Humanity Zero/Withered In Isolation/Satanath Records/More Hate Productions/2017 CD Review

  Humanity  Zero are  a  band  from  Greece  that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Withered  In  Isolation"  which  was  released  as  a joint  effort  between  Satanath  Records  and  More  Hate  Productions.

  A  very  dark,  heavy  and  melodic  doom  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  all  of the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  are  added  onto  the  recording  while  the  music  is very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  and  screams  are  also  utilized  at  times  and  also  add  in  a  touch  of  black  metal.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  fashion  while  spoken  word  parts  are  also  used  briefly  and  some  songs  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  stringed  instruments  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  music  gets  more  atmospheric  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic in  length  and  all  of  the music  sticks  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction.

  Humanity  Zero  plays  an atmospheric  style  of  doom/death  metal  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  misanthropy,  hate  and  nihilism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Humanity  Zero  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Withered  In  Scars"  "Fading  In  A  Cryptic  Obscurity" "Blood  Redemption"  and  "Premonition".  8  out  of  10.

Kultika/Persuance/Loud Rage Music/2017 EP Review

   Kultika  are  a  band  from  Romania  that  plays  an  atmospheric  mixture  of  sludge  and  post  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  ep  "Persuance"  which  was  released  by  Loud  Rage  Music.

  Tragic  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  drum  beats  and  elements  of  post  rock  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  awhile  clean  singing  is  added  onto  the  recording  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  the  music  gets  heavy  touches  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  can  be  heard.

  Female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  briefly  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  post  metal  fashion  and  when  the  vocals  get  aggressive  they  also  add  in  a  touch  of  hardcore  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  both  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  acoustic  guitars  are  also  used  briefly.

  Kultika  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  atmospheric  post  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  the  heaviness  of  sludge,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark   themes.

  In  my  opinion  Kultika  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  mixture  of  sludge  and  post  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Do  You  Want  To  See  The  Splendor".  8 out  of  10.

Blk Ops Interview

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

We’ve all been friends for around 18 years, and met through being a part of the Texas metal community. The line-up is Champ Morgan (of Kill the Client) on vocals, noise and theremin, Mark Key (The Dead See, Clrvoyant) on guitars and vocals, and Neil Barrett (of Pornohelmut) on drums, samples and live visuals.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?

We have pretty diverse influences. It’s abrasive, noisy, experimental metal. I would say pick up a record or come see us live and just check it out.


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

I think as a band we’re all pretty fed up with the situation of global madness that seems to be spiraling into chaos, with corrupt politicians, banking systems, corporations and the extremely wealthy steering our planet into a capitalistic landfill with no regard for the rest of humanity. Our aesthetic and lyrics definitely reflect that.

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

With the name BLK OPS I guess we feel we’re turning the tables on government control and systems of power and flipping the paradigm, to say back to the oppressors: we see what you’re doing; we’re also infiltrating, we’re changing minds, and there are things in motion and movements in the underground that are invisible to you, that you cannot control. We are coming for you.

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 first show in our hometown we were invited to play the Decibel Tour and shared the stage with High on Fire, that was pretty amazing. Since then we’ve played with bands like Full of Hell, The Body, Cattle Decapitation, Today is the Day, Yautja, Sumac . . . we’ve been really lucky to be in the company of and share the stage with of some of our favorite bands working today. We do everything we can to make our live performances as intense and punishing as possible. We use a lot of loud gear and have synchronized visuals and put everything we have physically into every show we play.


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

We have some dates coming up soon supporting the split LP with Cave Bastard on Accident Prone Records, that’s going to be a blast. You can find all of that info here:

http://www.earsplitcompound. com/site/2017/07/13/blk-ops- cave-bastard-tracks-from- accident-prone-records-split- lp-streaming-preorders-posted/

7.So far this year you have been a part of splits with both 'Krvshr' and 'Cave Bastard' what are your thoughts on the other bands that had participated on the recordings?

Both of the bands contain members that have been old friends with some of us for a long time, so both releases were kind of a natural fit. Krvshr is a Texas band from Houston that’s been doing some big things lately and their whole side of the tape split is one epic, 16-minute destructive, driving track. It’s got everything from blast beats to ear-gouging guitar solos. Cave Bastard hails from San Diego and they do a potent mix of unrelenting thrash/grind that sometimes gives way to atmospheric, pummeling doom. Totally crushing stuff on both counts and cool dudes all around. We’re very proud of both the releases and the bands we share them with.

