Nightrage/The Venomous/Despotz Records/2017 CD Review

  Nightrage  are  a  band  originally  from  Greece  but  now  resides  in  Sweden  and  plays  a  melodic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "The  Venomous"  which  was  released  by  Despotz  Records.

  Clean  guitar  playing  along  with melodic  guitar  leads  start  off  the  album  before going  into  a  heavier  direction  along  with  some  aggressive  growls  and  screams  that  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  death  metal  edge  while  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  you  can  also h ear  a  lot  of  90's  era  Swedish  influences.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  melodic  vocals  and  both  acoustic  and  clean  guitars  are  also  used  briefly  and  as  the  album  progresses  more  modern  metal  influences  are  added  into  the  music  and  they  close  the  album  with  an  instrumental.

  Nightrage plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  melodic  in  the  old  school  Swedish  tradition,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  pain,  desperation,  and  betrayal  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Nightrage  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  "The  Venomous"  "Affliction"  "The  Blood"  and  "Desolation  And  Dismay".  8  out  of  10.

Logic Of Denial/Aftermath/Comatose Music/2017 CD Review

  Logic  Of  Denial  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  technical,  brutal  and  guttural  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017 album  "Aftermath"  which  will be  released  in June  by  Comatose  Music.

  A  very  futuristic  heavy  and  brutal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  guttural death  metal growls  and  dark  melodies  a  few  seconds  later  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Elements  of  slam  can  be  heard  in  the  mid  tempo  sections  of  the  songs  along  with  the  riffs  also  getting  very  technical  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  finally  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  a  couple  of  brief  interludes  is  also  added  onto  the  recording  before  returning  back  to a   more  brutal  direction  and  sci  fi  style  samples  are  also  used  briefly  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Logic  Of  Denial  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  brutal,  technical  and  guttural  while  also  adding  in  a  touch  of  slam,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  the  various  stages  during  the  grieving  process.

  In  my opinion  Logic  Of  Denial  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal,  technical  and  guttural  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Devouring  Seeds  Of  The  Apocalypse"  "Larvae  Of  Eden"  and  "Euphoric  Abhorrent  Synthesis".  8  out  of  10.   

X.Kernel/Face The Truth/Cimmerian Shade Recordings/2017 CD Review

  X.Kernel  are  a  band  from  Ukraine  that  plays  a  very  modern,  melodic  and  progressive  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Face  The  Truth"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  Cimmerian  Shade  Recordings.

  Atmospheric  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  classical  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  and  they  also  mix  in  with  the  heavy  riffs  and  melodic  guitar  leads  and  the  music  also  mixes  in  a  great  amount  of  progressive  elements  while  the  faster  sections  use  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats.

  Vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls  along  with  a  few  screams  and  the  songs  also  bring  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the recording  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  a  brief  use  of  melodic  vocals  while  the  keyboards  also  mix  in  more  symphonic  elements  on  the  later  tracks  and  spoken word  parts  are  also  used  briefly.

  X.Kernel  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  modern,  melodic  and  progressive  sounding  with  some  symphonic  touches,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  X.Kernel  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  and  melodic  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Exhausted"  "Dying  Gods"  "The  Last  War"  and  "Dream  of  Sun".  8  out  of  10.

Enragement/Burned, Barren Bloodstained/Inverse Records/2017 CD Review

  Enragement  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  very  extreme,  brutal  and  technical  form  of  death  metal  with  some  elements  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Burned, Barren  Bloodstained"  which  will  be  released  in  June  by  Inverse  Records.

  Clean  guitars  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  a  few  seconds  alter  which  also  leads  up  to  a  more  fast  and  brutal  direction  which  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  melodies  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  riffs.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  elements  of  black  metal  in  the  screams  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  technical  fashion  while  the  growls  also  get  very  guttural  at  times  and  some  of  the  mid  tempo  sections  add  in  a  touch  of  slam  and  spoken  word  parts  along  with  clean  guitars  are  added  onto the  closing  track.

  Enragement  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  brutal,  slam  and  technical  sides  of  death  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  war,  perversions,  insanity  and  violence  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Enragement  are  a  very  great  sounding  technical  and  brutal  death  metal  band  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dead  Flesh  Treasury"  "Divine  Catatonia"  "Blood  For  The  Sun  God"  and  "Smite  the  Impure".  8  out  of  10.   

Cipher 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?

Hello,

Since the album has been released , we worked very hard on the promotion of it ! We have just finished the promotion campaign in France our country . For the rest of the world, I seized the opportunity of “Against PR”  since I did not find much contact to promote it by myself .



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

We have tried to simplify our music and make it more efficient. The previous album was more melodic and heavy metal inspired. This one is more thrash metal inspired . We also added tracks to link or introduce the songs to make it more immersive, in order to create a sticky atmosphere to the themes covered in the album.



3.This is your first album since 2009, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?

We could summarize that by : the life . You know, we are not young metalheads and we are nearer of forty years old than twenty  .. And in your life sometime you want to have a family…children… and time pass quickly !!! Then we had a change of line up too . Our drummer left the band and it was not simple to find another in our town that had not already 3 ou 4 bands…



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



As the name suggests, the themes on the album are behaviors, which rightly or wrongly considered as deviant. The texts in French bring into life a character who, according to the song, represents an idea, a behavior or a deviant feeling.

