…Australian black/death mongers (or mongrels?), Husk, is a perfunctory blaze-of-glory salvo that should put a nice bow on the band 25-year career. Unrelenting and smeared with those sideways, front-loaded chord smears, the album heaves itself forward via “Black Night by Firelight” and “Kneel, Kiss, Kill,” the latter injecting some quick dashes of melody. For a band that has gone unnoticed in the Australian underground for so long, Husk begs to ask:…
…got, the more critical I got as a teenager. That might be the reason I am writing so much agnostic and upside-down perspectives in those lyrics. A funny story – my teacher at this school was the brother of the Pope! With those three different topics, I mentioned a small bit about where it came from, but in writing for Obscura, astrophysics, religion, and philosophy somehow became something I read about every day. These are my interests – I’m not…
…Körtgen: Currently we are already working on new songs for an upcoming album and we want to play some gigs in late 2018, I hope this works and we can present our then-not-so-new album to a broad fanbase. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9LnQmcH3W0 Fragments of Unbecoming on Facebook…
…at grow out of this? What goals do you set for yourself either in the short-term or long-term – as in where would you like to see yourself and your musical career say within the next 18 to 24 months? Khiev: I enjoy the metal scene here. All I’ll say is that, it needs refinement. We have the venues but now it needs to cater to the viewer’s experience. A rule I like to follow is. ‘Are you getting bored? Why? How can I stop this from being boring? Ho…
…as a band, Powerwolf understand the need to keep the hooks strong and sing-a-long factor top of mind – and there are plenty of numbers this time around that fit the bill like “Demons Are a Girl’s Best Friend” as well as the folkish-tinged “Incense & Iron” (proper bagpipes an additional dynamic to the latter). The Sacrament of Sin keeps Powerwolf at the top of the power metal brigade – delivering what the converts desire, and taking them along a r…
…trying to do this job besides being the singer, the producer, and the songwriter- he did it well, but it was hard. It’s very important for the band to have a good team around them, so the band can do their job and have their heads free to do what the band should do first, playing and writing good songs. These days I think, there is not so much money and everybody says the band should do everything and can do everything, but I think if it’s too mu…
…heap knock-off. And like C.O.C., there’s more than meets the eye with Orange Goblin. On The Wolf Bites Back, the Brits provide more substance and style than any Johnny-come-lately ever could. https://youtu.be/VToPVX_yub4 https://youtu.be/ert8eMBQnNU Orange Goblin on Facebook…
…to do whatever we wanted to do. We had a deadline, and we did things upside-down and topsy-turvy. We did all of the album photo shoots before we had written any music. That was to try to force us into work [laughs]. We started and we just didn’t stop. Six months of solid work. I was getting up at 4 o’clock in the morning and writing string parts out in my underpants – that sort of thing [laughs]. It was intense but it was exhilarating. We knew exa…
…w everyone is a guitar god nowadays. You can go on YouTube and see these 14-year-olds who play extremely complex compositions and are geniuses on their instruments. Dead Rhetoric: Do you get jealous of the fact that these younger people have so much more access to knowledge and information through the internet to advance faster and further than when you were developing your craft? Vowden: Yes, I do. You only have to go on YouTube and you have acce…
…r – go back and listen to their first albums now. They have evolved over 15-20-25 years to become as good as they are now, and I love that approach. Dead Rhetoric: What do you feel separates Phantom Elite from other symphonic metal acts? La Torraca: I think it’s that we never really aimed to fit a specific niche. It was never like, “Ok, let’s be a me-too band.” I’m not really glorifying that, but it just sort of happened that every member of the b…
…s output? Katsionis: Well, the whole album was conceived and recorded in 10-15 days mid-August! It was a time that I wanted to focus on ME and do things that will benefit me, and that can grow up in the future. That’s when I quit Serious Black, I decided to (start) my very own label Symmetric Records and also work on my ICON-DISC App format. So I stayed home, playing Playstation games and watching movies with my girlfriend for like 15 days. That’s…
…st that we ever dealt with this promoter. We gave him $700 as a bunch of 17-year-old kids, and he said we still owed him money. Dead Rhetoric: What types of practices have you learned through the years that maybe you can impart on others to escape from? King: That’s the thing. There were multiple shows where we had to give promoters money to play. I don’t know if we hadn’t done that if we wouldn’t have gotten to this point. Burke: You should never…
…They like to leave me creative license and the open space to do what I do best– which is just write melodies for the amazing song that they write. Dead Rhetoric: When it comes to the lyrics, are ideas always flowing in the back of your head for topics that you want to cover, because you seem to be diverse in terms of content for each record? Levine: To be honest, not at all. I don’t consider myself a writer- it’s actually the hardest part of bein…
…e think it has more of an emotional impact, and resonates with people. Hand-made, human-played music. I think with this album, we were able to bring it to a new level with the songs. I think that’s the biggest impact – we have the identity and the songs. I don’t know another band that has a song like “Waves of Euphoria” and “Riders of the Wind” with “Sign of the Dragonhead.” I think we have found our own identity. Dead Rhetoric: Between having Eli…
…teed to put a smile on your face. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOcnKnNKv-A Best Newcomer: Seven Spires While both CyHra and Cellar Darling delivered stunning debuts in the top 12, they were made up of scene veterans. Seven Spires on the other hand, brought forth their first full-length album this year (after only one EP, which begins the album) and are relative newcomers. In that regard, consider the incredible depth, experimentation, and sheer…
…999, but with the exception of a different vocalist and drummer (don’t forget: current Opeth kit masher Martin Axenrot occupied Witchery’s drum stool up until 2016), they are. I Am Legion doesn’t negate the all-around thrash-worthiness of In His Infernal Majesty’s Service, it’s not the catapults that Dead, Hot and Ready and Symphony for the Devil were. https://youtu.be/It1qQVwH6xk Witchery on Facebook…
…songs of simple, but pure ambiance, Serpentine is, as you would expect, a full-bodied, varied listen. In anticipating the predictable, but oftentimes necessary moments of weird and avant-garde, Hyrgal actually do themselves a greater service by staying the course, making Serpentine every bit as winding as its title would suggest….
