Xaon/The Drift/Sliptrick Records/2017 Full Length Review

  Xaon  are  a  band  from  Switzerland  that has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  symphonic  and  melodic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "The  Drift"  which  was  released  by  Sliptrick  Records.

  Symphonic  sounds  and  clear  vocals  start  off  the  album  before  mixing  the  symphonic  and  heavy  parts  together  as  well  as  adding  in  aggressive  screams,  shouts  and  growls  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads a re  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  music  also  mixes  in a  great  amount  of  modern  metal  elements  while  on  some  tracks  the  music  mixes  in  more  of  a  sci fi  atmosphere  along  with  the  riffs  also  utilizing  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  classical  guitars  and  spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  and  one  of  the  tracks  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Xaon  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  melodic  and symphonic  style  of  death  metal  from  their  previous  release,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the lyrics  cover mythological,  philosophical,  angst,  melancholia,  death,  dementia  and  mourning  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Xaon  and if you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  symphonic  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "On  The  Nature  Of  Flights"  "Zarathustra"  and  "The  Wounded  Gods".  8  out  of  10. 
 

Trinity Site/After The Sun/2017 CD Review

  Trinity  Site  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  album  "After  The  Sun".

  Symphonic  style  synths  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  melodic  direction  that  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  screams  and  death  metal  growls  and  the  music  is  heavily  rooted  in  the  Swedish  style  of  the  genre.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  when  synths  return  briefly  they  add  a  progressive  rock  feeling  to  the  music  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  there  is  also a   brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  as  the  album  progresses.   and  the  music  also  mixes  in a  great  amount  of  modern  electronic  music  elements. 

  Trinity  Site  plays  a  style  of  melodic  death  metal  that  has  its  roots  in t he  classic  Swedish  sound  while  also  adding in  elements  form  the  more  modern  approach  of  the  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Trinity  Site  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "After  The  Sun"  "Lost  Colony"  "Still  Water"  and  "Revenants".  8  out  of  10.

Lost Dreams Interview

Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?
The biggest task between recording and release was the mixing of the album, as always. This time we had the opportunity to work with Kristian “Kohle” Kohlmannslehner at Kohlekeller Studios, Germany, who added a great sound to our material and completed our work perfectly. At this point, thanks brother you did an amazing job, “Exhale” wouldn’t sound like it does, without your magic.
Another huge challenge was the shooting of the video for the song “Finding X”, because we had to finalize it completely within a few weeks. This caused some sleepless nights for Andreas, in the truest sense of the word, because he edited the whole video - material. In addition, there are plenty more things you have to do until the release date, like all the promotional things, booking some shows, producing merchandise, and so on.

Recently you 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?
I would describe it as melodic death metal with a modern touch. In my opinion the main difference and biggest advantage at the same time, compared to our older material is, “Exhale” is the most diversified album yet.

This is the first album in 6 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?
We had a time of substantial changes within and in the environment of the band. We acclaimed Sebastian Brandauer 2013 as our new singer, who familiarized with the band in lightning – speed and gave an unknown new quality to our sound. Furthermore, we had to deal with relocations, new jobs, vocational training and new blood, many things which disallowed to focus on our music. After that we began to work with emphasis on our forthcoming album “Exhale”, although we took us the time to work on the material and let it grow.

What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Our music is primarily concerned with, let’s call it nihilistic subjects paired with slowly resignation. Sometimes it’s kind of autobiographical to a high degree, sometimes it’s because of terrifying and tiring things that surround us. Our music deals with anti – religious, fantastic or socio – critical topics too. Mainly we only try to capture strong emotions in our lyrics, as well as we do with our sound.   

What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Lost Dreams'?
It’s a secret and if I would tell you, I’d have to make you disappear. (laughs)

What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
According to the countless amount of shows we played yet, the shows as tour support of Six Feet Under or Kataklysm as well as opening the Main Stage on Metalcamp festival in Slovenia, could count as highlights of our band history. Although we have recognized over the years, every show could get very special, independent of performing in front of 20 or 500 people, if the energy you fire into the audience is coming back. Our stage performance, I don’t know how to describe it, every time we enter a stage I go berserk and can’t remember anything.

Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
Of course, first and foremost the official release show that takes place at our musical hometown Innsbruck, on the 9th of June, as well as some more shows are booked already and we plan to go on tour this fall. If you want to be up to date, please check our homepage frequently or visit us on Facebook - Lost Dreams official.

On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic death metal?
It’s stunning that people from all over the world listen to our music. For example, some guys from India asked us, if we could send them the lyrics of “Where Gods Creation Ends”, because they wanted to cover the song. I can tell you, it is incredible to see a video, where people from India perform your song. Or another example, a few days ago we sent 5 CDs - our whole discography so far – to a fan in Australia, such things are amazing, it makes us thankful.

Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
I think our sound is subject of constant development and so we will refine and redefine it in the future. In addition, we will enter as much stages as possible, because playing live, sharing that unbelievable amount of energy with the people out there and leaving a sweat soaked, happy audience with neck pain, is everything that counts to us.

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?
In the early days of LOST DREAMS, many variations of extreme metal, especially black metal had a big influence on the sound and the lyrics, but by achieving our own sound the obvious influence of other bands and styles decreased. The spectrum of music we listen to is too manifold to explain, but it reaches from classical music to electronic sounds, or every kind of other serious, honest and handmade music.

What are some of your non musical interests?
There’s a wide choice of interests within the band, if there is time left beneath making music. Herbert for example is very sportive and loves to go biking or ski touring, Raphael is interested in gaming, Andi is a technical genius, working on various projects like his classic car, my time is often very short because of my kids, so I think they are my biggest non musical interest. And Sebastian, I don’t know if he has any other interests than music?

Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Move your ass, go out and try to see, as much bands as you can see on stage. Because metal is one of the last fortifications in music business, where people create art regardless of earning money or not. They do it because they want to, as like as we do.
So we hopefully meet you out there in the near future, sweat soaked and with neck pain.

Dead Asylum Interview

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

HEY THERE! This is Mike talking to ya!

We are really focused on pushing the new album, doing as much promo as we can before the release (June 2) as well as getting prepped for a couple shows we have on Vancouver Island with Unleash the Archers June 9-10. We have also been planning the biggest tour for Dead Asylum yet--a 4 week trek across the US!

2.You have a new album coming out in June, 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?

I would say that we hug the line between melodic death and thrash. With the new additions to the band (Roger on bass and Eric on lead guitar) the sound has become much fuller and tighter and the overall feel is much more aggressive than the previous record. Eric possesses an incredible knowledge of music theory, which allows him to convey a jazz/classical influence in his solos. Roger brings with him an amazing amount of energy and talent to the band; he almost plays the bass like a lead guitar allowing for some very cool moments on the record.

3.This is your first album in 4 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?

For sure. Definitely a lot has been happening in that span of time, some great, some not so much.

We have had the opportunity to play some amazing shows with some incredible touring bands here in Vancouver, such as Soulfly, Soilwork, and Warbringer.

We completed our first tour down the west coast of the US as well as a few tours in Canada.

We also have had to replace two members of the band which is tough both professionally and personally. But we gained two amazing musicians and we were feeling incredibly inspired to write and record again.

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

A lot of the songs on this album, such as “Welcome” and “Between Me and the Grave”, deal with being isolated inside your own head, trapped and slowly losing touch with reality, cut off from everything except the voices and sounds inside your own mind.

We also touch on themes such as political uprising and questioning those in power.

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

We all just thought it sounded really fucking cool. We were actually inspired after we came up with the name. We have shaped our artwork, logos and even sound to fit what we feel would be found in the “dead asylum”.

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?

One of our favorite shows to play is the annual Armstrong Metalfest, which happens in Armstrong, BC. We have played that festival on four different occasions. For me personally, opening for some of the bands that I have looked up to for years, like Anvil and Soulfly, was absolutely amazing.

Hmmm, describe our on stage performance..well, first I would say we absolutely love being on stage. To me, it's the best drug in the world and I think that comes through in our performance. It doesn't matter if there are 5 people or 500--we give it all we can. I always say, if you don't walk off stage completely exhausted having given everything you possibly can, you haven't done your job.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

Definitely. First would be our album release show at the Rickshaw theatre in Vancouver on June 2nd with Unleash the Archers. The following weekend, we are heading to Vancouver Island to play a pair of shows in Victoria (June 9th)  and Nanaimo (June 10th) again with Unleash the Archers. We are also planning a 4 week tour around the US.

