Incarceri 9 Interview

1. Can you give us a brief history of the band?

Kol: Well, I started writing the songs in late 2005, but didn't have any members. I tries out various members , with various band names including Centuryspawn, then Black Swamp Chain Gang. Both of those last names were somebody elses ideas. The last group of folks tried to kick me out and our bassist Bst, and our old drummer Marco came with me. We kept the songs He and I wrote, and I came up with the name Incarceri 9. We got Jordan in the band in March of 2008, and thus the current lineup was made. Sadly , in late 2008 we had to let our drummer Marco go for various and irreconcilable reasons. We have since carried on without a permanent drummer until we find the right fit. We released the first album in april 20 2009.

Bst : I made contact with Kol after almost convincing myself to ditch the whole scene. Slow start and much wasted time past while we shuffled through some bad lineup choices, before securing Jordan and expanding our arsenal.

2. How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you before?

Bst: Someone stepping on a placental membrane

Jordan: We see ourselves as a synthesis of all that is metal. We explore a wide range of metal subgenres and someone who is new to the band can go into it expecting to hear familiar styles fused with more challenging approaches in a surprisingly natural union.

Kol: I agree with Jordan and would add that all of our songs are either about dark and emotional themes , or freedom and individualism by rejecting religion and the guitar hero culture that is ruining society today.

3. What is the meaning behind the band's name?

Kol: Incarceri 9 broken down means: In Carceri (italian for prison) 9(in numerology 9 stands for the end or completion) so the name of the first album IN PRISON TIL THE END Iis also the meaning of the bands name. The prison is life , the end is death when we are released.

4. What are some of the best live shows that you have played so far?

Jordan: There's a club here in town called New Street Studio that's always been really good to us. We always enjoy playing for them. Sadly, however, a great many of the venues here in Atlanta are extremely corrupt flat out refuse to pay bands for the services they render. Then they act like the bands are being unreasonable for wanting to get paid. I could write a book (and I just might) about all of the garbage that gets spewed our way in this regard. We actually played a festival gig here one time where we tried to get paid and the promoter said "well I had to pay the bartender and the catering and the bouncers and the sound guy and the lighting guy and the camera guy and I didn't have any left over to pay you." Well guess what- without the bands, none of those other people would have a reason to be there! I have a tendancy to rant about this too much in interviews, so I wont go on, but this is a business and we can't operate our business at a loss. There was a time when people played gigs for each other because they were part of a scene and didn't worry about money, but now that comradery has been corrupted into this petulant "something for nothing" mentality. People ask where I get off not being willing to play gigs for no money and I just say "Who is John Galt?"Bst: I really liked the Atrium venue, a hip hop club in southeastern Atlanta. I’m surrounded by hand painted portraits of various hip hop artist, feeling kinda uncomfortable, like I was playing at their party or something.

5. Are there any plans for a tour?

Bst: As long as I can pass the check for it.

Kol: No plans, but would love to tour Europe,Japan,Canada,South America,Africa,etc. I left out the US because I feel they aren't ready for us because we don't sound like Lamb Of God.

Jordan: As the various markets open up to us, we'll be hitting the road and hitting it hard. Right now the focus is on getting the right label, management, and agent behind us so that we have the proper backing.

6. Have you received any label interest yet?

Kol: There has been from minor overseas labels who want to distribute the new album

Bst: some

Jordan: We've actually been approached by some independant labels from overseas. We've got internet distribution through CDBaby and are in negotiations for in-store distribution in several areas. We don't pretend to be one of these "we don't want to get signed we're all about the music" bands. Fuck that- we want to quit our day jobs and do this full time.

7.How would you describe the lyrical content of the music?

Jordan: We explore a lot of dark topics but there's definately a sort of transcendental aspect to our lyrics as well. Kind of like what Albert Camus proposed in his Theory of Absurdism but with a heavy dose of Ayn Rand Objectivist philosophy and Franz Kafka-esque paranoia. Essentially we argue that life is what you make of it, and no matter how dark and bleak your situation, you can still shape it into something wonderful and beautiful in its own right.

Kol: We delve in to a couple subjects, but the main one is the rejection of religion in order to live stronger and more complete lives without the concern of the fabled afterlife.

Bst: Sick fantasies acted out for the public.

