Saltas Interview

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


At the time of writing, it is only a two-man project. We who are involved have had contact from time to time for many years back. But it was in 2017 that we decided to do something musically creative together.


2.Recently you have released a demo, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?


Briefly,with three words, obscure slow death.

It is a kind of minimal formof slow dark death metal.


3.You refer to your music as 'obscure slow death', can you tell us a little bit more about this term?


It is common for people to ask how a band sounds and for the sake of simplicity, we thought the three words were descriptive and appropriate.


4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore on the demo?


Deathand life, life and death. But who's the one who knows what's what?

It is up to the listener and the reader to interpret. We make no effort to missionate anything. Anyone who interprets something and gets something out of it may do it in their own way. There are certainly several dimensions.

All lyric is included in the tape inlay and digital bandcamp version.


5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Saltas'?


Even here it is possible to interpret for those who wish.

It can be as simple as the word "salt". Salt(s) is known as important in the fleshy body.

Salt can be both good and deadly
 to body, mind and spirit.

“Saltas” is also a bend of the word in Swedish, “to be salted”.


6.Currentlythere are only 2 members in the band, do you feel adding in another member would ruin the vision of the project?


At the moment, we are not aiming to bring more artists into the project. It feels like we complement each other well as we do right now. At the same time, it feels like Saltas has some kind of own “soul” in itself that slowly develops and advances on new paths as we create new music, arrangements and lyrics.


7.Thedemo was also recently released through Nuclear War Now! Productions, can you tell us a little bit more about the deal you have worked with the label?


We are grateful that Yosuke offered us to release the cassette. NWN! Productions has previously worked with Irkallian Oracle so it was a known contact so to speak. The deal is currently 200 cassette copies of the debut demo but we'll see what's happening in the future.

More labels have contacted us, but at the moment we are working with NWN!


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


The project is relatively new and "underground" but what we have heard so far people seems to enjoy our music. It's great that people like it but we have no rock star goals to become famous in that way.


9.Whatis going on with 'Irkallian Oracle' and 'The Funeral orchestra' these days?


IO will play on the Never Surrender Fest in Berlin later this year. Possible it will be more than that.

TFO has no plans at the moment.
 Low activity, but not a finished chapter.


10.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?



We have recorded a second demo “Parasites”. It's just the mix left to do, so it will be released soon.

If we get the right inspiration and time for it, we're likely to record a full length later this year. Time will tell.


11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on the music as 'Saltas'?


Hard to say but probably you are inspired by everything you liked and like more or less so to speak.

Not only music and lyric but  also moods and feelings, the less good ones.


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


Thanks for the interview.

Buy our debut tape from NWN!
 or digital download/stream from bandcamp. And look out for the parasites.


/SALTAS

Nadir 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?
We’re enjoying the success of the latest record right now. Well, joking apart, the responses we’ve got thus far are really amazing. But it took more than we originally planned to make and bring out the album so we thought it would be wise to put the brakes on for a while. Some of us must resolve private life or health issues so that we can get back into action afterwards. We’re celebrating our 25th anniversary as a band this year. We never really took a break until now but we’re friends, we know each other quite well, that’s why we thought it was important to do so this time, although it wasn’t planned beforehand, especially not with an album like this.

2.Recently you have 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?
This is definitely our most mature release to date. Besides sounding really heavy, we want our songs to be catchy and memorable, that’s been our approach to songwriting for quite some time now. So it’s not just about aggressive riffs and growling vocals, there are lots of melodic guitar parts and guitar solos on this record as well. And our sound has never been so harmonic and rich before. Drummer Szabolcs Fekete did his absolute best from both aspects since it’s guitarist Norbert Czetvitz and him who wrote the songs together and the mixing has been done in Szabolcs’s home studio.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
Our most important recurring topic and subject is nature, our natural environment and mankind’s relation to it. To be more specific, the constant destruction of the environment done by mankind. All this from different aspects. Our last two records, Ventum iam ad finem est (2015) and The Sixth Extinction are both concept albums. Ventum… is basically about the way humanity has gone astray from the ancient harmony with nature and the last album is the sequel of the previous one, so to speak. This one deals with the latest massive, human-induced wave of extinction of species that is still going on in the world, at an increasingly alarming rate. In the album lyrics, we are citing environmental destruction, pollution, diseases, invasive species and overhunting as its main causes. It’s also worth mentioning that the Ice Age in the Immediate Future trilogy has been inspired by the play of Hungarian author Imre Madách (1823-64) The Tragedy of Man, while in the closing track, Les ruines, we are quoting French philosopher and historian Volney (1757-1820). Deep, meaningful and thought-provoking lyrics are almost as important for us as the music itself, they’ve always been.

