Fatal Error/Conglomerate/Metal Scrap Records/2011 CD Review

  Fatal  Error  are  a band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  very  brutal  from  of  death  metal  mixed  in  with  some  grindcore  influences  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2011  album  "Conglomerate"  which  was  released  by  Metal  Scrape  Records.

  Drums  range  from  mid paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  great  amount  of  brutal  sounding  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music,  while  the  intro  had  a  dub-step  feeling  to  it,  as  for  the  bass  playing  it  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  tone  with  some  brutal  death/grind  riffing.

   Rhythm  guitars  range  mid  paced  to  brutal  death  metal  riffs  that  have  some  grind  and  deathcore  influences  to  it  and  there  are  little  to  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording.

  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  deep death  metal  growls,  hardcore  style  growling  and  pig  squells  as  well  as  some  spoken  word  samples,  while  the  lyrics  cover  hateful  and  violent  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Fatal Error  are  a  very  good  sounding  death  metal/core  hybrid  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  band. RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "It's  Wav"  "Amputated  Happiness"  "Eternity  Of  Inhumanity"  and  "Simulator  Of  the  Life".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Eclipse/Triumph Of The Pain/Metal Scrap Records/2011 CD Review

  Eclipse  are  a  band  from  Ukraine  that  plays  a  very  brutal  form  of  death/grind  and  this  is  a  review  of their  2011  album  "Triumph  Of  The  Pain"  which  was  released  by  Metal Scrap  Records.

  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  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  is  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  the  most  brutal  elements  of  death  metal  and  death/grind  together  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  chaotic  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  deep  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  pig  squeels  while  the  lyrics  cover  hateful  and  violent  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful  and  heavy  sound  to it.

  In  my  opinion  Eclipse  are  a  very  great  sounding  death/grind  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  band. RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ak-47"  "Last  Breath"  "Dream  Forgoten  After  First  Try"  and  "Epilepsy  Bout".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

The Tide Will Take Us Interview

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

We are all from Collingwood/Wasaga Beach, Ontario. We started the band when an old band we were in disbanded and we needed to keep playing live shows to satisfy our love for playing music. So we got a group of guys together and started making some songs, showed some friends and ended up playing our first show in April of 2011. Over the last year we've played a decent amount of shows and had a really good response from people about this band.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?

Thats a really good question. Its also a very difficult one to answer because our music incorporates a lot of elements that are not found in deathcore, or hardcore. I  guess the best way to describe our music would be groove metal. We have so many different kinds of music in our music. We have deatchore elements, hardcore elements, metalcore elements and death metal. But we also have jazz elements and rock elements in our sound as well so like I said, its really hard to put us in a category. Our sound is a heavy sound that constantly is evolving.

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

When writing lyrics I try to stick to things that are real and happening in my life. Putrid Dynasty was written about a lot of emotions that I have been going through in the last few years of my life. More recent events will tend to stick out in this album because I was in a darker place while writing most of them. Personal reasons backing more then half the album. Other songs such as "Mouth Breather" was written about my loss of faith I have experienced probably around 3 years ago. I was raised in a catholic family so this for me was a life changing experience that has dragged on for quite some time. Songs such as "Metastasize & Consume" and "The Dead Call" are about my point of view in how I see our society today, from wars to the things we are constantly force fed by the media.

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

Mike has an irrational fear of large bodies of water. He hates flying over them, you couldn't get 'em on a fucking boat if you paid him all the money in the world. He just can't do it.. which will suck if we started touring over seas (laughs). The name was actually the name of a project he was working on which is now called Abigail's Threnody. The guys saw it and liked it and since we had no name at the time, we went with it and its sort of stuck.

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

Not as energetic as it could be we've got a lot of stuff we'd like to incorporate into our stage show, so we can get everyone moving more.. in all the places we've played so far we've had a few Wall's of death and they've been successful we haven't had any complaint's about our live show so far. Our best show was in Huntsville, Good turn out. Good crowd. Played a solid set and the response was awswome. After every song the crowd would chant TIDE! TIDE! TIDE! over and over again couldn't even hear Matt introduce the next song, some girl got knocked out in the first 30 seconds of the set which was shitty but also shows we can move a crowd.

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

We are scheduled to tour for the month of May to support the release of the record. Its a small Canadian tour that takes us out East and we have a few stops in some smaller towns but it's mostly the bigger cities we are playing. It doesn't stop there though there is already talk of going on another short tour for the summer and another month one come fall.

7. Currently you are unsigned are you looking for a label and if so what kind of label do you feel that would be a perfect fit for the music?

We are unsigned and looking to shop our album but not in any rush to get signed right from the get go. We would like to experience what it's like to tour together as a band and what the road life is really like. As for labels it really depends on what we're offered and what feels right to call this bands "home".

8. On a worldwide level how has your music been received by fans of extreme metal and deathcore?

I would say it's typical for a band at our level. We've got some awesome fans from all over the world, which is pretty crazy to think but it's one of the pros for using facebook, your site gets out there and you're able to track who and where is "liking" your page. As for metal fans go though we're on the right track i'd say. Take "Choke On Your Regret" for an example almost 700 views since it's Jan 21st release. 11 "likes" and 3 "dislikes" we win some, we loose some. Your not going to always be able to grab peoples interest but what matter is your gaining their attention and that our name is getting out there. Good or bad.

