Maelstrom Interview

 

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

First off , thank you & everyone at Variety of Death Zine for the interview. MaelstroM is currently wrapping up the pre-production of our debut album. The last minute drum edits are now being finished and all guitar, bass and keyboard lines have been demoed. Gary is busy tweaking the final lyrical and vocal ideas … everything is coming together really smoothly … this stuff writes itself.

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the newer music and how it differs from previous recordings?

The material we're recording is actually music that was written between 1989 and 1992 … literally 20 years ago. It's part of the same concept as was our It Was Predestined EP. Those 3 songs were three chapters of the conceptual story that this debut album finishes… we're essentially completing the rest of the chapters now.

Of course these songs have been tweaked since their first incarnation 20 years ago, If someone goes on YouTube and checks out our first demos … the melodic and structural ideas were there … but we're executed like a bunch of 17 year olds on an analog tape. The musical and vocal maturity is going to be so evident when people check out these recording, especially when coupled with Fortin Amplification and Tue Madsen engineering.

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

Lyrically, Gary definitely writes fantasy driven material. He and I were both heavily into Dungeons and Dragons and Tolkien as kids. One thing I particularly like in Gary's writing is the huge amount of imagery it conveys. People have told me they actually feel like they're on a battlefield when listening to our stuff … and thats through a coupling of Gary's incredible imagination with my absolute obsession with epic film score composer James Horner. Thats how we try to approach this stuff. We definitely want to "Feel" something when listening to our stuff … and if others get it … great.

4. There was a demo released in 1991, and then there was not another one until 17 years later, what was going on during that hiatus?

After we released our second, now classic, demo "This Battle To Make History, Yet History Never Comes" in 1991 we continued writing, actually some of what I think is our BEST material was written then … but that will have to wait for the 2nd album :)

And then life simply kicked in, some members went off to college, some had to work full time to pay bills, couple that with the fact that we didn't wear flannels and sing like we had marbles in our mouth,

and it culminated in that classic metal band break up. No hard feeling at all, still great friends with each of the original members, but life just took over.

We also had a new drummer enter the MaelstroM fold at the time in the form of Elliot Hoffman. If you've never heard that name, you definitely will. He's the now in CarBomb and will be on the cover of an upcoming issue of Sick Drummer Magazine. Simply incredible phenomenon behind the kit. Elliot came in and definitely pushed our music into a more syncopated and "jazz odyssey" direction which eventually lead to, I guess what we can call, the official end of MaelstroM as we knew it. I knew it, Gary knew it. So it was best to call it a day then, while we still had nothing but pleasant memories of MaelstroM.

After that I played guitar in a variety of bands like the Frank Zappa inspired "Spooge", and cover bands that played classic Rainbow, Purple, Sabbath, Hendrix, and Zep stuff. In that 17 year interim I also became a Chiropractor, an Acupuncturist and now an MD … so been keeping myself a little busy. :) Gary in that time frame became one of the top creative designers at a major graphic arts/advertising company in the city - that imagination still hard at work.

But he and I both viewed MaelstroM not only with a sense of nostalgia but also honestly as, unfinished business … because we knew we had some great stuff that we REALLY wanted to hear again, especially now with todays production capabilities. And that's a recurring theme that you'll probably hear from Gary and I all the time … it's stuff that we want to hear. We both have successful careers going, so this obviously isn't for the money. We wanted to recreate

MaelstroM in the form of the band that we always wanted to hear, what we both thought it should have been in the first place.

And then a gentleman named Roman at FORGOTTEN STEEL wrote THE review of our 2nd demo that inspired Gary and I to start this all over again. You could check it out here if you'd like:

http://www.forgottensteel.homepage.t-online.de/Webzine/Webzine/Demos/Maelstrom.htm

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

We were first called "Insurrection" for our first few shows in '88, then either there was another band named that or we were getting too many "Erection" jokes at school, so we decided to come up with another name. I think we all wrote down like 5 names, and Gary's folks and our bass player, Jon Modell's father came up with "MaelstroM" .. it was the only name to appear twice on our lists so we went with that. I came up with some ridiculous names, like "Burning Cauldron" or "Flaming Sword" or something … which is why Gary writes the lyrics.

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

We'll the last showed MaelstroM played was back in 92' … I've obviously played out a ton after that with different bands, but my hands down Favorite show with Gary was April 8, 1989 at Hammer Hedz in Elmont, NY. The line up was Demolition Hammer, Cold Steel, and MaelstroM. Hammer Hedz was a small club that was well known on LI, Dream Theatre used to play there when they were Majesty, it was a small but great place with a legal occupancy limit of like 130 people.

