Agony Face Interview

1. For those that have never heard of you before can you tell us a little bit about the band?
We started playing music back in 2004, when we were still kids, but there was a lot of passion, for music and for our instruments, so we decided to keep it seriously and start to make some special music, a kind of music different from all those death metal bands. After some years, we recorded our first album, and from then on we’ve never stopped playing with passion!

2.The band calls itself Surrealistic Death Metal, can you tell us a little bit more about your musical; song?
Like the surreal art, our music needs a deep “look” to understand it. Our songs exhort the audience to think, that’s it. You can listen to our music superficially or you can go deep and explore the extended worlds of music, images, and dreams.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Our lyrics are full of philosophical concepts, surreal stuff and literature. The main subject that we treat is the human kind, in his form, nature, conscience.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name Agony Face?
There isn’t a particular meaning behind our name, as we told we were just kids and we took a cool death metal band name. After these years, we can say that “Agony Face” is appropriate to our art.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band ha splayed so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
We had the opportunity to play with some of the greatest death metal band of all time like Suffocation and Origin, but we also played with Fleshgod Apocalypse and Sodom!
Our stage performance is a crucial point to understand our music. On stage, we have UV lights and fluorescent make up on our faces, and we want to make a theatrical show.

6. Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
There will be an album release party on December 7th in Milan, and then we’ll make some other shows!

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal?
Thanks to the social networks we’re having a great feedback by fans all around the world, even in countries that we never heard before!

8.The new album came out on My Kingdom Music, do you feel that they have done a lot on getting your name out there heard?
My Kingdom Music has done a fantastic job, even more than we expected, and we are thankful to the label!

9.What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
On future releases we’ll keep high our surrealistic stile, it’ll be more schizophrenic and stunning than ever!

10.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Every one of us likes different kind of music, but all of us loves death metal bands like Death, Cynic, Atheist and progressive rock bands like Yes, Rush, Jethro Tull., and of course those incredible italian progressive band: AreA, PFM, Banco del mutuo soccorso.
Nowadays we’re listening to new music, in particular new progressive metal bands, and looking on the internet, there’s a lot of great bands!

11.Outside of music what are some of your interests?
We have different interests, but we like to stay in contact with Art in all of his shades, we like to watch movies and argue about it, going to the concert, read books, but also take a ride with the motorcycle, climb mountains, everything interesting!

12.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
If you like music but most of all, if you like to question yourself about what you listen, what you see, what you think, about anything, then listen to our music, we’re trying to be no more bunnies towards the top hat of an illusionist.

The Beyond/Decaying Death/2013 EP Review

  The  Beyond  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  ep  "Decaying  Death".

  "Decaying  Death"  which  is  the  title  track  and  also  the  first  song  on  the  ep  begins  with  heavy  and  brutal  old  school  death  metal  guitar  riffs  and  drums  which  also  utilize  blast  beat  and  you  can  hear  melody  in  the  guitars  and  then  the  music  slows  down  and  adds  in  deep  growls  and  then  alternating  between  fast  and  slow  parts.

  "Crime  And  Punishment"  opens  up  with  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  drums  and  then  the  music  goes  into  a  faster  direction  along  with  blast  beats  and  melodic  guitar  riffing  which  also  leads  to  growls  and  then  the  song  alternates  between  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  'Tortured  Till  Redemption"  begins  with  slow  and  melodic  old  school  death  metal  guitar  riffs  before  adding  in  bass  and  drums  and  then  getting  heavier  which  also  leads  to  the  growls  kicking  in  and  the  song  alternates  between  mid  paced  and  slow  parts.

  "Mass  Lobotomy"  which  is  the  last  song  opens  up  with  heavy  and  melodic  guitar  and  bass  riffs  along  with  drums  and  a  few  seconds  later  growls  kick  in  and  later  on  the  music  goes  into  a  faster  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats.

  Song  lyrics  cover  death,  dying  and  torture  themes,  while  the production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  sol  school  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording.

