Lazurus Blackstar Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

Mikey-Well things are quiet at the moment since were all busy with other projects, family, education, jobs and so on. But it’s not like people are screaming to us to play shows? Well decent ones anyway. But the new split with black shape of nexus will be our 3^rd release in 3 years so that’s a positive

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the newer material and also how does it differ from previous releases?

Mikey- Personally for me it’s like a bad hangover from a near death experience ha ha.  Musically it’s a heavy symphony of misery with layers of mourning melody, ultra-heavy blues. In my opinion it’s always different with each release because Lazarus blackstar is always moving forwards whilst standing perfectly still, we only move when we feel the need to do so because everything we do is on our own terms. So I think the sound we create is completely natural to us all, there is always a feeling in the air that we are hanging on barely, just surviving and somehow through that experience mutating into something else. It’s a tough band to be in, there’s a lot of tension and anger.  It’s not an easy band for people to listen to and I don’t really care if they can because we do it for us. It’s very inward looking, inner war, but live it becomes confrontational, threating towards anybody who stands in front of us, friend or foe.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the new release explores?

Mikey-Early releases I performed on were very personal lyrics as I was going through a rough time, exercising some demons if you like. I want to create a feeling of utter hopelessness but not in a way to drag other people down, maybe to help liberate bad feelings. I think working through these things on earlier releases has helped me build up towards empathy for other people going through hell. So now I try to write about things that are on the outside of the self, not so inward. i was trying to get into the mind set of somebody who has lost everything because of our governments and there never ending war on everybody who is not part of the fucking elite, these murderous fucking cunts, the world collapsing around us, the state making its people suffer whilst the rich get richer. The Birth work death existence that people are being forced into. I want revenge.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name Lazarus Black Star?

Mikey-It was a song title from bri and lee’s previous band kang that evolved into Lazarus blackstar.

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?

Mikey-I liked it when we played with discharge and skinheads wanted to kill me for singing “weird”.

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

Mikey-If somebody makes a good offer the yes, were too old for shit venues and rip off promoter’s, am not wasting any more breath screaming in some  cunts  faces just to get fucking 20 quid gas money. If your one of them people, then fuck off.

7. This year you have released splits with both Headless Kross and Black Shape of Nexus, what are your thoughts on the bands that participated with these splits?

Mikey-I love black shape of nexus, I had been listening to them a lot then out of the blue they asked us to do a record together, I was shocked that somebody good actually likes us. I never knew anything about headless kross before that split, It was originally meant to be a split with gloomy Sunday from Sweden, it was recorded years ago before our last album hymns for the cursed.

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

Mikey- Minimal. We are underdogs. Maybe people will like us more when we are gone.

9. Are there any other musical projects going on these days?

Mikey-I play guitars in skitvarld a noisy punk band based in Liverpool

10. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

Mikey-Further into the abyss

11. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Mikey- I don’t really have a musical influence for lbs now, when I first joined I was listening to burning witch a lot, but am listening to tons of punk. Infernoh, kromosom , bastard, anti-cimex, disorder, zyanose,  invasion from Barcelona have been on repeat this week. Am really bored of metal, doom, and so on, the scene is flooded with utter shit.

12. Outside of music what are some of your interests?

Mikey- am a fashion student /designer, I also make art for bands, albums covers, t-shirts, flyers and so on. I like making arty stuff in general.   Sci fi books, traveling, cats

Alaskan/Despair, Erosion, Loss/Dwyer Records/2014 CD Review

  Alaskan  are  a  band  from  Ontario,  Canada  that  plays  a  very  atmospheric  form  of  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Despair,  Erosion,  Loss"  which  was  released  by  Dwyer  Records.

  The  album  begins  with  some  avant  garde  sounds  before  adding  in  heavy  post  metal  guitar  riffs  and  drums  along  with  growls  and  screams  as  well  as  melody  and  you  can  also  hear  traces  of  hardcore  in  the  vocals  and  when  clean  parts  are  added  in  the  album  has  a  more  progressive  feeling  to  it  and  you  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  leads.

