Mesetiah/Tesis/3rd Track productions/2014 EP Review

  Mesetiah  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  very  heavy  and  brutal  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "Tesis"  which  was  released  by  3rd  Track  Productions.

  The  ep  starts  out  with  a  very  heavy  and  brutal  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sounding very  powerful  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  thrash  influences  and  after  awhile  melody  and  leads  are  brought  into  the  music.

  As  the  ep  continues  the  band  stick  to  mostly  a  mid  paced,  old  school  but  still  brutal  sound  while  also  still  utilizing  catchy  sounding  melodies  at  time s as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  groove  metal  elements  and  on  the  last  song  they  spped  up  a  bit  and  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats.

  Mesetiah  are  another  band  that  sticks  to  an  old  school  death  metal  sound  and  while  there  is  nothing  original  on  this  ep,  the  band  makes  up  for  it  with  their  talent  and  their  ability  to  play  their  instruments  as  well  as  adding  in  catchy  parts  to  keep  their  music  interesting.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  and  violent  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  Mestiah  are  a  very  decent  sounding  old  school,  brutal  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Legacy  Of  The  Damned"  and  "Mother  Of  All  Executions".  7/5  out  of  10.    

































  

Devoid/The Invasion/Transcending Obscurity India/2013 EP Review

  Devoid  are  a  band  from  India  that  plays  a  mixture  of  thrash  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  ep  "The  invasion"  which  was  released  by  Transcending  Obscurity  India.

  The  ep  starts out  with  an  intro  which  uses  atmospheric  sounds  and  ethnic  style  guitars  as  well  as  other  instruments  and  when  the  music  goes  into  the  first  song  the  ep  goes  for  more  of  death  thrash  direction  along  with  a  mixture  of  growls  and  screams  as  well  as  groove  and  melody  and  after  awhile  blast  beats  are  added  into  the  music  which  also  leads  to  solos  and  leads.

  As  the  ep  continues  the  music  continues  its  mixture  of  death  metal  ,  groove  and  modern  day  thrash  while  also  sticking  to  mostly  a  heavy  mid  paced  direction  while  also  speeding up  a  bit  at  times  and  at  times  there  is  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples  as  well  as  the  leads  getting  technical  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  On  this  ep  Devoid  take  the  heaviest  elements  of  modern  day  thrash,  groove  and  death  metal  to  create  a  very  decent  sounding  and  while  it  is  not  the  most  original  sounding  album  it  is  still  another  fine  example  of  extreme  metal.

  Song  lyrics  cover  political  and  everyday  themes  while  also  having  a  good  sense  of  their  own  country's  culture,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  along  with  the  bass  guitar s being  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix.

  In  my  opinion  Devoid  are  a  very  decent  sounding  mixture  of  death,  groove  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Invasion"  and  "Brahma  Weapon".  7/5  out  of  10.   

Without Mercy/Reborn/2014 EP Review

  Without  Mercy  are  a  band  from  Canada  that  has  been  featured before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical  style  I  would  describe  as  being  a  technical  form  of  death  metal  along  with  groove,  thrash  and  metalcore  elements  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  ep  "Reborn".

  The  ep  starts  out  with  heavy  guitar  riffs,  drums  and  death  metal  growls  as  well  as  combining  many  different  extreme  metal  genres  together  and  after  awhile  solos  are  added  into  the  music  and  all  of  the  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  As  the  ep  continues  the  music  sticks  to  mostly  a  mid  paced  and  heavy  sound  while  also  bringing  in  technical  and  melodic  elements  as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  high  pitched  screams  and  there  are  no  fast  parts  or  blast  beats  being  utilized a nd  on  the  last  song  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  is  added  into  the  music.

  On  this  ep  Without  Mercy  combine  heavy  and  mid  paced  elements  of  death  metal,  groove  and  thrash  together  along  with  metalcore  and  technical  and  they  show  you  do not  have  to  be  fast  to  be  heavy.

  Song  lyrics  cover  violent  and  everyday  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  this  is  another  decent  sounding  recording  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  death,  groove,  thrash  metal  and  metalcore,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Worthless"  and  "Morphine".  7/5  out  of  10.  

SystemHouse33/Depths of Despair/2013 CD Review

  SystemHouse33  are  a  band  from  India  that  plays  an  experimental  form  of  thrash  metal  with  elements  of  death  and  groove  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  album  "Depths  of  Despair".

  The  album  starts  out  with  an  intro  which  uses ethnic musical  sounds  along  with  a  dark atmosphere  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  heavy  groove/thrash  metal  direction  along  with  aggressive  industrial  style  vocals  and  sounds  as  well  as  some  death  metal  growls  and  after  awhile  blast  beats  are  added  into  the  music.

