Ossuaire/Le Troubadour Necrophageophile/Nihilistic Holocaust/2015 Cassette Re-Issue Review

      Ossuaire  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  gore/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2005  demo  "Le  Troubadour  Necrophageophile"  which  was  re-issued  on  cassette  in  2015  by  Nihilistic  Holocaust.

  A  very  dark  and  haunting  horror  movie  style  intro  starts  off  the  ep  and  a  few  seconds  later  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  death  metal direction  along  with  growling  vocals  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  music  also  bring s in  grim s creams  at  times.

  The  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  death  metal  sound  but  has  more  of  a  guttural  and  brutal  approach  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats   and  you  can hear  a  heavy  grindcore  influence  throughout  the  recording  and  the  leads  that  are  utilized  add  more  of  a  chaotic  atmosphere  to  the  music  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slwo,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

    Ossuaire  bring  back  the  gore/death  metal  style  which  they  also  mix  in  with  a  touch  of  grindcore,  to  create  some  brutal  music,  the  production  sounds  very  raw,  old  school  and  powerful  all  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  torture,  gore  and  strange  sexual  practices.

  In  my  opinion    Ossuaire  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  gore/death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  cassette.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Le  Fleau"  and  "Trolla  Infectum  Phallus".  8  out  of  10.  

Fetid Zombie/Grotesque Creation/Metalhit/Morbid Visions/2015 CD Review

  Fetid  Zombie  are  a  band  from  Virginia  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  gore/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their 2015  album  "Grotesque  Creation"  which  will  be  released  in  February  as  a  joint  effort  between  Metalhit  and  Morbid  Visions  and  also  has  a  quest  on  each  track  from  legendary  death  and  black  metal  bands.

  A  very  melodic  and  distorted  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  an  old  school death  metal  direction  along  with  a  good  mixture  of  growls  and  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  a  small  amount  of  keyboards  in  some  parts  of  the  tracks  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to t hem.

  At  times  you  can  hear  Greek  black  metal  influences  being  mixed  in  with  an  old  school  death  metal  sound  and  the  solos  and  leads  that  are  utilized  are  in  more  of  a  melodic  direction  and  also  bring  in  traditional  metal  influences at  times  and  in  some  parts  classical  guitars  can  be  heard  and  a  lot  of  the  songs  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  thrash  and  heavy  metal/hard  rock  elements.

  As  the  album  progresses  spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  a  later  track  also  bring s in  clean  singing  male  and  female  vocals  that  also  have  an  operatic  edge to t hem  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  members  of  Rotting  Christ,  Varathron,  Necromantia,  Horrendous,  Arsis,  Crucified  Mortals,  Zemial,  Thou  Art  Lord,  Soulskiller,  Sverg,  Waxen,  Swamp,  and  Yamatu.

  Fetid  Zombie  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  old  school  and  also  brings  in  a  touch  of  the  more  melodic  Greek  black  metal  sound  to  create  a  very  dark  and  heavy  sounding  recording,  the  production  sound s very  old  school  yet  professional  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  horror  and  gore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Fetid  Zombie  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  death  metal  band  with  a  touch  of  black  and  traditional  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS INCLUDE  "Entombed  Existence"  "Razor-Sharp  Attack"  "Death's  pallor"  and  "The  Outstretched  Hand  of  Rotten  Death".  8  out  of  10.





            

D.A.M/The Awakening/2014 CD Review

  D.A.M  ate  a  band  from  Brazil  that  has  been  featured before  in  this  zine  which  also  plays  a  very  melodic  and  symphonic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "The  Awakening".

  A  very  symphonic,  epic  and  classical  influenced  musical  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  after  a  minute  and  a  half  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  solos  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  they  also  become  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  When  vocals  are  added  into t he  music  they  are  a  mixture  of  clean  singing  and  high  pitched  screams  that  also  add  a  touch  of  black  metal  into  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  songs  all  utilize  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  mix  the  symphonic  and  heavy  parts  together  while  also  mixing  in  elements  of  a  more  modern  yet  heavy  prog  metal  sound.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,   mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  riffs  that  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  power,  thrash  and  speed  metal  while  some  of  the  synths  also  bring  in  a  progressive  rock  feeling  at  times  and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  Finnish  and  Swedish  melodic  death  metal  influences  throughout  the  recording  and  one  of  the  tracks  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  whispers  on  a  later  track  along  with  the  faster  sections  bringing  in  brutal  sound  at  times.

  D.A.M  creates  another  melodic  death  metal  album  that  is  also  very  symphonic  sounding  and  also  mixes  in  a  great  amount  of  traditional  and  prog  metal  elements  to  create  a  very  original  sounding  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism  and  the  Dark  Side  Of  The  Mind.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  D.A.M  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  symphonic  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Great  Work"  "The  Breaking  Point"  "Nightmare"  and  "Thelema".  8  out  of  10.

Shahyd Legacy/Through The Ashes/2015 Full Length Album

 

Shahyd  Legacy  is  a  solo  artist  from  Maldives  that  plays  an  instrumental  mixture  of  hard  rock,  neo-classical,  melodic  death,  and  heavy  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2015  album  "Through  The  Ashes".

  A  very  melodic  hard  rock  style  guitar  solo  starts  off  the  album  which  are  also  mixed  in  with  prog  metal  style  rhythm's  along  with  a  touch  of  thrash  and  most  of  the  songs  avoid  any  vocals  and  lyrics  and  also  bring  back  the  guitar  shred  sound  of  the  mid  80's  and  early  90's  bit  done  in  more  of  an  updated  direction.

  Clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  heaviness  that  is  very  rarely  heard  in  this  genre  and  the  guitar  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  while  the  main  focus  remains  more  on  solos  and  leads  and  when  vocals  are  utilized  they  are  mostly  death  metal  growls  and  screams  while  the  following  track  uses  clean  singing  and  also  brings  in  elements  of  hair  metal..

