Monday, June 30, 2014

Exordium Mors/The Apotheosis Of Death/Iron, Blood & Death Corporation/2014 CD Review


  This  is  a  review  of  another  recording  from  New  Zealand's  Exordium  Mors  which  continues  the  raw,  fast  and  brutal  mixture  of  black,  war,  death  and  thrash  metal  of  previous  recordings  with  the  album  being  called  "The  Apotheosis  Of  Death"  and  will  be  released  in  July  by  Iron,  Blood  &  Death  Corporation.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy sound  starts  off  the  album  and  after  a  minute  the  music  gets  more  upbeat  and  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  elements  of  thrash  and  technical  death  metal  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  start  becoming  a  huge  part  of  the  album's  musical  direction.

  On  the  other  tracks  the  music  starts  to  get  a  bit  more  heavier  as  well  as  speeding  up  and  adding  in  blast  beats  and  the  vocals  also  get  more  deep  and  grim  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  with  this  album  the  old  school  and  technical  death  metal  elements  are  utilized  a  lot  more  than  their  where  on  previous  releases  while  the  black,  war  and  thrash  metal  influences  are  still  a  huge  part  of  the  bands  musical  sound  and  towards  the  end  of  the  album  back  up  gang  thrash  style  vocals  can  be  heard  on  one  of  the  tracks.

  Spoken  word  parts  and  melodic  clean  singing  can  be  heard  briefly  on  some  of  the  tracks  and  as  the  recording  progresses  the  old  school  thrash  metal  influence  really  starts  to  become  a  dominant  force  of  the  album  and  the  band  also  brings  in  an  instrumental  that  utilizes  a  very  powerful  sounding  bass guitar  lead  while  the  following  tracks  sees  the  band  returning  back  to  a  more  raw,  heavy  and  aggressive  direction  as  will  as  adding  a  good  amount  of  melody  into  their  musical  sound  and  they  also  add  in  a  few  songs  that  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Exordium  Mors  remains  true  to  their  mixture  of  black,  war,  death  and  thrash  metal  on  this  album  while  also  showing  a  great  amount  of  progress  and  skill  as  musicians  and  they  also  retain  the  raw,  heavy  and  brutal  aggression  of  previous  recordings  while  also  adding  new  elements  into  their  musical  style,   the  production  sounds  very  heavy  and  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  Death,  Roman  Paganism  and  History  and  Anti  Religion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Exordium  Mors  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  war,  death  and  thrash  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "As  The  Vultures  Descend"  "The  Corpse  Of  Your  Divinity  Now  Burns"  "Fire  &  Triumph"  and  "Blade  Of  Brutus".  8/5  out  of  10.

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Sunday, June 29, 2014

Exordium Mors/Sacrifice, Perish, And Demise/Iron, Blood And Death Corporation/2013 Cassette Review


  Exordium  Mors  are  a  band  from  New  Zealand  that  plays  a  very  fast,  raw  and  brutal  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  ep  "Sacrifice,  Perish,  And  Demise"  which  was  released  by  Iron,  Blood,  And  Death  Corporation.

  A  very  fast,  brutal  and  technical  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  deep  death  metal  growls  and  the music  combines  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  together  along  with  a  touch  of  war  metal  and  after  awhile  the  band  brings  in  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music  they  have  an  early  90's  Florida  death  metal  feeling  to  them  and  some  of  the  melodies  that  the  band  uses  have  a  very  dark  and  Swedish  style  feeling  to  them  as  well  as  the  fast  parts  displaying  a  raw  approach  to  black  metal  and  they  take  the  old  school  style  of  extreme  metal  and  update  it  with  a  more  brutal  touch  and  they  close  the  ep  with  a  cover  of  Venom's  "black  Metal"  and  take  this  classic  song  into  a  more  heavier,  raw  and  brutal  direction.

  Exordium  Mors  take  the  heaviest  and  rawest  element s of  war,  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  combine  them   together  on  this  recording  as  well  as  adding  in  melody  and  technical  parts  to  really  make  their  musical  style  stand  out  out,  the  production  sounds  very raw,  powerful  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  Death,  Roman  Paganism  and  Anti  Christian  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Exordium  Mors  are  a  very  great  sounding  fast,  raw  and  brutal  mixture  of  black,  death,  war  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sign  of  Judas'  Liege"  and  "Exordium  Mors  (Pagan  Ritual  And  Sacrifice  To  Roman  Gods)".  8  out  of  10.

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Propast/Vestnik Preisdodnji/Misanthropic Intolerance/2014 EP Review


  Propast  are  a  duo  from  Serbia  that  plays  a  very  raw  and  satanic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "Vestnik  Presisdodnji"  which  was  released  by  Misanthropic  Intolerance".

