Dwell/Far Dark Helm/2014 CD Review

  Dwell  are  a  band  from  California  that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom,  sludge  and  post  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Far  Dark  Helm".

  A  very  dark  and  distorted  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  a  few  seconds  alter  drums  are   added into  the  music  which  leads  up  to  some  deep  death  metal  growls  along  with  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  and  the  music  also  starts  to  speed  up  with  some  blast  beats  and  melodic  post  metal style  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  There  is  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  throughout  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  being  added  into  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  a  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  and  all  of  the  songs  are  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  a  concept  that  is  divided  into  3  different  tracks.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  album  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  they  also  add  in  elements  of  brutal  death  metal  into  certain sections  of  the  recording  along  with  some  clean  sections  they  bring  a  very  progressive  feeling  to  the  bands  musical  sound  and  all  of  the  songs  sound  very  different  from  each  other.

  Dwell  create  a  post  metal  style  that  is  a  bit  more  raw  and  heavier  than  most  bands  of  this  genre  with  the  doom,  death  and  sludge  influences  being  a  huge  part  of  the  bands  musical  style,  the production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Dwell  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  doom,  sludge  and  post  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "To  Scry  On  Lamentations"  and  "Far  Dark  Helm  III".  8  out  of  10.      

Atavisma/Where Wolves Once Dwelled/Nihilistic Holocaust/2014 Cassette Review

  Atavisma  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  demo  "Where  Wolves  Once  Dwelled"  which  was  released  on  cassette  by  Nihilistic  Holocaust.

  Militant  style  sounds  start  off  the  demo  which  leads  up  to  a  slow,  dark  and  heavy  doom/death  metal  sound  along  with  some  deep  growls  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the   music  and  the  band  starts  going  for  more  of  an  early  90's  doom/death  metal  sound.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  demo  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  you  can  hear  a  decent  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  on  some  of  the  alter  tracks  there  are  also  some  fast  parts  and  blast  beats  being  added  into  the  bands  musical  style  at  times  and  on  the  3rd  track  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  whispers  is  added  into  the  song  and  the  last  track  shows  the  band  adding  Swedish  death  metal  influence s into  their  musical  style.

  Atavisma  plays  a  very  old  school  style  of  doom/death  metal  that  is  heavily  influenced  by  the  early  90's  bands  of  this  musical  genre  and  they  add  a  great  amount  of  darkness  into  their  raw  and  heavy  sound,  the production  has  a  very  dark,  heavy  and  old  school  sound  while  the  lyrics  cover  nature  and  atavistic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Atavisma  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  doom  and  death metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Savage  one"  and  "Where  Wolves  once  Dwelled".  8/5  out  of  10.

  

Desert Lord Interview

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

1. Desert Lord was born in Helsinki, Finland in summer 2010 as a side project. The master plan was just to jam and see if it would lead to something worth to continue and start a real band. Soon we had a solid line-up and we were heading to record our first release.

2.So far you have released an ep and one full length album, can you tell us a little bit more about your musical sound?

2. Our sound and style came by itself, it was never meant to sound something "specified". We all have quite heavy musical background so the sound came up pretty heavy.

3.The first release came out in 2011 and the new one came out 3 years later, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap between releases?

3. After the 7" Salvation record we had to get a new bassist. It slowed us a bit, but quite soon we were writing new material, touring and getting ready for the recordings of new album. We started recording spring 2013, and it took almost a year to get that album finished.

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

4. The lyrics are written by our singer Sampo. Most of the lyrics deal with his life and thoughts, the situations he has encountered and has to manage in everyday life and so on. Some of the lyrics are about of expanding your reality, some are about being against authority - finding your own way.

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

5. Desert Lord came up while we were together thinking about a name for the band. We wanted something to visualize the music - you can find solitude in the desert, it's pretty vast as is our music too. Lord is something to master the universe - something we're up to!

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?

6. One of the most interesting was early 2014 with Swedish band Goatess in Tampere - it was mayhem down there and the audience was just as pissed as the band! Our shows are always unpredictable - almost anything can happen!

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

7. We are playing some shows over Finland this summer. Later this year we're planning to head out to Scandinavia - and maybe further.

