Debauchery/Blood God/Thunderbeast/Massacre Records/2016 Split CD Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  Germany's  Debauchery  a  death'n'roll  band  and  their  hard  rock/heavy  metal  project  Blood  God  called  "Thunderbeast"  which  was  released  by  Massacre  Records.

  A  very  heavy  sound  along  with  death  metal  growls  start  off  the  album  while  the  riffs  are  more  closer  to  speed  metal  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  bring  in  more  of  an  old  school  metal  style  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  back  up  gang  shouts  and  while t he music  is  rooted  in  the  80's  the  vocals  make  it  sound  more  modern.

  A  decent  amount  of  melody  can  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  while  high  pitched  screams  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  elements  of  70's  rock  and  on  the  other  side  of  the  album  the  music  starts  going  into  a  more  traditional  metal  hard  rock  style  with  the vocals  becoming  more  like  a  mixture  of  Brian  Johnson  and  Udo  Dirkscheider  while  still  also  utilizing  a  great  amount  of  back  up  gang  shouts  and  they  also  re-do  a  lot  of  songs  from  the  first  half  of  the  recording  with  the  hard  rock  vocal  approach  while  death  metal  growls  do  make  a  return  on  later  tracks  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  a  mid  paced  yet  heavy  musical  direction.

  Debauchery  and  Blood  God  team  up   to create  an  album  that  takes  the  death'n'roll  style  and  mixes  it  with  a  70's  hard  rock/metal  style  to  create  an  album t hat  is  very  original,   the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  heavy  metal,  violence,  vampires,  women  and  anti  religion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  both  Debauchery  and  Blood  god  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  traditional,  death  metal  and  hard  rock,  you  should  check  out  this  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Heavy  Metal  Monsternaut"  "Vampire  Holocaust"  "Second  Hand  Woman"  and  "Super  hot  Vampire  Lady".  8  out  of  10.     

 

Blacksheep/The Future Started Yesterday/2014 Full Length Review

  Blacksheep  are  a  band  from  Romania  that  plays  death'n'roll  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "The  Future  Started  Yesterday".

  A  very  hard  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  traditional  metal  guitar  leads  that  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  you  can  also h ear  all  of t he  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  and  screams  are  added  onto  the  recording.

  After  awhile  the  music  starts  going into  more  of  a  death'n'roll  direction  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  elements  of  60's  and  70's  rock  along  with  a   touch  of  blues  in  both  the  riffs  and  leads  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  melodic  vocals  on  one  of  the  tracks  while  a  couple  of  songs   brings  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  as  the  album  progresses  elements  of  psychedelia  can  be  heard  and  all  of  the  songs stick  to  a  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  there  is  also  a  brif  use  of  clean  playing.

  Blacksheep  plays  a  style  of  death'n'roll  that  is  mostly  mid  paced  while  also  mixing  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  classic  rock  elements  to  create  a  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark, violent  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Blacksheep  are  a  very  great  sounding  death'n'roll  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Free  Fall"  "No  Day  Like  Today"  "Hope  left  For Dying"  and  "Last  Song  never  be  Sung".  8  out  of  10.   

 

Pokerface/Divide And Rule/Molot Records/2015 CD Review

Pokerface  are  a  band  from  Russia that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Divide  And  Rule"  which  was  released  by  Molot  Records.

  Synths  and  acoustic  guitars  start  off  the  album  before  introducing  chaotic  sounding  guitar  leads  onto  the  recording  as  well  as  some  aggressive  thrash  metal  rhythms  and  the  vocals  are  in  a  screaming  fashion  along  with  a  good  amount  of  death  metal  growls  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to them.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  the  music  also  brings  in  more  of  a  modern  style  of  deatyh/thrash  and  one  track  also  brings  in  a  few  seconds  of  melodic  singing  and  the  whole  album  also  remains  very  heavy  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

  Pokerface  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  a  German  style  of  thrash  metal  and  mixes  it  with  death  metal  and  a  more  modern  sound  to  create  a  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  satanism,  anti  religion,  aggression  and  blood  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Pokerface  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  "Kingdom  Of  Hate"  "Into  The  Inferno"  "Killed  By  Me"  and  "Divide  And  Rule".  8  out  of  10.,

Dystonia/World Wide War/2016 Full Length Review

  Dystonia  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal  and  modern  thrash  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2016  album  "World  Wide  War".

  A  very  heavy  yet  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful and  after  awhile  aggressive  screams  are  added  onto  the  recording  while  they  also  have  their  melodic  moments  along  with  a  some  death  metal  growls  being  utilized  at  times  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  both  modern  and  old  school  thrash  metal  elements  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  more  of  a  melodic  fashion  and  there  are  also  some  back  up gang  shouts  being  utilized  at  times  and  the  songs  also  bring  in a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  one  track  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  war  samples  while  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  bass  guitar  leads  and  pianos  are  added  onto  the  last  track.

  Dystonia  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  modern  and  old  school  styles  of  thrash  metal  and  mixes  them  with  death  metal  to  create  a  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  war  and  genocide  themes. 

  In  my  opinion  Dystonia  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  "No  Chance  To  Return"  "We  Are  All  Condemned"  and  "Eternal  Nuclear  Winter".  8  out  of  10.

Dominance Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?



The new album was recorded, mixed and mastered in September and October 2015at “Audiocore Music Studio” Fontevivo (Parma). So, in November, we started to send tracks to various record labels around the world. In a few weeks, several proposals have arrived. Comparing all the answers, we finally decided to sign for the American Sliptrick Record.



2.In March you had released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?



The Dominance's sound is changed a lot through these years. Our three albums sounds very different between each other,due to the changes in the guitarists line up and with the arrival of a new singer. Even if,from the beginning from today,we kept our original trade mark sound.

