Buried Souls Interview

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

We are a 4 members (pieces) band from Switzerland, more specifically near Lausanne, formed in
2010, but with the actual line­up only since 2012. Mat at vocals, Alex at guitar, Yann at bass and
David at the drums.

2. In October you had released your first album, how would you describe the musical sound that
is presented on the recording?

We wanted something relatively dark and palpable, which mixes mainly Sludge, Death, Doom and
Hardcore

3. The band has been around since 2010 but waited until 2015 to release any music, can you tell
us a little bit more about the 5 year wait?

We’ve been through a lot of troubles, we had to change our rehearsal room, we had a complete
record that didn’t made it for us. So we decided to start over the recording from the beginning and
on our own. In addition, we all have jobs or studies, so not a lot of free time, which made the
record processing quit long.


4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
We speak about a lot of things, about people behavior, feelings, emotions, psychological affects
and about the spiritual and political dimension of religion.

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

When we read that question, we really told ourselves “hey, that’s a good one haha”. Let’s say that
we spent a lot of time looking for a name. Alex brought the name “Buried Souls” and we all agreed
on it, because this name has a particular and different signification for every member of the band.
It can either be a vision of the past, a dark dimension, metaphors about feelings and emotions.


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

We don’t think there is a performance better than another, every shows were very great. We
really enjoyed every performances we made. We try to produce a lot of energy, to keep room to
improvisation and try to be as authentic as possible.

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

We have a live show in June in Switzerland. Although we are currently working on a new EP which
should be released next year (if we are luckiest than last time). About touring, we hope to do one,
but it’s quite difficult to organise a tour with our jobs right now.

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

We are not really searching for a label right now, more focusing on composition and playing shows,
but if we have an opportunity we’d think about it seriously.

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

We don’t know if we can talk about worldwide but we received good feedback from the public.
People appreciated the mix of violent parts, blast beats that we added to melodic and sludgy riffs.

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

David is currently playing drums in the band “Shaddaï” (swiss black metal band) Yann has a solo
project called “Aelgor”, a black metal project too.

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

We will spend more time to get the details right, which should lead to something a bit more
“technical”.

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?

We all have different influences, e.g. Yann listens to a lot of thrash metal, black metal and old rock,
Mathieu listens to post­hardcore, modern hardcore and post­rock. Alex listens to more sludgy
things like Down, Crowbar and death metal bands (e.g. Dying Fetus, Decapitated, Benighted,
Dyscarnate). David is the most open­minded in the band and likes all the styles that we cited
before.

For this record, the biggest influences where sludge, hardcore, death and even doom.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

Movies, video games, reading, partying, graphic design and sleeping

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

Thank you very much for this interview and your review that really pleased us!

Ex Animo Interview

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

Ex Animo is a Ukrainian metal band located in Kharkiv, our music is a specific mix of genres based on musical tastes of every member of the band, someone can describe our style as dark/doom metal, but actually we are just trying to find that golden ratio, our common vector in mixing the aggression and melody of metal music.

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 stuff you have released in the past?

“Neverday” has aggressive but yet melodic metal sound. Each song has it’s own mood and pace, nevertheless we’ve tried to maintain the dark atmosphere of the album.

If you compare it to our previous release you will find nothing in common. Of course, there are years between them, our views and our tastes have changed. “Neverday” is that mature release that gives a form to Ex Animo and outlines its musical direction.

3.The band has been around for 16 years but so far has only released an ep, single and 2 full lengths, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap in between releases?

Yeah, that is a painful topic for us. Since 2008 we’ve been constantly experiencing some lineup issues, which made not only the recordings but even rehearsals a hard task. In fact some of the songs from the “Neverday” album were written around 2008 - 2010. Recordings were conducted from time to time since then but never finished the way we wanted our songs to be, so we had to start the process again and again. We’ve managed to release the “Soulglass” EP out of that stuff but still were not fully satisfied with the result. We still had too little experience and too many expectations. In the end we came up with the more mature sound, composition and lyrics for both old and new songs and we are really glad that the album is finally out and we can move on.

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

It can be any topic that feels right when you’re listening to your newly-written music. But we always apply our personal experience to every story behind the songs and try to make it as much personal as possible.

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

Well, from the very beginning we were trying to do everything based on our feelings and not to pay too much attention to current trends or demands in the music world. “Ex Animo” literally means “from the heart”. I remember one day in the early 2000s we just accidentally stumbled into this phrase in some of the latin dictionaries and realised “Wow this can be a cool name for the band!”. The kind of name that precisely describes the way we are writing our songs, this can even be called our motto, when making any kind of band related decision we are guided by this name. “Let’s do it in Ex Animo way” we say, and you already know what to do, almost all the time, ha ha.

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?

Our best shows are yet to come we hope, in general we like most of the gigs we’ve played, all of them were cool in their own way. Can’t come up with a specific one here.

Regarding the stage performance I would describe it as natural, as with the music we are trying to behave and act in the way we feel in that very moment, the “Ex Animo way” you know. We are mostly concentrated on outlining our music and giving it to our listeners in it’s best, that’s usually the high priority, at the same time we leave some space for experiments here.

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

Currently we are looking for the possibilities to present our album in the major Ukrainian cities. First show after the album release was in Kharkiv, our native city on April, 22. Further plans are unclear yet.

