Friday, October 31, 2014

Orion Interview

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

Off late we've been working on new material for the the full length album scheduled to launch early next year.

2.So far you have released an EP, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on it?

In its true sense, On The Banks Of Rubicon was the was our first attempt at finding  our sound. It was a mix of our influences and aspirations. In the end it turned out to be better than we thought we were capable of and now we're only more motivated to get even better.

3.There has not been any new material since 2012, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?

We take our time with new material. It becomes a song only when all of us are convinced it couldn't be any better than it already is. The last two years, we've focused more on touring and making our presence felt in the scene here. The last couple of months though have been all about the next album. We're very excited about it.

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

Our lyrics mostly revolve around our emotions. We find larger than life parallels that add grandeur to the songs and at the same time help listeners relate to them at a more personal level. On the Banks of Rubicon is about the moments of contemplation that one faces before taking a life decision from which there is no return. That's why the art work shows a man on the ledge of a building. If he jumps there is no turning back. He is literally on the banks of Rubicon.

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

While we'd like to believe its origins come from Greek mythology or the constellation,  the name originated back in the when our music was heavily inspired by Metallica. We named ourselves Orion as a tribute to the late Cliff Burton.

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?

Among some of the most recent shows was the Wacken Metal Battle India finals that was held in Bangalore.  Other than that we've been playing local shows in Jaipur, Hyderabad, Pune and other cities across the country. Our live act is simple. We're driven by the crowd actually. The louder they get, the better we play. Unlike many other metal bands, we don't take ourselves so seriously. In the end we make sure the crowd has as much fun as we do in stage.

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

We're playing at the Catatonia Fest being held in Mumbai on 2nd November. Other than that there are other shows in the pipelines that will be announced soon.

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

Whatever global reviews and response we've received has so far been very positive and that's a huge encouragement for us. We do get compared to bands like Opeth a lot. Hey, who wouldn't want to be on the same list as them?

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

All our band members have other projects too. Vignesh our frontman and guitarist also plays for an Indian Horror Metal giant Albatross. They recently toured Australia and is working on conquering other parts of the world as well. Our other guitarist Ashwin also plays in a Hindi metal band named Vajra. Even though this is India, you see very few of those. They just released their first EP which is quickly climbing the charts here. Our drummer Pritesh plays sessions for many projects and tours with numerous bands as their sound engineer.

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

The full length is definitely be out early next year. With he momentum the band has caught recently, we see it growing quickly, both in terms of success as well as musical proficiency. A few international tours are definitely top on the wish list. And with the pace at which Indian metal is evolving, that wouldn't be too far away.

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 influences are ever changing. From Metallica to Opeth to Necrophagist, Death, to even Meshuggah and Gojira, they've all inspired us to do what we do today.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Well.....beer.

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



Metal cures all.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Darkall Slaves/Transcendental State Of Absolute Suffering/Permeated Records/2014 CD Review


  Darkall  Slaves  are  a  band  from  France  which  have  also  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  brutal  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Transcendental State Of Absolute Suffering'  which  was  released  by  permeated  Records.

  Dark  sound  effects  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  war  sounds  and  spoken  word  samples  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  into  a  brutal  death  metal  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  a  good  mixture  of  growls  and  screams  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  In  some  of  the  vocals  you  can  hear  some  deathcore  influences  with  the  guttural  approach  and  the  band  also  brings  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts and  as  the  album progresses  the  music  starts  adding  in  more  technical  parts  while  also  remaining  very  brutal  at  the  same  time  and  halfway  through  the  album  there  is  a  brief  interlude  before  returning  back  to  a  brutal  direction  which  also  shows  the  band  bringing  in  traces  of  slam  death  metal.

  Darkall  Slaves  creates  another  brutal  sounding  death  metal  album  that  also  bring s in  a  variety  of  many  styles  of  this  genre  and  there  is  never  a  soft  moment  present  on  the  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  gore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Darkall  Slaves  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Litany  Of  Martyrs"  "Disfigure"  and  "Mindless  Damnation".  8  out  of  10.        

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

May The Silence Fail/Of Hope And Aspiration/Supreme Chaos Records/2014 CD Review


  May  The  Silence  Fail  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Of  Hope  And  Aspiration"  which  was  released  by  Supreme Chaos  Records.

   A  very  modern,  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  a  few  seconds  later  blast  beats  are  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  band  also  uses  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  bringing  in  clean  singing  female  vocals.

  Metalcore  and  deathcore  elements  can  be  heard  on  a  regular  basis  throughout  the  recording  along  with  a  great  amount  of  melodic  guitar  leads  and  a  perfect  balance  between  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  band  adds  in  traces  of  the  90's  and  early  2000's  melodic  death  metal  sound  in  with  their  more  modern  musical  influences.

   As  the  album  progresses  violins  and  electronic  music  elements  are  added  into  some  of  the  songs  for  a  few  seconds  while  one  of  the  later  tracks  also  shows  acoustic  guitars  being  added  into  the  music  while  the  music  remains  mostly  in  a  very  heavy  direction  that  show s  growls  and  clean  singing  alternating  between  each  other.

  May  The  Silence  Fail  plays  a  style  of  melodic death  metal  that  takes  the  old  school  Gothenburg  sound  and  mixes  it  in  with  the  more  modern  variation  of  the  genre  as  well  as  adding  in  a  touch  of  metalcore  into  their  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  May The  Silence Fail  are  a  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  "Gods  Are  Long  Since  Dead"  "Nothing  Left"  "Without  Knowing"  and  "When  Time  Is  Asleep".  7/8  out  of  10.

   

 
  

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Orion/On The Banks of Rubicon/Transcending Obscurity India/2014 EP Re- Issue Review


  Orion  are  a  band  from  India  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  progressive  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  ep  "On  the  Banks  of  Rubicon"  which  was  re-issued  by  Transcending  Obscurity  India in  the  year  of  2014.

  A  very  dark,  melodic  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  solos  and  leads  and  a  few  seconds  later  blast  beats  are  added  into  the  music along  with  death  metal  growls,  high  pitched  screams  and  clean  playing  being  utilized  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  band  also  uses  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  At  times  the  band  adds  in  clean  singing  which  also  enhance  the  progressive  and  dark  nature  of  the  bands  musical  style  and  you  cam  also  hear  a  lot  of  classic  melodic  metal  influences  in  the  way  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  approached  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Orion  creates  a  very  dark  and  melodic  style  of  progressive  death  metal with  their  musical  sound  while  also  having  their  brutal  moments  and  a  slight  black  metal  edge,  the  production  sound s very  dark  and  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and poetic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Orion  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  progressive  death  metal  band   and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Devoured  Existence"  and  "My  Dying  prayer".  8  out  of  10. 

