South Korean group LuciDream first caught this scribe’s attention at the tail end of 2023 with their fourth single “Ego.” Wildly fusing together frantic metalcore/melodeath riffing patterns, harsh screams, punchy electronics and EDM, and an idol sound that felt more Jpop than Kpop (some writing collaborations with renown vocaloid producer Utsu-P probably have something to do with that), the then two-piece had some strong pull that would easily sway fans of groups like PassCode their way. Persona is their first full-length album, with the group also recently announcing the expansion from the Ria/PPOYO duo to a four piece to include new members Yuna and Luna.
Much like other acts in the alt idol space, what keeps LuciDream interesting is the number of different elements they have going on in a single track. “Mannequin” is a nice recent example, with it’s electronic opening quickly moving into punchy, metalcore riffing and harsh growled vocals that eventually work their way into a massive breakdown, yet the chorus emphasizes more of a poppy, electronic base with the singing pushed to the forefront while some of the drum battery continues behind, alongside some winding riffs. It’s an interesting counterposition, and one the group flirts with heavily over the course of the album. “Personal Color” has some incredibly catchy vocal hooks and danceable electronics, but it doesn’t keep it from exploding into a volley screams and heavy riffs at opportune moments.
The most divisive track will undoubtedly be that of “Mess Up!” as it drops almost all metallic elements and full-on dives into pop and hip hop elements alongside it’s EDM backdrop. But for what it’s worth, the track is playful and fun, offering a nice break from the chaos that surrounds it in it’s sixth track position. Plus, if you compare it to other tracks, such as that of “Unhappiness Soul,” it feels pretty much in line with the band’s already established electronic side and dabblings into hip hop elements, just giving this side the spotlight instead of bombarding it with heavier components. Realistically, if you are going to dive all in with a track like “Pray,” which ping-pongs between upbeat and dancy choruses with autotuned vocals and almost militarized battery and devastatingly low growls, chances are you have quite a bit of open-mindedness to begin with.
With a number of these songs coming from LuciDream’s previous EPs, Persona provides a nice entry point for newcomers interested in exploring the alt idol scene and a group outside of the Japanese scene. LuciDream’s sound has a raw and unpolished feel to it that other groups shy away from, and it helps to give them a more energetic and vicious sound that still doesn’t hesitate to embed itself into your brain and take up residence for a while. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but Persona has an addictive brand of melodic chaos that is sure to grab any listener who wants to give it a shot.
Champions of raising the flag high for gloomy and doomy material, Swallow the Sun have never shied away from experimentation either. Exploring the darker, melancholic side of human emotions through varied sonic landscapes, each release sees the band move into some different directions while keeping a certain doomy base as their starting point. Shining is no different as their latest album, and we were able to sit down with songwriter/guitarist Juha Raivio to get his thoughts about some of the shifts in the band’s material with the new album, the challenges of playing this music live and being in that headspace, writing for yourself first, and more.
Dead Rhetoric: Looking through the press release, Matti [Honkonen] called Shining the ‘Black Album’ of doom. Do you feel it’s a fitting description?
Juha Raivio: He’s a very funny guy, that’s for sure. That’s a good way to put it, in a way. When you think about it, if you think about doom metal there’s a lot of doom in this band. Our first record label put the ‘doom’ label on us, because we were on a ‘doom’ record label. They promoted us as a doom metal band, which is fine, because there’s a lot of doom in this band. But it’s so much more than that.
In that way, saying it’s the ‘Black Album’ of doom – yeah. The new music is more compact, and the music has always been very melodic, but with the producer this time, he really went into the melodic part of the band. That was the most important thing – to pull the melodies out front and compact. So in that way, let’s say it is the Black Album of doom metal, so we can make many doom people super annoyed. No one liked the Black Album when it came out. It was too poppy at the time. Live and learn – good music is good music. It doesn’t matter what it is.
Dead Rhetoric: “Innocence Was Long Forgotten” had some remarks about how soft it was on YouTube. Was there a deliberate choice to use that song to showcase some of the shifts the band took with this album?
Raivio: Not really, but it felt…first of all it’s a super melodic song. It doesn’t matter what song you put first, people are going to say this or that. If we would have put on the darkest one first, people would argue that it’s going to be the same. People are very easy to start thinking about one song being a reflection of the whole album. It’s very strange to think when there is close to one hour of music. So to label the first album off of the first single, especially in our case, it’s the worst mistake you can make.
I read some comments for the first two days and then I kind of stopped. But what I saw right away was that people either loved it or hated it. That’s actually the best feedback you can get as a band. People feel the music. The worst thing is that nobody cares. The music needs to feel somewhere – be it hate or love. Both are good as long as you feel something.
Dead Rhetoric: You mentioned already that the sound of Shining wasn’t pre-planned. Knowing your back catalog and how you have taken some risks with your sound, like having a triple album, for instance. What served as your spark for continuing to be creative, when there’s a lot of other bands that have been around for as long as you have being content to release a new album that’s similar to the previous ones?
Raivio: The creative spark, if you could call it that, is what I have always talked about with this band, and it’s honesty in the music. I really can’t plan ahead of the music – what kind of music we should do or what the next album should sound like, or anything like that. The music just comes and it comes very fast when it comes. It writes itself out very quickly. What comes – I’m not the type of person who writes everyday. I don’t touch my guitar for months if I’m not on tour. I let the music build back up in my mind and when that force comes, it makes me take up the guitar and I know the album will come out. Then it’s about a month and the album is ready. The music really flows. When that happens, that spark is such a real, honest place. I have no memories, I’m almost in a trance when it happens. Then suddenly I’m like, “What the fuck? There’s the album and it’s ready!” So that’s the spark I need.
