Amon Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days? Hello my friends!!! we are working on a set list for a tour. Also Brian is building guitars and Jechael is working in a few bands, Mike has been working hard at drums.

2.How would you describe the musical sound of the new album , and also how does it differ from previous albums that you where a  part of in the past? The new album is allot more complex than some of the old albums. We have some killer arpeggios in the rhythms and some killer bomb blast beats on the drums, a bit more complex solos and some kick ass vocal lines.

3.The song lyrics cover a lot of Occult and Conspiracy theory themes, van you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics? yes government conspiracy, and also alien life, how humans are controlled by the Draconian's and grays and how they control the planet and many others, also feasting on humans. 

4.I know that the band was name after an ancient goetic/egyptian demon, what was it that interested you about this diety before you named your band after him? Well it was Carnage at the time, Glen actually came up with that name for the band we liked it and we then changed it to AMON.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance? Russia was amazing, they had lasers and an awesome light show. The stage performance was awesome!!! it was packed, one fan got thrown off the stage from the security and he almost broke his neck brutal!!! 

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future? Yes we will do Florida first then the world in 2014 I am saving some $ to tour my friends

7.Recently FDA Rekotz have re-issued your album on vinyl, what are your thoughts on the final product? AWESOME!!!TOTALLY KILLER!!! very professional 

8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to the new album by fans of extreme metal? The fans love it, they enjoy some new music, it has been a long time.

9.What is going on with the bass player and singer's other musical project these days? He jams in a few bands, he is on the road right now doing some shows with one of his bands, very active person, he is awesome!!!

10.What direction do you see your music headign into on future releases? it will get better and more atmospheric larger sound, more complex and more killer solos!!!

11.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays? we enjoy all the bands out today to many to name they are just getting better and better

12.Outside of music what are some of your interests? science studying astronomy, lifting weights and some painting.

13.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview? I would like to thank the fans for their endless support, you rule!!!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/AMON/737062752977944

Bleeding Gods/Blood Symphony/2013 EP Review

  Bleeding  Gods  are  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  ep  "Blood  Symphony".

  The  ep  starts  out  with  some  slow,  dark  and  heavy  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  drums  and  melody  and  then  spoken  word  parts  start  to  kick  in  which  also  leads  to  the  music  taking  a  faster  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  deep  death  metal  growls  and  then  the  music  starts  mixing  slow  and  fast  parts  together  along  with  some  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  and  once  guitar  solos  are  added  into  the  music,  the  ep  starts  going  for  more  of  a  brutal  sound.

  By  the  time  the  music  goes  into  the  second  song  old  school  thrash  influences  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  band  really  knows  how  to  take  the  early  90's  brutal  death  metal  sound  and  mix  it  in  with  thrash  and  make  it  sound  very  powerful  and  heavy  sounding  and  this  band  really  knows  its  old  school  death  metal  very  well  and  are  very  talented  and  utilize  a  great  amount  of  skill  to  create  their  own  brand  of  death  metal.

  Song  lyrics  cover  ancient  gods  and  war,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical instruments  that  are  present  on  this  ep.

  In  my  opinion  Bleeding  Gods  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Empire  of  the  Immortals"  and  "Into  The  Depth  Of  Misery".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.    

Omnivore Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?

We are a death/thrash metal band formed in northern Italy, across 2007. We were just kids, 16yo to 18yo was the average age of the members. The band consists in: Giona Nazzari (bass), Joshua Basile (guitars), Stefano Dal Soglio (drums), Paolo Antoniazzi (vocals, guitar). We are 4 guys who just love death metal, hardcore, thrash and punk, and wanted to fucking play some killer riffs with fast drumming, which we did for 5 years, since 2008. We released 2 demos and recorded a CD in the summer of 2012, that's being released on February 18th by Unspeakable Axe Records.

2.How would you describe your musical sound?

In the beginning of this project we were listening a lot of thrash metal, so in the past we were playing faster riffs with cleaner vocals, being contaminated by classic thrash and crossover/hardcore bands. Then we came in contact with D-Beat, old school death metal, crust punk, grindcore, italian hardcore as well, so we decided to put things up to this level. We grew up between the italian metal scene and the punk one. We listen to a lot of bands and we decided to make a mix of all our musical influences, trying to include every aspect of a genre we liked, but remaining on the headlines of a fast death metal sound. So that's what it is for us.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

Well, we are kind of a anarchic/left-wing sided band, such as Sepultura was in the first place. We faced lyrical themes such as war, life, death, we criticize the fulcrum of the biggest cancer of mankind, which is catholic church (living next to it), the struggle of realizing to live in the illusion of this society, how society itself is collapsing, and how governments have such negative power on the masses. The amount of shit with which medias are distracting us from what's happening around it's embarassing. We tried to put together every aspect of this world which makes us fucking angry, because that's what it is.. You have to be worried about what they're doing to people, what they did to information and medias, what your future will be -and things are getting pretty clear for people nowadays- and explode everything you have to say with your music.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name Omnivore?

