X.Kernel Interview

.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Alina (keyboards): We are X.Kernel, from Kyiv, Ukraine, playing Melodic Death Metal inspired by Gothenburg sound. Quite cynical and sarcastic in our lyrics, but really optimistic in reality.
Nikita (guitars, back-vocals): And we are trying to move metal in Ukraine, where it is still in deep underground, and raise it to European level.

2.You have a new album coming out in April, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
N: We spent a lot of time looking for the optimal combination of Gothenburg guitar sound, cold melodic keys, old school mid-range growl, deep baritone clean vocals and fat bass as the basis of a dense mix. Check out our album to hear how we’ve got it.

3.The band has been around since 2009 but has only put out 2 releases, can you tell us a little bit more about the gaps in between recordings?
A: While recording maybe the most important thing is having stable line-up with members that are pretty confident in their parts. The band started when we were students, and, as studies is the time when person is looking for him or herself, our line-up changed a lot of times before ‘freezing’. Maybe, the most dramatic issue we had several times to deal with was loss of vocalist. Also our band leader Nikita is a kind of perfectionist, and it takes a lot of time for him to make sure that the song and its arrangement are pretty good for recording. Especially when it comes to debut long-play release.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
A: When we recorded all tracks for our album and started to think about their order, we suddenly discovered that songs can be divided on two logical parts. The first, ‘personal’ one, is dedicated to individual in conditionally peaceful times, though it is not bright at all. It is full of pressure, bringing fatigue and frustration, like in second track ‘Exhausted’, which is able to drive you mad like in ‘Locked in Delirium’, or just deprive you in your belief, like in ‘Dying Gods’. The second, ‘martial’ part, is concentrated on mankind’s war against alien beings and it’s horrible ending from track ‘No fate’. The final track ‘Dream of Sun’ stands apart of both of them, because of its historical background. We heard interesting theory that Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten planted a cult of the Sun because he was losing his vision, and found this concept impressive: idolizing something which is leaving you. One way or another, all our lyrics are about quite depressive things.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'X.Kernel'?
A: From the very beginning our line-up had a lot of IT-guys (and currently it entirely consists of them), so when we thought about name we found it interesting to build it around entity from IT. Especially we found it natural in light of our search for new, more modern sound. We found ‘kernel’ the best fitting word, as it is both central element of operational system and core, central concept of the thing. And ‘X’ is a kind of unknown, mysterious, something in tune with dark side of mankind to which we dedicate our lyrics.

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?
N: During our stage performances we are trying to give the most musical and sound nuances from our songs, convey their initial atmosphere and mix it with wild energy and catchy vivacity of our lead-vocalist Max.
A: And about shows: maybe, the warmest memories are connected with our concert in Vinnytsia, a big city on South-West from Kyiv, together with Kharkiv Death Doom band Mortalium and local Post-rock band The Moon Belongs To Everyone. Though it was Monday, the beginning of the working week and traditionally dead season for live-events, the club was full and we faced quite warm welcome from the audience, who was going wild listening to our set.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
A: Right now we do not have definite tour dates, but we are planning to make a kind of presentation tour for our album in several big cities of Ukraine, possibly including some Eastern Europe’s places and fests.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic death metal?
N: Nowadays MDM is not the genre on the top of popularity among metalheads, and it is not easy for us to find fans. But it is really pleasant when somebody is getting interested in our music. We are looking forward to our album’s release to reach a higher level and deliver our songs in good quality to bigger audience.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
N: We've come a long way while composing tracks for ‘Face the Truth’ and recording it. Our line-up changed dramatically, in fact we’ve become quite different people during this time. So it is hard to tell exactly, how will our music sound in future. But we definitely know that it will be melodic, driving and epic, and it will still contain both modern influences and comebacks to the old school.