8.The split is coming out on 'Accident Prone Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

 I can tell you that Gary (the owner) has put out some really amazing, finely crafted releases. A lot of killer limited edition colored vinyl and picture discs with awesome packaging, that kind of stuff. He's released bands like Nadja, Make and Cattle Decapitation throughout the years. The work he’s done for this release is absolutely awesome and he’s great to work with.

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

It’s been very positive. It’s kind of hard to put a label on what we do, but there are definitely elements of doom, grind, noise metal, and experimental aspects to our music. But overall, it seems like fans of most things in the metal world are supportive.

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

We have a full-length already tracked and currently being mixed which was done at Public Hi-fi in Austin with our good friend Brad Bell, and we’ve been talking to a few different people about a release. Musically, I would say we’re just going to do our best to forge further into the great unknown while still being as crushing as possible.

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?

There are bands like Pig Destroyer, Today is the Day, Neurosis, The Jesus Lizard, and Unsane for instance who have become kind of cornerstones in the metal/rock/noise worlds, and I’d say they’ve all been influences of ours. As far as what’s come out lately, we’ve been listening to stuff like Full of Hell, Ex Eye, Gatecreeper, River Black, The Body, Primitive Man . . . there’s been a ton of good stuff coming out the last year or two.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Morgan is into MMA and combat sports, and fitness in general. I co-own a video production company called novelconcept.tv that does animation and directs videos, mostly for bands. Mark is into stuff like documentaries about dystopian modern society and global catastrophe, and he does some drawing and painting when he’s not busy collecting records. It’s hard to say because all of us are involved in multiple musical projects, so it doesn’t leave much free time. Most of what all of us do revolves around music in some way.

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

The BLK OPS / CAVE BASTARD split LP comes out August 25th on Accident Prone Records, and you can find pre-order information here: https:// accidentpronerecords.bandcamp. com/album/blk-ops-cave- bastard-split

There’s a very limited run of clear blue/opaque orange splatter (only 80 available through mail-order) in addition to the black vinyl, so don’t sleep on the pre-order, they look amazing and they’re going fast.

Keep an eye out for info on the BLK OPS full-length album, coming winter/spring 2018. Thanks for the support, and thanks for listening.

Svartstorm Interview

Petr, the drummer of Svartstorm.
1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?
Hello! We’ve been rehearsing our material with our new guitarist Alex, because our guitarist Vladimir left the band recently to pursue other musical interests. Alex is also known for his work in a folk-metal band Rvi Mekha and right now (July) he and me (I’m also involved in Rvi Mekha) are playing some big folk-festivals here in Russia. After we get back in Saratov we’re going to prepare to hit some cities with concerts in the fall as the part of the tour. Also we already started to write new songs for the next release – about 7 are done or almost done already, so the process is smooth but steady. We also look for any type of collaboration or tribute we’re interested to take part in. So, lots of work to do and many more to come!

2.In March you had released a new album, how would you describe the  musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
Well, the thing is that the material on the album is very much like everything we released before – it’s like a stylistic continuation of our first EP “Scars Instead Of Wings” and all the released singles also appear here. The album was supposed to arrive in 2014-2015, but there were many obstacles and problems, so it was ready for release only by the end of 2016. There are only 2 songs that may describe the style we move to now – the opener “Мы Просили У Вечности Рай” and “Мёртвый Город” – because they were recorded last year. As for the musical sound we tried to express everything that we like musicwise which ranges from melodic death metal to gothic metal, heavy metal etc. We call this stuff “gothic” because of the keyboards and the lyrics and somehow melodies and because that’s the easiest way to describe it, although it’s not 100% gothic metal that listeners are used to. Maybe it’s gothic metal with many elements of other styles of metal. And with keyboards!

