Sunday, June 9, 2019
Inquinok (Washington state) returns with new black metal
Inquinok (2001; Washington state) returned with a new EP on June 1st, 2019. The band is known for its melodic and symphonic black metal, and the new EP for fans of the genre should be a delightful return after the previous three albums. Sadly, this publication missed the boat when the EP first came out, but fortunately, the new Inquinok music is available in full at the link below and we can all listen for ourselves.
Inquinok
The Hallowed Shall Serve
Release date: June 1st, 2019
1.Night Terror 05:33
2.Death Throes 03:31
3.The Order 05:06
4.The Altar 03:25
5.The Hallowed Shall Serve 03:32
6.Desolation 04:44
total time 25:51
inquinok.bandcamp.com/album/the-hallowed-shall-serve-e-p
the return of Washington State's Mysticism Black
On June 28th the black metal band Mysticism Black (Washington State) will have its new album out. The band has now made one song available for fans to hear. Go to the link below to hear it for yourself. The following is the band's announcement.
We've been waiting to share this for a long time and here it finally is! The artwork, tracklisting and the 14+ self-titled track from Mysticism Black's new album "Return of The Bestial Flame"!
Mysticism Black - Return Of The Bestial Flame (2019)
Tracklist:
1. Black Fire Seance (4:09)
2. Return Of The Bestial Flame (14:28)
3. The Black Never Dies (9:25)
4. My Lord (5:04)
5. The Blade Unsheathed (10:55)
6. Glory Beyond Life (Power Beyond Death) (9:05)
Lineup:
Nick "OldNick" Superchi - Vocals/Guitars/Bass/Keys
"Bloodhammer" Matthew Mattern - Drums/Percussion
Artwork done by the legendary Kris Verwimp. Mastered by Joel Grind.
We are currently talking with labels, but we will announce the release date shortly. The album will be released digitally and on varied limited physical formats
More announcement coming soon. Thank you all for the support!
themysticismblack.bandcamp.com
Fifth Angel (Seattle region) posts entire performance at Rock Hard Festival in Germany
Today the Washington State resurrected veteran band Fifth Angel posted on their Facebook page the video of their show in front of the crowds at Rock Hard Festival in Germany. For those that are new to Fifth Angel, here is an older biography. The end of the biography is not accurate anymore because the new music album is already released in 2018.
BIOGRAPHY: Back in the glory days of traditional metal in the 1980's, with the likes of Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, The Scorpions, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Ronnie James Dio, Led Zeppelin and many others as an influence... Ed Archer, Ted Pilot and James Byrd had a vision. This vision was to blend their various musical influences and backgrounds together to form a new version of traditional metal. Thus, the inception of the band "Fifth Angel". Ken Mary was brought on board on drums, and would later move on to much success playing in bands such as House Of Lords, Bad Moon Rising, and Alice Cooper, to name but a few.
From their beginnings in 1984 in Bellevue Washington (near Seattle), Fifth Angel sought to create a musical landscape of their own to express ideas, thoughts, opinions and emotions in the most eloquent form, in the form of music and story-telling through lyrics. Fifth Angel recorded a demo with the now famed Terry Date at the mixing desk and was first signed to independent label Shrapnel Records, which opened the door to an international following and a very positive acceptance of their vision. John Macko was brought on board to become the permanent bass player around this time.
Through fate and happenstance, the band caught the ear of Derek Simon with Concrete Marketing and Management in New York, NY. This again opened new doors for the band leading to offers from various major labels including Atlantic, Elektra and Epic, the latter being the label which seemed the best fit. Epic Records re-released the original "Fifth Angel" album, giving it new life with re-mastering and cover art and the band began the journey of composing new material for a second album, to be the debut for the Epic label. This was also a time of change for the band as Kendall Bechtel became the new lead guitar player.
"Time Will Tell" was recorded with Terry Brown producing, from Rush fame, and was released to a much wider world audience through Epic's far reaching distribution network, being met with much anticipated acceptance. The song "Midnight Love" was featured as the theme song for Howard Stern's cable television show for several years.
In a short period of time the collective musical landscape and listening audience of the world changed...Seattle became a Mecca for a new sound called "Grunge". Fifth Angel was caught in a grey area that many of the up-and-coming 1980's/90's metal bands were in...established enough to be known world-wide to a certain degree, but not established enough to be seen as a profitable investment by record companies when competing against the wildfire known as grunge. The realities of the "business side" of the music industry began to settle in and the writing was on the wall. Ed Archer decided it was time to leave and start a new path in life. Fifth Angel continued on, but as record companies faced the realities of the very profitable grunge music against their bottom line, Fifth Angel was released from their contract with Epic.
The band members went their separate ways, some intertwined with music, some not. Eventually, as fate would have it some of the core band members reconnected and decided it was time to re-visit music and the band became active again in 2010 with a successful reunion gig at the "Keep IT True" Festival in Lauda-Koenigshofen Germany. for that show, they enlisted Jeffrey McCormick on drums, and Peter Orullian (who sang Keep It True with Heir Apparent a few years before) to fill out the Fifth Angel roster.
Fifth Angel then went back to Keep it True in April of 2017 with the same lineup.With "real life" responsibilities dictating progress, it has been slow going....but Fifth Angel is working towards a goal of releasing new music to round out the previous releases from so many years ago.
facebook.com/fifthangelofficial/
Saturday, June 8, 2019
Tanagra
Tanagra
Meridiem
Self-Release
Release: 26 April 2019
Tanagra (2010), despite operating out of the nearby state of Oregon, is a new name in the pages of this publication. They are a progressive power band, with sing-along good vocals and ambitious songwriting that should be a cool, challenging listen while still offering lots of melodic elements. The album is a gargantuan 65 minutes in seven songs. It is important to tell the truth. No matter how melodic and catchy an album is, if it’s more than an hour, it’s going to be a challenge because it’s really a double album. It is asking a lot from the audience, and the band is purposely separating the wheat from the chaff, the dedicated listeners from the casual. Think of it this way: If these musicians have poured their efforts towards making an album that can withstand the ravages of time, then it’s only right that they ask for some serious fans, too. This band, as you can tell, is talking the talk, but do they walk the walk? The sound quality is pretty solid. This is an independent release, and unless someone in the band is wealthy, it means that they are not going to make another album soon because they won’t have the money. Even so, this is not their first album, it is their second one in their near-decade existence, the previous one being from 2015.
