Wednesday, September 26, 2012

The Black Moriah/Casket Prospects Promo/2012 EP Review


  The  Black  Moriah  are  a  band  from  Texas  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2012  ep  "Casket  Prospects  Promo".

  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  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  thrash  and  black  metal  together  with  some  dark  sounding  melodies  that  bring  a  doom  and  death  metal  feeling  to the  music,  while the  lead  guitars  are  very  old  school  sounding  black/thrash  metal  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  high pitched  black/thrash  metal  screams  with  some  deep  growls  being  utilized  at  times  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing,  while the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  occult 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 The  Black  Moriah  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  black  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of t his  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Chained  And  Confined".  RECOMMENDED.

http://www.reverbnation.com/theblackmoriah


   

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Absvrdist/Ilusory/Abyssal Warfare Promotions/2012 CD Review


  Absvrdist  are  a  band  from  San  Antonia,  Texas  that  plays  a  blackened  form  of  grindcore  mixed  with  crustcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Illusory"  which  was  released  by  Abyssal  Warfare  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  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  with  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs t hat  combine  black  metal,  gindcore  and  crustcore  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  soft  and  clean  playing  and  there  are  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording.

  Vocals  range  from  high  pitched  black  metal  and  grindcore  screams  to  deep  crustcore  style  shouts  and  growls  along  with  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts,  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent,  hateful  and  humorous  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  Absrvdist  are  a  very  great  sounding  hyrid  of  black  metal,  crust  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Funny  Games"  "First  World  Problems"  "Needful  Things"  and  "Shitidiot".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Bandcamp
Facebook

  

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Abstracter Interview


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


Abstracter coalesced out of a deep friendship. We are all friends. Three of us live together in the same house as well. We share a similar view on the world and taste on what music "should sound like".  This band was never intended to take off. It was just a way for us, as buddies, to blow steam off a couple times a week in a rehearsal studio just to give a voice to our internal demons and struggles. No shows were ever planned, no recording, nothing. We just wanted to unleash the slime that lives inside of us, just as it does in anyone else. In this the band is very honest we think. There is filth in every human being, it is humanity's nature, but at least we admit it and show it, and let it out. The rest of the world hides behind a facade of lies, the hypocrisy that this world actually "works". After some time we had some songs written and some of our closets friends heard it and told us it had to see the light of day, cause it was unlike anything they had ever heard. We didn't really know what to do, but we thought "what the fuck" and decided to give it a shot. And here we are now, with a debut album recorded, a record label helping us, promoters booking us for shows and so on. Unexpected but, we worked hard for this, and we feel like this band and this music are now a statement to be made.




2. How would you describe your musical sound?


We like to think that it's something coming from the very inside of our rotting souls. This sound is our voice as a collective of people. It's our national anthem to our own hermetic imaginary nation. We use cheap gear for necessity and taste. It's not about the "gear" it's about the attitude and amount of soul your pour into it. Lots of bands spend all this money on expensive gear and sound like shit. The truth is that there is no brains behind the music.This music comes from the gutter and must sound like it. It is real and not scared of showing that it is pure scum. Just take cheap gear, the desire to push it beyond it's limits, and an enormous amount of hate and disgust towards everything, and there you have our sound. Pretty simple.




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


In general the lyrics are always a reflection on a metaphysical level on humanity and it's revolting alchemy with the universe or world it is stranded on. "Tomb of Feathers" is about mental disease and total psychological destruction. Today's society sucks and generates wealth and excess just as much as it does disease and poverty. It's simple mathematics, when one end rises, the other end goes down. There isn't room for everyone. This album is about the last of the last. Those who are forced into the the most invisible and deathly of prisons by their own peers: their own mind, as a grave.




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


A name that means nothing and everything. We do not publish our lyrics, and in the same way, we do not say what our name means. But when we decided to stick with it, we knew it represented us more than anything.




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 only played a dozen shows, so far, most of which were a bit random and saw us testing the ground, with our confidence still a bit limited. The best show we have played so far was probably one we did with Kayo Dot. We are all huge fans of Toby Driver's work and how he destroys metal from the inside. He's a musical visionary and playing a show with him was a real honor. When we play live we aim for total annihilation. It's the moment when our sound about how awful humanity is, must be shown to humans. So you can imagine we are pretty pissed in that moment. Our set is not very crowd interactive and is very introspective. We close our selves up in own world full of filth and disgust. I'm not sure yet, our live element is not well shaped yet, but people tell us that it is violent.




