Evil Entourage/The Opposition/Chaos Records/2012 CD Review

  Evil  Entourage  are  a  band  from  Mexico  that  plays  a  very  heavy,  brutal  and  evil  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "The  Opposition"  which  was  released  by  Chaos  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,  as  for  the  synths  they  are  only  utilized  on  one  song  and  they  bring  an  epic  and  classical  music  feeling  to  the  album.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  death  metal  riffs  that  are  very  heavy,  brutal  and  evil sounding  in  the  early  90's  satanic  death  metal  tradition,  while  the  lead  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  are  very  chaotic  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads

  Vocals  are  mostly  deep  death  metal  growls  with  some  high  pitched  screams  being  thrown  into  the  music  at  times,  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  evil,  and  anti  christian  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful  and  heavy  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Evil  Entourage  are  a  very  great  sounding  heavy,  brutal  and  evil  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  style,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED TRACKS  INCLUDE "Swathe  To  Blind"  and  "True  Rejected".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Masachist/Scorned/Selfmadegod Records/2012 CD Review

  Masochist  are  a  band  from  Poland  that  plays  a  very  atmospheric  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Scorned"  which  was  released  by  Selfmadegod  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music  at  times,  while  the  synths  when  they  are  utilized  bring  a  very  dark  and  atmospheric  sound  to  the  music,  as  for  the  bass  playing  it  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  with  heavy  riffs  that  dominate  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  death  metal  riffs  that  utilize  some  brutal  and  technical  parts,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  old  school  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  mostly  deep  death  metal  growls  with  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing  on  the  last  song,  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  hateful  themes,  as  for  the  production  it has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Masachist  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  style,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Drilling  The  Nerves"  "Higher  Authority"  "Liberation"  and  "Inner  Void".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Inset/2012 Demo Review

  Inset  are  a  band  from  Poland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  thrash  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2012  demo.

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

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  death  metal  riffs  that  utilize  a  good  amount  of thrash  influences  being  thrown  into  the  riffing  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  old  school  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

 Vocals  are  all  deep  death  metal  growls,  while the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  violent  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Inset  are  a  very  good  sounding  old  school  style  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  style,  you  should  check  out  this  demo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sunday  Hordes"  and  "Last  Breath  Before  Us".  RECOMMENDED.  

  

Dead Cowboy's Sluts/The Hand Of Death/M & O Music/2012 CD Review

  Dead  Cowboy's  Sluts  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "The  Hand  Of  Death"  which  was  released  by  M  &  O  Music.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  a  good  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  riffs  that  combine  death,  groove  and  thrash  metal  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  old  school  sounding thrash  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  which  are  only  utilized  briefly  they  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  to  bring  a  70s  rock  sound  to  the  music.

  Vocals  are  mostly  thrash  style  screams  mixed  in  with  a  good  amount  of  deep  death  metal  growls,  high  pitched  screams  and  spoken  word  samples,  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  hateful  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Dead  Cowboy's  Sluts  are  a very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  thrash,  groove,  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a fan  of  this  musical  style,  you  should c heck  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Asylum  Breakout"  "Must  Be  Broken"  "This  Hate"  and  "Backdraft".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Infernal Death Interview

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

We have released an album recently. Currently we are at the stage of promotion of the album and we are about to play some concerts after the holidays. And we are thinking about creating new material as well, the seeds have been formed.

How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from previous releases?

We wanted this album to be musically embedded in the 90’s last century and I think we succeeded in. As far as the difference is regarded this release is our official debut. Previously, we recorded two cassette demos, but it was about 20 years ago, and there is abyss of time to make a comparison. Although we used songs from that period and we tried to create new songs in order not to deviate from the oldest, the production, sound recording quality and so on it is totally different age.

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

The texts on this CD are my personal confessions on issues that hurt. It is saturated by anger at what is happening around us, at how we allow for the collapse of European civilization. At the debauchery, the lack of inhibitions, to promote decay and deviation under the banner of modernity, tolerance and equality, to bring normalcy to the level of one or another disorder. And also at how history is falsified and new false heroes are promoted

What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
The band’s name was created over 20 years ago inspired by the track from the first Death’s album titled Infernal Death. That is all. We all were then and we are today big fans of the Chuck Schuldiner’s band

The band was broken up for a long time, what was the cause of the split and what was it that motivated the band to get back together after all these  years?