8. What direction do you see the band going into on future releases?

Bst: We are writing songs together now from scratch, putting together more complex arrangements. It will be interesting to see where we go.

Kol: More of a group effort than individual contribution. As a whole it will be heavier and faster on the next album from what I'm seeeing now.

Jordan: When we cut In Prison Till the End, we had basically written our individual song contributions on our own and brought them to the table as completed works. As we've written new material its been more of a group effort and so while listeners can still expect the genre hopping we've done in the past, it will be smoother and more elegant, with each song moving through different styles in a more conscious, atmospheric fashion.

9. What are your main influences music wise or non music wise?

Kol: Life in itself influences me the most. I will go over the bands that influence me the most in the various genres. BM- Celtic Frost, GM- Tiamat, ProgM- Amorphis. Overall , I would say Sabbath, Mercyful Fate, and Iron Maiden

Bst: I believe the biggest influence in what we do is history and cultural study. Grasp that, and then begin to dissect everything around you. Or just watch the biographies of half ton fat people, you’ll get the idea. I take a lot of inspiration from the concept in science fiction that people can evolve socially beyond the need for rigid doctrines and social order.

10. What are you listening to nowadays and what are some good bands or releases that you would recommend?

Jordan: I'm a huge fan of Sigh, which is this Japanese metal band that fuses black metal with jazz fusion. Their album Imaginary Sonicscape is one of the most criminally under appreciated records in history. I'm also a big jazz head, so I would recommend Miles Davis, Pat Metheny and John Zorn. I think the last few Residents albums, since Demons Dance Alone, have been incredible. Especially Animal Lover and Tweedles.

Kol: Really liking Aggaloch right now, but still listen to Celtic Frost, Darkthrone, Tiamat, In Flames, Dark Funeral, Lacuna Coil, Opeth, Amorphis, the list could go on , buit you get the idea.

Bst: I believe in a different type of music for every mood though I never found any use for electronic or dance pop music. Right now I’m diving deep into the vaults of early American blues and grungy garage rock from the 50s and 60s. Fireball Ministry, they fuckin kill.

11. Does Satanism or Occultism play a role in your music and life?

Bst: :no stock in Satan or the occult. Some of my songwriting themes are mathematical, but I tend to live my own simple philosophy.

Kol: Philosophically, I agree with Satanism, but I am not a member of the religion , because I am anti religious. It plays a big role in my writing for this band though. I myself am agnostic about the idea of divinity, but I'm an atheist when it comes to ALL of the worlds religions. To me , if there is a god, it does't care.

Jordan: I'm the only member of the band who is an official Satanist, but we're all sympathetic to the philosophy. I have always viewed religions as tools for programming the mind and Satanism is just about the only one that acknowledges this and places the reigns in the hands of the practitioner rather than some pompous ass preacher or a sniveling congregation. I use Satanism as a means to conciously strip away all mental barriers that could hinder me in my pursuit of my goals in life. I find this to be extremely empowering, and its led me to realize that many of the things in my life that I thought were serious obstructions are just paper tigers, to borrow from the Communist lexicon.I definately recommend studying Aleister Crowley as well as Isreal Regardie so as to have a fully informed understanding of occult thought, but I strongly advise against joining any of the modern incarnations of the organizations they championed as many of them now thrive on the kind of intimidation and group-think that has cause Christianity and Islam to out-stay their welcome.

12. What are some good books or films that you would recommend?

Jordan: I absolutely recommend the writings of Harlan Ellison. His work changed my life early on when I read stories like "I Have no Mouth and I Must Scream" and "The Deathbird." I have 26 of his books in my collection and he's the only author whose work I collect so rabidly. I actually have three copies of Stalking the Nightmare, two of them hardcover first editions. As for other authors my favorites include Haruki Murakami, Philip K. Dick, Franz Kafka, Herman Hesse, Ayn Rand, and many others.For films I recommend Takashi Miike's titles like "Audition," "Visitor Q," "Ichi the Killer," and so on. Shinya Tsukamoto's work is amazing is well like "A Snake of June," "Bullet Ballet," and Tetsuo I and II. Kyoshi Kurosawa is fantastic as well. "Cure," "Pulse," "Charisma" and "Bright Future" are really stunning.

