Sectesy/Promo 2011/EP Review

  Sectesy  are  a  band  from  the  Chezch  Republic  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2011  promo.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  used  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  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  old  school  death  metal  riffs  that  use  a  good  amount  of  melody  in  the  riffing  along  with  a  brief  use  of  soft  and  clean  playing  being  used  on  the  last  song,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  dark  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  as  well  as  some  spoken  word  samples,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  gore  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  dark  and  professional  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  promo  with  the  2  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Sectesy  are  a  very  great  sounding  heavy  and  dark  old  school  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  promo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Beyond  The  Gates  Of  Doom".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

    

Trials/In The Shadows Of Swords/2013 CD Review

  Trials  are  a  band  from  Chicago,  Illinois  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical  style  on  this  recording  that  I  would  describe  as  being  a  mixture  of  death,  thrash  and  melodic  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  album  "In  The  Shadows  Of  Swords".

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  utilized  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  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  modern  day  technical  thrash,  death  and  melodic  metal  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of soft  and  clean  playing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  extreme  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  they  use  finger  picking  to  add  more  variety  to  the  recording.

  Vocals  range  from  thrash  style  vocals,  deep  death  metal  growls  and  clean  singing,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  everyday  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and professional  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  album  along  with  some  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.  

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Trials  nad  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Believers  In  Black"  "With  Only  Sorrow  Now"  "Upon  This  Day"  and  "Jawbreaker"  which  is  a  Judas Priest  cover.  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Monsterworks/Album Of Man/Mortal Music/2013 CD Review

  Monsterworks  are  a  band  from  the  U.K  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical style  that  combines  thrash,  power  and  death  metal  together  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Album  Of  Man"  which  was  released  by  Mortal  Music.

  Drums  range  from  slow, mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  utilized  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  riffs  that  combine  thrash,  power  and  death  metal  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  along  with  some  melody,  grunge  and  progressive  influences  being  thrown  into  the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  modern  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads  along  with  some  classic  rock/metal  influences,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  they  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  to  add  more  progressive  elements  to  the  recording.

  Vocals  range  from  deep  death  metal  vocals,  thrash  style  singing,  and  clean  singing  power  metal  vocals  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  philosophical  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 t his  recording.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Monsterworks  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "It's  Alive"  "All  Suns  Die"  "Taste  Of  Doom"  and  "Being  Human".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.        

Swarm/Invasion/2012 EP Review

  Swarm  are  a  band  from t he  Chezch  Republic  that  plays  a  very  progressive  and  technical  form  of   death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2012  ep  "Invasion".

  Drums  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  present  on  this  recording,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  death  metal  riffs  that  combine  some  progressive  and  technical  elements  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  technical  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  range  from  deep  death  metal  growls,  high  pitched  screams  and  background shouting,  while  the  lyrics  cover  everyday  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Swarm a re  a  very  great  sounding  heavy,  technical  and  progressive  death  metal b and  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Threat"  and  "Show  Your  Fear".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

  

Tormented/Death Awaits/Listenable Records/2013 CD Review

  Tormented  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical style  I  would  describe  as  being  old  school  Swedish  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Death  Awaits"  which  was  released  by  Listenable  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  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  they  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from s low,  mid  paced  to  fast  old  school  Swedish  style  death  metal  riffs  that  are  very  heavy  sounding  with  a  good  amount  of  melody  being  thrown  into  the  riffing,  while t he  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  mostly  deep  death  metal  growls  that  are  very  easy  to  understand  along  with  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples,  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  horror  and  gore  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  old  school  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Tormented  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Blood  Orgy"  "Insane  With  Dread"  "To  Spill  Her  Blood"  and  "Black  Sky".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.  

Moregengrau Interview

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

Quite a lot! We just released our debut album on 4/2/2013. It's been a
whirlwind of preparatory activity over the last few months - mixing,
mastering, album cover, layout, proofing, then getting all the
infrastructure in place to handle sales. Clawhammer PR has been helping us
with the promo campaign. If it wasn't for them, I think I would have had a
stroke by now. We're actively booking up shows around Texas and polishing
new songs which we will play at the Martyrdoom fest in June. There's a
great amount of momentum right now - we intend to keep it rolling.

