LMDA/II/2017 EP Review

  LMDA  are  a  band from France  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  by  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  power  violence  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  ep  "II".

  A  very fast  and  brutal  sound  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  start  off  the  ep  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  while  the  vocals  are  a  mixture  of  grindcore  screams  and  aggressive  power  violence  and  hardcore  style  shouting  and  most  of t he  tracks  are  short  in  length.

  A  lot  of  sludge  elements  can  be  heard  in  the  slower  riffing  while  the  fast  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  tremolo picking  and  throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful  and  the  music  always  remains  brutal.

  LMDA  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  power  violence  and  sludge  metal  mixture  of  previous releases,  the  production  sounds  very  heavy  and  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  LMDA  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  power  violence  and  sludge  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Self  Made  God"  and  "Epervier".  8  out  of  10.

    

I Klatus/Nagual Son/2017 Full Length Review

  I  Klatus  are  a  band  from  Chicago,  Illinois  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  atmospheric mixture  of  sludge,  stoner  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  self  released  2017  album  "Nagual  Son"  which  will  be  released  in  October.

  Powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  and  psychedelic  elements  start  off  the  album  before  adding  in  more  of  a  heavier  sludge  and  doom  metal  direction  which  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  fashion  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Vocals  are  done  in  a  very  aggressive  sludge  fashion  along  with  their  melodic  moments  and  a  few  growls  and  when  the  music speeds  up  a  small amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  clean  playing  also  gives  the  music  a  more  desert  and  stoner  rock  feeling  and  grim  black  metal  screams  are  also  used  briefly  along  with  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  spoken  word  parts  are  also used briefly.

  I  Klatus  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  their  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  while  also  getting  more  psychedelic  this  time  around,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  Shamanism,  Occultism,  and  Darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  I  Klatus  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  psychedelic,  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Serpent  Cults"  "The  Alvinist"  and  "Funal  Communion".  8  out  of  10.

  

Uttertomb/Necrocentrism - The Necrocentrist/Caligari Records/2017 EP Review

 

  Uttertomb  are  a  band  from  Chile  that  plays  a  necrological  form  of  death  metal  with  touches  of  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their 2017  ep  "Necrocentrism-  The  Necrocentrist"  which  was  released by  Claigari  Records.

  Thunder  and  rain  sounds  start  off  the  ep  before  going  into  more  of  a  darker  and  heavier  musical  direction  which  is  also  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  while  also  utilizing  a  small  amount  of  morbid  sounding  melodies  at  times  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  When  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  they  are  mostly  death  metal  growls  along  with  some  screams  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  have  their  brutal  moments  and  throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  also  stick  to  a  very  chaotic  yet  old  school  style  while  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while t he  slower  sections  of  the  songs  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  doom  metal.

  Uttertomb  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in t he  early  90's  while  also  mixing  in  the  raw  energy  of  the  South  American  style  along  with the  darkness  of  heaviness  of  doom  metal  to  create  a  very  dark  yet  heavy  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  death  and  darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Uttertomb  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  doom/death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ascension  Ritual"  and  "The  Necrocentrist".  8  out  of  10.

71TonMan/Earthwreck/Black Bow Records/2017 CD Review

  71TonMan  are  a  band  from  Poland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Earthwreck"  which  will  be  released  in  September  by  Black  Bow  Records.

  Clean  yet  distorted  playing  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  make  their  presence  known  while  the  music  also  mixes  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  and  high  pitched  screams  are  also used quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording.

  Dark  and  depressive  sounding  melodies  can  be  found  in  some  of  the  riffing  while  all  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  some  drones  being  added  into  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them,  on  a  couple  of  the  tracks  spoken  word  parts  are  used  briefly  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  fashion  and  on  the  last  track  the  music  speeds  up  a  little  bit  and  also  adds  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats.

  71TonMan  plays  a  musical  style  that  mixes  the  heaviest  forms  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  to  create a  very  heavy  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  a  fictional  post  apocalyptic  world.

  In  my  opinion  71TonMan  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  "Negative"  and  "Spiral".  8  out  of  10.      

I, Forlorn Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?