  As  the  album  continues  it  keeps  its  heavy  and  mid  paced  sound  while  also  being  more  aggressive  than  most  bands  of  that  genre  and  actually  having  decent  instead of  crappy  music  which  that  genre  is  known  for  and  at  times  melodies  are  brought  into  the  recording  as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  synths  and  on  the  5th  song  guitar  leads  are  introduced  and  the  following  song  there  is  alos  a  brief  use  of  melodic  singing  and  the  growls  make  an  even  stronger  presence.

  On  this  album  SystemHouse33  take  modern.thrash/groove  metal  and  make  it  sound  very  interesting  by  bringing  in  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  as  well  as  being  experimental  and  they  bring  new  life  to  a  very  stagnant  genre.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  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  recording.

  In  my  opinion  SystemHouse33  are  a  very  decent  sounding mixture  of  experimental,  thrash,  groove  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Depths  of  Despair"  and  "Resistance".  7/5  out  of  10.          

Human Decay/Filgli Di Dio/2014 EP Review

  Human  Decay  are  a band from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  old  school form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  ep  "Filgi  Di  Dio".

  The  ep  starts  out with  a  very  heavy  early  90's  sound  along  with  some  leads  and  starts  adding  in  melody  after  a  few  seconds  which  also  leads  to  some  death/thrash  style  vocals  and  there  is  nothing  modern  being  utilized  but  the  ep  shows  a  great  amount  of  skill  and  talent  and  after  awhile  the  death  metal  parts  start  to  really  kick  in.

  On  this  ep  Human  Decay  go  back  to  the early  90's  death  metal  sound  along  with  elements  of  thrash  and  while  they  add  nothing  new  to  the  genre  they  show  that  they  are  very  talented  musicians  on  the  3  songs  that  are  present  on  this  ep.

  Song  lyrics  are  written  in  Italian  and  cover  dark  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark,  heavy  and  old  school  sound  with  the  bass  guitars  being  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix.

  In  my  opinion  Human  Decay  are  a  very  decent  sounding  old  school  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check out  this  ep>  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Vampiri".  7/5  out  of  10.

Kuazar/Wrath of God/2009 CD Review

   Kuazar  are  a  band  from  Paragauy  that  plays  an  old  school  form  of  death/thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2009  album  "Wrath  Of  God".

  The  album  starts  out  with  with  a  very  heavy  and  old  school  thrash  metal  sound  along  with  blast  beats  before  adding  in  aggressive  vocals  and  melody  as  well  as  an  early  death  metal  feeling  as  well  as  the  bass  and  leads  bringing  a  technical  feeling  to  the  recording  as  well  as  some  growls.

  As  the  album  progresses  it  gets  more  fast,  heavy  and  melodic  and  the music  combines  the  early  days  of  both  death  and  thrash  metal  and  on  the  4th  and  8th  song  clean  guitars  are  added  into  the  music  before  returning  to  a  heavier  direction  on  the  next  song's   and  adding  in  groove  elements  while  also  remaining  true  to  death/thrash  metal.

  On  this  album  Kuazzar  take  the  mid  80's  thrash  sound  and  combine  it  with  the  early  stages  of  death  metal  and  they  create  an  album  that  is  very  old  school  and  heavy  yet  brutal  all  at  the  same  time.

  Song  lyrics  cover  violent,  hateful  and  everyday  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  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Kuazar  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Truth  Of  Reality"  "Inner  Prison"  "Hunter  And  Prey"  and  "Twenty  Days  in  Hell".  8/5  out  of  10.

Ygodeh/The Experiment Failed/Inverse Records/2013 CD Review

  Ygodeh  are  a  band  originally  from  Latvia  but  now  relocated  to  England  that  plays  a  very  symphonic,  progressive  and  technical  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "The  Experiment  Failed"  which  was  released  by  Inverse  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  symphonic  sounds  which  bring  in  elements  of  classical  music  and  a  few  seconds  alter  heavier  parts  and  death  metal  growls  start  mixing  in  with  the  symphonies  along  with  melodic  guitar  leads  and  the  music  also  starts  getting  more  experimental.

  When  the music  goes into  the  second  song  faster  riffs  are  added  in  while  also  keeping  around  the  slower  parts  and  symphonic  elements  while  also  adding  in  melody  and  high  pitched  screams  and  after  awhile  progressive  and  technical  riffing  is  adding  in  along  with  the  bass  guitars  sounding  more  powerful  and  as  time  goes  on  by  elements  of  electronic  music  are  added  onto  the  record  along  with  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  spoken  word  parts  and  on  the  last  song  there  are  some  acoustic  guitars a nd  violins  which  also  enhance  the  variety  of  the  music.