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
For us the lyrics is the hardest thing to compose, because it’s quite easy to do some typical metal lyrics that tell about some monsters or disasters or love or butchery. But that’s not for us, we need something good. From the very beginning we tried to explore the dark side of humanity and human soul or the subjects that touch people. Like “Мёртвый Город” that speaks about abandoned town of Pripyat or “Ненужные Люди” that tells about people that are rejected from society because of not being normal or usual. And all the other songs like that. I think we will continue to abuse the theme of human decadence but gonna make it in some ways more touching for listeners. We’re not trying to shock or charm people – we just speak about things that everyone is familiar to.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Svartstorm'?
The name Svartstorm came accidently in some ways. Before the band was formed many of us played in a local band Князь Тьмы (Prince Of Darkness) and we had a song that everyone liked called “Svarta Vigseln” which is “black wedding” in Swedish. It was written by a guitarist of KT, he was learning Swedish language then and he decided to call the song like that. He was very inspired. Then, at the beginning of Svartstorm, we were thinking about the title for the band and thought that the Swedish word “svart” that appear in that very song could be quite catchy and impressive as the part of the band’s title. There were some examples of the title with “svart” but nothing was approved 100%. And the final choice was made accidently. In the fall of 2011 we’ve recorded our debut single that was supposed to become a part of a local rock-compilation. And we gave them (the compilation makers) the song while being unsure about the band’s title. Then one of them called me and asked about the title because then it was the deadline to finish the booklet for the CD – they were waiting for us. And the only variant I actually remembered during that phone call was “Svartstorm”. That’s how we became that band.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
I can say that our show at Metal Crowd festival in Belarus in 2014 was quite good – and it was our most far-far-away from home gig which was very nice to remember. The same year we got some good gigs with Аркона and on the Open Rock Concert which was an open air gig in the heart of Saratov. Somehow not underground and a lot of people came to see us. At that time we had elements of fire show as our ex-keyboardist had some connection with that. But then we abandoned this idea because we came to conclusion that fireshow was not what we needed and wanted so far within our music. In 2015 we played in Volgograd an Volga Metal Open Air and it was very nice too. As for stage performance we don’t have theatrics or stuff like that – only us headbanging and our music. But I think we might have something interesting soon to make us more spectacular. We’ll see.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Yes of course! Because our guitarist Vladimir left after the release of the album we didn’t have the opportunity to build a tour then. So we will make up soon, I hope. In the fall and maybe next year also. We have big country, so it’s plenty of places to play. And maybe next year we will also hit some big festival stages. We’ll see what comes next but we’re open to any opportunity to play.

7.The new album was released on 'Requiem Distribution', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
The label is run by my friend Alexandr Lebed. For some years it was a part of a NitroAtmosfericum Records, an underground metal label which mostly worked with black metal bands. Last year he decided to make his own independent label because he had bands to sign that were not black metal so it was kind of strange – not black metal bands on black metal label. There might be also something that made him split his ways with NitroAtmosfericum but he didn’t mention it. So that’s how Requiem Distribution was born! The label also has it’s magazine, Requiem. Recently the fifth issue was published and the new one in the works. The label has released 4 or 5 CD’s so far – death metal and gothic metal bands. And some are also to follow.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of gothic and extreme metal?
We’re not much known so far on a worldwide scene, maybe because of Russian lyrics. But that’s not a problem or an obstacle, I think – Russian Аркона is a successful band, many German, Swedish or Finnish bands are successful and they use national languages in the lyrics. But still we get some positive feedback from foreign listeners and foreign media so far. Not much, but steadily and warmly. And many really like our band, we sent CDs to Chile, to New Zealand, to Turkey, to Germany. Thanks to sites like bandcamp it’s very easy now to discover new bands and for the bands to find new listeners.

