Enemy I Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Founded by singer/songwriter Rob DeVille and drummer Alex Swienty in 2013, Enemy I is a versatile/depressive industrial metal band based in Berlin, Germany.
In February 2014, we released our first debut EP, containing 5 tracks which show our flexibility between different metal genres.
Presently, we’re expanded to five musicians and have finally released our first full length album called "Dysphoria".

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?
We try to combine different metal and rock genres with industrial hues, sometimes with a melancholic feel, other times with more angry/aggressive tones. Almost everything between Gothic and Death Metal is allowed, for we don’t want to limit ourselves.

3.You describe your music as 'depressive industrial metal', can you tell us a little bit more about this term?
Since we never felt home in just one specific genre, we started a little brainstorm some years ago. Reflecting our individuality, we came to the point of entitling our music style as such, because happiness is rare in our songs. As versatile as we are, industrial soundscapes and minor keys are part of most of our music.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
As the title 'Dysphoria' already promises, our lyrics are mainly about less happier things than love, freedom or dancing in the sunshine. Even though the topic “love” is a trigger for many lyrics, it’s usually meaningless and without a happy ending. But no matter if it’s about a broken relationship, the inner fight with oneself or the absence of any godlike existence, it’s usually the dark moments in life which make our frontman Rob become creative.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Enemy I'?
It’s about the principle Michael Jackson has already been singing about in “man in the mirror”. Everyone has their problems and mistakes and of course it’s a lot easier to blame someone else for it. But if you really wanna change something about it, you have to start with reflecting yourself, cause somehow we're all our own worst enemy. So it’s kind of self-therapy for us.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
One of our personal highlights was for sure our support gig for Die Krupps last year. But also the smaller stages and venues are always fun to perform at. Whether it be unplugged or with the full set-up, we always love to play live and are looking forward for further gigs to present 'Dysphoria' live and not only on CD.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We’ve been so engaged with the album (we’ve done the majority of the production ourselves), that we’ve barely had the time to care about concert bookings. Shame on us! ;-) However, after the record release concert on May 27th in Berlin, we will start planning further concerts and hopefully get a little tour together for fall, winter and 2018, before we start working on the next album.

8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
We received some offers from independent labels during the last year, yet we finally decided to release it on our own, with the help from distribution partners such as recordJet and Soulfood. But of course we’re always open for serious offers, maybe for our next album. Let’s see what the future will bring…

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of metal and industrial?
Even though we barely made much promotion for the debut EP, still we received positive feedback from numerous radio stations in Canada, North America, Nicaragua and other countries. We were more concentrated on releasing our first songs, playing concerts and building up our fan base slowly and focus on the album release, because it's always a matter of money to run a big promotion and get people to know you. Now that we finally are releasing our debut album we're looking forward to getting some more feedback and infect the world with our music.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We'll hopefully stay as flexible and open-minded as we are today and in the future, even more. Already we have an industrial ballade on our album, which has really not much to do with the metal genre yet fits perfectly with our tailormade style. For our second album, we have a few songs in the pipeline that strengthen the evidence of our eagerness to experiment. And who knows, perhaps there will come more diverse influences that will permeate our creative style. Hang on to your seats kiddos, it’s gonna be an exciting ride! ;-)

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?
Probably everything that we've been through and all the music that we've been listening to, since our childhood till today, has been a big influence, no matter if it's Michael Jackson or Cannibal Corpse. And we're still listening to very diverse music styles and artists. So it's really not easy to say, yet the biggest influences are probably lots of the metal subgenres and electro pop, bands like Pain, Zeromancer, Paradise Lost and Nine Inch Nails.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
I'm afraid that's not so much, since music has a very high priority in our lives and we spend the majority of our time creating and experimenting. But if the music allows it, we just like to enjoy hanging out with our friends and families like everyone else. Sometimes we take a ride on our guitarist’s boat and just take it easy with a few beers and BBQ.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
First of all, we wanna thank you of course for your interest. It was a pleasure for us and we hope that you all have fun listening to our new album, even though it's called 'Dysphoria'. ;)
If you like our music, we'd be thankful for each comment, review, 'like' and 'follow' on the social media and our homepage. Hope to see you all soon when we hit the stage again!

Soijl/As The Sun Sets On Life/Solitude Productions/2017 CD Review

 Soijl  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2017  album  "As  The  Sun  Sets  On  Life"  which  was  released  by  Solitude  Productions.

