Necrocurse/Grip Of The Dead/Pulverised Records/2013 CD Review

  Necrocurse  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  mixture  of  blackened  thrash  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Grip  Of  The  Dead"  which  was  released  by  Pulverised  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 h as  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  black,  thrash  and  death  metal  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  with  a  good  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  being  thrown  into  the  riffing  at  times,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  chaotic  sounding  black/death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  mostly  blackened  death  metal s creams  and  growls  with  some  chants  and  spoken  word  elements  being  utilized  at  times  as  well  as  a  brief  power/thrash  scream  being  utilized  on  the  last  song,  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  occult  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  heavy,  old   school,  raw  and  primitive  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Necrocurse  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  and  primitive  hybrid  of  blackened  thrash  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Necrocurse"  "The  Devil  Cobra"  "Death  Metal  Rebels"  and  "Coffin  Breakers".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Secrets Of The Sky Interview

Answering the questions: Clayton Bartholomew (Guitars, Keyboards) and Garett Gazay (Vocals)

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

Clayton: We are busy writing the next record. We have five new songs basically finished. We are being selective in the local shows we accept, working on tour opportunities… most importantly, we are promoting “To Sail Black Waters”.

2. How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the album?

Clayton: I think of “To Sail Black Waters” as almost a soundtrack. It is cinematic, cerebral, dark, moody and yet somehow not completely void of hope at the same time... I think we want to leave it to the listener to interpret it for themselves though.

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

Garett: With this record "To Sail Black Waters" the whole of my lyrical inspiration has come from the sound of the  instrumentation, and the needed expression of deep, dark depths within myself, that I feel I hadn't been able to explore truly until joining this band. (Secrets of the Sky) To sum it up there are two songs about personal transformation, (Decline, and Sunrise) one is an ode to a deeply revered Pagan deity named "Cernunnos" (Winter) and "Black Waters" is the coming to terms with personal sin, and the hell within.

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

Garett: If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret now would it? Haha, let's just say you should keep a really close eye on us from here on out... There are some things better left unsaid for now. I'll give you a clue though, there have been clues left, and will continue to be left in the imagery, sounds, and lyrics of this band's future releases.

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

Clayton: We have played some amazing local shows and have been lucky enough to have a good draw so far. We went down to LA and played with Saviours and Black Cobra earlier this year and that was good times.

Garett: Possession.

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

Clayton: We are working on that for sure. Dates coming soon!

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

Clayton: Josh, who runs the label, got in touch with us following our feature in the “Unsigned and Unholy” column MetalSucks runs. He liked what he heard and wanted to work with us, which has been great. He has been really supportive in what we are trying to do and has opened some new doors for us... we couldn't ask for more!

8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme Metal?

Clayton: The reviews are starting to trickle in and so far, the response has been pretty amazing. Only time will tell for sure though.

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

Clayton: This is a full time line up… no real side projects to speak of.  All six of us are pretty stoked on what we are doing with Secrets.

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

Clayton: We are sticking to what works for us writing-wise… but I can say that the new material we have written is a bit more compact, a bit more dynamic and just as epic as anything we have worked on in the past. It is definitely a pick up from where we left off on “To Sail Black Waters” and continues the “Secrets” story... literally.

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

Clayton: We all listen to different stuff for sure… lots of classic rock would probably be the common thread. Personally, I am listening to Robin Trower, Jethro Tull, Baroness, Torche, Pallbearer, etc.

Garett: Yeah, I would have to say I listen to more Scandinavian Black Metal / Death than anything. Band's like Watain, Gorgoroth, Dark Throne, Amon Amarth. And I'm forever in love with Tristania (Morten Veland).

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

Clayton: Collecting Vinyl, getting tattooed, drinking beers, watching classic and foreign horror movies, etc. 

Garett: Aliester Crowley, The Order of the Golden Dawn Witchcraft, Poetry, Music, History, I LOVE History...

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

Clayton: Thank you for taking an interest in the band and the album… cheers!

Garett: Yes, we are very, very grateful that you've taken the time to get to know us, and our record, thank you!

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Secrets Of The Sky/To Sail Black Waters/Gravedancer Records/2013 CD Review

  Secrets  Of  The  Sky  are  a  band  from  Oakland,  California  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  doom,  death  and  progressive  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "To  Sail  Black  Waters"  which  was  released  by  Gravedancer  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  playing  with  no  fast  drumming  or  blast  beats  being  present on  this  recording,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  they  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them,  as  for  the  synths  when  they  are  utilized  they  bring  a  very  dark  and  atmospheric  sound  to  the  music.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  riffs  that  combine  black,  doom,  death  and  progressive  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  dark  and  melodic  sounding  extreme  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  they  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  to  add  a  dark  and  progressive  sound  to  the  music.