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


Nope. We don't and not trying to. We're open to it though, if it doesn't disrupt our everyday lives we have and enjoy.




7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of underground music?


So far we have not seen or heard one negative remark. But we also don't really give a shit about what people think.




8. Are there any other projects besides this band or is this a full time line up?


This band is for all four of us our main musical occupation. Music is essential to our existence. With out it we would be all who knows were, probably not in a good situation. We need it to live. Ben, our drummer, is mainly a guitarist, and plays in avant-black metal band Nihlotep, but they are less active than us so far.




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


We have been writing new songs, and they are already radically different from what you can hear on "Tomb of Feathers". The black metal, crust, psychedelic and noise elements have started prevailing over the traditional doom and sludge sounds and structures which are more groove and riff oriented. The new music sounds darker, more abstract, savagely, and more unpredictable. In general it is heavier and darker. My vocals and Robin's guitar playing are especially turning to more desperate and desolate kinds of sounds. We don't know, but we do not enjoy repeating our selves and we always try to find out how far sonically this band can go, and where it can end up.




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


Our bassist, Jose, is the real musical talent in this band. He doesn't listen to much metal through out the day, as far as we know. The last time he had Bjork playing the car. He is a self taught multi -instrumentalist with a natural musical ear. He gets this music immediately with out having to "train" daily and listen to metal on his "away time" from the band. In the same way he can play a folk song on the stand up bass and make it sound amazing. He can play all of our songs on the xylophone. Robin, Ben and I on the other hand, we surround our selves with music, we seem to need that constant feeding hand. We live together and there is always metal blasting through our house. We have similar tastes but Ben tends to like more traditional metal like thrash metal and black metal. Robin likes huge soundscapes. He likes death-doom, sludge metal and the such. I'm all over the place, Recently I was really loving the new Dead Can Dance album and an amazing death metal album by a Belgian band called Emptiness. The three of us recently saw Swans play live again, and we all equally enjoyed the show.




11. Does Occultism play any role in the music?


Not really. This music is about what humanity really is, not about what humanity fantasies or "creates" with their minds. Occultism, satanism, religion... It's all the same shit.




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


I'm a music journalist, metal obviously, and work in the digital music industry. Jose is a blacksmith, he loves to create with his hands and loves the outdoors. Ben and Robin have day jobs with local companies too and I assume music is for them as well,as it is for me, what takes up most of their brain activity.




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


Yeah, humanity sucks. Humanity is the worst thing to have ever happened to us.

https://abstracter.bandcamp.com/

Abstracter/Tomb Of Feathers/The Path Less Traveled Records/2012 CD Review


  Abstracter  are  a  band from  the  Bay  Area  of  California  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  crust,  doom,  psychedelic,  shoegaze,  noise  and  hardcore  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Tomb  Of  Feathers"  which  was  released  by  The  Path  Less  Traveled  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  to  mid  paced  drumming  with  not  much  in  the  way  of  fast  playing  or  blast  beats,  while  the  sound  effects  bring  in  psychedelic  and  noise  music  elements  to  the  music,  as for  the  bass  playing  it  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  with  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from slow  to  mid  paced  riffs  that  combine  black  and  doom  metal  with  crust and  hardcore  punk  as  well  as  psychedelic,  shoegaze  and   noise  music  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  with  a  good  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  being  thrown  into  the  riffing  and  there a re  little  to  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording.

  Vocals  range  from  clean  singing,  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  deep  death  metal  growls,  while  the  lyrics  cover  a  concept  about  madness  and  mental  disease,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a very  strong,  powerful  and  heavy   sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording,  in  addition  the  songs  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion Abstracter  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  black  metal,  doom,  crust,  hardcore  punk,  shoegaze,  noise  and  psychedelic  music  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  groups  that  mix  these  musical  styles  together,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Ash".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

https://abstracter.bandcamp.com/   

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Centurion Interview


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

AD Gore: Hi, we’re preparing for the autumn shows in Poland and creating a new songs for the next release. Apart from the regular works, we have a temporary change on the position of drummer in the band. Our regular drummer Demon must  leave a country for few months, so we will play with Desecrate, known from cooperation with the bands such as Lost Soul or Pyorrhoea in the past and currently Gortal, for a while.