To tell about some  themes of the album, the title « Exquis Supplice » is about a man who becomes a serial killer, « invidia » talks about vengeance. «Idylle Ethylique » talks about alcoholism…   « L’amalgame des âmes » speaks of a sect leader ... but there is one positive song: Anonymous . It talks about the wellknown hackers who try to open our eyes on  the fact that governments  manipulate us! They are considered as deviant beacause they choose to rebel against abuses of modern society  and fight them with modern weapons ... the internet and all communication possibilities it offers !!!  « 13 eme Arcane » is about a man who loose his humanity and invocate the 4 horsemen of apocalypse . Then the last 2 songs are about the judgement and the death of our character …



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

Oh it’s simpliest that it seems … In fact the 3 foundators members of the band are all computer scientist . So the word cipher was designed for us J





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

Well we had the chance to play with After Forever , Dagoba, Benighted, No return, Execution, Sybreed , Dark Age, Nightmare, Dark Moor….

And playing with these great band gives you power to perform at your maximum !!!

So i think our show are energic and sincere !





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

At this time the only date we have is a french festival on may the 26th. Over the years it’s becoming very difficult to play in France , and for touring you must pay a booker , it’s not in our philosophy to pay to play …



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

We love our freedom and do what we want when we want it and as we want, we think that a label is completely incompatible with this way of seeing. As you tell, it spent 8 years between our two last album , a label can’t wait so long .



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

We have just began the wordlwide promotion as the album is physically available worldwide since march the 20th . We decide to separate french release and worldwide release by 2 months . But, it’s at this time a success.





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/

Well , françois and david play in the famous band « Execution » since 2013 and they will soon record a new album . Our drummer play in a cover hard rock band for the fun . And i always refused any proposal because i put all my energy in Cipher.



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

We do not ask this kind of question, we prefer to let things happen.





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

Really all the bands that had an influence on our compositions already existed in the 90s. Some of them are Dark Tranquillity, in flames , Children Of bodom, Arch Enemy, Cradle of filth, Iron Maiden…. And we still listen to these albums..

Personally, I continue to buy cd and sometimes new bands, but they are not a source of inspiration.





13.What are some of your non musical interests?

The music occupies all our free time, so if one is not with our family ... it is that what one does has necessarily report from near or far with the music :) Like to go to festivals, to organize Concerts ... answering to an interview



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

Thank you to make live the metal music through your blog. I hope that these few words will inspire readers to listen to our music.

Immortal Shadow Interview

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


Immortal Shadow is a Melodic Death Metal band formed in Cartagena, Spain.
At the beginning we were just 5 guys playing versions of our favorite bands but we wanted to create our own songs, so we started to compose our first EP.
It was very fulfilled for us, so after record the 2nd EP, we wanted to go further in music’s world and recorded our first album whereby a lot of people is listening us all over the world.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

Our style is influenced by the Swedish Death Metal and the agressivity of the Thrash Metal. The essence of the album is the melodies combined with aggressive riffs whereby you can appreciate influences of other styles like Viking metal or modern metal.

3.From 2009 to 2017 there was no new material, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?

That’s wrong, in 2013 we recorded our 2nd EP called “Death Now a Partner”, and it’s true that in those years we haven’t got much activity because we weren’t focused in doing something serious.
With that EP we realized that we could do something and after roster changes with a new and renewed mentality, we started to compose the songs of “Horror Circus”.



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


The main lyric topics are about reflexive themes but we speak about mythological things and horror stories too.

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


The name of the band was inspired by the concept of the immortality, is a fact that all the alive things have a shadow and that shadow is following us to any site that we go, and if something has an Immortal Shadow it will be eternal, like the music.

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?


This is something very difficult to choose for us, because we try to do our best at every concert.
We leaved the scenario with very good sensations when we played with the Chilean Folkheim, but in others festivals that we have played too.
Our stage performance is very energetic inciting the public to do a lot of mosh pits and head banging.

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

We have already played some concerts of the tour, in fact, we got 2 shows scheduled for the next month and we are organizing more dates in Spain for the tour that will be announced soon.



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

Some labels were interested in the band, but we are beginners now and we didn’t have enough resources for that.



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

The feedback that we are having is very positive, lots of radios and webs are having interest in our album, helping us to reach more people.



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

Our drummer, Anibal, is involved in other band of power metal called Anima Sacra, that we strongly recommend to listen.



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

We hope that in a few years, when the band gain some reputation outside Spain, we could do an European Tour sharing stage with some bands that nowadays are a reference for us.



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?

We listen a very wide range of music, some of us usually listen black metal, others listen Bluegrass, blues…we think all the styles have something to contribute to your life and some of that influences are reflecting when we compose our songs.



13.What are some of your non musical interests?

Our principal non musical interest is the beer and go partying! But sometimes…not very often as drink, we do other things like playing videogames, watching sports or just studying our university careers.



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

We are grateful for the support that we are receiving from all the Medias and the fans, that’s very nice for us because this is our first album and we are very excited.
From Spain, STAY BRUTAL!

Cipher/Deviance/2017 Full Length Review

  Cipher  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays a  melodic  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  album  "Deviance".

  Water  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  tortured  souls  screaming  and  gun  shots  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction  which  also  introduces  death  metal  growls  and  screams  onto  the  recording  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful  and  you  can  also  hear  a  lot  of  melody  in  the  riffing.

  A great  amount  of  thrash  elements  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  a  small  amount  of  whispers.

  Cipher  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  melodic  while  also  mixing  in  a  great  amount  of  thrash  influences,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recoridng  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  French  and  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Cipher  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Exquis  Suppice"  "Anonymous"  and  "Talion".  8  out  of  10.

   

Abrasive/Book Of Sin/Rebirth The Metal Productions/2017 Full Length Review

  Abrasive  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  brutal  form of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Book  Of  Sin"  which  was  released  by  Rebirth  The  Metal  Productions.