  A  dark  ambient  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  epic  and  atmospheric  elements  being  thrown  in  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  fast  and  raw  black  metal  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  grim  sounding  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  the  music  has  the  90's  Eastern  European  black  metal  feeling  to  it  as  well  as  being  both  raw  and  epic  at  the  same  times.

  After  awhile  the  music  starts  to  bring  in  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the vocals  also  have  a  depressive  feeling  to  them  at  times  and  all  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  an d epic  in  length  and  the  music  really  starts  heading  for  a  more  old  school  and  satanic  black  metal  direction  on  the  following  tracks,  the  third  track  shows  more  slower  riffing  than  the  first  2  as  well  as  a  bit  more  melody  while  also  still  having  its  fast  moments  and  they  close  the  ep  with  a  cover  of  Graveland's  "Thurisaz"  that  also  remains  true  to  the  original  version  of  the  song.  

  Propast  plays  a  very  old  school  style  of  black  metal  that  captures  the  rawness  of  dark,  evil  atmosphere  of  the  90's  style  down  perfectly,  the  production  sounds  very  raw,  old  school and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Serbian  and  cover  Satanism.

  In  my  opinion  Propast  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  and  satanic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "u  Plamenu"  and  "Thurisaz".  8/5  out  of  10.

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Tempers Creature Interview


Interview with Aurgelmir of Tempers Creature from Germany

1. Greetings! Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album “Lupus Est Homo Homini”?

Aurgelmir: Greetings! Well, since the release of the album “Lupus Est Homo Homini” we’ve already started with the recording of its successor which will be called “Si Vis Vitam, Para Mortem”. Both of us (my drummer Arngrim and I) have a lot to do, so I think this new record will not be finished before summer or autumn 2015.

2. Can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction of your latest output “Lupus Est Homo Homini” and also how it does differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Aurgelmir: “Lupus Est Homo Homini” is our most diverse output so far. We’ve recorded the most depressive, but also the most aggressive songs in the history of our band for that album. “Lupus Est Homo Homini” is split into four parts – the first part contains raw Depressive Suicidal Black Metal, full of sorrow, despair and grief. The second part is the aggressive one. The songs you can find there are hateful and misanthropic, as a result of a betrayal my band member Arngrim and I have experienced by so-called “friends” and society. The third part is concerned with patriotism and the love to our fatherland – Swabia in Germany. For me it was necessary to dedicate some songs to my homeland, we shall never forget our roots. The fourth part finally is a mixture between depression and aggression. All parts are linked with some little intros and interludes. So, as you can see, there will be no boredom by listening to our new album.
The main difference between “Lupus Est Homo Homini” and our previous records, “Als Hoffnung starb…” (Demo, never released), “Eternal Sorrow” (EP, released in 2011) and “Thanatos” (full-length, released in 2012) is that “Lupus Est Homo Homini” is our first pure Metal album. On our previous outputs there was a mixture between Black Metal, Neofolk and Ambient. “Lupus Est Homo Homini” contains exclusively Black Metal with some piano-interludes. This is the biggest difference. And, of course, the sound-quality has improved a lot since “Thanatos”.

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

Aurgelmir: The lyrical topics we explore are misanthropy (“Letztes Strafgericht”,…), sorrow, despair, loneliness (“Schmerz, mein einzig’ Freund”, “Winter im Herzen”,…), Northern and Celtic mythology (“Wuotans wildes Heer”,…) and the love to Swabia (“Suebia (Heimaterde),…). All of these topics are related with our past and our life. For example, I am Ásatrúar, I believe in the gods of old, so, Northern mythology is very important for me. I am trying to relate socio-critical topics with my religious beliefs, as I do in the songs “Der Menschheit Weltenbrand” or “Letztes Strafgericht”.  The misanthropic and sorrowful lyrics are a result of personal experiences, for instance the betrayal I talked about. So, all of our lyrical topics have personal backgrounds.

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

Aurgelmir: Humanity is the biggest plague the world was ever faced with. Humans have forgotten how to love – there is no love in this world. Only hate. Everybody is begrudging his next; the people are unable to make compromises. Humanity is full of wrath, full of temper. We are all creatures of this temper. So, “Tempers Creature” is a synonym for this pestilence called mankind. In conclusion, the name is standing for total misanthropy.

5. Originally the band was a 1 man project, what was the decision behind expanding into a duo?

Aurgelmir: That is easy to explain. In 2008 I founded Tempers Creature by myself, only using synthesizers, my electric- and my bass-guitar for my first two releases (“Als Hoffnung starb…”, “Eternal Sorrow”). You can say that Tempers Creature was Dark Ambient at this time. But my intention behind Tempers Creature was forming a Black Metal band. For that I needed a drummer since I am not able to play the drums – and drum programming was never an option for me. For the album “Thanatos” I’ve found a guest musician who played the drums for me, but I need stability to create music without any restrictions. So, in early spring 2013 I asked an acquaintance - who is now my best friend - to join the band as my new drummer: Arngrim. That’s why I’ve expanded Tempers Creature into a duo.

