Kartikeya/Samudra/Apathia Records/2017 CD Review

  Kartikeya  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  musical  style  they  describe  as  being  'carnatic  metal'  which  mixes  black,  death  and  groove  metal  with  elements  of  Arabic  and  Indian  folk  music  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Samudra"  which  will  be  released  in  October  by  Apathia  Records.

  Nature  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  heavy  yet  melodic  riffing  that  adds  in   elements  of  groove  metal  and  djent  while  also  having  symphonic  synths  in  the  background  and  the  vocals  are death  metal  growls  with  some  groove  metal  touches  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Elements  of  blackened  death  metal  can  be  heard  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  while  touches  of  prog  metal  are  also  added  into  the  mid  tempo  sections  of  the  songs  along  with  a  great  amount  of  Arabic  and  Indian  folk  music  also  being  mixed  in  the  songs  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  an  ethnic  feeling.

  Melodic  vocals  can  also  be  heard  at  times  while  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  riffs also  bringing  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  a brief  use  of  grim  black  metal  screams  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief use  of  female  vocals  can  also  be  heard  and  some  of  the  later  tracks  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars.

  Kartikeya  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  death  and  groove  metal  and  mixes  it  with  Arabic  and  Hindi  folk  music  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Eastern  Mythology,  Philosophy  and  Hinduism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Kartikeya  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  death,  groove  metal,  Arabic  and  Hindi  folk  music  and  if  you  are  looking  for  something  very  original,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Tandava"  "Mask  Of  The  Blind"  "We  Shall  Never  Die"  and  "Tunnels  of  Naraka".  8  out  of  10.  

Luciferian Insectus Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the musical project thee days?

LI: Well, I am in the writing process of my newest album, and currently up two songs. I plan on making a 12 track album for this release. I’ve been experimenting  around with some new energies that I have been experiencing lately, so mainly just getting in touch with the root of it all.

2.A few months back you had released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also howdoes it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

LI: Yes, I released GODLESS through Apollyon Entertainment. It was  , like every other album I write, done naturally and un pre-meditated. It took an extremely death-metal / black-metal influenced touch and had a very ritual through chaos style presence. Basically like all my other albums, but this one was done just a little more upbeat and thrashy.

3.With the band name and song lyrics, you do cover some satanic, occult and anti religion themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interests in these topics?

LI: Well. When it comes to the satanic detail, I am a Satanist. What kind of Satanist you might ask, it doesn’t really matter. I prefer to title myself as my own. I have always been a fan of the occult, so in that nature of support I base certain topics after the occult. As far as ritualist nature, I live that every day and every time I pick up my guitar, it is expressed though that nature as well. As far as for the anti-religion section of my material, I am just all against organized religion. I believe that such religious groups  such as the christian church  and the islamic nation are nothing but backwards hypocrites  that do nothing but try to strike fear and brainwash society , and have done so for many years. In my opinion I believe that to be free means to have no rule. To enjoy and be what you want, when you want. But for some reason the word “free”   has been somewhat pinned to the very sight of those two religions.

4.Originally the project was called 'Enemy Of Nazarene', what was the cause of the name change?

LI: I started my project in 2011 as Enemy Ov Nazarene mainly to express my hatred for the church. As my project matured into something more than a private obsession, I realized that I had a majority amount of my support being of the Luciferian nature . Mainly because of the satanic and sinful chaos I expressed in my very 1st  public demo, The Imperial Doom ov Mortus Crowe. I went to Los Angeles to express my album and musical nature further and decided to take it to Europe.  So as I got to Germany, I had a moment dawn onto me to name my project what it is titled to this day, Luciferian Insectus, meaning Luciferian Driven. The very force that started my projects dawn to light.

5.You record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to remain solo?

LI: Yes I do record everything myself.  My project started off as a one man project. One can say that I had gotten pretty comfortable with doing my music solo. Of course I am open to working with others. I play currently in two other bands, Grim Reality and Critical Assult. But as far as Luciferian Insectus goes, I just haven’t found the right people for the project that could show it the personal dedication  and touch needed to preserve its origionality. If that day comes, I am definetly open to bringing in some other members and making it a full band.But for now, I stand alone.

