Rabid Dogs Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?



Hello. At the moment we’re fully focused on the promotion of “Italian Mysteries”: just last weekend we finished to record the first videoclip of the album and in the next weeks will be ready also our new merchandise, that will be shown on our release party of late December.

In the meanwhile, we also started to plan our booking season for all 2018 and we’re working on our new material. It’s a quite busy period ahahha.



2.You have a new album coming out later in November, 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 new album is absolutely more doom and blues. D-beats and blasbeats are still present but with this album we tainted even more our “grind ‘n’ roll” with stoner rock influences.

It came out naturally: we had no fear to re-think again the whole sound of the band, mixing our grindcore roots with our current listenings and we love what came out.

The sound itself it’s heavier and warmer than the past releases, thanks also to our Orange amplifiers, and we’re really proud of this release, probably our best record ever made.



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



As the title suggest, “Italian Mysteries” talks mostly about Italian past crime chronicles. We shifted our interest from pulp/thriller movies to real facts, many of them not completely clear so far, because sometimes reality overcomes fantasy and there are many terrible real stories to tell of which people ignore or just don’t remember.



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



Our moniker is a tribute to “Cani Arrabbiati” movie by Mario Bava, one of our favourite movies ever. A milestone for every pulp addicted, 20 years before Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs”.



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?



For sure our live set at Obscene Extreme Fest 2015 was epic: to be on the most important stage in Europe for extreme metal band isn’t something that happens everyday. Also Coyote Brutal Fest in Moscow was great! Don’t know if these were our best shows ever but for sure we enjoyed a lot.

Everytime we go on stage we give everything for our fans and, last but not least, for ourselves: we wanna have fun and involve the audience; we drink and smoke with them, jump, shout, laugh etc in a word… it’s a party!



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

                                                                                             

Sure we have! We’re already working on tour plans for all 2018: we wanna bring our new songs everywhere and we’ll do all that we can to tour as much as possible.



7.The new album was released on 'Eclectic Productions', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?



Evgeny from Eclectic Productions proved to be a good friend, serious and sincerely inerested in our band. He was the one who strongest wanted us and if we have our album out just 2 months after the final mastering it’s thank to him. A trustworthy man for a serious label, which always respected our deals, a thing not so taken for granted in the underground scene… unfortunately.



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



The feedback seems good: at the few concerts taken so far with the new setlist people reacted well.

Of course the die-hard grindcore/punk fans will turn their nose up for the stoner parts but we don’t care at all… we never did to be honest: we play the music we feel, that’s important for us.



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

I don’t really know. I’d like to say that we’ll get famous and rich but more probably we’ll be searching for food in a rubbish bin.



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?

Motorhead, Malignant Tumour, Black Sabbath, Disfear, Fu Manchu, Blooduster, Backyard Babies, Karma To Burn, Truckfighters, The Casualties, Kyuss etc

Nowadays we’re more into stoner/doom, but our love for crust and grindcore is still the same.



11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Cinema and fitness: our hidden dream is to become a band of bodybuilders.



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

Sure man! First of all thank you for this interview, it was funny to have this small chat. Then a big “see you soon” to all our friends all over Europe: check out our website www.rabiddogs.it or our Facebook profile coz there’ll be tasty news out soon!

Rise Of Avernus/Eigengrau/Code666/2018 Full Length Review

 Rise  Of  Avernus  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  plays  a  mixture  of  orchestral,  gothic,  doom and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  album  "Eigengrau"  which  will  be  released  in  2018  by  Code666.

  A  very  dark,  epic  and  symphonic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  elements  of  classical  music  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls.

  Most  of  the  slower  riffing  is  very  heavily  influenced  by  doom  metal  while t he  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody,  when  clean  vocals  are  utilized  they  give  the  songs  more  of  a  goth  feeling  along  with  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  and  when  screams  are  utilized  they  bring  in  a  touch  of  black  metal.

