Loimann 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?
Hello everybody, first of all. Here's Fabio Guitar/Vocals in Loimann.
The band started to play live again with a couple of festivals and another two gigs in our region this Summer and we alredy began to write new stuff. At this moment four new songs are ready and we're playing live two of them.

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?
I think that in our new album, Drowning Merged Tantras, we began to go forward to a more extreme genre... our previous releases were more Stoner/Doom oriented. Now we play a sort of sludgy music with more growls and some fast and slow breaks.

3.This is the first album to be released in 5 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?
With the first album we played a good number of live shows (also in Spain and France) and we got a good distribution, in USA, Australia and some parts of Europe (Sweden, Belgium..). After that we began to record the second album.. and the process was soooo long. We had some problems that stopped all the recording process for a while.., then we had some lineup problems too. So this summer, when we solved all these shits and began to play live again, it has been like breathing again for us.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
Lyrical subjects talk about religion. But not in a good way ahaha. Lyrics of this album denounce the role of religion in human history, and describe (at least, in the way I was able to...) the way of "junkie" behavior that most of the people following religion's dogmas is often reduced to.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Loimann'?
Loimann is taken from "Villaggio Leumann". A sort of cotton mill/village built up at the end of 19th Century, near Torino. The name of the swiss entrepreneur who designed the whole thing was Napoleone Leumann. The pronounciation of his last name is Lòiman. So I decided to take this name for his sound and because I liked the architecture of that place, and for a sort of homage to Bauhaus (a band that gave me a lot and that I still admire nowadays) and their way to honor the Bauhaus school of art.

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?
I have to mention some gigs: the one with Los Natas (the argentinian guys were really friendly), the one in Barcellona with our friends Cuzo, and the one with Celeste and other cool bands this past summer.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
Absolutely. We already began with a couple of shows in Italy (Val d'Aosta and Genova), then we'll play in Perugia, Pescara, Torino and then we hope to add soon some new shows in Italy and abroad too.

8.The new album was released on Behold the Ruins Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
Is a small newbord label based in our town. They'll help us to release a first CD edition of the album (vinyl coming soon). Soon there will be some cool new releases coming out from Behold the Ruins Records.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of stoner, sludge and doom metal?
I must say absolutely positive. Three years ago I was in contact with some label/distributors guys from Finland, Ukraine, United States, Australia... They all had a good hype concerning our music and hope they'll have it again for this second release.

10.Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects or bands these days?
No. Not at present day. In the past all our three members were involved in many other projects: I had played bass in posthc, new wave, black metal bands. Same thing for Dario and Enrico.

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Well... is not easy . I think we will go in the more extreme way...., but keeping the thing of "fast with some slow breaks" definitely moving on.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Wow... I don't think I have enough space here to mention all the bands that influenced me until now, but I will try. From the past: Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Grandfunk Railroad, Iron Butterfly, Pink Floyd, Amon Duul, Tangerine Dream. Then definitely Iron Maiden (Steve Harris band definitely took me into metal when I was a child) above all. Then a lot of bands from the nwobhm era,  then the greatest british goth/new wave acts like Bauhaus, Joy Division, but also Einsturzende Neubauten and Dead Can Dance. Then some HC stuff like Husker Du, Minor Threat/Fugazi above all. The Desert scene from California with all its principal bands, but I also love the great british doom (and forgot to mention british gothic metal many years before). I also have to mention all the classic black metal bands from Norway. And nowadays I'm pretty much focused with a lot of stuff from the Boston area (yes, I know I am bit late with this one): All Pigs Must Die, Converge, Cave in, Old Man Gloom, Mutoid Man not to forget Isis of course, Neurosis, Mastodon, Sleep...
There's a lot of stuff mentioned here, I know, but I think that all this names influenced me somehow and in some way. So they're definitely important to mention.


13.What are some of your non musical interests?
Definitely cinema. I studied it.. and I love to watch many movies.. with friends or alone. Sometimes I write about japanese stuff in a dedicated blog.

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Nothing in particular. Just wanted to tell people to keep supporting underground music, because without their support it would be impossible to carry on.