In this last album we worked hard to characterize more our sound,creating a mixture between technical and fast guitars riffs,more majestic moments and deep and melanchonic melodies. Also the drumming supports more the bass and guitar's lines. Massimiliano,the new singer,have a very important role in the evolution of the band's sound. He uses at least three different type of voices: growl,scream similar for example to Pantera or Meshuggah and dirty-  melodic with some high treble. He have also a different way to write lyrics;now are about everyday life seen from an introspective and figurative point of wiew. Last but not least,we made a massive work for what concerne the studio sessions,because we wanted a more powerful and granitic sound than in the past. Our first album “Anthems of ancient Splendour” released in 1999 for Scarlet Records,was nordic sound oriented,with influences of the swedish metal scene of those years. The second “Echos of human decay” kept some sound elements of the first album,with the addiction of a brutal sound of american heritage. The new “XX:The Rising Vengeance” is another step beyond in our musical evolution,with a more direct impact,a less twisted songwriting,ready to attack on stage.



3.This is the first album to be released in 7 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?



From the release of "Echoes of Human Decay" in 2009, a lot of things changed in the band. In the summer of 2010, the guitarist Marco Bertolini, a permanent element in the band since 2002 and the main songwriter of "Echoes of Human Decay", had to left the band for a new job in the United States, where he is living now. It was really a hard blow, no only from a musical point of view, and the composition of the new songs  has been continuing for two years  with Gianluca. On 21th September 2013,  DOMINANCE played for the last time with Mauro Bolognesi,  the old front-man for 18 years and one of the founders of the band, who decided to leave the band. Massimiliano Marri entered in his place and a few weeks later confirmed  his interest in the project, as well as Gabriel Cavazzini who decided to enter as lead and rythm guitarist at the end of October 2013. In August 2014 it takes place the rupture of the relationship with Giancluca that was replaced, on a permanent basis a year later by Luca "Pell Ach" Alzapiedi on the second guitar. Finally with the complete line-up, in September 2015, DOMINANCE  were ready to records their third album "XX: The Rising Vengeance".Basically these are the reasons why we had a period of stop so long, just 7 years. We are very glad to see that our fan, who have been following since the first album, and the initial responses too, demostrate us that we are already important for their and their are continuing to support us.



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



Madness of the human race in all its declinations,that's what our lyrics are about; from murder to war from suicide to extreme greed. We talk about real life, of things that unfortunately happens everyday; we talk at the same time of the desire that humanity will find the way to rise again,someday,somehow



5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Dominance?



The Dominance is powerful and oppressive.

Its presence today is reflected is reflected in many aspects of our lifes. A little bunch of people has the power and they use it despite of the common people;our society goes straight to a clear direction,even more separeted and manipulated world,in which thath bunch of parasites would like to rule an even more suppressed and exploited population. Through our music and lyrics we explore the darkest and oldest effects this kind of oppression can create in human mind,as far as the madness ,the discomfort,the fear. But,at the same time,the spirit of redemption and revenge of mankind,the desire not to give up and fight.



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



Dominance started to play live 20 years ago. We have a great memories of our live. The first official concert of the band was in 1996. In Biella in 1999 we opened for Malevolent Creation, Master and Khrabator. I mean that since for the first time, we shared the stage with one of our death metal band reference. Then in Reggio Emilia in 2004 with the great Suffocation. The two-day festival "Emilian Revenge" in 1999, the show on stage at the "Metal Disorder" in Milan in 2009, the "Kolony Metal Fest" in 2009 with Ahab and In Mourning. And then came back to the 1997 live at the "Pop Off" in Pescara, with a great audience who headbang for the first  for Dominance. And a lot of concerts around Italy, all remain imprinted in our memory. The live show is the most important event for a band. On stage you have to give everything, and you have to create a relationship with the auditors. When you can do that is a metal ratio, speed, melody and violence. We have always tried to convey that. With the new "XX: The Rising Vengeance" we are spending more attention than in the past for prepareing the live shows, we will reserve some important news for the next.



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



“XX:The Rising Vengeance” has been released since less more then a month. We made two release parties and we're planning on some new live shows,for example we're working on a Death Metal Festival. We're also in contact whith national and abroad bands to organize a live tour for the next autumn/winter even with the help of our label Sliptrick Records. We can't tell more at the moment. To stay updated about us visit our official website

 www.dominancemetal.com



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



Pretty good! The first rewiews and comments  are very positive. What makes us proud the most is the opinion of the people who have listened to the album:they told us that the band has changed its sound a lot keeping its original identity, that the new album can be heard in one breath,or things like:” Oh damn,I can't stop listening to your brand new album it really kicks ass!!!”.

Another positive aspect is the new audience we have earned. But,you know,it's quite early to know what the people will think about the album. We're waiting for the most important press rewiews and the promotion is just begun. We're working hard to improve our live shows and make them even more heavvy and powerful. So,come and see!!!



9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?



Oh well,tough answer!

“XX:The Rising Vengeance” is a new beginning for Dominance. From here we'll build the future band's sound. We already have some new ideas and riffs for the new songs which will surely follow the band's evolution. On the next album,we'lltry to emphasize more the violents parts of the songs and,at the same time,the more intense and the more orchestral always keeping the harmony between melodie and aggression,increasing the sound's stateliness.

We know,today more than in the past,when you play live you have to sound good and look good on stage,even if,in the end,good music is the more important thing.



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



We are five musicians with different influences and musical heritages,so everyone of us could mention some different bands. But,just to give you an idea,the fastest and the technical parts of our songs can remind bands like Lamb of God and  Meshuggah,the more claustrophobic and melanchonic parts can remind instead bands like Carcass and Death and the more majestic parts will bring the listener to the sonorities of bands like Dimmu Borgir and Behemoth. We are very fond with metal of the 90's and of the early 2000but extremely curious about new bands and new releases.



