Lanthanien/Nocturnalgica/2015 EP Review

  Lanthanien  are  a  band  from  Argentina  that  plays  a  symphonic  and  gothic  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their self  released  2015  ep  "Nocturnalgica".

  Depressive  sounding  keyboards  along  with  choirs  and  a  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  ep  and  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  symphonic  elements  and  after  awhile  operatic  female  vocals  start  becoming  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Deep  death  metal  growls  can  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  songs  along  with  a  small  amount  of  whispers  and  as  the  ep  progresses  black  metal  screams  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  music  also  mixes  in  orchestras  and  elements  of  classical  music  into  their  gothic/doom  sound  and  there  are  also  some  parts  where  the  music  speeds  up  a  bit  and  plays  in  a  few  blast  beats  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  being  utilized.

  Lanthanein  plays  a  very  symphonic  and  melodic  style  style  of  gothic  doom  metal  that  brings  in  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  and  a  touch  of  black  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Spanish  and  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion Lanthanein  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  and  gothic  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  "Nocturnalgica" and  "A  Orillas  Del  Silencio".  8  out  of  10. 

Trapped Within Burning Machinery/The Fifth Elements/Midnite Collective/Black Voodoo Records/2015 Full Length Review

  Trapped  Within  Burning  Machinery  are  a  band  from  California  that  plays  a  heavy  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album "The  Fifth  Element"  which  will  be  released  in  July as  a  joint  effort  between  Midnite  Collective  and  Black  Voodoo  Records.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  and  after  a  minute  clean  singing  vocals start  to  kick  in  giving  the  music  more  of  a  post  rock  feeling  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  getting  more  heavy  and  melodic and  also  adds  in  sludge  style  high  pitched  screams  and  doom  metal  riffing  along  with  a  few  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

There  seems  to  be  a  good  balance between  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  throughout  the  recording  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  bring  a  melodic  post  metal  feeling  to  the  bands  musical  style  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  you  can  also  hear  a  touch  of  doom/death  metal  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  a  small  amount  of  growling  vocals  and  some  parts  also  bring  in  a  very  atmospheric  and  depressive  feeling  and  the  whole  album  sticks  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.   

  Trapped  Within  Burning  Machinery  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  some  of the  more  modern  post  and  sludge  metal  sounds  and  mixes  them  with  90's  style  doom/death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Anti  Existence,  Misanthropy,  Industrialism,  and  Drugs.

  In  my  opinion  Trapped  Within  Burning  Machinery  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  with  a  touch  of  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Korben  Dallas"  and  "Mr  Shadow".  8  out  of  10..   

Hellrad/Things Never Change/2015 CD Review

  Hellrad  are  a  band  from  Pennsylvania  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge,  doom  and  stoner  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015  album  "Things  Never  Change".

  Air  raid  siren  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  distorted  reverb  which  leads  up  to  a  more  heavy  and  dark  style  of  doom  metal  that  is  also  very  heavily  mixed  in  with  sludge  and  spoken  word  samples  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  a  great  amount  of  stoner  rock  style  melodies.

  Some  of  the  tracks  are long  and  epic in  length  and  after  awhile  grim  screams  start  becoming  a  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  the  vocals  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  growls  at  times  and  some  of  the  tracks  also add  in  influences  of  70's  rock/proto  metal  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful sound  to  them and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they remain  true  to  the  styles  of  sludge,  stoner  and  doom.

  Hellrad  takes  the  slowest,  darkest  and  heaviest  style  of  sludge,  stoner and  doom  metal and  mixers  them  together  to  create  their  own  approach  to  the genre,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  drugs,  addictions  and  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Hellrad  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture of  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Street  Zombies"  "Dope  Fiend  Jesus"  and  "15  Years  And  COunting".  8  out  of  10. 

Crimson Sky Interview

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

We are the ones who never stop searching for something new, hidden and constantly present in our inner realms. Actually, our music and lyrics tell better about it. If you seek a more exact answer, it can be found in our biography.