9. Are there any other projects besides this band or is this a full time line-up?

Mike has a solo project called Abigail's Threnody.. our drummer Dave Hilder and guitar player Jesse Carter jam with some buddies and had a jam band called Soundshock Labyrinth  but other then that no .. we don't have any other band's or projects that take presidence over TTWTU.

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

We Obviously want to mature musically but we won't be having standard structure to a song refering back to the label question, we like having our full creativity when writing. We are defninetely looking towards a  more matured, tighter, emotional sound. Something that will really be imprinted into the listeners mind.

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

As far as vocals go I try not to sound like someone and just go with pitches that i'm comfortable with and that sound good for that part. As for writing lyrics, I stay away from being inspired by someone else work just because I wouldn't want my work to turn out like theirs. What really interested me into trying to do vocals were such acts as Suicide Silence, Dr.Acula, Parkway Drive and Lamb of God. Jesse is heavily influenced by Zapa and even dabbles in jazz fusion and things like that. As for Dave, he's a go with the flow kinda guy, if it's good he'll listen to it. Mike has been really into older metal lately. Like, metal from early 2000's but his big influences are bands like Oceano and Suicide Silence

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

I have a daughter so I try being as much as a father figure as I can. I love my child and spend most of my free time with her. Other then that friends and being outside. I love nature and what it has to offer. Jesse and Dave are big music heads, and are jamming all the time. Mike plays a lot of video games and spends a lot of time with his girlfriend. Band consumes our lives though. Everything comes back to band. In a good way, dont get me wrong. But we all have different interests outside of music.

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

For any people out there trying to pursue music, know it's a very long and rough road but if you keep your heart in it and keep your mind focused you can accomplish anything and make your dreams come true. You have to surround youself with the right people to guide you and have a solid foundation in place to lean on, otherwise this business can chew you up and spit you out. There's always another band ready to take your place.

Flying/Graceful Murder/Metal Scrap Records/2012 CD Review

  Flying  are  a  band  from  Ukraine  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Graceful  Murder"  which  was  released  by  Metal  Scrap  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  used  at  times  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  is  coming  out  of  the  guitar  and  at  times  they  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  melodic  sounding  death  metal  riffs  that  have  some  thrash  influences  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  guitar  solos  and  leads  that  have  a  traditional  metal  feeling  to  them,  as  for  the  classical  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  they  use  finger  picking  to  add  a  different  element  to  the  music.

  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  deep  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  melodic  death  metal  screams  with  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing  and  spoken  word  parts,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  emotional  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Flying  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of this  style,  you  should  check out  this  band. RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Break  The  Spell"  "The  Answer"  and  "Reborn".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

The Tide Will Take Us/Putrid Destiny/2012 CD Review

  The  Tide  Will  Take  Us  are  a  band  from  Wasago  Beach,  Ontario,  Canada  that  plays  a  very  melodic form  of  deathcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2012  album  "Putride  Destiny".

  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  synths  they  are  only  used  for  a  few  seconds  and  they  bring  a  very  dark  and  atmospheric  sound  to  the  music.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  brutal  deathcore  with  melodic  death  metal  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  and  technical  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads  that  utilize  a  great  amount  of  skill.

  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  deep  death  metal/core  growls  and  high  pitched  melodic  death  metal  screams  with  some  hardcore/groove  metal  style  yells  being  used  at  times  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  hateful  and  everyday  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful  and  heavy  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  The  Tide  Will  Take  Us  are  a  very  good  sounding  melodic  deathcore  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE  "Concubine  Queen"  "Putrid  Destiny"  "King  Of  Damnation"  and  "The  Dead  Call".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

The Obscene Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?
 
We are a 4 man unit from the north east of England. We evolved from Death metal band Salute to the sun and Black metal band Nebula rising. The 4 members are myself (Tom - vocals) Chris (drums) Jonny (guitars) and Garry (Bass).
 

2. How would you describe your musical sound?
 
We play old school death metal with a modern day twist. Thats not to say that we use clean vocals or breakdowns. We mix the old school death metal sound with black metal elements and grindcore. Fuck the trends!
 

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores?
 
Death, murder, chaos, hatred, blasphemy, war, prostitution. All the good stuff! It's easy writing lyrics when you live in a world this disgusting!
 

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name, and why you changed it from the old name?
 
I'm not sure about the inspiration because Chris (Drums) came up with the band name. The name was changed because Salute to the sun didn't really reflect the band anymore. It was also cool for myself to join a band and start fresh, with a new name. Our lyrical content is all about the obscene side of life, The Obscene works well for us.
 

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
 
We have yet to play a live show. We aim to play some select dates in the future but at the moment we are putting all out efforts into the first full length release, Architects of Deliverance.
 

6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?
 
  We will just have to see what happens in the future. No plans to tour at this time the moment though.
 

7. Currently you are signed to Pest Records, how did you get in contact with this label and how would you describe the support that they have given you so far?
 