Well we chose it because we were in front of a big change for the band. The previous name was Nightmare of Fallen, which we decided to change after a slight band split-up. We wanted to find a name that suited well the band's music and that sounded good to us. Then we've been inspired by the song "Omnivore" by Demolition Hammer, which sounded fucking good. We would like to specify that we did not choose it for going against ANY food culture (such as vegetarianism, veganism, raw food diet users, etc.), which, instead, we respect. Omnivore is the thought of men, Omnivore is death, is something that eats and incorporates everything, without distinctions of any kind, and it comes for all of us.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Honestly, we played a lot of gigs in the past years, but almost every time we played in pubs, small rooms, and we did a lot of gigs in social clubs. We played exclusively in Italy until now, but we played in a lot of different cities. I think the biggest gigs we did were during some italian festivals. The band's live activity is huge but most of the gigs were in this terms. We never have been paid to play, and we enjoyed every one of the gigs we played in, we had a good time, we tried to make people moshing and headbanging, and of course we tried to transmit our ideas. We never cared much about sound, because in a lot of situations we had to -or decided to- play with other people's equipment (such as amps, microphones), or we shared our equipment with others. You try to get the doomest sound you can, then you plug-in your instrument and destroy the stage.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

 We were planning on doing a self-financed tour over Europe after the album's release, but it's all under construction, and after the studio sessions we decided, due to various things, to put the band on hold. So.. we don't know anything yet. Let's see what lies ahead.

7.The new album had a Sepultura cover, what was the decision behind doing your own version of one of their songs?

We decided to make a cover of it because it's the song which represents the most all of the ideas and thoughts we were trying to inject in the album. This song has a personal meaning for us, it represents a moment of our lives when we were discovering this music, when we were kids, making rehearsals in our garage. It represents the climax of a great band. It gives you the charge, the song is telling you to stay put, to resist, to withstand. When we decided to include the song in the album we didn't know what was going to be the future of our band, so we recorded it to leave it there in case things were going to end. It's representative to us and it sounds fucking good. What else?

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death and thrash metal?

Our music never reached a worldwide level until now. Thanks to a friend of us, Tobi Zama of the Australian band Sewercide (which is a kicking awesome band, check it out!), we signed under Unspeakable Axe Records, and the owner, Eric, is doing an excellent job pushing our product in and outside Europe. So we are being reviewed right now, (with positive feedbacks, I have to say) our music is going through some radios and it's spreading. We don't expect nothing, of course, but this is positive because honestly we never thought we would have reached these results!

8.Are there any other musical projects besides this band?

Of course there are other projects. Bassist Giona started a throaty/death/crust/gravy band called Infuria and a Death/Doom band called Hadit; guitarist Josh started a band called Overcharge, playing a motorcharged/rock'n'roll/d-beat/riding music; Stefano, the drummer, always played along with some really good hardcore bands such as Miseria, My Own Voice, Ruggine. All of these bands recorded at least once at Mobsound Recording Studios in Milan, Italy, which is the same place where we recorded our album, releasing a demo or a CD. So if y'all wanna check out some good stuff..

9.What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

Honestly.. we have no idea. Things are constantly evolving right now, and this label and promotion stuff is really new and positive. We hope we can gain some gigs outside Italy (that would be really cool) and for now we don't have thoughts on future releases in particular. We have to wait, be patient, and see where all of this good feedbacks lead us to.

10.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

We always listened to a lot of bands different genres. Every band we liked had an influence on our music, of course each one in a big or a small part. I would like to include every band that had at least a bit conditioned our way of composing: Driller Killer, Sepultura, Hail Of Bullets, Bolt Thrower, Toxic Holocaust, D.R.I., Exploited, Inepsy, Violator, Wolfpack, Wolfbrigade, Demolition Hammer, Suicidal Tendencies, Black Sabbath, Raised Fist, Death, Discharge, Motorhead, Eyehategod, Death, Tragedy, Municipal Waste, Slayer, Opeth, Ratos De Porao, Razor, Disrupt, Skitsystem.

Of course a lot of italian bands made the difference: Negazione, Skruigners, Sottopressione, Wretched, Jesus Ain't In Poland, Tear Me Down.

11.Outside of music what are some of your interests?

All (or almost all) of us are working to make a living besides this passion. We like hanging out, drinking, smoking pot, going to concerts, pussy, science, astronomy, quantum physics, car tires, car parking, car rental, Germany, german pussy, jazz, writing articles for magazines, teaching, drumming, spitting, wine, beer, italian cheese, italian food, world food, and a lot of things like these. Otherwise, even if we have to, we don't like to work.

12.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

We hope people appreciate our work and share our music. We dedicated the album to the metal/punk scene on a worldwide scale, we hope it will continue to shake the pillars of earth and keep giving birth to awesome new bands as it always did!

https://www.facebook.com/UnspeakableAxeRecords

The Kennedy Veil/Trinity Of Falsehood/Unique Leader/2014 CD Review

  The  Kennedy  Veil  are  a  band  from  Sacramento,  California  that  plays  a  very  brutal  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Trinity  Of  Falsehood"  which  will  be  released  by  Unique  Leader.

    Once  the  album  kicks  in  death  metal  growls  are  introduced  before  going  into  a  fast  and  brutal  direction  along  with  blast  beats  and  a  small  amount  of  screams,  once  the  slow  parts  start  to  come  in  the  music  gets  a  lot  more  heavy  and  skull   crushing  while  also  keeping  around  the  fast  parts  and  adding  in  technical  elements.