  Shahyd  Legacy  combines  a  variety  of  many  different  genres  together  from  melodic  death,  hair,  prog  metal,  hard  rock  and  neo-classical  to  create  a  very  original  sounding  recording  that  is  mostly  instrumental  but  also  contains  some vocal  tracks,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  lyrics  when  they  are  utilized  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Shahyd  Legacy  is  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of   hard  rock,  neo-classical,  melodic  death,  and  heavy  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  artist.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Into  The  Light"  "Nocturnal  Waltz"  "Lost  Without  You"  and  "Through  The  Ashes".  8  out  of  10.     

Heboïdophrenie Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Rémy : Heboïdophrénie is the story of a group of friends which started back in 2010 in Bordeaux, with the aim to have fun through a simple and effective Death Metal, with old school and Deathcore influences.
There were several lineup changes at the rhythm guitar. We mostly shot locally at the beginning and we had the opportunity to play at some festivals since 2014 elsewhere in France.
At the guitars are Abyss, the founder of the band and the latest arrived, Bastien (who joined us in early July, 2014).
At the drums there is Crush who hits for us since the beginning of the band.
Finally the two loud-mouthed ... W ... singing lead (exhales) and Remy at backings (inhales and pig squeals) and bass.

2.A year ago you had released your first album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
Abyss : Both thrash / death metal and deathcore styles are now the foundation of the band. But it never was a goal, we do not want to lock ourselves up in one style!
We try to mix Old school riffs with a more modern sound, or go back over deathcore codes on pieces more brutal death oriented.
It is precisely the disgusting old school sound that we try to avoid and replace it by the sound of 7-string guitars today.
To sum, as long as we like the results, we go for it !

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
..W.. : The main theme is the one of madness (heboidophreny among others). Generally speaking each song is centered around a character which suffers from defect that can seem mild in today's society (greed in FEAST OF DEATH, sex in BONNET M, etc.) and through their hallucinations (CADAVERS) or abuses of all sorts, turns into a festival of guts and blood.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Heboidophrenie'?
Rémy : What inspired us for this name is the fact of bringing out the beast that is hidden within us all. Society, through education or morals, makes us channel all this hatred and violence that we constantly have to restrain. It allows us to live together without everything turning into an unspeakable mess.
Well Heboïdophrénie describes exactly the opposite, which is to realize that everything around us is a deep violence, everyone wears a mask which veils our worst vices. And at the end, what is described in our songs is not that different from reality, it is just presented in a refined way. As if all of this was normal.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Crush : For us the best memories were the CHAULNES METAL FEST, the METAL CULTURE and RAGING METAL FEST. Although many concerts we gave on smaller scenes were sometimes more violent!
We have no recollection of having done a concert without a fucking mosh pit and a wall of death, metalheads are really sick!
Roughly speaking, coming to see a live concert of HEBOIDOPHRENIE is the guarantee of making you grind in a pogo and drowning yourself in a pool of beer!

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Bastien : We are preparing some dates and we will contact the numerous organizers of metal festivals in France.
To this day, the confirmed dates are our participation to the METAL CAMP ROCK.
About tours on a larger scale, we are not there yet, but it is clear that we will get involved in the future!

7.Phenix promotion recently has been promoting your album, can you tell us a little bit more about this company?
Abyss : Phenix Promotion is above all a music lover who knows well the metal scene and all the difficulties that you can face when you want to make things happened (a concert, advertisement, and so on ...).
So he simply offers to link everyone via promotion and communication.
Many groups trusted him, such as NO RETURN, ARCANIA, CAN OF WORMS and so on.
Thanks to him our album got a lot of visibility and we thank him for his work, therefore we will come to him again!

8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
Abyss : We would like to work with a label, in the one hand to end the self-production and in the other hand to be exported the best we can, in order to produce our second studio album, tour in France and why not become worldwide.
We haven't currently received anything serious, so we keep on looking for an opportunity.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal and deathcore?
..W.. : Overall, the returns have been positive, with a few exceptions but you cannot please everyone.
We listen to both positive and negative criticisms, it would be too easy for us to examine our own songs.

10.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
Bastien : I have a 2nd group called Vacuity, it is the one with which I started. We released an ep back in 2013, recorded among our buddies from Berserkers. The ep is a melodic death metal style / deathcore, we did some concerts too but then gave no signs of life for approximately 1 year. We completely questioned our music and how we composed our songs, we will head towards 7 strings and move to a more progressive and groovy metal. We are preparing an album, we already have quite a lot of songs.
…W… : With Crush, we are also part of the extreme metal band BEMSKIANT which sails between an unhealthy dark, atmospheric black metal and a melodic death metal. After several tour dates in Bordeaux, France, a demo published in 2011 and a few changes in the lineup (besides Abyss is a former member of the band, just like Rémy who helped us for the recording of the demo and also for some lives) we have several tour dates scheduled in France in 2015 and plan to release a concept album in late 2015 / early 2016. Otherwise, I also happen to help some local metal bands when they need a singer for one or more concerts.

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Bastien : For each new composition, we always try to set the bar higher, either on the "technical" level or the finished sounds.
We take more time to build the pieces, to create more groovy parts, and get inspired by new elements while keeping the death / deathcore base.

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?
Crush : We are for the most parts inspired by extreme metal with bands such as Whitechapel, Thy Art Is Murder, Ingested and The Black Dahlia Murder, for example.
Generally speaking we mostly listen to Death metal styles such as Vader, Benighted, Dying Fetus, Cannibal Corpse, Hypocrisy, and even to some technical death metal such as Gorod, Obscura, The Faceless, Meshuggah ...
Sometimes we can listen to a few black metal bands such as Emperor, Windir, Nehëmah, Crystalium among others.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?
Rémy : Abyss and Crush have recently been interested by drones that they sometimes happily explode on the walls.
... W ... and I appreciate gastronomy, and wines and beers from Europe and all over the world.
Bastien is studying art and therefore spends his time drawing or painting when he does not play the guitar!
Otherwise we have a lot of hobbies in common such as travels, sports, video games (current and retro ones), movies (especially purposely bad movies and blockbusters).

