Deadspawn/Bile Of The Gods/2025 Full Length Review

 

  Deadspawn  are  a  band  from  Arizona  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  blackened  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2025  album  "Bile  of  The  Gods".

  A  very  dark  yet  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  brutal  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls  mixes  in  with  a  few  black  metal  screams  along  with  some  melodies  also  being  added  into  the  guitar  riffing  at  times.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  style.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  album  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  some  of  the  riffing  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  all  of  the  tracks  also  stick  to  a  heavier  direction,  one  track  is  also  an  instrumental.

  On  this  recording  Deadspawn  remain  true  to  the  blackened  death  metal  style  that  they  have  established  on  previous  releases.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  fantasy  and  horror  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Deadspawn  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  blackened  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Unsleep"  "Eminence  Upon  The  Throne"  and  "Bile  of  The  Gods".  8  out  of  10.

  https://www.facebook.com/DeadspawnOfficial/

https://youtu.be/h-9UU-fwwnE  

    

Ponte del Diavolo Interview

 

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

KRATOM: Hi! 2025 will be a pretty busy year for the band. We will play some of the major Europe festivals and we'll be hitting the studio soon to record our second LP 

2.So far yo have released 3 ep's and one full length, musically how do they all differ from each other?

 ABRO: The first three EPs are more raw and direct production wise. With "Fire blades from the tomb" we wanted to focus more on the arrangements and sounds and we experimented as well with including different instruments such as synths, theremin and clarinet 

3.The band also incorporates the use of 2 bass guitars, can you tell us a little bit more about going for a double bass instead of the 2 six string guitar concept based most bands go for? 

ABRO: It's a matter of sound. We love low frequencies and having 2 basses gives us a different way to approach the songs. Of course equalizing the sounds was a challenge and I think you will hear more of it in the next album. Sometimes one bass is more like a guitar and sometimes we like to go in unison to destroy everything in our range.

 4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far and also how would you describe your progress as songwriters over the years? 

ERBA DEL DIAVOLO: All our songs talk about the relationship that human beings have with nature, with the universe, with its most hidden part. They speak of courage in probing the invisible and of love for dissidence. I couldn't tell you how our way of composing has changed over the years, it's a natural alchemy. We seek enjoyment in writing. It is the most direct way to communicate on another level, more real and profound.

 5.I know that the band's name means 'Devil's Bridge' in Italian, how does this name fit in with the musical style that you play?

 KRATOM: The "Ponte del Diavolo" is an actual place in Italy that is connected with a folklore story connected with the Devil. I think it fits perfectly the musical style of the band since it's a bridge that connects different musical genres, but all tied to the Devil's spark. 

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

 ABRO: The artwork is very minimal. We chose a very direct approach to convey the record title. 

7.Recently you have released all 3 of your ep's all on one album, can you tell us a little bit more about the decision behind releasing a compilation? 

KRATOM: The original EP's were printed by independent small labels and got sold out pretty quickly. We saw some of our items sold on discogs at incredibly high prices, so we thought it was a good idea to reprint all the songs with a new mix and master and give the possibility to have them all on a physical support with an affordable price. 

8.Out of all the shows the band has played so far, which one stands out the most? 

ABRO: Personally I would say our show at the 2024 edition of the Soulcrusher festival in Holland. KRATOM: agree, Soulcrusher has been wild and wonderful. 

9.Do you have any touring or show plans for 2025?

 Absolutely. As said above, 2025 will be a pretty busy year. Here are the next shows planned: ● 18/04 INFERNO METAL FESTIVAL NORWAY- Oslo (NO) ● 20/04 Roadburn Festival- Tilburg (NL) ● 24/05 Sonic Rites Events- Helsinki (FI) ● 14/06 Teifljågd Open Air - Burg Piberstein (AT) ● 20/06 Kilkim Žaibu festival- Ukmerge (LT) ● 26-27/09 Metal Gates Festival- Bucharest (RO) 

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

 ABRO: I would say that the reaction has been very positive. The people are intrigued by our non conventional sound. 

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

ABRO: Only time will tell. 

12.In one interview you also mentioned an interest in the writings of Aliester Crowley and Esoteric topics, can you tell us a little bit more about this interest?

