Vastum/Carnal Law/20 Buck Spin/2011 CD Review

Vastum  are  a  band  from  San  Francisco  that  plays  a  very  dark  and  brutal  form  of  doom/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2011  album  "Carnal  Law"  which  will  be  released  by  20  Buck  Spin.

Drums  are  mostly  slow  to  mid  paced  drumming  that  is  very  heavy  and  brutal  with  some  fast  playing  and  blast  beats,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  and  heavy  tone  with  some  very  brutal  doom/death  metal  riffing.

Rhythm  guitars  range  from   slow  to  mid  paced  riffing  that  combine  the  heaviest  elements  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  the  faster  riffing  has  a  thrash  edge,   while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  slow  death/doom  metal  guitar  solos  that  have  a  melodic  edge  at  times.

Vocals  are  mostly  deep  death  metal  growls  with  some  high  pitched  screams  being  thrown  in  at  times  with  some  brief spoken  word  passages,  while  the  lyrics  cover  Abjection, Eroticism,  and Death  with  a  touch  of  psycho-analysis,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  heavy  sound  to  it  but  still  professional  enough  to  the  point  that  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments.

In  my  opinion  Vastum  are  a  very  good  brutal  doom/death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMONDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Devoid"  and  "Spirit  Abused".  RECOMMONDED  BUY.

Weedeater/Jason The Dragon/Southern Lord Recordings/2010 CD Review

Weedeater  are  a  band  from  Wilmington,  North  Carolina  that  plays  I  style  that  i  would  describe  as  being  stoner/sluge/doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2011  album  "Jason  The  Dragon"  which  will  be  released  by  Southern  Lord  Records.

Drums  are  mostly  slow  to  midpaced  drumming  with  no  fast  playing  or  blast  beats,  while  the  bass  playing  sounds  very  heavy  and  powerful  with  some  evil  sounding  stoner/doom  metal  riffs,   as  for  the  piano  that  is  used  on  the  least  song,  it  has  an  avant  garde  feel  to  it.

Rhythm  guitars  are  mostly  slow  to  midpaced  stoner/doom  metal  riffs  that  utilize  alot  of  distortion  that  have  a  70's  rock  feel  to  them  and  there  are  little  to  no  lead  guitars  or  solos  present  on  this  recording,  as  for  the  slide  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  they  have  an  avant  garde  as  well  as  a  country  music  feel  to  them. 

Vocals  are  all  high  pitched  sludge/doom  metal  screams,  while  the  lyrics  deal  with  fantasy,  smoking  weed,  getting  high  and  drinking,  as  for  the  production  it  sounds  very  heavy  and  professional  sounding.

In  my  opinion  this  is  a  good  album  from  Weedeater  and  if  you  where  a  fan  of  their  previous  albums,  you  will  not  be  dissapointed.  RECEMMONDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Great  Unfurling"  "Turkey  Warlock"  and  "Jason  The  Dragon".  RECEMMONDED  BUY.

Atriarch/Forever The End/Seventh Rule Recordings/2011 CD Review

  Atriarch  are  a  band  from  Portland,  Oregon  that  plays  a  style  that  combines  doom  metal,  sludge,  experimental,  death  rock  and  gothic  music  together  to  create  a  sound  that  is  very  original  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2011  album  "Forever  the  End'  which  was  released  by  Seventh  Rule  Recordings.

  Drums  are  mostly  slow  drumming  with  no  fast  playing  or  blast  beats  present  on  this  recording  except  for  the  last  song`,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  powerful  and  heavy  sound  with  slow  doomy  riffs  that  are  very  brutal  sounding,  as  for  the  synths  when  they  are  utilized  they  bring  a  very  dark,  primal  and  avant  garde  feel  to  the  music..

  Rhythm  guitars  are  all  slow  riffs  that  combine  influences  from  doom  metal,  sludge,  experimental,  death  rock  and  gothic  music  that  are  very  distorted  and  weird  sounding  with  some  melodies  being  thrown  in  at  times  with  the  last  song  having  some  slow  and  soft  playing mixed  in  with  some  faster  riffing and  there  are  little  to  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording.