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

Most of the time we receive very nice feedback, our listeners are very supportive and this means the world to us! We believe that our songs combine enough elements of different genres to appeal to people with the diverse musical preferences, even though the fans of more extreme metal usually dislike female vocals.

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

So far it looks like our music will become more aggressive and heavy in future. Although, we’d like to experiment with acoustic and electronic sounds as well.

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?

Oh, that’s a huge list that basically covers almost all of the metal and non-metal musical styles. As for the bands that influenced us the most we can list such names as: Anathema, Moonspell, Metallica, The Gathering, Black Sun Aeon, October Tide, Swallow the Sun, Paradise Lost, Therion, Katatonia and many more.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

It’s funny, but almost everyone in the band is interested in photography. Besides that comes science, art, traveling, even work (sometimes).

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

We would like to encourage people to explore new music, new bands and styles. Don’t be afraid to experiment, not only it gives you a better vision and understanding of the musical world and boosts your creativity, but also gives a chance to the bands like Ex Animo to be heard. There are hundreds of talented musicians waiting for you to discover them, so give it a try. And remember that it’s always better to listen to your heart, not to others. Cheers!

St. Bastard Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
My name is David Richman and St. Bastard is my one-man doom machine. It’s a single-seat vehicle that I drive to hell and back again. I’ve been a drummer for four decades, always in projects led by other people. But last year I decided I had some vile and horrendous visions of my own that I wanted to translate to music and convey in song. So I took up my battle-axe and started swinging.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?
I try to make the heaviest and ugliest music on Earth, but with memorable riffs and hooks. There’s stuff out there that’s certainly heavier than St. Bastard, but I think even with my very limited ability on guitar I deliver some cathartic, crushing sounds.

3.Your label your music as 'dad doom', can you tell us a little bit more about that term?
Being a dad, I have a lot of daily responsibilities with family stuff, but in between that I work on the music. I run everything by the kids. They love it! The other day we were in the car and one of them asked me if I ever listened to anything but rock. (By “rock” she meant metal.) Of course I do. But in the car it’s all metal all the time.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with your music?
The Bastard’s lyrics are talk therapy, confession and raw venom. All the words that are difficult to say to people in my life are there in the songs. That and straight-up dark poetry.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name ‘St. Bastard’?
For me, making ugly, extreme and dissonant music is about being a good person who goes to the dark side and brings something back. Even the sweetest, most well-adjusted and wonderful people have ugly, scary and weird things about themselves that they might successfully suppress or control. Beyond every light there is blackness, an abyss. Beneath order there is chaos. That’s what St. Bastard is. And I like band names that have the word “Saint” in them.

6.On the recordings you record everything by yourself, do you prefer this over working with other musicians?
I like having total control, and when a song is done I feel a sense of accomplishment that the thing is 100% me. But on the other hand, it can be more difficult coming up with ideas and developing them with no one else to provide feedback or add creativity.

7.Can you tell us a little bit more about the live bad that you have formed for shows?
When I decided to make St. Bastard into a real band I wanted to be the frontman, something I’d never done before. I’ve always been the drummer in other people’s groups. I have a very high standard for drummers and I knew I needed a great one. I read somewhere that the band Hull had played their farewell gig and broken up. Hull was a Brooklyn-based metal band that had been around for over ten years and had success, touring and releasing albums. Their drummer, Jeff, was out of a gig, so I cold-called (emailed?) him, introduced myself and asked if he wanted to play with me. He did. He’s great. On bass there's Dan, who can play the shit out of any style of music. He was in Sabbath Assembly. But I had to provide a bass for him on this gig; I couldn’t ask him to ruin one of his basses by setting it up for the beastly and hellish tuning St. Bastard uses. So I let him play my Bastard bass, expressly anointed for this band.

I’ve used a bunch of other guitar players live: Pete from Valient Thorr, Tom from Nuthouse Recording/Revolver Magazine, and Devin from the Punk/Metal Karaoke Band. But we've done our last few shows as a trio, with me as the only guitar player. It’s nerve-racking being the only six-stringer up there (I’m not really a guitarist!) but there’s a leanness and simplicity to the sound that I like. We might go forward as a trio in the future.

8.Are there any shows planned for the future?
St. Bastard is playing a show in Brooklyn on June 3 at Lucky 13 Saloon with our friends Eternal Black and Beefrot. Come out!

9.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
In my former life I worked at a record label for nearly 20 years. I’m glad to be out of that business! I have no real interest in going back in any capacity. I don’t really care about putting St. Bastard’s music onto a piece of plastic at all. Releasing things digitally is fine.

10.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of sludge and doom metal?
There have been a few Facebook likes and blog posts from people in Europe and even Asia praising the Bastard. It’s good to know metal is truly a global language.

11.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?
I like releasing digital EPs. When I finish a batch of three or four songs I like to put ‘em out on the Bandcamp site as is. Each little song cycle represents a season of St. Bastard, and I like to get the stuff out there pretty regularly. Other than that I’d like to keep gaining confidence as a frontman, play live regularly here in NYC, and widen the circle to do some regional gigs in the Northeast.

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?
I like to say I’m into space…or all the space filled in. I listen to a lot of ambient music; it makes for a minimalist vibe and I like that. Otherwise, I’m a sucker for a great riff, bludgeoning rhythm and menacing atmosphere. I’ve been listening to Coffinworm, Indian, Lord Mantis, Conan, Graves at Sea, Tombs, With the Dead, Fister and Primitive Man.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?
Life is all about being a good dad and family man and making crushing sludge metal.