How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from previous releases?

AD Gore: Our general approach was the same as regarding the past recordings. We wanted to create the most aggressive release that we could. The sound is very dirty, tracks are fast and dynamic, we recorded six tracks of guitars what makes the sound really powerful. The major difference between “Serve no One” and previous releases is a quality of sound production. The second thing are compositions which are more powerful and dynamic than ever before.

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

AD Gore: The lyrics are full of violence and hatred against the weakness, stupidity and hypocrisy. We don’t fight for any kind of great idea but the freedom and independence of strong individuals. That’s the meaning of our album title. Our words declares war against religion or other shitty things that make this world such shitty place. Some lyrics describe an ancient times and the battles and wars that took place thousands years ago. But it is still the same core message. And we spread this message in a very extreme way.

What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

AD Gore: Centurions were a professional officers of the Roman army and they were closest to the battlefield despite the fact that they were relatively high in the hierarchy. They had to be proud, charismatic and courageous people to  lead their people and win. They were also those, who, according to the bible, tortured and killed Jesus Christ. Isn’t it a perfect name for the band that plays violent and antichristian kind of death metal?

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

AD Gore: There were lot of amazing gigs we played so far. The last one for example, our release party, were pretty extreme. The mosh pit spread almost to the stage, even our second guitarist Bigos felt down from the stage, but he was so drank on the other hand, that it was maybe because of this reason hehehehe…. It’s good that our music is quite simple for us, we don’t play any complicated riffs or rhythms, so we can drink vodka on the stage, as we usually do and still have a good performance. But we don’t have any general concept for our shows… We always try to do something mad during our gigs. Once upon a time there were a SWAT team that took us from the stage. Despite the fact that we play an extreme and dark kind of metal, we have a great fun on the stage and we treat it as a sort of entertainment to make something additional to the music.

Do you have any touring plans for the future?

AD Gore: Yes, but all gigs in Poland. We’ll try to visit other countries next year.

On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your newer music by fans of extreme death metal?

AD Gore: It was awesome, almost all maniacs gave us very positive opinions about the album. As well as the media, webzines, etc. – in majority the feedback was really good. I think that the secret is that the music we play reaches the people who know what is the essence of metal.

What is going on with the other band projects these days?

AD Gore: I can say first of all personally about my second own band – Pyorrhoea. We just recorded our third album called “I am the war” and it will be a fucking killer. I don’t know what’s going on with Nomad the band where Demon plays, they release their album in 2011 but currently may have some problems with playing regular shows as their guitarists play with Behemoth and that makes him pretty busy guy… Caesar is also a vocalist in Shrapnel, but this is a kind of side project and they just record some stuff from time to time…

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

AD Gore: The direction is to be more extreme.


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

AD Gore: In fact I’m a great fan of grind core and crust so it’s difficult to find a link between Disfear and Centurion. But we all love an old school death metal such as Angel Corpse or Sadistic Intent. We don’t have any major influence we’re just extreme maniacs of extreme music and we make a music that we would like to listen. In some way – Centurion is also one of our favorite bands. But if you find influences that’s cool. Providing that it won’t be Justin Biber, hehehe…

How would you describe your views on Satanism or Occultism?

AD Gore: I’m an atheist, in fact we’re all atheists in Centurion. But Satan as a symbol of freedom is OK. He’s better than Christ for sure… If somebody have time to develop it’s inner self according to the occult knowledge I have respect for this. Me personally rather like to think about philosophy than magic or occultism.

Outside of music what are some of your interests?

AD Gore: Movies, books, art in general, but rather off-stream, sports like martial arts and of course rock&roll life…

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

AD Gore: Thanks for your attention. Keep your heads banging!!!!