8.So far all of the music has been self released through the band's own label 'Under A Serpent Records' are you open to working with a record label in the future?

8. We've been releasing DIY because it has been the most comfortable way to us. We can manage the whole supply chain and the timetables are easy to set up. But yes, we are open-minded and if a suitable record label would want to work with us - why not work with a label.

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

9. Feedback has been very supportive and on a worldwide level we have more fans abroad than in Finland.

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

10. All of us have had or are currently involved in other musical projects. The variety of these genres is quite broad, from pop music to black metal. Listeners of Desert Lord should check out our guitarist’s other band called Stone Ship, they play progressive doom metal, and have just released their debut full length digitally via Bandcamp. Even though we have other musical interests, we treat Desert Lord as our priority number one and put all our energy on it.

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

11. We're just playing and the way the music turns out is unpredictable. We've just starting to write some new material so it won't be 3 years until the next album. The interesting twist to the music comes from the songwriting - all 4 of us have started as guitarists and still use it as primary songwriting instrument, so there comes pretty much riffs with different nuances and it all wraps up when we jam together.

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?

12. Of course heavy metal itself has had a huge influence - 70's bands to 90's stoner bands to modern doom. We all listen to different styles - doom, stoner, progressive metal, punk, hardcore, sludge, grunge... You name it, we listen to it.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

13. We all have different kind of interests aside from music. Some like to use their own private time with family, friends, sports, partying, etc. We all like to read books and watch movies, and maybe we have sucked out influences to our songwriting from those as well.

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

14. Keep your eye on our Facebook page for news updates, there might be some cool gigs coming up ;) https://www.facebook.com/desertlorddoom

Father Merrin/All Is Well That Ends in Hell/2014 EP Review

  Father  Merrin  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom,  sludge and  stoner  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  ep  "All  Is  Well  That  Ends  In  Hell".

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  doom  metal  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  melodic  clean  singing  vocals  and  a  few  seconds  later  whispers  and  melodies  become  a  part  of  the  bands  musical  style  a s well  as  getting  heavier  and  adding  in  elements  of  stoner  and  sludge  and  the  vocals  also  start  to  get  a  lot  more  rougher  and  aggressive  in  the  Cathedral  direction  and  they  also  have  a  death metal  feeling  to  them  at  times.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  on  the  recording  and  on  the  second  track  clean  playing  starts  being  added  into  the  bands  musical  style  along  with  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  being  used  on  a  couple  of  tracks  and  the  music  never  loses  its  heaviness  and  all  of  the  tracks  stick  to  a  slow  or  mid  paced  direction  and  one  of  the  tracks  has  a  crust  punk  feeling  being  mixed  in  along  with  some  horror  movies  samples  and  th e last  song  uses  some  70's  style  organs.

  Father  Merrin  have  a  very  interesting  approach  to  doom  metal  taking  the  traditional  style  of  the  early  80's  and  mixing  in  a  heavy  does  of  Celtic  Frost  and  Cathedral  influences  along  with  some  sludge  and  stoner  metal  elements  to  give  the  music  a  more  modern  day  edge,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  and  the  lyrics  cover  occult  and  historical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Father  Merrin  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  doom,  sludge  and  stoner  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Dawn  Of  the  Sixth  Day"  and  "The  Albigensian  Crusade".  8/5  out  of  10.  

  

Doomed/Our Ruin Silhouettes/Solitude Productions/2014 CD Review

  Doomed  are  a  1  man  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2014  album  "Our  Ruin  Silhouettes"  which  was  released  by  Solitude  Productions.

  Dark  avant  garde  sounds  and  melodic  chanting  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  reverb  and  a  few  seconds  later  the  music  goes  for  a  more  heavy  and  atmospheric  doom  metal  sound  along  with  some  deep  death  metal  growls  and  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  and  after  awhile  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  become  a  part  of  the  music.

  All  of  the  songs  are  long  and  epic  tracks  and  you  can  also  hear  some  high  pitched  screams  in certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  melodic  chanting  of  the  beginning  track  makes  its  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  utilizing  clean  parts  mixed  with  the  more  heavier  ones  and  the  bring  in  ambient  feeling  to  the  music  and  there  are  also  some  guitar  riffs  that  have  a  small  amount  of  prog  traces  in  them.