 KRATOM: Everyone in the band has its own take on spirituality so I can't really give a straight unique answer for everybody. We don't address any specific current explicitly in our lyrics, but if you read them carefully I think you'll find some hints 1

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

 ABRO: lately I've been listening to: the kilimanjaro dark jazz ensemble, thin lizzy, the cure, the latest paysage d'hiver and spectral wound KRATOM: the latest Spectral Wound for sure is a banger. Lately I listened a lot also to With The Dead, Feral Forms and Skinny Puppy.

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

 KRATOM: thanks for your time and hope to see you on the road

https://www.facebook.com/PontedelDiavolo/

https://www.instagram.com/Pontedeldiavoloband

Marrowomb/Phisenomie/2025 Full Length Review

 

  Marrowomb  are  a  duo from  Chicago,  Illinois  that  plays  a  blackened  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2025  album  "Phisenomie"  which  will  be  released  in  February.

  Spoken  word  samples  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  brutal  direction  which  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls  mixed  in  with  some  black  metal  screams  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  style.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  melodies  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  tracks  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  synths.

  Clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  album  along  with  the  music  also  having  its  experimental  moments  as  well  as  a  couple  of  tracks  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  recording  is   very  heavily  rooted  in  the  modern  era.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  internal  conflict  and  struggle.

  In  my  opinion  Marrowomb  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  death  metal  duo  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sickness  Unto  Life"  "Black  Gossamer"  and  "Despairloom".  8  out  of  10.

  https://marrowomb.bandcamp.com/album/phisenomie.    

Rampant Beast Interview

 

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

1. We're a black speed thrash assault quintet from Yerevan, we play what we worship the most - ripping fast, aggressive combinations of multiple metal subgenres while we add our own touches.

2.In 2024 you had released your first full length, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?

2. We wanted the album to have that feeling from our gigs and rehearsals, we didn't wanna make anything very overproduced or anything like that, our kind of metal is more about the songs themselves but do keep in mind that production is important, if you try to achieve a raw sound simply by putting everything up to 11 with a lot of distortion and minimum effort (for example many so called one man black metal bands) you will just simply sound immature.

3.Originally the band was called 'Intoxicated' and played more of a death metal style, what was the cause of the name and musical style change?

3. During pre-covid times we mainly jammed some riffs and ideas that had more of a resemblance of some kind of death metal, after a while me and Vardan decided to start changing the style and play something more thrashy, then when covid hit we started writing "Lurking Evil" which still has some death metal elements but is a lot more in the direction in which we wanted the band to go.

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

4. Our topics vary from song to song but a lot of times it's mostly about the rhythm of the vocals and how they go with the song, not really about putting some deep meaning in the lyrics or anything, what can a black thrash band yell about? of course it's gonna be evil themes and satan and all that kinda stuff.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Rampant Beast'?

5. I have recently remembered that one of the main inspirations for the band name was the US speed metal band "Sentinel Beast" I always thought the name sounds great and unconsciously one day just came up with our band name during the covid times.

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

6. The artwork was made by our close friend Rudy's partner Anastasia, and we're eternally thankful to both of them. We wanted the artwork to capture a hellish unknown landscape with a bestial creature lurking over the horizon and I think we got pretty close to that idea. An album's artwork needs to capture the music as close as possible and can even sometimes be the deciding factor whether someone checks out the said album or not so it's a very important aspect in general.

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

7. With the band we have played many local shows during the years, keeping an aggressive energy throughout the whole concert is very important to us. We have a tendency to play our songs even faster at the gigs which just happens naturally at this point, we're against click tracks and in-ear monitors or anything like that. As for the best show we played, it has to be the time we got a chance to open for "The Exploited" and playing on a big stage with a very solid sound and a big audience was a great experience.

8.Do you have any touring or show plans for 2025?

8. There's no concerts or tours yet planned for the year but we are open for playing live, we play mostly local gigs so if any promoter out there wants to book us abroad we'd be glad to play.

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

9. Our music is made for a very specific audience, and from what I've been seeing and reading so far, said audience has been digging our material so we really appreciate all the support and we'll will keep forging out our metal till death.

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

10. We play what we feel, and a lot of times we combine different ideas and riffs to craft something unique while still remaining consistent. Some songs can include more black metal and some can have direct inspiration from traditional heavy metal but in general we don't plan on changing the music direction.

11.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?