If I don’t have that, then I won’t release the music. If I just worked and thought on it, that’s the first time we will release a bad album – that’s my humble opinion. But I’m sure it would be a good album, but I wouldn’t be able to stand behind it if I had planned out what I was going to do. Especially if I was going to think about what people would want to hear. I think that’s unfortunate in that most of what bands are doing, they are thinking about dollars in their mind and what fans want to hear. Of course, you have to respect your fans, but not with the music in that way. You won’t be honest with yourself and that’s the most important thing. I can always be 100% behind the album and I can look myself in the mirror by being honest. Even if one person listens to it or one million. That’s my spark, it’s always been.
Dead Rhetoric: Like you were saying with the love it or hate it reactions, at least there’s a feeling there. If you just listen and think only about what the fans want, and just give that to them, they may treat it as, ‘yup, it’s there.’ Whereas if you stay true to yourself, you are saying that this is what you feel is going to come out.
Raivio: Exactly, and also you are getting stuck on that one thing – it’s very deadly for the band and the music. We have done acoustic albums, we have done a classical album, a funeral album, a death doom album. We have never been afraid to do anything. It goes back to that thing, where if it came out, you have to do it. In that way, I’m working with this huge producer with this new album. We are a death doom band and this underground band, and we have this Muse producer, who has also done Bring Me the Horizon. But I was super excited. That was the main thing. The management asked if there was a producer we would want to work with and so we looked into different people. I said that I wanted a producer who hasn’t done this kind of music ever before.
We wanted to push ourselves away from those comfort zones. It’s a safe and easy place and lay down and just do that thing, especially for the fans. I think that’s the worst thing you can do with your band and that music, to go into that trap. Many do, and many make a lot of money, and good for them. But how much can they look in the mirror? I don’t know, I don’t think anyone is going to say I wasn’t honest with this album. They both have their good and bad sides when you think of this type of music.
Dead Rhetoric: What made you decide to go with Dan Lancaster [the producer] then? Was there anything specific that made you say he should be the guy?
Raivio: Our management brought up his name. He was one of the names, and I looked him up. I love Muse, and he was more of a pop producer. He is also an amazing singer. He is singing a lot in this album. Harmonies, backing vocals, he colors up the album a lot. If you have been working with Muse and Bring Me the Horizon, he’s more of a pop producer to me, so he could pull that melodic side out for us even more. That’s what I really wanted from any producer. The most important thing was that it wasn’t some producer who has been doing Cannibal Corpse. Cannibal Corpse is an amazing band. But to have another producer that just does the same music, I wanted to get out of that comfort zone and safe place. He really did that. He’s an amazing guy and singer, Dan Lancaster.
Dead Rhetoric: What else do you feel defines Shining as your newest record?
Raivio: I think that power is, in a way, a good word. That’s why the album is even named Shining. The album name could have been Shining Dark. It’s a very dark album, lyrically. The music is more ‘uplifting,’ which isn’t the right word, but in a way, it’s uplifting with that power that sort of punches you. Even the sound of the album, if you compare to the Moonflower album, that I fucking hate, which I love about it because I hate it so much that I have to do that sort of an album. It’s not the music, I love the music. But how I feel about the album and how dark it was. If I would have gone deeper down with this new album, I don’t think things would have turned out very good. Personally, not musically.
Moonflowers was almost like lying in this [safe] space and I needed this new album to slap me in the fucking face and rip me out from that thing. That’s why it’s Shining also, the name in how it feels and everything. It’s a very dark and melancholic album, but there’s a certain type of power in the songs and I really needed someone to punch me in the face and that’s what happened with this album. That’s why I’m talking about it. I haven’t been doing interviews in forever.
Dead Rhetoric: I know! I was shocked when I saw it was you that signed on!
Raivio: I wanted it now, to come back a little bit and talk about the music. I didn’t want to for many years, due to personal reasons.
Dead Rhetoric: That being said, I know you put a lot of yourself into the writing. What are some of the challenges of that when, like you said with Moonflowers, you were out and touring and playing all of those songs. Does that take an emotional toll on you to keep revisiting those same things?
Raivio: Absolutely. That’s the hardest thing. You go back to the stage and you stab yourself in the heart with the songs. It’s a very schizophrenic feeling, because you love to play but at the same time, you hate it. I go back to everything in my mind, and I’m already there every day, in my mind. When the songs are written, you live them through the stage and the audience is crying and being very emotional. You feel those emotions. People are very compassionate and they are feeling their own sorrows and everything – they are living that through the music. It’s a lot. It’s beautiful in a way, but it’s super hard for your heart and your health to carry that onto the stage.
That was one big reason with Moonflowers that I didn’t know how I was going to do this again. So there was a little voice in me, maybe telling me that if there was going to be any more new music, maybe I could have a little mercy on myself, music-wise. It was the first time in my life, there was this voice, but I didn’t start to write anything like that. I remember that voice, and it took a long, long time before the music came. But it was there, and when the music came out it was like a guardian angel in a way, how the spark came with this album. I’m happy about that. It’s not a very happy album, but there’s a shining power.
Dead Rhetoric: It’s almost sort of ethereal, that’s the first word that came to my mind when listening to the album.
Raivio: I’m happy to hear that. It’s a very punchy album, but it has that depth and the feeling. The producer didn’t touch on the music. It’s 95% the way it was when I first wrote it. So it wasn’t like he started to write the songs with us. It was everything else that brought us to this point.
Dead Rhetoric: Knowing the way that a Swallow the Sun album goes, how important is album flow for you? You aren’t exactly writing singles and radio hits. Is it important that there is almost a journey through an album?
Raivio: It is important. It always takes a bit of time to get the song order right and have that red line running through the album. It’s built up so it has those highs and lows. In that way, if you were to play straight death metal, it would be easier because everything goes the same way. But there’s so much in terms of ups and downs, so you have to think about that. I think the album ends on the song, “Shining” and the order feels totally right.
