Suture Interview

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

SFC Records from Russia just re-released   our "Skeletal Vortex" cd. Originally released on UBR here in the states a few   years back. The re-release has been totally reworked. With the help of Chad   Kelly (Underworld Records) we re-recorded all the guitar tracks, rythms and   solos. We re-amped the bass, brought up the vocals and backing vocals, remixed   and remastered the whole cd. The finished product is an in your face, kick in   your teeth, death metal monster! 

Last Year  SFC contacted me about   releasing the original version in Russia, due to the lack of communication and   proper distribution and promotion from UBR , I thought it would be wise to cut   our ties and make a fresh start. So I bought the rights to the recording back   from UBR and pressed on. The production of the original release was good but   sounded thin. I told SFC if they wanted to release Skeletal then I wanted to   remix the cd, thicken it up a bit. Once Chad and I started remixing and   getting into the tracks we ran into some problems with the guitars, we couldnt   get them eq'ed the way I wanted them. I wanted a more heavier, beefer tone.   More like the guitar sound I write with and play live with. The only solution   was to re-record the guitars. So we started the guitars from scratch..The   whole re-tooling of the cd track by track, instrument by instrument, was a   lenghty process, took about 6 months on and off, but the end result was way   more than I, and I believe Chad,  would have expected or hoped   !

Currently Suture is back with our   original line up for the  re-recording of our first release    "Carnivorous Urge to Kill" originally released in 2001.
We were never happy   with the production of the original version. Back then we didnt have a   recording budget and it showed. I always thought we had some really strong   songs on the cd,  but the  production was muddy and at times the   performance was sloppy.
Once Chad Kelly (Underworld   Records/Excommunicated)  and I wrapped up the "Skeletal Vortex"   re-release sessions, we both decided now would be the best time to revisit   Carnivorous and finally do the songs justice with a proper production. We   should wrap the cd up by the end of September. I do not know who will be   re-releasing Carnivorous yet, but we have already had interest in it. So time   will tell.

 

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new material that you   are working on and how it differs from previous recordings?

Skeletal Vortex is the next step in   evolution of song writing for Suture from our first cd,Carnivorous Urge to   Kill. Where Carnivorous was about straight forward frenzied brutality,   Skeletal is much more focused and mature, still brutal but not just for the   sake of it. More progressive, yet still simple enough to grab your throat and   command your attention.

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

I will let Jayson Ramsay answer this   one  since he is the primary lyric writer: Quantum Theory, The   Paranormal, Interdimensional beings, Alien existence, but aside from the   metaphysical we also touch on subjects such as the power of lies through   politics and religion. I really kind of visualized skeletal vortex as a   concept album. I was very interested in science and the advancement of   technology at the time andI had all these little stories in my head that came   together through our songs. I Also wanted to explore things that influenced me   more intellictually other than the cannibal corpse style gore lyrics that I   had out grown and felt that it didn't truly represent us as real artists any   longer. I am very proud of our accomplishmet with skeletal vortex and I really   feel like it's our masterpiece contribution to death metal.    

 

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

There is no deep meaning or inspiration   behind the name, I just thought it sounded like a death metal band name,    so we used it.

 

5. The Band was broken up for a few years what made you decide to reform   the band after a long hiatus?

Mainly just to re-record the Carnivorous   cd, there are no plans currently for keeping the band together in any form   after we finish the recording of Carnivorous.. As I stated earlier, that cd   has always been "unfinished Business" for me, a thorn in my side for   years.  I am proud of those songs we wrote back then and I feel like they   deserve to sound the way they were meant to sound, heavy, brutal and clear. I   got in touch with everyone on the original  release and they felt exactly   the same as I did, so we started rehearsing and booked time with   Chad.

 

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

One show that sticks out was one we   played in Texas right before we recorded the Skeletal Vortex cd, we actually   played 4 or 5 songs off the cd that night.  Probably about 150 people   there, it was a small club so it was packed. The crowd was totally nuts!   People where knocking me and our bass player over stage diving, it was   awesome.  Also the Gathering of the Sick fest in New Mexico, those were   always really fun to play..Great crowds !

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

 We have kicked around the idea   of maybe doing a couple of shows as the original line up once we re-release   Carnivorous, but that is still up in the air.

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

We have always gotten great response   from Russian and European fans, people just love brutal music there,Its a way   of life for them. We would love to  tour there if things work out and we   decide to stay together.There are also tons of fans here in the U.S. as well   who have showed us nothing but love and we appreciate them for there support   over the years.

 

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

Chad and I are in a band together called   Excommunicated ( old school death/black metal),  Recently  we   released our debut cd called "Skeleton Key" through underworld records.We will   be recording a covers cd in late September. We chose some really good old   school death metal bands to cover from Obituary to Pungent Stench. Its gonna   be fun as hell. Then we start work on the next Excomm release entitled "The   Exterminating Angel". Also I just got finished tracking guitars for the third,   yet untitled release of the porn rock band, Peckernut. Those guys are a trip   and the songs are hilarious, we always have a great time at practice and at   shows. Definatley a band to check out. Excommunicated and Peckernut both have   facebook pages.
All and all it has turned out to be a real busy year for   me, Im not complaining.