  A  very  heavy  and  brutal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  guttural  death  metal  growls  a  few  seconds  alter  while  high  pitched  screams  are  also  used  at  times  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  music  also  mixes  in  some  of  the  more  brutal  90's  influences  while s till  sounding  modern.

  Throughout the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  a  small  amount  of  melody  can  also  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  fashion  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  horror  movie  samples and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  underneath  the  brutality  and  there  is  also a   few  seconds  of  keyboards.

  Abrasive  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  old  school  and  brutal  genres  of  death  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  something  very  heavy,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  erotic  fantasies  and  human  sexuality  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Abrasive  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  death  metal  band  and  if  you a re  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Stigmatized"  "Unspoken"  "World  Of  Terror"  and  "Waves  Of  Lust".  8  out  of  10.

  

  

 

Oncology Interview

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

Hi there!! Firstly thanks for taking the time to review the album and of course this interview. Oncology was initially started as a side project to our main band at the time, when myself and Aaron (who has since left the band) wanted to play something a lot faster ,more technical and not be limited by speed. We were fed up being told by the drummer of our main band to "slow down". I had started learning to program drums in about 2011/2012 and it took me a while to get anywhere near half decent but when I did, I wrote 5 drum tracks and with those tracks, we wrote music to those. This was kinda different for us, as writing like this was back to front as normally it's the guitar that dictates where the track is going to go. To put a date on it, Oncology became properly active in 2014 and from 2014-2016 ,we spent time writing and rehearsing none stop and getting really tight. Bass players came and went in this period as did vocalists, none of which filling the role well. Until Geoff came along, who is from Weymouth, uk. Geoff is well seasoned having had his own project , Atonement and having featured with many other bands. Geoff blew us away with his vocals and still continues to do so to this day! I still listen to his vox on the album and think "fuckin right!!" We had one rehearsal with Geoff with no PA and practice amps then we pretty much went out and played 9 shows in Ireland, uk and Europe.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?

A blend of the old school and the new school I guess! You can definitely hear influences from old Suffocation, Internal Bleeding and Pyrexia but you can also hear influence from Disavowed and Pyaemia but to name a few. We wear our influences on our sleeves!

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

We tread on territory to do with atheism, the apocalypse, Armageddon - revelations kinda stuff I guess.

4.I know that the band name comes from the study and treatment of tumors, how does this name fit in with the musical style that you play?

Do you know how hard it is to find a band name that isn't taken?!? Haha if I thought of a band name , I'd search the said word and add "band" to see if it came up. Nearly all of them did! We wanted a name that wasn't gory or offensive but I wanted a name that made you stop in your tracks but brutal at the same time. The majority of folk don't know what it is! The name definitely strikes fear into people. Let's face it- cancer strikes fear into people, the name plays on that. Pretty grim but fuck it :)

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

My personal favourite to date was the London date of the Internal Suffering/Omnipotent Hysteria/Oncology uk/Europe tour. The date also had Laceration on the bill which was really cool to see. The crowd was great, very energetic and seemed really into all the bands. I met loads of people I had spoken to online for along time that day too so that was excellent. Our stage show is fairly full throttle :)

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

Next booked show is Uk slam fest in September as we're undergoing some changes :)
We've a new guitarist, Ricky, who is learning the material at present. We've also got a new bass player jamming out material too who also plays in another fantastic band. At present I can't reveal the details on that as we've not announced it yet so shhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

Dare I say, we've another few things under wraps but more on that at another time.
As for shows, we'll see what comes our way as things develop with all the new additions.

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

Yeah it's been pretty good. New folk continue to discover our music which is cool and all feedback has been positive. We obviously hope it continues :) On the grand scheme of things, were still a very young band, having only been in existence for 3 years this year! So we're glad our music continues to be well received. The tour that we did was fantastic for us as it helped get our music out there, and our album came out the first day of it so that was cool too.


8.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?

Geoff has been playing a lot of shows with Chainsaw Castration on guitar and he's been trying to evolve Atonement too into a bigger band rather than just one man band. I, when I'm not doing Oncology, have a one man slam project called Debridement which I've just released a new Ep with. Ricky does a lot of session stuff by means of solos and shreddy guitar things.

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

We're writing new material as we speak! It's pretty intense! Haha probably still trying to rip off Suffocation/internal bleeding/Pyrexia riffs. The band will always have these influences however people have commented saying we sound like a load of other cool bands. That's all awesome but for me when I'm playing guitar, I'm generally thinking those bands. But intensity will always be my general goal over all.

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

I've probably hit the influences one up enough already but these days I'm listening to the new Desecrate the faith cd and Face of oblivion which are my latest purchases.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

I like to lift weights and kinda sorta try to look after myself. I'm 35 and not getting any younger lol



12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks for the interview and review of our cd once again. We really appreciate it. For more info go to www.facebook.com/oncologyband you'll be hearing from us soon enough. Thanks :)

Vermis Antecessor 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 ep

Hello! Massive thanks and regards to VarietyOfDeathZine, staff and readers. Here the band to answer you.
Well…the recording started on September 2015 with drum tracks. By then the member we lived in different places with so many kilometers between us, so we had to plan so well the recording; guitars and bass were recorded on December 2015 and voices in January 2016. We wanted take the recording easy, you know, because was our first stuff in three member band, so we working hard with the mix with our friend Aitor Graña, who made the mix and the cp-production of the EP. Finally we talked with Icon of Brutality prods, to release the EP on November. Meanwhile we played a few local shows, including a killing show with Cerebral Effusion and Virulency in our city, Ourense, also we played too in a amazing fest in Portugal, Butchery At Christmas in December 2017. Now we are composing and working hard in the next cd, a brutal LP, and waiting to announce shows for this year.