Centurion current line-up:
Caesar – voc.
AD Gore – guit., voc.
Bigos - guit., voc.
Blacha - bass
Demon – drums

DISCOGRAPHY:
...and they will leave only remains – demo 2001 [self released]
 Conquer & Rule  – LP 2002 [Apocalypse Prodoductions]
Sacrilege – promo 2007 [self released]
Sindecade / Sacrilege – split with Gortal 2008 [Gorification Musix]
Serve No One – CD 2012 [Wydawnictwo Muzyczne Psycho]

Two tracks from the album are available on band official YouTube channel under the following links:
Ego Ultimus: HYPERLINK "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRTAViiK3Lg" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRTAViiK3Lg
No One To Serve: HYPERLINK "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP3-9iEgUTs" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP3-9iEgUTs

OFFICIAL VIDEO: HYPERLINK "http://youtu.be/E-Kr_wxornc" http://youtu.be/E-Kr_wxornc

WYDAWNICTWO MUZYCZNE PSYCHO
Website: HYPERLINK "http://www.wydawnictwopsycho.com" www.wydawnictwopsycho.com

CENTURION
Website: HYPERLINK "http://www.centurion-deathmetal.pl" www.centurion-deathmetal.pl
MySpace: HYPERLINK "http://www.myspace.com/centuriondeathmetal" www.myspace.com/centuriondeathmetal
Facebook: HYPERLINK "http://www.facebook.com/centuriondeathmetal" www.facebook.com/centuriondeathmetal
YouTube: HYPERLINK "http://www.youtube.com/centurionmetaldeath" www.youtube.com/centurionmetaldeath

GODZ OV WAR PRODUCTIONS
management/press/promotion
e-mail: HYPERLINK "mailto:godz.ov.war@wp.pl" godz.ov.war@wp.pl

Friday, September 7, 2012

Satan's Wrath/Galloping Blasphemy/Metal Blade Records/2012 CD Review


  Satan's  Wrath  are  a  band  from  Greece  that  plays  a  very  satanic  and  occult  form  of  black/thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Galloping  Blasphemy"  which  was  released  by  Metal  Blade  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  not  much  in  the  way  of  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  the  follow  the  riffing  that  is  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  they  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to t hem.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  black,  thrash  and  traditional metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  which  is  in  the  old  school  vein  but  updated  for  the  modern  day,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  old  school  heavy  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the   acoustic  guitars  which  are  only  used  briefly  they  use  finger  picking  to  add  another  dimension  of  evil  to  the  music.

  Vocals  are  mostly  raspy  ritualistic  black  metal  screams  along  with  a  brief  use  of  demonic  chanting,  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Luciferian,  Occultism,  Black  Magick  and  Anti  Christian  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  which  does  not  take  away  from  the  raw  and  primitive  old  school  approach  of  the  music  and  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.  

  In  my  opinion  Satan's  Wrath  are  a  very  great  sounding  satanic  and  occult  black/thrash  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Leonard  Rising  -  Night  Of  The  Whip"  "One  Thousand  Goats  In  Sodom"  "Hail  Tritone,  Hail  Lucifer"  and  "Slaves  Of  The  Inverted  Cross".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

http://metalblade.com/satanswrath

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Schizoid Interview


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


Hi, this is Jay from SCHIZOID from Canada, an extreme metal/noise band.

An album "The Next Extreme" has just been released. It contains 16 songs, and is an hour of decimating crazy intense furious blastbeat music. It is my 3rd album and first real "SCHIZOID" album in quite a long time. It has just been released either on iTunes, schizoid.bandcamp.com and also the CD digipacks are ready and for sale through www.schizoid.ca, soon through our distributors.

The music could be compared to RED HARVEST, AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED, ANAAL NAKTHRATH, ATARI TEENAGE RIOT, PITCHSHIFTER, ABORYM.

As for what's going on past that? Many releases including singles and remix EPs are being put together to support this new album.

You can see the newest videos already out on YouTube for "The Next Extreme" and "Epitaph" songs 1 and 10 from the disc.

I have recruited a live noisician TalixZen/PAINGUISH and bassist Frank CONTAMINATION. They are helping live performances get crazier than thought possible before.



2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from previous releases?





I have been using the phrase "blackened industrial digital hardcore noise metal". Which is a mouthful, but the music spans many genres. Mostly rooted in extreme metal like black/grind, digital hardcore and industrial elements.

The material on this is a lot more thought out, structured, absolutely every second sounds the way it does for a reason. With those first two albums I was promoting Schizoid while kind of still learning my craft. The last album "All Things Are Connected" I thought was great and untoppable for years, tho I knew the mission was not complete and that SCHIZOID would have to undergo a darker transformation.