6. The new album came out on Sturmglanz, can you tell us a little bit more about this label and also how would you compare working with them to your previous label Depressive Illusions?

Aurgelmir: “Sturmglanz Produktionen” is an underground label specialized in Black Metal, localized in Thuringia, Germany. Some of the bands Sturmglanz is working with are, for example, “Paria”, “Urlog”, “Selbsttötung”, “Faagrim” or “Permafrost”. This label is supporting its bands very well, for example, there are interviews with the bands for the “Sturmglanz Webzine”, the label is promoting its bands wherever it can, and the person behind Sturmglanz is always there for you if you have any questions. It is a very professional and fruitful collaboration with Sturmglanz. But the main difference between Sturmglanz and my former label, Depressive Illusions, is: Sturmglanz is really only dedicated to the underground. Depressive Illusions has thousands of bands and outputs – and by thousands I mean thousands. It is impossible to stick out of this mass of bands. Sturmglanz has only a small amount of 18 bands they are working with. They are able to care for every single project and band, and that is very important for me.

7. On the new album you had some tributes to Burzum and Sturmpercht, can you tell us a little bit more about this tributes and the impact both of these projects have had on your musical sound?

Aurgelmir: The two tributes you talk about are “Die Liebe Nerthus” from Burzum and “Wir rufen deine Wölfe” from Sturmpercht. I don’t think that I have to tell you something about Burzum in and of itself because of the projects fame. Burzum was a huge influence on my creative work, especially the two records “Filosofem” and “Hvis lyset tar oss”. The unique atmosphere Varg Vikernes creates with this albums are overwhelming. Both of these outputs are a huge inspiration for me and I like to cover Burzum songs to honor this band.
Sturmpercht whereas is a Neofolk band from Austria and Bavaria. The lyrical topics of this band are alpine myths and Nordic mythology. I really enjoy listening to Sturmpercht, they create a very melancholic and dreamy atmosphere, coupled with a domestic music feel from the past where domestic music was a huge part of our culture. Neofolk is a kind of music I really appreciate; it is like coming home from a long journey - and the song “Wir rufen deine Wölfe” by Sturmpercht is my all-time favorite of this genre, so I decided to cover this song in my own style.


8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your newer music by fans of depressive, black and pagan metal?

Aurgelmir: I don’t think that we can speak of a worldwide level when talking about Tempers Creature, my project is relatively unknown. I’ve sold some albums to Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and the United States, but only one or two copies to each of these countries. Most of the people who are listening to Tempers Creature are from Germany, so, I don’t know if we can really say that there is something like a “worldwide level” when talking about my band. Well, apart from this, the feedback I’ve got so far was very positive, the variety and the atmosphere of the record were lauded a lot and that means very much to me.

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

Aurgelmir: I will stay true to my music and my style of playing Black Metal. The new album “Si Vis Vitam, Para Mortem” will heading into the same direction as “Lupus Est Homo Homini”, it will be a well-balanced mixture between depression and aggression with the typical Tempers Creature sound.

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

Aurgelmir: The biggest influence on my music where the bands “Lifelover”, “Blutklinge” and, as I told before, “Burzum”. Especially Blutklinge is a very important band for me, it was my first contact with Depressive Suicidal Black Metal – you can say it was the beginning of the madness which was leading to found Tempers Creature. Other bands I really enjoy listening to are “Horn”, “Licht erlischt”, “Angest Herre”, “Lustre”, “Withering Night”, “Happy Days”, “Satanic Warmaster”, “Karg” and a lot more. I really enjoy a lot of DSBM and classical Black Metal projects. For me, Black Metal is the most compelling music we have nowadays.

11. Can you tell us a little bit more about the Pagan culture on the Suebians?

Aurgelmir: The Suebians where a Germanic tribe, localized in the area which is now called Baden-Wurttemberg and Swabia. The most important leader of this tribe was king Ariovist who fought against the Celts and the Romans, he united a lot of tribes into a big Suebian-German kingdom, unfortunately he was defeated by Caesar in 58 B.C.. The Suebians where pagans, they believed in Allfather Wodan, in Donar, Ziu, Freya, in the Æsir and Vanir. After the Christianization of Europe the memory of our gods faded away, today only 20,000 people in Germany acknowledge themselves to the gods of old – I am one of them. And by people acknowledging themselves to Allfather Wodan I don’t mean those stupid pseudo Pagans, rising their horns, screaming: “Drinking for Odin”. I mean people who really live their lives in the old ways, living the old values. But even if those memories and values are fading, the culture was characterized by the Germanic tribes and their believes. You can see it on holidays like Easter which is a Christianized revival of the old Ostara-cult. Even the names of our days are connected with the gods of old: Wednesday – The day of Wodan. Thursday – The day of Thor, in Germany: Donnerstag, the day of Donar. So, even if we are only a few who stay true to the old ways, our culture was, is and will be Germanic and Pagan.  