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

We are going to be looking for interest from labels for sure. We have received some interest from smaller indie labels and management companies in the past but nothing has lined up yet.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic death and thrash metal?

We have received nothing but great feedback! We have some amazing fans! We appreciate every message we get from them. It makes us want to work that much harder to get out there and play for as many of them as possible.

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?

Both Roger and Eric are in other projects. Roger plays lead guitar in a sweet band called God Said Kill (GSK)--if you are a fan of 8 string guitars and crazy progressive riffs, check them out!

Eric is in several music projects, both playing guitar and bass--check out Selfist!

Sam (Samantha Landa – drums) recently finished a European tour with Brazilian thrashers Nervosa where they played alongside Destruction and Flotsam & Jetsam.

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

We are always growing as musicians; our styles and influences are always evolving. We will continue to incorporate those influences into our music.

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?

For me personally, I am very influenced by old school metal like Slayer, Pantera and Metallica, and definitely the music and attitude of Motörhead. I like listening to playlists people put together on Spotify. I really like Lazarus A.D., Kalmah.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

I enjoy watching sports, Hockey, Football, MMA. I have been really getting into doing some boxing, fantastic way to exercise and hit things at the same time.

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

Just a huge thank you to all our friends and families for their unwavering support! Thanks to the Dead Crew for all the help.

Most of all we’d like to thank our fans, THE INMATES!
YOU FUCKIN RULE!!!

And thank you! Great questions! I hope this gives you some insight into the Dead Asylum!
Pre-order the album here: https://deadasylum.bandcamp.com/album/death-always-wins

Serenius/Cocoon/2017 Full Length Review

  Serenius  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  melodic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  album  "Cocoon".

  A  very  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  awhile t he  riffs  get  more  melodic  along  with  high  pitched s creams  also  making  their  presence  known  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of t he  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic fashion  and  you  can  also  hear  a  lot  of  Swedish  influences  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  when  the  music  speeds  up a   decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  spoken  word  parts  are  also  used  briefly,

  Atmospheric  and  modern  metal  elements  are  also  used  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  clean  guitars  can  be  heard  and  the  songs  also b ring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  one  track  also b rings  in  a  small  amount  of  pianos  and  clean  singing  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction.

  Serenius  plays  a  style  of  melodic  death  metal t hat  is  more  rooted  in  the  modern  era  of  the  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  confinement  of  a  human  being  by  society,  intellectually,  as  will  as  psychically  manipulating  his  perceptions  to  shape  him at  the  discretion  of  the  slavery  system.

  In  my  opinion  Serenius  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should c heck  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Worrld"  "The  Shell"  "Core  Depths"  and  "Infinity".  8  out  of  10.
 

The Summoned Interview

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

First off, Thank you guys for taking the time to listen to "Sessions" and for giving us an 8/10 review. We've been playing shows in the surrounding states as they come. Making our way up to Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire; as well as heading down to New Jersey to play with our good friends in Cognitive. We've also been hard at work tighten up our new material to take out on the road and share it with everyone.

2. You have a new album coming out in June, 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?

Yes, "Sessions" will be dropping on June 16th and we can't wait! I would personally describe it as Experimental Metal, we take a lot of different stylistic approaches to writing songs. We took a lot of influence from so many different genres of music from death metal to jazz fusion & avantgarde rock to math metal. In my opinion no style is not usable for The Summoned. As for how it differs from our last record "If Only Minds Could Paint Pictures", I would say that we've grown-up a lot since it was released, we all pushed each other to become better musicians as well as writers. Every aspect of what defines our sound has been amplified one-hundred fold on "Sessions". I'm very proud of the work we put into it.

3.The lyrics on the new recording are a concept album, can you tell us a little bit more about the songwriting?

As far as the conceptualization of "Sessions" as an entire album is presented, we spent a long time fine tuning everything about it. I would bring all of my ideas to the table and whatever worked stayed and whatever didn't in the grand scheme of things got trashed. It takes a lot of trust and respect to be able to take that kind of criticism from someone and I have absolute trust in Stephen, Sam, and Jarred's opinions on what we keep and what we change. There were many times where Stephen would tell me a riff sucked and that it didn't work, and I would just hammer out something and we'd all be like "That's it!" The whole album was pretty much that. Keeping the amount of intensity and tension that we wanted to portray about each track is what really ties the whole thing together where as we get to the end of the album and the patient begins to have his own self realization about what's going on, we bring in more melodic elements to ease the tension.
 
