Hour Of Penance/Sedition/Prosthetic Records/2012 CD Review

  Hour  Of  Penance  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  brutal  and  technical  form  of  anti  religion  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Sedition"  which  was  released  by  Prosthetic  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  great  amount  of  brutal  sounding  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  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,  mid  paced  to  fast  death  metal  riffs  that  are  very  heavy,  brutal  and  technical  sounding,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  technical  and  melodic  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads  that  utilize  a  great  amount  of  skill  and  talent.

  Vocals  are  mostly  deep  death  metal  growls  mixed  in  with  some  high  pitched  screams,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  anti  religion  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  powerful,  heavy,  and professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Hour  Of  Penance  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  technical  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  band. RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Enlightened  Submission"  "Ascension"  "The  Cannibal Gods"  and  "Blind  Obediance".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

  

Deadborn/Mayhem Maniac Machine/Apostasy Records/2012 CD Review

  Deadborn  are  a  band  from Germany  that  plays  a  very  brutal  form  of  technical  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Mayhem  Maniac  Machine"  which  was  released  by  Apostasy  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  great  amount  of  brutal  sounding  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music,  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  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Rhythm  guitars  range from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  death  metal  riffs  that  are  very  brutal  and  technical  sounding  with  a  good  amount  of  melody  and  groove,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  technical  and  melodic  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  mostly  deep death  metal  growls  with  only  a  small  amount  of  high  pitched  screams  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples,  while  the  lyrics  cover  Sickness,  Darkness,  and  Death,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  professional  and  heavy  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion Deadborn  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  technical  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should c heck  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Profanic  Reanimation"  "Replicants  Device"  "Reinvented  Power  Process"  and  "Second  Order  Cybernetics".   RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Desultor/Masters Of Hate/Abyss Records/2012 CD Review

  Desultor  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  very  progressive  from  of  death  metal  mixed  in  with  some  thrash  and  power  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Masters  of  Hate"  which  was  released  by  Abyss  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  thorwn  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,  as  for  the  synths  which  are  only  used  briefly  on  the  intros  and  outro  they  enhance  the  darkness  of  the  music.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  brutal  progressive  death  metal with  thrash  and  power  metal  mixed  in  with  a  great  amount  of  technical  and  melodic  riffing  to  create  a sound  of  their  own,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  and  technical  sounding  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  which  are  only  utilized  briefly  they  use  full  chords  to  add  more  variety  to  the  music.

  Vocals  are  mostly  clean  singing  power  metal  vocals  mixed  in  with  some  deep  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  screams,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  hateful,  violent  and  everyday  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Desultor  are  a  very  great  and  original  sounding  power/progressive/death  metal  hybrid  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Black  Monday"  "And  So  We  Bleed"  and  "The  Luxury  Of  Pain".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Derelict Interview #2

1. Can you tell us a little bit about what has been going on with the band these days?

ERIC: Hi ! Well, we completed the recording of our new album, Perpetuation, in late 2011, and have been getting everything together for the release. We also added two new guys to our lineup, so we've essentially been working very hard rehearsing, preparing marketing plans, booking shows, etc... all that good stuff!

2. Recently you have recorded a new album, how do you feel you have progressed with this recording and how this new release differs from previous recordings?

ERIC: Perpetuation is a big step forward in terms of collaboration within the band. On past albums, songs were written almost entirely by one member or another, and we did very little workshopping as a group on the songs. This new record features multiple songs with more than one songwriter, and even those with only one guy were still approved and critiqued by all of us before finalizing them. It feels really good. 

MAX: I definitely feel that the songwriting in question has progressed. Unspoken Words was a debut album and in some aspects I find it showed. Don't get me wrong I loved that record, but I think the arrangements are way more to the point on Perpetuation. We were more focused on writing cohesive pieces of music rather than trying to prove how progressive or technical we are. 

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

ERIC: My lyrics are quite political on this album, attacking subjects including capitalism, environmental collapse and other social issues. However, I was really tired of simply complaining about things, and I felt this time around that showing a positive angle could make me feel better and also provide a ray of light to the fans who read the lyrics. For example, the songs "Yours To Surpass", "Recreated", "Shackles Of Indoctrination" and "Emergence" are all about personal and social paths we can take towards bettering ourselves. I guess the album as a whole is a about a single choice: do we remain the same destructive species we have been, or do we force ourselves to evolve?