  As  the  album  moves  on  melody  starts  to  mix  in  with  the  brutal  nature  of  the  music  and  they  also  mix  in  with  the  technical  guitar  leads  which  also  leads  to  the  bass  guitars  getting  more  powerful  sounding,  and  the  album  is  all  about  brutality  from  start  to  finish  while  also  being  diverse  and  when  we  get  to  the  forth  song  the  drums  really  start  mixing  in  a  variety  of  many  different  beats  that  add  more  power  to  the more  brutal  elements  of  the  recording.

  One  of  the  main  strengths  the  album  has  is  the  slower  parts  you  can  really  hear  the  darkness  being  invoked  but  at  the  same  time  it  does  not  really  take  over  but  it  does  add  a  lot  of  power  to  the  album  and  keeps  it  from  not  sounding  one  dimensional,  and  another  great  part  of  this  recording  is  how  they  take  from  the  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  mix  it  in  with  the  brutal  elements  of  the  more  modern  direction  and  there  are  no  core  elements  being  utilized  in  any  part s of  the  music  and  it  is  purely  100  percent  true  death  metal.

  Song  lyrics  cover  anti  religion  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  brutal  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  The  Kennedy  Veil  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album>  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Eulogy  Of  the  Divine"  "King  of  Slaves"  "Necrotic  Gospel"  and  "In  The  Ashes  of  Humanity".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Lie In Ruins/Toward Divine Death/Dark Descent Records/2014 CD Review

  Lie  In  Ruins  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  very  heavy  and  brutal  form  of  Finnish  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Toward  Divine  Death"  which  will  be  released  by  Dark  Descent  Records.

  The  album  opens  up  with  some  bells  and  background  sounds  that  evoke  an  evil  atmosphere  before  the  heavy  death  metal  parts  start  to  kick  in  with  its  slow  and  crushing  sound  and  once  the  growls  start  to  kick  in  the  music  gets  more  skull  crushing  which  then  takes  us  into  the  faster  parts  of  the  music which  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.

  Once  the  music starts  mixing  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  together  the  album  really  starts to  take  off,  as  we  start  to  head  into  the  second  song  dark  sounding  melodies  are  added  into  the  music,   which  also  leads  up  to  the  leads  coming  in  and  out  of  the  music while  not  utilizing  much  in  the  way  of  solos  and  letting  the  heavy  death  metal  rhythms  dominate   and  growls  dominate  the  recording.

  Acoustic  guitars  when  they  are  finally  added  into  the  music  while  bring  out  the  darkness  more  clearly  but  they  are  not  really  used  much  on  the  album, but  as  time  goes  on  by  the  music  really  starts  to  get  more  fast  and  brutal  in  certain  parts  as  well  as  adding  in  more  of  a  dark  atmosphere  which  really  starts  to  really  blend  together  when  high  pitched  screams  are  mixed  in  with  the  growls.

  Once  we  got  more  into  the  album  there  are  some  evil  avant  garde  sounds  added  into  the  music,  before  going  into  the  nest  song  and  the melodies  that  come  out  of  the  music  evoke  more  of  an  occult  feeling  before  returning  back  to  the  heaviness  and  darkness  this  album  has  plenty  of,  and  when  we  get  closer  to  the  end  there  is  a  very  dark  and  blasphemous  guitar  solos  being  utilized  on  one  song,  before  bringing  in  a  lot  of  old  school  Swedish  and  Florida  death  metal  influences  and  the  album  closes  with  some  dark  sounding keyboards  which  bring  a  perfect  ending  to  the  recording.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark,  anti  religion  and  occult  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  dark,  brutal  and  professional  while  the  bass  guitars  are  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix,  in  addition  the  songs  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Lie  In  Ruins  are  a  very  great  sounding  heavy,  dark  and  brutal  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Endless  Void"  "Blood  Of  The  Dead"  "Venomous  Tongues"  and  "Of  Darkness  And  Blackened  Fire".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Corpsessed/Abysmal Thresholds/Dark Descent Records/2014 CD Review

  Corpsessed  are  a  band  from   Finland  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical  style  I  would  describe  as  being  an  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Abysmal  Thresholds"  which  will  be  released  by  Dark  Descent  Records.

  The  album  kicks  in  with  an  evil  sounding  intro  as  well  as  having  a  very  demonic  and  epic  tone  to  it,  once  the  heaviness  the  music  really  starts  to  take  off  along  with  some  dark  sounding  death  metal  growls  which  leads  to  an  all  out  assault  of  fast  Swedish  style  death  metal  guitar  riffs  and  blast  beats,   and  when  the  music  slows  down  you  can  hear  a  lot  of  dark  atmosphere  while  the  album  focuses  more  on  being  fast.

  Throughout  the  album  there  are  a  great  mixture  of  slow  and  fast  parts  that  get even  more  evil  sounding  once  the  music  starts  utilizing  some  melody  which is  also  very  dark  sounding,  as  the  album  moves  on  the  bass  guitars  get  even  more  heavy  and  distorted  death  metal  guitar  leads  start  to  come  in  at  times.

  By  the  time  the  album  gets  to  the  fourth song  you  can  hear sound  effects  being  mixed  in  before  the  heavier  and  darker  elements  start  to  dominate  as  well  as  screams  and  growls  that  start  to  mix  in  with  each  other  and  as the  album  progresses,  it  gets  even  more  evil  when  synths  are  mixed  into  certain  parts  of  the  album  while  only  being  used  as  a  background  sound  instead  of  a  lead  instrument.