On that Sunday, April 8th show over 450 people showed up, peoplewere literally stacked on top of each other, the place was packed to the hilt and each band sounded great that night. That was one of the shows that set MaelstroM on its way as being one of the top drawers in the Long Island Metal Scene. We actually were named the top drawing act for both 89' and 90' at that club, winning a contest there, which helped pay for our 2nd demo.

Another great show I remember was with Suffocation at Long Islands's Sundance in Bay Shore probably in 1990. It was Suffo's very first show!!!!, and we were all really great friends back then. Still in touch with some of the guys, awesome to see how far they've come in the extreme metal scene, which they helped create.

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

Right now all time and efforts are focused on finishing the debut album … its now been over 20 years in the making and it won't wait any longer. After that is unleashed, we're definitely considering doing some shows if the timing and opportunity is right.

8. Recently Itchy Metal Entertain ment re-issued your 2008 demo, how did you get in contact with this label and how would you describe

the support that they have given you so far?

That was all Gary. He was following Itchy Metal and their founder Ed Fassio for a while before he reached out to them. They had a very different take on the scene as far as promotion goes, especially with the advent of social media sites being a part of our everyday lives. Ed's a great guy with a great vision, is behind us 110%, and we're more than happy to have him in our corner. Ed at Itchy and Scott at Clawhammer PR are really putting their everything behind us!! It's great!

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

MaelstroM's stuff is getting embraced beyond wildest hopes right now. We're getting killer reviews, great gig opportunities, plays on some great Metal radio and internet stations, and our FaceBook page is nearing 40,000 fans as of this writing. It's really amazing.

I think what draws people to the band, besides our music, is the story behind the band. That we were just a couple of kids from Long Island who had a dream of being in a killer metal band, emulating our heroes, just like all kids do … but then life and responsibilities took over and now 20 years later … those kids have reformed to complete their dream and are here to deliver a great musical statement. Someone should make this into a movie. :)

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

More melodic, more cinematic, and more beautiful and more brutal.

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

James Horner, the composer, is a major influence on me. His "Wrath Of Khan" soundtrack is absolute required listening as far as I'm concerned. Classical music, particularly Bach, is always so great to list to. I've also been a huge fan of Coltrane ... Giant Steps is such an incredible album.

Guitar wise I've really gotten heavy into Holdsworth, Carl Verheyen, Tommy Emmanuel, Scotty Anderson… and I always bust out my classic Randy Rhoads, Yngwie, Jason Becker and Paul Gilbert CD's.

A beyond Classic band that I keep rediscovering is Rainbow. What more can you say? Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio, nuff said! Incredible. Stargazer = required listening.

As far as newer bands, I really like BTBAM, Winds, and Gojira … I got to hang out with Joe-jira at their recent show with CarBomb at Webster Hall, NY. Great band, great guys. Very catchy.

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

Medicine is obviously a big part of my life, being a doctor. Keeping up to date with all the brilliant strides made in modern medicine today, its really amazing stuff. I also couple that with one foot firmly planted in traditional Chinese and herbal medicine … in a way I guess its the same way I approach music. It's amazing to get all these incredible modern guitar techniques under your fingers like sweeping and multi-finger tapping and stuff, but if you can't really grasp a Robert Johnson blues … your not a complete player.

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

Thanks so much again for the opportunity and for helping MaelstroM reach a wider audience. You guys rule!! And everyone, get yourself ready for the debut MaelstroM album to hit … 20 years in the making!!! It's going to be a metal classic!!!!!!!

Joey Lodes

MaelstroM

Plector/Punishment Day/Discouraged Records/2012 CD Review

Plector  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Punishment  Day"  which  was  released  by  Discouraged  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  thrown  into  the  music  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow the  riffing  that  is  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  they  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  80's  style  thrash  with  early  90's  death  metal  along  with  some  modern  metal  elements  being  thrown  into  the  riffing  at  times, while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  technical  and  melodic  sounding  thrash  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  they  use  finger  picking  to  bring  in  some  darkness  to  the  music.

  Vocals  range  from  thrash  style  vocals  to  deep  death  metal  growls  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  high  pitched  screams,  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent,  hateful  and  everyday  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Plector  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  thrash  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Overthrown"  "To  Be  Punished"  "Take  The  Hit"  and  "Devotion".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

 

Depopulate Interview

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

Depopulate as a full piece has been playing since 2009. Since that time our music was included on few compilations and we’ve released our debut EP “Till Man Exists No More”. We also had an opportunity to play quite a lot of concerts but only inside the boarders of Poland.

How would you describe your musical sound?

