Necroheresy/Divine Betrayal/Satanath Records/2014 EP Review

  Necroheresy  are  a  band  from  Slovakia  that  plays  a  heretical  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "Divine  Betrayal"  which  was  released  by  Satanath  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  evil  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  melodic  ritualistic  chants  which  also  return  on  the  last  track  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  for  more  of  an  old  school  death  metal  sound  along  with  some  growls  and  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  some  melody  being  mixed  in  with  the  heavier  parts  and  after  awhile  the  music  speeds  up  and  starts  incorporating  blast  beats.

  While  the  music  is  mostly  death  metal  you  can  still  hear  a  great  amount  of  thrash  elements  in  the  bands  musical  style  along  with  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful sound  to  them  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  lot  of  the  more  raw  underground  metal  sound  of  the  80's  at  times  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  in  an  old  death  death/thrash  direction.

  Necroheresy  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  old  school  and  brutal  sounding  while  also  adding  in  influences  from  the  more  raw  side  of  thrash  to  create  some  very  blasphemous  sounding  music,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  their  native  tongue  and  cover  blasphemy,  heresy  and  death.

  In  my  opinion  Necroheresy  are  a  very  great  sounding  heretical  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "False  prophet"  and  "Temple  Of  The  Doomed".  8  out  of  10.    

Sepulchral CurseA Birth In Death/Chaos & Hell Productions/2014 EP Review

  Sepulchral  Curse  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  an  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "A  Birth  In  Death"  which  was  released  by  Chaos  &  Hell  Productions.

  A  very  heavy,  dark  and  raw  old  school  death  metal  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  growls  and  blast  beats  a  few  seconds  later  and  the  music  combines  elements  from  the  American,  Swedish  and  Finnish  death  metal  scenes  of  the  early  90's  as  well  as  bringing  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  High  pitched  screams  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  brought  into t he  music  they  remain  true  to  the  old  school  death  metal  sound  of  the  bands  musical  style  which  also  bring s in  a  small  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  at  times  and  none  of  the  tracks  have  a  modern  sound  and  could  easily  be  mistaken  for  a  death  metla  demo  that  was  released  in  the  early  90's.

  Sepulchral  Curse  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very,  dark  heavy  and  old  school  sounding  as  well  as  avoiding  all  modern  trends  and  there  is  never  a  soft  or  weak  moment  to  be  heard  anywhere  on  the  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  dark,  raw,  heavy  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  war  and  occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sepulchral  Curse  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Demonic  Pestilence"  and  "Torn  To  Shreds".  8  out  of  10.

Ara/Devourer Of Words/2014 Full Length Review

  Ara  are  a  band  from  Wisconsin  that  plays  a  very  technical  and  brutal  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Devourer  Of  Words".

  A  very  distorted  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  guitar  riffing  that  evolves  into  more  of  a  technical  death  metal  sound  along  with  some  growls,  melodies  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  getting  more  brutal  and  also  incorporates  more  blast  beats.

  There  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  present  throughout  the  recording  and  the  vocals  also  get  more  guttural  at  times  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  a  traditional  style  of  death  metal  growling  and  they  also  add  in  high  pitched  screams  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  add  more  of  a  melodic  and  technical  sound  to  the  recording  when  they  are  utilized  and  one  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  a  few  seconds  of  acoustic  guitars  while  the  rest  of  the  recording  sticks  to  mostly  a  brutal  and  technical  sound.

  Ara  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  technical  and  brutal  and  they  also  demonstrate  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  as  musicians,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  foe  being  a  self  release d recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Ara  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  and  technical  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Obelisk"  "Cadaverlanche"  "Execution"  and  "Human  Garbage".  8  out  of  10.

    

Nervecell/Psychogenocide/Unique Leader Records/2015 CD Review

  Nervecell  are  a  band  from  the  United  Arab  Emirates  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Psychogenocide"  which  will  be  released  on  January  27th  by  Unique  Leader  Records.

  Middle  Eastern  folk  music  sounds  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  for  more  of  an  old  school  death  metal  sound  which  leads  up  to  some  growls  and  brutal  blast  beats  along  with  a  great  amount  of  thrash  elements  being  added  into  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  A  decent  amount  of  melody  can  be  heard  throughout  the  recording  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  are  in  a  90's  style  death/thrash  metal  vein  while  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  high  pitched  screams  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  band  also  mixes  modern  and  old  school  elements  of  thrash  and  death  metal  together  and  some  of  the  later  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  technical  playing  as  well  as  demonstrating  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  as  musicians  and  they  also  bring  an  instrumental  track  before  closing  the  album  with  2  songs  that  bring  back  vocals.