  Once  the  fifth  song  kicks  in  bells  are  added  in  for  a  few  seconds  and  the  music  goes  into  a  slower  and dark  direction  for  awhile  before  returning  to  an  all  out  fast  death  metal  assault  as  well  as  mixing  in  the  slow  parts  to  evoke  a  ritualistic  atmosphere,  as  time  goes  on  by  you  can  hear  small  amount  of  classical  and  horror  movie  soundtrack  style  elements being mixed  in  with  the  dark  and  occult  nature  of  the  music  while  it  is  only  used  for  a  few  seconds,  and  then  the  rest  of  the  album  focuses  more  on  being  a  classic  death  metal  recording.

  Song  lyrics  cover  Darkness,  Lovecraft,  Left  hand  Path  and  Occult  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  as  well  as  the  last  song  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.    

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Corpsessed  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  old  school  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Of  Desolation"  "Necrosophic  Channeling"  "Apotheosis"  and  "The  Threshold".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Chaos Plague/Self Titled/2012 EP Review

  Chaos  Plague  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  progressive  form  of  death  metal  and this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  and  self  released  2012  ep.

  The  ep  starts  off  with  some  heavy  guitar  riffs,  powerful  bass  guitars  which  also  dominate  on  every  song  that  is  preset  on  this  ep  and  drums  before  going  into  a  more  technical  and  progressive  death  metal  direction  while  having  some  very  powerful  bass  leads,  once  the  growls  start  to  kick  in  the  music  goes  into  an  even  more  heavy  direction  while  also  evoking  and  early  90's  atmosphere  as  well  as  the  growls  going  into  many  different  directions.

  The  classical  guitars  which  are  present  on  the  ep  bring  in  a  good  amount  of  70's  prog  elements  hen  they are  present  as  well  as  mixing  in  some  clean  vocals  that  are  a  aprt  of  both  the  opening  and  closing  tracks  and  once  the  music  returns  back  to  being  heavy  the  growls  get  more  extreme  and  mix  in  some  high  pitched  screams,  blast  beats  once  they  are  mixed  in  bring  in  more  brutal  elements,  before  mixing  in  melodic  guitar  leads  that  really  bring  out  the  character  of  the  more  technical  elements  that  are  present.

  Once  slow  parts  are  added  into  the  ep  they  help  bring  in  more  diverse  elements  as  well  as  bringing  the  heaviness  out  even  more  and  giving  the  music  more  character,  and  towards  the  end  of  the  second  song  spoken  word  parts  are  finally  added  in  before  making   a return  to  growls,  as  the  ep  goes  into  the  3rd  song  you  can  hear  elements  of  thrash  being  mixed  in  with  death  metal.

  Song  lyrics  cover  philosophical  and  life  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  ep.

  In  my  opinion  Chaos  Plague  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "In  Death  I  Trust".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Faust/From Glory To Infinity/Paragon Records/2009 CD Review

  Faust  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical  style  i  would  describe  as  being  progressive  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their 2009  album  "From  Glory  To  Infinity"  which  was  released by  Paragon  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  some  fast  and  melodic  sounding  instruments  which  bring  in  a  classic  metal  feeling  and  once  the  death  metal  growls  start  to  kick  in  the  music  starts  mixing  in  mid  paced  and  fast  parts,  when  solos  are  very  introduced  to  the  album  they  bring  in  alot  of  prog  metal  elements  which  mix  in  very  well  with  the  heavier  side  of  the  album  as  well  as  the  blast  beats.


  When  the  music  goes  into  a  slower  direction  in  certain  parts  of  album  you  can  hear  a  lot  of  sorrow  and  despair  being  invoked  as  well  as  some  of  the  most  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  that  i  have  heard  on  an  album  of  this  caliber,  as  the  album  starts  to  move  on  the  classical  guitars  start  mixing  in  with  certain  sections  of  the  music,  while  the  album  remains  very  heavy  all  at  the  same  time  while  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  scales  which  show  how  diverse  the  musicians  are  with  their  music,  you  can  hear  that  they  really  took  time  to  develop  the  talented  musical  skills  they  display  throughout  the  recording.

    Later  on  during  the album  a  lot  of  old  school  thrash  and  power  metal  influences  are  mixed  in  to  create  a  truly  original  form  of  progressive  death  metal     which  also  later  brings  in  elements  of  jazz  and  classical  music  which  do  not  rob  the  album  of  its  extreme  metal  qualities,, and  you  can  really  hear  a  lot  of  skill  being  displayed  once  the  2  instrumental's  is  added  to  the  album  which  is  also  very  short  yet  powerful..

  Song  lyrics  cover  anti  christian  and  philosophical  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.        

  In  my  opinion  while  this  album  is  almost  5  years  old  this  was  a  great  release  from  Faust  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  progressive  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Purple  Children"  "Golden  Wine  Countess"  "Carnal  Beatitude"  and  "Holy  Hole".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Warfare Noise/Geyhaze Records/2013 CD Re-Issue Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  1986  compilation  that is  called  "Warfare  Noise"  which  was originally  released  by  Congumelo  Records  and  has Chakal,  Mutilator,  Sarcofago  and  Holocausto  all  extreme  metal  bands  from  Brazil  and  was  re-issued  in  2013  by  Greyhaze  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Chakal  a  band  that  played  and  early  form  of  death/thrash  metal.

