The Eternal 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?

Mark: The new album ‘Waiting For The Endless Dawn’ is out in a few weeks on Inverse Records, we have had a lot of preparation over the last months for the release and have been working on putting a new show together, but unfortunately for us the last months have been more business than playing music as we have not released an album for several years and have spent time re-developing our web site and store etc as well as preparing all the videos to accompany the album... but its nearly time for us to actually play music again!

2.Recently you have released a new album, what are some of the things you feel you have done differently with the newer music that you where not able to do with your previous releases?

Mark: Well we produce all our music at my studio here in Melbourne so we have a lot of freedom as to how much time we have spent on the album, but for me the addition of guitarist Richie Poate, who almost joined two years ago, has been a huge creative push for me. He is a really great musician and its been great to have someone to work on the songs and production with as over the years I have handled a lot of this myself. I think with a few years away, I was able to refocus what the band is about and also explore some of our past work and really come to find the core of what the band is about. I think this time has allowed us to create quite freely and the result, I think, produce a very focused album that really captures what The Eternal is about; Dark, heavy, emotive music...

3.This is your first full length in 5 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?

Mark: Yes, our last album was 2013, but we did release an EP and live album between then and 2015. ‘Waiting For The Endless Dawn’ has in total taken 3 years to put together, from concept to completion. I also did a solo album in 2014, which was good to get out of my system. So there has been plenty of music in this time, I just think we needed sometime to explore what it is what wanted to accomplish after 5 albums, it's very easy to just continue on and do the same album again, but I always like to take some time between albums to find a theme or a focus to move forward and try new things.

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

Mark: Being that I am the lyricist, I have always tried to write from an introspective place, and our lyrics have always been like therapy for me, a place I can purge my feeling in a very open way. I think I still write from a very honest place and lyrically I think I still address the heartache and struggles we all seem to face in life, for me life has not always been an easy journey and I have had some dark times in the last 5 years. I only hope that those who read them can relate and find some solitude in the fact we are all trying to navigate all the things that day to day life throws at us.

5.Originally the band was called 'Cryptal Darkness', what was the cause of the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'The Eternal'?

Mark: I do consider Cryptal Darkness a different band, I think initially it was easy to see it as a continuation as I started with one of the guitarists from that band but he departed not long after the first The Eternal album and I was left to drive the ship creatively for the most part. As far as the name, I just wanted something that represented the epic sound I was trying to create, it came down to ‘The Eternal’ or ‘The Fallen’ and ‘The Eternal’ just seemed to stick, that being said, some people have commented that our new album does share some musical elements of the last Cryptal Darkness records which I’m cool with. The break up of that band was not a pleasant experience after 7 years I always held that band at a distance, but with some retrospect I'm able to embrace some of the things I did like about it.

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

Mark: I love the new album art work, it's by Barnel Photography in America. I was googling photographers for the artwork as I like real images and I came across his image ‘New Dawn’ which obviously seems fitting considering the title of our album, so I sent an e-mail, made a deal, and purchased the art. It was actually a really simple process this time and I’d have to say and it's one of my favourite covers of ours.

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?

Mark: We have been lucky enough to play some fantastic shows around the world over the years, which is really amazing for us considering we are just a small band from Australia. Our first time in Japan was amazing, we played this club show in Tokyo and the crowd was nuts, touring with HIM and Opeth a week apart after our second album was a blast as they were our first major shows in front of massive crowds, our USA tour with Tarja was great and shows in Finland & Hungary always hold a warm place. Our last show was with Paradise Lost, which was a band I always wanted to play with.. oh and a full Australian Tour with Amorphis was amazing as they are one of my favourite bands from way back.

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

Mark: We have no firm plans as of yet, I'm sure we will do an Australia tour, but seeing as we haven’t been to Europe and Japan as The Eternal for 9 years we really hope we can make this happen, even if only for a few weeks, let's see how things progress over the next few months!

9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of dark, doom and goth metal?

Mark: Currently its hard to saying being out of the game for several years, I feel it's a bit of a slow burn at the moment but I feel a positive response starting to come for the new album, and I understand why its taking time, it's a 7 track - 75 minute album, so it's not easy listening, its an album that takes times to grow on you I think. But as far as over the years I just feel so lucky to have met so many amazing friends and fans around the world, it's really humbling to think some songs I wrote in my bedroom in my 20s have lead to us having a 15 year career making records that touch people in some way, I’m very grateful for that. The fans that have stuck with us over the years, have been with us through all kinds of changes, I hope he new album can generate some new interest in the band however.

