Marianas Rest/Horror Vacui/Sliptrick Records/2016 CD Review

  Marianas  Rest  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  very  melancholic  and  melodic  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Horror  Vacui"  which  was  released  by  Sliptrick  Records.

  Spoken  word  samples  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier and  melodic  musical  direction  and  the  leads  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  clean  guitars  are  also  added  in  some  parts  of  the  songs.

  After  awhile  death  metal  growls  are  added  onto  the  recording  while  screams  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  doom  metal  and  they  also  mix  in  atmospheric  synths  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  and  spoken  word  parts  are  also  used  on  the  other  tracks  and  some  of  the songs  are very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  whole  album  sticks  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  melodic  singing.

  Marianas  Rest  plays  a  style  of  doom/death  metal  that  is  very  melodic,  atmospheric,  and  melancholic  sounding  and  adding  in  some  of  the  90's  era  in  with  a  more  modern  take  on  the  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Marianas Rest  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  melancholic  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Nadir"  "A  Lonely  Place  to  Die"  and  "Vestigial".  8  out  of  10.

 

Esperoza Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

When you are in a writing process, or in pre production work, or recording sessions, everything is clear, and you have an exact plan what to do, and you are waiting eagerly for album to be released. Then it comes out, and you kind of don't know what to do with this next, even though you are waiting such a long time for this, in the same time it's a little bit sad. So I think for us is better time when we in creating season. Maybe that's why we started to write some material for our new albums when we even didn't have a release date for Aum Corrupted.

2.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 best thing in our music is that we experimenting all the time (at least for us, but for listeners it can be very uncomfortable). So our previous album as well as the next one, will be totally different. But to hear this difference you must to listen all our music, so I challenge you to do so, and after this tell us what is different ;)

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

Reflections about existence of all things, about humanity, mental anguish, about pain we are going through, about pain we are causing each other day by day, and many more negative things we're living, but which can make us thinking.

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

This question is very complex, but I'll try to make it as short as possible.
Esperoza means universal explosion from a dead language. Inspiration is everything around us and inside of us.

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?

The best shows are those with a good response from the audience. Therefore one of them was the first edition of Esperoza's festival "Metal Displacement Over Nistru- 2015", and the other one was right after this one (what a coincidence) it's our show in Moldavian Transnistria, btw all the videos from these and many other shows you can see at our Youtube channel. As for the stage presence, we are not those who must describe this, this should do our audience :)

6.D you have any touring or show plans for the new album?

For now we don't have any touring plans. Currently we are working on our future two albums, so we don't want to tour right now to not lose this inspirational moment.

7.The new album was released on WormHoleDeath Records, are you happy with the support they have given you so far?

We signed this deal with WormHoleDeath not so long time ago, and just released the new album, so it's a little bit early to talk about any results, but we hope this will be a great experience.

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

We are a little bit isolated, because of our country location and because of our unclear and atypical music. So not so many people can dig it, but from those who really do, the feedback is amazing.

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

If we are talking just about musical side this will be even more experiments, and mixture of different genres and subgenres. Sometime it will be hard to listen, but  at least not boring :P

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?

We already responded for this one so many times, but that's fine, so our musical influences as you can even see in our official bio and description are very versatile. But some particular bands which have influenced Esperoza are: Emperor, Celtic Frost, Morbid Angel, Death, Mithras, (for the first album), and Celtic Frost, Triptykon, Devin Townsend and even King Crimson (for the second album), and of course many others in different ways.

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

Listen true music! And support underground artists!

Era Decay/Inritum/2016 Full Length Review

 Era  Decay  are  a  band  from  Romania  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  this is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2016  album  "Inritum".

  Clean  guitars  along  with  some  drums  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  leads  being  introduced  onto  the  recording  a  few  seconds  later  and  symphonic  elements  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls.

  High  pitched  screams  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  riffs  also  get  very  melodic  at  times  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  slower  sections  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  doom  and  as  the  album  progresses  acoustic  guitars  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  female  vocals  are  added  onto  the  last  track.

  Era  Decay  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 war,  politics  and  corruption  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Era  Decay  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  death  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Beyond  Delirium"  "Sharp  Words"  "Faker"  and  "Coming For  You  (The  Day  I  Die)".  8  out  of  10. 

Sulfur Emsemble/Live In Kargart 30-09-2016/Live EP Review

  Sulfur  Ensemble  are  a  band  from  Turkey  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  doom,  stoner,  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  live  2016  ep  "Live  In  Kargart  30-09-2016".

