Varathron - - CD reissues of Greek black metal cult recordings Walpurgisnacht (1995) and The Lament of Gods (1999)

VARATHRON

Walpurgisnacht

vicrecords

1 April 2022

VARATHRON

The Lament of Gods

vicrecords

25 March 2022

These are reissues of the long-running Greek cult black metal band Varathron (1988-present). Walpurgisnacht (1995) was the second album following the 1993 debut full-length that came after a few demos/singles going back to 1989. The Lament of Gods is a 1999 EP, and in this reissue it includes the 1997 demo “Sarmutius Pegorus.” The music at times launches into full-on headbanging speed, but more so on the 1995 album than the 1999 recording, for instance. By 1997 the band has developed the horror-gothic keyboards further and reached a good balance between extreme metal and somber/horror moods. I sometimes get the feeling that these Varathron recordings are, if you are able to imagine it, something like 1984-1986 Celtic Frost covering Mercyful Fate songs with the added element of more prominent keyboards. Does it sound like any of those bands? No, it does not, but repeated listens reveal spots in which you hear the music that influenced them. There are some brief moments in which I feel like, “That could only have from Celtic Frost and nowhere else!”, if you know the context of the time and of Varathron.

Let’s unpack this matter with an example. The Lament of Gods EP has a cover of Mercyful Fate’s 1982 song “Nuns Have No Fun” (which itself sounds like a Judas Priest/Scorpions-based song, with explicit lyrics [and Judas Priest and Scorpions themselves took a lot from Led Zeppelin]). Varathron takes this standard-style heavy rock song, and then adds Greek Orthodox Church choir chanting at the beginning, brings in the heavier tuning and pushes up the keyboards, and then the low-growl scowl extreme vocals. Really, they could have changed the lyrics and called it their own original song, and not many people would have noticed. At the very worst, they, like Metallica, just could have said that they love the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (of which Mercyful Fate was basically part) and that some of their ideas are inspired by those bands. Varathron could have left it at that and said no more about it. Anyway, so it does kind of sound like classic Celtic Frost covering Mercyful Fate. Wait. There’s more because the song is wrapped in that horror movie soundtrack, dark classical music and gothic rock vibe. For instance, somewhere in there in the song, there is a trace of bands like Joy Division, like “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and those keyboards. Those types of keyboards do not come from Judas Priest nor Mercyful Fate. Varathron was getting ideas from other places.

However, then listen to the next song on this Vic Records reissue, namely, “The Grim Palace” (from the 1997 EP), and this is closer to headbanging black metal, a bit like neosymphonic black metal, with a mellow middle segment, and with some blasting, but in the Varathron way. Anyway, so that’s how this band rolls, kind of doing various things at once and turning it into what people call the old-school Greek black metal sound. The recording sound quality is ok, it’s not bad at all, considering the level of technology and resources available to an underground Greek band at that time. In some spots, the drumming sounds fast but stiff, like drum programming. It's also possible that all these recordings have drum programming. It’s not clear from the information available and it’s not like the band wanted to brag about their use of drum machines.

To get the fancy reissues see what Vic Records is doing. The YouTube videos below are here for your information only. The videos do not come from Vic Records.

https://www.vicrecords.com/product/6398204/varathron-walpurgisnacht-jewel-case-re-issue

https://www.vicrecords.com/product/6618684/varathron-the-lament-of-gods

Nuns Have No Fun

Varathron - Walpurgisnacht [ Full-length 1995]

VARATHRON The Lament of Gods - 1999 [FULL ALBUM]

Nasty Bits - old-style heavy metal (Washington state, USA)

Bandcamp and Metal Archives have a 2018 album listed for this hard-rocking heavy metal band in the Seattle area. On their Facebook page it looks like they were playing shows in Washington state around 2019, but it is not clear what is happening now. The album could be of interest to audiences wanting a bit of that old-school, rough sound in heavy metal, perhaps a pre-1983 type of sound.

