Hitwood/As A Season Bloom/2017 EP Review

  Hitwood  are  a  solo  project  from  Italy  that  plays  an  instrumental  mixture  of  melodic  death  and  post metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2017  ep  "As  A  Season  Bloom".

  Clean  guitars  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  that  also  mix  in  elements  of  post  rock  and  drum  beats  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  none  of  the  songs  ever  use  any  vocals  or  lyrics  and  always  remains  instrumental.

  A  decent  amount  of  melody  can  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length  while  also  mixing  in  a  great  amount  of  death  metal  influences  and  acoustic  guitars  are  also  utilized  briefly  along  with  a  small  amount  of  symphonic  style  synths  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  blast  beats  are  added to  the  closing  track.

  Hitwood  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  melodic  death  metal  and  mixes  it  with  post  metal  while  also  keeping  everything  instrumental  to  create  something  very  original  and  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Hitwood  are  a  very  great  sounding  instrumental  mixture  of  melodic  death  and  post  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Memories  From  A  Gentle  Summer  Evening"  and  "Awakened  By  A  Winter  Blast".  8  out  of  10.

Cytotoxin/Gammageddon/Unique Leader Records/2017 CD Review

  Cytotoxin  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  brutal  and  technical  form  of  slam  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Gammageddon"  which  will  be  released  in  July  by  Unique  Leader  Records.

  Technical  guitar  leads  and  blast  beats  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  that  also  have  their  guttural  moments  along  with  riffs  that  mix  the  brutal  and  progressive  styles  together  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording.

  Elements  of  slam  can  be  heard  in  the  mid  tempo  sections  of  the  songs  and  spoken  word  parts  cam  also  be  heard at times  along  with  a  small  amount  of  nuclear  power plant  samples  and  the  songs  also  bring  in   a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  riffs  also  mix  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  at  times.

  Cytotoxin  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  brutal  and  technical  while  also  mixing  in  elements  of  prog  and  slam,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Nuclear  Disasters  and  Chernobyl  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Cytotoxin  are  a  very  great  sounding  technical  and  brutal  death  metal  band  with  elements  of  prog  and  slam  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Radiatus  Generis" "Chernopolis" "Corium  Era"  and  "Outearthed".  8  out  of  10.   

Mordenial/The Plague/Black Lion Records/2017 CD Review

  Mordenial  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  very  melodic  from  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "The  Plague"  which  will  be  released  at  the  end  of  July  by  Black  Lion  Records.

  Clean  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  and  after  awhile  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melodic  direction  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  using  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording.

  Most  of  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  mid  90's  Swedish  tradition  along  with  the  fast  riffs  using  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  direction  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  some  of  the  riffs  also  show  a  small  amount  of  thrash  influences.

  Mordenial  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true to  the  melodic  death  metal  style  that  was  established  on  the  previous  release,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  have  a  concept  to  them  dealing  with  people  using  a  god  or  gods  to  justify  terrible  acts.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Mordenial  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  death  metal,  you  should  check  out this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKSINCLUDE  "The  Plague"  "Salvation"  "Follow  The  Cross"  and  "The  End".  8  out  of  10. 

Deus Otiosus/Opposer/Great Dane Records/2017 CD Review

  Denmark's  Deus  Otiosus  have  returned  with  a  new  recording t hat  continues  their  death  and  thrash  metal  mixture  of  previous  releases  along  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  2017  album  "Opposer"  which  was  released  by  Great  Dane  Records.

  A  very  fast  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  as  well  as  some  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  before  mixing  in  thrash  elements  and  death  metal  growls  while  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  all  of t he  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful  while  the  solos  and  leads  add  in more  of  an  old  school  extreme  metal  style  and  also  having  their  melodic  moments  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  synths  can  be  heard  and  clean  singing  is  added  onto  the  closing  track.

  Deus  Otiosus  creates  another  recording   that  remains  true  to  the  old  school  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  from  previous  releases  while  also  having  a  touch  of  black  metal  to t hem,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while   the  lyrics  cover  death,  horror,  occultism,  and  torment  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  fear  sounding recording  from  Deus  Otiosus  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  death,  black  and  thrash  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Kneel"  "Haunter"  "Return  To  Slavery"  and  "March  Of  The  Unworthy".  8  out  of  10.

