Ram-page Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?
- Our band exists until 2010, in 2011 we have released debut album “The Keeper Of Time”.
Now we have a more qualitative work “Blooming Rust”.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?
- Powerful, cast the rhythm section plus versatile guitar from acoustics to distortion and very powerful scream vocals.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
- In our creation we’re trying to affect themes of philosophy of the universe and the human soul as well as their relationship

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the band’s name?
- Name of the band means rage or exuberant, in the sense of bright and powerful feed of the band on a stage.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
- In 2010 at the festival "FMO-2" in Moscow we performed very bright and powerful & after this the first album of RAM-PAGE was released.

6. Do you have any touring plans for the new album?
- Nowadays there are plans only in our country and neighboring countries (Russia, Ukraine and Belarus) for a new album.
But when we’ll get the new proposals, then we surely will consider.

7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black, death and thrash metal?
- Fans of black metal are much liked screaming vocals and fans of thrash metal powerful guitar riffs.

8. Are there any other projects besides this band or is this full time line up?
- No, the members of the band are concentrated only on the Ram-Page, it’s the only way we can flash the integrity of our thoughts.

9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
- In the future, we want to remain in our style, but complexity our material and technical performance.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
- Our musical preferences were influenced by such bands as: Kreator, Annihilator… Now we listen to different directions of metal and bands, some of them are: Death, Annihilator, Kreator, Napalm Death, Sodom, Dying Fetus, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, Carcass.

11.Outside of music what are some of your interests?
- All our interests besides the band connection with our works: Privalov Vlad (vocal) works in the service of automation; Privalov Sergey (guitar) – studies for Manager; Dolgov Dmitry (bass) works in the service of relay protection; and drummer Valentov Alexey studies for the surgery.

12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
- We wish you all good luck and happiness!!!

Deathronation/Exorchism/Metalhit.com/2012 CD Re-Issue Review

  Deathronation  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  dark,  raw  and  primitive  form  of  blackened  death  metal  with  a  thrash  edge  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2011  demo  "Exorchism"  which  was  re-issued  by  Metalhit.com  in  2012  and  contains  demo  tracks  from  their  2006  release  "A  Soil  Forsaken".

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  good  amount  of  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  is  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  they  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  raw  and  primitive  style  death  metal  riffs  along  with  a  great  amount  of  black  and  thrash  metal  influences  being  thrown  into the  riffing  as  well  as  some  dark  sounding  melodies,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  raw,  chaotic  and  primitive  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  classical  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  they  use  finger  picking  to  enhance  the  darkness  that  is  coming  out  of  the  music.

  Vocals a re  mostly  blackened  death  metal  growls  in  the  early  90's  tradition  along  with  some  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  being  thrown  into  the  music  at  times  as  well  as  some  samples  from  horror  movies,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  occult  and  anti  christian  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a very  dark,  heavy,  raw  and  primitive  sound  while  you  can  still  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Deathronation  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  and  primitive  blackened  death  metal  band  with  a  thrash  edge  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "One  Once  Forsaken"  "Church  Of  Salvation"  "Realm  Of  Shadows"  and  "Marooned".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

  

Ectovoid Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?

Ectovoid was formed in autumn of 2010 as a three-piece. We had all been playing in a couple of other projects and decided to form something new that we would devote all of our time and energy to. We recorded our first demo, "Breathing Blackness," in January of 2011 and released it ourselves on CD-R and as a free download. We continued to work hard on writing material and we were ready to record our first album, "Fractured in the Timeless Abyss," by November 2011. The album was just released on CD by Hellthrasher Productions and will be released on vinyl by Blood Harvest Records towards the end of the summer. 

2. How would you describe your musical sound?

Our sound is very dark and atmospheric, while remaining very riff-based and energetic. We pride ourselves on writing distinctive and memorable songs that each follow their own unique themes and motifs. In terms of style we are definitely a death metal band first and foremost, but we take a lot of inspiration from black metal and doom as well. It is a high priority of ours to make music that's original and stands out on it's own terms. 

