Dira Mortis/Rusty Razor Blades/Defense Records/2014 Compilation CD Review

  Dira  Mortis  are  a  band  from  Poland  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  brutal  mixture  of  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  compilation  album  "Rusty  Razor  Blades"  which  was  released  by  Defense  Records.

  A  very  dark  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  compilation  along  with  some  synth  sounds  before  going  into  a  very  slow  and  heavy  doom/death  metal  direction  along  with  some  growling  vocals  and  the  music  also  speeds  up  at  times  and  adds  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  which  also  makes  the  bands  musical  style  more  brutal.

  You  can  hear  a  lot  of  early  90's  doom  and  death  metal  influences  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  band  also  adds  in  a  few  tracks  that  are  under  2  minutes  and  you  can  hear  element s of  grindcore  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  music,  when  melodic  riffing  is  utilized  the  songs  start  bringing  in  an  old  school  Swedish  death  metal  feeling  while  the  heavier  parts  have  more  of  a  British  sound  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  synths  make  their  return  at  times  briefly  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Dira  Mortis  shows  a  great  amount  of  diversity  over  the  years  throughout  the  compilation  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  doom,  death  metal  and  grindcore  an  all  of  the  tracks,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  death  and  the  undead  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  compilation  from  Dira  Mortis  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  doom,  death  and  grindcore,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Cruel  End"  "The  Return  of  Evil"  "False  Prophecies"  and  "Sentence".  8  out  of  10.      

Diesel King Interview

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

We’ve just released our first full length album ‘Concrete Burial’.

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

Its metal, and its aggressive as fuck! Theres definitely elements of sludge, death metal, hardcore and pretty much everything that influences us, stamped with our own mark to make it sound original. Its also heavy as a rhino giving birth to a planet!

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

Violence, destruction, the end of the world!

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

Not much. Its 2 words put together that sounded cool.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band ha splayed over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We’ve been lucky enough to play loads of good shows, highlights for us have been supporting some of our favourite bands such as eyehategod, entombed, and playing the mighty Bloodstock Open Air!

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

We have an album launch party this Saturday 7th Feb at the Black Heart Camden, Hammerfest next month, a small UK tour in June, some European dates in the framework for Sept, and a few other shows scattered about throughout the year

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

Its a small label set up by Gareth Kelly of the band GURT, to help promote Sludge / Doom / Stoner bands and he’s doing a great job.

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

Its been great, we send out CD’s and merch to the USA, Australia and all over Europe so we’re making an impact and the feedback especially with this release has been overwhelming

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

GURT, Trippy Wicked and Sedulus are all busy writing, recording and gigging.. we all keep pretty busy!

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

This album we’ve really found our sound, so we plan on more of the same, but of course we need to evolve and keep things interesting so who knows, ‘Concrete Burial’ has a lot more pace than our last releases, next time we might go slower, we might go faster, you’ll have to wait and see!

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

We all like a lot of different stuff. Some of us are more into Death metal and others more the sludgier stuff, and we all love our old school metal , its a real melting pot of influences which is great to keep things sounding original

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Tea and biscuits. Everyday. Its good for the soul!!

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

Cheers to anyone and everyone who listens to our band and buys our shit!

Lahdon Aika/II/Rusto-Osiris/Ramekuukel-Levyt/Doomed To Misery/2015 Full Length Review

  Lahdon  Aika  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review of their  2015  album   "II"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Rusto_Osiris,  Ramekuukel-Levyt  and  Doomed  To  Misery.

  A  very  dark,  heavy  and  melodic musical  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  grim,  high  pitched  screams  a  few  seconds  later  that  also  takes  the  music  into  more  of  a  doom  metal  direction  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  vocals  also  bring  in  angry  hardcore  style  yells  at  times.

  Ar  times  the  music  bring s in  an  atmospheric feeling  and  a  good  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  also  stick  to  mostly  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  all  of  the  songs  on the  album  always  remain  heavy  and  there  is  never  a  soft  or  weak  moment  to  be  herd  anywhere  on  the  recording.

  Lahdon  Aika  remain  true  to  the  sludge/doom  metal  sound  of  previous  recordings  while  also  adding  in  more  influences  of  hardcore  this  time  around,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Finnish  and  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Lahdon  Aika  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  sludge  and doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sillet  Poltettu"  and  "Eikoskaan".  8  out  of  10.

  

Diesel King/Concrete Burial/When Planes Collide/2015 CD Review

  Diesel  King  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  very  heavy  form  of  sludge  metal  with  elements  of  death  metal  and  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Concrete  Burial"  which  was  released  by  When  Planes  Collide.

  A  very  distorted  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  sludge  metal  direction  along  with  some  vocals  that  mix  death  metal  growls  with  hardcore  and  you  can  also  hear  a  lot  of  doom  metal  elements  in  the  bands  musical  style  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams  being  brought  in  at  times.

