Sunday, March 27, 2011

Defile Des Ames/Lust 'n' Stone/Ahnstern/2008 CD Review


  Defile Des Ames are a band from Greece that plays a style that i would describe as being dark Avant-Garde Folk and this is a review of their 2008 album "Lust 'n' Stone" which was released by Ahnstern.

Drums are mostly slow to mid paced beats with some percussion being used at times and some fast drumming, while the folk instruments such as the clarinet and flute give the music a heavy folk music feel.

Acoustic guitars are mostly full chords and finger picking that give the music a medieval feel, while the vocals are a mixture of spoken word passages and clean singing vocals with some aggression being used at times that has a slight black metal feel to it, as for the noise effects when they are used they bring an avant garde feel to the music.

Lyrics cover violence, rage, murder, purity, winds, mushrooms and the philosophies of Anton Levay, while the production has a very dark and medieval feel to it.

In my opinion Defile Deas Ames are a very good neo-folk band that should appeal to all fans of this genre. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Carnal Desire" "Mushrooms" "Liar" and "Under The Spell". RECOMMENDED BUY.

https://www.facebook.com/DefileDesAmes/

Friday, March 25, 2011

Dannagoischd/Emm Dicha Ondrholz/Percht/2009 CD Review


  Dannagoischd is another project of Waldwuuda of Vinterriket and Atomkrat fame that plays a style I would describe as being Alpine Forest Folk and this is a review of their 2009 album "Emm dichda Ondrholz" which was released by Percht.

Percussion's are mostly slow shamanistic beats, while the acoustic guitars utilize a lot of finger picking and full chords to give the music a dark folk music feel mixed in with a small amount of synths that give the music an avant garde/ambient feel, as for the flute it has a medieval pagan feel to it.

Vocals are mostly clean singing male vocals with a small amount of female that use a small amount of aggression, spoken word passages and whispers, while the lyrics are written in ancient Swabian language and cover creatures living in darkest woods with all their legends, atmospheres and myths, as for the production it has a very dark feel to it.

In my opinion Dannagoischd are a very good dark neo-folk band that should appeal to all fans of this genre, RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Harbschwald" "Vegigsang" "Baumschdempf" and "Fadzazug". RECOMMENDED BUY.

http://www.dannagoischd.com/

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Birch Book/Birch Book III_A Hand Full Of Days/Ahnstern/2009 CD Review


  Birch Book is a project from Portland, Oregon that plays psychedelic Avant Folk music and this is a review of their 2009 album "Birch Book III_ A Hand Full Of Days" which was released by Ahnstern.

Acoustic guitars use a lot of finge rpicking and full chords to give the music a folk music feel mixed in with a small amount of electric guitars that use a short solo, while the percussion are kind of slow beats, as for the harmonica it kind of brings a bluesy edge to the music.

Vocals are all clean singing while the lyrics touch everyday life type of themes with a metaphysical approach, as for the production it has a dark but professional feel.

In my opinion Birch Book are a very good neo-folk band that has a sound more of it's own and could also get fans of old folk music as well neo-folk fans. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Patchwork Woman" "Sad Song" "Nothing More" and "Will Of The Wind". RECOMMENDED BUY.

https://www.facebook.com/BIRCH-BOOK-125680497458286/

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Arnica/Viejo Mundo/Percht/2010 CD Review


Arnica are a band from Barcelona, Spain that plays a style that mixes traditional Pyrenees Folk, heathen battle, and hunting songs and this is a review of their 2010 album "Viejo Mundo" which was released by Percht.

Drums when they are utilized are slow folk music beats that sound very shamanistic and tribal in a pagan way, while the accordions bring a Basque approach to the music, as for the flutes when they are utilized they bring a different side of European culture instead of the more standard Nordic and Celtic stuff that everybody is used to.

Acoustic guitars are very primitive sounding folk music riffs, while the vocals are clean singing vocals with some spoken word passages and some aggressive vocals, as for the lyrics they are written in a mixture of Spatalan and Catalan language and cover Basque Paganism and folklore, with the production having a dark and medieval sound.