  Spoken  word  parts  also  being  used  briefly  and  when  the  music  finally  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  acoustic  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  give  the  songs  more  of  a  progressive  feeling  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Rise  Of  Avernus  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  goth,  progressive  and  orchestral  music  and  mixes  it  with  doom  and  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover relationships  and  allegory  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Rise  Of  Avernus  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  progressive,  orchestral,  goth,  doom  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ad  Infinitum"  "Tempest"  and  "Into  Aetherium".  8  out  of  10.    

Heavydeath/Sarcophagus In The Sky/Aftermath Music/2017 CD Review

  Sweden's  Heavydeath  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  the  doom/death  metal  style  of  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Sarcophagus  In  The  Sky"  which  was  released  by  Aftermath  Music.

  Atmospheric sounding  synths  start off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  slow  and  heavy  doom  metal  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls  along  with  some  melodic  chants  also  being  utilized  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Most  of  the  tracks a re  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  screams  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  the  music  being  rooted  in  the  90's  but  also  maintaining  a  very  modern  vibe  as  well  as  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful sound  to  them  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  tempo  style.

  Heavydeath  creates  another  recording  that remains  true  to  the  doom/death  metal  style  of  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  dark,  heavy  and  old  school while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Heavydeath  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  doom/death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Stone  Speaks  At  Winter"  "Sarcophagus  In  The  Sky"  and  "The  Entity".  8  out  of  10. 

    

Until The Sky Dies Interview

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

I've been recording music - Industrial, Noise and - Metal for over 25 years. I have recorded under As All Die (Martial industrial Noise), Long Winters Stare (Symphonic Dark Doom metal) and Black Depths Grey Waves (Black Noise) . Until the Sky Dies was me wanting to mix Metal, Noise Rock and Avant sounds all in one for the first time. I recorded this with my longtime friend and brother Ryan Michalski we lived on the same street in NJ in the late 1980's. We are working on the next chapter for this band now as well.

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

Yes, Cimmerian Shade is releasing it Worldwide.  I would say its Post Metallic Hardcore with a love of Doom and Electronics

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

The Year Zero Blueprint is a concept piece.  It’s about a world where no one has freewill and everyone serves a purpose. Until one day a child is born with free will and the revolution begins. I would say it about the struggle of Control and Independence within one’s destiny.

4.Also all of the song titles start with Roman numerals, can you tell us a little bit more about this concept?


I didn't use titles because I wanted you to listen and feel free to understand the story in your own vision and not allow titles to cause judgement.


5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Until The Sky Dies'?

Just wanted to have a band name people would not forget and it ties into my other band As All Die which is recording a new album for Aesthetic Death label ..

6.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to remain a duo?

We are talking about doing live show with other live members but as far as writing and recording it will be the two of us as it really is my project and a dear friend helps me make it something special.

7.The album is coming out on Cimmerian Shade Recordings, are you happy with the support that they have given you so far?

Hell yes !!! David owner of label gave me the freedom to have it sound as I wanted, the artwork done the way I wanted by amazing friend named Lindsay and got a great PR team with Earsplit getting the world out. He is what a good indie label should be.

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

We have had raves by No Clean Singing and Svbterranean and others have hated the album. If you don't make music that causes passion on either side of the spectrum then you have failed. It’s brand new so far but were getting strong press and people have been very supportive.


9.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?

As I said ,As All Die is working on new album. I have a Harsh Noise/Power electronics project under my own name of Clint Listing working on a tape release. Ryan Has a band called Cosmic Punch that is a Alt Punk band with some big time Pop influences. Ryan and I are also working on Heavy Punk band called Idiot Robot we recorded two songs and I may never go further.


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

The next Until the Sky Dies album who knows it comes as it comes I will say we are going to experiment with Noise Rock more I have a love of labels like AmRep, Touch and Go, and  SST. It would be rooted in Doom and Avant Metal as that is what love.

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?

Well, the bands that influenced me are Swans, Melvins, Dolorian, Cop Shoot Cop, Neurosis, Ulver, Paradise Lost, Devin Townsend, Dan Swano, Eyehategod, and Faith No More.