  As  the  album  progresses  the  music  gets  heavier,  and  darker  along  with  a  small  amount  of  synths  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  band  brings  out  a  great  amount  of  anger  and  hate  with  their  music  and  at  times they  also speed  up  and  bring  in  blast  beats  as  well  as  bringing  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  which  enhances  the  progressive  elements  of  this  recording.

  While there  is  not  much  in t he  way  of  originality  on  this  recording  Alaskan  still  demonstrate  a  great  amount  of  ability  with  the  way  they  approach  their  music  and  combining  dark  and  heavy  music  with  progressive  elements.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  and  hateful  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy, d ark  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  as  well  as  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Alaskan  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  and  progressive  sounding  sludge  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sacrifice"  and  "Inferno".  8  out  of  10. 

Dawn Of Tears/Act III- The Dying Eve/Inverse Records/2013 CD Review

  Dawn  Of  Tears  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a  mixture  of  gothic  and  melodic  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Act  III  -  The  Dying  Eve"  which  was  released  by  Inverse  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  atmospheric  sounding  synths  which  bring  in  classical  and  gothic  elements  as  well  as  mixing  in  heavy  parts  along  with  melodic  solos  which  also  leads  up  to  bass,  screams  and  screams  and  after  awhile  orchestra  elements  and  melodic  female  vocals  are  added  onto  the  album.

  On  the  second  song  more  modern  elements  are  added  into  the  music  as  well  as  some  melodic  doom  metal  influences  and  after  awhile  the  bass  guitars  start  sounding  more  powerful  and  the  music  gets  closer  to  melodic  death  metal  while  also  keeping  around  a  great  amount  of  gothic  elements  and  the  album  shows  a  great  amount  of  emotion  and  sorrow  and  at  time s acoustic  guitars  are  brought  into  the  recording  and  at  time s you  can  also  hear  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats.

  On  this  recording  Dawn  Of  Tears  rake  the  modern  Swedish  death  metal  sound  and  mix  in  gothic  and  symphonic  elements  and  they  create  an  album  that  is  very  dark  and  emotional  sounding  as  well  as  having  a  decent  amount  of  catchy  melodies.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  and  metaphysical  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Dawn  Of  Tears  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  gothic  and  melodic  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "A  Cursed  Heritage"  "The  Darkest  Secret"  "The  7th  Seal"  and  "Prize  Denied".  8  out of  10.  

Godhunter Interview

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

Mainly just a lot of production of the album itself, like the packaging. And setting up a couple tours and the release show.


2.Recently you recorded a new album, can you tell us a little bit about the musical direction it has taken and also how does it differ from your past recordings?

I think we stretched ourselves a little with this album. Really reached for some new sound sand ideas. Incorporated more influences and put a lot more time into it.


3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and political samples that you used on the new album?

All of the lyrical topics on the album deal with the fucked up situation we're all dealing with in America these days. The samples are all from people that we highly respect, like Howard Zinn, Chris Hedges and most importantly, Edward Abbey.


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

The name Godhunter was actually taken from a Beta Ray Bill comic book, but it's so confrontational and easy to misinterpret that we just loved it too much not to use. 


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?

We've played a shit ton of really fun and crazy shows. I think opening up for Clutch is probably the biggest show ever played. We just try to keep it high energy on stage.


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

Yes, we'll be touring the west coast with Secrets Of The Sky in June, with a stop at Doom In June on that tour. We'll be doing a longer tour in October, then probably hitting the east coast in Spring.


7.A couple of months back you put out a split album with 'Anakim', what are your thoughts on the other band that participated on the split?

They are good friends and brothers from our hometown of Tucson. Love those dudes. Great song. Great band.


9.Can you tell us a little bit more about Battleground Records?

We needed an imprint to put out our half of City Of Dust, and David and his friend Ryan have been kicking around the idea of starting a record label for a few years, so the time just seemed right to do it. Battleground is starting small, focusing on Arizona bands, but they do have plans to expand. 


10.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of sludge and hardcore?

It seems to be pretty good. We've shipped merch and albums to every continent. We even shipped some stuff to a guy stationed in Antarctica, so that's pretty cool. People seem to dig it and we love that.


11.Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects these days?