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.
Yes, there are many projects and bands which members of Svartstorm participate in. For example me and guitarist Alex play in Rvi Mekha – the folk band which is quite known in Russia now. In March the band released its debut album “Жаворонок” (Skylark) which was received well. We recently played at Folk Summer Fest with Korpiklaani and Tyr among others and many more fests to come. The band is going to tour this autumn. I also play in a slamming brutal death metal band Psychosurgical Intervention and the debut album is going to be released in October via Rotten Cemetery Records. It is also quite known after the release of a 2-song demo last year that attracted much attention. Our vocalist Alexandr also has a studio side-project Druknroll which has 4 albums already and recently released an EP. So we have a lot of music around us. Somehow it slows Svartstorm down but that’s not a big problem.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future? What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Future hasn’t been written yet as Doc from “Back To The Future” said so we can’t figure it out right now. Although new songs have a bit different direction we can’t predict the whole thing, where our music would take us. What we’re sure about as for now – we’ll play metal because we like it. Even if we strip down our music it will still be heavy enough, because right now we’re not interested in playing anything else. It also depends on the music that inspires us – and the influences changed within the years. It began with In Flames and Paradise Lost, then Moonspell and many more like this. Recently I began listening to modern music like Oomph! and Dead By April, but I don’t think we ever play metalcore or stuff like that. Cause we didn’t play death metal but we listened to Hypocrisy, Death and Cannibal Corpse. I think the band that influenced us most of all is our previous band, Князь Тьмы – that was the band me and Alexandr, who are the only original members of Svartstorm, played in. We kind of reached the understanding of what and how we can play, what and how we may play, what and how we like to play. And after that we also understood what is musical influence for us – many bands play good but only few have something that really inspires. It may be one single song but it changes your view on what is music forever. So, we’ll see where future brings us.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
Well, there are many. We like to go fishing, we like to go hiking, we like bicycling. Our guitarist Alex and bassist Dmitry are keen football fans, they like to watch it and play it. We spent many evenings watching World Cup and Confederation Cup. Alex even took part in a football team at recent Folk Summer Fest! I’m a keen bike rider and musical journalist, I did interviews with Oomph!, Testament, Suffocation, Sodom, Dragonforce, Caliban, Soulfly, Sepultura and many-many others. Me and Alexandr also like to go fishing, but this year we didn’t succeed in hanging out. That’s it, maybe I forgot something.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
We in Russia usually try not to say “final”, we say “latest”. I’d encourage people to support underground music especially now, when bands try hard not even to succeed but to stay on the scene. And would like to thank those who does it. I also would like to thank you for your interest in supporting bands with drawing attention to them. Much respect and cheers from Russia!

Apocalypse Orchestra/The End Is Nigh/Despotz Records/2017 CD Review

 

  Apocalypse  Orchestra  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  mixture  of  medieval  folk  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2017  album  "The  End  Is Nigh"  which  was  released  by  Despotz  Records.

  A  very  medieval  sound  along  with  some  bagpipes  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  drum  beats  and  they  also  mix  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  after  awhile  symphonic  elements  are  added  onto  the   recording  and  the  vocals  are  done  in  a  clean  singing  fashion.

  A  lot  of  the  slow  riffs  bring  in  elements  of  doom  metal and  the  music  also  mixes  in  a  great  amount  of  folk  instruments  while  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  death  metal  growls  are  also  used  briefly  and  as  the  album  progresses  choir's  are  added  on  the  recording  and  acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  they  also  bring  in  a  brief  instrumental  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction  and  spoken  word  parts  are  added  onto  the  closing  track.

  Apocalypse  Orchestra  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  medieval  folk  music  and  mixes  it  with  doom  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Medieval,  Anti  War  and  Science  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Apocalypse  Orchestra  are  a  very  great  sounding mixture  of  medieval  folk  music  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Pyre"  "Theatre  Of  War"  and  "Here  Be  Monsters".  8  out  of  10.

Blk Ops/Cave Bastard/Accident Prone Records/2017 Split Album Review

  This  is a  review  of  a  split  album  between  Austin,  Texas's  Black  Ops  and  San  Diego,  California's  Cave  Bastard  which  will  be  released  in  August  by  Accident  Prone  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Blk  Ops a  band  that  plays  a mixture  noise,  doom  metal  and  grindcore.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a very  heavy  yet  melodic  sound  along  with  some  theremin's  in  the  background  and  after  awhile  angry  hardcore  style  screams  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  the  music  also  mixes  in elements  of  sludge  and  noise  rock  as  well  as  some  touches  of  harsh  noise.

  Spoken  word  samples  are  also  used  at  times  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  elements  of  grindcore  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  start  bringing  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  adding  in  some  math  rock  structures,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Blk  Ops  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture of  noise,  doom  metal,  grind  and  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Temple  Of  My  Own"  and  "Suicide-Laced  Sugar  Cubes".

  Next  up  is  Cave  Bastard  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge,  death  metal  and  hardcore.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  fast  and  melodic  riffing  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  death  metal  growls  a  few  seconds  later  and  the  music  also  mixes  in  a  great  amount  of  elements  of  grind  and  hardcore  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  their  side  of  the  recording.