  "Cursed  Cross"  opens  up  with  some  distorted  and  evil  noises  as  well  as  demonic  growls  kicking  in  and  a  few  seconds  later  heavy  death/thrash guitar  riffs  began  their  assault  along  with  drums  and  then  the  music  goes  into  a  faster  direction  mixed  in  with  high  pitched  screams  and  as  time  goes  on  by  guitar  solos  become  a  part  of  the  song  briefly  and  then  the  music  alternates  back  and  forth  between  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  closing  with  a  powerful  sounding  bass  riff.

  "Mr.  Jesus  Christ"  begins with  heavy  thrash  metal  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  drums shortly  after  that  which  also  leads  up  to  some  early  death  metal  growls  that  also  takes  the  music   into  a  faster direction  as  well  as  mixing  fast  and  mid  paced  parts  together,  halfway  through  the  song  guitar  leads  start  to  kick  in   for  a  short  time  until  returning  back  to  the  regular  guitar  riffing.

  Song  lyrics  cover  anti  christian  themes,  while  the  production  has  the  classic  raw and  primitive  sound  early  Brazilian  metal  bands  where  known  for  having.

  In  my  opinion  Chakal  where  a  very  great  sounding  early  death/thrash  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  underrated  band,.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Cursed  Cross".

  Next  up  is  Mutilator  a  band  that  played  another  early  death/thrash  metal  band.

  "Believers  Of  Hell"  starts up  with  heavy  guitar  riffs  along  with  some   drums  before  going  into  a  more  brutal  death/thrash  direction  along  with  some  growls  and  a  minute  later  the  music  goes  into  a  more  mid  paced  German  style  thrash  direction   before  speeding  up  again  and  adding  in  a  guitar  solos  which  appear  for  a  few  seconds  until  the  heavy  guitar rhythms  close  the  song.

  "Nuclear  Holocaust"  kicks  in  with  fast,  evil  and  dirty  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  growls  and  the  song  goes  for  a  fast  direction  as  well  as  adding  in  evil  screams,  as  time  goes  on  by  their  is  a  brief  use  of  mid  paced  sections  being  mixed  in  with  the  faster  parts  as  well  as  some  early  death  metal  guitar  leads  which  add  to  the  extreme  mature  of  the  music.

  Song  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  war  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  distorted,  heavy  and raw  sound  to  it  in  true  underground  80's  metal  tradition.

  In  my  opinion  Mutilator  where  another  great  sounding  death/thrash  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  true  80's  underground  metal,  you  should  check  them  out.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Nuclear  Holocaust".

  Next  up  is  Sarcofago  the  most  well  known  band  on   this  split  and  a  huge  influence  on  the  black/war  metal  scene.

  "Recrucify"  comes  in  with sound  effects  and demonic  growls  and  the  song  is  more  of  an  intro and  closes  with  some  high pitched  screams.

  "The  Black  Vomit"  breaks  in  with  fast,  raw  and  primitive  guitar  riffs,  drums  and  black/death  metal  growls  as  well  as  mixing  in  a  variety  of  many  different  riffs  while  also  remaining  fast,  which  also  leads  up  to  the  vocals  getting  more  demonic,  as  time  goes  on  by  guitar  solos  start  making  their  presence  known  and  then  blast  beats  start  kicking  in,  in  addition  a melodic  scream  can  also  be  heard  briefly  towards  the  end.

  "Satanas"  hits  it  off  with  fast,  dark,  heavy  and  dark  sounding  guitar  riffs  along  with  blasting  beats,  deep  growls  and  a  few  seconds  of  melodic  screams,  as  time  goes on  by  the  music  gets  more  diverse  along  with  a  brief  guitar  lead  and  then  it  is  back  to  the  faster  elements  and  demonic  vocals.

  Song  lyrics  cover  Satanism  and  Anti  Christian  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dirty,  raw  and  primitive  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  these  songs  Sarcofago  add  to  the  split  are  some  of  their  best  material,  and  if  you  want  to  learn  the  roots  of  black/war  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "The  Black  Vomit".

  Closing  the  split  is  Holocausto  a  band  that  played  an  early  form  of  black/thrash  metal.

   "Destruicao  Nucler"  is  introduced  with  fast,  heavy,  raw  and  primitive  guitar  riffs  along  with  drums  and  deep  growls  and  as  time  goes  on  by  the  music  alternates  between  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  bass  guitars  that  get  heavy  for  a  few  seconds.

  "Escarro  Naplam"  which  is  also  the  last  song  on  the  album  begins  with  drums  along  with  some  fast,  and  heavy  guitar  riffs  shortly  after  that  as  well  as  growls  becoming  a  part  of  the  mix,  a  couple  of  minutes  later  there is  a  brief  use  of  guitar  leads  and  then  the  song  goes  back  to  the  classic  black/thrash  sound.

  Song  lyrics  are  written  in  their native  tongue  and  cover  war  themes,  while  the  production  is  in  the  same  direction  as  all  of  the  previous  mentioned  bands.

  In  my  opinion  Holocausto where  a  very  great  sounding  early  black/thrash  metal  and  if  you  want  to  learn  the  roots  of  true  underground  metal,  give  this  band  a  chance.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Escarro  Naplam".

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great sounding  compilation  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  death,  black  and  thrash  metal.  RECOMMENDED  BUY.     

