Hybernoid/The Last Day Begins?[+EP's & Demos}/Xtreem Music/2016 Double CD Compilation Review

  Hybernoid  where  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  mixture  of  industrial,  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  double  compilation  album  "The  Last  Day  Begins?[+EP's  &  Demos"  which  was  released  by  Xtreem  Music.

  Programmed  drum  beats  along  with heavy  guitars  start  off  the  album  and  after  awhile  clean  playing  and  darkwave  elements  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  vocals  that  are  in  between  death  metal  growls  and  industrial  style  screams  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Female  vocals   can  be  heard  in  some  songs  while  some  of  the  riffs  get  very  melodic  at  times  and  the  leads  also  use  melody  and  bring  in  a  touch  of  goth  and  on  the  later  tracks  atmospheric  synths  make  their  presence  known  in  the  music and  some  of  the  tracks  are  all  instrumental  and  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  ambient.

 The  earlier  material  on  the  second  disc  bring s in  even  more  death  metal  elements  and  the  music  also  speeds up  on  some  of  the  tracks  and  a  couple  of  song s also  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  classical  guitars  and  harmonica's  and  there  are  also  a  couple  of  tracks  that  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Hybernoid  played  a musical  style  that was  mostly  rooted  in  industrial  and  goth  metal  while  also  mixing  in  the  heaviness  of  doom  and  death  metal  to  create  a  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  nihilism,  dark  ecology  and  Armageddon  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Hybernoid  where  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  industrial,  doom  and  death metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Akeldama"  "Sear"  "Technology  Regression"  and  "When  two  Lives".  8  out  of  10.
 

Oracles/Miserycorde/Deadlight Entertainment/2016 CD Review

  Oracles  are  an  international  band  with  members  from  Belgium  and  the  United  States  that  plays  an  extreme  metal  of    melodic  death,  doom  and  gothic  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Miserycorde"  which will  be  released  in July  by  Deadlight  Entertainment.

  Atmospheric  synths  and  clean  guitars  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  goth  metal  style  female vocals  and  a  few  seconds  later  heavy  guitars  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  the  clean  vocals  can  also  be  very  operatic  at  times  and  the  music  also  brings  in  some  prog  metal  elements.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  brutal  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  a  lot  of  modern  metal  influences  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  the  riffs  also  get  very  melodic  at  times  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  stick  to  a very  melodic  style  while  also  being  very  technical  and  progressive  in  some  songs.

  As the  album  progresses  elements  of  electronic  music  can  be  heard  along  with  some  tracks  also  bringing  in  more  of  a  symphonic  style  and  closer  to  the  end  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  session  work  from  members  of  Scar  Symmetry,  The  Black  Dahlia  Murder,  and   Nevermore/Arch  Enemy  and  they  also  bring  in  a  cover  of  marylin  Manson's  "The  Beautiful  People.

  Oracles  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  melodic  death,  prog  and  gothic  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Oracles  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  melodic  death,  prog  and  goth  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Tribulation  Of  Man"  "Scorn"  "Canvas  Of  me"  and  "We,  The  Indifferent".  8  out  of  10.  

Sulfur Ensemble/I(Four Songs About Dystopia, Satan, Ghouls, Marylin Monroe)/Morbid Syndicate/2016 EP Review

  Sulfur  Ensemble  are  a  band  from  Turkey  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge,  stoner  and  doom  metal  with  a  musical  style  they  refer  to  as  'doom'n'roll  and  this is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "I(Four Songs  About  Dystopia,  Satan,  Ghouls,  Marylin  Monroe)"  which  was  released  by  Morbid  Syndicate.

A very  distorted  sound  starts  off  the  ep  before  bringing  in  riffs  that  mix  sludge  and  doom  metal  together  and  after  awhile  spoken  word  parts  are  added  onto  the  recording  before  adding  in  aggressive  screaming  vocals  that  also  have  a  punk  edge  to  them  while  a  lot  of  stoner  rock  elements  can also  be  heard.

  At  times  the  riffs  bring  in  melodies  while  the  solos and  leads have  a  retro  feeling  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  death  metal  growls  are  also  used  at  times  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  slow  yet  heavy  musical  direction.

