Timeworn/Venomous High/Fysisk Format/2017 CD Review

  Timeworn  are  a  band  from  Norway  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  atmospheric  mixture  of  sludge  and  post  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Venomous  High"  which  was  released  by  Fysisk  Format.

  Distorted  drones  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  awhile  melodic  singing  and  post  rock  style  guitar  leads  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  after  awhile  the  music  gets  more  aggressive  along  with  some  sludge  style  growls  and  screams.

  A  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  music  also  gets  very  atmospheric  at  times  while  also  adding  clean  playing  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  it  brings  in  the  energy  of punk  and  noise  rock  along  with  some  touches  of  hardcore  and  they  also  bring  in  a  brief  experimental  track  which  also  introduces  spoken  word  samples  onto  the  recording  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction  and  as  the  album  progresses  some  of  the  tracks  also  add  in  a  touch  of  stoner  rock  and  synths  can  also  be  heard  briefly.

  Timeworn  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  atmospheric  mixture  of  sludge  and  post  metal  from  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Timeworn  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  sludge  and  post  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Measure  Of  Gold"  "Black  Peak  Blues"  "Night  Of  Owls"  and  "Venomous  High".  8  out  of  10. 

 

Abyssphere/Na Puti K Zabveniyu/Endless Desperation Productions/2017 Full Length Review

  Abyssphere  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2017  album  "Na  Puti  K  Zabveniyu" which  was  released  by  Endless  Desperation  Productions.

  Atmospheric  synths  and  drum  beats  start  off  the  album  and  they  also  mix  in  with  the  heavier  and  melodic  riffing  a  few  seconds  alter  while  the  solos  and  leads  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  spoken  word  parts  are  also utilized  at  times  and  when  screams  are  utilized  they  add  in a  touch  of  black  metal.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  clean  singing  is  also  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  a  great  amount  of  death  metal  growls  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  as  the  album  progresses  acoustic  guitars  are  added  onto  the  recording,

  At  times  the  music  gets  very  symphonic  while  nature  sounds  are  added  on  some  of  the  songs  and  they  also  bring  in  an  instrumental  track  towards  the  end  and  they  also  bring  in  a  cover  of  In  Flames  "Only  For  The  Weak"  which  also  shows  the  music  getting  more  mid  paced  while  most  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical direction.

  Abyssphere  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  a  melodic  style  of  death  metal  and  mixes  it  with  atmospheric  doom  metal  to  create  a  sound  oft heir  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Russian  and  cover  life,  anguish,  and  desperation  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Abyssphere  are  a  very great  sounding  melodic  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  "Carthago  delenda  Est"  "To Oblivion" "The End  Of  A  Long  Night"  and  "Only  For  The  Weak".  8  out  of 10. 

   

Destroyer Of Light/Chamber Of Horrors/Heavy Friends Records/2017 CD Review

  Destroyer  Of  Light  are  a  band  from  Austin,  Texas  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  stoner  and  doom  metal  with  a  touch  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Chamber  Of  Horrors" which  will  be  released  on  July  14th  by  Heavy  Friends  Records.

  Dark,  heavy  and  melodic  doom  metal  riffing  starts  off  the  album  along  with some  grim  whispers  a  few  seconds  later  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  bringing  in  a  stoner  vibe.

  When  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  they  give  the  songs  a  touch  of  groove  metal  along  with  some  melodic  singing  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  movie  samples  are  also  used  briefly  while  a  later  track  also  introduces  clean  guitars  onto  the  recording  as  well  as  being  instrumental  and  at  times  the  music  mixes in  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction  and  also  mixing  in  psychedelic  touches  at  times.

  Destroyer  Of  Light  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  stoner  and  doom  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  Destroyer Of  Light  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  stoner  and  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Virgin"  and  "Buried  Alive".  8  out  of  10. 

Eva Can't 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?
Hi guys, Simone of Eva Can’t here! We worked hard on this album as we did for every albums before, but Gravatum needed more than one year in our studio for recording and mixing so was a very long and strenuous process. The mastering was realized by Giuseppe Orlando (drummer of metal legend Novembre) and this January we have completed the album. We felt the need to work with a label that could understand our musical concept and we sent a couple of songs in order to be signed: that label was My Kingdom Music. We are very happy for joining our forces, the work they’re making supporting the album is awesome.

2.Recently the band has 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?
In the essence the sound has the main traits that always characterized us: a deep work in musical writing, the choice of singing in italian and a strong melodic research. In other ways the songs of the album are the darkest and slowest, and probably the more emotive we ever worked on.

3.In the beginning the music was more death metal influenced and the newer material seems to be moving way from that style, can you tell us a little bit more about the decision behind the new musical direction?
It’s essentially an expression need, when I started writing the first ideas for Gravatum I felt mandatory to communicate less with head and more with heart, but I also needed to not destroy what we made in the past; we were looking for to improve ourselves musically and artistically and this path brought us a bit farer by fast blast beats and technical riffs.

4.You refer to your music as 'dramatic metal', can you tell us a little bit more about this term.
That was an idea of our Label, we rarely refer our music with tags but we understand that for communication this is fundamental; since our music has a strong theatrical influence both in the lyrics and the vocals, and since has a strong emotive suggestion, “dramatic metal” was a way to summarize all of this.

5.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
Gravatum is a concept album, is the last day of man before its fall, this is seen by the eyes of the sun moving around the earth; the album is conceived as a dialog between different actors, each one has a symbolic meaning (the Sun is life, the Sea is memory… and so on). Each song moves around a particular hour of the day.

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Eva Can't?
Eva Can’t  is the english translation of the chorus of the opening track of our debut album “L’Enigma delle Ombre”. The limit of Eva is the limit of all men: death.