The skill level here is very high. The prog and melodic guitar fan will get quite the bang for the buck. This is what it sounds like when guitarists are obsessed with being good guitarists. You are going to tell right away that this is the realm of the guitar. The songwriting is prog power through and through. It’s not simple-and-easy songs, but in their defense, they have thankfully avoided the curse that plagues progressive bands: they have not forgotten to rock. That saves the album because if this did not have the rocking, then that would be a deal breaker with such a long album. The singing is one of the best things about the album. It is a strong, midrange tone that sounds good to just about any human ear that is listening. This is how the male voice can sound when it stays in its strong point. It’s melodic, not too high, and it projects rather well, with a certain gentleness to it on the recording. tanagraband.bandcamp.com
Lahmia
Lahmia
Resilience
Scarlet Records
Release: 18 January 2019
Lahmia (2001, Italy) is European-style melodic death metal, from head to toe. Fans looking for the sweet encounter of growling and polished thrashy, melodic riffing should be very pleased. More specifically, the vocals are low, pleasant growling (no high-pitched screaming and no U.S. metalcore screaming/yelling), and there is no melodic singing. This feature (the consistent growled vocals) will really be attractive to those fans who don’t like the mish-mash-salad vocal styles. The album has some definite highlights like “Her Frantic Call,” a song that is ridiculously infectious. Hear it once and you’ll want to hear it four more times, and then one more time for the road. “The Age of Treason” is the album’s centerpiece, clocking in at more than 11 minutes. This is the song that probably took them the longest to compose and arrange. It’s a good representation of all that the band does in its style. This is an album for die-hard fans of European melodic death metal, for those seeking new bands in this particular field, especially in the classic style, with that melody and grace in the songs. facebook.com/lahmiaofficial
Aubzagl
Aubzagl
Eilífa Kuldinn
Release date: June 6th, 2019
1.Núll 00:34
2.The Hermit 05:14
3.Varaha 04:03
4.The Oath of Blood 03:23
5.Voices of the Aether 03:50
6.Ógilt 01:01
7.The Adversary 03:10
8.The End of All Things 06:30
total time 27:45
Aubzagl has just come to the attention of this publication. Right off the bat, here are some important traits about this Yorkshire, England music. If one were to describe the sound, it would be headbanging black metal, with speed in the drumming and raging classic-style vocals. To the best of the information available, this seems to be a full band with Paul Priest on bass, Arron Healy on drums, Jamie Silver on guitars, and Andy Wears on vocals, and it appears that guitarist Martyn Hare is now a former member. This information is mentioned here not because it is 100% accurate (only the band knows that), but to show that this is not some anonymous one-person project, but rather a band, and it sounds like it, it sounds good. Basically, fans of traditional black metal should be the first group of people to sign up for this covenant of metal music. This recording aims to please the desire to hear raging black metal. Be confident that the band is dedicated to that art. In fact, the only non-black metal moments, strictly speaking, would be the two very short intro-type tracks on here, but they are very short, so it's not like it is 10 minutes of nonsense wasting your time. In a word, for anyone that wants fast black metal with the purpose of banging your head, then there is one new word in your vocabulary: Aubzagl. aubzagl.bandcamp.com
Protector
Protector
Summon the Hordes
High Roller Records
Release date: 26.04.2019
Protector is here to destroy robotic metal music. Considering that they initially began doing demos in the middle of the 1980s, by the time their 1988 debut album Golem and the 1989 album Urm the Mad came out, they were pushing the boundaries of thrash with more speed and harsher vocals than their U.S. and German peers. It makes sense that Protector stand up for the older values of extreme metal. Their 1991 scorcher A Shedding of Skin is just as much death metal as it is thrash metal, especially for the sound of those times.
Eventually returning after years of inactivity, nowadays Protector has been for years on a second life with different personnel. This new album features a very robust sound: guitars, bass, drums and growling. Do not expect things to get melodic. The only little bit of melody available is some of the guitar solos. The drums sound rather thick, saying that they want a sound that is realistic, that approaches the feeling of live drums in concert. The double bass does not sound clicky, suggesting that they went for a realistic sound in that department, too. They are concerned with sounding realistic, like they can pull off these songs live and make them sound rather close to the album versions. This is not a garage recording, though. It sounds professional and good to the fans of old-school thrash, with the truly legendary Harris Johns taking care of the sound engineering work.
The guitars stay on task at all times. Thrashing riffs, and that’s pretty much the story. The vocals are growled, in the style that is aggressive and fast, in a percussive way, as if the drumming and vocals are often matching on the points of impact. Protector is taking care of business with one mission assignment. You come here to Protector to thrash and you’ve come to the right place. The times have changed, the members have changed, the hair is thinner, but the attitude on the album remains the same as in the old times.
facebook.com/Protector.666not777
Iron Griffin
Iron Griffin
Curse of the Sky
Label: Gates of Hell Records
Release date: 22.03.2019
It is very difficult not celebrate everything that Iron Griffin stands for. Integrity in the music is of the utmost importance to them. They don’t want computers to play and perfect the music for them. Some metal fans, who are some nitpicky people, would see in Iron Griffin something to support: honesty, and a band playing music as organic as they can in 2019, waging the perilous fight against the Milli Vanilli values of overzealous studio magic. The musicianship is good and the singing features cool, traditional rock singing as associated with 1970s early heavy metal and hard rock. The vocals are very appealing for fans of the raucous Robert Plant-Janis Joplin type of wild singing that captured the imagination of the masses. The thing is, this is the debut album, and there was only a 2017 EP before this. We can safely assume that the singing is only going to get better in the future and one can look forward to hearing how the singing sounds years from now.