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?

The musical sound is reflection of our dreams, aspirations, and even visions. It’s full of passion and tranquility, anger and relief, cosmic sadness and epic joy… We felt this music under our skins. Thus, it cannot be squeezed into one frame of some specific genre… We usually call what we do – atmospheric doom metal, which only obliquely elucidates the sound we make. It differs from the debut album in that it is much more mature and thought-out. Moreover, the musical structure of “Transcendental Trip” seems more sophisticated.

This is the first full length to be released in 4 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?
We are not a commercial band that aims to produce albums one after another. Moreover, we are not professionals who can easily release discs, being sure of their uniqueness. We experimented much during rehearsals, but many improvisations never turned into full compositions. So, during these years, we rehearsed and performed in different Ukrainian cities and towns, trying to realize how the audience accepts us. We were invited to perform at Global East Festival-2011 and Metal Heads Mission 2012, where we presented songs from “Rising”. Overall, we gained an experience.

The band was broken up for a few years, what was the cause of the split and also the decision to reform?
It was broken up because we were not there J Well, it was not actually the split, but a long pause after which Bohdan finally found those, who can accomplish his dream. However, it cannot be called reformation since it was the beginning of a totally new band.

What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
We wanted to create new myths and stories, which embodied our inner worlds. However, we also focused on symbols from legends and fiction. For instance, we made our own perception of Mag Mell (Irish mythology), a blissful underworld, which can be achieved through noble death or magnificent glory. Warriors in our song get there with the help of Aimend’s kiss, “goddess in vermeil”, sun deity. The theme of godlike creatures is continued in “Ember of deities”, which symbolizes decay of humankind, transformation of gods (through the example of Egyptian ones) into remorseless castigators, and domination of Selene (moon goddess), who ruins hallow treasures of people because of their desire to become superior to deities… In other songs, we envision communication between alive woman and her deceased beloved, who comes into her dreams and tells about his path in afterworld; there also hallucinations of split mind, when the demon penetrates a vulnerable consciousness and makes a girl fight with malicious voice inside her head; we portrayed the loss of truth and essence of life, sorrow and devastation of the Mother Earth, but we also imagined enlightenment and renaissance of this world. There are many ideas behind our lyrics, which should be explained one by one. Moreover, they acquire new sense every time you read or listen to it. There are so many metaphors you should be patient to unravel. Thus, it would be great if people could immerse into this labyrinth of lyrics and ask us about the meanings.

What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Crimson Sky'?
It was invented by our male vocalist, who wanted to give this name a shade of dark romanticism – the sky is getting crimson at sunset, which is a period of a beautiful natural metamorphosis, its transformation into night. Crimson sky can symbolize a bridge between the day and the night, when the sun and the moon exchange their energies. As our guitarist Serhii says, it’s a crack between worlds. Anyway, everyone of us sees something different in this simple name.

What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
As we mentioned, those shows were Global East Festival-2011 headlined by Helloween and Metal Heads Mission 2012. The concert with Mournful Gust and Fleshgore in Krivoi Rog remained a memorable event, and our performance as the supporting act of Haggard in Kharkiv was an outstanding experience.
Our stage performance is a fiery melancholy, ejection of inner lightnings, and immersion into music trance.

Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
It would be great to conquer Europe one day. Anyway, it is unlikely that we will perform with the same line-up.

On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of gothic, doom and death metal?
As we remember, there were no negative opinions, especially concerning the last album. However, we’re known better here in Ukraine. Some love us there, some criticize, some simply do not understand this style, but we definitely have our audience. We are still waiting for new reactions of the world.

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?
Anton and Serhii experiment on black and death metal. Myroslava and Anatoliy experiment on jazz from time to time, and see the future with jazz fusions. Liudmyla does not take part in previous projects anymore.

Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Ideally, it would be an experimental project with the focus on metal, but with diverse music adornments (maybe some authentic instruments, such as jaw harp, lyrichord, and pipe).

