Evoke Thy Lords 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?
Hello, thanks for your interest. But nothing extraordinary.  We just rehearse, create new riffs and parts and think about future conceptions.

2.In April you had 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?
Say, “Lifestories” have a fat, heavy and groovy sound. It differs from the sound of “Drunken Tales” - less subtle, more straightforward maybe. Something like this. As for us, all of our releases sound very different, but for the other listeners - who knows? Maybe for them all our albums are as like as two peas.

3.In the beginning the band was in a more melodic doom/death metal direction but over the years have evolved into more of a psychedelic stoner/doom metal direction, what was the decision behind the stylistic change?
The explanation is rather lucid: our key points and musical values had changed. By the moment of our debut album release we had already had some new groovy stuff. So, we recorded our unreleased doom/death material for “Twofaced” EP and closed this theme. When the EP was out, we completely turned away from the sound represented on the record and turned to the groove.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
For example, song “Regressed” is about some dissociative or psychogenic fugue, psychiatric disorder when the person loses his previous memories and individuality, leaves his family and often removes to the other places and thinks that he is a new, another person. The other themes are life as a trick and sometimes people are not what they seem - usual stories of usual lives.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Evoke Thy Lords'?
The name had occurred as a reference to H.P. Lovecraft works, later changed a range of its notions, and by now it does not have a clear definition. The one who had made it up, and everyone seeing it now – they all have their own perception of its meaning. Every man has his own gods, and the music has always been a channel to communicate with them.

6.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 for the recent ones - it was a live gig in Tomsk city. There was a very good stage work with sound and light and good organization and line-up also. Though, there were many good concerts in the past. As for our stage performance, we... just playing? For us the music is the main thing. We try to make some physical effect on the listeners, catch them with the rhythm, that takes place, yes. Of course, some bands make a good show - I mean a show exactly. But visual theatre on stage and something like that is not about us anyway.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
Unlikely, we are not play-live-often-band. But a couple of gigs - may be.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your newer music by fans of stoner, doom and death metal?
Singing the praises. We think the death metal component in our music is overestimated.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Really don’t know. It’s very hard question.

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?
As for “Lifestories”, different kinds of doom metal and a touch of noise rock, may be. As for us, we’re drowning in music.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
The most part of our interests are about music.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks for the questions but no more words, sorry.

Dwoom/Pale Mare/Bloodsoaked Records/2017 Demo Review

 Dwoom  are  a  band from  Sweden  that  plays  a  mixture  of  old  school  Swedish  death  metal  and  epic  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  demo  "Pale  Mare"  which  was  released  by  Bloodsoaked  Records.

  Clean  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  demo  along  with  some  distorted  amp  noises  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  leads  up  to  a  more  heavy  and  melodic  musical  direction  that  also  mixes  in  the  heaviness  of  90's  era  Swedish  death  metal  while  also  having  a  great  amount  of  doom  in  the  slow  riffs.

  Vocals a re  mostly  clean  80's  era  doom  metal  style  vocals  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  add  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  style  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  after  awhile  70's  era  prog  style  synths  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  a  couple  of  tracks  also  adds  in  a  small  amount  of  classical  guitars  and  death  metal  growls  are  also used  briefly  while  all  of  the  tracks  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction.

  Dwoom  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  70's  and  80's  era  doom  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Dwoom  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  epic  doom  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Pale  Mare".  8  out  of  10. 
 

Cold Insight/Further Nowhere/Rain Without End Records/2017 CD Review

  Cold  Insight  are  a  band  from  France  that plays  an  atmospheric  and  melodic  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  with  elements  of  post  rock,  trance  and  AOR  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017 album "Further  Nowhere"  which  was  released  by  Rain  Without  End  Records.

  Atmospheric  synths  and  melodic post  rock  style  guitar  leads  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  doom  metal  riffing  and  death  metal  growls  a  few seconds  later  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  symphonic  and  prog  elements a re  also  used  at  times.

  Spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  a  small  amount  of  whispers  while the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  as  the  album  progresses  elements of  trance  are  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  some  songs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  guitars  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction.