  Vocals  are  a  combination  of  mournful  cries  that  are  very  avant  garde  sounding  and  high  pitched  screams,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressing  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  is  very  dark ,  powerful  and  heavy  sounding.

  In  my  opinion  Atriarch  are  a  very  good  experimental  sludge/doom  metal  band  and  if  you  are  looking  for  something  that  is  very  original  sounding  in  this  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECEMMONDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Shadows"  and  "Downfall".  RECEMMONDED  BUY.

Abscess/Urine Junkies/Relapse Records/1995 CD Review

Abscess  are  a  band  from  San  Francisco  that  consists  of  ex-members  of  Autopsy  and  von,  which  plays  a  crusty  forrm  of  death/grind  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  1995  album  "Urine  Junkies"  which  was  released  by  Relapse  Records.

Drums  range  from  slow,  midpaced  to  fast  with  alot  of  brutal  blast  beats,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  powerful  and  distorted  sound  to  it,  as  for  the  noise  effects  when  thet  are  utilized,  they  have  a  very  heavy  and  distorted  feel  to  them.

Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  midpaced  to  fast  death/grind  riffs  that  have  a  doomy  and  punk  edge  to  them,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  distorted  sounding  guitar  leads.

Vocals  are  very  low  pitched  death/grind  growls  with  a  punk  edge  and  some  high  pitched  screams,  while  the  lyrics  touch  on  perverted,  disgusting  and  hateful  themes  with  some  anti  christian  views,  as  for  the  production  on  this  recording  which  was  recorded  at  Spectrum  and  Bigfoot  during  the  years  of  1994  and  1995  has  a  very  raw  and  heavy  sound  to  it.

In  my  opinion  this  was  a  classic  album  from  Abscess,  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band  you  probably  already  own  this  album.  RECEMMONDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Horny  Hag"  "Altar  Toy"  "Suicide  Fuck"  and  "Bloodsucker".  RECEMMONDED  BUY.

Fog Wizard Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band and introduce yourself for those that have never heard of you before?
Well, I'm Captain Mutherfucker, vocalist for Fog Wizard. We're a 5 piece sludge death metal band out of Boston, MA. We're not strangers to the music scene, this is just the first time that we've all gathered in this current incarnation. We're not trying to live off our past accomplishments, we just want to create great music that we'd want to listen to.

2. How would you describe the musical sound that you are pushing for?
It's sludge. We mix doom, hardcore, and death metal in a way that's pleasing to the ear. 
We're not really pushing for a "sound" we're just putting shit together that sounds good.

3. What are some of the subjects that you portray in your lyrics?
I like to write about things that interest me. Horror is a big theme for me since I've been in the haunted attraction business for about 14 years. I'm a huge horror fan. The CD that we're currently working on has songs about animal rights, phobias, a Lovecraftian story, and a song about a serial killer character a friend of mine plays at Spooky World. 
We just got back one of the tracks called "Meat is Murder" from our engineer and it's brutal.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the band's name?
aaah, ancient Chinese secret.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
It's fast. We don't want to bore our audience so we don't waste any time up there.
Our goal is immediacy. I'll throw some witty banter around, but we're really out to entertain everyone. We want to give people the best show they've ever seen, but we also want the added thrill that if you're late, you'll miss us.

6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?
Yeah, we'll head out this summer. We're thinking Ohio, Missouri, New York, and a bunch of places like that. We're hooked up with some great venues around the country that will show us some love and support.

7. The new ep came out on Neverwipe Records, is that an actual label, or is it the band's own label?
Enter the Fog is self-released, Neverwipe is a name that our guitarist, Tone Gavone, came up with. Our new disc will be on Taboo Productions.

8. Do you have any side projects besides this band or is Fog Wizard a full time project?
No side projects musically for me, the world can only handle the Captain in one band at a time. Plus I'm going into haunt season, so I gotta stay fresh.
Some of the other members of the band are involved in other endeavors.