  Vocals  range  from  high  pitched  black  metal  screams,  deep  death  metal  growls  and  whispers  with  some  male  and  female  clean  singing  being  utilized  at  times,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  dark,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it  with  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Secrets  Of  The  Sky  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  black,  doom,  death  and  progressive  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Winter"  and  "Sunrise".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

 www.facebook.com/secretsofthesky

Arroganz/kaos.kult.kreation/BlackSmith Records/2013 CD Review

  Arroganz  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays    blackened  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "kaos.kult.kreation"  which  will  be  released  by  Blacksmith  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  utilized  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  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  blackened  death  metal  riffs  that  utilize  some  thrash  and  doom  metal  influences  as  well  as  some  melody  in  the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  which  are  only  utilized  briefly  are  very  melodic  sounding  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  all  blackened  death  metal  screams  and  growls,  while  the  lyrics  cover  satanism,  dark  and  occult  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Arroganz  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  death  metal  band  with  thrash  and  doom  influences  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Blood  Ceremony"  "Ghost  Of  The  Wolf"  "Through  Nightmares  Into  Black"  and  "Demand  The  Dark".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Centurian Interview

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

"The band is doing really good. The responses we get sofar about the new album are very good, so that pleases us. It's even better that the band feels stronger than ever now and we are happy with the way the new album turned out."

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

"I think we wrote better songs then before. Not only stronger arrangements, but every song is very different, so all together they make the perfect album to us. We had more material, but chose only the songs that would add something to the album."

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

"Contra Rationem means: against all speech. We believe there is no ultimate truth. Laws, doctrines and morals are things we created and give a certain value, but in fact they don't exist. So there is no use to follow any truth but your own, knowing that that truth itself could be a lie. We are all slaves to chaos and have to adjust to that."

 4. I know that the band took a long hiatus, what was the decision behind reforming the band and will we ever hear another album by Nox?

"After writing the first new songs for Contra Rationem we noticed that the new stuff reminded us more to Centurian then Nox. It has a lot to do with the fact that me and Bob (Nox) are different kind of drummers. We tried out a few of the old Centurian tracks and after that the choice was made."

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

"Last year we went to Brasil for the first time to do a few very memorable shows. On stage we try to bring the message we have to spread as powerfull as possible, everything is about the music."

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

"No concrete plans yet, but we will definitely get out there to visit places. It's too early right now to say what will happen."

7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your reunion by fans of death metal?

"Sofar so good. It's great to see that many old fans didn't forget about us, but we also get contacted by people who just found out about Centurian. Nothing to complain!"

8. What is going on with the other musical projects these days?

"Me and Patrick are involved in Severe Torture. Niels plays with Prostitute Disfigurement and I have a few more projects I'm working on. Those bands all do their things, we are very good at scheduling everything."

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

"We want to get every form of creativity out of this band as possible. That means the inspiration needs to come out of ourselves and not be guided by deathmetal laws. That is hard to do nowadays, but not impossible. The band Portal is a good example of what I mean."

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

"Everything can be inspirational, even a painting or a word. It's not other bands that influence us, we have a certain style and sound and want to get the most out of that. True inspiration comes from a certain feeling we want to translate into music."

 11. How would you describe your views on Occultism?

"I strongly believe in chaos."

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

"The most interesting thing to me is traveling and exploring different cultures."

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

"Thanx for this interview. Hopefully we'll meet somewhere on the road!

Believe nothing, dare all!! 333"

Seth van de Loo - Centurian

http://www.centurian333.com

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Centurian/Contra Rationem/Listenable Records/2013 CD Review

  Centurian  are  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  plays  a  very  heavy  and  brutal  form  of  blackened death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  2013  album  "Contra  Rationem"  which  was  released  by  Listenable  Records.

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

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid paced  to  fast  blackened  death  metal  riffs  that  are  heavy  and brutal sounding  with  a  good  amount  of  influences  from  the  Florida  death  metal  scene,   while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  dark  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  all  deep  death  metal  growls  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples,  while  the  lyrics  cover  anti  christian,  blasphemous  and  occult  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Centurian  are  a  very  great  sounding  heavy  and  brutal  blackened  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Thou  Shall  Bleed    For  Thy  Lord  Thy  God"  "Judas  Among  Twelve"  "Antinomium"  and  "Adversus".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

www.centurian333.com
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Mind Affliction Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?
Hi, we’re quite new to the metal scene. We’ve just released our debut album „Pathetic Humanity” through Metal Scrap Records. If you are into more extreme metal music you should definitely check us out - we bring some fresh air to the black/death metal music genre. You can find that our music varies a lot and shows some strong progressive / doom metal influences.

2. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Our lyrics focus on human depravity and different kinds of perversion. „Pathetic Humanity” tells a story about a sexual deviant, who takes pleasure in experimenting on people and finally, being severely mentally disturbed and under the influence of strong medications, decides to hang himself.

3. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
„Mind Affliction” refers to our lyrical theme. It’s mostly about what’s most peculiar in human beings - how their minds, in all their brilliance, can be devastatingly disgusting.

4. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
We’ve played quite a lot of gigs in a relatively short time, among others with bands like Christ Agony or Arkona. Our biggest shows are about to come, but so far the concert with the Polish black metal band Besatt was the best.