  On  the  4th  track  the  music  starts  to  speed  up  a  bit  and  you  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  old  school  death  metal  elements  being  mixed  in  the  music  along  with  some  semi  blast  beats  before  returning  back  to  a  slow  doom  metal  sound  that  also  use s keyboards  and  a  more  atmospheric  background  and  one  of  the  later  tracks  uses  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  and  except  for  maybe  one  track  the  music  for  the  most part  sticks  to  a  very  slow  doom/death  metal  direction while  there  are  also  soft  parts  being  utilized  on  the  last  song.

  Doomed  creates  a  very  interesting  style  of  doom/death  metal  taking  this  musical  genre  and  building  upon  its  foundations  to, create  on  of  the  most  original  and  probably  one  of  the  best  albums  this  genre  had  had  in  awhile,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressing  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Doomed  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic,  atmospheric  doom/death  metal  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "In  My  Own  Abyss"  "My  Hand  In  Yours"  and  "What  Remains".  8/5  out  of  10.

  

Connoisseur/Stoner Justice/Tankcrimes/2014 EP Review

  Connoisseur  are  a  band  from  California  that  plays  a  mixture  of  d-beat,  power  violence,  stoner,  and  sludge  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "Stoner  Justice"  which  will  be  released  in  July  by  Tankcrimes.

  A  fast  crust  punk  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  aggressive  hardcore  style  screams  and  after  awhile  growls  are  added  into  the  music  and  they  also   bring  in    a  great  amount  of  slow  sludge  metal  breakdowns  which  they  mix  in  with  their  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Most  of  the  songs  are  very  short  in  length  and  avoids  guitar  solos  and  leads  to  focus  more  on  a  very  dark,  raw  and  heavy  sound  and  all  of  the  songs  have  a  different  sound  while  you  can  still  tell  that  it  is  the  same  band  the  whole  time  and  they  also  have  a  very  powerful  sounding  bass  guitar  at  times.

  Connoisseur  show  off  2  different  sides  of  their  musical sound  on  this  recording  with  the  fast  parts  being  more  in  a  d-beat,  crust  punk  and  power  violence  direction  while  the  slower  material  shows  off  more  traces  of  stoner,  sludge,  doom  and  death metal,  the production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cove r pot  smoking  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Connoisseur  are  a  very  great  sounding    mixture  of  d-beat,  power  violence,  stoner,  and  sludge  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Circle  Of  Heads"  and  "I  Am  The  Weed".  8  out  of  10.




  

Ancient Altar/Self Titled/Midnite Collective/2014 EP Review

 

   Ancient  Altar  are  a  band  from  Los  Angeles,  California  that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom  metal,  sludge  and  heavy  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  ep  which  will  be  released  in  July  by  Midnite  Collective.

  Distorted  sounds  start  off  the  ep  along with  some  reverb  which  leads  up  to  some  really  heavy  guitar  which  leads  to  a  heavy  sludge/doom  metal  sound  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams  and  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  amount  of  melody  being  mixed  in  with  the  bands  heavy  sound.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music  they  bring  in  elements  of  70's  rock  and  you  can  also  hear  the  bass  guitars  in  the  background  and  on  the  following  tracks  clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  band  also  brings  in  a  couple  of  songs  that  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the y also  bring  in  a  few  growls  that  gives  the  music  a  more  death  metal  feeling.

  Ancient  Altar  play  a  very  dark  and  heavy  style  that  takes  the  heaviness  of  doom  and  sludge  metal  and  the y  mix  it  in  with  the  melody  of  70's  and  stoner  rock  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  productions  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  arcane  philosophy.

  In  my  opinion  Ancient  Altar  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  doom  metal,  sludge  and  heavy  rock  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ek  Balam"  and  "Pulled  Out".  8  out  of  10.

Destroyer Of Light/Bizarre Tales Vol. 2 /Heavy Friends Records/2014 CD Review

  Destroyer  Of  Light  are  a  band  from  Texas  that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom,  death  metal,  sludge  and  stoner  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Bizarre  tales  Vol. 2"  which  was  released  by  Heavy  Friends  Records.