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Foul Body Autopsy/So Close To Dehumanization/Grindscene Records/2014 EP Review


  Foul  Body  Autopsy  are  a  1  man  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  very  brutal  form  of  gore/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2014  ep  "So  Close  To  Dehumanization"  which  will  be  released  in November  by  Grindscene  Records.

  A  very  heavy  and  brutal  death  metal  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  blast  beats,  growls  and  technical  riffing  and  a  few  seconds  later  high  pitched  screams  are  added  into  the  music  and  then  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  mid  paced  direction  and  adds  in  a  different  style  of  vocals  for  a  few  seconds  before  making  a  return  back  to  a  more  brutal  while  also  mixing  in  the  other  style  and  you  can  also  hear  some  black  metal  in  the  sound  at  times.

  On  the  second  track  the  music  starts  out  with  more  of  an  old  school  death  metal  sound  before  going  more  brutal  and  adding  in  a  mixture  of  growls  and  screams  along  with  a  small  amount  of  deathcore  style  vocals  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  getting  more  brutal  and  blackened  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  melodies.

  Foul  Body  Autopsy  creates  a  very  brutal  style  of  death  metal  with  his  sound  which  combines  a  variety  of  many  different  death  metal styles  that  also  makes  the  ep  have  a  more  original  sounding  edge,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  gore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Foul  Body  Autopsy  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  death  metal  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "So Close To  Complete  Dehumanization".  8  out  of  10.

 

Friday, October 10, 2014

Dead Samaritan Interview

Variety Of Death Zine Interview 2014

V = Valendis Suomalainen
M = Marko Saarinen


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

V: We've been playing some gigs and so on. The guys are also working on some new riffs and ideas, so the coming winter will be spent rehearsing new killer songs!

M: Like Valendis said, playing gigs of course. But even more importantly we’ve been working on the album promotion ‘cos after all if nobody knows you, you don’t get any gigs. And since we know we have a good quality album on our hands now, we need to keep on forging the iron while it’s hot and make more good music.


In September you had released a new album, 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?

V: In my opinion with ”The Devil Tunes” we have defined our own, unique style. We know what we're doing and aren't afraid to try new ideas. This time we've also put extra effort on the production, as we really wanted this album to sound good.

M: Yeah, the reviews we’ve had so far have kept saying we’ve developed something recognizable. I suppose most of the elements have been in our music before, now we’ve just found a good balance between different atmospheres and tempos. You can hardly ever emphasize too much the word “dynamics” when it comes to metal music.


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

M: Some songs concern the individual’s need for freedom and rebellion, like in songs “The Devil’s Tune” or “Raise a Riot”. Some just simply depict gruesome stories that I hope would spark the listener’s imagination (“The Madman’s Portrait”, “In for the Kill”). One thing that has always come up in Dead Samaritan songs, is releasing your anger, and I’d say the song “Out With Your Feet First” does just that, which is natural as it’s dedicated to Dirty Harry etc.
Other themes we write about are war, greed for power, religion and stuff like that. If the topic is more serious, we mostly try to write them in a way that would give you something to think about. The lyrics have to fit the mood of the song too, and we definitely have our serious and not so serious sides.

V: We're not stuck with any certain theme. I myself am into occult, old legends and horror stories, which can be clearly seen in lyrics written by me. Some of our lyrics are pretty serious (like, for example ”Last Man Wears the Crown” which is basically a story of someone so blinded by his will for power and glory that he destroys the whole land he wishes to conquer and ends up ruling an empty, barren waste), but there are also those that are not to be taken quite so seriously. When Marko sent me the lyrics for ”The Devil's Tune” I was laughing like, dude, seriously? “The night is getting hotter with my Thunder Hammer”, whaaaaat? The song in question is one of my favorites from the new album, though – it gets me in a good mood.


The band was originally known as 'The Beauty Of Ding', what was the decision behind the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Dead Samaritan'?

M: In 2003 I felt the band was changing from the melodic Gothenburg-esque direction to a more thrash-oriented and more aggressive direction, and as our first guitarist had to be sacked at that time, I also wanted to get rid of the name “The Beauty Of Dying”.
The moniker “Dead Samaritan” had been lingering in my head for a while, and there actually was already a song by that name, it just has never been recorded. To me the name “Dead Samaritan” is something really, really cold, nihilistic and declarative.


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

M: Dead Samaritan is very furious onstage. If you don’t break a decent sweat playing live, you ain’t worth buying a ticket, let alone watching.

V: Dead Samaritan is at its best on the stage. Our live shows are very energetic and we tend to give our 100 % best every time, no matter how big the audience is or what the venue is like.


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

M: No published plans to discuss now, but something’s always in the works. You’ll find out about our doings just by following us on Facebook and such.


The new album was self released but the band has worked with a label before, are you open to working with another label again in the future or do you prefer the DIY approach?

V: We like to keep our options open. It's pretty damn hard to get a deal with decent terms with any label these days, at least for a rather unknown band like us. If such a good deal was available for us, then why not. But we rather do everything ourselves than get stuck with a bad deal.

M: Personally I’ve been let down, even betrayed by label folks so I’m very cautious about them, and I like the idea of holding all the threads in our own hands. Of course you have to work a lot more when you go DIY but you also get all the reward, and besides punk bands have always done these things themselves, why couldn’t we? I love making music so much so I’d do it anyway, money or not.
I detest all the money-grabbing people who say they’re in it for the music but who in reality just try to rip you off every time they can. But like Valendis said, if the right choice came up, why not hook up with a label too.


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

M: We’ve been getting a lot of good feedback, and we’ve received a lot of enquiries to come and play abroad. Which we’d be more than happy to do!


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

V: I've also been a proud member of a doom/death-oriented band called Herem since 2005. With Herem we are currently working on our third album.

M: Our second guitarist Matti Viholainen plays in a sort of a dance music group and our drummer Janne Honkanen has some less serious side projects. I personally have been toying with ideas of a traditional heavy metal band and a very dirty Motörhead-esque death metal act, but haven’t yet turned it into flesh so to speak.


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

M: Remains to be seen but at the moment I think we might have some more pure “one-string” death metal, punk and rock ‘n’ roll influences included. We’re going to keep the main idea pretty much the same as long as it feels good, but of course we try to top ourselves every time we make a new record. Meaning we’re just gonna make better and better songs.


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?

M: We’ve been heavily influenced by bands like Carcass, At The Gates, Deathrow (GER), Overkill, Exodus, Accept, Judas Priest and so on, but we’ve also caught a lot from old style rock ‘n’ roll, punk and such. I listen to a lot of different styles of heavy music mostly, but it could be pretty much anything, and mostly it is dark-spirited. It could be anything from Nekromantheon to Nick Cave, from Primordial to Portishead, from Dead Kennedys to Bathory, from King Diamond to Anaal Nathrakh etc. Lately I’ve been listening to Hatriot, Vanize and Dick Dynamite & The Doppelgängers.