Dead Rhetoric: What’s planned for Swallow the Sun for the rest of this year and into 2025? I know you have a massive US tour next spring.
Raivio: We are going to do the Finnish gigs in a few weeks. Then we will do the 70K Tons of Metal and we are going to do it with the ballet. So there you go again, we don’t play it safe in that way. After that it’s the North American tour and a European tour. So it’s going to be very busy at the end of the year into next year and to the springtime. Then we will have summer festivals of course.
Dead Rhetoric: The ballet, that seems like kind of a big feat for 70K, I know you have done it in Finland before but I imagine it’s a bit easier to figure out there.
Raivio: Yeah, it’s a big production. We played in this super old theater, which was amazing. We were very happy about it. It’s quite a thing to go into the Caribbean and bring this Finnish forest, winter, and a ballet under the stars! But I love that sort of contrast. It’s going to be amazing, the whole ballet and everything.
A new House of Lords album is like a visit from an old friend. Someone you haven’t gotten together with in a long time, but once you do, ya pick up right where you left off. Although they started in the late 80s with their self-titled record, I’ve been steadily reviewing the band’s albums ever since 2014’s Precious Metal and don’t intend to stop. James Christian (vocals, bass), Jimi Bell (guitars), Mark Mangold (keyboards) and Johan Koleberg (drums) are all together for the second record in a row, and these guys are locked and loaded for Full Tilt Overdrive.
As usual we’ve got a collection of songs here that will rock your socks off. The title track features some of Bell’s best playing in years with a solo that burns white hot. It should come as an absolute shock to no one that this was my immediate favorite. The swampy bayou-esque feel of “Taking the Fall” offers up another winner for this guy, while “Cry of the Wicked” will take you to the corner of big riffs lane and catchy hooks avenue. Well done, gentlemen! “Bad Karma” is the leadoff single and does its job of getting you pumped immediately. The same can be said for album opener “Crowded Room” which reminded me of something off of 2015’s Indestructible (my favorite House of Lords album) and closer “Castles High” delivers a nine-minute masterclass in how to do an epic song right.
At the end of the day House of Lords has delivered a record that will have your heads bopping and toes tapping. Pick up a copy of Full Tilt Overdrive now and rock your rolls right off!
Standout Tracks: “Full Tilt Overdrive”, “Taking The Fall”, “Cry of the Wicked”, “Crowded Room”.
Like many bands in the early 2020’s, California’s Hatchet took an extended break away from the road due to the pandemic – while also cooling their jets on the recording front. Leave No Soul is the latest EP, six years removed from their previously strong fourth album Dying to Exist. The material is a mix of three newer songs plus two special covers, both of which may be unexpected to the average listener but align well to the wide array of hard rock / metal influences the quartet take into account.
The dynamic axe action of Julz Ramos and Clayton Cagle explodes out of the gate through the energetic title cut – containing a mix of speedy twin rhythms, crushing runs, as well as heroic back and forth lead action with all the right bends, twists, or turns you expect out of this thrash unit. Much like their contemporaries Havok, bassist Devin Reiche (also of Anubis) wields a potent bottom end power punch to his precise hand/finger movements that’s equally progressive, taking things into Steve Harris or Alex Webster overdrive especially on “Concealing Decay”. My favorite of the three new songs would be “Withering Minds”, the circular main hooks swarming in a mid-tempo vortex as Julz’ raspy vocal melodies with occasional high register screams envelop the listener next to occasional twin guitar parts or a closing double kick to serene transitional / gallop-fueled movement sure to cause headbanging frenzied movements in live situations. When it comes to the two covers, Annihilator’s “Human Insecticide” off Alice In Hell gets a modernized beefier treatment, still deadly in its approach to convince even those on the fence to these Canadians’ legendary impact on the scene – while W.A.S.P. for “Hellion” pays homage to the Sunset Strip 80s, the danger of this group, and showcases a fun track given a bit more of a harsher thrash take.
The road dog mentality Hatchet led for the years leading up to the pandemic has ultimate payoffs through some of their strongest original songs to date with Leave No Soul. A proper mix of semi-progressive riffs next to killer transitions, supplementary gang-oriented choruses, and adventurous rhythm section mechanics that keep up with the changes effortlessly prove that these gentlemen still have plenty left in the tank to be keeping thrash alive for decades to come.
When it comes to deadly death/thrash with just the right amount of punk / melodic impact, it’s hard to question the reliable discography for The Crown to satisfy that aural spirit. Even amidst a few lineup changes, their latest record Crown of Thorns still contains a raw, unbridled set of songs that contain all the screams, growls, jackhammer riffs plus a furious bass/drum rhythm section that will cause heads to bang incessantly. We reached out to guitarist Marko Tervonen once again to catch up on the natural shifts that influenced the sound of this record, how the lineup changes impacted specific changes, what it was like being back behind the producer chair, video choices, AI / technology concerns, watching the development of his son’s band parallel his own efforts through The Crown, and future plans which could include a US tour run in 2025…
Dead Rhetoric: Crown of Thorns is the latest studio record for The Crown. It’s mentioned in the background information that the band felt the previous two albums Cobra Speed Venom and Royal Destroyer are like siblings. Did you know straight away how you wanted this new album to differ in terms of songwriting, style, and performances from those previous efforts – and where do you see this record sitting in the catalog for the group?
