Wings In Motion Interview

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

1.Wings In Motion is a progressive melodic death metal band from Greece, formed in 2008, by guitarists Tasos Asonitis and Pete Tross.
The band's current line up consists of Andre Boutos on vocals, Tasos Asonitis and Alex Lappas on the guitars, Constantine on the Keyboards, George Constantinou on the bass, and Foivos Andriopoulos on the drums. The band's style combines heavy, thrashy and from times to times technical riffing, with melodies and keyboard elements that give their sound a whole new dimension ,fact that is enhanced by the constant switching between brutal, scream and clean vocals. The band's music is more of a universal listening experience than a particular category of metal, with influences that range from artists like Dream Theater and Nevermore, to Lamb of God, Machine Head and In Flames. At late March 2011 a four-song promo of the band's work was self-released, achieving big acceptance by fans and critics all over the world. It was the first official release of Wings In Motion. In July of the same year, the band won the official Battle of the Bands Contest for the year 2010-2011, after having to compete with 34 other great bands from around Greece.The band started recording its first full-length album named "Cyclicity" in late 2012 to finish in the beginning of 2013. The mastering took place at Fascination Street Studios in Sweden (Paradise Lost, Kreator, Enslaved, Katatonia etc). The album is about to be released wordlwide by Another Side Records (it is already available in Ukraine). 

2.Recently you released your first album, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical sound you brought out with this recording?

2. "Cyclicity" is not an album that serves a particular metal style. I would describe it as a complete listening experience with many different but carefully combined elements of various metal styles. Of course, if I had to put an overall description to the album's sound I would say progressive melodic death metal, but this cannot give a full and profound view on what "Cyclicity" is all about. Within the songs of it some can find technical, industrial, symphonic, thrash and even metalcore elements. As the album begins there are more technical and progressive parts, and as we proceed, the album gets heavier and more introvertive. 

3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

3.The lyrics are about human nature and the ways in which man interacts with the world that surrounds him. The songs speak of hidden fears, created by the human mind and ending up trapping it within a vicious circle. Hence the name "Cyclicity". It describes all the things that exist within our nature, tendencies that are an undeniable part of our existence.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Wings In Motion'?

4.We came up with the name of the band after a slight change on a line by an Arch Enemy song, "Revolution Begins". For us, the name implies the constant ability of human to rise above everything that oppresses him and fight for survival. "Wings" stands for this devine ability of man, surviving. "Motion" stands for the constant fight, the struggle, the neverending flame of human nature.

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

5.We have given many shows so far, it is hard to draw just one. I would say the show in April 2013 in Athens was one of our best so far, it was the first time that we introduced the audience some of the songs that would be included in "Cyclicity" and it was a great experience. In stage, we have very intense performances with a lot of energy. It is something that we enjoy passing to the crowd, the energy as it comes out from our music and our bodies.

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

6.We will support the great Dark Tranquillity for their shows in Athens and Salonika in 5 and 6 of April respectively. Then we do have plans for a tour in Europe but we cannot make any official announcements yet.

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

7.Great so far. Our music reached a bigger audience already from our promo release in 2011 and through our first music video for the song "Through The Shadows". People from different countries and different cultural backgrounds would comment on how fond they were of our music, something that was pretty overwhelming for us back then, when we were only making our first steps.

8.Are any of the other band members involved with any other musical projects these days?

8.Sure, our singer is also a part of the greek metal band Memorain, I play guitar in Insidead, a greek metal band as well. Foivos, our drummer is also a part of different metal acts and George, the bass player, plays in groups of various music styles as well. 

9.What direction do you see the musical heading into on future releases?

9.The sound of a band constantly evolves, that goes without question. Every time you release an album is like taking a snapshot of the band's current state of sound. It is hard to predict what the future will bring but one thing is for sure, next album will be an all-out metal attack.

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

10.When the band started out our influences were the big Gotenbourg bands like In Flames, Dark Tranquillity etc. Moving on, we adopted a more universal sound by incorporating elements from different styles. So artists like Nevermore, Dream Theater, Lamb of God, Machine Head, Soilwork became major influences as well.We do have influences from non-metal grounds as well, and we make these a part of our music as well. Nowadays, among else, personally I enjoy listening to Strapping Young Lad and Devin Townsend stuff in general, a lot of The Haunted as well.