Our music can be considered as new school death metal with brutal and technical influences. They say that we have more in common with the big  ones from US, like Dying Fetus, Suffocation etc. than with our domestic Polish sound.

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

All of the lyrics were written by our vocalist, Kostek. They refer to gory climate of B-class horrors and similar stuff but it isn’t  anything like a strict topic and it doesn’t mean that we stick only to it.    

I have read that the band started out as Eviscerated, what was the cause of the name change and also what is the meaning and inspiration behind the new band name?

Eviscerated changed its name to Depopulate simply because of the numerous bands with this name. Depopulate is one of the Vile’s records but it wasn’t the reason why we chose it. It’s just a really strong and brutal name and in our opinion it suits our music really good.

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

We had an opportunity to play with bands such as Parricide, Neolith, Nuclear Vomit, Itself, Throneum, Embrional, Banisher and this is only a tip of the mountain. We really enjoy playing live and it is probably the best thing about being in a band.

Do you have any touring plans for the future?

We have like 5 shows booked later this year. We are always open for any propositions when it comes to concerts and we are eager to play as often as possible.

Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label and if so, what kind of label do you feel that would be a perfect fit for the band?

We hadn’t searched for any label before releasing “Till Man Exists No More” because we really wanted to get people familiar with Depopulate and put it on the internet for free. It would be great to have someone supporting us promotionally and financially in the future. Time will show if it happens someday.

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

We got some good reviews from different parts of the world like Indonesia, Spain, UK, US, Mexico, Brasil and others. Generally the response for the material is positive and it really fuels us up. We’ll try to make our next record twice as good.

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

Our drummer, Jack plays in another band called Unanswered. They are currently putting their first record together. I have some ideas for another project but for the time being Depopulate is full time job and other things have to wait.

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

Probably we will head in direction we’ve taken on “Till Man Exists No More” but for sure we won’t be copying our own ideas. New songs that are already finished may be considered more complex and aggressive. They contain lots of guitar dissonances and stuff like this. We want to come up with a record where one idea leads to another, together making an impression of one solid piece.

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

We are really keen on brutal and technical stuff, mainly from US but the amount of different things we listen to is much bigger. We’re also highly influenced by Polish bands like Decapitated, Deivos, Vader etc. Our vocalist Kostek loves old school Swedish stuff and I am a maniac of Russian slam. Currently I’m listening to new records of Masachist, Cattle Decapitation, Antigama, Abominable Putridity, Cryptopsy and The Faceless over and over again. All of those are killers for me.

Outside of music what are some of your interests?

We’re all students and it consumes a lot of our time but when we’re free we usually just hang out with friends on concerts or parties. We all like to drink up and do some dumb shit. Nothing surprising here.

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

Thanks for the talk. For all those who are hearing about Depopulate  - download our EP, get familiar with our music and check us playing live if you have a possibility. Stay tuned because this isn’t our last word!

Skeletal Remains/Beyond The Flesh/FDA Rekotz/2012 CD Review

  Skeletal  Remains  are  a  band  from  California  that  plays  a  very  raw  and  primitive  form  of  old  school  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Beyond  The  Flesh"  which  was  released  by  FDA  Rekotz.

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

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  old  school  death  metal  riffs  that  are  very  raw  and  primitive  sounding  in  the  mid  80's  to  early  90's  tradition,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  old  school  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  all  deep  death  metal growls  that  are very  easy  to  understand, while t he  lyrics  cover  death  and  gore  themes,  as  for t he  production  it  has  a  very  old  school  death  metal  sound  with  mid  80's  to  early  90's  style  production.

  In  my  opinion  Skeletal  Remains  are  a very  great  sounding  old school  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a f an  of t his  musical  genre,  you  should c heck  out t his  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Desolated  Isolation"  "Traumatic  Existence"  "Homicidal  Pulchritude"  and  "Disincarnated"  which  is  a  Gorguts  cover.  RECOMMENDED  BUY.      

Daemonicus Interview

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

There is really much going on these days, we are releasing the album oktober the 12^th, we have recorded a video for one track that are being released any day now. On top of that are we focusing on booking shows for next year.

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

This release is much more “in your face” and got a bigger sound, being more experimental would not be the right word for it, but we are showing of the confidence we´ve got in recording whatever we like, letting the Daemonicus sound evolve like the dieses it is..

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

Death, of course, is one of the themes. Either it´s brought up in the way of zombification or molestation, death is a theme everyone can relate to.

But we sometimes have a unspoken meaning to the lyrics, like in “The Hymn of Ubo Sathla” for example, that song is written in metaphors of something else than only the things spoken of. Actually it´s a perfect track for a video in the future!

