Katalepsy/Gravenous Hour/Unique Leader/2016 CD Review

  Katalepsy  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  very  brutal  form  of  death  metal  with  a  touch  of  groove  and  slam  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Gravenous  Hour"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Unique  Leader.

  Atmospheric  sounds  and  acoustic  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  bass  leads  a  few  seconds  later  as  well  as  drums  starting  to  kick  in  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  into  a  heavier  direction  and  once  the  music  speeds  up  death  metal  growls  and  brutal  blast  beats  amke  their  presence  known  on  the  recording.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  very  melodic  while  some  of  the  riffing  also  mixes  melodies  into  the  brutality  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and fast  parts  and  some  riffs  bring  in  a  slight  thrash  influence  and  elements  of  slam  can  be  heard  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  some  of  the  solos get  more  technical  and  they  close  the  album with  an  instrumental t rack.

  Katalepsy  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  mostly  done  in  the  brutal  style  but  also  mixed  in  with  touches  of  slam  and  groove,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  philosopy,  Lovecraft  Myths,  science  fiction  and  apocalypse  themes.

  In  my  opinion Katalepsy are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Blindead  Sultan"  "The  Long  Bright  Darkness"  "Grave  new  World"  and  "Tephra".  8  out  of  10. 

   

Stagnant Project/Audiopizduly/2016 EP Review

  Stagnant  Project  are  a  band  from  Latvia  that  plays  a  mixture  of  industrial  and  melodic  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2016  ep  "Audiopizduly".

  A  very  heavy  sound  along  with  high  pitched  screams  and  melodic  leads  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  groove  elements  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  the  music  speeds  up a   great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  vocals  also  use  clean  singing  at  times.

  Death  metal  growls  are  a  very  huge  part  of   the  recording  and  the  songs  also  mix  in  a  great  amount of  atmospheric  sounds  and  industrial  elements  and  when  solos  and  leads a re  utilized  they  add  in  more  of  a  melodic  yet  technical  style  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  of  the  riffs  also  bring  in  elements  of  metalcore  and  modern  thrash  and  clean  guitars  are  added  briefly  on  the  last  track.

  Stagnant  Project  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  industrial  and  mixes  it  with  melodic  death  metal  along  with  some  element s of  metalcore  and  thrash  to  create  a  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.  

  In  my  opinion  Stagnant  Project  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  industrial  and  melodic  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Man  Of  A  Broth"  and  "Blood  Date".  8  out  of  10. 

Black Bile/Ascension/2016 EP Review

  Black  Bile  are  a  band  from  Los  Angeles,  California  that  plays  an  ambient  influenced  and  progressive  form  of  deathcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2016  ep  "Ascension".

  A  very  heavy  djent  style  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  prog  metal  elements  and  a  few  seconds  later  death  metal  growls  and  ambient  sounds  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  guitar  rififng  is  also  very  heavily  influenced  by  metalcore  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Melodies  are  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  while t he  solos  and  leads  bring  in  more  of  a  technical  style  and  when  clean  playing  is  utilized  it  gives  the  music  more  of  an  avant  garde  feeling  and  the  songs  stick  to  mostly  a  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples.

  Black  Bile  plays  a  musical  style  that  mixes  prog,  djent,  death  metal,  deathcore  and  ambient  together  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  metaphysical  themes.

In  my  opinion  Black  Bile  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  dark  ambient  and  progressive  deathcore  and if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Brahman".  8  out  of  10.      

 

Fear of Domination/Atlas/Inverse Records/2016 Full Length Review

  Fear  Of  Domination  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  shock,  industrial  and  melodic  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Atlas"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Inverse Records.

  Industrial  sounds  and  spoken  word  samples  start  off  the  album  and  a  few  seconds  later  clean playing  and  melodic  vocals  are  added onto  the  recording  and after  the  intro  the  music  gets  more  heavy  and  melodic  along  with  some  growling  vocals  and  the  music  also  uses  solos  and  leads  that  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Vocals  can  also  be  both  melodic  and  aggressive  at  the  same  time  and  you  can  also  hear  elements  of  modern  metal  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  female  vocals  are  also  utilized  at times  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  brief  use  of  blast  beats  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Fear  Of  Domination  plays  a  musical  style  that  mixes  shock  rock  and  industrial   together  with  a touch  of  melodic  death  metal  to  create a  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  end  of the  world  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Fear  Of  Domination  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  shock,  industrial  and  melodic  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Divided"  "El  Toro"  "Messiah"  and  "Final  Transmission".  8  out  of  10.

