Shezmu/A Travers Les Lambeaux/Krucyator Productions/2020 CD Review

  Shezmu  are  a  band  from  Montreal,  Quebec,  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "A  Travers  Les  Lambeaux"  which  will  be  released  in  July  by  Krucyator  Productions.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  Elements  of  doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  along  with  the  vocals  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  deep  sounding  death  emtal  growls.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  while  dark  sounding  melodies  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing.  Black  metal  screams  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  faster  riffing  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  The  songs  also  mix  in  a  great  amount  of  90's  influences  but  still  maintaining  a  very  modern  day  brutality  as  well  as  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  old  school, dark,  melodic  yet  chaotic  style.

   As  the  album  progresses  a  brie  use  of  ritualistic  and  tribal  percussion's  as  well  as  some  acoustic  guitars  can  be  heard  briefly  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction. The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  French  and  cover  Egyptian  Mythology  and  Ancient  History  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Shezmu  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  "A  Travers  Les  Lambeaux"  "Ode  A Hathor"  and  "Lex  Talionis".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/shezmudeath 
https://shezmu.bandcamp.com     

Actus Septem/Days Of The Fall/2020 EP Review

  Actus  Septem  are  a  band  from  Greece  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2020 ep  "Days  Of  The  Fall".


Distorted  amp  noises  start  off  the  ep  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  while  elements  of  doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.

  A  lot  of  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  era  while  most  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  The  first  track  is  also  all  instrumental  and  the  second  song  also  introduces  grim  black  metal  screams  onto  the  recording  along  with  the  music  also  showing  some  influences  of  the  Hellenic  style.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  whole  recording  also  sticks  to  a  slower  musical  direction,  melodic  singing  and  chants  can  also  be  heard  in  the  background  on  a  couple  of  tracks.  The  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  anthropocentrism  and  anti  religion  themes.   

  In  my  opinion  Actus  Septem  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Assert  In  Death"  and  "Son  Of  Woman".  8  out  of  10.

https://actusseptem.bandcamp.com/releases

Noctu/Gelidae Mortis Imago/Transcending Obscurity Records/2020 CD Review

  Noctu  are  a  solo  project  from  Italy  that  plays  an  atmospheric  mixture  of  black  and  funeral  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2020  album  "Gelidae  Mortis  Imago"  which  was  released  by  Transcending  Obscurity  Records.

  Water  drops  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  synths  a  couple  of  minutes  later  that  also  use  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  as  well  as  mixing  in  with  the  heavier sections  of  the  music.  A  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  Elements  of  funeral  doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  and  heavier  sections  of  the  music  while  the  vocals are  mostly high  pitched  black  metal  screams.  Dark  sounding  melodies  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  every  track  having  a  brief  intro  which  also  gives  the  recording  more  of  an  avant  garde  feeling  and  the  whole  album  also  sticks  to  a  slower  musical  direction  and  on  the  closing  track  melodic  chants  can  also  be  heard  briefly.

  On  this  recording  Noctu  mixes  atmospheric  black  metal  into  his  style  of  funeral  doom  metal  to  take  his  sound  to  a  new  level.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Italian  and  cover   sorrow,  negativity,  suicidal  feelings,  self  harm  and  darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Noctu  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  black  and  funeral  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Fitte  Tenebre  (le  Radici  Dell'  Inferno)"  and  "Isolato  Da  Un  Mondo  Senza  Speranza".  8  out  of  10.


Official Video Stream

Official Bandcamp

Noctu Facebook 

  

Stromptha/Endura Pleniluniis/Satanath Records/Pest Records/2020 CD Review

  Stromptha  are  a  solo  project  from  Greenland  that  plays  an  atmospheric  mixture  of  black  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2020  album  "Endura  Pleniluniis"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Satanath  and  Pest  Records.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  while  the  synths  also  gives  the  music  more  of  an  atmospheric  feeling.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  some  clear  vocals  also  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  Black  metal  screams  are  also  mixed  in  with  the  heavier  parts  of  the  music  while  all  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  Elements  of  doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  along  with  some  of  the  riffing  also  adding  in  melodies  and  tremolo  picking.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  along  with  clean  playing  also  making  a  return  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  as  well  as  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  the  songwriters  native  tongue  and  covers  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Strompptha  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  mixture  of  black  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "De  Sang  Et  De  Brouillard"  and  "Quand  Le  Cornu  Moissonera".  8  out  of  10.

Bandcamp

Official website

SoundCloud

 

  

Evoker/Evil Torment/Blood Harvest/2020 EP Review

  Evoker  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  plays  an  old  school  form  of  blackened  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  ep  "Evil  Torment"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Blood  Harvest.

  Rain  and  thunder  sounds  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  heavy  yet  melodic  riffing  a  few  seconds  later.  Most  of  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  era  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  a   great  amount  of  blast  beats  as  well  as  the  vocals  being  mostly  blackened  metal  screams,

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  also  remain  very  true  to  an  old  school  style  while  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  death  metal.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  all  of  the  songs  sounding  like  they  could  of  easily  been  recorded  and  released  more  than  25  years  ago  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Evoker  plays  a  musical  style  that  goes  back  to  the  early  90's  era  of  black  and  death  metal.  The  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  death  and  evil  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Evoker  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school blackened  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Old  Evil"  and  "Sacrilicious  Lust".  8  out  of  10.

http://bloodharvestrecords.bandcamp.com/album/evil-torment   

Hexenbrett Interview

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

Mostly promotion work and working on the musics live implementation.
We did find suitable musicians in January with whom we've been in contact ever since.
Lots of supervising and directing so to speak.
Things were looking good and everything was ready for the live concerts in June but then Covid-19 hit, unfortunately.