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?

Mark: Richie is Guitarist for well known Australian band Dreadnaught and has been with them for 25 years. I have a project called Akariya which I’m still working on, it's instrumental with cinematic and post rock elements, I have half an album roughly demo’ed at this point.

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

Mark: We have been talking about this over the last few weeks, as I said earlier Richie joining the band has been a really creative experience and our next album will be the first we write completely together, so I’m very excited about that. We want to take the sound further, we are very into all kinds of music, one minute we are listening to ‘Rush' and then onto 'Russian Circles' for example. We want to stay slow and heavy, with long arrangements, but I see more progressive an ambient elements coming into the sound, I would also like to attempt a stripped back more raw production, I think we are known for big layered productions with lots of vocal harmonies etc… but I'd like to break this habit and strip things back a bit, let's see, still early days!

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?

Mark: It’s interesting when I started writing this album, I really felt like looking back at my past, which lead me to the sounds of the late 90’s like Cryptal Darkness, My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost etc… I would say I was listening to a lot of things like Celtic Frost, Swallow The Sun, Alcest and things like that also… For me at the moment, I’m really listening to loads of instrumental music, I mentioned Russian Circles earlier who I think are amazing, another recent discovery for me is ‘If These Trees Could Talk’, I also have an ongoing obsession with Italian band klimt1918, believe it or not I only recently got a Spotify account and I love putting on a shuffle and finding new music, it's so easy at my age to be stuck in what you liked when you were 20, but I feel so hungry for new music, which is great!

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

Mark: I’m all music! haha I'm a Sound Engineer & Producer, so if I’m not working on my music, I’m working on other peoples. I am currently Producing the debut album for amazing Australian band ‘Suldusk'. I’m just about to start mixing in the coming weeks, it's Folk with Black Metal and Black Gaze influences, it's a stunning piece of work. I’m looking forward to people hearing that one. I also teach Audio Production at some Universities here in Melbourne, which I love! I’m very passionate about education and being involved in the next generation of musicians and sound engineers! Our bass player David Langlands works for a growing craft beer company here in Australia called 'Moon Dog', and he is extremely passionate about his beer and is wonderful at what he does!

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

Mark: I hope your readers take a moment to check out ‘Waiting For The Endless Dawn’ and I thank you very much for the interview, hopefully we will see you on the road soon! Cheers!

Mortuous Interview

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



Colin Tarvin: We’re a death metal band, plain and simple



Chad Gailey: Mortuous is a four-piece Death Metal band from San Jose, California. We are influenced by Incantation, My Dying Bride, and Paradise Lost



2.Recently you have released your first full length, what are some of the things you feel you have done musically on this recording that you were not able to do on your previous demos?



CT: We spent a long time recording - every chance we could get here or there with Greg Wilkinson, which panned over the course of about 14 months. We decided to take the time and do everything we would like to do with this record, inside and out. Fulfilling ideas about exploring different instruments we wanted to incorporate, like violin and flute, artwork, etc., were important to us, and I think we wanted to feel resolute about every part of this record.



3.This is your first release in 6 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what was going on during that time frame?



CT: We've all been working with other various projects, near and far. Sometimes depending on how busy any one of us would be at any given moment, can make or break potential opportunities, but it’s all inclusive. A lot of us have played these songs for years, it didn't seem like it took so long to produce, but looking back it definitely did.



4.Your lyrics cover philosophical views on death and anti technology, can you tell us a little bit more about what these topics mean to you?



CT: Well one thing personally is that views are constantly changing, it’s good to be open to new patterns of thought. There’s a few things that I feel when you realize make you a better person, like even the fact of being open to what someone else might think, that in itself is pretty groundbreaking, but the core attitude doesn’t really ever change. The lyrics stem from a very cynical view of society, but with a gleaming hope, that’s more comparable to a cry for help out of a sense of hopelessness, that can be moments from everyday life. Lately (on the album) we’ve been collaborating on lyrics, and also have been basing a couple songs on horror stories by authors such as John Saul and David Morrell.



