Gian/All Life Erased/Inverse Records/2015 Full Length Review

  Gian  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "All  Life  Erased"  which  will  be  released  on  February  20th  by  Inverse  Music.

  Weird  sound  effects  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  reverb  noise  and  spoken  word  samples  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavy  and  raw  death/thrash  metal  direction  along  with  some  technical  riffs  and  growls  and  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  amount  of  groove  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  you  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  high  pitched  screams  in  the  songs  mixing  with  the  growls.

  A  lot  of  the  riffs  incorporate  a  great  amount  of  melody  while  the  faster  sections  utilize  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  along  with  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  are  very  melodic  and  have  an  old  school  death  metal  feeling  to  them  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  clean  singing  vocals  at  times.

  The  death  and  thrash  metal  elements  of  the  recording  are  in  more  of  a  modern  direction  while  you  can  still  hear  a  bit  of  some  old  school  influences  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  music  starts  incorporating  more  hardcore  and  punk  elements  and  the  whole  album  sticks  to  a  very  heavy,  brutal  and  aggressive  musical  direction.

  Gain  takes  both  the  old  school  and  modern  styles  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  combine  them  together  along  with  some  elements  of  groove,  punk  and  metalcore  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  violent  and  hateful  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Gian  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Bloodstorm"  "Self-Immolation  Party"  "Aggression  Unleashed"  and  "Capital  Punishment".  8  out  of  10.

Conceived By Hate/Akheron/Coaltion Of Death/Morbid Skull Records/2015 Split Album Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  El  Salvador's  Conceived  By  hate  and  Columbia's  Akheron  called  "Coalition  Of  Death"  which  will  be  release d in  March  by  Morbid  Skull  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Conceived  By  Hate  a  band  that  plays  an  old  school  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal.

  A  very  heavy,  raw  and  old  school  thrash  metal  sound  starts  off  their  side  of  the  split  along  with  small  doses  of  melody  and  a  few  seconds  alter  death  metal  growls  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  bring  in  a  mid  80's  death/thrash  feeling  to  the  songs  they  are  utilized  on  and  the  songs  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  faster  sections  adding  in  blast  beats  and  when  atmospheric  sounds  and  keyboards  are  added  onto  the  recording  they  add  more  modern  elements  to  what  is  more  of  an  old  school  sound  and  the  band  closes  their  side  with  a  cover  of  Dissections  "Thorns  Of  Crimson  Death''  which  also  brings  in  screams  that  are  in  more  of  a  black/death  direction,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  solitude,  society,  revenge  and  emptiness.

  In  my  opinion  Conceived  By  Hate  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  "Devotees  of  Death"  and  "Thorns  Of  Crimson  Death".

  Next  up  is  Akheron  a  band  that  plays  an  old  school  form  of  thrash  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  off  with  a  very  old  school  thrash  metal  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  mid  80's  along  with  some  growls  and  screams  that  are  in  more  of  an  early  death  metal  direction  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  remain  true  to  an  old  school  extreme  metal  sound  while  also  adding  some  melodies into  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  while  the  music  is  very  old  school  the  production  makes  the  band  sound  more  modern,  as  their  side  of  the  split  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  is  added  into  one  of  the  tracks  and  they  close  their  side  of  the  split  with  a  cover  of  Misfits  "Where  Eagles  Dare",  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  social  topics,  war  and  mental  degradation.

  In  my  opinion  Akheron  are  a  very  great  sounding  thrash  metal  band  with  elements  of  old  school  death  metal  and   if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Estigma"  and  "In-Comformista".  8  out  of  10.

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  death  and  thrash  metal.  8  out  of  10.       

Defcon One/The Perfection Of Slavery/RVP Records/2015 CD Review

  Defcon  One  are  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  plays  a  progressive  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "The  Perfection  Of  Slavery"  which  was  released  by  RVP  Records.

