Sunday, September 18, 2011

Nephelium CD Release/Sampler Compilation Review/2011

 This is a review of  a compilation of 4 Canadian death metal bands and we will start of the review with Nephelium.

  Nephelium brings us "Merciless Annihilation"  which  is  a  very  great  brutal  technical  death  metal  song  and  this  band  was  originally from United Arab Emirates.

  Next up is Beyond Creation  with  the  song "Omnipresent Perception"  which  is  another great  melodic and technical death metal song from this band and if you have not checked out their album I would recommend you to give it a listen.

  Next up is Fragile Existence with their song "Honour Among Theives"  which  combines  death  metal  with  thrash  and  technical  metal  to  create  a  very  original sounding song.

  Closing  the  sampler is Neraxous  who  brings  us  "The  Inverted Cross" which  is  a  90's style anti christian death metal song with melodic and technical leads and my favorite song on the sampler.

  In  my opinion this is a great sampler that showcases some of Canada'a best death metal bands. RECEMMONDED.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Pyrrhon/An Excellent Servant But A Terrible Master/SelfmadeGod Records/2011 CD Review

 Pyrrhon  are  a  band  from  New  York  City  that  plays  a  very  progressive  and  technical  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2011  album  "An  Excellent  Servant  But  A  Terrible  Master"  which  was  released  by  SelfmadeGod  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  midpaced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  being  thrown  in  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  is  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  you  can  hear  the  musical  instruments  with  its  progressive/jazz/death  metal  riffing  and  on  ocassion  there  are  some  bass  leads.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  midpaced  to  fast  brutal  death  metal  riffs  that  are  very  technical  and  progressive  at  times  with  some  jazz  music  influences,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  progressive  and  technical  sounding  death  metal  guitar  leads,  as  for  the  accoustic  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  they  being  a  very  dark  avant  garde/psychedelic  feel  to  the  music.

  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  deep  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  scremas,  while  the  lyrics  touch  on  hateful  and  everyday  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  and  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  presented  on  this  album.

  In  my  opinion  Pyrrhon  are  a  very  good  progessive  and  technical  sounding  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  yuo  should  check  out  this  band.  RECEMMONDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "New  Parasite"  "Idiot  Circles"  and  "Flesh  Isolation  Chamber".  RECEMMONDED  BUY.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Derelict Interview

1. Can you update us with what is going on with the band these days?
Eric: Hi! We're working pretty hard to promote our new EP, getting it out there, getting people to respond to it. Meanwhile we're writing the rest of our next album, which we're finishing in studio this Fall. In between we're playing lots of shows, and dealing with our van that seems to break down every 3 days, haha.


2. How would you describe the musical sound of the ep and how does it differ from previous releases?
Eric: We've kept the core of our sound, which is technical death metal with a lot of melody, some progressive parts, and fast tempos. What we're concentrating a lot on is focusing our ideas into more concise packages. In the past we experimented a lot with throwing in vastly different influences within a song and I think it showed. We're trying to make things flow more easily for the listener, while pushing our boundaries all the time.


3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the new release explores?
Eric: Generally, I try to point out and criticize things in our culture and society that don't make sense to me. Perpetuation deals with capitalism and money-obsession, this unending drive to accumulate and have more but without knowing why. Expiry deals with environmental destruction, mostly done in the name of the "economy". Yours to Surpass is about sticking to your guns in life, doing what makes you happy, rather than being enslaved for notions of security and stability.


4. What is the meaning and inspration behind the bands name?
Eric: 'Derelict' was originally the name of the song 'Flames of the Righteous', off our 2006 underground release Ideological Prey. The song was a metaphor for society, talking about a derelict vessel adrift at sea with no one guiding it. At the time we were called 'Foreshadow', which was a carry-over from some of our members' previous band, but we decided the name didn't represent the new band anymore so we took the song title as our name, and renamed the song.


5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
Eric: We try to bring the most possible energy to the stage, while also performing our music as precisely as possible. For me personally, the stage is a place to fully let out a side of my personality that doesn't have a place in the rest of my life. I think a lot of artists and athletes can relate to that notion of release while performing. It comes down to having fun and expressing myself. Some of the most intense crowds we've ever seen have been in places like Willams Lake BC, Sherbrooke QC, and Prince Albert SK. Those are small towns that don't get a ton of huge tours coming through, so they really appreciate and celebrate the bands that do bother to play there. Bigger cities are fun, but the fans are more blazé generally, because they have sweet shows happening every week.