In my opinion Arnica are a very good neo fol pagan band that should appeal to all fans of this genre. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Ilmatar" "Hijo De Deava" "Aguarda" and "Galdr". RECOMMENDED BUY.

https://www.facebook.com/arnicaurfolk/

Sturrmperct/Salamandersschnapps/Video Review

Sturmperct are a neo folk band from Austria and this is a review of their song and video "Salamanderschnapps.

Acoustic guitars have a very medieval feel with some accordions and flutes being used while the keyboards sound very atmospheric.

Vocals are all clean singing, spoken word and I assume the lyrics cover paganism and nature, there are also a lot of pictures of the woods and animals in Europe.

In my opinion this is a good song from Sturmpercht and I would like to hear more music from this band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vldz0GZmaKM

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Proscriptor/The Venus Bellona/Cruel Moon International/1997 CD Review


  Proscriptor is a solo project from Proscriptor McGovern of Absu fame that plays a style that I would describe as avant garde/neo folk/occult/pagan music and this is a review of their 1997 album "The Venus Bellona" which was released by Cruel Moon International.

Percussion is very tribal and pagan sounding and there are also alot of folk instruments such as Marching snare, congas, dumbeck, Triangle, concert tympani, bells, blocks, brush , mahogany fife, recorder mellotron used throughout the album.

Bagpipes give the music a Scottish/Celtic feel, while the bows have a very dark avant garde sound, as for the pianos when used they bring a dark sounding edge to the music, and there are sound effects used throughout the album.

Acoustic guitars have an avant garde folk feel, while the vocals are a mixture of clean singing, spoken word passages and ritualistic talk mixed in with some female vocals, as for the lyrics they touch on Celtic Paganism, Crowley Magick, Ritual Magick and Caballa, with the production being veryy professional sounding.

In my opinion Proscriptor is a very good band that plays a style that is hard to describe and if you are a fan of such music styles as neo-folk, dark ritual, and occult music you should check out this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "I Am The One""Kiss Of Shade" "Serpentine Of The Six Fold Star" and "I Ran So Far Away". RECOMMENDED BUY.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Proscriptor/27617

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Perunwit/W Kregu Debrow/Astral Wings/1995 CD Review


  Perunwit are a black/pagan/folk/dark ambient band from Poland and this is a review of their 1995 album "W Kregu Debow" which was released by Astral Wings Records.

Keyboards are very atmospheric and pagan as well as ambient sounding with some instruments such as a glosy and tamburyn being used at times that bring some shamanistic elements to the music, while the lyrics are written in Polish and cover Slavic Mythology and National Socialist themes.

Guitars when they are utilized use open chords and are very pagan/epic sounding with a good amount of melody while the vocals are all clean singing with some harsh vocals that bring the black metal influence to the music and have a ritualistic/shamanistic feel as for the production on this album which was recorded at Isengard Studio during 1995 sounds very professional and you can hear all of the instruments that are used on this album.

In my opinion Perumwit are a very good folk/dark ambient band, and if you are a fan of neo folk,dark or black ambient you should check this band out. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Arkona" "Z Jednej Ziemi" "Lesny Duch" and "Opowiesc". RECOMMENDED BUY.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Perunwit/3540307162

Sunday, March 13, 2011

The Dead Interview


1. Can you update us with what is going on with the band these days?
The Dead (Chris): We have almost completed recording our next album. Should be out on Diabolical Conquest Records around /June.


2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album, and how does it differ from previous releases?
The Dead: I'd say it is our most 'musical' offering to date, having said that, it is our most primitive sounding release in both songwriting and production . We are doing the whole recording ourselves this time, so we will have no-one to blame but ourselves!