5. Do you have any touring plans for the future?
Yes, we’re pretty much fully booked for the next few months, which is great, as we really enjoy playing live. We’re planning to make a small tour around Poland, also we’ll be playing with Hate, Ragnarok, Solefald and In Vain in near future.

6. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black and death metal?
So far, there have been only a few reviews, but in all of them our debut scored quite high - about 8-9 out of 10. We hope that this will help our music reach more people who’ll appreciate it.

7. Are there any other musical projects besides this band or is this a full time line up?
We have two side projects. First one is Anus Cancer - a grindcore/porngrind band featuring all Mind Affliction musicians and the vocalist from Cień. Second one is Listopad, depressive black metal project consisting of Darek, Krzysiek, Kamil and two guys from Five Wounds - guitarist and bassist. There’s not much to say about those projects, at least not for now.

8. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
It’s really hard to say after releasing just one album. Of course music is always evolving; now we’re writing new material, and at this point we can say that it seems a little bit more brutal, although even more complex and sophisticated.

9. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Our style has been influenced by various types of music, not only metal. Some of the bands whose music had the most impact on us are: Arcturus, Cannibal Corpse, Death, Dodheimsgard, Opeth, Pink Floyd, Solefald.

10. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
Our main interest is music, but beside that we like to drink beer and watch those sick, perverted movies, like the greatest movie ever – Human Centipede. Also, some guys are a bit into gaming and drinking even more beer. Also, tits.

11. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Check out our music and our facebook page http://www.facebook.com/mindaffliction or reverbnation profile – http://reverbnation.com/mindaffliction . Stay AFFLICTED!!

Joel Grind's Yellowgoat/The Yellowgoat Sessions/Nimbit Music/2013 CD Review

  Joel  Grind's  Yellowgoat  is  a  side  project  of  Toxic  Holocaust  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal, thrash,  punk  and  rock music  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  The  Yellowgoat  Sessions"  which  was  released  by  Nimbit  Music.

  Drums range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  not  much  in  the  way  of  blast  beats,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  with  heavy  rock  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  black  metal,  thrash,  punk  and  rock  music  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  old  school  sounding  metal/hard  rock  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  all  black  metal  screams,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  satanic  and  occult  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  dark,  powerful  and  old  school  sound  to  it  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Joel  Grind'a  Yellowgoat  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  black  metal,  thrash,  punk  and  rock  music  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hell's  Master  Of  Hell"  "Cross  Damnation"  "Black Order" and  "The  Eternal  One".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

http://joelgrind.bandcamp.com
http://www.nimbitmusic.com/joelgrind
  

Sannhet/Known Flood/Sacrament Music/2013 CD Review

 Sannhet  are  a  band  from  New  York  that  plays  an  instrumental  form  of  post  metal  with  combines  post  black  metal  with doom  metal  and  shoegaze  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Known  Flood"  which  was  released  by  Sacrament  Music.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  not  much  in  the  way  of  blast  beats,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  with  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording,  as  for t he  sound  effects  when  they  are  utilized  they  bring  a  very  dark  and  avant  garde  sound  to  the  music.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  post  black  metal,  doom  metal  and  shoegaze  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  as  wel  as  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  there  are  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on this  recording.

  Vocals  are  all  absent  from  this  recording  with  the  music  being  instrumental  except  for  some  spoken  word  parts  as  well  as  one  song  having  black  metal  screams  that  are  mixed  down  low  in t he  mix,  while  the  song  themes cover  darkness,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Sannhet  are  a  very  great  sounding  post  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS INCLUDE  "Safe  Passage"  "Endless  Walls"  "Moral"  and  "Still  Breathing".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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Mind Affliction/Pathetic Humanity/Metal Scrap Records/2013 CD Review

  Mind  Affliction  are  a  band  from  Poland  that  plays  a style  which  they  describe  as  being  progressive  black/death  metal  with  mixes  black  with  technical  and  progressive  death  metal as  well  as  some  doom  elements  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Pathetic  Humanity"  which  was  released  by  Metal  Scrap  Records.

  Drums range  from s low,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  great  amount  of  brutal  sounding  blast b eats  being thrown  into  the  music  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  tone  with  heavy  and progressive  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  black  metal  with  technical  death  metal  as  well  as  some  progressive  and  doom  metal  elements  mixed  in  with  some  melodies  and  clean  playing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  and  progressive  sounding guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  which  are  only  used  briefly  they  use  finger  picking  to  add  more  progressive  touches  to  the  recording.

  Vocals  which  are  done  by  2  people  range  from  deep  death  metal  growls  to  high  pitched  black  metal  screams,  while t he  lyrics  cover  violent  and  hateful  themes  with  the  songs  being  written  in  a  mixture  of  English  and  Polish,  as  for  the  production  it h as  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  Mind  Affliction  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  black/death  metal  band  and if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  style,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Human  Centipede"  "Mental"  and  "Vishe  I".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

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