11.What are some of your non musical interests?



A lot. Everyone of us has his own life,his own passions,his own interests and his own battles against this barbarism which increases everyday. So each one of us can give a different answer to this question. Dominance's music is what brought us toghether and what unites us.



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





First of all,thank you for this interview.After all these years and in spite of difficulties,Dominance are back again with the brand new album:”XX:The Rising Vengeance”.

We want to thank all those who follow us for so long and continue to support us,and everyone  who have already bought the new cd Ha Ha!!!

We hope to see you soon in our live shows to share with us the passion for music and for Death Metal. We will do our part,you can bet.

Horns Up!

Diabolizer/Apokalypse/Third Eye Temple/2016 CD Review

  Diabolizer  are  a  band  from  Turkey  that  plays  a  very  daemonic  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016 album  "Apokalypse"  which  will  be  released  in  July  by  third  Eye  Temple.

  A  very  heavy  and  brutal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  morbid  sounding  melodies  and  death  metal  growls  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  high  pitched  screams  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  the  solos and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  fashion.

  Throughout  the  recording t here  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  great  mixture  of  both  modern  and  old school  influences  and  all  of   the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  fast  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  the  album  also  remains  very  heavy  and  brutal  form  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

  Diabolizer  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  dark,  heavy,  brutal,  fast  and  aggressive  sounding,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  blasphemous  and  occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Diabolizer  are  a  very  great  sounding  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  "Process  the  Void"  "Temple  Of  Demonic  Torments"  and  "Descend  into  Desolation".  8  out  of  10.

Ygodeh/Clinic Of Maleficent/2016 Full Length Review

  Latvia's  Ygodeh  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  that  continues  the  symphonic,  progressive  and  technical  death  metal  mixture  of  previous  recordings  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2016  album  "Clinic  Of  Maleficent"  which  will  be  released  in  June.

  Avant  garde  style  keyboards  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  death  metal  growls,  heavy  guitars  and  spoken  words  a  few  seconds  later  awhile  screams  are  also  used  at  times  and  they  also  mix  the  electronic  and  heavy  sounds  together and  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  yet  technical  style.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  elements  of  industrial  can  also  be  heard  in  the  music  at  times  while  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  riffs  also  mixing  in  a  great  amount  of  progressive  elements  while  one  track  brings  in  jazz  style  guitars  while  a  couple  of  songs  are  acoustic  and  symphonic  instrumentals  and  the  remaining  tracks  make  a  return  back  to  a  heavier  musical  style.

   Ygodeh  creates  another  recording  that  takes  the  symphonic,  progressive  and  technical  style s of  death  metal  and  mixing  them  together  along  with  a  few  avant  garde  touches  and  a  touch  of  mainstream  extreme  metal  to  create  a  very  heavy  sounding  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  philosophical  and  scientific  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Ygodeh  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of t he  more  technical,  progressive  and  symphonic  styles  of  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album. RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Molecules  Of  Containment"  "Clinic  Of  Maleficent"  and  "Time  And  Space".  8  out  of  10.

Monsterworks/Black Swan Annihilation/Eat Lead & Die/2016 Full Length Review

  New  Zealand's  Monsterworks  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  that  continues  the  heavy,  thrash  and  death  metal  mixture  of  previous  recordings  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Black  Swan  Annihilation"  which  will  be  released  in  June  by  Eat  Lead  &  Die.

  A  very  hard  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic guitar  leads  that  are  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  the  vocals  bring  in  a  mixture  of  growls  and  screams  along  with  some  power  metal  vocals  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  all  of t he  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  At  times  the  music  can  be  very progressive  along  with  clean  playing  and  acoustic  guitars  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  both  modern  and  old  school  metal  influences  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  a  few  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Monsterworks  creates  another  recording  that  takes  heavy,  power,  thrash  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  together  while  being  a  lot  more  progressive  this  time  around,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the lyrics  cover  the  rise  of  man  and  destruction  after  an  unpredictable  disaster.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Monsterworks  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE "To  Have  Done  What  Must  Be"  "Vanishing  Point"  and  "Archivo  Omnia".  8  out  of  10. 

Sewercide/Immortalized In Suffering/Unspeakable Axe Records/2016 CD Review

  Sewercide  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Immortalized  In  Suffering"  which will  be  released  in  June  by  Unspeakable  Axe  Records.

  Melodic  guitar  leads  which  are  also  a  huge  part  of  the  recording  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  old  school  death  metal  style  riffing  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  on  the  recording  and  the  vocals  are  done  in  a  growling  fashion  while  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  mid  80's  and  early  90's.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  morbid  sounding  melodies  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  while  the  music  is  rooted  in  the  past  the  production  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  modern  feeling  and  they  also  bring  in  a  brief  use  of  horror  movie  style  keyboards  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction  on  the  following  tracks.

  Sewercide  move  away  from  the  thrash  metal  roots  of  previous  recordings  and  have  evolved into  more  of  an  old  school  death  metal  band  on  this  album,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  gore  and  horror  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Sewercide  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  old  school  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "For  those  About  To  Rot"  "Snares Of  Carnality"  and  "Megalithic  Tomb".  8  out  of  10. 

Deceptionist/Initializing Irreversable Process/Unique Leader/2016 CD Review

  Deceptionist  are  a  band  from  Rome,  Italy  that  plays  a  very  brutal  and  technical  form  of  death  metal  with  elements  of  industrial  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Initializing  Irreversible  Process"  which  will  be  released  in  June  by  Unique  Leader.

  Industrial  sounds  along  with  heavy  guitars  and  spoken  word  samples  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  getting  more  technical  while  also  adding  in  death  metal  growls  and  blast  beats  while  screams  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  remain  very  true  to  a  technical  style.