  Ygodeh  show  a  great  amount  of  originality  with  their  music  and  they  take  90's  sounding underground  death  metal  and  mix  it  in  with  electronic,  symphonic  and  classical  music  to  create  a  sound  only  they  can  call  their  own.

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


  In  my  opinion  Ygodeh  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album>  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "To  Down"  "Eternal  immortal"  and  "Trance  orchestra".  8/5  out  of  10.  

Morfin Interview

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

 

Well the band started in 2010 with just Miguel and I, and we than recruited Michael and Pedro. We successfully released a demo called "Crystal Darkness" in tape format with 3 tracks and it was great, but from there we were working on our debut ever since and FDA REKOTZ picked us up and here we are! Just a month a away to release our debut album!

 

 

 

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is present on the upcoming album and also how does it differ from the demo you released in 2011?

 

This album has a lot of old school death metal vibe and style to it,with some sort of modern metal in this album simply because we love the style! But we can easily say it's heavy, fast and bonecrushing! We believe it is a big improvement from the last demo, we got a bit more technical on this album And a better sound!

 

3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with the music?

 

Most of the lyrics is based off sci-fi stuff. And about the world and the evil that occurs in it. I'm a big sci-fi fan whether it comes to aliens, mutations, robots, zombies, space, etc. we love this topic! And we are going to go a different direction for lyrical theme for the second album! This album lyrical theme, we believe that people can look at these lyrics and songs like it if was a sci-fi or horror story with badass music behind it! Mainly these lyrics go around zombies, mutations, diseases and the evil that happened in this world. 

 

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Morfin'?

 

We had trouble coming up with the band name. We deciding on some names but then we came up wit more different options than we started changing them. Until I just decided to call the band Morfin. Well the funny thing a lot of people were asking if we actually did or do morphine, which we do not haha.The meaning behind this band name is that some or most people who do morphine wind up getting pretty addicted to it to a point of no return and that's what music or making music is to me, addicting. Music is my main drug, something I'm addicted too and something I can't live without and that's what this band and the music mean to me.

 

 

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?

 

One of the best shows we've had is when we played a show at the black castle in Los Angeles, it was badass! If it was after we released our first demo "Crystal Darkness" our stage performance was badass and people really loved it! There's also a video on it YouTube. I believed that was our best show out of all of them! We've had plenty of badass shows, but I think that one was the best!

 

6.Do you have any touring plans for the new album and 2014?

 

We hope to do a west coast tour with Derogatory and Skeletal Remains later this year or even a European tour would badass! We do hope to tour for this album this year!

 

7.On the new album you did a cover of Death's Leprosy, what was the decision behind doing your own version of this classic song?

 

Well Before we started writing originals, we would practice covers and that one was one of them! We would finish a good set and people would really like it. And every time we closed our set, we would play that song and people would love it even more! So we've decided to put in on the album! And mainly because Death is one of main influences! And we are paying tribute to them! 

 

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

 

Ever since we released our demo, people really loved it! We made 50 demo tapes and they all went out fast! And everyone was liking it! I can say we have been getting badass feedback from people and I'm sure it will be the same for this album!

 

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

 

We plan on getting more technical and evolve with our music. We are already working on the second album and so far it's sounding more badass than the 1st! We can't wait to start recording!

 

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

 

The main influences come from Death, Gorguts, Disincarnate, Cancer, and many more death metal bands. They're all a big inspiration to us! So far we've been listening to modern music such as Obscura, Gorguts(New Album),Derogatory's new album which is badass! But most of the time we are checking out different styles of death metal. At the moment we are stuck on Swedish Death metal. Which is amazing!!!

 

 

11.Do you have any non musical interests?

 

Our non musical interests would probably sports! We love sports such as basketball, Football and baseball. Art is badass and also Skateboarding!

 

12.Before we wrap up this interview do you have any final words or thoughts?

 

We just want to thank every one that has been supporting us! And big thanks to Extreme Metal Zine for setting this up and a big thanks to FDA REKOTZ! Purchase our album "Inoculation" now and get addicted to it!!

https://soundcloud.com/fda-rekotz/morfin-dark-creator

-- 

Decomposed/Devouring/Memento Mori/2014 CD Review

  Decomposed  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  Swedish  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Devouring"  which  was  released  by  Memento  Mori.

  The  album  starts  out  with  a  fast  old  school  Swedish  death  metal  assault  along  with  some  melodic  riffing  and  growls  as  well  as  some  blast  beats  and  at  times  the  music  also  slows  down  a  bit  which  also  adds  more  power  to  the  bass  guitars  and  then  the  album  starts  mixing  slow  and  fast  parts  together.

  As  the  album  progresses  the  music  remains  in  an  old  school  death  metal  direction  with  no  modern  influences  being  added  in  and  they  also  bring  in  some  raw  sounding  guitar  leads  and  solos  at  times  and  the  music  shows  a  lot  of  homage  to  the  early  90's  death  metal  legends  and there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  clean  parts  which  also  leads  to the  recording  taking  a  darker  direction.