6.This project has been based in both the Netherlands and the United States, how would you compare the metal scene in both countries?

LI: The metal scene is very different in NL than from the states. To put it in a nutshell,  Metal is a lot more of a lifestyle and tradition over in that region of the world. I love it. USA has its high points but personally for my genre of music that I am associated with, NL and EU has my vote.

7.What are some of the best shows that you have played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

LI: I haven’t played many shows but if I have to pick one, I would say Black Kvlt Fest. My presence was charged by a beautiful moon. I would have to say that I was at absolute peace because when I stared up into the sky all I saw was a bright moon.  Made my focus skyrocket. Show was great.

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

LI: I have some local shows coming up in November 2017 .  And I’m also working on the music for a Film by Fox Trot Productions called Savage.  As far as touring, I believe a whisper from Apollyon has been thrown around about Europe in the future, but that’s unofficial. I still am up for any task.

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

LI: To my knowledge I think that I have a decent feedback . Truly I don’t really care what the public think. If you like my music, awesome. If you hate it, even better. That means I am executing my purpose well.

10.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?

LI: In the future I cannot say where I will be. I could either be in a studio or on a stage. I prefer to be on a stage. But studio is fun. I have been working with some directors recently and it’s pretty cool. Doing things I have never done before, but always open for that stage date. It’s something I love to do the most.

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?

LI: I have a wide variety of influences. I like a lot of folk metal like Folk Earth, Glipnir, Fintroll and many traditional roots of folk music along with metal from Power to Black Metal. Some of those bands range from Stratovarius , Dio, Pantera, Dark Funeral, Dissection, Watain, Behemoth, Morbid Angel, Behexen, Akercoke, etc.  Nowadays I listen to a lot of Black Metal mainly of the cult genre. If I had to choose a specific genre for my musical nature, it would be Cult Black Metal. It just seems like the style that works for me both mentally and physically.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

LI: Some of my non-musical influences are of the crime documentaries. I love watching things on forensics and old war stories.

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

LI: The only thing I can say to anyone who made it this far through this interview is just stay true to who you are and what makes you happy. Even if it takes your whole life to get to, never quit. Because the way I see it, at least you got a goal that you will always fight for. Makes life a tad bit more interesting.

LUCIFERIAN INSECTUS:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/666.luciferian.music
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ luciferianinsectus
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ lordmortus666
Email: morbidluciferian666@gmail.com

Kult Mogil/Portentaque/Pagan Records/2017 EP Review

  Kult  Mogil  are  a  band  from  Poland  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  blackened  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  ep  "Portentaque"  which  will  be  released  on  September  29th  by  pagan  Records.

  A  very  dark,  heavy  and  dissonant  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  a  few  seconds  later  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful sound  to  them  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  brutal  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  small  amount  of  melody.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  also  being  utilized  at  times  while  spoken  word  parts  are  also  used  briefly  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  distorted  yet  melodic  fashion,  clean  guitars  are  also  used  briefly.

  Kult  Mogil  creates  another  recording  that  remains true  to  the  dissonant  style  of  blackened  death  metal  of  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Kult  Mogil  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  blackened  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Non-Reconciliation".  8  out  of  10.  

Serotonin/L 'Enfer Gris/2017 EP Review

  Serotonin  are  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  plays  a  blackened  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  ep  "L  'Enfer  Gris".

  Spoken  word  samples  start  off  the  ep  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  which  also  introduces  black metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls onto  the  recording  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  melodic  vocals  are  also  used  briefly  along  with  the  faster  riffing  also  bringing  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  atmospheric  synths  are  also  used  briefly,  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  clean  guitars  on  a  couple  of  songs.

  Serotonin  plays  a  style  of  blackened  death  metal  that  is  very  original  and  different  sounding,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  hell  as  an  absence  of  joy.

