Tanator/Possessed By Madness, Possessed By War/Grotedque Sounds Records/Narcoleptica Productions/2016 CD Re-Issue Review Review

  Tanator  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  blackened  form  of  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Possessed  By  Madness,  Possessed  By  War"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Grotesque  Sounds  Records  and  Narcoleptica  Productions.

  Sounds  of  wind  start  off  the  album  before  adding  in  heavy  yet  melodic  guitar  riffing  and  drums  and  all  of  the  musical instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with  some  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  back  up  shouts  are  also  used  at  times.

  A  great  amount  of  old  school  thrash  metal  elements  can  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  the  songs  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  solos  and  leads  remain  true  to  an  80's  style  of  extreme  metal  and  some  of  the  riffing  also  adds  in  a  touch  of  crust  and  the  album  also  remains  very  heavy  from beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

  Tanator  plays  a  musical  style  that  mixes  black  and  thrash  metal  together  with  a  touch  of  crust  punk  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  violent,  and  anti  religion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Tanator  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  thrash  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS INCLUDE  "Siberian  Hell"  "Chaos"  "Holidays  In  the  Church"  and  "Prison".  8  out  of  10.   

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Lantern/II: Morphosis/Dark Descent Records/2017 CD Review

  Lantern  are  a  band  from  Finland  that h as  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  blackened  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of their  2017  album  "II:  Morphosis"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Dark  Descent  Records.

  A  very  heavy  sound  along  with a  great amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  start  off  the  album  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  the  solos  and leads are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid paced  and  fast  parts  and  a  great  amount  of  black  metal  influences  can  be  heard  throughout  the  recording  and  the  music  also  brings  in a   great  amount  of  90's  influences  while  also  sounding  very  modern  at  the  same  time and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  synths  along  with  a  couple of   instrumental  tracks  while  later  songs  bring  back  vocals  along  with  elements  of  thrash  and  grindcore  and  a  couple  of  songs  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  On  this  recording  Lantern  change  their  sound  around  a  bit  and  add  in  more  of  a  90's  style  of  death  metal  with  some  thrash  and  grind  elements  while  some  black  metal  influences  remain,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  hell,  evil  and  death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Lantern  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  blackened  death  metal  with  touches  of  thrash  and  grind,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS   INCLUDE  "Black  Miasma"  "Cleansing  Of  the  Air"  and  "Lucid  Endlessness".  8  out  of  10.

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Demonic Resurrection/Dashavatar/Demonstealer Records/2017 CD Review

  Demonic  Resurrection  are  a  band  from  India  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  epic  and  progressive  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Dashavatar"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Demonstealer  Records.

  Spoken  word  parts  and  atmospheric  synths  start  off  the  album  and  a  few  seconds  later  India  style  folk  instruments  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  also  mix  in  with  the  heavier  material  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  and  progressive  style  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  symphonic  elements  are  also  used  at  times  and  the songs  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  black  metal  screams  are  also  utilized  at  times  and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  some  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  melodic  singing  along  with  a  brief  use  of  female  vocals  and  some  tracks  also  bring in  clean  guitars.

  Demonic  Resurrection  creates  a  recording  that  continues  the  epic  and  progressive  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  from  previous  recordings  while  also  mixing  in  elements  of  Indian  folk  music this  time  around  to  create  something  very  different,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics cover Indian,  Hindu  and  Vedic  Mythology.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Demonic  Resurrection  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  epic  and  progressive  blackened  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Matsya  -  The  Fish"  "Vamana  -  The  Dwarf"  "Krisha  - The  Cowherd"  and  "Kalki  - The  Destroyer Of  Filth".  8  out  of  10.

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Saccage/Death Crust Satanique/PRC Music/2017 CD Re-Issue Review

  Saccage  are  a  band  from  Quebec,  Canada  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  death,  thrash  metal  and  crust  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Death Crust  Satanique"  which  will  be  re-issued  in  March  by  PRC  Music.