  It  has  been  25  years  since  Entombed  released  'Left  Hand  Path'  and  in  2014  that  sound  that  they  created  has  not  died  out  yet  and  Decomposed  are  another  young  band  that  continues  the  tradition  and  they  do  a  great  job  at  it  while  not  adding  in  anything  new  but  this  is  a  great  homage  to  that  sound.

  Song  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  gore  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  professional  and  old  school  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on t his  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Decomposed  are  a  very  decent  sounding  old  school  Swedish  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Devouring"  "Voices  of  Endless  Decay"  and  "From  The  Darkness".  8  out  of  10.

  

Tortharry/Follow/MetalGate Records/2013 CD Review

  Tortharry  are  a  band  from  the  Czech  Republic  that  plays  a  modern  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Follow"  which  was  released  by  MetalGate  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  fast,  heavy  and  brutal  Swedish  style  death  metal  along  with  blast  beats  and  growls  as  well  as  some  screams  and  after  awhile  the  band  mixes  fast  parts  with  more  slow  and  brutal  riffing  and  the  bass  sounds  very  powerful  on  this  recording  and  they  also bring  in  solos  at  times.

  As  the  album  goes  into  other  songs  they  stick  to  a  more  slow  and  brutal  direction while  also  speeding  up  and  adding  in  blast  beats  at  times  and  at  times  melody,  technical  elements  and  more  modern  sounds  are  added  into  the  music  while  also  retaining  a  lot  of  old  school  death  metal  influences  and  updating  them  for  2014.

  On  this  album  Tortharry  bring  a  more  modern  approach  to  death  metal  where  there  concentrate  on  mid  paced  parts  and  heaviness  instead  of  being  fast  all  of  the  time  and  they  also  show  a  good  amount  of  skill  with  the  way  they  play  their  instruments  and  while  this  is  not  something  I  listen  to  on  a  regular  basis  I  still  feel  Tortharry  are  a  very  talented  band  and  write  good  music.

  Song  lyrics  cover  philosophical  and  everyday  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  Tortharry  are  a  very  decent  sounding  modern  day  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "100  Percent  Follower"  "Inner  Decay"  "Mislead"  and  "Voluntarily  Blind".  7/5  out  of  10.

Colosso/Thallium/2013 EP Review

   Colosso  are  a  band  from  Portugal  that  plays  a  very  progressive  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  ep  "Thallium".

  The  ep  begins  with  some  ambient  style  drones  before  going  into  a  more  dark,  melodic  and  heavy  direction  along  with  an  atmospheric  background  which  also  is  still  around  once  the  ep  goes  pass  the  intro  and  acoustic  guitars  are  added  in  which  also  leads  to  some  powerful  bass  and  guitar  riffs.

  As  the  ep  progresses  the  music  goes  for  a  more  modern  and  heavy  direction  as  well  as  adding  in  faster  elements  and  blast  beats  while  also  bringing in  heavy  groove  elements  as  well  as  some  synths  and  on  the  4th  song  death  metal  growls  are  finally  added  into  the  music  along  with  a  small  amount  of  melody  and  on  the  6th  song  acoustic  guitars  are  added  into  the  music.

  On  this  ep  Colosso  display  a  great  amount  of  skill  and  talent  along  with  a  good  amount  of  heaviness  and  while  this  is  not  my  favorite  style  of  death  metal,  I  can  still enjoy  this  band  because  of  the  fact  they  are  not  afraid  to  experiment  with  their  music.

  Song  lyrics  cover  philosophical  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  Colosso  are  a  very  decent  sounding  progressive  and  experimental  death  metal b and  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ecosystem"  and  "Minus  Infinity".  7/5  out  of  10.   

Lie In Ruins Interview

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

Band is doing just fine. We are just about to start rehearsing our liveshow for gigs and we have also started to write some new material for the next album already, so we are walking strongly with the left hand path, creating new manifestations for the band.

 2.How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and what are some of the things you where able to bring out with the new recording that you where not able to do with previous releases?

I think there was nothing that we weren't able to do with Swallowed By The Void, but that album is just different compared to this one. I think the previous one was pretty much what we wanted that time and with this new one, we wanted to do things a different approach. I'm really happy how Towards Divine Death turned out. If you listen our releases starting from Monument... -demo and ending with Towards Divine Death, you might notice how our material has been going forward all the time. I think that stuff we made 10 years ago, is more like Swedish Death Metal style and not so much our own things in there, when compared to where we are now. Now I can't hear any clear Swedish influences, but more things all around the world mixed in by our own style.

3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics you have covered with the new release?