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks for peering into the void with St. Bastard.

Abyssian/Nibiruan Chronicles/Violet Nebula/Visionaire Records/2016 CD Review

  Abyssian  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  dark  mixture  of  goth  and  doom  metal  and  this  is a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Nibiruan  Chronicles"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Violent  Nebula  and  Visionaire  Records.

 A  very  dark  sounding  synth  and  acoustic  guitars  start  off  the  album  which  also  use  a  great  mixture  of  finger  picking  and  full  chords  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  heavier  musical  direction  while  also  introducing  melodic  guitar  leads  on  the  recording  while  the  riffing  is  done  in  more  of  a  doom  metal  direction.

  All  of t he  musical  instruments  on  the  recording h ave  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  they  are  done  in  a  clean  singing  direction  and  they  also  mix  in  goth,  symphonic  and  atmospheric  sounds in  with  the  heavier parts  and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Acoustic  guitars  also  make  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  adds  a  slight  death  metal  influence  onto  the  recording  and  elements  of  electronic  music  can  be  heard  briefly while t he  screams  add  a  touch  of  black  metal  onto  the  recording  and some songs  also  bring  in  elements  of  traditional  metal  and d eath  rock.

  Abyssian  plays  a musical  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  goth  and  doom  metal  while  also  add  in a   touch  of  black  and  death  metal  to  create  a  style  of  his own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Atlantean  tales,  Sumerian  Mythology,  Ancient  Alines,  unknown  Worlds  and  Submerged  Culture  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Abyssian  are  a  very  great sounding  dark  mixture  of  goth  and doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS INCLUDE  "Neanderthal  Sands"  "The  Sins  Of  Atlantis"  and  "Back  To  Tilmun".  8/5  out  of  10.

St. Bastard/Daemon/2015 EP Review

 

  St. Bastard  are  a  solo  project  from  New  York  that  plays  a  mixture  of   sludge,  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2015  ep  "Daemon".

  A  very dark  yet melodic  guitar  riff  starts  off  the  ep  and  starts  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  direction  after  a  few  seconds  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  death  metal  growls  can  be  heard  giving t he  music  a  touch  of  black  metal  along  with some  high  pitched  screams.

  Most  of  the  music  sticks  to  a  slow  sludge/doom  metal  direction  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  stick  to  a  very  dark  and  melodic  musical  direction  and  the  whole  ep  also  remains  very  heavy  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording  and  some  of  the  riffs  add  in  a  touch  of  the  more  heavier  style  of  90's  doom/death  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  element s of  harsh  noise  can  be  heard  on  the  last track.  

  St.  Bastard  plays  a  style  of doom/sludge  metal  that  is  very  dark  and  heavy and  also  adds  in  a  slight  touch  of  black  metal,  the  production  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  heavy  sound  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  St.  Bastard  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out t his  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Light  Inverted"  and  "Rift".  8  out  of  10.

 

Van Halst/World Of Make Believe/2015 Full Length Review

  Van  Halst  are  a  band  from  Alberta,  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of  melodic hard  rock  and  gothic  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015  album  "World  of  Make  Believe".

  A  very  dark  atmosphere  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  tribal  beats  a  few  seconds  later  that  also  leads  up  to  a  heavier  musical  direction  along  with  some  clean  singing  female  vocals  and  you  can  hear  a  lot  of  hard  rock  elements  in  the  bands  musical  style  while  the  screams  and  growls  add  in  a  touch  of  death  and  black  metal.

  back  up  gang  shouts  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  synths  along  with  elements  of  goth  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  some  songs  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  samples  while  other  tracks  bring  in  elements  of  electronic  music  and  as  the  album  progresses  there  is  a  great  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction.

  Van  Halst  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  goth  metal  and  mainstream  rock  and  mixes  it  in  with  elements  of  black  and  death  metal  to  create  a  style  of   their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  feminism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Van  Halst  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  goth  metal  and  hard  rock  with  a  touch  of  death  and  black  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Save Me"  "Questions"  "Monster"  and  "perfect  Storm".  8  out  of  10.

        

Kratos Interview

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

Very little Metal music was broadcasted and performed in Romania in the mid 90’s and Dan Dron (guitar and vocals) strongly believed that his creative abilities would better come to light if a band was formed which will establish the new face of gothic metal in our country. In light of his desire, he formed the band Kratos in the fall of 1996, aspiring at bringing gothic style music on the Romanian stage.

The first noticeable release was “The Essence”, a demo composed and recorded in 1997. After the release of the demo, several radio and television interviews followed which led to participation in metal festivals around. The performance was awarded and applauded in local and national magazines.

By 1999 we were already a well-established and known band in Romania. It was now time for our first LP. “Looking behind the mirror…” was released in mid 1999 and immediately we started a set of tours to promote its music in Romania and abroad. The band also started to re-tool itself and take full advantage of the opportunities available in gothic music by introducing symphonic elements in our composition. Atmospheric passages became darker and overall the music became more incisive.

In between events we have released three singles: 2002 – Reverse Effect, 2010 – Beyond Knowing and 2013 – It’s Empty II.

Dan Dron remains the band lead and he is accounting for almost all the Kratos compositions. In ’99 Monica Barta joined the band as female vocal and since 2012 she is also the band’s bass guitar player. 2012 is also the year when Iustin (guitars) and Catalin (drums) joined the band completing today’s Kratos lineup.   


