Hellrad Interview

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

Robert-We are a four piece group from Philadelphia that got together in August of this past year. We play loud, ugly sludge metal, emphasis on loud.

Dirty Dave-We are what happens if early Sabbath, early Motorhead, Helmet, Unsane and Cripple Bastards fucked and mothered this bastard son of a thousand fathers....if that makes sense.


2.In April you had released your first album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

Robert-On the album we really tried to mimic the sound and intensity of what was happening while we were in our practice room, walls shaking, things falling off the walls. The engineer at the studio basically had us set up and play as if it were a live setting. We used minimal overdubs.

Dirty Dave-Slow and heavy with a nice dose of speed.Nothing new but something very new.We changed the recipe and it tastes great!

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

Robert-The lyrics reflect our surroundings in the city. We recorded in a rather dreary industrial area, addicts and street people all over. Some of the lyrics are personal experiences, but on the whole a product of our environment, a crooked police state.

Dirty Dave-Addictions, neglect, acceptance, indulgence and being a sarcastic asshole.Our part of the country breeds assholes I'm told.

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

Robert-The band is named after the LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device). It's basically a crowd control machine that emits levels of loudness that can break your eardrums or cause people to vomit. It throws ones equilibrium off to the point of incapacitation. They are used by the police.

Dirty Dave-We're too lazy to come up with a name lol It comes from that awesome sonic weapon the police love to use, the lrad.destroying eardrums is our goal.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Robert- Our shows are loud and chaotic. The best show we've done so far in our short existence was probably with Weedeater and King Parrot from Australia. 

Dirty Dave-We opened for WEEDEATER and Parrot King in Philly. That was a very fun show. I like the friends and family shows the best, but who doesn't like being surrounded by friends and fam. I'm looking forward to seeing that circle grow.

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

Robert-We are headed out on a two week tour of the U.S. in October.

Dirty Dave-.Touring? Looks like October we'll be hitting up the east coast of the states .

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

Robert-There's been a little interest thus far, but we are still in the very beginning stages of our existence. Taking our live show out to the people and touring is our primary focus now.

Dirty Dave-A label would be nice. Right now nobody's biting but we are still a very young band with a lot of patience.

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

Robert-Very positive.

Dirty Dave-So far very positive.

9.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

Robert-Right now we are all focused on Hellrad.

Dirty Dave-We're all open to jamming with/in other bands. Hook has ETT and Bad luck 13. I have my noise project Warsaw and a noise/hip hop project Dirty Ali. That's about it for steady side projects I can think of. There's probably more. I think Kelly Clarkson should do a song with HELLRAD. She probably smokes good weed.

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

Robert-Our songwriting has become a bit more refined in terms of developing our sound and structure of songs, but we are basically the same group of people that we were when we came together.

Dirty Dave-Forward

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?

Robert-There are too many to say here, but a few are Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, Swans and Laughing Hyenas.

Dirty Dave-That's the million answer question! Vocally I'd say 70s Alice Cooper, SkinnyPuppy, AnalCunt, Ol'DirtyBastard...Billy Holiday and on and on. As a band I'd say we have alotta 70s-90s metal/punk/rock influences. As a whole there's not much we don't listen to.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Robert-We all mostly just work our day jobs. Otherwise, we write music and play music.

Dirty Dave-People and how we are all brothers and sisters that need a hug once and a while after all the drugs n booze are gone.


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

Robert-We would love to come over to Europe and share our music with the people there, and continue to do the things that make us who we are, four guys that want to crush every show and make people feel at once nauseous and ecstatic.

Dirty Dave-Yes we're potty trained and make for good house guest if you would like to let us crash at your house when we come to your town \m/

Lanthanein Interview

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

Lanthanein is a project that we have been brewing for quite some time, writing songs just for art's sake. The themes and ideas were transformed to taste, according to the stages of our lives, until last year, when conform with the result, we decided to start recording.


2.In April you had released an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

It is difficult to describe the sound, because we seek to rescue the essence of death doom / gothic '90s with the actual sound, of course with our limitations. At least that was the idea, and the responsible for the album to sound like it sounds was Matías Takaya from AV Studio. At first it was going to be more orchestral, like BSO, but we ended simplifying some things and give a little more prominence to the band itself.


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

We're basically influenced by gothic literature, the classic struggle between good and evil, philosophy and the vicissitudes of the human being, the spiritual suffering and self-discovery, fantastic literature, etc. For the first full length, everything revolves around a story that contains a little of everything said before, so it will be a concept album.