Charlie has been playing in hardcore band Gat Rot for almost 20 years now. And Jake and Dick have a side project called Acidalia, which is a female fronted doom band. Andy has a noisy sludge rock band called Methra and Matt also plays in a black metal band called Our Daily Trespasses. 


12.What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

Not really sure where we are headed. We just recorded a new song for a split with Secrets Of The Sky from Oakland, and we think it's the best, heaviest song we've done yet. We're writing more songs another EP that are a step ahead of what is on City Of Dust. We're also writing for a secret project now that won't come to light for another year or so. Mainly, we just want to always keep writing and expanding our sound.


13.What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

We all listen to different stuff, so it's really hard to keep track of what anyone in my band is listening to lately. Collectively, we've been listening to the shit out of bands like ASG, Amigo The Devil, Herder and Kylesa. I can say that the album that came out last year from The Lion's Daughter & Indian Blanket has had a huge affect on us. I could see some of those influences seeping in.


14.Do you have any non musical interests?

Mainly we get together for drinks if we're not playing a show or writing songs. Everyone in the band has real jobs and busy lives, so we don't spend a lot of downtime together. Some of us are very interested in smoking weed. I guess that could be called a hobby. Haha.


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

Just want to say thank to everyone that's checking out the new album. We put a lot into it, and we really appreciate people giving it a chance. Thanks!

Godhunter/City Of Dust/The Compound/Battleground Records/2014 CD Review

  Godhunter  are  a  band  from  Arizona  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  heavy  form  of  sludgecore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "City  of  Dust"  which  will  be  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  The  Compound  and  battleground  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  spoken  word  samples  and  ambient  noise  sounds  before  going  into  a  heavy  and  melodic  doom  metal  direction  and  after  awhile  aggressive  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  which  also  bring  in  elements  of  hardcore  and  when  solos  are  added  into  the  music  they  bring  in  influences  from  70's  rock.

   The band  also  bring  this  sound  to  their  other  songs  as  well  while  also  having  a  more  modern  approach  to  this  musical  genre  and  the  vocals  also  utilize  traits  of  death  metal  as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  a  melodic  edge  being  utilized  briefly  along  with  some  more  high  pitched  sludge  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  some  powerful  and  heavy  bass  lines  throughout  the  record  and  the  album  gets  more  epic  as  time  goes  on  by  and  they  also  bringing  in  acoustic  guitars  and  clean  singing  on  one  song  and  you  can  also  hear  some  synths  being  used  on  the  last  track.

  Godhunter  bring    out  a  great  amount  of  heaviness  with  their  music  and  they  take  sludge  and  add  in  death  metal,  70's  rock  and  hardcore  influences  their  own  sound  and  they  also  have  somewhat  of  an  old  school  feeling  to them  as  well.

  Song  lyrics  cover  political  and  corruption  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  dark  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  as  well  as  some  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Godhunter  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  sludgecore,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Despite  All"  "Snake  Oil  Dealer"  and  "Plague  Widow".  8  out  of  10.

  

Sulaco Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days? Currently we're on hiatus, working on some other projects. We've been offered some shows for Spring 2014, which will roust us from our break and hopefully get us writing and playing more.

2.How would you describe your current musical sound and also how would you describe your progress as musicians over the years? We're a metal band first and foremost but our influences come from all over the place. I guess the best description is, we're a "kind of" band musically speaking. Meaning we're kind of tech, kind of grind, kind of prog, kind of doom, kind of melodic, etc. We don't really have any written rules for what goes into the songs. Regarding progress as musicians, thats a tough one to answer. I've always liked that our songs have a sense of technicality without really sounding like your typical "tech" bands. We don't really incorporate guitar solos, sweep arpeggios, etc... into our music. Our songs are more focused on feel than flash or guitar hero type playing. Our riffs tend to be quirky and rarely in 4/4, so they have a different feel to them. I think each with recording we've done there has been some sort of progression from the previous recording. Whether that progression is good or bad is up to the individual listening. It's like the old adage goes, you're "damned if you do, and damned if you don't." If you change or "progress" too much from your previous sound, there are people that won't like it, and if you don't change or "progress" there are peope that will blame you of just regurgitating the same old thing over and over again. So we just write for ourselves, as long as we're happy with it that's all that really matters to us.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored over the years with your music and song writing? Erik's lyrics are pretty much about everyday life and occurances, with the occasional nonsense thrown in for good measure. In this band vocals are more like another instrument, so they need the proper phrasing and timing. The words don't really matter, we're not trying to get any sort of message out.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Sulaco'? We had recorded the first four songs we wrote but didn't have a name for the band yet, and someone at Relapse heard it and wanted to release the EP. So we were pressed for time to come up with a name. We couldn't come up with anything we liked, so one of our friends (Aaron Nichols, ex-Kalibas, ex-Defeatist) had a list of possible bands names and was gracious enough to let us use a name from his list. The Sulaco is the space ship from the movie Aliens.

