Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Waldchengarten/Black Rabbit/2209 Album Review


  Waldchengarten  are  a  band  from  Denmark  that plays  a  very  drone  form  of  doom  focusing  more  on  the  drone  parts  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2009  album  "Black  Rabbit"  which  was  released  by  Drowning  Productions.

  Drums  and  bass  guitar  are  absent  from  this  recording,  while  the  noise  effects  bring  a  very  dark  avant  garde  noise/drone  edge  to the  music  which  is  a  half  an  hour  song.

  Guitars  are  all  noise/drone  effects  which  does  not  utilize  alot  in  the  riffing  except  for  certain  parts  of  the  music  relying  more  on  the  distortion  of  the  amps  bringing  doom  metal/sludge  influence  to  the  music  and  there  are  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording.

  Vocals  and  song  writing  are  all  absent  from  this  recording  with  the  music  being  all  instrumental,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  heavy  and  primitive  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Waldchengarten  are  a  very  great  sounding  drone/improv/instrumental/doom  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should c heck  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  BUY.    

Nernes/Skagen/Montreal/Drowning Productions/2010 Album Review


  Nernes/Skagen  are  a  band  from  Norway  that  plays  monolithic  drone/doom  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  live  2010  album  "Montreal"  which  was  released  by  Drowning  Productions.

  Drums  and  bass  guitar  are  all  absent  from  the  recording,  while  the  noise  effects  bring  a  very  dark  and  distorted  sound  to  the  music.

  Rhythm  guitars  are  all  slow  drone/doom  metal  riffs  that  do not  offer  much  in  the  way  of  diversity  with  a  great  amount  of  heavy  distortion  being  backed  up  behind  the  riffing  with  the  song  being  a  long  30  minute  improv  piece    and  there  are  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording.

  Vocals  and  song  writing  are  all  absent from  the  recording  with  the  music  being  all  instrumental  and improv,  as  for  the  production the  album  it  is  all recorded  live  and  has  a  very  dark,  heavy  and  primitive  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Nernes/Skagen  are  a  very  great  sounding  monolithic/improv/drone/doom  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  BUY. 

SOL/Black Cloud Of Becoming/Drowning Productions/Golem Tapes/2011 Album Review


  SOL  are a  band  from  Denmark that  plays  atmospheric  drone/doom/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2011  album  "Black  Cloud  Of  Becoming"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Drowning  Productions  and  Golem  Tapes.

  Synths  are  all  atmospheric  and  drone/dark  ambient  soundscapes  with  the  songs  being  very  long  with  some influences  from  experiemental  kraut  rock,  while  the  drums  are  all  slow  playing  with  no  fast  drumming  or  blast  beats  being  present  on   this  recording,  as  for  the  bass  playing it  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  is  coming out  of  the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  are  all  sludge/doom  metal  riffing  that  is  heavily  influenced  by  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  with  a  good  amount  of  heavy  distortion  behind  the  riffing  and  there  all  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording.

  Vocals  are  all  high  pitched  sludge  style  screams,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes, as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  primitive  and  heavy  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Sol  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  drone/doom/sludge/death  metal  hybrid  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Yielding  To  The  Sound  Of  Clouds".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Diseim Interview


1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?
We are a bunch of guys from Riga with a passion for metal. The band exists since 2007, but we only came around to releasing our first album now. The album is called "Holy Wrath", I guess it could tell more about us than I could in a couple of short sentences.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?
We don't try to achieve a certain sound, we just put together whatever we like and then see if we all like the result. We've been described as a mixture of sludge, doom and old school death off course, sounds about right. It's nice to catch the listeners off guard with a thrashy track like Pyromania after a doomy track like Sinner. But the way we see it there's more death metal than anything else in our sound.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Many of our lyrics touch the topic of religion in one way or another, trying to show the lies, foolishness and ugliness of these barbaric institutions. In others we try to explore the human nature and flaws.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
Our guitarist made it up. It's a secret, there is no real meaning behind the word. It doesn't exist in any language known to us. But it sounds nice.

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 hard to pick out one, every shown is a different experience. We get out there and give it our best, the rest depends on the audience. But we hope they enjoy it as much as we do.

6. Do you have any touring plans for the new release?
There will definitely be some concerts in our home and in the neighboring countries, we'd gladly play all around the globe, but we'll have to wait and see how everything turns out.

7. On a worldwide level how has your music been received by fans of underground metal?
We haven't heard any negative comments yet.

8. Are there any other projects besides this band or is this a full time line-up?
Yes, some of the members have other projects that don't fall into the same musical category as Diseim. For example our bass guitarist plays reggae and the drummer has and art-rock project. But Diseim is the main project for all of us.

