Spirit Of Rebellion/The Enslavement Process/PRC Music/2015 CD Review

 Spirit  Of  Rebellion  are  a  band  from  Canada  that  plays a  very  brutal  form  of  death  metal  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "The  Enslavement  Process"  which  was  released by  PRC  Music.

Dark  sound  effects  start  off  the  album  along  with  the  sounds  of  human  torture  which  also  leads  up  to  a  heavier  musical  direction  that  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  and  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  to  speed  up.

  In  the  faster  sections  of  the  music  a  great  amount  of  brutal  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  vocals  are  death  metal  growls  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  bring  in  even  more  of  a  chaotic  death  metal style  and  some  riffs  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  blackened  death  metal  and  one  track  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  high  pitched  screams  and  all of  the  songs  also  remain  true  to  a  very  heavy  and  brutal  style.

  Spirit  Of  Rebellion  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  heavy  and  brutal  while  also  bringing  in  a  blackened  touch  at  times,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  violent  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Spirit  Of  Rebellion  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  death  metal  band  with  a  blackened  touch  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE "The  Apology  to  Nothingness"  "Kingdom  Of  Cowards"  and  "Bringer  Of  End".  8  out  of  10.

Ad Vitam/Stratosfear/Revalve Records/2016 CD Review

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

  Natrure  sounds  and  tribal  beats  along  with  some  synths  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavier  musical  direction  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  a  lot  of  melody  in  the  music  and  they  also  mix  the  symphonic  and  heavy  parts  together.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  remain  true  to  a  very  melodic  musical  direction   and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  they  also  mix  in  a  great  amount  of  progressive  elements  and  song  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid paced  and  fast  parts.

  You  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  and  some  of  the  songs  also  mix  in  a  great  amount  of  modern  metal  influences and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks a re  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  they  also  bring  in  2  brief  instrumentals  and  towards  the  end  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing  along  with  a  small  amount  of  violins. 

  Ad  Vitam  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  melodic,  progressive  and  symphonic  while  also  mixing  in  a  great  amount  of  modern  metal  elements  to  create  a  style  of t heir  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  introspection  and  divine  meditation.

  In  my  opinion  Ad  Vitam  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  progressive  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should c heck out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "There  Was  Blood  Everywhere"  "Six  Feet  under  My Sins"  "Plagues  Of  Nothing"  and  "Fall  Of  Collective  Consciousness".  8  out  of  10.

 

Hemotoxin/Biological Enslavement/Unspeakable Axe Records/2016 CD Review

  Hemotoxin  are  a  band  from  California  that  plays  a  melodic  and  progressive  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  along  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Biological  Enslavement"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  Unspeakable  Axe  Records.

 Melodic  and  technical  guitar  riffs  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  drum  beats  before  getting  even  more  heavier and  also  adding  in  screaming  vocals  and  th e music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  and  spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  at  times  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  it  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  blast beats.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  add  even  more  melody,  talent,  and  skill  to  the  recording  while  also  being  very  progressive  at  times  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  a  lot  of  the  vocals  and  riffs  go  back  to  a  mid  80's  style  of  thrash  while  also  being  very  close  to  the  earlier  death  metal  style  of  that  time  period.

  You can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  and  some  songs  also bring  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  the  also  bring  in  an  instrumental  track  which  also  demonstrates  how  talented  they  are  on  their  instruments  before  closing  the  album  with  another  vocal  song. 

  Hemotoxin  plays  a  musical  style  that  goes  back  to  the  mid  80's  and  early  90's  styles  of  death  and  thrash  metal  while  also  taking  the  music  into  more  of  a  progressive  and  melodic  direction  and  adding  in  a  touch  of  black  metal  to  create  a  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  old  school  yet  professional  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  gore,  science  fiction  and  Lovecraft  themes. 

  In  my  opinion  Hemotoxin  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  progressive 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  "Regression"  "Forgotten  Faces"  "The  Alchemist"  and  "Transparent  Lies".  8  out  of  10.

Ahtme/The Demonization/Unique Leader Records/2016 CD Re-Issue Review

  Athme(formerly  known  as  The  Roman  Holiday)  are  a  band  from  Kansas  City,  Missouri  that  plays  a  mixture  of  technical  death  metal  and  deathcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "The  Demonization" which  will  be  re-issued  in  March  of  2016  by  Unique  Leader  Records.

  Sci  fi  sound  effects  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  musical  direction  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  blast  beats  and  you  can  also  hear  a  lot  of  melody  and  technical  elements  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  music  can  also  get  very  progressive  in  some  parts  of  the  songs.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  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  songs  also  mix  in  a  great  amount  of  groove  elements  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  As  the  album  progresses  high  pitched  screams  start  getting  mixed  in  the  songs  a  lot  more  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  in  more  of  a  technical  style  onto  the  recording  and  you  can  hear  a  lot  of  deathcore  influences  in  the  mid  tempo  sections  of  the  songs.and  they  also  bring  in  a  brief  acoustic  instrumental  before  making  a  return  back  to  a  heavier  direction  on  the  remaining  tracks.