  When  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  are  heavily  influenced  by  sludge  and  the  last  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Cave  Bastard  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge,  death  metal  and  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hobocide"  and  "Red  Star".

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  sludge,  doom  metal,  grind  and  hardcore.  8  out  of  10.



     

Hell/Self Titled/Sentient Ruin Laboratories/2017 Cassette Review

  Hell  are  a solo  project  from  Salem,  Oregon  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge,  drone and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  self  titled 2017  album  which  will  be  released  in  August  on  casette  by  Sentient  Ruin  Laboratories.

  Drones  and  amp  noises  start  offm the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  doom  and  sludge  metal  direction  while  spoken  word  samples  are  also  used  at  times  and  after  awhile  high  pitched  screams  make  their  presence  known  along  with  all   of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length  while  growls  are  also  used  at  times  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  fashion  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  psychedelic elements  and  the  bass  is  also  used  as  a  lead  instrument  and  one  track  also  adds  in  a  small  amount  of  melodic  chants  and  acoustic  guitars  along  with  some  violins  are  also  used  for  a  few  seconds  on  another  song  while  the  closing  track adds  in  operatic  female  vocals.

  Hell  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  drone,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while the  lyrics  cover  misery,  pain,  darkness,  and  death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Hell  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  drone,  sludge  and  doom  metal  na d if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "SubOdin"  and  "Victus".  8  out  of  10.

Noothgrush/Corrupted/20 Buck Spin/2017 Split CD Re-Issue Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  California's  Noothgrush  and  Japan's  Corrupted  which  was  originally  released  in  1997  but  will  be  re-issued  in  August  by  20  Buck  Spin  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Noothgrush  a  band  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal.

 Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  slow,  dark  and  heavy  doom  metal  sound  which  also  mixes  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  after  awhile  aggressive  screams  and  growls  are  added  onto  their  side  of  the  recording  and  distorted  amp  noises  and  spoken  word  samples  are  added  onto  the  second  track

  Both  songs  are  very  long  and  epic  and  also  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction  and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  briefly and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  misanthropy  and  ant  animal  cruelty  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  was  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Noothgrush  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Hatred  For  The  Species".

  Next  up  is  Corrupted  another  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  distorted  amp  drones  before  adding  in  some  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  which  also  leads  up  to  more  of  a  heavier  doom  metal  direction  as  well  as  some  drum  beats  and  their  track  is  15  minutes  in  length  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  are  added  onto  their  side  of  the  recording.

  A  great  amount  of  sludge  elements  and  dark  sounding  melodies  can  be  heard  in  the  track  and  the  song  also  sticks  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction  while  also  keeping  everything  very  heavy,  the  production  sounds very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  politics  and  decadence  themes.

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

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

  

Elder Devil/Graves Among The Roots/Medusa Crush Recordings/2017 EP Review

 

   Elder  Devil  are  a  band  from  California  that  plays  a  mixture  of  grindcore,  crust  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  ep  "Graves  Among  The  Roots"  which  will  be  released  on  July  28th  by  Medusa  Crush  Recordings.

  Distorted  amp  sounds  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  drum  beats  a  few  seconds  alter  as  well  as  some  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  and  after  awhile  angry  shouting  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  which  also leads  up  to  a  heavier  sludge  metal  musical  direction  and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  short  in  length.

   When  the  music speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  grindcore  elements  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with  some  crust  influences  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  vocals  after  awhile  evolve  more  into  screams  while  some  of  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  melody and  the  music  always  remains  heavy  and  brutal.

  Elder  Devil  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  grindcore,  punk  and  sludge  metal  and  mixes  them  together to  create  a  brutal  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  violent  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Elder  Devil  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  grindcore,  crust  and  sludge  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Collected"  and "Needless".  8 out  of  10.

Svartstorm/Illusion Of Choice/Requiem Distribution/2017 CD Review

  Svartstorm  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  mixture  of  goth,  doom  and  melodic  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Illusion  Of  Choice"  which  was  released  by  Requiem  Distribution.

  Heavy  guitar  riffs  and  clean  goth  style  vocals  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  symphonic  elements  a  few  seconds  later  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  awhile  the  vocals  start  getting  more  aggressive  along  a  few  death  metal  growls.