Nasty Bits by Nasty Bits

https://www.facebook.com/NastyBitsSeattle/

Bludgeoned - brutal death (Washington state, USA)

Metal Archives shows that this brutal death metal project formed in 2018. They did a single in 2019, another single in 2021 and then the EP below in 2021. It is Sean May on guitars (2018-present) (ex-Covidectomy); Jonathan Huber on the growling (2018-present) (ex-I, Detest, ex-I Declare War, ex-Pathology, ex-Aegaeon [live], ex-Whitechapel [live], ex-Figureless Embodiment) and Nikhil Talwalkar on drums (2020-present), who seems to be a drummer-for-hire for projects in the U.S. and abroad. Anyway, this recording is exclusively for fans of the brutal sounds.

Summary Execution by Bludgeoned

https://www.facebook.com/bludgeonedofficial

when Denver death metal came to Everett: Astral Tomb, Insipidus, Cronos Compulsion & Sunshine Lollipop

On Wednesday night March 23rd at Tony V’s Garage in Everett three Denver, Colorado area bands brought their death metal. Cronos Compulsion kicked things off with their old-school death doom. They have their slower moments and they also launch into high speed headbanging segments. Their music overall stays more in the primal, brutal side of things.

Cursed and Decaying by Cronos Compulsion

https://www.facebook.com/cronoscompulsion

Insipidus followed with their guitar-shredding-jamming death metal. The growling and drumming make you think this is death metal, but the guitar is not the normal or expected death metal riffs. Rather, there is a shreddy, jam or solo-mania trait going on that suggests that there are other things happening besides regular death metal. When you hear the music on the recording it already seems like a sound individual to the band, and when you hear it live that is confirmed. It is a bit different, and sometimes it sounds like the guitar goes into its own little world of shredding and soloing, all the while the growling, drums and bass are keeping the main road of the rhythm steady so that listener does not lose track. The band played its own material, and also did at least three covers: Deicide, Sepultura and Death.

https://www.facebook.com/insipidusband

INSIPIDUS Banal Apathy — Demo by Insipidus

The third band was Sunshine Lollipop from Washington state. This is a band obsessed with destroying and ridiculing music as we know it. Their positive-mind grind songs last anywhere from one to 30 seconds. They say that their lyrics are all about happiness, and they even played a birthday song for a man that said it was his birthday. The band told him that they loved him, and the strange man revealed that he had lied to all of us and it was not really his birthday, and so we grabbed objects to throw to the stranger because of how furious we felt at being lied to at a metal show. Just kidding. We did not assault the stranger. That would violate the rules of Sunshine Lollipop.

This band also played a longer song that could have lasted up to two minutes, which felt like an eternity. I sensed that they were mocking the laziness of doom bands’ one-note boring super long songs of nothing-happening. The band, I believe, likes to play short songs because they love it when people clap every few seconds, which is what happened on this night. So many short songs (maybe 25?!), and people clapped. A lot. A whole lot. The drummer, Scott Sandefur (formerly of death metal monkey wrench wielders Born Without Blood, and he’s also like in a dozen other bands of all genres), told me that they are not on social media yet and they have not published any music. This was their first show; and I was there to witness it. You were not. So sad for you.

Astral Tomb closed with their “cosmic death metal,” which is another way of saying psychedelic death metal. Imagine a bunch of hippies (into Cream, Blue Cheer, Iron Butterfly, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Mountain, Black Sabbath, Sir Lord Baltimore, Uriah Heep and all that expansive heaviness) teleported to 2022 and discovering that they like the heaviness and brutality of death metal but want to keep the adventurous spirit of Iron Butterfly’s "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” There is growling, but there are long instrumental passages. The music goes anywhere from blasting speed brutality to mellow, quiet segments, and everything in between. Perhaps not by coincidence, the band likes to wear tie-dye shirts, which adds to the idea of “cosmic death metal” or “psychedelic death metal” or whatever other similar term is preferred. They are following up their 2021 EP with a full-length called Soulgazer out on March 25th.

