Anion/Fractions Of Failure/No List Records/2016 EP Review

  

  Anion  are  a  band  from  Vancouver  B.C,  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of  hardcore,  noise  rock  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "Fractions  Of  Failure"  which  was  released  by  No  List  Records.

  A  very  hard  yet  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  growling  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  and  high  pitched  screams  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  mid  80's  to  early  90's  noise  rock  elements  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  fashion.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  while  also  mixing  in  the  raw  energy  of  hardcore  and  the  music  also  speeds  up  in  certain sections  of  the  recording  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  heavy  musical  style.

  Anion  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  sludge,  doom  metal,  hardcore  and  noise  rock  and  mixes  it  together  to  create  a  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Anion  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  noise  rock,  hardcore and  sludge  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "God'S  Day  Off"  and  "Work  Ethic".  8  out  of  10.

Heavenwood/The Tarot Of The Bohemians Part One/Massacre Records 2016 CD Review

  Portugal's  Heavenwood  have  returned  with  a  new  album  that  continues  the  gothic  and  doom  metal  style  of  previous  recordings  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "The  Tarot  Of  the  Bohemians  Part  One"  which  was  released  by  Massacre  Records.

 Choir  vocals  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavy  and  melodic  musical  direction  a  few  seconds  later  awhile  also  mixing  it  in  with  symphonic  elements  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  vocals  also  bring  in a   great  mixture  of  both  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams.

  When  clean  singing  is  utilized  it  gives  the  music  more  of  a  goth  metal  feeling  while  the  solos  and  leads  also  remain true  to  a  melodic  yet  extreme  style  of  metal  and  most  of  the  songs  stick  to  mostly  either  a  slow  or mid  paced  musical  direction  while  also  speeding  up  briefly  and adding  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  melodic  ritualistic  chanting  while  one  of  the  tracks  towards  the  end  brings  in  female  vocals  and  there  are  also  a  few  tracks  that  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  classical  guitars  are  also  utilized  on  the  last  track.

  Heavenwood  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  tp  the  goth/doom  metal  style  of  previous  recordings  while  also  mixing  in  a  touch  of  black  and  death  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  deal  with  the  tarot  and  occultism  along  with  all  of  the  tracks  being  named  after  a  card.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Heavenwood  are  if  you  are  a  fan  of  gothic  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Juggler"  "The  Emperor"  "The  Chariot"  and  "The  hanged  Man".  8  out  of  10.

     

Methra/Acolyte/Battleground Records/2016 Full Length Review

  Methra  are  a  band  from  Tucson,  Arizona  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge  and doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016 album  "Acolyte"  which  will  be  released  in  July  by  Battleground  Records.

  Distorted  amp  sounds  start  off  the  album before  going  into  a  heavy  yet  melodic  doom  metal  direction  along  with  some  clean  singing  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  that  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  stoner  vibe  and  the  music  brings  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording.

  Clean  playing  can  be  heard  on  some  of  the  songs  and  high  pitched  screams  along  with  death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  in  the  music  at  times  and  some  of  the  riffs  also  bring  in  elements  of  crust  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  while  mixing  in  a  lot  of  different  style  and  one  track  brings  in  spoken  word  parts.

  Methra  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  stoner,  sludge,  and  doom  metal  and  mixes  it  with  crust  and  death  metal  to  create  a  style  of   their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes

  In my  opinion  Methra  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  "Silverbar"  "Meridian"  "Pike  Warship'  and  "Organ  Trial".  8  out  of  10.

  

   

Grotesque Ceremonium Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
Grotesque Ceremonium formed as one man old school death metal Project in 2014 Ankara Turkey , this project created by me as passion and love for playing 90 s obscure and dark death metal with putrid sound,i always liked the early 90 s real death metal and influenced by bands like Incantation and Autopsy much , and i tried to keep the spirit alive , raw and true to old school roots of death metal in this Project.