2.-.In October you had released a new ep 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?

Well! Obviously we wanted the same feeling of the past releases but now it´s totally different! In our 2 first Cds we are a 5 member band with 2 guitars, 2 voices and much time…, we were working the The Origin and The Subliminal for many years in past, and this time was different. The composition is a little evolution of the previous work, adapted to the new situation: one bass player with vocals, one guitar player with backing vocals conditions the thing….but we are really happy with the songs, we think that they have the same essence that in the past…..fast, sickness, guttural and technical brutal death songs.

Respect to sound recording we wanted make our own song, the reflection of the live shows, not much compressed, not much artificial, something raw and direct…..so we recorded with our good friend Aitor, who sure understood us 100%,…The past stuff was recorded always in professional studios with good engineers but we were clear that this time It was different, without fucking stressing timing of the studio, only us. A little risky….hahaha. We want a old school sound like 90´s releases, like Suffocation, Disgorge, first Cryptopsy, and we tried it!!

3.-. This is your first release in 5 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that tie span?

In January 2011 the 5 founder members recorded The Subliminal and during the year we made shows in Spain and Portugal, but in December 2011, Camilo, guitar-player, went to USA to work and left the band. We reconverted the band to a 4 members and played with this line-up during 2012 and 2013 but Cheve, vocals, left the band too, but we played for a lot of years together and it was easy to involve us in the band and to look ahead with the current line-up. It was a different time in playing and the feelings were awesome so we decided to continue being a 3 member combo. Also Diego, for work, has been living away from the band in these years, so one thing more to complicate the moment, too he has been playing with Internal Suffering until just 2 months ago. Maybe the distance, our families and works have delayed the new stuff for year but be sure that new shit is coming soon! Haha,


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

We try to explain and explore different ways of human perversion, like extreme violence, cannibalism, or religious concepts like faith, mass domination, maybe more a psychological point of view than the gore. Obviously our lyrics have blood, guts and sickness, hahaha, but it´s not the most important, we think. In all songs we have a leitmotiv: the Vermis Antecessor and his continuous presence in our life, our thinking, our acts and the development of the human involution.

5.-.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Vermis Antecessor'?

The Vermis Antecessor is the name of the band but is a concept that mix two ideas: Vermis like a part of the brain (worm-shaped) that join the two hemispheres and Vermis (latin word) like Worm. We developed the concept from an idea: Is humanity free to decide? What if the violence or the human horror have explanation? Well, the answer is the leitmotiv, the old creature that dominate us like a parasite. In TOOB we explained the origin of the creature like a child created from violation and ritual experiments. In TSWOF we show you the way of the new creed, and the steps to the salvation and in Prelude To Perversion we tell you a short time in the story, the previous moment of the definitive unleash of the Worm.

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?

Every show is good, fests is a feeling totally different to little venues… but we try to enjoy each show and give all of us. Our performance is always intense, maybe people says the same, hard and intense. We like play a little faster than the cd…., we went to include live tracks in cd to the people know our live idea.

There were a lot of specials show, in the past when we started to play first times in cities were special for us, but, maybe, we chose a show in 2014 in our town. You can view in youtube channel a track of the show. It was the first show with the 3 member line-up and it was special play after 2 years.

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

We are booking shows to 2017 in Spain and Portugal while we are working on the new album. By the moment we don´t have tour planning until the new LP, then we try to play more in Europe, in tour or festivals, it would be a good plan to 2018/2019.

8.-.The ep was released on 'Icon Of Brutality Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

IOB Prods is the label of Oscar Company, man behind of brutal bands like Catastrophic Evolution or With All My Hate. It is a new spanish label that started a few years ago so with a little rooster but with a big catalogue of cds. Since the first moment there was a complete understanding and they made the release in a record time so we are happy to work with them. We hope a big future to label.

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

The feedback always was very good. At the beginning was incredible for us sell or send copies to Japan, Indonesia, USA, Europe, Thailand, it was really sick. We recorded The Origin Of Brutality to announce the band in Spain and maybe Europe, but in a few weeks we received messages along the world….really incredible. After the first years, with Fernando and Pathologically Explicit Recordings and The Subliminal Way Of Flesh the same. Now we are receiving very good reviews, trade offers, and we had sell copies and tshirts to the world, so we are really happy. We only try to enjoy making brutal death music and this feedback is a very good prize for us!

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

Well, the future is interesting. This past EP was important to consolidate the current line-up and a time to discover new ways of composing music, playing together and to get better the individual and common skills. We are working hard in new songs, so be sure we will try one step more with the new sounds. Fortunately we live now in the same city so we can play together much more than past, and this allow us to work much better! We hope release new shit soon, until 5 years hahaha! We hope play in new venues and cities too, and spread the infection!!! New songs, new shows and try to grow up….

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?

Victor.- Gorgasm, Devourment and Disgorge, also Suffocation and actually, Unfathomable Ruination or Inherit Disease.

Iván.- Cryptopsy and Malignancy are between my favourites bands.

Diego.- Maybe I enjoyed technical bands, Cryptopsy, Gorgasm, Psycroptic, Nile…important bands for me in the past and now....


12.What are some of your non musical interests?

We are very busy men, with families, work and band, we don´t have so much time for other questions, hahaha,…really we enjoy a lot enjoy live music, and maybe like most people sports, books and tv…etc.

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

We want to send a big hug for you and all the people in zines, radios, webzines for your work with the bands. We are glad for your interest and time with our music. Cheers too for the readers and DM people!
Only Worm Remains!!!!