I always liked digital hardcore music but thought it should be less DJ-culture/boring/inert and more like rock music or specifically black metal. I was in a black metal band for 8 years and picked up some guitar proficiency of sorts, which showed somewhat on my inbetween "covers album" release "Covered In Metal", but is fully realized here.

"Enough Is Enough" I think at its heart was a speedcore album, very gabber-centric, tho containing the vocals and some guitar parts. "All Things Are Connected" was a tried and true 100% digital hardcore album in every way, with a lot of menace and jagged parts. "The Next Extreme" is kind of the resolve to the earlier discs, and definitely where I wanted to go with the project. It is the same SCHIZOID, but so much more focused and chaotic in a very channeled and proficient this way, this time around.



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





A lot of the lyrics are about my cynical impression of this culture and how poisonous and diseased it is. It's a take on so called "Extremes" like "Extreme Housing" and "Extreme Painting". It's about the worse hellish thoughts you could possibly think of. Like nuclear bombs going off exponentially tearing the earth apart. There is a lot of absurd and very over analytical frustration, apathy, desperation and impatience in these lyrics. With the last album I was intent on while making criticisms to support it with an ultimately positive viewpoint. This new lyrics is negativity taken to the furthest and most draining plateaus (it's more similar to "Enough Is Enough"s introspective lyrics), nothing is sacred, everything is at fault. Even myself, and the idea of trying to write and finish and album, and how ridiculous it all was, started to creep into the lyrics. It's a tantrum, not everyone likes that and wants a feelgood rock on type vibe, but I cannot nor will I provide that kind of music for myself or my audience.





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





I was reading the book "Love and Will" and it talked about the 'schizoid'/schizotypical personality. Some of the characteristics I identified with then and still to this day. I felt perhaps? that explained many past difficulties. It seemed like a neat handle name, although I want to remain ever aware of any self fulfilling fallacy I may walk into personally, under that moniker. I was more opting to make music myself and not so much involve others when it came to this particular project and it seemed very individualized and the perfect name for my own solo project. It was a very big personal accomplishment to me, to perform all elements of the album except the backup vocals, especially as someone who used to be more of a tit when it came to guitars. I still feel the name has meaning to me and will always be Jay Schizoid at this point regardless of SCHIZOID's future.





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


I think the most recent gig was honestly the best gig as the 3-piece. It was with local bands like VODNIK and 4WARDENS, all the same I believe its the type of set that will springboard us onto good bills. I've played SCHIZOID live in the past alongside a bunch of great acts, like MERZBOW, FAXED HEAD, BELLADONNAKILLZ (RIP), NO BRIGADE, THE FIRST SEED, C64, NWODTLEM, a lot of classic shows that have went down. Besides that I think my 2nd gig as SCHIZOID back in 2001 where me and a live guitarist Miq NOCORE opened for EC8OR, was a personal favorite.

As for stage performance, I try to treat every SCHIZOID gig like it's some audience's first. I like to play hard and scream as loud as my body and experience will let me. I don't get up there pretending I'm anybody special, and joke when the moment's right. But when the music's played it's angry and intense. I think about dying and the most negative possible things to keep me on my toes and in the right frame of mind, and the less instrumentation I work with the more I can as moreso a vocalist in the past, fiddling and moshing with the mic stand and mic cord and end up rolling around like a epileptic victim.



6. Do you have any touring plans for the new release?





I really hope so. I've played many Ontario, Canada towns but nothing outside of the province since our country is so huge and there was never any even breaking even tour opportunities that came up. I'd particularly like to play the UK, I know that not only SCHIZOID but D-TRASH Records has got a lot of positive feedback and supporters there, sometimes it feels like moreso than in our own country. Even just a 2 week day after day after day after day tour getting the musick out there is high up on my list of priorities relating to "The Next Extreme" era of things.





7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your new album by fans of extreme music?





It's still too early to tell necessarily. On my www.schizoid.ca webpage I kept a list of quotes by friends, comrades and associates about the disc, that all seem to be rather good opinions of the disc. But that's people I know. I want to get a host of bad reviews as much as I'd like to see good press for the sake of the disc and its visibility and hopefully sales, since this is a DIY thing and not something corporate. We'll see. I think so far people like what they hear. Check out the disc at schizoid.bandcamp.com and see what you think.