2.You have a new album coming out in June, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the ep you had released in 2014?
Debut album is coming on 15th of June this year from Satanath Records and More Hate Prod co – release. Musically its pure death metal , with a lot of doomy parts , blasting parts with gloomy atmosphere , traditional death metal growls and screams , fast and catchy parts sometimes and even some crust , d beat sections in general music.it has more better production quality from the first ep which i recorded in 2014 ‘Blasphemous Goat Observance’ and song structures are more better way in this upcoming debut album.

3.Your lyrics cover a lot of satanic, luciferian, occult and blasphemus topics, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these subjects?
All those stuffs are main influences in Grotesque Ceremonium s music,in this album Demonic Inquisition i influenced and read much articles about   witch burnings and brutal inquisitions methods of dark  medieval times ,normally which performed by the church and christians , but i changed the classic topic to more evil way in my lyrics, that all those demonic tortures and inquisition methods are performing against all beleivers of god and christians by baphomets evil army in satanic temple of undead priests,in lyrics also listeners can read some of my personal descriptions about depts of hell , levels of hell , torture pits  and stuffs like that.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Grotesque Ceremonium'?
As you can see on the ep and this debut album artwork , some satanic rituals and Ceremoniums going on always main figure Satan and baphomet and hooded priest and monks on my artworks,this name  exactly fits what i imagined and created in my head . so it fits the main concept ,music ,lyrics and darkness of the band.

5.With this musical project you record everything by yourself, how would you compare that to working with a full band?
İ have other full bands like Cenotaph , its brutal death metal band also active since 1994 , but when it s one man band like this you are totally free , this musical freedom gives you a lot possibilities to write and create the exact music in your head , in full members bands a lot other things you have to deal with , with each member wishes , ideas and moods and stuffs like this but in Grotesque Ceremonium i m totally free i dont need to hear anybodies opinion and shit , i just write  , create and record the music which i wanted with the sound i like , in full band like my main band Cenotaph , everybody has different ideas in music and music writing process , so i dont need to deal in this one man Project with anyones ego or problems , i really enjoy to create the music which i like alone as one man band


6.On the album you did a cover of Incantation's  "Profanation", what was the decision behind during your own version of this song?
İ m huge fan of early incantation albums , especially 1992 onward to golgotha and 1994 mortal throne of  nazarene . those albums influenced me since the early days i started listening death metal , they are for me undying death metal classics,so i choosed to cover profanation song  from the  onward to golgotha album , i hope all listeners and incantation fans like me enjoys my version.

7.So far you have worked with 'Gunebacken productions' 'Satanath Records' and 'More Hate productions', are you happy with the support these labels have given you so far?
Gunebakan prod and American line prod mexico made limited tape versions of the 2014 ep , and with more hate prod i m also working for my other Project band Drain of ımpurity , its  brutal death metal one man Project, both satanath and more hate prod very dedicated labels and supportive to their bands and so far they are doing their job killer , i m glad to work such cool labels.check out their other releases also.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal?
So far just  album promos sending around by labels and we just put 1 new song promo from upcoming on youtube and bandcamp pages of satanath records , you can check it out , reactions and feedsbacks are nice , after the 15th june album release i m expecting more feedbacks also , hope you guys like it if you are into old school death metal .

9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that you are a part of?
As i said before my main band is Cenotaph , and we ll gonna release our 6th full lenght album with cenotaph this year hopefully , we have 8 new songs to record , and my other one man Project beside grotesque ceremonium is drain of impurity , it also released its 3rd full lenght album from more hate prod this year , name of the album is – the seventh planet of the infected cygnus system -  more sci -fiction space theme brutal death metal and also grotesque ceremonium i m dealing with now a days.