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Crush : Thank you for your interest in French metal bands, we would love to come and play in the US! And to those of you who are reading this, do not hesitate to come and have a drink with us during the concerts!

..W.. : A final thank you to Phenix Variety of DeathZine, Momo, Fifi, Black Leaf and to all those who support us and help us in any way!

Heboidophrenie : STAY METAL!

Dysnomia Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
(Alex) Dysnomia is a Melodic Death Metal band, whose sound is described by reviews as something like the well known Gothenburg scene. Those fast and aggressive riffs join with some traces of black metal, keyboards and orchestrations, and this is what you will find in our music.
(Eloi) Our actual lineup consists of Alex de la Sota (vocals), Rodrigo Blas (Guitars), Jorge Fernandez (Guitars), Eloi Pascual (drums) and Aarón Fariña (Bass).


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 'Dark Eternity'?
(Alex) We could say that the sound is a big evolution from the one you could find in Dark Eternity. It’s faster, stronger, and with much more complexity in every one of its aspects. Also the production is much better than before.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
(Alex) The main topic of the CD is to erase the reality and the world in which we live nowadays, to eliminate all the contamination and the bad things burning it all down, because only the good and fair will survive that.

4.The band was originally known as 'Dark Eternity', what was the decision behind the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name ;Dysnomia'?
(Eloi) We decided to change the name of band for several reasons. First of all our approach to the music and the band itself changed considerably, so we didn’t feel as the same band anymore. The aim was higher for instance; we got into a professional recording studio for the first time in our careers. Besides, we had some lineup changes, including such an important thing as the vocalist (Rodrigo had stepped down on vocals and Alex joined the band a while after that)
All these things were going though our minds during all the writing and recording process, but when we listened to the premix it became pretty clear. Alex’s voice tune was so similar to Mikael Stanne’s (Dark Tranquillity) that our music, which obviously had DT as a big influence, looked much more like theirs. So we could not be “Dark” Eternity if our music sounded that similar to “Dark” Tranquillity. That was the decisive point; in order to avoid wrong ideas or confusions we switched to Dysnomia.


5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
(Eloi) I will always remember the first time we played in A Coruña. The audience was great, and it was the first time we signed albums after a show.
On stage we try to be as perfectionists as we can, because the music gets pretty fast sometimes and it needs a lot of meticulousness, so the audience can understand what we’re playing up there. Besides, we always try to transmit a lot of energy and make the people not just enjoy the music, but have a good time and connect with us.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
(Alex) Of course. We are planning a national tour right now to present our new CD, and maybe we can go further and do a few dates over Europe. We are currently organizing everything and will publish the first dates very soon.


7.The new album was released on Suspiria Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
(Eloi) Suspiria Records is based in Vigo, just like us. We had worked with them when we released our EP “Selenia” when we still were Dark Eternity. Our experience with them was very pleasant and successful, so we decided to go one more time with them.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic death metal?
(Alex) Surprisingly strong. We have received some personal messages that you wouldn’t believe, and we know we have already a lot of fans in Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Russia… It is pretty shocking how far our music has arrived in a very short period of time.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
(Eloi) Where our lives take us, that’s for sure. We wrote “Dysnomia” in order to play the music we were in the mood to. At that point we enjoyed playing that kind of music, with fast riffs and atmospheric keyboards, so we did. I cannot tell if ten albums from now we’ll still be playing death metal, who knows. One thing is for sure; we’ll never play something that we don’t really feel like, because we can’t force ourselves to enjoy music that we just don’t, and that would be transmitted to the fans.

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?
(Alex) We could say that we have in common the Swedish Melodeath bands like In Flames, Soilwork, Dark Tranquillity, At The Gates and so… Each one of us listens to things that may be slightly different. Our drummer is more on the proggy and jazz side, while me and Aaron like folky stuff or some darker sounds. Our guitarists are more into death metal or metalcore, so we could say we are all different but in the best way of its meaning.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
(Alex) I’m a marine scientist, and I love everything that is related to the ocean and its nature. I’m also a diver and bodyboarder, and I enjoy a lot spending my free time in the water depending on the conditions.
On top of it I’m a karate black belt, and I’m fascinated by the world of the traditional martial arts. I think it’s a very inspiring and enriching way of life, based on the respect and the selfconfidence while you develop your capacities and stay in great shape.
(Eloi) All my life develops around music (my job, my studies and my hobbie). But those little times when I take a break, I like to watch TV Series (right now I’m into Sons of Anarchy, The Mentalist…). And of course, spending time with my family and friends.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
(Eloi) Thanks a lot for the interview guys, and thank you who are reading this. We hope you enjoyed our album, and if you haven’t listened to it yet, give us a try and hang around our Facebook page ;)
Cheers for y’all and see you on the road!

Extinctionist/Portals of Extraterrestrial Invasions/Rising Nemesis Records/2014 CD Review

   Extinctionist  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  brutal  and  technical  form  of  death  metal  with  elements  of  grind  and  deathcore and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Portals  of  Extraterrestrial  Invasions"  which  was  released  by  Rising  Nemesis  Records.

   Science  fiction  sounds  which  are  also  used  on  some  of  the  other  tracks  as  well  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  brutal  death  metal  sound  while  also  incorporating  a  small  amount  of  melody  at  times  and  when  vocals  are  added  into t he  music  they  are  very  guttural  sounding  growls  and  at  times  spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Most  of  the  music  is  done  in  more  of  a  modern  day  style  of  death  metal  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  and  after  awhile  the  music  also  gets  more  technical  and  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  solos  and  leads  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  use  a  small  amount  of  pig  squeals  and  spoken  word  samples  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Extinctionist  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  brutal  and  technical  sounding  and  also  brings  in  a  touch  of  grind  and  deathcore  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  science  fiction  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Extinctionist  are  a  very  decent  sounding  technical  and  brutal  mixture  of  death  metal,  grind  and  deathcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Unexpected  Return"  "Painful  Excesses  Of  Doom"  "Morpholus  Heritage"  and  "Dead  Human  Era".  7/5 out  of  10.

