…g these ideas home – and that’s what these nine songs achieve. Opener “The Human Paradox” sets the tone right, a veritable mid-tempo feast of crunchy chords in the Death/ Asphyx mold, Marc bellowing the words in a Chuck Schuldiner manner while the screams convey Tom Araya’s best work during the 80’s. Roller coaster tremolo picking next to a firm jackhammer main rhythm hook pushes “The Surgical Undeadvors” into a key highlight, the stop/start trans…
…I can do it. The original plan was for me to play everything- all the instruments, but I knew I had to find some type of singer because I cannot sing (laughs). Guitars are my main instrument. It was fun to do – I brought in some of the guys in the lineup now for that first song. The second single “Moonblade” came out, and I started thinking about doing some type of record with this. A full album may be too much, because it was a small hobby proje…
…f Fate”, I thought it would be really cool, but I couldn’t play it on the drums. I needed a fast drummer, and Lawrence Dinamarca is a beast on playing the fast double bass, he recorded it really fast. As for Frank Nordeng Røe, I had played with him in the past as he did a gig with Divided Multitude at ProgPower USA in 2014. I knew what he could do, I wanted to bring different drummers into a different approach to make it sound a bit different. I k…
…ound coherent. Dead Rhetoric: The lyrical content this time around tackles humanity’s journey towards destruction through violence, exploitation, and global warming. Can you elaborate on the subject matter, what ideas you wanted to get across, and where you see the importance of lyrics matching the atmosphere, textures, and feelings you get across through your material? Mieskonen: I wrote most of the lyrics for the album, as I usually do. I like t…
…le keeping the main theme in mind. Dead Rhetoric: When it comes to the instrumentation for The Offering, how does the band tackle the differentiation between technical abilities versus playing for the needs of the song – as I’d imagine it can be a challenge sometimes to allow the proper space for Alex’s wide array of melodies/screams? George: When I am putting together demos, everyone can testify to it that it is the worst guitar playing, the simp…
…ngs on the album are a bit uglier, slimier and heavier. The riffs and the drumming on this album, which both sound massive thanks to Dave’s production, will pound you into submission, while the melodies and choruses will crawl inside your head and take up residence like a haunting specter, not intent on leaving anytime soon. The guitar work is not flashy or technical, but the riffs are heavy and memorable, and the solos are well-crafted and well-p…
…an, and a great writer. He’s been going at this forever, and Larry on the drum kit – come on. He’s one of the best drummers in my opinion going. The songs – I used to sing those driving around all the time. It’s going to be really fun. After all this time off, I did take a few years off. I couldn’t even ask for a better start. It’s complete power metal, it’s going to be good. I’m stoked. Dead Rhetoric: You’ve studied voice techniques under the tut…
…think Vikram helped a lot. We had big ideas before it, Vikram gave the instrumental section, especially at the end, interesting ideas the whole time. If we didn’t have the orchestration, it would have been a stale moment. We put so much music and emotion into it, it’s an unbelievable thing what he was able to do. They are both tough sometimes. Dead Rhetoric: You sought out renowned composer/multi-instrumentalist Vikram Shankar of Silent Skies/Rede…
…hope other French bands can make it. It’s very difficult in France, the structure and development aren’t really efficient. It’s very hard to explore in the international scene. Even if you work a lot, there are so many bands out there, it’s very difficult to make a difference between the bands. You have to be in the right time and at the right place. That’s part of chance, I think. Marketing and business (are) really the keys. For me, it’s a pity…
…r passed, and then when we were ready to go out on the road again, coronavirus happened. And that took another two years. It was all in bits and pieces. The last two years we had a lot of time to work on the recordings, and we just took our time because we knew that as long as the coronavirus was going on, we couldn’t go anywhere anyways. We used the time for the best possible purpose, we refined the songs a bit more than we had previously. It’s a…
…y, Century Media gives us so much creative freedom. The band is tried and true. They trust the judgement of what we are doing. They didn’t ask to hear any demos before we recorded (the album). We write the songs we write, and we record them. When it came time to release the singles, we said these are the songs we wanted to release. I am sure they have a say, but there wasn’t any pushback on what we said we wanted to release. I don’t think they’ve…
…ial more progressive at the same time. To be honest, a lot of that is the drums. Human is basically Spiritual Healing riff-wise, just with way more advanced drumming. I’m not as good of a drummer as Sean was. I will pay tribute to my best friend, mentor, and drum teacher, and be myself. I’m a bigger fan of the old stuff, I will pull some of the meat and potatoes stuff into the more technical stuff to try to please everybody, I guess. https://www.y…
…is completely obsessed with a perfection that is so hard to achieve. We scrutinize the crap out of everything, and maybe it’s the prog thing, I don’t know. Romeo, myself, and the rest of the guys, it just has to be really good. We don’t rush anything, there are plenty of songs that you’ve never heard that this band has worked on. That’s the process with that group. It’s tedious, draining – so doing projects like this appeals to my rock and roll s…
…lines. “TV Stars & Internet Freaks” contains hair-rising, circular guitar runs as well as a killer rhythm section shuffle, perfect for Robby to dance around in his melody choices from a softer, sultry register during the verses while rising to the occasion during key chorus parts. The epic, 70’s nature of the band comes to light on “Four Stone Walls” – the guitar/organ interplay reminiscent of Perfect Strangers-period Deep Purple, Christoph Kogle…
…ant in front of the mirror – and still do it by the way (laughs). I loved drums. I remember buying a little kit with my pocket money. A terrible drum kit, a three-piece and it was all over the place. I remember driving my parents and the neighbors absolutely nuts for a period, but I kept practicing at least three or four hours a day. I was just about semi-professional, I joined a little blues band called Double Trouble, we went around Dublin, Irel…