2. The musical sound of the album goes back to the early days of death
metal, what was it that motivated to go into this direction?

I grew up with old school death metal. I'm tapping into those themes and
riffs which inspired my most passionate reactions. I think it's important
to remember how you felt when you first heard a style that ignites your
inner fire. For me, I go back to two points in my life: shows at the tiny
River Rock Cafe in Buffalo, NY and sitting in my college dorm room
listening to Pestilence's "Consuming Impulse". At the River Rock, I came
to know who I truly was while getting killed in the pit of that sweaty
little room: I may be small but I’m tough and stubborn as hell. I can
withstand just about anything and do just about anything I put my mind to.
In college, listening to “Consuming” taught me how I wanted my own metal
band to sound. Of course, I’ve gone on to enjoy and take inspiration from
tons of other music but time and again, I go back to October 1990, lonely
as fuck, away from home for the first time, studying those Pestilence
songs with a near obsessive focus. Whenever I sit down to write music I go
to these places; I’d like to think I’ve captured elements of both
formative times.

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

I didn't want to do a concept album as I knew that would take me far too
long to write the lyrics. I am the slowest lyric writer in the world.
There's abstracted occultism in Extrinsic Pathway, Chemosh Enlighten,
Grave of Lies and worship of destruction (self or external) in
Antithetical. Choking Grove explores the former Houlthust munitions dump
in Belgium and The White Death takes place in the split second before
famous WWII sniper Simo Häyhä pulls the trigger on one of his 505 kills.
Polymorphic Communion is my answer to Municipal Waste's "The Thing." Many
of the lyrics in the occult-focused songs have a double, personal meaning
which lends a special intensity when we perform those songs live.

4. Some of the lyrical subjects deal with occultism and the left hand path
how would you describe your views on these systems?

I don't have definitive views nor do I subscribe to one particular way.
It's more of a general lifelong current that’s flowed through me always. I
have memories of being about eight, pouring over the booklet from this LP
"Vincent Price: Witchcraft and Magic." It was full of old woodcuts and
engravings featuring demons and demonic rites - same ones you now see
every day on T shirts and album covers. Back then, I'd never seen anything
like it. I must have read that booklet 100 times; I had every word in it
memorized. The animal-headed demons fascinated me, leading to a deep
interest in lycanthropy. Any book with even a paragraph about werewolves
was read cover to cover, so of course I was simultaneously exposed to a
lot of information about witchcraft and demonology. I think it all comes
down to the fact I've never felt quite right in my own skin. There's
always been this ferocity in me which never agreed with the cute little
girl who stared back in the mirror. No surprise that subjects which deal
with transformations, the letting out or embracing of inner demons catch
my attention. Much of my life has been defined by being uncomfortable -
socially, emotionally and physically. A dark and different child, my path
of life has only made me darker and more strange.

I believe in the power of the opposite, of inversion. I believe in
closeness to and acceptance of death. Strength and internal poise are best
gained through enduring discomfort, physical and mental. We live in a
world where we avoid any type of discomfort and look what it’s gained us:
The Hipster. No. Adversity builds character. I believe in living with eyes
wide open, and seeing All: beauty, decay, pain, happiness, simplicity,
complexity, genius, stupidity, and most of all, Onself as One Truly Is.

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

The word itself means "gray morning" which is a fine theme for our focus
on dark, depressing subjects. Selecting a name took quite a while. Four
hundred thousand metal bands have consumed every good medical term, Latin
phrase, occult word and demonic name two times over. While cruising
through some old German songs, I stumbled upon the word "Morgengrau."
There was an instant connection. We researched it thoroughly, found no
evidence of use by a metal band, then claimed it as our own... only to
discover a year ago that a black metal band in Germany now has the same
name. Seems they showed up on the Web after we'd finished our search.
Frustrating. I'm trusting that interested listeners will be able to tell
which band is which.

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

We’re intense. Focused. We seek to project as much dark energy as
possible. We don’t have a tremendous roster of shows under our belt yet -
I’m a big fan of being tactical rather than playing every gig that crosses
beneath our noses. Every show has had excellent responses with each one
bigger and more ferocious than the last. Very exciting to see how things
are building. Playing NYC’s Martyrdoom festival this year will certainly
be a huge milestone. It’s been a long time since I’ve played outside of
Texas and last year’s Martyrdoom fest was killer, so when we hit the stage
in June we’ll be fully charged with adrenaline and ready to destroy.