12. What are some of your non musical interests?

Aurgelmir: Well, unfortunately I have not that much time to attend many hobbies. I enjoy reading, especially history-books about our ancestors and German history. Apart from this I like to do drawings and graphics. But, as I said, unfortunately my job takes up a lot of spare time, if I want to have the time to play music I’ll have to lower one’s sights concerning nonmusical interests.

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

Aurgelmir: Thank you very much for this interesting interview. This was my first one in English, so, I hope my language skills are not too rusted. Good luck with the OccultBlackMetalZine and all the best for the future.

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Solbrud Interview


For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
The band was formed in summer 2009, but it was not before Ole joined the band in 2010, that we really found the sound and vibe we were looking for.

From the beginning it has been our intention to play long atmospheric black metal. Trying to recreate the sound of a grand storm. We started off quite well with the band and had some of our songs played on a national metal radio channel. In 2011 we played at the Copenhell Festival in Copenhagen, and last year we played at Roskilde Festival in Denmark. The first album came out in April 2012 and gave us a lot of positive response in our home country and probably lead to some of the bigger local support gigs.

According to the bandcamp page, you have a new album coming out in the middle of 2014, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction of the newer material and also how will it differ from the previous full length and demo you had release din the past?
Yes, it's true we have a new album coming up. It will be out on September 15th 2014. We have still managed to stick to the original sound from the first album, but it’s not difficult to hear that we have also moved in some way. You will probably hear a change in how we play our instruments and how the songs are written. It’s been two years since the first album so we have moved a bit since then. The new record is faster and more intense, but still have the long and immersive passages, keeping it true to the first album. But we think the new record has a better overall flow in terms of the musical and lyrical themes.

What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
There is an overall topic in the new lyrics. The lyrics are sort of written in ancient language and metaphors, refering to subjects revolving around the human quest for greed and power and the resulting corruption of the mind and the earth. How for instance the world is tainted with the influence from too much ridiculous TV, and from that the hunger and longing for false fame and mammon.

What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Solbrud'?
The name Solbrud has many meanings in Danish. We all have different opinions and we also heard a lot of different opinions on why we call ourselves that, so we like to let each one decide what the name should mean. In Danish some of the meaning would be sun blast or burst, a bride of the sun, or simply that light is breaking to shadows or breaking out of somewhere - shining through.

According to the R-A-B-M website the band is a part of the leftist and anarchist movement in Denmark, can you tell us a little bit more about your views on these topics?
It's true that we have a connection with the left wing and anarchist and punk movement in Denmark, but it does not have anything in particular to do with the band as such, besides perhaps our personal attitudes may shine through in the music to some extent, and our rehearsal room being located in the radical left sanctum called Ungdomshuset in Copenhagen.

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 have had a lot of great gigs during the last couple of years. We played for approximately 2500 people at Roskilde Festival last summer. That was quite an awesome experience and amazing crowd. But we have also played a lot of great gigs at smaller venues. If we play at a small venue and it's packed, its often more fun to play for a smaller crowd, getting more intimate and sensing the energy from the crowd and vice versa. We seldomly address the audience in speak, and that is as much because we have nothing to say as that we want our music to speak for itself.

Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is out?
We are planning two release gigs in Denmark in september 2014. Besides that we will have a couple of shows around in Denmark when the album is out. In spring 2015 we will be touring Germany and eastern Europe.

The band is signed to Euphonious Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
The old label that signed us for our first record is a danish label called Euphonius Records. It has switched it's name some times i think, and also been co-working with some swedish and norwegian labels under VME(Voices Music), who released some of the Ulver stuff in the 90's, among other things. On the new record we've moved up to a somewhat bigger danish label though, Mighty Music which is a metal label under Target Distribution.

On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?
We received a lot of positive response for the first album which we are were happy for. We have followers from alot of places outside Denmark and Europe, and alot of people asked if we could come play near them. We started the band because we all love this genre, so its really awesome to get this much positive feedback, and hearing that people appreciate what we do from far away.

Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects these days?
We all have a couple of different side and solo projects, but nothing really going anywhere or releasing anything for the time being.