Marko Tervonen: I think quite soon after recording Royal Destroyer we as a band discussed whether we wanted to continue on in this style as a trilogy with a third album, working well with Cobra Speed Venom and Royal Destroyer. Some time went by, there were some changes that happened in the band. One big thing was (bassist) Magnus (Olsfelt) left the band, and Magnus and I were 50/50 co-writers within the band. His departure, a lot of things changed. Magnus wrote a bit more of the punk-ish, rock-ish songs and I wrote the more melodic and metal ones. It became obvious that when I would write more of the songs it would become a bit more metal. That was the first idea that came up after he left, that we needed to go the other way, do something fresh, something new.
That also led to a lot of other ideas, such as tuning up the guitars as we did in the past. Since I knew if I was going to write a bit more of the songs, it was going to be melodic, and that led into other aspects. When we discussed the artwork of the album as well, that was the first thing that was done for this record. I think it was done about two years ago. My idea was, let’s do that first, feel happy with it and feel inspired, and then deliver the right types of songs that the album art needs. It became clear because of all those ideas that we were going to create something new.
The artwork is based on a bridge from our hometown. We were called Crown of Thorns as you may know back in the day. There were a lot of things that just pushed us away from the last two albums, and creating new terms. I do think it’s a new chapter, something new and something fresh, that’s how I look at it.
Dead Rhetoric: How do you see the rhythm section changes between Mattias and Mikael as well as the return of guitarist Marcus Sunesson to the band impacting The Crown currently? How do lineup movements effect the band’s chemistry and output this deep into your career?
Tervonen: Yeah, it always does. Even when you change one ingredient, it changes everything. Some good stuff came out of it – especially with Mikael in the band. We go way back, he’s an old friend. He’s a bit younger than us, but he always had The Crown as one of his absolute favorite bands. He was a big fan of our original drummer Janne (Saarenpää). When he came into the band, he had different views on things. I remember the first or second rehearsal, he asked us why do we tune down the guitars? Good question – I never thought twice about it since we have tuned down after Possessed 13. I started to think seriously about why the hell are we tuning down? After Possessed 13 we just continued to tune down and keep things at C tuning. That was good input from him, we don’t need this low-end stuff. We do have punk stuff and thrashy stuff and all of that, and it suit things better to tune things up. Mikael brought back a lot of the technical stuff into the material.
Mattias’ background comes from more of the punk, crust scene. In the end, Mattias contributed with two songs, and I did eleven songs. If you change one member, it changes everything. Some of the input can be the beginning of some new ideas, that’s a good thing. Having Marcus back is really cool – in a sense I didn’t see it coming. He’s been away for a decade. When everything led to the final question of if Marcus wanted to rejoin the band, he said yeah. It was cool. When we were recording the solos at my studio, it was really great. We said goodbye with a big smile on our faces. It’s cool for him to execute these types of solos now.
Dead Rhetoric: Did you also feel reinspired to handle the production duties this time again?
Tervonen: Yeah. I would say everything started from the realization that when Magnus left, I would be the main, responsible one of the band. In one way, for the first time I could focus on the songs for the bigger picture, for the whole album in that sense. What song should be the start, what goes in the middle and for the end. Where do we go fast, where do we slow down? When I recorded the album, that worked great. When we are in the studio, we don’t mess around much. We execute (things), and we know what to do. It was all about the execution in the studio, capturing performances. I didn’t want to mix it though, so we left that to another guy Jonas Kjellgren. I do mix a lot of music for other bands, but when it comes to The Crown it’s good to have another person with more of an objective view of things. It’s challenging for me to see it being that involved with The Crown, that’s why I wanted someone I could trust.
Recording-wise it was effortless in a way. We were very well prepared. Mikael hammered down the drums in three days. Even including the bonus tracks, it was 14 songs. It was all about going into the studio and executing.
Dead Rhetoric: Tell us about the video shoot for “Churchburner” – was this an obvious standout single to premiere, and what special memories do you have regarding the performance aspects or acting/ character sequences?
Tervonen: We continued doing things in a way where we were able to record at least two videos at the same time, in an easy way. We changed some of the locations and the clothing. We did “Churchburner” and another song – we wanted to do a bit more than just pure performance footage. We put a lot of trust in the guy that handled the video shoots. If it’s just performance videos, it’s not always that interesting. You want to squeeze in something a bit extra. For the performance video part, we managed to rent a huge warehouse thing, a lot of depth in there. It felt like shooting the “One” video from Metallica (laughs). The second video has a bit of a different vibe.
Dead Rhetoric: What I enjoyed most about the “Churchburner” video is the fast-moving cuts between the performance and narrative side…
Tervonen: We did as well. It was something that we messed around with a lot. You always try to find the pace of the editing and the flow of the video that goes with the music as well. Using those external sequences as well, builds up the story – even if it’s not an obvious story. We aim for that, and it worked out pretty cool, I think.
Dead Rhetoric: Jonas Kjellgren handled the mixing/mastering for Crown of Thorns. What do you enjoy most about his process and work ethic to get a proper final sound for the group?
Tervonen: Jonas is a fan of The Crown. It gave me confidence that he wouldn’t try any super weird approaches. Since I did the recording, I usually commit to a sound. I tweak the sounds, and I record it. I think about EQ on the way in. He got solid sounds from me. The first mix he sent me, it sounded familiar, and he understood what we are all about. We need the punchiness on the drums, the vocals up front, but also a bit produced but not overproduced. It made things sound professional in a way. He had some cool ideas – adding a timpani tom in places. We felt we were locked on, and that was a cool thing. I’ve known Jonas was a cool guy working with audio – but not the type of music that’s my favorite as he has worked with bands like Sabaton in the past. He does this full-time, every day he would send new versions of the songs, it was done in a couple of weeks.
Dead Rhetoric: The special edition releases contain 13 songs, including 3 bonus tracks, which will not appear on the main versions of the record. How did the band, label, and management come to terms with what would appear where, as it must be a difficult decision to choose in the late stages of recording who gets what tracks?