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

Touring is something we'd love to do but the feasibility at this time is
questionable. Nick and Jake are young enough to do the "quit your job go
on the road" thing, but Reba is just starting her career and I'm going to
work my corporate job until I die, if I can manage it. We've talked about
short 5 day runs. Two weeks max is probably all we could ever manage.
Still... you never know. Nothing’s impossible.

8. The new album came out on Blind God Records, how did you get in contact
with this label and how would you describe the support they have given you
so far?

Great label. Full support. Never say no to a request for more money...
because the imprint is mine. Christ, this last credit card statement was
huge! Completely worth it, though. I don't like the way it looks when a
band puts out an independent release that’s missing the label imprint on
the back and the spine. Feels lacking somehow. Furthermore, it took us so
long to record and mix the CD, I didn’t want to waste another six to nine
months shopping it around. Now it’s out in the pipeline and the response
is great - we’re moving quite a few ourselves, getting excellent reviews
and are working on some distribution so we can move product in greater
volume. Label support of some kind for the next one would be great so we
have more flexibility around recording and merch budgets.

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

As I mentioned above, it's just getting started. We've had some fantastic
feedback. My little mid-life experiment seems like it’s going to prove
successful. I've always wanted to do a death metal band - starting one at
age 38 after 20 years not playing guitar was a bit of a gamble. There have
been a few freaked out reactions from people who only know my work in
Ignitor or Autumn Tears. Can’t say I blame them - especially the Autumn
Tears fans - Morgengrau is quite the change. The great thing is of all my
musical endeavors, this is the most comfortable band I’ve ever been in -
the most work but the most satisfaction with the least stress. Easiest to
perform. Most satisfying shows.

What is going on with the other musical projects these days?

I have my Iron Maiden cover band, Drifter, which I’ve been in since 2006.
I like being in a cover band because it’s super low stress - no musical
arguments or hurt feelings, plus it keeps my clean vocal chops in shape.
I’m always down for session vocals of any kind but right now that avenue
is quiet. Jake’s other band Plutonian Shore is actively playing shows and
demoing tracks for their new album. A capella esoteric vocal ideas are
always kicking around in my mind but I know my limits - I have time right
now only for Morgengrau.

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

Morgengrau will remain old school death metal. No blinking or going off
course. We have no desire to go skipping down the paths of experimental,
ambient, hyper blast, progressive, gore or whatever else. Our job is to
keep writing interesting, catchy songs that remain true to the genre.

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

I'm listening to way too much Finnish Death Metal these days - Torture
Killer, Winterwolf, Demigod, Scent of Flesh. Been overdosing on Immolation
new and old in anticipation of the upcoming album and the tour. I’ve
already mentioned Pestilence’s influence. Other influences: Asphyx,
Deicide and Morbid Angel. All the old DM classics. I do try to pay
attention to other forms of music which I may not like but understand to
be structurally successful - 80s pop is a great example. Simple, catchy
and not overdone. Nobody’s trying to prove the length of their penis by
playing 25 notes a second. There’s much to be learned from the excellent
songwriting of those days.

Outside of music what are some of your interests?

Murder. I am an amateur student of forensic anthropology, particularly
violent death. Military history and technology. Paleontology, with a focus
on therapsids and theropods. Parasitology. Bizarre diseases and medical
conditions. I enjoy people watching and studying human behavior in
stressful situations, as the truth of a person is revealed when the going
gets tough. I also love exotic and muscle cars. In a couple weeks, I’m
going shooting for the first time in just about 30 years so that will
probably start up a new obsession around guns as well.

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

Thanks Extreme Metal Zine for your interest and support! Check us out at
Reverbnation.com/Morgengrau and pick up a CD via morgengrau.bandcamp.com.
Come walk the Extrinsic Pathway with Morgengrau... Hail Metal, Hail Death!