Well, the lyrical themes are pretty much same as our last album, hatred, occultism, doom of religions, Satan... There are lyrics added in booklet, so everyone who's interested can read them and make their own opinion of what our songs are about. The lyrics and the art is connected, but some of the connections might not be so clear, so you might need to think a bit.

 4.I have read that the band has been around since the 90's, but took a break for a few years, can you tell us a little bit more about the hiatus?

 I think there has been enough of talking about the early days of Lie in Ruins. That time was long ago and what really matters, is that Tuomas and Roni S. dug the grave open and we were able to become a real band and start writing new material for his glory. What brought us back? Probably the pure love for Black and Death Metal and and better skills to handle our instruments.

 5.The last album came out in 2009 and the new one is scheduled to come out in 2014, what has been going on during those 5 years?

 "Well, I don't think that's a long time... At least it doesn't feel like it, but that might be because we are involved a different bands and projects, like Neutron Hammer, Perdition Winds, Desolate Shrine, Supreme Court, and all of those have been releasing or working on albums during these last five years, so all of us have been quite busy. The actual writing of the new album was supposed to start pretty soon after the first album, but as I said, there

were plenty of things to do. When we finally started the actual writing process, everything happened quite fast. We had some kind of a vision about what we wanted this album to be and we weren't planning to do any long songs, but it turned out that to give enough air for these songs to breathe and grow as powerful as needed, they would all be quite long. Instead of making classic verse/chorus -parts, we decided to make songs grow all the time and bringing new riffs in along the way instead of repeating the same ones. Writing these songs this way felt kind of natural this time and I'm really satisfied about how the album turned out. I know some people will definitely hate it just because it's so damn long, but I don't really give a fuck. If people start complaining once again that our album is too long, then the next one will be even longer, ha ha."

  6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Lie In Ruins?

The name is something that describes the music, lyrics and visual side of the band. It is a state-of-being and a state-of-mind, both literally and metaphorically speaking. 

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

Best shows I can remember for us - Touring with Nifelheim and Master here in Finland, especially in Jyväskylä where we had a sauna backstage. Best thing ever. Also playing at Lithuanian Devil's Stone Festival was a blast. And last summer, the Finnish festival Steelfest was really great. There was a lot of people watching and everything was really well on stage. About our stage performance... I think it would be better to ask someone who has attended our shows.

 8.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new release is out?

We have agreed on a couple of gigs currently and discussing to book a few more. Would be nice to do some festivals also so let's see...

 9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to the new album by those that have heard it so far?

The feedback has been really good, maybe even better than we expected and the album isn't even out yet, while I'm writing this. 

 10.What is going on these days with the other musical projects the band members are involved with?

This was answered pretty much in question 5...

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

We are of course venturing to new paths with our music, while still keeping our "familiar characteristics", but we'll have to see what will be next...

 12.What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I'm sure there are a lot of influences from many bands we listen to, but it's kind of hard to say which band. Listener might hear it easier than us, since we are maybe a bit too close to our own material.
We are listening to many bands, but the best view at those bands we recommend others to listen, is listed within our new album's hailing booklet. That's actually one thing that we miss from 90's: Back then when there was no internet and we were always checking thanks list from our favorite albums and looking for new bands to get into.

 13.How would you describe your views on Occultism?

I wouldn't. To talk about occultism, we would need a lot of space, since it's a subject that can not be typed down just by couple of sentences... You could say that occultism defines us, but I'm sure that people who are patient enough to open the lyrics and see the artwork for our album will pretty much know what we stand for.

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

Well, I like to collect skulls and other human bones. Other than that, something that all the guys in our band enjoy is good whiskeys and beers. We also appreciate the nature, being in the woods (not the band), fishing... all the good stuff.

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

Thanks for the interview. Hail Death!

Soreption/Engineering the Void/Unique Leader Records/2014 CD Review

  Soreption  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  very  heavy,  brutal  and  technical  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Engineering  The  Void" which  will  be  released  by  Unique  Leader.

  The  album  begins  with  heavy  and  technical  guitar  riffs,  leads  and  drums  along  with  blast  beats,  screams  and  growls  as  well  as  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  bass  guitars  sound  very  powerful  on  this  recording.

  When t he  other  songs  are  brought  in  you  can  hear  melody  and  groove  being  mixed  in  with  the  heavy,  brutal  and  technical  parts  as  well  as  the  solos  bringing  in  a  good  amount  of  melody  and  every  song  stands  out  and  sounds  different  from  each  other  while  also  remaining  true  to  technical  death  metal  all  at  the  same  time  and  on  the  3rd  song  synths  are  brought  into  the  music  and  they  bring  in  a  classical  music  feeling  to  the  record  as  well  as  having  a  symphonic  feeling  to  it  and they  are  also  used  on  other  tracks  as  well.