Where would you like to see the band heading into during the future?
We'll just take one step at a time and see where that leads us. Sure we'd like to do more records and do more gigs outside Denmark. But we're certainly not in this for the money or the fame, because then I think we'd have chosen the wrong thing. We just want to play black metal 'cause that’s what we love to do. And if other people want to listen to it, that's just great.

What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
It would be a long list if we started namedropping, we all listen to a lot of different music. Of course we all listen to a lot of different black metal bands, and each of us have got our own personal favorites and tendencies to other metal subgenres, but we also like alot of different stuff like old 70's rock, blues, country, medieval folk music and classical music.

What are some of your non musical interests?
Quite a few, but they’re not really so important in relation to our band.

Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks for taking your time with us for this interview, and thanks to all the people who support Solbrud and listens to our music. We look forward to releasing our next album.

//Solbrud//
Watch: http://www.youtube.com/user/Solbrud

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Chiral/Abisso/2014 EP Review


  Chiral  are  a  1  man  band  from  Italy  that  has  been  previously  featured  in  my  other  zine  "ADifferentShadeOfBlackMetalZine"  with  a  musical  sound  that  was  more  in  the   melodic  and  progressive  black/death  metal  direction  but  this  time  around  goes  for  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  sound  while  still  having  melodic  and  progressive  traits  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2014  ep  "Abisso".

  Wind,  thunder  and  rain  sounds  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  synths  a  few  seconds  later  which  leads  to  some  heavy  and  slow  guitar  riffing  kicking  in  and  after  awhile  melodic  black  metal  guitar  leads  start  becoming  a  huge  part  of  the  recording  which  also  leads  up  to  some  deep  and  demonic  vocals.

  After  the  intro  the  music  really  starts  going  for  more  of  a  fast,  raw  and  melodic  black  metal  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  grim  sounding  high  pitched  screams  and  there  are  also  a  decent  amount  of  guitar  solos  and  leads  throughout  the  recording  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars  being  utilized  at  time s and  they  bring  a  more  progressive  feeling  to  the  recording  while  the  main  focus  remains  on  a  fast  and  raw  black  metal  direction.

  When  the  ep  goes  into  other  songs  you  can  hear  some  keyboards  being  mixed  in  with  the  acoustic  parts  along  with  one  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  sound  very  powerful  and  and  the  epic  track  alos  utilizes  the  raw  black  metal  styling's  of  the  second  song  and  the  ep  closes  with  a  piano  outro  which  brings  a  dark  ambient  feeling  to  the  recording.  

  Chiral  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  diversity  on  this  ep  combing  fast,  raw  and  melodic  black  metal  with  the  more  progressive  leanings  of  the  first  recording  and  it  makes  the  music  sound  more  original  this  time  around,  the  production  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  heavy  sound  while  the  lyrics  cover  introspection,  solitude,  pain,  death  and  love.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Chiral  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  progressive,  melodic  and  raw  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Atto  II:  Abiso".  8/5  out  of  10.


    

Eosphorus/Winds Of Apep/WormHoleDeath Records/2014 CD Review



  Eosphorus  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  very  raw  and  melodic  form  of  satanic/occult  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Winds  Of  Apep"  which  was  released  by  WormHoleDeath  Records.

 Acoustic  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  before  the  music  starts  getting  heavier  and  darker  along  with  a  good  amount  of  melody  in  both  the  riffing  and  solos  and  after  the instrumental  intro  the  music  starts  going  for  a  more  raw  and  melodic  black  metal  direction  along  with  some  grim  sounding  high  pitched  screams.

  Blast  beats  van  be  heard  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  music  and  the  band  also  uses  a  good   mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  most  of  the  music  is  in  the  vein  of  Swedish  satanic/occult  black  metal  and  there  is  a  dark  and  evil  atmosphere  being  included  in  all  of  the  songs  on  the  recording  and  the  band  also  demonstrates  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  on  their  musical  instruments.

  Spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  vocals  start  to  sound  more  deeper  and  hateful  in  sound  and  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  also  starts  to  utilize  elements  and  thrash  and  the  acoustic  guitars  also  make  their  return  on  a  later  track  before  the  music  returns  back  to  a  heavier  musical  direction  as  well as  adding in  longer  songs  that  utilize  epic  structures  and  a  small  amount  of  keys  and  some  of  the  alter  songs  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts.

  Eosphorus  play  a  very  true  raw  and  melodic  form  of  satanic  black  metal  with  their  music  remaining  true  to  the  Swedish  style  of  occult  black  metal  while  also  adding  in  more  epic  structures  and  the  band  has  a  perfect  balance  between  speed,  heaviness,  aggression  and  melody,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  and   heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Occultism,  Death  Worship  and  Devil  Worship.