Omnivore/Self Titled/Unspeakable Axe Records/2014 CD Review

  Omnivore  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  old  school form  of  death/thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2014  album  which  was  released  by  Unspeakable  Axe  Records.

  "Intro"  starts  up  the  album  with  clean  and  dark  sounding  guitar  playing  and  a  few  seconds  alter  heavy  and  melodic  guitar  riffs  along  with  bass  guitars  and  drums  kick  in  and  then  going  into  a  faster  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats.

  "Dead"  which  is  also  the  first  official  song  on  the  album  opens  up  with  spoken  word  parts  along  with  some  samples  before  adding  in  some  heavy  and  old  school  death/thrash  metal  guitar  and  bass  riffs  as  well  as  some  blast  beats  from the  drums  being  adding  in  screams,  growls  and  blast  beats  as  well  as  alternating between  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  towards  the  end  there  is  a brief  use  of  guitar  solos  and  leads  being  utilized.

  "Trust"  begins  with  drum  beats  as  well  as  some  heavy  and  melodic  guitar  and  bass  riffs  and  then  the  music  speeds  up  a  bit  along  with  some  screams  and  growls  as  well  as  alternating  between  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  as  time  goes  on  by  their  is  a  brief  sue  of  back  up  shouts  and  guitar  leads.  

  "I  Hope  The  War  Comes"  opens  up  with  heavy  guitar  riffs  as  well  as  some  bass  guitars  and  drums  and  you  can  also  hear  some  melody  in  the  music  before  speeding  up  and  adding  in  vocals  and  the  music  also  alternates  between  mid  paced  and  fast  sections  and  towards  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music.

  'Hypochrist"  kicks  in  with  spoken  word  parts  and  samples  and  a  minute  later  old  school  metal  and  guitar  riffs  kick  in  along  with  some  drums  before  going  into  a  faster  direction  as  well  as  bringing  in  vocals  and  blast  beats  and  during  the  last  minute  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music.

  "Nothing  More  Than  Dust"  hits  in  with  guitar  leads  that  come  in  and  out  of  the  music  and  riffs  as  well  as  some  drums  and  bass  guitars  before  going  into  a  faster  direction  along  with  blast  beats  and  vocals  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  to  alternate  between  slow  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  getting  more  melodic,  halfway  through  the  song  sounds  of  nature  as  well  as  classical  guitars  make  their  presence  known.

  "Omnivore"  which  is  also  the  title  track  of  the  album  begins  with  bell  sounds  before  adding  in  heavy  and  melodic  sounding  guitar  riffs  as  well  as  some  drums  before  speeding  up  adding  in  bass  guitars,  vocals  and  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  to  alternate  between  slow  and  heavy  parts  as  well  as  adding  in  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  "Arise"  which  is  the  last  song  on  the  album  as  well  as  a  Sepultura  cover  starts  off  with  fast,  heavy  guitar  and  bass  riffs  along  with  some  drums  before  adding  in  vocals  and  after  awhile  distorted  guitar  effects  and  melody  are  added  into  the  music  as  well  as  alternating  between  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  small  amount  of  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Song  lyrics  cover  war,  anti  religion  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  old  school  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Omnivore  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  death/thrash  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dead"  "Hypochrist"  and  "Omnivore".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

  .         

Amon/Liar in Wait/FDA Rekotz/2013 Vinyl Review

  Amon  are  a  band  from  Florida  that is  very  well  known  as  being  the  first  incarnation  of  Deicide  as  well  as  the  Hoffman  brothers  using  the  name  for  their  own  project  with  the  music  being  an  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013 2  album  "Liar  in  Wait"  which  was  re-issued  in  2013  on  vinyl  by  FDA  Rekotz.

  "Among  Us"  which  is  also  the  first  song  on  the  album  opens  up  with  heavy  old  school  death  metal  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  drums  and  death  metal  growls  before  adding  in  melody  and  blast  beats along  with  a  small  amount  of  screams  and  towards  the  edn  gutiar  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music.

  "Eye  of The  Infinite"  begins  with  fast  and  heavy  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  drums  before  adding  in  death  metal  growls  as  well  as  some  melodic  guitar  riffing  and  blast  beats  which  also  leads  up  to  some  screams  being  mixed  in  briefly  which  also  leads  up  to  some  guitar  solos  that  come  in  and  out  as  well  as  the  music  going  into  a  slower  direction  and  then  speeding  up  again  along  with  blast  beats.

  "Lash  Thy  Tongue  And  Vomit  Lies"  starts  up  with  melodic  guitar  leads  and  drums  before  adding  in  fast  and  heavy  guitar  riffs  as  well  as  some  drums,  growls  and  screams  and  after  awhile  guitar  solos  start  coming  in  and  out of  the  music a long  with  blast  beats.

  "Liar  In  Wait"  which  is  also  the  title  track  of  the  album  begins  with  heavy  and  melodic  sounding  guitar  riffs  as  well  as  some  drums  which  also  utilize  blast  beats  before  adding  in  screams  and  growls  and  the  song  closes  with  a  guitar  solos  as  well  as  alternating  between  slow  and  fast.

  "Reaching  For  Flesh"  kicks  in  with  heavy,  fast  and melodic  guitar  riffs  as  as  well  as  some  blast  beats  from  the  drums  which  also  leads  to  growls  and  screams  as  well  as  the  music  alternating  between  slow  and  fast  parts  and  towards  the  end  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music.