7.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 don’t play live often since Italy is a hard place for alternative music; conditions for playing live are often inappropriate, anyway we love playing live show when possible. On stage we try to be as genuine as possible, we don’t have “special effects” but put all ourselves in what we play. Probably the Mèidinitali Fest we played in 2011 was the most exciting in terms of atmosphere and was the only show where all the bands had a strong artistic connection among them.

8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
We are playing a special live show at the end of September in our city (Bologna) to present live the new album, we are sharing the stage with Helfir. After this we are going to move around to promote Gravatum the most as possibile, we are still working on the details about this.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme and melodic metal?
Previous works have been very well evaluated by Italian press and we have a very small but loyal fanbase, we also shipped some CDs to buyers all over the world (Mexico, Japan, Canada…).

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?
I’m the most busy of the band ah ah ah, I’m very lucky to be part also of two of the most important underground realities of Bologna: In Tormentata Quiete that just released the fourth album and Malnàtt wherewith I’m working on the latest album. Diego, our drummer, is indeed recording the debut album of Black Madonna.

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Right now we want to support Gravatum the best as possible, after this we will surely work on something new, 2019 is the tenth anniversary of the band and I would like to celebrate it in some special way.

12.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?
Its is difficult to answer anyway albums like Materia by Novembre, or Otta by Solstafir had surely some influence on our music. I literally listen to every genre but I’m very selective; I loved the new  Roger Waters album as  the last Katatonia release; HandCannotErase by Steven Wilson and latest Radiohead took great part of my listenings in recent years. Anyway great band of the past are also always in my ears, Pink Floyd over all.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?
I play boardgames and videogames and I love reading comics; as I do with music I’m very selective also with nerd stuffs :)

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
First of all thank you for your support, we really appreciate it, and I ask to everyone to take a listen to Gravatum: this album costed us 4 years of work. Give us some of your time and I guarantee that it will not be thrown ;)

Eva Can't/Gravatum/My Kingdom Music/2017 CD Review

  Eva  Can't  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  musical  style  they  refer  to  as  'dramatic  metal' and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Gravatum"  which  will  be released  in  July  by  My  Kingdom Music.

  Atmospheric sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  and  after  awhile  acoustic  guitars  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  they  also  give  the  songs  a  more  progressive  and  folk  music  feeling  as  well  as  mixing  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  along  with  the  vocals  also  mixing  in  a  decent  amount  of  clean  singing  and  the  slow  riffs  also  mix  in  a  decent  amount  of  doom  metal  influences.

  When  grim  screams are  utilized  they  add  in  touches  of  black  and  death  metal  while  the  fast  sections  when  they  are  used  briefly  add  in  a  small  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  some  tracks  also  add  in  stringed  instruments  and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  ate  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  whispered  vocals  can  also  be  heard  briefly. 

  On  this  recording  Eva  Can't  moves  away  from  the  melodic  and  technical  style  of  death  metal  from  previous  releases  going  for  a  style  that  mixes  progressive  metal  with  folk  music  while  adding  a  touch  of  their  previous  style,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the lyrics  cover  dark  and  poetic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Eva  Can't  are  a  very  great  sounding dramatic  metal  band  and  if  you  are  looking for something  very  different  and  original,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Apostasia  Della  Rovina"  and  "Gravatum".  8  out  of  10. 

Eaten/Self Titled/Give Praise Records/2017 LP Review

  Eaten  are  a  band  from  Worcester,  Massachusetts  that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom,  death  metal  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2017  album  which  will  be  released  in  August  by  Give  Praise  Records.

  A  very  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  death  metal  growls  as  well  as  the  music  incorporating  a  great  amount  of  power  violence  elements  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  while  you  can  still  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  while  the  slow  riffs  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  doom  metal  and  the songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  of  the  riffs  also  utilize  a  small  mount  of  melody  and  melodic  guitar  leads  are  also used  briefly  and  the  fast  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  the  music  always  remains  very  heavy  and  brutal.

  Eaten  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  grindcore  and  power  violence  and  mixes  it  with  death  and  doom  metal  to  create  a sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  hateful  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Eaten  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  doom,  death  metal,  power  violence  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Bloodline"  "Dispute"  "Blindfold"  and  "Universal  Plague".  8  out  of  10. 

Hybreed Chaos/Entombed In Dark Matter/PRC Music/2017 CD Review

  Hybreed  Chaos  are  a  band  from  Quebec,  Canada  that  plays  a  brutal  form  of  death  metal  with  some  experimental  and  doom  metal  touches  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Entombed  In  Dark  Matter"  which  was  released  by PRC  Music.

  Heavy  dark  yet  heavy  guitar  riffing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  decent  amount  of  melodies  and  the  slow  riffing  is  very  heavily  influenced  by  doom  metal  and  after  awhile  deep  death  metal  growls  are  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  At  times  the  music  can  get  very  technical  and  when  the  songs  go  into  a  faster  direction  a  great  amount  of  brutal  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  grim  screams  are  also  utilized  at  times  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  one  track also  brings  in  spoken  word  samples.

  Hybreed  Chaos  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  technical  and  brutal  while  also  mixing  in  elements  of  experimental  and  doom  metal  to  create  something  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  scientific  and  philosophical  themes  along  with  the  last  track  being  written  in  Frnech.

  In  my  opinion  Hybreed  Chaos  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  and  technical  death  metal  with  touches  of  experimental  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Into  The  Heart  Of  The  Swarm"  "Cognitive  Dissonance"  "Soliptic  Confinement"  and  "Etre  ou  le  Neant".  8  out  of  10.