  Nervecell  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  mixes  in  both  modern  and  old  school  elements  as  well  as  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  thrash  influences  and  a  small  amount  of  Middle  Eastern  music  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  misery,  hate,  society  and  humanity  issues.

  In  my  opinion  Nervecell  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  "Upon  An  Epidemic  Scheme"  "Amok  Doctrine"  "The  Taste  of  Betrayal"  and  "Nation's  Plague".  8  out  of  10.

    

Xibalba/Tierra Y Libertad/Southern lord/2015 CD Review

  Xibalba  are  a  band  from  California  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal  and  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Tiera  Y  Libertad"  which  will  be  released  on  January  27th  by  Southern  Lord.

  Deep  death  metal  growls  and a  heavy  metal/hardcore  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  the  vocals  also  mixing  in  elements  of  the  later  mentioned  genre  and  the  music  also  brings  in  melody  as  well  as  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  which  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  onto  the  recording.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music  they  bring  in  more  of  a  90's  influenced  death  metal  sound  to  the  bands  musical  style  and  some  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  and  as  the  album  progresses  element s of  groove  metal  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections of  the  songs  and  the  last  track  is  12  minutes  in   length  and  also  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  along  with  some  clean  singing  vocals  while  still  having  its  heavy  moments.

  Xibalba  remains  true  to  the  death  metal  and  hardcore  mixture  of  previous  recording  and  all  of  the  songs  are  heavily  rooted  in  90's  extreme  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Spanish  and  cover  violent,  hateful  and  political  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Xibalba  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Enemigo"  "Pausa"  and  "El  Vacio".  8  out  of  10.

 

Terror Empire/The Empire Strikes Back/Nordavind Records/2015 CD Review

  Terror  Empire  are  a  band  from  Portugal  that  plays  a  modern  mixture  of  thrash  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "The  Empire  Strikes  Back"  which  will  be  released  in  February  by  Nordavind  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some.  clean  playing  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well  as  returning  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  and  after  awhile  the  music  gets  a  lot  more  heavy  along  with  some  guitar  leads  that  are  a  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  also  add  more  melodies  into  the  songs  when  they  are utilized.

  After  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavier  thrash  direction  direction  along  with  some  aggressive  vocals,  blast  beats  and  some  death  metal  growls  and  you  can  also  hear  elements  of  hardcore  and  groove  metal  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  at  time s you  can  also  hear  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  in  some  of  the  tracks.

  At  times  some  of  the  songs  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  hardcore  style  breakdowns  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  vocals  start  adding  in  more  melody  while  also  keeping  around  a  very  rough  edge  to  them  while  a  later  track  also  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  samples  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  

  Terror  Empire  plays  a  style  that  mixes  modern  thrash  with  groove  metal  and  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  violent  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Terror  Empire  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  thrash,  groove  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Empire  Strikes"  "Skinned  Alive"  "Reality  Check"  and  "Break  the  Cycle".  8  out  of  10.  

Abscession Interview

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

Skaldir: We are a new old school death metal project from Sweden/Germany that formed in 2009. We released the demo tape "Death Incarnate" in 2010 and will release our first album "Grave Offerings" in February 2015.
Currently we have three members: Thomas (Vocals), Markus (Drums) and Skaldir (Guitars, Bass, Keys). We also have a guest lead guitar player called Niel that played most of the solos on "Grave Offerings".

2.You have a full length coming out in February, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the demo you had released in 2010?

Skaldir: We play death metal inspired by bands as Edge of Sanity, Entombed, At the Gates, early Death and Carcass. It's important to us to have riffs you can follow as a listener, and songs that you can remember, because they also have melodic elements. Still it should sound brutal. The biggest difference to the demo is probably that we now have a more technical drummer.

Thomas: I think we've sort of found our path. A three track cassette like Death Incarnate can't show the full range of a band's sound as well as an album. And Skaldir has worked a lot with the overall production so it all sounds great

3.This is the first release to be released in 5 years since the demo, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?

Thomas: We wrote most of the songs pretty quickly once we started working on the album. But for various reasons we ended up recording and re-recording them all a couple of times. And since we all have other bands, jobs and stuff outside of Abscession time went by, and once we were finished with the production we had to find a label that wanted to release the album. Eventually we decided to go with Final Gate Records and now we're just waiting for the albums to be pressed and shipped.