Caveat/Kobayashi Maru/Trinidoid Records/2015 EP Review

  Caveat  are  a  band  from  Wisconsin  that  plays  a  psychedelic  mixture  of  sludge,  stoner,  doom,  crust  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  ep  "Kobayashi  Maru"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Trinidiod  Records.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  ep  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  a  minute  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  heavy  sludge/doom  metal  direction  along  with  some  deep  death  metal  growls  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  old  school  melodies  from  that  genre  as  well.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  stoner  rock  elements  and  psychedelic  sounds  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  also  bring  in  even  more  of  a  melodic  and  retro  sound  to  the  recording  and  there  is  also  a  good  mixture  of  slow  and  mid  paced  parts  throughout  the  recording  along  with  a  good  portion  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Caveat  plays  a  style  of  sludge,  doom  and  stoner  metal  that  brings  in  a  psychedelic  and  retro  approach  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  pot  smoking,  dark  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Caveat  are  a  very  great sounding  psychedelic  mixture  of  sludge,  stoner,  doom,  crust  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Space  Weed"  and  "Greatness  Itself".  8  out  of  10.  

Do/Den/2015 EP Review

 

  Do  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  psychedelic  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015  ep  "Den".

  Acoustic  guitar  playing  which  is  also  used  in  other  parts  of  the  recording  starts  off  the  ep  and  after  a  few  seconds  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  heavier,  dark  and  melodic  doom  metal  direction  along  with  some  growls  and  screams  as  well  as  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  solos  and  leads  that  are  brought  onto  the  recording  bring  in  more  of  a  70's  doom  metal.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  also  stick  to  a  slower  musical  direction  and  as  the  ep  progresses  psychedelic  sounds  are  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  they  also  bring  in  a  stoner  rock  vibe  while  the  music  also  remains  very  heavy  at  the  same  time  and  one  of  the  songs  also  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  before  making  a  return  back  to  a  more  heavy  sound.

  Do  plays  a  style  of  stoner/doom  metal  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  70's  but  brings  in  sludge  influences,  growls  and  screams  that  take  their  music  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  more  modern  direction  as  well  as  adding  in  a touch  of  psychedelia,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Do  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band  and  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "For  the  Worms"  and  "Hex".  8  out  of  10.   

Loimann/Drowning Merged Tantras/Behold The Ruins Records/2015 CD Review

   

   Loimann  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  psychedelic,  sludge  and  stoner  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Drowning  Merged  Tantras"  which was  released  by  Behold  The  Ruins  Records.

  A  very  dark  sounding  drone  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  spoken  word  samples  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  clean  playing  and  psychedelic  sounds  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  to  get  more  heavier  and  you  can  hear  elements  of  doom,  sludge  and  stoner  metal  being  added  into  the  bands  musical  style.

  When  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  they  bring  in  a  mixture  of  clean  singing,  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  clean  playing  and  psychedelic  sounds  that  where  present  on  the  intro  also  makes  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.

  A  good  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  brought  into  some  of  the  songs  they  bring  in  more  stoner  metal  elements to  the  bands  musical  style  and  one  of  the  later  songs  also  see  the  return  of  spoken  word  samples  along  with  a  small  amount  of  female  vocals  and  the  songs  stick  mostly  to  a  heavy  slow  to  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  they  close  the  album  with  a  psychedelic  sounding  intro.

  Loimann  plays  a  style  that  mixes  the  heaviest  and  melodic  styles  of  doom,  sludge  and  stoner  metal  together  and  they  also  add  in  a  good  amount  of  psychedelic  elements  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  has  a  very  dark  yet  professional  sound  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Loimann  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  psychedelia,  sludge,  doom  and  stoner  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "One  Last  Fiery  Thrill"  "Worsen  Flow"  and  "Morbid  Conclave".  8  out  of  10.

Hate & Merda Interview

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

Unn1: We are a psychotic duo from Firenze. Two friends that had need to spit out all the discomfort and rage of the last year. We play with a black socks on our head. It’s not necessary to see the face of the musicians. It’s not important to be protagonist in this shitty life. Especially you, who are watching the show.

Unn2: Hi, we're Hate&Merda, a sonor terroristic duo.

2.How would you describe your musical sound?

Unn1: It’s hard to describe in words what you are doing in another form. I think we sold our soul to various demons living in our minds and blood. That’s the sound of the band.

Unn2: I don't know exactly how to describe it, but it certainly tastes like sludge, hardcore, blues, noise, industrial and ambient. We play in some different projects that are more defined than this one. HM is absolutely our free dimension where we burn our dirtiest ideas. Everyone associates our sound to a lot of different bands, some of them I've never even listened to. Personally I guess I've been influenced by Concrete, Cursed, Old Man Gloom, Converge, as well as Robert Johnson, Massimo Volume, Ovo or Neil Young Dead Man soundtrack.
As you could say, nothing and everything.

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

Unn1: The lyrics speaks about how terrible life can be if you feel it differently compared to some others. How terrible is to walk in a fucking hot summer down to your house’s street. How many scars and blood rain over you after that summer. How terrible it is to find that there is no love, there is only compassion.

