Kult Mogil/Anxiety Never Descending/Pagan Records 2015 CD Review

  Kult  Mogil  are  a  band  from  Poland  that  plays  a  blackened  form of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Anxiety  Never  Descending"  which  was  released  by  Pagan  Records.

  A  very  fast,  dark  and  brutal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  blast  beats  as  well  as  a  great  amount  of  morbid  sounding  blackened  melodies  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  and  you  can  also  hear  elements  of  doom  metal  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  distorted  feedback  gives  the  songs  an  experimental  feeling  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  remain  true  to  a  dark  style  of  death  metal  and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  spoken  word  parts  are  used  briefly  they  give  the  music  more  of  a  ritualistic  feeling.

  Kult  Mogil  plays  a  style  of  blackened  death  metal  that  is  very  dark,  distorted,  experimental  and  ritualistic  sounding  with  a  touch  of  doom  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  death and  graveyard  themes.

  In my opinion  Kult  Mogil  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Threnody"  and  "Pallative  Messiah".  8  out  of  10.

Website

 

Cursus Bellum/Accusing The Dead/Downfall Records/2016 MCD Review

  Cursus  Bellum  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  blackened  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "Accusing  the  Dead"  which  was  released  by  Downfall  Records.

  Spoken  word  samples  start  off  the  ep  before  going  into  more  of  a  brutal  death  metal  that  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  a  few  seconds  later  growls and  death  metal  growls  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Melodies  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  off  the  recording  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  very  dark  and  melodic  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  high  pitched  screams  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  blackened  feeling  while  also  having  more  of  a  modern  approach  to this  genre  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  heavy  musical  direction.

  Cursus  Bellum  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  brutality  and  mixes  it  in  with  the  darkness  and  blasphemy  of  black  metal  to  create  a  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  violent  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Cursus  Bellum  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre, you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Wolf"  and  "Death  From  Above".  8  out  of  10.

https://youtu.be/Wy97l14J7Gk

 

Atrament/Eternal Downfall/Sentient Ruin Laboratories/2016 CD Review

  Atrament  are  a  band  from  California  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  death  metal,  d  beat  and crust  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Eternal  Downfall"  which  was  released  by  Sentient  Ruin  Laboratories.

  A  very  heavy  crustcore  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  blast  and  d  beats  as  well  as  some  growling  vocals  that  also  give  the  music  a  touch  of  death  metal  and  after  awhile  melodies  and  black  metal  screams  are  added  into  the  songs  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  style of  extreme  metal  and  crust  and  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  are  ever  utilized  in  any  of  the  songs  and  the  whole  album  also  remains  very  heavy  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

  Atrament  creates  another  recording  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  crust,  d  beat  and  black  metal  while  also  mixing  in a   great  amount  of  old  school  death  metal  elements,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  ruin,  war,  suffering  and  misery.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Atrament  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  death  metal,  d  beat  and  crust,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "No  Beyond"  "Consumed"  "Rotting  Twilight"  and  "Circle  Of  Wolves".  8  out  of  10. 

facebook.com/blackatrament
atrament.bandcamp.com

 

Rebel Wizard Interview

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



Rebel Wizard is a project that was ‘official’ around 2013.



The following questions will delve further into what RW is about so I’ll save repeating myself too much.





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



I can’t accurately described the recordings too much. Although there are plenty of traditional elements in there, the writing process is very much a subconscious process of ‘not’ being this or that. Each ep has it’s own feel in production and song writing and it’s generally what’s being channelled at the time (please excuse the terrible metaphor)



The production, to me, sounds really slick! Haha – so I was really surprised that it had such a ‘raw production’ response. I listen to mostly older stuff as the current ‘sound’ of modern era metal is repulsive. So ultimately I am just recording what I’d like to hear that I feel no one else is doing – both in song writing and production. A few friends wanted to hear it and they thought it (the demo) was killer (I thought they were lying) – but I chucked it on bandcamp and it actually did ok. So I wasn’t alone in the negative wizard metal quest.



I would definitely admit that the ‘subconscious’ process nonsense is a morphing of all the metal/punk I have devoured ravenously over the past 30 years and let that all flow from a nothingness – so not actively wanting to sound like this or that. Just jamming or writing without much in mind etc blah blah wank wank.