  "Semblance  Of  Man"  comes  in  with  heavy  guitar  riffs  as  well  as  some  blast  beats  from t he  drums  and  you  can  also  hear  some  melody  and  technical  elements  in the  guitar  riffing  as  well  as  leads  that  come  in  and  out  before  adding  in  growls  and screams  as  well  as  alternating between  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.    

  "Sentience  And  Sapience"  breaks  in  with  heavy,  fast  and  melodic  guitar  riffs  as  well  as  some  blast  beats  from the  drums  before  adding  in  growls  and  screams  which  also  leads  to  the  music  alternating  between  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  adding  in  guitar  leads  towards  the  end.  

  "Spat  Forth,  Forth  From  The  Darkness"  hits  it  off  with  fast,  heavy  and  melodic  sounding  guitar  riffs  as  well  as  some  blast  beats  from  the  drums  before  adding  in  screams  and  growls  along  with  guitar  leads  and  solos  that also  come  in  and  out  of  the  music  and  you  can  also  hear  mid  paced  sections  at  times.

  "Wraith  Of  Gaia"  which  is  also  the  last  song  on  the  album  starts  up  with  fast  and  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  leads  that  also  come  in  and  out  of  the  music  along  with  blast  beats  from the  drums  before  adding  in  growls  and  screams  and  the song  also  alternates  between  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Song  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Occultism  and  Anti  Christian  themes,  while  the  production h as  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy and  professional  sound  while  the  bass  guitars  are  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix.

  In  my  opinion  Amon  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Among  Us"  "Liar  In  Wait"  "Semblance  Of  Man"  and  "Wraith  Of  Gaia".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.         

Shrapnel Storm Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

We are a death metal band based in Tampere, Finland. To indicate our genre more specifically, we play old school death metal in the spirit of 90's mid tempo death bands. We started things in around 2007 with a bit
different lineup. We've released 3 demos prior to this new promo release.


2.How would you describe your musical sound?

Our songs are based on heavy over driven guitars and groovy rhythm. As it comes to sound, we've taken all the good things from nineties golden era of death metal and mixed those into present-day Shrapnel Storm sound.


3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

We explore war-themes from varied angles. Some songs are pretty straight forward death and destruction. Others deal with the consequences of war. How it can cripple nations and destroy people. How does it feel, when you return home from a warzone and are treated like the worst possible trash, while you're trying to deal with PTSD.


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name Shrapnel Storm?

The idea was to invent a name which describes the most unpleasant conditions in war. Name Shrapnel Storm came out from our guitarist Aki. We were playing ball between some not-so-good name variations, when suddenly Aki sent the name late at night by SMS. At that point, we all knew it was THE name.


5.What are some of the best shows that the band ha splayed so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

We have played good gigs all around the southern part of Finland. If we pick something, big festival afterparties have been nice places to play. One good memory is from our hometown Tampere – we played in Sauna Open Air afterparty with Japanese killers, Metalucifer. It certainly was like a metal sauna in there! Possibly most fun we have had outside of our native city of Tampere, was in Riihimäki in 2010. Wild people out there! As far as stage performance goes, we certainly aren't a part of the NO FUN / NO MOSH movement - we just try to enjoy ourselves and encourage our audience to do likewise. Play it loud and play it proud!


6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

We're making a small tour in Finland before entering the studio to record our debut album. Confirmed dates are now Lahti 14.12.2013, Tampere 7.2.2014, Helsinki 21.2.2014 and Hyvinkää 19.4.2014.


7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

We're looking for a deal, but considering them only if we see, that both parties can benefit from the deal. Today, all the glamour from record deals seem to be gone. Usually record companies do not take any risks,
and deals are often worse than releasing records by yourself. We've been contacted by labels, but nothing mind blowing has been offered yet.


8.On a worldwide level, how has the feedback been to you music by fans of death metal?

It is kinda varied. For the genre we play, it is not so obvious to get noticed in the ”big picture”. It is sure that our music is dividing opinions: some people like us really much, and some can't listen to us at all. Overall we've received pretty good feedback. Strangely, it seems that metal heads in Latin America like us very much.


9.What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

We might drop the speed down a bit and take a small step into the murkiness of sludgish metal. Then again, we might pick up the speed and enter more thrashy territory. The road is open at the moment, but one
thing is certain: we will not be having blast beats.


10.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

We've been inspired by the bands like Obituary, Sepultura, Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, Winter, Entombed, Cancer, Sadus, Benediction and many others. Ykä (Ville) has taken vocal influence from several great frontmen, mostly David Vincent, Antti Boman and Mille Petrozza. Currently the musical tastes within the band are rather diverse and we can pretty much only agree on the bands listed above.


11.Outside of music what are some of your interests?

Part of us have families, so in that case there isn't problems how to use spare time. Apart from that, we enjoy other band's live gigs and everything related to music. And of course drinking beer.


12.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

In case you haven't heard our music, you can find it from facebook: http://www.facebook.com/shrapnelstormband or from our official website http://www.shrapnel-storm.com. See you on the frontlines and trenches. Clutch your gun and hope that the next mortar won't land on your head!

Shrapnel Storm/We Come In Peace/2013 EP Review

  Shrapnel  Storm  are  a  band  from  Finland  that plays  an  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  ep  "We  Come  In  Peace".