I, Forlorn is my doom metal project, something i've been wanting to do for about 10 years now
This project focusses on the darker side of music  , i wanted to create something atmospheric and real.

2.So far you have released a demo and a full length, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings?

The demo was just an early preview to let people see what i was working on so it's basically a simpler version of whats going to be on the album.
I'd describe the album as dark, intense and haunting.

3.The lyrics have a concept to them, can you tell us a little bit more about the song writing?

I don't want to say too much about it, but the songs portray some personal stuff that happened to me in the past 2 years.
Every song has it's theme, and i hope people will give their own interpretation and feel drawn in without knowing the exact story

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'I, Forlorn'?

I wanted to convey that feeling of being lost, it kinda came to me instantly that this was the right name


5.With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with any other musicians or do you prefer to remain solo?

I've had some guest offers, and i might look for live members at some point. But this album was way too personal for me to accept anything that wasnt done by me
Might have some fancy stuff lined up for next release though, although it's a bit early to say

6.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

Haven't received any interest, i only released 1 demo song really at this point so the reach is not quite there yet for such grand things


7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of atmospheric doom and death metal?

I'm anxiously awaiting the response to the entire album but the people that found this project so far have been nothing but fantastic.
Sold more pre-orders than i anticipated and im extremely grateful for how nice people have been about it


8.Are you also involved with any other bands or musical projects?

I am doing some guest work from time to time but my main other project is Algos, which is a Melodic Death Metal project.


9.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?

I'd love to just keep doing this really, being able to write down your sorrows and have people get something out of it, is quite something
If it would financially support me that would be wonderful but that just seems incredibly unlikely

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?

Some of my main inspirations were Trees Of Eternity, Woods Of Ypres and old Swallow the sun.
As of late i've been listening to Aether Realm, The Chant and TPR

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

I'm very much into bodybuilding, it's probably my 2nd biggest passion next to music. And i play unhealthy amounts of PC games from time to time

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

Thank you for the interview and i hope you'll enjoy the album when it's released

Moonscape/Entity/2017 Full Length Review

  Moonscape  are  a  solo  project  from  Norway  that  plays  a  mixture  of  melodic  death,  doom  and  progressive  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2017 album  "Entity".

  Melodic  guitar  leads  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  doom  metal  riffing  and  symphonic  elements  a  few  seconds  later  while  the  riffing  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  after  awhile  clean  singing  starts  to  make  its  presence  known  on  the  recording  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful.

  Death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  some  screams  that  also  add  in  a  touch  of  black  metal  while  piano's  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  when  saxophones  are  used  briefly  they  give  the  music  an  early  70's  progressive/folk  rock  feeling  and  some  of  the  guitar  leads  also  add  in  a  touch  of  80's  metal.

  There  is  only  one  track  on  the  album  and  it  is  40  minutes  in  length  and  also  divided  into  9  chapters  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  clean  playing  and  acoustic  guitars  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  song  and  whispers  can  also  be  heard  briefly.

  Moonscape  plays  musical  style  that  takes  melodic  death  and  atmospheric  doom  metal  and  mixes  it  with  progressive  rock  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Moonscape  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  progressive,  doom  and  melodic  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  8  out  of  10.          

Menin Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Menin is a four-piece doom/stoner band from Portland, Oregon who writes songs based on science fiction novels.  We've got two drummers, guitar, and bass.  I'm Chris, the guitarist and vocalist.  I also write the material and I recorded the EP.

2.You have an ep coming out in September, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

HEAVY!  I've been raising the level of my recording skills for a few years now, and Lord of Pain is definitely the most ambitious I've gotten in engineering/producing.  When a band has two drummers, it's a safe bet to assume that there will be a heavy rhythmic element to the music.  All four of us are drummers and multi-instrumentalists, so there are times where we're playing guitar and bass as percussion instruments more than anything else.

3.Your lyrics cover a lot of science fiction themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic and also some of the authors or films that have had an influence on your somg writing?

The Lord of Pain EP has songs about Dan Simmons's Hyperion Cantos, Roger Zelazny's Amber series, and an instrumental track inspired by Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.  The most important book I've ever read is Dune, it really changed my life.  I still think about Dune pretty much every day.