  Melodies  can  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  they  also  mix  both  the  industrial  and  heavy  parts  together  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  music  also  gets  very  brutal  at  times  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  use  a  small  amount  of  melody  and  spoken  word  samples  also  make  a  return  on  a  later  track.

  Deceptionist  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  the  more  brutal  and  technical  side  of  the  genre  while  the  industrial  elements  give  them  more  of  an  original  style,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  relationship  between  humans  and  machines  in  the  not  so  distant  future.

  In  my  opinion  Deceptionist  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  technical,  brutal  death  metal  and  industrial  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Through  The  Veil"  "When  Humans  Began  to  Be  Machines"  "Irreversible  Process"  and  "Operator  Nu.  3".  8  out  of  10. 

Last Rites/Unholy Puppets/Beyond Productions/Black Tears/2016 CD Review

  Last  Rites  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Unholy  Puppets"  which  will  be  released  on  May  27th  as  a  joint  effort  between  Beyond  Productions  and  Black  Tears.

  War  samples  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction t hat  also  uses   a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  as  well  as mixing  death  and  thrash  metal  together  along  with  some  aggressive  screams  a  few  seconds  later  and  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing.

  When  solos  and  leads are  utilized  they  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and the  music  can  also  be  very  technical  at  times  along  with  growls  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  mid  80's  and  early  90's  while  also  mixing  in  more  of  a  modern  touch  and  samples  can  also  be  heard  on  later  tracks  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  heavy  musical  direction.

  Last  Rites  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  German  thrash  metal  and  mixes  it  with  death  metal  to  create  a  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  literature,  death  and  madness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Last  Rites  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  "Children  Of  War"  "Waterwall"  "Realm  Of  Illusion"  and  "God's  Slave".  8  out  of 10.    

 

Macabra/To The Bone/Morbid Visions Music/Vonfrost Records/2016 CD Review

  Macabra  are  an  international  duo  with  one  member  from  the  united  States  and  another  one  from  Belgium  and  they  play  a  very  underground  and  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "To  The  Bone"  which  will  be  released  in  July  as  a  joint  effort  between  Morbid  Visions  Music  and  Vonfrost  Records.

  A  melodic  guitar  lead  starts  off  the  album  and  they  are  a  very  huge  part  off  the  recording  before  adding  in  atmospheric  synths,  heavy  riffs  and  death  metal  growls and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  morbid  sounding  melodies  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  morbid  sounding  melodies  can  be  heard.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  high  pitched  screams  are  also  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  guitar  leads  remain  true  to  an  old  school  style  of  death  metal  ad  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  and  all  of the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction.     

  Macabra  plays  a  style  of death  metal  that goes  for  the  more  underrated  atmospheric  sound  of  the  early  90's  which  also  did  not  get  much  exposure  in  that  time  period,  the  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  nature  and  insanity  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Macabra  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  death  metal  band  and  if you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sadocrat"  "Royalties  On  Murder"  and  "Scars of  Dignity".  8  out  of  10.  

 

Psycho Scream Interview

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

We came from Reggio-Emilia and Mantova (Italy).

It's about ten years that we play around as a band. The band was founded by Pato (guitar), Claudio(guitar) and Bob (drums).We played before in different bands and so before being band mates we share the stage many times. In these years we had many line-up changes with bass and singer.



2.In April you had released your first full length, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

We play something in between thrash and death metal; almost all of us are old school fans and so we are probably influenced by classical thrash metal American and German bands (but we would like to mention also Necrodeath and Raw Power that are legendary bands from our country). Even if we know we cannot be neutral, we think also that the recording shows some variety between tracks and we like it.



3.You had a demo released in 2011 but waited until 2016 to release any new material, can you tell us a little bit more about what was going on during that time span?

After the 2011 demo we had some gigs around, but after a couple of years we split from our singer (that was bass player too) and so a quest for complete the line-up began. We don’t know how it works in other places...but bass and voice are the most difficult parts to be found when you have to complete a line up!! So we used that time to find out other band members, integrate them in our songs and also for composing new songs with these new guys (as the demo was a recording with only 4 songs).



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

Lyrics are really introspective and were 100% created by Matteo. They talk about feelings, states of mind, relationship with society and other people. We think he is very talented at that and so we let him have complete authority about lyrics.



5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Psycho Scream'?

That's not easy to remember after ten years ahah!! The movie scene that all of us know for sure was really iconic...so we thought to take that name.



6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

A very nice show we remember was in a place that was a former psychiatric hospital; the stage was at the end of an aisle, and at one side of this aisle was possible to see all the abandoned rooms; that was a little disturbing, but we knew very funny guys there and we have to say that also the location seemed to be really conform to the band.



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

At the moment we are trying to promote the record and if the answer is positive we will for sure do some touring or show. We have also some new ideas and riffs, and so we will begin to work on these too.



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

At the moment we received some proposal from promotion agency for helping us to share our music through their channel, but at the moment we are trying to do that by ourselves. Let's see if in the future something more will be proposed. Unfortunately we also know that today there are a lot of incredible underground bands playing at very high level and so it's very difficult to catch attention on the label side. We could mention at least 20 underground unsigned bands that came from our district that are musically war machines.



9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback by fans of death and thrash metal?

For now feedbacks are good; we are going now to upload our music in some online platform in order to reach as many listeners as possible. We will see how it goes… anyway we know we will find also some disapproval …and that’s OK because that’s the game… we know that.



10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We do not know where we will be, but the really important thing for us is to have fun playing our music. If some great show or good feedback will came we will enjoy it and we will be glad to play for and with people.



