…all of 2022 as they prepared to write/record this debut album entitled Born, Suffering, Death. The ten tracks serve up volatile, groove-oriented death ‘n’ roll, lyrically touching upon human social conflict, environmental devastation, and the turbulent life of humans in the current society that should assault all senses in the best way power trios deliver for this genre. The stripped-down nature of the instrumentation beyond the natural, in your f…
…was like you can do anything with this. You can do progressive vocals, funk, pop, to me it was like I could choose so many genres as there are so many aspects to progressive metal. It’s also paradoxical, because when I follow some various Facebook forums there are so many generations. If you go back to the early 60’s and 70’s progressive rock bands, some fans of those genres won’t even recognize progressive metal as a genre. And then progressive m…
…n’t really get me going. But hey, I guarantee you that someone will be going nuts on release day. So enjoy!! Standout Tracks: “Monstrous”, “Silent Running” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-Rto6DysMo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1ftXDLgxZY Cobrakill on Facebook…
…arrived in the malevolent form of Cerebral Purgatory. Resin Tomb’s chaotic, no compromises style immediately reminds of Gravesend, whose latest Gowanus Death Stomp has a similar to-the-point feel, though Resin Tomb isn’t as grind-oriented. Vermin Womb is another apt comparison overall, along with the likes of black/death merchants Ruin Lust. The massacre commences with the tightly wound “Dysphoria” and its meticulous riffs, black metal inspired l…
…eration clamoring for something they can hold onto. Hailing from Manchester, England, the quintet has released a few EPs plus a full-length Bang to Rights in preparation for the latest EP Warriors of Madness. At three tracks in just under 13 minutes, the execution of bluesy based hard rock/metal possesses numerous 70’s/early 80’s overtones, steady in its pure attitude through whiskey-soaked vocals, rambunctious guitars, and four on the floor rhyth…
…roject will be what it is. And that’s how I would characterize Dissimulator, compared to Sutrah for example – the songwriting is free flow, let it happen. When in doubt, I just go with it. Dead Rhetoric: What do enjoy most about the power trio format for this lineup? Leduc: That’s a good question, actually. It wasn’t super conscious, just having this as a trio. I get along with Antoine (Daigneault) and Phil a lot. The way that Antoine plays and hi…
…c was the biggest and most powerful thing in my musical career. Getting to write, record, perform and tour the world with three of my best friends who also happened to be amazingly talented and like-minded individuals shapes me into the person I am today. Dead Rhetoric: What’s on the horizon for anything related to Domination Campaign, Psycroptic or other band/side activities over the next year or so? Peppiatt: Hopefully we should be looking at do…
…… I don’t know. We were pretty well-prepared with everything that we demoed, we write things down with sheet music too. We know what we are going to do when we get there. It makes the process go a little faster. Dead Rhetoric: And when it came to the singles and videos, were these easy choices to figure out what you were going to premiere from the record? How do you feel about visual mediums and their use through social media platforms these days?…
…y “The Descent to Hell is Easy”) may be the most disquieting entry on offer, comprised of vocalizations that snarl into your psyche and a ritualistic rhythmic sense that pulsates into oblivion. The descriptor of dissonant death metal has many forms and nuances; none of which are particularly easy to write and execute to a satisfying degree. Bands who do get it right are particularly satisfying, and Saevus Finis lands definitively within that categ…
…h four of your best friends, and that’s very important for me. To feel safe, comfortable, and we all know that everyone is doing their best at that time. I think that’s a nice thing about this group. Premberg: Totally agree! It’s also so much fun to meet the fans. Standing on the stage and being able to meet their eyes, or even meeting up and talking after the show. It’s really nice. Dead Rhetoric: With your sound, I imagine its pretty easy to get…
…with another one of my bands called Post Ghosts and, after some adjustments, completed the Away from Light lineup (me, Gianluca, Alessio Reggi/guitar, Marco Paparella/guitar and violin, Riccardo Ponzi/bass, Flavio Castagnoli/drums). I wrote most of the tracks for the album Away from Light that found its final form with the contribution of all the band members. The same happened for AbyssUs and probably will happen for the next ones. About the proc…
…their sound, they really stand out more effectively on this album. “Dragon, Fly Free” first demonstrates this with a strong folk sense added into their flashy melodic death metal riffage and a soaring chorus that urges a sing-a-long. The songs with Matthew Heafy in the mix offer more of a change-up as well, particularly standout “The Rainbow Song,” which jettisons harsh vocals entirely, shifting more into a glorious, jovial power metal track that…
…songs that we covered – we put more thought into that this time. As a songwriter, it was hard because we didn’t have references from the first album. So it was like starting something totally new. Sometimes when you have all the options, it makes it harder because you are wondering how to even start [laughs]. Comparing our original songs to pop/hits that are well known and have been successful meant that they had to be good. It has to be as good…
…that are well plotted, and even some occasional doom elements for emphasis, combining to form a record the listener doesn’t forget. “The Black Oak” is a fitting track to pluck out, boasting sweeping melodies and mesmerizing guitar work that will engrave upon your psyche. 5. 71TonMan – Conquest (from Of End Times) Heavy in both name and sound, Poland’s 71TonMan is proof of how mind-bendingly massive sludged up doom can be. With their third album O…
…just slightly… I wouldn’t say that Striker has changed our sound that much, compared to some bands. We played our first show in Germany, we had released our first album Eyes in the Night, and I had a guy come up to me and say he liked the singing on the Road Warrior EP better because I had a raspier voice on that. Dude, I just didn’t know how to sing, that’s why it sounds like that, because I was blowing my voice out all the time. On this album,…