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

Etymologically, the term "lanthanein" comes from the Greek, meaning “staying hidden”. It's simple, but represents us because we have several years working with this project somehow in the shadows, making music just for our pleasure ... until now, who we decided to bring it to light.


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?

The idea is to keep the duo as a creative engine, and include musicians to bring the set to live, that's one of our biggest challenges.


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

We have received several proposals, some very interesting. So here we are assessing what is best for us, but we are close to agreeing with one.


7.On a worldwide Level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of gothic and doom metal?

For now, for the short time he have our album, we had a very good acceptance, better than we expected, and not just in the world of metal. That encourages us to continue with this that we like. And we hope to reach many more


8.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

Marilí was until recently part of a baroque ensemble. She is currently with a scholarship in Switzerland and strengthening his career as opera singer.

And I’m the guitarist of a hardcore punk band called Disnomia and I’m recording a solo project between the drone and industrial black metal.


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

We are currently working on what will be our first full album, arranging and finalizing details before entering in the studio. It will have 10 songs, which will expand the range and concept of Lanthanein. We hope to have it ready by the end of this year or early next year. That would be our next step, after that, the objective is to establish ourselves as a band to play live.


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?

The influences are many, yet none at the same time, that is, we are imbued with the "doom death", the early "gothic metal", metal in general, but when we are composing we don't have references, only we get carried away by the inspiration. The same goes for classical music, we have incorporated and use elements of it, but everything is finished reducing to arrangements, because we can not classify our music as classical. Anyway, if we have to name some bands that prompted us to create this project could be Devil Doll, Dargaard, My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, Moonspell, Saturnus, Draconian, earlier Tristania, Theater Of Tragedy, Within Temptation and After Forever, Agathodaimon, Siebenburgen, Carnarium, King Diamond, Therion... and a long etc that still we keep hearing. Other than that, Marilí is also currently listening Liliana Herrero, Silvio Rodríguez, Messiaen, Fauré, Ravel, Duparc, Shostakovich, Mussorgsky…

I, further than all variants of doom, (traditional, stoner, psychedelic, drone, funeral, death ...) am hearing a lot rockabilly, bluegrass, country ...



11.What are some of your non musical interests?

While music is our life, we share other interests like literature, read and write, cinema, travel and discover new landscapes, design, photography ... eat haha. For my part I’m also interested in Geology and football, (big fan of Club Atlético Boca Juniors).


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

We just want to thank you for the space in the blog, and encourage readers to join us in this new world we are beginning to create with Lanthanein, the EP is just a small sample of it, stay tuned to the news.

Vintage Warlords Interview

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

   Conor Byers: It really came together organically. Thomas and I worked together for a little while and I used to blast my Ipod over the main speakers. We figured out real quick that we had a lot in common as far as musical tastes go. Behemoth, Celtic Frost, Tryptikon, Paradise Lost, Gojira etc. I was in a band at the time that wasn't really my style and Tommy asked me what would my "dream band" sound like? After talking about how much I love doom/death metal we realized we were both on the exact same page. He wrote some stuff and had me listen to it and I was an instant fan. I knew right away this was something that was right up my ally. He ended up getting a new job but we continued to email back and forth until we had the blue prints for what eventually became Vintage Warlords. It's so rare to find two people that are on the same page and just clicked right away like we did. I couldn't be happier about how seamless this process has been.

2.In May you had released an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

   Thomas:  The music is very bleak, abyssmal, hopeless, and soul crushing. As most good bands do, we tried to invoke the bands that have inspired us to create our own unique vision. I think we have achieved that with "The Invisible Foe" and we will continue to develop our sound as time goes on.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with your music?
    
