Tyrant's Kall Interview

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

Right now we're recording the follow-up for Dagon, which will be entitled "Gla'aki" and will be released by Witches Brew somewhere during next winter.
The album “Dagon" is released on Witches Brew on vinyl as we speak, in october we'll do a release-show for that vinyl. We're all very excited about the vinyl and Witches Brew.


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

The first EP, which was just a rehearsal/demo tape, represents a few of our songs in its rawest form, recorded with an old fashioned cassette-deck!
We re-recorded 2 songs of that tape for our debut "Dagon": The Swamps and The call of the Tyrant.
The difference between the EP and Dagon is that we recorded Dagon in a professional studio, the music remains true to Tyrant's Kall's vision.


3.Your lyrics are based on the writings of Lovecraft, what are some of the things you have done with his concepts that set you part from most bands that  are influence by the same author?

The fact that our music is not to be put in a very specific style, already makes it different. It is of course difficult to be original with lyrics when you are digging in a source that has been used so often before in music, movies, art, …Even if it is such a vast source of inspiration. But we believe that everybody who reads those stories, has a different experience while doing so. Esmee has an intrinsic interest in the dark side and she tries to make those stories part of herself. So when we are performing them, it comes from within. I can't speak for other bands, or what they do, but this is what Lovecraft does for us.


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

We represent the call of the Tyrant (Cthulhu)!


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?

Our stage performance is pretty straight forward rock 'n roll, the only thing we try to do is have lots of smoke and green lights, other than that, we just play the hell out of our gear.


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

Not really, but we are open for suggestions.


7.Recently Witches brew has re-issued your 2012 album on vinyl, what are your thoughts on the final result?

Everyone in the band is a fan of vinyl so we are very pleased with it! We hope our fans will like it as well.


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

Mainly positive. We try not to hold to only one genre, because we all have a wide taste of music. So we're influenced by the mighty Black Sabbath through Entombed and Darkthrone...
Sometimes people try to compare us with other bands and then you hear the weirdest things....


9.What is going on with some of the other musical projects or bands these days that some of the band members are involved with?

I play in "Dark Ages" (melodic black/death), we will release an EP somewhere in the near future.
Our drummer has a noise project called 'True Deep", which is very cool, unearthly sounding.
Our bassplayer is in a few other bands that are just starting to jam...
Our singer lends her voice to some other projects or bands sometimes. There's possibly a song with another band to be released in the near future. But I don't have definite information yet.


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

New material will be released somewhere during the next winter. Musically we are getting the best out of ourselves and make the best songs we can.
I think we had almost 50 jam-tapes to choose from for the next album....


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

As said before we all have a wide taste of music. Somedays you wake up and want to listen to Wovenhand and other days that can be "Hell Awaits" from Slayer.
Right now I'm listening to "Pleasure to kill".


12.What are some of your non musical interests?

I just finished up my house-building project so right now it's all about relaxing, and spending time with the kid, he already detunes my guitar, hahaha.


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

Stay true to yourself and listen to the music that you like!
IA, you motherfuckers!

Albez Duz/The Coming Of Mictlan/Archaic Sound/2014 CD Review

  Albez  Duz  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  mixture  of  dark  metal  and  occult  doom  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "The  Coming  Of  Mictlan"  which  was  released  by  Archaic  Sound.

  A  very  dark  and  atmospheric  sounding  drone  and  loop  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some tribal  beats  and  spoken  word  parts  a  few  seconds  alter  that  gives  the  recording  a  ritualistic  feeling  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  slow  and  old  school  doom  metal  direction  along  with  some  death metal  growls  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  awhile  they  also  incorporate  small  amounts  of  black  metal  elements.

  You  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  atmosphere  in  the  bands  musical  style  along  with  some  synths  that  combine  the  70's  rock  style  with  the  more  atmospheric  side  of  90's  gothic  metal  and  the  band  also  brings  in  a  good  amount  of  clean  singing  and  a  bit  of  Black  Sabbath  influence  in  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  more  in  the  90's  melodic  style  of  metal  when  they  are  utilized.

