Garth Arum/The Dawn Of A New Creation/Satanath Records/2013 CD Review

  Garth  Arum  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a  symphonic  and  avant  garde  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "The  Dawn  Of  A  New  Creation"  which  was  released  by Satanath  Records.

    Classical  guitars  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  modern  prog  metal  direction  that  also  uses  clean  singing  male  and  female  vocals  along  with  a  great  amount  of  synths  and  the  music  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  folk  instruments  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  start  to  became  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording.

  At  times  the  music  can  be  very  avant  garde  and  experimental  while  there  is  always  a  great  amount  of  melody  present  throughout  the  recording  in  both  the  riffs  and  solos  while  some  of  the  vocals  also  add  in  black  metal  screams  and  spoken  word  parts  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  are  utilized.

  Some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  also  utilize  a  great  amount  of  symphonic  elements  and  throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  later  songs  also  introduce  acoustic  guitars  and  female  vocals  onto  the  recording  and  the  music  also  brings  in  elements  of  electronic  music  into  some  parts  of  the  recording.

  Garth  Arum  take  doom  and  death  metal  and  mixes  it  with  atmospheric,  progressive  and  avant  music  along  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  to  create  a  very  original  sounding  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dreams,  unreality,  universe,  return  to  innocence  and  apocalypse  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Garth  Arum  are  a  very  great  sounding   progressive,  symphonic,  and  avant  garde  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  along  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Shadows  Of  The  Past"  "Labyrinth  Of  Lies"  and  "Yearned  Freedom".  8  out  of  10.           

Enclave Of Dreams/"The Road To The Inevitable/Satanath Records/2013 CD Review

  Enclave  Of  Dreams  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  gothic  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "The  Road  To  The  Inevitable"  which  was  released  by  Satanath  Records.

  Nature  sounds  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  violins  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound to  them  and  after  awhile  clean  singing  vocals  along  with  some  screams  that  have  a  black  metal  tinge  to  them  and  death  metal  growls.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  very  dark,  melodic  and  depressive  sounding  and  keyboards  are  also  used  on  a  regular  basis  and  they  also  give  the  music  more  of  a  tragic  feeling  and  one  of  the  tracks  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  style  of  goth  doom/death  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  either  to  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction.

  Enclave  In  Darkness  plays  a  style  of  melodic,  goth  doom/death  metal  that  is  very  atmospheric  and  rooted  in  the  90's  while  also  bringing  in  a touch  of  black  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Russian  and  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Enclave  In  Darkness  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  goth,  doom,  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres, you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Doctor  For  Your  Soul"  "When  the  Idleness  Of  The  Hands"  and  "The  Illusion  Of  Color,  the  World".  8  out  of  10.   

Agoraphobic Nosebleed/Arc/Relapse Records/2016 EP Review

  Agoraphobic  Nosebleed  are  a  band  from  Maryland  that  are  more  known  for  playing  noise/grindcore  but take  that  genre  and  also  mix  in  elements  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  on  this  recording  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  ep  "Arc"  which  will  be  released  by  Relapse  Records  in  the  year  of  2016.

  A very  distorted  noisy  reverb  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  melodic  doom  metal  riffing  that  goes  into  more  of  a  sludge  direction  a  few  seconds  later  as  well  as  introducing  high  pitched  screams  onto  the  recording  and  all  3  of  their  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  also  bring  in  a  stoner  vibe  at  times.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  some of t he  riffs  also  bring  in  a  Southern  metal  vibe  at  times  and  all  3  of  the  tracks  stick  to  a  very  slow  yet  heavy  musical  direction  and  death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  the  ep  closes  with  some  elements  of  harsh  noise.

  On  this  recording  Agoraphobic  Nosebleed  slows  everything  down  to  focus  more  on  a  slower  yet  heavy  doom/sludge  metal  direction  while  also  retaining  the  screaming  vocals,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  misnathropic  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Agoraphobic  Nosebleed  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band  or  sludge  and  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Deathbed".  8  out  of  10.