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

For sure we must mention bands like Death, Slayer, Kreator, Pantera. We can say that these bands are common denominator; then some of us are also into listening black metal (Bob), hardcore (Cosimo) and a special mention for Pato...that really listen to everything that is louder than 70's rock (if you enter his home you will probably find more CD and tapes than bricks).



12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Bob deal with astronomy, Cosimo artworks and tattoos, Matteo astrology, Claudio tech stuff and Pato...Pato not musical interests are books, magazines, tv shows that speak about music (no way for him sorry...).



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

We would like to thank you and other guys that spend time and energy around underground music, as that's probably the real force that fuels this whole buried world.

We want also to thank Benny from B-side Music Lab that recorded "Gnosis"; we have stressed this guy a lot, but despite of that he put a lot of commitment and professionalism in doing that (probably more than we deserved).

Replicant/Worthless Desires/PRC Music/2016 CD Review

  Replicant  are  a  band  from  New  Jersey  that  plays  a  very  technical  and  unorthodox  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  2016  ep  "Worthless  Desires"  which  was  released  by  PRC  Music.

  A  very  heavy  and  technical  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  melodic  riffing  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  make  their  presence  known  in  the  music  and  the  music  goes  for  more  of  a  modern approach  to  the  genre.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  solos  and  leads  add  in  a  touch  of  old  school  death  metal  to  the  bands  musical  style  while still  also  utilizing  some technical  elements  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a very  heavy  musical  direction,

  Replicant  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  modern  and  technical  while  also  demonstrating  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  as  musicians,  the production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  philosophical  themes.

 In  my  opinion  Replicant  are  a  very  great  sounding  technical  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Shroud"  and  "Anti  Instinct".  8  out  of  10.  

Purgatoire/Passe Decompose/PRC Music/2016 CD Review

 Purgatoire  are  a band  from  Quebec,  Canada  that  plays  an  old  school  form  of  gore/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Passe  Decompose" which  was  released  by  PRC  Music.

  Rain  and wind  sounds  start  off  the album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  mid  80's  to  early  90's  style  of  the  genre  while  some  riffs  also  add  in  a  touch  oft thrash  and  the  riffs  also use  morbid  sounding  melodies  at  times.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  dome  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  fashion  and  all  of  the  songs  sound  like  they  could  of  been  easily  recorded  and  released  more  than  20 years  ago  while  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  horror  movie  samples  and  all  of  the  tracks  stick  to  a  heavy  musical  direction.
 
Purgatoire  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  heavy  and  old  school  in  the  early  90's  tradition,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  French  and  cover  deathy,  gore,  murder,  after  life  and  humanity themes.

  In  my  opinion  Purgatoire  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  "Passe  Decompose"  "Au  Fond  Du  Gouffre"  "Vie  De  Cercueil"  and  "Brabal  Dechaine".  8  out  of  10.

Age Of Agony/For The Forgotten/Neverheard Distro/2016 CD Review

  Age  Of  Agony  are  a  band  from  Hungary  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "For  the  Forgotten"  which  was  released  by  Neverheard  Distro.

  Atmospheric  sounds  start  off  the  album  and  after  a  few  seconds  the  music  starts  to  go  into  a  heavier  direction  along  with  some  morbid  sounding  melodies  and  death  metal  growls  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  style  of  the  genre.

 When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  fashion  while  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  during  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts and  while  the  music  is  rooted  in  the  past  the  production gives  the  tracks  more  of  a  modern  feeling  and  the  last  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Age  Of  Agony  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  on  this  recording  that  is  very traditional,  heavy  and old  school  in  the  90's  tradition,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  anti  Christian,  death,  war  and  hatred  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Age Of  Agony  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  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Korps"  "Gunners"  "Knight  Of  Sky"  and  "Our  Last  Stand".  8  out  of  10.

   

Evil Reborn/Throne Of Insanity/Satanath Records/Evil's Records/2016 CD Review

  Evil  Reborn  are  a  band  from  Venezuela  that  plays  an  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Throne  Of  Insanity"  which  will  be  released  on  May  17th  as  a  joint  effort  between  Satanath  Records  and  Evil's  Records.

  Synths  and  spoken  word  samples  start  off  the  album  and  after  a  few  seconds  the  music  goes  into  a  heavier  direction w here  you  can  hear all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  melodies  at  times  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  deep  death  metal  growls  with  some  high  pitched  screams. 

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  remain  true  to  an  old  school  style  of  death  metal  while  also  being  melodic a t  the  same  time  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  while  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  the  way  the  songs  are  produced  it  gives  the  recording  more  of  a  modern  feeling  and  the  whole  album  also  remains  very  heavy  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.
 
  Evil  Reborn  plays  a  style  of  death  metal t hat  is  very  old  school  and  rooted  in  the  90's  while  also  mixing  it  in  with  some  more  modern  sounding  elements,  the  p0roduction  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violence,  horror,  anti  religion  and  death  themes  and  soem  lyrics  are  also  written  in  Spanish.

  In  my  opinion  Evil  Reborn  are  a  very  great  sounding  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Evil  Reborn"  "Possessed  Angels"  "Destroying  The  Trinity"  and  "Night  Killer".  8  out  of  10.  

 

Riket/Avarter/Scarecrow Records/2016 EP Review

  Riket  are  a  band  from  Sweden t hat  plays  a  straight  forward  form  of  death  metal  and  this is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "Avarter"  which  was  released  by  Scarecrow  Records.

  A  very  melodic  guitar  lead  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  a  few  seconds  later  and  high  pitched  screams  are  also  utilized  at  times  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  solos  are  also  used  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording.

