…, 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 face tones / production atmosphere gives the material this plug in to play attitude tha…
…n’t that technical of a guitarist. I knew what limitations I had both vocally and musically at the time. This sounds like me, and that was very clear, but it has changed through the years from the band it was then to the band we are now. I’ve developed myself as a musician. Dead Rhetoric: The Path of Decoherence is the latest studio album for the band. What can you tell us about the songwriting and recording sessions for this effort? Where do you…
…eed to find some time and inspiration to finish up. The web of projects and bands we are related to, I can only speak for myself – Phil and Antonie have a lot of stuff on the side. We are definitely trying to see where we can take Dissimulator in terms of live shows. It’s a bit of a challenge, to put together something cohesive in terms of a full lineup. Not a lot of people are playing this style. Make more tech thrash bands! https://www.youtube.c…
…resentation – they immediately piqued the ear, and to that point, we had only really listened to them in passing. Well, a deep dive into their discography later, and we were sold. Seeing them live in 2019 was cathartic, and there they announced Rise Radiant along with a return for a tour the next year. Well, yeah, we know what happened next. This past year’s return to ProgPower was just as memorable, though they once again tempted fate by announci…
…“Outer Worlds” and the chorus is a definite ‘sing-a-long,’ though admittedly “In My Dreams” takes the award for the strongest ‘sing-a-long’ with it’s ballad-y approach and potent use of Erica Ohlsson’s charismatic vocals. Those interested in the high-energy driving tempo showcases the band is known for should be quite happy as well. “Cyberdome” is an all-out romp of energy and fun, from it’s big synth section to the stomping riffs and soaring mel…
…Jason to discuss the major differences between the two albums to date, his war-themed lyrical content, his development as a musician through the work of Psycroptic and this outfit, his views on the current state of death metal, a pivotal moment in his musical development, plus future plans including some other black metal-oriented work to look forward to. Dead Rhetoric: The second Domination Campaign album is A Storm of Steel. Tell us about the re…
…Ouroarboros is an interesting one, taking old songs and giving them not only English lyrics but entirely reworking them. The songs are still recognizable, but this far from a case of a mere re-recording of older tracks. With that fresh imbuing of mostly new members singing, the reworked arrangements, and English lyrics, it gives more than enough reason for older fans to revisit the group’s rebirth, as well as an excellent starting point for newco…
…r lets up. Elsewhere “Thulsa Doom” invites you on a slow yet epic journey not for the faint of heart, and that is in no way a bad thing. Closer “Live to Die” ticks all the metal boxes and will have many heads a-banging for sure. All told The Fallen is a rather enjoyable, if occasionally cliched metal affair. That’s really not a problem, but it does get a little old after a while. But hey, plug in and rock 80’s style to your hearts content, I alway…
…we did more experimenting, which I thought was really cool. Dead Rhetoric: Lyrically this record conveys the character of The Dreamer that you developed on the previous record, in the period of what happens beyond death. Where did you draw for inspiration for the storyline, and is it equally challenging to engage the right atmosphere and tone to match the musical themes with the lyrics? Olson: I guess. It’s sort of something that I’ve always thoug…
…he response has been good. Premberg: The presale started for the album really early, because we started releasing singles before the album, like “Take My Hand” and “Hurricane.” They were meant to be songs between albums, but now they are bonus tracks on the new album. But we want to be continuously releasing singles. You know how the algorithm works on YouTube and Spotify and all that – we have to have new music out all the time. I think that labe…
…know, I’ve seen it coming, I knew it, but I am starting to see the Matrix alive, and I definitely don’t like it. I don’t want to be in a world where reality is hard to define and where discerning truth from lie is our fucking day job. Life is about sharing feelings and connections and, if we lose it, what does our lives amount to? The best change for the greater good of all would be in the direction of feelings but I don’t know if we are losing th…
…usion. This album is a challenging listen, but those up to it will absolutely reap the rewards. Intense, sullen, and immersive, Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze have no doubt realized much of their seemingly limitless potential. Their stance against fascist ideologies is a poignant and timely one that raises the stakes of the band’s lyrical content, fitting well within the complexities of their musical endeavors. Altogether, what they provide is a raw…
…o sharing the new singles, especially the new original songs. We can’t really share any live plans yet. We are kind of waiting on the reaction from the people. On the label side, they are waiting on those reactions to see how people like the new original songs and the second album. I hope we will be able to play live and that there are requests from people for us to play at different festivals. Or maybe a small tour to keep it special and exclusiv…
…ghts. Layers of orchestration, piano, and keyboard parts push the ballad “Fly, Icarus Fly” into theatrical landscapes, Peer Johnasson using every ounce of his gritty pipes to the max, similar in some respects to the attitude of Udo Dirkschneider next to the metal / hard rock registers of Jorn Lande and Rob Halford. Not content to rest on past accomplishments, the quintet explores a bit more modern hard rock/groove context towards the back half of…
…Distance stands tall as leaders on the back of an album that was brilliantly written, ambitious, and executed masterfully to the most minute of detail. From smooth pianos combining with mournful leads, to balanced by crunchy rhythms and thick atmospheres, Air Not Meant for Us has a bit of everything. A true achievement. 4. Cattle Decapitation – Terrasite (Metal Blade Records) San Diego’s prime metal export Cattle Decapitation continues to innovat…