We are no longer with Pest Records. Originally, Chris (Drums) and Adrian at Pest were in contact and they arranged to have our EP, The Torment of Sinners, released and distributed via Pest Records. The release was a good one and it was distributed well. Pest have spread our filth all over Europe and we will always be grateful to Adrian at Pest Records for the support \m/ Chris (drums) has started his own record label, UKEM Records, so we decided it made sense to control everything ourselves.
 

8. On a worldwide level how has your music been recieved by fans of death metal and grindcore?
 
Overall, we have had a very good reception from metallers all over the globe. Our debut EP as been reviewed a fair few times now and all the feedback we are getting is positive. Cheers to everyone who got hold of a copy of The Torment of Sinners and thanks to all the reviewers! 
 

9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
 
Well, we want our future releases to not only progress musically, but we also want to move towards a more polished production. In recording The Torment of Sinner, we intentionally set out to capture that ugly and raw production. We now wish to record something that sounds just as disgusting as our EP but with a clearer and deadlier production. The material for the new album is faster, heavier and will provide more hatred than an Islamic street cleric.
 
 
 

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
 
A whole evening could be spent discussing our influences. I'll say Abored - Zyklon B and everything decent in between. Bands that i am listening to at the moment are Arkhon Infaustus, Vorkreist, Darkspace and Wulpurgisnacht. Just to name a few.
 

11. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
 
Drinking, fucking, the occult and misanthropy!
 

12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
 
Cheers for the support. The Torment of Sinners will see a re-issue in a very limited run, with new and improved artwork/package. 
 

Laceration Interview

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

Currently I am recording material for a split CD, writing more music for a full length album and gigging at least once a month.

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the newer material?

Faster, more brutal, more atmospheric and less slam. I try to combine my favourite bits of my favourite bands. The fast bits of Disgorge and Putridity with the atmosphere of Condemned, the groove of Dying Fetus and the ridiculous evil slams that Defeated Sanity throw in now and again.

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

Negative aspects of the human mind. Depression, isolation, self loathing. One song is about hating everyone and going insane and killing people to try and create your own Frankenstein race of people that won’t do anything to hurt you.

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

It was a memorable 'brutal' sounding name. I wish it was something different now but it could be worse.

5.Have you thought about adding any other musicians to the band or do you choose to keep the project solo?

Live I'm keeping it solo for sure. In the studio for the full length album I will have Chris Ryan from Party Cannon playing bass and Tom Walker from Scatorgy on drums.

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

I'd say the Death Metal Tea Parties in Glasgow and Edinburgh have been the most successful as well as the dates I played on tour with Cerebral Bore and Scordatura. The crowd were well into it and I put on a good show! My stage performance is as good as it can be for one man with a guitar, I try to keep my banter on stage quite light hearted.

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

I should have toured at least once by the end of the year but there are plans for more it's just they might not work out. I doubt I'll be playing outside of the UK in 2012 sadly.

8. Currently you are signed to UKEM Records, how did you get in contact with this label and how would you describe the support that they have given you so far?

Chris got in touch with me about reissuing my 2011 promo cd a couple of months ago and I thought I might as well jump on it. I don't consider myself 'signed' to the label, it was a one off limited run and I plan on signing a different kind of deal for the full length album. I think Chris has done a great job in trying to get the cd well distributed and reviewed and I thank him for what he has done but I do plan on moving up the ladder and seeing what happens next.

9. On a worldwide level how has your music been received by fans of death metal/

Thanks to Youtube and facebook my music is listened to across the world, I know people in Europe and the US regularly buy t-shirts and contact me on facebook. It's a good feeling. I was reached about playing a European festival but that fell through due to cost but the fact they got in touch meant a lot to me.

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

More technical. With each song I write it gets more interesting, less one dimensional. As I progress as a musician my songs will keep evolving to reflect that.

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

I mentioned some earlier but here are some bands that influence me: Disgorge, Defeated Sanity, Condemned, Inherit Disease, Putridity, Dying Fetus, Suffocation, Cerebral Effusion, Gortuary, Despondency, Brodequin, Disentomb, Embryonic Depravity, Guttural Secrete, Human Mincer, Septycal Gorge.

I've been listening to the new Condemned album pretty much as soon as it was released on constant rotation  and the last thing I bought was the Indecent Excision album. In the next week or so I'm planning on buying the material New Standard Elite records has been releasing. All the samplers sound awesome.

12. How would you describe the death metal scene in Scotland?

Getting better surprisingly. As long as it's in Edinburgh or Glasgow people are actually turning up to brutal death metal shows. Band such as myself, Scordatura, Agonised Deformity, Party Cannon and Cancerous Womb have a fairly big local following and people do turn up. Cerebral Bore are from Glasgow and are now arguably becoming one of the worlds biggest death metal bands. Every few months a new band pops up here and it is awesome!

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

Not hellish much. I go to University and spend a lot of time with my girlfriend. I'm not your average ‘metal head’, I go out to clubs and have a good time but gigs come first.

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

Check out the facebook page at www.facebook.com/LacerationUK check out the local bands I've mentioned, get excited about the upcoming releases, keep supporting the underground and thanks for the interview!