1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?
Quint (drums) and I (vox/guitars) started BODYFARM in 2009 as a twosome. We wrote this EP and entered the studio, where the producer Harry van Breda (I Chaos, Detonation) did bass. As we where recording Bram (guitars) and Mathieu (bass) joined the band to help us out live. They practically became full-members since then. We play death metal the way it was supposed to sound. We are certainly not trying to be innovative, technical, or experimental. The main ingredients are groove, brutalness and aggression.
2. How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the ep?
We have chosen for a bright but heavy production. The music on the EP is pretty aggressive, so we think this production suits the music well. The most important is that every instrument is pure. No effects or something. The vocals are pure also. Nothing is dubbed (except for 3 lines) or pitched
3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the new releases explores?
I mainly write about anything that comes to my mind. On this EP it’s mostly about war, hate and horror. But some lyrics are about everyday life, like Heartraped. The new material I’m writing for the full-length have also a good balance between gore/serial killers and everyday life topics. For example, I wrote some lyrics about meth and it’s horrors. I hate writing lyrics though hahaha. It bores the crap out of me because I don’t have that much lyrical inspiration.
4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
The Bodyfarm is a research facility somewhere in the USA where rotting corpses are monitored for science. We thought that was pretty ‘metal’ hahaha. After we wrote the track ‘bodyfarm’ (which we did in 15 minutes!) we didn’t have a moniker yet, so we used it.
5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
One of the best gigs we did was together with Hail Of Bullets. The place was pretty crowded, we performed well and the HOB guys are good company. Another great gig was in Koblenz (Germany). The German crowd are the best in the whole world, they seem to live, breathe and eat death metal haha.
We are currently working on our stage appearance because we think it can be a whole lot better and energetic then it is now. You can check some live-footage here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqQ_whcy8ao
It’s a new track which we introduced there for the first time
6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?
We wish! Being in an underground death metal band is pretty hard you see. Especially in the Netherlands where people are spoiled because every big tour is coming to the Netherlands twice or more. Abyss Records and Clawhammer PR are currently doing a great job promoting us, and I hope venues all over Europe will hear about us. But at this time, with only and EP out there, it’s pretty hard to put yourself out there in the circuit.
7. On a worldwide level how has your music been recieved by death metal fans?
Oh very good! We’ve got a lot of good ratings by magazines all over the world, and even fans who contacted us to let us know how they love our music. Those are the things we’re doing it for. In our own country we got great response too, but our biggest fanbase is in the USA, mostly from California and Florida. We really hope to get there somehow in the future and do some gigs.
8. Are there any other projects besides this band or is this a full time line-up?
Quint plays also in a harcore/punk band which he joined last year. Bram and Mathieu are both playing in other death metal bands. I only have Bodyfarm, which is plenty for me hahaha. The good thing is that we are all most dedicated to Bodyfarm.
9. What direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?
The same direction as on the EP, but maybe a little more melodic and versatile. That does NOT mean things are gonna get cheesy or technical/innovative. Our minds just get more creative, haha. We will always be a brutal band with an old school taste.
10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Bodyfarm is mostly influenced by death metal from the nineties: Early Deicide, Obituary, Massacre, Grave, Vomitory, Vader, Morbid Angel, etcetera.
We are all listening to very diffirent kinds of metal. Bram likes the technical stuff, Quint and I are more old school guys, and Mathieu listens to pretty much everything. This can lead to interesting riffs while in the rehearsal room.
11. Outside of music hat are some of your interests?
We like to sacrifice baby’s to Satan, be misanthropic and mutilate ourselves. Hahahaha. Not we are pretty down to earth. We love drinking beers in the pub or at a good concert. As for myself: music is my life, I don’t have many interest besides that. Oh, and we all spent much time in the tattoo-chair, except for Bram.