  On  this  album  Soreption  display  a  great  amount  of  skill  and  talent  and  also  bring  in  groove  and  symphonic  elements  to  their  technical  approach  to  death  metal  and  it  also  makes  the  music  have  a  more  original  sound  to  it.

  Song  lyrics  cover  philosophical  and  utopian  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  Soreption  are  a  very  decent  sounding  technical  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  nature  of  Blight"  "Utopia"  and  "I  Am  You".  7/5  out  of  10.

Morfin/Inoculation/FDA Rekotx/2014 CD Review

  Morfin  are  a  band  from  California  that  plays  an  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Innoculation"  which  will  be  released  by  FDA  Rekotz.

  The  album  starts  out  with  dark  sounding  synths  before  going  into  a  fast  old  school  death  metal  assault  along  with  some  growls  and  when  the  music  slows  down  you  can  hear  some  powerful  sounding  bass  and  at  times  blast  beats  are  brought  in  as  well  as  solos  that  go  back  to  the  mid  80's  and  early  90's  area  of  death  metal.

  On  the  other  songs  the  band  continues  their  old  school  death  metal  sound  and  I  can  not  hear  any  modern  influences  being  utilized  on  this  record  and  you  can  tell  the  early  works  of  Death  have  had  a  huge  impact  on  this  band  and  a  lot  of  songs  on  this  recording  pay  perfect  homage  to  that  legendary  band  and  at  times  you  can  hear  elements  of  thrash  being  added  into  the  music.

  While  there  is  no  originality  on  this  album  Morfin  do  play  some  great  sounding  old  school  death  metal  and  all  of  these  songs  could  of  easily  been  recorded  in  the  80's  and  could  of  be  mistaken  for  lost  Death  tracks.

  Song  lyrics  cover  evil,  deception  and  negativity  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  Morfin  are  a  very  decent  sounding  old  school,  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Evil  Within"  "Identity  Killer"  "Primordial"  and  "Leprosy"  which  is  a  Death  cover.7/9  out  of  10.

Skelethal/Inisans/Caligari Records/2012 Demos Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  France's  Skelethal  and  Sweden's  Inisans  called  '2012  Demos"  which  was  released  by  Caligari  Records  and  we  will start  off  the  review  with  Skelethal  a  band  that  plays  an  old  school form  of  death  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  some  dark  sounding  synths  and  spoken  word  parts  and  a  few  seconds  later  it  goes  into  some  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  leads  along  with  some  drums  and  a  minute  later  it  goes  into  a  faster  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  growls.

  As  their  side  of  the  split  progresses  their  music  starts  to  get  more  brutal  in  an  early  90's  direction  and  when  they  use  guitar  leads  it  brings  back  memories  of  the  old  Florida  bands  while  the  slower  side  of  their  music  is  very  dark  and  heavy  sounding.

  Skelethal  are  another  band  that  goes  back  to  the  old  school  death  metal  sound  instead  of  sounding  modern  and  this  sounds  like  it  could  of  been  recorded  and  released  in  1991  and  while  it  is  not  original  it  is  still  very  good quality  OSDM.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  and  morbid  themes,  while  the  production h as  a  very  dark,  raw,  heavy  and  old  school  sound  along  with  the  bass  guitars  being  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix.  

  In  my  opinion  Skelethal  are  a  very  great  sounding  dark,  old  school  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Death  Returns"  and  "Show  Me  the  Wrath".  8  out  of  10.  

  Next  up  is  Inisans  another  band  that  plays  an  old  school  form  of  death  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  opens  up  with  human  torture  sounds  before  going  into  a  more  fast  and  raw  and  old  school  death  metal  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  growls  and  after  awhile  they  start  mixing  slow  and  fast  parts  together  as  well  as  adding  high  pitched  screams  to  the  music.

  When t hey  go  into the   other  songs  the  music  starts  getting  more  dark  and  morbid  sounding  along  with  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  bringing  in  some  evil  sounding  old  school  guitar  solos.

   Inisans  play  some  well  executed  old  school  death  metal  on their  side  of  the  recording  and  they  bring  in  the  best  elements  of  the  mid  80's  and  early  90's  and  you  can  also  hear  a  small  amount  of  thrash  influences  in  their  music.
 

  Song  lyrics  cover  darkness,  gore  and  death  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark,  heavy,  raw  and  old  school  sound  to  it  in  an  early  90's  tradition.

  In  my  opinion  Inisans  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Welcome  To  Hell"  and  "Morbid  Visions  Of  Death".  8  out  of  10.

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  old  school  death  metal.  RECOMMENDED  BUY.  