…e combinations that sound a bit more clinical, or digitally driven, than a human should sound – check out the title track or “The Republic” for evidence of spots where stronger drumming could have made the other parts a little more energetic and memorable. Maybe it’s a case where more seasoning with this current incarnation of members will pay dividends for the next release. For now, Absolute Darkness in terms of Failure of State is adequate but n…
…er-esque intricacy against Leprous/Tool-ish twists) while closer “The Post Human” settles into a subdued, hypnotic groove template featuring passionate vocal melodies and a driving instrumental sequence. Hopefully their next product is a full-length – as twenty minutes tantalizes and leaves listeners craving more. -Matt Coe Lost Nebula on Facebook Reternity – Cosmic Dreams (MDD Records) Delivering a third studio album in five years, it’s evident G…
…finances, we likely wouldn’t have these issues we are baffled with today. Human intellect could be running out so either way the solutions for a better world could lead anyway to the end. One thing I would concentrate on is getting the real people on the right job. Mental health is a real thing and personality disorders could have a strong link to many issues the world has to encounter today. There are too many things already fucked up so badly t…
…e harsh voices, the latter tackling the clean aspects. Their axe interplay runs all over the map – crunchy and technical when necessary, plus heavy or melodic at the drop of a proper transitional movement. A circular, exotic-laden riff before the shred-worthy lead break puts “Helios Abandoned” near the forefront of early favorite, containing a lot of early Vektor and Voivod-ish atmosphere when it comes to the progressive shifts and intricacies, ev…
…Dobber about this personal question. In my twenties I spent a lot of time running from myself and running from my problems. Things weren’t going right, and if I was overwhelmed, I would turn my life on a head. Break up with a guy, move to a different city, take up a different job. I would leave things, leave people, and never had to face myself. I met Dobber in my late-twenties, I settled down in a sense, settling down in him and within our relat…
…lot about humanity, mankind, and the bloodshed from religion, politicians. Humankind is a self-destructive species, there are so many things that inspired us. Not just today, but among the years. When it comes to history, everywhere man goes there is like a trail of blood, man hasn’t learned from the cultures. Greed is destroying everything. Mortem Solis means the death of the sun, we are talking about the sun being the source of life for us here…
…k half of the arrangement. Are there times where you wish there would be a human drummer to flesh out specific sections of songs to give this even more of a natural touch? Certainly… but the programming does not diminish the professional nature to this record, as Tom’s abilities and comfort for his niche cannot be denied. It’s great to still hear a band like Worwyk executing this style in 2022 – as there is an audience for Dark Embrace, although i…
…wasn’t any of my business or my name either. I’ve done album design, merch design, designed my own t-shirts, my own album covers. Done the whole CD packaging and learned how to do it with Photoshop. Recorded, directed, edited, produced albums, music videos. These days you are kind of expected to do that kind of stuff. It brings up the subject of quality versus quantity. If you want quality, you have to pay for more expensive cameras. Or pay somebo…
…on of two other groups – releasing a series of digital demos plus two EP’s Human Waves and Begin Hate during the 2010’s, setting the stage for their debut album Sociopathology. Due to their diverse outlook, these eight songs combine the energy plus intensity of melodic death and black metal – keeping listeners engaged in a relatively quick hitting affair that gets the job done in a tidy 33 minutes and change. When the group chooses to floor the pr…
…of projects in the end. And Max is quite young still. Rainer studied the drums and is now teaching drums; Max is still learning. He has a sense of juvenile lightness that he brings to the band. And also, he drops the average age (laughs). He is a really good fit; we have in the short time together a real good team building aspect together. He is a fun guy, different than with Rainer but it fits really good now. And we still have contact with Rain…
…in the deep growls from Cameron, and lyrical content surrounding personal human struggles and philosophical thoughts and you have the makings of a final product that seeks to entertain without overwhelming the listener. Tech-death and progressive music isn’t for the faint of heart – Inanimate Existence balance solid musicianship and wow moments with distinct riffs, hooks, and catchy mechanics which is why they are garnering serious attention for…
…hat you discuss lyrically on this record: topics including progressive destruction of the environment, a call for non-violence, worries about humanity and the treatment of the planet, plus the widespread global drug addiction problem. As singers in this platform, what do you hope to achieve that matches the passion of your music through this content? Are you hopeful that this will open more constructive talks with the fans and get them active to s…
…fronts. The combination of rich vocal melodies, supreme positioning of chorus harmonies, plus amazing musicianship moments surrounding strong main riffs, hooks, and transitions come into play from first song to last. Excelling at shifting moods and atmosphere, you’ll feel the uplifting register and heavier to quieter transitions that make “I Carry the Blame” an immediate head turner, while the classically driven piano play from Andreas Söderin sh…
…g-term impact when it comes to your priorities in life? And how do you see humanity in general coming out of this extended downtime – do you believe there will be some serious mental health problems that need to be resolved? Carpenter: Yeah, I think what it’s done is shut everybody down, made them go inside, and made connecting with other people harder. Human beings are social animals, we need to be able to talk to other people, we need that commu…
…o make sure that the songs that we take to the studio sessions were solid true and true. I believe that we had a lot of help from Mikael Neves our producer in the demo versions also. He managed to get the potential out of the songs before we hit the studio. Jesse Elo: With ourselves we started composing the first tracks maybe two years ago and then we went to our rehearsal space for the whole summer, with just ourselves, and we demoed every track…
