…t play in Ukraine-based White Ward’s sound. Black metal winds swirl violently in warm washes of jazz playing out in the urban sprawl of overlapping streetlights and fog. Love Exchange Failure is no small listen but let’s go back a bit and provide some background. My introduction to the band came during a very long drive from Rhode Island to South Carolina in the summer of 2017. Somewhere in the pales of North Carolina the band’s debut album Futili…
…e the listeners get out of White Mantis, and how are you able to consistently deliver speedy material and develop memorable, distinct tracks without becoming an aural whitewash so to speak? Pletz: First of all we make music for our own sake and see it as a kind of medium to bundle and unfold our creativity. Mostly this is not possible at work and therefore a good way to retain the inner equilibrium. Thus it is not our primary goal to go down well…
…al mixing of the album. The title should be a spearhead of the album, both lyrically and musically. In a few words, it’s difficult to find that spearhead. All of us all like titles that have different layers, that you can put under different scopes and twist/turn them. I don’t want to make a traffic sign, so to speak. I want something that will hold a little more. True North, as a fundamental term, comes from navigation. The true north is the cons…
…each other to a few days later being the complete opposite. We get extremely good news and everyone is in high spirits. There’s been a lot of those moments, a lot of those up and downs. There’s been a lot of drunken moments too [laughs]. There’s just a real family feeling in the band. Dead Rhetoric: What are your other interests outside of the music realm? Psarakis: I have two dogs, so they take up a lot of my time. The second I sit down to do so…
…lly like never before, these are thriving times for Destruction. Consistently delivering blistering thrash to the metal hordes, their catalog contains gems from the early Infernal Overkill/ Eternal Devastation days on through to their latest efforts like Under Attack and this year’s Born to Perish. Now expanding the lineup to a quartet and welcoming drummer Randy Black and second guitarist Damir Eskic – the new record contains more twin harmonies,…
…tar activities during “Ratcatcher” gain devil horns salutes, but there really isn’t anything weak out of these ten tracks. Possibly the engagement of more historic Destruction material for 2017’s Thrash Anthems II record put more fire into the songwriting and performances for Born to Perish. It’s another prime example of thrash done the right way – and should gain wide acceptance from Destruction maniacs young and old. http://www.youtube.com/watch…
…for me, but for artists in general. It’s a great way to keep your record alive. It keeps you in the news. I always view things like what I would have liked as a kid: could you imagine if your favorite band back in the day released a new video every month? I would have lost my mind! I wouldn’t even know how to comprehend that. So I think it’s a really good tool when you use it that way. Dead Rhetoric: With the focus on video, did you feel it was i…
…and we were like, ‘Wow!’. Dead Rhetoric: Where did you want to come across lyrically with this record? Nick: There is no specific bucket with regards to the lyrics this time. I look out of my window and see what goes on around me, get inspired from that. Also – I read a lot of books, either stories or serious books. I read some poems – as an example, the song “Order of Death” is a poem itself. I got influence from the poem -somebody is dying and t…
…ill finding their direction and foothold for songwriting. Incorporating a narrative news reporter for the closer “Public Enemy” which showcases the band at a more frantic/punk-like pacing in segments, The Order of Genocide tightly delivers Sabotage in a tidy 16-minute framework. Hopefully the band will use this as a stepping-stone to develop their own take on their influences – as there is plenty of promise and potential to harness. Sabotage on Fa…
…e still connections with the early material. When we are writing we are fully aware of the Diamond Head legacy, certain songs like “Am I Evil” are a big part of the Diamond Head history. It would be lovely to write another “Am I Evil”, we would like to write something even better, or hopefully as good. I try not to become too far away from the style, we’ve done that on the last album and this album and it’s really worked. It’s not that we are too…
…ntly despairing) digressions make for a listen that is dense but consistently rewarding. Bass is a peculiar instrument within the band historically, serving a sonic and structural role mirroring Type O Negative far more than contemporaries within black metal and that remains the case here. “1523” , a downtempo midpoint in the pendulum-swing of the album’s momentum, is made possible by the cavernous (and synth-like) tone the bass provides. Those sa…
…about world issues, but it does genuinely concern me that a man as obviously mentally deficient as Donald Trump can become the most powerful man in the world, that tells me a lot about how many people think and I can’t say I’m a fan. As far as issues, probably climate change. It is threatening everything we know and love, and not enough people care about it. Dead Rhetoric: What are your thoughts on social media and platforms like Facebook, Instag…
…nd intuitive as a person? JB: The short answer is that that’s what’s in my lyrics. My lyrics are an extension of all my life experiences. Whether it’s books I’ve read, movies I’ve seen, comic books I’ve read – nature experiences that I’ve had, all fantasies, emotions, and feelings. My lyrics are a reflection of all that. For me as a person- nature has always been a very strong fascination. Nature has a big place in our music as a whole. Any partic…
…time, instead of just doing research and talking diseases? Prins: Definitely. I really enjoyed writing the last album because it was fun doing the research and I was interested in the topics. But this time it was about feelings and things that I think about on a daily basis. It was really nice to put my opinion out there for once. I’m not the type of person to rant on Facebook or have discussions with every person I meet. It was a nice experience…
…had at it for decades. And then there’s the global warming issue. The really bad news about it worries me but I’m not entirely convinced that it’s as urgent and real as the media would have us believe. I can’t really say I’ve seen the really compelling evidence, but then again, what do I know? It worries me that when a subject is that complicated and that serious that I don’t think I’ve seen the bottom of it. It leaves you a bit confused about wh…