  Melodic  guitar  leads  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  drum  beats  and  spoken  word  parts  a  few  seconds  later   and  after  awhile  the  music  gets  a  lot  more  heavier  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  while  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar   riffing  that  is  heavily  influenced  by  the  90's.

  When s creams  are  utilized  they  add  in  a  touch  of  black  metal  while  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  fashion  along  with  clean  guitars  also  being  added into  certain  sections  of  the  recording,

  Female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  briefly  while  some  tracks  also  add  in  atmospheric  synths  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  whispers  and  spoken  word  parts  on  a  couple  of  the  songs  and  all  of  the  music  sticks  to  a very  slow  musical  direction  and  you  can  also hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording.

  Soijl  creates another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  melodic  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal from  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  doom,  hate  and  misery  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Soijl  and  if  you  are  a  fan  off  melodic  doom/death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Death  Do Us  Apart"  "Spiritual  Asphyxiation"  and  "The  Abyss,  My  Tomb".  8  out  of  10. 

 

Evoke Thy Lords/Lifestories/Solitude Productions/2017 CD Review

  Evoke  Thy  Lords  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  psychedelic  mixture  of  stoner,  doom,  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Lifestories"  which  was  released by  Solitude  Productions.

   A  very  heavy  retro  doom  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  solos  and  leads  that  are  done  in  more  of  a  stoner  style  while  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  start  to  make  their  presence  known  and  flutes  are  also  used  briefly.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  songs  mix  in  influences  from  as  early  as  the  70's  to  modern  times  and  at  times  the  vocals  show  a  Cathedral  influence  as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  melodic  vocals  and  when  acoustic  guitars  are  utilized  they  give  the  songs  a  more  psychedelic  edge  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction.

  Evoke  Thy  Lords  plays  a  musical  style  that takes  psychedelic,  stoner  and  doom  metal  and  mixes  it  with  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  life  stories  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Evoke  Thy  Lords  are  a  very  great  sounding  psychedelic  mixture  of  stoner,  doom,  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Still  Old"  and  "Stuff  It".  8  out  of  10.

Contaminated Interview

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

The band started as a solo project of mine (Lachy) in 2013 that was originally meant as not much more than old school Finnish worship. After the release of Pestilential Decay, the first demo, the songs grew from simple Abhorrence-isms to incorporating slightly more complex and varied compositions in the vein of Morpheus Descends, Incantation and a bit of Dead Congregation. Or at least trying to do that, ha.

2.So far you have released 2 demos and a full length, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?

As mentioned before, Pestilential Decay pretty much shamelessly rips of Abhorrence and Demigod and I think it does a fairly good job of that. The Promo '15 demo was the first recording with a full band and shows the faster and more dynamic approach that was being explored at the time. The LP has a lot of fast and savage blasting contrasted with crushing dark downtempo parts as first shown on the Promo tape.

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

Extreme disgust for ourselves and most people and institutions around us. Zev's pretty cooked though so that's about what I've gleaned from his ramblings.

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

Nothing more than "no one has taken this yet and it sounds cool".

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

Our album launch show on April 28th this year was an absolute blinder. We played with fellow Melbourne death metal crushers Faceless Burial, grind syndicate OGs Christcrusher, the legendary Kutabare and new Morticianwave enthusiasts Incinerated. Every band destroyed, we played really well, lot of good people about and we sold a bunch of records. Was a sick night.
Last year we got the opportunity to open for Dead Congregation in Adelaide and that was pretty incredible too - D.C. fucking showed everyone how it is.

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

I'd love to do a US and EU tour one day but the chances of that are slim with real life issues like work, family, other bands etc.

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

Mostly very positive, from what I've seen. We play and are involved with different "scenes" outside of metal here and I'm glad folk from outside of the immediate metal scene and picking up on us. The slightly more grindy and loose aspect of it appeals to a few more from the hardcore/grind crowd.

8.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects that some of the band members are a part of?

I'm in Derailment (sludge/hardcore) and Pregnancy (goregrind) along with Christoph (both) and Zev (Derailment), and do a Morticianwave solo project called Rawhead. Christoph and Zev together are also involved in ESP Mayhem (grind with synths instead of guitars) and Headless Death/Desperate Pigs (raging embittered death/grind). Christoph also plays in Internal Rot (90s US styled grind), Unnatural Birth (grinding black metal), until very recently Doubled Over (sludge/grind, the heaviest band ever) which I think is once again done and Cop Date (sportscrust) which more or less moved on into ESP Mayhem. Zev also plays in Clogged (goregrind), Nick in Asbestosisis (goregrind) and The Nihilistic Front (drone/death/doom), and Matt is also a part of Ignivomous (death metal, sure you know em) and Vulgod (death metal).