Soulgazer by ASTRAL TOMB

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063825054335

Degradation of Human Consciousness by Astral Tomb

Veriteras - U.S. melodic extreme metal coming to Finland in May

The debut full-length Shadow of Death (nine songs, almost 32 minutes; March 10th, 2022) follows the 2020 and 2021 EPs. Fast, sometimes blasting, the music sounds tight and skilled, part melodic death metal and part melodic black metal. The vocals are prototypical melodeath growling, which basically means black metal vocals. It is the classic Mille Petrozza (Kreator)* shriek scream, as revealed on the albums Terrible Certainty (1987) and Extreme Aggression (1989), the inspiration for classic In Flames, Dark Tranquillity and At the Gates vocals, a style also found in the melodic black metal of Dissection and Sacramentum, and the deathrash of Merciless, all Swedish bands.

(*The German band did play live in the late 1980s in Sweden. The young Mille’s live vocals were the prototypical style later known as Gothenburg melodeath.)

This melodic extreme metal heritage, by way of Scandinavia and Finland, gives Veriteras a classy, tight execution, an abundance of guitar hooks, riffs and melodies that manifest amply that great care has been taken to avoid “play-on” lazy, chugging riffs. There is good melodic singing in some spots, but they do not use it as a predictable formula on every song. There are background keyboards present, at a lower volume, for smoothness. The one area that the dynamics are lost to some degree is the drum sound. It is clear and all, but not as vibrant as the sound of real drums. By the way, Veriteras has somehow organized for themselves a tour of Finland. I figure that one of the boys had the ridiculous idea of playing in Finland. Someone said, “Dude, that’d be funny if we called bars in Finland and booked a tour!” The boys laughed about it while enjoying their diablo hot sauce burritos with Pepsi at the local Taco Bell in the U District. Then, out of curiosity, one of them looked up their favorite Finnish bands’ cities on Facebook and began calling from Washington state to Finland.

Yes, so in May of 2022 the Washingtonians will be in Finland. Believe or not, Finnish friends. These boys are coming to see you.

Shadow of Death by Veriteras

https://www.facebook.com/VeriterasMetal

death metal March 23 in Everett: Astral Tomb, Insipidus, Cronos Compulsion & Sunshine Lollipop

This is a death metal/grind show that will happen tomorrow, March 23rd, in Everett at Tony V's. Here are some recordings from the bands that are available at Bandcamp. It looks like the bands are from travelling from the Denver, Colorado area.

INSIPIDUS Banal Apathy — Demo by Insipidus

Cursed and Decaying by Cronos Compulsion

Degradation of Human Consciousness by Astral Tomb

https://www.facebook.com/insipidusband

https://www.facebook.com/tonyvs.garage/events/

That's A Good Idea - melodic instrumental prog duo from Arkansas, U.S.

The Arkansas, U.S. "All-Over-The-Place instrumental" mind travellers called That's A Good Idea (yes, their name is "That's A Good Idea," actually) recently released a new song titled "Moon" that is available on YouTube and Spotify and who knows where else. You young whippersnappers who are hip to the latest Instagram and Twitter and MySpace hullabaloo probably will find your own special way to access the music. The only version I have is the 8-track tape that the band sent me via the horse and buggy bandwagon that travels between Arkansas and here in Washington state.

Given that I did not know anything about these guitar wizards, they also sent out an old scroll explaining the history of the state of Arkansas, and the strange pronunciation of their state's name and the why of their music. This is what they say: "Both members (myself [Michael Pettingill] and Josh McGee) were gigging musicians in the central AR scene (former members of Innocence No More, Shadow's Edge and Sons of Mayhem but upon starting families had to move away from that passion. Our first album was simply a way to create new music and was themed around our only other shared experience (having worked in a call center together!). Recently, we've decided we would like to release music that would fit for video games or playlists so that we can continue to create but also make sure it is heard despite not touring."

Their discography is: Your Leads Are Now Diamonds (2017); Beyond The Journey: Volume 1 (2018); Slightly Beyond The Journey (2020); Beyond the Journey: Volume 2 (2020).

Below is the new song, and below that there are a couple of songs from the 2017 album Your Leads Are Now Diamonds. So far, my impression is that said album works with thrash and melodic death metal ideas for a melodic prog sound with plenty of guitar and uptempo vibes. However, I am not familiar with their entire discography and I am unable at this moment to comment in a more general way about their music.

Anyway, if you like instrumetal metal music in the realm of melodic, rocking prog, then this is something to look into. I am looking looking into it myself today, on this grey, cloudy, wet and cold western Washington day.