There’s an importance of (self) declaring Rebel Wizard as the ‘new wave of negative metal’ – not really following a formula which is why I got into metal and punk as a kid; when the current era is one of such rigid banality and conservatism. Each sub genre is manically pushing to sound so pure – mostly it comes off as insincere/ gimmicky but some fucking nail it, but it’s rare (but oh so wonderful when you find it!)





Rebel Wizard is not this or that (negative) and I really enjoy how different ears interpret it – some reckon it’s black metal etc. I have spent about 20 years doing black metal and RW is in no way a black metal project but it probably is. No one can really say and that’s the joy in playing ‘negative’ metal.









So I am hoping it’s coming across at being somehow unique and refreshing but I also hope very much that it irks and causes some offense.









3.You have released a great amount of material in 2015 alone, do you spend a great amount of time and effort into creating or writing music?



Every fucking spare and sometimes not spare moments. It’s been extremely strong with me forever. It’s a life support system. Literally I fucking hate being a ‘musician’ – I have quit so many times and after a few months I feel suicidal. I feel like a complete ass admitting this on the internet, I am very sorry readers. Being a musician, especially the kind I am, sucks. Haha. Yeah, the effort is great.



4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects that you explore with your music?



Completely open to the listener/ interpreter although the feel and song titles do direct.





5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Rebel Wizard'?



Well, following on from the previous answer on the project being only concerned in the ‘negative’ – it’s important that the music, vision etc does stand alone somewhat. Now, don’t get me wrong in that I am slamming all forms of contemporary underground metal, well mostly I am haha, but not in totality. It’s the contempt I have for aspects of ‘normal’ humanity that is now so prevalent in the underground that I just go into my own world of Rebel Wizard or Nekrasov.



When you get mailing lists from distros or see the top 10 metal albums each year, it’s all the fucking same – and it’s getting worse. So to create something that stands outside of all this trite there must be a Rebel and he must be a heavy metal wizard; hence Rebel Wizard. Perfect, no?







6.With this project and your other one as well, you record everything by yourself are you open to working with other musicians?



With Rebel Wizard there’s been no collaboration and I am open to it. I have a really good, small, network of really great people who I have done plenty with in the other project (Nekrasov) and I hope this continues.



7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any label interest?



Zero interest and I have submitted this to all my favourite labels! Either a no response or ‘the riffs are killer but we don’t like the vocals’ haha. That’s all fine however a little disappointing as you hope that some of the more interesting labels might ‘get it’. However, I am well aware that it doesn’t really fit into anyone else’s vision but mine. But that’s what it’s all about, doing your thing. I am more than happy to be free to release it all on bandcamp, if  anyone wants to release it on physical formats, that would be great. I spend all my time doing RW or Nekrasov so I just don’t have time to work on the physical releases; I used to with Nekrasov - making elaborate limited cdr releases. I’d like to do more of this and I will eventually.



Into the pit records did release the first few eps on tape which was really nice. I would love to have these out as 7”s – the ep thing really is that I love short, killer eps, I grew up on 7”s.



To be honest, I don’t think there would be a label that keep up with all the fucking eps I do!



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



Polarizing, which it to be expected and hoped for! Haha. In the sense that I think that it’s nice to be something that a few people ‘get’ and enjoy. And the ‘good’ feedback has been really encouraging – I really didn’t expect people to enjoy it that much. I suffer terrible from self loathing and listening to the songs, during the recordings, so much that I don’t’ know if they’re any good any more so each time I am uploading, I am biting my lips and totally unsure whether I should inflict more bullshit in the world.



But getting back to the label thing, kind of, it’s nice to be ‘discovered’ by people who are actually still actively looking out for new, interesting music – instead of relying on others which is so sadly common place nowadays. I grew with music without the internet and the discovery was of such incredible importance. Now everyone is just told what to listen to by fucking everyone and rarely do people discover what they like on their own. That’s happened a fair bit with both projects, I really enjoy that as that kind of thing formed me growing up.