Caelestia Interview

1. For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
We are a female-fronted progressive melodic death band from Athens, Greece. The band was initially formed in April 2012, by founding members Nick Palyvos (bass / vocals) and Dimitra Vintsou (lead vocals). The band is about to release its second studio album “Beneath Abyss”, on February 16th, 2015 under Finnish label “Inverse Records”. The album was recorded and mixed at “Basement Studios” (with sound engineer Michalis Meleteas) in Athens, and mastered at the renowned “Fascination Street Studios” in Sweden, by Tony Lindgren. A first studio album titled “Last Wish” was released in the end of 2012, under independent label IKK Productions (the band was still called “Me And Myself” then). The title song “Last Wish” became our first official video, which was directed by Christos Tsoukalas (Basement Studios), and released in September 2013. We have just finished shooting our first official video for the new album, thus the title track “Beneath Abyss” with renowned German director Matthias Kollek. The video shooting was conducted in various locations in the Schwarzwald region in southern Germany, and our video is about to be released at the same time of the album release.

2. Recently you have recorded 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?
In our new album, we have strived to achieve a well-balanced combination of the styles, that each of the band members favors, thus melodic death metal, symphonic / gothic metal, visible elements of progressive metal, but also black metal passages. The goal was head on to achieve a unique style of our own, and not try to sound like an impression of any other band, which is quite difficult nowadays. Our music is greatly based on diversity, large amounts of guitar riffing and phrasing (it is quite indicative that each of our songs contains at least 7-8 different guitar riffs), changing time signatures and varying tempos, that range from 130 to 210 bpm. We tried hard to break the so called “conventional” form of songwriting (intro / verse / chorus / verse / chorus / solo / chorus / outro etc), and introduce various and altering parts and bridges in our songs, so that the listener is constantly left curious of what’s going to come next. That is quite a big turn compared to our previous album, which could easily be characterized as alternative / gothic metal, with more “conventionally” written songs, and not so many complicated passages, bridges and altering time signatures.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Our music and lyrics explore a wide variety of subjects, with the main focus being in the eternal war between good and evil, light and darkness, either taking place internally, thus within an individual’s soul and thoughts, either externally, in the outside world, not leaving aside subjects, such as disrupted states of mind, occult etc. We also tried to give a certain theatrical sense in our song lyrics, introducing dialogues (e.g. in the track “Mi Ultima Vida”) between characters, and lyrics written in Spanish and Latin, besides English. That is a key element in our lyrics and music, which we plan to continue and expand in our future work.

4. Originally the band was known as “Me And Myself”, what was the decision behind the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name “Caelestia”?
The first band name (“Me And Myself”) was more “provisional”, so to speak, and it depicted an emotional state, a state of loneliness (like someone trying to find their pace and identity, and experiencing this feeling of solitude and not-belonging). The decision to change the band name came more or less naturally, after the line-up was finalized, and –most important- after the musical direction and genre was changed to melodic / progressive death metal with female vocals (not to mention the fact that the new name was far better sounding!!). The word “Caelestia” comes from Latin and means “heavenly” or “of the heavens”, and the inspiration came from the lead singer of our group, Dimi.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Despite being a recently formed band, we’ve had quite a few live appearances under our belt, but the most stand-out live performances of the band, were: a) at Katatonia concert in Athens Gagarin 205 Club, as a supporting act, along with “Maplerun” and “Scar Of The Sun” on February 22nd, 2013, and as b) a sole supporting act to German horror metallers “The Vision Bleak”, in Athens Club Kyttaro, on February 15th, 2014. When the band opened the Katatonia concert in Athens, it was the band’s first major live performance, and it was well welcomed by a crowd of 700-800 people below stage, so it was a very good starting point. As the band finalized its new musical identity, more live shows came along (spring & summer 2013), which served as a means for the band to get a “tighter” sound. Our best live show so far was definitely the opening for “The Vision Bleak” in February 2014, where we presented a significant number of the new songs (that are contained in “Beneath Abyss”) and unveiled the new musical direction of the band, and this performance received many positive reviews. As a band, we try not to be too static on stage, and we try to transmit our songs’ energy to the crowd, and that seems to work. Of course, there always are things to improve, and we tend to judge ourselves quite harshly, so that every live performance of ours gets better and better.

6. Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?
Of course we do, we have engaged a management agency for that means, and the plan is to start touring sometime in April-May 2015 (not a very large number of shows for starters), mainly in northern & central Europe. Our next tour slots will be planned for October-November 2015 (including appearances in Greece), whereas we have an open invitation to participate in the “Heavy X-Mas Festival” in Grafenhausen, southern Germany, in December 2015. An appearance in this year’s “Metal Female Voices Fest” in Brussels, Belgium is also included in our plans.

7. On the new album, you have some very well known guests on a couple of the songs, can you tell us a little bit more about their contributions?
We had always thought of having some renowned metal musicians contribute to our album, it renders an additional artistic aspect to the songs, and it enriches the whole outcome. Having assigned the mastering of our album to a Swedish studio, we always wanted to have a metal musician from Sweden to participate in one of our songs. After making a few contacts, Bjorn “Speed” Strid (of Soilwork) showed his interest, and agreed to sing “Blessing Of Tragedy”, which suited him best in his vocal abilities and style. We sent him the track by mail, and he immediately started working on the vocals, and the outcome is the amazing singing that you hear in the album. Regarding Markus Freiwald’s (of Sodom) contribution, we sent him the track “Secret Rite”, which we had already recorded with a session drummer, and he agreed to re-record the drums, rendering his unique teutonic thrash drumming style to the song. When Sodom came to Athens for a live show in May 2014, Markus heard the re-recorded song, and was truly thrilled.