What are some of your non musical interests?

M: Sports like European football, then nature, antiques, comedy, Scottish whisky and the female mind. The latter will always remain a mystery.

V: I'm a boring bookworm.


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

M: A huge Thank You for making this Dead Samaritan interview possible, so cheers, and keep your metal hard! You can do that by getting your hands on our Devil Tunes album.

In Sanity Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
We're IN SANITY from Paderborn, Germany, a small town in West Germany. The band started out as the brainchild of our singer back in 2010, and added a full lineup in 2011. Since then, the band devoted most of its time to writing the debut record.

2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
The sound we strived for is a contemporary interpretation of the Gothenburg sound as popularized by bands like At The Gates, In Flames and others, mixed with a modern approach regarding some of the groove elements and chorus structures.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Our lyrics are mainly based around personal topics, stuff the individual band members have had to go through as well as some societal topics. We don't really want to give away too much regarding the lyrics, because we believe that the listener should have the opportunity to find individual meaning in the songs. They can mean something entirely different to us than to the listener, and that is a great way of exploring lyrics in a very personal way.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'In Sanity'?
The name 'In Sanity' resembles the thin line between the sane and insane in our world. Not only do these aspects appear to have a seamless transition, but they can often not be distinguished from another. The question 'what is sane, what is insane?' is the underlying theme of the album and, as mentioned, open for interpretation.

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 couple of shows in Germany, and so far the best have been in our home area of East-Westphalia. We also had the great opportunity of playing an outdoor festival for the first time this year, which was a whole other experience and very refreshing.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We're in the midst of booking shows for 2015 and hope to build up on the great shows we've had. While it is a very far stretch and will take a good while, we would be thrilled to have the opportunity of playing in the United States one day, especially since one of our guitar players is from the US.

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic death metal?
It's probably still a bit early to tell, but so far we've received generally positive feedback. Most people seem to welcome us because we apparently fill in a small musical void that resulted from an absence of melodic death metal the way we play it, at least that is one of the most common comments we receive.

8.Are the band members also involved with any other musical projects or bands?
Yes, our bass player Andrey is in a punk rock band with russian lyrics called Vostok Import. You can check them out on www.facebook.com/vostokimport.

Our guitar player John is in a hardcore and thrash influenced death metal band called SULAMITH (www.facebook.com/sulamithband). They will be releasing their first full-length shortly and embark on a 10-date tour of Germany in December.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We will continue to build on our 90s melodic death metal sound and influences while adding sonic diversity and getting more into the groove elements. That's roughly the plan, but there's no way of predicting what the next album is going to sound like. It's down to the songwriting chemistry, and the unpredictable nature of the creative process is what makes playing music fun in the first place.

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 wear our influences on our sleeves bands like Dark Tranquility, At The Gates, Carcass and In Flames are very apparent influences in our music. As for our listening tastes: we have pretty much every walk of metal, so to speak, in our band, with some of us listening to the more Swedish sounding bands, others are more into the full-on groove and death metal thing and some others are more rock-oriented listeners.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
There are interests outside of the music world? ;-)

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Yes, we would like to thank Variety of DeathZine for this great interview opportunity and we would like to thank everybody who has listened to our album and commented on it. Your feedback is much appreciated and we hope you enjoyed our work. We hope to see you guys soon live!

Disasterhate Interview

VARIETY OF DEATH interview


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

The band formed in early 2005 with the following line-up: Reitia (vocals, guitar), Klaudia (vocals, guitar), Rise (bass), Raven (drums), from the ashes of each member's musical past experiences, to create a violent mix of fatalistic sentences for mankind into solid thrash metal modern sound , dark, dramatic and psychic. After some good live performances' responses from sicilian metal scene the band began developing in songwriting, evolving to something more powerful, expressive, due to the confluence of impact, melodic cold atmospheres. In may 2007 Raven left the band due to different musical intentions and projects. In September 2007 Giando joined the band. After promotional activities, gigs and reviews of the new born first Ep "Sacrifice to Eclipse", Disasterhate started songwriting the upcoming full length, recorded at Sound Empathy Studios by Fabio Monaco, Vittorio Blanco, mixed and engineered by Graziano Manuele at Ueickap Home Studios. In september 2011 Giando left the band and Danilo Ficicchia (drummer yet of sicilian thrash metal band Nemesis) joined, forming the actual line up. At the end of 2013 the work on our debut full-length album was completed, “Mirroring The Abyss” is a reality. The album is supported by Club Inferno (a My Kingdom Music sublabel) who will take care of the promotion and of the digital distribution of the album which official release date is fixed on September 22, 2014.


2. You have a new album coming out later this month, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the ep you had released 7 years ago?
We like to describe our sound as “authentic”, because we have always played what we feel without genre limit. But if in the first EP - “Sacrifice to eclipse” - our sound was still a little bit rough, now it’s more defined and mature; surely today it’s more personal: it arises from thrash death metal, but grows and expands to malinchonic and introspective atmosphere. It describes deep and secret emotions. It’s quite raw and violent, but also intimistic and pathetic.

3. This is going to be your first release in 7 years, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap between releases?

The composition took a couple of years, because we wanted to be sure about all songs, arrangements and lyrics. The recording of an album is a good target, it gives a great satisfaction, but it requires expenses and sacrifices, especially for self-produced band. Moreover we have not reached easily the final track list: some songs have been excluded, others more and more rewritten. Then the recording session have been made in very different period and in different sound studios. At the end the artwork was not still ready.
So we have spent time and resources for this work, but finally “Mirroring the abyss” is out!


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

This album talks about the abyss of our mind, with all fears, obsessions and whispers sleeping inside of us. It’s like a kaleidoscope of soul. We have tried to reveal our inner abyss with no veils and so what we play is what we are. So the artwork also reflects the solitary abyss of the mind through rarefied and cold images.


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

When we chose the name Disasterhate (9 years ago!), we had already written many songs for the first EP “Sacrifice to eclipse”, full of apocalyptic inspiration and themes. But we looked also for a name one-word made, not too much complicated and with an effect of impact.


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?
There have been many good live in these years, for the quality of the stage, the adrenaline, the interaction with people, the possibility to express our emotions in a natural way for all of us. It's a very emotive moment of the live act, very intense, and we try to give the best to communicate the deep meanings for us lying behind the both songs. We pay much attention to the emotive impact, so we like to introduce the songs before to play, to create a sort of confidential corner with audience…but especially to make a fucking good headbanging!