   Conor: Some of the stuff that ended up becoming "Orange to Gray" and "Exodus of Souls" I had already written pieces of before this whole thing came about. I've always been fascinated by war. To be more specific I've always been interested in what it's like playing a very small role in a massive army. In chess terms, what is it like being the expendable pawn? Does the teenage soldier that died in a ditch because frost set in over night feel like he died a glorious death? What is glory for that matter and who does it shine down upon? I really wanted to bring THAT side of war to the forefront. Not the epic battles with the shining metal, with heroes and villains and all that, but more the psychological aspect. What's going through a soldiers mind when they're sitting around in the cold and damp and just waiting?  War is a lot about waiting... Battles are 5% of what a soldier goes through.
   "Orange to Gray" is very much a love song. "Can I wash the blood from my skin? So that I may touch your face again" Here's a soldier a million miles away from home doing terrible things wondering if he's even worthy of making it home and seeing his long lost love. "How can a man like me find salvation after all the wretched things I've done" is the reflection of a career soldier who wants to understand his place in the world once war is finished with him. I also wanted to make sure that all of the lyrics could be applied to any culture or any time period. I purposely threw pieces of different cultures and time periods into "Exodus of Souls" for example. I mention both Valhalla and Tartarus which are after-life concepts from separate eras and cultures. I don't know of anyone that has taken this approach to writing about war despite the plethora of bands out there that write about swords and sorcery and all that. This is my take. The bottom line is I have no interest in being Hammerfall with growling. The idea of taking a more cerebral approach to the subject appeals to me more.

4.In your past bands you played more of a black or death metal style but on the ep you go for more of doom/death metal style, what was the decision behind going into this musical direction?

 Thomas: Honestly, that was our goal from the beginning. Conor touched on it a bit in the first question, but we decided to go this route through chatting at work and brainstorming. We challenged ourselves by asking the question,  in a perfect scenario, what would we like to be playing? - Vintage Warlords is what came out.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Vintage Warlords'?
  
   Conor: My lyrics focus on the nuances of war and both Thomas and I are inspired by all of the bands we grew up on. We're a new band but with a healthy amount of respect for all of the bands that we enjoy that helped lay down the foundation for what we are doing. Vintage Warlords suites us.

  Thomas: Conor came up with the name and as he said, it was inspired on his very unique focus on war. The psychological side of war, the waiting, the wondering, the fear, the anxiety, paired with battling the elements, are things that all soldiers of any time period have faced.... Hence Vintage Warlords...
 
6.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?

   Conor: We haven't discussed it too much but I've always felt that even if we bring others into the picture it'll be in a sort of mercenary role. Hired guns if you will. I think Thomas and I work so well together because we are completely on the same page... bringing another perspective in could muddle our vision for what Vintage Warlords is now and should be in the future.

  Thomas:  Hard to say at the time, but couldn't agree more with Conor.

7.The ep was released on Redefining Darkness Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

   Thomas: That's a bit of an involved answer. I am actually the owner of Redefining Darkness Records and sister label, Seeing Red Records. I decided to release Vintage Warlords as the label's debut release more or less as an experiment. If I was going to make any mistakes or have any hiccups on a first release, I'd rather fuck up my own then someone else's. Haha
    Redefining Darkness and Seeing Red Records came from having a lot of friends in the industry that either  are involved in new bands, or are still playing with their original band, but have amazing side projects. I think thats how most labels begin...I have a lot of friends that are making great music that I want to help get out to the rest of the world. I've just recently started reaching out to other bands whom I've stumbled across and really dig.
     Redefining Darkness has a number of releases coming soon including classic Decrepit releases on vinyl, From the Hellmouth (featuring Alan Cassidy of Black Dahlia Murder), Xul (Canada), and some other surprises. Likewise, Seeing Red Records has some releases scheduled for Summer/Fall including Gore Punch (featuring members of System Divide, Malignancy / Fear Factory), Haul (Indonesia), Mutilatred, Serpent Speech, Axe Ripper, True Cross and Shit Life.

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

   Thomas:   Quite honestly, I'm humbled by the fantasic response. Everyone into death/doom have been very receptive and we have received quite a bit of press from online as well as print media. Always stoked to find another review out there, and there are still a bunch popping up being that the EP has only been out for about a month now...feels like much longer...haha. Hoping the positive feedback will continue, we're very happy with how the EP turned out, and can't wait to get to work on new material.

9.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
 
  Thomas: Speaking of new material...yeah, it probably won't be for quite a while. Besides running both of these labels which are brand new, I still have a pretty demanding day job that I am fond of, I have a family / kids, and to top it off I have a slew of other projects waiting to be released. I have a grind band called To Dust which will be releasing a split 7" on Give Praise Records this Summer with Bent Sea (Dirk Verbeuren, Shane Embury, Sven De Caluwe's grind project). I also am just wrapping up a death metal project called, Humanity is Cancer, with Lyle Cooper (ex-Faceless) who completely crushes on this album - very stoked for people to hear this! So, to answer your question, hopefully sometime in 2016 will see a new Vintage Walrords.


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?
 