Tervonen: Yeah. I can agree. That’s the weird thing, with the whole ‘bonus’ song thing. It’s not like in the past, as you said it will be available in some format, it will be available on Spotify. My idea was those 13 songs, which should be the album. The bonus songs are pretty damn good. Even the label thought “Eternal Infernal” should be on the main album. It is what it is. Somehow for some business reasons, there is a main album and a special edition. I hope people that want to hear them, they will hear them.
Dead Rhetoric: What continually fuels your desire to play and perform in extreme thrash / death metal this deep into your musical career? Do you feel like it’s easier or harder to channel those creative desires now compared to your early days as a musician?
Tervonen: In a way, it’s more challenging and difficult. Now when we are eleven, twelve albums in, I always try to prioritize new ideas and new approaches to the songs. The more songs you make, the more difficult this becomes. With this album, I wrote 19 foundations to the songs that I developed and filtered from. I wanted every song to have a unique place in the album. I like the fact that people can’t pick one song and think that is a typical song for The Crown. I removed a lot of stuff I did because it did remind me of another song we’ve previously done.
What still inspires and gives me chills is that I still feel that we haven’t done our best album yet. It’s that teenage Marko in me that still says, no – you can do better (laughs).
Dead Rhetoric: What worries or concerns you the most about the world that we live in today? If you had unlimited resources, energy, and finances to tackle one or two of the biggest challenges facing the world today, what areas would you work on for the greater good of humanity long-term?
Tervonen: (laughs). That’s kind of a big question. We know that there are some seriously fucked up things going on in the world today. There will be always terrible things like poverty, war, and all of that. I wish I could snap my fingers to this, but there are a lot of aspects that are going a bit south at the moment. Technology-wise, this AI threat that is happening at the moment is really, really interesting. I normally would not push for laws or legislation too much, but in this case, it really needs to be regulated. It is already scary. Ten years ago we loved the internet, and now we are so far between fact and fiction. Especially when you add AI, deep fakes, you can’t trust anyone. It doesn’t make you a better person when you don’t trust anything. It’s a very wide question. It’s quite alarming these days.
Dead Rhetoric: What’s the best piece of advice you ever received either regarding the music business or life in general? And when people ask you for advice in these areas, what ideas or words of wisdom do you like to impart?
Tervonen: Bands ask me for advice – and it can be very difficult to digest it when you are younger. I would say that regarding music – if you want to play in a band and write music, you really need to be honest with yourself and enjoy things. If you prefer power metal, focus on power metal because that’s going to be your strength. Don’t try to force yourself just to get into death metal because it may be the flavor of the month. Try to stay honest – if you like jazz music or simple pop music, focus on that. If you have your heart with you, that’s when you will feel happy, that’s when you will do your best work. I know when you are younger that’s tough, you want to be like your heroes and just copy things. Don’t be afraid, follow your heart as that’s a good guideline way forward.
Dead Rhetoric: How do you feel about the development of your son’s band Sarcator over the years?
Tervonen: That’s pretty cool to follow. We started out at different times age-wise, it’s the same path they are taking. Same challenges, same situations. They end up having the same issues. It’s a different age of releasing albums compared to the old media input. I always say to Mateo, if he wants my advice I’ll give it to him – but it’s based on what we went through in the 1990s. It’s also important for them to find their own way, through the mistakes to get to the good stuff. It’s amazing to follow their path – they released two albums on a small label and then got picked up by Century Media. The same thing happened to us – we did two albums on a small label, then got picked up by Metal Blade. Now they are discussing tours, interview schedules, release dates.
Dead Rhetoric: How do you see the next twelve months or so shaping up for The Crown as far as activities? Will you be doing more studio session work in your studio with other musicians / bands as well?
Tervonen: Yeah, that’s something I embrace. I enjoy working with other bands. The cool thing is nowadays, it’s not an obstacle working globally with other bands. That has been my main focus the past four or five years. If I work with a band on the other side of the world, we have the same sense of humor, same category of people all over the world in the metal scene. The Crown – we are discussing how we will approach 2025. We are discussing more shows. The cool thing we feel with this band is with each album we can tour new countries and territories. That’s inspiring. It seems like we will return to the US next year, it’s been twenty years. We are discussing Australia, and some exotic countries like South Korea. We are late with the planning, but we are planning it now.
A new project for ex-Adamantis bassist Cody Pelchat, Curse Guard originally started in 2020, issuing three singles over the next few years (including special covers from King Crimson and Kamelot). Origins is the group’s latest offering, a four-song EP that includes numerous special guests on the vocal/guitar front to flesh out the main performances by the quartet. Listeners can expect a melodic power metal foundation intertwining aspects of stateside as well as international influences in terms of approach, finesse, and dynamic versatility.
“The Dream Writer” gets the release off to an exciting start, Jeff Stark of Adamantis showcasing his hefty range while the solid guitar / keyboard lead tradeoffs between guest guitarist Javier Estrada (also of Adamantis) and Rob Healey during the longer instrumental passage pulling off some pomp and progressive nuances. “The Blight Blade” follows, a more Teutonic-sounding affair as the Trent Adams-fronted melodies possesses the right upper cadence beyond his tough as steel mid-range, Owlbear guitarist Jeff Taft and Mega Colossus axe man Stephen Cline crafting thoughtful solo segments that should align with many heroes from the 70’s / 80’s brigade. Choosing to push the most eclectic song next, “The Entity (Beyond the Mist)” starts off in more of a calmer, mystical atmosphere that builds out into this almost Dio meets Tony Martin/Black Sabbath-era track. Rob is reflective yet expressive in his vocal delivery of the verse to chorus melodies, while the swirling keyboard / guitar motions next to a mid-tempo march for the rhythm section work befits the grandiose nature to the arrangement that includes Middle Eastern inflections. The final cut “The Curse Guard” features Lords of the Trident singer Fang (aka Ty Christian), an energetic double bass-driven song sure to go down a storm with every power metal soul. Cody also tackled the production, editing, mixing, and mastering roles adequately – given the many parts that had to be assembled remotely, the only minor criticism being in a slightly robotic drum kit presence (especially when you want a stronger snare snap for this style).