  A  very  heavy  thrash  metal  influenced  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  blast  beats  and  black  metal  screams  being  added  onto  the  recording  a  few  seconds  later  and  growls  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  incorporating  more  crust  and  d  beat  elements  and  some  of  the  riffing brings  in  a  small  amount  of  melody.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is a   great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  short   in  length  and  back  up  shouts  are  also  added  onto  some  of  the  tracks  and  one  track  also  brings  in  a brief  use  of  demonic  voices  and  none  of  the  songs  ever  use  any  guitar  solos  or  leads  while  the  album  remains  very  heavy  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the recording.

  On  this  recording  Saccage  took  black,  death,  thrash  metal  and  crust  and  mixed  them  together  to  create  a  very  heavy  sounding  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  a  mixture  of  French  and  English  and  cover  Evil,  Satanism,  Anarchy,  alcohol,  and  Drugs  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Saccage  and  if  you a re  a  fan  of  black,  death,  thrash  metal  and  crust  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  re-issue. RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Motorcrust"  "beer,  Dope  And  Evil"  "Death  Crust  Satanique"  and  "Merci  Pour  Tout  Satan".  8  out  of  10.   

https://prcmusic.bandcamp.com/album/saccage-death-crust-satanique-cd

 

Fight The Fight/Self Titled/Indie Recordings/2017 CD Review

  Fight  The  Fight  are  a  band  from  Norway  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  metlacore,  punk  and  modern  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2017 album  which  will  be  released  on  January  27th  by Indie  Recordings.

  Black  metal  screams  along  with  melodic  riffing  and  death  metal  growls  start  off  the  album  along  with  metalcore  style  breakdowns  a  few  seconds  later  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  groove  and  melody  and  clean  singing  vocals  are  also  used  at  times  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion.

  Elements of  punk  can  also  be  heard  throughout the  recording  while  some  of  the  riffing  adds  in  a  modern  modern  style  of  mainstream  rock  and  as  the  album progresses  clean  playing  can  be heard  briefly  and  keyboards  along  with  touches  of  electronic  music  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  the  songs  stick  to  a  mid paced  direction  and  blast  beats  are  also  used  for  a  few  seconds.

  Fight  The  Fight  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black  metal,  metalcore,  punk  and  modern  rock  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  real  life  themes.

  In  my opinion  Fight  The  Fight  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  metal,  metalcore,  punk,  and  modern  rock  and  if  you  are  looking  for  something  original,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Fight  The  Fight"  "Perfect  Combination"  and  "Patient  Zero".  8  out  of  10.

www.fightthefight.no


 

Mourning Dawn Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?



After the release of “Les sacrifiés”, we got really great reactions and played gigs all along Europe. Then, life, the label stopped his activities (and ripping us off, also..) and I moved 800km away from Paris, where the band is located, cause I was sick of this big city. As Mourning Dawn is the band in which I create everything, we had to find a solution to keep this band alive considering these new conditions. I worked a lot then for the band, from a distance, and tried to create something new and never done whereas it is the concept or the atmosphere. That led me to create the concept of this Ep “Waste” which is, from what I know, previously never done in the metal genre (I don’t count Neurosis as “metal”). I also composed the 4th album which will be recorded this year. Then started a new band called WASTES, which its first album will be released on code666 in April 2017. Some gigs and touring in Asia are scheduled as well for this year.





2.You have a new album coming out at the end of January, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?



This is not an album. It’s a conceptual Ep. I wanted to create something ambitious, something I’ve never heard before in the Ug metal genre. I just composed a long song during one of those hard times we all have to get through, and I just had the idea to compose another one that you could play altogether. Like a distorted echo. Two depressed songs that would make something even more depressed. The style is style typical from what we usually play, a mix of extreme doom metal and a black metal way of playing



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



No surprises. Loss in general. I read a lot, poetry, surrealists writers, classic French literature, philosophy.. But Im not that kind of self sufficient musician that is going to try to convince their listeners of some simplistic thoughts, or pretend to be more intelligent than them. We are playing depressive music and just talking about all the shit that can happen in our lives, with a special focus on lost innocence and perpetual mourning each time we are moving forward.



4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Mourning Dawn'?