8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic death metal?
Since the album has not yet officially been released, we have relied on reviews regarding our live stage performances in Greece (in the past months). However, in the last few days we have already begun receiving feedback by metal sites, which have reviewed our new record as a whole (thanks to Inverse Records very good network and promoting actions). Our average “grading” in all reviews so far has been well above average (between 7/10 and 8,5/10), which motivates us, as well as boosts our confidence, to work harder and make our music better and better.

9. Where do you see the band heading into musically in the future?
We definitely see ourselves pushing and evolving our melodic / progressive death style, by writing both faster and more aggressive songs in the future, but at the same time not setting the melodic elements aside. It is hard to strike a perfect balance between these two, but it’s surely is worth the effort and time.

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 band’s sound contains influences by many styles of metal, such as death, symphonic, gothic, progressive, black and thrash. One can easily distinguish such passages in our album’s songs, and this is something we cherish a lot, not to mention that it gives us a unique sound. There are many bands that we can name as influences; needless to say that each contributing band member has his/her own influences. If we were asked to name a few, we ‘d say Death, Dimmu Borgir, Behemoth, Cradle Of Filth, Katatonia, Hypocrisy, Septic Flesh, Rotting Christ, Nightwish, Epica, Moonspell, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Morbid Angel.

11. What are some of your non musical interests?
We’d mention simple every-day things, such as sports, relaxing with friends, going out, travelling, reading and watching films and series.

12. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
We’d like to thank you very much for this opportunity to speak our minds in public through this interview. As far as our life motto is concerned, that would be summed up in the following words: “never give up on your hopes and dreams, no matter the hardships”.

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Macabre Demise/Homicidal Parasites/Rebirth The Metal Productions/2015 CD Review

  Macabre  Demise  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  brutal  mixture  of  death  metal  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Homicidal  Parasites"  which  will  be  released  on  January  30th  by  Rebirth  The  Metal  Productions.

  A  very  heavy  style  of  death  metal  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  guitar  leads  that  demonstrate  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  on  all  of  the  tracks  they  are  utilized  on  and  after  awhile  growling  vocals  start  becoming  a  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  the  music  also  has  a  very  old  school  vibe  at  times.

  Grindcore  elements  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  music  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  that  also  make  the  music  have  more  of  a  brutal  edge  and  the  music  also  incorporates  a  good  amount  of  melody  and  high  pitched  screams  along  with  a  touch  of  thrash  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  whole  album  sticks  to  a  very  heavy  and  brutal  style  of  death/grind.

  Macabre  Demise  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  heavy  and  brutal  and  they  also  incorporate  some  grindcore  in  their  sound  to  create  a  very  heavy  sounding  album,  the  production  sounds  very  professional while  the  lyrics  cover  violence  and  gore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Macabre  Demise  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  mixture  of  death  metal  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Perverse  Torture"  "Back  From  The  Dead"  and  "Depth  Of  Horror".  8  out  of  10.
  

Deivos/Theodicy/Selfmadegod Records/2015 CD Review

  Deivos  are  a  band  from  Poland  that  plays  a  very  brutal  and  technical  form  of  death  metal  with  a  touch  of  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Theodicy"  which  will  be  released  in  February  by  Selfmadegod  Records.

  Sound  effects  start  off  the  album  which  leads  up  to  a  very  technical  death  metal  sound  which  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  solos  and  leads  that  are  also  used  throughout  the  recording  along  with  some  growling  vocals  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  adding  in  more  fast  and  brutal  parts  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  slam  elements  along  with  most  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  sound  effects  that  where  also  present  during  the  beginning  also  make  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  all  of  the  tracks  demonstrate  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  being mixed  in  with  the  brutality.

  Deivos  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  brutal  and  technical  sounding  they  mix  in  a  touch  of  slam  and  grind  to  create  a  very  heavy  sounding  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  suffering,  death  and  anti  religion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Deivos  are  a  very  great  sounding  technical  and  brutal  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "El  Shaddai"  and  "Parasite".  8  out  of  10.   

Putrid Offal/Mature Necropsy/Kaotoxin Records/2015 CD Review

  Putrid  Offal  are  a  band  from  France  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  old  school  and  brutal  form  of  gore/grind  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Mature  Necropsy"  which  will  be  released  in  February  by  Kaotoxin  Records.

  a  very  dark,  heavy  and  old  school  death  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  growling  vocals  which  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  high  pitched  screams  and  after  awhile  the  music  goes  into  a  very  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  direction  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  faster  sections  for  the  most  part  dominate  the  recording  and  one  of  the  tracks  also  brings  in  a  few  seconds  of  Gregorian  chants  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  a  small  amount  of  morbid  sounding  melodies  being  utilized  at  times  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  guitar  solos  and  leads  and  as  the  album  progresses  synths  find  their  way  onto  a  couple  of  the  tracks  briefly.

  With  this  album  Putrid  Offal  creates  another  old  school  and  brutal  style  of  gore/grindcore  and  ignores  all  of  the  modern  trends  of  the  past  20  years  and  you  can  also  hear  a  heavy  death  metal  influence  in  their  musical  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  gore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  very  great  sounding  recording  from  Putrid  Offal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  gore/grindcore,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Garroting  Away"  "Suffering"  "Symptom"  and "Birth  Remains".  8  out  of  10.  

The Passion Of Our Souls Interview

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

Samuli: Hi! Yes, sure! We are "The Passion Of Our Souls" and we're coming from Finland. We both living in southern part of Finland, Julia is originally from the city called Hämeenlinna and I'm near Hämeenlinna, from municipality of Janakkala. Julia can tell a bit more.

Julia: Hi! Everything started when we met each others and began to carry out our passion for music. We do everything together in this project. It was a lazy sunday when Samuli asked me can I growl...and I was like, well I can try. I realized that it was easy for my voice and then we started to work with our first song called: Give me your soul. I wrote the lyrics while Samuli was composing the song. Singing melody we figured out together. We have done lot of music before, but I have only made and sang pop/rock songs. So this death metal singing is new for me :)


2.You have an ep coming out in March, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

Julia: We decided that we want heavy sounds with pop style choruses. We wanted good drum sounds and low basses. We wanted that choruses are sung powerfully and high. And that there is contrast between verses and choruses. I'm studying my first year to become an audio engineer, but Samuli has mostly made the edits and mixes for us. Hopefully I can help then in the future when I graduate from my school :)

Samuli: I guess Julia said the main points. Heavy guitars, pop melodies and low and high growls and screams and clean catchy  choruses.