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



CT: The name came from a close tie with another death metaler from New Jersey, Tim Ninerrell. Back when I first discovered Tim and his music, he had a band called Tenebrous. He was a really big fan of Funerealm, and we had a close bond over liking each other’s bands. He changed the name of Tenebrous to Deform, and I loved the old name so much, I wanted to use at least the suffix. Mortuous just kind of popped into mind and stuck since then.



6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the album cover?



CT: Marald was able to take lyrics from throughout the album and put together a piece that represented the themes from that. We’re really happy with what he produced. We also wanted to go with him because Necrot’s Blood Offerings art turned out great and we wanted amazing artwork for this album.



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?



CT: We’ve had the pleasure of playing some pretty great shows around the area throughout the last decade with bands such as Incantation, Deceased, Insanity, Grave Ritual, Ascended Dead, Asphyx, Skeletal Remains, Fetid, Mortiferum. Exhumed, Scolex, Funeral Chant, Bone Sickness, Caffa, Necrot, Swamp Witch. This would be a pretty long list if we included every band we’ve ever had a great time playing with, because we usually always have a great time with whomever we play with. As far as stage presence goes, it’s still something we try and figure out as we go.  We’re just your everyday dudes that don’t take ourselves too seriously, but serious enough to know when the song calls for it. Being cynical has it’s upsides, everything is pretty much a joke.



CG: My favorite shows that Mortuous has played were in 2017 when we played with Asphyx and in 2015 when we played with Incantation. Another sick one was very recently when we played with DeathgraVe for their record release show. Both our new albums had just come out and there was a great turnout for a show in San Jose.



8.What are the touring and show plans for the new album?



CT: We’re hitting the West Coast soon (August 2nd-11th), hopefully we’ll be doing the East Coast next spring and then from there we will see what we’re capable of.



9.You also have a few guests on the new album, can you tell us a little bit more about who they are and also their contributions to the recording?



CT: It’s subjective, but you could say there are more guests on this album than there are members in the band. Chris Reifert and Danny Coralles from Autopsy came through with vocals and guest guitar leads, Derrel Houdashelt, formerly of Exhumed, with another guitar lead, Matt Harvey from Exhumed with some lyrics, and Ria (Teresa Wallace) from Cartilage with a flute outro.



10.You also have a few labels working on releasing the new album, can you tell us a little bit more about this process?



CT: Multiple labels are giving us support on this album, the main label is our very own drummer, Chad, and his new label Carbonized. Then there's Scotty and Tankcrimes who put out Necrot’s debut. David from Undergang’s Extremely Rotten Productions based in Denmark. Finally, Jeff of Dawnbreed Records based in the Netherlands. Both labels are each putting out European pressings of “Through Wilderness”.



CG: The idea of having so many labels participate on one release was to have a good amount of distribution in the US and in Europe. Tankcrimes, Extremely Rotten, and Dawnbreed have all stood on their own and released great records over the years. People follow each label so it’s more likely that fans will purchase from the one they like the most. This also allows for people to save money on shipping.



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



CT: The reaction has been great in it’s own niche because this is a type of music that would be considered underground. Seeing posts online of people all over the world enjoying the album. Every day i’ll see at least one person tag the band and show appreciation for the album. it’s been crazy.



12.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?



CT: Chad’s got Necrot, which is his baby, same with Atrament. Then he’s been also jamming lately with Palace of Worms and Scolex for live performances. Clint plays in Cartilage from SF. Clint also plays in a band with me called Evulse



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



CT: We plan to write more songs after tour, keeping with the death metal tradition.



14.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?



CT: Influences have always really ranged everywhere for this band, like a death metal blender. Grew up with Death, Obituary, Pestilence, then getting deeper with bands like Incantation, Rottrevore, Paradise Lost, becoming obsessed with Napalm Daeth, discovering My Dying Bride, diSEMBOWELMENT, more obsession. Viogression, Accidental Suicide, Demigod, Amorphis. We all each love so many different kinds of death metal, doom, grind, etc. There’s a mood associated with different bands. That’s the beauty of death metal, it’s a very vast genre in itself. Lately I’ve been jamming the album Final Man by Contaminated, Fetid’s Sentient Pile of Amorphous Rot, Mortiferum’s Atlar of Decay, Spectral Voice’s Eroded Corridors of Unbeing. This is another list that would honestly take a page to tackle completely.