2.You have a new album coming out, 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?

We simply call it dark metal! It is melodic metal with symphonic elements, dynamic passages, theatrical performances, with intriguing and a bit cynical lyrics.
We believe that as we evolve as humans so does the music we compose.


3.The band has been around since 1996 but has only released 2 full length, a demo and a single and also there has been no new material since 2002, can you tell us a little bit more about it?

Composing music takes time and patience. Changes in lineup, economic and political spectrum as well as personal events directly impact the ability to release new material. Also when you want to do the best you have to find the best to work with so the selection process for the band members is thorough and requires time. It is easy to notice that our sound has evolved since 1999. As the years pass everyone progresses as a human being and that gets directly reflects in our music too.

Even if we didn’t release a new LP for several years we were still active on the metal scene participating in many live shows.


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

The concept is focusing on the drama, life contrasts and inner struggles of the soul, a psychological puzzle "like an Arlechino act".

The lyrics are focused on the three evolutionary phases of the human spirit.
First one exposes the lie, falsehood, hollowness, deceitfulness and strong egos which are causing suffering to others.

The second phase creates an image about the positive part of humanity, the good we are able to exhibit and the inner power of free will.

The third and final phase represents the ether, universal, macro-cosmic stage.
Without limits the human is the Universe ant The Universe is rolling into him. 

In fact, the album is a transposition of universal evolution of the human spirit. Each song represents a different face of the human being but in its entire the album is a window to the Awakening of the human consciousness; from selfishness, malice, “humans playing with other souls”, the whole picture turns to the role of the people on this planet, the achievement of the spiritual level.


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

Kratos is a Greek word meaning force, strength or power. We relate the meaning of Kratos with the strength that is in each human being, the strength to build but also to destroy, the mental power to surge above negativity but also the dualism of the human beings, the universal force that keeps us moving on.

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?

Some notable events were the Tiamat opening act in 2005, 2008 Summer Nights Open Air Festival in Austria as well as concerts with Umbra et Imago, Rotting Christ and Suicidal Angels to name a few.
We always bring something new through our live performances so all shows are memorable.


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

The release show for “Arlechino” is on May 6th in Bucharest Romania. It will be a spectacular event where we will be accompanied by a strings quintet (3 violins, 1 cello, 1 double bass). We are absolutely excited! We dreamt for a while to be able to organize such an event and our dreams came true!

As future plans, we are working on a promotional tour for our new album.


8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of gothic and extreme metal?
  
It’s very nice to see people asking about your new materials or live performances. We have visitors on our official channels from worldwide so I believe this is a good thing.  

9.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?

All is well when the music is created with passion. We are not here to judge or make comments on others but rather to focus on how Kratos can and will bring an improvement to metal.


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

It is impossible to predict the future so let’s focus on our immediate goals for this matter. Primarily it is our desire to set a higher standard in metal at national and European level. To achieve higher standards, a lot of work and dedication will have to be invested which of course takes time but that also allows us to evolve and gratify all those who love our music.

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

We listen a lot of music of different genres. We haven’t a specific “pattern” and we prefer not to surround ourselves with a particular genre. Our favorite music ranges from epic, movie soundtracks as well as grind, death, black.


12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Reading books, movies, nature and pets.


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

Thank you very much for this interview!
I really hope that our “Arlechino” will conquer the hearts of the listener and the mind by its message. Stay true to yourself and to others!

Serotonin Syndrome/Sarajas/2015 Full Length Review

  Serontin  Syndrome  are  a  band  from  Finalnd  that  plays  a  mixture  of  post,  doom/death  metal  and  alternative  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015  album  "Sarajas".

  Clean  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  and  after  a  few  seconds  the  music  gets  heavy  and  starts  incorporating  more  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  and  after  awhile  melodic guitar  leads  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  while  the  music  also  gets  progressive  at  times.

  Elements  of  modern  metal  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  the  music  also has  a  good  balance  between  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and there  is  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  while  the  solos  and  solos  bring  in  elements  of  post  metal  and  alternative  rock  and  as  the  album  progresses  atmospheric  synths  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  the  heavier  riffs  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  doom  metal  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  blast  beats  and  depressive  black  metal  screams  are  utilized.

  Serotonin  Syndrome  plays    as  style  of  post  metal  that  incorporates  elements  of  black,  doom  and  death  metal  while  also  having  the  melody  of  alternative  rock,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Serotonin  Syndrome  are  a  very  great  sounding  post  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Rusted  Rainbow  In  the  Horizon"  and  "Catharsis".  8  out  of  10.  

Sea/Self Titled/Third I Rex/2016 EP Review

  Sea  are  a  band  from  Boston,  Massachusetts  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge,  doom  and post  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2016  ep  which  was  released  by  Third  I  Rex.

  Drum  beats  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  distorted drones  before  going  into  a  very dark,  heavy  and  melodic  direction  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  spoken  yet  aggressive  and  you  can  also h ear  a  touch  of  post  metal  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  vocals  also  use  clean  singing  at  times  and  most  of t he  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Elements  of  sludge  and doom  metal  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  very  melodic  and  bring  in  a  touch  of  stoner  rock  and  when  clean  playing  is  utilized  it  gives  the  music  more  of  a  progressive  feeling  and  most  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  slow  musical  direction and  on  the  second  track  growls  and  screams  are  brought  into  the  music  briefly  along  with  the  music  also  speeding  up  for  a  few  seconds  and  bringing  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats.