  Some  of  the  riffs  bring  in  elements  of  thrash  and  as  the  ep  progresses  their  is  also  a  brief  use  of  fast  playing  and  blast  beats  on  a  couple  of  tracks while  the  main  focus  remains  on  more  of  a  mid  paced  style  that  utilizes  a  great  mixture  of  both  old  school  and  modern  death  metal  influences  and  the  music  also  remains  very  heavy  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

  Riket plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  mostly  mid  paced  while  also  being  very  heavy  and  melodic  at the  same  time  in  the  Swedish  tradition,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  their  native  tongue  and  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Riket  are  a  very  great  sounding  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out t his  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dovt  Ar  Dodens  Dan"  and  "Svart".  8  out  of  10.

Psycho Scream/Gnosis/2016 CD Review

  Psycho  Scream  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  progressive  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2016  album  "Gnosis".

  A  very  hard  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  aggressive  screaming  vocals  that  are  in  between  thrash  and  death  metal  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  music  also  goes  for  more  of  a  modern  approach  to  the  death  and  thrash  metal  genres.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  also  add  a  touch  of  traditional  metal  to  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  they  also  mix  in  some  old  school  influences  into  the  modern  style.

  As  the  album  progresses  the  solos  and  leads  also  start  getting  more  progressive  while  classical  guitars  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  some  of  the  fast  riffs  also  utilize  a  small  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  one  track  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  melodic  singing  while  an  instrumental  is  used  almost  at  the  end of  the  recording  and  a  couple  of  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Psycho  Scream  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  progressive,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  very  heavy  sounding  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  album  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Psycho  Scream  are  a very  great  sounding  progressive  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out t his  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Anger"  "Human"  "Terrorist"  and  "Right  And  Wrong".  8  out  of  10.

Witch Vomit/A Cream From The Tomb Below/Memento Mori/2015 CD Review

  Witch  Vomit  are  a band  from  Portland,  Oregon  that  plays  a  very  filthy,  dark  and  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "A  Scream  From  the  Tomb  Below"  which  was  released  by  Memento  Mori.

  A  very  distorted  guitar  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  a  few  seconds  later  death  metal  growls  and  screams  are  added  onto the  recording  while  the  solos  and  leads  also  bring  in  an  old  school  style  of  the  genre  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with  some  morbid  sounding  melodies.

  At  times  the  vocals  can  be  very  guttural  and  the  music  is also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  and  throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  of  the  melodies  and  riffs  add  in  a  touch  of  the  Swedish  style  and  the  music  also  gets  very  brutal  at  times  but  in  more  of  an  old  school  fashion  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  brief  use  of  horror  movie  samples  and  all  of  the  songs  also  remain  true  to  a  heavy  musical direction  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Witch  Vomit  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  dark,  brutal,  raw  and  filthy  in the  old  school  90's  tradition,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  necrophilia,  death  and  depression  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Witch  Vomit  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  "Ripped  From  The  Crypt"  "Witch  Cunt"  and  "Twisted  Altar  Of  Sin".  8  out  of  10.   

Gruesome/Dimensions Of Horror/Relapse Records/2016 EP Review

  Gruesome  are  a  band  from  the  United  States  that h as  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  Death  "Leprosy"  era  style  of  death  metal  as  a  tribute  to  the  legendary  band  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "Dimensions  Of  Horror"  which  will  be  released  on  May  20th  by  Relapse  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  morbid  sounding  melodies  and  after  a  few  seconds  death  metal  growls  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  a  few  seconds  alter  the  music  goes  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  musical  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  the  songs  sound  like  they  could  of  been  recorded  and  released  in  the  mid  80's.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  songs  sound  like  the  ghost  of  Chuck  Schuldiner  possessed  the  souls   of  these musicians  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  sound  very  dark  and  melodic  and  some  riffs  also  add  in a   touch  of  thrash  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to them  and  the  whole  ep  also  remains  very  heavy  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

  Gruesome  continues  the  Death  tribute  of  their  previous  recordings  creating  another  recording  that  is  very  much  rooted  in  the  old  school  style  of  death  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  gore  and  horror  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Gruesome  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  old  school  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Raped  By  Darkness"  and  "Seven  Doors".  8  out  of  10.   

Backdawn Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?

We started to work on new video project, one lyric video that would be released pretty soon and a full clip that we will shoot in June. We are actually working on writing the script with the same director who created our first clip that will be released on May.



2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

I used to say that we wanted to record the best metal album that we could, this is an aggressive album with a lot of melodic elements. Jeff Waters told me "aggressive music with a lot of skills and melody too". We wanted to create something with a real modern American sound. The Bosshog Studio where we recorded is entirely equipped with American equipment. First of all we wanted to have that kind of sharp, aggressive and loud guitar sound, with a strong bass with a high gain of overdrive too. We worked a lot on the sound design of the drum, actual but not standard though. We didn't want to give fans that same ridiculous ‘ez’ drummer sound that a couple of bands used to have on actual productions. During the mix we decided to put the voices a bit higher too, we didn't want to have it under mixed and I think it works very well!


It's actually very different from the last two releases we recorded, our first EP was a bit rude, I call it "proto-Backdawn" whereas "Through Extermination" was what we were searching for. When we went from the studio after "Through Extermination" I told Will, "dude, I'm not that much a fan of that album, let's work on another one with more melody" and I then started to work on ‘I Shall Burn Your Empire’.

3.You refer to your music as 'new wave thrash', can you tell us a little bit more about this term?

This the way we found to describe the band after hours of reflexion. Actually we used to say that we are a ‘metal band’, but some venues or promoters love to tag your face with that or this kind of style. After a couple of them tagged us as thrash/death, thrash, groove or even (I laughed a lot) black metal band, I decided that we had to define what we are doing. Our music is inspired by a lot of classical thrash metal bands, and we thought it was right to call it new wave thrash metal. To me this is a mix of a lot of influences from the extreme metal world in its entire conception with a huge influence from thrash metal bands.