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

I'd like to take it back a little and focus on a bit more of the old Finnish stuff again. Beyond that I don't really know yet. We'll see.

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?

The prime influences ranging throughout the rather short history of this band thus far have been the aforementioned Finnish and US legends. I'd also like to say Immortal Fate and Immolation but no one can truthfully say that they can play stuff like them. It's not worth listing the stuff we listen to because it ranges from dubby hip hop to 70s psych rock to drum n bass to slam to whatever anime music Matt likes. I dunno, heaps of weird stupid shit.

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

Go buy the record, I reckon it's sick! Cheers for the interview.


Webstore: http://contaminated.bigcartel.com
Bandcamp: http://pestilentialdecay.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/pestilentialdecay

Do/Astral Death/Birth/2017 EP Review

  Finland's  Do  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  that  continues  their  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge,  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  ep  "Astral  Death/Birth".

   A  very  distorted  amp  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  heavy  yet  melodic  doom  metal  riffs  a  few  seconds  later  that  also  mixes  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the recording  and  after  awhile  growls  and  screams  start  to  make  their  presence  known.

  Both  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  solos  and  leads  add  in  touches  of  stoner  metal  and  on  the  second  track  clean  playing  can  be  heard  while  still  being  in  somewhat  of  a  distorted  direction  as  well  as  some  synths,  psychedelic  elements  and  melodic  chants  and  both  tracks  stick  to  a  slow  direction.

  Do  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  mixture  of  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  that  has  a  metaphysical  and  apocalyptic  content  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  DO  and  if  you a re  a  fan  of  sludge,  stoner,  and  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Astral  Death".  8  out  of  10.       

 

Dead/A Dirty Mind Is A Joy Forver/F.D.A Records/2017 CD Review

  Dead  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  old  school  mixture  of  death  metal  and  grindcore  with  a  touch  of  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "A  Dirty  Mind  Is  A  Joy  Forever"  which  will  be  released  in  July  by  F.D.A  Records.

  Audience  interaction  and  spoken  word  parts  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  heavy  direction  along  with  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  while t he  faster  sections  of  the  songs  utilize  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  along  with t he  music  being  rooted  in  the  early  90's.

  A  small  amount  of  melody  can  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  of  the  riffs  add  in  touched  of  groove  along  with  the  slower  sections  being  heavily  influenced  by  doom  metal  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  add  in  even  more  of  an old  school  death/grind  style  and  clean  playing  is  also  used  briefly  and  samples  are  also  used  on  a  regular  basis.

  Dead  plays  another  recording t hat  remains  true  to  the  old  school  death/grind  style  of  previous  releases  while  also  mixing  in  elements  of  groove  and  doom,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while the  lyrics  cover  sex,  rape,  death,  perversion  and  gore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Dead  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Snakey  Brown"  "Butcher  baby"  "Easy  Meat"  and  "The  Witch".  8  out  of  10.

    

Lying Figures/The Abstract Escape/Rain Without EndbRecords/2017CD Review

  Lying  Figures  are  a  band  from  France  that has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "The  Abstract  Escape"  which  was  released  by  Rain  Without  End  Records.

  Atmospheric  soundscapes  start off  the  album  and  a  few  seconds  later  melodic  leads,  heavy  riffs  and  death  metal  growls a re  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  a  great  amount  of  doom  metal  elements  and  clean  goth  vocals  are  also  used  at  times  along  with  all  of  the  instruments  sounding  very  powerful.

  Elements  of  post  rock  and  black  metal are  also  used  at  times  along  some  of  the  vocals being  high  pitched  screams  that  add  in  a  depressive  touch  and  clean  guitars  also  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  the  music  also  mixes  in  a  great  amount  of  90's  era  doom/death  metal  influences  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  while  one  song  sees  the  music  speeding  up  briefly  with  a  few  blast  beats.

  Lying  Figures  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  melodic  style  of  doom/death  metal  form  their  previous  release,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  influenced  by  H.P  Lovecraft,  Edgar  Allan  Poe,  David  Lynch,  John  Carpenter,  Silent  Hill  and  Alice  In Wonderland.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Lying  Figures  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  doom/death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hospital  Of  1000  Deaths'  "The  Mirror"  and  "Zero".  8  out  of  10. 