4.Originally the band was known as 'Dark Clouds', what was the cause of the name change and also what is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Nadir'?
‘Nadir’ was the title of the very first full length album of Dark Clouds so that’s how we tried to make people see continuity. It’s not like Dark Clouds have split up and then we have started a brand new band. What happened was that our music has gradually changed with time and it has evolved on from the doom / death metal of our early years to an extent that it had nothing to do with the band name anymore so we thought it was the right time to change it. Besides the initial influences of the Scandinavian and British doom bands of the early 1990s such as Tiamat – their Clouds album in particular, that’s where the name comes from –, Paradise Lost or My Dying Bride, we began to incorporate elements from death metal, doomcore / sludge or hardcore (Bolt Thrower, Obituary, Crowbar or Merauder) and it became our main source of inspiration as time went by. The original meaning of the word „nadir” is the point on the celestial sphere directly below an observer. The opposite of “zenith”, that is. And figuratively, it depicts the lowest or most unsuccessful point in a situation or a state of great depression.

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 most important shows for us are the ones that we play as the opening band for some of our major influences (e.g. Crowbar, Merauder, Entombed, Pro-Pain, Krisiun or, most recently, Suffocation) or the ones where we can stand up for a cause that really matters much to us (e.g. a benefit show to support the local Animal Rescue League). When we get on stage, it’s the same feeling as if we would hang out like we do as a bunch of great friends in everyday life so Nadir is not just about making music, it’s something much deeper and meaningful for us. That’s how we would describe the overall atmosphere of our gigs.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
Compared to the older times, we must organize our shows more carefully and thinking further ahead now as some of the band members live and work abroad. Nevertheless, we still keep getting offers and keep looking for new opportunities, too. To play as many gigs as possible is no longer the most important thing for us. If we can play less, it’s all right, as long as the shows are really worth doing and they go great.

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your newer music by fans of extreme metal?
Thanks to the incredibly efficient online promotional activity of NGC Prod. & Grimm Distribution we’ve been getting the most awesome fan response and reviews ever from all over the world now.

8.What is going on with 'Our Existence Is Punishment' these days, a band that also shares some of the same members?
The activities of Our Existence Is Punishment always depend on what’s going on with Nadir at the given moment. Norbi and Szabolcs are never out of ideas, they have already written enough songs for the next OEIP release in the usual industrial doom vein so it’s just a matter of time until we put the final versions together. In the meantime, Norbi is active with Ghostchant, vocalist Viktor Tauszik is involved in Enter The Void and bass guitarist Ferenc Gál is a member of Step On It. All these bands feature well known Hungarian underground musicians and play different genres in underground / extreme music.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
It would be probably too early to tell you anything about it specifically but we might not make another concept album next time and come up with something equally raw and straight to the point but sounding more like death metal. Until then, however, we are planning on celebrating our 25th anniversary with a special release that might contain both re-recorded versions of some of our older songs and a few new tracks.

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?
A lot of different stuff. We love all kinds of metal. We’ve been constantly drawing inspiration from bands like Crowbar, Bolt Thrower or Paradise Lost for twenty years now, as you can probably hear it. And our further influences are quite diverse, from classic death metal (e.g. Gorefest) to Merauder and Earth Crisis.



11.What are some of your non-musical interests?
Some of us are huge soccer fans and we still occasionally attend the games of the local team whenever we can. And earlier this year, we finally made it to Liverpool where we went to see a game of Everton FC. England is where they have invented soccer, right? So there is nothing like watching a soccer match live, in the most authentic environment, surrounded by the atmosphere of classic old school games. And, in our everyday lives, we are fully committed and dedicated to protection of animals. We all have pets at home most of which are rescued animals and we raise our voices against cruelty to animals whenever and wherever we can, both as private persons and as musicians. We have featured on a compilation album that’s been put together in order to support the local Animal Rescue League and played at the benefit show that we’ve already mentioned here. Both initiatives have caused quite a stir on the local scene so we really hope it will go on even more efficiently.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Check out our newer records on Bandcamp and do something for animals to the best of your ability.


https://www.facebook.com/Nadirhungary
https://nadirhun.bandcamp.com

Rome In Monochrome/Away From Light/Bad Mood Man Music/2018 CD Review

  Rome  In  Monochrome  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom  metal,  shoegaze,  slowcore,  and  post  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "Away  From  Light"  which  will  be  released  on  March  16th  by  Bad  Mood  Man  Music.

  Acoustic  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  vocals  being  added  onto  the  recording  a  minute  later  before  going  into  a  heavier  doom  metal  direction  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  post  rock  style  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  are  added  onto  the  recording.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  music  also  brings  in  a  decent  amount  of  clean  playing,  slowcore  and  shoegaze  elements  and  as  the  album  progresses  black  metal  screams  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  some  stringed  instruments  also  being  added  onto  a  later  track,  one  of  the  songs  is  an  instrumental  and  the  music  always  sticks  to  a  very  slow  direction.

  Rome  In  Monochrome  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  doom  metal,  shoegaze,  slowcore  and  post  rock  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Rome  In  Monochrome  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  doom  metal,  shoegaze,  slowcore  and  post  rock  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "A  Solitary  King"  'December  Remembrances"  and  "Only  The  Cold".  8  out  of  10.   

      

Grim Fate Interview

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



We started out last year. Pier and I always recommend bands to each other and we both like the same kind of bands. Since I always wanted to do a slower kind of death metal band I asked Pier if he wanted to do vocals and thats how we started.