3. How would you describe the lyrical content of the new album and what are some ideas that came into your head when writing the lyrics?
The Dead: Well I can't speak for why Mike writes what he does, I've no idea really . I know he likes "killing n shit"



4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
The Dead: The inspiration was to not sound like a metal band. Last thing the world needs is another metal band.


5.Have you had any opportunities to do any live shows yet, if so what are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
The Dead: We've been playing live since 2005 so we have a few shows under our belt. Our best show was supporting Obituary at a small, local club.The promoter was a drug-addled dick and started ranting at us that we were late for a soundcheck (that never happened) and we won't be playing blah blah.... We set up in 5 minutes and started playing which shut his fat, greasy, speed-frothing mouth. The Obituary guys were really cool tho.



6. Are there any current side projects besides this band, or is this a full time line-up?
The Dead: I play in a side project with Aphotic Mote from Portal but it's not metal. The other guys - this is their main band.




7. On a worldwide level, how has your music been received by stoner/doom/death metal fans worldwide?
The Dead: Some people like it, some don't. More people generally contact you if they like it than if they don't so the scale is weighted in numbers to those people.




8. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
The Dead: No idea. At this stage we have put any new ideas on hold until the album comes out. Then we will start the process again and see what comes out.

9. Are any of the members into black metal, on one of the songs I noticed a black metal feel?
Yea we enjoy music of all kind, even Black Metal haha. Actually the other guys are more into it than I am. I couldn't really hold much of a conversation about it.




10. What are some band or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
The Dead: All three of us have extremely varied taste but we all agree on the classics like Morbid Angel, Bolt Thrower, Voivod, Black Sabbath etc etc as being great . I'm currently listening to a lot of Laura Marling. Mike is probably listening to 80's thrash or death and Adam hopefully is listening to our album while mixing it.




11. Outside of music, what are some of your interests?
The Dead: Mike likes video games, Adam likes working on his muscles and I like to buy shit I don't need and/or can't afford.


12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
The Dead: Yes... if I see another three word band name I'll vomit.
- thanks for the interest in the band.

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Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Wolfmangler-Self Titled/ Aurora Borealis Records/2007 CD Review


Wolfmangler-Self Titled/ Aurora Borealis Records/2007


Wolfmangler is a project consisting of 6 members from the country of Poland and I would describe their music as black/folk/dark ambient and this is a review of their album.

Drums are slow throughout the recording which gives the music a military type beat,while the bassoon sounds dark and conjures up visions of the dark pagan gods. as for the flute it has a really deep sound that sounds very haunting.

Bass guitars on this recording are both electric and acoustic and they have a really dark sound while the vocals have a black metal influence and at times there are spoken word parts, as for the production on this cd which was recorded at 1502 Merry Orts sounds really good and you can hear all of the instruments.

The cd did not come with a copy of the lyrics but by judging by the song titles and music itself they seem to be about the Slavic gods and paganism, and at times they seem to be doing rituals to the music. In my opinion this is a good release and I would advise everybody to pick up or order a copy of this cd. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Wolfmangler/28638

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Elend/Les Tenebres du Debhors/Holy Records/1996 CD Review


  Elend are a dark ambient/neo-classical band with members from both France and Austria, and this is a review of their 1996 album "Les Tenebres du Dehors" which was released by Holy Records.

Keyboard Orchestras give the music a classical music sound while the synths have a very dark avant garde sound with a gothic edge, as for the pianos that have a very tragic and poetic sound to them.

Violins have an orchestra style sound to them while the male vocals are a mixture between spoken word passages, opera/orchestra singing and deep death metal growls that have some high pitched screams that are influenced by black metal, as for the female vocals they are very symphonic and atmospheric with some whispers and spoken word passages.

Lyrics cover Luciferian themes, with some lyrics influenced by the writings of John Milton and there are also a lot of Gnostic influences and some of the lyrics are written in Latin to make the music sound a lot more darker.

Production on this album sounds very professional and you can hear all of the musical instruments that are present on this album, while the cover artwork contains paintings from Leonardo da Vinci, Victor Hugp, Albrecht Durer, and Gustave Dove.