Kalopsia Interview

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

Matt: We’ve been really focused on promoting “Angelplague” at a level like we’ve never done before. So doing press, booking shows, nailing down our new live sets. It’s been a really fun and active time.



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?

Matt: It’s by far our most diverse and aggressive material to date. Our last album was focused on adrenaline and dexterity, this album is a bit slower and meaner. So it’s a little more knuckle dragging on the musical side. But as always, there’s a blend of melody and a variety of elements from thrash to grindcore to hardcore, all weaved throughout. I know it’s cliche, but I think it’s the best thing we’ve ever done.



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

Matt: This album is centered around the themes of sickness, death and religion. I lost some people close to me over the course of making this record, and dealing with concerns like “burial or cremation” and the religious rituals around death. I’m atheist but my family is not. So those themes were very much stirring under the surface. “Destined to Return” is about accepting death. “Christened Upon the Slab” is about the business side of death. How for some people, a body is a body. You can’t do an autopsy on a person, you have to do it on a body. “Scorched Earth and Blackened Skies” is about how we build things over the course of our lives in defiance of our mortality, but in the end it gets washed away by the sands of time. It’s not a concept album, but these themes are weaved throughout.



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

Matt: It was just something I stumbled upon. It basically means, “the delusion of beauty,” which I thought was interesting. I also liked that the ambiguity of it meant it could evolve as the band did.



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?

Matt: We’ve been really fortunate to play with a lot of incredible bands, including opening for some of our favorites, like Suffocation and Internal Bleeding, for instance. We also have our regional buddies, Dysentery, Forced Asphyxiation, Hypoxia and Cognitive, who we’ve played with more than a few times. New Jersey Deathfest was great. Packed show, solid performance, but it was a thousand degrees in there! Haha

When you come to see Kalopsia you’re going to get a no-bullshit, full on auditory assault of high energy death metal! Stage diving is welcome!



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

Matt: We are currently booking regional shows and making plans for a broader tour. These things are delicate and can collapse quickly, so I can’t say more than that until details are finalized. Tell your local promoters you want to see Kalopsia!



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

Matt: We’re this sort of interesting case of old-school meets new-school, so people don’t immediately know what to make of us. The pure-breed brutal fans dig the rawness of our riffs, but think we could tune lower, haha. The old school purists are like “What’s all this mosh crap?” Yes, I’m talking about you Mr. Bouks. Haha





8.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?

Matt: I am also in a band called Ruinous. Our debut album “Graves of Ceaseless Death” came out in November on Dark Descent Records. Our bassist Drew is the mastermind behind Hammer Fight, who released “Profound and Profane” on Napalm Records. It’s an incredible record from an awesome band. Justin, our drummer is in Hammer Fight, as well as Abacinate, who are a personal favorite. He also plays drums live sometimes for Dysentery, whose new album “Fragments” is out now. Steve plays guitar in Deteriorot, who I think are writing new stuff. I mean, I’m so fortunate to be surrounded by all these mega-talented people, though scheduling things can be a bit challenging at times! Haha!





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

Matt: The promise I made when I started this band was that the core elements of catchy death metal would remain. Anything else is not Kalopsia. Doesn’t mean I can’t do other stuff, just means I need to call it a different thing. So the core elements of sort of death metal, thrash and hardcore will remain. It’s always a question of proportion. “Amongst the Ruins” was a very thrash-oriented death metal album. “Angelplague” is a little more focused on slower and heavier. For the next one we will probably go even more neanderthal before swinging back to the faster, more dexterous stuff. No promises, but also no compromises! Haha





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?

Matt: In the old days, it was second wave death metal, bands like Deicide, Malevolent Creation, Suffocation, etc, meets classic thrash, meets 90s hardcore. So bands like Hatebreed, All Out War, NJ Bloodline, Walls of Jericho, For the Love Of... , etc. Those influences combined to form the early incarnation of Kalopsia. Of course bands like Slayer, Megadeth, Gwar, Pantera and Metallica were already in my DNA, so those influences remain in everything I do.

Nowadays it’s almost embarrassing how much great music is out. I literally can’t keep up. The new Cognitive is awesome. New stuff from Abnormality and Dysentery. Horrendous is great. Gorephilia. Artificial Brain. The new Immolation record is fantastic. I mean, the list goes on and on and keeps getting longer. Temple of Void, Heisenberg. Oh and Vomit Remnants has a new record coming out! On the non-metal side Three Six Mafia, Run the Jewels, Zomboy, Excision, MF Doom. Honestly, if I had a year to do nothing but listen to all this incredible music that has come out in the past 5 years, I still wouldn’t have enough time.





11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Matt: I’ve spent so much of the last three years working on “Angelplague” and “Graves of Ceaseless Death” that I haven’t really had time for much besides work, Netflix, family stuff and books. It’s been a dream come true to have these two fantastic records get out of my head and into the ears of the metal world. Now I need to recharge the batteries before writing the next two. It’s a blessing to be so busy with such great people doing such fun, creative work. For a death metal dude, I sure do smile a lot these days! Haha





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

Matt: Thanks for taking the time to talk with me, and thanks to your readers for taking the time to read this far. “Angelplague” is out May 19th on HPGD Productions (cd) and Proper Death (vinyl). You can find all our info on our website www.kalopsia.org.

Keeping with the theme of the record, hug the people you love, build the life of your dreams, and don’t wait. The reaper’s watching! Thanks for the interview.



 http://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/indexmain.html

Immortal Shadow/Horror Circus/2017 Full Length Review

  Immortal  Shadow  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  album  "Horror  Circus".

  A  very  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  solos  and  leads  that  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  when  the  music  speeds  up a   great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  screams  and  death  metal  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  elements  of  thrash  at  times.

