Ossuaire/Le Troubadour Necrophageophile/Nihilistic Holocaust/2015 Cassette Re-Issue Review

      Ossuaire  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  gore/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2005  demo  "Le  Troubadour  Necrophageophile"  which  was  re-issued  on  cassette  in  2015  by  Nihilistic  Holocaust.

  A  very  dark  and  haunting  horror  movie  style  intro  starts  off  the  ep  and  a  few  seconds  later  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  death  metal direction  along  with  growling  vocals  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  music  also  bring s in  grim s creams  at  times.

  The  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  death  metal  sound  but  has  more  of  a  guttural  and  brutal  approach  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats   and  you  can hear  a  heavy  grindcore  influence  throughout  the  recording  and  the  leads  that  are  utilized  add  more  of  a  chaotic  atmosphere  to  the  music  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slwo,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

    Ossuaire  bring  back  the  gore/death  metal  style  which  they  also  mix  in  with  a  touch  of  grindcore,  to  create  some  brutal  music,  the  production  sounds  very  raw,  old  school  and  powerful  all  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  torture,  gore  and  strange  sexual  practices.

  In  my  opinion    Ossuaire  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  gore/death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  cassette.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Le  Fleau"  and  "Trolla  Infectum  Phallus".  8  out  of  10.  

Fetid Zombie/Grotesque Creation/Metalhit/Morbid Visions/2015 CD Review

  Fetid  Zombie  are  a  band  from  Virginia  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  gore/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their 2015  album  "Grotesque  Creation"  which  will  be  released  in  February  as  a  joint  effort  between  Metalhit  and  Morbid  Visions  and  also  has  a  quest  on  each  track  from  legendary  death  and  black  metal  bands.

  A  very  melodic  and  distorted  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  an  old  school death  metal  direction  along  with  a  good  mixture  of  growls  and  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  a  small  amount  of  keyboards  in  some  parts  of  the  tracks  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to t hem.

  At  times  you  can  hear  Greek  black  metal  influences  being  mixed  in  with  an  old  school  death  metal  sound  and  the  solos  and  leads  that  are  utilized  are  in  more  of  a  melodic  direction  and  also  bring  in  traditional  metal  influences at  times  and  in  some  parts  classical  guitars  can  be  heard  and  a  lot  of  the  songs  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  thrash  and  heavy  metal/hard  rock  elements.

  As  the  album  progresses  spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  a  later  track  also  bring s in  clean  singing  male  and  female  vocals  that  also  have  an  operatic  edge to t hem  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  members  of  Rotting  Christ,  Varathron,  Necromantia,  Horrendous,  Arsis,  Crucified  Mortals,  Zemial,  Thou  Art  Lord,  Soulskiller,  Sverg,  Waxen,  Swamp,  and  Yamatu.

  Fetid  Zombie  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  old  school  and  also  brings  in  a  touch  of  the  more  melodic  Greek  black  metal  sound  to  create  a  very  dark  and  heavy  sounding  recording,  the  production  sound s very  old  school  yet  professional  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  horror  and  gore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Fetid  Zombie  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  death  metal  band  with  a  touch  of  black  and  traditional  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS INCLUDE  "Entombed  Existence"  "Razor-Sharp  Attack"  "Death's  pallor"  and  "The  Outstretched  Hand  of  Rotten  Death".  8  out  of  10.





            

D.A.M/The Awakening/2014 CD Review

  D.A.M  ate  a  band  from  Brazil  that  has  been  featured before  in  this  zine  which  also  plays  a  very  melodic  and  symphonic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "The  Awakening".

  A  very  symphonic,  epic  and  classical  influenced  musical  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  after  a  minute  and  a  half  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  solos  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  they  also  become  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  When  vocals  are  added  into t he  music  they  are  a  mixture  of  clean  singing  and  high  pitched  screams  that  also  add  a  touch  of  black  metal  into  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  songs  all  utilize  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  mix  the  symphonic  and  heavy  parts  together  while  also  mixing  in  elements  of  a  more  modern  yet  heavy  prog  metal  sound.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,   mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  riffs  that  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  power,  thrash  and  speed  metal  while  some  of  the  synths  also  bring  in  a  progressive  rock  feeling  at  times  and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  Finnish  and  Swedish  melodic  death  metal  influences  throughout  the  recording  and  one  of  the  tracks  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  whispers  on  a  later  track  along  with  the  faster  sections  bringing  in  brutal  sound  at  times.