  Cold  Insight  plays  a  style  of  doom/death  metal  that  is  very  atmospheric  along  with  some  prog,  trance,  AOR  and  post  rock  elements  which  also  makes  the  music  more  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  a  cosmic  journey  through  ethereal  worlds.

  In  my  opinion  Cold  Insight  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  atmospheric  mixture  of  doom,  death  and  post  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Light  We  Are"  "Close  Your  Eyes"  "I  Will  Rise"  and  "Deep".  8  out  of  10.

Black Royal/Dying Star/Suicide Records/2017 7 Inch Review

  Finland's  Black  Royal  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  that  continues  the  death,  groove,  stoner  and  blues  metal  of  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  7  inch  "Dying  Star"  which  was  released  by  Suicide  Records.

  Melodic  guitar riffing  starts  off  the  ep  before  adding  in  more  heavy  riffs  and  death  metal  growls  and  you  can  also  hear  elements  of  groove  and  stoner  metal  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  clean  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  symphonic  elements  can  be  heard  in  the  background  briefly  along  with the  slow  riffs  also  adding  in  a  touch  of  doom  metal  and  one  of  the  tracks  is  long  and  epic  in  length  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  high  pitched  screams  and  elements  of  blues  are  also  used  at  times  and  acoustic  guitars  along  with  melodic  choirs  are  added  on  the  second  track.


  Black  Royal  creates  another  recording   that  remains  true  to  the  death,  groove  and  stoner  metal  mixture  of  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness and  occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Black  Royal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  death,  groove  and  stoner  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  single.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Dying  Star".  8  out  of  10.   

Enemy I Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Founded by singer/songwriter Rob DeVille and drummer Alex Swienty in 2013, Enemy I is a versatile/depressive industrial metal band based in Berlin, Germany.
In February 2014, we released our first debut EP, containing 5 tracks which show our flexibility between different metal genres.
Presently, we’re expanded to five musicians and have finally released our first full length album called "Dysphoria".

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?
We try to combine different metal and rock genres with industrial hues, sometimes with a melancholic feel, other times with more angry/aggressive tones. Almost everything between Gothic and Death Metal is allowed, for we don’t want to limit ourselves.

3.You describe your music as 'depressive industrial metal', can you tell us a little bit more about this term?
Since we never felt home in just one specific genre, we started a little brainstorm some years ago. Reflecting our individuality, we came to the point of entitling our music style as such, because happiness is rare in our songs. As versatile as we are, industrial soundscapes and minor keys are part of most of our music.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
As the title 'Dysphoria' already promises, our lyrics are mainly about less happier things than love, freedom or dancing in the sunshine. Even though the topic “love” is a trigger for many lyrics, it’s usually meaningless and without a happy ending. But no matter if it’s about a broken relationship, the inner fight with oneself or the absence of any godlike existence, it’s usually the dark moments in life which make our frontman Rob become creative.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Enemy I'?
It’s about the principle Michael Jackson has already been singing about in “man in the mirror”. Everyone has their problems and mistakes and of course it’s a lot easier to blame someone else for it. But if you really wanna change something about it, you have to start with reflecting yourself, cause somehow we're all our own worst enemy. So it’s kind of self-therapy for 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?
One of our personal highlights was for sure our support gig for Die Krupps last year. But also the smaller stages and venues are always fun to perform at. Whether it be unplugged or with the full set-up, we always love to play live and are looking forward for further gigs to present 'Dysphoria' live and not only on CD.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We’ve been so engaged with the album (we’ve done the majority of the production ourselves), that we’ve barely had the time to care about concert bookings. Shame on us! ;-) However, after the record release concert on May 27th in Berlin, we will start planning further concerts and hopefully get a little tour together for fall, winter and 2018, before we start working on the next album.