CG: I was really influenced by punk bands when I was first learning how to play drums. I had always listened to metal but when I wanted to start playing that style my listening choices started to shift. Some big influences for me include Terrorizer, Discharge, Ramones, GBH, Adolescents, Cannibal Corpse, Bolt Thrower, and Napalm Death



15.What are some of your non musical interests?



CT: I’ve been really into basketball the last few years. I never even knew Oakland even had a basketball team, but took notice right before they started winning, the same time period my dad passed. Warriors won in 2015 only a month or two after I lost my dad, that had a pretty profound impact on me, but if felt weirdly unrelated. It’s just the minds coping mechanisms. The human mind is an interesting place.



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



CT: Yeah I’d just like to say we wanna be heard, rock n roll, crank it to eleven. Live free, die when you must. Never take life too seriously, but also enjoy the beauty to be in this world, on earth, a place where we can interact with like-minded individuals and revel in the disparity!



CG: Thank you for the interview! Catch us on tour this summer!

The Eternal/Waiting For The Endless Dawn/Inverse Records/2018 CD Review

  The  Eternal  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  plays  a  progressive  mixture  of  dark,  doom  and  goth  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "Waiting  For  The  Endless  Dawn"  which  will  be  released  on  August  17th  by  Inverse  Records.

  Melodic  guitar  leads  start  off  the  album  while  clean  playing  and  acoustic  guitars    are  also  used  at  times     along  with  some  slide  guitars  also  being used  briefly  as  well  as  the  riffs  also  using  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  synths  are  also  used  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording.

  Elements  of  doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  riffing  while  the  vocals  are  done  in  more  of  a  melodic  style  along  with  the  riffs  also  bringing  in  elements  of  prog  metal  as  well  as  some  stringed  instruments  also  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording,  when  grim  screams  are  utilized  they  add  in  a  touch  of  black  metal,  death  metal  growls  are  also  utilized  briefly  and  most of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  as  the  album progresses  aggressive  drums  are  also  used  briefly  and  spoken  word  parts  are  added  onto  the  closing  track.

  The  Eternal  plays  a  musical style  that  takes  dark,  doom,  goth  and  prog  metal  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover sorrow,  loneliness,  sadness  and  life  themes. 

  In  my  opinion  The  Eternal  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  mixture  of  dark,  doom  and  goth  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Wound"  "Dont  Believe  Anymore".  8  out  of  10.

 

  

The Sullen Route Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
1.At the present moment we prepare new demos which perhaps will become a part of the fourth album, but unfortunately we turn more into the studio project

2.How would you describe your musical progress on the albums through 2010-16?
2.It was hard time for all of us, one of founders also has left band. all these events have dug out the furrows in our creativity, we became aggressive and have more skeptically estimated life

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored over the years with your music?
3.The main subject of our lyrics is formation of the person during the different periods of his life. since the moment as the person has realized that he not top of the world, until acceptance of himself what he is - insignificant pathetic and weak. And then there comes the enlightenment and he feels forces to fight against the world

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'The Sullen Route'?
4.Initially the band was called Dagon, but music which has been written during this period didn't correspond to the name. Once we have understood that we will go with band on a long heavy route which we are obliged to overcome, and at that moment the name The Sullen Route has appeared

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the album cover artwork that was presented on the last album cover?
5.Album cover artwork represents ourselves going on the dirty field looking at the own shadow, thrown the habitual life

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?
6.We have held the best show in Kiev, Ukraine in 2011. It was unforgettable evening, we played on one stage with Saturnus and local bands.To us the main thing to step on the stage take musical instruments in our hands and rock the audience in the hall.



7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
7.Unfortunately in 2018 there are no plans, hope that 2019 will bring us couple of show.

8.Recently 'Solitude Productions', re-issued your 2016 album, can you tell us a little bit more about the newer version?
8.The album was re-issued by GrimmDistribution. The album re-issued as it was thought up initially with a new sound and the correct timings. in 2016 we have laid out a demo on bandcamp.

9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of melodic doom and death metal?
9.We don't wait for approval from listeners, to watch responses there is no time too, we hope man whos loving metal is pleasant to listen our songs sometimes.

