Orion Interview

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

Off late we've been working on new material for the the full length album scheduled to launch early next year.

2.So far you have released an EP, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on it?

In its true sense, On The Banks Of Rubicon was the was our first attempt at finding  our sound. It was a mix of our influences and aspirations. In the end it turned out to be better than we thought we were capable of and now we're only more motivated to get even better.

3.There has not been any new material since 2012, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?

We take our time with new material. It becomes a song only when all of us are convinced it couldn't be any better than it already is. The last two years, we've focused more on touring and making our presence felt in the scene here. The last couple of months though have been all about the next album. We're very excited about it.

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

Our lyrics mostly revolve around our emotions. We find larger than life parallels that add grandeur to the songs and at the same time help listeners relate to them at a more personal level. On the Banks of Rubicon is about the moments of contemplation that one faces before taking a life decision from which there is no return. That's why the art work shows a man on the ledge of a building. If he jumps there is no turning back. He is literally on the banks of Rubicon.

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

While we'd like to believe its origins come from Greek mythology or the constellation,  the name originated back in the when our music was heavily inspired by Metallica. We named ourselves Orion as a tribute to the late Cliff Burton.

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

Among some of the most recent shows was the Wacken Metal Battle India finals that was held in Bangalore.  Other than that we've been playing local shows in Jaipur, Hyderabad, Pune and other cities across the country. Our live act is simple. We're driven by the crowd actually. The louder they get, the better we play. Unlike many other metal bands, we don't take ourselves so seriously. In the end we make sure the crowd has as much fun as we do in stage.

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

We're playing at the Catatonia Fest being held in Mumbai on 2nd November. Other than that there are other shows in the pipelines that will be announced soon.

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

Whatever global reviews and response we've received has so far been very positive and that's a huge encouragement for us. We do get compared to bands like Opeth a lot. Hey, who wouldn't want to be on the same list as them?

9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are involved with?

All our band members have other projects too. Vignesh our frontman and guitarist also plays for an Indian Horror Metal giant Albatross. They recently toured Australia and is working on conquering other parts of the world as well. Our other guitarist Ashwin also plays in a Hindi metal band named Vajra. Even though this is India, you see very few of those. They just released their first EP which is quickly climbing the charts here. Our drummer Pritesh plays sessions for many projects and tours with numerous bands as their sound engineer.

10.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

The full length is definitely be out early next year. With he momentum the band has caught recently, we see it growing quickly, both in terms of success as well as musical proficiency. A few international tours are definitely top on the wish list. And with the pace at which Indian metal is evolving, that wouldn't be too far away.

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?

Our influences are ever changing. From Metallica to Opeth to Necrophagist, Death, to even Meshuggah and Gojira, they've all inspired us to do what we do today.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Well.....beer.

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



Metal cures all.

Darkall Slaves/Transcendental State Of Absolute Suffering/Permeated Records/2014 CD Review

  Darkall  Slaves  are  a  band  from  France  which  have  also  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  brutal  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Transcendental State Of Absolute Suffering'  which  was  released  by  permeated  Records.

  Dark  sound  effects  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  war  sounds  and  spoken  word  samples  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  into  a  brutal  death  metal  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  a  good  mixture  of  growls  and  screams  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  In  some  of  the  vocals  you  can  hear  some  deathcore  influences  with  the  guttural  approach  and  the  band  also  brings  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts and  as  the  album progresses  the  music  starts  adding  in  more  technical  parts  while  also  remaining  very  brutal  at  the  same  time  and  halfway  through  the  album  there  is  a  brief  interlude  before  returning  back  to  a  brutal  direction  which  also  shows  the  band  bringing  in  traces  of  slam  death  metal.

  Darkall  Slaves  creates  another  brutal  sounding  death  metal  album  that  also  bring s in  a  variety  of  many  styles  of  this  genre  and  there  is  never  a  soft  moment  present  on  the  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  gore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Darkall  Slaves  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Litany  Of  Martyrs"  "Disfigure"  and  "Mindless  Damnation".  8  out  of  10.        

May The Silence Fail/Of Hope And Aspiration/Supreme Chaos Records/2014 CD Review

  May  The  Silence  Fail  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Of  Hope  And  Aspiration"  which  was  released  by  Supreme Chaos  Records.