2.So far you have released a demo and an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings and also how do they differ from each other?



The demo is a try-out for the cd, but it sounded pretty rad and that's why we spreaded the song. Describing the sound is always hard, but I think slow- to midpaced death metal is a good way to describe the music. I guess slowdeath is a nice term that covers the sound quite well.





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



Death and decay all the way! That’s what I think death metal is about and it suits the music. I couldn’t think of other subjects for Grim Fate to be honest.





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



When we started we had a list with some names on it and we picked this one. No big concept behind the name or anything. We liked this one best and it sounds good.





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



We haven't done any shows so far. We totally focussed on writings songs and recording them.





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



We haven't planned anything, but when the right opportunity comes we will see what happens.





7.So far you have worked with 'Chaos' and 'Dawnbreed Records' are you happy with the support that they have given you so far?



So far we're really happy. Dawnbreed was already interested when nothing was recorded yet. We know Jeff for quite some time, so it’s great to work together on the tape version. Chaos also was one of the first labels interested and so far they are doing a great job.





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



It’s a bit early to say, since the cd isn't out yet. But the reviews are positive and also the reactions we get from friends and people who heard the album are overwhelming. So we are really happy about that.





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?



For Pier this is his first band. Both me and Philippus -our new guitarist- are playing together in Burial Remains (we used to be called Miasma Of Guilt) and we play old school buzzsaw death metal. We’ve almost completed recording our debut album and are really working hard to get that going. Besides Burial Remains, Boal is still going and we do some projects here and there. Philippus is also doing Dimaeon, which is more in the progressive metal genre.





10.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?



We’re currently writing new songs for a full length and we’re trying to do some splits or EP’s. It’s hard to say when that is coming, but I think we are ready to record again in the summer of 2018. Musically we don’t have the intention to change. Maybe some songs will turn out a bit slower, but we will see what happens.





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?



We like the Finnish scene a lot and also bands like Incantation are great of course. So it’s pretty save to say they have an influence on us one way or another. We listen to all kind of bands. Besides the classics we really dig bands like Funebrarum, Dead Congregation, Rippikoulu, but also bands like Rude, Skeletal Remains and Entrails. It’s not really limited to a certain style or era.





12.What are some of your non musical interests?



We’re all big death metal fans and a lot of our time goes to playing, listening and collecting death metal. I am also a big football fan and like to check out some tv shows.





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



Thanks for the interview! I hope people check us out in the flooded music scene and maybe buy a cd or shirt. Check us out on www.facebook.com/grimfatedeathmetal

L.o.W/Bones/2018 EP Review

  L.o.W  are  a  band  from  Poland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "Bones".

  A  very  dark  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  elements  of  stoner  rock  while  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  before  going  into  a  heavier  doom  metal  direction  which  also  captures  the  heaviness  of  sludge  as  well  as  the  vocals  being  done  in  a  growling  fashion.

  Most  of  the  tracks a re  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  stoner  metal  style  along  with  a  touch  of  70's  retro  rock  as  well  as  some  of  the  vocals  also  adding  in  a  touch  of  hardcore,  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  all  of t he  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  slow  direction.

  L.o.W  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

 In  my  opinion  L.o.W  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Bones".  8  out  of  10.  

Grim Fate/Emerging From The Crypt/Chaos Records/2018 EP Review

  Grim  Fate  are  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2018  e[  "Emerging  From  The  Crypt"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Chaos  Records.

  A  very  dark  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  doom  metal  direction  while  death  metal  growls  are  added  onto  the  recording  a  few  seconds  later  along  with  the  riffs  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  and  the  music  is  rooted  in  the  early  90's.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  screams  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  all  of  the  songs  sounding  like  they  could  of  easily  been  recorded  and  released  25  years  ago  as  well  as  clean  playing  also  being  used  briefly  on  one  of  the  tracks.

  Grim  Fate  plays  a  musical  style  that  goes  back  to  the  early  90's  era  of  doom  metal  that  also  gets  very  dark  and  brutal  at  times,  the  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  death  and  decay  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Grim  Fate  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  "Dying  World"  and  "Emerging  From  The  Crypts".  8  out  of  10.  

Owl/Orion Fenix/Zeitgeister Music/2018 EP Review

  Owl are  a  duo  from  Germany  that  plays  a  mixture of  experimental,  ambient,  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  ep  "Orion  Fenix"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Zeitgeister  Music.

  Distorted  drones  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  elements  of  ambient  while clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  at  times  before  going  into  a  heavier  doom  metal  direction  as  well  as  adding  in  some  clear  vocals  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  an avant  garde  vibe  and  the  track  is  over  20  minutes  in  length.

  A  decent  amount  of  melody  can  also  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  music  also  brings  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  and  death  metal  along  with  a  small  amount  of  aggressive  screams  and  at  time s the  music  has  a  progressive  feeling  as  well  as  being  experimental  and  sticking  to  a  slow  direction.

  Owl  plays  a  musical  style  that takes  experimental,  ambient,  doom  and  sludge  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Owl  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  experimental,  ambient,  doom  and  sludge  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  duo.  8  out  of  10.