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

Samuli: Julia can answer better because she writes all the lyrics.

Julia: Yes, I have wrote all the lyrics and they all come from my own experiences and feelings. This EP is called soulmates and it tells about love and finding a true soulmate and finding a person who really understands what you want to do with your life. I want to write about love and share my words to all who are looking for it or have found it already. We are living hard times in this world, so I think it's important to share all the good things that we have and people should care more about the other people. It's very important to tell your feelings to your loved ones. Earlier I have wrote lyrics only in finnish language, so this is new for me. Also lyrics I wrote earlier are very melancholic, so this project is very important to me.


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'The Passion Of Our Souls'?

Julia: When we met with Samuli, we found out we both are very passionated about music. We felt that we understand each others very well and that we want to do music together as a couple. So name "the passion of our souls" tells about our passion for music and love.

Samuli: Julia said it all.


5.You call your music 'melodic death-pop meal', do you feel you have created a new style of metal with your music?

Julia: Well, I haven't heard this kind of music style before. Some people have told us that this is not death metal, and I'm answering: yes, that's true, this is melodic death POP metal ...Hahah :D ...So the word Pop is important to notice. I don't know if we have created a new style in metal, but if we have, that's great :)

Samuli: Maybe it's not a new style, but I would say that we're doing that in our own way.
And at least I personally don't know any this kind of band in Finland.


6.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you planning on expanding your line up in the future or do you chose to remain a duo?

Julia: Yes, we are going to expand our line up in the future. But all the composing and other stuff like lyrics and sounds we want to do together with Samuli.

Samuli: Yes, . Composing and lyrics writing and so on works this way and goes better than well now, but thinking about the future..we will find musicians for live shows then when all are ready for that.


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

Julia: Right now we do all by ourselves. I think that it's working for us very well and we are very hard workers for our passion.

Samuli: Like Julia said we do all by ourselves, but if we would get some offers from labels..or if they would be interested about us...we would be happy to see what they can offer.


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

Julia: We have had positive feedback. I think that everyone has not realised that it's me who does all the growls in this band :D many people thinks that it's Samuli, but no, it's me :) I have had good feedback about the growls, clean singing parts and lyrics, so I'm very happy. And we have been in many news all over the world, so I hope that people will find us and our music :)

Samuli: Yes, somehow people think that it's a guy who does growls, but no, It's Julia who does all the vocals. As far we've seen...feedback has been nice and we are happy about getting feedback.


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

Samuli: Musically it will follow the same paths.. more catchy pop choruses and more heavy riffs.

Julia: We start to make more songs right away when EP comes out. And release a full album hopefully this year. We keep our own style and do this project because we love to do it together and that is the best part of it. We keep our minds open and try to learn more from music everyday. Hopefully we can do shows soon in the future.


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?

Julia: I listen lot of different genres...pop, rock, folk, metal, classic, everything if the song is good :)
Most influence that I have comes from Finnish writers and poets. There is so many great bands that I have got influence. But I still try to do what works best for my voice and not try to copy anyone. Just working with my voice that I have.

Samuli: Same as Julia...lot of different genres, but I love soundtracks and metal music mainly. What comes to influences..it's all the things that I experience all the time and ideas just comes somewhere to my mind.


11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Julia: Well, everything I do has basically something to do with music right now. Because I study music. But I also write quite a lot and I like to eat food that Samuli cooks for me :D!!

Samuli: Yes I cook for her.. :D Non musical interests is difficult, because there is always music in everything we do.


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

Julia: I hope that we can bring metal music to pop/rock fans and pop music to metal fans. That everyone could listen to our music. Hopefully my growls doesn't scare you :D I'm just a girl with a loud voice :D Thank you for reading our interview :))

Samuli: Thanks for the interview and remember to pre-order album from https://thepassionofoursouls.bandcamp.com and check/subscribe to our official channels/pages.
FACEBOOK:
www.facebook.com/ThePassionOfOurSouls
YOUTUBE:
www.youtube.com/user/ThePassionOfOurSouls
TWITTER:
https://twitter.com/passionofours
SOUNDCLOUD:
https://soundcloud.com/thepassionofoursouls
REVERBNATION:
www.reverbnation.com/thepassionofoursouls
TUMBLR:
http://thepassionofoursouls.tumblr.com/
BANDCAMP:
https://thepassionofoursouls.bandcamp.com
BANDPAGE:
https://thepassionofoursouls.bandpage.com

Bloodscribe/Prologue To The Apocalypse/Gore House Productions/2015 CD Review

  Bloodscribe  are  a  band  from  California  that  plays  a  brutal  and  slamming  mixture  of  death  metal,  gore  and  grind  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Prologue  to  The  Apocalypse"  which  will  be  released  in  February  by  Gore  House  Productions.

  A  very  heavy  and  brutal  death  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  slam  elements  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  to  speed  up  a  bit  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  growls  are  also  introduced  into  the  music  along  with  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  At  times  the  vocals  can  be  guttural  while  there  is  still  a  traditional  approach  to  death  metal  growling  and  you  can  hear  a  heavy  influence  from  New  York  style  death  metal  in  the  bands  musical  style  along  with  some  elements of  grindcore  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  music  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  there  is  never  a  soft  or  weak  moment  to  be  heard  anywhere  on  the  recording  and  the  last  track  also  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  guitar  leads.