But yeah, mostly it’s been really really good. Way more positive that negative which is a shame for a negative wizard. L



9.What is going on with your other musical projects these days?



Nekrasov which has been around since 1997 is back after a long hiatus. It was that thing I mentioned earlier that I forced myself to quit as it became a little too obsessive – I took a few years off and it almost killed me! Haha. I just released an ep. I have finished the 8th (at least I think it’s the 8th) full length and that should be out March – that took a while to complete but it’s great to be in that void again.





10.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?



Nekrasov will have a full length soon, as mentioned. There’s no plans on a Rebel Wizard album. I don’t like to plan such a thing, it gets stressful. Rebel Wizard is also fun for me, Nekrasov is a fucking demanding beast. It’s easier for me to do eps and I enjoy that needing more feeling that a good ep does.



11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music?



The bands that have the biggest influence which sound nothing like RW, but moreso their ethic would be forces like Crass, Econochrist, Bolt Thrower, King Diamond, MY Dying Bride etc. All those bands were doing things with a unique sound and vision that was really encouraging to me, moreso than bands like Maiden (who of course can’t fucking help themselves in being an influence to everyone!) – Guitarists like Andy Larocque and Gaz Jennings are big influences –they are very unique, soulful and so underrated that my hurt  and scorn at the world is infinite.



It’s very much a subconcious vomiting of all the metal and punk bands that really resonated with me, all the usual stuff.



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



With both projects there is an obsession and super importance of non-belief. However, that answer is super arrogant and there would definitely be an occult interest  in doing ‘music’ and ‘sound’ – however within the realms of non belief or inspiration from ‘theories’.



Lucky for me that eternal nothingness sometimes communicates to me in heavy metal riffs.





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



Thanks so much for the interview. I hate doing them but feel compelled as I am very honoured that someone actually would want to even read this.

Much power to you and your blog comrade!

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Turbocharged/Ragehammer/Enlightenment By Bloodletting/Godz of War Productions/Mythrone Promotion/2016 Split EP Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  Norway's  Turbocharged  and  Poland's  Ragehammer  called  "Enlightenment  By  Bloddletting"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Godz  Of  War Productions  and  Mythrone Promotion  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Turbocharged  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  heavy  and  old  school  thrash  metal  sound  and  once  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and w hen  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  they  are  more  closer  to  the  80's  style  of  death  metal  and  you can  also  hear  a  touch  of  first  wave  black  metal  in  the  music  and  the  solos and  leads  add  some  melody  into  the  song  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  anti  christian  themes.

  In  my opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  track  from  Turbocharged  ad  if  you  are  a  fan  of  death  and  thrash  metal,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.

  Next  up  is  Ragehamer  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  and  thrash  metal.

 Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  powerful  sounding  bass  and  melodic  guitar  riffs  before  adding  in  black  metal  screams  and  thrash  influences and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  song  sticks  to  either  a  mid  paced  or  fast  musical  direction  and  there  is  also  a  small  amount  of  back  up  shouts, the  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  Faustian  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Ragehammer  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  and  thrash  metal and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal.  8  out  of  10.    

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Turbocharged/3540306875
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Ragehammer/3540356536

Rebel Wizard/Invocation Of The Miserable Ones/2015 EP Review

  Rebel  Wizard  are  a  solo  project  from  Australia  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  and  heavy  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2015  ep  "Invocation  Of  The  Miserable  Ones".

  Melodic  guitar  leads  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  traditional  style  metal  riffing  a  few  seconds  later  and  you can  also  hear  elements  of  speed  metal  in  the  music  at  times  and  the  music  is  very  retro  and  heavily  rooted  in  the  80's  heavy  and  first  wave  black  metal  traditions  while  having  more  of  a  modern  take.

  When  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  they  are  very  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  a  touch  of  the  90's  retro  black/thrash  metal  sound  at  times  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  riffs  also  utilize  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  the  last  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  also  brings  in  atmospheric  synths  towards  the  end.