10.Are any of the band members currently involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?
10.Of course, we all are creative people. the drummer has created the Delmar Barasa project and plays electronic music, the lead-guitarist plays a stoner at Brick Sun.

11.When can we expect new music and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
11.New music will be, we continue to evolve and surpass itself. Now it is difficult to call style or a genre in which we will write down future album, but be sure it will be best in our history.



12.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?
12.We are very different, someone loves the German metalсore like Caliban, and someone loves Ghost, but we continue to find encouraging in old school of metal and alternative of the 2000th. We grew on this music

13.What are some of your non musical interests?
13.We meet together, not often but always cheerfully spend time, we drink beer and strong alcohol. Besides music other personal interests have disappeared with age.

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
14.Yes, always be yourself, and don't lie to people who trust you. Anyway - life will kill us all.

Lord Of The Lost/Thornstar/Napalm Records/2018 Double Album Review

  Lord  Of  The  Lost  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a mixture  of  goth  metal  and  dark  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  double  album  "Thornstar"  which  will  be  released  in  August  by  Napalm  Records.

  Aggressive  screams  which  also  add  in  a  touch  of  black  metal  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  heavy  riffing  a  few  seconds  later  while  the  synths  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  symphonic  feeling  as  well  as  the  clean  guitars  adding  in  elements  of  goth  rock  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard.

  A  great  amount  of  melody  can  also  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a lot  of  modern  metal  elements  along  with  some  growls  also  being  used  at  times  as  well  as  some  touches  of  industrial  also  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  some  tracks  also  bring  stringed  instruments  onto  the  recording.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  music  also  mixes  in  elements  of  darkwave  and  dark  rock  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  as  well  as  the  slow  riffs  mixing  in  doom  metal  influences  and  clean  playing  is  added  onto  the  closing  track.

  On  this  recording  Lord  Of  The  Lost  make  a  return  back  to  their  heavier  mixture  of goth  metal  and  dark  rock,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  the  myth  of  a  doomed  high  society.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  lord  Of  The  Lost  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  goth  metal  and  dark  rock,  you  should  check  out  this  double  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Black  Halo"  "Naxxar"  "In  Darkness  in  Light"  and  "Voodoo  Doll".  8  out  of  10. 

Agregator Interview

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

Hi, sure – thanks for asking! We have joined the Hungarian tour of Dalriada – who are old friends of ours and it was a really nice experience to play and drink with them again for weeks. Since the economic crisis came in the last decade, we have not visited the countryside with a few exception, so we were glad to have the opportunity to meet those guys locally who are usually see us only on the open air festivals. We have spent most time for the concerts and the creation of new merchandise – like t-shirts – and currently we are in the phase of producing the vinyl version of the album, in a kick-ass premium form to make sure every fan and collector will be pleased with that who are supporting us nowadays.

2.What are some of the things you feel you have done different musically with the newer release that you where not able to do on previous albums?

Ahh, just the usual – nothing and everything. The truth is that the studio has been closed where we have produced our previous albums – I do not know if that is related to us or to the scene, but these sound engineers we are working with - after the second album we made with them - usually sell everything to buy a peasant hut somewhere in the middle Hungarian plains and leave their former life behind :) Technically speaking we had to find the new crew from scratch, which is always a challenge – to find some cool metalheads, who are professional enough to make a badass sound, will walk the extra mile for you and your music and you can spend time with them as a person. I will not bore you with all the technical details, the point is that we have been quite lucky with the new team – Leander, Miki Czifra and Matyi Botlik – who has helped us with recording and the mix. As from the music point of view – the main change is that the main songwriter was Májki (Miklós Csóra – guitarist) what given a bit more melodic taste to the songs, he came from hard rock scene years before and I am really glad he channeled his background into the new stuff. Our new guitarist, Rajmi (Rajmund Katona) arrived in the last stage of the process, but added major atmospheric melodies here and there, so we are waiting for the song he will bring in in the future as he can definitely can bring some fresh air into the band.
 And there is one more major difference, we have not done before – and most likely we will never do again – that is the Sinner Choir for the song “Az egésztől innen, mindenen túl” It’s title means something like “At this side of the whole, and beyond everything” and it is about the underground life and friends we have lost during the journey. At first we was thinking to invite a few guests for the chorus part, but it was hard to keep it on a small scale as it was hard to pick who to be left out. Then we have decided, ok, so let’s invite everyone who would like to participate – which usually leads to total chaos :) In the song’s bridge we have involved 6-7 of our vocalist friends from different bands who have been close to our former bass player, Roland who passed away due to a terrible incident years back – and the rest of the participants was recorded the song’s chorus part one-by-one. Everyone was quite happy, using this mic for recording and the headphones and everything, it was like in a studio – most of them was frightened a bit when they heard their own voice, but soon calmed down and completed the session and they was quite proud of the participation afterwards. About a hundred metalheads whispered, shouted, sung or growled the main chorus – we keep the collection of their pictures on Facebook and printed on an official poster too – and we have given the name Sinner Choir to this group as our fans usually call themselves sinners. This whole operation has given us a lot of work, with the recording, the editing and the mix, etc. – but it was worth it completely, they was really happy with this, but I am sure there will be no such initiative again, I guess it would not be that big hit on the second round.