12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
First of all, thank you for this opportunity. And to all you death metal fans out there: Keep supporting the underground! And buy that fucking EP at Abyss Records! Hahaha. Cheers to all of you guys! And check us out on Facebook or www.myspace.com/bodyfarmnl
Thomas
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Pyrrhon Interview
1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
We self-released "An Excellent Servant But a Terrible Master" in January via Bandcamp and worked very hard to promote the album ourselves and to find a label to release the album. A few months later Selfmadegod Records got in touch with us with an offer to officially release the album, and we excitedly accepted. We've also already started working on material for a new album. We have two songs more or less finished, and several others in the pipeline.
We're also planning on doing an EP release in the interim with a few covers and possibly one new song as well. As far as playing live goes, we are continuously working on setting up shows in New York City; we'd also like to set up some regional weekend tours in the coming months.
2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from previous releases?
I would describe the new album as eclectic, psychedelic and impressionistic. The main difference between the full-length and the EP that we released previously is that we were more able to successfully showcase our wide range of influences. The EP is more of a straightforward death metal release (albeit a pretty off-kilter and technically challenging death metal release), whereas on the new album we didn't really establish aesthetic boundaries. We realized that the more we pushed ourselves to create unique sounds, the more successful the album we would be. We've always been our harshest critics, and I think that that was especially true this time around. Writing and recording the album was painstaking and challenging. Sometimes we second-guessed ourselves as to whether we were being too critical and deliberate in the writing process. There's certainly something to be said for the beauty of spontaneous creativity. I think that we struck a good balance between being self-reflective and allowing the creativity to flow uninhibited.
3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Doug wrote all of the lyrics for the album, but I have a pretty thorough grasp on the concepts and imagery that he uses. The lyrics are largely a response to the ills of the modern world, such as overpopulation, nuclear proliferation, economic instability and the rampant spread of misinformation by all-encompassing communications technology. The human race is sucking the planet dry of its essential resources, the Middle East has an ever-present cross-hair aimed on the US (and especially New York City), and nobody has any idea what or who to believe because we bombarded with falsities and skewed truths from all angles. Some of the songs directly address these themes, while others are more imagery based (a lot of the strange images in the lyrics come from dreams that Doug has had). The more thematically ambiguous lyrics on the album are intentionally constructed that way to encourage the listener to develop their own personal interpretations.
4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
We used the phrase "pyrrhic victory" to derive the band name. Technically speaking, a pyrrhic victory is when an army wins a battle but suffers immense casualties along the way. The figurative application of the phrase, however, implies that great sacrifice is an essential and inherent part of forging a fulfilling life. The phrase pyrrhic victory also brings into question the subjective nature of the word sacrifice. Some people view things like economic stability and social standing as sacrosanct, things that they would never consider marginalizing. We try to challenge this notion. If the ends justify the means, are you actually making a sacrifice?
We ended up with the name Pyrrhon by trying to create a word out of the phrase pyrrhic victory. When we realized that Pyrrhon is actually an ancient philosopher - the father of skepticism - we liked the name even more and decided to stick with it. We're of the opinion that nothing can be taken at face value and that deep analysis and self-reflection are essential. The double meaning works perfectly for the band.
5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
The two most recent shows that we have played were definitely our most successful. Ever since we recorded the album, the live set has gotten a lot tighter, and we're finally really been hitting our stride when we play live. This summer we played Flourishing's record release show at Lit Lounge in Manhattan. It was one of the more well-attended shows that we've played and people seemed to dig our set. Flourishing's new album "The Sum of All Fossils" is amazing by the way! Highly recommended! Our best show to date was probably our record release show, which was in Brooklyn on September 22. I guess the stars just aligned for this show, because I am confident when I say that we have never sounded tighter live. Cleric opened the show up for us, which I think really pushed us to play such a tight set. If you haven't listened to Cleric, you must do so immediately (highly recommended for fans of Meshuggah and Mr. Bungle). Cleric's set was hands down one of the more impressive things that I have seen in a long time. We were honestly a little nervous following such an impressive display of musicianship, but as I said I think playing with a band like that really forced us to take our set to the next level.