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? To pick a "best" seems pointless, I mean whether we're playing to a thousand people or ten, we're just happy to be playing. To be honest I prefer basement / house shows or small clubs to bigger venues. It feels better and seems to make for a better show when it's more up close and personal.

7.A couple of years back you put out an album on Handshake Inc, do you feel they did a lot for getting your music out there heard? I think so, he put our name out there in a few bigger magazines and put our MDF live performance on the Maryland Deathfest: The Movie 2 DVD.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal and grindcore? Judging from all the reviews I've read, surprisingly well. Only one or two reviewers had any sort of negative feedback which I find hard to believe.

9.Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects these days? Burke has a few new projects he's working on, including a new BCT (his solo project) recording in February. Crif has been playing with a band called Burn Everything, but I think they're going to revamp the lineup or start something new from that. Spoth is kicking around a few ideas for a solo project. Brian recently left Sulaco to put more time into his band BML.

10.When can we expect another release and also what direction will it be heading into music wise? Not sure on either count, time will tell. We've been talking with the guys in Tellusian (ex-Crowpath) for a couple years now about doing a split release, so hopefully we'll get that rolling.

12.Outside of music what are some of your interests? Well we all enjoy drinking beer, especially Victory beer. Erik spends a lot of time making goofy posters on his Ipad, hanging with his son, and playing video games. Crif also loves playing video games, and hanging with his three sons. Spoth likes to ride and wrench on his motorcyle.

13.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview? Thanks for the interest and the interview. Here's to a great 2014...

Altar Of Betelgueze 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?

The album was pretty much mastered and finished in September 2013. All of the recording and mixing had taken place during the summer. The artwork and layout was completed around November though. So, it has been about half a year since the band last contributed to the album making in practise, aside from giving some valuable opinions to the label and graphic artist, of course.

We have had few rehearsals, but it has been rather quiet other than that. We all have other bands and projects to deal with. I have composed loads of new stuff for Decaying, Otu has his new stoner band Kaiser working on debut EP and Aleksi has been busy recording his black metal project.

2.Recently you put out your first full length, can you tell us a little bit about the musical direction it has taken and also how does it differ from the ep that you had released in the year of 2012?

We've actually re-recorded two thirds of the previous EP. Tracks "Smoldering Clouds Above Orion" and "The Approaching Storm" appeared on the EP earlier. We just made them sound better, heavier and more focused. So, on that behalf you can say we have definitely continued on the same path, haha.... But to be honest, all these six new songs offer many new aspects to our overall sound. It definitely feels like an varied album. Everything stays together even though we combine tracks from a time perioid of two to three years. This merge of stoner and death doom is a very tricky one though. And because of that, we're still searching for the best possible musical direction. All in all, we're very statisfied on the outcome, both song and sound-wise!

3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics that you have covered with the new album and also how would you describe your progress as songwriters over the years?

There is no universal subject for all of the songs together. The title track "Darkness Sustains The Silence" is about end of the world (who would've guessed), a sudden new ice age. The older tracks from our EP are both telling about "Betelgeuse blows up and everything on earth is destroyed" - type of thing. The first two tracks, "Epitaph" and "A World Without End" are a statement toward religion and focus on the activities of the inquisition in the past, back when they used to burn people alive, whether they were witches or heretics to the church. All of the rest are pretty much centered around the basic doom subjects, though "Steamroller" is more of a getting-drunk type of song, hehe.

