Subliminal Crusher/Darketype/Revalve Records/2016 CD Review

  Subliminal  Crusher  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Darketype"  which  was  released  by  Revalve  Records.

  A  very  distorted  guitar  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  evolves  into  more  of  a  heavier  thrash  metal  direction  that  also  introduces  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  onto  the  recording  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  use  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  while  the  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of melody.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to them  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  guitar  leads  also  remain  true  to  a  melodic  style  when  they  are  utilized  and  the  songs  also  bring  in a   great  mixture  of  both  modern  and  old  school  influences  and  some  tracks  also  bring  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  heavy  musical  direction.

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

  In  my  opinion  Subliminal  Crusher  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  "Violence"  "Ashes  In  Mankind"  "Eternal  And  Hollow"  and  "Obscure  Path".  8  out  of  10.

Yarast/Tungska 1908/Revalve Records/2016 CD Review

  Yarast  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  progressive  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Tunguska  1908"  which  was  released  by  Revalve  Records.

  A  very  distorted  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  prog  metal  direction  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  while  the  riffs  also  use  a  decent  of  melody  and  the  songs  also  mix  in  some  90's  influences.

  Spoken  word  samples  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  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  the  fast  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  at  times  while  thrash  and  prog  metal  elements  are  also  utilized  more  as  the  album  progresses and  clean  and  acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard  on  some  of  the  songs. 

  Yarast  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  goes  into  the  more  progressive  and  melodic  side  of  the  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Cold  War,  Communism,  Russian  and  Soviet  Union  History.

  In  my  opinion  Yarast  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  progressive  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Doomsky  Fills  Your  Eyes"  "Nuclear  Winter"  and  "Retaliation".  8  out  of  10.

Carnal Decay/Promo 2016/Rising Nemesis Records EP Review

  Carnal  Decay  are  a  band  from  Switzerland  that  plays  a  very  brutal  form of  gore/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  promo  which  was  released  by  Rising  Nemesis  Records.

  A  very  fast  and  brutal sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  a  few  seconds  later  death  metal  growls  and  make  their  presence  known on  the  recording  while  the  mid  paced  sections  add  in  a  touch  of  east  coast  style  slam  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a    very  modern  style.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  back  up  gang  shouts  and  elements  of  hardcore  can  also  be  heard  in  the  music  at   times  and  both  of  the  songs  remain  true  to  a  very  heavy  and  brutal  style.

  Carnal  Decay  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  brutal  and  also  mixes  in  more  of  an  east  coast  style  and  never  has  a  soft  moment,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  death  and  gore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Carnal  Decay  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  promo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "No  Sequel".  8  out  of  10.

Xaon/Face Of Balaam/2016 EP Review

  Xaon  are  a  band  from  Switzerland  that  plays  a  melodic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2016  ep  "Face  Of  Balaam"  which  will  be  released  in  October.

  Dark  soundscapes  start  off  the  ep  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  musical  direction  that  also  brings  in  some  symphonic  sounds  as   well  as  some  clean  singing  vocals  which  start  evolving  into  death  metal  once  the  music  speeds  up  and  starts  utilizing  blast  beats  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and fast  parts  and  clean  playing  along  with  spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  vocals  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  growls  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  some  modern  prog  metal  elements  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  violins  and  acoustic  guitars.

  Xaon  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  a  modern  style  of  melodic  death  metal  while  also  adding  in  prog  and  symphonic  elements  to  make  the  songs  stand  out  a  bit  more,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Xaon  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Discrowned"  and  "The  Soulcleaner".  8  out  of  10.

Zephyra/As The World Collapses/Inverse Records/2016 Full Length Review

  Zephyra  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  melodic  death  metal  and  thrash  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "As  the  World  Collapses"  which  will  be  released  in  August  by  Inverse  Records.

  Dark  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  elements  of  electronic  music  before  adding  in  heavy  guitars  and  melodic  riffs  and  after  awhile  high  pitched  screams  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  there  is  also  some  clean  singing  vocals  being  utilized  at  times.

  At times  elements  of  groove  can  be  heard  in  the  music  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful  and  some  songs  bring  in  back up  gang  shouts  and  blast  beats  along  with  a  great  amount  of  thrash  influences  can  be  heard  in  the  music.

  Zephyra  creates  a  recording  that takes  melodic  death  metal,  thrash  and electronic  music  and  mixes  them  together  while  also  making  everything  catchy,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Zephyra  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  death  metal  and  modern  thrash,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Virago"  "Resurrect  The  Shame"  "Gone  By  Dawn"  and  "As  the  World  Collapses".  8  out  of  10. 

Cancerous Womb/It Came To This/Rising Nemesis Records/2016 EP Review

  Cancerous  Womb  are  a  band  from  Scotland  that  plays  a  brutal  mixture  of  death  metal  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016 ep  "It  Came  to  This" which  will  be  released  in  July  by  Rising  Nemesis  Records.