If you ever have been depressed, I mean “for real”, nothing like that emo trend where people like to show how shitty their life is, then you would know how painful waking up in the morning could be… It’s a pretty old name though, I was like 18 years old when I chose that, but I definitely had no other choice than to use this one, cause that was my life back in the days.



5.Originally the band started out as a solo project, what was the decision behind forming a full line up?



People got some interest in the project, after the release of its first album,  and I had gig offers. I was playing in Inborn Suffering at that time, so I knew a lot of people in the doom metal scene, and it was easy for me to find people willing to play live. I wasn’t really interested in the beginning, and Im still cautious to the idea of playing numerous gigs because I’d like to keep an obscure atmosphere which is hard to create “live”, but sometimes it’s great to share what you are doing with your fans.



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



I don’t know, perhaps a gig we played in London with big names such as Moonspell and lots of good friends in the doom scene. It was like playing in the family hehe. People that see us describe us as “intense” and “heavy”, which is not a surprise considering our style. On my side, I could say that I give everything, especially with the vocals, which is mostly the main reason why Im cautious to not play too often.



7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?



I chose to refuse every gig proposal until this summer, because i am too busy with different projects (including Mourning Dawn) and we are having a line up change. But we have a tour in Asia scheduled (our albums have been released there by a Chinese label there) and I have to admit i am quite excited about it ! I guess we’ll play in Europe again, and probably tour there in 2018.



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



That is one of the recurrent conversations I can have about our music. You know, metalheads are not really know to be that open minded, even if the scene is growing older, extreme metal is a genre with “rules” etc… But I am surprised by the reactions, it seems we gained a reputation over the two genres, we have fans from both sides, even if we are too often labelized as “doom metal” which is not true to me. I am hoping this is because people don’t really care about the genres and just get focused on the darkness we are trying to express.



9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?



I started a new international band called WASTES, which is typical extreme doom metal like bands as Wormphlegm, Abandon, Funeralium etc. Im guest singing from time to time in Ataraxie and Ive some secret projects which I hope to talk about in a near future hehe. Vincent is playing in a celtic metal band called Bran Barr, and our new guitarists Fred is also the guitarist in Ataraxie.



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



I have no idea. Its clear that we’ll try to get out of the boundaries of a specific genre. Im really interested into acoustic foolish stuff, like artists like Matt Elliott for example, or to continue weird project like this Ep, I have some ideas for the future. But the one sure thing is that we’ll stay in a extreme and depressive style, doesn’t matter the way of playing.



11.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?



Im still a doom metal addict, but I don’t listen to depressive black metal for example, its definitely too whiny for me. I remember that wave of emo bedroom black metal, Im glad this is over now. Im listening to a lot of folk rock stuff, like Shannon Wright or Wovenhand  for example which are far more depressed that a lot of doom bands for example. Im right now listening to Amber Asylum, which is totally not metal but the atmosphere is…lovely. I guess, everything dark can have an influence. For now, we stayed on a classical path of dark/doom metal with lots of guitars etc, but perhaps it will change in the future. On this last Ep I have to admit I wanted to add industrial influences because I’ve always been a Godflesh fan, and despite what people told me, I still think you can mix it with slow depressive stuff.



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



Thanks for letting me talk about my art. Stay sick.

Laurent – Mourning Dawn

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Rotem/Nacao Valente E Immortal/Rot'em Records/2017 Full Length Review

  Rotem  are  a  solo  project  from  Portugal  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  progressive  form  of  blackened  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2017  album  "Nacao  Valente E  Immortal"  which  was  released  by  Rot'em  Records.

  A  very  heavy  sound  along  with  melodic  guitar  leads  start  off  the  album  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  melody  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  after  the  intro  black  metal  screams  are  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  some  synths  in  the  background.

  At  times  the  riffs  can  be  very  progressive  while  also  remaining  very  heavy  at  the  same  time  and  death  metal  growls  are  also  utilized  at  times  and  some  songs  also  bring  acoustic  guitars  onto  the  recording  and  there  is also  a  brief  use  of  grim  spoken  word  parts  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  A  few  tracks   are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  riffing  starts  getting  more  technical  and  female  vocals  are also  used  briefly  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  male  clean  singing  vocals  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  diversity.