  In  my  opinion  Eosphorus  are  a  very  great  sounding  fast,  raw  and  melodic  satanic/occult  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Satan  Redeemer"  "Winds  Of  Apep"  "Stand  on  My  Side"  and  "Path  Of  The  Dead".  8  out  of  10.

www.reverbnation.com/eosphorus
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Thursday, June 26, 2014

Tempers Creature/Lupus Est Homo Homini/Sturmglanz Produktionen 2014 CD Review


  Tempers  Creature  are  a  duo  from  Germany  that  plays  a  depressive  and  pagan  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Lupus  Est  Homo  Homini"  which  was  released  by  Sturmglanz  Produktionen .

  Nature  sounds,  acoustic  guitars  and  synths  start  off  the  album  and  after  the intro  spoken  word  parts  are  added  into  the  music  before  going  into  a  more  heavy,  melodic  and  atmospheric  direction  along  with  some  depressive  suicidal  black  metal  screams  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  to  bring  in  a  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts.

  After  awhile  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  start  becoming  a  huge  part  of  the  bands  musical  sound  and  they  also  add  folk  instruments  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  some  depressing sounding  pianos  while  the  main  focus  remains  on  a  slow  and  raw  depressive  black  metal  sound  while  the  music  also  has  its  fast  moments  and  blast  beats  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  As  the  album  progresses  there  is  a  short  instrumental  being  added  onto  the  recording  while  the  following  tracks  have  a  more  atmospheric  feeling  to  them  as  well  a s utilizing  more  fast  and  raw  elements  of  black  metal  and  they  also  start  adding  in  a    short  song  that  have  a  more  early  90's  feeling  to  them  as  well  as  being  somewhat  of  a  departure  from  the more  depressive  nature  of  the  earlier  tracks  and  there  are  also  a  couple  of  instrumentals  that  are  tributes  to  Burzum  and  Sturmpercht  which  both  have  a  medieval  atmosphere  to  them.

  The  other  half  of  the  album  shows  the  band  going  for  more  of  an  epic  pagan/black  metal  sound  and  melodic  female  vocals  are  added  onto  one  of  the  tracks  while  still  having  a  depressive  atmosphere  and  the  vocals  also  start  utilizing  a  small  amount  of  growls  and  on  of  the  later  tracks  is  a  Germanic  folk  music  song  and  there  are  also  some  male  pagan  vocals  being  added  into  the  music  at  times  and  after  awhile  the  folk  elements  start  to  mix  in  with  a  more  black  metal  style  of  sound.


  Tempers  Creature  create  a  very  diverse  and  original  sounding  style  of  black  metal  with  their  musical  sound  and  the  album  is  divide d into  2  different  sections  the  beginning  shows  a  more  misanthropic  and  depressive  side  of  their  sound  while  the  other  part  is  more  in  an  epic  pagan/black  metal  direction  which  also  shows  medieval  and  folk  music  elements  which  they  still  mix  in  with  a  depressive  sound,  the  production  sound s very  dark,   raw,  heavy  and  epic  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  German  and  cover  dark,  depressive,  misanthropic,  Germanic  and  Suebian  folklore and  Paganism.

  In  my  opinion  Tempers  Creature  are  a  very  great  sounding  depressive/pagan  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Winter  im  Herzen"  "Der  Misanthrop"  "Suebia  (Heimatarde)"  and  "Wuotans  Wildes  Heer".  8/5  out  of  10.

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Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Xarkrinur/Cold Forest Single Review


  Xarkrinur  are  a  1  man  band  from  Bangladesh  that  plays  a  mixture  of  depressive  black  metal  and  dark ambient  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2014  single  "Cold  Forest"  which  will  be  part  of an  upcoming  ep  split  with  Happiness  Through  Suicide  which  will  be  released  by  Acephale  Winter  later  on  this  year.

   A  slow,  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  ep  and  brings  in  a  very  raw  and  distorted  approach  to  black  metal  along  with  some  grim  screams  and  the  music  also  starts  to  speed  up  a  bit  along  with  some  programmed  blast  beats  while  also  keeping  the  slow  and  mid  paced  parts  around  and  you  can  also  hear  some  ambient  style  noises  in  the  background  which  gives  the  music  a  more  lo-fi  feeling  and  after  awhile  the  vocals  start  having  a  more  deeper  tone  to  them.

  On  this  song  Xarkrinur  takes  a  very  raw  and  depressive  style  of  black  metal  and  mixes  in  small  amounts  of  ambient  while  keeping  the  music  very dark  and  grim  and  I  would  like  to  hear  more  music  from t his  project  in  the  future,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  suicidal  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Xarkrinur  are  a  very  decent  sounding  mixture  of  raw,  depressive  black  metal  and  dark  ambient  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  project.

 http://xarkrinur.bandcamp.com/  

Karst 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?