  Sea  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  sludge,  doom  and  post  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  nature,  time,  ritualistic  and  mythological  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sea  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge,  doom  and  post  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  yuo  should c heck  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Moros".  8  out  of  10.

Ides Interview

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

Somewhere autumn 2013 beyond the reach of my control I experienced loads of trouble sleeping. In stead of wallowing in sadness, sorrow and exhaustion l spent many nights writing music, in the beginning mostly riffs without any idea where it would lead me to, after a few months things started to fall in place and somewhere february 2014 the first Ides songs were composed. Back in that period it was just me, and until we started recording our first promo no others were involved.
At the time of the recording the band consisted of HTP (vocals), TMM (drums), GEP (violin) and me (guitars/synths). As said above, we recorded a one track promo and went on recording our full length immidiately after that. Both recording and mixing took up quite some time, we send out a rough version of the album to a selected set of labels from which we received quite a lot of positive reactions. After rearranging some songs, adding some extra synth and violin parts and getting the songs mastered we found that Vic Records was the best fitting label for us, they really love the old school death metal and doom/death metal that is so dear to our hearts and really understand what we want and stand for and now it is time to see what the rest of the world thinks about our depressive tunes.


2.You have your first album coming out in April, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

From the late eighties/early nineties my main interest concerning music has been doomy death metal, starting with the first Paradise Lost releases and My Dying Bride, discovering Celtic Frost, Candlemass and Trouble, and offcourse being knocked down by Winter. I still remember buying the Into Darkness album and playing it non stop for days and days and days.

During the writing sessions I dazed off into an almost hypnotic state and went back to those days. Where many doom-death bands have clearly a lot of Black Sabbath influences, we are more influenced by the above mentioned early doom-death bands, don't get me wrong, I like Black Sabbath, early Ozzy solo and Dio stuff a lot but I do not think those albums have been of much influence on Ides. If any music prior to the first wave of doom death metal has made a mark on Ides it would be Marc Bolan/T-Rex, Bathory's Hammerheart and Celtic Frost's Into the Pandemonium.
If I was to describe the musical style/sound of Ides/our debut album l guess it would be something like old school depressive down tuned doom death metal with psychadelic soundscapes and synths.

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

While writing the songs l spent many hours thinking about how l feld back in the days l got infected with the doom-death virus. It was not the most joyful period of my life and most of the lyrics are based on my life and times from those years, offcourse quite metaphorical (l did not really drown -Relief, nor did l survive a nuclear war -children of the revolution).

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

It might strike you as pretty far fetched but let me try to explain my thoughts and how l caress this band and its endavours.
Ides was founded in a time when I was living day to day, month to month, closing one period of my life, entering a new one, leaving behind just as much as it has coming, balancing on the edge of hope and despair, a monthly struggle to retain just enough to proceed, the end of the beginning, the beginning of the end. According to the old roman calendar ides is the centre day of each month. Ides is the pivot point, Ides is the centre.

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

There was and still is no intention of bringing the songs to the stage but we will see what happens, also currently we do not have a drummer and the other members live pretty far apart while all having enormous busy lives which makes rehearsing or even planning rehearsels almost impossible.

7.The new album is coming out on Vic Records, are you happy with the support they have given you so far ?

Vic Records is lead by someone with a lot of similair musical interests, and really understands what we want and seek for concerning the distribution, promotion and the look of the release it self while never interfering with the music/trusting us completely. Everything we asked for was taken care of and on top of that we are featured on a sampler cd that comes with the next issue of SOB magazine and I have seen quite some adverts for magazines with our albums amongst the other new Vic Records releases.
We are proud to be a part if the Vic family and as things look now, we would be happy to stay there for a while.

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

Feedback on my music ...
I have been active in several black- and death metal bands (a.o. Empire of the Scourged, Göll, Blunt Knife Idol, Styxian Industries and Temple ov Decibel) the vast majority of the feedback has been very positive for those bands, only Temple ov Decibel has received very mixed and sometimes very bad comments but we expected that and had the best time creating those songs.
Regarding Ides we have to be a bit patient, we did not put much effort in getting reviews/opinions for our promo and most of the reviews for the upcoming release have yet to come, however the people that have heard songs are all very enthousiastic and looking out to get the fysical album in their hands so we are pretty confident and looking forward to the coming reviews!

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

The music Ides delivers onto the world will always be heavily rooted in the late eighties/early nineties doom death metal. We have written the frameworks for twelve new songs and a few things we can tell is that allthough it will contain mostly utterly slow riffs, doomy rhythms and devouring dramatical melodies we will incorporate some more uptempo riffs into the songs as well, also we will use more different instruments including piano, flute and horns in our compositions.

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?

Influences:
Winter, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Anathema, Grave, Evoken, Candlemass, Cathedral, Obituary, Disembowelment, Autopsy, Bathory, Marc Bolan/T-Rex, Edie Brickel, Kirsten Hearse, Sinead O' Conner, Nile, Sigur Ross, Aghast, Roykssop, Axis of Perdition and loads more.