  A  very  dark  drone  starts  off  the  album  before  the  music  starts  going  into  a  more  heavy  death  metal  direction  along  with  some  growling  vocals,  high  pitched  screams  and  blast  beats  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  in  a  very  melodic,  progressive  and  technical  musical  direction  and  you  can  also  hear  some  atmospheric  elements  in  the  background  at  times.

  You  can  hear  a  lot  of  thrash  elements in  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  there  are  also  a  few  tracks  that  are  instrumental  and  the  synths  also  bring  in  elements  of  dark  ambient  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  ritualistic  feeling.  and  at  times  they  are  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  samples  being  utilized.

  Deafcon  One  plays  a  style  of death  metal  that  is  very  atmospheric  and  progressive  while  also  being  very  heavy  at  the  same  time  and  also  incorporating  elements  of  thrash,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Philosophical  and  Historical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Deafcon  One  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  and  progressive  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  "Son  Of  God,  Daughters  Of  Men"  "Subconscious  Seven"  and  "History  Is  Written  By  the  Victor".  8  out  of  10.

  

Godless Angel Interview

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

There wasn't a large amount of time between finishing "Harvester of Shadows" and announcing it's release. I've been pretty busy coordinating the information that's going out on Facebook, Twitter, the various streaming sites like Bandcamp and Soundcloud, and the official Godless Angel website. Reviews of the new album are starting to come in as well as interview requests. It's a very exciting time for Godless Angel!

2.You have a new album 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 stuff you have released in the past?

"Harvester of Shadows" is the merger of different styles that I explored during the first two years of Godless Angel. "Year One", which was released in 2013, was heavily rooted in groove and death metal. "Dying Dead Undead Unholy", released in 2014, was pure thrash. The new album takes all those styles and blends them together into what I think is the definitive, signature sound of Godless Angel.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with your newer music?

All of the Godless Angel lyrics are "horror fiction". For "Harvester of Shadows" and "Dying Dead Undead Unholy" I had a lyrical collaborator, my wife, Chrissy. We both love horror and science fiction and we approach all of my songs as though they were short stories. "Containment Breach in Sector 6" is about aliens being held captive in a government laboratory until they break free and launch a global assault. "Suffering the Wrath of the Goddess" is about a person who begins to hear the thoughts of the plants around him and he realizes they want to murder him. "Samhain" is about serial killer stalking children on Halloween.

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

The name came from a brainstorming session between my wife and I. We were just writing down different words and putting them together. My wife loved the name Godless Angel because she thought it described my personality well. I'm quite fond of the name, it just feels right.

5.With the musical project you record everything myself, are you open to working with any other musicians in the future?

It would totally depend on the nature of the collaboration. I'm extremely happy with the freedom and flexibility of working as a solo artist after having spent a couple decades working with other musicians in conventional bands. But if the opportunity presented itself to work with an artist I admire, that would be very cool!

6.So far there has been an album released every year, do you put a great amount of time and effort into your music?

I do dedicate a lot of time and effort to my music, which isn't always easy since I work full time. Some days I'm just too exhausted to give my music the attention and focus it deserves. I do most of my writing and recording on weekends, that way I'm rested and can devote several hours to it. And some things take longer than others. Guitar and bass tracks go very quickly, drum tracks take a very long time to complete. It takes me a long time to complete a set of lyrics, but recording vocals is a pretty fast process.

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

The feedback has been awesome! I've received a lot of compliments on everything from the stylistic balance of the album to the quality of the production. And all the extra work I put into my vocals and guitar leads has definitely paid off. I knew these songs were special when I was recording them, and having a stranger a world away tell you that your music "rips" is an amazing feeling.

8.Where do you see the project heading into musically during the future?

The first two years of Godless Angel were all preparation for this album. I had a vision of what I ultimately wanted this band to sound like and "Harvester of Shadows" is exactly that. Moving forward I have hundreds of ideas for different kinds of song arrangements, intros and outros, bridges, guitar leads and lyrical concepts. But the overall style and sound that you hear on "Harvester of Shadows" isn't going to change. This is what I've always wanted Godless Angel to sound like and I'm sticking with it.