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

As the primary lyricist for the band, I try and make each song tell a story or paint a picture in the listener's head. Our songs are primarily about various afflictions and states that plague the mind and soul, both in a literal and metaphorical sense. Specifically, my main inspirations come from the idea of existence before and after death, consciousness as it functions inside and outside of the body, and the vast and unknowable depths of space and the cosmos. We write songs about topics and ideas that interest, frighten, or otherwise engage our imaginations. 

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

We sort of stumbled upon the name when we were trying to think of one before the band was officially formed. We knew the kind of sound and lyrical approach we were going for, and the name just kind of appeared before us. The suffix "ecto-" means "outer" or "outside," so the name quite literally means "outer void" or "outer space." We thought the name matched our ideas for the band perfectly.  

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

Most of the shows that we've played have been small local shows around the area where we live. The scene in our city is dedicated but very small and there aren't a lot of bigger bands that come through our area that we can play with. Nevertheless, we love to play live and take our live performances very seriously. We have always practiced on a regular basis so we can consistently deliver the best show possible. One of our immediate goals is to start traveling farther outside of our immediate area and play some higher profile shows with some better known bands. 

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

Not as of now, no. We are all busy with work and school commitments, so a tour is something that would be fairly difficult for us to organize at this point. But we certainly hope to be able to tour parts of our own country sometime in the next few years, and Europe as well. We also plan to try to play some festival dates when the opportunities arise. 

7. Currently you are signed to Hellthrasher productions, how did you get in contact with this label and how would you describe the support that they have given you so far?

Hellthrasher Productions were actually the ones to contact us. We had finished recording our album and posted a song online for people that were already fans to listen to. Hellthrasher heard the track and told us they were interested in releasing the album. We hadn't heard of them before as they are still a very new label (formed in May of last year), but it quickly became clear to us that they are very professional and serious about what they are doing, and we agreed to their offer. So far their support for our band has been excellent. They've done a great job of promoting the album and gave us total creative freedom as to how to present and design the CD. Since we signed with them they have been discovering and releasing a lot of killer music, and I have no doubt that they are already on their way to becoming a major player in the underground. We're happy to be working with them. 

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

Well, our first album has only just come out, so there hasn't been much time for feedback yet. But so far the responses that we've received have been very positive. We've gotten some extremely flattering reviews from various webzines around the world, and there was a strong demand for our demo as well. We are also regularly complimented on our live performance. We look forward to seeing how the album is received as more people get a chance to hear it. 

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

That's hard to say. Our songwriting process is very organic, and we just write what we feel when we are inspired. I can tell you that we are interested in pursuing some more experimental guitar playing techniques, as well as a more varied vocal approach. But time will tell how these sorts of progressions will be implemented in the future. We have already started writing for our second album and so far I can tell you that the material is a natural evolution from our debut. 

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

Ectovoid is primarily influenced by death and black metal bands that are able to achieve a distinctive atmosphere and write memorable music in the process. In terms of classic death metal bands, we love Immolation, Gorguts, Incantation, Autopsy, Demilich, and The Chasm, just to name a few. For newer bands, lately we've been listening to a lot of Ignivomous, Dead Congregation, Pseudogod, Necrovation, and Grave Miasma. We're also big fans of black metal bands like Sargeist, Inquisition, Taake, Leviathan (U.S.), The Ruins of Beverast, Aosoth, and many others. We all listen to a lot of different kinds of music and these are just a few examples. I must stress that, while these bands have influenced and inspired us personally, we never go out of our way to write a riff or a song that sounds like any band that we listen to. 

11. Does Occultism play any role in your music?

No, not really. Ectovoid is the project of our own imaginations, and outside influences like Occultism or other belief systems and practices don't play any part at all. 

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

Music is our primary passion, but to an extent we all enjoy film, video games, and literature as well. But music is the primary way that we interact and connect with one another -- it is what allowed the three of us to meet and became friends several years ago, after all. When we are not working on music we are usually focusing on our jobs and studies and enjoying the company of our friends. 

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

Thanks a lot for the interview, we appreciate the support. Our first album, "Fractured in the Timeless Abyss," is now available on digipak CD from Hellthrasher Productions, and the vinyl version will be out later this year on Blood Harvest Records, so make sure you pick it up! 