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?
Shining, Haggard, Draconian, Swallow the Sun are among those bands, which influenced our music. Our tastes encompass different kinds of metal, rock, jazz, and blues, as well as neo folk and world music.

What are some of your non-musical interests?
May they be hidden within our comfort zones. So, let’s say – never-ending self-actualization and discovery of the Universe.

Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
It was nice to answer your questions, which refreshed our memories about who we are)) Hope that this interview will attract more music adherents around the globe to our album “Transcendental Trip”. It would be terrific if our songs resonated with minds, souls, and spirits of different people.

Church/Unanswered Hymns/Battleground Records/2015 CD Review

  Church  are  a  band  from  Sacramento,  California  that  plays  of  doom  metal,  sludge,  drone,  ambience  and  psychedelic  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Unanswered  Hymns"  which  will  be  released  in  September  by Battelground  Records.

  A  very  slow,  dark and  melodic  doom  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  and  a  few  seconds  later  the  heaviness  of  sludge  starts  to  kick  in  and  melodic female vocals  can  also  be  heard  at times  and  the  music  also  utilizes  death  metal  growls  in  some  parts  of  the  songs.

  All  3  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  songs  also  mix  in  high  pitched  sludge screams  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  there  are also  some  parts that also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  clean  playing  that  also  gives  the songs  more  of  a  70's  and  psychedelic  feeling  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  add  more  of  a  dark  and  melodic  feeling  to  the recording  and  the  whole  album  always  sticks  to  a  very  slow  and  dark  musical  style.

  Church plays  a  musical  style  that  has  some  roots  in  traditional  doom  but  also  mixes  in elements  of  sludge,  death  metal,  drone  and  psychedelic  rock,  the  production sounds  very professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Church  are  a  very great  sounding  mixture  of   doom  metal,  sludge,  drone,  ambience  and  psychedelic  rock  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Stargazer".  8  out  of  10.        

Algos Interview

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

I would describe Algos as a Melodic Death/Doom metal band, with hints of pretty much everything that inspires me, ranging from black, folk and classical. This freedom is what i believe appeals to some of the listeners and makes me love writing/recording my music

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

The first EP (Misery Loves Solitude), which i started calling more of a demo nowadays cause of bad judgment back in the day, was a bit of an experiment on my behalf, It was the first time i recorded anything, and i started learning vocals weeks before that i think. I wanted to make a  Doom metal EP but that quickly went off road when writing From The Depths which has more of a melodic death vibe and that stacked around for the rest of the album with exception of Now she sleeps (The acoustic track of the EP)

As a result of that song i decided to make the Fragmented acoustic EP, which is something quite scary to do in a metal community, but I’m really glad i did.

After that i combined both writing styles a bit and The Death Of Seasons started to come together. Which is now the main style i will try to upkeep but maybe some more acoustic stuff included from time to time!

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects that you explore with your music?

All lyrics are about personal topics and depression, i like to write lyrics that are a bit vague to others but that will be very clear for those that know what it's about. But still make them enjoyable and open to interpretation

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

Algos is the Greek spirit of depression, which comes right back to the lyrical theme.
I didn't want a name I’d regret later by making it a spur of the moment thing and this is what really stuck with me

5.With this musical project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with another label or do you prefer to remain solo?

I prefer to remain solo due to how personal it all is to me, i have a spot open for a mate of mine who is a drummer but that just didn’t fit in , time wise, for the last album so that might be something that will change. I have a drum kit available but i tried recording it and, well, the current sound is a lot better. Haha

6.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

I have received some label offers but nothing that i really considered yet, If something comes along that i feel is right for me i will surely do it but I’m not going to rush into poor decisions just to get my music out there.

7.The new album has been promoted through WeakLight promotions, can you tell us a little bit more about this company?