3.This is your first full length since 2009, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?

Well, we have gone through our own hell – back and forth a few times. We have recorded a few videos, the last album – Emberség, means something like ‘being a human’ – was widely distributed throughout the country, it was quite popular. The economic crisis made a very negative impact on the country, especially on the concerts – quite a few festivals have been closed in Hungary. Instead of releasing full length albums in three years periods, we have planned to release one EP every year – this new approach led to Eredendő EP in 2012. Then we had the tragedy – we have lost our bass player, Roland Liviczki a week after the recording of our new video for Romok között – and that event driven us to stop, sit down and think through our relations to life, the band, the music and everything. It took a few months until we have pulled ourselves together – found the only appropriate man to be on the bass position in the band, Lackó – who was our former guitarist, but left to be with his family after the birth of his daughter. In this critical time he told us that he would join to help us to continue this gloomy rock and roll. In the next few years we had to make a few changes here and there in the lineup, but in 2017 we been able to start the recordings at last and completed the album. Until that time we have re-released our first albums – some 15th anniversary, remixed/remastered versions – practically speaking each year we have given something new-ish, but naturally everyone was waiting for the new songs.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer release and also how would you describe your progress as songwriters over the years?

  We are mostly focusing on the human life and feelings in our lyrics – expressing extreme situations and wandering in the shadowy depths of one’s traumas and fights. We preach that life ain’t kind, life ain’t just, love is dark and painful, but you can have your moments so enjoy what you can - while you can! We experience that if you shout such words – I mean as a part of the crowd – it helps you to get rid of all negative everyday tensions and you get better. We are really proud of our audience – after the shows they are happy, badass, drunk and decadent crowd – we cannot wish any better group of metalheads.
  As for the progress, from lyrics point of view, my main aim is to paint complex and feeling-filled situations with simple, everyday expressions. The best feedback I get is if someone tells me that yeah, he or she knows that feeling, that songs describes his/her situation completely, but would never been able to say it with such an accuracy like the lyrics does, and happy to know that someone had the same experience and now can talk about it. Also, many guys told me that there was time when they were down, and our lyrics give them strength to continue – some outsider would say that these words only encourage bad mood or even suicide, but the truth is just the opposite. If I had bad moments, I have listened to Moonspell, Paradise Lost or Sentenced and their songs always helped me to get rid of the negative feelings and driven me to stand up again and again. I think this is what we would like to give to our fans, good moments and help them through their life with our songs.

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

 Back in 1997, we needed a name for the band from scratch. We came from quite different backgrounds – death metal, black metal, dark/goth stuff and even glam metal and hard rock. The only common thing was between us that we was drinking in the same bar, we were friends and wanted to play some badass stuff. So this formation was our ‘aggregator’ – you put in lot of different influences, feelings and musical background and this is what you get. Also, it ends with ‘tor’ which sounds cruel and metal, and start with ‘A’ which takes us to the first place of most alphabetical order :) We have decided to spell it with only one ‘g’ as it looks even better. In those times there was a lot of other bands like Dark Stuff, or Black Blabla or named after horrific ancient greek illnesses and we have wanted something different. Since then we have not found any band with the same title throughout the world – although a few years back I have almost suffered a heart attack when I have seen ‘Agretator’ in a Darkane interview, but fortunately after the tenth re-reading of the word I have found the difference  :)