The band eventually broke up in 1995, after five years of playing. The main reason was the lack of common purpose. There was a conflict between us, which led first to the personnel changes, and ultimately to the disintegration of the band. What motivated us to return? Longing for playing. I personally have never ceased to believe that the band will be playing. Unfortunately, it took 16 years to make it happen. As they say, better late than never

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

Infernal Death has always been a touring band. And 20 years ago and today, the scene was and is our element. We make music in order to sell it live on the stage in direct contact with the fans. And we played a lot of really good gigs and it's hard for me to mention the best.

Do you have any touring plans for the future?

As I mentioned earlier we are planning active concert career after the holidays? September-October are the months in which we want to make the noise a little

On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your new album by fans of death metal?

Album has just appeared in our country. From what I know the publisher has signed distribution agreements in Germany as well. Till now, we have got reviews from publishers of zines and webzines. So far, they are rather positive, so we are in optimistic mood. And by the way we are curious about your opinion…

Are there any current side projects besides this band or is this full time?

Bogacz and RaV also play in a band called Tumour of Soul, and Cymer has a band Disseminate.

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

This album is a closure of a chapter. Settlement of the first period of our performance and conclusion what we could not do then. New material that has already been written is creating primarily by the "young" in the team, so surely there will be a breath of freshness, but we "old" will be watching them, because the ID must remain ID

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

It is difficult to point out some specific bands,  but we are aware of incorporating to our music some strong influences of old death metal patterns, it goes subconsciously while writing songs, especially that half of old material included on Gniew (Anger) is mixed with the new one. We do not make the song to follow or copy Morbid Angel, Deicide or Vader. We create what comes from our souls and flows in our veins. Everyone of us listen to a little different kind of music, for example Cymer is devoted fan of Nile, RaV is fan of Death, Charles – progressive death and thrash, and me – old school of death metal

How would you describe your views on Occultism?

I am not concerned about it. I make music not ideology. In my texts I describe real problems of life. I do not write about demons, devils, etc. It's totally not my story.

Outside of music what are some of your interests?

We all have families, wives, children, and they consume us completely. We all work professionally in order to provide maintenance and support. Apart from proffesional activites we are interesting in listening to music and playing of course. Personally I am passionate about history and sacrifice my spare time to penetrate its secrets

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

Thanks a lot for this interview and the opportunity to present the ID. Greetings to all readers on behalf of the entire crew of the ID
Stay true, and let your Anger grow

Ad Patres/Scorn Aesthics/Kaotoxin Records/2012 CD Review

 Ad  Patres  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  very  brutal  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album   "Scorn  Aesthics"   which  was  released  by  Kaotoxin  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  strong  and  powerful  sound  with  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  death  metal  riffs  that  are  very  heavy  and  brutal  sounding,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  chaotic  and  melodic  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  mostly  deep  death  metal  growls  with  some  high  pitched  screams   being  thrown  into  the  music  at  times,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  violent  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Ad  Patres  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan of this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Lock"  "Scorn  Aesthics"  "Emphasize Nihility"  and  "All  That  Remains".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Sophicide Interview

Adam Laszlo – guitar, vocals, production

Sebastian Bracht – guitar, backing vocals

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?

Adam: Sophicide started in 2009 as my solo project. I wrote and produced a couple of songs at that time and released the first EP for free download. People seemed to be into it, so I decided to continue writing new material when I eventually had the opportunity to sign with Willowtip and finish the upcoming debut record “Perdition Of The Sublime” which will be released August 14th.

Sebastian: I first got in touch with Sophicide after the EP “The Art of Atrocity” was finished. We roughly came from the same scene, our musical preferences were practically alike and he was still in search of a second guitar player so it was a good fit.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?

Sebastian: The dynamic of the songs reaches from chaotic blast beats over doom riffs up to meticulous clean parts. But while the range is wide the very core of all ideas is still about the melody and harmonies behind it. As I am not the one who wrote the songs the sound had something magical to me when I first encountered it. This might come from the influences of different genres of music I was reminded of; like typical sounds and patterns from oriental and classical music. But they are not too apparent either. That is why it felt mystical to me. You can hear the influences but you can not completely grasp them.