  A  great  amount  of  melody  can  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  and  the  slow  riffs  also  mix  in  elements  of  doom  metal  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  when  guitar  leads  are  finally  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  female  vocals  are  also  used  briefly.

  Svartstorm  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  goth  and  mixes  it  with  melodic  death  and  doom  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in Russian  and  cover  humanity,  tragedy  and  decadence  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Svartstorm  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  goth,  doom  and  melodic  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "We  Begged The  Eternity  For  Paradise"  "Damned"  "These  Houses  Walls"  and  "In Eternal  Oblivion".  8  out  of  10.

  

Hybreed Chaos Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the bands since the recording and release of the new album?
Hey, we’ve been going back to a touring regime, trying out different sets with the new songs, trying to see which would sound better live and practicing a lot. We had a couple of shows since the release, and about three are already planned, so we’re keeping ourselves busy!

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?
Our new album, intitled K-Pop Extreme Survival, is a concept album about a young girl trying to get into a Korean pop boys band. I’m not kidding.
Ok I may be kidding. It’s hard to describe really, but I would say it’s death metal that goes in many weird, interesting directions while the keeping some old school roots. Compared to the first record, some differences are clear, while some aren’t. The production is obviously the first change that people will notice, and for good reasons : when you involve Chris, it’s bound to make a difference. The sound is heavier, and a good part of that effect is accomplished by the bass’ ominous presence in the mix. I think the snare sound is also quite unique, and much bigger than previously heard.
In term of the song-writing, It’s hard to say really. There are crazier and more technical parts, especially when it comes to rhythmical complexity, but there are also more ambient and immersive moments, as well as more emotions, especially in some vocal parts. Even with that in mind, I would say the album’s sound is more focused and, dare I say it, mature (sincerely sorry for pulling out the clichest of all clichés). Even though the songs go in all kinds of direction, the whole thing is pretty coherent. We also experimented with longer songs, with Cognitive Dissonance at 6:23 and my personal favorite, Eroded, standing out at 7:46. I also feel that’s a sign of musical maturity.

3.This is your first release in 4 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?
Mostly touring and writing, lots of both! We have done a lot of shows during that time, including shows in places we’ve never been before, including Rimouski and Québec City. But the writing itself was pretty long, since the writing process is very old-school in Hybreed. Basically, Dex writes the riffs, then we meet up and build the songs from his riffs, a task that begins by cryptic rituals needed to actually understand the riffs. Once this is done, Franck adds the basic drum structure (to be polished later) and we have something like a song.
Then, it’s simply a matter of adding the remaining ingredients (namely, the bass and the vocals) and refining each part according to the others, organically. We actually have a video on our youtube channel showcasing our writing process : be warned though, there are a lot of odd time signatures 😊 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni0zupJ3AAo

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
In the first album, all my lyrics were political or anti-religious. I had two songs where I took a good shit at two of our ex-politicians (Stephen Harper and Jean Charest, in Emperor and Charogne), and the other were mostly about expressing my anger and despair at the state of the world, and raging against capitalism. There are also two anti-religious songs, which is a pretty cliché subject. I wouldn't do other songs like that, but they represent what I was concerned with at the time ahah.
On the second album, the lyrics still revolve around political/social subjects, but they are more abstract and philosophical on the whole. There is a song about democracy, a song about cognitive dissonance, one about the search for eternal truths. But there are also songs about police brutality and one about the Baltimore riots, so really there is a mix of abstract and concrete outlooks.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Hybreed Chaos'?
Beyond the pun, the idea is that we actually breed chaos through our music. It’s a hint to the very weird and experimental side we explore in the songs, and the ‘hybrid’ part could be taken to mean the mix of old and new, both in the musical influences and in the member’s age.

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?
The Gorguts opening show sure comes to mind, it was jam-packed, and opening for such a behemoth obviously felt great. Our tour with our PRC mates Saccage, Replicant and Vortex in Rimousky, Québec and Montreal was also memorable.
I would say our stage performance is characterized by a huge wall of sound, thanks to careful tone crafting by out string duo, and by the energic antics of our singer (when he isn’t too tired).