  Rotem  creates  a  recording  that  is  still  very  much  rooted  in  a  blackened  death  metal  style  while  also  getting  more  progressive  and  experimental  at  the  same  time,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Portuguese  and  cover  dark  and  political  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Rotem  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  progressive  blackened  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Viriato"  "Nevoeiro" "Escravos  Do  Sistema"  and  "Sinfonia  Utopica".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL4KK-jfU6o&feature=youtu.be

Teleport Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new ep?

We're currently trying to promote our new EP and we're facing a lot of things that are completely new for us, but we're having fun with that as well.  We're searching for contacts to play outside of Slovenia in other European countries too. We really want to play abroad and spread our new music as a live act. Meanwhile, we're now also writing new songs for our first full-length album.

2.Recently you have released a new ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Musically we would describe   the sound of Ascendanceas a barbaric old-school band taking a dissonant and modern approach that creates a celestial atmosphere for the listener. Ascendance represents a bridge between the older sound and the sound that will be heard on the full length. During the writing process we didn't want to limit ourselves to the conventions of sci-fi thrash metal. It differs from the older stuff in that a new line-up was formed between the last demo and the EP .This new line-up has brought different influences that have expanded the sound.

3.Your lyrics cover a lot of science fiction themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?

 We've always been huge fans of Star Wars and the Lovecraftian mythos. For example Digestive Pit from the Galactic Usurper demo is directly influenced by Star Wars. But in general we're making our own conceptual stories which are influenced by different kinds of sc-fi lore and horror stories taking a sci-fi approach. The lyrics from Ascendance are about an alien called Ulcephir, who wanders the dark corners of space and transcends them after he learns about the darkness that revolves around the universe.

4.According to the fb page you refer to your music as 'cosmic metal', can you tell us a little bit more about this term?

Especially with the new EP, we don't want to place our band within the classic metal subgenres, because there are a lot of influences from various metal subgenres and non-metal genres and it would be misleading for new listeners if we  labelled our band only as sci-fi thrash metal, since a lot of people would think that we are simply a band influenced exclusively by Vektor, which we of course were back in the day. However, you can still hear  some of those early influences on the EP. And as mentioned before,  our music is written with the purpose of creating a celestial revelation atmosphere.

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

Well, at the beginning we wanted to play as fast as we could, so we thought that Teleportation is the fastest way; thus, the name Teleport was chosen.

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

One of the best shows was the last one, when we shared the stage with Deathstorm from Austria and our brothers from Hellsword, who are also from Ljubljana. It was a blast and the staff that organized the show were incredible. The event happened the youth center in Koper and we would recommend this place to anyone! There was a decent old-school atmosphere with people running wild. The guys from Hellsword also appeared during Digestive Pit with gas masks and sang the song. We also had a blast playing at the Live After Death festival (ex-Metal Mania Open Air) in Komen. This Autumn we were also honoured to share stage with our friends Escarnium and Venomous Breath and GMB.

Also one of the best shows was in Florence, Italy with our brothers from Obliterated and Vexovoid. We shared the stage together with the German power metal legends Scanner and Ancient Dome (of Thrash). Our show was improvised because our frontman Jan had a medical operation a few days before, and Matija had to handle both guitars and we hired a singer from  the death metal act GMB. It was the most savage show we've ever had--  the GMB guy was drunk as hell. It was fantastic.

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

At the moment we don't have any shows booked but we're looking forward to booking some, especially abroad, since we have more support in foreign countries. We are also planning to have a tour this fall with our brothers from Vexovoid and Obliterated, which we are looking forward to.



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

We were signed by a small label from USA, Wyrmwood Records, but it was closed soon. We received offers from a small number of labels which wanted to re-release the already released material on different media and compilations. Some news about that will be announced quite soon. We hope that we will find a decent label that will release our full-lenght after we finish it.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of progressive and extreme metal?

We've received some cool reviews and a great response from all over the world. We don't know exactly if those are fans of progressive or extreme metal, but we've received many comparisons with lots of progressive and extreme metal acts, so in short we've received some quite cool feedback. We're still trying to break through and achieve some more recognition.



