Black Totem Interview

 

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

1. We've mainly been writing new songs and rehearsing them. As we speak we have eight strong tracks that are almost ready for the third Totem album. We are going to write maybe four more before we start recording the next one. But things are pretty slow right now, because of the fucking virus.

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

2. Black Totem used to be a guitar and drums duo and more garage rock influenced if that makes any sense. Our upcoming album II: Shapeshifting is our first recording as a four piece band. It's heavier, darker and occasionally faster than our previous material. And now we even have guitar solos!

3.This is also your first release since 2015, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?

3. We expanded from being a duo to a four piece band in 2016. Since then the original members, myself and the drummer Tony Cash, have been showing our new members the ropes . There was a lot of practising the first few years. Some gigs in Finland as well. Mixing this album took a long time, because we were doing it with Rick Rubiini on the side. I mean Rick and everyone in the band have pretty much other stuff on our plate.

4.Some of your lyrics cover occult themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?

4. I write the lyrics and I tend to find inspiration in horror movies. Naturally, I'm an enemy of the church as well, so occult themes just seem fitting to fuck with organized Christianity. I feel there's some Baudelaire shit going on here as well in the sense that I like to channel my inner negativity into lyrics that are mystified through occult terminology. Like our song The Devil is not really about devil worshipping, but the wrath within oneself, a sort of inner beast, that is not wise to let out in the open, if you catch my drift. 

5.What are some of the other lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music?

5. Depression, conflict in relationships, toxic people, sex, cannibalism, the human condition. But it's all filtered through a lyrical mist of horror and blues traditions.

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Black Totem'?

6. I see a totem to be a combination of animal attributes or strengths stacked on top of each other to invoke respect. I love animals and nature, so I wanted to come up with a band name, which represents natural forces defying this lame ass human civilization. Black is my favorite color and Sabbath is obviously one of my all time favorite bands, so I wanted our band to be called Black something from the get-go.

7.Can you tell us a little b it more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

7. It's a dead person's skinned head coming to life through awakening beasts. A dead human shapeshifting into something more powerful by animals.

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

8. We've always enjoyed playing at the legendary punk club TVO in Turku. We've played there a bunch of times. The club unfortunately closed down during the pandemic last year. We haven't played that many gigs as a four piece yet, so I think we are still shapeshifting in that department as well. But we are very dedicated to anything we set out to do. Our new members, Sam Hate on lead guitar and Wera Wolf on bass and vocals, both are very musically gifted and bring a lot of intense energy to our live performances.

9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of deathrock and underground metal?

9. So far mostly positive, which is surprising, because we haven't had high expectations, I guess. Looking forward to seeing how the album will be received!

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

10. The new tracks that we've made feel even darker and more aggressive. I think there will be more fast songs on the next album as well, but let's see. That's going ahead of things though, since this album is not yet released and no-one really knows what the future holds.

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?

11. Our influences are mainly in horror punk, doom metal, blues and thrash. All sorts of old school stuff. My favorite band is Samhain, obviously. I listen to all kinds of music except modern metal, prog rock and jazz, which I pretty much hate. I like to listen to hardcore punk, goth, blues, doom metal, black metal, thrash, grindcore, some singer songwriter stuff, movie soundtracks and even fucking gangster rap. 

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

12. Thanks for the interview! I wanna urge our fans to check out our latest videos on youtube. We have some really talented filmmakers, who made some wild videos for us and conceptually they are breaking boring molds and clichés with humour, danger and fresh ideas. Also we're gonna produce some merch in the near future, so follow us on social media and you will find out when you can go get your Black Totem shirts and other goodies.

http://blacktotem.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BlackTotem666

Portrayal Of Guilt/We Are Always Alone/Closed Casket Activities/2021 Full Length Review

 

    Portrayal  Of  Guilt  are  a  band  from  Texas  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  death  metal,  screamo,  hardcore,  power  violence,  punk  and  noise  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "We  Are  Always  Alone"  which  will  be  released  on  January  29th  by  Closed  Casket  Activities.

   A  very  fast  and  aggressive  power  violence  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  with  some  touches  of  screamo  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Elements  of  noise  can  also  be  heard  at  times  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Half  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  short  in  length  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  as  well  as  some  of  the  riffing  also  showing  an  influence  of  death metal.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  style  along  with  some  songs  also  adding  in  some  apocalyptic  sounding  synths.  Tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  faster  riffing  as  well  as  the  tracks  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts,  hardcore  style  shouts  can  also be  heard  at  times  and the  music  also  captures  the  raw  energy  of  punk  rock  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  clean  vocals  can  also  be  heard.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dread,  apathy  and  dealing  with  a  splintered  society.  