Unn2: I think it's important to say first that we've chosen italian language because we wanted to be totally and immediately understood by our people. Our lyrics reflect the attitude and the motivation of the project, they don't have a secret message, it's all rough and ruthless. Each song is a different story, but they all have the same nihilistic point of view. People, love, dreams, loneliness and death, all seen in our sick and distorted way. So tired of everything. So disenchanted.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Hate & Merda'?

Unn1:  We were out of the famous store “H&M”. I remember that I’ve told to Unn2: “mmm, if we form a band together we should call it Hate & Merda. (“merda” means “shit” in Italian). I think it’s a name that you could remember easily and it scalps in your mind.

Unn2: We know each other from a long time but we started working together in the underground scene only few years ago, long before playing together as a band. The very first year we started organizing concerts, festivals and events together we got a lot of criticisms from our city, just because we were doing our own things in our personal way. That's a typical florence behaviour. You have to complain and do nothing, if you try to change this system you're an egomaniac and you deserve to be defamed. So, in this sense, we got a lot of hate and shit from our city, so now we're just turning back the favour. But it's also true that the first time we came up with this name we were just coming home after buying some underpants at H&M.

5.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you planning on expanding the line up in the future or do you chose to remain a duo?

Unn1: We want to remain a duo, but we would like to have some guests on records and why not, to play  together on stage too. I think there are no holes in our sound, and it’s like a bomb especially on stage.

Unn2: We wanted this band to be absolute essential. We didn't start as a duo because we didn't have a bass player, it's all about the feeling we have playing together due to the same feeling we have against our lives and our city. We're friends, we collaborate, so it was predictable we would end up playing together, and we understand each other at the time when we improvise. I really think it's a fact of attitude. We appreciate friends featurings, but the two of us is HM, and that's it.

6.Has the band done any live shows or is this strictly a studio project?

Unn1: Live show it’s the real dimension of our band. We were born to play live. Our band was born like a totally impro performance for an opening concert. So we are playing some dates, and we still want to do it.

Unn2: The band started with a live show, we totally improvised everything and it came out really good and strong, and some things you hear on our record are ideas born that night with no changes at all. Then we rehearsed just few times and then immediately record what became L'Anno Dell'Odio (The Year Of Hate). After that we started playing live the most we can, a bunch of shows around Florence, we opened for ?Also from Ovo, Carla Bozulich, Orannsi Pazuzu, Marnero, we went on tour with our friends La Cuenta, we played secret shows, a festival in a very small town in middle of mountains and fog, a birthday party..really everywhere. And now that the album is out we're taking the road again and planning some other tours.

7.The album was released on Toten Schwan Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Unn1: Marco of Toten Schwan saw our first live (the totally impro ones). He came to meet us after the show and told us that we were fantastic and we need to fix this music on an album. And of course, he could help us. It sound like an 80’s classic story about fortune, gold, glory and happy ending. So Marco was the first person who trusted in our band, even before us. There are also two label involved in this release: UTU Conspiracy and Dio Drone, that are really close to us.

Unn2: We met Marco of Toten Schwan the first time we played live, and he trusted in our project immediately, even before we started to consider it seriously. He insisted to put our noise on a record, we talked a couple of times and he really seemed to understand our thing. But mostly, we felt him and Davide to be simply two like us, so we joined this brotherhood. They truly care of what their label promote, and it's not a fact of money or simple support. They really believe in it, like we do.

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

Unn1: The album is having a extraordinary positive feedbacks. We did not expect it, because we've played in other underground bands for years.

Unn2: When you choose a name like Hate&Merda (hate and shit) you don't expect to be taken seriously. Truth is that we didn't expect anything at all, this project started as an exorcism and this was enough. But surprisely L'Anno Dell'Odio is having a great feedback. We had very good reviews from CVLT Nation (Usa), The New Noise (IT), Metalitalia (IT) and several european zines. We're really stunned and thankful for this support. Everything we get is always a gift.

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

Unn1: I think it’s important for us to be free to do what we want to do. So we don’t want chains about genres, our sets or instruments. It’s important the act, the sound, the scratch. So: who knows?

Unn2: We have to go deeper and deeper, until the surface is no longer visible. Exploring our own limits and our most extreme edges. But nothing's written and there's no rule. No plans, just the truth. You know, '..you have to put your own dick in the middle of the story..destroy the ego and tell the truth..'. Just this.

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?

