…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…
…, the band explores moodier, epic angles for the almost ten-minute closer “War of the Ages”. This song featuring at times calmer, clean voices, doom-like riffs, a lengthy instrumental sequence that shifts between crunchy guitar harmonies and pounding rhythm section mechanics as well as a finishing, hypnotic musical sequence that reaches a peak to fade out into oblivion – it’s a versatile effort that hopefully these musicians will engage in on futu…
…cts. We viewed this record as an opportunity to firm that stuff up and really apply cinematic moods and instrumentation in the presentation of it – to make those elements more of a defining feature. Having this short film experience, in a track that really is so about the mood and scoring of it. You don’t hear drums for like 5-minutes! So that was a big part of the driving motivation – to have something out in that time period that suited the musi…
…kfully the organic nature to the tones and production gives the material a bit more warmth – incorporating aspects of older Blind Guardian for “As We Fight” just as easily as the militant march components of say a Scottish-oriented Sabaton during the 6:26 “Proud to Defend”, although vocally Paolo Ribaldini possesses a bit more of a comforting, bard-like lilt to his delivery. The symbiotic relationship between classic power metal and folk/Celtic st…
…o and cleaner guitar passages within “Letters of Life” allow Sandro to really belt out the melodies in his best light – the man certainly has aspects of Bruce Dickinson and Geoff Tate within his wheelhouse, capable of rearing back for that key money note signature to mesmerize when need be. The additional sound effects, be it dragon sounds or synthwave spots never deter from the metal proceedings – they only add dynamic contrasts to color the song…
…ry important. The video director understands where we want to go artistically. To me that’s really important, that the vision I have in my head comes out better than I expected. That’s why you have to work with very professional people, because they will translate this even better. We recorded these videos in Berlin, Germany. We recorded a total of three music videos in two days, it was a lot of hard work and a lack of sleep. It was also done in t…
…o their own catchy take while still remembering that there’s metal to be delivered (check out the chugging flow of “The War Within” near the record’s back half). Seeking out Mezzrow guitarist Ronnie Björnström for the mixing/mastering (he’s worked in this capacity for Nightrage and Sorcerer among others) gives the record that extra feather on the cap, crisp while not losing any of the heaviness in terms of the final sonic quality. Axenstar remains…
…n. The sound continues to penetrate a classic thrash template, injecting a bit of power metal to keep things a bit more melodic – pulling from a host of Bay Area / North American influences, while the vocals possess that sharp raspy edge that pushes the larynx to the bring of destruction. The guitar work from Chris Ira contains solid rhythm mechanics as well as fluid, thrilling lead break spots – molding cuts like “Die Alone” and “March of the Dam…
…the beating cardiac muscle right out of your chest and stomps at it furiously. It’s a perfect ending to an equally beautiful and monstrous album made by two of the most prolific and soul-crushing bands today. My only slight gripe about this record is that we didn’t get a Dylan Walker-Domenic Palermo vocal match-up. I wouldn’t miss a potentially harmonic pairing of Full of Hell’s Gollum shrieks and Nothing’s depressed whispers for the world. Here’s…
…lar batch of tracks if you are familiar with what she did for Score. The only real difference here is the breadth of songs that are in this collection – she’s effectively turned more ‘poppy’ Christmas tracks into Tim Burton-esque gothic wonderlands. The set-up works, so why bother to change it up – Tarja avoided the goofy, over-the-top feeling that many ‘metal Christmas’ releases go for last time, and she does so here as well. Certainly there’s so…
…ly raspy decadence, straddling the 80’s hard rock to metal/thrash lines (a bit Chuck Billy here, some Blackie Lawless there). The restraint instrumentally allows the heads down metal mainframe aspects to hit with that much harder impact – check out the crunchy attack during “Behind the Eyes of Evil”, the triplet/groove sections giving off an early “For Whom the Bell Tolls” vibe in sections. The record closes on a harmony-fueled note with the seven…
…ustice, imperialism, and the degradation of the human condition because of war on the lyrical front, the sheer musicianship on hand as well as soaring vocal presence makes for ideal, memorable tracks throughout this eight-song effort (nine if you choose to get the CD edition). Spirited bursts of galloping riffs next to twin-guitar harmonies allow for cultural, instantaneous passages to latch onto, especially familiar to those into the classic work…
…Bones”, where vocalist Arde Teronen flexes some of his gritty textures in bluesy Paul Shortino measures. When the older acts finally retire to pasture, bands like Temple Balls are more than capable to take on the baton to keep melodic, good-time hard rock/metal alive thanks to tremendous releases such as Avalanche. They only need a willing audience to open some minds, as the conviction, talent, and proper professional output is already in place. h…
…ayed a song in the rehearsal room, did a quick thing. Then we got a little bit more serious, recorded it for real. We voted very democratically on the covers. Everyone chose like ten songs – and then everybody voted. I didn’t have any songs on the list (laughs). I would have picked pop songs or something that wasn’t metal. But I think it was the right decision to choose these songs. Dead Rhetoric: In the background information for the newest album…