…dose of The Great Cold Distance via live staple “July” is always always welcome, along with “Journey Through Pressure” to wrap up the pre-encore presentation. Katatonia had a strong finish planned, with the guitar heavy “Behind the Blood” infusing plenty of energy to get over the line. Crowd pleasers “My Twin” – which evoked an audience sing-along for the chorus, unsurprisingly – and the brooding “Evidence” left this darkened soul thrilled. Viva E…
…nto a bit of a rut with the sound from the last two EPs. I had just written, for fun, this little demo that was basically Strapping Young Lad worship. I thought “well… maybe? Maybe we could try Nina’s vocals on this. Don’t know if it will work, but…” and then two months later we had it recorded and it sounded very, very good. So, I wrote a whole album in this vein. My goal with this latest set of songs is to try and create our own little niche wit…
…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 split between her and me, she does most of the lyrics nowadays. There are a couple of lyrics on the new album that are mine, and we collaborated together on a couple o…
…rij, the drummer from Cryptosis, the thrash metal band from the Netherlands, helped us and did a hell of a job. He had to record it in his own studio, we couldn’t bring him to a very good studio because everything was closed, everything was in lockdown. We recorded this album at the end of the pandemic where it wasn’t as much of an issue. The process was pretty much the same. We recorded the guitars and bass and home. We do the reamping in the stu…
…into something more than fans of either could have expected. It’s beautiful, haunting, and adrenaline-pumping at various moments – the sort of thing that leaves you exhilarated to see how it all comes together. All in all, it’s simply spectacular to absorb. Even if you haven’t heard of Himari, if you enjoy metal that moves in directions that buck the norm, Isiliel should be on your short list of groups to check out. 1. Hanabie. – Raise wa Ijin! (S…
…r “Strangle Your Life.” If you are wondering where the blackened sprinkles come in, be sure to check out “Tribadism,” where the blasting drums hit with more buzzing riffs and tremolo-esque melodies that twist around the chorus. Falling into that category of ‘I can’t believe it’s one person,’ Bloody Cumshot deliver an explosive dose of Gothenburg-styled melodies updated to modern times that’s sure to win any genre fans over. As a second effort, Def…
…ellana was unable to make this tour, with Kurtis Layne stepping in late to help, ultimately making their partaking in the tour possible, as stated on stage by Badini. Opening with the massive “Tormented by Atrocities,” Castrator cut deep right from the onset, quickly inspiring a pit to open up, with the crowd eating up every note. “Forsaken and Deprived” followed, upping the tempo further, with the crowd at this point whipped up into an impressive…
…shuffled through, but the strong combination of heavy metal with symphonic, gothic, and orchestral elements continues in this final album of the latest trilogy Leviathan III. Jumping over to Napalm Records can be a bold move when the previous installments over the past two years came out under the Nuclear Blast fold – but those who have always had a hankering for the broad, theatrical nature to the performances and compositions will be very appea…
…ng into next year. Dead Rhetoric: Chapter VIII is the latest Axenstar album, coming out four years after End of All Hope. How do you feel the songwriting and recording sessions went for this set of material – and did the prolonged down time due to the global pandemic allow you and the band to really dig deeper into the finer details of this record? Magnus Winterwild: Well, after the last album there’s always a bit of a gap I guess where we don’t w…
…ell and Second Attack on Mausoleum Records. The group under inspection here, however, has been together since 2012, hails from Dublin, Ireland, and released the Bound in Skin EP in 2018 plus a series of singles leading up to this debut album Switch to Reset. Sharing the stage with artists locally and nationally such as Exhorder, Lost Society, Gama Bomb, and Xentrix, it’s obvious that thrash metal is the style of choice here – a crunchy, riff-based…
…ooler older brother type figure in some ways. Doing whatever he wants to do, writing hundreds and hundreds of kick ass rock and roll songs over the course of his life. Adam Neal of the Hookers, Savage Master, has also been a cooler older brother figure to me. I have an actual cooler older brother who is an inspirational figure. As kids, he was interested in film, amateur film making, and special effects things. When he was a teenager, I was still…
…with guitars and drums on it, it gives me the time to listen to it anywhere, come up with ideas and take my time at home to record the vocals I’d like to see. I think a lot of bands are doing the same thing. John: A lot more bands are doing this – and it’s a way more efficient use of time. The demos are better. Hashing out things in the rehearsal room is cool, but to be honest sometimes it can get frustrating if you can’t hear a song clearly. When…
…e with my past bands, so I would like to talk about that. On the other hand, writing riffs on guitar is something which I think I’m good at, so I like to spend some time finding new ideas. Simonelli: There is no playing live unless there is a recording. Recording is a huge work that sometimes needs time and patience, especially if we are talking about re-amping and mixing to find the settings we need. But playing live is where you harvest the frui…
…are preventing you from getting there? I think the song “The Closest I’ve Come,” the song with no lyrics, sums that up pretty well. It’s almost like you are never getting there – it’s like you can only see that point in the distance. You get to that point without realizing it and you still aren’t where you want to be. That’s all very inner-focused – it’s ‘you and your stuff.’ This record, I think part of it was us being a little older, but also s…
…Argentina in the 2000’s, they would relocate to Finland, switch out members, also becoming the first band from Argentina to play the infamous Wacken Open Air festival. Independently releasing their first three albums, they’ve been a part of the Trollzorn Records roster since their fifth studio record Legacy of Blood in 2016. Seven years later we have the follow-up for Bruadarach – as the quintet infuses power metal with obvious Celtic/folk texture…