  A  very  distorted  amp  drone  starts  off  the  ep  and  after  a  minute  the  music  goes  into  a  heavier  doom  metal  direction  where  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording and  after  a  few minutes  high  pitched  sludge  style  screams  are  added  into  the  music  and  you  can  also  hear  elements  of  stoner  rock.

  At  times  melodies  can  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  samples  can  also  be  heard  at  times  ans  they  also  bring  in  a  cover  of  Venom's  "In  League  With  Satan"and  there  is  also  a  small  amount  of  growling  vocals  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  yet  retro  fashion  and  all;  of  the  tracks  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction.

  Sulfur  Ensemble  takes  their  mixture  of  stoner,  doom  and  sludge  metal  to  the  stage  this  time  around  and  creates  a  live  recording  that is  in  the  same  direction  as  their  previous  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  dystopian,  satanic,  ghouls  and  Marylin  Monroe  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Sulfur  Ensemble  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  stoner, doom  and  sludge  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  live  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "In  League  With  Satan'  and  "Marilyn".  8  out  of  10.   

Qaanaaq/Escape From The Black Iced Forest/Another Side Records/2016 CD Review

  Qaanaaq  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  avant  garde  and  progressive  form  of  doom/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Escape  From  the  Black  Iced  Forest"  which  was  released  by  Another  Side  Records.

  A  very  slow  doom  metal sound  starts  off the  album  and  a  few  seconds  later  death  metal  growls  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  bring  in  a  very  powerful  sound  and  when  keyboards  are  added  into  the  music  they  bring  in  more  of  an  experimental  and  avant  garde  style.

  A  great  amount  of  melody  can  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  clean  singing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  riffs  also  mix  in  a  lot  of  prog  metal  elements  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  at  times  the  keyboards  bring  in  the  atmospheric  of  a  gothic  horror film  and  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  tracks  and  there  is  also  a  slight  black  metal  influence  in  some  of  the  screams.

  Qaanaaq  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  doom/death  metal  while  also  adding  in  avant  garde,  experimental  and  progressive  elements  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Qaanaaq  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  and  avant  garde  doom/death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Body  Walks"  and  "High  Hopes".  8  out  of  10. 

Eternal Deformity/No Way Out/Temple Of Torturous Records/2016 CD Review

  Eternal  Deformity  are  a  band  from  Poland  that  plays  a  very  avant  garde  and  gothic  form  of  doom/death  metal  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  2016  album  "No  Way  Out"  which  will  be  released  on  November  18th  by  Temple  Of  Torturous  Records.

  Atmospheric  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melodic  doom  metal  direction  along  with  some  symphonic  elements  and  aggressive  screaming  vocals  and  clear  vocals  can  also  be  heard  at  times.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  black  metal  screams  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  music  also  mixes  in  a  lot  of  progressive elements.

  At  times  the  music  can  be  very  avant  garde  and  some  songs  also  incorporate  death  metal  growls  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  clean  guitars  also  make  a return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  classical  guitars  are  introduced  on  on a later  track  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Eternal  Deformity  plays  a  style  of  doom/death  metal t hat  is  also  influenced  by  black  metal  while  also  mixing  in  goth,  progressive  and  avant  garde  elements  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  depressive  and  metaphysical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Eternal  Deformity  are  a  very  great  sounding  avant  garde  doom/death  metal  band  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Esoteric  Manifesto"  "Reinvented"  and "Glaciar".  8  out  of  10.

     

Church Of Disgust/Veneration Of Filth/Memento Mori/2016 CD Review

  Church  Of  Disgust  are  a band  from  Texas  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  old  school  form  of  death  metal  with  elements  of  doom  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Veneration  Of  Filth"  which  was  released  by  Memento  Mori.

  Horror  movie  style  keyboards  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  which  also  introduces  chaotic  sounding  guitar  leads  onto  the  recording  while  also  having  their  melodic  moments   and  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  morbid  sounding  melodies.

  Vocals  have  the  early  death  metal  style  when  the  genre  was  still  evolving  out  of  thrash  while  growls  along  with  screams  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  doom  metal  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

 Blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  during  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  and  the  tracks  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  the  songs  sound  like  they  could  of  been  recorded  and  released  25  years  ago  and  as  the  album  progresses  horror  movie  samples  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  there  is  also  some  session  work  from  members  of  Nocturnus  A.D,  Sewercide  and  Disevered.  

  Church  Of  Disgust  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  doom  influenced  old  school  death  metal  style  of  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  horror,  H.P  Lovecraft,  and  The  Occult.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Church  Of  Disgust  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  old  school  doom/death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ripping  Decay"  "Plague  Of  Punishment"  "Supine  In  The  Face  Of  Total  Death"  and  "Sunken  Altar  Of  Dagon".  8  out  of  10.