  Bloodscribe  plays  a  very  brutal  style  of  slam  death  metal  that  is  very  guttural  and  also  brings  in  a  touch  of  gore  and  grindcore  to  enhance  the  brutality,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  violence  and  gore  and  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Bloodstrike  are  a  very  decent  brutal  and  slamming  mixture  of  death  metal,  gore  and  grind  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Pantheon  Of  Lies"  "Demons"  "Kingdoms  Fall"  and  "In  Ruins".  7/5  out  of  10.    

Voice Of The Soul Interview

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

Sure. We’ve been working hard on promoting ‘Catacombs’, which will be out on March 27th. Unlike previous releases, we’re excited to be distributing it in Europe (via Hell’s Hammer Distribution) and India (via Transcending Obscurity). I’ve also been putting my mediocre video editing skills to good use, as we prepare to release our first playthrough video. We also played our first show in Beirut last October, which was a blast.

2.You have a new album coming out later this year, 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?

‘Catacombs’ sound is much different compared to our previous three EPs. We’ve drop-tuned our guitars for the first time, and have used more synth to fill in the gaps in the mix. There are also a few parts with clean vocals, sung by our guitarist Monish Shringi, and Egan O’Rourke from Daylight Dies who features in one our songs too. I was only a teenager when our previous EPs came out, so I think the new material is just more mature because I’ve learned so much over the years. I never have a strict idea of how I want things to sound like… if it’s heavy, melodic, and interesting enough for me to want to put it out, I’ll give it a go I guess. I also wrote most of the material on the acoustic this time.

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

It really depends on the song, but everything ties in together about personal experiences, what goes on around us, etc. ‘Pendulum’, for example was inspired by the story of Jonestown mass suicide, but it also has to do with how people don’t think for themselves and jump on whatever bandwagon’s marketed well-enough for them by some corporate giant or political leader. ‘Defiled’ has to do with apathy, especially by the most privileged.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Voice Of The Soul'?

The story behind the name isn’t anything mind-blowing, unfortunately. When we started out in Kuwait back in 2007, we signed up for this battle of the bands competition. We never really cared about naming the band; we just wanted to make music, you know? But when we were signing up before our audition, they said that they needed a name. So we all took out our MP3 players and checked out what we were listening to. ‘Voice of the Soul’ [by Death] was playing on mine, and we thought it’d work out for now. But then some people started referring to us as ‘VOTS’ and we thought that we might as well stick to it. That said, like Chuck Schuldiner from Death, we like to grow musically and not put out identical releases, like what he did with Death.

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?

Our Beirut show back in October is definitely one of our favorite ones. I co-organized it and had to sort out tons of things that I usually wouldn’t. It was tiring, but we had a really excited crowd. They were all moshing, cheering, jumping around- you name it. You don’t see much of that anymore. We also once played a show in Dubai in August 2013 (which is a terrible idea, because everyone’s away in August), but we had a huge turnout. It was a tight performance, and we had a good time.

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

Yeah… definitely. That’s something that we’ve been working on for a while, we’ll keep everyone posted through our social media platforms.

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

That’s an interesting question. We have received some offers over the past couple of years. I think if VOTS were active in the 90’s or something, we’d be very active trying to shop for a label, but the way things are, it’s debatable whether you need one anymore. Given the circumstances of the band, we’re pretty happy with where we are on that front right now. We’re distributing ‘Catacombs’ in two regions so far, and we’re really pleased with that.

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

Mostly good, I’d say! Not everyone’s going to love your music, but we have supporters who really dig our material, which is amazing. It’s always nice to hear from people who support your music, whether they’re from your immediate circle of friends, or whether they’re people in a distant country who discovered your music and bought your album.

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

Absolutely. Our drummer Rudy also plays in an alternative rock band in Beirut called Roswell, and fills in for different projects every now and then. Our live bassist Bassem fronts a metal band in the UAE called Apeira. I’m usually in and out of projects. I used to play for a funk-rock band in Beirut called Elephant in the Room over a year ago for a short while.

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

I’m already drafting some new ideas, and it seems to pick up from where ‘Catacombs’ left off. We want to be creative with ‘progressive’ elements in our music, but we don’t want it to lose its soul. I can’t imagine Voice of the Soul putting out albums that sound alike. We’re always inspired by new ideas and concepts. I think that’s a healthy approach anyway.

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

I’ve always liked jazz, but I started listening to it a lot over the past couple of years or so, and that made an impact on the music I write. But we’ve always enjoyed listening to bands outside of the metal genre. I personally enjoy my dose of grunge rock, notably Alice in Chains. Post-rock bands, particularly This Will Destroy You, are cool too. I also enjoy listening to Marcel Khalife, who is an amazing Lebanese musician and composer, who really takes traditional music to a whole new level. Guess that makes him kinda proggy doesn’t it?

12.The band was originally from Kuwait but now resides in the United Arab Emirates, how would you compare the metal scenes of both countries?

It’s very different. Kuwait for a while had an active scene but it died out really quickly, but we did boast some of the coolest bands and an amazing producer. Two of those bands have moved to the UAE, Voice of the Soul included. Rudy and I live in Beirut, Lebanon, which used to have a massive scene (arguably the biggest in the region). But like most metal scenes in smaller countries, they just go through growth and decline phases.

The UAE used to have the region’s only open-air metal festival, and it had bands like Megadeth, Iron Maiden, In Flames, Arch Enemy, Motorhead, Opeth, Chimaira, Testament, etc on it. That said, it has some decent club venues, and bands are starting to stop in Dubai before they hit Asia for their tours. Obscura and Krisiun are a couple of bands that did that so far. I think that will definitely help revitalize the scene there.

13.What are some of your non-musical interests?

I’m a politics junky. It’s really bad for you, but it’s so important to follow up with local, regional, and global affairs. I also volunteer with interesting civil rights campaigns and initiatives with local groups whenever I have some spare time. I also support West Ham United, and go through mini-heart attacks when I watch their games.

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks for hitting us up and talking to us! We hope you enjoy Catacombs as much as we enjoyed writing it! You can listen to ‘Pendulum’ off the album on our YouTube.