6. Do you have any touring plans for the upcoming future?
Eric: With our next album, we're hoping to get out of Canada and go either to the US or Europe. The only real challenge is money. Time off from jobs, repairing vehicles, paying for touring visas... Those are the obstacles. They're not insurmountable, but they require time to prepare for. Rising gas prices and declining in-store CD sales really don't help. We'll also be touring Canada again at some point. Right now though the main focus is the next album.


7. When can we expect the next full length?
Eric: We very much hope to have it out before the end of 2011. If all goes well there will be a string of release shows in Canada in Fall 2011. It all depends on some business details but that's really the goal.


8. On a worldwide level, how has your music been recieved by extreme metal fans?
Eric: Surprisingly well! We've only toured inside Canada, but on our facebook page, our #3 country for fans is Indonesia. We had a guy from India write us last year saying our 2009 album 'Unspoken Words' was his album of the year. That was really heart-warming, and amazing that our music can reach so far. I think it has a lot to do with the power of the Internet and the generous time donated by metal fans like you, running blogs, radio stations, etc.


9. What direction do you see the music heading into during the future?
Eric: We're always toying with the balance between melody and brutality. Some of our newer songs are more of one than the other, but I think the best ones have equal doses of both. Hopefully we'll just get better at harnessing that balance. As listeners who have streamed our new EP tracks (you can do so anywhere, like www.derelictmetal.com) will know, we've also stepped it up in the lead guitar department. That wasn't a conscious choice but it's a welcome development.


10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music, and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Eric: That's funny, we were just talking about this recently at practice. We all listen to some different styles of metal and music in general, and we all have our own preferences. I think that strengthens us because it prevents us from emulating any one thing too closely. Personally, I'm a death metal guy. I love tech. I'm also into the best and brightest from most metal genres, as well as some folk, hip hop, and anything that breaks the mold of its genre. Today I listened to Cephalic Carnage, Carcass, and Nile.


11. Outside of music, what are some of your interests?
Eric: I'm really interested in finding ways of living that don't damage the planet and that offer a long-term survival for our species. I'm talking about political philosophies but also just everyday living. Some of my personal projects this year are to learn a bit about urban agriculture to grow some of my own food, to learn to fix my bicycle myself and use it to get around instead of a car, and reduce my consumption of bullshit wasteful products to concentrate on things that actually mean something to me.


12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Eric: First of all thank you very much for helping to get us some exposure. We appreciate it! I also invite people to check us out on our official website, as well as on facebook, twitter, and whatever else you like to use. See you in the pit!

Derelict/Unspoken Words/2009 CD Review

Derelict are a band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada that has their previous e.p reviewed in this zine and play a style that i would describe as being a technical and progressive form of death metal with a thrash edge and this is a review of their self released 2009 album "Unspoken Words".


Drums range from midpaced to fast drumming with a good amount of blast beats being thrown in at times and on the last song there are some mechnical sounding drums, while the bass playing has a very heavy tone with riffs that follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars which does not sound as strong as they do on the new e.p but they do have a very powerful sound at times, as for the keyboards when they are used briefly they bring a haunting and medievel sound to the music with some piano being used on the least song.

Rhythm guitars range from midpaced to fast fast technical death metal riffs that are very progressive sounding with a great amount of thrash influences and melodies and this album is bit more primitive than the newer release, while the lead guitars are very technical sounding death metal guitar solos mixed in with alot of progressive elements and melody, as the classical guitars when they are used on a cuople of songs that bring a war like feel to the music while retainind the progressive elements.

Vocals are mostly high pitched death metal screams with some deep growls being thrown in at times, while the lyrics cover war, anti-religion, human studity, and injustice, as for the production it has a very heavy and professional sound to it.

In my opinion this was a great album from Derelict and if you are a hadn of technical/progressive death metal, you should check this album out. RECEMMONDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Summoning The Firestorm" "Xenocide" "The Blood Of Life" and "Never Reborn". RECEMMONDED BUY

Friday, September 9, 2011

Derelict/2011 Promo Review

Derelict are a band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada that plays a very technical and progressive from of death metal and this is a review of their 2011 promo which was self released.

Drums range from midpaced to fast with a good amount of blast beats, while the bass playing has a heavy tone which follows the rhythms that are coming out of the guitars.

Rhythm guitars range from midpaced to fast technical death metal riffs that have alot of progressive elements to them and somewhat of a thrash edge, while the lead guitars are very technical death metal guitar solos that are very progressive and utilize a great amount of skill and some melodies.