…Some of those high ones, you sound like a maniac. That’s why metal is the best – you just let it all out. Especially with this new record. It goes from crazy, super-soft to the most intense and heavy…it’s like a rollercoaster ride. When I’m screaming, you can hear that rumble, it’s loud [laughs]! I’ve learned over the years how to not blow my voice out. I used to do that ten years ago. You still scream with power, but with control. It’s an art [l…
…e’s this song [makes up-and-down motion] up and down with the head and side-to-side. [Laughs]. Dead Rhetoric: If I told you in 1997 that you’d last another 20 years and be even more successful, what would you have said? Ellsworth: I would have given you one of those patented laughs I have. “Thanks a lot, kid!” [Laughs] It’s 20 years now…there was never a long-term plan. We would plan years. We would plan a series of activities we would do to get t…
…n takes a lot of time. Dead Rhetoric: I understand you are a fan of science-fiction. What is your favorite medium to experience sci-fi on: through reading books, television series, cinema, or video games? Let us know some of your favorites through the years? Stoltz: Reading would be my choice. More time-consuming but you get more immersed. There are some great, recent sci-fi movies, though. Arrival is one. I’ve read a lot of Iain M. Banks novels a…
…etely random string of riffs. While most of the album wants go zoom at full-tilt, the closing, 5-minute “Denied Sale” makes up for the lack of velocity with sheer grit and uncomfortable atmosphere that serves as a fitting service to the remainder of the disc. You may have to want a bit of chaos in your life to lend your ears to Debt, but those seeking carnage will find plenty here. The unpredictability serves it well, and if you are into bands lik…
…ad Rhetoric: Who are some of the influences that the band has, collectively-speaking? Dialith: Composition-wise, we’re huge fans of bands like Nightwish, Epica, Kamelot, and Fleshgod Apocalypse, while taking guitar inspiration from bands like Arch Enemy and Nevermore. We also really enjoy film score from composers such as Hans Zimmer, Bear McCreary, and John Williams. Dead Rhetoric: You’ve just released your first EP, Through Stone. Was there anyt…
…breakdowns. The worst offender is that of “Parallel Shift,” which is chock-full of so many tedious and yawn-inducing chugs that it feels almost three times it’s length. On the bright side though, are the sparks of neo-classical and melodeath riffing infusions in some tracks. “Service of this Sentience” hints at it in a few places and provides a more positive opening than one might expect. The instrumental “Unhallowed” is an upbeat and strangely e…
…at it was 10 years ago or 15 years ago, there’s a huge difference. I get it- it’s a cheap way for the label to promote, I think that actually given what we’ve had to work with, the artwork on this entire album is amazing- which lends itself to make some pretty cool lyric videos. With the budgets that the label is willing to stay to- it’s not even up to us what they are willing to do on that. We can push and push but at the end of the day, that’s j…
…ed numerous short stories in different short story collections, I wrote an essay on writing horror that got published in a ‘how to write’ series of different genres that a major publisher put out, I wrote a prologue/intro to a Rob Zombie biography that Joel McIver put out, and I did some other writing things. But above all that, I’ve got two brand new novels written. They need to be edited, but I’m working on that. I have a current work in progres…
…musicians. Samael [Pelletier] writes the lead guitars, Sébastien [Belanger-Lapierre] writes his keys, I do the melodies and lyrics, so we all work together on a skeleton. But for me, what I really like to do when I get sent a song is to ask the person who wrote it what the song is about. Tell me about it and how you felt when you wrote it. Do you have any vibes/colors that can help me feel out what you want it to say in the music, so that I can p…
…one song that kind of stood out was “Fucked with an Anchor.” With the sing-a-long chorus, do you think that’s going to be one that you push when you start going out on tour again? Bowes: Yeah, that is definitely going to be in the live set. We’ve done a sort-of music video, using a bunch of studio footage that is going to be released on the same day as the album. That’s essentially going to be the third single. That song is going to make people f…
…Dead Rhetoric: Absolutely – music is always there as an escape from the day-to-day to push you through to the next one. Andersson: Yeah – we are really proud of what we are doing. You shouldn’t underestimate the over-the-top rock star dreams [laughs] that we all have. Dead Rhetoric: There’s been talk about the importance of spontaneity with The Night Flight Orchestra. Is that something that’s grown more with each album? Andersson: I think it’s bee…
…say there was a lot of experience at hand in the band (who have had an off-again, on-again status). Brutal death metal in the finest of upstate NY traditions was the name of the game in their set, and they played a tight set of nicely balanced groove with fast/heavy moments. Certainly a band to keep an eye on if you are in the area. Up first was that of Washington D.C.’s Gloom, who brought a unique take on death metal along with them. Their debut…
…t compared to the other. I’ve bought certain thrash and death metal records- meaning actual vinyl records- that just sound like absolute garbage on vinyl. I learned a long time ago from working with various engineers and producers that things that are put onto vinyl, especially when you start getting into music- they need to be mixed and mastered for vinyl specifically. It’s not going to translate right. That’s why with Hamartia, we are going to d…