11. First wave black metal, German speed and thrash metal. If I had to pick some bands I'd wanna mention Bathory, Sodom, Razor, Destruction and Slayer. Nowadays I listen to a lot of d-beat/crust punk, NWOBHM and some NWOTHM bands.

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

12. Stay true, stay metal, fukk off and die.

https://www.facebook.com/rampantbeast
https://www.instagram.com/rampantbeast/

Misanthropik Torment/Make Assassinations Great Again/SelfMade Records/2025 Full Length Review

 

  Kentucky's  Misanthropik  Torment  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  a  blackened  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2025  album  "Make  Assassinations  Great  Again"  which  was  released  by  SelfMade  Records.

  Political samples  which  also  return  on  later  songs  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Death  metal  growls  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  mixed  in  with  some  black  metal  screams  along  with  some  spoken  words  also  being  utilized  at  times.

  A  lot  of  the  music  is  very  heavily  influenced  by  the  90's  era  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats.  Clean  playing  is  also  added  in certain  parts  of  the  album  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  bringing  in  more  of  an  old  school  extreme  metal  style  when  they  are  utilized.

   Some  tracks  also  add  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts,  groove/thrash  metal  style  vocals  can  also  be  heard  briefly  as  well  as a  couple  of  songs  also  being  a  Korn  and  Death  covers  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  anti  political  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Misanthropik  Torment  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  blackened  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Make  Assassinations  Great  Again"  "America  Is  A  Fucking  Disease"  "Deadly  Aftermath"  and  "19  Children  Dead!  Fuck  The  Police!".  8  out  of  10.

  Spotify: 

https://open.spotify.com/track/2YY0EFWMa7YRq9Vf3WAuaV?si=f7c42a9f15f646ef

Bandcamp: 

https://misanthropiktorment.bandcamp.com/track/make-assassinations-great-again-maga    

Zodomy/Ony Death Is Real/Rotten Xore Records/2023 Full length Review

 

  Zodomy  are  a  band  from  New  York  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2023  album  "Only  Death  is  Real"  which  was  released  by  Rotten  Xore  Records.

  Horror  orientated  synths  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  thrash  metal  direction  while  the  vocals  also  bring  in  more  of  a  first  wave  black  metal  style  mixed  in  with  touches  od  the  second  wave  era.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  also  remain  very  true  to  an  old  school  style  while  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  80's  mixed  in  with  a  more  modern  production.  During  the  faster  sections  of  the  album a   great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  along  with  some  of  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  some  spoken  words  also  being  utilized  briefly,  one  of  the  tracks  is  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Zodomy  plays  a  musical  style  that  goes  back  to  the  80's  era  of  black  and  thrash  metal  and  mixes  them  together  with  some  touches  of  the  second  wave  era  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Blasphemy,  Death  and  Horror  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Zodomy  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Only  Death  Is  Real"  "Grim  Reaper"  "Satanic  Ritual"  and  "The  Final  Judgement".  8  out  of  10.

  https://zodomy.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/share/1Jo8eR41w6/

https://www.instagram.com/zodomythrash

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6ovTCsWfTp1PT4hs0NOs3t

https://music.apple.com/us/artist/zodomy/1638221075

https://youtu.be/ou34SOVfeV4  

Plague Of Stars/Extinction/WormHoleDeath Records/2025 Full Length Review

 

  Plague  Of  Stars  are  a  band  from  Minnesota  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  doom  and  gothic  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2025  album "Extinction"  which  will  be  released  on  January  31st  by  WormHoleDeath  Records.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  synths  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at times.  When  clear  vocals  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  more  of  a  gothic  metal  style  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Elements  of  doom  metal  are  also  added  into  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  along  with  the  harsh  vocals  being  black  metal  screams  when  they  are  utilized  as  well  as  some  spoken  words  also  being  used  briefly,  some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Plague  Of  Stars  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  doom  and  gothic  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  fractured  world  around  us.

  In  my  opinion  Plague  Of  Stars  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  doom  and  gothic  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Vain"  "Extinction"  and  Akelarre".  8  out  of  10.

  plagueofstars.com

www.facebook.com/PlagueOfStars
www.instagram.com/plagueofstarsofficial
plagueofstars.bandcamp.com
www.youtube.com/@plagueofstars4400

first-avenue.com/performer/plague-of-stars