The bass guitar is audible as a rumble that is present throughout. The drums could stand to be clearer and crispier, but they sound very real (Are they?). The guitar does fine work here, but it is also generous because it allows room for the bass and drums to be heard. Would you believe that this is just two people: Oskari the drummer from the well-received Mausoleum Gate is apparently a talented person and can play bass and guitar, too. The vocals are the responsibility of Maija, about whom Metal Archives provides very little information. Anyway, the Finns have locked on to the magic time machine. Why don’t you come with them, little friend, on a magic carpet ride?
irongriffin.bandcamp.com
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Hath
Hath
Of Rot and Ruin
release date: April 12th, 2019
label: Willowtip Records
1.Usurpation 06:00
2.Currents 06:02
3.Rituals 08:45
4.To Atone 03:31
5.Withered 06:08
6.Worlds Within 07:13
7.Kindling 02:25
8.Accursed 07:00
9.Progeny 07:48
total time 54:52
This band (New Jersey, U.S.A.) is difficult. The first four songs show a death-based super heavy band keeping the blasting-and-growling at front and center, although they do begin showing their predisposition for slow-grooving sludgy heaviness even in these four songs. The first four songs place the band in modern extreme metal territory, mostly current-modern 2019 death metal. The fifth song, however, is where they come out in full display of their other sides. The sludge grooving heaviness is now manifested in full. By about halfway, there is a sense that more elements have started to come out of the woodwork, and song number five is a good marker of what’s going on. The band is decidedly unmelodic even when the music is slow, and the chugging, that super-duper heavy-duty chugging is all out walking about the room like it owns it. Sludge and groove, and slow, gruff growling are dominant. Instead of melody in the slow passages, the band chooses colder, somewhat dissonant sounds. Towards the end of the song, the speed picks up, for variety’s sake. In short, heaviness is king of the ring here, for sure.
One gets the impression that the band is flexing its muscles very well. In fact, perhaps too well. Song number six features unmelodic clean or acoustic guitar, then blasts its way through the door for a bit of dissonant death metal, then the clean guitar returns, but no matter how many times one hears the song, the transitions do not flow as smoothly as they could (which is normal; this is only the band’s full-length debut; they had an EP in 2015). Now, what’s interesting is that this is perhaps their best song because it feels like they finally, finally, finally let some melody out of the bag (the guitar solo), but it seems like they are still being timid about it. More melody here, and in general, would be welcomed. Actually, this song is all over the place, in a good way. Towards the end, the blasting death metal appears, lest we forget. Anyway, this is a nice track, despite the band throwing a bit too much, too abruptly at the listener. To conclude, some people will say that the band lacks focus, but it seems like these musicians know what they want at this point. They’re a bit too enthusiastic to show all that they can do, if anything. The fact remains: if a listener loves the current-modern-2019 grooving-chugging progressive forms of extreme metal, then this album will be a pretty cool challenge.
hathnj.bandcamp.com/album/of-rot-and-ruin
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
the new Large Marge is large and in charge of Seattle
Large Marge
Rotted Tower
release date: June 3, 2019
tracklist
1.The Whispered One 00:38
2.The Hand 00:12
3.The Eye 00:20
4.Vecna Lives 00:14
The Seattle symphony of grind Large Marge took a two-year break from releasing new material because they were preparing the new recording called Rotted Tower, a concept album that tackles the difficult moral dilemmas that the German philosopher Immanuel Kant posed in the late 1700s for humanity to ponder. Large Marge music, as they have repeatedly stated in their interviews with the New York Times and the London Times, as well as The Onion, deals only with philosophical questions on their recordings, and never do they write songs about truck stops, domes, sleeping, sweeping nor ashes nor bunions.
The first song "The Whispered One" is both a cover of Beethoven's "5th Symphony" and the band's critique of the state of the theories of the universe. The following is quote from the lyrics to the song, as they have understood the writings of Kant:
"I come now to another part of my system, and because it suggests a lofty idea of the plan of creation, it appears to me as the most seductive. The sequence of ideas that led us to it is very simple and natural. They are as follows: let us imagine a system of stars gathered together in a common plane, like those of the Milky Way, but situated so far away from us that even with the telescope we cannot distinguish the stars composing it; let us assume that its distance, compared to that separating us from the stars of the Milky Way, is the same proportion as the Milky Way is to the distance from the earth to the sun; such a stellar world will appear to the observer, who contemplates it at so enormous a distance, only as a little spot feebly illumined and subtending a very small angle; its shape will be circular, if its plane is perpendicular to the line of sight, elliptical, if it is seen obliquely. The faintness of its light, its form, and its appreciable diameter will obviously distinguish such a phenomenon from the isolated stars around it.
We do not need to seek far in the observations of astronomers to meet with such phenomena. They have been seen by various observers, who have wondered at their strange appearance, have speculated about them, and have suggested some times the most amazing explanations, sometimes theories which were more rational, but which had no more foundation than the former. We refer to the nebulæ, or, more precisely, to a particular kind of celestial body which M. de Maupertius describes as follows:
"These are small luminous patches, only slightly more brilliant than the dark background of the sky; they have this in common, that their shapes are more or less open elipses; and their light is far more feeble than that of any other objects to be perceived in the heavens."
...It is much more natural and reasonable to assume that a nebula is not a unique and solitary sun, but a system of numerous suns, which appear crowded, because of their distance, into a space so limited that their light, which would be imperceptible were each of them isolated, suffices, owing to their enormous numbers, to give a pale and uniform luster. Their analogy with our own system of stars; their form, which is precisely what it should be according to our theory; the faintness of their light, which denotes an infinite distance; all are in admirable accord and lead us to consider these elliptical spots as systems of the same order as our own—in a word, to be Milky Ways similar to the one whose constitution we have explained. And if these hypotheses, in which analogy and observation consistently lend mutual support, have the same merit as formal demonstrations, we must consider the existence of such systems as demonstrated...
We see that scattered through space out to infinite distances, there exist similar systems of stars [nebulous stars, nebulæ], and that creation, in the whole extent of its infinite grandeur, is everywhere organized into systems whose members are in relation with one another.... A vast field lies open to discoveries, and observations alone will give the key."
The second song is called "The Hand." This song in particular questions whether Kant's quarrels with Confucius ought to be understood differently as they haven been heretofore. The band underlines Kant's statements as follows:
"The child must be brought up free (that he allow others to be free). He must learn to endure the restraint to which freedom subjects itself for its own preservation (experience no subordination to his command). Thus he must be disciplined. This precedes instruction. Training must continue without interruption. He must learn to do without things and to be cheerful about it. He must not be obliged to dissimulate, he must acquire immediate horror of lies, must learn so to respect the rights of men that they become an insurmountable wall for him. His instruction must be more negative. He must not learn religion before he knows morality. He must be refined, but not spoiled (pampered). He must learn to speak frankly, and must assume no false shame. Before adolescence he must not learn fine manners ; thoroughness is the chief thing. Thus he is crude longer, but earlier useful and capable."