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

Now we are working hard to the promotion of “Mirroring the abyss” and to make shows across Sicily and south Italy. We are also thinking to some new songs… some ideas already rattle in our insane mind!

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

It’s not an easy approach. Sometimes fans look at us in a diffident way because three of us are girls and they don’t consider extreme metal music to be played by girls. Other times our music is considered too “strange” to be labeled metal, or extreme metal, also who thinks about thrash and death metal refers to classic old styles and bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Overkill, Testament, etc. We always invite people to take time to listen before judge or criticize and the feed backs come out often very good at last.

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

We don’t know what future will give us, but surely we hope to be able to make another album and to express still ourselves by music.

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, maybe the primaries are alternative rock and darkwave among non metal genres, but surely modern thrash and Swedish death have too much influenced our inspiration and our sound.

11. What are some of your non musical interests?

We’re all into different interests, for example horror films and modern literature, video games, visual arts, graphics, photography.

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

Thanks to Variety of Death and to all people supporting us! We hope that you could find a fragment of your “abyss” in our music.
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/disasterhate
- Digital order (ONErpm): http://smarturl.it/DIS-DIG
- iTunes: http://smarturl.it/DIS-iTunes



Circle of Indifference Interview

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

Absolutely! It all started about two years ago, when I decided to pick my guitar again after ten years of pretty much not playing at all. My initial intentions was to get some of the guys from my old band Neurosilence and redo some of the old material with better production. Sadly, after a few months of hard work it fell apart and amounted to nothing more than a handful of almost finished tracks, and I pretty much gave up. But after I had rediscovered the joy of playing music I decided to try and write some new material instead. Initially I just intended to write some instrumentals and post them on Soundcloud, but after I had written a few of them I thought that having vocals on them would be pretty cool. So I started searching the internet after vocalists for hire, and after a few misses I came in contact with Brandon L. Polaris from sessionmetalstudios.com. I am sooo glad that happened, because not only has he recorded some fantastic vocals for me, but he has also gone above and beyond the call of duty and literally worked his ass off to make sure the outcome and everything there after is top notch. As it happens, Tyler (lead guitar) and Nikki (operatic style vocals on "Darkness") are also available through the same service, and I have to say I couldn't be more happy with the result! The only thing about the project that didn't quite turn out the way I intended was the drums. I had a drummer from Poland in on the project, but sadly he dropped out halfway through the recording process. Instead of delaying the release and/or increasing my budget I decided to improve the midi drums I hade made for the demos instead, and I guess it worked out OK in the end. From start to finish I spent about 18 months on the project, and despite quite a few hurdles and obstacles, here we are!


2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

Metal music is much broader in shape and form now that it was twenty years ago, so putting a sub-genre label on it is not that easy. I suppose you can say that it is a modern form of eclectic melodic death metal. I think much of the retro aspect of it is the fact that my music is quite simple in form, riff-based music made for the sake of music and not for showing off arpeggio wizardry (which I lack anyway haha) and weird time signatures. I suppose lacking the insane skills many guitar players have these days, I have to rely more on writing good riffs and songs rather than using technique as a crutch or easy way out. And don't like to copy anyone either, so hopefully I have managed to create something different than all the other music that is out there.


3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with your music?

Since I always make the instrumentals first, I try to get a feeling from the song before deciding the topic. This led to lot's of different topics being covered. For instance, "Alone" is about a girl who after first being ignored by everyone and then deciding to do something about it discovers at the end that she is in fact a ghost. The title track "Shadows of Light" is about a young adult who was sexually abused as a child, and becomes a serial killer hunting down pedophiles and killing them. Other topics include sociopaths, depression, prison camps, gladiators and submarine warfare, all good family fun :)


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Circle of Indifference'?

I think it is best explained by painting a mental picture of a middle class "perfect" family seated around a dinner table eating and drinking well, all the while this table is set right in the middle of ruins, war, disease, poverty and starvation. This family is perfectly indifferent to all that is happening around them, and this indifference makes it impossible for those around them to improve their own situation. Also, the family portrays the fact that indifference breeds indifference, so the parents pass this on to their children. The logo I made for COI is heavy with symbolism; it is made up of a jagged circle and an infinity symbol. Inside the circle everything is whole and well preserved, but everything on the outside is crumbling and starting to fall apart. Also, the circle is not perfect in form, having jagged edges and so on, meaning that even inside the circle there are problems caused by this indifference. And the fact that the infinity symbol is crumbling symbolizes that sooner or later the circle of indifference will end, and everything will change. Oh and btw, COI is by no means a political activist project or anything like that, these are just pragmatic observations of reality. It is what it is, there's no moral policing behind it.


5.With this project you do mostly everything solos but have worked with full bands before, do you prefer working by yourself more than working with a full line up?

In many aspects being on my own has it's advantages, for example having to rely less on other people and their busy schedules, not having to find somewhere to rehearse, no arguments over riffs or songs or anything like that. But I do like the companionship that comes with being in a band, which is why I highly value the relationship I have with my session musicians. They bring a lot of the feeling of being a band onto the table, even though we are separated by huge distances geographically. So I have probably got the best of both worlds in this project. But one obvious downside of being alone is that it more or less makes live performances impossible.


6.On the new album you had a few quests and session musicians, can you tell us a little bit more about their contributions?

Brandon L. Polaris has been my main partner in all this, and apart from the actual recording of vocals he has been involved in many other aspects, both as a musician, a professional, and a friend. He has also taken some of my vocals and made them his own, tweaking it in some places, adding voices or even cleans etc.

Tyler Teeple is a fantastic guitar player, and when I felt that I couldn't do the album justice doing all the leads myself I found the perfect replacement in him. His ultra melodic style coupled with flawless technique was just what I was looking for, and I must say he has written and recorded some fantastic solos!

Aybars Altay was originally just hired for album artwork, but in the final stage of recording I got the idea of hiring him to do a remix of the title track. He worked for several days nonstop and handed me an awesome electric industrial track!

Nikki Monney was hired to do vocals to replace a sample of a lecture that I originally had on "Darkness". The lyrics on her piece represents the main characters girlfriend/wife.

Aside from their contributions as musicians, equally important is their friendship. We are in regular contact, almost daily, and I really do consider them close friends although we've never met in person.


7.The new album was self released on your own label, are you open to working with an actual label in the future?

I wouldn't close any doors for sure, but the specifics of a record deal would have to be discussed thoroughly. I am not a kid anymore; I have a family, mortgage, a job and a stable economy, so I wouldn't be able to put all my horses in music 100%. So even with a full band I would not be able to tour extensively or practice all day long. And I wouldn't let anyone tell me how to produce my music either.