  

Son Of Gaia Interview

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

We’re a five-piece band from Adelaide, South Australia that began writing music back in 2013 and gradually formed over the years between then and now. We took our time in finding members that were well suited to the band before officially announcing ourselves. We finalized our lineup early this year and in doing so have just released our debut EP ‘Corrode’ and are looking to now start playing shows and establish ourselves in the local Adelaide scene. Our style takes influence from both melodic death metal and the modern progressive metal movement.

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

The EP is really a mixed bag of different musical styles. We can’t really nail it down to one specific genre or subgenre, and prefer to let the listeners make up their own minds. As a band, we feel that the EP strikes a fairly natural balance somewhere between progressive metal and melodic death metal. 

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

We like to challenge the monotonous cycle of reality and question our purpose and existence. Many songs are lyrically written in a somewhat cynical tone. However, the ultimate questioning of 'why and how' remains prevalent. Other themes include religion, morality, emotions, dreams, personal struggles, life, creation and death.
Within our debut EP 'Corrode', all songs have a connecting theme, which is a negative ending, or hope for something more. 'Corrosion' is metaphorically used as the antagonist within the stories. Clouds and rain are symbolized as a darkness leading to the corrosion, a god-like figure in times of desperation or an evidence of the mark that humanity has left. Though narrative stories, the lyrics have some real meaning and personal truth behind them- such as suicide, fear for the environment, inner demons, traumatic experiences and acceptance of death resulting from terminal illness.


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Sun Of Gaia'?

As a band, we take much of our artistic influence from the natural world and have a significant appreciation for the environment. This can be exemplified in our song ‘Blinding Light’, so we thought it would be fitting that our band name aligned with our personal views and beliefs. ‘Gaia’ was the name given to the Greek goddess/embodiment of Earth, and we had always liked the idea of having the word ‘Sun’ in our name as it evokes a certain kind of imagery and poeticism. After months of consideration and many name changes in the process, we were finally able to decide on ‘Sun of Gaia’ as our final band name.




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 are yet to play any shows but have been busily preparing and organising for our first performance for the past few months and we eagerly await the opportunity.

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

We currently have our first show lined up in mid-June, playing with a few other local thrash and progressive metal bands. We’re looking forward to the opportunity to play our songs live in front of a crowd and hopefully pick up a few new fans in the process.

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

At the moment we’re just focusing on writing new music and playing what we have recently released live. We haven’t really given a whole lot of thought to being signed by a label just yet; however we are certainly open to the idea.


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

We’ve been very humbled by the response that the EP has received from many of our mates and members of other bands in the local metal scene. Most of our feedback has come from there, but we’ve been quite surprised when we’ve found people from around the world, namely Europe, giving their thoughts on what we do. It’s always interesting seeing what bands we remind people of, too. We’ve had a few comments from people who were reminded of bands like Death and Protest The Hero when they listened to our music and it’s a great feeling to know that people can associate you with some of your musical idols.

We get a great sense of fulfilment when we see people taking a liking to what we’ve spent so much time creating, and right now it’s really the only validation we could ask for from music fans around the world. 


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

We’re currently writing new material with hopes of recording a full length sometime next year; maybe between July and December 2017. We’re really pushing both our limits and musical ability in writing it and plan to establish each song around a central conceptual theme. We expect it to be quite a leap forward and in somewhat of a different direction in comparison to our EP.
In the meantime, however, we are planning to record a single which will act as kind of a musical bridge between the style of our EP and what we feel our album will sound like. The single will be a culmination of what we’ve done and what we plan to do, and we expect to head into the studio to record this either late this year or early next year. 
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 all have a huge number of different musical influences. Jakob and Hayden, for example, draw some of their influence from more of a death metal background, whereas Lachlan, Nathan and Rory take influence from some of the more modern progressive metal acts which have seen a rise in prominence in the local and international stage over recent years. We find it quite it quite easy to come to a common ground during the writing process and find that our interests and influences tend to align naturally.