…ackhammer grooves – overall it’s a slower song than the opener, but it really goes all in on delivering more of a murky, haunting atmosphere, particularly at it’s slowest. “Area Code” switches gears to showcase the more frenetic side of the band, also giving vocalist Kevin Muller a greater chance to showcase some massive growls and screams as the band stomps through mostly high-tempo riff-fest that still manages to keep enough hooks in to grab you…
…is the ability to pull off multi-part vocal harmonies, as a band, especially in live settings… Cleary: That’s always been something we love. We love a lot of hair metal – Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, they’ve always had those big vocal harmonies. It’s not a question for us, we have to do this live. We’ve been lucky enough that most of the people we’ve had in the band, they are pretty good singers. Even Pete our bass player, he’s a fantastic singer. At o…
…ns in their titles, while waxing poetic about wild tales of culinary-based lyrics, it unfortunately may lead to a portion of the audience to dismiss them as a bit of a gimmick. But truth be told, At the Plates may have very punny song titles and some crazy yet fun lyrics, Omnivore is a ‘melodic’ death metal release that’s going to start your 2024 off in very satisfying ways. While it’s quite fun to look at the titles, such as “Punish My Waistline”…
…ease. As previously stated, this was our first time seeing Gost, having sadly narrowly missed other opportunities to catch a live set. Gost’s stage presence has changed throughout the years – from a skull mask adorned by a hoodie, to black metal-ish corpse paint – and we were treated to the full skull mask, which was super cool. Thus, we were also treated to varied set from his impressive discography, with songs spanning each full-length, resultin…
…running with it for now). Dead Rhetoric: Where did you want to come across lyrically for this effort? Do you place an equal amount of importance on shaping the melodies/lyrics in a certain way to match or mirror the musical atmosphere present track by track? Bell: Most of the melodies/lyrics were written in this kind of assembly-line fashion AKA melody first, lyrics second. There was some variability but mostly that’s how it came together. A littl…
…e a bit of culture shock and adjustment that had to be made? Zaks: Absolutely. Simply because I didn’t speak the language. When I moved here, I was seventeen. I didn’t study English at school, I studied German. It wasn’t really helping me. Even when I tried to apply some of my German knowledge, it was nonexistent. I had to learn English from scratch. I could start communicating after a year, maybe even longer. It was one of the biggest challenges…
…vocals fit the track like a glove and it’s a real rousing song (particularly having witnessed it in the live setting last month). Isiliel seems to be setting up for an even stronger 2024 if we continue to get gems like this one. (Isiliel official website/Isiliel on X) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZVlg1yYPJo Ketulo “RIOT/Ringside” Continuing strong after this fall’s excellent self-titled 3-song release, Ketulo quickly return with two new songs…
…Whitesnake atmosphere feel that finishes the record in grand style. Probably a record that many ardent followers of the band will treasure more than newcomers – as this is not exactly the style to make consumers want to part with their hard-earned money in a hurry. Silver R.I.S.C may just be happy to be back on the scene – and as such, its not time wasted as this has an interesting melodic hard rock meets AOR in a heavy metal kind of context effo…
…nza: 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 record it in his own studio, we couldn’t bring him to a very good studio because ever…
…d all of the best facets of PassCode and ramps them up to 11. Bouncing and lively synths, clean/harsh vocal dynamics, punchy breakdowns, and a high energy sound that never stops. Each song stands out on its own, really putting the listener through all the motions of wanting to start a mosh pit, happily dance around, or raise your fist, or just enjoy the music happily. 5. Dying Wish – Symptoms of Survival (SharpTone Records) A step-up in every way…
…berate to unfurled ferocity. Fans of either death and/or sludge metal need Warcrab in their lives, with The Howling Silence being further proof of a band who do it better than pretty much everyone else. They’ve gotten more experimental with their songwriting, and the dividends are obvious, resulting in a package that is both cleverly composed and a smashing wooden crab mallet to the exoskeleton. This is the band’s best work to date, and the proof…
…r expanding pit. Vocalist Devin Swank is an imposing presence both physically and audibly, with monstrously deep growls and abundant energy, urging the crowd to slam along. Stringed warriors Ced Davis and Drew Arnold form an imposing duo, along with skin pounder Cody Davidson providing wild rhythmic calamity. The band clearly relish being on stage, and it shows with every note. What was the most noteworthy and viciously amusing moment of the eveni…
…I don’t know what I would do. Try to stop world starvation, first of all. War is really horrible, but to starve to death, it’s nothing you would wish even on your worst enemy. Maybe just take away all the guns, I guess! Dead Rhetoric: What would be some of the best memories over the career of Axenstar? Winterwild: Every time that you do a show in some other country, you meet the people. When they’ve been listening to you for years, that’s always…
…not looking in the right places, or I’m in an older crowd, we were completely unaware, and it was cool. It made us feel old, but in a good way. It’s satisfying to see that the genre has grown and been handed down to new generations. It was cool to play for a crowd who kind of didn’t know High Spirits too, and draw them in. Dead Rhetoric: What’s on the horizon for anything related to High Spirits or Chris Black-related output over the next year or…
…nd layout was a fit as well – in all details! Horrend was recorded absolutely live in three hours, and mixed in less than twenty days! The new album was made in two days, recorded live again, except for the vocals, and mixed in five months! We didn’t sit back. Also, some gigs were performed here and there in Italy and it was amazing! Everything happened so damn quickly, our new label came out at the beginning of this tear, we just signed the deal…