  Clean  singing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  the  music  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  you  can  also h ear  all  of the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  album  and  the  songs  also bring  in  a  perfect  balance  between  both  modern  and  old  school  influences  and  the  album  also  remains  very  heavy  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

  Immortal  Shadow  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  melodic  and  also  incorporates  a  great  amount  of  Swedish  influences,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Immortal  Shadow  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  "Shadow  of  North"  "They  Would  Be  Better  Dead"  "Veil  Of  Maya"  and  "Fear  In  my  head".  8  out  of  10.

 

Karma Zero/Monsters/2017 Full Length Review

  Karma  Zero  are  a  band  from  France  that h as  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  melodic  death  metal,  deathcore  and  metalcore  and  this  is  a   review  of  their  self  released  2017  album  "Monsters"  which  will  be  released  in  April.

  Aggressive  hardcore  style  vocals  and  heavy  guitars  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  death  metal growls  and  screams  a  few  seconds  later  and  spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  while t he  guitar  riffing  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  A  great  amount  of  both  death  and  metalcore  style  breakdowns  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit throughout  the  recording  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  singing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  a  brief  use  of  bullet  samples  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction.  and  when t he  music  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  adds  an  influence  of  black  metal  onto  the  recording  and  there  is  also a  few  seconds  of  synths  and  clean  guitars  and  they  also  bring  in a  cover  of  Korn's  "Blind"  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Karma  Zero  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to t he  melodic  death  metal,  deathcore  and  metalcore  mixture  of  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  the  mythology  of  classic  horror  movies  and  comics  from  the  1950's/

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Karma  Zero  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  death  metal,  deathcore,  and  metalcore,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Trapped"  "Swamp  Things"  "Horror  Film"  and  "Modern  Promtetheus".  8  out  of  10.    

Kalopsia/Angelplague/Horror Pain Gore Death Records/2017 CD Review

  Kalopsia  are  a  band  from  New  Jersey  that  plays  a  very  brutal  form  of  gore/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Angelplague"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Horror  Pain  Gore  Records.

  A  very  fast,  heavy  and  brutal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  while  death  metal  growls  also  make  their  presence  known  a  few  seconds  later  along  with  some  screams  also  being  used  at  times  and  the  riffing  also  brings  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  groove.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  mid  tempo  sections  also  add  in  a  touch  of  slam  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  the  whole  album  also  remains  very  heavy  and  brutal  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

  Kalopsia  plays  a  style  of  gore/death  metal  that  is  very  brutal  in  the  east  coast  approach  to  the  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  professional   while  the  lyrics  cover  gore,  violence  and  evil   themes.

  In  my  opinion  Kalopsia  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  gore/death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "As  The  Serpent  Devours"  "Source  Of  My  Evil"  and  "Bitter  Sacraments".  8  out  of  10.

  

Hostage of Fate/It Takes Life/2016 EP Review

  This  is  a  review  of  another  recording  from  Greece's  Hostage  of  Fate  which  is  also  in  the  death,  thrash,  post  metal  and  grindcore  direction  and  the  ep  was  released  in  2016  and  called  "It  takes  Life".

  A  very  heavy  yet  melodic  thrash/grind  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  a  few  seconds  later  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  they  also  have  a  great  amount  of  80's  and  90's  influences  while  also  being  very  modern  at  the  same  time.

  Most  of  the  songs  are  very  short  in  length  and  touches  of  post  metal  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  also  always  remaining  very  heavy  and  none  of  the  tracks  ever  bring  in  any  guitar  solos  and  leads  while  melody  can  still  be  heard  in  some of  the  riffing.

  With  this  recording  Hostage  Of  Fate  stick  to  the  heavier  side  of  the  thrash,  death,  post  metal  and  grindcore  genres,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recoridng  while  the  lyrics  cover  philosophical  and  historical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Hostage  Of  hate  and if  you  are  a  fan  of  death  metal,  thrash  and  grindcore,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Trojan  War".  8  out  of  10.

Hostage Of Fate/III - To Bring You Back/2016 Full Length Review

  Hostage  Of  Fate  are  a  band  from  Greece  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal  and  grindcore  with  a  touch  of  post  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2016  album  "III  -  To  Bring  You  Back".

  Heavy  guitar  riffing  and  death  metal  growls  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  thrash  and  grindcore  influences  a  few  seconds  later  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  along  with  a  great  amount  of  influences  from  the  80's  and  90's.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  bring  in  a  very  melodic  old  school  metal  style  along  with  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  and  when  clean  playing  are  used  briefly  they  add  in  a  touch  of  post  rock  and  there  is  also a   brief  use  of  movie  samples  and  one  of  the  tracks  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  some  of  the  fast  riffs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  tremolo  picking.

  On  this  recording  Hostage  Of  Fate  plays  a  musical  style  that  mixes  death,  thrash,  post  metal  and  grindcore  to  create  something  very  different,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Hostage  Of  Fate  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  death,  post  metal,  and  grindcore,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Kiss"  "Universe  In  Her  Eyes"  and  "Side  by  Side".  8  out  of  10. 

   

Hideous Divinity/Adveniens/Unique Leader/2017 CD Review

  Hideous  Divinity  are  a  band  originally  from  Italy  but  currently  resides  in  Norway  and  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical  style  that  is  in  the  brutal  and  technical  death  metal  vein  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Adveniens"  which  will  be  released  in April  by  Unique  Leader.