Pyrrhon's stage performance is bare-bones and to-the-point. We have a pretty stripped down rig/set-up (my current rig solely consists of a Marshall JCM 2000 half-stack, Electroharmonix Memory Man pedal, and a tuning pedal). We are definitely influenced by the punk rock tradition of straightforward, no bullshit live performances. We also incorporate elements of improvisation into our shows; I envision us further expanding the role of spontaneity in our shows in the future. The bottom line is that our shows are intense.
6. Do you have any touring plans for the new release?
Touring is a little bit difficult for us right now because one of our members is still in school. It's certainly something that we want to do and we plan on touring as soon as it is logistically feasible. We are going to probably do some regional weekend loops this fall and winter and then maybe do some larger-scale stuff next year.
7. Are there any side projects besides this band or is this a full time line-up?
Right now there are no official side-projects associated with Pyrrhon, but that will probably happen at some point. We're all interested in tons of different kinds of music, and we're pretty ambitious when it comes to creating music, so that would be a natural progression. Alex and Erik (the rhythm section members) both do a lot of session work in jazz, blues, funk, rock and more. Alex (drums) went to school for jazz performance and is a huge jazz head; he is definitely going to be making a name for himself in the jazz world.
8. On a worldwide level how has your music been received by technical death metal fans?
In general, people have been responding very positively to the album. We knew that we had something interesting to share with people while we were writing and recording the album, and the way that people have responded have made this evident. Our music obviously isn't for everyone, so some people haven't been as into the record. But we have seen a lot of people who aren't as into death metal (especially contemporary death metal), or even just metal in general, have really positive things to say about the release. I think that we succeeded in transcending some of the long standing limitations of the genre of death metal, and made a record that can appeal to all sorts of music fans. I have always wanted to see more death metal bands experiment with things like psychedelia, jazz influences and dynamics. One of our main goals was to create an album that we would be excited to listen to as fans of music.
9. What direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?
It's difficult to say. We took a big step forward between the EP and the full-length, and we don't plan on stopping there. I think that the next record will have some things in common with "An Excellent Servant But a Terrible Master," but I'm sure that we will incorporate a lot of things that we have not done previously. Recording this album was a huge learning experience for us. We are definitely a lot more confident and self-aware now....which should make a huge difference in the writing and recording process the next time around. I think that our love of all types of music (from jazz to indie rock to classic rock) will be even more evident on the next record. While we will probably stray a little bit farther from the staples of death metal, we are still very much going to maintain death metal as the band's primary cornerstone. The beauty of death metal (and metal in general) is that the possibilities are essentially limitless. It's a context within which any combination of influences can be implemented. The most important thing to us is that we continue to make music that we are first and foremost excited to hear.
10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
We are obviously prominently influenced by death metal, and especially the more offbeat death metal bands. Gorguts, Morbid Angel, Death, Cynic, Decapitated, Ulcerate, Atheist and other bands like that are a big influence on us. We love all different types of metal too (especially the more left-field stuff), so bands like Neurosis, Meshuggah, Converge, Pig Destroyer, Khanate, Dillinger Escape Plan, and Emperor come into play as well. The four of us listen to a ton of stuff outside of the metal genre as well, from jazz to hardcore to modern classical to prog rock to noise/experimental to classic rock to indie rock.......anything and everything really. A few of our long-time favorites include Mahavishnu Orchestra, King Crimson, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Slint, Sonic Youth, Miles Davis, ELP, Fugazi, Black Flag, Led Zeppelin, Kevin Drumm, Black Sabbath, Aphex Twin and more.
As far as what I'm listening to nowadays, it's constantly rotating. As of late, I have been giving the following albums a lot of attention:
Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Agorapocalypse
Dead Language - Dead Language LP
Cobalt - Eater of Birds
Captain Beyond - Captain Beyond
Rwake - Rest
13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky
Roscoe Mitchell Sextet - Sound
11. Outside of music, what are some of your interests?
I'm a big fan of pro sports, especially baseball and football. I grew up in the Philadelphia area so as a rite of passage I'm a diehard Eagles and Phillies fan. I find sports to be supremely entertaining and ultimately mentally stimulating as well.