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

11. I just want to thank you guys for letting us speak of Wings In Motion and "Cyclicity" within your blog! Cheers!

Dead End Finland Interview

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

Despite the fact that we just released "Season Of Withering" we are writing some new stuff for our 3rd album. Our style to make albums maybe differs a bit from normal conventions. We craft the album slowly piece by piece and this takes a lot of time. We think it´s the best way for us anyway. That´s how we can concentrate 100% on the songs which are on the table. The 3rd album will be ready hopefully in 2015-2016.

2.A few months you put out a new album, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction it has taken and also how does it differ from your previous album?

The biggest difference between "Stain Of Disgrace" and "Season Of Withering" are the keys. They play a much bigger role in "Season". We though about new things we could bring in to "Season Of Withering" and it was an easy and natural idea to increase some symphonic and industrial elements.

3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects the new release explores?

We try to handle grievances of the nation as well as the dark side of life overall... but maybe there are a few positive aspects too if you listen carefully. Or maybe not.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Dead End Finland'?

This one is easy. My (Santtu Rosén's) previous band fell into a totallydead end and I decide that Dead End would be the name of the new band. Adding Finland to it came up as an idea when we noticed there is/was another band with the same name in Sweden. It took a long time for people to realise it´s really a part of the name. Not only the country where we are coming from.

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 don´t do live shows at the moment. We'll see if things change.

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

No, not at the moment.

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

It's hard to express how satisfied we are. The feedback has been very good and people have found us very well.

8.What is going on with the singers other musical project these days?

For the time being, they're frozen in carbonite.

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

We've got a couple of aces up on our sleeves. Maybe you will get some answers in musical form in the near future.

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

There are so many. Of course bands like Soilwork and Lamb Of God are on continuous rotation. But also bands like Brujeria, Soulfly, Opeth etc...

11.Do you have any non musical interests?

Sure. There are many, but videogames & motorcycles are closest to our hearts.

 

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

Thank you for this opportunity and cheers and beers to all our fans.
Check out www.deadendfinland.com / www.facebook.com/deadendfinland

Wings in Motion/Cyclicity/Metal Scrap Records/2014 CD Review

  Wings  In  Motion  are  a  band  from  Greece  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  progressive form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Cyclicity"  which  was  released  by  Metal  Scrap  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  electronic  music  sounds  and  after  the  intro  the  recording  goes  into  a  more  heavy  and  melodic  direction  while  also  keeping  around  the  synths  and  adding  in  prog  elements  before  adding  in  death  metal  vocals  along  with  clean  singing.

  As  the  album  continues  they  start  mixing  modern  melodic  death  metal  with  prog  metal as  well  as  bringing  in  groove  elements  along  with  a  small  amount  of  guitar  solos  and  leads  and  on  one  of  the  songs  they  bring  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  before  returning  to  a  heavier  direction  along  with  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  on  the  last  song  they  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  and  female  vocals.

  Wings  In  Motion are  another  young  band  that  plays  a  modern  of  melodic  form  of  death  metal  with  symphonic,  grove,  progressive  and  electronic  elements  and  while  this  is  not  very  original  sounding  it  is  still  very  well  executed.

  Song  lyrics  cover  darkness,  mythology  and  everyday  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  with  the  bass  guitars  being  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix.

  In  my  opinion  Wings  Of  Motion  are  a  very  decent  sounding  progressive  and  melodic  death  metal b and  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Perfect  Lines"  "Your  Insanity"  "Of  My  Demons"  and  "Distances".  7/5  out  of  10.

    

The Unguided/Fragile Immortality/Napalm Records/2014 CD Review

  The  Unguided  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Fragile  Immortality"  which  was  released  by  Napalm  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  synths  along  with  heavy  guitars  and  drums  that  take  the  music  into  a  melodic  death  metal  direction  along  with  aggressive  vocals  which  also  leads  up  to  clean  singing  vocals  and  after  awhile  melodic  solos  are  added  into  the  music.

  When  the  album  goes  into  other  songs  the  music  starts  going  for  the  more  modern  variation  of  melodic  death  metal  while  also  having  symphonic  elements  as  well  as  some  power  metal  influences  as  well  as  bringing  in  elements  of  electronic  music  and  on  one  of  the  songs  they  bring  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  prog  metal  elements  in  certain  sections  of  the  record.