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

The response has exceeded my expectations and hopes! I have had a lot of listens and downloads, and I think I have listeners in well over 100 countries. Some of them have even sent me positive feedback, which I really appreciate. The most surprising element was how fast the album spread without any marketing, it took a life of it's own.


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

When I sit down and write a song, I pretty much just improvise on riffs and go with the ones I like. I don't write in a particular genre on purpose, or riff a certain way to stay within a box. But, I have pretty much been the way I am now for the last 25 years, so I wouldn't expect the next albums to be wildly different. There is still room for original songs within the same style I hope.


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?

I am a huge fan of bands like At The Gates, Dismember, old In Flames etc, so I suppose that has influenced me in some way. The same goes for Carcass, Death, Testament, Obituary and old Sepultura. Nowadays I still listen to some of the old stuff, but I am also heavily into bands like Scar Symmetry, Aspherium, Maahlas, Seth Ect, Devin Townsend, Cantabile Wind, Zonaria and anything Tuomas Saukkonen.


11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Well, I am somewhat of a nerd I am told, so anything related to computers and modern technology of course. And the other usual's, including movies and series (science fiction in particular). Winter sports and fishing are also big interests of mine. Science and psychology too I must add.


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

I would like to thank everyone that has contributed to the project, and all those who spend their valuable time listening to our creation. Your support is very important to us! I hope you enjoy the album, and continue to support Circle Of Indifference in the future.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Progenies interview

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

Well, the band started back in 2008 under the name Eyeless. At the time we were a melodic Death metal band and we had a keyboard player. We soon realised that a keyboard wasn’t providing the sound we were looking for so we went for a second guitar player instead thus changing to a more progressive sound. Opeth have been huge influence on us. Our line-up remained that way for some years until we recently decided to add a female vocalist, Karina, to our line-up to expand the band's possibilities.


2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the material you had released as 'Eyeless'?

As always we want our songs to be as diverse as possible, never limiting ourselves to a style or sound. David was the main songwriter during the Eyeless' The All Seeing Eye period, and we soon realised that writing all together allowed us to delve deeper and mix several influences. However, this proved to be quite the challenge – 4 guys arguing how this riff or that riff should be played! But all in all, it paid off since the record is extremely diverse. The older songs were much more simple and we didn’t really worry about the tiny details. With time, our sound evolved from a more straight-forward Death Metal one to a more metric-crazy sound typical of progressive metal. To put it VERY roughly, you could say we’re a mix of Opeth, Meshuggah and quite a few other bands actually.

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

Power, death, mental illness, war. All smooth, laid-back subjects I guess! We all participate in the writing process. Most of the time we are going for thoughtful, profound texts as opposed to a more direct, raw approach.


4.Originally the band was called 'Eyeless', what was the decision behind the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Progenies'?

The main reason is that there is already another band called Eyeless from France, and we wanted to avoid confusion as much as possible. With the actual means of communication, our music can be easily distributed in Europe so in order to avoid legal problems we went for another name. Progenies occurred to us from our drummer when he listened the Dimmu Borgir track : Progenies of the Great Apocalypse, and we all agreed Progenies was a nice name that suits us!


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?

Hum best shows... probably opening for Kataklysm and Augury. But the best reaction we had from the crowd was at our second ever gig. It was past midnight and we were closing the night. At the very first note, everyone went bat-shit crazy and formed a violent pit! Someone fell on the stage during the first song. It was awesome.

As for stage performance, we mostly concentrate on our playing. We are by no means stage beasts, but a couple of jokes between songs is always nice!


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

Not for now. Touring is difficult for some of us. We do want to play gigs again, but we are currently looking for a new bass player so as long as the position is not filled it is going to be difficult.


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

We did receive interest from a Canadian label, but in the end things didn’t work out – different schedules. We wanted the album to be distributed as soon as possible, but the label was booked until mid 2015. We are definitely looking for a label though.


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

For now, the new album seems to be undercover! Seriously, it has not been heard much, but the people who listened to it told us it was awesome! But yeah, all the feedback we received has been positive so far. The album is slowly making its way to the public and we get more and more positive feedbacks.

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

We are currently in the studio to record a new EP and the new stuff is more straight-to-the-point, more aggressive. Clean passages are still there, but in a more effective kind of way. I think it has less of that progressive vibe to it, and we definitely parted with the Opeth influences. With Karina joining the band, we are making more room for female vocals of course.

We are also working on something completely different that involves a lot of scores and orchestras, we will see how that turns out!


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?

As much as Opeth was our primary influence in the past, we progressively added influences from Meshuggah, Dream Theater, Pat Metheny and other various shredders to our music.

These days, David is listening to more black metal (hence the change to a higher-pitched vocal), doom and dark jazz. Simon is a lot into shredders, technical progressive metal and score. Our drummer listens to electronic (Skrillex) , pop rock (Muse-Coldplay) and progressive music. Karina likes progressive bands like Opeth and Dream Theater but she also listens to metalcore bands like August Burns Red, All That Remains, Feels Like Home, As I Lay Dying. David, Simon and Xavier have together a rock cover band, so they do listen to the old, classic stuff!

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Simon is an awesome cartoonist! No kidding! You can check his stuff out at http://www.sketchoholic.com/simongag. There are caricatures of the band on the page as well! And if you like his work, don't hesitate to click the push it button and sign so he'll get his artbook released. Simon is also a swing dancer! Karina has a passion for photography. She likes to go to concerts and take pictures of the bands.


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

It was a real pleasure answering these questions, keep rocking!!

Dead Samaritan/The Devil Tunes/2014 CD Review

   Dead  Samaritan  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  melodic  death  and  thrash  metal  with  a  touch  of  classic  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "The  Devil  Tunes".

  A  very  heavy,  melodic  and  old  school  death  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  a  few  seconds  later  high  pitched  screams  and  blast  beats  are  added  into  the  music  and  you  can  hear  a  lot  of old  school  thrash  elements  in  the  bands  musical  style.

  Deep  growls  can  be  heard  on  the  recording  at  times  and  after  awhile  back  up  gang  shouts  are  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  the  groove  of  classic  rock  and  the  solos  and  leads  continue  the  melodic  tradition  of  the  bands  musical  style  and  there  is  also a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  present  throughout  the  recording  and  on  of  the  alter  tracks  brings  in  a  blackened  thrash  feeling  to  the  recording  and  on  the  last  track  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  is  added  into  the  music.

  Dead  Samaritan  plays  mostly  a  90's  style  of  melodic  death metal  which  they  also  mix  with  80's  German  thrash  and  a  touch  of  classic  rock,  black  metal  and  punk  to  create  the  musical  sound  that  is  presented  on  the  recording,   the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  album  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent,  satanic  and  occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Dead  Samaritan  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  melodic  death  metal  and  thrash  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "In  For  the  Kill"  "In  The  Wave  Of  Burning  Churches"  "The  Devils  Tune"  and  "Shoot  Em  In  The  head".  8  out  of  10.  