I also do a good amount of reading in my spare time. Some of my all-time favorite authors include Ken Kesey, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Ayn Rand and Franz Kafka. I recently read "White Noise" by Don DeLillo (as recommended by Doug, vocalist of Pyrrhon) and I don't think I've been the same ever since. It was one of the more powerful books that I have ever read. Doug's lyrics for our new album draw a lot of inspiration from the thematic content of that novel.
Another huge part of my life is television (and also movies, but to a lesser extent). Life isn't really worth living without the bizarre and depraved humor of shows like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Metalocalypse, Louis, and The Life and Times of Tim. I'm also a big sucker for network television dramas like The Sopranos, Dexter and Boardwalk Empire.
12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Thanks for taking the time to listen to the album and to interview us! Also, I'd like to extend a big shout-out to Dan Pilla (Bad Lab Studios), who recorded and mixed the album...it would have been an impossible feat for us to accomplish without his dedication and hard work. Highly recommended to anyone in the tri-state area looking for a solid place to record.
We self-released "An Excellent Servant But a Terrible Master" in January via Bandcamp and worked very hard to promote the album ourselves and to find a label to release the album. A few months later Selfmadegod Records got in touch with us with an offer to officially release the album, and we excitedly accepted. We've also already started working on material for a new album. We have two songs more or less finished, and several others in the pipeline.
We're also planning on doing an EP release in the interim with a few covers and possibly one new song as well. As far as playing live goes, we are continuously working on setting up shows in New York City; we'd also like to set up some regional weekend tours in the coming months.
2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from previous releases?
I would describe the new album as eclectic, psychedelic and impressionistic. The main difference between the full-length and the EP that we released previously is that we were more able to successfully showcase our wide range of influences. The EP is more of a straightforward death metal release (albeit a pretty off-kilter and technically challenging death metal release), whereas on the new album we didn't really establish aesthetic boundaries. We realized that the more we pushed ourselves to create unique sounds, the more successful the album we would be. We've always been our harshest critics, and I think that that was especially true this time around. Writing and recording the album was painstaking and challenging. Sometimes we second-guessed ourselves as to whether we were being too critical and deliberate in the writing process. There's certainly something to be said for the beauty of spontaneous creativity. I think that we struck a good balance between being self-reflective and allowing the creativity to flow uninhibited.
3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Doug wrote all of the lyrics for the album, but I have a pretty thorough grasp on the concepts and imagery that he uses. The lyrics are largely a response to the ills of the modern world, such as overpopulation, nuclear proliferation, economic instability and the rampant spread of misinformation by all-encompassing communications technology. The human race is sucking the planet dry of its essential resources, the Middle East has an ever-present cross-hair aimed on the US (and especially New York City), and nobody has any idea what or who to believe because we bombarded with falsities and skewed truths from all angles. Some of the songs directly address these themes, while others are more imagery based (a lot of the strange images in the lyrics come from dreams that Doug has had). The more thematically ambiguous lyrics on the album are intentionally constructed that way to encourage the listener to develop their own personal interpretations.
4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
We used the phrase "pyrrhic victory" to derive the band name. Technically speaking, a pyrrhic victory is when an army wins a battle but suffers immense casualties along the way. The figurative application of the phrase, however, implies that great sacrifice is an essential and inherent part of forging a fulfilling life. The phrase pyrrhic victory also brings into question the subjective nature of the word sacrifice. Some people view things like economic stability and social standing as sacrosanct, things that they would never consider marginalizing. We try to challenge this notion. If the ends justify the means, are you actually making a sacrifice?
