…on their hands with White Ward’s Futility Report. A sextet from the unlikely region of Ukraine, White Ward could be considered avant-garde except for the fact their songs have this natural staying ability that belies their experimental nature. On their first proper full-length Futility Report, White Ward turns in an album devoid of convention. Black metal is the root, as evidenced by the band’s extreme, brash bent found on “Stillborn Knowledge.”…
…ld be fine. But to think about a new album before this one is out – it’s a bit early. I don’t know what to do – the war themes have worked out well for me from a lyrical point of view, but maybe it’s time for something else as well. Dead Rhetoric: Is there anything different you added to The World Ablaze to make it stand apart, or do you feel it’s more about staying consistent to God Dethroned’s music, given the seven year interval between albums?…
…y quelled with a few seconds of the band’s breakneck sound kicked in. This Russia-based thrash act should leave you with anything but a poker face once you engage their third album Game On. Aggressive, snarling thrash with modern groove and some melodic moments captures a good image of what Pokerface is all about. A timeless crunch (think Slayer or Kreator) soaks the guitars in enough heaviness for you to immediately take notice, let alone the fre…
…s human, citing Lovecraft and Asimov as writer influences? Zayarny: Primarily the lyrics concentrate on story-telling. That’s what I grew up on. I think that stories are what captures the human imagination. And again, at the risk of sounding too pretentious, every good story has to be frightening in some way, that’s where I’m coming from in terms of Lovecraft. I think he was fantastic in the sense of taking the reader into the semantics and the wa…
…hooks, and some excellent female vocals. The type of sound that could easily go places if properly exposed to the music fans of the world. With that in mind, we reached out to the act (with responses from vocalist Valerie Laitinen, keyboardist Ivan Popov, drummer Dima Loboda, and guitarist Roma Kovalenko) to learn more about Phase One, their approach to cover songs (which can be easily found on YouTube), and what comes next. Dead Rhetoric: Where…
…to touring. The only thing I have to do is my warm up ritual, that’s the only thing I really have to do. We are now learning how to behave on tour, we like to be cool. We’ve been touring already for over two months- it’s going to be three more months before we go back home. Before the show we are relaxed, we try to sleep as much as we can in the van or at the hotels when we can. Speak as little as possible in order to save my voice. These rituals…
…lle Laihiala of the much missed Sentenced, as the aforementioned commercially viable “Alive” and stripped down closer “Same Blood” attest. Hate to come back to that ‘too long of a record’ argument for Dualism, but a little 20 % trim could have made for a stronger, 50-minute platter in the end. Majesty of Revival wrap exquisite musicianship in tight spots while always honing in on proper hooks and melody parts – as a result assuring itself varied a…
…chtmystium, of all bands. A well-developed song, vocalist Astaroth eventually transforms himself into a bit of a Tibetan monk to conclude the track, which lends a real believability to the album theme. And speaking of Astaroth, his vocal delivery across the album is fierce and rich, no clean vocals in this stuff. It also must be mentioned that Astaroth is Raventale. He handles all musical duties for the band. This is a “one-man band” that sure doe…
…nment took place, resulting in a very tricky and difficult border war with Russia, Ukraine’s one-man Zgard has managed to channel whatever otherworldly energy sole dude Yaromisl has into a spirited body of work otherwise known as Totem. The band’s fifth album (thus, necessitating a deeper inspection into the man’s catalog), Totem is a zealous blend of blazing black metal, lush acoustic interludes, and a prevailing folk center, sending the album (a…
…SBM (National Socialist Black Metal), the Nazi wing of the black metal family (every family has one), but now I’ve gotten too far ahead of myself. Khors is not one of these bands, and shouldn’t be considered a part of that scene. What they are is a really good Slavonic pagan black metal band from a troubled part of the world. Night Falls Onto the Fronts of Ours is the sixth studio album from Khors, who now follow up 2012’s great album Wisdom of Ce…
…prove there’s fairly wide derision and overall negative sentiment, especially on the last two (I personally found Estrangement to be a weaker affair than The Eternal Turn of the Wheel, despite the latter’s overwhelming un-inspiration). Last year’s great split EP with Winterfylleth has proved to be a clear indication that the band had not lost their touch. A Furrow Cut Short delivers seven new songs, clocking in just under an hour, filled with text…