Of course, as everyone knows, Large Marge questions whether we should reconsider by astutely pointing out what Confucius stated on these very matters:
"It is only he, possessed of all sagely qualities that can exist under heaven, who shows himself quick in apprehension, clear in discernment, of far-reaching intelligence, and all-embracing knowledge, fitted to exercise rule; magnanimous, generous, benign, and mild, fitted to exercise forbearance; impulsive, energetic, firm, and enduring, fitted to maintain a firm hold; self-adjusted, grave, never swerving from the Mean, and correct, fitted to command reverence; accomplished, distinctive, concentrative, and searching, fitted to exercise discrimination. All-embracing is he and vast, deep and active as a fountain, sending forth in their due season his virtues. All-embracing and vast, he is like Heaven. Deep and active as a fountain, he is like the abyss. He is seen, and the people all reverence him; he speaks, and the people all believe him; he acts, and the people all are pleased with him."
The third composition by Large Marge is called "The Eye." This song is the second part to the King Diamond album "The Eye." Large Marge took upon themselves to write the follow-up to the King Diamond album, while, again, bringing new light to Kant's views on motives. The following is an excerpt from Large Marge's lyrics:
"Although individuals who have begun to awake to freedom of cogitation, after having long unconsciously slumbered under the yoke of a belief (e.g. Protestants), do straightway deem themselves ennobled, in proportion to their articles of belief are scanty; yet, singularly enough, they whose understandings still lie dormant, cling to a very different principle of safety. “Better Believe Too Much Than Believe Too Little,” is here the adage; for whatever is done beyond and above what is duty, cannot in any event harm, but may perchance to good. Upon this delusive dream, which would make dishonesty the very spirit and soul of religious confession, is based on the well-known argumentum a tuto, which obtains a more easy and extended currency, because religion compensates for every fault, and hence also for dishonesty in adopting it. If, says the sciolist, what I profess to believe concerning the Godhead is correct, then I have precisely hit the very truth. Should, on the other hand, the articles contain an error, still, as there is nothing in them morally improper, then have I merely assented to something superfluous and unnecessary, by all which I have no doubt molested, but certainly not incriminated myself. The peril arising out of the improbity of his profession – The Lesson of Conscience-necessarily undergone, when what is declared in the presence of God to be certain, which mankind must nevertheless know not to be so constituted as to admit of being affirmed with unconditioned certainty, are all overlooked by this dishonest maxim, And Indeed Pass With The Hypocrite For Nothing. The genuine safety-principle of true religion is contrariwise as follows. Whatever is a mean or condition of future bliss, unknown to naked reason, and promulgated singly by revelation, can strike root in my conviction, just like any other history; and so far forth as it does not militate against morality, cannot be absolutely false. Besides leaving this point totally undecided, I may unquestionably trust, that whatever of salutary there may lie in a document, will stand me in good stead, provided I do not by my moral short-coming make myself unworthy of it. In this maxim, there is a real moral safety, viz. That conscience be not violated; and more cannot be demanded from mankind. There is, moreover, an utmost danger and insecurity in that lauded stratagem of expediency, whereby we think astutely to evade any disadvantageous sequents that may spring from unbelieving nonconformity. Thus tampering with either party, we destroy our credit with both."
"Vecna Lives" closes out the album. Here, as a conclusion, Large Marge chooses to emphasize the Confucius-Maoism disputes through the prism of both Kant and the nostalgic desires about the old German Democratic Republic. In the argument that Large Marge proposes, they choose to view the contradictions in the light of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's hypothesis, as quote by Large Marge:
"I place a profound belief—indeed a fervent faith—in the virtues of self reliance and personal independence. On these is founded the whole case for the free society, for the assertion that human progress is best achieved by offering the freest possible scope for the development of individual talents, qualified only by a respect for the qualities and the freedom of others...For many years there has been a subtle erosion of the essential virtues of the free society. Self-reliance has been sneered at as if it were an absurd suburban pretention. Thrift has been denigrated as if it were greed. The desire of parents to choose and to struggle for what they themselves regarded as the best possible education for their children has been scorned. I do not believe, in spite of all this, that the people of this country have abandoned their faith in the qualities and characteristics which made them a great people. Not a bit of it. We are still the same people. All that has happened is that we have temporarily lost confidence in our own strength. We have lost sight of the banners. The trumpets have given an uncertain sound. It is our duty, our purpose, to raise those banners high, so that all can see them, to sound the trumpets clearly and boldly so that all can hear them. Then we shall not have to convert people to our principles. They will simply rally to those which truly are their own.It is good to recall how our freedom has been gained in this country—not by great abstract campaigns but through the objections of ordinary men and women to having their money taken from them by the State. In the early days, people banded together and said to the then Government, “You shall not take our money before you have redressed our grievances. It was their money, their wealth, which was the source of their independence against the Government."
For a fuller appreciation of Large Marge we would like to direct to the following link:
largemargegrind.bandcamp.com/album/rotted-tower
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Acracy (conclusion)
Acracy
Doorways to Destiny
April 5th, 2019
1.Liberation (Control Denied) 6:29
2.Aging Desires (9:35)
3.Book of Faces (9:26)
4.On My Own (6:09)
5.A Love Least Expected (9:25)
6.Come with Me (11:05)
This is the conclusion to the commentary on Acracy's debut album. The two previous parts are here.
metalbulletin.blogspot.com/2019/04/acracy_13.html
metalbulletin.blogspot.com/2019/04/acracy-continued.html
The other day I was listening to some big-name progressive album, but I got so bored. Do you know why progressive music can be so mind numbingly boring? Because so many bands refuse to rock. I feel like some musicians are so full of themselves or so “done with metal” that they just don’t want/know how to rock anymore. The playing may be fine, the singing good, the production excellent (if they have money and resources), the lyrics good, but there is no rocking music to be found. I can’t hang with that. If a band see themselves as “beyond rock and roll” and they really think that “metal is kind of stupid,” and this attitude comes across in the boring, colorless, midpaced plodding grooving, then I’m out. Hasta la vista, baby.