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?
N: The biggest influence on us had Swedish Melodic Death Metal of the second half of 90-s, especially such bands as In Flames, Dark Tranquility, Arch Enemy and later Soilwork. Also we can’t forget American Metalcore like As I Lay Dying, Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall, Trivium whose echoes you can hear in such tracks as Exhausted, Locked in Delirium, Dying Gods. Also we always loved classics, therefore we tend to a more musical, harmonious songs’ development.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
Max (lead vocals): Militarism as it is, video games and crafting everything I can.
Nikita (leader, guitars, back-vocals): Travelling, video games, live role play games, books – all that stuff that helps me with inspiration and energy for creating new songs and ideas.
Alina (keyboards):  Writing science fiction and fantasy stories, hand-made jewellery, playing board games - everything where I can incarnate my wild imagination.
Oles (bass): I’m a big fan of tourism, especially speleology, motorcycle and bicycle riding. And last year I even went tracking on Nepal to the foot of Everest.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
N: We had a long journey while creating this album, and do not plan to stop here. Wait for a lot more interesting staff from us! 

Fumigtion/The Path To R'lyeh/Invasion/CDN Records/2017 Split CD Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  Ontario, Canada's  Fumigation  and Quebec,  Canada's  The  Path  To  R'lyeh  called  "Invasion"  which  will  be  released  on  April  28th  by  CDN  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Fumigation  a  band  that  plays  a  very  brutal  form  of  death  metal.

  Their  side  of t he  split  starts  out  with  a  sci-fi atmosphere  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  which  also  introduces  technical  guitar  leads  into  their  songs  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful  and  after  awhile  deep death  metal  growls  start  to  make  their  presence  known.

  A  great  amount  of  brutality  can  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  when  the  music  speeds  up a   great  amount  of  blast  beats  are  utilized  and  the  songs  bring  in  a  great  mixture of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while t he  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  the  mid  tempo  sections  of t he  songs  also  mix  in  a  decent  amount  of  slam  elements and  their  is  also a   brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples  and  clean  playing  before  returning  back  to  a  more  brutal  direction.

  Fumigation  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  brutal  and technical  while  also adding  in  a  touch  of  slam,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics insects,  rodents  and  chemical  themes

  In  my  opinion  Fumigation  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  and  technical  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Forced  Vaginal  Harbourage"  and  "A  Beard  Full  Of  Maggots".

  Next  up  is  The  Path  To  R'lyeh  a  band  that  plays  a  very  brutal  and  technical  form  of  death  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  heavy  sound  where  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  their  side  of t he  recording  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  brutal  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while t he  vocals  are  mostly  deep  death  metal  growls  with  a  few  screams.

  Clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  some  parts  of their  music  while  the  riffs  also  bring in  a  small  amount  of  melody  and  the  vocals  also get  very  guttural  at  times  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  technical  fashion  and  there  side  of t he  split also  always  remains  very  heavy.

  The  Path  To  R'lyeh  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  technical  and  brutal, t he  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  based  upon  the  writings  of  H.P  Lovecraft.

  In  my  opinion  The  Path  To  R'lyeh  are  a  very  great  sounding  technical  and  brutal  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of t he split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dream  Eater"  and  "Extra-Terrestrial  Abomination".

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  brutal  and  technical  death  metal.  8  out  of  10.         

Diana Rising/Stars Can't Shine Without Darkness/2017 Full Length Review

  Diana  Rising  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  mixture  of  deathcore  and  metalcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  album  "Stars  Can't  Shine  Without  Darkness".

  Acoustic  guitars  along  with  synths  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  musical  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  aggressive  screams  and  metalcore  elements  and  they  also  mix  both  the  atmospheric  and  heavy  parts  together  while  death  metal  growls  are  also  used  at  times.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  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  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and clean  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly.

  Diana  RIsing  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  deathcore  and  metalcore  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sound s very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  alchemy  themes.  

  In  my  opinion Diana  RIsing  are  a  very  decent  sounding  mixture  of  metalcore  and  deathcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Rise"  "Infinite  Dimensions"  "Diamond  CLouds"  and  "You  Should  Have  Known".  7/5 out  of  10.  

Abrasive Interview

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

Hi! Ralf here. We had a lot of great shows with DEFILED, STOMA and had also the chance to play Heidelberg Deathfest with GOD DETHRONED, HAEMORRAGE, DERANGED, …
We also earned a lot of good reactions about “Book Of Sin”.

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 gave our music the banner “Raw Intense Death Metal”. I would describe it as Death / Grind with a lot of old school influences and some Slam Parts. The main difference to our older stuff is, that the songs are better arranged and the musical level is higher. Also, Alex did more vocals on the new release.