In my opinion Elend are a very good band for this style of music and if you are a fan of dark ambient/neo-classical with death and doom metal influences you should check this band out. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Etherial Journeys" "The Luciferian Revolution" and "Dancing Under The Closed Eyes of Paradise". RECOMMENDED BUY.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Elend/1017

Monday, March 7, 2011

The Dead/Ritual Executions/Diabolical Conquest Records/2010 CD Review


The Dead are a band from Australia that plays a very brutal form of death metal mixed with stoner/doom metal and this is a review of their 2010 album "Ritual Executions" which was released by Diabolical Conquest Records.

Drums are mostly  slow drumming with some occasional fast playing and bast beats, while the bass playing has a very dark and distorted tone with a lot of slow, doomy and heavy riffing.

Rhythm guitars are very slow doom/stoner metal riffs that combine death metal influences to get a much more heavier sound with some faster riffs being used at times that have a black metal influence at times as for the lead guitars they are used only on the last song and have a stoner rock feel to the guitar solos.

Vocals are mostly deep death metal growls mixed in with some high pitched screams that are slightly black metal influenced, while the lyrics cover death, dying, cannibalism, suicide and one song is about centurions, a for the production it has a very heavy and raw sound to it with all of the musical instruments sounding very brutal.

In my opinion The Dead are a very good brutal stoner/doom/death metal band, and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Centurian" "Born In A Grave" and "Ritual Executions". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Thou Shalt Suffer/Somnium/Candlelight Usa/2001 CD Review


Thou Shalt Suffer was a side project from Ihsahn best known for his work with legendary Norwegian black metal band Emperor, Pecattum, as well as his sole work which started out as being death metal and evolved into a neoclassical project and this is a review of their 2001 album "Somnium" which was released by Candlelight USA.

Synths on this album are very heavily influenced by classical music as well as dark ambient and some noise/industrial music and they have a very haunting sound while the vocals sound like Gregorian chants with some screaming as for the female vocals they sound very operatic.

Lyrics on this album are written in Latin while the production on this album which was recorded and mixed sporadically at Symphonique Studio between 1993 and 1999 sounds very professional and has a very dark avant garde feel to it.

In my opinion Thou Shalt Suffer are a very good band for this style of music and if you are a fan of neo classical as well as Cold Meat Industry type stuff or even the more symphonic elements of black metal you should add this album to your collection. RECOMMENDED BUY.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Thou_Shalt_Suffer/2720

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Endura/The Dark Is Light Iron Music/1995 CD Review


Endura are a band from England that plays a style of music that I would describe as esoteric dark ambient and this is a review of their classic 1995 album "The Dark Is Light Enough".

Keyboards and synths are very dark sounding with some neoclassical influences that kind of have the feel of a Dungeons And Dragons type of video game while the drums when they are utilized have a tribal feel that is very shamanistic sounding at at times evokes an emotion that calls up the pagan gods.

Vocals are clean singing vocals that have a gothic music feel to them with some spoken word parts that calls up the Elder Ones, while the guitars when they utilizes are done on a classical guitar with a lot of finger picking being used, while the lyrics are heavily influenced by the writings of H>P Lovecraft and Aliester Crowley with a lot of occult references, as for the production on this albumwhich was recorded during the winter of 1994 and 1995 at Enlightenment House sounds very professional and you can hear all of the musical instruments.