  Conor: I'm influenced by so many groups and artists that its hard for even me to tell you what has influenced me. I love doom and death metal. Paradise Lost, Novembers Doom, My Dying Bride, Serpentine Path, Behemoth, Gojira, Katatonia, Vallenfyre, Shape of Despair, Swallow the Sun, anything Tom G. Warrior has done etc. I could go on forever!! But I've also spent a lot of time listening progressive metal or symphonic metal which had definitely influenced my need to tell stories with my songs and coming up with concepts instead of just writing lyrics. As far as what I've been listening to lately, it's been getting warmer and for some reason when the sun comes out I listen to a lot of Devin Townsend. Haha Katatonia is on my regular playlist and I've been a big fan of what Monolord has been doing recently as well their record from last year "Empress Rising" blew my mind.

    Thomas: Like Conor, I am also influenced by a myriad of different styles, but for this particular project, Celtic Frost and Triptykon were the two major culprits. The newest Vallenfyre was also a big inspiration to writing this record. Otherwise, we were just trying to create an old school vibe (ala My Dying Bride, old Paradise Lost), with a modern spin.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
   
    Conor: I'm an enormous Cleveland sports fan!! My Cavs are in the middle of the NBA finals so that's big for me! I love to play video games as well.. Big fan of Dragon Age, Diablo 3, the new mortal kombat game is sick! I'd have to say reading is one of my favorite pastimes tho. George R. R. Martin, Joel Shepard, and Joe Abercrombie!! I love everything Mr. Abercrombie has written!! I've read the First Law trilogy countless times!!

 
    Thomas: Well, as my fiancée can attest, I spend pretty much all my freetime on music in some form, but I love spending time with her and my kids the most. I enjoy the outdoors and exercising, and my other passion is food and drink. I actually work in the beer industry working directly for a brewery, so I get to indulge on the drinking side quite a bit!

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

   Conor: Vintage Warlords is something that we love. In the end all we can hope is that there are other like minded metal heads out there that love what we're doing as much as we do.

  Thomas: I guess I would just say to keep supporting bands and small labels. How tough is it to purchase a $3 - $6 album on bandcamp, where a band or label actually receive the majority of funds? Bandcamp has been a blessing for small labels and DIY bands to be able to get their music to the world while still being able to earn more than a penny from their art. These days labels, managers, booking agents are looking for anything they can to steal a percentage from, so please don't forget the bands and smaller labels that are actually helping to continue to sustain and grow  the metal community worldwide.Thanks for the support and please check us out if you have not already. Cheers!

Lying Figures 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 ep?

We broke up with Ludo (bass player) after the release of the EP, replaced by Fred with whom we had already worked on 'Words here are nothing' from the first demo 'From nowhere to nothing'. With this new line up, we have done promotional things: interviews, EP's reviews, and gigs of course.


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

Actually, 'A world of my own' was published in May 2014, but we needed time to settle this line-up story and various things before focusing on the promo...Since 'From nowhere to nothing', our music has become more personal, there are more harmonies between the guitars, songs are more complex, closer from what we are looking for.


3.The band has been around since 2008 but waited until 2013 to release any music, can you tell us a little bit more about the 5 year wait?

We faced so many line up problems that we couldn’t release anything, that’s why. And of course in 5 years, the writing level increases so we preferred to forget some old songs to focus on new ones.


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

Our subjects are sensibly the same than the debut. Thibault write lyrics about madness on every kind : human madness, mental torture, obscurity of our world. We all have a darkness part in our hearts, our feelings... & some things more abstract.


5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Lying Figures'?

'Lying Figure' is a disturbing creature in the game 'Silent Hill'

It's a dark universe who speaks to us


6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We have played with some great bands like Goatess (swe), Father Merrin (F), Oruga (F), SunStare (F) in 'doomworld' but also more bands from death metal, heavy, thrash, etc.

Our music can match with many kind of metal bands.

On stage, we can unleashed ourselves, our sound is heavy, powerful and the public seems to like our presentations.



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

We hope to play more often in France and Europe , booking a tour would be great too


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

Some labels have already contacted us, but we’re waiting to record the first album to seriously look for a label who can be really interested by our music.


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

We always received some good reviews from different webzines around the world. Moreover most of our orders from the bandcamp come from east Europe and US so we guess our music is appreciated worldwide. Some great doom death metal bands seems to like our sound, it is a great honor to have their congrats


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?