      

Necrotted/Utopia 2.0/Supreme Chaos Records/2014 CD Review


  Necrotted  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  brutal  mixture  of  death  metal  and  deathcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Utopia  2.0"  which  was  released  by  Supreme  Chaos  Records.

  Dark  and  distorted  sound  effects  start  off  the  album  giving  the  recording  an  atmosphere  of  a  horror  film  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  brutal  death  metal  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  a  mixture  of  deep  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  There  is  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  present  throughout  the  recording  along  with  some  melodies  being  added into  the  guitar  riffing  at  times  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  bring  a very  dark  and  melodic  death  metal  feeling  to  the  bands  musical  style  along  with  a  great amount  of  talent  and  skill  and  the  deathcore  breakdowns  are  present  in  a  lot  of  sections  throughout  the  recording  and  as  the  album  progresses  you  can  hear  some  elements  of  thrash  being  mixed  into  their  musical  style  and  only  a  small  amount  of  pig  squeals  are  utilized  on  this  recording.

  Necrotted  plays  a  style  of  brutal  death  metal  that also  adds  in  some  of  the  more  melodic  side  of  the  genre  as  well  as  mixing  it  in  with  deathcore  and  a  small  amount  of  thrash  on  this  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent,  political  and  anti  racism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Necrotted  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  mixture  of  death  metal  and  deathcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Utopia  (We  Are  The  Light)"  "Assimilation"  "Mind  Control"  and "United  We  Stand".  8  out  of  10.
     

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Avgrunn/Devoratem Creationis/2014 EP Review


  Avgrunn  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  brutal  form  of  death/gore  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  ep  "Decoratem  Creationis".

  Sound  effects  start  off  the  ep  which  have  a  very  epic  feeling  along  with  some  female  choirs  as  well  as  bringing  a  soundtrack  style  atmosphere  to  the  recording  and  after  a  minute  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  brutal  death  metal  direction  along  with  some  growls  and  blast  beats  and  the  band  also  uses  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  

  High  pitched  screams  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  second  tracks  opens  up  with  some  war  samples  before  going  into  a  more  brutal  direction  that  also  remains  true  to  their  style  of  death  metal.

  Avgrunn  create  2  very  brutal  sounding  death  metal  tracks  on  this  ep  and  by  what  is  presented  on  these  2  songs  the  band  have  remained  true  to  their  style  and  you  can  expect  some  very  brutal  sounding  music  once  the  full  length  is  released,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  scientific  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Avgrunn  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Overwritten  Information  In  Biological  organisms".  8  out  of  10.        

Monday, October 6, 2014

Circle Of Indifference/Shadows Of Light/Records Of Indifference/2014 Full Length Review


  Circle  Of  Indifference  are  a  1  man  band  with  some  session  musicians  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2014  album  "Shadows  of  Light"  which  was  released  by  Records  Of  Indifference.

  A  very  dark  and  distorted  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  elements  of  electronic  music  and  spoken  word  samples  a  few  seconds  later  before  adding  in  melodic  guitar  leads  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  melodic  death  metal  direction  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams  and  deep  growls.

  There  is  a  good  balance  between  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  throughout  the  recording  as  well  as  a  good  amount  of  blast  beats  and  the  solos  and  leads  that  are  used  are  in  a  very  melodic  direction  and  also  utilize  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  and  the  songs  that  are  present  on  the  recording  go  for  more  of  an  early  90's  style  of  Gothenburg  melodic  death  metal  while  also  mixing  in  a  good  amount  of  modern  elements to  update  the  musical  genre.

  Melodic  clean  singing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of   the  recording  along  with  one  of  the  later  tracks  bringing  in  female  vocals,  after  being  in  a  very  heavy  direction  for  the  first  couple  of  tracks  the  band  starts  adding  clean  playing  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording   while  the  heavier  parts  also  start  getting  more  brutal  as  the  album  progresses  and  some  of  the  later  songs  also  shows  the  band  bringing  back  the  electronic  music  elements  of  the  intro  into  a  few  parts  of  the  recording  as  well  as  the  addition  of  spoken  word  parts  during  one  of  the  later  tracks.    

  Circle  Of  Indifference  plays  a  style  that  mixes  both  the  modern  day  and  old  school  melodic  death metal  genres  together  as  well  as  adding  in  elements  of  electronic  music  to  make  the  album  have  a  more  original  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Circle  Of  Indifference  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  death  metal  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "A  Child  But  Not"  "Evil"  "Darkness"  and  "Abyss".  8  out  of  10.

     

Emeth/Aethyr/Xtreem Music/2014 CD Review


  Emeth  are  a  band  from  Belgium  that  plays  a  very  technical  and  brutal  form  of  death  metal  with  some  slam  elements  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Aethyr"  which  was  released  by  Xtreem  Music.

  Spoken  word  and  horror  movie  samples  which  also  appear  on   some  of  the  alter  tracks  as  well  start  off  the  album  and  after  a  few  seconds  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  technical  and  brutal  death  metal  direction  along  with  some  growls  and  blast  beats  and  after  awhile  the  band  starts  using  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  guitar  leads  that  utilize  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  as  well  as  adding  some  melody  into  the  bands  musical  style.

  After  awhile  the  band  starts  adding  in  some  elements  of  slam  death  metal  and  deathcore  along  with  the  vocals  also  using  some  of  that  influence  while  the  main  focus  is  more  on  a  true  and  brutal  style  of  death  metal  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  some  of  the  alter  tracks  also  show  the  band  adding  high  pitched  screams  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  towards  the  end  there  is  a  brief  instrumental  that  uses  only  clean  playing  before  closing  with  another  brutal  track.

  Emeth  creates  a  very  brutal  and  technical  style  of  death  metal  that also  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  slam  elements  and  deathcore  influences  to  create  and  album  that  is  very  heavy  and  modern  sounding  death  metal  recording,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  human  mind,  society  and  death.

  In  my  opinion  Emeth  are  a  very  great  sounding  technical  and  brutal  sounding  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "I  Became  Flesh  And  Dwelleth  Amongst  Thee"  "Aethyr"  "Wrath  Upon  the  Cursed"  and  "Serpents  Walk  As  if  Human".  8  out  of  10.    

   

  

See Through Secrecy Interview

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

We`re a Montreal-based disfunctional family making loud noise together!

On a more serious approach, we are a 5-piece, female-fronted Melodeath/core band that ties togheter many influences and styles.