2.In May you have a new album coming out, musically how does it differ from the ep you have released in 2018?

The demo was released on January 1st 2019, TTERBNEXEH didn't release anything in 2018.
ZWEITE BESCHWÖRUNG features a better production, better songwritting and a much tighter performance. It's better on all levels when compared to the demo.
The material is more diverse and captures the band during a certain moment in time. We are immensely looking forward to its relase.


3.A lot of your lyrics cover horror themes, can you tell us a little bit more about the films that have had an influence on your songwriting?

Horror, both in literature as well as in film, are our prime source of inspiration, that's right. Since we love the aura and atmosphere of not only Horror but
Euro Cult cinema in general, we wanted to incorporate that in our music - we thus created something we like to call
"the sound of the bloody iris" or simply "cemetery sounds".
Its an amalgamation of freedom, excess, depravity and perversion - its Rock 'n' Roll and Horror put together as one.

The tracklists of our releases provide you with the concrete answer to your question.


4.Some of your lyrics also touch on the occult, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in occultism?

We are actually not interested in anything that is considered occult. We don't invest time in any obscure or crypting writings by obscure and
cryptic authors. We prefer to watch a movie or listen to a Rock record.


5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the album cover?

It captures the Euro Cult atmosphere and can be seen as an hommage to Bava and Argento, the "darker" Giallo aesthetics.
There was and still is a lot of controversy going on which is great. Many people hate it and rant about it on the internet while others see what we see and
highly appreciate that.

Expect more controversy in the future.


6.Has the band done any live shows yet?

No.

7.On the new album you also done a cover of Townes Van Zandt's "The Spider Song", what was your decision behind doing your own version of this song?

It actually happened by accident. I was listening to my Townes records sometime in spring of last year
and as soon as "Spider" hit i knew that this was a TTERBNEXEH song in disguise.
Besides that he is one of my biggest musical heroes. It was also interesting to see what a "Black Metal" band could do with a country song.


8.Most of the music is also heavily rooted in the 80s and 90s, do you feel a lot of modern music fails the capture of the atmosphere of that era?

We wouldn't say that per se. There's still a lot of great modern music out there. It's just more, a lot more, like quantity-wise. Zillions of records
are being released each day so one has to dig a lil deeper in order to find a gem.
But believe what we say, there's still a lot of gems out there to be discovered.


9.The new album is also coming out on 'Dying Victims Productions; how would you compare working with them to 'Caligari Records'?

It's not comparable. Caligari just re-released our demotape while DVP helped us to progress, artistically speaking.
They are both great labels and if you'll ever be given the opportunity to work with either one of them, take it.


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

We have received a lot of positive feedback and sold a few records as well so it seems as if people appreciate what we do.


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

We unfortunately can't answer this question since we don't know it ourselves as of today.


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?

Hard Rock and Heavy Metal music in general as well as Movie Soundtracks of course.
From 60s Garage sounds to 90s Black Metal basically.

Here's a lil overview of our current playlists

Scarlettina:
Flotsam and Jetsam, Cirith Ungol, early Immortal, Darkthrone, Phantom Blue, Halloween, Omen, Warlock and Malokarpatans current record

Josto:
The musical menu since mid March consisted of David Bowie's discography until "Station to Station",
German "Minor League" Thrash (Assassin, Violent Force, Exumer, Deathrow), Vampire Hunter D OST, The Grateful Dead and Blood Incantation.
The upcoming month will focus on The Doors, more Grateful Dead, 70s Country Music, classic US Death Metal
as well as newer bands like Death Valley Girls, Big Cheese and King Gizzard with alltime favs like Rush, Kiss and Blue Öyster Cult always in the mix.

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

Thank you very much for having us, we really enjoyed asnwering your questions.
"Zweite Beschwörung: Ein Kind zu Töten" will be out on May 22nd.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Hexenbrett

Zatyr/Ornament Of Proposition/Dying Victims Productions/2020 EP Review

  Zatyr  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  and  heavy  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  ep  "Ornament  Of  Proposition"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Dying  Victims  Productions.

  A  very  hard  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  80's  era.  The  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  remain  true  to  a  very  melodic  yet  old  school  style.

  Vocals  are  done  in  mostly  a  traditional  metal  style  while  also  throwing  in  some  black  emtal  screams  at  times.  Touches  of  the  first  wave  era  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording  along  with  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  being  utilized  when  the  music  speeds  up  and  most  of  the  music  sticks  to  a  mid  tempo  style, ritualistic  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  on  the  closing  track.

  Zatyr  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  early  80's  traditional  metal  while  also  mixing  in  black  metal  screams  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism  and  Darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Zatyr  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  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Forbidden  Rites"  and  "Heart  And  Vision".  8  out  of  10.

"Fire Prophecy":