10. What direction do you see your music heading into on future   releases?

It would only make sense to continue   the evolution process with Suture ...still heavy, still brutal riffing but   with a more progressive/experimental direction maybe. And in no way do I mean   to the extent as some death metal bands today, where you have a million riffs   and tempo changes in one song.
If we stick around it would be interesting   to see what we'd come up with.

11. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music   and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Im very old school with my music,   everything early 90's as far as death metal is concerned, so if I had to name   influences it would only be appropriate to tell you specific albums :Gorguts   -Erosion of Sanity, Deicide-Legion, Obituary-Cause of Death, Napalm Death-   Harmony Corruption, Pestilence-Consuming Impulse, Morbid Angel- Blessed are   the Sick, Death-Human, Suffocation-Effigy of the Forgotten...Those are the top   ones for me ...besides death metal I'd say Kiss was a huge influence on me,   Ace Frehley inspired me to play guitar, I really dont think I would be playing   music today if it wasn't for him, others would be Iron Maiden, Type-O   Negative, old Metallica and Megadeth, King Diamond, Death Angel, and local   thrash masters Exhorder. There really are to many to name...Right now I listen   to alot of Reggae heeheheee..I love it, cant get enough Peter   Tosh.

 

12. Outside of music what are some of your interests?

Watching Football and Grilling for my   wife.

13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this   interview?

Thanks for the interview and supporting underground music.   Any one out there that doesnt have Suture's Skeletal Vortex in one shape or   form I highly suggest you pick it up...It is well worth your hard earned   dollars ! 

Suture/Skeletal Vortex/Soulflesh Collector/2012 CD Review

  Suture  are  a  band  from Baton  Rouge,  Louisiana  that  plays  a  very  brutal  form  of  gore/death  metal and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Skeletal  Vortex"  which  was  released  by  Soulflesh  Collector.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  great  amount  of  brutal  sounding  blast  beats  being  thrown into  the  music,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  is  coming  out  of  the  guitars,  as  for  the  synths  they  are  only  utilized  briefly  on  the  last  song  and  bring an  industrial  music  feeling  to  the  music.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  death  metal  riffs  that  are  very  heavy  and  brutal  sounding  with  the  music  focusing  more  on  a  mid  90's  approach  instead  of  the  more  technical  approach  which  is  common  nowadays  along  with  some  melodic  parts  being  thrown  into  the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  are  very  90's  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  they  are  only  utilized  briefly  on  the  last  song and  they  use  finger  picking  to  ad  some  darkness  to  the  music.  

  Vocals  are  mostly  deep  sounding  death  metal  growls  with  some  high  pitched  screams  that  bring  a grindcore  feeling  to  the  music  while the  lyrics  cover  dark,  violent, and  gore  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful  and  heavy  sound  to  it  with  some  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Suture  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  style,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Escaping  The  Confines  Of  My  Skin"  "Black  Blood  Progeny"  "In  A  State  Of  Progressive  Disintegration"  and  "Chaossuary".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.   

Deadly Remains/Severing Humanity/Deepsend 2012 CD Review

  Deadly  Remains  are  a  band  from  California  that  plays  a  very  heavy  and  brutal  form  of  gore/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Severing  Humanity"  which  was  released  by  Deepsend.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  great  amount  of  brutal  sounding  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  tone  with  heavy  riffs  that  dominate  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow, mid  paced  to  fast  gore/death  metal  riffs  that  are  very  heavy  and  brutal  sounding,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  chaotic  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads  when  they  are  utilized,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  briefly  they  bring  a  blues  music  feeling  to  the  music.

  Vocals  are  all  deep  death  metal  growls  along  with  a  brief  use  of  samples,  while  the  lyrics  cover  gore,  hateful  and  violent  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Deadly  Remains  are  a  very  great  sounding  heavy  and  brutal  death/gore  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Apocalyptic  Birth"  "Home  Invasion"  "Memories  of  Defilement"  and  "Severing  Humanity".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Enemy Reign/Between Hell And Oblivion/2012 CD Review

  Enemy  Reign  are  a  band  from  Denver,  Colorado  that  plays  a  very  brutal  form  of  death  metal  with  influences  from  grindcore  and  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2012  album  "Between  Hell  And  Oblivion".

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  great  amount  of  brutal  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  tone  with  riffs  that  dominate  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  death  metal  riffs  that  are  very  heavy  and  brutal  sounding  with  influences  from  grind  and  hardcore  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  as  well  as  some  melody  being  thrown  into the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  early  90's  style  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are   mostly  deep  death  metal  growls  with  some  high  pitched  screams  being  thrown  into  the music  at  times,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  anti  religion  and  violent  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Enemy  Reign  are  a  very  great  sounding  heavy  and  brutal  death  metal  band  with  a  grindcore  edge  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Seven  Deadly  Sons"  "The  Heretics  Will"  "Forged  From  Suffering"  and  "These  Cursed  Eyes".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Symphony Of Symbols Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?