…ance to put together the ultimate one day metal festival of any act currently alive or deceased, who would you love to share the stage with? Pontiac: That’s a tough one! The festival name would be ‘Only The Strong’-fest and it would be like: Manowar with Ross The Boss Exodus with Baloff Exciter Destructor The Rods Anvil Riot with Mark Reale Raven King Diamond and Mercyful Fate Accept in their current lineup and headliner JUDAS PRIEST Dead Rhetoric…
…ere be any chance of seeing Alpha Tiger on a North American tour, or possibly some fly in dates for major cities? What needs to occur to get the band over here? Langforth: Our biggest goal is to play in America one day but it’s very expensive. We have to find a promoter in the USA who is able to realize this. We know that there isn’t much money to earn at first on this tour, but that’s not the important point. We just want to play in other parts o…
…um The Energy of Soul. Now, I’m fairly certain that the title is merely awkwardly worded due to a difference in the usage of articles (or lack thereof) between our languages. No, this is not James Brown inspired Soul, but a mixed-bag serving of some very well-played heavy metal. As you’d observe in listening, the musicianship in Twilightfall is great, given to the fact that these guys have been around a time or two. Comprised of ex-members of Nokt…
…iet Bloc). In the case of newcomers Stryvigor, the homeland in question is Ukraine – a fertile place for metal of this ilk, which also boasts top-tier acts such as Drudkh, Nokturnal Mortum, and Khors. Named for the Stryvihor river, which flows into the Carpathian mountains, Stryvigor brings the magic of these old lands into their music, as is felt “In The Icy Embrace of the North”, the instrumental introductory track of deep atmosphere by way of k…
…er 5 – John Dee – Oslo, Norway 6 – Brynerocken – Bryne, Norway November 22 – Winter Masters of Rock – Zlin, Czech Republic 29 – Bingo Club – Kiev, Ukraine December 4 – Göta Källare – Stockholm, Sweden 12 – Zal Ozhidanlaya – Saint Petersburg, Russia 13 – Club Volta – Moscow, Russia February 7 – Folkets Park – Huskvarna, Sweden 11 – Pakkahuone – Tampere, Finland 12 – Lutakko – Jyväskylä, Finland 13 – Rytmikorjaamo – Seinäjoki. Finland 14 – The Circu…
…songs from the new album that we are going to try in rehearsal to play out live. We are surely going to play “Stampede” and “Dying Breed”, and then there is 5 or 6 more we are going to try. Dead Rhetoric: I wanted to throw some songs from your back catalog at you and see what special thoughts/memories come to mind surrounding these tracks. First up from Breaker would be “Son of a Bitch”? Hoffmann: “Son of A Bitch,” yeah. That whole song centers ar…
…k with him. This is a conceptual depiction of the world of terror we actually do live in. It’s about how I see the human race nowadays, how we destroy life/nature, poison ourselves in a variety of ways for many reasons. We work hard to fuck up everything and dig our own graves and destroy the earth in the name of greed and might. On top as always, Anti-god and Anti-life poems. People that support Belphegor find the lyric sheets in the booklet of t…
…nts and its many eccentricities. Despite the length and style it never really drags its feet, utilizing the piano and synth independently from one another and adding assorted choir/choral effects for good measure. While most of the northern hemisphere is enjoying the back half of summer you now have the chance to give yourself fully to the throws of winter made manifest in Ashes To Ashes. The road is hard and fraught with peril but in the end, the…
…dude Daniel Jackson has the necessary grip on the riff tactics found in early-to-mid-90s black metal, leaning heavily on Darkthrone and Emperor’s more inspired, less-keyboard (for Emperor) moments. Production is several rungs above basement quality, rivaling that of many of the Cascadian loons still hanging out, groups Jackson is probably to elude from a sonic standpoint. Nevertheless, the blasting “Cold” gets the job done, while occasional (and i…
…Guaranteed, we’ve never seen the vargan (a.k.a. mouth harp) played so gnarly. Any metaller could easily say “why didn’t we think of that before?” So much for folk metal, bring on the vargan metal! If there’s one good reason own this album, it’s that “Incarnation Memory” pretty much makes it worth it. Contemplation is a fairly good album, but for the most part best as a one-time listen because the dense structure seems to grow weaker every time it…
…CollegeHumor.com and has millions of views on YouTube, his Mimefreak parody which was a featured video on Break.com, and his McCain/Palin Bollywood video which was shown on CNN’s “Inside Politics”….