10.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

As said earlier, we are right now writing new songs for a debut full length and we hope we are going to release it in about a year. Musically we want to continue what we started with Ascendance, developing our own signature sound and song-writing progression. Right now it seems that the newer material is going to be less conventional than the songs from Ascendance, but we still want to keep the cohesive thread.

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

While we were writing songs for Ascendance we were listening to a lot of newer death metal bands like Execration, Chthe’ilist and Blood Incantation and we were also influenced by a lot of dissonant black metal bands, especially Icelandic ones and we shouldn’t forget the Gorguts influence too. We are still listening to this kind of music and overall we’re listening to a lot of metal and non-metal genres. We are not limiting ourselves with exploring music. StarGazer is one of the bands we are all really into at the moment.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

We have many different interests outside of music. For example Lovro studies mechanical engineering and is obsessed with fighter jets, Jan really likes to read a lot of fiction, Darian loves Chinese culture and is studying the Chinese language and Matija studies history.

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

We are very grateful  for this interview. Stay tuned for some cosmic news about our future existence! 

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Dead Conspiracy/Self Titled/2016 Full Length Review

 Dead  Conspiracy  are  a  band  from  Portland,  Oregon  that  has  been  around  for  more  than  30 years  and  plays  a  style  of  blackened  death/thrash metal  that  was  ahead  of  its  time  in  the  80's  and  influenced plenty  of  bands  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  and  self  titled  2016  album.

  Heavy  guitar  riffs  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  morbid  sounding  melodies  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  the  riffs  also  mix  in  a  great  amount  of  thrash  metal  influences  while  being  more  up  to  date.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  remain  very  true  to  an  old  school  style  of  death/thrash  metal  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  are  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording  and  there is  also  a brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples  as  the  album  progresses  and  some  of  the  riffing  also  adsd in  a  touch  of  punk  and  one  of  the  tracks  is  long  and  epic  in  length  and  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  keyboards  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction.

  Dead  Conspiracy  plays  a  musical  style  on  this  recording  that  takes  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  very  heavy  recording  as  well  as  proving  30  years  later  they  still  can  be  a  lot  more  heavier  than  a  lot  of  the  newer  bands,  the  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  insanity,  murder,  and  occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Dead  Conspiracy  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  death/thrash  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Blood  Everywhere"  "Cruelty  Through  Ripping  Torture"  "The  Eye  Of  Darkness"  and  "Paralyzed  With  Fear".  8/5  out  of  10.  

www.facebook.com/Dead-Conspiracy-228804147194155/

Vacivus/Nuclear Chaos/Goatprayer Records/2017 7 Ich Review

  Vacivus  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  blackened  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  ep  "Nuclear  Chaos"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Goatprayer  Records.

  Rain  sounds  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  atmospheric  soundscapes  which  also  have  a  ritualistic  feeling  to  them and  after  awhile  the  music  goes  into  a  darker  and  heavier  direction  along  with  some  morbid  sounding  melodies  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  while  the  music  is  rooted  in  the  90's  it  still  has  a  more  up  to  date  approach  to  the  genre  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  black  metal  screams  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  atmospheric  sounds  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  and  the  guitar  leads  bring  in  an  old  school  style  of  death  metal  along  with  both  of  the  tracks  being long  and  epic  in  length  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  whispers  on  the  second  song.

  Vacivus  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  blackened  death  metal  style  that  was  established  on  their  previous  release,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  void,  darkness,  and  death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Vacivus  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  blackened  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Unchaining  The  Winds  Of  Uncreation".  8  out  of  10.

https://goatprayerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/nuclear-chaos?mc_cid=22449f6aac&mc_eid=8712f19dc0

Mourning Dawn/Waste/Aesthetic Death/2017 CD Review

  Mourning  Dawn  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  and  funeral  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "waste"  which  will  be  released  at  the  end  of  January  by  Aesthetic  Death.