  With  this  album  The  Unguided  play  a  very  modern  form  of  melodic  death  metal  that  has  more  mainstream  leanings  than  the  earlier  style  of  melodic  death  metal  and  they  also  bring  in  elements  of  prog  and  electronica  to  create  an  album t hat  is  very  melodic,  heavy  and  diverse  and  while  it  is  not  my  favorite  style,  the  band  still  show  they  can  write  decent  songs.

  Song  lyrics  cover  personal  issues,  relationships  and  fictional  stories,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  along  with  the  bass  guitars  being  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix.

  In  my  opinion  The  unguided  are  a  very  decent  sounding  melodic  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Inception"  "Eye  Of  The  Thyla"  "Nloodbad"  and  "Oblivion".  7/5  out  of  10.

Magenta Harvest Interview

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

To be honest the most of the time we have just been waiting for this album to be released... We haven't had any possibilities to play live since Mathias has been super busy with Finntroll and that's still the case. We just wait that we'll manage to play live when he has some time off of Finntroll. Of course now we are also making new stuff while waiting for to play live.

2.You recently put out a new album, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction it has taken and also how does it differ from your past recordings?

This is the debut album for us and there actually are four songs from our two old demos, so we can't really speak about differencies from previous releases. Well, musical direction is and will be death metal, but like already with this record we have influences of black metal also and other music styles too. We are not afraid of to experiment with different styles. That is not the sole intention though. We'll do the stuff that sounds good to our ears. We'll see what kind of mix we bring with the next album.

3.I have read that the band started out as a duo, what was the decision behind hiring a full line up?

Yes, we were a duo, but just because we didn't have other members yet. It wasn't like we wanted to be a duo... We just wanted to do some songs ready and then hire more guys. It was quite natural to start as a duo because still today we two are the ones who make the most of the music and arrangements.

4.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects the new release explores?

The themes are quite varied and range from classical death metal lyrics dealing with murder and death to stories about end times and apocalypse. Some of the songs are based upon 5000 years old Babylonian and Sumerian flood myths which bares great resemblance to the story of Noah and the Great Flood in the Bible, total destruction and re-creation. These stories are what the title "Volatile Waters" refer to."

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

That's a difficult one. We didn't want to have a typical death metal band name. It was a difficult job the find any good name. Some people may argue that we still haven't found it, haha. I went through my old band's ...and Oceans lyrics where I found this Magenta Harvest. I honestly don't know what is the meaning of it... I haven't read those lyrics in a while. Maybe there could be some explanation for it...

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

Well, with this band we have only played two shows. Second was far better than the first, haha. The idea was that when the album is out, we start to do more shows. Situation is challenging though since Mathias is so busy with Finntroll and Janne has shows with Mygrain also. We don't have any gig booking agency yet, so that won't make this easier either. We are determined though that we'll get them more than enough any time soon... So we really can't tell anything about the stage performance yet... we are still evolving...

7.Do you have any touring plans for the new album?

I could say see the previous answer, but.... Of course we'd like to tour, but we don't have any booking agency and what's even more affecting, we have such a deal that we really can't get any support from our label either. Too bad. Nowadays if you are going to tour and you are not the headliner you end up being one of those buy-ons. Money talks. We hope that when we have the chance to have shows here in Finland, eventually we are able to tour abroad as well. We can't really help the situation. We surely appreciate all the support from the fans who make requests to different festivals and gig organizers etc. 

8.The new album came out on Inverse Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Well, it's not one of those traditional labels. They are more like publishing and promoting company. Meaning that we have handled all the studio and album expenses and they handle pressing, promoting, advertising etc.

So again money talks... Seriously, so far everything has worked as planned and we have a good relationship with the label and with our contact there. 

To be honest, some day it wouldn't be bad at all to get a deal with bigger label so we could get the support we need for touring etc. 

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to the new album by fans of death metal?

It has been really good. Most of the critics have understood what we are doing here. Critics are always 'only' critics, but of course it's nice to read good reviews than the bad ones. 

From other people than critics the feedback has been also great! Of course we are also very confident about this album. We just need it to be heard... One solution would be having those shows. Of course nowadays albums can be found all over the net. Torrents, digital downloads, spotify etc.