Current playlist:
Amongst many others: Undergang, Nightfell, Master, Winter, Burning Hatred, Unearthly Trance, Pathology, Hooded Menace, Extreme Cold Winter, Assorted Heap, Behemoth, Secrets of the Moon, Soul Asylum, Solstafir, Enslaved, Kari Rueslatten, old Sepultura, Jack Frost, Emperor, Triptycon, Hexvessel, Sentenced and Purtenance.


11.What are some of your non musical interests?
I am trying to divide my time between all sorts of creative activities, for instance besides the diverse musical projects I am involved in l am currently into making buttons for bands, after years if not even owning a single pencil I am drawing more and more, I worry about a lot of things which also takes up quite a portion of my time and l am looking into buying a screen printing unit.


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

Thank you for taking time to write us a review and give us the opportunity to tell some more about the band. To all readers l want to say: keep an eye out on both Ides as well as Vic Records. Our album 'Sun of the Serpents Tongues' is out now, it is available from both Vic records as well as from us, be prepared to be bored to death and get your copy now!

Black Royal Interview

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

- Black Royal was founded in 2013 to fulfill the urge to play real, true and passionate metal which leans on traditional heavy rock influences. We introduced the band for the first time in 2014 with our debut video of the song "All Proven Stupidity" and the first EP "The Summoning Pt. 1" was released in february 2015. It was well received in the media and got great feedback from the crowd also.


2.So far you have released 2 ep's, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings and also how do they differ from each other?

- We use a three dimensional idea of a sound that influence our music, - a classic 1970's heavy sound mixed with 1990's death metal and modern sludge/stoner groove. As both EP's are under the same title, - "pt. 1 and pt. 2", the sound is quite similar more or less. With this "pt. 2" our aim was to create more analogic sound that breathes with an aerial feeling. Songwise, we tried to compose them more  openly and add a slight epic touch to it. In general we don't like triggers on drums or various plug-ins on guitar and bass because it suites us better when we have real pedals, amps and cabinets. And you can't lose with a proper Boss HM pedal!


3.The lyrics cover a lot of Occult topics, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in Occultism?

- We are inspired of the mystical and occultic rock from the seventies because it just goes hand in hand so well with the music and the lyrics. So it is more of an artistic way of choice to add them together. I don't think that any of us is deeply into occultism by action but by a thought of a more real self-assertion and individuality. We believe in free thinking and the teachings of a left Hand Path and everything that empowers yourself to be a better person. Lyrically we cover those themes with anti religious stance which is a straight result of the hate I personally feel towards institutionalized church and their hypocrite deeds to gain control and world domain.


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

- Well, not much anything, hah! Of course the band's name has to be easy to remember, ageless and it should reflect well what the band is all about. There has to be some cool sounding words, majestic feel to it and I think we pulled that one off quite well. And our logo is easy enough to be carved onto the school desk during class!


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

- For us the live shows are the biggest drive to do this in the first place. Every music should be enjoyed from the stage,  live, raw and naked. It shows what the band is all about, period. We got a chance to play live in The Baltics last autumn and it was a really cool thing, so those would be one of the best gigs so far. We like to have a party going on when we hit the stage. Even thou our music and the lyrics can be interpreted as dark and hopeless, our live shows are not about sadness or grief, it's all about having fun with the same kind of people who share the same kind of interest in music that we do. Drink beer, people!


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

- This EP is just released and of course we aim to play live shows more often than last year. For now there's just a couple of gigs confirmed in finland, but as we speak we have been asked in couple of places to do a mini tour in Easter Europe region this autumn, so let's keep our fingers crossed. In general, we want to play anywhere, anytime, almost at any cost and with everybody so contact us now!


7.The new album was released on 'Armless Stranger', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

- It is just our own "label" which we use, because these two EP's are self financed. It's way more cool to have your records released by some fake label than to tell people that we are all poor miserable old fucks, right?


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

- All together the feedback has been really great and supportive. And we appreciate it deeply. It's the type of music we play that tend to confuse some of the critics and they don't know how to categorise us. Some are quite lost with the variety in our music and doesn't seem to get it at all and some of them are totally overwhelmed by it and tells that we have invented our personal style and it's something new. Nonetheless, there's no middle ground for us - love us or hate us, hah!


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

- Not so much nowadays. This band is our main focus at the moment and it will be active for long period ahead.


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

- That's an interesting question because we really don't know! I think we keep on blending this death'n'sludge-thing for more and see what comes around. From my personal view I would go deeper with the atmosphere as we have on the "Demonspawn" video and feed from the more evil and epical atmosphere. We were once told after a show that we should add more Watain into our music and that is not a bad suggestion at all.


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

- Entombed, Black Sabbath and Eyehategod are the biggest influences. Naturally there are hundreds of bands that we like, listen to and get inspiration from. When we had the first practice we played Entombed, Nine and Cancer Bats covers. Black Royal is a mix of a "Heartwork"-era Carcass playing a song from Down wearing a Entombed-shirt with a crooked cross, totally drunk.


12.What are some of your non musical interests?

- 3/4 of us have kids so all of our "spare" time goes with the family. And so it should. I think we all like books, movies, going to other bands gigs, drinking beer and watching the game. You know, the usual stuff.


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

- Thank You for the interview and keep up the good work! We hope that people will check out Black Royal and spread the word. Horns up! Cheers!

Buried Souls/The Crossing/2015 Full length Review

  Buried  Souls  are  a  band  from  Switzerland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge,  southern,  death  metal  and  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015  album  "The  Crossing".