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

The shortest answer is that menin is the Ancient Greek word for "wrath".  It goes deeper than that, though.  Menin is the first word spoken in the Iliad: "Menin aeide, thea, Peleiadeo Achileos" or roughly "Sing, goddess, of the wrath of Achilles".  There is a science fiction connection too:  the name is a deep reference to the main character in the book Ilium by Dan Simmons.

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

Our stage performance is pretty relentless.  We don't pause between songs for very long, generally long enough to retune our guitars and get back to it.  Having two drummers brings out a unique heaviness, especially when combined with the rhythmic guitar and bass work.  Sometimes it's hard to distinguish individual instruments and everything is just a throbbing mass of sound.

One of the best shows we've played was a complete departure from what we normally do.  We played a release party for our friend Jason Richter's novel L.I.F.E. in the 23rd Century.  The event took place in a small bookstore, so we rewrote our material and adapted it for acoustic instruments.  It was a real challenge to rework such heavy material and try to convey the same power while keeping everything quiet.

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

We want to tour so much!  We don't have anything booked yet, but we're working in earnest on something big in 2018.  It can be difficult as a new band to make a tour work without disrupting our home lives too much.  Everybody has jobs, partners, pets, and family.  That just means we have to work a little harder to plan a tour, but everybody is on board to put in that work.

7.The ep is going to be released on 'Doom Stew Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Jordan Perkins-Lewis just started the label this year.  What a gem of a human being that man is!  He plays drums in Brume and is making smart moves to expand his influence.  I've been impressed at the level of professionalism he's keeping while also being totally honest and straightforward.  This is the most relaxed and efficient label experience I've ever had.  A big part of that is probably due to the fact that Jordan is a huge fan of metal.  He's always out at shows in the Bay Area.  He's at Psycho Las Vegas right now and I don't think he's even sleeping, judging from how many photos I'm seeing posted of band after band.  It's good to work with somebody who loves the music they put out.

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

When Jordan put out the first press release on Doom Stew's website I started noticing more website hits and Bandcamp plays from overseas.  I really appreciate music fandom in Europe, especially for metal.  Metal fans are broadly really cool people who are fun to be around, and in Europe the audiences seem to stay true to that while also showing a high level of appreciation for the music itself.

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

We've been discussing the process for recording a full-length album.  If we get everything we want, we'll find ourselves in an isolated cabin in Montana for a week in the middle of winter with nothing but our gear and microphones.  I think we could really make something profound in that environment.

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?

I think the seed for Menin was planted in my brain when I saw Yob for the first time in Portland.  They had the whole room doing a slow headbang at, like, 45bpm together.  It looked like a scene from Mecca or something, everybody bowing in reverie.  That feeling sticks with me, and I think we spend a lot of time trying to find the meditative transcendence in slow heavy music.

These days, I'm mostly listening to heavy music from Oregon, Washington, and California.  Something about the west coast seems to produce the best of the best.  This is the part of the world that gave us Melvins, Sleep, Neurosis, and Sunn O))) to name a few.  I really dig the Portland band Glasghote, they're like Burning Witch in 2017.  We played a show with them in Portland and my head nearly exploded.  They're talking about getting serious about recording soon, and I'm trying to get involved on the studio engineering/production side of that.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Living in Oregon is wonderful, because there's so much wilderness around.  From Portland you can drive 30-40 minutes in any direction and find yourself halfway up a mountain with empty trails to wander.  As unnatural and science-fiction-based as our music is, I'd like to think we get some inspiration from the immensity of nature.  Geological events in Oregon like the Missoula Flood are some of the most cataclysmic natural occurrences in history.  If you think about it, that's super fuckin metal!

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

One of the reasons why I read so much science fiction is to conceive of the future as something exciting and limitless in its possibilities.  Granted, some of my favorite books paint a very bleak picture of the future, like Octavia Butler's Earthseed books or Paolo Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl, but even within those dark worlds there is still a portrayal of the power of goodness in humanity.  I think that's important to hold onto with the world as volatile as it is currently.