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

It is still about sexual fantasies and erotic. Also some of the new songs deal with topics that are going on in the world now.

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

It means raw and aggressive. That fits perfect to our sound.

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?

We had a  lot of very good shows in the past. We were on tour with SOILS OF FATE and SANATORIUM for 3 days a long time ago. That was a cool experience. Also some festivals like Soul Grinding, Ludwigshafen Deathfest, Mountains Of Death, … were amazing. We met a lot of cool people over the years and remained friends with them. Playing in foreign countries is always fun.
About the stage performance, we had to fill the stage as we are only 3. So we have to take short trips away from the microphone when it is possible. We try to be not boring on the stage.

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

Touring would be cool. But we have no plans about that. We always have some shows. But if anyone is interested, book us.

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

It was amazing! We didn’t think about that. A lot of people write us from everywhere and tell us, that they like our music. I think, we are better known outside of Germany, than in our home country, hahaha.

8.Currently the band is signed to 'Rebirth The Metal Productions', are you happy with the support that they have given you so far?

Yes, totally satisfied. Andi does a very good job.

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

I think we will continue our style and make the best songs we can write.

10.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?

We still get influenced by Death Metal, Grind and some Thrash bands. I don’t think, that there are certain bands that have an influence to our music. In the last time, we listened to NECROVILE, ANALEPSY, MALIGNANCY and also a lot of classics too.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

To be honest, our most interest is music. Collecting CD’s and LP’s, going to shows.
Besides that, bike riding, sightseeing, being out in the nature.

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

Thanks a lot for your interest. Check out our stuff! Feel free to contact us.

Avulsed/Night Of The Living Deadgenerations/Xtreem Music/2017 Double CD Review

  Spain's  Avulsed  have  returned  with  a  live  recording  which  is  also  in  the  old  school  style  of  gore/death  metal  and  this  is  review  of  their  2017  double  live  album  "Night  Of  The  Living  Deadgenerations"  which  was  released  by  Xtreem  Music.

 
  A  very  dark  sounding  intro  along  with  audience  feedback  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  they  go  into  a  heavier  direction  along  with  a  brief  instrumental  while  dark  yet  melodic  guitar  leads  are  also  used  at  times  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  deep  yet  guttural  death  metal  growls  along  with  a  few  screams.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with  the  tracks  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  the  recording  and  some  of  the  fast  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  there  is  also a   brief  acoustic  track  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction.

  On  this  live  recording  Avulsed  covers  a  lot  of  years  worth  of  material  and  also  adds  some  modern  touches  to  the  newer  songs  while  still  keeping  an  old  school  vibe,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  gore,  mutilation,  sex  and  perversion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Avulsed  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you should  check  out  this  live  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Stabwound Orgasm"  "Sick  Sick  Sex"  "Blessed  By  Gore"  and  "Hidden  Perversions".  8  out  of  10.  

Iapetus/The Long Road Home/2017 Full Length Review

  Iapetus  are  a  band  from  New  York  that  plays  a  very  atmospheric,  melodic  and  progressive  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  album  "The  Long  Road  Home".

  Dark  soundscapes  along  with  some  atmospheric  sounds  start  off  the  album  and  spoken  word  samples  can  also b e  heard  briefly  and  after  the  intro  heavy  riffs  and  melodic  guitar  leads  are  added  onto  the  recording  while  the  acoustic guitars  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  progressive   feeling.

 
  A  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  a  great  amount  of  melody  can  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  when t he  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  using  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking.

  Throughout t he  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  when  vocals  are  added onto  the  recording  they  are  mostly  aggressive  screams  that  bring  elements  of  death  metal  into  the  songs  while  clean  singing  can  also  be  hard  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  female  vocals  can  be

  Iapetus  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  melodic,  atmospheric  and  progressive,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  and  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Iapetus  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric,  melodic and  progressive  death  metal  band  and  if  you a re  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Of  Hangmen  &  Vertebrae"  "Savior  Solitude"  "Crown  Of  Stars"  and  "The  Long  Way  Home".  8  out  of  10.  