11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Music plays a fairly central role in all of our lives; it’s what we do when we aren’t at work or studying. We are all quite interested in history and philosophy however, and enjoy having conversations about existence and what it means to be ‘human’. I guess you could also say that we follow the typical metal band stereotype through our love for food and beer. We wouldn’t be a proper band if we didn’t list video games as one of our mutual interests too; November last year saw a bit of a rough patch for the band due to Rory having to consider whether he’d rather come to band practice or play Fallout 4. 


12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
We’d just like to thank everyone who’s been supportive of us in our short time as a band; it means so much to know that people enjoy what we do. Also, a big thank you to everyone who supports independent music/local/underground artists, too; these people are truly our lifeblood at this stage in our musical career and we’ll always be appreciative of those who go and have gone out of their way to help us out as a band!

Skin Drone/Evocation/Bluntface Records/2016 Full length Review

  Skin  Drone  are  a duo  with  one  member  from  Arkansas  and  the  other  one  from  Massachusetts  that  plays  an  avant  garde,  experimental,  industrial  and  technical  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Evocation"  which  was  released  by  Bluntface  Records.

  A  very  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  screaming  vocals  and  death  metal  growls  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of technical  elements  while  also  being  very  progressive  at  the  same  time  and  throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  When  solos and  leads  are  utilized  they  remain  true  to  a  technical  style  and  the  music  also  gets  very  experimental  and  avant  garde  at times  along  with  some  spoken words  and  whispers  and  all  of the  musical  instruments  have  a  very powerful  sound  to them  and  acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

 At times  the  music  can  be  very  atmospheric  along  with  some  ambient  elements  and  some  songs bring  in  a  small  amount  of  violins  and  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  as  the  album  progresses  black  metal  screams  and  industrial  elements  are  added  into  soem  parts  of  the  recording  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  clan  playing, classical  guitars,  and  melodic  singing  before  returning  back  to  a  brutal  direction  and  some  of  the  tracks are  long  and  epic  in  length  and  on  the  instrumental  track  tribal  beats  are  utilized  along  with  some  chanting.

  Skin  Drone  plays  a  style  of  death  metal t hat  is  brutal,  technical  and  progressive  but  add  in  something  original  by  mixing  in  elements  of  industrial, avant  garde  and  experimental  along  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  to  create  a  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  mt  opinion  Skin  Drone  are  a  very  great  sounding  experimental,  industrial,  avant  garde,  technical  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  looking  for  something  original,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "God  Complex"  "Ghost  Reflection"  "Witching  Hour"  and  "Salvation".  8/5  out  of  10.  

Ominous Eclipse/End Of Days/2015 Full Length Review

  Ominous  Eclipse  are  a  band  from  Ontario,  Canada  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  along  with  some  elements  of  groove  and  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015  album  "End  Of  Days".

  Atmospheric  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  and  they  also  use  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  which  also  leads  up  to  a  heavier  musical  direction  which  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  along  with  some  symphonic  elements  and  the  solos  and  leads  bring  in  a  very  melodic  yet  technical  style.

  Blast  beats  can  be heard  in  the  faster  sections  of t he  songs  and  the  riffs  are  also  very  heavily  influenced  by  groove  and  thrash  metal  while  the  vocals  bring  in a   great  mixture  of  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  and  all  of  the musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Some  tracks  bring  in  a  brief use  of whispers  and  as  the  album  progresses  elements  of  black  metal  can  be  heard  and  the  symphonic  traces  also  make  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  a  couple  of  later tracks  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  towards  the  end  of  the  tracks brings  in  a  brief  use  of  melodic  singing..

 Ominous  Eclipse  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  melodic  death  metal  while  they  also  mix  in  elements  of  thrash,  groove,  symphonic  and  black  metal  to  create  a style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  apocalyptic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Ominous  Eclipse  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  with  elements  of  groove  and  black  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Morning  Hate"  "Desecration"  "Abandoned"  and  "Beyond  the  Apocalypse".  8  out  of  10.