  A  very  dark,  melodic  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  you  can  also  hear  some  sound  effects  being  utilized  in  the  background  at  times  and  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  bring  in  elements  of  post  rock  into  the  bands  musical  sound  and  on  the  following  track  to  music  gets  more  heavier  along  with  some  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  and  aggressive  vocals.

  You  can  also  hear  a  good  amount  of  clean  singing  vocals  and  clean  playing  being  mixed  in  with  the  heavier  parts  at  times  as  well  as  the  guitar  riffing  utilizing  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  also  have  a  great  amount  of  variety  to  them  and  there  is  a  70's  rock  feeling  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Destroyer  Of  Light  create  a  very  interesting  sound  with  their  music  taking  the  heaviness  of  sludge,  death  and  doom  metal  along  with  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  elements  of  stoner,  post  and  classic  rock  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Destroyer  Of  Light  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  doom,  sludge  metal and  stoner  rock  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Forbidden  Zombie  Ritual"  and  "Year  Of  The  Witch".  8  out  of  10.  

Excruciation Interview

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

Well, the usual things when you release an album. Making promo, looking for additional way to distribute the record, had a really great release show and of course spreading the news that a ghost is coming after you this year!

2.In May you released your new album, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction of the newer music and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Speaking about the new album there was a slight change in the musical direction

due to the fact  that José, the main song-writer of the last two records, left the band

and although we had almost finished the new album we decided to discard all but one song that has been written by him and started over. So Hannes brought a lot of his influences to the band, having a Black Metal background. But it still sounds like Excruciation.

Speaking about the 80's, well, there has definitely been a change. I never wanted to repeat what we did in the past. It just doesn't make sense to me artistically. You know, we were 15 when we started the band, were little testosterone-filled bastards trying to conquer the world. But we have grown up and  I think, so has our music.

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

Most of the lyrics are about what surrounds me, family, friends. Being originally from the south of Italy there's a lot to tell. Mafia, as in "Mother South", the Catholic Church, as in "Crawl", "Devil wears Christ" and "Under the Linden Tree". In one way or an other it's all about the dark side of life.

4.The band broke up in 1991 and re-formed in 2005, what was the cause of the split and also the decision to reform?

As I told before, we started the band really early, were hanging out together almost every day and in the end maybe we were just fed up with each other. So everyone had to find a life of their own.

And then in 2005, Andy, the drummer, having found out  the address of everyone, (some of us hadn't met for up to 18 years) and invited us for dinner, just to see what happened to all of us in the meantime. A lot of drinks later we decided to do some noise together and see what happens. We took it step by step, wrote a few songs, made a record, a few shows and then we finally agreed to reform the band and to go on. For me the crucial thing was, that we were able to write new songs, as I had no intention to repeat myself.

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

To be honest,  not much. When I joined the band they already called themselves Excruciation, which, by the way, was proposed by Martin Ain, and I also thought that it sounded cool.

6.The band formed in 1984 30 years ago and where ahead of the times musically, do you feel that you have been a huge musical influence on some of the later death and doom metal bands that have came out of Switzerland in the last 3 decades?

I really don't know how big our influence was on the Swiss extreme Metal. Of course a lot of people who later formed bands were banging their brains out of their heads at our gigs but they did the same when foreign bands played. I think it had a bigger impact on them, to see that a band from Switzerland was able to deliver a  cool show and good records.

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?

I think the most memorable gigs for me were the early ones, our third gig and first sold out show where the people went mad for the first time or a bit later as we played our first gig in Italy headlining, though still being a demo-band and having 800 people going crazy. And all our record release shows were also very special.

Live we move a lot, a lot headbanging going on, trying to live the music.

8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?

No touring, as we don't want to be part of the whole pay-to-play circus and organizing a whole tour by ourselves takes just too much time. We plan some gigs in Switzerland in October/November and we will have an appearance at the Dutch Doom Days in Rotterdam, November 1st. But we're open for any inquiries.

9.The new album was released on Auric Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Actually it's run by us. As Twilight went bankrupt we decided to do it ourselves, having enough knowledge, our drummer used to be the A&R of a big Major.

Most of the labels nowadays can't afford to pay for studio time unless you already are  big name, and that is the most expensive part. So we do it ourselves and have the total control. It's more work, we have to build a reputation, but it's also more fun.