10.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?
i like to create and playing music , its main part of my life , i ll continue to write music which i like in the future too , if people enjoys it its cool also if not enjoys its also ok , i can handle good and bad reviews , its good for my musical developement and journey.i want to continue music as long as possible in this short life.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on the project and also what are you listening to nowadays?
İ have a lot influences , for grotesque ceremonium main influences are incantation , winter , autopsy , morgoth , disembowelment , tyranny  and bands like this , i listen a lot of 90 s demos eps and cds, also i listen a lot other styles like brutal death metal , grindcore,doom , black metal and stuffs like that,now a days i m listening Funest from italy osdm band with swedish sound , a lot of dismember i m listening also  , old unleashed albums across the open sea era , burial from holland 1993 album relinquished souls very underrated band but killer if you like old death  and massacre style ,slaughterday from germany and coffin lust from australia i can advice,  beside this a lot of swedish crust punk bands i listen skitsystem and such stuffs and primitive man from usa i listen now a days , also a lot of brutal death metal albums are daily in my playlist.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks a lot fort his interview ,hope you guys enjoy my debut album grotesque ceremonium – demonic inquisition , check those pages and support ug.
https://grotesqueceremonium.bandcamp.com/releases
http://www.satanath.com/
http://morehate.com/

Heavenwood/Redemption/Massacre Records/2016 CD Review

  Heavenwood  are  a  band  from  Portugal  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  style  of  goth/doom  metal  which  also  has  elements  of  death  and  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2008  album  "Redemption"  which  was  re-issued  in  2016  by  Massacre  Records.

 A  very  heavy,  melodic  yet  depressive  goth  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  using  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  after  awhile  clean  singing  vocals,  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  operatic  female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  on  one  track.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  while  also  sounding  modern  enough  for  2008  and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  keyboards.

  Some  tracks  also  bring  in  elements  of  traditional  goth  rock  while  the  riffs  bring  in  the  heaviness  of  doom  metal  and  a  couple  of  the  songs  are  long  and  epic in  length  along  with  one  song  bringing  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  all  of  the  music  sticks  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars.

  Heavenwood  played  a  style  of  goth/doom  metal  on  this  recording  that  was  very  melodic  and  atmospheric  while  also  having  the  heaviness  of  black  and  death  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  sorrow,  darkness,  and  love  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Heavenwood  and  if   you  are  a  fan  of  goth  and  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  re-issue.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "13th  Moon"  "Fragile"  "Obsolete"  and  "Slumber".  8  out  of  10.
 

While Sun Ends Interview

1.     Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?



We basically have hput ourselves into promoting the album.
Our previous works were self-produced; with Terminus, we decided to push it further finding  help from a label or making a video for the single track.


We got in touch with Cris from Wooaaargh and now we are ready to release Terminus in August.

2.    You have a new album coming out in August, 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 band has a predominantly death metal sound mixed with progressive and post-metal.We are peculiar in that we have a female vocalist who does both screams/growls and clean vocals.In Terminus we put more attention on building complex vocals structures.

Unlike our past projects, as we said before, we made a decision to have a professional recording that could bring out the layering and the articulated writing. Basically, we sound way more aggressive and modern.


We have always enjoyed the electronic feelings, and especially in the arrangements in Terminus we gave it a bigger space.



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

We wanted to explore different ways in which people aget knowledge. We like to write about society, human being and psychology, and all these things are gathered into the concept of Terminus: Knowledge is a journey from the single human being to a society built on relationships. We get many stimuli from society, as well as it influences our thoughts: take these as steps throughout an infinite ideal spiral, where opposites find their compromise in a continuous synthesis. The latter represents “the new start” of our being as it was at the beginning: it is pretty much more than a horizontal growth. It’s a sort of spread-away, finding ourselves in deeper and deeper layers of existence.



4.    What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'While Sun Ends'?



It all started from the image of the sunset, a moment of the day that is particularly romantic and inspirational. It seemed good to us, as it is also linked to some thoughts we had on the relation between the past, the present and the future. We think that the moment in which the sun is about going away is full of emotions and questions on what was, is and will be.


The words “While Sun Ends” describe that exact moment, the end of the sunlight on earth, and the quest for something beyond that.



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



We try to convey our music in the most simple and direct way, focusing most on the sound than on the “image”. We think playing shows is the best way to Know new people that share passions. There isn’t a particular gig we would like to remember: during the past we had the pleasure to play with bands that are now friends, and this is a great pleasure for us.



6.    Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?



On September we are planning some gigs to promote the album, then we’d like to  tour across Europe during winter. Anyway, we actually don't have shows booked but we are planning to play with bands we really like.new friend! We shall make our best to organize a European Tour to promote Terminus and enjoy the metal feeling across the continent. Finally, we chose the venue for our release party: it's a nice place named “Joe Koala”, where an outdoor stage is set during summer. Hope we will crash the night !





