Plague Pit/Labyrinthe/2019 EP Review

  Ireland's  Plague  Pit  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  the  blackened death  metal  style  of  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2019  ep  "Labyrinthe".

  A  very  fast  and  brutal  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  while t he  vocals  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  deep  death  metal  growls  as  well  as  some  black  metal  screams  also  being  utilized  at  times.  When  guitars  and  leads  are utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  chaotic  yet  melodic  style.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to t hem  while  the  musicians  also  demonstrate  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  as  well  as  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  melody.

  The  last  2  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  some  of  the  leads  and  adds  also  utilizing  a  small  amount  of  dissonant  structures  and  unorthodox  rhythms  and  the  music  also  captures  a  very  evil  sounding  atmosphere,  ritualistic  sounding  synths,  spoken  word  parts  and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  briefly  as  the  ep  progresses  and  the  closing  track  also  brings  Gregorian  chants  into  the  music.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Satanism,  Hermeticism  and  Darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Plague  Pit  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  blackened  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Gift  of  Unknowing"  and  "Elixir".  8/5  out  of  10.

 https://plaguepit.bandcamp.com/album/labyrinthine  

Plague Pit/Topeth Ablaze/2019 Full Length Review

   Plague  Pit  are  a  band  from  Ireland  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  blackened  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2019  album  "Topeth  Ablaze".

  Dark  yet  ritualistic  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  brutal  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  along  with  the  vocals  being  mostly  death  metal   growls.

  A  good  mixture  of  both  modern  and  old  school  influences  can  also  be  heard  in  the  music  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  When  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  stick  to  more  of  a  darker  style  of  death  metal.  A  great  amount  of  black  metal  elements  can  also  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording.

  Grim  screams  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  music  while  a  touch  of  doom/death  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  slower  riffing.  Some  of  the  fast  riffs  also  utilize  tremolo  picking  at  times  to  enhance  the  black  metal  side  of  the  music  and  one  of  the  later  tracks  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  also  introduces  ritualistic  spoken  word  parts  into  the music.  The  production  sounds  very  powerful  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism  and  Occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Plague  Pit  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  blackened  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Mercurial  Emanations"  "Sacrilegious  Idolatry"  and  "Membranum".  8  out  of  10.

 https://plaguepit.bandcamp.com/album/topheth-ablaze

Plague Pit Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you can you tell us a little bit about the band?
We are a Black/Death Metal band from Dublin, Ireland. We are a new band, formed in 2016, but we've been metal musicians for over 2 decades.

2.So far you have released a demo, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
Our first release is a self-produced effort that contains 7 metal tracks and 1 ambient outro. It's an eclectic mix of most of our influences.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
We write exclusively about magic and Satanism.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Plague Pit'?
Plague pits were mass graves for the victims of the Bubonic Plague. The Black Death did massive damage to Ireland and it's a topic of our interest. It also conjures a horrific image and helps set the mood for our music.

5.Has the band done any live shows or is this strictly a studio project?
Not as Plague Pit. We will not play live under any circumstances as this is something we've all agreed is detrimental to the atmosphere of our music and not something either of us has ever liked doing anyways.

6.There are no band pictures or social network pages, can you tell us a little bit more about it?
When we formed this band we agreed to not spend any time or energy on things that aren't musical. Our only goal with Plague Pit is to create dark satanic music that we would like to hear ourselves. Social networking is a big no for us. Our music will always be available to those who seek it -  for free - so there's no need to pander to people on the Internet.

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a  label or have received any interest?
We are not actively looking for labels. There were some that showed interest in releasing our debut in physical media, and it may happen sometime in the future. We don't oppose the idea of making our material available to those that prefer it on a CD or some other format, though we personally don't care about it. We are open to collaborations with underground labels and splits with other bands, but it's not a priority for us. We will always make our music available for free download and streaming and we're comfortable with spending our own resources to record and produce the music.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black and death metal?
The feedback has been very positive, despite our limited reach.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We are currently recording our sophomore release. While I don't want to reveal much about the material, it won't stray very far from the debut. As for long-term plans, each of our future releases may have a stronger focus or either Death, Black or Doom Metal but they'll still be recognizable as Plague Pit.

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?
We are heavily into some of the Black and Death Metal classics such as Celtic Frost, Bathory, Blasphemy, old Morbid Angel, Incantation, old Norwegian Black Metal, Sarcofago, Bestial Warlust, Beherit and so on and so forth. Other than this core group of old Black and Death Metal we're always looking for the fringes of Black and Death Metal for the truly depraved and unusual bands.

11.How would you describe your views on Satanism?
We subscribe to the understanding of magic as a psychological phenomenon and of conditioning one's mind through ritual and meditation to manipulate the astral light. Satanism fits into our worldview as a symbolic mechanism that enables us to reach out to the uninitiated through the usage of widely known symbols that they personally associate with memories, emotions and objects of the real world. The main reason why we do not reveal our lyrics is that we want the listener who truly seeks to commune with us to use these symbols we provide to craft their own magical journey.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you very much for taking the time to review our music and for the interest in Plague Pit. We will be making the debut release available on most digital markets, including Spotify, and it will always be available for free on our Bandcamp page. We are recording a second album at the moment, and, much like the first, it will be available for free streaming and download on Bandcamp.

Bandcamp

Plague Pit/I-MMXVIII/2018 Demo Review

  Plague  Pit  are  a  band  from  Dublin,  Ireland  that  plays  a  blackened  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2018  demo  "MMXVIII".

  Fire  sounds  start  off  the  demo  before  going  into a   very  fast  and  brutal  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  along  with  the  vocals  being  mostly  death  metal  growls  while  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  and  black  metal  screams  are  also  used  at  times.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  touches  of  doom/death  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  as  well  as  closing  the  album  with  a  very  dark  sounding  intro.

  Plague  Pit  plays  a  musical style  that  goes  back  to  the  90's  era  of  black  and  death  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Demons  and  Darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Plague  Pit  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  "Miasmatic  Fervor"  "Ecstatic  Satanic  Adoration"  and  "Obsessed  With  The  unholy".  8  out  of  10.

https://plaguepit.bandcamp.com