Bst: Eric Bogosian’s one man show, Robert Heinlein’s Time Enough For Love, Leonard Pitts, Edward Current, Frank Herbert, Douglas R. Hofstadter, Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh

13. How would you describe the metal scene in your home state?

Bst: Weak, under promoted, underappreciated.Kol: total shitJordan: There's a huge scene when it comes to established bands. I went to the show Nightwish played here recently and it was a packed house. Same thing with Dream Theater, Queensryche, Megadeth, etc. The problem is that there's no support network for local bands trying to get established. There's a great deal of apathy when it comes to supporting new bands.

14. Any final words?

Kol: We look forward to spreading our music , and thanks for your zine, love the work your putting in to help expose bands like us.

Bst: thanks for your time , look forward to seeing some of you soon.

Jordan: Thank you for your interest in and support of Incarceri 9. When we conquer this insipid planet, your name shall be on the Good List and no harm will come to you.

15. Thanks for the interview?

Jordan: Thank you.

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Incarceri 9/In Prison Till The End/2009 CD Review

 Incarceri 9 are a band from Atlanta,Georgia that plays a mixture of doom,black,gothic and thrash metal and this is a review of their self released 2009 album "In Prison Till The End".

Drums on this recording are for the most part fast with alot of blast beats and some ocasional slow beats, while the bass playing seems to follow the riffs coming out of the rhythm guitars and at times it plays a role of lead bass, as for the keyboards they seem to be gothic influenced.

Rhythm guitars cover alot of ground with some doom/gothic metal influenced riffs and at times they speed up and turn into really fast thrash riffs, while the lead guitars utilize alot of melody and distortion with the solos being heavily influenced by 80's underground metal. Acoustic guitars sound really clean and utilize alot of full chords.

Vocals on this album contain a bunch of variety with some clean singing gothic vocals mixed with some high pitched black metal screams as well as some thrash influenced yells and and there are also some death/doom growls, as well. On some songs there are some spoken word parts that seem to have an anti christianity tint.

My copy of the promo did not come with any lyrics but judging by the bio they seem to be straight forward and about everyday live situations, while the production sounds good for a self released album and you can hear all of the instruments.

In my opinion this is a good album for this style of metal and while this is not something I listen to on a regular basis and this is not the type of album that would appeal to underground black metal listeners, this is still a good album and I can see fans of more mainstreamm black metal, gothic metal or even people that listen to mainstream metal in general liking this album, if a corporate label signed this band and promoted there music right this group could get really big. Another thing that I liked about this release was that they make every song sound different. A recommend release.

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Legion Of The Damned Interview

1. Can you update us with what is going on with the band these days?
-Actually just preparing for the neckbreakers ball tour, we are leaving tonight

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the album and how does it
differ from the previous releases?
-The sound is whats most different if you compare this one to Cult of the dead, also we took more time
in writing the new songs, they are alot more groovies this time. Musically in general it didn't change much

3. What are some of the lyrical concepts and topics the new releases
explores?
-The concept of Descend into Chaos is loosely focused on terror and violence as occurring in cultural myth and reality - from mankind's historical penchant for violence to Lovecraftian horrors that undermine the anthropocentric worldview. Lyrical themes from previous albums continue and reoccur but this time a little more focused violence, while the antichristian theme is less prominent. Current titles are Killzone, Night of the Sabbath, Repossessed, Lord of the Flies, Holy Blood Holy War, Shrapnel Rain, The Hand of Darkness, They Drew First Blood and one other tentatively titled Desolation Empire, and an intro.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the band name Legion of
The Damned?
-There is no real meaning behind it. It comes from WWII, there are several books on The Legion of the damned. We got it from our song Legion of the damned and we had to figure a new name within days.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and
how would you describe your stage performance?
We have done tons of shows, so its hard to describe which one was/is the best. A stage performance from legion is agressive and straight in your face I must say, especially when we play the smaller clubs, which I prefer the most

6. Do you have any touring plans for the new releases?
Yes the neckbreakers ball tour in europe with Kataklysm that we are doing starting tomorrow.

