Clinging To The Trees Of A Forest Fire/Nesseria/Throatruiner Records/2011 Split Review

 This is a review of a split between Denver Colorado's Clinging To The Trees Of A Forest Fire and France's Nesseria which was released by Throatruiner Records and we will start of the review with Clinging To the Trees Of A Forest Fire who plays a mixture of blackened grindcore and filthy sludge.

Drums range from slow, mid apced to fast drumming with a good amount of blast beats being thrown into the music, while the bass playing has a very strong and powerful sound to it.

Rhythm guitars combine noisecore, black metal, grindcore and sludge together to creat a sound of their own mixed in with a lot of noisy distortion and there are no guitar solos or leads present on this recording.

Vocals are mostly high pitched noisecore/grind screams mixed in with a lot of black metal influences, while the lyrics cover dark themes, as for the production it has a very dark,,heavy, raw and primitive sound to it.

In my opinion this is a great improvement from Clinging To The Trees Of A Forest Fire and if you like noisecore mixed with black metal and sludge, you should check out the music on this split. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Opaque" and "Lower Than Life, High As The Sky ". RECOMMENDED.

Next up is Nesseria form France that plays a mixture of black metal, crustcore, noise and hardcore.

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with a good amount of blast beats being thrown into the music,  while the bass playing has a very dark tone with riffs that follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast riffs that combine black metal, crust, noise and hardcore together to create their own sound with a good amount of noisy distortion and there are little to no guitar solos or leads present on their side of the recording.

Vocals are all high pitched screams that combine black metal with noisecore, while the lyrics are written in French and cover dark themes, as for the production it has a very dark and heavy sound to it.

In my opinion Nesseria are a very great sounding black metal/crust/noise/hardcore hybrid band with the best music on this split and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Freistadt " and "Fils De La Fin De Siecle". RECOMMENDED.

In my opinion this is a very great split album that I would recommend to all fans of black metal, sludge, noise and grindcore. RECOMMENDED BUY.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Clinging_to_the_Trees_of_a_Forest_Fire/98885

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Nesseria/3540315266

Omission/Merciless Jaws From Hell/War Productions 2012 Cassette Review

  Omission are a band from Spain that plays a very brutal form of black/thrash metal and this is a review of their album "Merciless Jaws From Hell" which was originally released in 2011 but re-issued on cassette in 2012 by War Productions.

Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with a good amount of blast beats being thrown into the music, while the bass playing has a very dark tone with riffs that follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast 80's style black/thrash metal riffs that are a very raw and primitive sounding, while the lead guitars are very distorted and chaotic sounding thrash metal guitar solos and leads mixed in with some traditional metal influences.

Vocals are mostly snarling black/thrash screams done 80's styles with some deep growls being thrown in at times as well as a brief use of rough clean singing mixed in with some thrash gang style chorus, while the lyrics cover hateful and dark themes with an occult edge, as for the production it has a very powerful, heavy, raw and primitive sound to it.

In my opinion Omission are a very great sounding old school black/thrash metal band and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Northmen Wrath" "Fuckin Alone" "Day Of Your Death Arrives" and "Ianus Rex Infernorum". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Lycus/Demo MMXI/The Flenser/2011 EP Review

  Lycus are a band from San Francisco< California that plays a mixture of funeral doom, sludge, and black metal and this is a review of their demo "Demo MMXI" which was released by The Flenser.

Drums are mostly slow drumming with not much in the way of fast playing or blast beats except for the last song, while the bass playing has a very dark tone with riffs that follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars.

Rhythm guitars are all slow riffs that combine funeral doom, sludge and black metal together to create their own sound mixed in with some dark and depressive sounding melodies as well as some fast raw and primitive riffing being used on the last song and there are no guitar solos or leads present on this recording.

Vocals are all deep funeral doom/death metal growls with some clean singing chanting being thrown in at times as well as high pitched black metal screams being used on the last song, while the lyrics cover dark and depressive themes, as for the production it has a very dark and powerful sound to it.

In my opinion Lycus are a very good sounding funeral doom/sludge/black metal hybrid and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACK "Aghast". RECOMMENDED BUY.