 

TarLung/Beyond The Black Pyramid/Black Bow Records/2017 CD Review

  TarLung  are  a  band  from  Austria  that  plays a   mixture  of  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a review  of  their  2017  album  "Beyond  The  Black  Pyramid"  which  was  released  by  Black  Bow  Records.

  Clean  guitar  playing  starts  off  the album  and  a  few  seconds  later  starts  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  doom  and  sludge  metal  direction  while  some  of  the  more  mid  tempo  sections  of  the  songs  add  in  more  of  a  stoner  rock  style  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  melodies  in  some  parts  of  the  songs.

  Vocals  are  a mixture  of  growls  and  screams  that  show  an  influence  of  death  metal  while  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  riffs  have  influences  that  start  from  the  70's  and  go  up  as  far  as  the  modern  era  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  add  in  more  of  a  retro  stoner  metal  style  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief use  of  acoustic  guitars  can  be  heard  and  one  track  is  all  instrumental  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced musical  direction.

  TarLung  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  stoner,  doom,  and  sludge  metal  and  mixes  it  with  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  esoteric  themes.

  In  my  opinion  TarLung  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  stoner,  doom,  and  sludge  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dying  Of  The  Light"  "The  Prime  Of  Your  Existence"  and  "Karma".  8  out  of  10.

Contaminated/Final Man/Blood Harvest/2017 CD Review

 

Contaminated  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  plays  an  old  school  form  of  death  metal  with  a  touch  of  doom  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Final  Man"  which  will  be  released  in  June  by  Blood  Harvest.

  A  very  heavy,  fast  and  brutal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats,  morbid  sounding  melodies  and  deep death  metal  growls a nd  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  Finnish  style  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording.

  During  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  a  great  amount  of  doom  metal  elements  can  be  heard  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  the  guitar  leads  also  add  in  a  dark  style  of  death  metal  without  using  much  in  the  way  of  solos  and  there  is  also  a  brief  instrumental  and  the  music  always  remains  heavy.

  Contaminated  plays  a  style  of  Finnish  influenced  death  metal  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  while  also  mixing  in  a  touch  of  doom,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  death  and  gore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Contaminated  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  doom/death  metal band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRRACKS  INCLUDE  "No  Time  To  Rot"  "Starved"  and  "Final  Man".  8  out  of  10. 

Hteththemeth Interview

1. For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Robert: We are Hteththemeth from Brasov, Romania, a band that likes to think that its music is just as weird as its name. We approach a wide array of genres, but each song is cinematic in its own way, as part of a soundtrack for an epic series of imaginary movies, which should only be viewed by the most hopeless of romantics.
Luci: Hteththemeth was born from a dream that our vocalist had back in 1999 and it was up to Lao to keep the flames burning for more than a decade, until his solo project became a live band first with session members and now with full time members. Also, we like to say that we play unhuman music, since we can’t really be pinned into one genre (those who have tried placed us into the avant-garde side of metal, but we really don’t aim to fit, we just want to compose and perform music that comes straight from our souls).