Yes, we’ve recorded our second album, ’Lime Veins Bleed Rust’ in Summer 2013. In that year we had a couple of gigs here in Hungary, for example supporting Lord Vicar or Dordeduh.
Meanwhile we processed the releasing conception, and finally self-released on tape it in this year. We also contributed in a such interesting national art contest: we worked out a new song based on an old Hungarian folk-tale (we have an utterly rich legacy of tales) but this event is unfortunately cancelled by the organizer. So we’ll record this song some time in the future. It will be a next chapter musically also, a more nature-influented composition.

2. Your new album was released in May. How would you describe the musical sound of the newer music and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

We had the aim to stretch the borders of our Black Metal-based genre and create an exciting yet solid and mixture of our own. We also used totally non-metal solutions, touching apocalyptic jazz, austere rock or some natural ritualistic stuff. For us, above experimenting there’s a principle – result has to stay dark, rejecting fun.
Basically, our new album definitely shows progression. Now we have a constant line-up for years so this time we had more creative time to set out ideas. We were very young at the time we composed our first full-length, around 18-19 years old, and we’ve became a little bit more experienced. This time we went to a studio which mainly does alternative/rock/pop releases and the enginner is a huge fan of vintage amplifiers, instruments which fit our ideas very well. We tried to sound NOT like the modern fashion - and we succedded.

3. The band labels itself 'extreme garage rock' - can you tell us a little bit more about that label?

As I know, none of the genre names can describe what we do, so our vocalist Kristóf came up with this tag. Sometimes we had to define ourselves but we didn’t want to use ’Black Metal’ term anymore. Look at us – we have nothing to do with traditional satanic atmosphere, we’re different.
I try to unravel it… ‘Rock’ mainly stands for our separation from Metal clichés (And ‘karst’ is also a type of rock…); ‘Extreme’ marks the usage of extremities in musical instruments and vocal tones; and ‘Garage’ refers to our dirty, old, punk-ish sound and the opposition to polished, soulless production.
But it’s important to notice – we are always open to any creative solutions describing our music.

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

Our main lyricist is Kristóf, our singer. On ’Lime Veins Bleed Rust’ he turned to be more extroverted unlike the 2011 debut ’Cleaning a Cave’ which dealt with rather self-exploring topics. We both got inspiration from mystical creatures, ancient fears, beliefs – and from reality: the bleak perspectives of the coutry side, the dissolving order of civilization and basically our world, near ready to collapse.
Being the primal song-writer I can say my composition techniques developed through the years because my music studies, I learnt music since my childhood - and also because my private interest in this profession. Personally I am highly enthralled by the work of nowadays British/American pop producers. Although I don’t use this knowledge directly in writing the music of Karst, it helps a lot if I know structures of more foreign genres.
We are not a jam band, we couldn’t be – our songs usually follow strict composition, particularly in the relation of guitar and bass. But we don’t want to confuse fans with causelessly complex tunes. I believe that the best result is when listeners couldn’t notice how hard to us sometimes to perform certain parts. It should remain an inner challenge for us.

5. The band was originally known as 'Nebulosus Fatum' - what was the decision behind the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Karst'?

We used the name ’Nebulosus Fatum’ from the beginning, 2005 to 2009. At that point we realized that this can’t fit our music anymore so we changed it to a shorter one, Karst, which also has more connection to ourselves. It refers to the geographic structure of our hometown’s surrounding mountains as well as a metaphore to our composition: Although usually I am who comes up with new ideas, the main result always the work of 4 men. Just as water flows though rocks, unbounding minerals…

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?

During the Nebulosus Fatum times in 2009 we had the opportunity to play in Rijeka, Croatia – it was the first experience abroad and we had good memories. In 2011 when our present line-up debuted – at the album releasing of ’Cleaning a Cave’ – we did such a memorable gig using surrealistic lamps on stage. Another unique one was a the so-called date of Mayan Doom in 21st December 2012 when we did a cover show of Ater Tenebrae, a Hungarian raw black metal band we honour for a long while.
Besides these events we have played many shows in Budapest, the capital, supporting totally different acts. It was such a pleasure to realize we can play with anyone from extreme genres, mainly because we don’t sound similary to anyone.
On stage we wore torn suits with ties, ’representing the rootless generation of post-socialism’ to cite from our biography. For our new album we made new outfit, now we are in patched vasts with white shirts, hailing to our favourite bands and our own roots.
As our fans say we usually play powerful live shows, not just standing and gazing to our instruments, even if only 3-4 person are in the audience. We don’t care how much reaction we got from the audience, these primal spiritual energies have to be unleashed from time to time.

