BornBroken/The Healing Powers Of Hate/2013 CD Review

  BornBroken  are  a  band  from  Montreal,  Quebec,  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death,  thrash  and  groove  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2012  album  "The  Healing  Powers  Of  Hate".

  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  death,  groove,  hardcore  and  thrash  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  with  some  technical  and  melodic  elements  being  thrown  into  the  riffing  at  times,  while  the  lead  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  are  very  old  school  and  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  are  mostly  growls  that  utilize  elements  of  death  metal,  hardcore,  groove  and  thrash  metal  along  with  some  samples  being  utilized  at  times,  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent,  hateful  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  recording.  

  In  my  opinion  BornBroken  are  a  very  geat  sounding  hybrid  of  death  metal,  hardcore,  thrash  and  groove  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Old  News"  "Control"  "Bleed  The  Sky"  and  "The  Healing  Powers  Of  Hate".  RECOMMENDED  BUY. 

Noisem/Agony Defined/A389 Recordings/2013 CD Review

  Noisem  are  a  band  Maryland  that  plays  a  very  heavy  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Agony  Defined"  which  was  released  by  A389  Recordings.

  Drums  range from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  playing  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  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  they  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to t hem.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  and  heavy  riffs  that  combine  death  and  thrash metal  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  old  school  sounding death/thrash  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

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

  In  my  opinion  Noisem  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  old  school  thrash  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Birthing  The  Bestial"  "Mortuary"  "Split  From  The  Inside  Out"  and  "Agony  Defined".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Master/Unknown Soldier, Unreleased 1985 Album/Vic Records/2013 CD Re-Issue Review

  Master  are  a  band  from  Chicago,  Illinois  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  long  history  while  also  being  one  of  the  creators  of  death/thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  unreleased  1985  album  "Unknown  Soldier"  which  was  re-issued  by  Vic  Records  during  the  year  of  2013.

  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  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  early  death  metal  riffs  that  still  had  the  thrash  sound  to  them,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  raw  and  primitive  sounding  death/thrash  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  all  early  death  metal  growls  that  have  a  thrash  edge  to  them  without  the  melodic  elements,  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  violence  and  anti  religion  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  heavy,  raw  and  primitive  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Master  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Master"  "Funeral  Bitch"  "Pledge  Of  Allegiance"  and  "Submerged  In  Sin".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.    

Johansson And Speckmann/Sulphur Skies/Vic Records/2013 CD Review

  Johansson  And  Speckmann  are  a  duo  that   has  teamed up  with  the former  being  known  for  his  work  in  Paganizer  and  Human  Delete  with  the  later  being  known  for  Master,  Abomination  and  Krabathor  with  the  music  style  on  this  recording  being  old  school  death  metal  which  was  released  under  the  album  title  "Sulphur  Skies"  by  Vic  Records  during  the  year  of  2013.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to   fast  drumming  with  only  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats,  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 s low,  mid  paced  to  fast  death  metal  riffs  that  are  very  heavy  and  old  school  sounding  with  some  thrash  influences  being  thrown  into  the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  old  school  and  dark  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals a re  mostly  deep  death  metal  growls  that h ave  some  thrash  influences  to  them,  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  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  a  great  sounding  album  from  Johansson  And  Speckmann  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  old  school  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Spiritual  Wasteland"  "Rotten  Lands"  "The  Wretched  Mann"  and  "The  Stench  Of  Mankind".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.     

Swazafix/Anthems Of Apastacy/Vic Records/2013 CD Review

  Swazafix  are  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Anthemes  Of  Apastacy" which  was  released  by  Vic  Records.

  Drums  range  from s low,  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  old  school  death  metal  riffs  that  utilize  some  thrash  influences  in  the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  old  school  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads  that  utilize  some  dark  sounding  melodies  at  times.

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

  In  my  opinion  Swazafix  are  a  very  great  sounding  heavy  old  school  death  metal  band  and  if  you are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should c heck  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Anthem  Of  Apastacy"  "Burdened  Sufference"  and  "Where  Chaos  And  Order  Are  One".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Arcania/An Uncertain Collision/2013 CD Review

  Arcania  are  a  band  from  Mexico  that  plays  a  mixture  of  thrash,  death  metal  and  Latin  music  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  album  "An  Uncertain  Collision".