2. How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?
Robert: A cocktail of songs that you can dance with your lady to, as well as bring about pain and suffering for everyone that decides to lie and hurt other people for their amusement. A terrific sound bringing about a terrible fate for the human race.
Vlad: Best Worst Case Scenario is a very eclectic album. One will find something suited for his taste as long as one listens with an open mind. From bossa nova, blues and jazz moments to post-rock, gothic, avant-garde, progressive and even death metal, there’s something for every music enthusiast out there.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Robert: Well, in a nutshell, we tend to structure our albums as coherent narratives. We deal with lyrical themes such as love, lust, trust, hate and even retribution, in a grand fantasy setting with demons and archangels. Despite the complex mythology that we have in our stories, Lao tends to use few metaphors in his lyrics, as his words almost spill from his brain as raw as possible, clearly and viscerally communicating the emotion he is feeling at that moment.
Vlad: Everything in our music is in strong connection with Hteththemeth, the fallen archangel who brings retribution to the world of humans, because of their inability to reach the feeling of Adoration. So everything in the life of humans and much more can become a lyrical topic of the unhuman songs.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name “Hteththemeth”?
Vlad: Hteththemeth is the archangel of Adoration, after his own assumed decision to fall, disappointed and disgusted by the humans’ inability to reach the highest state of love.
Robert: Hteththemeth is the main character of our story. We like to think that we are his messengers, tasked with a last attempt to fix humanity. I guess, in a way, Hteththemeth is the embodiment of a broken heart, a once pure entity, now filled only with a desire for vengeance. He is, in a way, every hopeless romantic's fetish, in a sense that, I think many of us felt this overwhelming desire to just punish everyone that cheats and hurts the people that they should care about. So, at least for me, Hteththemeth is sort of a cathartic experience.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Vlad: We played some amazing shows in 2016 and each and every one of them had something special. However, ARTmania Festival in Sibiu, The Global Battle of the Bands World Final in Berlin, The Wacken Metal Battle Final at Wacken Open Air, Rock’N’Iasi Indoor 2016 and Rockstadt Extreme Fest 2016 were highlights of our live performances until now. And, of course, the hometown release show of our album, Best Worst Case Scenario.
The most important thing in our stage performance is the energy we get from the audience. We put our souls out on stage and in our music and the sincere connection with the audience fuels us with a lot of energy and emotion. It is also what we give back to them, completing our shows with a lot of theatrical moments that help us tell the story and pass the many feelings and emotions.
Robert: A show that is still tattooed on my very heart is our show at Rock'N'Iasi, which was this autumn in September. We had a large stage and we had the possibility to do as many of the theatrics that we usually like to do on stage. But Rock'N'Iasi was also an example of how we are able to get over most of our technical difficulties in fun ways. The most memorable and special moment for me is when Luci's guitar processor broke (I'm sorry, Luci!) and me, Koldr and Codrut wrote a post-rock song on stage to fill the time needed for Luci to fix his issues. The crowd went so wild I could not believe it.
Luci: Our shows are really something different from the majority of the bands out there, and that’s because we use a lot of theatrical elements, both in terms of props and stage presence. We wear masks, we change our clothes during our show, we have collaborators that help us bring our story closer to what we want to convey through dancing and acting, we even have huge archangel wings that Lao, our vocalist wears. We have also a big white screen with a powerful light behind, where the audience can see a girl’s shadow sensually dancing, we have moments of poetry and monologues, but most important, we all share the same energy and passion about our live shows.

6. Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Robert: We have almost finished our spring tour with two concerts in Botosani and Suceava and we are still planning a few shows here in there, as well as a few summer festivals. The biggest thing that I am very excited about is a grand closing concert for our Best Worst Case Scenario tour that we are preparing with some very special guests. If things go well, we might actually do an amazing tour like this. Fingers crossed!

7. In 2013 you had released a split with 'The Bipolar Disorder Project', what are your thoughts on the other band that had participated on the recording?
Vlad: The Bipolar Disorder Project is the amazing one man project of our bandmate Robert. He writes great music, he speaks of beautiful and painful things in his songs and he puts his feelings in every note that he writes.
Robert: Well, The Bipolar Disorder Project is basically one guy from Brasov with a solo project. It's sort of his avenue to explore all kinds of different musical impulses, from extreme metal to folk and post-rock. Lyrically, some of the themes that pop up in Hteththemeth also show up in his, as both projects are focused around the idea of romanticism. I know the guy very well and I can say that he is a cool cat and he also has a cool cat. He's great at parties, super fun. You should see him sing "Hotline Bling" during sound check. He's got a voice like an angel with acid reflux. It's me. The Bipolar Disorder Project is me.

8. Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received an interest?
Robert: We are unsigned and due to the wonders of the internet, we've actually managed to have quite a successful album launch by doing it ourselves. We like to keep things in the family and we are going strong as it is, but, of course, we are always on the lookout for a good label and we are open to any proposition that might come our way.
Luci: We are collaborating right now with the Transylvanian label Loud Rage Music, but only in regards to promoting our self-released album - Best Worst Case Scenario around the world, in different metal oriented webzines, magazines and so on. The first reviews have already arrived and we’re eager to see more of them.

9. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of avant-garde metal?
Robert: Frankly, we've yet to meet a lot of avant-garde enthusiasts. The few that we did meet, however, have been quite impressed by what we do. I'm quite excited about the idea of getting our stuff out there more and seeing how the avant-garde scene would react to us on a larger scale. I have my hopes up.

10. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Robert: No idea, honestly. Most likely it will be previously unexplored territory, but we will first come up with a new chapter for our story and then tailor the music to fit that story, like a soundtrack. The message comes first in Hteththemeth.
Vlad: We like to say that there is no limit to where we can get, neither in terms of musical diversity, nor in terms of the unhuman evolution of our story. Whatever we feel and live will be reflected in our music. Only time will tell.
Luci: We have discussed the following materials and the conceptual parts are shaping up as we speak. We want to write more chapters in the story of Hteththemeth and his struggle, while also having in mind other important characters. We’re hoping to finish composing the second material by next year.

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?
Robert: Well, I think a part of what makes the band interesting is that we don't really have a lot of common tastes in music. This gives us our edge, but is also a source of funny conflicts. The only band that we can all agree upon as a group favourite is Leprous. As far as what has influenced me when writing music for Hteththemeth, the Norwegian avant-garde movement has been quite important. Personally, though, music for me is all about catharsis. It's about feeling in love, broken, powerful, hopeless, crazy and everything in-between. Authenticity is the key. I can find that in very diverse artists, from Debussy and Rachmaninoff to Sinatra and Esperanza Spalding, from Abba and Aurora to Agent Fresco and Tesseract. I've also been getting a lot into folk recently. Fleet Foxes are my favourites at the moment.
Vlad: We in the band are very different, we have different musical influences, we listen to different genres and every one of us listens to a plethora of different styles. This is one of the reasons our music is so diverse and surprising. We are influenced by music that makes us FEEL something, whether it is bright and shiny or dark and depressive. Each and every song that makes you FEEL transforms your inner self and ends up leaving a mark on you, both as a human or unhuman being and as a musician.
Luci: I’m a big fan of Dream Theater, Opeth and Pink Floyd, so you could say that prog has got its grasp on me, but I really enjoy a lot of music, from classical, flamenco, jazz, blues, hip-hop, trip-hop, electro, pop and all the way to rock and metal. I find that the genre is less important, as long as the artist has quality and the music has depth and meaning.

12. What are some of your non-musical interests?
Robert: I am interested in whatever makes the universe work and I always try to learn something new every day. I am especially interested in psychology and what makes the human mind tick. I am also a big fan of movies, especially the surreal ones directed by David Lynch and Darren Afronofsky, as well as psychological and war movies. I also like to read whenever I have the time. I recently finished Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. I recommend it to gloomy neo-noir lovers. I used to also love going up the mountains, but after university, I've become so sexily fat that I can barely walk 2 miles. I'm planning to get back in the swing of things. And maybe learn how to dance too...
Vlad: As different as we are in terms of music, we are also different in profession. From graduating medical school to fireman, to sound engineer, to filmmaker, to hotel manager, to fire entertainer, you can see how we come from different walks of life. But we are all interested in art, we all like reading, yet very different genres of literature too, we all like movies and theatre. Myself and Codrut are very big sports fans, and even in this we are divergent, as we support different teams.
Luci: I am an avid reader (I bought myself 18 books as a present for my last birthday), but I also like movies, theatre, PC games (although I hardly have time for them now) and playing a lot of sports. One of the most important things in my life is trekking in the mountains, where I truly feel my soul belongs, but sadly that’s a thing that has been denied to me the past 2 years, due to medical reasons (sport is taking its tow on my legs). I am trying to fix myself and get back out there, since playing music and being on journeys towards mountain tops are essential to me.

13. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Robert: Please support your favourite artists. The business out there is hard on musicians like us and we all need every bit of help we can get in order to keep making the music that you love. Also, don't be afraid of the experiences that life throws at you, as many of them might surprise you. Nobody has had a beautiful life without taking a few risks. And please don't lie to people. It serves no one. And remember that people are just as deep and complex as you are and some of your actions might be hurting those that you love. See you at our shows and best of luck!
Vlad: Thank you very much for your interest in Hteththemeth and for helping us tell the story. As for everyone out there, please support live music, support bands that have a message, buy music if you can afford it, talk with your friends about your favourite or newly discovered bands, help musicians tell their stories and pass their feelings to the world. It’s the thing we wish the most. Music makes the world a better place, art makes the world a better place!
Luci: Find what you love and let it kill you, kiss you, adore you, change you, take you places and whatever it brings, but just don’t let go! Passion is the most important thing in life, so don’t deny yourself a meaningful life, filled with strong feelings and joy in doing what you love!
That and of course, support the musical underground scene, support the music you like and remember that without an audience there can be no music! Don’t let music get silenced and also don’t let yourselves get silenced!