2.Recently you have released an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

Production-wise, the guys at Silverwing studios did a great job on  making a good sounding album. But we want to push the enveloppe even more for the next one, bringing new elements such as synths and getting a deeper and heavier sound. That`s why we chose to work with Chris Donaldson (Cryptopsy) at the Grid studio.

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

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'See Through Secrecy'?

Let us answer both previous questions by the same answer, since our lyrics and the name of the band are so intertwined :

Originally, what it meant was about life stories, as if experienced first person, and told as an open book.

Now we are taking a new approach : A reflection on what every one knows but is afraid to talk about, might it be world events or personal struggles. We would like for our lyrics to bring people to a state of introspection and realise that not everything is black or white, but a multitude of shades of grey...no pun intended!

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

Looking back to all the shows we did in the previous year, we could say that the best ones were probably the Good Vibration Music fest in Ontario, for the crowd reaction and the opportunity of playing on a big stage and it being an outdoor gig, and the launch party for our 1st EP, as we had a blast sharing what we worked so hard on with everyone.

We bring a lot of energy on stage, and try to interact with every one of our fans at every gig. Being a female-fronted band, people don`t always know what to expect when we walk on stage, but let us tell you that as soon as we get started, they know that we don`t deal in cute kittens

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

At the moment we are centering our efforts on the writing and the preprod of our 1st full length album. We do have a few local gigs coming up, but we do not have any touring plans in the near future. We might plan a short tour near the end of 2015 to support the release of the album

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

Presskits are in the mail, we keep our fingers crossed!

We would like to find the right label for us, that will assist us in reaching the level we want to be at. A lot of bands jump on the 1st opportunity that comes to them and get burned in the process. We want to avoid doing this mistake.

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

So far, we had mostly local exposure. The reaction has been good so far, and our fan base keeps growing. We fend in a style of music that is not the most easy to listen to,were there is a lot of great acts, and is not for everyone. Considering this, we will need to push hard to get exposure. But fear not, we are up to the challenge...

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

As  stated earlier, we are writing the album at the moment, but we are taking our time to write the best material we can, hence why there is no official release date as of now.

Musically, we`re trying to forge our own sound and we focus on writing music that brings all our different influences together

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?

Our influences are really diverse... better brace yourself!

From Metalcore acts such as Killswitch Engage, Caliban or The Agonist , a few Deathcore bands to swedish melodic bands like In Flames or Arch Enemy, with sometimes jumping to prog, thrash, black or 90`s alternative, it is hard to compare what we do to a single style or band . We try to forge our own style, while keeping a melodic approach with really heavy riffs.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Coffee abuse!

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

We would like to thank you for the opportunity to let us talk a bit about ourselves, and we hope to do so again in a near future.

We invite you all to come give us a shout on Facebook, or drop by at one of our gigs to meet us. We always appreciate meeting new fans.

Stay tuned for news on our next album release!

Keep it Metal!

StS

Monument Of Misanthropy Interview

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

George: 'Monument Of Misanthropy' is a brutal death metal band founded by Jean-Pierre Battesti, Romain Goulon (also drummer for Necrophagist) and myself in 2012. We recorded our debut-album „Anger Mismanagement“in 2013 and self-released it after a successful crowdfunding campaign in January 2014 worldwide on iTunes, Amazon MP3 etc. but also as a physical CD.

2.In January you had released your first album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

George: Well fans keep telling us we’re kind of a mixture between Hate Eternal, Napalm Death and Cannibal Corpse and old Morbid Angel. Others would mention Deicide or Emperor vibes. Which is awesome. Because all of the above mentioned bands are bands that have always been among our favorite death metal bands when we grew up. I myself would describe it as brutal death metal with groovy grindcore and old-school death metal elements.

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

George: Well as the title “Anger Misamanagement” may already induce, the album tells the story of a fictional character that totally lost control and runs berserk against everything that he despises: Industry, Politicians, and our hypocritical and entirely superficial society as a whole. The 'Monument Of Misanthropy' doesn’t take prisoners but leaves only a trail of devastation behind him. (Laughs)

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Monument Of Misanthropy'?

George: According to Wikipedia “Misanthropy” is the general hatred, distrust or disdain of the human species or human nature. Looking at the situation of humanity today it’s no wonder that these negative feelings against our own human race keep growing ever stronger, especially among the metal crowd where we have a lot of bright and critical minds. So to some extent everyone who has the balls to speak up for oneself, naming and shaming the sins of mankind is a proud 'Monument Of Misanthropy' for himself.


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

George: Well some labels approached us. But to be honest I think we have done an awesome job so far without any label and I don’t see any point why we should change that path taken. No-one will work harder for your cause than you yourself. Be it tracking albums, be it promoting your CDs and merch. Thanks to FB and YouTube we get our music and message across to a big audience. Maybe we will play some festivals now and then or some smaller tour. Let’s see what comes across. But we’re too long in this business to get ripped off again by some “label” or “tour manager” who thinks he can make profit out of some naive death metal musician’s.

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

George: Telling from the reactions on our sites and sold albums I think we can say we have done extremely well for an unsigned underground band. CDs and merch get sold all around the world from Alaska to Europe to Japan and New Zealand. People can feel the honesty and passion of the music and the pure aggression which comes from the heart of everyone in the band.

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

George: Well Jean-Pierre is playing also with Brutal Rebirth and Romain with Necrophagist. I myself am also active with Disfigured Divinity and Raising The Veil. All projects  and side bands are doing great and will be releasing new material soon as far as I know….

8.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future/

George: I think we will stay where we are right know musically. Maybe a bit more technical but tha’s not a think which is planned but comes by itself. But it’s gonna be fast brutal and insane that’s for sure. (laughs)

9.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/

George: Well for me Death, Cannibal Corpse and Napalm Death where the most influential bands when I was a kid. Newer bands I like to listen too are technical death metla bands like The Faceless, Beyond Creation, Archspire and Fallujah to name only a few

10.What are some of your non musical interests?

George: Besides metal I am pretty much into astro physics and brain research and psychology. Also animal protection plays a very large role in my life.

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

George: I would like to thank you for the interview of course and once again wanna say thank you to everyone who bought our album and merch or supported us spreading the word of 'Monument Of Misanthropy' via internet or radio! It’s sincerely appreciated and will make a new album possible!

Friday, October 3, 2014

Bloodshot Dawn/Demons/2014 CD Review


  Bloodshot  Dawn  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  "Demons"  which  will  be  released  on  October  26th.

  A  very  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  after  awhile  death  metal  vocals  and  thrash  elements  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  Gothenburg  style  guitar  solos  and  leads  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams  and  the  band  also  brings  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  heavy  parts.