Outrage/Go To Hell/Metal On Metal Records/2011 CD Review

  Outrage  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  has  a  history  that  goes  back  to  the  80's  with  a  musical  style  that  I  would  describe  as  being  black/thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2011  album  "Go To  Hell"  which  was  released  by  Metal  On  Metal Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  thrown  into the  music  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  tone  with  primitive  black/thrash  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  black/thrash  metal  riffs  that  utilize  a  dose  of  doom  metal  in  the  riffing  as  well  as  mixing  modern  day  and  old  school  black/thrash  together,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  old  school  underground  metal  style  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  mostly  raspy  blackened  metal  growls  and  screams  with  a  small  amount  of  deep growls  as  well  as  some  thrash  style  screams,  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  mythology,  occultism,  demonology,  anti  christian and  black  metal  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  primitive  sound  while  you  can  still  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.


  In  my  opinion  Outrage  are  a  very  great  sounding  black/thrash  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Into  The  Abyss  Of  Belial"  "Astaroth"  "Pact  Of  The  Wicked"  and  "Black  Metal  Attack".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Scythe/Beware The Scythe/Primitive Reaction 2012 CD Review

  Scythe  are  a  band  from  Chicago,  Illinois  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  death,  doom  and  thrash  metal  with some  veterans  from that  scene  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Beware  The  Scythe"  which  was  released  by  Primitive  Reaction.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  tone  with  classic  underground  metal  riffs  that  dominate  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  influences  from  black,  death,  doom,  and  thrash  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  and  primitive  sounding  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars they  are  only  utilized  briefly  and  use  finger  picking  to  enhance  the  darkness  that  is  coming  out  of  the  music.

  Vocals  range  from  deep  death  metal  growls,  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  along  with  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing  and  samples,  while  the  lyrics  cover  supernatural  and  occult  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Scythe  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  black,  thrash,  death  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Iron  Witch"  "Beware  The  Scythe"  "Opus  Dei  Of  The  Dead"  and  "Planet  Of  The  Humans".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.  

Disolvo Animus/Aphesis/Darknagar Productions/2012 CD Review

  Disolvo  Animus  are  a  band  from  Greece  that  plays  an  occult  form  of  death  metal  mixed  in  with  some  symphonic  black  metal  elements  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Aphesis"  which  was released  by  Darknagar  Promotions.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  great  amount  of  brutal  sounding  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music,  while  the  synths  when  they  are  utilized  bring  a  very  symphonic  and  classical  music  sound  to  the  music,  as  for  the  bass  playing  it  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  is  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  death  metal  riffs  that  are  very  heavy,  brutal  and technical  sounding  along  with  a  great  amount  of  black  metal  influences  and  melody  being  thrown  into  the  riffing,while  the  lead  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  are  very  melodic  sounding  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  they  use  finger  picking  to  enhance  the  darkness  that  is  coming  out  of  the  music.

  Vocals  are  mostly  deep  death  metal  growls  with  some  high pitched  death  metal  screams  being  thrown  into  the  music  at  times  as  well as  some  spoken  word  samples  being  utilized  on  the  last  song,  while  the  lyrics  cover  a  concept  dealing  with  absolution  from  sin  with an  anti  christian  theme,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Disolvo  Animus  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  blackened  death  metal  band  with  symphonic  and  orchestra  elements  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  this  album  out.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Unorthodox  Lament"  "Illumination"  and  "Words  Of  Regression".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

The Wretched End/Inroads/Candlelight Records/2012 CD Review

  The  Wretched  End  are  a  band  from  Norway  with  some  well  known  musicians  from  the  Norwegian and  Swedish  black  metal  scenes  with  a  musical  style  that  mixes  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  together  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Inroads"  which  was  released  by  Candleight  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  great  amount  of  brutal  sounding  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  is  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  black,  death  and  thrash  metal together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  distorted,  technical  and  melodic  sounding  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black/thrash/death  metal  growls  and  screams  with  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing  and  spoken  word parts,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  hateful  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  powerful,  strong,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  album  from  The  Wretched  End  which  contains  more  black  metal  elements  than  the  last  one  while  remaining  true  to  death/thrash  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band, you should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Deathtopian  Society"  "The Haunting  Ground"  "Fear  Propaganda"  and  "Throne  Renowned  Of  Old".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.