…and hounds’. The story goes on to tell how his pregnant lover (metaphorically represented as ‘a fallow doe’) comes to his body, tends his wounds and takes him away to be buried; apparently leaving the ravens without a meal. The story is a tale of spirituality that seems to represent how the strength and loyalty of one’s kin can overcome adversity, even in the event of their master/partner dying.” One And All, Together, For Home was assembled by DR…
…think no one was seeing that wasn’t going to happen. We have a festival in Ukraine in July, but it’s in the western part. It’s 1,000 miles from Crimea, and I spoke with the organizer and he told me you don’t see any of that shit in the western part. I think it’s safe to go – Deicide just played there a month ago. Dead Rhetoric: It’s pretty scary considering the history Finland has with Russia. Luttinen: You never know what the fuck is going on in…
…or their original song ‘Monster’, was filmed in Times Square and is currently closing in on 200,000 views on YouTube. At one of their outdoor performances they not only caught the attention of a few nice folks who dropped a little change in their bucket, but the producer Steve Jordan. The former Saturday Night Live drummer told Radio.com that when he happened on the band, who at that time were performing as a two-piece with Malcolm Brickhouse on g…
…mal-minded vigilantes strong enough to roll with EARTH CRISIS. It is probably the most perfectly aligned superhero team-up ever.” Salvation Of Innocents and Liberator will share original cover art from Chicago-based illustrator/painter Menton3. The comic will feature additional works by illustrators Rod Reis, Javier Aranda and Joaquin Pereyra. Liberator creator Matt Miner says, “Working with EARTH CRISIS on the comic book side of Salvation Of Inno…
…released all year, and with phenomenal musical acumen, these guys absolutely, positively rip! (Check out “Sadness in Summer Rain”) Best newcomer of the year: Caladan Brood / Xanthochroid. No doubt that since my favorite album this year is also their debut, I have to give this distinction to Caladan Brood. But, I also want to give a co-naming to a band that likely missed many a list last year due to their December 2012 release date, and that is Xa…
…rn Crusade. Jason Newsted re-enters the metal fray with Heavy Metal Music. Ukraine’s Munruthel nearly score a perfect ten with CREEDamage. Mike “Gunface” Mackenzie releases his solo album, Stomach Earth. The news in ten 1. Death Angel announces a fall North American tour. 2. Inter Arma makes plans to hit studio less than a year after the release of Sky Burial. 3. Unisonic back to work, this time on album #2. 4. Iced Earth wraps recording for their…
…s an absolutely enjoyable journey of musical depth and weight. It features guest vocals from Arkona’s Masha “Scream” as well as one of best Bathory covers that you’ll hear. This multi-instrumentalist seems, to me, to be painfully unknown or at least, under-reviewed. Not unlike another criminally unknown artist (an Aussie who goes under the name Aquilus), Munruthel deserves to be heard, for he has created something truly special. Munruthel on Bandc…