I mention this issue because someone (or someones) in Acracy seems to understand that they may be a progressive band, but this is a metal band, too. Hey, I do not want to hear a band croon like some sort of tortured-soul intellectual Michael Bublé for 93 minutes. What on Earth are those drums for, then? Why do you need that electric guitar distortion for, really? Are you trying to do philosophy with songs? That’s not possible. If you want to write a treatise on philosophy, then you should write an actual treatise on philosophy.
If Rush, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Opeth, Queensrÿche, Enslaved or Whitechapel, Rivers of Nihil, Job for a Cowboy, Devin Townsend, and even Evergrey (on a couple of occasions!) and so many other bands have figured out how to rock and be progressive, then it is possible to do it. Or, a band can cry and moan like Pain of Salvation for 186 minutes or choose to make music-for-musicians and be nerds like Dream Theater. I cannot and will not listen to grown people cry in their music for 289 minutes (or however long albums are these days). Well, you can do a bit of crying in the rain in the still of the night. We all understand that the sun is shining, but it’s raining in your heart, but don’t cry the whole time. Patience has its limits, people. I already have about a dozen crying children who go around having meltdowns and crying about spilled milk all day long. I don’t need my music to be annoying like that, too.
Acracy seems to understand all of this perfectly well. Check out the last two songs on this album. Both are on the longer side of things, both have plenty of good musicianship on display, and if you read the lyrics you’ll see that this is most likely based on the difficulties of finding a soulmate. Emotionally, there are some low, painful moments that are expressed in the music, but this is not cry-in-my-beer music. There are sad moments, this is progressive, but this is rocking metal, too.
“A Love Least Expected” takes the listener through the high and lows, but the lows are not the main part of the song; and we get plenty of guitar-and-rhythm-section action, and the singing is no sob-story vibe, either. “Come with Me” begins as a ballad for the first few minutes, then it lays down the transition towards changes of pace. This is probably the most laidback song on the album, serving as the last piece of the puzzle. Once a listener becomes more familiar with this last track, it is a dynamic song with distinctly different segments (a groove section, an uptempo part, a solo, so on and so forth). In conclusion, the album as a work offers a variety of moods with solid, experienced instrumentation and with an abundance of melodies to keep the audience coming back for more. The discography of Acracy has begun well. Looking forward to more chapters.
facebook.com/acracymusic/
Friday, May 31, 2019
interview: S91
S91 is a melodic progressive band from Italy. Their 2019 album, called Along the Sacred Path, tells nine stories about nine important figures in the history of Christianity in the West, such as Joan of Arc and Martin Luther. Why focus on the history of Western Christianity? How does the album fit with the band’s objectives? Let’s see what they say!
Congratulations on the album! It’s a quality melodic, progressive album with good performances. Who is answering this interview?
Hi, thank you, it's a great pleasure to read you, we are Francesco “Franz” Romeggini, guitar player / male vocalist and Giacomo “Jack” Manfredi, bass player
Where in Italy is your band based? Is this a studio project?
Franz - We live in Tuscany, central Italy, we are not in the same city, but we live in the same region. S91 is not a studio project, but unfortunately we rarely play live
There’s one song for each person that you write about. Is this a concept album?
Jack – “Along the Sacred Path" is a concept album that traces the history of Christianity, continuing what was told in "Behold the Mankind" (our 2016 concept album). As you said the story is told through the life of nine key figures that are not always considered positive by everyone. The main goal is to show how the Gospel message has spread in its original form, becoming the fabric of the modern Western society. The Sacred Path is the one that many walks along, unconsciously sometimes; talks about all those actions done by inspired men which have brought benefits to the history of humanity and to the Western society even if they look regrettable or morally unacceptable.
How difficult was it to pick only nine people? Who writes the lyrics?
Franz - Yes, it was difficult to choose the nine, we tried to select the ones who has more interesting stories (for example fighters like Godfrey or Joan of Arc, a revolutionary theologian like Martin Luther or Bonhoeffer, a pastor who tried to act against Nazism).
Jack - All the characters of our album were committed to doing something good in their lives. And they succeeded.
Franz - Giacomo Manfredi (bass player) has the main inspiration about the concept and the lyrics, he wrote it, I (Francesco) and Maria (singer) helped him.
The artwork looks like it is NOT a sacred, peaceful path, but rather a path of vultures.
Jack - That could be an impression at a first watch, but the meaning is a bit different, If you look at the center, you can see the Campanile di Curon (tower bell of Curon) which is today the only visible part of the ancient village of Curon Venosta (in the north of Italy), now completely covered by mud. The idea is that the Church resists despite the gossip, the disregard, and the scandals.
Franz - The vultures and the macabre landscape are the sinful word the church is putted inside, but church still survives and God's plan is never stopped.
How was this band formed? Was there a different singer before?
Franz - The most of us met at church, and we always wanted to be a Christian band, in the beginning we had three female vocalist, Maria, Sefora (Sefi) and Tania. In “Volontà Legata” (demo 2011) we had both three, then Sefora and Tania decided to leave the band, but we are still good friends with them (especially Giacomo Manfredi, he is Sefi's husband, special friendship is required here eheh ;) )
What do you think about all the in-fighting and wars in history between Christians?
Franz - We think in-fighting between Christians is a pure non-sense, this is not what Christ teaches us to do. All the differences between Christian churches are source of wealth. When a church believes to hold the truth it automatically fails. The churches must dialogue between them and discover the common points to grow up.
Is everyone in the band Christian?
Franz - We are all Christians except the drum player, he is not atheist, he is more like agnostic, but his way of thinking is very close to our one. We have been friends for a long time and we have been always discussing about Bible, faith, church, etc.. and music of course ;)
How much experience do you have in other bands?
Franz – Yes, we did, everyone of us played in some other music projects; right now Francesco and Maria plays in their church, worship service, Giacomo (drum player) plays in another rock-band and I play in an orchestra (my main activity, I'm a professional musician). Things in Italy are going ok, everyone of us works and most of us have family, even it's not the best place for musicians, but life is ok.
Do the Italian publications cover your music?
Franz - In Italy we had some good reviews, but few interviews. Sometimes our music is played by italian rock publications, but the most of our listeners are out of Italy.
For readers of this interview that believe in Jesus Christ, what would you like to tell them about your music and your band?
Jack - We really hope you enjoy both music and lyrics, we hope you feel connection between them and become curios about the nine characters (their stories have so much to teach us about faith).