  Sulfur  Ensemble  plays  a  musical  style t hat  takes  the  heaviness  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  the  retro  side  of  stoner  rock  to  create  their  style  of  doom'n'roll,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,   horror,  dystopian  and  60's  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sulfur  Ensemble  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  "Plea"  and  "Marylin".  8  out  of  10. 

Shantak 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?
1) We're now working on a lot of new pieces and ideas and we are endeavouring some kind of non-stop rehearsing campaign in order to be perfect in the upcoming live shows.

    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 demo you had released in 2014?
2) The new album is an original mixture of melodeath and doom metal combined with southern and stoner metal. I don't know how to describe it in its simple and complex "alchemy" of sounds but I can only encourage everyone in listening it and maybe drop an opinion (positive or negative). >From the 2014 demo it differs of course in the quality and the songwriting is more complex and complete. We are still a bit "unripe" but we're developing a curious sound that, we hope, that one day it will bring us far away.


    3.I have read that the band started out as a black metal band, what was the decision behind going into the musical direction that you now play?
3) Cool question! So, playing covers is cool, of course, but is deleterious for the development of new music, new sounds, new bands. Playing covers means destroy new music. It should be only an exercise for future original productions and not a solid aim.
So, once we realised that, we decided to begin playing original music

    4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
4) Lately I'm (Nicola) reading books concerning philosophy (Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Pascal) '800 and '900 literature (Baudelaire, Eliot, Goethe, Holderlin, etc.) . The themes of the newer songs are more deep and they continue concerning literature, philosophy, death, dreams, nature and inner life. Recently I began writing short stories about unique characters (like The Unwept) giving a kind of narrative trait to all the new lyrics. They often concern stories of loss, desperation, death and titanism in a chaotic and tumultuous universe.

    5.I know that the band name came from the writings of H.P Lovecraft, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this author and also what are some of the other writers or literature that you have an interest in?

5) Of course. Lovecraft inspired me (Nicola) in the writing of a lot of lyrics and gave me the idea of basing the "guideline" of the band on an abyssal glimmering darkness and a never-ending chaos. It also concerns dreams and the mysterious shades of human mind and this is very important for poetry and art in general. Other authors in which I'm interested are Coleridge, Eliot, Holderlin, Goethe, Poe, Wilde, Baudelaire, Kafka, Keats, Shelley, Verne, Stoker and many more.

    6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
6) The best show, so far, was the Release Party of our album For the Darkening at Circolo Colony (BS). We played all the songs from the album plus two new recent tracks that we wrote in the last period. We saw some vids of our performance and we think that is getting better and better show after show. We are becoming more and more skilled and our performances more and more interesting and professional.

    7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
7) Unfortunately, recently, we heve sent a lot of emails and requests to venues and festivals. But no-one seems interested in leaving us play. We're still waiting for answers and requests. So, if you're searching a particular melodic death metal band for your show, we're absolutely available!

    8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your newer music by fans of extreme metal?
8) The feedback, so far, is not really good. We hope that in the next months it will be better and more people will get interested in our music.

    9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
9) Uhm, I don't know, everything seems so uncertain so far. The world of music is changing and people who listen to metal are not so many after all. Metal music is dying and this is caused by the growing quantity of cover bands and close-minded people who only listens to the same 3 or 4 bands. I only know that we can only hope that one day we will become a great metal band and the people will be better than now.

    10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
10) Our main influences are from Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Insomnium, Black Label Society, Woods of Ypres and, why not, also Type O Negative. Nowadays we're listening to:
Nicola: Insomnium, November's Doom, Funeral, Death, Dark Tranquillity, Gojira, Swallow the Sun, A Forest of Stars, Woods of Ypres, Septicflesh, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Poets of the Fall, Massive Attack, Unkle, Huun-Huur-Tu, This Will Destroy You, Ludovico Einaudi
Federico: Obscura, Death, Beyond Creation, Iron Maidem, Insomnium; Gojira, Meshuggah, A Forest of Stars, Magenta Harvest
Matteo: Woods of Ypres, Black Sabbath, Ozzy, Parkway Drive, Swallow the Sun, Gojira, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Korpiklaani, Ludovico Einaudi
Simone: Over Kill, Death, Korpiklaani, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Airs, This Will Destroy You, Ludovico Einaudi, Judas Priest, Pink Floyd
Luigi: Ghost, Lamb of God, Poets of the Fall, Alice in Chains, Pink Floyd,