Unn1: I think I've not been influenced by particular bands. I’ve only tried to add the drums beat on the Unn2’s guitars and screams. Some bands cross my mind and probably they are connected to my band: Ministry, Scorn, Swans for exemple, I’m thinking about them. Nowadays I’m listening Chelsea Wolfe, King Dude, Indians, Coil, Marnero, Si Non Sedes Is.

Unn2: We obviously like heavy stuff, and it was clear from the beginning that HM should be strong and evil. But we're into a lot of different kind of sounds, even ambient, blues or witchouse, things that to me don't minimize the sense of the word 'heavy'. If you want me to say which influences I hear in our music I could say Black Flag, Motorpsycho of Demon Box, Birthday Party, Concrete, Eyehategod, Ovo, Code Orange, Zu, Illogo, as well as the Neurot family and the Church Of Ra.
Actually I'm listening to King Dude, Corrections House, Si Non Sedes Is, Ovo and the new Amenra acoustic stuff.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Unn1: Drinking and depress myself. Ah, I was forgiving: watching mockumentaries and found footages films in the night.

Unn2: Music fills our lives on a lot of different levels but I love movies and books as well, everything that has the strength to take you somewhere else. But my main interest is to stay away from people for the most of my time.

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

Unn1: Thank you for your interest in our music. I hope you will hear some others albums in the future.

Unn2: Thanks for this talk. See you in your city, soon or later.

Mangled/Through Ancient Times/Vic Records/2015 CD Compilation Review

  Mangled  where  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  played  a  very  doom  orientated  style  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  compilation  album  "Through  Ancient  Times"  which  will  be  released  in  2015  by  Vic  Records.

  Death  metal  growls  and  a  very,  dark  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  band  also  adds  in  high  pitched  screams  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Blast  beats  can  be  heard  in  the  faster  sections  of t he  bands  musical  style  and  when  keyboards  and  spoken  word  parts  are  added  in  they  add  more  to  the  doom  side  of  the  bands  musical  style  as  well  as  adding  in  some  atmospheric  elements  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  bring  in  more  of  a  melodic  death  metal  sound  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  and  one  of  the  tracks  also  brings  in  a  black  metal  feeling  while  one  of  the  alter  tracks  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  female  vocals  which  gives  the  music  more  of  a  gothic  doom/death  feeling  when  they  are  utilized.

  Mangled  played  a  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  that  was  very  underrated  and  ahead  of  its  time  and  the  music  was  heavily  influenced  both  the  Swedish,  English  and  Dutch  death  and  doom  metal  scenes  of  that  era,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  the  time  these  songs  where  recorded  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  occult  and  anti  religion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Mangled  where  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  compilation.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Raise  My  Face  In  the  Fist  Of  God"  "The  Sleeping  Paradise"  "The  7th  Key"  and  "Call  Of  Silence".  8  out  of  10.

Dead End/Forever Is Not Eternal/VIc Records/2015 CD Review

 

   Dead  End  are  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  has  been  around  since  the  mid  80's  and  plays  an  old  school  form  of  doom/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  album  "Forever  Is  Not  Eternal"  which  will  be  released  in  2015  by  Vic  Records.

  A  very  dark,  melodic  and  old  school  sound  starts  off  the  album    and  after  a  minute  death  metal  growls  are  added  into  the  music  and  after  awhile  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  they  also  bring  in  more  darkness  and  melody  to  the  bands  musical  style  which  is  also  heavily  rooted  in  early  90's  doom  and   death  metal.

    At  times  a  small  amount  of  violins  are  added  into  certain  parts  of  some  of  the  tracks  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  a  few  of  the  tracks  being  long  and  epic  in  length  and  some  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  few  seconds  of  classical  guitars  and  spoken  word  parts.

  As  the  album   progresses  some  of  the  songs  start  bringing  in  small  amounts  of  keyboards  and  whispers  which  also  gives  the  bands  musical  style  more  of  an  atmospheric  edge  while  some  of  the  alter  songs  bring  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  which  shows  the  more  old  school  death  meal  side  of  the  bands  musical  style  and  some  of  the  later  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  high  pitched  screams.

  Dead  End  bring s in  2  different  sides  with  their  musical  style  having  more  of  a  melodic  doom/death  metal  sound  on  some  of  the  tracks  while  going  into  more  of  a  traditional  and  old  school  style  of  death  metal  on  some  of  the  later  songs  and  the  album  sounds  like  it  could  of   easily  been  recorded  and  released  in  the  90's,  the  production  sound  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Dead  End  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  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  "Forever"  "Revelations"  "Joke"  and  "Tales  From  Real  Life".  8  out  of  10.