7. Are there any current side projects going on these days with the
other band members?
Not that I know off, but then again the band is sucking up alot of our free times already

8. On a worldwide level how has your new album been recieved by extreme
metal fans?
Excellent. All of our albums have been picked up really well

9. What direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?
As for Legion of the damned? I have no idea, I am happy we have this release on the shelf, no idea what the future will bring

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your
music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Band influences come from the bands from the 80's, Slayer, Possessed, Pestilence, Dark angel, Death, Destruction, Sodom. I listen to whole range of bands from thrash to Death metal to Mayhem/Darkthrone/bathory

11. Does Occultism or Satanism play any role in your music?
Our lyricwriter Tony is into this and he writes lyrics about it, he is the one who wrote all the lyrics for Legion of the damned

12.Outside of music what are some of your interests?
I am running my own video production company and work for nuclearblast, so my free time enjoyments are also my works. My intrests are mostly into film stuff and computers, 3d animation, stuff like that

13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Thanks man for the interview!!

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Legion Of The Damned/Descent Into Chaos/Massacre Records/2011 CD Review

Legion Of The Damned are a band from The Netherlands that plays a mixture of death, thrash and black metal and this is a review of their  2011 album "Descent Into Chaos" which was released by Massacre Records.

Drums alternate between mid paced and fast bass playing with a lot of brutal blast beats, while the bass playing has a very dark tone which seems to follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars and at times they sound very powerful.

Rhythm guitars are a mixture o mid paced to fast riffing which combines thrash, death and black metal together with a lot of catchy riffs and a mall amount of soft playing being used on one of the intros to the songs, while the lead guitars are very distorted sounding guitar solos which are influenced by mid 80 to early 90's extreme metal.

Vocals are a mixture of early 80's black thrash style of vocals mixed with some deep growls and gang style yelling chorus style of vocals, while the lyrics cover rage, death, war and nuclear doom, as for the production it sounds very powerful and heavy.

In my opinion Legion Of The Damned are a very good band that brings the classic death/thrash/black sound to modern days and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "A Night At the Sabbath" "War Is My Blood" "Lord Of The Flies" and "THE HAND Of Darkness". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Death Wolf/Self Titled/Regain Reords/2011 CDRevi

 Death Wolf are a band from Sweden that has members of Marduk that plays a style that mixes black metal, thrash, punk, and death rock together and this is a review of their self titled 2011 album which was released by Regain Records.

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast with a good amount of blast beats, while the bass playing has a dark tone with riffs that follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars and at times it is very easy to hear.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast riffs that mix black metal, thrash, punk and death rock together, while the lead guitars are very distorted sounding guitar solos.

Vocals are a mixture of punk styled yells, Danzig style clean singing that also has the aggression of black metal, while the lyrics touch on dark topics with an occult feel, as for the production it sounds very raw but still very professional.

In my opinion Death Wolf are a very good and original band that mixes black metal with thrash, punk, and death rock and if you are looking for something original, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Circle Of Abomination" "The Other Hell" "Come Forth By Night" "Dawn Of Flesh". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Metalomorph Interview

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

Metalomorph is a one man studio project formed in 2006 (based on ideas collected since the mid 1990's) that aims to capture the pure essence of oldschool extreme metal but emphasize it with a unique touch of authenticity.


2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new demo?


As a well refined mixture of Black, Thrash and Death metal with oldschool feeling, deep raw vocals, and imposing guitar sound based on the classic Gibson SG model with Tony Iommi's signature pickup.



3. What are some of the lyrical topics the new demo covers?


Psychedelic experiences , mystical SF stories , cosmological themes with a personal philosophical touch.



4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the band's name?


In SF literature the "Metalomorph" is an exotic life form based on liquid metals and capable of shape shifting. I thought this is appropriate both to the lyrics and the music which blends fluently various genres of extreme metal.


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


As I said, this is a one man studio project. No gigs.


6. Currently the band in unsigned, are you looking for a label, and if so what kind of label do you feel that would do the most to support your music?


Yes, I'm looking for a label, the most realistic option is one of the small to medium sized European or American labels in the scene.
Hopefully, a label that will agree to finance the rest of the recordings or at least the digital mastering.


7. Avccording to the Myspace palge, the band members have over 20 years of experience in the underground metal scene, what is it that keeps you going after all of these years?


Ongoing hunger for this music and a profound creative urge.
This is a part of me, so I can't imagine not doing it.