Anarchos/Descent Into The Maelstrom/Vic Records/2014 MCD Review

  Anarchos  are  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  plays  an  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "Descent  Into  The  Maelstrom"  which  was  released  by  Vic  Records.

   The  ep  starts  out  with  some  death  metal  guitar  riffs,  drums  and  growls  and  a  few  seconds  later  it  starts  adding  in  fast  parts  and  melody  and  a  few  minutes  later  solos  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  music  sticks  to  an  old  school  death  metal  formula  on  other  songs  and  stick  to  a  more  90's  direction  and  at  times  they  also  add  blast  beats  to  the  music.

  As  the  ep  progresses  the  guitar  leads  start  utilizing  more  melody  which  reminds  me  of  the  early  90's  death  metal  sound  while  the  rhythm  guitars  are  in  the  more  old  school  Dutch  Direction  along  with  some  German  influences  and  when  they  bring  in  a  mixture  of  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  the  music  starts  getting  more  brutal.

  On  these  5  songs  that  are  present  on  this  ep,  the  band  shows  that  they  know  there  death  metal  very  well  and  you  can  these  guys  are  veterans  with  more  than  20  years  of  experience  and  while  this  is  the  most  original  sounding  recording  it  is  still  very  good  quality  old  school  death  metal.

  Song  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  gore  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  old  school  sound  along  with  the  bass  guitars  being  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix.

  In  my  opinion  Anarchos  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  mini  album>  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Morbid  Ways  to  Decay"  and  "Tales  Of  the  Mutilated  Remains".  8  out  of  10.

  

Chaos Plague Interview

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

Well...We're now facing a difficult situation: we're trying to fix a new solid and durable line-up and this kind of adjustement needs time.
We know that it's only a matter of time but we need to find the right people for this band.




2.How would you describe the musical sound that is present on the ep and also how do you feel it stands out from other progressive death metal bands?

Our first EP sounds a little bit "rough", it cannot represent the sound of Chaos Plague anymore!
I think we can only make a "declaration of intent": with the album we want to create a mix that will be a perfect mix of Death and Progressive sounds, trying to be as original as possible.




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

We always had the aim to talk about meaningful topics like life, existance and inner sensations, everything that can be found in Human Nature.
There's a lot of evil and hate, rage, fury...but also meditation, heavy existentialist questions, a great space for contemplate the human being.




4.I know that the band names comes out of the writings of Nietzsche,  can you tell us a little bit more about your interests in this German philosopher?

It's "only" a good starting point: Nietzsche identify himslef, in one of his letters, as the "Writer of Chaos" and we have extended this concept, bounded to this ancient force, to represent the inner strenght of that minority of humans that can strive for the Ubermensch status.
It's like an ambivalent and potent force that can annihilate everything or create something totally firm and lead the over man to the Ubermensch condition, but to be a man with this inner spark makes you a reject, a plagued.
This is, as I said, a starting point, we don't put frontiers to our lyrics with the exception that we want deep subjects!




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?

I think we can mention the "FullMoon Fest" at the Fico d'India Live Club when we were headliner of an intense Metal bill, a great day for the band, the live at the Blue Rose Saloon, when we opened the show for Italian Death Metal legend Faust, that's a great honor for us!
Last but not least we've to count also the Mozzate Metal Drone gig, last year, we were REALLY broken before gettin' on stage but that was a great day!
As we've always said, we prefer a "Cannibal Corpse aptitude": get on the stage, kill people with Music and nothing else, tear down the walls, THEN get off. End.




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

We're recording our first album (Abviously with a lot of delays because of line-up's matter) so, for now, we're not accepting shows or searching for live gigs. Untill album will be ready, we want to focus our energies on it.




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

Yes, there's something moving but I cannot tell more about this matter.




8.Are there any other musical projects besides this band or is this a full time line up?

This is a totally full time Line-Up: being part of a band that wants to create something new and personal it's a great responsability and this genre is quite hard, so it would be nearly impossible to manage other bands or projects!
Besides that many of us are still studyig at University....so the time is really little and present situation in Italy isn't a great one...live with Music is always been impossible here...now now more than ever.




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

I think that we are a band that has a typical signature but we've quite a distance to make. We want to mantain our Prog/Death aptitude and increase both this aspect. But this is what we are and what we will be.




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

I cannot answer this question without sayng Cynic, Illogicist and a lot of Death Metal from all over the world!!
When I've this kind of Music in my head THEN I've hear the first preview of Obscura's Cosmogenesis (1 year before the official Release if I remember properly, Anticosmic Overload was presented in a promo-Disc) and that was something that drives me in the right direction for our Music. But we are NOT a clone-band, sure as hell, we have our own personality.
Nowadays I'm listening to Obscura a lot, Cynic (Focus and Traced in Air), Gordian Knot and a lot of Death Metal like Pestilence, Martyr, Cannibal Corpse, Necrophagist, Faust, Illogicist...recentely I've recovered Avantasia 's first album..I like to listen to a lot of Music!!
....I don't like the new Djent wave, I dont' appreciate at all band like Born of Osiris or Periphery.
I'm not that kind of Metal listener that does not appreciate experimental metal, I like In Flames ('till Come Clarity), UneXpect, Animals as Leaders, Exivious....etc..etc..
I'm listening a lot of Prog also, like Spiral Architect, Twisted into Form...and something from Fusion: Uzeb, Pastorius, Gambale..