9. How has your music been received so far by extreme music fans worldwide?
People seem to dig it. We're getting played every Saturday night by DJ Rem on the Death To All But Metal show on metalheadradio.com and most people who hear it, think it's pretty good. You can't please everyone and like our bio says, we're only really out to please ourselves. If people dig us, then we're into it too. We really love our fans and we're really grateful for their support.

10. What direction can we expect the band to go into on future releases?
In a slantways direction I believe. We're looking for optimum trajectory as long as the vectors line up.

11. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and what are you listening to nowadays?
We like to sound like ourselves so we try not to be influenced by others. Of course people will always try to say we sound like one thing or another and if we remind people of a band, that's cool. 
I can't speak for the rest of the band, but I'm really into the new Yoko Ono disc with the Plastic Ono Band. The new DEVO disc is really amazing and I'm crazy about Funplex by the B-52's. I recently caught the video for "Over the Top" by White Wizzard and it's hilarious. I also really love the new Triptykon album, it's absolutely brutal.

12. Outside of music, what are some of your interests?
Again, this is just me, but I like scaring the shit out of people professionally. I'm also a poet and have been performing for over 14 years. I just became vegan this past January, I've been a vegetarian for about the same time I've been a poet. I do still eat honey though, it's the thing that keeps my voice supple. As you can tell I'm an animal rights activist, the funny thing about it is that the rest of the band (minus Tan Vovan) are rabid BBQ fans. They gotta live with my lyrics though.

13. Any final words or thoughts before we close this interview?
Be kind to each other in the pit and stay brutal my friends

Morbus Chron/Sleepers In The Rift/Pulverised Records/2011 CD Review

  Morbus  Chron  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  very  gory  form  of  Swedish  death  metal  with  a  doom  metal  edge  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2011  album  "Sleepers  In  The  Rift"  which  was  released  by  Pulverised  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  midpaced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  being  thrown  in  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  and  heavy  tone  with  some  brutal  death  metal  riffing  that  is  also  very  doomy  at  times.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  midpaced  to  fast  Swedish  style  death  metal  riffs  that  are  very  heavy  and  raw  sounding  with  alot  of  doom  metal  influences,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  distorted  at  chaotic  sounding  Swedish  style  death  metal  guitar  solos.

  Vocals  are  all  deep  death  metal  growls  in  the  mid  80's  to  early  90's  vein,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  gory  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  this  recording  sounding  very  brutal.

  In  my  opinion  Morbus  Chron  are  a  very  great  heavy  and  brutal  Swedish  death  metal  band  with  a  doom  metal  edge  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECEMMONDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Creepy  Creepy  Creep"  "Red  Hook  Horror"  "The  Hallunicating  Dead"  and  "Lidless  Coffin".  RECEMMONDED  BUY.

Fog Wizard/Enter The Fog/NeverWipeRecords/2010 CD Review

Fog  Wizard  are  a  band  from  Boston,  Massuchuessets  that  plays  a  brand  of  stoner/sludge/doomcore  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2010  ep  "Enter  The  Fog"  which  was  released  by  NeverWipe  Records.

Drums  are  mostly  slow  drumming  with  some  fast  playing  and  blast  beats,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  heavy  tone  that  follows  the  riffs  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

Rhythm  guitars  are  mmostly  slow  doomcore  riffs  with  some  fast  playing  that  has  a  punk/thrash  feel  while  the  lead  guitars  are  fast  sounding  guitar  solos  when  utilized.

Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  sludge/doom  style  screams  with  some  deep  growls  and  some  hardcore  inspired  yelling  vocals,  while  the  lyrics  cover  fear,  murder,  and  hatred,  as  for  the  production  it  is  very  raw  and  heavy  sounding.

In  my  opinion  Fog  Wizard  are  a  very  good  stoner/sludge./doomcore  metal  band  that  should  appeal  to  all  fans  of  this  genre.  RECEMMONDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Defenition  Of  Fear"  and  "Gone".  RECEMMONDED  BUY