  A  very  dark  yet  powerful  bass  guitar  sound  starts  off  the  album  which  also  leads up  to  a  heavier  musical  direction  and  after  awhile  atmospheric  elements  and  grim  black  metal  screams  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  death  metal  growls  are  also  utilized  at  times  along  with  all  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

 Melodic  chants  along  with  spoken  word  parts  are  added  into  some  parts  of  the  music  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be heard  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  fashion  and  clean  playing  is  also  added  into  some  sections  of  the  songs  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  tracks  are  done  in  a  more  funeral  doom  metal  style.

  Mourning  Dawn  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with  funeral  doom  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  depression,  loss  and  melancholy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Mourning  Dawn  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  and  funeral  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "The  One  I'll  Never  Be".  8  out  of  10. 

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Dawn Of Tyrants/Breeding Ruin/2017 EP Review

  Dawn  Of  Tyrants  are  a  band  from  Toronto,  Ontario,  Canada  that  plays  a  blackened  form  of  death/doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  ep  "Breeding  Ruin".

  Dark  sounding  synths  start  off  the  ep  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction  which  also  introduces  death  metal  growls  onto  the  recording  and  the  riffs  also  use  melodies  at  times  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Clean  singing  can  be  heard  briefly  and  when  it  is  utilized  it  gives  the  music  more  of  a  ritualistic  feeling  and  the  guitar  solos  bring  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  old  school  black/death  metal  style and  after  awhile  grim  black  metal  screams  are  added  onto  the  recording  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  A  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  slower  sections  of  the  tracks  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  doom  metal  and  clean  guitars  are  also  used  for  a  few  seconds  and  they  close  the  ep  with  a  cover  of  Celtic  Frost's  "Dethroned  Emperor" and  all  of  the  musical  instruments have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Dawn  Of  Tyrants  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  early  90's  styles  of  black,  doom  and  death  metal  and mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  totalitarianism,  and  death  worship  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Dawn  Of  Tyrants  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  doom,  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Some  Above,  Most  Below"  and  "Fallen  Figure  Of  Futility".  8/5  out  of  10. 

https://dawnoftyrants.bandcamp.com/releases

Teleport/Ascendance/2016 EP Review

  Teleport  are  a  band  from  Slovenia  that  plays  a  very  sci-orientated  and  progressive  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2016  ep  "Ascendance".

  Sci-fi  style  sound  effects  start  off  the  ep  and  they  also  give  the  music  more  of  an  atmospheric  feeling  and  after  awhile  clean  guitars  are  added  onto  the  recording and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melodic  musical  direction  along  with  a  great  amount  of  progressive   elements.

  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  thrash  influences  and  blast  beats  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced and  fast  parts  and  clean  guitars  are  also  used  at  times  and  after  awhile  death  metal  influences  are  added  onto  the  recording.

  Teleport  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black  and  thrash  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  the  more  progressive  and  technical  side  of  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self   released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  science  fiction  and  space  conquest  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Teleport  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Monolith"  and  "Realm  Of  Solar  Darkness".  8  out  of  10.

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Guerra Total Interview

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

Hello! Well, we are now releasing our 7th Album which is called "Nihilistic Malthusian Manifesto" and our EP "Black Horror Komando". I founded Guerra Total 20 years ago, so this year we have planned to tour (we’re waiting for proposals !) and in April we will start to record a new album.


2.You released your latest full length at the beginning of 2016, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

This one is more Black Metal focused, it still sounds like Guerra Total but  it has a heavier and more experimental approach. Lyrics are more interesting than before, they are mature with different approaches, dealing with war, philosophy and atheism. If you take Venom with Bathory and some 70’s metal plus 90’s, you know  what this album sounds like.


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

Philosophical Atheism, Nihilism, metaphysical philosophy, Cosmicism & selective misanthropy...
And whisky ! In every album we have one song dedicated to whisky and rock and roll.


4.Some of your lyrics are influenced by the writings of H.P Lovecraft, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in his writings?

Lovecraft was an Atheist, his writings and cosmicism philosophy fits with my ideas and philosophical background. HP Lovecraft was a person who wrote about physical entities, aliens, not imaginary ones, just the real deal, and human is just an insect in this universe.