  A  very  heavy  sound s tarts  off  the  ep  along with  some  brutal  blast  beats  and  a  few  seconds  later  death  metal  growls  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  high  pitched  grindcore  screams  can  be  heard  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful. 

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  music  can  also  get  very  technical  at  times  and  on  of  the  tracks  brings  in  saxophones  while  a  lot  of  the  riffs  can  be  very  progressive  and  technical  at  times  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  modern  death  metal  feeling  while  some  riffs  also  add  in  a  touch  of  thrash.

  Cancerous  Womb  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  brutal  and technical  death  metal  and  mixes it  in  with  grindcore  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  gore,  horror  and  violence  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Cancerous  Womb  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  and technical  mixture  of  death  metal  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Shrieking  Of  Idiots"  and  "When  All  is  Said  And  Done".  8  out  of  10.

 
 

Myth Of A Life Interview

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

Myth of a Life is a 4 piece melodic death metal band from Sheffield, UK formed in November 2013. Although the band was formed in the UK, none of the founding members originate from the UK. Initially the band started out as a one-man project by Japanese guitarist Takanori Shono.The project was then joined by Italian drummer Damiano Porcelli (ex-Golem) and by Greek death metal vocalist Phil‘Core’ Dellas, thus forming the core line-up of Myth of a Life. In August 2014, the band released their debut EP entitled 'Erinyes'. In March 2015, Myth of a Life inked a three-year record deal with giant Greek record label Sleaszy Rider Records in order to release the band’s debut full-length album. In May 2016, the band announced that they had amicably parted ways with founding member and longtime drummer Damiano Porcelli. A few weeks later the band revealed a new line-up consisting of Liam Banks (ex-Lacrota) on bass, William Price (Psython) on guitar, Alexander Bond on drums and Phil'Core' Dellas on vocals, leaving him as the only original member. In June 2016, Myth of a Life released their debut album 'She Who Invites' via Sleaszy Rider Records.

2.So far you have released an ep and a full length, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings and also how do they differ from each other?

The full-length 'She Who Invites' is essentially a continuation on the themes which we set with our 'Erinyes' EP; melodic death metal with a lot of thrash metal, metalcore and straight up death metal parts. The 'Erinyes' EP has a more old-school production vibe in contrast with 'She Who Invites' that has a more modern and polished production.

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

Most of the band’s lyrics focus on describing but also reflecting the emotions generated by a dramatic moment. This moment might be of historic, social, religious, mythical or of personal nature.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Myth of A Life'?

The band name is a wordplay of the meaning of the word 'myth'. It revolves around a person. This person can be anyone. We can say that "He has lived a myth of a life". This means that his life has become a traditional, urban story through the various social, natural or even supernatural events and phenomenons that he has been through. As a result his life has achieved legend or 'Myth' status. Alternatively, the urban story told about this person is a widely held but false idea and a lie, thus showing that his life was nothing but a 'Myth'.

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

One of the most important shows of Myth of a Life was at the Sheffield O2 Academy back in May 2015. The performance ethic of the band is making sure that every night, no matter what the circumstances are, we give 100% on stage whether it is in front of 5 or 500 people.

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

We have a a show in July in our home town Sheffield. This will be a special gig for us since it will be the first one with the new line-up and the first since the release of our debut album 'She Who Invites'. Then we will take a short break and from September we are looking to start promoting our full-length across the UK.

7.The new album was released on 'Sleaszy Rider Records', are you happy with the support that they have given you so far?

We are extremely happy with the help, guidance and support that the guys from Sleaszy Rider have given us. We couldn't have asked for a better label to release our debut album and we are proud to be part of the Sleaszy Rider family.

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

So far the reviews and feedback have been great. We really put a lot of effort into making this album, so we are quite happy that the fans and the people of the industry have responded well to it.

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

We don't really know yet and we don't want to decide on a specific musical direction before we start writing. We definitely want to build on the sound that the band has created and see what other different elements we can add to our sonic identity when the time comes to start writing again.

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?

While there are a lot of bands that have influenced us, the one band that has had the biggest impact on Myth of a Life so far is At The Gates and the Swedish death metal scene. Nowadays we listen to many different things but we are all quite excited about the recent Kreator album 'Phantom Antichrist' and the new Obscura album 'Akroasis'. So don't be surprised if in our next offering you hear a twisted mix of thrash metal and progressive death metal.







11.What are some of your non musical interests?

We all enjoy watching movies especially of the horror genre. Recently we had the chance to watch The Conjuring 2 which was incredible.


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

Check out our debut full-length album 'She Who Invites', grab your copy from our bandcamp page and stay tuned on our facebook page for news and updates of the band and as always stay metal! \m/