10.What is going on with the other musical projects these days that the band members are involved with?

Of course Finntroll is going strong. They just released new album last year and still touring on that. Mygrain also released a new album last year so they are busy as well. I am also getting busy with my other band Festerday which was my first band since '89. It has been put together again... We are about to sign a deal for releasing our old demos etc. After that new material will be made. So every one is more or less busy with other things beside Magenta Harvest as well.

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

Like mentioned before the base sound will be death metal. We'll just have to see how colouring it. Of course you always have to do better with the next album. That's the thing with us too. 

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

Well, I can speak only for myself, but I mostly listen to black and death metal. I have had my periods of heavy, thrash, speed and whatever metal, but the main thing is death and black. 

Bands I like to listen nowadays are olden goldies like Dissection, Bathory, Bolt Thrower, Carcass, Hypocrisy, Gehenna, Dismember and tons of others. I rarely pick any new band since I'm satisfied with all the classic death and black metal releases. Still every now and then it's nice to discover some new up and coming bands...

13.Do you have any non musical interests?

Well I have family and kids so that's a big interest there. 

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

Thanks for this interview and to people who read this, support good music!!

Vagination/Bandung Whore/Rebirth The Metal Productions/2013 EP Review

  Vagination  are  a  band  with  members  from  both  Germany  and  England  that  plays  a  brutal  form  of  death/gore  metal  mixed  with  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  ep  "Bandlung  Whore"  which  was  released  by  Rebirth  The  Metal  Productions.

  The  ep  starts  out  with  an  intro  which  uses  spoken  word  samples  that  have  a  robotic  feeling  to  them  and  then  it  gets  into  a  very  brutal  and  fast  direction  along  with  blast  beats  and  growls  as  well  as  mixing  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  together.

  As  th e ep  progresses  grindcore  influences  are  added  in  with  the  brutal  death  metal sound  this  band  creates  along  with  some  screams  and  deathcore  style  vocals  and  it  remains  brutal  for  beginning  to  end  and  on  a  couple  of  songs  they  add  in  a  small  amount  of  guitar  leads.

  With  this  ep  Vagination  create  some  of  the  most  disgusting,  demented,  heavy  and  brutal  death/grind  that  I  have  heard  in  a  long  time  and  they  never  let  up  and  despite  the  into  the  music  is  heavy  and  brutal,  non stop  from  beginning  to  end.

  Song  lyrics  cover  violent,  gore,  rape,  prostitutes,  and  porno  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  brutal  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Vagination  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  gore/death/grind  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Fuck  Pig  Of   Siknal  Putridy"  "Suffer  Of  Vaginal  Entity"  "Drag  Whore  Down  Brutal  Highway"  and  "Ensikment  Of  Bandlung  Whore".  8  out  of  10.   

The White Indian/Sexy Time/Rebirth the Metal Productions/2013 EP Review

  The  White  Indian  are  a  band  from  Arizona  that  plays  a  very  brutal  and  slamming  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  ep  "Sexy  Time"  which  was  released  by  Rebirth  The  Metal  Productions.

  The  album  starts  out  with  a  very  fast  and  brutal  sound  along  with  some  growls  before  heading  into  a  more  mid  paced  slamming  direction  along  with  a  great  amount  of  violence  being  added  into  the  music  and  at  time s you  can  hear  blast  beats  being  added  into  the  recording.

  As  time  goes  on  by  the  music  gets  a  lot  more  heavy  and  brutal  sounding  and  the  growls  are  very  deep  throughout  the  recording  and  stick  to  the  more  old  school  style  than  the  deathcore  style  some  newer  slam  death  metal  bands  use.

  With  this  ep  The  White  Indian  stick  to  a  more  east  coast  style  of  slamming  death  metal  which  is  mostly  done  in  a  mid  paced  direction  while  also  having a  good  amount  of  fast  moments  and  while  it  is  not  completely  original,  it  makes  up  for  it  in  heaviness  and  brutality.

  Song  lyrics  cover  rape  and  torture,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  brutal  and  professional  sound  along  with  the  bass  guitars  being  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix.

  In  my  opinion  The  White  Indian  are  a  very  decent  sounding  slamming  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Kicked  in  The  Tummy"  and  "Orgy  Of  Incest".  7/5  out  of  10.