Rorcol/Solar Flare/2011 CD Split Review

 This is a review of a split album between Switzerland's Recoal and Solar Flare, and we will start out the review with Solar Flare that plays a mixture of doomcore and black metal.

There are no drums or bass guitars presented on the recording, while the noise effects when they are utilized bring a very dark avant garde feeling to the music with somewhat of a black metal feeling to them.

Rhythm guitars are all sludgy and very slow sounding doomcore riffs that show no variety whatsoever with a small amount of clean psychedelic playing and there are no guitar solos or leads present on this recording.




Rorcal only make an appearance on the last song with some noisy sounding black metal that contains a  lot of high pitched black metal screams, and heavy bass lines that are very sludgy sounding.

In my opinion Solar Flame are a very good sounding blackened/doomcore band and if you are a fan of this style, you should check this band out. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Outaspace" and "La Rounde Souls". RECOMMENDED BUY.

https://soundcloud.com/rorcalsolarflare/sets/rorcal-solar-flare

Toxic Holocaust Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
Right now I'm taking a break from packing for our upcoming European tour. We have a lot of shows coming up in Scandinavia, Europe and the UK, not to mention a U.S. tour with the English Dogs.

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from previous releases?
A lot of people have mentioned that its a lot more aggressive and in your face. I think it is varied a bit more than previous records, I tried to incorporate a few different tempos and song structure ideas on this one.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new release?
Lyrical topics range from ancient and historical occult topics such as Necromancy, Witchcraft etc. I wanted the lyrics to be a lot darker on this one.

4. Out off all of the shows and tours that the band has done so far which one did you enjoy the most?
Actually the last show we played in L.A. was the biggest and the craziest of the whole tour. It was a great way to end the tour.

5. What are the touring plans for the new release?
We have a lot of touring plans actually, some I can mention some are still in the works. First up though is our Scandinavia/Euro/UK tour. We'll be over there for 6 weeks, take a couple weeks off then do something cool in January that I can't mention yet and then a U.S. tour with the English Dogs.

6. On a worldwide level how has the new album been received by underground metal fans?
It seems to be doing really well, getting good reviews and good press. There's always the shit talkers, but that's the nature of the beast. Can't please everyone, nor do I want to.

7. Have you received any backlash for being a younger person going for this music style, since your music is rooted in the 80's and a lot of metal heads from that era look down upon the younger generation?
Not so much anymore. I think that all died down because those people realized I was doing it from the heart. I mean I've been doing the same thing since I've been in high school. haha

8. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
Hard to say, it won't be the same as Conjure because I don't like to make the same record twice, but I will still sound like us. I never like to give the fans a curve ball too much where they feel cheated.

9. You have been on Relapse for a few years, how would you describe the support that they have given you so far?
Relapse has been truly amazing so far. I couldn't have asked for a better label.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced the sound of the new album and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Venom, Sodom, Slayer and Bathory come to mind for shaping the sound of the band. New records and bands are anything from bands like Nocturnal, Midnight, Vomitor etc.

11. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
I like reading, building electronics like guitar amps and pedals...ya know nerdy shit. I don't usually have much time for anything outside of the band though.

12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Thanks for the support. Keep metal nuclear.

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Infest Interview

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

Regards!
Well, we just came back from a tour (Serbia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic), and now we need to book more dates for winter tour. New members joined the band, so even our album has been released few months ago, new songs and ideas are growing every day, so we are practicing and making some new stuff…

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from previous releases?

New album sounds a little bit different from our past two albums, but it’s not some changing of style, it’s just that we all made a progress in musical way, so riffs are maybe complicated than on the past two. I think that spirit of Infest sound still strikes with the same energy, and maybe a little bit stronger.
Production also made a big progress here, regarded by Honza Kapak (Hellsound studio) , who produced this album.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new album?

Lyrics on new album are influenced by everything that surrounds me, and what make me so pissed off, and it’s so obviously that lot of things are not as they supposed to be here. Faith manipulation, politics, terror across the land, corruption on every corner…and many many more….

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

Meaning of a word Infest is when something is devastated, choked… We are playing aggressive music, and I think that this name really fits well in a whole thing. There is couple of band named Infest also, but we are here since 2002-03, so I don’t have in mind changing a name or stuff.