4. As of now you are still unsigned,  have any labels showed any interest in the last year?

ERIC: We actually made a conscious choice to go indie with this album. There are many great independent labels in Canada and all over the world, but many of them are in the same position as the bands, that being, doing it part-time while working other full-time jobs. In the last year I opened my own music PR company, and so we figured that we'd either go with a larger metal label that could handle a lot of the business side of things for us, or do it entirely ourselves. For now it's indie and DIY, but hopefully as we break into the US market for touring some of the big names will start to take notice.

5. Do you have any touring plans for the new release?

ERIC: Absolutely! Goal number one is to play around our base, which we consider to be our home province of Quebec as well as the neighbouring province of Ontario. We have shows lined up in Montreal and Toronto, the two biggest Canadian cities, as well as many others around here. Next up will be the Canadian Atlantic provinces in July (for the first time!). In the Fall, if everything works out as we hope, we should be touring the rest of Canada. Once that's all done, we'll be setting the USA in our sights.

6. What are some of your expectations of the newer recording, what do you hope to accomplish with it?

MAX: First and foremost we hope people will enjoy the album. The music always comes first. Obviously we hope that Perpetuation can open up some bigger doors for us in the future. Personally I very much hope we can tour the United States with this record and expand our American fanbase. 

7. How have metal fans worldwide reacted to the sound of your new recording?

MAX: We recently released a song called "Shackles of Indoctrination" and so far the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. I have seen posts of our song "Perpetuation" from people in South America and Asia respectively.

8. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases/

ERIC: We're always looking to evolve, but we've also found a good sound we are comfortable with on Perpetuation. I personally foresee keeping with what we've achieved, and adding some slight differences and experiment. I'd like to write a few slower songs since most of our stuff is very fast, and maybe throw in a few other little things here and there.

MAX: I agree with Eric here. I think we've hit a very nice stride with the songwriting on Perpetuation and I would expect the follow-up to be in a similar vein. However as a musician you acquire new influences and wish to evolve so expect maybe a few more outside influences to creep in over time. Eric and I are always writing songs and Jordan also contributes to the songwriting. I definitely know that the collaborative aspect of our songwriting will remain as it has proven to be a very positive experience in the past two years. 

9. I have noticed that the band members have helped out alot of Canadian metal bands, can you tell us a little bit more about this/

ERIC: I guess you're referring to all the bands I send you for potential review and interview, haha. As mentioned, I run Ricburn Media (www.ricburnmedia.com), and yes, I've had the opportunity to work with some great Canadian metal bands, the likes of Unleash The Archers, Beyond Creation, Misguided Aggression and Abriosis. Got to shout out to my USA clients too: Dischordia, Dark Ascent, Switchblade Rosie and Better Left Unsaid. It's definitely awesome to work within the music industry, and help from people like you and this blog is always appreciated.

MAX: Eric definitely does a ton of work with his company and helps out many awesome bands in the process. Metalheads are a brotherhood and we've been shown so much hospitality and kindness from other bands or fans in the past while on tour that we return the karma when we can. Either by offering a floor to crash or just helping another band out with some friendly advice can go a long way in securing friendships and strengthening that brotherhood.

10. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview/

ERIC: Thanks for your support! Visit www.derelictmetal.com for more info. We have two songs from Perpetuation currently available for free at http://derelictmetal.bandcamp.com/releases, and you can pre-order the album from there too.

Derelict/Perpetuation/2012 CD Review

  Derelict  are  a  band  from  Canada  that  has  had  their  previous  recordings  reviewed  by  this  zine  as well as  being  interviewed  with  a  styles  that  combines  progressive  and  technical  death  metal  together  in  addition  to  adding  some  thrash  and  groove  metal  influences  on  this  recording  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2012  album  "Perpetuation".

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  good  amount  of  blast beats  being  thrown  into  the   music  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound with  technical  death  metal  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  progressive/technical  death  metal  riffs  that  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  influences  from  thrash  and  groove  metal  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  technical  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads  that  are  very  melodic  at  times.