 

Trinity Site Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
[Jochen]Everything started somewhere around 2009 after the split of Fulltanked, a metal cover project. Being tired of performing music of other bands, my brother and I decided to begin composing music. Every member of our band will agree that we never intended to limit ourselves to a certain musical genre. Therefore we had always strived to commit ourselves to illimitability in the process of creating our own musical trademark. Most people say it's melodic death metal and perhaps this is the closest genre we fit into, but we won't guarantee that this will always continue.

2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
Compared to our EP EX INFERIS we technically tried to achieve a stronger organic or maybe more natural sound for all instruments. For me personally it´s not that typical modern sounding record with every life squeezed out of the dynamics as you can hear a lot nowadays. Of course there are synths and samples to fill out the gaps which ought to put emphasis on some sections but we are still a band that prefers honest handmade music.

3.According to your fb page, you label your music as 'aggressive self therapy', can you tell us a little bit more about this term?
[Jochen] Haha, everyone wants to know something about this phrase. I said this five years ago during an interview for a german magazine and we placed it in our bio because it has some kind of teasing character that will inevitably lead to a lot of curiosity. Mainly it just emphasizes that I make or write music for my own needs and not to please anyone. And yes, our music is aggressive.

4.The band has been around since 2009 but so far has only released an ep and a full length, can you tell us a little bit more about the gaps in between releases?
We proudly released Ex Inferis five years ago but after that event the band suffered a lot of seemingly neverending line up changes that threw us back so often that we nearly lost track. A few songs from After the Sun have already been written in 2013 so the writing process covers all the ups and downs we endured in the past.

5.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
[Ronny] On After the Sun we concentrated on topics that will or could concern the average person in a far future. Dealing with oneself, the society and enemies for example. But we also wrote about the evolution of machines in our daily life. Humanize Me is a good example: the protagonist realizes that he is more machine than man like all other people at that point in time. Totally shocked, he wants to reverse the process.

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Trinity Site'?
Trinity Site is the name of the testing area where the first atomic bomb detonated. The code name for the bomb was Trinity. How bizarre is it to link a weapon of mass desctruction to the holy bible? This perfectly shows the madness of man.

7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Tough to describe because I haven´t seen us live, just on recordings but we seriously kick butts. Really outstanding experiences had been the Wacken Metal Battle, Out and Loud Festival, the support for Sepultura and also for Der Weg einer Freiheit.

8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
Of course we do play some shows this year but unfortunately there are no touring plans. We recently signed with a booking agency and I hope they will really help getting the gigs up and running.

9.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
We apply to labels for every release but haven´t signed one yet. Maybe we are too picky but we don´t want to sign any contract we don´t totally agree with. Mostly they want us to pay for every service or force us to transfer the song-rights. Sometimes it´s easier to stay unsigned until you make yourself a name in the scene.

10.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic death metal?
We are still alive so I think we are not that bad at all ;-) Joking apart, we receive a lot of positive feedback for our music and we already sold copies to far-off continents like Australia.

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We will make the next release sound different to After the sun like After the sun sounds different to Ex Inferis. We are still in the initial stage of our next release so I cant give you more insights on that matter at the moment.

12.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?
[Jochen] Me and my brothers all time favourite is Iron Maiden but of course we listen to all styles of metal. Sascha likes the old stuff as well but also has a strong relation to black metal. Ronny and Simon are way younger and more into these modern core-styles. Our new drummer Marc (my brother left the band during the release) has a lot of influences from jazz to technical death metal and is quite open minded about all kinds of music like the rest of us.