We also plan to release some other Swiss bands, mostly re-releasing records from the past that have been forgotten. The first ones should be the debut of Caustic, a great thrash band, and early works of the space-thrashers Bloodstar.

10.Over the years how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death, doom and thrash metal?

Well, feedback has always been good. You usually don't go to a band to tell them that they are total crap.;-) What we have noticed is that we have fans from any genres. Be it Doom or Black Metal, Death or Thrash.

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

Tough question, time will tell. We started writing new songs for our next EP that has a preliminary title "[c]rust". It may  be a little dirtier as the title suggests. Anyway, there is no master plan.

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?

Obviously, being from the 80s bands like Venom, Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, Bathory, Paul Chain, Saint Vitus, Mercyful Fate etc... had a big impact on us. But also Punk/Hardcore like Exploited, Discharge, Amebix and Goth Rock bands like Christian Death, Sisters of Mercy, Joy Division have influenced me a lot. Apart from that I also dig a lot of electronic music, be it early EBM à la Nitzer Ebb, ambient like Parallel Worlds and also some trip hop like Portishead, Tricky, etc....

13.Outside of music what are some of your interests?

I like reading, at the moment everything written by Joe R. Lansdale, and I like to collect books, especially illustrated ones from early the 19th century.  I'm also into ancient numismatic, especially Roman. It's exciting having a coin in your hand that someone may have used to pay for a living, to buy wine, whatever, 2000 years ago.

As well as researching on it. It turns history alive.

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

Thanks for the interview!  And to all others, go back, buy a tape deck, a turntable and start listening music the old school way! Only hardware is real ware!

Abolition A.D/After Death Before Chaos/Pulverised Records/2014 CD Review

  Abolition  A.D  are  a  band  from  Singapore  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge,  doom  metal,  hardcore,  d  beat  and  crust  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "After  Death  Before  Chaos"  which  will  be  released  in  July  by  Pulverised  Records.

  A  very  slow,  dark  and  melodic  doom  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  a  few  seconds  later  growled  vocals  become  a  huge  part  of  the  music  which  also  leads  to  a  faster  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats and  they  also  bring  in  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  add  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  into  their  music.

  In  the  faster  sections  of  the  music  you  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  thrash,  d  beat  and  crust  influences  in  their  musical  sound  and  most  of  the  music  this  band  creates  is  very  old  school  sounding  and  brings  back  memories  of  the  early  to  mid  90's  era's  of  extreme  metal  and  hardcore  and  the  vocals  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  the  later  mentioned  genre  in  the  screaming  parts  of  the  vocals  and  on  some  of  the  alter t racks  the  bass  guitars  start  sounding  more  heavy  and  powerful.  

  Abolition  A.D  show  off  2  different  sides  of  their  musical  style  with  this  album  with  some  of  the  tracks  being  slow  doom/sludge  metal  songs  and  the  other  ones  are  in  the  more  fast  crust/hardcore  direction  and  the  variety  keeps  their  music  away  from  sounding  boring,  the  production  sounds  very  heavy  and  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Abolition  A.D  are  a  very  great  sounding   mixture  of  sludge,  doom  metal,  hardcore,  d  beat  and  crust  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ouroboros"  "After  Death  Before  Chaos"  and  "Medeival  Minds".  8  out  of  10.

  

Haemophagus/Atrocious/Razorback Records/2014 CD Review

  Haemophagus  are  a  band   from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal,  doom, thrash  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Atrocious"  which  was  released  by  Razorback  Records.

  A  very  clean  and  soft  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  while  also  still  evoking  a  very  dark  atmosphere  along with  some  psychedelic  sounding  elements  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  for  a  more  old  school  thrash/death  metal  direction  along  with  some  growls,  screams,  grindcore  elements  and  blast  beats.

  The  music  sticks  to  mostly  a  death  metal  mixed  with  a  grindcore  and  thrash  sound  throw  most  of  the  songs  and  the  guitar  solos    are  very  raw  and  old  school  sounding  sounds  and  the  slower sections  bring  in  the  doom  metal  influences  which  are  also  a  huge  part  of  the  bands  musical  style  and  you  can  also  hear  elements  of  classic  rock  on  some  of  the  tracks  while  the  main  focus  is  always  on  a  very  raw  and  brutal  sound.