  Spoken  word  parts  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  brutal  direction  along  with  a  great  amount of  blast  beats  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of t he  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  along  with  a  small  amount  of  black  metal  influences  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  high  pitched  screams  and  melodic  riffs  also  being  utilized  at  times  while the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  technical  fashion  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Hideous  Divinity  creates  another  recording t hat  remains  true  to  the  brutal  and  technical  style  of  death  metal  from  previous  recordings  while  also  adding  in  a  touch  of  black  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Hideous  Divinity  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  technical  and  brutal  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ages  Die"  "Angels Of  Revolution"  "When Flesh  Unfolds'  and  "Embodiment  Of  Chaos".  8  out  of  10.

Vomit Remnants/Hyper Groove/Unique Leader Records/2017 CD Review

  Vomit  Remnants  are  a  band  from  Japan  that  plays  a  very  brutal  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Hyper  Groove"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  uique  leader  Records.

  Horror  movie  style  keyboards  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  making their  presence  known  a  few  seconds  alter  which  also  leads  up  to  a  more  heavy  and  brutal  musical  direction  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  the  musicians  demonstrate a   great  amount  of  talent  and  skill.

  When  the music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  brutal  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with  some  of  the  leads  adding  in  technical  elements  while  the  vocals  are  death  metal  growls  that  also  get  very  guttural  at  times  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  mid  tempo  sections  also  adds  in  a  touch  of  slam  and  keyboards  also  return  briefly  before  returning  back  to  a  more  brutal  direction  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  bass  guitar  leads.

  Vomit  Remnants  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  brutal  and  also  mixes  in  a  touch  of  slam  and  technical  elements,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  gore,  violence,  and  brutality  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Vomit  Remnants  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  "Hi-Fi  the  Art  Of  Rapture"  "Inflicted  Artificial  Intelligence"  and  "Supreme  Indeterminate  Power".  8  out  of  10.          

Assault/The Fallen Reich/Transcending Obscurity Asia/2017 CD Review

  Assault  are  a  band  from  Singapore  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "The  Fallen  Reich"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Transcending  Obscurity  Asia.

  A  very  heavy  guitar  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  vocals  bring  in  a  mixture  of  high  pitched  screams  and  death  metal  growls  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  using  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Elements  of  thrash  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts and  there  is  also  a  perfect  balance  between  both  old  school  and  modern  influences  and  when  tremolo  picking  is  utilized  it  also  adds  in  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  music  always  remains  very  heavy.

  Assault  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  melodic  death  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  modern  thrash  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  war,  rebellions,  and  death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Assault  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Genocidal  Conspiracy"  and  "Final  Solution".  8  out  of  10.

Dante's Theory/Amut/2017 EP Review

  Dante's  Theory  are  a  band  from  Singapore  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal  and  deathcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  ep  "Amut"  which  will  be  released  in  April.

  A  very  heavy  and  brutal  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  as  well  as  some  death  metal  growls  making  their  presence  known  a  few  seconds  later  while  the  mid  tempo  sections  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  deathcore  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  melody.

  All  of the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  throughout  the  recording  you can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  violent  movie  and  spoken  word  samples  and  there  is  a  brief  use  of  melodic  solos  and  leads.

  Dante's  Theory  plays  a  musical  style  that  mixes  death  metal  and  deathcore  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  anti  religion  themes.   

  In  my  opinion  Dante's  Theory  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death  metal  and  deathocre  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Qiamat  heretics"  and  "Amut".  8  out  of  10, 

Debridement/Vomited Forth From The Earth/Rotten Roll Rex/2017 EP Review

  Debridement  are  a band  from  Northern  Ireland  that  plays  brutal  death  metal  with  touches  of  slam  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  ep  "Vomited  Forth  From  The  Earth"  which  was  released  by  Rotten  Roll  Rex.

  Horror  movie  samples  start  off  the  ep  before  going  into  a  very  heavy  and  slamming  musical  direction  where  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  along  with  some  guttural  death  metal  growls  making  their  presence  known  and  when  the  music  speeds  upa  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

     Elements  of  grindcore  can  be  heard  during  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  and  the  music also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  horror  movie  samples  also  return  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  and  all  of  the  music sticks  to  a  brutal  direction  without  ever  using  any  solos  or  leads.

  Debridement  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  brutal  and  guttural  with  elements  of  slam  an  grindcore,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  gore and  sickness  themes. 

  In  my  opinion  Debridement  are  a  very  decent  sounding  brutal  death  metal  band  with  touche  of  slam  and  grind  and if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  p.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Screwdriver  Cranial  Penetration"  and  "Vomited  Forth  From  the  Earth".  8 out  of  10.

 

Oncology/Infinite Regress/Rising Nemesis Records/2016 CD Review

 Oncology  are  a  band  from  Northern  Ireland  that  plays  a  very  brutal  and  guttural form  of  death  metal  ad  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Infinite  Regress"  which  was  released  by  Rising  Nemesis  Records.

  Dark  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  and  after  awhile  the  music  goes  into a   very  fast  and  brutal  direction  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  guttural  death  metal  growls  and  melodies  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  a  good  mixture  between  both  old  school  and modern  influences.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  add  in  a  touch  of  the  Florida  death  metal  style  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  there  is  also  a  few  seconds  of  synths  before  returning  back  to  a  more  brutal  direction.

  Oncology  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  fast,  brutal  and  guttural  sounding,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  metaphysical  and  anti religion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Oncology  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  and  guttural  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre, you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Beheading  Of  the  Prophets"  "To  Summon  Pyriel"  and  "The  Desolation  Of  Hope".  8  out  of 10.  

Basement Torture Killings Interview

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

We actually recorded the majority of the album last summer, but it took us time to work out a few parts here and there and also find the correct producer. Whilst this process was ongoing we also kept ourselves busy  playing shows and preparing for the album for release. We have also shot a video for the song The Ratcatcher which is a sort of hybrid of a performance video and lyric video.