In my opinion Endura was a great band for this style of music and if you are a fan of dark ambient or even black ambient you should add this album to your collection. STANDOUT TRACKS INCLUDE"Ubbo-Sathla" "when I Was Dead" and "The Dark Is Light Enough". RECOMMENDED BUY

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endura_(band)

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Dead Neon Interview


1. Can you introduce the band for those that have never heard of you before?
DEAD NEON is a post-apocalyptic primitive nuclear doom metal trio trapped in downtown Las Vegas. We live among the empty foreclosed homes and empty unfinished high-rise condos and empty bankrupted Fremont Street casinos and empty broken people of Sin City. We draw inspiration from the Nevada Test Site—now called the Nevada National Security Site or N2S2—less than 100 miles away, where the Cold War dreams of mass death were forged. In our music, we conjure a ruined Sin City of radioactive mutants, hungry zombies, tumor-cooking cannibals, infinite guns, gutted Strip hotels, with only a pocketful of survivors failing to survive. Vocalist/guitarist Jarett Keen recruited Jessie from an indie-rock act and Jaq from a deathcore outfit to help realize his grim vision, which we share. Jessie and Jaq each brought his own musical style and personality to Keen's ideas, and the result is something that we hope is pretty unique in doom.

2. How would you describe the musical style that you worked on for the new release?
The sound or musical style of DEAD NEON is the result of a miserable bus tour of N2S2 with nothing but LEONARD COHEN's The Future and GOATLORD's Distorted Birth playing on a shattered iPod as the tour guide spouted nothing but Cold War propaganda. The combination of this savagely melancholy music and a desert wasteland filled with massive subsidence craters and a rambling nuke-enraptured moron sparked something in the Jarett's imagination. The musical style is akin to insane monsters finding shelter in a Sam Ash music store and beating the instruments and each other to bloody bits while screaming passages from a COHEN piano cheat book. COHEN is a master bard of the apocalypse, while GOATLORD was a Vegas proto-doom-death band from the mid '80s, before the tags "death doom" became common. The two influences, COHEN and GOATLORD, sound perfect together, we think.

3. What are some of the lyrical subjects that the band explores of the new release?
The lyrical content is completely devoted to a black fantasy in which God erases humans because humans are psychotic. Western civilization is nothing more than an uncarefully disguised death cult. Only metal bands like BLACK SABBATH, HELLHAMMER and GOATLORD understand and articulate this notion, which is why DEAD NEON plays doom. LEONARD COHEN sees the death cult in his darkest moments, too, which is why we adore his music.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the band's name?
Because the songs focus on characters dying in Las Vegas, a dying city poisoned by radiation from an unspecified nuclear catastrophe, we decided to call ourselves DEAD NEON. Besides being a cool-sounding name, the three of us live just a beer bottle's throw from the Neon Boneyard, which is where old Vegas neon signs go to die and gather dust and occasionally provide shelter from the homeless. The old Stardust sign is in there now. We spotted it the other day on our way to a gig. A sad relic and a symbol of excess from better times.

5. have you had any opportunities to do live shows, if so what are some of the best shows that the band has played so far, and how would you describe your stage performance?
We have only performed a handful of times in Vegas, mostly in obscure, badly lit dive bars and taquerias. The best show we've played was in a bar called Lucky Lady that has no visible sign on the outside and virtually no Internet presence. You kind of just have to know where it is. But they have a great sound system there and great laser lights and psychedelic images coruscating on the flat screens. That night we opened for a bunch of black metal bands from out of town. They dug our set, and we dig their serrated music. We all got drunk and played terrifically and nearly gassed ourselves to death with the simultaneous use of a dozen or more fog machines. That was a highlight.

6. Are there any side projects besides this band?
Right now, no. That could change, of course. We just released our full-length debut cassette on a local black metal/crust punk label called Ecophagy Records. We plan to release our already written second album, Dead Neon II: Casinonomicon, with another new Vegas label, Hex Records, sometime next year. We just need to find a few days to record. We're hoping to get ex-GOATLORD/current SPUN IN DARKNESS drummer Jeff Nardone to produce it. That would be amazing.

7. How have extreme music fans worldwide react to your musical style so far?
We receive emails from all over the world, especially France, from distros asking if they can carry our cassettes. Sadly, the label only made 100, and there are only, like, seven left as of this interview. The reaction to our music has been overwhelmingly positive. We think it's because people know our hearts are really into doom, and we're not just trying to execute the same old Sabbath-indebted sound.