That's A Good Idea

Begin Day Meeting

Objection / Rebuttal

https://twitter.com/TAGIdeaMusic

https://instagram.com/thatsagoodideamusic?fbclid=IwAR37GIEBr55o64YNBofCOHbHOFfu-NFZGaui8k8-vdaZKiIm4--eeeVe8yk

melodic metal STRIKER comes to Seattle April 19th

Canadian contemporary classic heavy metal royalty STRIKER will make their way to Seattle on April 19th. Known for their hard-working ethic and talented, polished interpretation of big rock heavy metal, their new song "Deathwish" is another example of what makes the band so good at their craft. Below you will find all the official propaganda from the band about the tour.

STRIKER Announce North American Tour Dates w/ Beast In Black, Seven Kingdoms

New Single / Music Video “Deathwish”

Canadian heavy metal champions STRIKER announce they will be hitting the road in April and May 2022 to support Beast In Black for their first US headlining tour along with Seven Kingdoms. Entitled the “Dark Connection Tour”, the first date will kick off in Orlando, FL on April 7th and wrap up in Detroit, MI on May 2nd (all dates listed below). The tour will also witness Striker performing with their new drummer Jonathan Webster and bassist Pete Klassen who joined the lineup in 2019. The band also recently unleashed their new single “Deathwish”, a track that has their signature sound of putting a modern twist on classic heavy metal mixed with 1980s AOR.

Striker - DEATHWISH (Official Video)

Dark Connection Tour 2022 w/ Beast In Black, Seven Kingdoms, Striker

April 7, 2022 – Orlando, FL – The Haven

April 8, 2022 – Tampa, FL – Orpheum

April 9, 2022 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade

April 11, 2022 – Dallas, TX – Amplified Live

April 12, 2022 – San Antonio, TX – Rock Box

April 14, 2022 – Mesa, AZ – Nile Theater

April 15, 2022 – Anaheim, CA – The Parish

April 16, 2022 – Santa Cruz, CA – The Atrium at Catalyst

April 18, 2022 – Portland, OR – Hawthorn Theatre

April 19, 2022 – Seattle, WA – Crocodile

April 20, 2022 – Vancouver, BC – The Rickshaw

April 22, 2022 – Calgary, AB – Dickens

April 23, 2022 – Edmonton, AB – The Starlite Room

April 25, 2022 – Salt Lake City, UT – Metro

April 26, 2022 – Colorado Springs, CO – The Black Sheep

April 27, 2022 – Lawrence, KS – Granada Theater

April 29, 2022 – Minneapolis, MN – The Fine Line *

April 30, 2022 – Joliet, IL – The Forge *

May 1, 2022 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom *

May 2, 2022 – Detroit, MI – El Club *

* = No Seven Kingdoms on show date

Blending classic heavy metal, hard rock, and 80’s hair metal, Striker have been making shredtacular anthems since 2007. The band has toured multiple times across Europe and North America along with festival appearances at 70,000 Tons of Metal, Bang Your Head Festival (Germany), and more to add to their almost 1000 shows performed in their decade-plus career. The band has been honoured with multiple Best Album awards in their home country of Canada from the JUNO Awards, Western Canadian Music Awards, and the Edmonton Music Awards. Since their inception, Striker has released six studio albums Eyes in the Night (2010, Iron Kodex), Armed to The Teeth (2012, Napalm), City of Gold (2014, Napalm), Stand in the Fire (2016, Record Breaking), Striker (2017, Record Breaking), and Play to Win (2018, Record Breaking).

Striker - On The Run (Official Video)

Striker - Too Late (Official Video)

https://www.facebook.com/strikermetal

out now: Moonlight Haze - Animus (melodic neosymphonic from Italy)

The Italian melodic band is now on their third album. They are proving to be a consistent, hard-working bunch that is not waiting too long to release albums. Three albums since their 2018 start. The previous two albums have established their melodic neosymphonic sound. The songwriting emphasizes memorable, easy-to-understand, ear-friendly sound. Sometimes the songs sound closer to power metal, while at other times it may seem like melodic heavy metal, all done with a pop sensibility. The neosymphonic style is crucial for the smooth, lush poppy sound that they want. Mission accomplished again.