   

Sun Of Gaia/Corrode/2016 EP Review

  Sun  of  Gaia  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  plays  a  melodic  and  progressive  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2016  ep "Corrode".

  Melodic  guitar leads  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  drum  beats  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  you  can  also  hear  a  lot  of  modern  prog metal  elements  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording.

  A  lot  of  melodies  can  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  melodic  death  metal  direction  and  high  pitched  screams  can  also  be  heard  quite    bit  throughout  the  recording   and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  which  also gives  the  songs  more  of  a progressive  edge  and  the  songs  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and fast  parts  and  there  are  also  a  couple  of tracks  that  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  last  2  tracks  brings in  a  small  amount  of  synths.

  Sun  Of  Gaia  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  modern  styles  of  prog  and  melodic  death  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  style  of t heir  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes. 

  In my  opinion  Sun  Of  Gaia  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive/melodic  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Endless  Wake" and  "Blinding  Light".  8  out  of  10.

Illdisposed/Grey Sky over Black Town/Massacre Records/2016 CD Review

  Denmark's  Illdisposed  have  returned  with  a  new  album  which   shows  them  returning  back  to t he  brutal  and  melodic  style  of  death  metal  they  played  in  the  90's  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Grey  Sky  Over  Black  Town"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Massacre  Records.

  A  very  heavy   sound  along  with  melodic guitar  leads  start  off  the  album  before  adding  in  death  metal  growls  and  brutal  blast  beats  as  well  as  going  into  a  faster  direction  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  music  is  probably  there  most  brutal  stuff  in  20  years.

  At  times  the  riffs  can  be  very  melodic  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  songs  bring  back  a  lot  of  their  90's  style  and  the  vocals  also  get  very  guttural  at  times  and  later  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  high  pitched  screams  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  couple  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  a  brief  use  of  keyboards  and  some  of t he  heavier  riffing  also  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  tremolo  picking  while  a  later  song  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples  and  towards  the  end  of  the  recording  one  of  the  bonus  tracks  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing.

  Illdisposed  creates  an  album  that  goes  back  to  their  roots  and  focuses  less  on  groove  and  melodic  vocals  to  create  a  very  heavy  sounding  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  hateful  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Illdisposed  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  their  early  material,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED TRACKS  INCLUDE "Your  Darkest  Son"  "The  After  All"  "Setting  Sail"  and  "This  Is  Not  The  Ride".  8  out  of  10.  

Clawhammer Abortion Interview

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

It's mostly been dealing with the logistics of getting pre-orders together and getting to the post office while also kinda taking inventory of everything. Nothing super exciting! I've also been listening to the album itself a lot to hear things that I feel could be better or somehow improved. In the next week or two we're going to formally begin looking for a drummer as our former drummer, Josue, quit the band before we recorded "Slaughter Campaign."

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 stuff you have released in the past?

I think the sound is consistent with the direction I wanted the band to go in. There's two d-beat type songs, two slow songs, two grind songs, and some wild cards. Namely, "Acidification" which is a song our bassist Anthony wrote. He also wrote all the riffs in "Ritualistic Insemination." A song that features our first guest, Matt Difflin. He's in our old guitar player Jason's band called Charonincentive. He was also a member of Repulsion in the mid-80s. And I guaranteed him a solo spot on the album awhile back and I thought it would be cool to have a lead guitar player that's tangibly better than me do a guest solo. I thought it turned out really cool because I always liked the old school solo hand offs between Hanneman and King and Adrian Smith and Dave Murray. It sounds like the album I wanted to make when we first started writing it back in 2014. I also think we leaned a lot on our ability to write different kinds of death metal songs for the second time but managed to also make better and longer songs. I also think the production is way better than our first album and that's a testament to just taking the time to really really listen to it and concentrate.