13.What are some of your non musical interests
[Jochen] Everyone in the band is doing sports or playing games while I am eating ;-)

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
We really want to say THANK YOU to all the people coming to our shows, buying our cds and supporting us in digital or in real life. Just for the record, one of the first songs Jochen ever wrote for Trinity Site is called thoughts;-)

Mauo Mindu Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Well, we're a close group of individuals with a common goal: creating dark, heavy, groovy music. Our guitarist, Lewis Thomas, is the original mastermind behind Maou Mindu. He founded the group and has remained diligent through variations of the group before falling upon this one. The group now consists of: myself (Max Warwick, vocalist), Lewis Thomas (rhythm guitar), Alex Juskevicius (lead guitar), Cameron Bambrick (bass), and Hugo Remilliard (drums). Three years after its conception in 2014, we're ready to take down the world one greasy pillar at a time.

2.Recently you have released an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
It is everything we wanted out of a debut release. It grinds, it slams, it mutilates. We have a common vision for the band that involves the raw aggression found in older grind music with delicate refinements found in modern death metal. We managed to achieve our vision through the recording process in the old dingy basement of our previous jamspace and living spaces of various band members. It is a validation of what can be done in minimalist arrangements from an underground band. At the end of the day, it rips.


3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
I personally write all the lyrics, sometimes inspired by song titles credited to Lewis. The lyrical content is typical to the death metal style. A lot of grotesque imagery of death in many forms (and sometimes some societal commentary). However, I try and separate myself by telling intriguing stories behind the gore. Take "Skullfucking the Trepanned" for example... This involves imagery of one literally having intercourse with the hole bored in another's skull. I try to take it to another level by personifying the "clarity" of infinity and the conscious state one might achieve through trepanation. Then I fuck their skull.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Maou Mindu'?
Maou Mindu was named by Lewis, who comes from an aboriginal background. The meaning behind the name, in his native tongue, is the "devil" or the "trickster". Certainly suitable for the dark music we are creating.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Since forming the new lineup we've played just one show. We have another coming up this weekend. Our live performance is energetic and engaging. I like to get in people's faces and really connect with them on an intense level. We'll be pushing more live shows over the next year as we continue working on new music.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Just the show this weekend currently. But we'll be planning on more, and pushing out into Quebec as well as toward the rest of Ontario.

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
So far we haven't looked into any record labels. The stage of the process we're in is manageable independently, although perhaps gauging the response on a second release will have us seeking label support.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal and grindcore?
It has been fantastic. We've received support from several media outlets around Canada, the US, UK, and Europe. More than we could have asked for from a debut release.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
I can definitely see us taking things to a further extreme as things move on. Our newest material that we are debuting live this weekend, is faster, heavier, more technical, and more complex in musical arrangements than any previous installments. Just taking things to that next gear.

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?
Definitely inspired by various levels of grind from Exhumed to Cattle Decapitation. Also bands like Bloodbath, Amputory, Cephalic Carnage. Personally I've been listening to a lot of Rumplestiltskin Grinder lately as well as my buddies' band Voltang. Some good up-tempo tunes to get the day going.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
I can't speak on behalf of the other members interests, although I've heard something about Lewis trying on women's clothing and reciting the lines to Titanic in the mirror... But in all seriousness, I like to write. I've been working on a sci-fi horror novel for some time. That and video games are pretty much what take up my spare time.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Would just like to thank you for your time to ask these questions and help get us out there. For the readers, if you like some really heavy music, go over to maoumindu.bandcamp.com right now and download the album. It'll make you hate yourself and punch your teeth through your tits and it'll be great. Cheers.
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Maou Mindu/Grind Against Humanity/2017 EP Review

  Maou  Mindu are  a  band  from  Ottawa,  Ontario,  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released 2016  ep  'Grind  Against  Humanity".


  A  very  heavy  death  metal  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  a  small  amount  of  melody  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  after  awhile  high  pitched  screams  and  death  metal  growls  are  added  into  the  music along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.

  During  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  a  great  amount  of  grindcore  elements  can  be  heard  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  some  of  the  mid  tempo  sections  add  in a   touch  of  slam  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  added  onto  the  recording they  give  the  music  more of  an  old  school  death  metal  feeling  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  bass  guitar  leads  while  some  technical  elements  are  added  onto  the  closing  track.

  Mauo Mindu  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  old  school  forms  of  death  metal  and  grindcore  and  add  in  a  touch  of  modern  slam  to  create  something  very  different,  the production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Maou  Mindu  are  a  very  sounding  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  "