  A  good  portion  of  some  of  the  songs  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  some  of  the  music  sounds  like  what  Type  O  Negative  or  Moonspell  might  of   sounded  like  if  they  utilized  more  psychedelic  elements  in  the  90's  and  halfway  through  the  album  the  band  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  which  takes  the  music  into  more  of  a  psychedelic,  gothic,  neo-folk  direction  before  return  back  to  a  heavier  musical  direction  on  the  following  tracks.

  Albez  Duz  goes  back  to  the  90's  era  of  gothic  metal  and  atmospheric  doom/death  and  mixes  the  genre  with  some  70's  doom  metal  along  with  the  psychedelic,  folk  and  occult  rock  scenes  from  that  same  era  to  create  some  music  that  is  very  dark,  heavy,  retro,  ritualistic  and  original  sounding,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Occultism,  Mayans,   and  Aztecs  mixed  in  with  some dark  and  depressing  themes.

 In  my  opinion  Albez  Duz  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  dark  metal  and  occult  doom  rock  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Fire  Wings"  "Feathered  Snake"  and  "Twisting  My  Sobriety".  8/5  out  of  10.

      

Passion For Sorrow/Rotting Immortality/WormHoleDeath Records/2014 CD Review

  Passion  For  Sorrow  are  a  band  from  the  Czech  Republic  that  plays  a  mixture  of  gothic  and  melodic  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Rotting  Immortality"  which  was  released  by  WormHoleDeath  Records.

  Violins  and  acoustic  guitars  which  also  gives  the  recording  a  classical  feeling  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  bells  ringing before  going  into  more  of  a  melodic  and  heavy  death  metal  direction  which  they  also  mix  in  with  some  elements  of  gothic  rock  and  after  awhile  high  pitched  screams  and  deep  growls  find  their  way  onto  the  recording.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  added  onto  the  recording  they  continue  the  melodic  tradition  of  the  bands  musical  style  and t he  band  also  starts  bringing  in  a  good  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  with  the  heavier  parts  bringing  in  a  heavy  Gothenburg  90's  death  metal  influence  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

   Some  of  the  later  tracks  also  shows  the  band  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  keyboards,  spoken  word  parts  and  clean  singing  as  well  as  a  few  tracks  that  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  halfway  through  the  recording  a  brief  use  of   melodic  female  vocals  are  added  onto  a  few  of  the  songs  as  well  as  some  of  the  slower  riffing  bringing  in  elements  of  doom  metal  while  the  acoustic  parts  start  getting  more  progressive  towards  the  end  of  the  recording.

  Passion  For  Sorrow  takes  a  90's  style  of  melodic  death  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  the  gothic  metal  of  that  era  to  create  a  very  dark,  heavy  and  melancholic  sounding  album  that  also  brings  in  a  touch  of  progressive  rock,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  tragic  and  melancholic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Passion  For  Sorrow  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  put  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Secrets  of  the  Dark"  "Lost"  "Dying"  and  "Rotting  Immortality".  8/5  out  of  10.  

      

Ideogram/Life Mimics Theater/WormHoleDeath Records/2014 CD Review

  Ideogram  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  symphonic  and  avant  garde  from  of  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Life  Mimics  Theater"  which  was  released  by  WormHoleDeath  Records.

  Middle  Eastern  style  sounds  and  whispers  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  and  melodic  clean  singing  female  vocals  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  heavy  and  modern  metal  sound  along  with  some  black  and  death  metal  vocals  and  a  symphonic  background  which  also  brings  in  violins  and  elements  of  folk  music  as  the  album  moves  in  into  the  other  tracks  which  this  not  take  away  from  the  melodic  death  metal  sound  that  they  focus  on  quite  a  bit.

  Elements  of  industrial  can  be  heard  in  the  music  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  they  also  mix  the  operatic  vocals  in  with  the  more  extreme  style  of  metal  vocals  which  also  brings  in  back  up  gang  shouts  and  times  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  are  in  a  more  melodic  metal  tradition  and  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  the  band  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  and  acoustic  guitars.