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

Sure, but the opportunities are quite tight here. So far we were only gigging in Hungary, mainly accepting invitations to self-organize concerts in our hometown, Miskolc. For us the best would be touring in other countries too. During the years we have learnt not to manage things ’at all hazards’. Touring is like this: when the time will come we’ll be ready.

8. Currently the band is unsigned - is the band interested in signing with a label or do you feel that they are obsolete in the year of 2014?

We are heavily interested in signing with a label, it could help us so much. Of course many DIY bands can exist without support from the background, we have plans which could be processed only by this next level. It would be a pleasure if our art could reach more ears by wider distribution.
            But I have to say even if I think signing with labels or going on tours are usually important things for bands, their lack can NEVER stop our creative ideas to execute. We have quite vivid visions where to move with our music and what kind of plains we’d like to touch. These aren’t depending on any other circumstances.

9. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal and extreme rock?

I don’t know if anyone is a fan of ’extreme rock’ or is it considered to be an existing genre…
Usually we have good reviews from time to time. Fortunately as we experimented a lot of different people are into Karst from punk/noise fans to open minded extreme metal listeners. Or even if the listener don’t like what we are doing we always take effect.

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

Definitely! Our vocalist Kristóf plays villager death/groove metal with his other bandCageDeadDogs, they’re about to record their first demo. Balázs, our guitarist plays bass in another experimental, atmospheric metal act called Perihelion.
I generally deal with music everyday. The other bands I take part in:
Svoid – occult, anti-cosmic metal, here I play drums and do backing vocals. (www.svoid.hu)
Voltak – my suicidal post-punk trio where I am the vocalist/guitarist. We play sombre music like The Cure did around 1981. We’re about to record our first full-length but this project is put on ice, nowadays I don’t have for it… (www.fb.com/VoltakOfficial)
La Ment – esoteric necro pop duo, like Ellie Goulding or A-ha meets Burzum. Being here the multi-instrumentalist I work together with a singer. (www.LaMentOnline.com)
Manőkken Proletárz – alternative pop band from Budapest, here I do drums and backing vocals. (www.manokkenproletarz.hu)
Szekeres András – newly I became the session drummer/backing vocalist of András Szekeres. He is originally the singer of Junkies, a quite known Hungarian rock band. It’s his so-called solo project, mainly alternative rock like Oasis. (www.fb.com/andras.szekeres)
Eclipse – it’s a progressive metal band from our hometown, formed in 1990, I became involved as a drummer this year. Hope it will work, we’re still just rehearsing.
So there’s so much things to do from day to day.

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

As written above we have nearly exact plans what to do in the future. On our next release we’d like to cover some jazz standard classics in the raw Black Metal-ish way. We’ll release it next year.
Besides it we are into acoustic ethno music and we are looking forward to try this organic instrumentation and create more so-called forest-like sound with acoustic guitar, clean vocals and folk instruments, still keeping the dark Black Metal heritage with blast beats and shrieks. Instead of leaving behind what we do now musically we rather make a totally new set for non-metal concerts. It’s the first time I speak of these new paths in public… so we’ll see when they come together.

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?

Well, we are definitely influented by the Scandinavian Black Metal scene of the early 90s like Darkthrone, Burzum, Gorgoroth. When we add other elements to our music I don’t care where it came from, composition for me is based on deeper intuitions. I don’t like to be needlessly exact, go and listen - find our influences yourself! Find out what do our music have to offer to your aesthetic system.
We’re listening to quite different artists, hard to name common favourite. With Kristóf we like to idolize old school Swedish Death Metal such as Unleashed or Dismember, with him and Balázs we’re huge fans of bands from Norway mentioned above. Other band members like dirtier tones from sludge, punk or hip-hop scene. Nowadays I listen mainly to earlier bands of extreme metal, Black/Death stuff, darkened indie rock, post-punk, up-to-date pop singers like Ellie Goulding or ritual dark ambient for sleep like Equimanthorn, a side project of Absu. I rarely stay on one particular band or artists, I keep on know as much as possible and search for new ones.

13. What are some of your non musical interests?

I’m into antique times, faded religions, Sumerians, Egypt, spirituality, occultism, human sacrifices of old ages, death cult and suicide. Mainly against present times. They aren’t necessarily connect to Karst but come through me in in a rather indirect method.
Kristóf studied anthropology, he has more to do with the world surrounding us, also he’s quite into hedonism. Balázs deals with advanced mathematics, his long time favourite writer is Vonnegut. Tomi is hugely interested in football. These things make the line-up so diverse and multi-dimensional.

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

Thanks for reading through my words. I have nothing more to say. „Every nation marches singing, every nation towards death.”


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