  Rebel  Wizard  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  first  and  second  wave  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with  traditional  and  speed  metal  to  create  a  recording  that  is  very  heavy  yet  retro  at  the  same  tie,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  negative  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Rebel  Wizard  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  and  heavy  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  artist.  RECOMMENDED  TACKS  INCLUDE  "A  Place  to  Rest  The DeadInside  Is  Never  To  Be"  and  "Invocation  Of the  Miserable  Ones".  8  out  of  10.

  https://rebelwizard.bandcamp.com/album/invocation-of-the-miserable-ones                                       

Rotting Flesh Interview

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

These days we are composing new songs, also it is too soon to talk about this thing right now.

2. How would you describe the musical sound of your current music and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Our sound differs from album to album, and this is something very important for us. And also in every album we release we try our best in order to achieve a very good result in our music. 


3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you are currently exploring with your music?

Our lyrics are based on death, occultism paths, because it expresses us and also shows our darker side of ourselves.

4. Every since 2003 there has only been 3 releases, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap in between releases?

The reason behind the gap from album to album is because we take our time so we can write good music and also we want ourselves and also our fans to be pleased with the final result. 

5. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Rotting Flesh'?

a) Rotting Flesh equals music
b) Rotting Flesh equals inspiration and creativity and also the support from our fans all these years. 

6. The band has been around for more than 20 years, what is it that keeps you motivated after 2 decades?

What keeps us motivated all these years is our passion for our music and this gives us moral satisfaction. 


7. What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Our best shows were with some great bands such as Marduk, Entombed, The Haunted, Impaled Nazarene, Tysondog and also with many greek bands. Our stage performance is that we give it our all and we put a great show so our fans can remember it.

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

Announcements for our tours and live shows you can check it from our website or our facebook page.

9.In 2014 you self released your last album and now Murdher Records and Symbol Of Domination have recently re-issued it, can you tell us a little bit more about the newer version?

Murdher Records and Symbol Of Domination were interested to release our album and this is a great honor for us. Also it is a great opportunity for the people to support our work.

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

Through the time our album was released, the people has accepted very much our music with perfect reviews and it is an opportunity for you that you read right now this interview to know about Rotting Flesh and be pleased through our music.

11. Are any of the band members currently involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

Rotting Flesh has right now new band members that are kicking asses right now and you will learn very soon about them.

12. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

I don’t fucking know……

13. What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

The philosophy behind Rotting Flesh is that we are trying not to be influenced by any other bands or music styles and we try to keep our music on a personal level. Right now we are listening many and different styles, from metal of course.

14. Does occultism play any role in your music?

It always has a great role in our music.

15. What are some of your non musical interests?

Sex, drugs and Rot’ & Roll!!!

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

Thank you very much for this interview and also we would like to tell to our fans to keep supporting our music!!!!!


Rotting Flesh links:

Official Website: http://www.rottingflesh-band.com/
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rottin...
Official Myspace: https://myspace.com/rottingfleshgr
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/RottingFleshgr
Bandcamp: http://rottingflesh.bandcamp.com/
Reverbnation: https://www.reverbnation.com/rottingf...

Austuras/Prisoner Of Sunlight/2015 Full Length Review

  Austuras  are  a  band  from  Chicago,  Illinois  that  plays  an  atmospheric  form  of  progressive  metal  with  elements  of  black  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015  album  "Prisoner  of  Sunlight".

  Nature  sounds  and  acoustic  guitars  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  synths  a  few  seconds  later  which  slowly  leads  yo  to  more  of  a  heavy  and  melodic musical  direction  that  also  uses  clean  singing  vocals  and  the  music  also  alternates  between  both  calm  and  heavy  parts  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  bring  a  melodic  progressive  rock  feeling  to  the  recording  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  as  the  album  progresses  more  folk  instruments  are  added  onto  the  recording  while  one  song  also  bring  in  a  few  seconds  of  black  metal  vocals  and  there  are  also  a  few  instrumental  tracks  and  the  slower  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  doom  metal  influences.

  Austuras  plays  a  very  atmospheric  form  of  progressive  metal  that  is  mostly  melodic  but  also  brings  in a  touch  of  black  and  doom  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released recording  while  the  lyrics  cover dark  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Austuras  are  a  very  great  sounding atmospheric,  progressive  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Deserter"  "Threshold"  and  "Seaworthy".  8  out  of  10. 

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