…the Canadian dark power metal act Hyloxalus on their previous release from 2021, the Aposematic EP. You would hear elements from symphonic to folk to extreme influences, ensuring a diverse set of material that could evoke Primordial or Equilibrium one minute, then Therion, Nightwish on to Strapping Young Lad the next taken into the power realm. Reaching out to all three members of the band with guitarist/bassist/synth player Mike Bell, vocalist N…
…e the greatest differences between this record and the debut Cleopatra from 2021? Zaks: Our composition style remains the same. The formula that worked for our previous album, we haven’t changed much. It starts with me layering keyboard tracks, coming up with melodies. From that the journey continues with our guitar player Rich recording guitars over my keyboard tracks, then drums, then bass, and Alina comes in with the vocal lines. The lyrics are…
…improvements compared to your previous album Triumph & Tragedy released in 2021? Panza: We always work remotely because some of the band is from Spain, and I live in Italy. The pandemic affected the record, but more so it affected Triumph & Tragedy, because we were without a drummer at that time. A good friend of ours Marco Prij, the drummer from Cryptosis, the thrash metal band from the Netherlands, helped us and did a hell of a job. He had to r…
…Dead Rhetoric: You mention in another recent High Spirits interview I read online how you felt immense pressure to follow up the debut album, which resulted in your eyes with the less than satisfying You Are Here. What circumstances took place that you felt that extra level of pressure, and looking back what would have done differently to ensure a better outcome? Black: What I would have done differently is not rush it. I would keep writing, get a…
…atever. You don’t need to have covers physically anymore; just upload them online, attaching a file. Now, you got to have a big amount of money to catch them all, but the same was many years ago. You can’t touch what’s digital, but you need a fortune to have it. I still collect albums, tapes, and whatever. It lasts! I also disapprove of AI. It may bring things out of control once and for all. Simonelli: DIY; it’s a great way to keep things as real…
…d to Inverse Records, and eventually filled out the lineup on the follow-up 2021 Dark Wanderer EP release. While creating the next set of material, the singles “Worthless” and “Anguish” hit the streets, setting the stage for the debut album Throne of Desolation. The album title refers to someone or something that terrorizes the existence of life in multiple forms when given authority – a great launching pad for what you can expect in terms of the…
…ons started to bloom much larger for us. I think people in current society/online culture – we are hyperconnected but we are also isolated from each other. Even in our day to day, we become more hardened in what we believe is true or not true and you can start to develop this idea of ‘its me against the world.’ If that’s the case, then maybe I need to do something radical. You can go into some really dark places. But if you start to see ‘oh wow th…
…re does this come from? It’s surreal, you see this car in the magazines or online, you never see it up close with your own eyes. It has such a beautiful vibe, and this car is going to be in a video with Cobra Spell. Alright! And I can play in front of that, it was cool. Totally crazy. It was fun to shoot “S.E.X.” – we had a lot of friends come be in the video. It was nice to see all of these women being a part of this. All of the women had our own…
…ears before that. I could think about joining another band – I found an ad online that talked about Satan’s Fall looking for a singer, gigs were lining up. I thought it was a cool band name, what have they released? I heard the Metal of Satan EP and knew that I could sing this. And that was in 2017. Dead Rhetoric: Destination Destruction is the second album from Satan’s Fall – and first with Steamhammer/SPV after your previous record Final Day cam…
…other people. After I released the demo, and people were talking about it online, I remember thinking that I could make this into a whole band. It took another four years after that to get all the musicians together. I met my drummer and my guitar player both on Craigslist. It’s the funniest thing, not really where you expect to meet the right people. A lot of trial and error, we settled on a lineup. In 2018 we got our keyboardist Michael, and in…
…lready has the big personality she needs, it’s just a matter of getting it exposed to the rest of the world for all to see. All live photos courtesy of Jonathan Lane Jonathan Lane official website Jonathan Lane on Instagram Jonathan on Twitter/X https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Xybqz6cEE&pp=ygUHaXNpbGllbA%3D%3D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMICdxaG0wY Isiliel official website Isiliel on X Isiliel on Instagram…
High off the acclaimed debut album Bionic Swarm from 2021, Dutch progressive thrash metal trio Cryptosis feels the time is ripe for some more material to hit the streets as a warm-up to the second album which should appear at some point in 2024. Thus, we have a four-song digital EP in The Silent Call – the contents including one new song, one track leftover from the debut album recording sessions, plus two live tracks from Greece to satisfy those…
…tal, with some light dabbling into pop as well. Their first full-length was 2021’s Advance Generation, and for the last two years, they have been releasing some singles which turned into EP efforts. Dream Up is the latest of these, a 5-song affair that follows last year’s D-X. TRiDENT’s consistent energy and knack for catchy melodies makes Dream Up an easy point to be introduced to the band, as well as please long-time fans. Starting off with the…
…adding a fourth ‘brother’ (loose term intended) with bassist Marc Maurer in 2021 to arrive at the current incarnation of the group. Beginning in 2006, they’ve released six previous albums, of which this scribe became familiar to their style when on Fastball Music for the third album In the Circle of the Universe back in 2016. Becoming a part of the El Puerto Records roster since early 2020, this seventh studio record Seven showcases a melodic, ref…
…cuts from Two Shadows, while the latter half mainly constructed from their 2021 EP, starting with gothic meets western-ish vibe of “Riders.” The band’s performance overall is so smooth and inviting, that it’s impossible to not get drawn in. Gongs rang in the groovy drum beats and stinging leads of “Dark Altar Magic,” with the set closing via the brief but punchy “Candle Master.” Hoaxed absolutely have a classic, yet fresh sound profile of which f…