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We are obviously looking to promote the album as much as possible, which could include some small tours, but nothing is set for now. We do have a couple of shows planned in Montréal, Québec and Trois-Rivière though.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal?
It’s been very good! People are comparing us to a broad variety of bands, which is always a good sign, and I think people are very impressed by the quality of the production. Overall I think it’s a step further than our EP, and people are recognizing that.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Only our guitarist knows! I don’t think any drastic change is on the line, but the writing will certainly continue to evolve organically, song per song, so you can be assured that we will not stall stylistically.

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?
I would say, Morbid Angel, Meshuggah, Origin, but mostly Gorguts and Negativa. Nowadays, I can speak for everyone, but I know Dex listens to a lot of chugcore/doomcore, while our singer is busy catching up on djent, especially Periphery and Tesseract.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
Again, it’s hard to speak for everyone, but Franck has a passion for snake collection, while François (singer) is a pretty huge gamer.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
You guys are not ready, but you will come out stronger after letting our album rip you to shreds 😊

Timeworn/Venomous High/Fysisk Format/2017 CD Review

  Timeworn  are  a  band  from  Norway  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  atmospheric  mixture  of  sludge  and  post  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Venomous  High"  which  was  released  by  Fysisk  Format.

  Distorted  drones  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  awhile  melodic  singing  and  post  rock  style  guitar  leads  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  after  awhile  the  music  gets  more  aggressive  along  with  some  sludge  style  growls  and  screams.

  A  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  music  also  gets  very  atmospheric  at  times  while  also  adding  clean  playing  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  it  brings  in  the  energy  of punk  and  noise  rock  along  with  some  touches  of  hardcore  and  they  also  bring  in  a  brief  experimental  track  which  also  introduces  spoken  word  samples  onto  the  recording  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction  and  as  the  album  progresses  some  of  the  tracks  also  add  in  a  touch  of  stoner  rock  and  synths  can  also  be  heard  briefly.

  Timeworn  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  atmospheric  mixture  of  sludge  and  post  metal  from  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Timeworn  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  sludge  and  post  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Measure  Of  Gold"  "Black  Peak  Blues"  "Night  Of  Owls"  and  "Venomous  High".  8  out  of  10. 

 

Abyssphere/Na Puti K Zabveniyu/Endless Desperation Productions/2017 Full Length Review

  Abyssphere  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2017  album  "Na  Puti  K  Zabveniyu" which  was  released  by  Endless  Desperation  Productions.

  Atmospheric  synths  and  drum  beats  start  off  the  album  and  they  also  mix  in  with  the  heavier  and  melodic  riffing  a  few  seconds  alter  while  the  solos  and  leads  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  spoken  word  parts  are  also utilized  at  times  and  when  screams  are  utilized  they  add  in a  touch  of  black  metal.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  clean  singing  is  also  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  a  great  amount  of  death  metal  growls  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  as  the  album  progresses  acoustic  guitars  are  added  onto  the  recording,

  At  times  the  music  gets  very  symphonic  while  nature  sounds  are  added  on  some  of  the  songs  and  they  also  bring  in  an  instrumental  track  towards  the  end  and  they  also  bring  in  a  cover  of  In  Flames  "Only  For  The  Weak"  which  also  shows  the  music  getting  more  mid  paced  while  most  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical direction.

  Abyssphere  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  a  melodic  style  of  death  metal  and  mixes  it  with  atmospheric  doom  metal  to  create  a  sound  oft heir  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Russian  and  cover  life,  anguish,  and  desperation  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Abyssphere  are  a  very great  sounding  melodic  mixture of  doom  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Carthago  delenda  Est"  "To Oblivion" "The End  Of  A  Long  Night"  and  "Only  For  The  Weak".  8  out  of 10. 

   

Destroyer Of Light/Chamber Of Horrors/Heavy Friends Records/2017 CD Review

  Destroyer  Of  Light  are  a  band  from  Austin,  Texas  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  stoner  and  doom  metal  with  a  touch  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Chamber  Of  Horrors" which  will  be  released  on  July  14th  by  Heavy  Friends  Records.

  Dark,  heavy  and  melodic  doom  metal  riffing  starts  off  the  album  along  with some  grim  whispers  a  few  seconds  later  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  bringing  in  a  stoner  vibe.