    11.What are some of your non musical interests?
11) Our non musical interests are:
Nicola: Speleology, Writing, Reading and Photography
Federico: Reading
Matteo: Tuning
Simone: Beer
Luigi: Hanging out with friends

    12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
12) Don't let the music die, spread it, be open-minded!

Shantak/For The Darkening/Sliptrick Records/2016 CD Review

  Shantak  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  melodic  death  metal  with  elements  of  heavy,  thrash  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "For  The  Darkening"  which  was  released  by  Sliptrick  Records.

  Clean  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  before  adding  in  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  melodic  guitar  leads  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful  while t he  vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls  and  you  can  also  hear  a  lot  of  doom  metal  elements  in t he  slow  guitar  riffs  while  the  lds  bring  in  more  of  a  traditional  melodic  metal  style.

  A  great  amount  of  melodies  can  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  some  thrash  influences and  high  pitched  screams  can  also  be  heard  in  the  music  at  times  and  clean  playing  also  makes  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars and  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  on  some  of the  songs  and  all  of  the tracks  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  while  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  blast  beats.

  Shantak  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  melodic  death  metal  and  mixes  it  with  doom  metal  to  create  a  sound  of   their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  loneliness,  Lovecraft  tales,  love,  nature,  and  literature  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Shantak  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  melodic  death  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Disinterment"  "Oath  of  Shadows"  "The  River"  and  "The  Unwept".  8  out  of  10.

Merchant/Suzerain/Snake Charmer Coalition/2016 CD Review

  Merchant  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  plays  a  psychedelic  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Suzerain"  which  was  released  by  Snake  Charmer  Coalition.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  death  metal  style  growling  a  few  seconds  later  while  sludge  style  screams  are  also  used  at  times  and  all  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording.

  When  guitar  solos  or  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  style  while  also  adding  in  elements  of  psychedelic  and  stoner  rock  onto  the  recording  and  clean  guitars  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  songs  and  as  the  album  progresses  some  of  the  riffs  start  bringing  in  more  melodies  and  the  whole  album  also  sticks  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

  Merchant  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  heaviest  styles  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  with  some  stoner,  psychedelic  and  death  metal  elements  to  create  a  sound  of t heir  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my opinion  Merchant  are  a  very  great  sounding mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Mourning  Light"  and  "Black  Vein".  8  out  of  10.

Cortez/Initial/WOOAAARGH/Get A Life!/2016 12 Inch Review

  Cortez  are  a  band  from  Switzerland  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  noise,  post  hardcore  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  "Initial"  which  will  be  released  in  September  as  a  joint  effort  between  WOOAAARGH  and  Get  A  Life!.

  A  very  heavy  and  aggressive  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  high  pitched  noisecore  screams  while  you  can  hear  some  post  hardcore  style  melodies  in the  guitar  riffing  along  with  the  heaviness  of  sludge  metal  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  some  of  the  riffs  also  add  in a  touch  of  djent.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  on  a  couple  of  the  tracks  while  the  main  focus  remains  more  on  a  heavier  style  which  also  mixes  in  more  post  metal  influences  as  the  album  progresses  while  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  atmospheric  elements.

  Cortez  creates  another  recording t hat  takes  noise  rock, g rind,  post  hardcore  and  sludge  metal  and  mixes  them together  to  create  a  very  heavy  yet  dark  sounding  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  their  native  tongue  and  cover  dark  and  melancholic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Cortez  and  if  you are  a  fan  of  noise  rock,  post  hardcore  and  sludge  metal  and  if  you are a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should c heck  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Mine  de  rein"  "Marasme"  "Notice"  and  "Patriarche".  8  out  of  10.