  D.A.M  creates  another  melodic  death  metal  album  that  is  also  very  symphonic  sounding  and  also  mixes  in  a  great  amount  of  traditional  and  prog  metal  elements  to  create  a  very  original  sounding  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism  and  the  Dark  Side  Of  The  Mind.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  D.A.M  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  symphonic  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Great  Work"  "The  Breaking  Point"  "Nightmare"  and  "Thelema".  8  out  of  10.

Shahyd Legacy/Through The Ashes/2015 Full Length Album

 

Shahyd  Legacy  is  a  solo  artist  from  Maldives  that  plays  an  instrumental  mixture  of  hard  rock,  neo-classical,  melodic  death,  and  heavy  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2015  album  "Through  The  Ashes".

  A  very  melodic  hard  rock  style  guitar  solo  starts  off  the  album  which  are  also  mixed  in  with  prog  metal  style  rhythm's  along  with  a  touch  of  thrash  and  most  of  the  songs  avoid  any  vocals  and  lyrics  and  also  bring  back  the  guitar  shred  sound  of  the  mid  80's  and  early  90's  bit  done  in  more  of  an  updated  direction.

  Clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  heaviness  that  is  very  rarely  heard  in  this  genre  and  the  guitar  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  while  the  main  focus  remains  more  on  solos  and  leads  and  when  vocals  are  utilized  they  are  mostly  death  metal  growls  and  screams  while  the  following  track  uses  clean  singing  and  also  brings  in  elements  of  hair  metal..

  Shahyd  Legacy  combines  a  variety  of  many  different  genres  together  from  melodic  death,  hair,  prog  metal,  hard  rock  and  neo-classical  to  create  a  very  original  sounding  recording  that  is  mostly  instrumental  but  also  contains  some vocal  tracks,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  lyrics  when  they  are  utilized  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Shahyd  Legacy  is  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of   hard  rock,  neo-classical,  melodic  death,  and  heavy  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  artist.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Into  The  Light"  "Nocturnal  Waltz"  "Lost  Without  You"  and  "Through  The  Ashes".  8  out  of  10.     

Heboïdophrenie Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Rémy : Heboïdophrénie is the story of a group of friends which started back in 2010 in Bordeaux, with the aim to have fun through a simple and effective Death Metal, with old school and Deathcore influences.
There were several lineup changes at the rhythm guitar. We mostly shot locally at the beginning and we had the opportunity to play at some festivals since 2014 elsewhere in France.
At the guitars are Abyss, the founder of the band and the latest arrived, Bastien (who joined us in early July, 2014).
At the drums there is Crush who hits for us since the beginning of the band.
Finally the two loud-mouthed ... W ... singing lead (exhales) and Remy at backings (inhales and pig squeals) and bass.

2.A year ago you had released your first album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
Abyss : Both thrash / death metal and deathcore styles are now the foundation of the band. But it never was a goal, we do not want to lock ourselves up in one style!
We try to mix Old school riffs with a more modern sound, or go back over deathcore codes on pieces more brutal death oriented.
It is precisely the disgusting old school sound that we try to avoid and replace it by the sound of 7-string guitars today.
To sum, as long as we like the results, we go for it !

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
..W.. : The main theme is the one of madness (heboidophreny among others). Generally speaking each song is centered around a character which suffers from defect that can seem mild in today's society (greed in FEAST OF DEATH, sex in BONNET M, etc.) and through their hallucinations (CADAVERS) or abuses of all sorts, turns into a festival of guts and blood.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Heboidophrenie'?
Rémy : What inspired us for this name is the fact of bringing out the beast that is hidden within us all. Society, through education or morals, makes us channel all this hatred and violence that we constantly have to restrain. It allows us to live together without everything turning into an unspeakable mess.
Well Heboïdophrénie describes exactly the opposite, which is to realize that everything around us is a deep violence, everyone wears a mask which veils our worst vices. And at the end, what is described in our songs is not that different from reality, it is just presented in a refined way. As if all of this was normal.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Crush : For us the best memories were the CHAULNES METAL FEST, the METAL CULTURE and RAGING METAL FEST. Although many concerts we gave on smaller scenes were sometimes more violent!
We have no recollection of having done a concert without a fucking mosh pit and a wall of death, metalheads are really sick!
Roughly speaking, coming to see a live concert of HEBOIDOPHRENIE is the guarantee of making you grind in a pogo and drowning yourself in a pool of beer!

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Bastien : We are preparing some dates and we will contact the numerous organizers of metal festivals in France.
To this day, the confirmed dates are our participation to the METAL CAMP ROCK.
About tours on a larger scale, we are not there yet, but it is clear that we will get involved in the future!