Hail to all readers! This is Sandor here vocalist of the band. The band was founded in 1997 by the drummer István Forró and guitarist Sándor Szalkai. We went through lots of lineup changes, members joined and members left the band continuously. Fortunately the band has been working in a stable lineup since last spring. So nothing can stop us now. (


How would you describe your musical  sound?
Symphony Of Symbols plays death metal with dark atmosphere and this style is spiced with some progressive elements and some ideas and resolutions of black metal. Long song structures, complex songs define what this band is all about.


According to the metal archives page the band has been around since the 90's  and there is only a demo and the new full length listed, what was the delay behind getting an album out in these years?
As you may know we don’t do this band for living so we must spend all of our days in a work place. Beside these work places and our families we have almost nothing time to take care about our music. As time passed, we worked in little steps on the new songs and we didn’t want to release an album just to have an album released. We wanted to make our first internationally released album as professionally as we could. No one rushes us. We have time. ( And of course, as it was mentioned few lines before lots of member changes followed our way.


What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
We always write lyrics about things which are interesting for us. “Stupefying Beliefs” is a concept album tells one long story about a community which is led by some religious leaders. Recommended to read the lyrics in the booklet. ( Our next album will tell stories from the past about the nations and ancestors of the forgotten history.


What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
“Symphony” tries to describe method how we write our songs. The way as the symphonic music flows but on guitars and drums only. We don’t use real symphonic elements in our music. This part of the name tries to symbolize the feeling of our music and the structures of our music. “Symbols” is about the lyrical topics of the band. We always try to write about things which are forgotten or they lie about them and we try to write about things behind these facts. The booklet of the Cd is worth to check. (


What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
Since this lineup is just one year old unfortunately we have not much gigs together. But that few we had were totally awesome. In the future we will try to do our best to make more gigs. As for our stage performance: we just play our songs, using only the energy comes from us.


Do you have any touring plans for the future?
Nothing is planned so far.


On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal?
Before the co-operation with Metal Scrap Records we had no chance to show our band to the death metal fans of this Earth. But we hope that it will be soon changing. (


Are there any other musical projects besides this band or is this a full time line-up?
This band is not a project. This is a full time band. Beside this band I’m the vocalist of the brutal death metal band Gutted and the death/grind band Limb for a Limb.

What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
We have only one new song ready and this song shows the same structures and same style as it is on our album. No major musical changes can be expected from us in the near future.


What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Tons of old school death/black albums inspired and influenced us. To name a few: Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Bolt Thrower, Suffocation, Emperor etc…The newest album what I listened to lately is from Cattle Decapitation’s Monolith Of Inhumanity. I think that album is a fucking masterpiece of the extreme metal scene.


Does Occultism play any role in the music?
Not at all.


Outside of music what are some of your interests?
Our hobbies mostly our families. We love to spend all of our free times with them.


Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Thanks for the interview and for the opportunity! Have luck with your webzine! Hope we’ll soon show how good this band to the audience of Europe! Greetings from Hungary!

Synapses/Expiation/Deepsend/2012 CD Review

  Synapses  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  heavy,  technical  and  brutal  form  of  gore/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Expiation"  which  was  released  by  Deepsend.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  great  amount  of  brutal  sounding  ultra  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  is  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  they  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from,  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  gore/death  metal  riffs  that  are  very  heavy,  brutal  and  technical  sounding,   and  there  are  little  to  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording.

  Vocals  are  mostly  deep  death  metal  growls  with  some  high  pitched  screams  being  thrown  into  the  music  at  times  that  gives  the  music  a  grindcore  feeling,  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent,  hateful,  and  gore  themes, as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Snyapses  are  a  very  great  sounding  gore/death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Iron  Stream"  "Rapture  Of  Terror"  "Wearing  Your  Body"  and  "Deformed  Trunk". RECOMMENDED  BUY.    

Symphony Of Symbols/Stupefying Beliefs/Metal Scrap Records/2012 CD Review

  Symphony  Of  Symbols  are  a  band  from  Hungary  that  plays  a  progressive  form  of  death  metal  with  a  blackened  edge  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Stupefying  Beliefs"  which  was  released  by  Metal  Scrap  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced,  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs that  follow  the  riffing  that  is  coming  out  of  the  guitars,  as  for  the  sound  effects  when  they  are  utilized  they  bring  a  very  dark  and  avant  garde  sound  to  the  music.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  death  metal  riffs  that  mix  in  progressive  elements  and  some  black  metal  influences  with  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  and  technical  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  gives  the  music  an experimental  feeling.

  Vocals  are  mostly  deep  death  metal  growls  with  some  high  pitched  screams  being  thrown  into  the  music  at  times  that  gives  the  music  a  black  metal  feeling  as  well  as  some  spoken  word  parts,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  metaphysical  themes,  as  for t he  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Symphony  Of  Symbols  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  death  metal  band  with  a  blackened  edge  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this style,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Time  Has  Come"  "Fire  For  The  Body"  "The  Fire  Of  Revenge"  and  "Things  That  Only  The  Magus  Knows".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.