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

One of the best shows ever was in Macedonia last year, but after this tour that we had, it’s really hard to choose the best show, because all of them have some message and some good atmosphere that give us straight to strike with new albums, shows and stuff…People accepted new album very well, so this tour we did was amazing for the same reason, because people knew the lyrics and it give really special effect to gigs .Our stage performance comes from itself, it’s just what we are, we show it on the stage. No fakeness, no compromises…only real death/thrash metal madness.

6. Do you have any touring plans for the new release?

Touring is very important to me, so I book concerts everywhere I can, and play a lot.
We have finished our GENOCIDE OVER EUROPE TOUR, and now booking has already began for some new shows.
We have in plan to tour with our brothers from The Stone in February, and in March we have some plans for Sweden shows, but It takes a lot of things to make before, so I will wait until we finish all the stuff, and then I will announce it …

7.Currently you are singed to Grom Records, how did you get in contact with this label and how would you compare it to your old label?
Milan is my very good friend, and we know each other for years. We don’t have such a label-band relation, it’s more like brotherhood. He understands all band problem with promotion, touring and stuff, so we have all the help we need by his side, and also from other 3 labels. (Butchered records, Zero Budget, Terror blast). Organization of some shows across the Balkan, printing flayers, picks and stuff...It’s just a small part of what he did for us.
We are in good relation with the old label, and that’s the main reason why we united 4 labels to release this album. As I said, brotherhood, not label-band relation.

8. On a worldwide level how has your new album been recieved by fans of black, death and thrash metal?

I received a lot of e mails from almost every part of the world, so i think that we still need some more time to let the people hear this album , and also to find our band. Distribution of new album is very very big, so I think that 8/10 is the right relation.

9. I know that in the past the band members participated in many other band is that still going on these days?
Zombi has a big portfolio behind.He played in The Stone, May Result, and still plays in Simargal & Vehementer, but Infest is his main occupation.Khil plays in his origin band Svargren, and Tyrrant is playing in Soul in Cage.I had to left all the other bands I’ve been involed in, because i have a lot of work to do with Infest.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Music that I mostly listen to is death metal from early days, and also black/thrash metal from early period.I am not a big fan of new kinds of metal that is „popular“ these days.Very old school, agressive and quality stuff from bay area, Swedish death metal and that kind of stuff is my favorite, and its the same with the other guys from a band.We are all influenced by that kind of stuff, but mostly from a bands Iron Maiden, Dismember, Unleashed, Slayer, old Sepultura, Sadus, Sodom...

11.Outside of music what are some of your interests?
Oh , its hard to say for everyone, but I practise wing chun kung fu, and I am football fan, so I visit games and stuff.For the rest of the guys, you’ll have to ask them J

12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Thanks a lot for your interview, it was a pleasure to answer your questions!
Best regards to your zine, and regards to all our fans and supporters world wide!
You guys rule!
666
Vandal & Infest

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Gods Tower/The Eerie/MetalAgen/1997 CD Review

  Gods Tower are a band from Belarus that plays a mixture of black, doom and pagan metal and this is a review of their 1997 album "The Eerie" which was released by MetalAgen Records.

Drums range from slow to mid paced drumming with not much in the way of fast playing or blast beats with some percussion being thrown in at times, while the bass playing has a very dark tone with riffs that follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars and at times they sound very powerful, as for the keyboards they bring a very dark and atmospheric feeling to the music, in addition there is a brief use of violins that bring a very dark and poetic feeling to the music.

Rhythm guitars are slow to mid paced riffs that combine doom, black, and pagan metal together and they utilize a lot of melodic riffing, while the lead guitars are very dark and melodic sounding guitar solos and leads, as for the acoustic and classical guitars when they are utilized they use finger picking and full chords to bring a folk music feeling to the music.


Vocals range from clean singing, raspy vocals, deep death metal growls and high pitched black metal screams and there are some spoken word passages being utilized briefly , while the lyrics cover paganism and Battlefields, as for the production it has a very dark, raw, heavy and powerful sound.


In my opinion this was a great album from Gods Tower that mixed black, doom, pagan and melodic metal together and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band and album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Reign Of Silence" and "Till Death Do Us Part". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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