  Throughout  the  album  the  classical,  avant  garde  and  symphonic  elements  mix's  in  very  well  with  the  bands  melodic  and  extreme  approach  to  metal  and  they  also  bring  in  more  elements  of  electronic  and  synth  music  as  the  album  progresses  almost  giving  the  recording  a  pop  music  feeling  while  the  heaviness  keeps  it  away  from  the  that  style  and  on  some  of  the  later  songs  the  music  starts  having  more  of  a  symphonic  black  metal  sound  as  well  as  the  male  vocals  also  bringing  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing  and  the  last  2  songs  are  2  bonus  acoustic  tracks.

  Ideogram  creates  a  very  avant  garde  style  of  metal  that  takes  classical  and  symphonic  music  and  mixes  it  in  with  some  of  the  heavier  parts  of  death,  black  and  gothic  metal  to  create  and  album  that  is  very  original  and  melancholic  sounding,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  both  English  and  Italian  and  cover  dark,  poetic  and  metaphysical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Ideogram  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic,  avant  garde  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Life  Is  Pregnant  Of  Death"  "Evil  (In  Her  Hands)"  "Geisha  For  my  Demons"  and  "Death  is  Pregnant  Of  Life".  8/5  out  of  10.

Trysth Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
We are a post-metal/sludge band created in Sofia, Bulgaria in late 2005. In the beginning we played raw black metal but the discovering of the great Isis caused a dramatic change of style. We turned to slower, more epic, and more progressive type of songs. After a lot of shows and rehearsals we are finally ready with our debut album “Soulchambers” which will be released in the beginning of November.


2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
“Soulchambers” is full of heavy post-metal/sludge tunes as well as a lot of atmospheric and psychedelic moments. We’re very happy with the sound and it was great working with Vasko Raykov (Odd Crew) who helped us a lot.


3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
We are focused on the inner self so all our topics are deeply introspective. Such is our debut album which general lyrical concept is the metamorphosis of the soul during the human life.


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Trysth'?
In general it means sad in French, but spelled differently. We just liked how it sounded, how it looked written and so we decided to stick with it.


5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
That’s a tough one, but maybe our two best shows were this year – the one with the mighty Nadja and the other at the Gathering of the Elements. We opened for Nadja in March 2014 and it was really an amazing show. The other very important and wild performance was at the end of June with other three great Bulgarian bands – Upyr, Obsidian Sea and Muddy.
Our live shows are very energetic and at the same time we try to make an almost trance-like atmosphere because it’s what our music is all about - becoming one with the music.


6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
On 8.11 we’ll be presenting the album live here in Sofia. After that we don’t have any show plans till the end of the year. We’d like to make some kind of a tour in future, but it’s just an idea for the moment.


7.The album was released on Serpent Eve Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
It’s a Bulgarian label created in 2013 so it’s relatively new. The guy behind it – Vladimir Petrov is very energetic and very eager to establish the label as a large underground source of music in Bulgaria. We are very happy that he decided to work with us and release a cassette format of the album. So far he’s been very supportive and is always willing to share knowledge and to help us in any way.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of atmospheric sludge metal?
The album isn’t officially ready yet (in terms of physical copies), but we already have some reviews from zines/blogs outside Bulgaria. All are very positive and so far “Soulchambers” is very well received which is great news for us being it a debut album.


9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We’re not trying to make special plans related to our music because it’s more important to just relax and play. Usually we make our songs from long, sometimes 30-minutes long jams and we pick the best parts. In general we’ll try to stick to our current style of playing and rely on the natural course of events.


10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
We have a lot of influences; the main ones are Isis, Neurosis, Shrinebuilder, Callisto, Cult of Luna, etc. Recently I fell in love with the new Yob and Earth albums. They’re true masterpieces and deserve the label modern classics.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
The three of us are obsessed with music – listening, playing it, and talking about it. We have little spare time for anything other and we like the usual stuff – hanging with friends, watching movies, watching quality porn, etc.


12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
We just want to thank you for the interview and enjoy listening to our music.