8. What direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?
DEAD NEON will hopefully head in a more technically accomplished direction. Since Jarett has only been playing guitar for a year or so, his chops are Neanderthal-grade, but he is getting better every day. However, don't expect DEAD NEON to transform into a prog or power metal act anytime soon. We like it nice and slow and dark and sludgy, because that's how we view the future. That's how it will all end.

9. How would you describe the underground music scene in your home state of Nevada?
Since DEAD NEON is limited to Las Vegas, Las Vegas is all we know. There are so many incredible underground bands here in town: SPUN IN DARKNESS, LETHAL INJECTION, BLATANT, EYESORE, FACELESS AND DESCENDING, PANCHO VILLA, SHEEP ON A CLIFF, LIFE'S TORMENT, DIE LAUGHING, GUTTURAL SECRETE, RED STATE SOUNDSYSTEM, MINOR SUNS, PIGASUS, SEA AND LAND, GROOVER, SCRAP IRON SAINTS, ASTERIONELLA, SEVENTH CALLING, IN THE FLESH and many, many more.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
We are influenced by all kinds of music, but currently we are listening to a whole lot new doom bands who are absolutely: MEGATON LEVIATHAN, WOLVSERPENT, BRITON RITES. BRITON RITES has a debut CD called Carmilla that is especially compelling, being a doom metal concept album based on a 19th century gothc lesbian vampire novel called Carmilla that predates Bram Stoker's Dracula by a quarter century. The guitarist, songwriter and lyricist HOWIE BENTLEY is a total monster on the axe, and I can't recommend his new band's album enough. If you like pure old school doom with an imaginative and literary bent, BRITON RITES' Carmilla is unbeatable.

11. Does Occultism or Satanism play any role in your music?
To a degree. We are all big readers of H.P. LOVECRAFT, ALEISTER CROWLEY, ROBERT E. HOWARD, ALAN MOORE, CODY GOODFELLOW and other dark literary spiritualists. However, we're not atheists or satanists or occultists. The way DEAD NEON sees it, only God with the help of stupid humanity is seeking to destroy the world, not Satan. God has a long history of flooding and burning the world and eradicating humanity. The Bomb serves as another weapon in His mankind-killing arsenal. He enables man to be evil, then punishes him for it. Pretty sick, right?

12. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
Jarett is a poet, professor and academic who has taught at Florida State University and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is more comfortable in a library doing literary research or analyzing a novel or writing a poem than playing doom metal. In fact, he has written and edited many books. But because he is such a huge fan of doom and feels he has something to contribute, he spends most evenings writing riffs and metal lyrics for DEAD NEON to rehearse and eventually record and perform live.

13. Any final words or thoughts before we close this interview?
If you're ever in Las Vegas, just follow the sound of world's end. There you will find DEAD NEON.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Dead Neon/Self Titled/Ecophagy Records/2010 CD Review


  Dead Neon are a band from Nevada that plays a sludgy form of doom metal with first generation black metal influences and has an effect of noise to their music and this is a review of their self titled 2010 album which was released by Ecophagy Records.

Drums are mostly slow to mid paced drumming with a small amount of fast playing or blast beats, while the noise effects sound very chaotic, as for the bass playing it has a very strong and powerful tone that dominates throughout the album.

Rhythm guitars are mostly slow and sludgy doom metal riffs that have a thrash feel on the more mid paced riffing, and there are no guitar solos or leads present on this recording, as for the acoustic guitars they are used on the last song and have a folk/country feel to them.

Vocals are a mixture of first generation black metal growls that also have a hardcore influence and the occasional death metal growl, while the lyrics touch on apocalyptic themes, as for the production it has a very raw feel but still captures all of the sounds of the musical instruments.

In my opinion Dead Neon are a very good band that have taken an 80's from of metal and have updated it for 2010 and if you are looking for something different you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Downbringer" "Black Ash" "Cancer Ridden" and "suns". RECOMMENDED BUY.