MOONLIGHT HAZE - It's Insane (Official Video)

MOONLIGHT HAZE - We'll Be Free (Lyric Video)

Animus by Moonlight Haze

https://www.facebook.com/Moonlighthazeband

Abdicatrix - traditional black metal from the U.K.

Abdicatrix is a British black metal four piece of Douglas Hamer on drums, Louisa Raco and Dionne Hogan on the guitars, and Nadia Gioia on the rasping, shrieking vocals. Metal Archives shows that from 2005 to 2020 they were called Nonserviam, and after 2020 they took on the current name. This is traditional, classic-style black metal with prototypical guitar and vocals, and it is perfection for devoted supporters looking for good guitar playing, riffs, tremolo melodies and speed. The drumming can and does launch into blasting plenty throughout the album, but there are lots of midtempo segments that offer variety. Overall, the production is good, pretty clear, for black metal, and the entire album should be of interest to the serious and loyal supporters of traditional black metal. The album is called Melancholia (2021) and it is eight songs in a bit over 32 minutes.

Melancholia by Abdicatrix

https://www.facebook.com/abdicatrixuk

Imperial Age - The Way Is The Aim [official music video]

Here is the new video from the neosymphonic melodic band Imperial Age (Russia) on YouTube today. The song comes from the album New World that they will release later on in 2022. The band's functioning has been having tons of problems in Russia and they already moved out of Russia and are currently in Turkey. They have been explaining the situation on Facebook. For instance, this was their statement on Putin's war against Ukraine:

"Since the government of Russia is waging a full-scale war against Ukraine - something that we along with most of the civilized world are shocked by, find totally unacceptable, unjustifiable and altogether impossible to comprehend - we are having issues with travelling to the UK (along with many other problems - but we wont mention those since its nothing compared to what our brothers and sisters in Ukraine are going through). However, we were not born yesterday, we are well adapted to living in an environment where nothing works, and we know what to do. We also have great support from our fans."

Imperial Age - The Way Is The Aim [Official Music Video]

The Legacy of Atlantis by Imperial Age

https://www.facebook.com/imperialageofficial

Vulnificus - brutal death metal from the U.S.

Vulnificus is Wilson Sherels on guitars, bass and drum programming and Eston Brown on growling. Metal Archives shows a demo in 2021 and an EP in 2022. Vulnificus (U.S.) is brutal death metal with plenty of blasting, heavy-duty riffs and completely incomprehensible low, mic-eating growling. The music is similar to a construction site jackhammer breaking pavement. Now, imagine a guitar that is working to keep up with that, and then imagine a big bear devouring several barrels of salmon. That’s Vulnificus. It is a truly repulsive barrage of sound that no one in their right mind would enjoy, except for you and me. It is so ugly that it crosses over to the other side, where there is joy in listening to such downright awful racket. Count me in.

INVOCATION by VULNIFICUS

INNOMINATION by VULNIFICUS

https://www.facebook.com/vulnificusbdm/

Tau Zero - instrumental duo from the U.S.

Tau Zero is an instrumental duo consisting of Gabe Zentner and Kyle Sommer. It looks like Kyle is based in Washington state and Gabe in Massachusetts. Both Gabe and Kyle are guitarists, and it looks like they take care of the bass, keyboards (samples?) and the drum programming. The recording is big on groove and rhythm in the style of djent. Sometimes the recording comes across as a big rhythm section; however, there are soft and gentle melodies from the keyboards/synths/samples. The guitar melodies are the belle of the ball. Meditational, spacey or bluesy melodies are present throughout, with shredding and fast guitar present. The guitar work also shows a bit of a melod-ic death metal sound, but it is disguised with djent, groove and prog. All of which I am commenting here is from the 2020 debut album Event Horizon and in June of 2022 the second album The Monolith will be released. Tau Zero is for fans of instrumental albums. No vocals to distract you. It’s just you and the music.