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

This was the third time in our history where we was working with Niklas Sundin from Dark Tranquillity on the front cover. All has started in 2003, I am a great fan of their music and Niklas’ artworks. I was thinking in those times that “ok we have this band, but it would be good to fulfill my dreams like working together with other talented people I respect” – on one hand because of the predictably cool results and on the other hand for the journey itself. It was started with the cover of “A semmi ágán” – I have written to Niklas, that the main concept is based on the work of a Hungarian poet’s works – and he was asking back if that is Attila József as he knows some of his poems, and yeah, he was – so I knew in that point that things will work out very well :)
Usually the way we work is that I send him a high level description of the album title, the feelings we would like to express with the songs and he sends me a few mostly completed designs and we choose if there is any fits to our expectations. It had happened with album ‘Szürkület’ too and now we had the same journey with the “Semmiből – a semmin át” album. We are just in the phase when the vinyl versions are completed, on the main cover I had not added anything other than the original cover artwork – no logo, no album title, those are moved to the back cover – as this picture looks really cool in the vinyl’s 12 inch format.

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?

I think the largest audience we had was back in the middle of 2000’s, on Székelyföldi Rockmaraton a few hundred km’s from our hometown for 1000+ metalheads. On the other hand, I like the clubs more as you are closer and more connected to the people during the show and you can harvest the energy better, can react to their shouts and that is somewhat better. We had a concert in June in one of Budapest’s venues – Kék Yuk – about a month ago and it was like the show of the year, everyone went crazy – goths, death/thrash metal-heads and punks – when we have left the stage, Dagatt (our drummer) who rarely says anything about actual experience, said that “okay guys, this was some kickass madness - I want to have all our next gigs something like that”.
Apart from these, I really like when we are in new venues, outside Hungary. In the songs we are using Hungarian lyrics and I talk in between in English. It is a challenge to convince the guys there, mostly by our music and our performance as they do not understand a damn word from the lyrics – well, that is growling vocals anyway, so even Hungarians do not have any clue if they does not know it already :) When you see that a local guy tries to sing the chorus with you – well, that is priceless :)
Back to your question, about our live performance – that is mostly about the presentation of the feelings. I guess if we are using our native language, we can express our feelings stronger and that is what catches the attention of the audience. If someone see that you are feeling good and you are ready to crash and burn on stage and express that accordingly, there is a very good chance that one will join you on this. The best live performance feedback we have ever received is happened in Graz, in Club Explosiv. There was this Austrian guy who was in a busy discussion with the event organizer, then turned to me and said: “Hey – I do not know what you sing about, I do not have a fucking clue. But you know what? I have quit smoking about a year ago and after your show, well… I had to smoke and drink again as it was that badass I just can’t get rid of the feeling.” I would not be able to give a better description of our live shows :)

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

Currently not sure – we had a countrywide tour during the winter/spring period of this year, now we are attending the summer open air festivals in Hungary. There a few discussions about to continue the touring with other Hungarian bands, but nothing is confirmed yet – and there are a few pending invitations from Austria (Wien and Graz) we hope that we will be able to visit those cities during the year. Because of our workplaces and family life we are not really the band who leaves for weeks of continuous touring, rather just visiting places during weekends. We’ll see.

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

In Hungary, nothing is that straightforward :) Our albums mostly self-financed, but we are always connected to local labels with mixed conditions. The new album was released with the help of GarageLive Records – the guys helped us a lot with the pre-order and the merchandise and always helping and supporting us with thousands of things, so we are really grateful to them, but yes, I would not say we are actually signed. We are always looking for opportunities, to play outside of our ‘comfort zone’, visit new places and meet metalheads of the world :) Locally – within the country – we are quite ok, I guess the next step would be something international, for that I think we will need to have more shows in the neighborhood first.

10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of melodic, dark and extreme metal?

It is hard to know, during these years we have received many positive reviews from the ‘zines we have contacted, we pushed to be represented on stream media to have worldwide distribution. Sometimes we are receiving messages from the outside world, our first two cassette demo has been released in Russia in 2006 on CD under the title of Túlontúl by MagikArt Entertainment. So here and there, occasionally we have made an international round, but mostly focused on Hungary and the neighboring countries.