…nts of the title track and do not relent through the battle-tested closer “War Chant”. Stewart’s exemplary double kick prowess beyond his thunderous main tempo and galvanizing fill duties register at peak levels to those who appreciate the intensity and thorough knowledge of the genre at hand – even when slowing down in sections of “Choirs of Anguish”, there are bursts of BPM madness matching the tremolo-fueled musical underpinning. The versatilit…
…and he just nailed it. He got the idea of where I was trying to come from lyrically. The guy is blind, he doesn’t want to see anything anymore, the world is collapsing around him. He’s had enough, at the end of his rope, that’s the central theme of what’s going on in there. Dead Rhetoric: You mention in the background information for the record that Prong has always been a genre-transcending band that ignores what’s going on in current times. Do…
…ever written, so selfishly I thought it was the ideal track to lead with. Lyrically, I wrote that song kind of… you ever watch The Righteous Gemstones? (laughs) I love watching these crazy televangelists. Paraplegics jumping out of wheelchairs, the blind men who can suddenly see, the ridiculous things that people believe in. I had the title “Miracle Broker” before I had any of the lyrics. I keep a word document in my phone, and “Miracle Broker” c…
…to an almost hour-long aural deep dive that may take numerous passes to fully appreciate. Early on the twin rhythm barrage along with the relentless double kick mechanics deliver tremendous downtuned thrust to the musical foundation – its where the heaviest parts of “Dying Universe” and “Blackhole” make you think of early to mid-90’s efforts from Iced Earth, Nevermore, and offshoots in that power/thrash realm where thick triplets or tremendous pic…
…mention a nice introduction to the band for many), there’s something equally thrilling to see Bleed Out essentially focused on the band themselves. This release seems to culminate the shape-shifting nature of the act away from their very symphonic metal origins into something that’s entirely modern in sound. Starting off in heavy fashion, “We Go to War” marks a thrilling start to the album, with thunderous drumming and an epic choir of synths. de…
…ets and what Earth could be in the future. So we finished shaping, especially the lyrics, but everything throughout the record is saying something; one of the groups in the story is conveying the positivity of a moment or the downfall of a moment. It’s kicking around a lot of ideas and over COVID as well. But it took a couple of years and pretty much started right away in 2017. Dead Rhetoric: Well, I have to ask, what is your favorite Star Trek? I…
…his is so natural that it took us aback in a positive way. Murderous sound bites/news clips are combined with clean guitars to form an ominous slow introduction on “Relentless Infights,” before the tempo explodes into action violently with little regard for anything in its path. An equally measured, but more melancholic start befalls “Holier Than You,” which includes creepy pianos and female operatic singing – unsure of who said singer is – to lul…
…os between 2008-2013 before Witches Brew released their debut album Mother War in 2015. Moving forward to Great Dane Records for the self-titled follow-up in the summer of 2020, we’ve now arrived at the third album in Silo – the quintet issuing a platter chock full of groove, brutal mid-tempo riffs, and this impending atmosphere of doom/gloom that recalls classic Obituary, Bolt Thrower, and the early importance of Six Feet Under. Rare is the day t…
…owls, the extreme vocals, the low vocals. I had to learn how to sing properly – not only in the low voices, because Nervosa is historically thrash metal, we have high and medium voices. The low vocals were necessary, but not the main thing. So then I called one of my best friends, Mayara Puertas. She is one of my favorite singers ever, and she’s also a very close friend. She was teaching me how to discover my skills in the vocal parts – teaching m…
…t they could, “do some choreography.” Duarte takes things a step further, slyly goading Castillo directly, “we could do the Demi Lovato rock song but actually make it rock, like you were saying.” A flustered but amused Castillo fires back, “Yeah, like I was saying…behind closed doors,” as she gets thrown in front of the metaphorical bus. Laughter continues to be the theme of the day, and Castillo admits to being a huge fan of Lovato, graciously de…
…Has it always been important to match the intensity of the music with equally intense, extreme lyrics – and do you receive positive feedback from the fan base that these songs help them get through tough times in their lives? Cameron: I like the range he pulls from. A lot of the previous stuff, he dealt a lot with heartbreak and relationship-type stuff. It doesn’t all to have to be the death metal stuff – and we do have some tracks on there too. I…
…c recruited psychologist friend Dr. Frank Albers to write some interesting lyrical topics together, including serial killers with “Trophies” and “The Ultimate Sin”, Satan for “Desert of Doom”, as well as war and cannibalism. Jacob’s production skills keep Ashinhell’s sound balanced between brutality and clarity – similar to what we’ve heard on the early 90’s Death efforts going head-to-head with current Carcass. Let’s hope that Impii Hora is not a…
…r coming up with Paradise Lost in Europe. And then we are playing next year the Maryland Death Fest, we will come over for a week and do some US shows, the first time in a long time. Thankfully some decent news to come play in America. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5poXFWbKkHY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxeZbd2QbAw Primordial on Facebook…
…lk metal fare. Instead, the fog-riddled mystique gives the track a certain warmth to it, particularly when Zora’s swirling vocals hit the chorus complete with chugging riffs and Celtic accompanies the ending. “Spirit of Forgetfulness” follows, which showcases some of the most massive orchestrations that the band has done – the chorus sounds entirely unreal as it builds into this massive, soaring theatrical piece that is also bound to stick in your…