  A  good  portion  of  the  music  could  easily  be  mistaken  for  an  album  from  89  since  it  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  extreme  underground  music  style  that  was  prevalent  at  the  time  and  they  also  bring  in  a  good  amount  of  morbid  sounding  melodies  into  their  musical  sound  and  they  close  the  album  with  a  very  long  and  epic  track.

  Haemophagus  go  back  to  the  mid  80  styles  of  death,  doom  and  grindcore  as  well  ad  adding  in  the  raw  energy  of  thrash  to  display  their  raw,  heavy  and  dark  old  school  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  old  school  yet  well  well  produced  while  the  lyrics  cover  horror  gore  and  perverted  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Haemosphagus  are  a  very  great  old  school  sounding  mixture  of  doom,   death,  thrash  metal  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Partying  At  The  Grave"  "Ice  Cold  Prey"  "Naked  In  The  Snow"  and  "From  The  Sunken  Citadel".  8  out  of  10.

  

Excruciation/[g]host/Auric Records/Gadget Records/2014 CD Review

  Excruciation  are  a  band  from  Switzerland  that  has  been  around  since  1984  and  plays  a  mixture  of  doom,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "[g]host"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Auric  and  Gadget  Records.

 A  very  heavy  and  dark  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodies  which  leads  to  a  doom  metal  direction  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  powerful  sound  to  them  and  a  few  seconds  alter  clean  playing  and  melodic  vocals  find  their  way  into  the  music  along  with  some  whispers  being  utilized  in  the  background.

  Once  the  music  starts  getting  heavy  again  death  metal  growls  start  becoming  a  big  part  of  the  bands  musical  style  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  and  when  the  album  goes  into  other  songs  the  band  finds  its  style  which  is  in  the  more  doom/death  metal  direction  as  well  as  utilizing  a  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  as  well  as  having  some  melody  being  mixed  in  with  the  rougher  vocals.

  In  certain  sections  of  the  album  the  band  adds  in  small  amounts  of  acoustic  guitars  which  enhance  the  dark  atmosphere  this  band  creates  with  its  musical  style   and  on  one  of  the  tracks  spoken  word  parts  and  female  vocals  are  brought  in  briefly  and  they  also  bring  in  a  brief  use  of  violins  on  one  of  the  later  tracks  before  going  into  an  acoustic  instrumental  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction  on  the  later  songs.

  Excruciation  go  for  a  more  early  90's  melodic  United  Kingdom  style  doom/death  metal  direction  of  the  early  90's  with  this  album  and  stay  away  from  the  more  thrash  orientated  sound  of  past  albums  to  create  a  very  dark  and  heavy  album,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  anti  religion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Excruciation  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  doom  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  ""Mother  South"  "Crawl"  and  "Devil  Wears  Christ".  8  out  of  10.  

Katakombi Interview

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

Donner: Katakombi originates from Helsinki, Finland where we formed band around 2011 with the idea of making the type of music we, ourselves would listen.  Having four members, we cultivate the songs carefully targeting a grim experience to which we all can relate to. The musical instruments we've used so far are synths, drums, guitar, bass and vocals, all using plenty of fuzz and distortion at times.

2.So far you have released 2 ep's, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical sound that is present on both recordings and also how do they differ from each other?

Saarikoski: Usually our sound is described with words such as doom, death and sludge. These genre boundaries hardly have meaning to us though, as we have already forged our own style of gloomy and violent metal. Breaking the rules is integral part of the style – we have tried to signal that with the term avantgarde.

The first record Hämärän vartija includes four tracks on a cassette, split on two sides. The new self-titled record is a 12" inch vinyl and it has a monumental track "Väärä kuu" on side A and two mid-lenght thrashing songs on side B, namely "Liejuhaudan vanki" and "Sokea jumala".

Both albums were recorded, mixed and mastered in different places, by different people, so there's a difference in tone. Also the songwriting evolved during the time between records. To me the new album is focused into deep contrasts between the cold ancient space and the burning world of modern man.

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

Donner: Death, desecration and the end of mankind.

Saarikoski: Chaos, insanity and the sublime.