Event Horizon by Tau Zero

https://www.facebook.com/tauzerometal/

Diregoat -- cave extreme from Washington state, USA

Diregoat

Bleed the Lamb

March 12th, 2021

This is a five-track 15-minute recording of one-person garage barbaric in Washington state, mostly a groovy low-end death/black minimalist. The vocals are low growling, with some effects on them, in the style of primal, cavernous extremity. The sound is simple, heavy, for that "bestial" or "war" sound.

Bleed The Lamb by Diregoat

Carmeria - neosymphonic gothic metal from Australia

Carmeria

Advenae

18 March 2022

According to Metal Archives, this Australian band formed in 2012 and did an EP in 2013. Metal Archives also says that this album was already released on May 14th, 2021. The 12 songs (in some 63 minutes) are midtempo neosymphonic prog power with male melodic singing, with a tiny bit of extreme vocals in some spots. For your information, the singing is reminiscent of the long-running act Kamelot, meaning a midrange male voice that is deep (but not excessively so), melodic, and with a certain elegance.

The music also stays at ear-friendly tempos. The melodies on the guitar and keyboards serve to give it all a smooth sound. Melancholy is important to this band. The melodies may lead audiences to think like you are feeling happy, but keep listening and the melodies eventually add up to a sense of a somewhat sad or grey mood. Personally, I could do without the small bits of growling. They don’t bother me, but it would not be noticeable if they were to be taken out. The album is done well and is a lot of (subdued) fun. I have read the lyrics on Metal Archives and it looks like there are no curse words, giving you nothing to worry to about if you play it at home or in the car with the children present. The lyrics, which could be called Romanticist due to the emphasis on personal emotion and also some fantasy, have a certain poetic tone, and that is another plus. Thus, for readers interested in mature, melodic and intelligent songs, this is a good opportunity for an elegant album featuring male singing.

Advenae by Carmeria

https://www.facebook.com/CarmeriaMusic/

Blackslash - traditional heavy metal from Germany

Championing the traditional and classics, Blackslash (Germany) feel an undying loyalty towards riff-based guitar and singing. From the beginning in 2007 and through this fourth album (10 songs in 50 minutes), their heavy metal is fundamentally anthemic in nature. Every song is meant to sound like a hit, saying “C’mon, get up, stand up! Get those fists up in the air! Get rocking!" They have songs with titles like “No Steel No Future,” “Midnight Fire” and “Gladiators of Rock.” In the latter song, they even sing the lines “Can you hear me scream Dio? Ronnie, can you hear me now?” Blackslash is a young band with the objective of becoming heroes of heavy metal and to rock until they drop. Blackslash is here, and they brought the traditional heavy metal with them.

No Steel No Future by Blackslash

https://www.facebook.com/blackslashband

Mike Milan Dedic (Canada)

Mike Milan Dedic recently contacted this zine about the video for his single “Energy.” It’s instrumental music in the style of classic guitar-based heavy rock. I figured that maybe readers would like to know more about Mike and his work.

What can you tell us about "Energy", Mike? How spontaneous was the original idea for the song? Or, was it a riff that you had in your pocket for a while?

“Energy” is a stand-alone single that was released August 12, 2021. I would definitely say it is a riff that I had hanging around for quite some time. It kind of sat there until I figured out how I wanted to approach it. As it has a sort of a 'commercial hook' as the main riff (as far as guitar instrumental songs go. lol!), I chose to dirty it up with more of an aggressive guitar solo to counterbalance that.

You have Brian Latimer on drums and Dearian Seepersad on keyboards. How do you know them?

I met both Brian & Dearian through the internet. Both are Toronto area-based musicians. I've known Brian for quite a few years now & we've worked on things together before. Dearian I met in recent times & although we've recorded together, I’ve not met with him in person. We were supposed to film the video all together, but because of the lingering pandemic issues, we decided to film our parts remotely. Brian and I have met a few times before as we did film previous releases together on stage.

You are based in Toronto, correct? Do you perform live there?

Ya, I am based in the Toronto area. In recent times I have not done any live shows, but am certainly looking to remedy that in the near future. This pandemic has certainly taught me a lot about 'being isolated' and I can certainly say with confidence that I look forward to being surrounded by other music goers and feeling the 'Energy' & vibe of a great crowd!

How has Toronto been for you as a musician?