   A  very  modern,  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  a  few  seconds  later  blast  beats  are  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  band  also  uses  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  bringing  in  clean  singing  female  vocals.

  Metalcore  and  deathcore  elements  can  be  heard  on  a  regular  basis  throughout  the  recording  along  with  a  great  amount  of  melodic  guitar  leads  and  a  perfect  balance  between  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  band  adds  in  traces  of  the  90's  and  early  2000's  melodic  death  metal  sound  in  with  their  more  modern  musical  influences.

   As  the  album  progresses  violins  and  electronic  music  elements  are  added  into  some  of  the  songs  for  a  few  seconds  while  one  of  the  later  tracks  also  shows  acoustic  guitars  being  added  into  the  music  while  the  music  remains  mostly  in  a  very  heavy  direction  that  show s  growls  and  clean  singing  alternating  between  each  other.

  May  The  Silence  Fail  plays  a  style  of  melodic death  metal  that  takes  the  old  school  Gothenburg  sound  and  mixes  it  in  with  the  more  modern  variation  of  the  genre  as  well  as  adding  in  a  touch  of  metalcore  into  their  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  May The  Silence Fail  are  a  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  "Gods  Are  Long  Since  Dead"  "Nothing  Left"  "Without  Knowing"  and  "When  Time  Is  Asleep".  7/8  out  of  10.

   

 
  

Orion/On The Banks of Rubicon/Transcending Obscurity India/2014 EP Re- Issue Review

  Orion  are  a  band  from  India  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  progressive  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  ep  "On  the  Banks  of  Rubicon"  which  was  re-issued  by  Transcending  Obscurity  India in  the  year  of  2014.

  A  very  dark,  melodic  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  solos  and  leads  and  a  few  seconds  later  blast  beats  are  added  into  the  music along  with  death  metal  growls,  high  pitched  screams  and  clean  playing  being  utilized  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  band  also  uses  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  At  times  the  band  adds  in  clean  singing  which  also  enhance  the  progressive  and  dark  nature  of  the  bands  musical  style  and  you  cam  also  hear  a  lot  of  classic  melodic  metal  influences  in  the  way  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  approached  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Orion  creates  a  very  dark  and  melodic  style  of  progressive  death  metal with  their  musical  sound  while  also  having  their  brutal  moments  and  a  slight  black  metal  edge,  the  production  sound s very  dark  and  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and poetic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Orion  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  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Devoured  Existence"  and  "My  Dying  prayer".  8  out  of  10. 

Foul Body Autopsy/So Close To Dehumanization/Grindscene Records/2014 EP Review

  Foul  Body  Autopsy  are  a  1  man  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  very  brutal  form  of  gore/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2014  ep  "So  Close  To  Dehumanization"  which  will  be  released  in November  by  Grindscene  Records.

  A  very  heavy  and  brutal  death  metal  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  blast  beats,  growls  and  technical  riffing  and  a  few  seconds  later  high  pitched  screams  are  added  into  the  music  and  then  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  mid  paced  direction  and  adds  in  a  different  style  of  vocals  for  a  few  seconds  before  making  a  return  back  to  a  more  brutal  while  also  mixing  in  the  other  style  and  you  can  also  hear  some  black  metal  in  the  sound  at  times.

  On  the  second  track  the  music  starts  out  with  more  of  an  old  school  death  metal  sound  before  going  more  brutal  and  adding  in  a  mixture  of  growls  and  screams  along  with  a  small  amount  of  deathcore  style  vocals  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  getting  more  brutal  and  blackened  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  melodies.

  Foul  Body  Autopsy  creates  a  very  brutal  style  of  death  metal  with  his  sound  which  combines  a  variety  of  many  different  death  metal styles  that  also  makes  the  ep  have  a  more  original  sounding  edge,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  gore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Foul  Body  Autopsy  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  death  metal  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "So Close To  Complete  Dehumanization".  8  out  of  10.

 

Dead Samaritan Interview

Variety Of Death Zine Interview 2014

V = Valendis Suomalainen
M = Marko Saarinen


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

V: We've been playing some gigs and so on. The guys are also working on some new riffs and ideas, so the coming winter will be spent rehearsing new killer songs!