8. The new album came out on D-Trash Records, can you tell us more about this label?





I run the record label D-TRASH Records. It is very cyberpunk/digital hardcore/industrial/noise/experimental style. It is basically electronic music that metalheads could appreciate to put it well to your audience. Well not every release. But I think that differentiates us from other 'electronic producers'. We are not out to make lame music to dance to. We've learned enough from the metal back catalogue to know how to take that and toughen it up a bit more, yknow? Quick story, I submitted my material to the label in 1998. I helped and it was a very collective-based. Around 2000 the others got tired of "running a label" and I volunteered and have run every since. The label has had many prominent releases from artists such as SCHIZOID, ACID ENEMA, THE SHIZIT, 64REVOLT, CUTTINGPINKWITHKNIVES, PUNISH YOURSELF, tho how "prominent" they are could be questioned. We are a fringe/cult label who cater to a pretty particular style, with every intention of as we go along, changing that envelope so we don't miss out on some real unique and interested artists. We sell CDs in a retail sense, and we also give out full length MP3 albums with full color art and have been doing so since our inception (Why is band's one song for download such a big deal? When others give the entire disc.). You can check out more at www.dtrashrecords.com.



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





I don't really have an idea because I've spent so long trying to fulfill this musical promise to myself in completing, releasing and promoting this album. The music I produce usually always is pretty aggressive or at the very least unique. To be honest I feel a lot more at home with my BC Rich Beast guitar than I have lately mucking about on old but classic Acid 2.0 software for remix completion. There's plans a'foot that I can't discuss now related to that.



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

On this album black metal played a big role in how I wanted to incorporate more guitars into the digital hardcore sound. For a lot of years that I composed this I was obsessed with LEVIATHAN, XASTHUR, DARKTHRONE, MAYHEM, BURZUM, BLUT AUS NORD, NIVEN DIV 187.

What kicked me into making SCHIZOID was of course the Digital Hardcore movement, whether bands straight from DHR (ATARI TEENAGE RIOT, ALEC EMPIRE, EC8OR) or the bands that I ended up signing onto D-TRASH Records who continue to inspire me.

Before that I had also always liked the mechanized industrial grinding metal of the 1990s from RELAPSE and EARACHE (MALFORMED EARTHBORN, CANDIRU, DEAD WORLD, EXIT 13), or any of the underground hardcore Rotterdam tapes that I did not know too much about but loved any that I heard. As well I think hats off should be given more in retrospect to the 1990s Toronto industrial metal scene like MONSTER VOODOO MACHINE, MALHAVOC, MUNDANE, SOULSTORM, not enough people give those bands props for what they did.

Lately? A pretty steady diet of GUNS N ROSES and AGNOSTIC FRONT. And whatever's been recently released on D-TRASH, stuff like CHIC GALA, FFT ERROR, HYPERDRIVER, THE FIRST SEED.





11. How would you describe your views on Satanism and Occultism?





My views on Satanism are that it is the most practical of the religions out there. I believe that anyone who has read the Satanic Bible and truly understands it would not even call themselves Satanists per say. I'd call myself an antitheist. It's not about whether "gods" exist or not and the lengthy tired debates as such, it's about how that conversation is irrelevant in the first place. As for Occultism, I mean it's got its place in the heavy metal folklore and album covers and other cool stuff that Bill and Ted would air guitar or what not to, otherwise I think it's kind of just as flakey as any other supernatural belief. That's been one common theme in the SCHIZOID canon, is the abject despisal of all religous thought and activity... just despicable and unacceptable for man's progress.





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





I like long walks on the park. Making love in the sand. Bicycling!

Nah man, I don't have any interests outside of music except things that are sinful in nature. And music is a kind of sin in it'self, no?





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





I think if you are still reading this, you are at least mildly interested. Here is the debut single from the first track of the new CD, the title track "The Next Extreme". This is the music video (very NSFW) and should demonstrate what SCHIZOID sounds like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz_TFP4oSuU

There is another video recently that hit, "Epitaph", more DIY look, but very grim and eerie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQyuFLTEvKM





Your review for your site you wrote was positive and it appeared you like the disc. Thank you, I'm happy that you dug it and glad to have done this interview.