5.Some of your lyrics in the past had deal with 'Satanism', did the band at one time consider themselves as Satanists?

Satanism maybe in the atheist way, we used the word "Satan" to reflect the evil and stupidity in the human race, not as a person or deity. I can talk by myself and I am surely not satanist nor religious in any way, I am free.


6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Guerra Total'?

Guerra Total (Total War), war against everything. The human race has been in war since their beginning, there is no a real peace.


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?

We played with Desaster (Germany) and it was a real great show, we had a lot of fun and beer. And with Mayhem! it was a Holocaust! it was hot in the venue. Well  I don’t know, there were a lot of shows, in every show we give all of us, headbanging, fury, pure rock and roll energy, enough said!


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

Yes, we are celebrating the 20 years band’s existence, and we will look for a promoter for a tour, I hope I can find someone asap lol.


9.Recently you where a part of a split with 'Metalucifer', what are your thoughts on the other band that had participated on the recording?

Metalucifer and Sabbat, mainly Sabbat, they are living legends. We have previously released a 7" split with Sabbat, it was really cool, and later Metalucifer, so one of my goals was completed. Gezol is a good friend and he always supports this plans, also Thomas from Forgotten Wisdom Prod. He trusted us and made an excellent job there.


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

Well, I think we have many followers, but in the old school way, many fans of Black and Thrash Metal, it’s funny because we don’t consider ourselves like Thrash Metal, we never write about social and political bullshit, I Think I write on more serious subjects.


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

Hmmmmm? Hmmmm, I dont know, maybe we’ll go heavier than ever or simply slower, or more Death Metal oriented, who knows? Every album has something new and I like all kind of metal, maybe I will make a mash up. But we will be always a Metal band, always Black before all.


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

Right now I am listening to Principality of Hell's new album (fucking great dude).
I listen to Elvis, The Beatles, Hendrix, MC5, Marduk, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Sarcofago, Johnny Cash, Blasphemy, Destruction, Hocico, Impaled Nazarene, I dont have limits ah ah ah ah !


13.How would you describe your views on misanthropy, nihilism, and atheism?

Nihilism: Since we are born we are doomed, life is odd to carry on with good feelings, you know? Too many dystopic ideas come to my mind now.
Atheism: if we are doomed since we are born and everything is a mess without a purpose so there is nothing who could fix this, only science and reason have solve some aspect in the planet.
Misanthropy: It is more a selective misanthropy. 3 circles, 1) Nuclear Family, 2) Friends, 3) acquaintances (work, business, network etc) outside that I don’t give a shit them, many of them could be a jew, muslim, drug addict, hippie, serial killer, thief, etc. I rather don’t have contact with them.


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

Thank you for letting me write this words, Guerra Total is Old School Black Metal and we don’t support politics and hippies, just Metal.

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Curse Of Denial/The 13th Sign/Redefining Darkness Records/2017 CD Review

  Curse  Of  Denial  are  a  band  from  Cleveland,  Ohio  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "The  13th Sign"  which  will  be  released  in  February  by  Redefining  Darkness  Records.

  Clean  guitars  start  off  the  album  before going  into  more  of  a  heavy  musical  direction  which  also  introduces  black  metal  screams  onto  the  recording  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  death  metal  growls  are  also  used  at  times.

  When  guitar solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  ritualistic  whispers  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  as  the  album  progresses  more  elements  of  thrash  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  back  up  shouts  and  there  are  also  a  couple  of  tracks  that  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Cursed  By  Denial  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  old  school  forms  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  mixes  them  together  for  the  modern  days,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Cursed  By  Denial  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Pawns  In  Chess"  "Night  Terrors"  "The  Aphotic  Stone"  "The  Tower  of  Silence"  and  "Premonition".  8  out  of  10.