As song writers we have definitely progressed over the years. Anyway, writing this "Altar Of Betelgeuze" material is not an easy task - and really requires one to go out of his comfort zone. Everything has to stay together regardless of all the countless influences and uses of varying sub-genres.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Altar Of Betelgeuze'?

First of all - it's an unique title. I think we can all honestly say nobody has used that name before. Secondly, it looks cool. But the main inspiration came from that red giant in the constellation of Orion. Betelgeuse is actually an huge star, thousand times bigger than our Sun. Many people say it's going to explode at any moment. You can imagine what will happen after! And a clarification to all of you reading - we're not basing this name on any science fiction book or movie.

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?

We haven't had a chance to play any shows yet. Aleksi joined the band as the first official drummer in early summer last year. After that we have recorded this album. Now we're rehearsing the material carefully before getting onto stages. When the right moment comes, I can promise you'll witness a pretty crushing dose of stoner/death doom, a wall of sound.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album and 2014?

Yes, we are definitely aiming to hit the stages this year. Quality over quantity though... Unfortunately doom metal isn't the most popular thing around, and we have some time problems due to all of our other bands & projects... But we will get there!

7.The new album came out on Memento Mori, do you feel they have done a lot for the band as  far as getting  the music heard?

They have done everything important, with good results. After all this band has been very, very underground before the last two months. There is a really steady growth of new listeners, and at least I'm happy with the situation!

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

The feedback so far has been very positive. There are lots of new reviews coming up, so it's hard to say what the final reaction will be. Some people might not like the direction and that's understandable. In my opinion there aren't many bands around with this kind of musical approach. It offers us a chance for some originality and possibilities to go forward with all kinds of cool ideas and still sounding convincing.

9.What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

We have had some ideas of incorporating more drone doom elements. At one point we were talking of perhaps using more clean vocals, and possibly even I would be doing some lower clean vocals and not only doing spoken-word passages along the growling.. who knows... If that happens - you'll see some more traditional doom ideas. Anyway, all of the basic elements are already put on use on this debut. We just have to refine it further. I've been thinking of doing even more bass leads in the future, too! "Everything is possible in the world of doom metal"

10.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I can't speak on the other guys behalf that much, but I can name a couple of bands which have been a great influence to us as a whole. I think the three most important bands for AOB's music are Sleep, Candlemass and Black Sabbath. Sleep was actually the main reason we got together in the first place. Holy Mountain isn't bad, but Dopesmoker is THE thing. Then, I personally enjoy listening to all eras of Black Sabbath (except "13", sorry). Lately the main focus for me has been on 80's and 90's BS. Obviously there are countless of other bands, stoner/death/black/heavy/drone/doom... metal, even hard rock like Deep Purple and early Whitesnake. We all enjoy old school stuff, we're not into modern or technical stuff much.

11.Outside of music what are some of your interests?

There's not much other than music for me as interest/hobby. I'm a big war history freak myself though. I enjoy reading books, watching movies and documentaries and searching stuff over the net regarding history.

12.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

Just make sure to check the album out & spread the word. This goes to all of you doom metal fans over there!

Cheers & thank you for the interview,

- Matias

Duskburn Interview

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

We are from Croatia, small central/eastern European country and living in the capital Zagreb.
We started Duskburn in 2006. before that we all had bands, me and Edin were playing together after our old band broke up and were trying to get a drummer.Through a friend we met Neven who at the time was playing with Mario in a grind core band, they were also looking for something new so we started rehearsals.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the new ep?

We wanted the sound to be cold and stern, like some of the proto sludge productions from the '90.
On "Atum" we incoporated percussions and used more keyboards/samples and we intend to use them more often.I think the music is more layered and atmospheric than before, we are constantly working on our arrangements and adding new stuff which may benefit the sound.The song progression is a little bit more steady than what we were doing before.

3.I have read that the band started out as a death metal band, what was the decision behind going into a more sludge direction?