What would you like to tell fans of progressive and melodic music who are not particularly religious? In your opinion, is your music only for Christian fans?
Franz - Our music is for everyone, we really love to share it with non religious people, we hope they could anyway be interested in stories we tell. If you are not a believer you could anyway discover the historical meaning of these characters and (why not) redefine your opinion about Christian church influence in Western society.
Many people have the misconception that Christianity is a Western religion. Yet, Christianity existed early in places like Ethiopia and Egypt, and today Christianity is a growing religion in Africa. It looks like you have studied the history of Christianity, what interesting things have you discovered about Christianity’s history outside of Europe?
Franz - Years ago I read a book called “Eternity in Their Heart” by theologian Don Richardson, talking about pre-Christian monotheism, You'll be surprised how many societies far from Europe had a Christian-similar religion, it's like the gospel reached all mankind before Christ in many different forms
Jack - There's one thing I discovered that shocked me. In India, there is a group of Christians who trace their origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. We are talking about a tradition ancient like the Catholic one. They are not just a small group but they are millions!
Why do you choose to play a style of music that is so friendly to Satan and the values of Satan (many metal bands glorify murder, violence, blasphemy, alcohol, fornication, etc.)?
Franz - We love this music, when you write your own music you decide the message you want to bring, this is the secret of making art, you are not forced to do anything you don't want to do. Yes, many bands used metal music to speak about devil worship (especially in extreme metal) but I think this is something old right now. There's a lot of metal albums about good-evil fighting and fantasy themes, sometimes I read lyrics very similar to Christian albums; maybe the characters are not called “God” or “Jesus”, but their actions are very similar; so I wonder why Christian metal sounds strange to someone. We feel our mission is only to tell about the history (and the meaning) of our faith, nothing else, if this could help someone to find his spiritual path this is a gratification for us.
What is the current situation for touring? How can fans support your band directly?
Franz - The situation for touring is quite bad, we have no gigs planned, we would like to tour but it seems very difficult for us. About merchandise we have CDs on sale, two albums (“Behold The Mankind”, “Along The Sacred Path”) and a demo. The two albums are also available digitally on Spotify, iTunes and all the main digital stores.
facebook.com/S91band
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Born Without Blood
Seattle has it coming.
Born Without Blood is a band of brute savages dedicated to the art of brutalization of metal music's hearing destruction powers. The false will disintegrate upon the wall of the true American brutality's Born Without Blood's desire to loud and blasting. Growl, scream, blast, solo, growl again and some more, bang the head, hurt the neck in the morning and apply Icy Hot for pain, and you'll be alright-ok-alright, alright.
Born Without Blood = brutality = you mosh = me M.O.S.H.
bornwithoutblood.bandcamp.com
Monday, May 27, 2019
Illimitable Dolor
Illimitable Dolor
Leaden Light
Transcending Obscurity
20 March 2019
I first heard this band while on vacation. At the beach boys were running along with the waves while the little California girls were building sand castles, and the parents were taking in the sun, and I was absorbed in death doom while getting sunburned. I found out that this band is from Australia, according to Metal Archives, and this is their second album. They began in 2014, and in 2017 their debut album was out and now this is their 2019 album. I see on Metal Archives that they are in a bunch of other bands, but I’m not sure if I have heard any of them.
They play doom, a genre plagued by mediocrity. I cannot believe that you guys are loving just about any ole Jane and John getting together to drink beers and playing slow music with fat-belly screams over it?! Everyone and their cousin has nowadays formed a doom band and everyone else is raving about it. Well, the mediocre doom has been building up for oh I don’t know how long, but I keep thinking bad doom will never die but Illimitable Dolor shows up and makes me realize doom’s going to be ok. Illimitable Dolor says to doom fans, don’t worry, baby, everything will turn out alright.
Help, help me, Rhonda, help me get bad doom of out my life! After hearing so many mediocre doom bands, here is an excellent reminder how death doom is done right. A lot of doom is so average. It must be embarrassing for other doom bands to hear this album. Hey, maybe it’s a good thing for us if more doom bands hear this album! Maybe it will motivate them to stop wasting our time with their aimless alcohol-fueled jam sessions being passed off as “albums”? Maybe it will make more people realize how truly unskilled they are and make them finally stop being in bands? Wouldn’t it be nice if we were spared the bad doom, then we wouldn’t have to wait so long for bands to break up, and wouldn’t it be nice to live together in the kind of world where mediocre doom does not exist? You know it’s gonna make it that much better, when we say goodnight to bad doom and we can stay together with great doom. Oh, wouldn’t it be nice?
What a difference it makes when it is a full band and with all the instruments. The keyboards and the guitars work very well together to create real melodies that are inviting. Under those melodies the rhythms move and change the landscape. The lame obsession with playing slow and monotonous music is not found here. It is death doom, but melody, melancholy and songs are the rulers of this realm. Often this band makes the guitar practically sing the requiem, and that’s not easy to do. Top notch death doom of majesty and melancholy.
illimitabledolor.bandcamp.com
Saturday, May 25, 2019
interview: Bläkken
This Polish extreme metal band hit the ground running in 2018 with their demo Bläkk Blood, an impressive first recording that sounds big and powerful, plenty brutal (featuring the loving title “Meat Grinding Death Machine”) with a dash of melody here and there, and all headbanging extreme metal. In 2019 they have another recording, this time it is called The Ascendancy of Evil. The music is immediately likable as headbanging extreme metal with a surprisingly clear production that sounds good to the ears. This band is starting to sound very promising and that first recording was no accident. They have a clear idea of what their sound is, heavy, not so focused on speed although speed is in there, but more focused on the particular direction of the songs, and not so much obsessed with making sure that all the songs sound like 100% death metal or 100% black metal or any stylistic restrictions like that. In short, while the lyrics are brutal and typical of extreme metal’s focus on the sick, demented side of life, the music shows a certain maturity that extreme metal bands do not show on their early recordings. One question that remains is: Can this band keep things going or will they break up and be just another band that once seemed promising as an extreme metal act? It is a question with no answer yet. We’ll just have to wait and see. Check out this interview and check out the music by going to the link at the end of the interview.
Tell us about your band and the name.