…Theo Georgitsaros) and recruiting three new members, they would release in 2021 an EP Creator to set the stage for this new full-length It All Shall Burn. The band develop a style that contains melodic death metal as its foundation, sprinkling in elements of black or folk-like accents to diversify the atmosphere, never sacrificing the purity or powerful impact in their songwriting. The willingness to incorporate everything from acoustic guitars t…
…re metalcore/thrash leanings, they’ve released four full lengths (including 2021’s impressive Embrace the Unknown on Pure Steel Records, previously reviewed by this scribe) as they switch back to a DIY philosophy for their latest EP Deception. It’s admirable to hear bands proudly push a variety of influences to siphon out the best elements in an already established style – which makes these five songs sharp, versatile in approach, while also accen…
…. The man wears it loud and proud. The majority of their set was built from 2021’s Escapades, their debut full-length, notably featuring pieces such as “Wax & Wane” and “Fountainhead.” The band brought a notable energy and seemed to be relishing the moment of being on a big tour with their fellow countrymen, who are definite boosters of the trio. Some folks didn’t know what to expect with their rare stylistic choices, but the majority were enthusi…
…onto the scene with their debut full-length Fragments of a Bitter Memory in 2021. Taking on that more European-centered melodic death metal slant on guitar melodies, they ran with it and merged it with some absolutely brutal breakdowns and hardcore ethos. It showcased a band that was hungry and oozing with potential. That said, their follow-up Symptoms of Survival not only delivers on that potential, it positions Dying Wish as one of the most brea…
…three previous EP’s and a full-length since arriving a decade ago (of which 2021’s El Camazotz EP was one of this scribe’s favorites), the quartet return with The Gates of Hell – another six-song effort that showcases supreme knowledge, proper band chemistry/interplay, and execution into the deep walls of old school metal brought to light for the current scene to treasure. The fiery guitar techniques Victor Arduini and Christopher Bengal employ ar…
…mething more minimal, iconic, and simple. Dead Rhetoric: You mention in an online interview I read recently you did with guitar.com that in your eyes, Lamb of God were the last ‘metal’ band to truly get big, and you hope that with this new record, Sylosis can fill that gap. What do you believe it’s going to take to get up to that level of following and success, considering the state of the industry currently? Middleton: Firstly, I think there have…
…nd Seven Kingdoms, Lords of the Trident, all those guys have an incredible online presence. And those are our friends, you know? So it’s seeming more likely that you’re going to find your fans in those online spaces nowadays. Because any band will tell you that just playing live and selling merch and stuff barely gets you anywhere, at least when you’re small. But getting online, making these communities, and developing a following, sometimes even…
…al product either. Videos for tracks like “Pardon Me, I Have to Go Now” and 2021’s “REIWA Dating Apps Generation” offer the band’s frenetic slurry of metal, and a little something more biting, below the surface. “The dark, or satirical element, is something I feel that only our generation can talk about with our generation. I don’t know if others will understand it. But with these more serious topics, we try to keep it from seeming too heavy or to…
…who joined for their first full-length album Aces Wild released in October 2021. Since then they’ve issued a split album with Hellrot, played shows across Texas, California, and even Scotland to now enter the second full-length phase for Midnight Assassin. The lyrical themes tackle horror/terror topics of serial killers, stalkers, and necrophiliacs, matching the sinister, dark, and violent proceedings the listeners will take in musically for thes…
…rom all of them. Helena Kotina, the second guitarist, was in the band since 2021. Four months after we released Perpetual Chaos, I invited her to start the process with the next album. It was in my plan to have two guitarists – but after the second guitarist left the band because she could not move, we decided to be a trio because it was easier for logistics. It was in my plan already. I was never thinking about me being a singer. Helena and I sta…
…me for themselves, there’s always a portion of the metal crowd, especially online, that seems to live for nothing more than putting down musicians they don’t like, particularly female ones. Something that leaves a group like Conquer Divide at the forefront of an online war of words. “I think at first, it was really annoying – it’s still annoying, don’t get me wrong. But at first it bothered me a lot more than it does now,” Castillo notes. “I’m at…
…these four songs serve as a frenetic introduction. Opener “Lord of Light” instantly explodes into a slurry of intense EDM beats and frantic riffs. The contrast between the more melodic, jpop moments and urgent electronically laced metalcore sections seems to be built up even more, in comparison to some of their earlier works, and it really shines on “Lord of Light.” Pounding synths, frequent jumps into aggressive moments with Arima’s bark at the…
While writing material for 2021’s Servant of the Mind album, guitarist/frontman of Volbeat Michael Poulsen had a few death metal riffs that obviously did not fit the Danish mainstay act – so he saved the work on his hard drive to explore down the line. No stranger to the genre as he formed Dominus during the 1990’s, releasing four albums before splitting in 2000 to start Volbeat, it’s exciting to see Michael develop these songs for his new band A…
…sion with heavy music. Conversely, though filled with some standout tracks, 2021’s Succumb contained entries that lacked coherence, almost going a bit too offbeat for their own good. Last year’s Sol corrupto was much more of an eerie atmospheric piece – Altarage really should be hired to write a horror film soundtrack – that was a significantly enjoyable departure. They’re now back with a more ‘traditional’ record via Worst Case Scenario, which wa…
…ry much so in agreement. Having released their third full-length Witness in 2021, the band has continued to evolve since their first record with an ever changing sound that always keeps the listener guessing. Lead vocalist/guitarist Asger Mygind has said that Inmazes was written when he was struggling with finding happiness and really focused more on the djent sound, while Applause of a Distant Crowd was thankfully during a happier time and a lot…
