In The Fire 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 album?

Just mainly starting work on material for the next album!  Got a few ideas already and I’m excited!

2.Recently you have released a new album, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

I think this one is a bit darker.  The mix has more of an old school vibe to it as well.  Heavier reverb on the drums and such.  There were also writing contributions for this one other than myself from the other band members. Whereas, the first 2 were only written and, minus the drums, played by me at the time.  

3.This is also your first album in 4 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?

I'm always involved in multiple things really, as well as the other guys.  Dever and myself are currently involved in another band of ours called Distant Dominion, and Josh (Mahesh) has a couple projects outside of this as well mainly being his band Model Prisoner. I have another studio project with my friend Mike Hrubovcak called Azure Emote that is currently in the process of recording its 4th album.  I also recently did leadwork for the new Hypoxia, and have a pretty ridiculous and hilarious "deli-core" band called "Slice!" with my old vocalist who was in Rumpelstiltskin Grinder with me. I love to record and write as much as possible and enjoy playing and learning from other like-minded musicians so one project is really never enough to keep me satisfied.  It also keeps me humble and grounded in the sense that if I come up with a part that not everyone likes necessarily, but I do, I can always just use it for something else.  I always have an outlet and I always enjoy hearing the ideas from others in other projects as well.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer album and also how would you describe your progress as songwriters over the years?

I’m pretty big into horror films and have always been a huge King Diamond fan.  I love the way his lyrics are concepts and stories.  So I like to sometimes write mini horror stories myself, told in a song kind of like in later Mercyful Fate.  If not that, then I usually try to write in a way that is more metaphorical of something cathartic or relatable in life.  But I try to keep it vague, poetic, and more visual for the listener while doing my best to keep the topic vague enough to be open to interpretation.  I want the listener to be able to draw their own conclusions but also have their own experience within the vibe of the song.  And that is important to me.  The vibe that it gives.  I'm still working on that though.  Writing lyrics doesn't always come as naturally as writing the music.  I have to work at it and I'm still not where I want to be with it actually.  Really though, the most important thing is the delivery, rhythm, and phrasing.  I often come up with that first.  Making sounds and rhythmic patterns over top and then filling in with words once I have a general idea mapped out.

As far as songwriting goes, musically I feel like it has gotten easier.  I’m able to play what I want more quickly and better at putting it all together.  I think that comes with just being opened to learning other songs and riffs that I did not come up with myself.  It just makes it easier to work around things and keeps you fresh and not just regurgitating the same ideas as well.  Plus, it’s fun!

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'In The Fire'?

It had to do with how I was trying to visualize the sound back when I started this.  When I'm itching to write something, it almost feels somewhat like this burning sensation that I need to expel.  So I'm trying to meet that for the end result.  I want it to be intense and relentless, but also beautiful.  I've always thought that fire is beautiful, but also scary and dangerous.  Thats what I want the music feel like, and thats what I want the listener to visualize when they hear it.  

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is present on the new album cover?

The artwork was done by Mike Hrubovcak who, as mentioned earlier, also happens to be a very good friend of mine.  Mike has done just about every album cover for anything I've ever been involved in.  He always understands what I am going for and is just such a killer artist in general.  I will always use him for anything I do as long as he's available that is.  I think a lot of bands out there feel very similar about him so he is always in high demand and becoming even more so with every passing year.  Being that I felt that this album had an overall darker vibe and mix to it, I wanted to have the color theme more purple.  The album title was actually something that Carolina came up with, and I thought it sounded very cool.  So Mike designed the artwork off of that title with the color theme I had in mind.  

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

We're more of a studio band really.  Only ever played a handful of shows right before covid hit and afterwards we just focused on putting together the songs we’d already started writing for this album.  Not saying that we wouldn't be open to the idea of playing live again, but it would have to fit in with our schedules and agendas for all of us.  Plus, Carolina, who did the drums on this album and who I am also in Hypoxia with, lives in Ohio, which is about 7 hours away from the rest of us and tours a lot with her other band Castrator as well.  

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

As stated in the last question, not really any plans at the moment, but always open to offers if we are able to coordinate it and we're all into it.

9.The new album was released on 'Satanath Records', how would you compare working with them to your previous label 'Horror, Pain, Gore Death Productions?

Well the album just came out not too long ago but we're all pretty happy with what Satanath and also Fetzner Death have been doing so far.  HPGD was an ok starting point, and it was good that it was also local, but Satanath and Fetzner seem to have more reach, resources, and better distribution.  At least for us anyway.  

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

So far its been very positive.  The main things that I’ve taken from every review is that they all seem to say the same thing about bringing a lot of diversity in the music, but also delivering it well.  That to me is probably the biggest compliment I could hope to get.  I feel like a lot of bands and labels lately are sticking to a certain sound and subgenre, and it seems to be more and more of a thing.  Myself as well as the others are more focused on just writing stuff that we think is killer and then putting it all together.  No one is ever thinking lets be black metal, or lets be death, or thrash.  We're just trying to create heavy, intense music that rocks.  That’s why I’m happy that Satanath and Fetzner were willing to put this one out and I really hope it does well.  But so far it seems to be.

11.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?

Well... Distant Dominion is my other band with Dever and myself which also features members of Krieg, Polterchrist, and Mortal Decay.  We do play out occasionally and are currently in search for a label for our first release. 

https://distantdominion.bandcamp.com/

Slice!... 

