Deicide/Scars Of The Crucifix/Earache Records/2004 CD Review

Deicide are a band from Florida that has been around since the mid 80's and are one of the pioneering bands of satanic death metal and this is a review of their 2004 album "Scars Of The Crucifix" which was released by Earache Records.

Drums are mostly fast with alot of brutal blast beats while the bass playing is all rhythm bass and has alot of fast riffs being played, as for the piano when it is utilized it has a very dark avant garde feel.

Rythym guitars are a mixture of midpaced riffs mixed with alot of fast death metal playing that is very 80's death thrash influenced while the lead guitars are mostly fast guitar solos and on some songs they contain alot of melody.

Vocals are mostly low pitched death metal growls that are easy to understand with some high pitched screams while the lyrics are mostly anti christian themes with a touch of satanism, as for the production it sounds very professional and every instrument has a very good sound.

In my opinion this was a really good album from Deicide and it was probably their best album of the 2000's, all Deicide fans probably have this album.

STANDOUT TRACKS INCLUDE "Scars Of The Crucifix" and "Fuck Your God". RECOMMENDED BUY

Deus Otiosus Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
Henrik: "We’ve just recovered from water flooding our rehearsal place. But now we have re-built the band headquarters at a new location and are back on track rehearsing new songs. We are working on the music for a second album."

2. How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the new album?

Henrik: "I’m not too fond of rigid genres, but obviously it’s death metal. We call it old school death metal to avoid being mistaken for the nowadays typical death metal bands who aim to play as fast or technical as possible. But I think we are old school in the way that we try to concentrate on good, lasting songs, like the ones we know from the classic bands of the genre. Not that we try to sound as close as possible to the sound of any classic bands. I don’t think our sound is narrow and maybe we have parts that some would categorize as black or thrash metal, but it doesn’t really matter. I believe in creativity more than rigid borders."

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the new release explores?

Henrik: "Our music explores all the sinister phenomena of the world, and some beyond. Some of the themes on the "Murderer"-album are violence, hell, torture, Armageddon, the undead and, naturally, murder."
4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
Henrik: "Deus Otiosus means withdrawn God, and the bandname is simply our concept: All the horrors among an orphaned humankind in a godless world, like I mentioned in the last answer."

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
Henrik: "It’s not that we have played that many yet, but I think most have been very enjoyable. Our first gig was a bit shaky perhaps. But since then it’s been all mayhem all the way. There is really no stage show or image at these concerts. We just play and go berserk. Sometimes there’s been naked people and things flying through the air, but that has been courtesy of the audience."

6. Do you have any touring plans for the new release?
Henrik: "No real tours are planned. But we will do more concerts and hopefully we will also figure out some dates abroad."

7. The album is coming out on both FDA Rekotz and American Line how did you come in contact with both labels and how would you describe the support that they have given you so far?

Henrik: "We sent American Line a promo, and FDA Rekotz contacted us. Both labels have been very trustworthy and have delivered what we agreed on. That is far from something you can say about every label, as we witnessed in the process of finding a label for the "Murderer"-album. But all is well that ends well and we’re very happy with the support we’ve gotten from these two labels."

8. On a worldwide level how has your music been received by death metal fans?
Henrik: "Many good reactions and reviews, and some people really seem to understand what we’re doing. owever

However I am sure, that there are still a lot of death metal fans out there who have not yet heard our music, so there is a long way to go yet!"

9. Are there any side projects besides this band or is this a full time line-up?

Henrik: "I also play in another band called Exekrator, which has a quite unique black/heavy metal sound. Some of the other guys used to play in a band called Hideous Invasion, but that is on ice, so I’m the only one actively involved in another band, and I think for all of us Deus Otiosus is the most active band."

10. What direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?

Henrik: "Where ever creativity takes us. It’s just a matter of making the best possible music, so hopefully it will get better and better, but beyond that I can’t say. However we have new songs ready for a second album, and they tend to emphasize the strengths on "Murderer" further. Each song is in itself stronger and more worked through, and at the same time there is more variation in the dynamic and character in between the songs. More of everything, you could say."

11. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Henrik: "I have been playing this kind of music for many years, so it’s hard to find conscious inspirations. I suppose I am generally inspired by the old classics both death metal acts such as Death, Morbid Angel and Pestilence, but also metal in general. For example Mercyful Fate, Slayer, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath. I can easily be inspired by music quite far from what we’re doing, and I think that is the way it should be. If we were inspired solely by bands that are musically close to our own, we would probably just sound too much like something that’s already been done. I still listen to classic metal like mentioned earlier, Cirith Ungol, Master’s Hammer, Deicide etc. I must admit that even though there are many cool, current bands there are few that are really great standouts to me. Among bands that are fantastic today would be Absu, Macabre, Morbid Angel (contrary to everyone else it seems, I like the new album), Melechesh and Grand Magus."

12. What role does Occultism play in your music and how would you describe your views on these topics?

Henrik: "Like all other sinister sides of life and history, occultism is a topic for our music. For example the song "Kult of the Horned Snake" from our demo is inspired by the mystery cults from centuries ago. That does not mean that I hold any supernatural beliefs though."

13. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
Henrik: "Philosophy, history, religion, classic architecture and arts. But that does not mean that I am an expert in all those things. I actually don’t have much time to spend on such interests at this point. Perhaps when I’m retired."

14. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Henrik: "Thanks a lot for the support, John. Much appreciated! And good luck with Hatred Means War ‘till we speak again."

Deus Otiosis/Murderer/FDA Recotz/2010 CD Review

Deus  Otiosis  are  a  band  from  Denmark  that  plays  old  school  death  metal   with  a  thrash  edge in  the  early  tradition  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2010  album  "Murderer"  which  was  released  by  FDTA  Recortz.

  Drums  range  from  midpaced  to  fast  drumming with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  being  thrown  in,  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  they  sound  very  powerful.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  midpaced  to  fast  death  metal  riffs  that  are  also  influenced  by  thrash  with  some  melodies  being thrown  in  at  times,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  old  school  death/thrash  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  all  deep  death  metal  growls  with  some  samples  being  thrown  in  at  times,  while  the  lyrics  cover  murder,  death,  violence  and  occultism,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  heavy,  powerful  and  professional  sound  to  it  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Deus  Otiosis  are  a  very  good  old  school  style  death  metal  band  with  a  thrash  edge  and if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECEMMONDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "I  Have  Seen  Him  Slay"  "Whore  Limbs"  and  "No  Life".  RECEMMONDED  BUY.

Undead Creep/The Ever Burning Torch/Dark Descent Records/2011m CD Review

Undead  Creep  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  Swedish  style  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2011  album  "The  Ever  Burning  Torch"  which  was  released  by  Dark  Descent  Records     and  also  contains  their  self  titled  demo.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  midpaced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  good  amount  of  blast  beats  being  thrown  in  at  times,  while  the  synths  when  they  are  utilized  briefly  on  the  first  song  bring  a  very  dark  and  atmospheric  edge  to  the  music,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  is  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  midpaced  to  fast  Swedish  style  death  metal  riffs  that  are  also  melodic  at  times,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  distorted  and  melodic  sounding  Swedish  death  metal  sounding  guitar  solos  and  at  times  they  sound  very  powerful,  as  for  the  classical  guitars  which  are  only  used  on  the  instrumental  and  the  intro  for  the  demo  they  bring  a  dark sound  to  the  music.

  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  deep  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  screams,  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  gore  and  violence,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  heavy  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Undead  Creep  are  a  very  good  Swedish  style  death  metal  band  with  a  more  dark  and  occult  take  on  the  genre  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECEMMONDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Immolated  For  Reincarnation"  "Swallowed  Bu  The  Chasm"  "Forbidden  Cult"  and  "Ritual  Slaughter".  RECEMMONDED  BUY.

Pestillence/Doctrine/Mascot Records/2011 CD Review

Pestillence  are  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  has  a  history  that  dates  back  to  the  80's  and  has  started  out  death/thrash  then  evolved  into  death  metal  and  later  on  technical  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2011  album  "Doctrine"  which  was  releasedby  Mascot  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  midpaced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  good  amount  of  blast  beats  being  used,  while  the  bass  playing  sounds  very  strong  and  powerful  with  technical  riffing  and  you  can  hear  the  instrument  throughout  the  recording,  as  for  the  synths  which  are  only  utilized  briefly  they  bring  a  dark  sound  to  the  music.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  midpaced  to  fast  technical  death  metal  riffs  that  are  rooted  in  the  mid  90's  and  have  somewhat  of  a  thrash  and  groove  metal  feel,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  technical  and  melodic  sounding  guitar  solos.

  Vocals  are  somewhat  deep  death  metal  growls  but  lack  the  power  of  their  earlier  albums  and  there  are  not  as  brutal  as  most  medern  day  death  metal  bands  in  addition  there  are  some  ocassional  Gregorian  chants  and  spoken  word  passages,  while  the  lyrics  cover  everyday  themes  with  somewhat  of  an  occutl  edge,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound.

  In  my  opinion  while  this  is  not  as  good  as  their  earlier  albums  and  some  long  time  fans  would  be  dissapointed  this  is  still  an  decent  album  from  Pestillence  and  they  still  have  a  good  amount  of  talent.  RECEMMONDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Amgod"  "Salvation"  "Sinister"  and  "Malignant".  RECEMMONDED.

Corpsessed Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?- Corpsessed is a 5-pieced band from Finland that was formed in early 2007 with the desire and intent to play Death Metal the way that is closest to our hearts, in the old school fashion with nods to early releases of bands such as Grave, Incantation and the ancient Finnish Death Metal tradition.

 
2. How would you describe the musical sound that is on the EP?
- This EP is our first release and is entitled "The Dagger & The Chalice" containing 6 songs of Death Metal returning to the original idea of the genre without too much modern connotations. The sound is murky and dark with a heavy emphasis on the low frequencies. In our music we are concentrating more on creating a dark, punishing and unforgiving atmosphere rather than relying on sweet melodies. We're not that technical or the fastest band around nor do we intend to be, it's a fine balance between blasting, midpaced and slower more doomy parts. The vocals range from deep growls to some higher pitched screams, but remain mostly in the deep end.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and concepts the ep explores?