We ended up with the name Pyrrhon by trying to create a word out of the phrase pyrrhic victory. When we realized that Pyrrhon is actually an ancient philosopher - the father of skepticism - we liked the name even more and decided to stick with it. We're of the opinion that nothing can be taken at face value and that deep analysis and self-reflection are essential. The double meaning works perfectly for the band.
5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
The two most recent shows that we have played were definitely our most successful. Ever since we recorded the album, the live set has gotten a lot tighter, and we're finally really been hitting our stride when we play live. This summer we played Flourishing's record release show at Lit Lounge in Manhattan. It was one of the more well-attended shows that we've played and people seemed to dig our set. Flourishing's new album "The Sum of All Fossils" is amazing by the way! Highly recommended! Our best show to date was probably our record release show, which was in Brooklyn on September 22. I guess the stars just aligned for this show, because I am confident when I say that we have never sounded tighter live. Cleric opened the show up for us, which I think really pushed us to play such a tight set. If you haven't listened to Cleric, you must do so immediately (highly recommended for fans of Meshuggah and Mr. Bungle). Cleric's set was hands down one of the more impressive things that I have seen in a long time. We were honestly a little nervous following such an impressive display of musicianship, but as I said I think playing with a band like that really forced us to take our set to the next level.
Pyrrhon's stage performance is bare-bones and to-the-point. We have a pretty stripped down rig/set-up (my current rig solely consists of a Marshall JCM 2000 half-stack, Electroharmonix Memory Man pedal, and a tuning pedal). We are definitely influenced by the punk rock tradition of straightforward, no bullshit live performances. We also incorporate elements of improvisation into our shows; I envision us further expanding the role of spontaneity in our shows in the future. The bottom line is that our shows are intense.
6. Do you have any touring plans for the new release?
Touring is a little bit difficult for us right now because one of our members is still in school. It's certainly something that we want to do and we plan on touring as soon as it is logistically feasible. We are going to probably do some regional weekend loops this fall and winter and then maybe do some larger-scale stuff next year.
7. Are there any side projects besides this band or is this a full time line-up?
Right now there are no official side-projects associated with Pyrrhon, but that will probably happen at some point. We're all interested in tons of different kinds of music, and we're pretty ambitious when it comes to creating music, so that would be a natural progression. Alex and Erik (the rhythm section members) both do a lot of session work in jazz, blues, funk, rock and more. Alex (drums) went to school for jazz performance and is a huge jazz head; he is definitely going to be making a name for himself in the jazz world.
8. On a worldwide level how has your music been received by technical death metal fans?
In general, people have been responding very positively to the album. We knew that we had something interesting to share with people while we were writing and recording the album, and the way that people have responded have made this evident. Our music obviously isn't for everyone, so some people haven't been as into the record. But we have seen a lot of people who aren't as into death metal (especially contemporary death metal), or even just metal in general, have really positive things to say about the release. I think that we succeeded in transcending some of the long standing limitations of the genre of death metal, and made a record that can appeal to all sorts of music fans. I have always wanted to see more death metal bands experiment with things like psychedelia, jazz influences and dynamics. One of our main goals was to create an album that we would be excited to listen to as fans of music.
9. What direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?
It's difficult to say. We took a big step forward between the EP and the full-length, and we don't plan on stopping there. I think that the next record will have some things in common with "An Excellent Servant But a Terrible Master," but I'm sure that we will incorporate a lot of things that we have not done previously. Recording this album was a huge learning experience for us. We are definitely a lot more confident and self-aware now....which should make a huge difference in the writing and recording process the next time around. I think that our love of all types of music (from jazz to indie rock to classic rock) will be even more evident on the next record. While we will probably stray a little bit farther from the staples of death metal, we are still very much going to maintain death metal as the band's primary cornerstone. The beauty of death metal (and metal in general) is that the possibilities are essentially limitless. It's a context within which any combination of influences can be implemented. The most important thing to us is that we continue to make music that we are first and foremost excited to hear.