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

Unfortunately there are periodic changes within the band’s lineup in every 5-10 years, and it impacts the songwriting – so the change is always part of the picture, but I cannot say it is something we plan :) The current album has been written mostly by Májki, our guitarist – who was the new guy during our last EP, where the main songwriter was our former guitarist, Dávid. Now these roles has been changed, and our newest guitarist, Rajmi has supported Májki during the creative process, but he already brought in a few melodies which shown that he is approaching the songwriting from a different angle, so we can expect new stuff from him during the next album. I guess we will return to be a bit more melody-centric, more atmospheric form of metal in the future. The vocals will stay growling as I want to keep this powerful character of Agregator, but the rest will be kept on an agregator-ish basis, as we are constantly changing – and I would not say evolving, as our first songs are as good as they are, I would not say that the current ones are any better – apart from the technical aspects of course, which are definitely more professional, educated, polished, etc. now, but the songs are about the feelings they produce in someone, in which I think all songs are very successful.

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?

As for myself, I really love the latest Moonspell album 1755 – and waiting to hear their new live release, Lisboa under the Spell in August. Just attended Tiamat’s Clouds & Wildhoney show last Saturday on Rockmaraton Festival, which was awesome, I haven’t even dreamed of it that I will ever hear those songs live. Apart from these, I like different stuff, like Monster Magnet, Dark Tranquillity and visited Manowar’s farewell tour on Munich, as I really enjoy their metal-brotherhood-centric atmosphere – well, it turns out that I do not really listening to bands which are not at least 20 years old, so I guess our new influences are coming from the others :)  I know they like Slayer, In Flames, Pantera and Death for sure, Killswitch Engage is often mentioned too. Other Hungarian bands we are listening in the car are Leander Kills, Christian Epidemic, Dalriada, Vesztegzár, Vale of Tears and Ørdøg, they are cool guys with some really badass metal of different genres.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

I guess Dagatt, our drummer has the coolest pastime activity which is dealing with the art of making pálinka – the Hungarian spirits made of fruits – on a home-made level and volume and he is quite good in it. Movies, books, concerts – the usual stuff. We like hiking – walking along the Hungarian National Blue Trail and getting to know interesting people and villages – and eat & drink a lot during the journey :) The last book I have read was the Captivity by György Spiró which is a historical story in the Roman Empire and so detailed and awesome, I have not even imagined such writing can exists. Apart from these, getting tattooed and painting Warhammer 40k miniatures as I just love its grim, dark atmosphere – and coloring those small statues can really calm the mind.

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

We would like to thank you for the interview and wish all the best to you and your readers – we hope we will meet in person somewhere in the dark depths of the metal underground! Take care!

Quintessente/Songs From Celestial Spheres/2017 Full Length Review

  Quintessente  are  a  band  from  Brazil  that  plays  a  progressive  and  atmospheric  mixture  of  goth,  doom,  death  and  heavy  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  album  "Songs  From  Celestial  Spheres".

  Atmospheric  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  symphonic  direction  while  the  screams  also  add  in  a  touch  of  black  metal  along  with  some  clean  vocals  also  being  used  at  times  as  well  as  the  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  A  great  amount  of  melody  can  also  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  while  spoken  word  parts  are  also  utilized  at  times  along  with  some  female  vocals  also  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  songs  as  well  as  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to them  and  after awhile  death  metal  growls  also  start  to  make  their  presence  known.

  At  times  the  music  gets  very  progressive  while  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  briefly  when  the  music  speeds  up  along  with  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  bringing  in  elements  of  doom  metal  as  well  as  some  goth  rock  and  traditional  metal  influences  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  stringed  instruments  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  clean  playing  is  also  added  onto  a  couple  of  track.s

  Quintessente  plays  a  musical  style  that takes  atmospheric  doom,  death,  heavy  metal,  goth  and  progressive  rock  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  existentialism  and  the  reflection  of  the  forces  that  rule  the  human  nature.

  In  my  opinion  Quintessente  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  and  atmospheric  mixture  of  goth,  doom,  death  and  heavy  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Belief  Of  The  Mind  Slaves"  "My  Last  Oath"  "Eyes  Of  Forgiveness"  and  "Reflections  Of  Reason".  8  out  of  10.