If anyone wants to check SCHIZOID further, go to www.schizoid.ca online to find out about the new CD and other goings-ons.

Cheers.




https://schizoid.bandcamp.com/

Disolvo Animus Interview


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


Sanctus: Firstly, I’d like to thank you on behalf of the band for this interview. We are a blackened

death metal band, hailing from Athens, Greece. Disolvo Animus was formed in 2006 by Animus,

started as a project for demo releases. Then, new members came in and after a promo release,

and an ep, we’re counting 2012, new members, new ideas, new material. Our first album

“Aphesis” will be released via Darknagar records (Ru) in July.


2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from the

older material?

Sanctus: Our new album was an effort to overtake ourselves. It is a mix of death metal riffs,

black metal atmospheres and some- few- symphonic parts. It could be described as a

warmongering extreme-melodic album. Lyrically, it is based on a concept of a man facing

society, his family and science in his effort to fight religion and the Christian term of Absolution

or “Aphesis” in Ancient Greek. It is sacrilegious, even a blasphemy, but not in the usual way. No

lyrics such as “Fuck god” will be found within the songs. It is deeper than that. On the other

hand, our ep “Aleatoric Morte” was a less death metal album, more of a symphonic black metal

vision, but of course it is a respected by the band first step towards Aphesis and the things to

follow our first album.


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

Sanctus: I must tell you, that reading many and all kinds of books is one of my basic interests.

After years of reading, I’ve come to a specific taste in books, mainly those dealing with ethics,

religion and developmental biology. So, all of these general topics have been summed up to this

title “Aphesis”. Of course, whatever has been written and sung for this album, is in pace with

the opinions of all the band members. For sure, there are many different aspects of a topic like

this – Absolution-, you cannot deal with and analyze such a thing within an album. But our

general view on society, science and religion is clearly mirrored within these 8 songs. Future

releases will be quite different, more esoteric, and probably vaguer.


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

Sanctus: DISOLVO ANIMUS could be explained as “Souls under decomposition/destruction”. It

was conceived by Animus (guitars) in 2006. It might sound as common or anything but it is

clearly connected to the science-religion combination of our concept as a band throughout the

years. A man’s soul, and mind decompose once thinking processes are suppressed. The

enhancement of life and thinking as a vital process of the first, lead to the upheaval and

coronation of the new man. The thinking man. So, the decomposing souls, minds, are the

enemy. Our name is our own enemy. Our music is the declaration of war against the dissolving

minds.


5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you

describe your stage performance?

Sanctus: We haven’t played many times yet. And this is due to the fact that we’ve been under

many “come and go”s with members leaving the band at times, and some of them living in

different places among Greece. So this makes it hard for a band to improvise, and perform on

stage. These problems have come to an end, at least for the time speaking, and new shows will

come up. As for the description, I’d say that we are trying to transfer the atmosphere of our

songs on stage as much as we can. The only difference is that we do not use symphonic parts in

our live appearances, which enhances the death metal character of our songs and it is a deal

with ourselves to show to the people listening to us that our music isn’t about the keys and the

symphonies, but it’s all about the riffs. We compose metal music, on a guitar. The rest is just for

the atmosphere. Nothing more.


6. Do you have any touring plans for the new release?

Sanctus: There are some plans but not that long-term. We have booked a live appearance with

Necrophobic in Athens, and we’re into conversations with an old Greek horde for some live

shows around Greece. We’re taking it one step at a time, not rushing into anything.


7. Currently you are signed to Darknagar, how did you get in contact with this label and how

would you describe the support that they have given you so far?

Sanctus: Darknagar is an offspring label; we came into contact in March. The owner seems to be

really professional- as much as the size of the label could support-, into our music and into

extreme metal music in general. We’re waiting for the release in July. We hope that this

cooperation is gonna turn out well. The support from Darknagar’s side seems great.


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

metal?