NO PORN. JUST MEAT.

https://sliceyourmeat.bandcamp.com/

Azure Emote, Mike Hrubovcak's avant-garde death metal studio project, who I do guitars for, and also features such heavy hitters  as Kelly Conlon, Mike Heller, Pete Johansen, and Anna Murphy as well as past members Jonah Weingarten, Melissa Ferlaak, Patrick Battaglia, Sandra Laureano, and Bruce Lamont, is working on its 4th studio album currently. 

https://azureemote.bandcamp.com/

Hypoxia, who besides myself also features both Carolina and Mike as well, just recently released the 3rd full length "Defiance" through SelfMadeGod.  

https://hypoxiaband.bandcamp.com/album/defiance

Josh (Mahesh) has mainly and more recently been involved with another project called Model Prisoner with members of Revocation and Rosetta.  

https://modelprisoner.bandcamp.com/album/compulsion-analysis

Carolina also has another band which is really her main band called Castrator that put out "Defiled in Obliveon" on Dark Descent.  They just recently finished a tour with Cattle Decapitation and Immolation.  I highly recommend checking them out!

https://castrator.bandcamp.com/music

I also laid down guitars last year for my old friend and former bandmate Jason Sidote’s absurdly awesome project Skeleton Toucher you can check out here.

https://skeletontoucher.bandcamp.com/album/the-2-38-demo-ep

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

Just more of the same hopefully. Continuing to grow as musicians and also lyrically I strive to continue to develop.

13.What are some of the bands or musical styles the band members are currently listening to nowadays?

Most recently for myself I've really been digging bands like Sumerlands, Tribulation, and Power Trip.  I’ve also been heavily delving into Rotting Christ’s entire discography.  I got to check out Frozen Soul live recently and was pretty floored by how heavy their sound was.  The whole room was quite literally shaking. The band Sonja, aside from Melissa being a very old and close friend and also former bandmate, came out with Loud Arriver a few years back and I know I may seem partially biased but I feel like it is one of the most masterfully crafted albums from front to back that I have heard in a very long time.  They just recently got signed to Century Media Records and just released a single titled "Descretion For The Generous".  I highly recommend it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHFeiWD6auM

https://sonjaband.bandcamp.com/album/loud-arriver?logged_out_mobile_menubar=true&search_item_id=4168492822&search_item_type=b&search_match_part=%3F&search_page_id=3353140412&search_page_no=0&search_rank=1

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

Let the metal continue to burn into your soul and never extinguish the flame!!!

https://www.facebook.com/inthefireofficial/

Strychnos/Armageddon Patronage/Dark Descent Records/2024 Full Length Review

 

  Strychnos  are  a  band  from  Denmark  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  blackened  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2024  album  "Armageddon  Patronage"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Dark  Descent  Records.

  A  very  dark,  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  vocals  bring  in  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also b e  heard  along  with  all  of t he  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  style  along  with  one  song  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing.

   Clear  vocals  can  also  be  heard  on  a  couple  of  tracks.  along  with  one  song  also  introducing  synths  onto  the  album  as  well  as  the  music  also  having  its  atmospheric  moments,  tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  faster  riffing.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  horror,  torture,  death,  suicide  and  occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Strychnos  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  blackened  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Winds  Warning  The  Final  Storm"  "Endless  Void  Dimension"  and  "Nattevandreerinden".  8  out  of  10.

  https://music.apple.com/rs/artist/strychnos/1644761049

https://strychnos.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/strychnosterror

https://www.instagram.com/strychnosterror/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6ahBLSGA36L7TEqaPLWyN8    

Gravecrawler/Anthology: The Horrors Unleashed/Grind To Death Records/2023 Compilation Album Review

 

  Gravecrawler  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  blackened  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2023  compilation  album  "Anthology:  The  Horrors  Unleashed '  which  will  be  released  in  2023  by  Grind  To  Death  Records.

  A  very  dark,  heavy  and  brutal  sound  starts  off  the  compilation while  the  vocals  are  a  mixture  of  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  guttural  death  metal  growls.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.

  Elements  of  slam  are  also  added  into  the  mid  tempo  sections  of  the  songs  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  tracks  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  one  song  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples  and  all  of  the  music  also  sticks  to  a  heavier  direction.

  Gravecrawler  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with  brutal  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  gore,  myths  and  folklore  themes.  

  In  my  opinion  Gravecrawler  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  compilation.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Putrid  Incarnation"  "Beast  Of  The  Abysmal  Sea"  "Binding  of  The  Corpse  God"  and  "Lair  of  The  Blind  Ones".  8  out  of  10.

  Facebook

Instagram

In The Fire/Test of The Pendulum Blade/Satanath Records/Fetzner Death Records/2024 Full Length Review

 

  In  The  Fire  are  a  band  from  Pennsylvania  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2024  album  "Test  of  The  Pendulum  Blade"  which  will  be  released  on  April  13th  as  a  joint  effort  between  Satanath  and  Fetzner  Death  Records.

  Melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  start  off  the  album  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  along  with  the  riffing  also  adding  in  a  lot  of  thrash  metal  elements  and  all  of t he  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  while  death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  at  times.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  songs  also  mixing  in  80's  and  90's  influences  in  with  the  more  modern  era,  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  album  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  all  of  the  music  sticks  to  a  heavier  direction.

  In  The  Fire  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  horror,  darkness  and  anti  religion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  In  The  Fire  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  "In  The  Name  Of  God"  "Cemetery  Evil"  "The  Sadness"  and  "W.T.W.B".  8  out  of  10.

  https://satanath.bandcamp.com/album/sat367-in-the-fire-test-of-the-pendulum-blade-2024