  A  very  heavy  sound  along  with  some  aggressive  screams  start  of  the  album  and they  also  bring  in  a  hardcore  influenced  form  of  sludge  along  with  some  southern  and  stoner  rock  style  melodies  and  when  the  music  speeds  up a   small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  death  metal growls  can  also  be heard  at  times.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  of  the  fast  riffs  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  touch  of  groove  metal  at  times  and  the  whole  album  also  remains  heavy  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the r ecording  and  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  are ever  utilized.

  Buried  Souls  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  sludge and  southern  metal and  mixes  it  in  with  hardcore  and  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Buried  Souls  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge,  southern,  death  metal  and  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Crossing"  "The  Worthless"  and  "Take my  Flesh  As  Offering".  8  out  of  10.   

Black Royal/The Summoning Pt. 2/Armless Stranger/2016 EP Review

  Black  Royal  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "The  Summoning Pt. 2"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Armless  Stranger.

  Fire  and  ritualistic  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars  which  also  gives  the  recording  more  of  a  70's  vibe  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sound  a  few  seconds  later  that  also  introduces  melodic  guitar  leads  onto  the  recording  and  after  the  intro  melodic  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recoridng.

  Death  metal  growls can  also  be  heard  quite  a  bit throughout  the  recording  along  with  the  riffs  also  utilizing  a  great  amount of  dark  sounding  melodies  and  the  music  is  more  closer  to  the  90's  style  of  the  genre  and  blast  beats  can also  be  heard  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

   Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  back  up  shouts  are  also  used  at  times  while  the  slower  riffing  is  very  heavily influenced  by  doom  and  sludge  metal  and  acoustic  guitars  also  make  a  return  on  later  tracks  and  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  psychedelia  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  last  ttrack b rings  in  high  pitched  screams  and  elements  of  traditional  metal. 

  Black  Royal  plays  a musical  style  that  takes  90's  style  death  metal  and  mixes  it  with  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  to  create  a  musical  style  of  their  own, t he  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism  and  Left  Hand  Path   themes.

  In  my  opinion  Black  Royal  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Scorn  The  Saint"  and  "Demonspawn".  8/5  out  of  10. 

Revenience/Daedalum/Sliptrick Records/2016 CD Review

  Revenience  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  modern  and  symphonic  form  of  gothic  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Daedalum"  which  was  released  by  Sliptrick  Records.

  Factory  sounds  start  off  the  album  before  adding  in  symphonic  keyboards  and violins  which  also  mix  in  with  elements  of  electronic  music  and  after  awhile  operatic  choirs  are  added  into  certain  sections  of the  recording  giving the  songs  more  of  an  epic  feeling and  on  the  second  track  heavy  guitars  start  mixing  in  with  the  symphonic  elements.

  Vocals  are  all  female  vocals  that  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  goth  metal  feeling  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  death  metal  growls  are  also  added  into  the  music  at  times  along  with  a  slight  use  of  blackened   screams  and  the  riffs  also  use  melodies  at  times.

  You  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  while  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  blast  beats  and  as  the  album  progresses  they  bring  in  a  ballad  track  an d most  of  the  heavier  tracks  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars.

  Revenience  plays a  musical  style  that  takes   a  modern  style  of  goth  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  the  heaviness  of  death  and  black  metal  while  also  adding  in  the  more  symphonic  style  to  create  a  musical  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  depressive  and  poetic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Revenience  are  a  very  great  sounding  modern  symphonic/gothic  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Blown  Away  By  The  Wind"  "Lone  Island"  and  "Revenant".  8  out  of  10. 

Goddess/The Withering/Voidcaller Records/2016 EP Review

  Goddess  are  a  band  from  Norway  that  plays  a  progressive  form  of  doom  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  2016  ep  "The  Withering"  which  was  released  by  Voidcaller  Records.

  Acoustic  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  ep  and  it  gives  the  recording  a  folk  music  edge  and  the  only  song t hat  is  present  is over  18  minutes  in  length  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  incorporating  more  progressive  elements  as  well  as  going  into  a  heavier  direction  and  also  i9ntroducing  melodic  guitar  leads  onto  the  recording.

  You can  hear  a  lot  of  retro,  psychedelic  and  stoner  elements  in  the  music  along  with  the  vocals  starting  out  more  melodic  while  death  metal  growls  are  also  used  and  you  can  also  hear  some  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  leads  also  add  in  a  touch  of  blues  rock  and  the  whole  also  sticks  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction.

  Goddess  plays  a  musical  that  takes  the  proto  and  doom  metal  genres  of t he  70's  and  adds  in  more  of  a  psychedelic,  progressive  and  stoner  touch  along  with  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  to  create  a  musical  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Goddess  are a  very  great  sounding  progressive  doom  rock  band  and  if  you  are  looking  for  something t hat  is  very  original,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  8  out  of  10.    

 

Musket Hawk/Desolate/Unholy Anarchy Records/2016 CD Review

  Musket  Hawk  are  a  band  from  Maryland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge  metal  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Desolate"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Unholy  Anarchy  Records.

  A  very  distorted  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  when t he  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with  a  mixture  of  growls  and  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  grindcore  elements  in  the  bands  musical  style  while  the  slower  sections  have  more  of  a  sludge  style  to  them.