10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
We are obviously prominently influenced by death metal, and especially the more offbeat death metal bands. Gorguts, Morbid Angel, Death, Cynic, Decapitated, Ulcerate, Atheist and other bands like that are a big influence on us. We love all different types of metal too (especially the more left-field stuff), so bands like Neurosis, Meshuggah, Converge, Pig Destroyer, Khanate, Dillinger Escape Plan, and Emperor come into play as well. The four of us listen to a ton of stuff outside of the metal genre as well, from jazz to hardcore to modern classical to prog rock to noise/experimental to classic rock to indie rock.......anything and everything really. A few of our long-time favorites include Mahavishnu Orchestra, King Crimson, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Slint, Sonic Youth, Miles Davis, ELP, Fugazi, Black Flag, Led Zeppelin, Kevin Drumm, Black Sabbath, Aphex Twin and more.
As far as what I'm listening to nowadays, it's constantly rotating. As of late, I have been giving the following albums a lot of attention:
Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Agorapocalypse
Dead Language - Dead Language LP
Cobalt - Eater of Birds
Captain Beyond - Captain Beyond
Rwake - Rest
13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky
Roscoe Mitchell Sextet - Sound
11. Outside of music, what are some of your interests?
I'm a big fan of pro sports, especially baseball and football. I grew up in the Philadelphia area so as a rite of passage I'm a diehard Eagles and Phillies fan. I find sports to be supremely entertaining and ultimately mentally stimulating as well.
I also do a good amount of reading in my spare time. Some of my all-time favorite authors include Ken Kesey, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Ayn Rand and Franz Kafka. I recently read "White Noise" by Don DeLillo (as recommended by Doug, vocalist of Pyrrhon) and I don't think I've been the same ever since. It was one of the more powerful books that I have ever read. Doug's lyrics for our new album draw a lot of inspiration from the thematic content of that novel.
Another huge part of my life is television (and also movies, but to a lesser extent). Life isn't really worth living without the bizarre and depraved humor of shows like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Metalocalypse, Louis, and The Life and Times of Tim. I'm also a big sucker for network television dramas like The Sopranos, Dexter and Boardwalk Empire.
12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Thanks for taking the time to listen to the album and to interview us! Also, I'd like to extend a big shout-out to Dan Pilla (Bad Lab Studios), who recorded and mixed the album...it would have been an impossible feat for us to accomplish without his dedication and hard work. Highly recommended to anyone in the tri-state area looking for a solid place to record.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Bodyfarm/Self Titled/Abyss Records/2011 CD Review
Bodyfarm are a band from the Netherlands that plays a very brutal form of death metal and this is a review of their self titled 2011 album which was released by Abyss Records.
Drums range from midpaced to fast drumming with alot of brutal blast beats, while the bass playing has a very dark tone which is kind of mixed down low in the mix and seems to follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars and on the last song they sound very powerful.
Rhythm guitars range from midpaced to fast death metal riffs that also have a thrash edge at times and you can hear all of the 90's influences in the music, while the lead guitars are very chaotic sounding death metal guitar solos.
Vocals are mostly deep death metal growls, while the lyrics touch on war style themes, as for the production it has a very heavy and professional feel to it with the music sounding very 90s sounding and brutal.
In my opinion Bodyfarm are a very good classic sounding death metal band and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECEMMONDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Bodyfarm" and "Slaves Of War". RECEMMONDED BUY.
Drums range from midpaced to fast drumming with alot of brutal blast beats, while the bass playing has a very dark tone which is kind of mixed down low in the mix and seems to follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars and on the last song they sound very powerful.
Rhythm guitars range from midpaced to fast death metal riffs that also have a thrash edge at times and you can hear all of the 90's influences in the music, while the lead guitars are very chaotic sounding death metal guitar solos.
Vocals are mostly deep death metal growls, while the lyrics touch on war style themes, as for the production it has a very heavy and professional feel to it with the music sounding very 90s sounding and brutal.