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

Well, the first album's themes were basically like dumbed down Carcass and Cannibal Corpse lyrics. A style I really do enjoy writing and will probably revisit at some point. But this album, lyrically, probably draws a bit more on real life. We're not a political band or anything and I'm far from a qualified activist of any kind, but every song is basically a variation on different ways that mankind sucks. Like, I'm optimistic that we'll figure shit out and fix the planet and probably conquer the solar system or some shit. But that terrorist shit in Paris last year, a recent car accident, this fucking presidential campaign, the religious freedom thing, Lemmy dying and the existential crisis that event created in my personal life were things I sort of drew on for inspiration.

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

Well, on one hand, it's ripping an unborn baby out of a woman with a tool found in virtually any household. On the other hand, it's really like any other title to any death metal band where it's sort of an examination of violence and how wildly absurd it can be when you remove any value for life. Ultimately, it was just a name I blurted out at a friend's house about 8 or 9 years ago and it stuck with me.

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?

The tightest we ever played was probably our show with Sepultura last year. We played excellently. My favorite is probably a local show we did with a band called Deadspawn who asked us to play their EP release show. We got a small pit going for a song or two. It was the biggest crowd we've ever played for. I also really enjoyed playing a friend of ours named Tim Callaway's birthday party at a local bar in Arizona here called the Palo Verde Lounge. It is an archetypal dive bar in the southwestern United States and it's just how you would imagine it. The PA System was on a table. It was amazing. We'll play anywhere.

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

Yes. We'd like to get back on the show thing and ultimately tour. We get asked a lot to play shows and I have to turn people down as we don't have a drummer. So, we're definitely looking for someone.

7.The new album was released on 'Distrust Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Distrust Records is just my little po dunk label for releasing Clawhammer Abortion music. It's full on DIY.

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

We haven't had a whole lot of international feedback but your review and some things I've heard from peers have been really positive. The worst review so far has been from me because I'm my harshest critic.

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

I have about five other bands I want to do but don't really have time for. Robert actually has about 4 songs he's going to contribute to the next album and we're his only gig right now. Anthony and I want to do a side project eventually with me on guitar and him on drums but right now we're focused on getting Clawhammer back into live shape so we can start playing shows again.

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

I think that we will always fundamentally kind of sound how we sound. We'll have a mix of old school Swedish, mid-90s Florida, mixed with grindcore and d-beat. I think there will be albums here and there that favor one of those styles over the others. But, we're not gonna make any wild changes to throw our fans off or anything. It's always going to be brutal old sounding death metal.

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

I drew a lot of inspiration from only a few death metal bands this time around. Those bands being Cannibal Corpse and Death, almost exclusively. I also got into bands like Martyrdod and Skitsystem since the last album. There was a lot of non death metal that really influenced the album too. I was listening to a lot of Ministry and Godflesh when I was finishing up the writing and recording the thing. Misery Index, Vomitory and Napalm Death are all more or less ingrained in the DNA of the band as well.

In terms of what I've been listening to that's metal, Metallica. That's a boring answer but I've been obsessed with the first four albums lately. I do the same thing from time to time with Slayer and Danzig where I just go through the favorable portions of their discography over and over again. I really enjoyed the recent collaboration between The Body and Full of Hell. It's one of the heaviest things I've heard in a long time.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Basketball. Horror movies. Biographies. Astronomy. Scotch Whiskey. Watching Law and Order on Netflix with my girlfriend.

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

Thank you for the interview and the great review!

The Hypothesis Interview Questions

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

 The Hypothesis is Helsinki-based metal-band, mixed up with great melodies, crunchy & groovy riffs not forgetting technically played metal music.

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

 The new album ”Origin” consists of old and new songs put together with top professional album production. The Album differs from past releases with more ready sound. ”Melodic death metal meets technical metal music with phantasmal synth-layers” would describe the feeling on this album.

3.The band has been around since 2009 but so far has only put out 2 releases, can you tell us a little bit more about the gaps in between releases?

 The music and our band were slowly getting it's form during these years. There were some line-up changes between those releases and the final line-up was ready at 2014 when the album was fully recorded.

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

 Basically lyrical themes are about leaving the bad things behind and embracing the new better things in life. There are different situations on each song but all ideas are taken from our everyday life.

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

 The meaning behind the name is to leave room for the imagination while listening The Hypothesis. That's basically it.

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?