  Vocals range  from  deep  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  that  utilize  a  groove  metal  feeling  at  times,  while  the  lyrics  cover  hateful  and  everyday  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  recording  from  Derelict  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Perpetuation"  "Digital  Birthright'  "Yours  To  Surpass"  and  "Emergence".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Davidian/Our Fear Is There Source/Massacre Records/2012 CD Review

  Davidian  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  brutal  form  of  death/thrash  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Our  Fear  Is  There  Source"  which  was  released  by  Massacre  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  good  amount  of  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music,  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  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them,  as  for  the  synths  which  are  only  utilized  briefly  they  bring  a  very  dark  and  atmospheric  sound  to  the  music.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  influences  from  both  death  and thrash  metal  with  some  melodies  being  used  at  times  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  soft  and  clean  playing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  range  from  thrash  growling,  deep  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  screams,  while  the  lyrics  cover  aggressive  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Davidian  are  a  very  good  sounding  modern  day  death/thrash  metal  band  and  if  you are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Behind  An  Angelic  Smile"  "Shattered  Illusions"  "Vicious  Circle"  and  "Freedom  Of  Choice".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Ominous Crucifix Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

Well at this time we are taking a great relaxing time after very busy 2011. We came from three records sessions and lot of things to think about. We are glad to see our work out there in Europe. Our “Spell of Damnation” soon will arrive to America and FDA Recotz has been doing a great job distributing it. In the next days we will be back to rehearsal room to start creating new stuff, so this camp is energized and motivated for this 2012.

2. How would you describe the musical on the full length and how it differs from previous recordings?

Our music has pragmatic form from the point of view of nowadays commercial death metal. Our roots are very classical, brutal, raw and evil. Our perverse tunes create dark atmosphere with a very particular composition, no harmonies, and no grinding parts. For now all lyrics are related with anti-Christian subjects only. Our actual sound distant too much from our first stuff, this approach is what we are looking for… dense and black.

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

As I mentioned before, our lyrics are a very putrid criticism against catholic and Christian doctrines. Our vision in not satanic, however it’s evil and perverse as a heretic protest. We desecrate every main element of this false faith and its foundations, institutions and leaders.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the band's name?

To mystify the crucifix as a tool for worshiping a perverted desire, a false path for spirit liberation, blackened in putrid innocent’s blood, blinded by promises of a new life.

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

We don’t played live so much, we always wanted to spend our time on rehearsal and keep ourselves on making more songs. In Mexico there are a lot of gigs, but with a very poor quality, we don’t want to be part of it. We have played just like 7 times near our city. Our performance it’s a very common show, no fire, no blood just a black aura.

6. Do you have any touring plans for the new release?

First we want people to now Ominous Crucifix through our “The Spell…”, so later people can ask for us to tour with another bands. Right now is difficult because our location, it’s very expensive to take a Mexican band to Europe. I see this more real until our next assault.

7. On a worldwide level how has your music been received by death metal fans?

50/50 I think, most people expect a very nice & polished sound, and rather they found out dense vibes of death and unholiness. In the other hand there are lots of people that understand this band and embrace this particularity. However we are planning to have faster riffs in our upcoming production and change a little bit some composition structures without lose our primordial sound.

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

Cesar is the only one that plays in two bands: Ominous Crucifix & Sargatanas. However I feel that none from us have time to try with another band, Ominous Crucifix takes much already from our free time.

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

Of course there are things that must be improved, as I mentioned before, we will try faster riffs but that’s only what we have in mind. Our musical style does not depend of people acceptance but from our pure point of view about death metal music and its roots legacy.

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

Early bands  : Necrophobic, Goreaphobia, Entombed, Old Funeral, Morbid Angel, Sepultura, Rotting Christ, Paradise Lost, Incantation & Immolation. As for nowadays bands I’m into : Cruciamentum, Pseudogod, Grave Miasma, Necros Christos, Ophis, Bastard Priest, Miasmal, Vorum, Krypts, Ascended, Entrails.

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

 It’s all about …

Occultism is a subject that was very attractive to me in my early 20s. I read dozens of books with amazing and profound sense of mysticism and really like to pour out some of this knowledge into the band concept.

Christianity is a plague that rots the human inspiration, infects all passions with absurd quilt, dramatized the suffering of a mortal god converting him in icon of mercy and wisdom, and polarized the feeling of man confusing his nature.

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

My job has to do with Information Technology, so I like all technology related stuff.  Also I do some graphic design works and read too much. But what we really enjoy most is to listen to old and new death metal bands all day, having fun with friends.

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

Thank you very much BRINGEROFDEATHZINE, we really appreciate your labor as metal journalist doing so much for the bands and keeping metal maniacs informed about EL METAL DE MUERTE. To all your followers we would like to invite them to follow OMINOUS CRUCIFIX in our BandCamp & Facebook sites, also to buy our “The Spell of Damnation” CD via FDA Recotz, and our upcoming SPLIT with ENTRAILS.

ONLY DEATH IS REAL …