In my opinion Bodyfarm are a very good classic sounding death metal band and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECEMMONDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Bodyfarm" and "Slaves Of War". RECEMMONDED BUY.
Torture Division/Evighten Darar/Abyss Records/2010 CD Review
Torture Division are a band from Sweden that plays Swedish death metal in the classic vien that has also been interviewed an had their previous album reviewed in this zine and this is a review of their 2010 album "Evighten Darar" which was released by Abyss Records.
Drums range from midpaced to fast drumming with alot of brutal blast beats, while the bass playing has a very thick and heavy sound that sounds very powerful.
Rhythm guitars mix midpaced and fast brutal Swedish death metal riffs together with a good amount of melody being thrown in at times, while the lead guitars are very chaotic and melodic sounding death metal guitar solos.
Vocals are mostly deep death metal growls with a small amount of high pitched screams being thrown in at times, while the lyrics are written in a mixture of Swedish and English and touch on death, gore, and torture, as for the production it has a very thick, heavy and professional sound.
In my opinion this is another good album from Torture Division and if you are a fan of their previous works and SWedish death metal you will not be dissapointed. RECEMMONDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Heretics!No" "Total Death" "The Ax Murders" and "Under Fire". RECEMMONDED BUY.
Drums range from midpaced to fast drumming with alot of brutal blast beats, while the bass playing has a very thick and heavy sound that sounds very powerful.
Rhythm guitars mix midpaced and fast brutal Swedish death metal riffs together with a good amount of melody being thrown in at times, while the lead guitars are very chaotic and melodic sounding death metal guitar solos.
Vocals are mostly deep death metal growls with a small amount of high pitched screams being thrown in at times, while the lyrics are written in a mixture of Swedish and English and touch on death, gore, and torture, as for the production it has a very thick, heavy and professional sound.
In my opinion this is another good album from Torture Division and if you are a fan of their previous works and SWedish death metal you will not be dissapointed. RECEMMONDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Heretics!No" "Total Death" "The Ax Murders" and "Under Fire". RECEMMONDED BUY.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Desultory/Counting Our Scars/Pulverised Records/2010 CD Review
Desultory are a band from Sweden that has a long history in the scene, with a musical style that I would describe as being classic sounding Swedish death metal and this is a review of their comeback album "Counting Our Scars" which will be released by Pulverised Records in 2011.
Drums alternate between midpaced to fast drumming with a good amount of blast beats, while the bass playing has a very dark tone which seems to follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars and on the last sound they have a very powerful sound of their own.
Rhythm guitars alternate between midpaced to fast Swedish sounding death metal riffs mixed in with some thrash influences and a great amount of melody, while the lead guitars are very melodic sounding Swedish death metal guitar solos.
Vocals are mostly high pitched death metal growls, while the lyrics touch on hateful everyday themes with a touch of violence, as for the production it has a somewhat professional feel to it.
In my opinion this is a great comback from Desultory and it is a return to their classic death metal sound, instead of the groove metal that the band experimented with in the mid 90's and if you where a fan of their classic albums, you should enjoy their new release. RECEMMONDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Counting Our Scars" "This Broken Halo" "Uneven Numbers" and "Dead Ends". RECEMMONDED BUY.
Drums alternate between midpaced to fast drumming with a good amount of blast beats, while the bass playing has a very dark tone which seems to follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitars and on the last sound they have a very powerful sound of their own.
Rhythm guitars alternate between midpaced to fast Swedish sounding death metal riffs mixed in with some thrash influences and a great amount of melody, while the lead guitars are very melodic sounding Swedish death metal guitar solos.
Vocals are mostly high pitched death metal growls, while the lyrics touch on hateful everyday themes with a touch of violence, as for the production it has a somewhat professional feel to it.
In my opinion this is a great comback from Desultory and it is a return to their classic death metal sound, instead of the groove metal that the band experimented with in the mid 90's and if you where a fan of their classic albums, you should enjoy their new release. RECEMMONDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Counting Our Scars" "This Broken Halo" "Uneven Numbers" and "Dead Ends". RECEMMONDED BUY.