We all loved doom, sludge and stoner but we came from a more "metal" background.Up until 2005 there weren't well known bands in Croatia or even the region which were playing any doom or sludge, it was manily all death and heavy metal and all the core variants which were popular back then.The only band that was doing this was Chang Ffos.
 It was natural for us to play death metal, but through the years we heard a lot of people saying "yeah but your music is so slow and fat, it sound's like a cement truck rumbling".That's not a quality I would describe a death metal band, so we talked and agreed that what we wanted the band to sound was in fact sludge or doom.

4.According to the metal archives page, the band was once known as PHSY, what was the decision behind the name change , and also what is the meaning and inspiration behind the name Duskburn?

PHSY was the name we made up when we first started rehearsing so we could put something on the paper in the rented gig rooms.It meant something like a combination of Phobos(fear) and psychedelia.But somewhere in 2007. when we got our first practice place we decided for a new name.
I was allways interested in the occult stuff and hereticism, and reading about the burning of thousands of innocent women in the name of catholic church was a deep influence on me.So I wanted the name to be about the witch hunts, but not to be blunt and use the name Witch in the name since many bands were doing that already.I pictured a scene in which zealous illitarete masses gather at dusk and watch a pyre of bodies burned alive, their lifes burn away with the dusk... yeah... Duskburn.

5. Can you tell us a little bit more about the song lyrics you have covered with the new ep?

All our EP’s have themes; isolation and angst (“Marrow“), the heresy(“Left for the Wolves“) and now “Atum” is focused on a need for cleansing. Cleansing of the mankind, the soul and the body.
Atum is another name for the Egyptian deity Atem or Tem who was considered the finisher(cleanser) of the world.

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?

The best shows were in the two of the best known alternative clubs in the country, one was in club Močvara and another at club Kocka. I guess the reason is because the smaller clubs have shitty equipment or acoustics, and when there’s a small audience that doesn’t help loud bands look or sound good.Also another reason for a good performance is if you have a good time, when you are playing alongside bands you are friends with or are compatible in genre. I dislike bigger festivals greatly, the clusterfuck of genres and different styles is not an idea of a good time for me.

We tend to play loud with lowered lights and with a strong drink in arms reach, I don’t know how we look from the pit.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new release?

We want to do a small tour outside Croatia later this year but that is still in negotiations, and there’s a deal for a show in Zagreb with Sourvein and Graves at Sea in April.

8.Your new release was released by Cimmerian Shade Records, which was formally known as badGod music, do you feel that they have done a lot for getting your name out there heard?

The press is yet due to be handled since the album is getting out on CD in February but we are getting responses already.
Dave, the label manager is a great music enthusiast and does all the handling with bands himself. Doing that takes a lot of work and I have the most respect for people like him. I think we are just getting started with the exposure because we were under the radar as it gets since now, so any review or airtime helps.
On another hand getting the band to be well know is the job of the band itself and booking/promo agencies not just the label. We are not from the US so we can’t really show the people how we sound, nor can we attract fans at venues so we got to make a good record.
With a sea of underground bands you really have to rise up and show that you are doing something interesting, nobody can do that job for you, not even famous magazines or labels.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of sludge metal?

I haven’t heard criticism so far, but I think that is also needed. I often wonder will anybody like this as I’m the most self-critical person I know and listening to other opinions helps. The thing I love from fans of doom and sludge is that you can actually sound like shit and make a hour long record of nothing but static, but if you catch that vibe, the negativity and atmosphere you are getting good reviews. And that is really the thing I’m looking in music nowadays. Not the pretty and flashy but the ugly, the truth.

10.What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

Since 2010. we made a lot of songs but we’ve released only 3 EP’s, that's about 10 songs in 3 years.It isn't a lot of material but that's because we discarded a lot of songs which didn’t fit. We were searching for the right balance and ideas and now being content with “Atum” we are going to explore that ideas and prepare a full length.We already have 6 new songs but we want to make sure they are solid and not to rush into recording. 

11.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Ah there’s too many bands and genres to number, from metal to rock and electronic and as the time flew the influences changed so it’s pointless to name just a few. I guess for a long time I thought that the “black sabbathian” type of doom bands were crucial in our sound, but now I’m looking for more experimental elements and listening to minimalistic acoustic, electronic and ambient stuff. I still think that the distortion is very needed but I want to do something smart with it not just turn the volume to 10 and blow away. Lately I’ve been listening to the early Swans, Virus, Scott Kelly, Hexvessel, Atrium Carceri and to compensate best death metal band ever Entombed.