Adam: To put it in few words, it’s basically fast and technical deathmetal. The songs sound aggressive I think, yet I always tried to retain melody and groove. There are some progressive, even mellow moments going on, but the overall feel to the music is of fierce nature.

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

Adam: On this particular record the songs basically revolve around the album title “Perdition Of The Sublime” which also kinda describes the band name. It’s about the intellectual part of society being undermined by people like conservative republicans, fanatic evangelicals and such. Now I know this might sound a bit elitist, but let’s be frank here, in a world where people want to teach creationism in schools and others (or the same) support Rick Santorum’s politics, you can easily tell there is something wrong.

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

Adam: “Sophicide” means “murder of wisdom”, you could also describe it with the more common term “anti-intellectualism”, which seems to be an upward trend in modern society. I really think humanity is slowly digging its own grave by being inconsiderate and plain dumb. People don’t seem to care about shit, as long as they’re kept busy with mundane work and fed with cheap meat. It really makes me sick, so this is the basic idea about the band name.

5. I have read that this band started out as a solo project, what was the decision behind hiring a full line up?

Adam: Well, after running Sophicide as my little solo project I thought it was about time to really bring it to life, that of course includes a full line up and live shows. But as for now we’re still in search of a drummer and a bassist, preferably from the same area we come from, which is around the area of Wiesbaden, Germany. So if you think you’re the right guy (or gal), feel free to contact us ;-)

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

Adam: As our line up is not complete yet, we haven’t played any shows yet. But it’s just a matter of time and we’re definitely looking forward to it. It’s gonna be a blast!

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

It’s kinda said in the previous answer ;-)

8. Currently you are signed to Willowtip, how did you get in contact with this label and how would you describe the support that they have given you so far?

Adam: After I finished the first EP, Jason from Willowtip contacted me rather soon and I must say I was pretty much blown away by this, I mean there are a bunch of amazing bands at Willowtip, so it’s really an honor to join them. The support has been simply great so far, so working together really is a pleasure!

9. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of technical death metal?

Sebastian: Heartwarmingly positive for the most part. People are nice. But while technically the feedback was international I wouldn’t talk about worldwide scale yet.

Adam: Definitely pretty good for now, it feels great when your work gets appreciated. But I hope there’s still a lot more feedback to come, whether it’s positive or not.

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

Sebastian: There is another prog death metal project called Dahlian with long-ass songs where the two of us are guitar players and vocalists. It isn’t as developed though so we will see what the future will bring and if we can find other musicians to join us.

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

Adam: That’s a tough one, you know, I don’t really plan these things out, so at the moment I can’t tell what the next album is going to sound like. I already started working on some new stuff, but as I said, we’ll see how the new material turns out, so I’m curious about it, too!

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

Sebastian: Every genre has its gems (except for “Schlagermusik” maybe) so there is always far too much stuff that I want to listen to. Right these days I dig the new periphery album and Bilateral by Leprous who are among other bands like Opeth, Cynic and Cloudkicker big influences to me. It’s really hard not to name some more. There are a ton obviously.

Adam: I really like a lot of different styles of music, but the more obvious influences are bands like The Faceless, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Bloodbath, Necrophagist and such. As one of my all time favorites Opeth can’t go unmentioned here, but there are so many more of course. Right now I listen to a lot of stuff like Tesseract and Periphery. A lot of people seem to hate it, but I’m really into that djent stuff.

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

Sebastian: Every other source of creativity, admiration of nature, the simple philosophies of life that make it more enjoyable, the deepening thrills of learning and starcraft, I guess.

Adam: Besides creating music I really like everything that’s somehow challenging or involves being creative, like programming or fooling around with photoshop. On the other hand there are days where I’m just lazy and watching Family Guy, sometimes I need that, too. But these days I’m pretty busy, so no time for cartoons, I guess.

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

Adam: In the words of the great Charles Chaplin: “Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to the happiness of all!”

Sebastian: Keep being positive!