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

Well I like to read a lot, but I've no so much time...University, home, family and Music drain a lot of my day
We're really attached to a Metal Festival that we've created some yeas ago, called Mozzate Metal Drone, and it's very important to us. It's an annual event that allow metal bands of our country to show their art and play on a stage immersed into greenery inside a beautiful park, here in our town, Mozzate. An event for Musicians created by Musicians, free entry and great respect for art and Metal Music from our country!




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

We believe in this project with all our passion, strenght and total commitment. Our music comes from that feelings and we're very proud of our work! We're very impatient for this album because we want to see our strain, blood and art materialized in this first, important step of our career! Because we have great ambition and passion for music.
There's a lot of people who support us, some of them are from country far from Italy..and this is great, it's a big pleasure from us, we want to continue to do art that can mean something to this people and for other that will listen to it!!

And, as usual, "CHAOS UPON US ALL"!!! Support Metal Music all over the World!


Thanks a lot for you interest in CHAOS PLAGUE project!!!

Existential Symmetry/Self Titled/2010 EP Review

  Existential  Symmetry  are  a  duo  from  Florida  that  plays  an  instrumental  and  progressive  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  and  self  released  2010  ep.

  The  ep  starts  out  with  some  bass  guitars  and  psychedelic  sounds  before  adding  in  heavy  and  melodic  sounding  guitar  riffs  and  drums  along  with  some  solos as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  synths  and  the  music  also  adds  in  spoken  word  samples.

  As  the  ep  progresses  it  starts  mixing  in  more  brutal  elements  along  with  some  Nintendo  music  which  also  add  more  strength  to  the  progressive  nature  of  the  music  and  the  music  also  adds  in  some  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  at  times  as  well  as  some  jazz  influences  and  on  the  last  song  there  is  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars.

  On  these  5  songs  that  the  band  displays  on  this  ep  have  a  lot  of  variety  to  them,  one  minute  the  music  will  be  very  heavy  sounding  death  metal  one  second,  progressive  guitar  leads  the  next  second  and  then  the  band  goes  into  an  avant  garde  jazz  direction,  with  all  of  these  musical  styles  mixed  it  makes  it  hard  to  put  the  band  in  a  particular  category.

  Song  themes  cover  Existentialism,  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  as  well  as  the  last  song  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Existential  Symmetry  are  a  very  great  sounding  instrumental,  progressive  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Imposed  Nadir"  and  Teaching  your  Shadow  to  Be  Still".  7/5  out  of  10.

Perversity/Infamy Divine/Lavadome Productions/2014 MCD Review

  Perversity  are  a  band  from  Slovakia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical  style  i  would  describe  as  being  dark  and  blasphemous  sounding  brutal  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  mini  cd  "Infamy  Divine"  which  was  released  by  Lavodome  Productions.

  The  music  starts  out  with  some  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  drums  along  with  some  dark  sounding  melodies  and  the  music  starts  adding  in  faster  parts  and  death  metal  growls  while  also  utilizing  a  good  amount  of  mid  paced  sections  and  high  pitched  screams  and  you  can  hear  the  bass  guitars  on  the  record  and  then  the  music  starts  incorporating  blast  beats  in  certain  parts  of  the  music  along  with  old  school  death  metal  guitar  solos.

  When  we  get  more  into  the  ep  you  can  hear  traits  of  both  Polish  and  Florida  death  metal  influences  being  added  into  the  music  and  the  album  sticks  to  a  true  death  metal  sound  and  does  not  utilize  much  in  the  way  of  modern  influences  which  leads  to  an  all  out  old  school  death  metal  assault  that  pays  homage  to  the  ancient  ones  of  this  musical  genre  and  on  the  second  song  there  is  a  brief  use  of  pianos  which  enhance  the  darkness  this  music  produces  and  then  the  band  goes  into  a  more  brutal  direction  with  the  next  song  and  remains  in  the  same  direction  until  the  outro  which  closes  the  album  with  a  very  dark  sounding  orchestra  piece.  

  Song  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Darkness  and  Blasphemous  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  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  perversity  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  blasphemous  old  school  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  mini  cd.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Angel  Of  Prostitution"  and  "Incest  Of  Flesh".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.