On top of that we are against all religious insanity in the world of course..

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

The meaning is possessed by demons, the truth told, we´ve all got them when the doors are closed and the light is turned of. Playing live they come out, that’s the inspiration.

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

We are very energic, outwardly and live addicts, it’s the reason playing music in my opinion and we are really good at it. Our records are also ways of spreading our music so that we can play more live beyond bringing the listener quality death metal from Sweden. 

We made a tour in the Balkans with Christ Agony this spring that were really fucking great over all, really great veterans from Poland. The biggest show was opening for Asphyx in Bucharest, it was an awesome event and a big crowd that was wild, the guys in Asphyx was great.

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

Actually that what’s on top of our agenda right now, the bookings are midway right now. So yes, we are might just be going on a tour in a while. We´ve got inquiries from Australia, but nothing is set just yet. On top of course is the States, we are looking for a serious booking agency in USA being able to bring our music overseas. Our record label Abyss is a great support to us in this work also. 

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

The feedback have been really good, those who have made reviews and listened to the released track of our forthcoming album seem to like it just as much as we do. Everyone that´s seen us live tell us that’s the element to bring this kind of music on top, I could not agree more. We have regular contact with fans from all parts of the world, and summarized they love the way we taken classic Swedish death metal seriously and constructed a sound without copying, just letting ourselves being inspired by.

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

We all have other projects beside this, it´s important to try different things to be able to evolve. All are in different degree of seriousness.

PO and Jörgen (guitarists) - “Sanity of Empiety”.

Martin (bass) -  “Hate Ammo”.

Johan (drums) - “Flagellant”.

and I´ve got a yet unnamed trash/death project with PO.

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

We will furthermore lose some boundaries, get doomy darker and somewhat faster. But I’ve got a comforting promise, we will never let ourselves soften up, we´ll rather smash the music in the listeners face.

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

Old Swedish death metal like Entombed and Dismember of course, and American bands like Death, Obituary, Deicide and Testament. Right now Asphyx, Feral, Entrails and Nile is put on repeat at my place.

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

Is there a life besides music? Haha!

Some of us got children, they take a big part of the free time. Personally spend a whole lot of time in the garage, building on a motorcycle, a perfect time for listening to some new music.

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

Keep your eyes open for more Daemonicus news, join our facebook group were we are going to be more attendant in the future. And never hesitate contacting us, we will answer.

Thank you for this interview, it was a great time talking to you!

/Stefan Hagström, Daemonicus

Monsterworks/Man :: Intrinsic/Mortal Music/2012 Digital Release Review

  Monsterworks  are  a  band  from  New  Zealand  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical style  that  combines  death,  thrash  and  power  metal  together  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  digital  release  Man  :  Intrinsic"  which  was  released  by  Mortal  Music.

  Drums range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  not  much  in  the  way  of  blast  beats,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  is  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  range from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  death,  thrash,  power  metal  and  stoner  rock  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  along  with  a  good  amount  of  melody  being  thrown  into the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  guitar  solos  and  leads  that  have  a  70's  rock  feeling  to  them,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  they  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  to  add  more  variety  to  the  music.

  Vocals  range  from  deep  death  metal  growls,  thrash  screams  and  clean  singing  that  combine  power  metal  and  stoner  rock  together  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples,  while  the  lyrics  cover  philosophical  themes,  as  for t he  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  recording  from  Monsterworks  and  if  you  are  a f an  of t his  band,  you  should c heck  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Taste  of  Doom".  RECOMMENDED  BUY. 

Maelstorm/It Was Predestined/Itchy Metal Entertainment/2012 CD Re-Issue Review

  Maelstorm  are  a  band  from  Long  Beach,  New  York  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death,  thrash,  power   and  prog  metal  and  this  is  a  re-issue  of  their  2008  demo  "It  Was  Predestined"  which  was  released  by  Itchy  Metal  Entertainment.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with not  much  in  the  way  of  blast  beats,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  tone  with  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording,  as  for  the  synths  when  they  are  utilized  they  bring  a  very  atmospheric  and  epic  sound  to  the  music.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  thrash,  death,  power  and  prog  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  along  with  a  good  amount  of  melody  being thrown  into  the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  power/prog  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads, as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  they  use  full  chords  and  finger  picking  that  have  a  feeling  of  a  Spanish  guitar.

  Vocals  range  from  deep  death  metal  growls,  thrash  screams,  clean  singing  power  metal  vocals  with  some  female  back  ups  being  utilized  at  times,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  for  being  a  demo  and  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Maelstorm  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  death,  thrash,  power  and  prog  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "A  Futile  Crusade".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.