Origins gets Curse Guard out of the gates from the underground into the international landscape in a fair, just manner. The wide array of musicians far and wide round out the main chemistry present for the four-piece, so it’s only going to get stronger as more seasoning takes place. Traditional power metal followers who want classic songwriting principles and a little progressive rock flair will appreciate this most.
A newer entry in the Bang Dream/Bandori franchise, Ave Mujica comes with the pedigree of following other bands in the project on the heavier side of things, such as Roselia and Raise a Suilen. Of course, it doesn’t step on the pure symphonic metal or frenetic metal meets electro vibes of either band, Ave Mujica seems to occupy a niche that is still growing, something that their second mini-album Elements seems to completely understand. So while the five songs may sound a bit eclectic next to each other, but consider it a showcase of the group’s potential as they continue forward.
Blurring the lines between something that resembles visual kei and progressive/symphonic metal, Ave Mujica tip-toes between several styles as they move across this short release. Four of the tracks fall under “Symbols” and they take the listener across an intriguing journey. The opener, “Symbol I : △” is the heaviest and sure to draw in the metallic crowd. Monstrous riffing and shred coupled with an almost haunting circus-y symphonic element and playful melodies make for a tantalizing opening. The frantic drum pounding by Akane Yonezawa and the way the chorus elevates the energy with Rico Sasaki’s thrilling vocal performance (who also doubles on lead guitar) gives a visceral thrill while showcasing some gothic beauty. “Symbol II : Air” brings things into more of an upbeat, swing vibe that feels nothing less than infectious as the basswork of Mei Okada gets some breathing room along with the bouncing keys from Kanon Takao.
Takao and Sasaki share the spotlight as we move into the elegant vocal/piano duo for “Symbol III : ▽” who shine brightly in the poignant ballad along with some notable strings. From there’s its into more progressive pastures with “Symbol IV : Earth,” which allows the guitar combo of Sasaki and Yuzuki Watase to rise to the surface with some earworming melodies and chunky bits of riffing. Closer “Ether” operates more in the symphonic spectrum but with a more melancholic filter, giving it some effective yet heavy gravitas to finish on.
Elements is a massive springboard for Ave Mujica to ensnare the Bang Dream community and certainly parts of the heavy metal crowd as well. It blurs the line between beauty and melancholy, with plenty of guitar fireworks and riffage that’s augmented by synths instead of overshadowed by them. Given the group’s upcoming anime in January, the timing couldn’t be better. Expect Ave Mujica to grow and spread like wildfire next year, and Elements gives plenty of reason to back up that claim.
Dark rock and gothic metal done by some of the biggest names in the Swedish and Finnish scenes. If you have somehow missed out on Cemetery Skyline til now and that doesn’t whet your appetite, Nordic Gothic just might not be your cup of tea. But for what is arguably a majority of the metal community, it’s time to take a dip back into the ’80s/’90s gothic lens as seen through Scandinavian melodeath players eyes. Considering the gargantuan line-up and some early song previews, this became a notable fall release for this scribe, and one that fully delivered on it’s promises and then some.
First and foremost in a small moment of gushing, as a diehard fan of Dark Tranquillity’s Projector, having a full album of Mikael Stanne’s clean vocals is just an exciting premise that many didn’t think would ever materialize. Then to have this gothic/dark rock vibe that it blends with so perfectly, it just nails all of the right musical vibes. The songs are varied and don’t stay in any particular corner for too long. Markus Vanhala (Insomnium/Omnium Gatherum) flexes a lot of melodic muscle in the riff department in new directions. From the gloomy goth ballad “When Silence Speaks,” which channels some beautiful yet depressive tones that hit a ‘retro yet not’ vibe, to the grooving and cinematic “Behind the Lie,” which soars with power, it feels like gothic/rock sound is only the stepping stone for the band to reach into different soundscapes. “Never Look Back” feels more pop/rock with a doomy slant than anything else, supported by some big keyboard presence, courtesy of Amorphis’ Santeri Kallio, while the playful guitar melodies merge with Stanne’s vocals in such a way it wouldn’t feel out of place to hear it on rock radio.
Make no mistake, the second bit of why Nordic Gothic works so well, if you haven’t grasped it yet, is how melodic and accessible it is. Undoubtedly some of the most hook-forward and catchy material that these guys have penned in comparison to their ‘main acts,’ there’s no shortage of insidiously memorable riffs and melodies. “Anomalie” is the sort of thing that could make even a gloomy black hoodie-adorned teen crank it from the speakers and just jam. Closing ballad “Alone Together” is soaked in melancholy but there’s still this surprisingly upbeat and soaring feeling you can get as the song reaches it’s gorgeous solo after the 5-min mark. Even at it’s most Type O Negative-y and downtrodden in “The Coldest Heart,” there’s a warmth and groove to the guitars, not to mention the enticing keys. Of course, Stanne makes a major impression along the way too, right from the get-go with the more rocking “Torn Away” with an immediate level of charisma and passion.
Clearly a passion project for all those involved, Cemetery Skyline sees its ‘who’s who’ line-up of Scandinavian metal really get a chance to spread their wings with material that’s a genuinely different flavor than what they normally produce. Nordic Gothic is dripping with haunting tones and ear-worming melodies that all but beg for you to replay them over and over again. A special album that not only works as a fitting reflection of the emerging fall season, but easily one of 2024’s finest albums as a whole.