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

Donner: It's originally from a song title our guitarist Saarikoski came up with. The name symbolizes the deep misty caverns of human mind and humanity, which have inspired most of our themes so far.

Saarikoski: Yeah. I admit we're not the first metal band to rely on the images of underworld, haha. But as a mythological concept I find it as relevant as ever. Maybe the worship of sun, growth and the so-called divine birth has gone too far? Just like the surface of the earth, the kingdom of the dead is getting more and more crowded. Katakombi taps into the energy inside the earth which is older than any of the lifeforms we know.

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?

Donner: Katakombi has been lucky to get to play shows with bands such as Dark Buddha Rising, Oranssi Pazuzu, Domovoyd, Usko, Desert Lord, Sink, just to name a few. Many of them have been great, but the best ones usually happen when we have had a series of shows.

The stage performance, as we experience it, is focused and intense. We attempt to make it visual, with lighting and props, while still keeping the music in the center of things. It definitely is a different experience live.

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

Donner: Yes, we're planning a European tour for the autumn 2014 with our fellow band Domovoyd. On top of that were actively playing gigs throughout Finland of course, next ones during the autumn.

7.The new ep is going to be released through Hamahakki Music, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Donner: Sure. It's basically our own label we came up with. We were working with some labels on this newest release but due to bad luck and bad timing things got delayed and we couldn't wait no longer, so we did this one on our own.

About the label itself: the name stands for spider, which symbolizes the movements and behavior of the animal which are rapid at times, unpredictable and stealthy. Also the insect itself is pretty creepy, sucking out the entrails from the creatures it captures.

There's very likely to be more releases in the future from the Hämähäkki Music, with focus on strange and creepy stuff.

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

Donner: We feel it's been very positive. It looks like the audience appreciates the uncompromising artistic approach we are trying to nurture.

Saarikoski: Especially people who appreciate not only extreme metal, but also other musical styles such as prog or noise seem to find something compelling in our tunes.

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

Donner: The next album, which is a full length, is already in the works and we're composing songs towards that goal. We've also picked a producer for to help us on this, who is keen to work with us. Regarding the schedule, it is still too early to tell.

Musically we try to evolve constantly and make everything better and a bit different. It is worth to mention though, that the music will have same eerie and grim feeling built into it as with the two earlier records though.

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?

Donner: Influences are from a variety of bands and styles. Plenty of good music out there. Right now Aosoth sounds great and also Domovoyd as the sun is blazing hotter and hotter.

Saarikoski: This week I've been mostly listening to Vinnie Vincent, Sokea Piste, Sink and Anatomia.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Mrcö: Drugs.

Saarikoski: Fishing.

Donner: Haha, nothing to add.

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

Saarikoski: Buy or trade the new vinyl and come to check our gigs.

Fucking Invincible/It'll Get Worse Before It Gets Better/Atomic Action! Records/2014 CD Review

  Fucking  Invincible  are  a  band  from  Rhode  island  that  plays  a  mixture  of  crust,  grind,  hardcore  and  sludge  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "It'll  Get  Worse  Before  It  Gets  Better"  which  will  be  released  by  Atomic  Action!  Records.

  A  very  noisy   distorted  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  the  music  goes  into  a  fast  crust/grind  direction  along  with  blast  beats  and  high  pitched  screams  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  on  some  of  the  later  songs  they  start  mixing  in  slow  sludge/doom  metal  parts  in  with  the  faster  sections  of  their  musical  sound.

  Most  of  the  tracks  on  the  album  are  very  short  in  length  and  are  mostly  under  2  minutes  and  they  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  samples  on  some  of  the  later  songs  and  the  band  sticks  to  a  very  primitive,  brutal  and  raw  sound  through  out  the  album  and  never  use  any  solos  or  leads.

  Fucking  Invincible  play  a  very  fast  and  raw  mixture  of  grind,  crust  and  hardcore  and  mix  in  slower  doom  and  sludge  metal  elements  in  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  on  this  album,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent,  hateful,  dark  and  pissed  off  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Fucking  Invincible  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  grind,  crust,  hardcore  and  sludge  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Not  What  You  Are"  "All  Good  Things"  "The  World  Keeps  Turning"  and  "Progress  Trap".  8  out  of  10.