Sanctus: If a band was to release an album a decade ago, this question would have been

answered as “few to zero”. Times have changed, YouTube seems to take over the music

business and mp3 downloading ruins the plans of big record labels. So, living and producing

music in times like this, provides you with the chance of having people all around knowing you, I

mean not everyone, a few perhaps , but some of them would have never found out about your

music if u are not as big as Behemoth, Hate etc. Internet makes things easier, and there are

people from countries such as the US, Russia, Australia, Canada, Venezuela and many more,

awaiting for our first album. There have also been some encouraging comments by people of

the scene, members of “big” names about our music, which provides us with extra energy to go

on and begin our career. So our feedback at the time speaking, is good. But, live shows, good

albums, years of effort, are the things that transform a group of people into a respected band



(not the internet) so we still have a huge way to travel.

9. Are there any other projects besides this band or is this a full time line up?

Sanctus: All of our members are into many things at the same time, but DISOLVO ANIMUS is the

top priority for every single member. So, yes, this is a full time line up.


10. What direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?

Sanctus: Our music? If so, I’d say that we’re willing to experiment with elements not that

common within the genre. We’re also planning on exploring new and more extreme fields, more

underground, and much darker than before. Our band keeps evolving all of these years, you

only need to take a look and compare the ep to the first album. Many differences, yet it’s the

same band playing, you can recognize that. We know that our music isn’t a “Eureka” statement

for death metal, but there are plenty of things that good be recruited for new and uncommon

directions.


11. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are

you listening to nowadays?

Sanctus: We are all big fans of the Polish scene- bands like Behemoth and Vader could be

considered as a substantial inspiration. We’re also listening to Nile, Decapitated, Suffocation,

Dodheimgard, Mayhem, Svart Crown, Deathspell Omega and many other acts away from the

black/death scene, such as Isis, Mastodon, Neurosis etc.


12. How would you describe your views on Occultism?

Sanctus: We’re not into Occultism. We’re not into any other forms of religion. We’re free human

spirits, inspired by nature and society. We’re the sons of an age where religion has been left to

rot and science and human effort have taken ground. Occultism seems to gain ground among

the extreme metal bands lately, but I seriously doubt how many of these groups really believe in

what they claim to exist. I could not deny though, that occultism is quite charming, and sets

questions on ethics and existence in a way not that common to a typical Christian society. But,

interesting views could be found in all occult teachings of every single religion that exists on

earth. I respect very few bands which are obviously related to the occult and these bands are

Acherontas, Acrimonious and Nightbringer.


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

Sanctus: Many different things actually. Personally, I’ m into blogging, reading books, university,

martial arts, and many other things. Same ’s for the rest of the members. But we’re all breathing

the air of music. We wake up and sleep to our favorite albums. We spent a lot of time listening

to music..


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

Sanctus: As I said, we are a part of the Greek scene. There are many great bands here (black

metal, death metal, thrash etc), of high potential, and I’d like to see the scene growing and

becoming crucial for world’s metal changes some time. There are many great musicians over

here, and I think that in the following years a lot of Greek bands will do great things. Keep an

eye on this part of the world. Great things might occur. Thanks a lot for this interview. All ha

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Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Schizoid/The Next Extreme/D-Trash Records/2012 CD Review


 Schizoid  are  a  1  man  band  from  Ontario,  Canada  that plays  black  metal  mixed  in  with  some  influences  from  grindcore,  industrial,  and  digital  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their    2012  album  "The  New  Extreme"  which  was  released  by  D-Trash  Records.

  Drum  programming  ranges  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  beats  with  some  programmed  blast  beats  which  also  mix  in  the  industrial,   gabber  and  digital  hardcore  influences,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  tone  with  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording,  as  for  the  sound  effects  they  bring  in  elements  of  techno, gabber,  and  digital  hardcore  to  the  music.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  black  metal  riffs  that  also  have  a  good  amount  of  grindcore  and  industrial  metal  influences  being  thrown  into  the  riffing  and  there  are  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording.

  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  mixed  in  with  a  good  amount  of  industrial  style  vocals  and  spoken  word  samples,  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  hateful  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  and  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

   In  my  opinion  Schizoid  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  black  metal,  industrial,  grindcore,  and  digital  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  style,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Next  Extreme"  "Real  Evil"  "Life  Is  Struggle"  and  "Final  Descent".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

STREAMING LINK: http://schizoid.bandcamp.com
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz_TFP4oSuU
SCHIZOID WEB: http://www.schizoid.ca