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  present  on  this  recording  with  some  tribal  style  percussion  being  utilized at  times,  while  saxophones,  trumpets, trombones  and  flutes  bring  in  elements  of  samba  and  other  forms  of  Latin  music  to  the recording,  as  for  the  bass  playing  it  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,  groove  and  death  metal  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  with  a  good  amount  of  melody  and  technical  elements  being  thrown  into  the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  death/thrash  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  they  use  finger  picking  and full  chords  to  further  enhance  the  Latin music  elements  of  the  recording  while  also  adding  in  elements  of  folk  metal.

  Vocals  are  mostly  deep  growls  that  combine  elements  of  thrash,  groove  and  death  metal  along  with  some  tribal  chanting  being  utilized  at  times  as  well  as  some  spoken  word  elements,  while  the  lyrics  cover  human  and  spiritual  passions,  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  recording  along  with  a  couple  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Arcania  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  thrash,  groove,  death  metal  and  Latin music  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Now"  "Revolutions  And  Tequila"  and  "In  my  Land".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Prime Evil Interview

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

PRIME EVIL is currently finishing up the writing for our first full length album that we plan to start recording in May.

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

As far as overall production sound, we feel it is the best that we have ever released. Concerning the songs; I have continued writing foe PRIME EVIL since we disbanded in 1992, so they are a natural progression to where we should be...heavier, faster, & sicker!

3. When I listened to your music I hear alot of early traces of death metal  while the  music was still thrash,

do you feel that you have influenced alot of the early death metal bands that popped up during the early 90's.

I don't know if we had any influence on any bands, but we met the guys in Suffocation and Incantation at our shows before they had started. We became and remain good friends with them.

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

We write about a lot of different topics, but some are how Catholicism is based on a lie; the archaic rites of all religions; the evil tendencies of mankind; bludgeoning your enemies; blood mutations; etc...

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

Our vocalist Andy came up with the name. It was taken from the word primeval, which basically, means ancient. Andy changed the word, making it two words, and respelled the ending of the word to Evil. Thus, we have PRIME EVIL - meaning the ultimate evil; which is mankind. PRIME EVIL is true, real, pure evil!

6. The band was broken up for a long time what was the cause of the split and decision to reform?

We disbanded in 1992 basically because we were young, broke, and we didn't have any record label to back us. We pretty much hit a brick wall back then. In 2010, the Metal Underground documentary book GLORIOUS TIMES was published, and that is what got all of us together for the first time in 18 years. It was then that we decided we were able to complete PRIME EVIL's journey, with or without label backing. 

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

The best shows so far have been with Mausoleum and Funerus in Poughkeepsie, NY; Deceased & Derketa in Brooklyn, NY; our first night of the 'Enter the Evilution' tour with Midnite Hellion in Philly; 'A Day of Death' in Buffalo, NY; and Metal Thunder Radio's live broadcast concert with Malignancy and Sacrificial Blood in Brooklyn, NY. Our stage performance could best be described as energetic and violent!

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

Yes! We are currently putting together a US tour to follow the recording of our album. So far we are booked on the Wermacht East Coast Tour in August, and we are playing the NYDM 10th Annual on August 17th in Long Island, NY

9. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to the newer material and reunion by fans of death and thrash metal?

Worldwide we have had very good feedback. We seem to have a pretty loyal fan base that we are extremely appreciative of!

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

The ONLY direction for us is forward! Always, heavier, always faster, always sicker!

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

I guess some bands that have influenced me would be Carcass, Macabre, Napalm Death, Fear Factory, and Goatwhore as well as most Death Metal, Black Metal, Grindcore, and Jazz fusion. Besides the bands I just mentioned, I also listen to Immolation, Cannibal Corpse, Sick Feet Under, Amon, Incantation, Funerus, Suffocation, Dying Fetus, Gutbucket, Abnormality, Atheist, Watchtower, Goreaphobia, Tortured Existence, Belligerence, and so many more!

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

Outside of music....pretty much just my family. Besides writing and playing, I love to record! I've been building up my own studio slowly.

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

I appreciate your interest in our band. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to tell you about PRIME EVIL. It is your support of Metal, and that of all the fans, that has kept it alive! For more info on us, visit our official web site atwww.primeevil.net HAILZ!