For more updates, you can also hit us up on Facebook and Twitter too! Cheers

Caelestia/Beneath Abyss/Inverse Records/2015 Full Length Review

  Caelestia  are  a  band  from  Greece  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  progressive  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Beneath  Abyss"  which  will  be  released  in  February  by Inverse  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  ritualistic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  chanting  and  after  a  minute  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  melodic  death  metal  direction  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  and  the  music  also  adds  in  atmospheric  elements  with  the  heavier  parts  and  after awhile  screams  and  growls  are  added  into  the  music.

  Melodic  female  vocals  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  the  solos  the  band  uses  also  remain  true  to  a  melodic  musical  direction  and  a  good  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

 Throughout  the  recording   there  are  elements  of  symphonic  and  progressive  metal  being  mixed  in  with  the  bands  musical  style  along  with  a  couple  of  instrumental  tracks  while  the  following  songs  make  a  return  back  to  a  heavier  direction  and  there  are  also  some  male  clean  singing  vocals  on  one  of  the  songs  that  are  done  by  the  singer  of  Soilwork.

  Caelestia  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  melodic,  brutal  and  progressive  and  they  mix  in  operatic  female  vocals  and  symphonic  elements  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  occult  and  metaphysical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Caelestia  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic,  progressive  and  melodic  mixture  of  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Malleus  Maleficarum  'The  Secret  Cult"  "Blessing  Of  Tragedy"  "Secret  Rite"  and  "The  Rise  Of  Hidden  nature".  8  out  of  10.
  

The Passion Of Our Souls/Soulmates/2015 EP Review

  The  Passion  Of  Our  Souls  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  melodic  form  of  death  metal  with  elements  of  pop  music  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015  ep  "Soulmates"  which  will  be  released  in  March.

  A  very  heavy  sound  along  with  some  growls  and  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  start  off  the  ep  along  with  a  good  amount  of  high  pitched  screams  and  melody  and  a  few  seconds  later  clean  singing  female  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  they  also  add  in  elements  of  pop  rock  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  very  modern  approach  to  extreme  metal  at  times.

  Most  of  the  music  sticks  to  mostly  a  slow  to  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  when  guitar  leads  and  solos  are  added  into  some  of  the  songs  they  remain  true  to  the  melodic  death  metal  style  of  the  bands  musical  style  which  also  mixes  in  modern  influences  in  with  some  of  the  more  90's  Finnish  and  Swedish  style  of  this  genre  at  times  and  they  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  on  one  of  the  tracks.

  The  Passion  Of  Our  Souls  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  melodic  and  heavy  while  also  adding  in  some  elements  of  modern  pop  rock,  the  production  sound s very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  The  Passion  Of  Our  Souls  are  a  very  great  sounding  pop  orientated  melodic  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Give  Me  Your  Soul"  and  "What  Tomorrow  brings".  8  out  of  10.       

Dysnomia/Self titled/Susperia Records/2014 CD Review

  Dysnomia  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  album  which  was  release d in  2014  by  Susperia  Records.

  A  very  dark  sci-fi  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  spoken  word  and  movie  samples  which  also  have  a  dystopian  feeling  to  them  which  also  leads  up  to  more  of  a  heavy  and  melodic  sound  that  also  introduces  blast  beats  to  the  recording  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  bringing  in  more  of  a  melodic  style  of  death  metal.

  High  pitched  screams  can  be  heard  throughout  the  recording  and  the  solos  and  leads  remain  true  to  a  melodic  style  of  death  metal  and  at  times  you  can  hear  traces  of  symphonic  and  electronic  music  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  As  the  album  progresses  the  band  brings  in  a  good  balance  between  adding  in  influences  from  both  the  old  school  and  modern  genres  of  melodic  death  metal  as  well  as  adding  in  metalcore  style  breakdowns  in  some  of  the  tracks  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  the  synths  starting  adding  in  prog  elements  into  the  bands  musical  style  along  with  a  brief  use  of  female  vocals  on  one  of  the  later  songs  before  adding  in  a  brief  instrumental  that  also  brings  in  clean  playing  and  after  that  the  band  closes  the  album  with  two  tracks  that  bring  back  the  vocals.

  Dysnomia  plays  a  style  of  melodic  death  metal  that  is  very  modern  and  heavy  and  also  mixes  in  symphonic  and  electronic  elements  together  as  well  as  adding  in  a  good  amount  of  influences  from  the  genre  of  the  past  20  years  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Dysnomia  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Let  The  Spark  Ignite"  "Into  the  Void  of  Your  Eyes"  "Baptised  In  Rain"  and  "Reach  Clarity".  8  out  of  10.

    

Voice Of The Soul/Catacombs/2015 CD Review

  Voice  Of  the  Soul  are  a  band  originally  from  Kuwait  but  now  reside  in  the  United  Arab  Emirates  and  plays  a  melodic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015  album  "Catacombs"  which  will  be  released  in  March.

  Clean  acoustic  guitar  playing  and  atmospheric  sounds  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  heavy  and  melodic  death  metal  sound  while  the  clean  and  symphonic  parts  also  returning  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  after  awhile  deep  death  metal  growls  become  of  a  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  they  also  bring  in  high  pitched  screams  at  times.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  at  times  clean  singing  can  be  heard  briefly  in  some  of  the  tracks  and  the  musical  style  goes  for  more  of  a  modern  approach  to  extreme  metal  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  remain  true  to  a  melodic  death  metal  tradition  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  prog  metal  at  times.and  the  band  also  bring  in  a  few  tracks  that  are  long  and  epic  in  length  and  they  also  bring  in  a  brief  instrumental  track  while  the  remaining  songs  have  vocals  which  also  shows  the  band  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats.

    Voice  Of  the  Soul  plays  a  style  of  melodic  death  metal  that  is  very  modern  and  also  brings  in  a  lot  of  prog  and  symphonic  elements  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  and  they  also  have  a  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  to  them,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  yet  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Voice  Of  The  Soul  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  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Pendulum"  "The  Mist"  and  "Images  Subside".  8  out  of  10.