  At  times  the  music  brings  in  elements  of  crust  and  d  beat  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  while  the  guitar  riffing  also  utilizes  melody  at  times  and  one  track  brings  in  tremolo  picking  that  is  more  close  to  black  metal  and  when  guitar  solos  are  finally  added  onto  the  recording  they  are  done  in  more  of  a  dark  and  melodic  fashion  while  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  stoner  rock  and  after  awhile  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  briefly.

  Musket  Hawk  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  stoner,  sludge  metal,  crust  and  grind  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  musical  style  of t heir  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  chaos, disorder  and  monolithic  gloom  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Musket  Hawk  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge  metal  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Reluctant  Punk"  "Connois  Sewer"  and  "Candidate  For  the  Knife".  8  out  of  10. 

 

Kratos/Arlechino/Inverse Records/2016 Full Length Review

 
  Kratos  are  a  band  from  Romania  that  plays  a  mixture  of  goth,  doom  and  dark  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Arlechino"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Inverse  Records.

  Dark  sounding  keyboards  and  after  a  minute  the  music  goes  into  a  heavier  musical  direction  along with  some  death  metal  growls  and  they  also  mix  the  heavy  and  atmospheric parts  together along  with  some  symphonic  elements  and  female  vocals  are  also  used  quite  a  bit  throughout the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  When  screams  are  utilized  they  ad d  elements  of  black  metal  onto  the  recording  while  the  female  vocals  also  give  the  music  more  of  a  goth  feeling  and  on  the  later  tracks  the  riffs  start  adding  in  more  of  modern  metal  style  and  the  music  sticks  to  mostly  a  slow  or  mid  paced  direction  while  also  mixing  in  some  90's  influences  at  times.

  Kratos  plays  a  style  of  goth/doom  metal  that  is  very  melodic  while  also  bringing  in  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  and  a  touch  of  black  metal  to  create  their  own  dark  style,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  universal  evolution  of  the  human  spirit.

  In  my  opinion  Kratos  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  goth,  doom  and  dark  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Fishing"  "Inner  Chaos"  "Three  Times  In  A  Lifetime"  and  "Reverse  Effect".  8  out  of  10.

  

 

Ex-Animo/Neverday/Metal Scrap Records/2016 CD Review

  Ex-Animo  are  a  band  from  Ukraine  that  plays  a  mixture  of dark,  goth,  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Neverday"  which  was  released  by  Metal  Scrap  Records.

  A  very  symphonic  keyboard  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  while  also  using  melodies  at  times  and  after  a  minute  female  vocals  and  clean  playing  are  added  into  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  death  metal  and  black  metal  screams  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  stick  to  a  melodic  musical  direction  and  some  songs  bring  in  a  small  amount   of  spoken  word  parts  and  one  track  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  most  of  the  music  sticking  either  to  a  slow  or mid  paced  musical  direction  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  violins  and  acoustic  guitars  on  a  later  song.

  Ex-Animo  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  goth,  doom  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  together  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  to  create  a  musical  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Ex-Animo  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  "Aeons  Of  Sadness"  "Shattered  Universe"  and  "Scream  Of  Silence".  8  out  of  10.   

 

LMDA/Self Titled/2016 EP Review

  LMDA  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge  metal  and  power  violence  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  and  self  released  ep  which  will  be  released  in  May  of  2016.

  A  very  distorted  yet  heavy sound  starts  off  the  ep  and  after  a  minute  drums  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  growls,  screams  and  blast  beats  are a dded  into  the  music  along  with  some  elements  of  crust  and  power  violence  while t he  slower  riffing  is  close  to  sludge  and  doom  metal.

  Elements  of  noise  rock  can  be  heard  in  the  music  at  times  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  on  the  last  track  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  is  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  a  small  amount  of  guitar  solos  and  leads  and  they  also  add  in  a  few  seconds  of  melodic  riffing  and  spoken  word  parts  and  the  song  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  LMDA  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  power  violence,  crust  and  sludge  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  very  heavy  sounding  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  LMDA  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  power  violence  and  sludge  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Harvest"  and  "Done  In  the  Nothingness".  8  out  of  10.  

Bandcamp LMDA

Live Evil/Black Tracks/MetalGate Records/2016 CD Review

  Live  Evil  are  a  band  from  the  Czech  Republic  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  electronic  music  and  gothic  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Black  Tracks"  which  was  released  by  MetalGate  Productions.

  Electro  industrial  sounds  start  off  the  album  and  also  starts  mixing  in  with  more  of  a  heavy and  symphonic  sound  a  few  seconds  later  that  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  stick  to  a  melodic  musical  direction  and  a  few  seconds  goth  style  vocals  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording.

  At  time s the  vocals  start  throwing  in  aggressive  shouts  along  with  female  vocals   being  added  into  the  music  at  times  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  you  can  also  hear  elements  of  modern  metal  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  samples  and  at  times  elements  of  death  and  black  metal  can  also  be  heard  along  with  a  brief  use  of  high  pitched  screams.  and  a  later  track  brings  in melodic  guitar  leads.

  Live  Evil  creates  another  recording  that takes  electro  industrial  and  mixes  it  in  with  an  extreme  form  of  goth  metal  to  create  a  very  heavy  yet  melodic  album,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  sci  fi  orientated  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Live  Evil  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  industrial  and  goth  metal,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Amper"  "Midnight  Bay"  and  "We  Stand  Alone".  8  out of  10.