Toronto has been a very difficult place for working musicians. As I personally have not been performing live for quite a while now, I know many colleagues who have certain-ly felt the pain of not being able to perform. Our province of Ontario, particularly had very strict covid rules that left many working musicians 'stuck in their tracks' for an extended period of time! I've certainly felt for them & am sincerely hoping that we'll all start to see that 'vibrant' Toronto music scene come back to the way it used to be!

Of course, I have to ask. Rush was based in Toronto. Did you ever see Rush live?

Being a kid who grew up in Toronto & developing a keen interest in guitar playing around the early eighties, having a hometown band like RUSH for inspiration is definitely great! I did see them once during their 'Moving Pictures' tour at the now defunct 'Maple Leaf Gardens'. They were playing there for 3 nights in a row to 'sold out' capacity crowds! To put it mildly....IT WAS FANTASTIC! 🙂

How has 2020-2022 been for you and your music? What are your plans for 2022? new music?

The last couple of years I just released two singles. It has been such a 'grey' period in the world that it was difficult to garner any motivation or ability to do anything else. I think for this year I would like to get out there and play some shows. It has been quite the 'hibernating' experience these last two years, so I think I just want to kind of get out there and play for an audience.

How old were you when you started practicing guitar? How does the older Mike now see the guitar differently from the young Mike that picked up the instrument?

I started playing the guitar when I was 12 years old. The young Mike was certainly drawn by the 'excitement' and 'coolness' factor being exhibited by so many amazing guitarists that were in their prime back then: Van Halen, Malmsteen, Uli Roth, Rhodes, Blackmore....just to name a few. It was more of an 'escape' for me playing along to their songs and learning from them with their varying styles and influences. The present Mike uses the guitar as a tool to convey feelings & creating music. I think I've certainly grown over the years and the way I approach playing portrays that.

Thanks, Mike!

Thank you for the privilege of the Q&A. I sincerely appreciate the human interaction! Cheers! Mike Milan Dedic

ENERGY - Mike Milan Dedic [NEW]

https://music.apple.com/us/album/energy-single/1580690268 https://www.amazon.com/Energy/dp/B09CCLZHPY/ref=sr_1_1?fbclid=IwAR2_PLJ_wwjC2PcRFPSnYOi7D6v8u7MtkLywBbTX5JobuBoeRXC3UzFx4I8 https://open.spotify.com/album/0QkdmwNAn59LTcGhPuj3XD https://www.deezer.com/fr/album/251263352 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005652195327

review: Firn - Frostwärts (German-language pagan metal from Thuringia)

This is a Horda Wolf (from Waldtraene and Odroerir) solo project. Given that I am unable to say anything intelligent about Waldtraene or Odroerir because I am not familiar with them, let’s just get to this album right here and see what’s up. This is German-language “pagan metal,” which means, basically, black metal with folk and epic components. Imagine a melodic, catchy form of black metal with memorable riffs, an abundance of melodies that are somber and easy to remember but not too sugary. The vocals are traditional black metal and also singing/chanting. This last element sometimes sounds like a choir and also a bit like monk chanting, or something similar. There are neosymphonic elements for a type of grandiose, melancholic sound. Some of the melodies may be reminiscent of classical music and also folk melodies in general. There is a (sampled?) sound of something like a flute (or keyboards) that adds a folk flavor to the songs. It is a soft and gentle sound embedded in the harsher overall sound. A few listens should be enough to get a sense of the lay of the land and of the quality of the songwriting.

A few words about this as a solo project. First, the production is below the elegance of the songwriting and the finesse of the music. This music, in my opinion, requires a clearer sound. For example, the drum (programming?) sound is a bit muffled and seems stiff, which is usually an indication of programming. Another matter that should be mentioned is the scratching sound of fingers sliding on the guitar strings. For this type of music, this scratching sound is too loud, enough to be distracting in some parts, distracting because the listener can hear the sound too much on too many parts of the songs. Both of these issues bring down the quality of the recording. Having said, the songwriting is so entertaining that it has not kept me from enjoying the album. This is one album that I have been listening to for weeks and weeks, and I am not tired of it in the least. However, I mention the problems above because readers should know that this is a solo project with some things that might bother some audiences. For my part, I have found the album to be exceedingly enjoyable with entertaining, stimulating and fun songs.