12.Outside of music what are some of your interests?

Drinking I guess haha.Well I love art and design, being digital or illustration hence I’m doing all our graphic stuff, also I do tattoos and design leather accessories. I know Mario likes airsoft, Edin is playing soccer and Neven… well, he likes to drink a lot.

13.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

Thanks for the interview.Support the underground!

Dominik,

DUSKBURN
www.facebook.com/duskburnband
duskburn1.bandcamp.com

The Matador Interview

1.Can you give us an introduction to the band? There are five members of The Matador at the moment. Our drummer Sam is the only original member of the band and he started the band probably 7-8 years ago now. Johnny is our main songwriter and plays guitar along with Ryan. Nate our singer is the newest member of the band; he joined about a year ago now. I'm Josh and I play bass and do some backing vocals also. We are based on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is present on your recordings and also how does each recording differ from each other? At the moment we have only one proper release, our 2011 EP Descent Into The Maelstrom. Prior to that we did release a demo that contained 2 tracks that we are reworking for our upcoming album. When I (Josh) joined the band in 2008 we were playing a more chaotic noise-core style of music similar to Norma Jean and The Chariot. We progressed away from this style when we wrote Descent Into The Maelstrom towards a more post metal vibe, taking influence from bands like Cult Of Luna, Isis, Neurosis etc. Our new album will be released as 2 parts and each part again will be slightly different stylistically to what we have done before. Part 1:Destroyer is very guitar driven, very sludgy and heavy. Part 2:Creator is a lot more melodic, and even progressive in some parts, which will contrast with the heaviness of Destroyer.

3.The ep you released in 2011 was a concept based on the writings of Edgar Allan Poe, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this author and also are there any other writers that you have an interest in? We were searching for cool ideas to base the album on and stumbled across Poe's short story which became the title for the album. Danny our old singer had co-incidentally designed a shirt using Poe's face merged with a skull so we thought tha tied in well too. We liked the macabre and darkness in Poe's writing and we thought it matched our music well so we went with it, we never really set out to make a 'concept' record it just king of happened! Personally my favourite writers are Jeff Noon, William Gibson, Micheal Marshall Smith, Philip K. Dick, Clive Barker and Neil Gaiman.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'The Matador'? I guess the idea of a bullfighter dedicating his life to trying to tame savage beasts can possibly be seen as a very lonesome life, but also on the flip side he can be seen as a hero, a barbarian, a warrior and possibly even a bit mysterious. I think Sam said he liked it because it sounded cool!!

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? We were fortunate enough to launch our EP playing with The Chariot, who were one of our favourite bands. The show was pretty hectic, the biggest show we'd played at that stage and we had an absolute ball, they were so crazy live too it was an awesome night. We've also played with Doomriders which was another great show. We played a festival called Bastardfest with some killer Australian bands like Psycroptic, Blood Duster, Astriaal, King Parrot, Fuck I'm Dead, Aversions Crown, I Existand heaps more. We are playing with Deafheaven tomorrow night so that should be an amazing show too!

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for 2014? Well as previously mentioned we are playing with Deafheaven as part of their Australian tour. We have plans to do some touring in Australia to promote our upcoming single and then album so hopefully we'll be playing a lot more this year than in previous years - we finally have a solid lineup so that really helps!

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest? We will put out a single and film clip hopefully in the next month and see if we get any interest from that. Hopefully someone digs it enough to want to release the album!!

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of underground metal? We've had a pretty awesome response actually. Its so cool to have people from all over the world checking out our band. The internet is quite a useful tool for getting your music out there these days. Bandcamp has helped us reach fans in places like Iran, Turkey, Greece, Singapore, Germany, Brazil, Russia, France and many more that we probably wouldn't have reached otherwise, and that blows us away! The EP also got some really good press and reviews from magazines like Decibel and Blunt and also some blogs like Heavy Blog Is Heavy, Invisible Oranges, Metal Obsession, Decoy Music and your awesome blog!