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

Some of my biggest influences are Slayer, Six Feet Under, Obituary and Cannibal Corpse. I love 80s and 90s death metal and thrash metal. Lately I've been listening to a lot of brutal death metal like Veiyadra, Ingested and Disfigurement of Flesh.

10.Does Occultism play any role in your music?

Many of the lyrics on "Harvester of Shadow" touch on things like demonic possession and supernatural forces. If you can imagine it in a horror movie or short story, it will probably end up in a Godless Angel song sooner or later.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

I love horror and science fiction movies, of course! I read comic books, mostly DC. And I love video games like Outlast and Silent Hill. I'm also an artist, I drew the album covers for "Harvester of Shadows" and "Dying Dead Undead Unholy".

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

Thank you for letting me talk to you about Godless Angel, I really appreciate it! "Harvester of Shadows" comes out February 27th on Inverse Records and is available for pre-order now on Amazon!

Dehuman/Graveyard Of Eden/Kaotoxin Records/2015 CD Review

  Dehuman  are  a  band  from  Belgium  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  old  school  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Graveyard  of  Eden"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Kaotoxin  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  a  few  seconds  alter  blast  beats,  growls  and  screams  start  becoming  a  huge  part  of  the  recording  along  with  some  riffs  that  also  add  in  melodies  at  times  and  after  awhile  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  certain  sections  of  the   recording  and  the  music  also  has  a  more  brutal  approach  this  time  around.

  On  the  later  tracks  the  band  starts  mixing  their  more  extreme  and  darker  side  of  old  school  thrash  in  with  their  brutal  death  metal  sound  and  the  music  on  the  recording  has  a  very  up  to  date  feeling  along  with  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  heavy  musical  direction  and  the  last  song  also  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  and  is  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Dehuman  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  on  this  recording  that  is  both  old  school  yet  brutal  at  the  same  time  and  also  mixes  in  a  touch  of  thrash  to  create  a  very  heavy  sounding  album,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Dehuman  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Crypts  of  Blood"  "Temple  Of  Lust  And  Fire"  and  "Goddess  of  Sins".  8  out  of  10.

  

Godless Angel/Harvester Of Shadows/Inverse Records/2015 Full Length Review

  Godless  Angel  are  a  1  man  band  from  Kansas  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2015  album  "Harvester  of  Shadows"  which  will  be  released  in  February  by  Inverse  Records.

  Clean  playing  which  is  also  used  on  some  of  the  other  tracks  as  well  starts  off  the  album  along  with  giving  the  recording  a  very  dark  atmosphere  and  a  few  seconds  later  guitar  leads  which  can  also  be  very  melodic  at  times  become  a  huge  part  off  the  songs  along  with  a  great  amount  of  heavy  riffing  that  is  very  heavily  influenced  by  thrash  metal  and  also  incorporates  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  After  the  intro  the  music  starts  getting  a  lot  more  aggressive  and  also  adds  in  mid  80's  style  death  metal  growls  and  screams  that  are  also  easier  to  understand  a  lot  more  than  the  modern  bands  while  the  solos  really  start  demonstrating  a  great  amount  of  skill  and  talent  and  the  songs  also  use  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  being  utilized  during  the  faster  sections  of  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  elements  of  groove.

  Godless  Angel  plays  a  style  of  death  and  thrash  metal  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  mid  80's  and  early  90's  and  also  adds  in  a  good  amount  of  melody  and  darkness  into  his  musical  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  and  also  makes  an  old  school  style  sound  more  modern  while  the  lyrics  cover  Horror,  Death  and  Occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Godless  Angel  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  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Contaminated  Breach  In  Sector  B"  "Suffering  the  Wrath  Of  the  Goddess"  and  "Disemboweling  The  Deranged".  8  out  of  10.    