  In  my  opinion  Portrayal  Of  Guilt  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of   black,  death  metal,  screamo,  hardcore,  power  violence,  punk  and  noise  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Second  Coming"  "Masochistic  Oath"  "Garden  of  Despair"  and  "We  Are  Always  Alone".  8  out  of  10.

https://youtu.be/HARXCFIxSQs

    

Estuarine/Nyarlathotep/2021 EP Review

 

  Estuarine  are  a  solo  project  from  Tampa,  Florida  that  plays  a  very  experimental  and  technical  mixture  of  black,  death  metal  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2021  ep  "Nyarlathotep"  which  will  be  released  in  March.

  A  very  dark,  heavy  and  technical  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  black  metal  screams  and  grindcore  style  shouts.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  chaotic  style  and  the  music  also  has  its  experimental  moments.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  music  also  mixes  in  a  great  of  death  metal  elements.  Most  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  short  in  length  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  melody  at  times  and  as  the  ep  progresses  avant  garde  touches  can  also  be  heard.     

  Estuarine  plays  a  musical  style  that  takers  black,  technical  death  metal,  grindcore  and  experimental  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the lyrics  cover  the  writings  of  H.P  Lovecraft.

  In  my  opinion  Estuarine  are  a  very  great  sounding  technical  and  experimental  mixture  of  black,  death  metal  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  I NCLUDE  "Crawling  Chaos"  "Bloody  Nubbed-Exile"  and  "Planes  Of  Rotting  Creation".  8  out  of  10.

https://estuarinemetal.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/estuarinemetal
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7jRW8tioKkTh4Pgogol1iu
 http://www.Instagram.com/estuarinemetal

    

Black Totem/II: Shapeshifting/Svart Records/2021 CD Review

 

  Black  Totem  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  and  doom  metal  with  some  touches  of  goth,  punk  and  deathrock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their 2021  album  "II:  Shapehifting"  which  will  be  released  in February  by Svart  Records.

  A  very  dark  yet  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  vocals  that  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  Glen  Danzig.  The  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  deathrock  elements  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  the  heaviness  of  doom  metal  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them. 

  A  lot  of  the  riffing  is  also  very  heavily  influenced  by  blues  rock while  the  solos  and  leads  also b ring  in  a  very  retro  70's  style.  At  times  the  music  also  captures  the  darkness  of  black  metal  along  with  one  of  the  tracks  also  introducing  female  vocals  onto  the  album  as  well  as  the  music  also  capturing  the  raw  energy  of  punk  rock  and  all  of  the  music  sticks  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  tempo  style  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard..

  Black  Totem  plays  a  musical  style  that takes  black, doom  metal  ,deathrock,  punk  and  blues  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  horror,  occultism  and  left  hand  path  themes.  

  In  my  opinion  Black  Totem  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  doom  metal,  deathrock,  punk  and  blues  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Begone  Vampire"  "Black  Necro  Gloves""Dead  Meat"  and  "Warlock".  8  out  of  10.

https://youtu.be/DldEWE2AZrc   

Sibereal Interview

 

- For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

- Hi guys! We are a group from the Siberian hinterland. Vodka, snow, bears, balalaika. We don't shave our legs or paint our lips, we play uncompromising Siberian rock 'n' roll. At the end of last year we released our full-length album "Blood color sky" and at the moment we are already working on its successor.

- In August you had released a new album, musically how does it differ from your previous ep?

- On the new album, we adhered to the formula "Fuck all the restrictions!" The music has become more extravagant, sensual. It also contains all the songs from the previous release in a modified form.

- The band started out playing 'Black Sabbath' covers, what was the decision behind moving into writings originals?

- Like Black Sabbath we come from working-class areas. Music helped to distract from another beating in the alleyway and other "delights" of harsh reality.

- What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music?

- In the lyrics of "Sibireal" one should not look for ideology and morality. Tyrant's poems are an emotional blob. The listener, depending on the severity of the psychopathy, will decide for himself what to use this "fuel" for - to stuff a neighbor's face, roll up to a girl, etc.

- The band also refers to themselves as metal shamans and also includes throat singing and Altai jew's harp in the music, does the Siberian culture and shamanism play a huge role in your music?