Frostwärts by FIRN

https://www.facebook.com/FirnPaganMetal

review: Pillaging Villagers - "peasant metal" from the U.S.

Pillaging Villagers

Pillaging Villagers

11 March 2022

The Wisconsin cheesehead man Dave Frazer —who when things are going wrong in life likes to scream out “What the hell is going on out here? Everybody grabbing out there, nobody tackling. Just grabbing everybody. Grab, grab, grab! Nobody tackling!”— has been working on something that he and Aaron Rodgers like to call “peasant metal.” In the off-season Dave recruited free agent drummer Jason Hirt (from Ghost Bath, the band from Chongqing, China, a city in North Dakota), puffy-shirt pirate guitarist Brian Koenig (Lords of the Trident/Luna Mortis/The Ottoman Empire) and bassist Adam Tucker (A Scanner Darkly) for the offensive line of Pillaging Villagers. This debut game for Pillaging Villagers is rather impressive. As a growler and screamer Dave used to take over the bar stages in Madison and other cities in Wisconsin with his old team Erebus, a grooving growling type of franchise.

Nowadays Dave is taking Pillaging Villagers into the field as an angry mob with song titles that read like protest march signs, like “Wretched of the Earth,” “Burn the Monastery,” or “Smash the Factory.” The guitar sound is something like melodic extreme metal, somewhere around melodic death, black and thrash. The vocals are mostly growled, but often in the background there is the sound of a group of Irish people singing along as backing vocals. They bring in the background flute (or bagpipes or keyboards or whatever it is that they may be sampling) to add it up for a drunk, angry mob singing along “We’re gonna break the factory” and combining extreme metal with the melodies of an Irish jig. Therefore, the angry mob is angry, but they sound drunk and happy, and it looks like maybe they went to the bar before heading out to smash the factory and drank a little too much and now just want to hang out at the bar singing and drinking. However, tomorrow!, tomorrow for reals!, they gonna head to the factory and smash it, unless they find themselves at the bar again.

Expect something like melodic extreme metal in an uptempo, party way, lots of sing along moments and a little bit of the Irish (or is it drunk Finnish?) feeling. If you are looking for something fun in the area of extreme metal, then consider this your invitation to the Luddite metal of Pillaging Villagers.

Pillaging Villagers by Pillaging Villagers

https://www.facebook.com/pillagingvillagers

review: Caveat - Alchemy (prog heavy/extreme from Canada)

Caveat

Alchemy

11 February 2022

Caveat (2004-2008; 2015-present) kept sounding theatrical and even circus-like in its more-is-more progressive sound. For some reason, it seemed like more-is-more was a too-much and too-many sound. Too much busyness and too many elements going on at the same time. Even though this Canadian band could play technically, if they so wished, they are more like a Dream-Theater-on-steroids or like Rush-gone-mad form of prog.

Imagine that this band lovs Dream Theater, but the Canadians realize that people cannot bang their heads Dream Theater. Caveat is, to a certain degree, traditional progressive heavy metal, combined with extreme metal, with riffs and shredding, and with melodic singing, a type of high-energy, agile, sonically athletic sound that people can mosh, dance or tap their foot to. There is growling and there are some heavy riffs that often sound part traditional and part prog extreme. It helps that there is plenty of melody. There is a female and a male voice. There is male growling and male singing. It’s all a lot to understand at first, but it’s good, energetic, while they incorporate some brutal elements and spices of technicality, featuring a skilled rhythm section in which the drumming and bass are important, active elements.

In some ways, the second half of the album is more ear-friendly. Listeners might understand the second half of the album faster than the first half. For instance, the song “Until Dawn” is a much mellower melodic song, while in the first half the song “Infinite” is the band flexing all its muscles. They pretty much open up the entire toolbox and put on a clinic on everything that they can do. Which way would you like to start? “Infinite” will give you a jolt; “Until Dawn” will ease you into the labyrinth.

Alchemy by Caveat

https://www.facebook.com/caveatcalgary

Caveat - Infinite