Today Is The Day/Animal Mother/Southern Lord Records/2014 CD Review

  Today  Is  The  Day  are  a  band  from  Maine  that  has  been  around  for  more  than  20  years  and  plays  a  style  of  metal  that  is  very  extreme  with  elements  of  noise  and  psychedelia  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Animal  Mother"  which  will  be  released  in  October  by  Southern  Lord  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  melodic  noise  rock  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  guitar  lead  and  powerful  bass  guitars  and  a  few  seconds  later  spoken  word  parts  which  leads  up  to  a  more  heavy  sound  along  with  sludge  style  screams  and  growls  which  also  have  a  death  metal  feeling  to  them  at  times  and  you  can  also  hear  some  drones  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  There  is  a  good  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  throughout  the  recording  and  the  music  sticks  to  mostly  a  slow  direction  and  on  the  3rd  track  you  can  hear  a  slight  thrash  influence  being  added  into  the  music  as  well  as  some  elements of  hardcore  and  doom  metal  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  and  after  a  few  tracks  in  a  heavy  vein  the  band  brings  in  an  acoustic  piece  which  also  shows  the  vocals  getting  more  melodic  and  they  also  bring  in  a  psychedelic  feeling  and  they  also  use  acoustic guitars  again  on  a  later  track.

  As  the  album  progresses  the  band  starts  adding  in  the  psychedelic  sound  effects  in  with  the  heavier  side  of  their  musical  style  and  the  music  on  this  recording  sounds  a  lot  more  heavier  than  from  what  I  remember  from  their  past  material  while  also  still  being  very  experimental  and  they  still  have  a  good  amount  of  noise  rock  in  their  style  which  they  mix  in  with  the  heaviness  of  extreme  metal.

  Today  is  the  Day  creates  another  album  that  is  very  heavy  while  also  keeping  around  the  experimental  and  noise  rock  elements  as  well  as  adding  some  psychedelia  into  some  of  the  tracks  to  create  a  record  that  does  not  fit  in  a  particular  category,   the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  pain  and  hate.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  Today  Is  The  Day  and  if  you   are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Animal  Mother"  "Law  Of  The  Universe"  "Mystic"  and  "Zodiac"  8  out  of  10.

       

Dystopia/Human = Garbage/Tankcrimes/2014 CD Re-issue Review

  Dystopia  are  a  band  from  California  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge,  doom  metal  and  crust  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  1995  album  "Human  =  Garbage"  which  will  be  re-issued  by  Tankcrimes  in  October  of  1014  and  also  has  some  bonus  tracks  from  a  few  split's  and  compilations.

  A  very  dark  sounding  bass  guitar  starts  off  the  album  and  a  few  seconds  later  clean  playing  and  spoken  word  parts  are  added  onto  the  recording  which  are  also  very  angry  sounding  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  drum  beats  start  to  kick  in  which  leads  up  to  more  of  a  heavy  sludge  metal  direction  along  with  some  screaming  vocals.

  You  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  crust,  hardcore  and  death  metal  elements  in  the  vocals  along  with  a  few  tracks  that  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  which  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  adding  in  more  mid  paced  parts  that  shows  more  of  the  bands  crustcore  roots  while  the  guitars  also  start  to  add  more  melody  into  the  riffing.

  On  some  of  the  tracks  spoken  word  samples  can  be  heard  and  as  the  album  progresses  you  can  also  hear  small  traces  of  harsh  noise  at  times  and  on  the  bonus  tracks  you  can  hear  a  small  amount  of  70's  influences  and  melodic  chanting  while  the  main  focus  remains  on  a  heavy  and  aggressive  crust/doom  sound  along  the  vocals  bringing  in  more  grindcore  style  growls  and  screams  and  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  you  can  also  hear  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  being  utilized.

  Dystopia  played  a  style  of  sludge  and  crust  metal  in  the  90's  that  still  holds  up  today  as  well  as  being  heavier  than  most  of  the  younger  bands  and  you  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  aggression  and  heaviness  throughout  the  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  depressive  and  misanthropic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  was  some  great  material  from  Dystopia  in  the  90's  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  sludge,  doom,  crust  and  grind,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hands  that  Mode"  "Ignorance  Of  Pride"  "Green  Destroyed"  and  "Sleep".  8/5  out  of  10.