  Athme  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  a  modern,  brutal  and  technical  form of  death  metal  and  mixes  it  with  deathcore  while  also  adding  in  melody  and  groove  to  make  the music  stand  out  a  bit  more,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  violent  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Athme  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  technical  death  metal  and  deathcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Trainwreck"  "The  Demonization" and  "Blood  Turned  To  Saline".  8  out  of  10.

Verment Interview

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



We are a four piece band that formed in 2012. We have elements of death, thrash, and black metal. We have been playing shows in the Cincinnati metal scene for a while and are now expanding into other cities.



2. So far you have recorded 2 ep's, 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 first EP we did was titled “The Filth EP” the songs are very fast with some grind and slam elements. That one was recorded and put up to stream in 2013. We were very happy with the performances on the demo (recorded live in studio at 3rd Street music Hamilton, Ohio) but the production quality just wasn’t there, nothing against the engineers but our sound was something way different from what they normally worked with. So we passed it out at shows but decided not to press it. Maybe on day it will be some bonus tracks.

Death’s Domain is slated to release officially on April 1st 2016. We have been recording it over the course of 6 months or so on the weekends whenever we had time off of work, so it took a little while to get everything together. We tracked, mixed and mastered with Brian “Bone” Thorburn at his studio in Indianapolis, Indiana called Threshold Studios. We are over excited with the quality of our recording.



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



Death’s Domain covers topics about human failure, evil entities, and metaphorical darkness.



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



Verment is a combination of the words, ferment and vermin, which means to become vermin like, representing the devolution of man.



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



We have shared the stage with a lot of awesome bands from the Cincinnati area like Lucis Absentia (formally Gomorrah), Valdrin, and War Curse. Those are usually the most fun with the best turnouts. Our stage performance is fast and aggressive. We try to keep the energy up from start to finish.











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



With the EP releasing soon, we haven’t had much time to book shows, although we do have a big show coming up opening for Rivers of Nihil in Dayton, OH, where we will begin selling Death’s Domain. We hope to begin booking more shows as soon as possible.



7. Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any have interest?



We have been fortunate enough to be able to release Death’s Domain independently. We hope this release will give us exposure and lead to an opportunity to work with a label.



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



Since this is our first official release, we haven’t had very much exposure outside of Ohio. We are looking forward to bringing our sound across America and beyond.



9. Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?



Our bass player, Eric Payne, is currently playing with War Curse.



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



Progressing the sound is crucial. We hope to continue bringing elements of death, black and thrash together to create a unique, extreme sound.



11. 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?



Bands like Morbid Angel, The Black Dahlia Murder, Suffocation and Dying Fetus have been big influences for us. Current favorites include Behemoth, Black Breath, Spawn of Possession and Obscura.



12. What are some of your non musical interests?



Some things we like to do outside of the band include; bowling, climbing, frisbee, checking out movies and documentaries, going out to eat, video games, the gym for some of us, and just kicking back and having some laughs.





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



Check out all the bands we mentioned earlier, follow us on social media where you can check out Death’s Domain and find out where you can see us live.

Efpix/Evil Sides/Sliptrick Records/2016 CD Review

  Efpix  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  mixture  of  industrial  and  melodic  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Evil  Sides"  which  will  be  released  on  February  26th  by  Sliptrick  Records.

  Underground  industrial  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  heavy  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  a  few  seconds  later and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  they  also  mix  in  a  lot  of  electronic  elements  with  the  heavier  parts.

  Clean  singing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them and  the  synths  bring  in  an  atmospheric  sound  to  the songs  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great amount  of  melody  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  very  melodic  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  music  focuses  more  of  a  mid  paced  direction.

  Efpix  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  brutal  and  melodic  death  metal  and  mixes  it  with  industrial,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  science  fiction  and  Occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Efpix  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  industrial  and  melodic  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,   you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "God  Is  Our  Entity"  "Evil  Sides"  "Space  Invaders"  and  "The  Slave  Of  Satan".  8  out  of  10.   

 

Mythrias Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
1.    As of now we are kind of lying low and getting some writing in as well as rehearsing new songs. In fact, after I am done typing this I will shovel my walks and get to work on new material. Haha!

2.SO far the band has released 2 ep's, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings and also how do they differ from each other?
2.    Well as far as direction went for the writing, the songs on both releases were actually all written around the same time. In fact the title track off of Absolving the Treacherous was the first song we wrote yet we felt it would be better on the second release. I would say if you were to compare the two, our first demo The Rise of Mythrias might be more of a kind of “showcase” if you will, of the style of songs we write. It goes from outright thrashy to more melodic yet still aggressive, to epic and more melody-driven. Absolving the Treacherous has more of a melodic, aggressive vibe I feel. The Rise of Mythrias is maybe more calculated and precise, while Absolving the Treacherous is more of throwing care to the wind and is just an all-out assault.