  In  my  opinion  Serotonin  are  a  very  great  sounding  original  blackened  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Hosannas  From  The  Basement  Of  Hell".  8  out  of  10.  

Dreadnought/A Wake In Sacred Waves/Sailor Records/2017 CD Review

  Dreadnought  are  a  band  from  Denver,  Colorado  that  has  had  an  album  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  doom,  psychedelic,  progressive  and  post  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "A  Wake  In  Sacred  Waves"  which  will  be  released  in  October  by  Sailor  Records.

  Female  vocals  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  keyboards  a  few  seconds  later  that  also  adds  in  touches  of   progressive  rock  and  after  awhile  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavier  direction  while  also  adding  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  post  rock  style  guitar  leads  onto  the  recording.

  All  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  music  alternating  between  soft  and  heavy  parts  and  the  riffs  also  utilize  a  great  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  At  times  the  music  adds  in  elements  of  70's  era  psychedelic  rock  while  saxophones  are  also  added  into some  parts  of  the  songs  along  with  the  guitars  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  clean  playing  and  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  are  very  heavily influenced  by  doom  metal  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Dreadnought  creates  another  recording t hat  sticks  to  the  black,  doom  metal,  psychedelic,  post  and  progressive  mixture  of  their  previous  release  while  also  getting  more  experimental  this  time  around,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  the  process  of  life  and  death.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Dreadnought  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  doom  metal,  psychedelic,  progressive  and  post  rock,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Vacant  Sea"  and  "A  Drifting  Reign".  8  out  of  10.          

Evilheart/Quinquaginta/Test Your Metal Records/2014 CD Review

  Evilheart  are  a  band  from  Mexico  that  plays  a  blackened  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Quinquaginta"  which  was  released  by  Test  Your  Metal  Records.

  A  very  heavy  and  brutal  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  also  speeding  up  and  adding  in  blast  beats  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them,  when  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  they  are  mostly  death  metal  growls  along  with  some  black  metal  screams.

  A  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  can  be  heard  in  the  faster  riffing  while  the  riffs  also  utilize  a  great  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  along  with  the  music  being  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  fashion.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  small  amount  of  atmospheric synths  can  be  heard  on  a  couple  of  the  songs  as  well  as  one  track  adding  in  a  small  amount  of acoustic  guitars  while  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  they  close  the  album  with  a  cover  of  Cenotaph's  "Severance".

  Evilheart  plays  a  style  of  blackened  death  metal  that  is  very  heavy,  brutal  and  traditional  sounding,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  misanthropy  and  modern  war  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Evilheart  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Perfection  Collapsed"  "Rebellion"  "Genetics  of  Betrayal"  and  "Severance".  8  out  of  10.  

Goat War Interview

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

Goat War is true black heavy metal for the basement warriors that have yet to rise and slay the plastic idols that have taken over!

2.So far you have released a demo, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

This demo is the sound of the pure raw violence that is experienced when the mighty sword and scythe of Julius Bloodaxe and Dick Nekrowulf clash in a storm of fury! No fun no production no talent just war!

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

We use symbolism inspired by the great authors of sword and sorcery to invigorate those brought down!

4,What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Goat War'?

When Dick watched the goat die it fueled his thirst for war!

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We play in a basement!

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

We go where the hammer guides us. War knows no borders!

7.The demo is getting re-issued on 'Heathen tribes', can you tell us a little bit more about the newer version?

It's on tape.

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

We're popular in Europe!

9.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

As the hatred builds we add intricate concepts to our guitars. Expect more death, war, and chaos soon. Early 2018 brother!

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?

Venom, Bathory, Celtic Frost, Boston, Thor, Semen Of Satan, Sabbat, Darkthrone, Midnight, Wodos, Mercyful Fate, 1983 Slayer, Nifelheim, Di'anno Maiden, Motörhead, G.I.S.M., Slambo, Necro Butcher from Mayhem!

11.Does Satanism or Occultism play any role in your music?

Yes.