- Of course, we feel a connection with the nature of Altai. Millions of people from all over the world strive to come here to feel the energy of the mountains. To survive here, you simply have to be in harmony with nature!

- Originally the band was known as 'Hysteria', what was the cause of the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Sibereal'?

- "Sibireal" is only a trademark of our music factory. There is no hidden meaning in this name and etc. We rejected the name "Hysteria", as we considered it trivial and the girls were inactively visiting the reps. After the name change, the situation has improved in this regard. "Sibireal" is the magic of letters.

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

- On all covers of the group there is a mascot "Tatiana". Its prototype is the ex-girlfriend of our vocalist. We plan to use our mascot in all releases and related products.

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

- "Sibireal" is a studio project at the moment - we don't play any gigs and we don't plan any until our next work.

- On the album you also done a 'Fatal Energy' cover, what was the decision behind doing one of their songs?

- We always liked what the guys from: "Fatal Energy" did. So, at one time their drummer helped us with drums and arrangements. On EP: "Giennah" you can hear his work. After the death of the "Fatal Energy" frontman, we covered them to honor his memory.

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

- Overall, our latest work has received good reviews. Such things are very inspiring to write new songs, which is what we are doing at the moment. Nowadays, many modern musicians masterfully master their instruments, write ideal songs, but they do not have the enthusiasm of the old - good rock and roll - everything is refined.

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

- In the future, we see ourselves as Grammy winners in the Hottest Eggs nomination. It would be nice to skate a tour with Madonna.

- 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 all fans of good old rock music, which was and remains our inspiration. Accept, Black sabbath, Metallica, Slayer, Helloween, Destruction, necronomicon, mayhem, immortal-the list is endless. We do not like modern music, but I would like to mention Ukrainian diva "Maruv". She has very great talents !!!

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

- Now is a really hard time and in order not to go crazy listen to "metal" guys! This is a vaccine for the soul!

VKontakte

Salo/Sortez Vos Morts/Cold Dark Matter Records/Coups de Couteau2021 EP Review

 

  Salo  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  crust  and  industrial  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  ep  "Sortez  Vos  Mortis"  which  will  be  released  in  February as  a  joint  effort  between  Cold  Dark  Matter  Records  and  Coups  de  Couteau..

  Military  music  samples  start  off  the  ep  along  with  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  before  going  into  a  very  fast  musical  direction  which  also  adds  in  a  great  amount  of  black  metal  style  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  crust  punk  style  shouts  and  melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  riffing.  

  Throughout  the  recording  can  also  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  industrial  elements  and  synths  are  also  mixed  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  at  times.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  a  couple  of  the  tracks  also  being  long  and  epic  in  length,  spoken  word  samples  can  also  be  heard  on  some  of  the  later  songs  and  when  guitar  leads  are  finally  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  aggressive  yet  melodic  style.

  Salo  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black  metal,  crust  and  industrial  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  French  and  cover  violent  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Salo  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  metal,  crust  and  industrial  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sans  gene  ni  haine"  and  "Contagion".  8  out  of 1 0.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Mj4u1YYo7I&t=5s&fbclid=IwAR01IPGQaKaE4Qqanax7QBk24kd0x9xW6DQJ4B83lGW1zAYdi95LAy2ORNQ

Voidwomb/Altars Of Cosmic Devotion/Iron Bonehead Productions/2021 EP Review

 

  Voidwomb  are  a  band  from  Portugal  that  plays  a  90's  influenced  form  of  blackened  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  ep  "Altars  Of  Cosmic  Devotion"  which  will  be  released  in  2021  by  Iron  Bonehead  Productions.

  A  very  dark  and  ritualistic  sounding  intro  started  off  the  ep  along  with  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction.  Vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls  along  with  some  black  metal  screams  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  era.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  style  along  with  some  evil  sounding  melodies  also  being  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing   as  well  as  some  of  the  riffs  also  utilizing  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking,  at  times  the  music  also  adds  in  a  small  amount  of  atmospheric  touches.

  Voidwomb  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  era  of  black  and  death  metal.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  occultism  and  Mesopotamian  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Voidwomb  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Summon  Of  Utu-Shamash"  and  "Altars  Of  Cosmic  Devotion".  8  out  of  10.

https://soundcloud.com/iron-bonehead-productions/void-womb-altars-of-cosmic-devotion

http://www.facebook.com/Voidwombband