  "Detracked"  opens  up  with  old  school  death  metal   guitar  riffs  and  drums  and  a  few  seconds  alter  growls  and  screams  make  their  way  into  the  song  and  the  music  sticks  to  mostly  a  slow  and  mid  paced  direction.

  "Deathroller"  begins  with  some  slow  death  metal  guitar  riffs  and  drums  and  a  few  seconds  alter  growls  and  screams  make  their  way  into  the  song  as  well  as  the  guitar  riffing  utilizing  some  melody.

  Song  lyrics  cover  death  theme,s  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  heavy  and  old  school  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Shrapnel  Storm  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  style  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Detracked".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

    

The Beyond Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

Hello everyone and thanks for this interview! We are The Beyond from Italy and we play death metal. At the moment we are busy in promoting our first EP "Decaying Death" and are working on new songs. At the moment two of them are ready and have been already played live, and another couple is on the works. And obviously we are looking for a label and working hard to find new live gigs.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the ep?

"Decaying Death" presents a sound which is a synthesis of both American and European death metal: in it you can find morbid guitar riffs, adrenalinic accelerations with blast beats and slow-downs. The songs pay tribute to bands like Napslm Death, Terrorizer, Morbid Angel, Obituary, Death and Autopsy.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new release?

Our drummer Corrado is the lyricist of the band: his lyrics take inspiration from reality and from literature and express great criticism towards society and humanity in general. We can't really predict which topics the new songs will deal with, so far we a new song called "Social Surgery" about Cesare Lombroso and another one entitled "Crawling Worms", which can be taken as a strong disapproval to many aspects of human race.

4.I know that the band was named after an old Italian horror film, what was it that interested you about this movie and made you decide to use it as a band name?

Our monicker is inspired by the Lucio Fulci masterpiece "The Beyond" ("E tu vivrai nel terrore - l'aldilà" in Italian): we are all great fans of this great director, one of the forefathers of splatter and gore and this movie is a mix of gore and supernatural phenomena, with incredibly realistic special effects for that time. What we particularly appreciate about it is the fact that there is no happy ending, there is no space for hope. We thought it would be perfect for a death metal band.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Since we started our band activity, we have played a certain amount of shows, both inside and outside our region which is Trentino - Alto Adige, where there are no places left to play live. We would say that one of the best gigs we have had so far was in Naturns together with Blood Edition: we didn't play as good as we wanted, but the aftershow was a great party and we had a lot of fun with the guys! In addition, we recently played in Riva Del Garda at Lochness Pub and despite the location was very small the response was great and we really enjoyed seeing all the people in front moshing and headbanging. We can't really say we go wild while playing, we just concentrate on playing well and let our music instigate the audience.

6.DO you have any touring or show plans for the future?

We don't have any tour planned, but we always are on the lookout for new gigs, especially outside our region and hopefully outside Italy, as we live near the Austrian border. It is quite difficult but we keep on searching and don't get discouraged.

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

Like every band, our goal is to release a full-length album through a label, so we are looking for one that could produce us and release our material. We have had some proposals, mainly from very small labels, but we are taking our time and, most important, we are looking for a deal that could be worth for us: for us it is important to be supported by promoting the band and hopefully receive a financial help fot the recordings, even if we know it is very hard. We will see, meanwhile we keep on searching..

8.Are there any other musical projects besides this band?

Our drummer Corrado plays in a thrash metal band called Final Fright (https://www.facebook.com/FinalFright?fref=ts), which is releasing a new EP soon. Our bass player Moreno and our guitarist Federico play in Battering Ram (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Battering-Ram/81819442456), a metal cover band. As far as our singer Michel and our other guitarist Michele is concerned, The Beyond is their only band.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal?

 The response has been great so far! Most reviews have been positive about "Decaying Death" and also the fans appreciated it, both in Italy and the rest of the world. We have done several interviews and during the live gigs people enjoyed the songs and showed us their support by headbanging and moshing! For us it is great to see such emotional involvement, and we all hope that more and more people could know us and like our music.

10.What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

The new material we have we might say that is an evolution of the style of our first Ep. We started from those songs and tried to find a more personal sound incorporating into it some more grind influences. We are also working to differentiate a bit more the riffs played by the two guitars. That is the style we are going to follow for the material we are writing for our next release.

11.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

The influences for our new material are pretty much the same that inspired the writing of our EP: old school death metal in the vein of the bands we mantioned above.
The musical taste of the members of the band is quite different and goes over the boundaries of the metal genere, but the thing that we have in common is that we are all big fans of death, thrash and sludge. Between the bands that we are listening to in those days there are some very cool italian bands like Viscera/// and Psychofagist, with whom we had the pleasure to play some time ago.

12.Outside of music what are some of your interests?

We all have different intrestes, but another thing that we all have in common in addition to music is the passion for exploitation movies, vintage horror movies in particular. The horror movies that you see nowdays are mostly standardised and flat if compared to those that came out in the seventies. Those where really creepy and scarry movies that used to deal with extreme subjects. 
Ah, I was almost forgetting our main passion, the one that we share for beer!

13.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

We would like to thank you for this interview, we hope that your readers will enjoy it as much as we did answering your question! If you are interested in The Beyond you can find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBeyondDeathMetal?ref=hlour page is constantly updated with news, pics, live and all the stuff you need to know about us! In addition, you can listen to "Decaying Death" for free on our Bandcamp page:http://thebeyonddeathmetal.bandcamp.com/
Cheers!