Restos Humanos/Cryptic Brood/Equinox Discos/2015 Split EP Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  Columbia/Italy's  Restos  Humanos  and  Germany's  Cryptic  Brood  which  was  released  by  Equinox  Discos  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Restos  Humanos  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal,  grindcore  and  crust.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  clean  playing    and  horror  movie  style  keyboards  before  going  into  more  of  an  old  school  death  metal  direction  that  has  a  heavy  Swedish  vibe  to  it  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  blast  beats  and  growling  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  elements  of  crust  and  grind.

  All  of  the  songs  are  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  and  the  other track  also  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  horror move  samples  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts, t he  production  sounds  very  old  school  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  horror,  death,  murder  and  zombies.

  In  my opinion  Restos  Humanos  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death  metal,  crust  and  grind  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Muerte".

  Next  up  is  Cryptic  Brood  a  band  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  old  school  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  dark  guitar  riff  which  leads  to  a  doom  metal  direction  that  also  uses  both  growls  and  screams  and  the  music  also  mixes  in  elements  of  early  90's  death  metal  and  also  sticks  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  while  also  speeding  up  at  times  and  bringing  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  Necromancy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  track  from  Cryptic  Brood  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  doom  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.

  In  conclusion  i  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  death,  doom  metal,  crust  and  grindcore.  8  out  of  10.

     

The Lumberjack Feedback/Blackened Visions/Kaotoxin Records/2016 CD Review

  The  Lumberjack  Feedback  area  band  from  France  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  instrumental  mixture  of  sludge,  stoner  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  album  "Blackened  Visions"  which  will  be  released  in  2016  by  Kaotoxin  Records.

  Distorted  reverb's  and  a  heavy  yet  melodic  guitar  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  drums  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the music  is  mostly  rooted  in  sludge  and  stoner  metal  while  the  slow  riffs  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  doom  metal  and  you  can  also  hear  a  touch  of  post  rock  at  times.

  All  of  the tracks  are  instrumental  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  very  melodic  and  are  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  modern  post  metal  style  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  you  can  also  hear  a  small  amount  of  nature  sounds  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  music  also  gets  very  progressive  at  times  and  all  of  the  songs  remain  true  to  mostly  a  very  heavy  and  slow  musical  direction  while  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  some  riffs  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  melody.

  The  Lumberjack  Feedback  creates  another  recording  that  mixes  the  heaviest  styles  of stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  together  while  also  keeping  everything  instrumental  and  also  mixing  in  elements  of  progressive  and  post  rock  and  the  production  also  sounds  very  professional.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  The  Lumberjack  Feedback  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Blackened  visions"  and  "Salvation". 8  out  of  10.  

 

Soliloquium/The Concept Of Escape/Symbol Of Domination Productions/2013 EP Review

  Soliloquium  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays a  melodic  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of their  2013  ep  "The  Concept  Of  Escape"  which  was  released  by  Symbol  Of  Domination  Records.

  A  very  dark,  heavy,  melodic  and  atmospheric  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams  that h ave  a  black  metal  feeling  to  them  as  well  as  some  depressive  sounding  guitar  solos  and  leads  and  the  vocals  also  mix  in  a  great  amount  of  death  metal  growls  and  all  3  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  vocals  also  get  melodic  in  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  add  in  a  touch  of  post  metal  at  times  which  also makes  the  tracks  have  more  of  a  modern  day feeling  and  all  of  the  music  sticks  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction.

  Soliloquim  plays  a  style of  doom/death  metal  that  is  very  melodic  and  also  adds  in a   touch  of  post  metal  and  depressive  rock  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  humanity,  depression,  and  personal  struggles.

  In  my  opinion  Soliloquim  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Remnants  Of  Dying  Dreams".  8  out of  10.

Inner Missing Interview

1.


    Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?