7.    On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme metal?

The feedback we had from abroad was pretty good, but we have to be sincere… Everyone wanted to meet our singer in real life.



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

Our drummer Enrico is involved in two other Italian “indie rock” bands, called “Le Capre a Sonagli” and “Karenina”; he has released several albums and made many lives all around Italy. Our two guitarists Diego and Massimo were also involved in another metal band named “Dejanira” until a few months ago, but now the group has decided to take a break.



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

We think that Terminus marks a new beginning for us as a band, not only due to the new lineup, but also due to  sound and songs . We are quite glad of how the band sounds, but we really don’t know how our style and sounds will evolve in the future. Perhaps we will experience further with the atmospheric and post rock side, or maybe we will write down a pure death metal album...who knows?! Our writing process usually required a great deal of time because we have never been pushed from major labels or stuff like that: the main purpose behind our music is to fulfill passion in what we do, create a stream for us to be represented. That’s why While Sun End’s music will grow along with the band members, according with the future musical influences of each one.



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?

Without any doubt, the bands that mostly influenced us (and that we're currently listening to) are Katatonia, Novembre and Opeth among others. We were also massively influenced by the progressive rock movement of the 70, sometimes by post-rock sounds. Our personal influences are various and very different from one another, and this is clearly passed down to our sound.



11.  What are some of your non musical interests?



Oh, they’re various:Enrico is a drum teacher (we know drum is music, but maybe he doesn’t think the same and this is why he wanted to answer this way!!!),  Massimo is a charming pharmacist who loves photography and fishing. Diego is a sound engineer  and he’s working hard to create his own studio; Carlo is a noob nerd studying Neuroscience to become a psychologist, while Stefania is fond of nature, and enjoys having walks, collecting herbs and getting some inspiration for her drawings!





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



It’s our great pleasure to thank Cris from Wooaaargh and Curtis from Dewar PR for helping us in this new adventure! Special thanks also go to Riccardo “Paso” Pasini , who gave us a huge help mixing the album, creating some very nice memories together during our stay in Ravenna! Huge thanks to Serena Caracchi for the past years together and to Davide Capoferri for his guitar solo in our track “Seesaw”. Finally, thank you so much for this interview, it was ages -when we were pupils- since we last had so many question to answer! We hope you will enjoy our album, wishing to play lots of gigs to promote it in the next year!

Grotesque Ceremonium/Demonic Inquisition/Satanath Records/More hateproductions/2016 CD Review

 

 Grotesque  Ceremonium  are  a  solo project  from  Turkey  that plays  a  very  dark  and  blasphemous  form  of  doom/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2016  album  "Demonic  Inquisition"  which  will b e  released  in  June  as  a  joint  effort  between  Satanath  Records  and  More  Hate  Productions.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  a  few  seconds  later  and  the  music  is  more  rooted  in  the  more  dark  and  underground  90's  style  of t he  genre  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  as  well  as  a  great  amount  of  morbid  sounding  melodies.

  A  lot  of  doom  metal  elements  can  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  screams  while  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length and  all  of  the  tracks  sound  like  they  could  of  been  easily  recorded  and  released  more  than  20  years  ago  and  the  songs  stick  mostly  to  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  none  of  the  songs  rarely  ever  use  any  solos  or  leads  except  for t he  last  track  while  also  always  remaining  heavy  and  the  album  closes  with  a  cover  of  Incantation's  "Profanation".

  Grotesque  Ceremonium  plays  a  style  of  death  metal t hat  is  very  dark  and  heavy  in  the  90's tradition  while also  mixing  in  a  decent  amount  of  doom  metal  elements,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  blasphemy,  anti  religion  and  Satanism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Grotesque  Ceremonium  are  a  very  great  sounding  dark  and  blasphemous  doom/death  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Defiled  Spirits  Of  Unholy  Torments"  "Barbaric  Apostasy"  "In  The  Cauldrons  Of  Hell"  and  "Profanation".  8  out  of  10.