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

Thomas: Well, it's death metal so we explore themes close to the heart of this style. I always try to weave short stories or imageries with my lyrics. I never liked lyrics that were just a bunch of ”cool” words mashed together. To many bands make shit like that, stuff that doesn't mean anything. I grew up listening to bands like Iron Maiden and for me the lyrics were a big part of the experience. So that's what I try to bring with me when I write lyrics.

The subjects on Grave Offerings range from the Lovecraft-inspired ”Where sleeping gods dwell” to the track ”Cabin 13” which lyrically draws heavily on slasher films from the 80's. In fact, I think many of the lyrics read like short horror stories. Hopefully the listeners will get some gruesome images in their minds when they read along to the tracks, haha.

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

Skaldir: We wanted to have a one-word name for the band, like a lot of the old bands had. Since most of words are already taken it was not an easy task. The name also should have a classy feel. Brutal and concise. We all liked "Abscession".

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?

Thomas: Since we all live far apart we're actually a studio band so far. But there may be live shows in the future, although none are planned at the moment.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

None as of yet.

8.The new album is coming out on Final Gate Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Skaldir: Marc of Suffer Production, who released our demo tape, actually gave us the tip with Final Gate Records. It's a german label and a sublabel from Rotten Roll Rex. What we liked was that they seem to make things not too complicated. Label owner Marco is a nice bloke who looks out for us. He even told me once that if we are ever unhappy about something we can visit him and beat him up. ;)

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

Skaldir: The promotion of "Grave Offerings" just started, but so far it has been very positive. With our demo the reactions totally blew our minds. We didn't even really make promotion, but the word spread all by itself, and we even got "Demo of the year" on some blogs. It was pretty insane for having just started with the band.


10.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?

Thomas: For my part, I'm working with blackened death/thrash band Throne of Heresy to record and release a full length album during 2015. We've got all the songs written and are entering Endarker Studio (run by Marduk bassist Devo) in March. After that we'll likely go on to play as many gigs and shows as we can fit into our busy schedules!

Skaldir: I'm involved in a lot of projects with different musical styles. I played in the Pagan Metal Band Hel and I am also in Elane and Over The Hill.

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

Skaldir: We wanna continue with a more epic concept and break out of the 3 - 4 minute songs maybe. We have spoken about a lyrical concept and a lot of new music already has been written.

Thomas: Yeah, this ”epic” concept is something we all would like to explore and we will likely devote one album to it. Then I think we'll dive right back into making grisly death metal again, just to stir things up a bit. We like doing the stuff we like so I guess we'll see where it ends up though!

12.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?

Thomas: Well, I find it intersting to mix things up a bit and I like lots of different music. My death metal influences are mainly from swedish style death like EDGE OF SANITY, BLOODBATH etc but I also enjoy more progressive stuff like OPETH. I always like stuff that has hooks in it but which also grows on you with every listen. I think maybe that's where our death'n'roll-style influences come from, since I really like that kind of stuff when it's done in moderation. But then there's a whole range of bands outside the realm of death metal that influence me in different ways. Everything from classic IRON MAIDEN to FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM have had a huge impact on the way I write lyrics for example.

Skaldir: For me there are always some records that never get old. The first stuff I liked as a teenager, like DEATH, HELLOWEEN, EDGE OF SANITY. But I listen to a lot of different music from AOR, Progressive Rock to Death metal. And even if I have a lot of favs from the early 90s, there are gladly also some new albums that can excite me from time to time. Right now there is HAKEN - The Mountain in my CD player, I also enjoy DIRE STRAITS and classic heavy metal like IRON MAIDEN and MANOWAR.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

Thomas: Haha, I've never been asked this in an interview before. Anyway, I do lots of stuff. Movies, gaming, reading, brewing beer, drinking beer... etc!

Skaldir: I like to do walks with my dog, and also like to watch TV series and movies. Mostly supernatural kind of stuff. I was never a big gamer in the past, but I found a game that I played a little bit too excessive and now found myself at rank 48 of all PS3 players in the world. :-P
Time to spend more time on playing guitar and becoming a world's top 50 death metal band rather...

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

Skaldir: The new year just started and we are very excited what the death metal fans will think of our new album. So far only the press got it, but next month hopefully the fans can also hear it. We wanna thank you for the interview and wish you and your zine all the best for 2015!