  When  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  they  give  the  songs  a  touch  of  groove  metal  along  with  some  melodic  singing  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  movie  samples  are  also  used  briefly  while  a  later  track  also  introduces  clean  guitars  onto  the  recording  as  well  as  being  instrumental  and  at  times  the  music  mixes in  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction  and  also  mixing  in  psychedelic  touches  at  times.

  Destroyer  Of  Light  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  stoner  and  doom  metal  mixture  of  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great sounding recording  from  Destroyer Of  Light  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  stoner  and  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Virgin"  and  "Buried  Alive".  8  out  of  10. 

Eva Can't Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?
Hi guys, Simone of Eva Can’t here! We worked hard on this album as we did for every albums before, but Gravatum needed more than one year in our studio for recording and mixing so was a very long and strenuous process. The mastering was realized by Giuseppe Orlando (drummer of metal legend Novembre) and this January we have completed the album. We felt the need to work with a label that could understand our musical concept and we sent a couple of songs in order to be signed: that label was My Kingdom Music. We are very happy for joining our forces, the work they’re making supporting the album is awesome.

2.Recently the band has 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?
In the essence the sound has the main traits that always characterized us: a deep work in musical writing, the choice of singing in italian and a strong melodic research. In other ways the songs of the album are the darkest and slowest, and probably the more emotive we ever worked on.

3.In the beginning the music was more death metal influenced and the newer material seems to be moving way from that style, can you tell us a little bit more about the decision behind the new musical direction?
It’s essentially an expression need, when I started writing the first ideas for Gravatum I felt mandatory to communicate less with head and more with heart, but I also needed to not destroy what we made in the past; we were looking for to improve ourselves musically and artistically and this path brought us a bit farer by fast blast beats and technical riffs.

4.You refer to your music as 'dramatic metal', can you tell us a little bit more about this term.
That was an idea of our Label, we rarely refer our music with tags but we understand that for communication this is fundamental; since our music has a strong theatrical influence both in the lyrics and the vocals, and since has a strong emotive suggestion, “dramatic metal” was a way to summarize all of this.

5.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
Gravatum is a concept album, is the last day of man before its fall, this is seen by the eyes of the sun moving around the earth; the album is conceived as a dialog between different actors, each one has a symbolic meaning (the Sun is life, the Sea is memory… and so on). Each song moves around a particular hour of the day.

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Eva Can't?
Eva Can’t  is the english translation of the chorus of the opening track of our debut album “L’Enigma delle Ombre”. The limit of Eva is the limit of all men: death.

7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
We don’t play live often since Italy is a hard place for alternative music; conditions for playing live are often inappropriate, anyway we love playing live show when possible. On stage we try to be as genuine as possible, we don’t have “special effects” but put all ourselves in what we play. Probably the Mèidinitali Fest we played in 2011 was the most exciting in terms of atmosphere and was the only show where all the bands had a strong artistic connection among them.

8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
We are playing a special live show at the end of September in our city (Bologna) to present live the new album, we are sharing the stage with Helfir. After this we are going to move around to promote Gravatum the most as possibile, we are still working on the details about this.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme and melodic metal?
Previous works have been very well evaluated by Italian press and we have a very small but loyal fanbase, we also shipped some CDs to buyers all over the world (Mexico, Japan, Canada…).

10.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
I’m the most busy of the band ah ah ah, I’m very lucky to be part also of two of the most important underground realities of Bologna: In Tormentata Quiete that just released the fourth album and Malnàtt wherewith I’m working on the latest album. Diego, our drummer, is indeed recording the debut album of Black Madonna.

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Right now we want to support Gravatum the best as possible, after this we will surely work on something new, 2019 is the tenth anniversary of the band and I would like to celebrate it in some special way.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Its is difficult to answer anyway albums like Materia by Novembre, or Otta by Solstafir had surely some influence on our music. I literally listen to every genre but I’m very selective; I loved the new  Roger Waters album as  the last Katatonia release; HandCannotErase by Steven Wilson and latest Radiohead took great part of my listenings in recent years. Anyway great band of the past are also always in my ears, Pink Floyd over all.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?
I play boardgames and videogames and I love reading comics; as I do with music I’m very selective also with nerd stuffs :)

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
First of all thank you for your support, we really appreciate it, and I ask to everyone to take a listen to Gravatum: this album costed us 4 years of work. Give us some of your time and I guarantee that it will not be thrown ;)