7.Phenix promotion recently has been promoting your album, can you tell us a little bit more about this company?
Abyss : Phenix Promotion is above all a music lover who knows well the metal scene and all the difficulties that you can face when you want to make things happened (a concert, advertisement, and so on ...).
So he simply offers to link everyone via promotion and communication.
Many groups trusted him, such as NO RETURN, ARCANIA, CAN OF WORMS and so on.
Thanks to him our album got a lot of visibility and we thank him for his work, therefore we will come to him again!

8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
Abyss : We would like to work with a label, in the one hand to end the self-production and in the other hand to be exported the best we can, in order to produce our second studio album, tour in France and why not become worldwide.
We haven't currently received anything serious, so we keep on looking for an opportunity.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal and deathcore?
..W.. : Overall, the returns have been positive, with a few exceptions but you cannot please everyone.
We listen to both positive and negative criticisms, it would be too easy for us to examine our own songs.

10.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?
Bastien : I have a 2nd group called Vacuity, it is the one with which I started. We released an ep back in 2013, recorded among our buddies from Berserkers. The ep is a melodic death metal style / deathcore, we did some concerts too but then gave no signs of life for approximately 1 year. We completely questioned our music and how we composed our songs, we will head towards 7 strings and move to a more progressive and groovy metal. We are preparing an album, we already have quite a lot of songs.
…W… : With Crush, we are also part of the extreme metal band BEMSKIANT which sails between an unhealthy dark, atmospheric black metal and a melodic death metal. After several tour dates in Bordeaux, France, a demo published in 2011 and a few changes in the lineup (besides Abyss is a former member of the band, just like Rémy who helped us for the recording of the demo and also for some lives) we have several tour dates scheduled in France in 2015 and plan to release a concept album in late 2015 / early 2016. Otherwise, I also happen to help some local metal bands when they need a singer for one or more concerts.

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Bastien : For each new composition, we always try to set the bar higher, either on the "technical" level or the finished sounds.
We take more time to build the pieces, to create more groovy parts, and get inspired by new elements while keeping the death / deathcore base.

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?
Crush : We are for the most parts inspired by extreme metal with bands such as Whitechapel, Thy Art Is Murder, Ingested and The Black Dahlia Murder, for example.
Generally speaking we mostly listen to Death metal styles such as Vader, Benighted, Dying Fetus, Cannibal Corpse, Hypocrisy, and even to some technical death metal such as Gorod, Obscura, The Faceless, Meshuggah ...
Sometimes we can listen to a few black metal bands such as Emperor, Windir, Nehëmah, Crystalium among others.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?
Rémy : Abyss and Crush have recently been interested by drones that they sometimes happily explode on the walls.
... W ... and I appreciate gastronomy, and wines and beers from Europe and all over the world.
Bastien is studying art and therefore spends his time drawing or painting when he does not play the guitar!
Otherwise we have a lot of hobbies in common such as travels, sports, video games (current and retro ones), movies (especially purposely bad movies and blockbusters).

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Crush : Thank you for your interest in French metal bands, we would love to come and play in the US! And to those of you who are reading this, do not hesitate to come and have a drink with us during the concerts!

..W.. : A final thank you to Phenix Variety of DeathZine, Momo, Fifi, Black Leaf and to all those who support us and help us in any way!

Heboidophrenie : STAY METAL!

Dysnomia Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
(Alex) Dysnomia is a Melodic Death Metal band, whose sound is described by reviews as something like the well known Gothenburg scene. Those fast and aggressive riffs join with some traces of black metal, keyboards and orchestrations, and this is what you will find in our music.
(Eloi) Our actual lineup consists of Alex de la Sota (vocals), Rodrigo Blas (Guitars), Jorge Fernandez (Guitars), Eloi Pascual (drums) and Aarón Fariña (Bass).


2.Recently you have 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 material you had released as 'Dark Eternity'?
(Alex) We could say that the sound is a big evolution from the one you could find in Dark Eternity. It’s faster, stronger, and with much more complexity in every one of its aspects. Also the production is much better than before.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
(Alex) The main topic of the CD is to erase the reality and the world in which we live nowadays, to eliminate all the contamination and the bad things burning it all down, because only the good and fair will survive that.