WeakLight promotions is doing a great job helping me spread my music which i failed to do at earlier albums. I'm horrible at promotion and i got in touch with  the guy running this and it's a great experience so far,

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

So far, except the occasional internet trolls, it's been amazing.  I was afraid it was  going to be a love it or hate it album cause of the diversity in genres but i haven’t really heard anything about it, in a negative light, that i found to be out of place or i didn’t enjoy reading.  Some people not liking certain songs or aspects of it are mostly told to me in a nice and productive way so i can't complain about the reception of the album and the fan response

9.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?

I don't see myself being in a full band for multiple reasons but i am going to keep doing Algos, and i already got 20 minutes done for the next album.  I'm also doing more side projects now like vocals for Il Vuoto and will probably be writing an album with a fellow solo artist.  So basically, More Algos, and more projects hopefully.

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?

Some of my main inspirations are , In Mourning, Daylight Dies, Swallow The Sun, Woods of Ypres, Dax Johnson, Enshine. This list goes on pretty long, All of these have the element of desperation in their music that i love.

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Wilderun, Angelmaker, Disperse, Mechina and even The Offspring for nostalgia.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

I'm very much into fitness and bodybuilding, not much of a pit person at concerts though strangely..

Besides that I’m a bit of a computer nerd, massive fan of the Dark Souls gaming series for example.  So if I’m not writing/listening to music I’m probably gaming or throwing weights around.

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

Thanks a lot for the interview and the awesome review. And thanks to the people reading this and all the support I’ve been getting since the debut release. Been getting messages from people that really had an amazing time listening to the album and that's all i really wanted to achieve with this project so that means the world to me.

Jointstereo Interview

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

Arthur: Jointstereo was born November 9, 2008 (the day of the first full lineup rehearsal) in Krasnodar (Russia’s southwest). Over the next two years, we recorded several trial demos and finally released the Lineout studio single in 2011. Jonas Kjellgren (a Swedish producer and co-founder of Scar Symmetry) was positively impressed by the release and offered to mix and master our debut full-length album. Refract The Fears (the debut LP) was released April 13, 2012 and gained positive acclaim from public, although did not reach wide audience. Several months later, I temporarily left the band due to creative and managerial disagreements. After my return in 2013, several singles were recorded, and we started working on the second album tentatively titled Break The Circles. In the heat of the record session, the project became virtually disbanded and ended up being a studio duo. Me and Yuri decided to finish the recorded material and release it as Circles. EP.

2.Recently you have released a new ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ form the stuff you have released in the past?

Arthur: Initially, the release was intended to be a full-length sequel of the Refract The Fears debut album. However, as most band members had left the project during the record session, we finished the material and released it as an EP. The result is a kind of atmospheric rock with a touch of progressive flavor that now drifts towards post metal while giving up on doom death features typical of our debut album. Conceptually, record sessions were all about achieving live and natural sound; hence the rock legends of the past used as a go-by during mastering and the numerous analogue devices in the record path. The release therefore can be viewed as an eclectic and post-modernistic one (in a good sense of this word).

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

Arthur: Similar to the debut full-length album, lyrics mostly deal with the dark states of mind; however, new concepts are widely based on religious and philosophical views and scientific theories thus going way beyond personal feelings and self-reflections.

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

Arthur: As you probably know, Joint Stereo is a term in audio engineering. Roughly, it’s a trick used to reduce the size of audio file, and this encoding technique is based on the summation of left and right channels and their subtraction at the same time.
When I was something like 17, I was fond of dualism in philosophy and just started to be interested in audio engineering. The idea of two opposites becoming something integral but preserving the differences really impressed me. To me, it looked like something universal, you know, and I thought it would be a great name for the band. Later, the space character has disappeared and a lot of other meanings appeared. Loud and quiet, aggressive and calm, hard and soft, etc.

Yuri: And after we became a duo, this name suits us even better. Our music is a sum of both of us, but it isn’t flat because of our differences.

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?

Arthur: We write the new songs as a duo, and we feel quite comfortable. However, we record songs with help of session musicians, and when we will return to the live stage, we will need a live band. Who will it be, and will they become the members of Jointstereo, only time will tell.