3.The lyrics cover Occultism and Mythology themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these  topics?
3.    I’ll be honest, I don’t have my singer with me here and he writes almost all of the lyrics, so I will try to do my best to answer that question. I personally love mythology and I am sure Taylor (our singer) will agree that what draws me to it is the grandiosity and timelessness. This can be applied to occultism as well, I feel that we may touch on that subject a bit, but for the most part the mythology theme is the more prominent in our lyrics. Mythology gives us insight to other cultures and can reveal that culture’s values and fears. You can learn much from it, but even without all of that, they are just really cool stories.

4.I know that the bands name comes from an ancient religion that was once practiced in India, Persia and Rome, how did you get interest in this subject?
4.    Again, this was our singer’s doing. Haha! The religion you’re speaking of is the Mithraic Mysteries as it’s come to be known.  From what Taylor has told me, it was a religion that anthropologists have not found much about. The one thing that is constant in their findings is that the followers worshipped the god Mythras. Taylor basically used the ‘mysteries’ as a sort of inspiration and thought it could be adapted into a story. A few of our songs have a reoccurring theme based on this. Taylor came up with the name “Mythrias” to mean the new world that the followers of this religion will bring about as they rise to power.

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.    Mythrias had some incredible shows in 2015, I dare say some of our best and easily the best shows I have personally been a part of! The beginning of the year was a little rocky, we were still testing the waters with our new drummer at the time, Matt. Come May, we opened for Septic Flesh and Moonspell at the Agora Theater in Cleveland and it was absolutely exhilarating! In September we opened for Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum at the Agora Ballroom and had our EP release show at Annabell’s in Akron. I think it’s safe to say the Insomnium show may have been our best we played, the crowd reaction was astounding and we sold almost half of all the merch we had! Haha! The EP release show was awesome as well, Annabell’s is a small venue, but that didn’t stop so many people from going nuts while we were playing. I absolutely loved it!

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
6.    Right now we only have one other show booked in March. I’m not sure if a full-blown tour is possible for us at the moment, but one of my goals for the band is to broaden our horizons for sure. Playing in Pennsylvania, Columbus, and even the Toledo and southern Michigan areas are goals for sure. I want to try to do at least one of those before the year is over. After that, who knows?

7.On the ep you had done a cover of The Offspring's  "The  Kids  Aren't Alright', what was the decision behind doing your own version of one of their songs?
7.    We talk about doing a lot of covers among the band, usually with mixed reactions between the members. I actually don’t even remember who first brought up the idea of doing The Kids Aren’t Alright. Someone sort of reminded me about it at one of our practices and played the song on youtube. The rest of the guys were up for it and I was too. I went to work trying to see how I could ‘Mythrize’ the song so to speak (please pardon the terrible pun.) After I had a sort of working arrangement and showed it to the guys, everyone was completely on board and it just went seamlessly. It’s an extremely fun song and it seems to get a lot of positive reaction from crowds and reviewers alike.

8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
8.    For the most part, we are not desperately looking for a label. If something comes up that is very much in our favor, then we might jump on board. But for the most part, we are not actively pursuing anything. We were approached by a label based in our area with a deal that wasn’t terrible last year, but we figured that it’d be better for us to do those tasks by ourselves for the time being.

9.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?
9.     For the most part the only one of us in another band is Matt. He plays drums in Fully Consumed and has since the band’s inception in 2003. They released their second full length last year called Incendium and have done fairly well with it. I personally think it’s a great album! I don’t have him with me at the moment, so I’m not sure what their plans are for the future.

10.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
10.    A goal of mine for the band is to at least start working on a full length this year. I’d love to have one out by the end of the year, but I’m not sure if we’re ready. In my perfect world, we’d have one out early 2017. I have some potential ideas for songs that might be on a full-length. Musically, I’d like to “broaden our extremes” so to speak. Our heavy, evil-sounding stuff gets heavier and eviler and our melodic, epic stuff gets more so. I’d love to introduce some atmospheric elements and clean passages in some of the new stuff as well.
11.What are some of your non musical interests
.    Non-musical stuff for me is fairly boring. Haha! Lately I’ve been playing video games for the first time in probably a couple years. I have a passion for microbrews, wine, and mead as well. I watch some TV shows like Game of Thrones and Vikings to name a couple. I’ll indulge in some anime from time to time too. I just finished one yesterday called Steins;gate and if you are a fan of that stuff, I highly recommend it! I know I probably went down a few notches on the ‘kvlt’ meter with that one. Haha! Between work and band stuff there’s little room for much else really.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
12.    Thanks so much for having me on! Really great questions! Be sure to check us out at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mythrias/
Bandcamp: https://mythrias1.bandcamp.com/
and Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdugB9om_KkLrW5hNpRqudQ
Thanks again! \m/