Chicago-based metal band Avernus originated in the early 90s, garnering steady critical acclaim along with faithful underground / cult appeal in many pockets of the states and abroad. Releasing demos, a full-length, and EPs… they finally reappear through their second album Grievances. Signing with M-Theory Audio, the record encapsulates a doom, death, and gothic musical cocktail with emotional magnitude that connects to those who love morose, thoughtful material to channel deeper feelings into a better direction. We spoke to guitarist / vocalist Rick McCoy and guitarist Erik Kikke to bring us up to date on the material for this latest outing, thoughts on the nature-oriented cover art, how the band handles the music industry changes compared to the underground 90s-era, as well as a little insight into future plans.
Dead Rhetoric: Grievances is the second Avernus full-length album. What can you tell us regarding the songwriting and recording sessions for this set of material? How do you see this record sitting in the Avernus discography now that it comes 27 years after your debut album …Of the Fallen from 1997?
Rick McCoy: I would probably start with the way we approached this album. More or less, we have been working on a whole different bunch of music for a lot of years. We always would record jam sessions waiting for other people to show up, while we were tuning up. I think it was a few years ago that Erik and Jimmy sat down, and we started going through this material, restructuring it and all that. Eventually we had rough tracks, he would go over the drums. We didn’t record this all at once in a studio, it was a little bit here, a little bit there. I went in last, throwing down the vocals, the guitars, the synths, stuff like that. It was approached a little bit differently than what we are used to. However, it was a different experience. Part of that is we’ve really learned, just getting older and better at writing, we know how to hold back when need be.
To answer the question about how this matches up with the previous music – I think it’s a great mix of our older stuff like The Sadness demo, and it sounds way different than the …Of the Fallen album, which is more gothic metal for lack of a better term. This is more of a return to our heavier metal roots – Paradise Lost stuff. The Gothic album for all four of us is one of the most life changing albums for us. If anything, this album took a while to get there. It captures where we are right now, not just as musicians but as people. We are more mature, more thoughtful, we didn’t want to lose any emotion in there. What you are hearing are those results.
Erik Kikke: It was a lot to go through. We kept recording, I tried to layer and label things as best as I could. Jimmy did a great job keeping track of all of this. It was funny when Jimmy put together a loose version of what the record could be, here are some of the songs we had, and I said, ‘oh – I forgot about that.’ We just pieced it together. Some of the time away happened due to scheduling issues – we just couldn’t get the engineer together. We took it slow. We recorded “Nemesis” and “Return to Dust” quite a while ago. It was painstakingly slow to make sure that things were right.
Dead Rhetoric: How deep into the well did some of these songs go as far as idea development to final execution? And were you conscientious of the ebbs and flows of the track listing to give the listener proper understanding and processing for these songs, given that it’s slightly over an hour of material to absorb / process?
Kikke: One thing we did do, when you mentioned diving deep down into the well. There was one song in particular “Utter Euphoria” which Jimmy had played, and it was pretty well fleshed out. The basic guitar tracks were there, and we were never fearful of trying something new. It started like a little guitar intro, Jimmy fleshed it out, and McCoy took it over the finish line with his vocals and guitar synth. When I heard it, I told Jimmy I don’t even hear the guitar part that I wrote. It was a little bit of a stretch, but it’s arguably my favorite track because it is so different. You hear the Avernus personalities inside of it, but I feel we had dug in that pretty deep. Jimmy fleshed out some of the instrumentals that are on the record, to tie everything in. We have a loose handful of song ideas that we put into the track listing, but then Jimmy had all the ebbs and flows right where they were supposed to be.
I remember when I heard it, but I felt that the order was just right – and I told Jimmy and Rick that. Jimmy did strategically do that. It picks up when it’s supposed to, it comes down when it’s supposed to. That was important too, you want to try make an album that’s an hour long as interesting as you can, make sure those parts hit you like they are supposed to. We did it as if we were listening to a record, how would you want the track listing? It sounds silly to say it that way.
McCoy: I actually agree with you. Track listing is important. I don’t know about music these days, society has changed a lot, people are focused on one song at a time. I remember growing up and listening to music in my room, albums and cassettes, listening from start to finish as if a big story was being told. One of my favorite albums of all-time is Operation: Mindcrime by Queensrÿche. To this day, I was in high school when that came out and it’s still one of the best concept albums, and one of my favorite personal albums. I listened to that over and over, Pink Floyd- The Wall. There weren’t any gaps between the songs, it just kept going. That was the idea we’ve been wanting to do for a long time, an album of just music. We’ve been trying to do a concept album, but it’s just hard to come up with good ideas (laughs).
If anything, it did piggyback on what Erik said. Everything fell into place. We are still taken aback by the reaction so far to this album. We are so grateful. We weren’t really expecting this level of attention. We went into this album more or less to just do this for ourselves. If we only got this one last chance, let’s just write these songs and be happy that we were able to get this out. We are getting busier than ever, which is good, as I like being busy.
Dead Rhetoric: You are a part of the M-Theory Audio roster. Tell us how it feels to be aligned again with Marco Barbieri – who has been a part of the Avernus history since the mid 90’s through your Metal Massacre XII appearance when he worked at Metal Blade?
McCoy: Oh yeah. I am so excited. I love working with Marco. We never officially worked with him outside of the Metal Massacre XII appearance as he was a part of that. It’s nice to work with somebody that gets us and understands us. We are not afraid to try new things – if you listen to …Of the Fallen and then listen to Grievances, it does sound like two different bands. Marco has always been there, he’s always given us solid advice, honesty at times when we didn’t want to hear it as we were young and stubborn, and we thought we knew everything. Erik had sent him a copy of the album, and he was the only person who right off the bat said yeah, let’s work together. We didn’t talk to anybody else – we didn’t want to. I’m proud to be part of M-Theory.