 Nummirock-metal festival in Finland was  definitely one show to remember. Also we played in Qstock-festival same year. Shows with Scar Symmetry & Swallow The Sun in Helsinki and Hämeenlinna were amazing.

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

 We are touring after the album release but the dates are going to be announced later. Also We have released a few european tour-offers but more of that later..

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

 It seems people are welcoming our material with very positive feedback. It has been amazing to notice.

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

 Waltteri is currently playing drums in Paradise Lost & Vallenfyre, but other band members are not having any others projects at the moment.

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

 Basically The Hypothesis is heading into more heavy and melodic path. There will be faster and also more slow material in the future.

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?

 Influences are taken from music generally from light-music to more rough metal. Genres in metal with biggest influence to mention are of course Swedish, European and Finnish death metal and progressive metal. Generally other influences come from music heard in everyday life.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

 Electronic Dance Music (EDM) might have been the least affecting musical interest lately.

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

Hope to see you all at our shows in the future and go pre-order our album! Thanks!

Hellslave/An Endless Path/Revalve Records/2015 CD Review

  Hellslave  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  melodic  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "An  Endless  Path"  which  was  released  by  Revalve  Records.

  A  very  dark  sound  evoking  the  atmosphere  of  a  horror  movie  soundtrack  starts  off  the  album  being  going  into  a  very  fast  and  melodic  death  metal  direction  that  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  high  pitched  screams  and  you  can  also hear  a  great  amount  of  Swedish  influences  in  the  bands  musical  style.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  remain  true  to  a  very  melodic  style  and  there  is  also  a  great  mixture  of  both  modern  and  old  school  influences  present  throughout  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  whole  album  also  remains  very  heavy  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

  Hellslave  plays  a  style  of  melodic  death  metal  that  has  a  very  vintage  Swedish  feeling  and  could  easily  be  mistaken  for  a  band  from  that  country,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  anti  religion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Hellslave  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "An  Endless  Path"  "Devourers  Of  Light"  and  "Septic  Void".  8  out  of  10. 

Clawhammer Abortion/Slaughter Campaign/Distrust Records/CD Review

  Clawhammer  Abortion  are  a  band  from  Arizona  that  plays  a  mixture  of  brutal  death  metal  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Slaughter Campaign"  which  was  released  by  Distrust  Records.

  Sounds  of  war  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  leads  up  to  a  heavier  musical  direction and  all  of  the  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  awhile  the  music  speeds  up  and  adds  in  blast  beats  along  with  soem  high  pitched  screams  and  grindcore  elements.

  Death  metal  growls  are  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  90's  influences  in  the  bands  musical  sound  while  the  music  also  still  has  a  very  modern  and  brutal  approach  to  the  genre  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while t he  solos  and  leads  also  add  more  of  an  old  school  death  metal  style  to  the  songs  when  they  are  utilized.

  Clawhammer  Abortion  plays  a  musical style  that  take s the  old  school  styles  of  death  metal  and grindcore  and  mixes  them  in with  more  of  a  modern  and  brutal  edge  which  also makes  the  music  stand  out  a  bit  more,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  medical  atrocities,  extinction  level  events  and  torture  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Clawhammer  Abortion  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  mixture  of  old  school  death  metal  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "You  Must  Burn"  "To  Worship  In  Vain"  and  "Giving  Up".  8  out  of  10.    

Circle Of Indifference/Welcome To War/Records of Indifference/2016 Full Length Review

  Circle  of  indifference  are  a  solo  project from  Sweden  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  melodic form  of  death  metal  with  some  session  musicians  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2016  album  "Welcome  to  War"  which  was  released  by  Records  Of  Indifference.

  A  very  heavy  sound  and  spoken  word  parts  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  a  few  seconds  synths  and  death  metal  growls  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  the  synths  also  mix  in  prog elements.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  modern  metal  elements  and  some  of  the  songs  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  melodic  vocals  while  a  later  track  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  and  electronic  music  elements  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  war  samples  and  the  songs  stick  to  mostly  a  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Circle  Of  Indifference  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  melodic  death  metal  sound  that  was  established  on  the  previous  release,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violence  and  war  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Circle  Of  Indifference  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "From  This  I  Depart"  "Welcome  To  War"  and  "Veil  of  Despair".  8  out  of  10.    