4.The band was originally known as 'Dark Eternity', what was the decision behind the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name ;Dysnomia'?
(Eloi) We decided to change the name of band for several reasons. First of all our approach to the music and the band itself changed considerably, so we didn’t feel as the same band anymore. The aim was higher for instance; we got into a professional recording studio for the first time in our careers. Besides, we had some lineup changes, including such an important thing as the vocalist (Rodrigo had stepped down on vocals and Alex joined the band a while after that)
All these things were going though our minds during all the writing and recording process, but when we listened to the premix it became pretty clear. Alex’s voice tune was so similar to Mikael Stanne’s (Dark Tranquillity) that our music, which obviously had DT as a big influence, looked much more like theirs. So we could not be “Dark” Eternity if our music sounded that similar to “Dark” Tranquillity. That was the decisive point; in order to avoid wrong ideas or confusions we switched to Dysnomia.


5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
(Eloi) I will always remember the first time we played in A Coruña. The audience was great, and it was the first time we signed albums after a show.
On stage we try to be as perfectionists as we can, because the music gets pretty fast sometimes and it needs a lot of meticulousness, so the audience can understand what we’re playing up there. Besides, we always try to transmit a lot of energy and make the people not just enjoy the music, but have a good time and connect with us.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
(Alex) Of course. We are planning a national tour right now to present our new CD, and maybe we can go further and do a few dates over Europe. We are currently organizing everything and will publish the first dates very soon.


7.The new album was released on Suspiria Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
(Eloi) Suspiria Records is based in Vigo, just like us. We had worked with them when we released our EP “Selenia” when we still were Dark Eternity. Our experience with them was very pleasant and successful, so we decided to go one more time with them.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic death metal?
(Alex) Surprisingly strong. We have received some personal messages that you wouldn’t believe, and we know we have already a lot of fans in Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Russia… It is pretty shocking how far our music has arrived in a very short period of time.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
(Eloi) Where our lives take us, that’s for sure. We wrote “Dysnomia” in order to play the music we were in the mood to. At that point we enjoyed playing that kind of music, with fast riffs and atmospheric keyboards, so we did. I cannot tell if ten albums from now we’ll still be playing death metal, who knows. One thing is for sure; we’ll never play something that we don’t really feel like, because we can’t force ourselves to enjoy music that we just don’t, and that would be transmitted to the fans.

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?
(Alex) We could say that we have in common the Swedish Melodeath bands like In Flames, Soilwork, Dark Tranquillity, At The Gates and so… Each one of us listens to things that may be slightly different. Our drummer is more on the proggy and jazz side, while me and Aaron like folky stuff or some darker sounds. Our guitarists are more into death metal or metalcore, so we could say we are all different but in the best way of its meaning.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
(Alex) I’m a marine scientist, and I love everything that is related to the ocean and its nature. I’m also a diver and bodyboarder, and I enjoy a lot spending my free time in the water depending on the conditions.
On top of it I’m a karate black belt, and I’m fascinated by the world of the traditional martial arts. I think it’s a very inspiring and enriching way of life, based on the respect and the selfconfidence while you develop your capacities and stay in great shape.
(Eloi) All my life develops around music (my job, my studies and my hobbie). But those little times when I take a break, I like to watch TV Series (right now I’m into Sons of Anarchy, The Mentalist…). And of course, spending time with my family and friends.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
(Eloi) Thanks a lot for the interview guys, and thank you who are reading this. We hope you enjoyed our album, and if you haven’t listened to it yet, give us a try and hang around our Facebook page ;)
Cheers for y’all and see you on the road!

Extinctionist/Portals of Extraterrestrial Invasions/Rising Nemesis Records/2014 CD Review

   Extinctionist  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  brutal  and  technical  form  of  death  metal  with  elements  of  grind  and  deathcore and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Portals  of  Extraterrestrial  Invasions"  which  was  released  by  Rising  Nemesis  Records.

   Science  fiction  sounds  which  are  also  used  on  some  of  the  other  tracks  as  well  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  brutal  death  metal  sound  while  also  incorporating  a  small  amount  of  melody  at  times  and  when  vocals  are  added  into t he  music  they  are  very  guttural  sounding  growls  and  at  times  spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Most  of  the  music  is  done  in  more  of  a  modern  day  style  of  death  metal  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  and  after  awhile  the  music  also  gets  more  technical  and  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  solos  and  leads  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  use  a  small  amount  of  pig  squeals  and  spoken  word  samples  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Extinctionist  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  brutal  and  technical  sounding  and  also  brings  in  a  touch  of  grind  and  deathcore  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  science  fiction  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Extinctionist  are  a  very  decent  sounding  technical  and  brutal  mixture  of  death  metal,  grind  and  deathcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Unexpected  Return"  "Painful  Excesses  Of  Doom"  "Morpholus  Heritage"  and  "Dead  Human  Era".  7/5 out  of  10.