…ar, it’s just 20% of the year and the rest of the time is yours. Now I’m only playing live with Masterplan and Herman Frank. I may do a guest vocal and backing vocal in the studio – but I have more than enough live with those two bands. Dead Rhetoric: Did you have any fears about stepping up to be a vocalist for At Vance when you had primarily done work as a bassist and backing vocalist in other bands up to that time? Altzi: Of course. When I came…
…Pit Stop…Don’t Stop in the Pit!” that this five-piece bludgeon through deadly riffs, non-stop snare/kick activities and an equally maniacal rapid-fire word spew that contains a bevy of Nuclear Assault, Slayer, and Warbringer influences – but when necessary, can turn in some reflective, clean passages and musically enticing activities. The longest track “Slaughter of Innocents” at almost nine-minutes incorporates narrative news footage and twin gui…
…al sections. 6th Counted Murder incorporate killer skillsets into a musically intriguing effort – never wavering on the melodic death/thrash platform and adding a bit of progressive texture to the mix. Individual contains the best elements of these genres and a potent storyline to keep interest high – let’s hope that the band gains more followers as a result, as this is a solid outing that most ardent fans of these genres will dig. http://www.yout…
…Agony Scene, and Traitors to discuss the new release, the band’s enduring live show, lyrical inspirations, and more! Dead Rhetoric: How’s the tour been going so far? Trevor Phipps: The tour has been good. We started with a couple of sell-out [shows] and have had a number of packed ones. It’s been fun. It’s a good package with good bands. Everybody is bringing something different, even if it’s all aggressive. We are having a good time out here. De…
…onger, a forceful rhythm and equally intoxicating vocal delivery a definitely early album crowd-pleaser – sitting in that sweet spot between latter day Judas Priest and prime-time Metal Church. Speed isn’t necessarily the motivating factor for the guitar parts and general tempos – the band really keying in on catchy hooks for dynamic appeal, whether they are slower and reflective during “Empty Soul” or machine-gun riffing and double bass mechanics…
…e that that causes, which is damage to your confidence. I feel like I’ve only really finished working on getting my confidence back this year, even though my range came back a year and a half to two years ago. If my headspace was like it is now, I’d have been able to sing that way on Untouchable Glory if I really had to. I was afraid of it. I think it did set us back creatively, to the point that there were things that we couldn’t do that we reall…
…plenty of melodies that lurk out (much like said the already-mentioned early material). Over the years, more of that ‘80s flair has become a part of Arsis’ toolbox, which really came out on Starve for the Devil, and it’s also well-incorporated into the songs here. The amalgamation of melodic death metal with a solid helping of technical songwriting is primed for some catchy grooves and ‘80s arena rock to fill in the gaps for added memorability. S…
…y thing, go look at commercials from the 50’s for Geritol. You’re essentially fulfilling a Billy Mays thing. Instead take your lazy ass and go write some goddamn good music. Dead Rhetoric: What is the outlook and philosophy for Solium Fatalis when it comes to your live performances? And what have been some of the most memorable shows in the band’s career – moments that will stand out for a lifetime? Gregory: We strive to be as intense and tight as…
…, thunderous death metal machine and they always will be. TerrorVision simply pushes the boundaries a bit while seeing them continue to make the most addictive yet punishing riffs imaginable. The changes alluded to are all in the atmosphere. Instead of simply steamrolling through every single track with no remorse, tracks like “Vespertine Decay” and “Exquisite Convinous Drama” take a few moments to create a sense of dread and despair – building di…
…his so prepared, when I came into the studio on the first day, he was totally really into the material – we can change something here, do something there, after a minute, 45 seconds we have to change a note here, do something there. I asked him how often he had listened to the songs, and he said you won’t believe how many (times). When you are in a studio, there’s nothing better that you can have as a musician to deal with such a great person, a g…
…legiance was a fun album. A whole slew of heavy metal all-stars (both vocally and instrumentally) put together on one epic album. While it wasn’t an entirely flowing effort, even if more so than other ‘get togethers’ like this due to the core membership, it made for an enjoyable collection of tracks. Power Drunk Majesty steps things up from the past in that it truly feels like an album, and not a collection of all-star tracks. There’s a lot more r…
…s have abandoned PayPal as a payment. A lot of people use it, and we actually only raised 8,000 on Indiegogo itself, but around 9,000 on PayPal. We were lucky to do that – it helped us a lot. Dead Rhetoric: Does that tie into the idea that in your PR release, it said the album was ‘strongly influenced by your fans?’ Bigler: Yes. We took that money to make the videos and to make the shirts. Additionally, we made an extra cd of demos and unreleased…
…d you want to make one symphonic album in between, it’s going to sound really silly and not symphonic, because your focus isn’t there. That’s what we are doing here. We have focused on one chapter, and we are opening up number two. We are starting by doing our research, I of course with the character, but the boys have to look at the history of the music then. That’s actually what’s happening now. It’s all about focus. I think it’s a different app…
…s – it was something very strange happening with us. Over the years it’s only changed a little bit. With the Seven Seals record, and New Religion album, the last album for Nuclear Blast and the first album for Frontiers, we tried to change and become a more sophisticated band. We tried out orchestral parts to branch out from pure heavy metal to a more symphonic style sound to our music. We wanted to experiment a little because we didn’t want to do…
…to show people what I can do on the screen, you know? Maybe I’m sounding a bit overambitious or greedy, I’m going to stick to what I can do and aim for the goals that are within the framework of possibility. Dead Rhetoric: In another interview I’ve heard, you’ve mentioned a love of American writers like Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe, and Anne Rice among others. What are some of your favorite books/memories surrounding these writers? Dahl: Oh, that…