- Lyrics of the songs on the EP contain themes such as Death worship, brooding and imminent Doom, the Occult, sex, nightmares and the abhorrent ancient gods (with a heavy nod to the mythos created by H.P.Lovecraft).

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

- It's a made up word... Combining possession and death, It depicts a state of being possessed into a corpselike state in a grip of death, certain zombifiement of sort... draining of vitality through demonic inthrallment. I can't deny also the stint of black humour the name contains, though it's not meant to be taken as a joke in anyway.

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

- All of us have played gigs before with our other bands and projects, but as Corpsessed we haven't done any shows yet... which is a matter that will be corrected very soon! We are at the moment rehearsing hard for future live appearances and trying to find suitable gigs, venues and bands we could share the stage with. I don't think we'll be relying on any gimmicks, props or theatric stuff - just the band playing with abandon and power and let the music do the talking.

6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?

- Not for the moment, but who knows what the future will bring.


7. On a worldwide level how has your music been recieved by death metal fans?
- Surprisingly most of the feedback we've recieved this far has been very good. But we are still a quite new and unknown band. The bad reviews are bound to start coming in, now that the EP is out. The music is our view on how we see and like Death Metal and opinions vary from person to person, and you can't please everybody - it would also be foolish to even try.


8. Are there any side projects besides this band or this a full time line up?
- Corpsessed is very much a full-time band and we don't consider it a sideproject of anything. Some of us still play in other bands as well - Matti (guitars) is still active with his funeral doom band Tyranny and Mikko (bass) with his band Azure. Jussi (drums) is playing with some projects. For Niko (vocals) and Jyri (guitars) Corpsessed is the only active band at the moment, though Jyri is also a session member in the Tyranny live lineup, which varies from time to time.

9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

- Everything evolves as it goes onwards, as it has done to this date. It took us perhaps a few years to get things set on the right path, which is why our very first release is coming out now - 4 years after the inception of the band. It took a while to figure out how to channel our potential through this band and now that our vision is quite clear on what we want and can do, we don't see any drastic changes coming in the future. Corpsessed will always play uncompromising Death Metal with the power and passion as we have to this day.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

- There's loads of bands, old and new, we listen to and each of the members have their own taste, but where we come together Death Metal-wise are the first albums from Grave, Entombed, Dismember, Tiamat, the Finnish bands like Abhorrence, Demigod, Belial, Purtenance and the American bands such as Incantation, Immolation, early Deicide... Necros Christos and Grave Miasma from the more recent ones. Basically the more darker and evil sounding Death Metal. Also Black Metal and Doom plays huge part in our influences and our vocalist is also into more Grind bands, but our tastes can also range from ambient to some fringes of rock music and to the more experimental - from Pink Floyd to Wesley Willis, hah! Inspiration can be drawn from pretty much anything that sounds good to us.

11. Does Occultism play any role in the music?

- Depends really on how you see it. On a thematic level, very much so... Perhaps though much more in a fictional sense, if you look at the lyrics. But the way I see, through the views of the Left Hand Path, practice of Magick as a way to strengthen ones Will where certain symbology exists to provoke you into a certain wanted mood and this is the same with the creation of music, it is channeling of energies in a very pure form and playing the songs can become a very precise Ritual which can open wanted states.... I don't want to go too deep into this here as the matter is very personal.

12. Outside of music, what are some of your interests?

- Music and our normal dayjobs fill most of our days, but outside of that, our other interests are pretty much what you would expect from guys in their late 20s and early 30s, I guess... Movies, books, arts, videogames, some of us do sports and some are lazy as hell. All of us have their own private interests which I think would be futile to start listing here.

 
13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

- I think that was about it.. nothing more to add for the moment. Thanks for the interview, this was our first!

Corpsessed/The Dagger And The Chalice/Dark Descent Records/2011 CD Review

Corpsessed  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  very  dark  and  brutal  form  of  old  school  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2011  album  "The Dagger  And  The  Chalice"  which  was  released  by  Dark  Descent  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  midpaced  to  fast  drumming  with a  good  amount  of  blast  beats,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  is  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  are  a  mixture  of  slow,  midpaced  to  fast  death  metal  riffs  that  are  also  very  brutal  and  dark  sounding,  while  he  lead  guitars  are morbid  sounding  death  metal  guitar  leads.

  Vocals  are  mostly  deep  death  metal  growls  with  some  high  pitched  screams  being  thrown  ion  at  times,  while  the  lyrics  cover  death  along  with  some  darker  themes  that  have  an  occultic  tinge  to  them,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  to  it..

  In  my  opinion  Corpsessed  are  a  very  good  dark  sounding  brutal  old  school  death  metal  band,  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECEMMONDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Nameless Cult"  and  "The Dagger And The Chalice".  RECEMMONDED  BUY.