-up changes, we haven’t played any shows in several months, but Shay is moving back to town in a couple of weeks and we have a potential drummer (and maybe even a second guitarist) lined up, so we plan on writing two new songs and playing a lot of shows in the near future. Hopefully, we can start touring and playing regionally soon.

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

 We haven’t really sent anything to any labels yet because labels want bands who are out there touring, and we haven’t toured yet, so we don’t want to waste anyone’s time and our own money haha. That being said, we would definitely love for a label to sign us in the future!

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

 We’ve gotten some love from not just in the U.S., but in other countries, too. We haven’t received any negative comments about “Amerigeddon.” It seems as though people who really dig thrash and real death metal like our stuff.

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

 When Shay moves back here, it’s priority number one to write songs for a full-length. We should be back in the studio sometime in 2015. Musically, I think we’ll have more melo-death riffs and just really gritty, aggressive thrash riffs, and harsher vocals. We might be a tad-bit more technical, too.

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?

 We’ve been listening to a lot of Revocation. They’re definitely a huge influence on our style. We listen to a ton of bands and a lot of different music, not just metal. As far as current aggressive music goes, Shay is really into As Blood Runs Black, Within the Ruins, The Black Dahlia Murder, and Unearth. Lately, Nathan has been listening to a lot of Atheist, Vice, The Absence, and our buddies in Marrow of Earth’s new self-titled EP. Outside of heavy music, Shay is a big DMX fan and loves Coheed and Cambria. Nathan just recently bought Esperanza Spalding’s “Chamber Music Society,” listens to Clear Soul Forces religiously, and CKY is his favorite rock band.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

 Shay likes to smoke weed hahaha. Nathan has really been getting into comics lately, especially Justice League.

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

 LISTEN TO OUR MUSIC AND LIKE US ON FACEBOOK! STAY THRASH! READ A BOOK!

Devangelic Interview

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

The band was born in August 2012 by me Mario Di Giambattista (also guitar player of Vulvectomy/Coprophiliac) and by the bass player David Cetorelli (Coprophiliac) with the aim of play 100% brutal death metal. We started quickly to write a couple of songs: Indulgence For Butchering (the first Devangelic song ever) and Unfathomed Evisceration and with these 2 tracks, during November 2012, we've joined the 16th Cellar Studio in Rome (also well known for the productions of Hour Of Penance, Fleshgod Apocalypse and more), to record our first Promo2012. Thanks to this promo we signed a deal with US label Comatose Music on January 2013 wich will release our debut album "Resurrection Denied" on June 2014.

2.You have a new album coming out in June, can you tell us a little bit more about your musical sound and also how would you describe the musical progress  with  this  recording from the promo you had released in 2012?

Yes we'll release in June our debut album "Resurrection Denied". We can describe it as pure brutal death metal inspired by US Gods Disgorge, Condemned, Gorgasm, Sarcolytic and more.
The sound and style of the upcoming album is not so different from our "Promo 2012" because I wrote all songs since the beginning and I have my own style to play and record; I have in mind how  the second release will be, always brutal death metal style but with more personal touch; I think to start the song-writing of the new album during the winter after our tours.

3.Your lyrics cover a lot of anti christian themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your hatred for religion?

Yes our lyrics and concept are based on anti-christian themes mixed with grotesque and gory elements. The main things comes from the hypocrisy of the Christianity since his beginning because this religion manipulates people and makes them unable to think with their own head like sheeps! Then we also live in Rome, the center of Christianity, so we have a good reason to talk about the hatred for religion.

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

It was an idea of our ex bass player David and is a mix between the words "angelic" and "devastation" and fix perfect with the lyrical style of the band.

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

We did only two shows till now because the band is very young and before to play live we preferred to focus us to complete the debut album and to record it. Now we are ready to play live too and our first 2 shows went really great!! Our debut live has been in Brescia (north of Italy) and the day after we played in Czech Republic at the first edition of Nice To Eat You Deathfest!! It was amazing expecially for the people that expected to see us playing live since time!!! About our stage performance I can say that we try to be most professional possible.

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

Yes of course!! We have planned something like 30 shows for this 2014 to promote our "Resurrection Denied" album! 
We'll play in June a 15 days in USA (including Las Vegas Deathfest) with our Comatose Music label mates Lust Of Decay and Coathanger Abortion. Then we'll have an European tour from 12th to 20th September together with Antropofagus, Bloodtruth and To Feed Of Flesh including sick fests as Monthly Assault (Switzerland) and NRW Deathfest (Germany). Between September/October/November we'll play at Carnage Feast in Switzerland, Lowlands Deathfest in Italy and another sick fest in our home town and will be announced soon!

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

Oh since the beginning, when we started the band, a lot of people showed us much support and interest and we want of course to thanks them! Today we have solid feedback and we can't wait to release our debut album to increase the number of the fans (I hope haha).

8.What is going on with the other musical projects these days that some of the band members are involved with?

We are always busy with brutal music!!
I'm the guitar player pf a slamming brutal band called Vulvectomy with I've played many shows in Europe and USA, Paolo (our singer) is involved into Putridity and Alessandro plays with Indecent Excision and for Vomitous from Sweden plus alot of other projects!

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

For the moment we want to release our CD, promote the album and play everywhere we can.
Musically don't know yet, I have my own ideas of new personal style of the band but we need to wait the beginning of the new song writing to understand our direction.

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?

We have a lot of influences as Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Dying Fetus, Disgorge, Liturgy, Cinenary, Condemned, Gorgasm, Disentomb and many more but into the band we listen all kind of music without problems, from old school death metal to doom, thrash metal as Testament, Pantera to melodic death metal as Katatonia, Opeth etc, from classical music to post-rock etc.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Beers, food, books, internet, soccer etc

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

Thank you very much for this interview, continue to support Devangelic and follow us at:
www.facebook.com/devangelic.official and buy the album atwww.comatosemusic.com