M: Like Valendis said, playing gigs of course. But even more importantly we’ve been working on the album promotion ‘cos after all if nobody knows you, you don’t get any gigs. And since we know we have a good quality album on our hands now, we need to keep on forging the iron while it’s hot and make more good music.


In September you had released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

V: In my opinion with ”The Devil Tunes” we have defined our own, unique style. We know what we're doing and aren't afraid to try new ideas. This time we've also put extra effort on the production, as we really wanted this album to sound good.

M: Yeah, the reviews we’ve had so far have kept saying we’ve developed something recognizable. I suppose most of the elements have been in our music before, now we’ve just found a good balance between different atmospheres and tempos. You can hardly ever emphasize too much the word “dynamics” when it comes to metal music.


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

M: Some songs concern the individual’s need for freedom and rebellion, like in songs “The Devil’s Tune” or “Raise a Riot”. Some just simply depict gruesome stories that I hope would spark the listener’s imagination (“The Madman’s Portrait”, “In for the Kill”). One thing that has always come up in Dead Samaritan songs, is releasing your anger, and I’d say the song “Out With Your Feet First” does just that, which is natural as it’s dedicated to Dirty Harry etc.
Other themes we write about are war, greed for power, religion and stuff like that. If the topic is more serious, we mostly try to write them in a way that would give you something to think about. The lyrics have to fit the mood of the song too, and we definitely have our serious and not so serious sides.

V: We're not stuck with any certain theme. I myself am into occult, old legends and horror stories, which can be clearly seen in lyrics written by me. Some of our lyrics are pretty serious (like, for example ”Last Man Wears the Crown” which is basically a story of someone so blinded by his will for power and glory that he destroys the whole land he wishes to conquer and ends up ruling an empty, barren waste), but there are also those that are not to be taken quite so seriously. When Marko sent me the lyrics for ”The Devil's Tune” I was laughing like, dude, seriously? “The night is getting hotter with my Thunder Hammer”, whaaaaat? The song in question is one of my favorites from the new album, though – it gets me in a good mood.


The band was originally known as 'The Beauty Of Ding', what was the decision behind the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Dead Samaritan'?

M: In 2003 I felt the band was changing from the melodic Gothenburg-esque direction to a more thrash-oriented and more aggressive direction, and as our first guitarist had to be sacked at that time, I also wanted to get rid of the name “The Beauty Of Dying”.
The moniker “Dead Samaritan” had been lingering in my head for a while, and there actually was already a song by that name, it just has never been recorded. To me the name “Dead Samaritan” is something really, really cold, nihilistic and declarative.


What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

M: Dead Samaritan is very furious onstage. If you don’t break a decent sweat playing live, you ain’t worth buying a ticket, let alone watching.

V: Dead Samaritan is at its best on the stage. Our live shows are very energetic and we tend to give our 100 % best every time, no matter how big the audience is or what the venue is like.


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

M: No published plans to discuss now, but something’s always in the works. You’ll find out about our doings just by following us on Facebook and such.


The new album was self released but the band has worked with a label before, are you open to working with another label again in the future or do you prefer the DIY approach?

V: We like to keep our options open. It's pretty damn hard to get a deal with decent terms with any label these days, at least for a rather unknown band like us. If such a good deal was available for us, then why not. But we rather do everything ourselves than get stuck with a bad deal.

M: Personally I’ve been let down, even betrayed by label folks so I’m very cautious about them, and I like the idea of holding all the threads in our own hands. Of course you have to work a lot more when you go DIY but you also get all the reward, and besides punk bands have always done these things themselves, why couldn’t we? I love making music so much so I’d do it anyway, money or not.
I detest all the money-grabbing people who say they’re in it for the music but who in reality just try to rip you off every time they can. But like Valendis said, if the right choice came up, why not hook up with a label too.


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

M: We’ve been getting a lot of good feedback, and we’ve received a lot of enquiries to come and play abroad. Which we’d be more than happy to do!


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

V: I've also been a proud member of a doom/death-oriented band called Herem since 2005. With Herem we are currently working on our third album.

M: Our second guitarist Matti Viholainen plays in a sort of a dance music group and our drummer Janne Honkanen has some less serious side projects. I personally have been toying with ideas of a traditional heavy metal band and a very dirty Motörhead-esque death metal act, but haven’t yet turned it into flesh so to speak.