8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
We received some offers from independent labels during the last year, yet we finally decided to release it on our own, with the help from distribution partners such as recordJet and Soulfood. But of course we’re always open for serious offers, maybe for our next album. Let’s see what the future will bring…

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of metal and industrial?
Even though we barely made much promotion for the debut EP, still we received positive feedback from numerous radio stations in Canada, North America, Nicaragua and other countries. We were more concentrated on releasing our first songs, playing concerts and building up our fan base slowly and focus on the album release, because it's always a matter of money to run a big promotion and get people to know you. Now that we finally are releasing our debut album we're looking forward to getting some more feedback and infect the world with our music.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We'll hopefully stay as flexible and open-minded as we are today and in the future, even more. Already we have an industrial ballade on our album, which has really not much to do with the metal genre yet fits perfectly with our tailormade style. For our second album, we have a few songs in the pipeline that strengthen the evidence of our eagerness to experiment. And who knows, perhaps there will come more diverse influences that will permeate our creative style. Hang on to your seats kiddos, it’s gonna be an exciting ride! ;-)

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?
Probably everything that we've been through and all the music that we've been listening to, since our childhood till today, has been a big influence, no matter if it's Michael Jackson or Cannibal Corpse. And we're still listening to very diverse music styles and artists. So it's really not easy to say, yet the biggest influences are probably lots of the metal subgenres and electro pop, bands like Pain, Zeromancer, Paradise Lost and Nine Inch Nails.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
I'm afraid that's not so much, since music has a very high priority in our lives and we spend the majority of our time creating and experimenting. But if the music allows it, we just like to enjoy hanging out with our friends and families like everyone else. Sometimes we take a ride on our guitarist’s boat and just take it easy with a few beers and BBQ.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
First of all, we wanna thank you of course for your interest. It was a pleasure for us and we hope that you all have fun listening to our new album, even though it's called 'Dysphoria'. ;)
If you like our music, we'd be thankful for each comment, review, 'like' and 'follow' on the social media and our homepage. Hope to see you all soon when we hit the stage again!

Soijl/As The Sun Sets On Life/Solitude Productions/2017 CD Review

 Soijl  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2017  album  "As  The  Sun  Sets  On  Life"  which  was  released  by  Solitude  Productions.

  Melodic  guitar  leads  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  drum  beats  and  spoken  word  parts  a  few  seconds  later   and  after  awhile  the  music  gets  a  lot  more  heavier  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  while  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar   riffing  that  is  heavily  influenced  by  the  90's.

  When s creams  are  utilized  they  add  in  a  touch  of  black  metal  while  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  fashion  along  with  clean  guitars  also  being  added into  certain  sections  of  the  recording,

  Female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  briefly  while  some  tracks  also  add  in  atmospheric  synths  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  whispers  and  spoken  word  parts  on  a  couple  of  the  songs  and  all  of  the  music  sticks  to  a very  slow  musical  direction  and  you  can  also hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording.

  Soijl  creates another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  melodic  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal from  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  doom,  hate  and  misery  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Soijl  and  if  you  are  a  fan  off  melodic  doom/death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Death  Do Us  Apart"  "Spiritual  Asphyxiation"  and  "The  Abyss,  My  Tomb".  8  out  of  10. 

 

Evoke Thy Lords/Lifestories/Solitude Productions/2017 CD Review

  Evoke  Thy  Lords  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  psychedelic  mixture  of  stoner,  doom,  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Lifestories"  which  was  released by  Solitude  Productions.

   A  very  heavy  retro  doom  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  solos  and  leads  that  are  done  in  more  of  a  stoner  style  while  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  start  to  make  their  presence  known  and  flutes  are  also  used  briefly.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  songs  mix  in  influences  from  as  early  as  the  70's  to  modern  times  and  at  times  the  vocals  show  a  Cathedral  influence  as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  melodic  vocals  and  when  acoustic  guitars  are  utilized  they  give  the  songs  a  more  psychedelic  edge  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction.

  Evoke  Thy  Lords  plays  a  musical  style  that takes  psychedelic,  stoner  and  doom  metal  and  mixes  it  with  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  life  stories  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Evoke  Thy  Lords  are  a  very  great  sounding  psychedelic  mixture  of  stoner,  doom,  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Still  Old"  and  "Stuff  It".  8  out  of  10.