We're Bläkken from Poland. We were founded in 2017, debuted on stage on December 30th 2017 as a supporting act for Vader and played 25 concerts in Poland, Germany and Sweden ever since. I'm Piotr, the rhythm guitarist, and I'll be answering your questions. And about the name... well, we were trying to come up with a name for our band for quite some time, month or two I think, and we weren't happy with anything. One day I was listening to Blackened by Metallica and that moment when Hetfield screams BLACKENED really struck me. I immediately saw the name "BLÄKKEN" in my head and loved it. Guys loved it too, so that's the story. It doesn't really mean anything. Though we would love to blacken the world and the sun with our music.
Reviewers and fans like to categorize. What genre do you call your music?
At first we wanted to play stoner/sludge metal with black n' roll vibe, but we failed. Right now we play black/death metal with thrash influence, but we don't limit ourselves with any genre. We play what we want and how we want, no matter if it's black, death, thrash or any other shit. We just play Bläkken.
Is there a good metal scene there where you live? Where in Poland does your band operate? How is life there in general where you live, work and school and stuff?
We all live in Szczecin, it's one of the biggest cities in Poland, located in north-western part of the country, close to the German border. The metal scene isn't really existing here. There are maybe 4 or 5 metal bands but they are rarely playing any concerts here or anywhere in the country so we're not interacting with each other really. Sure, we have friends in some of these bands, but it's not Bay Area or anything.
At the moment there are only 2 clubs where we can play but we are more focused on conquering new areas than playing in our hometown so we don't mind.
Life here is alright, quite average. It's not hard to get a job, education is fine. We do have 'bad' parts of town where it's easy to witness violence and crime, but overall it's not that bad. The only problem is money and politics. We are way poorer than Germans or Swedes and our currently reigning party sucks big time.
We all are working day jobs, two of us are also still studying at University of Szczecin and I just graduated. So as you can see Bläkken is a big part of our lives, but it's not our entire life.
About your latest recording’s artwork, is this a special painting for your band or is it an old painting?
Yes, it's a painting by Léon Bonnat called "Job". It was made somewhere around 1880 I believe. There is no concept. We just decided that the song "The Ascendancy of Evil" has the best title for the whole album, we told our graphic designer that we need a cover art to fit that name and he came out with that. We loved it, people also seem to enjoy it so we're satisfied with the outcome.
You have a lot gore and brutality in your lyrics. Is it from horror movies and the news?
Yea, the real inspiration for our music is life itself. Most of our songs are inspired by real life events, urban legends, tragedies and such.
Does the title The Ascendency of Evil express your views? Do you consider yourself religious (satanist, etc.)?
Wow, that's a hard one. We're not satanists, that's for sure. One of us is even a catholic (won't tell you which though!), but we're mostly atheists. We just don't give a flying fuck about god or any 'spiritual' authority.
Do your lyrics express a hatred of women, like on “Lethal Lover”?
I don't think you've paid enough attention when you read the lyrics to Lethal Lover, dude. This song is a classic love story. Boy loves a girl but this girl does not love him back. So the boy decides to kill a girl so no one can ever love her. Classic, right?
We love women. Women are awesome and we're so fuckin' happy there are so much of them at our concerts. But if you're a woman and you're offended by us using a word "slut" in our lyrics... then just fuck off.
Does Poland being part of the European Union make it easier for you to tour in Europe?
Yea, Poland is in EU. It is easier only when it comes to visas and paperwork, there are no borders, we can travel through EU only with our IDs. But it is expensive. Prices and salaries are very different. For example - a college student in Poland can earn about 3-4$/h working at McDonald's, while the same student working in German McDonald's would earn 10$ and a Swede would earn 15-20$. Poland is a pretty fucked up country. I remember some guy from Jackass called Poland the Mexico of Europe. It's about right.
Every concert outside of our hometown comes with some sort of sacrifice. It's always a challenge for us financially so we can't really afford playing every weekend, though we wish we could.
Does everyone in the band want to tour a lot?
We're very ambitious when it comes to our music. We would love to be able to make a living playing music, we would love to tour all over the world. We do have girlfriends, they're not quite happy with us going on tours, but c'est la vie, baby. They know they can't chain us down and force us to choose between them and Bläkken because we would chose Bläkken every time.
What would you like to say to American fans of brutal metal in regards to your band?
Support the underground, support your local scene... and fuck your politics! Man, we would absolutely love to play a U.S. tour. But unfortunately, it's hard as fuck. Poland is the only U.S. ally that can't come to U.S. without visas. Also, we're one of the most loyal U.S allies, so we believe it's really fucked up. But that's politics, politics are fucked up all over the world, there's not much you or me can do about it.
Thank you very much for this interview and we would like to thank each and everyone of our U.S. fans and readers of Metal Bulletin for reading this. Keep supporting metal all over the world, but keep supporting Bläkken the most! STAY BLÄKK! blakken.bandcamp.com
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
interview: A Vintage Death
A Vintage Death is a solo project of atmospheric doom from Italy. Totally new to this publication, below is an introductory interview that should interest fans of one-person DIY atmospheric doom. The interview has details about the recording Acrid Death Fragrance and also about life in Italy for A Vintage Death. Hear the music for yourself at the link at the bottom of the interview.
Hello, can you please introduce your project A Vintage Death?
Hi everyone, my name is Carmine and I am the only and only member of the A Vintage Death project. For me it's my first solo experience, even though in the past I was part of several bands, so far, my most important project has been with Rising Moon, where however we were only two members to compose and take care of the band, so let's say I'm at ease. I have make all sound of guitars, bass, drums, keyboards and voices. I was born as a drummer, I always played drums in my old bands, so I didn't have any problems recording the real drum parts on the EP. I also personally take care of the recording, I am at my first experience, I do not have a professional instrumentation or a modern software, so the results are not of high quality, but for the genre proposed and for a first job I consider myself quite satisfied.
Carmine, is A Vintage Death your first band/project?
Absolutely no … I started playing drums since childhood, then the classic local school cover bands. Around the age of 15 I had my first real band "Condanna", from where I and the guitarist then founded "Body Grinder" and later changed our name to "Rising Moon". I've always played drums, but sometimes I wrote riffs, played keyboard parts, and enjoyed backing vocals. No, as a child I have never sung or taken singing lessons, guitar lessons etc., then my parents do not play any instruments, nor listen to much music, they are practically the anti-music ahahah!!!