  When  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  mid  paced  direction  the  influence  of  hardcore  really  shows  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  music  start  to  incorporate  more  melody  while  some  of  the  riffing  also  brings  in  the  energy  of  punk  rock  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.  while  the  faster  parts  also  bring  in  elements  of  crust  and  grind  along  with  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  the  last  racks  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  melodic  guitar  leads..

  Diesel  King  plays  a  style  of  sludge  metal  that  is  very  heavy  and  also  mixes  in  elements  of  doom,  hardcore,  crust  and  grind  which  also  all  add  more  heaviness  to  the  music,  the  production  sound s very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  violent  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Diesel  King  are  a  very  great  sounding  sludge  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Infernus"  "Prone  to  Destroy"  and  "The  Mutilation".  8  out  of  10.  

Torrens Conscientium/All Alone With The Thoughts/Solitude Productions/2014 CD Review

  Torrens  Conscientum  are  a  band  from  Ukraine  that  plays a  very  atmospheric  form  of  doom/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "All  Alone  With  the  thoughts"  which  was  released  by  Solitude  Productions.

  A  very  dark  and  atmospheric  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  a  few  seconds  later  which also  leads  up  to  tragic  sounding  keyboards  and  after  the  intro  the  band  goes  for  more  of  a  heavy  doom  metal  direction  while  also  keeping  around  the  atmospheric  elements  which  they  mix  in  with  a  touch  of  ambient.

  Deep  death  metal  growls  are  a  huge  part  of  the  bands  musical  style  while  also adding in  grim  vocals  at  times  that  also  adds  a  black metal  feeling  to  the  recording  and  a  good  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  also  bring  in  a  great amount  of  depressive  melodies  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  and  the  music  also  starts  to  a  very  slow,  heavy  and  dark  sound  while  also  being  very  diverse  at  the  same  time  and  a  couple  of  the later  tracks  melodic  guitar  leads  are  added  onto  the  recording.

  Torrens  Conscientum  plays  a  style  of  doom/death  metal  that  is  very  dark,  heavy  and melancholic  while  also  being  very  atmospheric  and  melodic  at  the  same  time  as  well  as  adding  in  a  touch  of  black  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  oppressive  and  loneliness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Torrens  Conscientium  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  doom/death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Black  Fog"  "An  Evening  Behind"  and  "Being  Lonely".  8  out  of  10.



       

The Whorehouse Massacre/Altar Of The Goat Skull/VI/Transcending Obscurity International Distribution/2015 CD Review

  The  Whorehouse  Massacre  are  a  band  from  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of     sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  their  ep's  "Altar  Of  the  Goat  Skull"  and  "VI"  which  will  be  released  on  February  20,  2015  as  a  full  length  album  by  Transcending  Obscurity  International  Distribution.

  A  very  dark and  heavy  doom  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  a  few  seconds  later  and  the  music  also  brings  in  few  pitched  screams  at  times  and  after  awhile  dark  and  melodic  guitar  leads  are  added  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  A  few  of  the  tracks  are  instrumental  while  the  song s with  vocals  bring  in  an  early  90's  doom/death  metal  feeling  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  band  brings  in  a  few  tracks  that  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  at  times  the  guitar riffing  also  adds  in  a  small  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  slow,  heavy  and  dark  musical  direction.

  The  Whorehouse  Massacre  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  early  90's  doom/death  metal  sound  and  mixes  it  with  sludge  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark,  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  focus  more  on  a  dark  subject  matter.

  In  my  opinion  The  Whorehouse  Massacre  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Indignation"  "Altar  Of  The  Goat  Skull"  "Bowles  Of  hell"  and  "Sob  Story".  8  out  of  10.     

Whispering Woods/Perditus et Dea/Loud Rage Music/2015 CD Review

  Whispering  Woods  are  a  band  from  Romania  that  plays  a  very  symphonic  form  of  gothic/doom  metal  and  this is  a  review  of  their 2015  album  "Perditus  et  Dea"  which  was  released  by  Loud  Rage  Music.

  Classical  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  tragic  keyboards  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  adding  in  heavy  guitars  while  also  keeping  the  keyboards  and  also  mixing  in  folk  instruments  and  operatic  female  vocals  while  the  heavier  parts  bring  in  a  doom  metal  sound  and  all  of  the musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  You  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing  throughout  the  recording  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  grim  screams  and  growls  which  also  gives  the  recording  a  black  and  death  metal  feeling  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  can  be  heard  on  some  of  the  tracks.

  One  of  the  later  tracks  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  ritualistic  feeling  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  add  more  melody  to  the  recording  while  a  later  track  is  all  instrumental  and  also  adds  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  also  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Whispering  Woods  plays  a  very  symphonic  style  of  gothic/doom  metal t hat  is  very  heavily  influenced  by  opera  and  folk  music  as  well  as  adding  in  the  heaviness  of  black  and  death  metal  at  times  to  give  the  music  more  of  an  original  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  poetic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Whispering  Woods  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  gothic/doom  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Original  Sin"  "Autumnal"  "If  Ever"  and  "Dea".  8  out  of  10.