There are a few newer bands that really impress me I write a music zine myself called  The Doorway to. Go there to see what I like and hate lol.

12.What are some of your nonmusical interests?

I'm a DC and Marvel Comic nerd (Lantern Corps, Moon Knight and Iron man ), Sci Fi and  Horror stuff, Love Linux/ Android Computing and My Dog  Grizzly

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

Check out  http://thedoorwayto.com  everything I do musically is there. Also remember challenge yourself and create (Music, Art , Writing, Cooking , Building etc) if you don't then you’re not allow to be a critic.

Beyond Forgiveness/The Great Wall/2017 Full Length Review

 Beyond  Forgiveness  are  a  band  from  Colorado  Springs,  Colorado  that  plays  a  very  symphonic form  of  goth  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  album  "The  Great  Wall".

  Symphonic  elements  start  off  the  album  and  also  mix  in  with  the  heavier  and  more  melodic  sides  of  the  music  while  death  metal  growls  are  also  used  at  times  along  with  the  riffing  also  mixing  in  doom  metal  influences  and  when  female  vocals  are  utilized  they  give  the  songs  a  more  operatic  feeling.

  A  great  amount  of  goth  metal  elements  can  also  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  and.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  as  the  album  progresses  classical orchestras  and  choirs  are  added  onto  the  recording  while grim screams  when  are  utilized  they  add  in  a  touch  of  black  metal  along  with  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  being  heard  when  the  music  speeds  up  briefly  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  on  a  later  track.

  Beyond  Forgiveness  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  symphonic  and  goth  metal  while  also  bringing  in  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  fantasy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Beyond  Forgiveness  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  goth  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "End  Of  Time"  "Imprisoned"  "Moment  Of  Truth"  and  "I  Will  Fight  Until  The  End".  8  out  of  10.

Lorelei/Shadows Of October/Solitude Productions/2017 CD Review

 Lorelei  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  mixture  of  goth,  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Shadows  Of  October"  which  will  be  released  on  November  24th  by  Solitude  Productions.

  Clean  playing  and  melodic  guitar  leads  start  off  the  album  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  before  adding  in  more  of  a  heavier  doom  metal  direction  and  when  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  they  are  mostly  death  metal  growls  and  the  music  is  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's.

  When  keyboards  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  tragic,  atmospheric  and  gothic  style  while  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  riffs  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  when  screams  are  utilized  they  also  add  in  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  when  female  vocals  are  utilized  they  give  the  music  more  of  an  operatic  feeling,  a  couple   of  the  later  tracks  are  instrumentals  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  and  all  of  the  music  sticks  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction.

  Lorelei  plays  a  musical  style  that  goes  back  to  the  90's  atmospheric  and  gothic  doom/death  metal  style,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Russian  and  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Lorelei  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  mixture  of  goth,  doom  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ya  Severniy  Veter"  "I  Teho  Vetly  Shelestyat"  and  "Canticum  Angelorum".  8  out  of  10.

Graceless/Shadowlands/Raw Skull Recordz/2017 Full Length Review

  Graceless  are  a  band from  the  Netherlands  that  plays  an  old  school  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Shadowlands"  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  Raw  Skull  Recordz.

  A  very  heavy  and  old  school sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  the  music  being  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  deep  death  metal  growls  as  well  as  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  being  very  heavily  influenced  by  doom  metal  and  all  of  the  songs  sound  like  they  could  of  easily  been  recorded  and  released  more  than  25  years  ago.

  A  great  amount  of  dark  and  morbid  sounding  melodies can  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  solos  and  leads  are also  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  old  school  fashion  along  with  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard,  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  clean  guitars can  also  be  heard  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Graceless   plays  a  musical  style  that  goes  back  to  the  early 90's  era  of  doom  and  death  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  old  school  yet  professional  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  mythological  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Graceless  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  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  "Shadowlands"  "Sumerian  Flames"  "Die  On  Demand"  and  "When  The  last  Light  Fades".  8  out  of  10.