Does the music on the recording sound like you originally imagined?
Absolutely no ... as I said before, the songs in the EP have undergone a long and laborious development over the years, made up of dead times and hard moments, so let's say that it was an evolutionary process that led the songs to change skin and mood over the years. I can safely tell you that the essential differences from how I developed the songs in the past and how I completed them now can be looked for in a greater melodic component that was missing before, the embryonic songs were much cruder and dirty, even the arrangement of every riffs is certainly much more sought after and outlined. I am happy with how the songs sound today and I believe that I will continue on this path, marking the Black, Doom and Death Metal components even more if possible.
Did you grow up in Italy, Carmine? What Italian heavy metal music did you like when you were a teenager?
Yes, I was born and raised in Italy, in a small town in Abruzzo. In adolescence, before discovering Heavy Metal, I mainly listened to Italian rock, then one day a friend of mine gave me a tape to listen to, it was "Slowy We Rot" by Obituary and from there it all changed. I'm not a real lover of Italian metal, we're known beyond borders for metal genres that I don't particularly like. I could tell you about many valid bands that I loved, but let's say that I really enjoyed the first albums by Sadist and Necromass.
What international metal bands did you like back then?
I grew up listening to American death metal, my favorite bands are Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Deicide and then I approach the Swedish death metal like At The Gates, Dissection, Hypocrisy above all. Lately I'm more in the Black Death Doom Metal genre, I still listen to all the old bands, but to be honest I don't really appreciate their latest works, except for the Hypocrisy!
Do you live now in the same area where you grew up? Are there metal music concerts where you live?
Yes, luckily for me I still live in the land where I grew up, I love my land and I feel good here. I live in a small town with my family, here I have everything, sea and mountain near me. For small concerts in my area I can't complain, in fact for some years now the situation has definitely improved, there are really delicious concerts and festivals.
Are you a big fan of football like many Italians?! Sometimes it looks like Italians have two religions: 1.Christianity (of course) and 2. football. That’s true in Spain and England, too, of course. Do you follow football news and events?
No, absolutely not ... I do not follow football, I rarely see any match (on TV) of the Italian national team, when at least it has got qualifiers tournaments hahaha !!! Anyway as a child I loved Juventus, so let's say Juventus is still in my heart, but nothing more ... if it wins or loses for me it makes no difference. Yes, in Italy football in particular is very popular, maybe I would say too much for my taste, lots of money goes around it and I don't like it. So let's say I'm not true Italian, because I'm not a Christian and I don't follow football hahaha !!!!
Sometimes, in the news, like recently, we see in the news that Italian football fans seem to hate African or Black football players in Italy because the Italian fans insult the Black players. As an Italian, how do you feel about this issue?
Yes, even if I don't particularly follow this sport, unfortunately the sports news more and more often reports episodes of racism in football, and I'll tell you that lately (also thanks to the government that we have now) even in the social chronicle the cases of racism have increased. Yes, as Italian the fact embarrasses me a lot and I think that in a developed and civilized country this is a serious flaw.
Please tells us more about Acrid Death Fragrance. When you began A Vintage Death, what type of music did you want to make? How old are the songs? Is this all new music?
A Vintage Death is a project that I have been carrying with me for several years and that due to lack of time and important family commitments I have never been able to realize it, then everything went well in the last year, where I gathered all the ideas accumulated over the years and I poured them into "Acrid Death Fragrance".
Are all the songs about death? Have you experienced the death of a friend or family recently?
Natural death has always attracted me since I was a child, from the stories of my grandparents to the hypothetical life after death, to nocturnal walks in cemeteries, everything for me has always been a great source of inspiration. I am 40 years old and currently I have not had so many deaths in my life, but some of them have marked me very emotionally, to one of them in particular I have dedicated "Acrid Death Fragrance".
Does the thought of death worry you (and the people that you leave behind)?
Death is a natural event, sooner or later it comes just a matter of time. I often think of my own death, in my head I imagine so many possible scenarios, but in reality I hope for a natural death and without suffering, perhaps at a considerable age. I have a wife and a small child, so if death must come I hope this happens as late as possible, maybe when my daughter is old enough to understand how life works.
What do you believe will happen you die? Do you believe in Jesus Christ and the Bible or do you believe that it is mythology? What are your reasons for accepting God or for rejecting God?
No, I'm not a Christian, I consider myself an absolute atheist. My idea after death is simple and concise, that is nothing ... like before being born, nothingness, even after death, nothingness. Many people believe in the afterlife, of a new life, maybe meeting new loved ones in earthly life, it would be really nice and the very idea fascinates me a lot, I really hope so, also for me. I do not believe in god, but I do not reject him either, I strongly respect those who think differently from me, every person has reasons to live and live. I categorically reject fanaticism, be it religious, cultural or ideological.
On the recording Acrid Death Fragrance what equipment do you prefer?
I am not a guitarist, so I am not so knowledgeable on the subject, I don't have a favorite brand, I simply use the one with a sound more suited to my music. For the EP recordings I tuned my guitar 2 tones and a half below and for the distorted sound I used the classic Metal Zone pedal, nothing simpler.
When you think about the sound quality of Acrid Death Fragrance, are you pleased and satisfied with the sound of the drums? What about with the vocal styles? If you make future recordings, what elements of the recording process do you think that you would like to improve?
Surely there is to be improved, on all aspects ... When I started recording the EP I didn't know where I would end up, what kind of sound I would get, everything was born by itself, slowly, day after day. I really like drum sounds, it's really raw and essential, I think it fits well with all the other instruments. The growls vocals are the most criticized part of the whole job, I have never used this type of singing in my life, except sporadically in some past work and I think I absolutely have to improve them. However, as a first job I feel quite satisfied with the overall result.
What would you like U.S. fans to know about A Vintage Death?
I would like to invite your readers to listen to the project at least once, it's a first job where I tried to devote myself to 100%, it certainly has a lot of flaws and it doesn't sound very professional like recording or anything, but I think it's a great base, on leather work and do better. I'm working on future songs and I don't have a precise direction, but everything I create are the result of my feelings and moods transformed into notes.
avintagedeath.bandcamp.com/releases
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
interview: Andrey Tollock (Ukraine)
read online number 170 of Metal Bulletin Zine
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