Hello everybody! Now we are mapping out concerts in 2016: our participation in Metal Blast Festival (Cairo, Egypt) and Noise Metal Fest (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia) is announced and we are still looking for more shows! And, of course, we do not forget about working at new songs – some of them will be performed at the upcoming gigs.



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



On the new album we tried to make the structure of the tracks more complicated, the arrangements deeper and the sound more atmospheric – and we guess we’ve done it. Of course, betterment of the sound’s quality was also a very important part of the work and, thanks to our sound producer Max Morton who not only made his best to unlock our material’s potential, but also helped us with the arrangements, our album sound much more mature than any of our previous works. The Sentinel And The Murderer was as well the first album on which violin was used –a great thanks for it goes to Oleg Kalayda.





3.In the beginning the music was more doom/death metal, but the newer material has been more goth metal and depressive rock, what was the decision behind going into this musical direction?



I cannot say there was a decision at all – when I’m going to compose a new song, it is not like: “Well, now I want to write some funeral stuff – let’s do it slow then” or “OK, now gothic genre is more fashionable, so, I’ll add more lachrymose melodies”. I just write what comes to my mind and in most cases this process is uncontrolled. Maybe it’s not the way professionals do it but I suppose it’s the way to make sincere and original music.



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



As usual, in most cases lyrics are based on my own experience or on the stories which I face in my professional (as a forensic pathologist) life - for example, “Arrows” is about a man who shot himself with a crossbow. Sometimes I use works of literature for inspiration – it is the way “The Castle” was created. I never feel lack of inspiration for creating new lyrics – I just write words which claim it.



5.Originally the band was called 'Odium', what was the decision behind the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Inner Missing'?



The reason to change the band’s name was trivial – there were too many bands with exactly the same name (18 if to believe Encyclopaedia Metallum). The name 'Inner Missing' was invented by our drummer RF (left the band soon after the release of “All The Lifeless”)and I think that even for him the meaning of the band’s name is a riddle. We knowingly do not give any exact interpretation of the band’s name providing this opportunity to the listener.







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?



In 2011 we supported Saturnus in Minsk (Belarus) and it was incredible! We haven’t seen such a passionate audience nor before, nor after this show – I hope, one day we will return to Belarus again. If to speak about our stage performance, I can honestly say that we’re not a professional band, and so, in most cases our performance depends on the public’s response and on our own mood as well. Another peculiarity is that in most cases on the concerts we play only the songs that are not recorded and released yet – we live through these songs until the album’s release and then they become independent and obtain their own separate life which does not need our participation.



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



As already stated we will visit Egypt and Mongolia in 2016 – and I hope, some other countries, but, of course, it depends on local promoters.



8.The new album was self released, are you open to working with another record label again in the future?



The new album is still not released at all – it’s just available for download. As all our previous works, it will be released on CDs by Darknagar Records – it’s just a matter of time.



9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your newer music by your fans?



As usual, we get a lot of positive comments and reviews from all over the world and a bunch of displeased grunts from Russia – local fans, obviously, cannot forgive us for betrayal of orthodox Doom\Death. I never take any of the comments seriously because I do not earn money by music, and so, I can afford doing whatever pleases me and nobody else.



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?



We share our drummer Albe with Karma Rassa, but I think that it will be more correct to ask Karma Rassa about their state of affairs – I simply do not have any actual data.



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



As practice shows, in planning of the band’s development and future I’m always wrong. In 2008, when it all began, I never imagined that I’ll use opera singing or that keyboards will become the leading instrument. Of course, the band’s evolution obeys some laws, but these laws are a mystery for me.



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



I still listen to Doom, Gothic metal and Darkwave, and even now I often find new original bands in these styles. My Dying Bride, Katatonia, Moonspell, Paradise Lost, Diary Of Dreams and Novembre are still my favorites and I do not think that time will change it. Besides, in recent years I become interested in Progressive metal and rock and post-rock music and bands like Agora Fidelio and Naïve had a great impact on me.



13.What are some of your non musical interests?



Literature, photography and tourism.



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



Listen to the music and support your favorite bands. Hope to see you soon!