6.The ep was released on Another Side Recordings, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Arthur: Another Side Records is a sublabel of the Ukrainian heavy metal label Metal Scrap Records. Another Side Records is focused on more atmospheric and progressive music. They are great people and professionals, and they are really passionate about their work.

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

Arthur: Circles. EP is our first official worldwide release, so we haven’t had time to understand. As I said, our debut album gained positive acclaim from the fans of such genres, but the international audience wasn’t wide enough.

8.Are any of the band members also involved with any other musical projects?

Arthur: No, but we have many ideas beyond Jointstereo and some of them are even beyond rock and metal music. If it develops into something, most likely we will work on it together.

Yuri: Right, we have an excellent rapport, and we perfectly complement each other’s ideas.

Arthur: I had a collaboration with another local metal band Aura One when temporarily left Jointstereo. We even recorded a nice single ‘Follow The Silence’, but soon I left Aura One and came back to JS.

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

Arthur: Within a year I guess. We have just begun working on the new songs, and the concept isn’t clear enough yet. I believe our music will evolve in the same direction, and there will be more progressive and atmospheric features and less death metal, etc. But who knows. It’s all about feelings.

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?

Arthur: When I was a kid, my parents were fond of classical symphonic music, jazz and rock, especially art and progressive. From the cradle I was listening to Mozart, Beethoven, Vivaldi, Buxtehude, Ravel, Gershwin, Pink Floyd, ELP, The Doors, Yes, Gentle Giant, Jethro Tull, Mike Oldfield, Black Sabbath and so on. Over the years, I became a fan of almost all kinds of interesting, intelligent, atmospheric and emotional music. I have very broad tastes in music. Of course, at different times I prefer different genres. Jointstereo was founded when we were the huge fans of Katatonia, Tool, Anathema, Opeth, October Tide, Tiamat and some other rock and metal bands. You can hear the influence of such music in our debut album. I even made a nod towards some of my favorites in my lyrics. Attentive listener will find these references. Nowadays, I mostly listen to atmospheric and progressive rock, acoustic rock, chamber rock (baroque pop), trip-hop, retrowave electronic music, etc., and the heaviest part of my basic playlist is post-metal, I guess. Oh, I really love the latest Katatonia live release ’Sanctitude’ and 2015 ‘Hvel’ LP by Árstíðir. The latest Callisto album is also amazing to me. Of course, sometimes I listen to doom death, progressive and math metal, but only in the very special mood. Actually, I can talk about my favorites for a really long time, so I’d better stop right now.

Yuri: Since childhood, I was an almost omnivorous music listener. My cassette mixtapes were a dish consisting of Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Therion, Metallica, Mummy Troll, Darkseed, Tiamat, Nirvana, and it was seasoned with B.B. King and Gary Moore. Later, my tastes have become sharper. Now my playlist usually includes Katatonia, Tool, Gojira, A Swarm Of The Sun, sometimes the best of the rising math metal stars like Tesseract and Architects. I think you can find an influence of the unique combinations of my favorites in each of my works. Sometimes I do notice that when analyzing our recordings.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Arthur: In short, I’m a loving husband, a Master of Fine Arts, an IT enthusiast, a video game fan and a fan of cooking. I’m also really interested in religions, philosophy and natural science. And I’m a huge fan of beards, yeah.

Yuri: First of all, my non musical interests are my family and my friends. I always try to find a way to spend more time with them. I also love nature in all its aspects, I like to travel, I’m fond of fine arts. Besides that, I love discussions, ‘cause they provide an opportunity to understand people and to learn a lot. In general, the pursuit of information is one of my main interests.

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

Arthur: Thank you guys. This is our first international interview, so it’s a great honor for us. And addressing the audience, we hope our music will bring you lots of pleasant moments. From Russia with great love to each and every one of you. Goodbye.

Yuri: I subscribe to what was said by Arthur. Thanks for the interview. Bye.