-- 

Humiliation Interview

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

First of all, thanks & greetings from Malaysia. Bearbee here, the vocalist that is engaged with this interview. Recently, in March 2013 there is a new released by Eldritch Lunar Miasma Records (UK) & Dybbuk Records (Mexico) which is 7” split with Decrepitaph and we really like the outcome from this release. It exposes our band name around the world. Thanks for Eldritch Lunar Miasma Records & Dybbuk Records for this release. By the way, our new 4th full length album is on the wayand will be released soon under Deepsend Records (USA). We are also working with DeadBeat Media (Malaysia) & Slaughterhouse Records (USA) for another 7” split Humiliation/Warmaster (Holland). We will play in KL Metalcamp VI (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) on 04th May 2013 together with few local acts & German thrash legend Destruction. In early July 2013, we will play in In-Flammen Open Air in Torgau, Germany. This year is a really busy year for Humiliation but we feel great anyway.

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

We try to get 90’s death metal sound for all of our materials. We will never change our musical style since our existence. Since we want to have 90's feeling, the new track from the split with Decrepitaph is a little bit loose here and there compared to our 3rd full length album “From Strength To Strength” back to 2012.

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

We are more interested in real things. Historical, past wars are the real things that had happened. Our lyrics are into war related topics. Furthermore, we like to integrate or associate our lyrics with war sound like tank rolling vibration, machine gun continuous blasting, thunderous sound of fighter, artillery firing. So all of our lyrics are influenced by this scenarios.

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

We are inspired by war and Humiliation can’t be disassociated with war. This is a great combination in this brutal world. We try to tell that war are about ash & dust at the end. Nothing is left. We are inspired by brutality of war. This is the reason we choose Humiliation as band name.

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

We played in Japan in end 2011, the tour was awesome. We played in Europe in winter 2012, it was the first experience in snow & frost. We played in Singapore & Thailand in 2011. For all shows, we released total energy that we have whenever we were on stage. It is hard to choose which was the best show so far. On the stage, we try to minimise the talking & we will maximise the time given to play as many songs as we can. Normally we start the show with 3 songs non-stop. We have done this before.

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

As i mention at the above, for this year, we will have few releases & we will play in Germany. We hope we manage to get mini tour instead of playing for one show only.

7. Recently the band has put out a 7 inch, what are your thoughts on the other band that participated?

Decrepitaph is really a great band! We really like the way this split is done. Thanks for Wayne from Decrepitaph for making this split possible. We like the way how Decrepitaph tell the world about ancient death metal. Musically, sound produced on Decrepitaph's song really suite with their style which has made the song sounds brutal & dark.

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

We started out in mid 2009. Since then, we never stop producing music. Most of the reviews that we got are generally really positive. From those reviews, we believe that our musics are accepted by metalheads globally. But that not making stop from making musics. We shall continue and sustain our momentum.

9. What is going on with the other musical projects these days?

New full length album will release soon. Another 7” split with Warmaster (Holland) will come in May 2013. Just keep on watching us for our next coming releases. Beware!

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

We would like to play at every corner of the world. We aim to put Malaysia in the map of death metal. We have set direction from the beginning that we will maintain to produce mid tempo death metal music in simple way.

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

Bolt Thrower for sure!!! I listen more to the 90’s death metal bands. Majority of them are great bands and they influenced me and the band in many ways. I still listen to oldies stuff such as (to name a few) old Sepultura, Massacre, Gorefest, Benediction, Autopsy, Asphyx, Unleashed. Meanwhile, for new stuff that become among my playlist are like Obscure Infinity, Revel In flesh, Succubus, Lavatory, Cruelty Division come cross my playlist. I can’t wait for Bolt Thrower new album, Hail of Bullets new album & of course Carcass upcoming release.

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

I work at manufacturing factory, I don’t have much free time. So most of my time I spend for Humiliation like trading, selling merchandises etc. The drummer, Mudon work at multinational company & he also don’t have any hobby besides spending time for Humiliation. The 1st guitarist, Matt is into car race activities...legal & illegal race. The 2nd guitarist, Asraf is more into car activities. The bassist, Afe is more into printing shirt as his hobby.

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

Thanks Scot for this interview, really appreciate it. In the future, do expect more releases from Humiliation. For more detail about Humiliation, please visit our websitewww.humiliation.my or contact us at humiliationband@gmail.com

Beware of Malaysian Military Death Metal!!!!!