Absconder/2010 Demo Review
Absconder are a band from Champaign, Illinois that consists of many death metal veterans and I would describe their style as being old school death metal and this is a review of their 2010 demo.
Drums are mostly midpaced to fast with alot of brutal blast beats and some ocassional slow drumming, while the bass playing has a very heavy and dark tone which follows the riffs that are coming out of the guitars.
Rhythm guitars are mostly midpaced to fast old school death metal riffs that have a thrash edge at times and the ocassional slow riff, while the lead guitars are very classic sounding death metal guitar solos that have a very dark tone to them.
Vocals are mostly deep death metal growls, while the lyrics touch on on dark subjects that are normal for a death metal band, as for the production it has a very dark and raw sound to it.
In my opinion Absconder are a very good old school death metal band that should appeal to all fans of this genre. RECEMMONDED TRACK "Catacombs". RECEMMONDED
Drums are mostly midpaced to fast with alot of brutal blast beats and some ocassional slow drumming, while the bass playing has a very heavy and dark tone which follows the riffs that are coming out of the guitars.
Rhythm guitars are mostly midpaced to fast old school death metal riffs that have a thrash edge at times and the ocassional slow riff, while the lead guitars are very classic sounding death metal guitar solos that have a very dark tone to them.
Vocals are mostly deep death metal growls, while the lyrics touch on on dark subjects that are normal for a death metal band, as for the production it has a very dark and raw sound to it.
In my opinion Absconder are a very good old school death metal band that should appeal to all fans of this genre. RECEMMONDED TRACK "Catacombs". RECEMMONDED
Monday, September 26, 2011
Nile/Worship The Animal-The Lost Recordings 1994/ Goomba Music/2011 CD Re-Issuew
Nile are a band from South Carolina that is more known for their brutal style Egyptian death metal but started out as a more thrash/groove metal band with a death metal edge but still had the Egyptian theme lyrics on this recording and this is a review of their 1994 demo "Worship The Animal" which was re-issued by Goomba Music in 2011.
Drums range from slow to midpaced drumming with not much in the way of fast playing or blast beats, while the bass playing has a very strong and powerful tone with riffing that dominate throughout the recording.
Rhythm guitars range from slow to midpaced riffing that is mostly thrash/groove metal riffs that utilize some death metal influences while the lead guitars are very meldoic sounding extreme metal guitar solos and leads.
Vocals range from groove metal type singing to some deep death metal growls, while the lyrics toucch on Egyptian themes, as for the production it has a very heavy and professional sound to it. and you can hear all of the musical instruments that are present on this recording.
In my opinion while I prefer Nile's later albums over this demo, I think it is decent for what it is but not really something I would listen to on a regular basis, but it is good that they where writing Egyptian themes which made the music better and more tolerable, but if you are a fan of groove metal you might enjoy this recording. RECEMMONDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Worship The Animal' and "Nepenthe".
Drums range from slow to midpaced drumming with not much in the way of fast playing or blast beats, while the bass playing has a very strong and powerful tone with riffing that dominate throughout the recording.
Rhythm guitars range from slow to midpaced riffing that is mostly thrash/groove metal riffs that utilize some death metal influences while the lead guitars are very meldoic sounding extreme metal guitar solos and leads.
Vocals range from groove metal type singing to some deep death metal growls, while the lyrics toucch on Egyptian themes, as for the production it has a very heavy and professional sound to it. and you can hear all of the musical instruments that are present on this recording.
In my opinion while I prefer Nile's later albums over this demo, I think it is decent for what it is but not really something I would listen to on a regular basis, but it is good that they where writing Egyptian themes which made the music better and more tolerable, but if you are a fan of groove metal you might enjoy this recording. RECEMMONDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Worship The Animal' and "Nepenthe".
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