  

Logic Of Denial Interview

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

Of course, since the recording sessions we had the chance to play some shows in Italy and abroad and, in the meantime, we rehearsed some of the new stuff in order to play it live. Also, we’re working on a couple of new concepts for the next releases but… it’s too early to speak about it yet!



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

Compared to the last album Atonement, also released on Comatose Music four years ago, we see the new one as a more complex and various work. Perhaps it’s more rooted in the brutal death metal field, but it also represents better our personal way of expressing ourselves. Aftermath shows a better research on riffing and structures and, in our opinion, has a better mix of fast, brutal tempos, and ominous atmospheres.




3.The lyrics on the new album have a concept to them, can you tell us a little bit more about the songwriting?

When we start the writing sessions of our stuff, we always write a lyrical concept first. Since Atonement, we have started a reflection on the human being from a biological and psychological perspective. Aftermath explores the stages during the grieving process, focusing on resentment and human vulnerability. It’s a lyrical journey through the stages of abscission, sufferance and defilement (from loss to catharsis through the perpetual feeling of pain).




4.Originally the band was known as 'Collapse', what was the decision behind the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Logic Of Denial'?

“Collapse” was the name I gave to this band 14 years ago. Originally the lineup was totally different from today and we didn’t play death metal either. The style change made us switch to a new name and we came up with Logic Of Denial basically for two reasons: “denial” is a psycho analytical concept, a defense mechanism which leads men to deny their suffering; also, the “logic of denial” is a philosophical concept which expresses the evolution within contradictions, a sort of dialectical outlook on conflict and its evolutive potential




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?

We always worked as a four piece band and, since the recording sessions of Aftermath, we played like that with guitar, bass, voice and drums. Now we are so happy with our new lineup, with two guitars which permit to express ourselves in a more complex way. Unfortunately, we haven’t a full time drummer in the band yet, so we’re playing both with programmed drums and sessions. If we had to mention a couple of substantial shows, I’d say our support to Disgorge in Florence (when our close friend Mariano Somà from Septycal Gorge had a cool featuring with us on the Atonement track “Vile blessing prelude”) and two of the shows we played in Bristol: the last date of our UK mini tour with Necrosisat the Gryphon – an amazing show in a small venue and with an incredible atmosphere – and the Slamfestat the Bierkeller – a killer venue where we presented one of our first shows with programmed drums and two guitars, with an awesome response from the crowd -. I think our stage performance is basically founded on aggression and accuracy: we try to show a sort of “controlled mayhem” or, at least, we always work to improve this feature of our performances.




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

We are organizing some shows in order to support the release and, in the meantime, we’ll have a EU mini tour with our friends in Hateful during Easter holidays.




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

We couldn’t be happier, the feedback to our stuff has always been great and this amazing support represents a huge motivation for us.




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?

I could say that our other guitarist, Marco, is actually involved in three other musical projects (Grumo, Haemophagus, Blood of Seklusion) rooted in the death metal/grindcore fields. I’m personally involved with our bass player, Marcello, in two other bands, but it’s too early to reveal something about them!




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

I think our musical research is heading into something even different from the material we recorded in Aftermath: if brutal death metal is the way we have chosen to express our musical views, we’re constantly re-shaping our way to craft riffs and songs.




10.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?

In the band everyone has his personal tastes and sensibility and everyone brings his style into compositions and arrangements. I’ve been influenced a lot by bands like Suffocation, Defeated Sanity, Deeds Of Flesh, early Decrepit Birth, Disgorge; but I’m also into Deathspell Omega, Gorguts, Ulcerate, Spawn of Possession, Abhorrent and stuff like that. The last album I heard is Desecrate The Faith’s latest one, recently released by our label Comatose Music: a killer album with a tasty Suffovibe, these dudes rule!




11.What are some of your non musical interests?

I’m personally into education and theoretical studies about human sciences, but I’m also a huge horror and psychological drama movies fan: the works of Lars Von Trier, Takashi Miike and Park Chan Wook, just to name a few, have had an enormous impact on our lyrical concepts.




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

Hope the new album will be appreciated! We put a huge effort and some years of hard work to come up with something that fully represents the band today, we’re proud of this work and we can’t wait to share it with you guys. Thanks a lot for your support!

www.comatosemusic.com