2.You have a new album coming out in April, 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?

Overall i am very pleased with the production job that was done on the album by Ivy Skuratov. Someone who has heard the released described the production as being very old school sounding but also modern which i think sums it up well. I am greatly influenced by the scene from the 90s but at the same time wanted the release to sound fresh as well.


The songs are a little more varied than those on our last release. To me our previous release was an exercise in sheer frenzy. This time things are a little more experimental, don't get me wrong it is still a very hard hitting record. Its just that we allowed the music to go places that we haven't previously. Such as some of the black metal style riffs and also the more thrashy elements.



One other big difference on this album is that we recorded a live drum kit, on the last couple of releases our then drummer played on an electronic kit. As good as you can get electronic kits sounding there is no comparison to the sound of a real kit.


3.You refer to your music as 'snuff grind', can you tell us a little bit more about this term?


Its just a term that we came up with that seems to fit the band. Obviously we have a very visual element to our music and the back story is that all of the band members are serial killers. As such i just felt that we were playing music which was akin to a snuff movie, so the term came from that really. I think that the band is quite unique sound wise so I think it is good to label it as something a little bit different.


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


As always the songs are based around horror based murder stories. There is no references to real serial killers on this album. They are just twisted ideas that myself and our vocalist Beryl have had. We have also for the first time done songs about the band characters and provided them with origin stories. So the songs "There's Something About Beryl" "The Story Of T" (Herr Krauss, Arzt des Todes and "The Butcher Of Smithfield" are based specifically about the band members. "Abduction Torture Snuff Porn" links to the band members, the other songs are all unique stories. "The Ratcatcher" is a bit of a homage to Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho. If you know the book then you will recognize the passage that this song is inspired by.


5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Basement Torture Killings'?

When we first started the band we knew that we wanted to make it around serial killers, I also very much liked the name BTK which is of course the nickname for Dennis Radar. However we didn't want to just use this moniker so we played around with words that matched the initials Basement Torture Killings was born. I think it worked very well for us as BTK also stood for Bertrand, Tarquin and Professor Kenneth and now stands for Beryl, Tarquin and Dr Krauss. It also reflects what the killers do to their victims, drag them to the basement and submit horrific bloody tortures until death.


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?


We have been lucky as we have been able to play lots of really great shows over the 10 years we have been in existence. From memory some of the best shows have been London Death Fest with Deicide, Belphegor etc, The General Surgery tour, Siege Of Limerick, Malta Death Fest , the tours we have done with Holocausto Canibal spring to mind as some really good shows.


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


Yes we have quite a lot of dates planned for the future. We have been confirmed Dead Infection's 27th Anniversary show alongside Rotten sound in Poland in June, we are also going to XXXicken fest in Portugal. We have a bunch of Uk dates lined up and are also working on a full european tour for the summer.


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


Overall i am pleased with the response that we have had worldwide, I've done interviews for zines from Ukraine, South America etc so the name is spreading and people like the music. I think that with this new release we will get even more positive reviews and feedback and hopefully it will enable us to visit more of these places with BTK.


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?


Well we are all involved in other bands. Our main vocalist has a death metal band from Craniation which is very active, our bass player plays guitar in a band called Casket Feeder which kind of combines old school Swedish death metal with hard-core, our drummer plays in a tech death band called Anakim which is due to release their debut album. I am also a member of UK Black metal band Thus Defiled although that is very much a sleeping beast at the moment, i don't know when or if the band will become active again although I am very proud to be a member.


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


Its hard to say what the new songs will sound like, I think that we will now let the songs go in there own direction rather than sticking to a strict death/grind formula. As always i think there will be a lot of blasts haha but i really enjoy the more thrashy elements of the new record so I would like to work on some more of that. But it is of course early days and i haven't even started thinking about writing for BTK at the moment.


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 tend to list to the same music as always haha well at least with regards to metal. I very much like General Surgery, Haemorrhage, Impaled, Ghoul, Exhumed etc. I'm also really into all of the old 90s stuff so Suffocation, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Deicide and of course Carcass. I listen to a lot of black metal as well and I really like Arkhon Infaustus, Osculum Infame, Marduk etc. I also really like Ghost and of course the classic thrash bands. The others have a very mixed bag of influences, i think the only artist that we all agree on is perhaps Doro haha


12.What are some of your non musical interests?


Away from music i am very involved in martial arts and this was a passion that was there long before I learned to play guitar etc. I also like films and to travel, horror and the macabre is obviously very pivotal to my life.


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

Thanks for all of the support and helping us spread the news of our disgusting crimes.

Basement Torture Killings/There's Something About beryl/Grindscene Records/2017 CD Review

  Basement  Torture  Killings  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  brutal  mixture  of  death  metal  and  gore/grindcore  and this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "There's  Something  About  Beryl"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  Grindscene  Records.

  A  very  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  death  metal  growls  while  high  pitched  screams  are  also  used  at  times  along  with  the  riffs  also  using  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  to  stick  to  more  of  an  old  school  gore/grind  direction.

  Horror  movie  samples  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  a  small  amount  of  melody  can  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  90's  death  metal  and  grindcore  influences  and  some  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  the  music  always  remains  heavy.

  Basement  Torture  Killings  plays  a  musical  style  that  goes  back  to  the  90's  era  of  death  metal  and  gore/grind,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  murder,  torture,  and  gore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Basement  Torture  Killings  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death  metal  and  gore/grind  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "On  A  Mountain  Road"  "The  Rat  Catcher"  "The  Butcher  Of  Smithfield"  and  "Knives".  8  out  of  10.