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

M: Remains to be seen but at the moment I think we might have some more pure “one-string” death metal, punk and rock ‘n’ roll influences included. We’re going to keep the main idea pretty much the same as long as it feels good, but of course we try to top ourselves every time we make a new record. Meaning we’re just gonna make better and better songs.


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

M: We’ve been heavily influenced by bands like Carcass, At The Gates, Deathrow (GER), Overkill, Exodus, Accept, Judas Priest and so on, but we’ve also caught a lot from old style rock ‘n’ roll, punk and such. I listen to a lot of different styles of heavy music mostly, but it could be pretty much anything, and mostly it is dark-spirited. It could be anything from Nekromantheon to Nick Cave, from Primordial to Portishead, from Dead Kennedys to Bathory, from King Diamond to Anaal Nathrakh etc. Lately I’ve been listening to Hatriot, Vanize and Dick Dynamite & The Doppelgängers.


What are some of your non musical interests?

M: Sports like European football, then nature, antiques, comedy, Scottish whisky and the female mind. The latter will always remain a mystery.

V: I'm a boring bookworm.


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

M: A huge Thank You for making this Dead Samaritan interview possible, so cheers, and keep your metal hard! You can do that by getting your hands on our Devil Tunes album.

In Sanity Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
We're IN SANITY from Paderborn, Germany, a small town in West Germany. The band started out as the brainchild of our singer back in 2010, and added a full lineup in 2011. Since then, the band devoted most of its time to writing the debut record.

2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
The sound we strived for is a contemporary interpretation of the Gothenburg sound as popularized by bands like At The Gates, In Flames and others, mixed with a modern approach regarding some of the groove elements and chorus structures.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Our lyrics are mainly based around personal topics, stuff the individual band members have had to go through as well as some societal topics. We don't really want to give away too much regarding the lyrics, because we believe that the listener should have the opportunity to find individual meaning in the songs. They can mean something entirely different to us than to the listener, and that is a great way of exploring lyrics in a very personal way.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'In Sanity'?
The name 'In Sanity' resembles the thin line between the sane and insane in our world. Not only do these aspects appear to have a seamless transition, but they can often not be distinguished from another. The question 'what is sane, what is insane?' is the underlying theme of the album and, as mentioned, open for interpretation.

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've played a couple of shows in Germany, and so far the best have been in our home area of East-Westphalia. We also had the great opportunity of playing an outdoor festival for the first time this year, which was a whole other experience and very refreshing.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We're in the midst of booking shows for 2015 and hope to build up on the great shows we've had. While it is a very far stretch and will take a good while, we would be thrilled to have the opportunity of playing in the United States one day, especially since one of our guitar players is from the US.

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic death metal?
It's probably still a bit early to tell, but so far we've received generally positive feedback. Most people seem to welcome us because we apparently fill in a small musical void that resulted from an absence of melodic death metal the way we play it, at least that is one of the most common comments we receive.

8.Are the band members also involved with any other musical projects or bands?
Yes, our bass player Andrey is in a punk rock band with russian lyrics called Vostok Import. You can check them out on www.facebook.com/vostokimport.

Our guitar player John is in a hardcore and thrash influenced death metal band called SULAMITH (www.facebook.com/sulamithband). They will be releasing their first full-length shortly and embark on a 10-date tour of Germany in December.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We will continue to build on our 90s melodic death metal sound and influences while adding sonic diversity and getting more into the groove elements. That's roughly the plan, but there's no way of predicting what the next album is going to sound like. It's down to the songwriting chemistry, and the unpredictable nature of the creative process is what makes playing music fun in the first place.

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?
We wear our influences on our sleeves bands like Dark Tranquility, At The Gates, Carcass and In Flames are very apparent influences in our music. As for our listening tastes: we have pretty much every walk of metal, so to speak, in our band, with some of us listening to the more Swedish sounding bands, others are more into the full-on groove and death metal thing and some others are more rock-oriented listeners.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
There are interests outside of the music world? ;-)

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Yes, we would like to thank Variety of DeathZine for this great interview opportunity and we would like to thank everybody who has listened to our album and commented on it. Your feedback is much appreciated and we hope you enjoyed our work. We hope to see you guys soon live!