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Damnation Gallery Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
(Low) The idea of making a band started in 2015. The very first line-up included me (Low) as bass player, Lord Edgard as guitar player, Naskull as a drummer and in the beginning of 2016 Scarlet as Singer.
We immediately started to compose new tracks, developing our very personal concept of horror metal, which has got a very aggressive musical approach linked with a very aggressive look and sinister and obscure themes.
After months of work the band released the EP “Transcendence Hymn”, which is made up of three tracks, an intro and an outro, published in September, 2016.
After the EP's release, Alastor joined the band as second guitar player.
We're working on gigs and the new album at the moment.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the ep?
(Low)You can find a mix of all the musical genres we listen to, reinterpreted following our personal tastes. You can find heavy, thrash, doom and death metal, all blended with a heavy and sinister atmosphere.
We would like to underline that our sound is intentionally raw and unprocessed because we think that what you get on the album should be what you get at our gigs.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
(Low) Our lyrics concern our daily fears, paranoias, coming directly from our personal experiences that are turned into horror scenarios.


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Damnation Gallery'?
(Low) It's a sort of representation of anything that could be defined “evil”: a tunnel full of sufferance and fear that it's necessary to cross.



5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
(Low). We think that our debut gig has been one of the most outstanding ones. If you come to a show of Damnation Gallery, you can find a debris of heavy metal straight to your face, linked with our scenery, which is a way to depict visually the nightmares we are talking about.


6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Low) From now till may we have plenty of gigs in our town. In the future we hope to move outside of Genoa, but we think we don't need to rush, taking every step without cheating.


7.The ep was released on 'Masked Dead Records', are you happy with the support they have given you so far?
(Lord Edgard) We're sincerely happy with the work Masked Dead Records has made so far. It's crucial how the label is actively supporting our activities and spreading the word about our evil deeds. In addition, I'd say that we have a incredibly fair treatment compared to other labels in our country.


8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme metal?
(Lord Edgard) Our fans come from different areas, even though most of them come from Italy, around our area. Generally our fans are really happy about our music and our image: this is a sign that we're heading towards the right direction.


9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
9) (Low) The main task is to release the new album and tour as much as possible. We don't have boundaries for the future: we may vanquish the world or keep playing in our rehearsal room forever, but we're sure that we won't stop playing what we like.


10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
10) (Scarlet) Personally I've been influenced mostly by Death SS, Opera IX, Dimmu Borgir, Marduk, Rotting Christ, Pentagram and Elisa. I basically discovered my vocal style by listening to male voices more than female ones.

(Low) I love metal in all forms, but I listen to every genre of music. My favorite bands are Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Anthrax and many many more. I also like Funky music (as a bass player I love slapping).

(Naskull) I mostly listen to early Sepultura, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Death,  Dimmu Borgir, Slayer and Children of Bodom.

(Lord Edgard) I like many different artists from the 80’s, such as King Diamond, Celtic Frost, Necrodeath, Slayer, Merciful Fate, Hell, Overdrive and Morbid Angel, together with artists of the 90’s, such as Carcass, Deicide, Cradle of Filth, Immortal and Dimmu Borgir. I also like Exodus, Anthrax, Overkill and Testament a lot. My favourite guitarists are Jeff Loomis, Yngwie Malmsteen and Andy LaRocque.


11.What are some of your non musical interests?
11) (Scarlet) Music is my reason of life. Not only playing, but also listening to gigs and attending metal fests. But i can say that i also love cooking and have dinner with my friends, cooking for them. I also like riding racing motorbikes, even if I’ve not done it for years.

(Low) When I don't play my music (and when I don’t fucking have to work) I relax playing videogames, especially zombie-themed or war games.

(Lord Edgard) Together with music, I enjoy cooking, traveling and taking pictures of every kind. I also love muscle cars, fishing and Harley Davidson motorbikes.


12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
(Lord Edgard) I'd personally like to give an advice to the whole metal brotherhood: support the underground, because it's been done in the past and this led the most known bands of our era to get their fame. The underground scene is like a gardenhouse: if it's fed with support tons of new amazing music can be released for the masses

(Low) We want to thank those who supported us so far and also we want to invite those who don't know us to check out our page http://www.facebook.com/damnationgallery to give their feedback about our music. If you're interested in purchasing our EP, check our label's website http://mdrshop.bigcartel.com/product/damnation-gallery-transcendation-hymn-mini-cd-w-mini-dvd-case