8. How has your music been recieved so far by underground metal fans worldwide?


Quite well. I've got over 15,000 profile views in Myspace withing just 5 months. Surprisingly, a very large part of those come from the USA, which I didn't expect at all. Also, feedback has been very positive,as you can see on my comment board.


9. Are there any side projects besides this group, or is thie a full time band?

This is 'The' project for me, there are no others.


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


Mostly the classic metal founding bands who released albums between 1970-1994. I'm also influenced by psychedelic electronica from the 1990's and some classical compositions. This is also what I'm listening to most of the time. newer bands are nice, but not as good as the classics.



11. Outside of music, what are some of your interests?


Research in alternatives to mainstream dogmas in all fields of science and medicine. this is usually where the truth is found.



12. Any final words or thoughts before we close this interview?


The demo can be purchased by transfering payment to my Paypal account : metalomorph@gmail.com (this is also my official contact)
cost is 7$ (standard package) or 8$ (registered package)

Graphic designers who are interested in designing a logo for Metalomorph will get a free copy(and full credit on Myspace) if their work is selected.
More details at my website:
www.myspace.com/metalomorph

Kvelertak Interview

answered by Erland:

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



Hey. Yes, we just released our album in the US and have just gotten back from a short (& sweet) tour over there. The next item on the agenda is going on a European tour with Comeback kid before playing shitloads of summer festivals.



2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album?



It's kind of hard to describe because there is so many different elements in the mix, like hardcore, punk, 70s rock and even some bits of black metal, so nowadays I just call it rock to keep it simple.



3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the new release explores?



So far the subjectmatter has been mostly old nordic mythology, devilworshipping and even some personal subjects. I basically just sing about things that interests me and I think sound badass. I might do something different for the next album, I haven't decided yet.



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



Kvelertak means chokehold in English. There's not much meaning behind it other than it sounding good and being short, straight to the point. I don't know who came up with it, Bjarte thinks it was him. I think it was me, hehe.



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



I think the shows we just did at SXSW in Austin were among the best shows we have done, especially the one we did at a place called Prague. They had cheap gin and tonic, and the stage was basically like a big junglegym with pipes to climb in the ceiling and so on, so that was perfect for me. The crowd was really into it.

To describe our stage performance, I'll just say that we're six sweaty guys who play every show as if it's the last one. At least that's what we aim to do.



6. Are there any plans for a U.S tour?



Yes, I think we're planning on coming back over in October for a eastcoast tour. Join our facebook to keep yourself posted.



7. On a worldwide level, how has your music been received by extreme metal fans?



Extremely well (pardon the pun)! Ofcourse you always have the tr00 elitist forum-nerds talking shit, but it seems a lot of different kinds of people including extreme metal fans are into the music, which we appreciate.

So far the album has been getting nothing but good reviews, so we've been pretty lucky in that aspect.



8. How wuld you describe your musical progress over the years and what direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?



We started out as a shitty punkrock basementband in 2006, so we spent about three years rehearsing, figuring out what the hell we were doing and finally getting a proper line-up together. So I'd say there's been a huge progress, concidering where we started to being the place we're in now.

As for what musical direction the music is going to take in the future, that's really a question for our guitarist Bjarte. He makes all the music, but I'm sure the future releases also will sound like Kvelertak.



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



Another question for Bjarte, hehe. I've said this probably a thousand times, but he has everything between Marvin Gaye to Gorgoroth in his car and is influenced by almost everything he listens to. To him good music is good music (regardless of genre), which I think is a good approach.

Personally I've been listening a lot to Djevel lately, a blackmetal-band that I'm in and just finished recording the debutalbum with. The album should be out in June, check it out on myspace if you're into old school norwegian black metal.

10. What role does Asataru or Satanism play in your music and how would you describe your views on these topics?



Like I said earlier, I basically sing about subjects that interests me and make for good lyrics. I'm not that heavily into the subjects in my personal life, other than it representing my nonbelief in christianity.



11. Outside of music, what are some of your interests?



My hobbies? Not that interesting really, I like chilling out with videogames, movies, reading and music. In the weekends I get drunk, hehe.



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



Check out our album, though it's not occult black metal, and thanks for the interview!



Erlend Hjelvik

https://www.facebook.com/Kvelertak/