Charles (drummer) play also guitars in Ataraxis (death metal) , Thibault (vocals) sing also in Octavion (indus metal) and he have 2 solo projects: Deinos Mastema (black metal) and Rotten Mood (post rock)


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

We’re currently writing some new songs. We play two of them live. We’re becoming more demanding with our music, we try to built bigger songs to make the Lying Figures concept evolve. I think we’ll have a new album for September 2016, we hope so, but nothing sure about that.


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?

Many sounds from doom death scene like Paradise Lost, Daylight Dies, Saturnus, Katatonia, Anathema,etc

But also bands from black metal, death metal, pop-rock too why not..

Each one of us have different influences.


13.What are some of your non musical interests?

Horror movies, mangas, literature...


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

Thanks for this interview, support the underground

stay doomed !

Derketa/InDeath We Meet/Ibex Moon Records/2015 CD Re-Issue Review

  Derketa  are  a  band  from  Pennsylvania  that  has  been  around  since  the  mid  80's  and  plays  a  very  dark  and  heavy  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "In  Death  We  Meet"  which  was  will  be  re-issued  on  June  16th,  2015  by  Ibex  Moon  Records  and  also  contains  bonus  tracks.

  Thunder  and  rain  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some bells  and  a  few  seconds  alter  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  doom  metal  direction  which  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  morbid  sounding  melodies  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  are  also  very  dark  and  melodic  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  start  dominating  the  songs.

  A   good  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  after  awhile  the   music  starts  adding  in  more  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  the music  remains  true  to  the  90's  era  of  death/doom  metal  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  whole  album  remains  true  to  a  very  dark  and  heavy sound  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording  and  they  also  close  the  re-issued  version  of  the  recording  with  a  cover  of  Sepultura's  "Troops  Of  Doom".

  Derketa  remains  true  to  the  doom/death  metal  sound  that  they  have  been  known  for  and  creates  a  very  dark  and  heavy  sounding  recording,  the  production  sounds  very professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  nightmares  and  curses.

  In my opinion  Derketa  are  a  very  great  sounding  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  "Goddess  Of  Death"  "Until  Our  Death"  and  "Witchburned".  8  out  of  10.  

   

Khemmis/Absolution/20 Buck Spin/2015 CD Review

  Khemmis  are  a  band  from  Denver,  Colorado  that  plays  a  mixture  of  stoner, sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Absolution"  which  will be  released  in  July  by  20  Buck  Spin.

  A  very  slow,  dark  and  heavy  doom  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  a  few  seconds  later t hat  also  become  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  some  of  the  riffs  also  bring  in  elements  of  retro  and  stoner  rock  and  when  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  they  are  70's  influenced  clean  singing  vocals.

  Deep  death  metal  growls  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  music  also  brings  in  psychedelic  sounds  at  times  and  there  are  also  a  few  tracks  that  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  music  also mixes  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  along  with  the  whole  album  sticks  to  a  very   musical  direction  from beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording  and  the  last  track  also  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars.

  Khemmis  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  slowest  and  heaviest  parts  of  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  mixes  them  together  with  a  touch  of  death  and  post  metal  to  create  a  musical  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  fantasy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Khemmis  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  "Serpentine"  and  "Antidiluvian".  8  out  of  10. 

Moanaa/Descent/2014 CD Review

  Moanaa  are  a  band  from  Poland  that plays  an  atmospheric  form  of  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Descent".

  Acoustic  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some elements  of  indie  and  post  rock  and  after  a  few  minutes  the  music  goes  into  a  heavier  direction  and  also  adds  in growls  that  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  death  metal  and  hardcore  along  with  some  solos  and  leads  that  are  very  dark  and  melodic  and  a good  portion  of t he  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Psychedelic  sounds  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  you  can  also  hear  a  small  amount  of   clean  singing  in  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  the  vocals  also  mix  in  a  rough  yet  melodic  tone  at  times and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  music  gets  more  atmospheric  and  the vocals  also  start  to  incorporate  more  high  pitched  screams  and  the  whole  album  sticks  to  a  slow  musical  direction  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

  Moanaa  plays  a  style  of  sludge  metal  that is  very  heavy,  melodic  and  atmospheric  sounding  and  also  adds in  elements  of  hardcore,  post  rock  and  death  metal  to  create  a  musical  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while the  lyrics  cover  personal  struggles  and  depression  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Moanaa  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  sludge  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sunset  Growing  Old"  "Zero"  and  "Away".  8  out  of  10.