…I started getting into music, I was into the shock rock bands: Alice Cooper, Kiss, W.A.S.P. Those are musicians who have an amazing presence, they are very visual. It was a very big subject to give a good performance back in the 80’s. In Cobra Spell, the visual experience matters, and of course the cover of the album has to visualize these subjects. Women riding the devil possessed by a cobra? I wanted to do this, to have women in control and show…
…nal Day it’s a collection of songs when they were ready, they were released, compared to this new album telling a bit of a story. Mäenpää: We have to record separately because the drummer, singer, and the other guitar player live in different cities. We only have six months to write the songs, because the deadline was the end of last year. We didn’t have that much time, so we had to record the album quickly. Dead Rhetoric: You shot videos for “Lea…
…d how the two play. It can be very aggressive, and it can be very beautiful, sad, depressing even. It’s the emotional form of extreme metal, a lot of feelings there. And that’s what I like about it and try to put it through my own songwriting. Not only that, honestly, I didn’t start the band to specifically to do this subgenre. I wanted to write stuff that I liked. The doom stuff, big choruses about these other bands, and make that meld into the s…
…eographer and dance instructor [Wako].” With Himari doing all of the lyrics, it becomes more of a collaborative effort. “Whenever I am talking to the choreographer about the type of choreography for the song, I’ll discuss the backstory and in this part of a song, this is the overall image or sort of feeling I am trying to portray.” “For example, [one part] could be a very beautiful, lovely part of a song, a different part might feel like a princes…
…ay humming/singing specific songs or melodies instantly. Earthlings should be the start of an interesting journey to worldwide appeal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTx1pRzkrcg Coven Japan on Facebook…
…ngs more noticeable. I think that’s what you can find in A Dark Reborn song, coming from a very melodic death part to a pop chorus, or from a breakdown to a drum and bass rhythm. We like to not close ourselves off to experiment with the music and that makes us create our own melodic death metal (sound). And all the songs have had their process of maturation and composition more or less equally, if there is a chorus that came to us very clear, or a…
…s the globe in support of it throughout the last six months, hitting Europe, Thailand, and a few shows in her homeland of Japan. As the last leg of her 2023 world tour for Moonbow Genesis, she stuck around in the States following a performance at Northwest Idol Festival in October (she also played Anime Expo in July) and added a few one-off dates. This included her first trip to the east coast for one night in Philadelphia. Given how enthralled I’…
…hts on the new record, how Soren Andersen was complementary as the producer, songwriter, guitarist companion who believed in his talent, how being in an Iron Maiden tribute band plus his time in Tainted Lady shaped his vocal technique, memories surrounding Kip Winger that led to an unbelievable concert experience, plus what the future holds following the album’s release. Dead Rhetoric: What are your earliest memories surrounding music growing up i…
…p referencing our own music, we just know (what to do). When we write music, it comes out naturally. When we venture into new territories, it’s always informed by what we were before, and what we’ve always been. Dead Rhetoric: Has there ever been a favorite failure in your musical career, where when you look back it actually set you up for a future breakthrough or success? Bittencourt: When Andre Matos left, and we regrouped with new members to wr…
…n with in the underground. More partnerships came to fruition with The Body, Health, Primitive Man, and their most unlikely sonic co-architects yet, Nothing. Full of Nothing materialized from a shirt released to benefit organizations supporting BLM back in 2020. Roadburn called next, and a special set featuring both bands under the same moniker graced the stage and the 20-minute set offered an embryonic peek at what they cooked together. When No B…
…th love. I just want them to know that they are loved. There’s so much hate, hurt, and garbage in this world. I’m sick and tired of it. That’s our main purpose. I want people to know that they are not alone and are loved. I think that’s the most important thing for people to know right now in the midst of everything going on at the moment. It’s just insane! The whole world is just in chaos. We all need to be there for one another, we need to know…
…lishes, the group will be disbanded, but with their recently released album, ∄, it seems it would be a pity not to include them. Big, chunky grooves, soaring hooks and vocal lines (and of course, some electronics meandering into the mix) – it’s a great note for the group to go out on. Hopefully the members will go onto other projects. Zsasz on X/Twitter Zsasz on Instagram https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANgYDbW8x4w Bonus: Anime Idol-related conten…
…extent on this new record through some Midjourney illustrations? Myers: Ah, yes, I touched on this in my previous response, but I’ve been looking for ways that I can add AI to my palette as another tool of expression. I don’t see it as a crutch or as evil. It enabled me to create and produce far more detailed artwork within the CD booklet, for example. Some might say that this sort of AI is taking work away from human illustrators, but in this ca…
…tant in the current metal scene compared to the work of artists in the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s? Batres: Yeah, he was great. We’ve been so lucky to work with some of the best artists in the metal artwork scene. We’ve worked with Ed Repka, the late Ken Kelly who worked on the second record, and now Andreas. We sort of gave him a concept but then he put his own twist into the concept. We are huge power metal fans, and Blind Guardian is one of those expo…
…al,’ but living life the way you want is more or less the heavy metal ethos,, and these five ladies have that glowing mentality in copious amounts. Hopefully the west coast treats them just as well, encouraging them to make a return trip. But for now, this is a yet another absolutely cherished memory for fall 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pZziudI7GU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzVYKo-N_lM Neo Japonism official website Neo Japonism on…