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

Well I decided to write on a lot subjects that were making me mad. Events in our society pissed me off, private facts too, and writing those lyrics was a kind of catharsis in which I could exaggerate anything while hiding in two-way texts. My lyrics are about power, religion, anger, dependence, all combined in a post apocalyptic shape. I wanted to create a little concept around who we are as humans, what should be destroyed and rebuilt. This is all about what I think should be made in another way than it is nowadays. Some songs are introspective too, but still in that vision of a catharsis.



5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Backdawn'?



This is amazing because a lot of concepts around Backdawn are speaking about creating something new. As I tell in "The Path To Glory", "Born from the ashes of a hard broken dream, this fellowship we founded to write our laws". This is our story, this the way we did things and Backdawn is a way to describe what we were searching for: to create something new, a new dawn of the metal world. When we founded the band in 2011 with Will, we wanted to play pure metal; playing new styles as deathcore or metalcore just to be modern is a damn stupidity. In 2011 a bunch of "true metal" bands went to write a couple of deathcore songs cause it was "actual" and "modern". That pissed me off. I told Will "no matter what, we'll never follow those trends and fashions" and we maintained the way we were doing things. We are Backdawn, maybe a lot will forget what metal is, but we'll stay who we are, a damn violent metal band. Metal deserves a new dawn, and even if some guys claim it's dead, it is still here in our minds and thoughts and we want to create something new and metal. This is the message we wanted to deliver.



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

Wacken in 2014 and opening for Behemoth, Exodus and Testament in 2015 were outstanding experiences. Those three shows were amazing because they were the best shows we could deliver at that time, and I think that more exciting shows will come in the future as we are working our asses off every time to give something better on each show. Actually, we propose onstage an experience that is the same product you'll hear on CD, but with a lot more power and violence in your face. We actually haven’t played with the new line up live, but it is much more violent than what we produced live in years past.



7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?

For now we are working on booking. We have some shows confirmed, but we are still searching for dates around Europe first. We have demand from fans all over the Europe especially in Germany, Switzerland, France and the UK; we're still working on booking the band.



8.On the new album you worked with Jeff Waters of 'Annihilator' on the mastering, what was it like working with this metal legend?

Jeff is a talented artist and an outstanding producer. We asked him to work on our album because he produced a couple of albums that sound great. It was amazing to work with him, he's a super nice guy and he took the time to give us the best result and you can hear it on this album. It's been two years work that’s been spent on this album; Jeff understood it very well and made it sound exactly like we wanted.



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

Well, for the moment we decided to stay unsigned until we find the good label. We've received interest from many labels; we are searching for someone to release it the way it deserves to be released though. We'll wait for a couple of mails and offers before deciding what to do.



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


For the moment we’ve received a lot of very good feedback, there are a lot of very good reviews, we are very happy that ‘I Shall Burn Your Empire pleases so many people. For the moment we also follow what's happening on our store, bandcamp (for the digital release) and our social media stats, and we are surprised and pleased by the fact that a bunch of people follow us from various locations all around the world.

11.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?


Well not much at this point. We are working first on Backdawn, this the way we do things. Tisa is sometimes helping bands from the underground scene in replacing, for some concerts, a guitarist missing and I'm actually writing a couple of things for myself and for Backdawn. I have worked with three other bands in the past at the same time and I can say that this is not a good way to make your main project go on and progress; focusing on one project is more than enough.

12.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?


We are working very hard to release ‘I Shall Burn Your Empire’ worldwide, on the internet and in stores, I'd like to distribute it as well with a good label and to start a real collaboration that will help us grow the biggest way possible. I can't tell, the market is overloaded, there are a lot of good bands, I hope we'll still be there in a dozen years, and I hope we'll manage to distribute our music to the max.

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


I've been a huge fan of Pantera for years, but I listened a lot to their albums, and I got very depressed a couple of times cause I'm an even bigger Dimebag fan. I was also listening to bands like Meshuggah and Gojira, but I found myself in thrash metal with classic bands like Slayer, Kreator and also Testament and Machine Head. I also discovered, as did lots of people from my generation, the guys from Lamb of God, and Rammstein. Actually I used to listen to DevilDriver a lot, this band is very amazing and creative, and I love the way Dez Fafara's vocal and lyrical style. This is a really inspiring band to me.

14.What are some of your non-musical interests?


I'm a huge horror movies consumer; I almost look to no other style of films. And I can proudly say that I’ve seen a lot of them. I'm also working on a lot on artworks, for the band first, for my pleasure too. Tisa is also working a lot on very dark artworks that are very amazing. I truly am a diehard fan of HR Giger who is to me one of the most inspiring artists of the last century. I read a lot, and am fond of occultism, religion, philosophy and politics. Well that's a bit cliché for a metal artist, but that's part of the deal...

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


Yes, I want to thank every fan, every webzine, reviewer, journalist, endorsers, and everyone who's working on Backdawn, inside and outside the band in its musical way, for being here with us all along the road. It is very important to us to know that so many people are living this experience with us all.

Dominance/The Rising Vengeance/Sliptrick Records/2016 CD Review

  Dominance  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  modern  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "The  Rising  Vengeance"  which  will  be  released  in  July  by  Sliptrick  Records.

  Clean  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  and  a  few  seconds  later  it  starts  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  musical  direction  while  also  keeping  around  the  clean  parts  as  well  as  introducing  melodic  guitar  leads  to  the  recording  and  after  the  intro  melodic  riffs  and  death  metal  growls  start  becoming  a  huge  part  of  all  of  the  songs.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  solos  and  leads  demonstrate  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill and  some  of  the  riffs  also  bring  in  elements  of  thrash  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  both  modern  and  old  school  influences  and  the  vocals  also add  in  touches  of  groove  metal  and  also  mixes  it  in  with  the  growls  while  screams  are  also  utilized  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  playing  also  makes  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  recording  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  melodic  vocals  and a   couple  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  last  song  closes  with  some  classical  guitars.