4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'The Summoned'?

Sam, Stephen, and myself had been playing together before The Summoned for a few years and when we decided that it was time for an overhaul, we chose the name. Personally I felt like we were called to do music together or summoned if you will and that's what it means to me.

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

We've had the opportunity to share the stage with a ton of amazing acts. I would say one of the best shows would be when we played the Massachusetts date for The Summer Slaughter Tour in 2012. We played that as our last date on our 23 day tour, we'd been on the road through the northern US and southern Canada and coming home to play with Cannibal Corpse, Between The Buried and Me, The Faceless, Cerebral Bore, Exhumed and so many other bands was surreal. I would describe our stage performance as intense yet enjoyable to watch, we have fun on stage and play well off each other.

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

Yes, we are currently working things out with our management. That's all I can say right now as nothing has been announced. 

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

We decided to go the D.I.Y route this time around as well, we did some shopping around and had some interest but ultimately we want to prove that we are a tour de force and see what comes up down the line.

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

Our last release got a lot of positive feedback and every time we've played out we have a great response. I'm optimistic that "Sessions" will receive the same amount of praise if not more.

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

At this time, everyone is currently a little too busy with The Summoned to pursue other full-time projects. 

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

I love this question, I feel like the sky's the limit. We all have such a diverse taste in music that who knows what will be added into the mix. We all love extreme metal so that will always be at our core whether we add more jazz and avant-garde style parts who can really tell. I feel like the music just comes through us and whatever wants to be played will come out. I can see us experimenting more with synths as well as compositional changes as we progress.

11. What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music?

For me personally, I draw influence from everything. I'm a huge progressive rock fan and Rush is one of my favorite bands, but even more of an influence has been Cynic from a progressive death metal aspect. To hear the way they utilized Allan Holdsworth's jazz fusion style with the death metal edge changed me forever. Last Chance To Reason would definitely be another great influence on my own playing and writing. Another big influence on all of us has been Between The Buried and Me, Colors and The Great Misdirect were always on, we actually have a tour ritual of playing The Great Misdirect to fall asleep (laughs). Vocal wise Stephen draws a large amount of influence from The Dillinger Escape Plan and The Red Chord. From a drumming perspective I would say bands like Necrophagist and Decapitated have been huge on us as well as jazz fusion drummers like Dave Weckl and Marco Minnemann.  

12. What are some of your non musical interests?

I'm a Yoga Instructor so that form of spiritual and physical work on myself is huge for me, as well as hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I'm an avid beer drinker as well so I tend to go out of my way to find great local craft beer wherever​ we go. Jarred's into fine carpentry, Stephen is a pretty big video game nut, and Sam enjoys being outdoors and traveling.

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

I want to thank you guys once again for taking the time to share your thoughts on the album with your readers. Keep your eyes and ears open for more new material as we get closer to June 16th. Be sure to head over to store.thesummoned.com to Pre-Order "Sessions" we've got a ton of great deals for you. Thanks for reading. Much Love, Shaun

Thanks,
The Summoned
band@thesummoned.com

Official Website: www.thesummoned.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thesummoned
Twitter: @thesummoned
Official Store: store.thesummoned.com

 

Dead Asylum/Death Always Wins/2017 Full Length Review

  Dead  Asylum  are  a  band  from  Vancouver  B.C,  Canada  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  album  "Death  Always  Wins"  which  will  be  released  in  June.

  A  very  heavy  yet  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  a  few  seconds  later  and  when  the  music  speeds  up a   decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  you  can  also h ear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording.

  A  great  amount  of  thrash  elements  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  while t he  solos  and  leads  are  done  in a   very  melodic  fashion  and  the  songs  also b ring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  one  track  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  guitars  while  the  main  focus  is  mostly  on  a  heavier  style.

  Dead  Asylum  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  melodic  death  metal  and  mixes  it  with  modern  thrash  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  revolution,  political  uprising,  the  apocalypse  and  human  psyche  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Dead  Asylum  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  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  "Death  Always  Wins"  "Forgotten  Sacrifice"  and  "Inmate  666".  8  out  of  10.