  You  can  hear  a  good  mix  between  the  old  school  and  modern  forms  of  melodic  death  metal  throughout  the  recording  along  with  some  symphonic  elements  being  used  at  times  and  the  blast  beats  the  band  uses  are  in  a  very  brutal  musical  direction  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  When  bass  leads  are  utilized  they  bring  a  NWOBHM  feeling  to  the  band  modern  and  extreme  musical  style  while  a  good  amount  of  the  alter  tracks  bring  in  more  old  school  thrash  metal  elements  in  both  the  riffs  and  vocals  while  the  death  metal  influence  is  a  lot  more  stronger  and  a  few  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  they  also  add  in  a  progressive  metal  feeling  at  times.    

  Bloodshot  Dawn  creates  a  style  of  melodic  death  metal  that  has  more  brutality  than  most  bands  of  the  genre  as  well  as  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  thrash  influences  to  create  a  very  heavy  sounding  album,  the  production  sound s very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  modern  society  and  the  struggles  with  mankind.

  In  my  opinion  Bloodshot  Dawn  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  brutal  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Smoke  And  Mirrors"  "Black  Hole  Infinity"  and  "Demons".  8  out  of  10.    

In Sanity/Gates Of Insanity/ 2014 CD Review


  In  Sanity  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  modern  form  of  melodic  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Gates  of  Insanity".

  Dark  sounding  synths  and  nature  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  elements  of  electronic  music  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  melodic  death  metal  direction  along  with  some  aggressive  screams  and  deep  growls  along  with  some  solos  and  leads  a  few  seconds  later  that  are  heavily  influenced  by  the  Gothenburg  sound.

  Synths  and  clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  small  amounts  of  clean  singing  and  most  of  the  music  sticks  to  mostly  a  mid  paced  musical  direction  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  halfway  through  the  recording  the  band  adds  a  power  ballad  onto  the  recording  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction  on  the  following  tracks.

  In  Sanity  creates  a  style  of  melodic  death  metal  that  is  very  modern  sounding  but  also  brings  back  the  melodies  of  the  90's  Gothenburg  bands,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  In  Sanity  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Gates  of  Insanity"  "Outburst  In  Ashes"  "Words  Unsaid"  and  "Enduring  Changes".  8  out  of  10.      

Thursday, October 2, 2014

ThunderWorks Interview

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

My name is Michael J. Amari, and I formed ThunderWorks in November 2008. I write the music and play all of the instruments on the album “Thoughts & Thunder”. The album was mixed and mastered by J-F Dagenais of Kataklysm, and self-released in August 2014.

2.Recently you have released your first album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

I would say it’s a heavy album, blending elements of death, thrash, and progressive that may appeal to fans of bands like Metallica, Dream Theater, Opeth, Kataklysm, etc. There are many varied elements to the music and times that once you think you know where a song is going, it can change it’s path to something interesting and different. Musically, there is an effective blend of heavy rhythm guitars, clean passages, and guitar solos. Vocally, there are death growls, high screams, clean vocals, and other styles that are hard to compare to anything.

3.The musical project has been around since 2008 but only released an album recently, can you tell us a little bit more about the 6 year gap?

I first wrote these songs in 2008-2009 and actually started recording them way back in 2009. Somehow, between moving around to different parts of the state/country and searching for the right vocalist, the actual recording process took years. Different parts of the album were actually recorded all through the years from 2009-2014. You may hear two different guitars on a song like “Rainwalker” and one of them could be from 2009 and another from 2013!

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with your music?

I usually write lyrics after I write the music, I’ll just listen to the riffs and see what the song seems to be saying to me. Often I won’t even know what I’m trying to write about until after I’m mostly finished. I hike a lot and being outdoors and things relating to the natural world find their way into my lyrics, which usually deal with themes of self-introspection and struggles in life. The lyrics always have a personal meaning to me, but not so much that they cannot be open to interpretation and deciphered to fit someone else’s opinion of their meaning. The lyrics in the song Thoughts and Thunder tend to sum up my lyric writing process: “All I see, All I feel, brings me Thoughts and Thunder”

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

The name itself came together by accident when I was thinking of different names for the band. I recall saying different words “this works, this doesn’t work, something about thunder would work, thunderworks…” It was two words that came together unexpectedly and it just fit the music and sound perfectly.

6.On the album with the exception of a vocalist from Belgium you recorded everything solo, are you open to working with a full band in the studio during the future?

I would like to have more people involved during the recording process in the future. A drummer, a bass player, I’ll always play the guitars on the recordings, but having these other elements would be welcomed in the future.

7.What are some of the best shows that you have played with your live line up so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

It’s been a while since we were very active live, but we have always had a positive reception from most any venue we played at. I think the best show I can remember was right around Christmas a few years ago, we played a “metalized” version of “Carol of the Bells” and there was just a great atmosphere about that show that was very memorable. Another great one was at a local college, where people slowly joined the crowd after hearing the music and eventually people got really into it and had a great time. I tend to get more zeroed in on playing my guitar during a live show, that I won’t be going crazy or thrashing around on stage or anything, but have always given 100% to each note that is played and we tend to get a good connection with audiences by the end of the show.

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

As of now, we are short a live vocalist, so things have been slow in that department. Once we find someone who can do justice to the album vocals, it would be great to begin playing live again!

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

I would definitely be open to receiving label interest, the whole project still seems very under the radar right now as expected, not sure if any labels really have heard the music yet!

10.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme and progressive music?

I have just been trying to get the music out there in any way I can, so I can get others feedback and some fans. Not many people know about the album yet, but the ones who have heard are usually impressed. I have had emails from people telling me how the album reminds them of any number of old school bands, and how honest this music sounds. That is a grew thing to hear, when people recognize the intentions of the music and relate to it in any way. Having any number of people like the album makes it a very rewarding experience even without being a very known band.

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

I actually wrote a 2nd album way back in 2009-2010, long before this album was finished being recorded. So I know where ThunderWorks will be headed, at least for this next album. Let’s just say it will be a much more progressive and interesting direction!

12.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?

My biggest musical influence would have to be Metallica, specifically the rhythm guitar of James Hetfield. This is what got me to play guitar in the first place when I was 13-14, just practicing as many Metallica songs as I could learn. John Petrucci of Dream Theater is another, not so much for the technical side of his playing, but for the emotion and tone of his work. Especially on “Images and Words” and “Awake”. Another influence has to be Opeth. Then there are tons of bands I like and have been a huge inspiration for me in life more so than musically: Paradise Lost, Blind Guardian, Lost Horizon, Amorphis, Kataklysm, Before The Dawn to name a few.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

Mainly hiking (although I guess that is somewhat musical since it inspires the music) and lifting weights.

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

I’d just like to tell everyone to check out ThunderWorks debut album “Thoughts & Thunder”. Everyone I know seems to have a different favorite song, so there might just be something for everyone on this album! www.thunderworksmusic.com