Vocals are a mixture of deep death metal growls and high pitched death/thrash screams, while the lyrics cover war, human studity and injustice, as for the production it sounds very professional for a demo and all of the musical instruments have a very good sound to them.

In my opinion Derelict are a very good technical/progressive death metal band nd if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECEMMONDED TRACK "Expiry". RECEMMMONDED BUY.

Domination Through Impurity Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?
1. Well....we are called Domination Through Impurity and we are a 2 piece band, comprised of myself (Joe Payne) and Jordan Varela. I front the band and Jordan plays drums. We are an extreme death metal band and we've been around since 2004.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?
2. Intense! Haha. Pretty much everything about this band is in your face. Technical, brutal, fast, heavy. Intense all around.

3. What is the meaning behind the bands name?
3. That might be a better question for Jordan, but to me, it means dominating each of our trades and dominating with our musical abilities in general. Basically overcoming anything by any means necessary.


4.How would you describe the lyrical content of the music?
4. I vent a lot of my anger and frustrations in most of the songs, which can sometimes be violent. In our sophomore album, "Masochist", a story is told about somebody losing their mind and becoming darker and more evil along the way in order to destroy their old self and become stronger.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
5. One of the best shows would have to be the "Reclaiming the Throne" festival in Jacksonville, FL a few years back. Our stage performance is very precise. It's not exactly a lot to see, visually, due to me being busy with the vocals, which makes it hard to headbang constantly. We have a good time though and so does the crowd, even though we're just a 2 piece.

6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?
6. I'm not sure if DTI will ever tour. Jordan has a great career, which doesn't allow much time for him to tour. I think for the time being, it's safe to say that we are a studio project that will sometimes play festivals and shows in the Carolina area.

7. How has your music been recieved so far from death metal fans worldwide?
7. Not too bad. The first album "Essence of Brutality" had some complaints due to the electronic drum kit, which I asked Jordan not to use, but he was hell bent on using it, so it went on the album. Everybody who has heard our latest album "Masochist" so far, has loved it. One thing I've learned is no matter how good an album is, you can never make everybody happy. Hopefully the metal scene loves "Masochist" as much as we do.

8. What is going on with the other bands these days?
8. Divine Heresy has pretty much been on a hiatus due to Dino rejoining Fear Factory. We just did a short tour with Fear Factory and Dino played double duty every night but not we're back to hiatus status as far as I can tell. I'm currently working very hard on my true passion "Pain After Death". We are a metal band that has a little bit of everything and will definitely tour as soon as we finish our debut album, which is tentatively titled "11 Ways to Leave this Earth with a Bang".

9. How would you describe the metal scene in North Carolina?
9. The metal scene in North Carolina is, for the most part, completely lame. North Carolina is "scene hardcore" territory. There are awesome metal bands around here but they are pretty unappreciated due to the lack of fan base.


10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and what are you listening to nowadays?
10. Growing up, I was mainly influenced by old Metallica, Pantera, and Meshuggah. Seeing Tosin Abasi play in the band, Reflux for the first time changed my perspective on music and playing guitar in general. He is definitely my biggest influence. I'm currently relentlessly listening to "Animals as Leaders". Other than that, I listen mostly to classic rock and early 90's grunge music. After touring for 5 years with metal bands, it's hard to listen to metal nowadays when I'm at home.


11. What are some of your interests outside of music?
11. Sex. Haha. Seriously, that's about it.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Decrepit Birth/Polarity/Massacre Records/2010 CD Review

Decrepit Birth are a band from California that plays a very technical form of brutal death metal and this is a review of their 2010 album "Polarity" which was released by Massacre Records in Europe and Nuclear Blast in the United States.

Drums range from slow, midpaced to fast technical drumming with alot of brutal blast beats while the bass playing sounds very powerful and technical with some bass leads mixed in with some atmospheric keyboard elements.

Rhythm guitars range from slow, midpaced to fast brutal death metal riffs that are very technical and contain some melody at times, while the lead guitars are very melodic and technical death metal guitar solos that use alot of scales, as for the classical guitars they sound very progressive with alot of fingerpicking being used.

Vocals are all deep death metal growls while the lyrics cover esoteric topics that are very occultic and anti-religion, as for the production it sounds very heavy and professional and you can hear all of the instruments that are on the album and they sound very brutal.

In my opinion Decrepit Birth are a very talented technical death metal band that should appeal to all fans of this genre. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Ignite The Tesla Coil" "Polarity" "A Brief Odyssey In Time" and "Symbiosis". RECOMMENDED BUY.