   

Subliminal Fear Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?
Yes of course! Here Carmine, I’m one of the vocalist of the band. We started to work on this album in the beginning of 2014 and the songwriting process is been quite long cause we decided to evolve our sound in something new and modern.
The band had some line-up changes and we defined many new lines about to write the songs and about style of music.

2.You have a new album coming out in May, 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?
“Escape from Leviathan” presents a modern metal with many influences. For me it’s a perfect mix between melodic and extreme metal and also it shows groove-oriented parts and industrial sounds. When we started to play together we played a melodic death with thrash and metal-core elements and in our first 2 albums you can find this for sure. It was not something new and personal and it was quite enough for us at that time. Now our sound has grown because we has grown like musicians and we needed to evolve all is around us too. We have chosen to change our skin and to make alive our project.
   
3.This is the first album to be released in 4 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?
We were fully busy in the songwriting process of this album because, like a said previously, we changed many things in the band, not only in the sound but also in the line-up and in the way to work together. Now we have 2 vocalist to express better all potential of the new songs and a new drummer led technique and assurance. Now we feel really like a new band with many new energies.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
Escape From Leviathan’s tracks are a futuristic concept about an apocalyptic vision of our society. Concurrently with the music style we changed also the topics of our lyrics. They talk about a society that guide us and control us with new technologies, something is not so much far from reality, and at the same time these technologies/machines control us now and subconsciously. Our weapons now became our scourge. All the theme is been inspired by sci-fi movies like Terminator, Alien and Blade Runner.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Subliminal Fear'?
When we have chosen this moniker we wanted to represent all hidden fears in our subconscious. Most of the time in our life, we can feel they are around us but we can’t see them clearly and from where they arrived. Now this name represents very good the new concept and topic of the new songs.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Our "live" experiences more important are been at Total Metal Festival here in Italy. We shared stage with important bands like Testament and Dark Funeral and it was amazing. Our live approach now is changed, our skills like musicians are better and we can be more energetic and professional than before. Now it’s all better, also atmospherically, thanks to the instrumental-electronic parts in our music.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?
We are planning to promote in the best ways the new album, we will tour in Italy for sure! Our main goal is to tour in some countries out of Italy for some dates, I hope we will have this possibility.

8.You have a few guests on the new album, can you tell us who they are and also their contributions to the recording?
Yes it’s something make us very proud. On “Escape From Leviathan” you can find 3 special gusts. All of them are great vocalists and they are Guillaume Bideau from Mnemic and One-way Mirror on Phantoms or Drones, Lawrence Mackrory from Darkane on All Meanings They have Torn and Jon Howard from Threat Signal on Evilution.

9.You also did a 'Talk Talk' cover, what was the decision behind doing your own version of one of their songs?
About the choice of a Talk Talk song like Living in Another World we are some different reasons. First we wanted a 80’ pop song and our buddy and co-producer Botys Beezart, that realized all synths and programming of the album, is a great fan of them. He was very happy of this song when we started to talk about to work on it. Second reason is to find a thematic was inside the album’s concept, and this lyrics was for me absolutely perfect. One interpretation can be the desire to live in “another world” because in our world there is something wrong.

10.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme metal and industrial?
I’m waiting the reaction of people about this. We will know very soon when album will be released. I hope all they can be satisfied about our new musical style, old and new fans, who love metal and who love electronic music.

11.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?
Yes, our new vocalist Matteo is also the guitar player and singer of deathster Golem.

12.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We will continue to explore our sound with new elements, we chosen a good direction with this album.

13.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?
There are been many and different. I think bands like Fear Factory, Mnemic and Sybreed have influenced the new sound, but also we looked at bands like Tesseract, Paradise Lost, Celldweller.

14.What are some of your non musical interests?
We are interested in technologies tools, in movies and travels.

15.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Yes, I wanted to thank you for this talk about our new album and a big thanks to all readers here to be interested in our music. Follow us on our official page : www.facebook.com/subliminalfear, we will post videos and interesting news about the band. Give a little listen to Escape From Leviathan and May the Force be With You!