9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
We'll keep doing what we like and see what becomes of it, I guess.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
All of us have different musical preferences. There are different bands and styles that influenced each of us individually. And there's probably no single band or style that influences all of us.

I'm listening to Exodus and Napalm Death at the moment, but my all time favorites are Akercocke and Behemoth. -Sergejs

11. What role does Occultism play in the music?
No role at all, actually. Or rather we use it as an example, a metaphor to describe the idea that lies beneath, what really is important.

12. How would you describe the metal scene in your home country of Latvia?
It's quite diverse. It doesn't get as much fresh blood as it used to, though. With the rising popularity of new “metal” genres most youngsters chose them in favor of the good old death/doom/black/etc. metal. Despite that there still is a number of great bands definitely worth listening to.

13. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
In my case it's IT and scribbling with the pencil. -Sergejs

14. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
We'd like to thank you for the interview and the readers for getting this far.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Anhedonist Interview


1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
We are currently writing new material, as always. Not much else to speak of at the moment.


2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new release and how it differs from previous recordings?
The new album is more focused and to the point, though the composition is a bit more varied. The new album does a better job of capturing the atmosphere we were trying to attain on "The Drear."



3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Hate, isolation, and disgust. The flight from the physical realm. Death. Psychosis. Pain.


4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
One who is incapable of experiencing pleasure. It was only appropriate considering the subject matter and intent of the band.


5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
Our previous Decemeber tours were excellent. An accurate description of our live performance would be better left to someone who has seen us, hard to gauge while performing as we are generally somewhere else mentally.

6. Do you have any touring plans for the new release? 
Yes, but nothing that can be announced currently. Nothing outside of the West Coast is set for this year. We have a couple local shows with Aldebaran in April.


7. On a worldwide level how has your music been recieved by fans of doom and death metal?
We wouldn't be the best judges of the reception of our releases. We did trade a fair amount of the demo cassettes abroad however. Labels and distros we quite supportive, and Parasitic did rerelease the demo on vinyl shortly after we sold out. Supose it was pretty well recieved all in all. 

8. Are there any other projects besides this band or is this a full time line-up?
This is the main band for all four of us, though we do have a few other projects, nothing with recorded material yet however.


9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future rleases?
Further down, exploring the torturous depths which spawned this band to begin with.


10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Old death and doom metal. We all listen to a wide variety of things though, truly too much to list.


11. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
Our personal interests are not terribly relevant to the band itself.


12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Thanks much to the interview. Respect to all who have put us up, played with us, or booked us a show and to everyone who has shown us support in general.


Friday, March 23, 2012

Unfold/Cosmogon/Domino Music/2012 CD Review


  Unfold  are  a band  from  Switzerland  that  plays  a  very  heavy  combination  of  sludge,  doom  metal  and  post  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Cosmogonn" which  was  released  by  Domino  Music.

  Drums  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  drumming  with  not  much  in  the  way  of  fast  playing  or  blast  beats,  while  the  synths  when  they  are  utilized  bring  a  very  dark  and  atmospheric  sound  to  the  music  along  with  some  distorted  avant  garde  noise  effects,  as  for  the  bass  playing  it  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  tone  with  riffs  that  dominate  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range from  slow  to  mid  paced  riffing t hat  combine  elements  of  sludge,  doom  and  post  hardcore  together  with  a  good  amount  of  heavy  distortion  and  clean  playing   and  there  are  little  to  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording.

  Vocals  from  from  growls,  sludge  style  screams  and  clean  singing,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes,  as  for  the  production  it h as  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it  ans  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In my opinion  Unfold  are  a  very  great  sounding  sludge/doom/noise/post  hardcore  hybrid  ad  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hemere"  and  "Hexhedron".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.   

Diseim/Holy Wrath/Abyss Records/2012 CD Review


  Diseim  are  a  band  from  Latvia  that  plays  a  mixture  of   doom,  death  and  thrash metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Holy  Wrath"  which  was  released  by  Abyss  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  tone  with  death/thrash  metal  riffs  that  dominate  thoughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  old  school  death  and  doom/death  metal  with  thrash  metal  and  there  are  little  to no guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording.

  Vocals  range  from  deep  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  screams with  some  spoken  word  samples  being  thrown  in  at  times,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  occult  and  anti  religion  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  heavy,  powerful  and  professional  sound  to  it  and  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In my  opinion  Diseim  are  a  very  great  sounding  doom/death/thrash  metal  hybrid  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Holy  Wrath"  "Sinner"  and  "Witch".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.