  Dominance  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  modern  and  also adds  in  a  touch  of  groove  and  thrash  metal  along  with  some  melodic  riffing  to  create  a  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  past  times  and  sadness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Dominance  are  a very  great  sounding  modern  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Journey  To A  New  Life"  "Twisted"  "Just  A  Reflection"  and  "Rise  Again".  8  out  of  10.

   

Abscendent Interview

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

L. Abscendent is a  Thrash/Death Metal band from Italy, formed in 2011. Our main purpose is to  songs which are both aggressive both compositionally and technically variegated. 

2.In March you had released your first album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

G. The album’s sound is inevitably born from the influences of all of our listenings, as much as on tries to stay personal, you can find both old school and modern groove vibes. The tracks are quite straight forward and typically death/thrash oriented, with some little prog sparks.

3.The band has been around since 2011 but waited until 2016 to release the first album, can you tell us a little bit more about the first 5 years?

G. Since we formed, we started composing and after a trial stage and some line up changes, we found ourselves in the late 2013, with an album ready to be recorded. Then for various reasons and some wrong decisions when it came to choosing the studio, and year passed by, and one more year was gone, while we promoted ourselves until we found a label (Revalve Records) who offered us a contract and promoted the album, so here we are in 2016 with an album out and working on new material, hoping this time it would take much less.

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

L. The whole album is focused on mental illness and other states of altered consciousness, reflections on various personality disorders, bringing them to the extreme in terms of alienation and violence and making a parallel with different literary or philosophical theories. For instance, the Doppelgänger concept so often found in german literature is matched with the bipolar disorder solipsism, the idea that one can be sure only of its own existence and everything surrounding him might actually be an illusion, is seen in the perspective of an individual in a coma.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Abscendent'?

M. We simply liked how “ascendent” sounded like, but feared such name could have been already taken so we added the “b” which also adds kind of an esoteric vibe to it.


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

G. Far as I’m concerned, the audience is the one who can give an objective answer, being on stage, we have a different point of view and a different acoustic perception from those who stand in front of us. The best performances I think I can mention are the ones at Traffic and Closer in Rome, at Satyricon in Alatri, besides the times we played at Baraonda in Formia, where we basically are the “home team”. I hope that there will be more memorable shows in the future.

M. In my humble opinion, every show represents a new challenge, to express your passion to the public. Same goes for the studio work, when making an album.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
G. We’ll try tro promote the album as much as possible in terms of live shows, these days it’s not easy to go on tour without having to deal with considerable expenses concerning travel, accomodation, instrument shipping, but we’ll try to get the good chances when they’ll come.

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

G. At the moment it’s pretty early to give a balance of the feedback we’re getting. The album has been out for just a bit more than a moth and it needs time to collect actual data, the only one we have are spotify playing rates, most of the listeners are from Austria.

L. So far, the critics have been positive, but you cannot know wether the public is going to agree on that or not yet. We are pretty positive though, even those who discover us by attending a live show seem to always appreciate what we do.

9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of he band members are a part of?

G. Overactive, with whom I play live, are composing the tracks for the debut full length, while we are starting recording sessions for the second release by Agogica.
M. I play in Overactive as well, we  released an Ep about an year ago, which had a quite positive feedback and, as said we are working on the new album. I’ve also been playing for years in Zero Tolerance, official italian tribute to Death.

L. As the recording sessions are starting, I am ultimating the lyrics for Agogica’s new album, differently from Inertia of time, it’s going to have a singer indeed. Concerning Shaytan, we have a couple of songs which are ready to be recorded and a few more that only need to be rehearsed and arranged. We have been inactive for a while, since we now live in different parts of Italy, and one of us has been in Frankfurt for the last 6 months, but we plain to  get back during next summer. I recently took part in Helslave, and I’m very enthusiastic about it, I loved their debut album, we are planning gigs to promote it and making choices about the direction the next one is going to take.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

G. For the nearest future we are exploring new territories in death metal with our new songs, which are less direct and more progressive imprinted. without giving up on aggressiveness, which is our main feature.




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

G. Old and new school death and thrash metal above all, from Death, to Exodus, to Lamb of God, to say a few. Concerning what I’m listening to, I’m lately listening many italian bands such as Eyeconoclast, Deceptionist and Exence, but I generally listen to many different things such as jazz, rock and blues, beside metal.


M. I’ll listen to every song, album or artist which touches me, regardless of the genre. Obviously Chuck Schuldiner and Death are always going to have an inspirational relevance.

L. An influence we don’t mention much, but is present in its own way, it’s last two decades’ technical death metal, bands such as Decapitated, Obscura and Beyond Creation.  I’m very pleased of the old school swedish death metal revival that’s going on lately, bands like Overtorture, Entrails, Under the Church, Wombath and so on. I’m also very passionate in doom, stoner and sludge, a couple of pretty unknown band I’m totally into are Komatsu from the Netherlands and 10.000 km² gegen die Zeit from Germany.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

G. Sport, without any doubt, basket above all. Then cinema, books and cuisine.
M. I love running and walking outdoors for long periods, beside hanging out with my closest friends.

L. I study Languages and Literatures, which are my main interest apart from music, beside English, I speak German and Swedish. I am also interested in philosophy, which has a strong impact on the way I write lyrics.

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

L. We would like to thank anyone who has purchased or listened to our album, in this-net ruled  period, where informations are fast and bands pop up every day, it’s difficult to give the deserved attention to every single one of them.
And obviously, thank you for taking the time and effort to interview us! You’ll hear from us soon!