Pulvis Et Umbra 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?
Sure!! I (Damy) got a couple of endorsement with NY clothing brand EXPLORE APPAREL and UK strings manufacture company.
DOVETAIL STRINGS; I also design new t shirts which are currently still on sale together with the album.
I also got in touch with RAN GUITARS (polish company who endorsed artists like Cannibal Corpse, Annihilator, Vader, Obscura etc) and the company will release a PULVIS ET UMBRA crusher 6 artist model during the end of 2015.
From January 2015 the band engaged 3 session live musician after deal a yearly cooperation with booking agency FULL METAL SERVICE

2.In 2014 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?
First of all I have to say it was it was an interesting challenge for me due that I record all instruments / vocals; that was the main difference between the previous release. The album is a mix of songs which I cannot succeed to release during my early years with the band due to lack of musical knowledge while other part of songs was written during the last month of the band itself so I added them new idea/arrangements and wrote all lyrics. I would like to describe PULVIS ET UMBRA music as a kind of turning circle due that our first release was a half acoustic EP ; I’m already writing some material for a couple of new EPs and the second one will be surely acoustic as well ☺

3.The band has been around since 2001 but so far has only released 2 demo's and 2 full length's, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap between releases?
Those gap were all due to line up changes … it’s a situation that suck because You waste a lot amount of time finding people really interested in a project who rehears with together for let them learn song and this point of course bring You to stop live activity and songwriting . It’s also funny to see the huge difference of time spent between recording a full length as a band instead of a one man act (second choice will works better)

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Well, 90% of the lyrics talk about life experience, moods, feelings, personal point of view etc. Being also a fan of space mission I decide to dedicate a couple of lyrics (“Kosmonaut” -  taken from album Reaching The end - and “Lost Moon”) to those spacemen hehehe

5.I know that the band name is latin 'for dust and shadow' and was a quotation of the Roman Poet Horace, how does this name fit in with the musical style that you play?
You’re right, PULVIS ET UMBRA stays per DUST AND SHADOW; I can’t deny that it probably could fits better for a black metal or doom band but I liked it and I decided to keep it in latin due that in my opinion sounds cool than the english form… that’s all ☺

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?
It’s a hard to fill a kind of list but I surely report the Slovakian mini tour in 2009, the show with BLOOD TSUNAMI in 2008, our performance at BERGAMO METAL FEST and our first gigs at two great Italian venues (THUNDER ROAD  /and JCAFE )
The main word before go on stage in “have fun and let people enjoy the gig” but at the same time no one must have to play drunk, I hate those things….

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Yes!! PULVIS ET UMBRA will play in Russia from march 6 up to march 14 supporting Uk band BLOODSHOT DAWN then we’ll open a couple of gigs for Swedish groove metallers CHUGGER in may (Switzerland + Germany) .

8.Currently the band is signed to Pavement Entertainment, how did you get in contact with this label and also how would you describe the support they have given you so far?
I sent an email plus press kit and audio links to different label ‘til Mark Nawara from PAVEMENT got in touch with me and we deal a digital distribution for the album . Actually the 90% of the press and review contact are still manage by myself

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death and thrash metal?
Well, I consider PULVIS ET UMBRA as still an underground band but it’s nice to check that people from US, Russian, Spain, Uk are discovering us and like our stuff; it’s the best reward that an artist could receive ☺

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
I’m an open mind person but adding too much influences in extreme metal isn’t always the best choice; actually I’m writing new stuff mixing  crossover, polyrhythm and few black metal influences; it sound not bad even if arpeggio off course will be always a main element in my way of playing

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?
I start play guitar after listening to METALLICA “Metallica”; 80’s thrash metal, hard rock and both Scandinavian/American death schools  will be of course my main roots. Actually I listen to almost each type of genre, from trance to industrial, from celtic music up to movie soundtracks etc… I listen to everything I like ☺

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Travelling, driving, reading books, movies, hang out at the pub with friends, conceptual works, sleeping, tattoo and mojito of course hahah

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Support us on FB at www.facebook.com/pulvisetumbraofficial and support TrueBringerOfDeath because metal blog/zine are actually better
than each famous webzine or magazine \m/ You rock.