Kikke: It was a dream come true. We didn’t get a chance to work with Marco in a bigger capacity outside of the Metal Massacre appearance. That worked out great, we are humbled to be on that. Marco has worked with so many incredible bands, and he’s a real presence in the world of music. I remember the day when I sent him the record, I didn’t know what was going to happen. In the least bit, he’s supported us all these years, and he and I kept in touch loosely on Facebook. I had a question for him completely off topic that had nothing to do with (Avernus). He said he wanted to work us; the record sounds great. Here’s a contract, I want you to take a look at it. Is this real, am I dreaming? It’s good to know that we’ve known him for so long.
Dead Rhetoric: How did the cover art piece develop for Grievances? Is there a specific theme you wanted to get across between animals and nature through this work?
Kikke: This is a tough one. Jimmy found that piece. We were throwing stuff around here and there, found a couple of artists that had custom made stuff they could do for you and while I was looking at some examples, admittedly it’s really hard to find the piece you are looking for unless you see it. I am not an artist. We found this piece, and I remember this feeling of grim depression, the piece itself speaks volumes. There is so much going on in that piece. These ravens that are about to tear apart this poor mother’s dead calf, there’s a lot to be said about the world and how barbaric it can be. With the winter ground it’s set upon, the pale skies in the air, I saw it and it just hit me right in the chest. We looked at it and we thought it just grabs you. There is something different about the animals being the focal point on that cover, mother nature and the cycle of life. It doesn’t always make you feel good, but it’s a part of life. It spoke volumes.
McCoy: It captures… we don’t have an intended theme on the record, but a lot of lyrics speak to how we all are getting a little older. The climate is not as sunny as it was before, so this reflects that. We’ve also too, except for the first demo, we’ve gone for nature-based things for the cover art. Erik sent me this – and I thought it was perfect. Nature in life, can be cruel. Life has this flipside that it can be amazing, and also very cruel. We just wanted to get around that.
Dead Rhetoric: Where do you see the major differences in the evolution of the music industry from when the band initially was getting a foothold in the scene during the 1990s versus the way music is consumed, promoted, and delivered today?
McCoy: Oh wow. I think Erik and I were talking about this the other day. When I started out it was all about tape trading. I can’t tell you how many times I would be up all night, taping demos, writing handwritten letters, making flyers, putting in a big pile of boxes and spend tons of money in postage. Wait two or three weeks to get a response. Now you get this instant email, and within a couple of minutes we are going over things. Part of it is also, when we were starting out there weren’t as many bands in the early 90s. Since that time, more and more bands have come out thanks to social media.
One thing that has remained constant is we have always done what we wanted to do. We used to play in a lot of club shows when we were starting out. We were the black sheep, having ten plus minute songs makes it hard as attention spans are shorter. What we have found is the people that are really into this style of music, are passionate enough about it to get through your album, listening to it again versus most people hear the first couple of seconds of a song and say, ‘nope – move it along’. Change the channel, change the song. That’s the way I am looking at it.
Kikke: There are perks to technology where I can send Rick a part and if it’s useable quicker. The only little complaint is there used to be some little magic of having to write something and remember it if you didn’t record it. Overall, the part of sending music files now is so much easier. The music industry as a whole, it’s different and strange. We are trying our best to navigate it. I remember there was a time where it felt like there were less bands out there. Now I can have a conversation with someone from Brazil and start sending songs instantaneously on the spot, we record stuff on our computers.
Dead Rhetoric: What have you changed your mind about the most in the last few years? Why have you changed your mind about that particular area?
Kikke: That’s a good question. I want to make sure I answer this honestly. It might seem a little general, but I did bring some old habits in from back in the day. I wanted to get these ideas fleshed out there and out quickly – and for me this happens in all areas of my life. I get impatient, and I want to cross things off my list. I now stop, pause, do things deliberately and with more meaning. It may be the safe, old man answer – but I don’t drive these guys as crazy. Life related, home life, my wife has even said that I need to slow down, as I try to get everything done all at once. Taking my time, looking around.
McCoy: Erik was barely 15, if that, when he joined the band. I was the only one with a car, so it took me two to three hours to pick up everyone to make it to practice. We all struggled with being young, naïve, too ideal, bringing our own bad behaviors in. Getting a little older, you learn to let go of stuff that you can’t do anything about. I appreciate that. Music-wise, after a while, I was anti-clean vocals. I’m more open to now if I write something, maybe it would sound better with some clean vocals. To make it that much better – but I would find someone else to do it live. Try to be more open, I used to be much more stubborn. I don’t want to cheapen our sound. We’ve gotten so much smarter as far as compositions, we can write a lot quicker. We don’t plod and trod as much as we used to, going over and over the same section. It goes back to the theme of the album.
Dead Rhetoric: What’s on the agenda for things related to Avernus over the next year or two? Has work already begun behind the scenes on the next recording – and if so, what can the followers expect that may be similar – or differ – from Grievances?
McCoy: We have some shows coming up – a three-day festival called Heavy Chicago on November 1st. A lot of bands – Cynic, Bongripper, Jasta, Earthburner, a lot of bigger bands. We may have some more shows in the next months. We will continue to write – maybe look at playing festivals here and in Europe. We are charged up to keep writing. Erik and I are talking about the new songs, investing in new things. I don’t think we will be slowing down anytime soon.
Kikke: We will rehearse for these shows coming up. We will look at getting some festivals next year. In the meantime, we will continue to write, coming up with more ideas again. We will do us. Hopefully have the right amount of songs at some point, and hopefully writing another full-length. Merch coming up soon. The next twelve months, that’s what we’ve got.