9.When can we expect a new release and also what musical direction will you be going into on future releases? Our single Destroyer will hopefully be ready to release early February with Part 1 of the album to follow a month or so after that. As i mentioned above our album 'Inclinaturum Humani Generis' will be released in 2 parts - Part 1:Destroyer will be heavy and sludgy and Part 2:Creator will be less abrasive and more melodic. We have a heap of songs and ideas that won't fit on the album that are again different - we try to progress all the time will keeping a certain sound in mind when we write. It will always be heavy but to varying degrees - and there will always be melody!

10.What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influenced on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays? Well obviously we all grew up listening to metal and hardcore and the various sub-genres within but we try not to limit ourselves in the styles that we listen to, except maybe dubstep, techno and country and western! Recently we have been listening to Deafheaven, Everything In Slow Motion, Russian Circles, Hope Drone, Deftones, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Palms, ROME, Chelsea Wolfe, Aversions Crown, Portishead and heaps, heaps more. We've talked about doing a Portishead cover actually!

11.Outside of music what are some of your interests? Ryan and I both have kids so we do lots of Dad stuff! Johnny is just about to have his first kid so we are changing the band name to The Matadad's. Sam loves to pump weights and Nate loves being drunk and mysterious.

12.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview? Thanks for the kind words about our EP and thanks for taking the time to check us out! We can't wait for everyone to hear the new songs and check out our new film clip!

Violent Asshole/I'll Bury My Fucking Heroes/2013 Promo Review

  Violent  Asshole  are  a  band  from  Boston,  Massachusetts  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge,  doom  metal,  grind  and  noisecore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  promo  "I'll  Bury  My  Fucking  Heroes".

  The  ep  begins  with  some  powerful  bass  guitars,  doom  metal  riffing  and  sludge  style  screams  and  then  the  music  starts  mixing  in  blast  beats  and  more  noisecore  elements  while  also  keeping  around  the  sludge  and  doom  metal  elements  and  on  the  last  song  acoustic  guitars  and  melodic  vocals  are  added  into  the  music..

  On  these  4  songs  that  are  displayed  the  band  shows  a  lot  of  diversity  and  they  really  know  how  to  mix  some  slow  sludge  and  doom  metal  with  fast  noisecore  and  you  can  hear  the  music  has  evolved  a  lot  form  the  Fuck  Everyone  and  the  music  has  also  gotten  a  lot  more  heavier  in  these  3  years.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  and  heavy  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  promo.

  In  my  opinion  Violent  Asshole  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge,  doom  metal,  grind  and  noisecore,  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band  and  promo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "At  your  Door"  and  "Unbelievably  Fucked".  8  out  of  10.    

Fuck Everyone/At Least I Know I'm Fucked/2010 Demo Review

  Fuck  Everyone  where  a  band  from  Boston,  Massachusetts  that  played  a  mixture  of  doom  metal,  sludge,  grind,  experimental,  and  noisecore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2010  demo  "At  Least  I  Know  I'm  Fucked".

  The  demo  starts  out  with  some  sound  effects  and  spoken  word  parts  and  then  the  bass  guitars  and programmed  drum  beats  come  in  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  bass  guitars  take  the  place  of  guitars  on  this  recording  and  there  are  also  some  experimental  elements  added  into  the  music  as  well  as  some  melodic  vocals  before  going  into  a  more  fast  and  brutal  direction  along  with  some  harsh  noise  elements  and  high  pitched  screams  while  also  going  into  a  slower  and  doomier  direction  at  times.


  On  the  7  minutes  this  demo  only  contains  you  can  hear  a  mixture  of  many  different  musical  styles  being  added  and  the  music  is  very  experimental  and  displays  a  great  amount  of  variety  and  there  are  no  regular  guitars  on  this  recording  with  the  bass  guitars  being  the  lead  instrument  on  the  demo.

  Song  lyrics  cover  hateful  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful  and  heavy  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  demo.

   In  my  opinion  Fuck  Everyone  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  experimental,  doom  metal,  sludge,  grind  and  noisecore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  8  out  of  10.