…e my time. Georg suggested that Marco had interest to become a sixth member, helping us with the live situation as we would always have one guitar player. We know that it’s also working to write songs for us, this package helps us a lot. The whole sound, he’s not changing it, he’s just stepping into the path we already made with all the Serenity albums before. We know since Georg and I have been the main songwriters since Codex Atlanticus, we know…
…ck to that early 80’s traditional, NWOBHM atmosphere – when early Holocaust, Satan, Warlord, or others in that element came to prominence. The addition of keyboards makes “Wake Up” a mid-album standout, working as a push/pull accent to the darker, menacing riffs and pounding drum passages, the lead break firing off some interesting effects next to a memorable melodic undercurrent. Epic/cultural textures also feature themselves in a Running Wild/ J…
…h have really high singing voice. Dead Rhetoric: The upcoming tour is named, ‘Come get killed by Dying Wish.’What’s important in getting the crowd into the music in the live arena? Boster: I just think we go out there and give 100% all the time. We have so much energy. I think one thing I wanted to accomplish with our shows was to make a community vibe where everyone feels welcome. You can be whomever, doing whatever, however you connect with the…
…the first selection, I know what to start working on. With most people who write, the ideas may not even be that thing that was the initial spark. Then the song develops from there. Just to have something that gets you excited, working on it. For me, it’s often a groove, or just a drum groove, a tempo, a feeling, or some type of riff. Dead Rhetoric: Were there certain songs this time that took more time to develop compared to others? Niemann: Yeah…
…ical singing has been around for hundreds of years. This sort of more metal, pop, or belting style has not. The healthy techniques are involved with both (approaches), it’s easier to access what you need to access in the classical genre first. I get more metal students, and they don’t realize that yet. I bring them back to singing healthy, and to have longevity, we need to start back here first. It can be slightly frustrating, but it is what it is…
…stage presence is also up there with any vocalist going within heavy music, commandingly orchestrating the band’s mix of blackened death metal and post metal intricacy. Lead guitarist Tony Thomas is quite the fretboard master, as his leads and tremolos tear through the mix, while Ian Baker brings the lead guitar crunch that’s so integral to their sound. Cuts from their latest included the frenetic yet melodic “Testudines,” which is a song that sh…
…to do a double album. The record company said no – ten songs are enough. No, no, not for me. The last time I did a double album for Forever Warriors, Forever United. It’s my 40th anniversary coming up, I want to give the people all I’ve got. We even had more songs, it was sad that I had to pick and choose because I can’t have five anthems, five ballads, or too many fast songs – you always have to try and have a good balance. I wanted the album to…
…t like to have an individual like Jarvis now on bass who has such a passion, commitment, and fire for your work – beyond what he has established with Night Demon and as your manager? Garven: If it wasn’t for him, we definitely wouldn’t have gotten back together. He put on a show here in our hometown, the Frost and Fire festival, people came from all over the world. He wanted us to get back together and play – we said no, we are too old, we broke u…
…ork. Cleansing, a lot of that record was written in my bathroom in Brooklyn, coming up with riffs there as I had a Tascam recorder. This one is in my new apartment, I moved in with my family before we moved into a house. I set up a laptop in my son’s bedroom, busted out some riffs while he was in daycare. That’s the big throwback that happened with this record. This one is a little different, because I wrote everything myself. The last couple of r…
…o them as the grooves roll along. “Wheel of Torture” is another groove-fest, complete with bouncy riffs that you just can’t help but move around too – this has been one of Endseeker’s strong points for many years and they continue to find new ways to exploit it with refined songwriting. On the other hand though, they know how to lay out a pounding when they want, as “Our Only Life” grinds its way through as the shortest track of the bunch. Endseek…
…the tours we lost started to blow over, I had nothing to do but write songs, write riffs. Blaine and I spent countless hours just holed up in his house working on new songs, working on ideas. Murphy would join us. Sometimes all five of us would cram into Blaine’s studio and write. The songs were allowed the time they needed to become better developed songs. Unlike previous albums, the songs are shorter, there’s not a whole lot of fat or screwing a…
…. Moments of gentle melodies, such as the beginning to “Embodiment of Grief,” help to keep things from getting too one-note, as do the noodling ones later on in the song. But it’s the final track that really shows the band flexing some surprisingly muscles in “Leper.” While it stays in line with the scorching assault of the previous tracks, there’s a level of underlying melody to the madness that really stands out over the course of the 5-minute t…
…u put the contrast up to 100%. I feel like that’s how it is with this album, compared to our previous releases. I think it’s less subtle. The heavy songs are heavier and more direct, and the soft songs are even more atmospheric and soft. It’s the first time we have released a song with no screamed vocals on it, with “How to Swim Down.” This album also sees the introduction of violin as well on that song. I felt like we really pushed ourselves as p…
…de things a little easier for myself with this record. It’s a bit weightier, fun, and chuggy, but I don’t want to leave behind that technical stuff. We are always going to have that, and we may get more technical again. Dead Rhetoric: Where is your stance on technique versus catchiness and feel when it comes to your guitar playing? Middleton: I think so. I’ve always put the song first, even on our more technical albums I’d always try to make thing…
…Beyond Creation is the dream for me. I heard that first album a decade ago, completely changed the way that I thought about bass and everything. Musically, they’re amazing. They have three albums. I think they’re all perfect. One of my favorite bands ever; that would be the dream. Dead Rhetoric: What’s next for you all after this tour and is there anything else you’d like to add before we wrap up? Shifflet: We’re about to hit this, something that…