  In  my  opinion  The  Beyond  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  death  metal b and  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical genre,  you  should check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Decaying  Death"  and  "Mass  Lobotomy".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.  

J.J. Hrubovcak/Death Metal Christmas - Hellish Renditions Of Christmas Classics/2013 EP Review

  J.J  Hrubovcak  is  a  solo  artist  from  Florida  that  has  played  in  a  lot  of  established  bands  and  with  his  solos  work  he  combines  brutal  death  metal  with  Christmas  music  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2013  ep  "Hellish  Renditions  Of  Christmas  Classics".

  "Unrest  For  Melancholy  Men  (God  Rest Ye  Merry  Gentlemen)"  which  is  the  first  song  on  the ep  opens  up  with  heavy  and  brutal  sounding  death  metal  guitar  riffs  before  adding  in  growls  and  blast  beats  from  the  drums  and  you  can  hear  some  christmas  melodies  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  towards  the  end  there  is  a  brief  use  of  guitar  solos  and  leads  being  utilized  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams.

  "Earthen  Kings  (We  Three  Kings)"  starts  up  with  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  drums  along  with  death  metal  growls  and  then  the  music  starts  adding  in  melody  along  with  a  small  amount  of  screams  which  also  leads  up  to  guitar  solos  and  leads  kicking  in  and  the  song  sticks  to  a  mid  paced  direction.

  "Nutcracker:  Dance  Of  The  Sugar  Plum  Fairy"  begins  with  christmas  music  sounds  and  a  few  seconds  alter  heavy  and  melodic  guitar  riffs  kick  in  as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  which  also  leads  up  to  solos  and  leads  and  you  can  also  hear  the  bass  guitars  in  certain  sections  of  the  song.

  "Greenseekers"  opens  up with  heavy  and  melodic  guitar  riffs  along  with  drums  which  also  utilize  some  blast  beats  along  with  some  powerful  bass  guitars  in  the  background  and  a  minute  alter  guitar  solos  and  leads  kick  in.

 "O  Come,  O  Come,  Azrael  (O  Come,  O,  Come,  Emmanuel)" which  is  also  the  last  song  on  the  ep  begins  with  distorted  guitar  effects  and  leads  along  with  death  metal  growls  and  screams  a  few  seconds  later  as  well  as  melodic  guitar  riffing  and you  can  also  hear  bass  guitars  in  the  background.

  Song  lyrics  cover  a  concept  on  the  angel  Azrael,  a  story  about  his  childhood  up  to  the  time  he  betrays  humanity,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording.

  In  my  opinion  J.J  Hrubovcak  is  a  very  great  sounding  artist  and  if  you  are  looking  for  something  original  in  death  meta,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Unrest  For  Melancholy  Men  (God  Rest Ye  Merry  Gentlemen)"  and  "O  Come,  O  Come,  Azrael  (O  Come,  O,  Come,  Emmanuel)".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

            

Derogatory Interview

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

1. We are a death metal band based out of los angeles california, we released a demo somewhere around 2011 and began recording our debut album above all else once we were together for about 10 months, the album will be released under FDA rekotz.

2.How would you describe your musical sound?

 2. for me personally i would describe the sound to be dark, heavy, brutal, old school, and also melodic at some points.

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

3. each individual song on the album has its own subject i will elaborate on a few of the topics, they consist of time and its inevitable to escape from an we all must learn to accept that, another track is about the fear of death and preserving your self to see more years of life, the title track of the album "above all else" is about an individual in roman mythology times who wishes to rise the level of the demigods, an another track entitled "to escape what is now" is about a vision of what can be once life has pass.

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

4. The definition of the name derogatory stands for how we have no interest on peoples opinions or satisfaction and will write the music we feel is satisfying to us, the members.

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

5. It is hard to say what some of the best shows are since there are many great shows we have played with great fans attending

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

6. as of right now there is no set tour dates but hopefully soon in 2014 we will tour for our debut.

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

7. the response has been great everyone always has great things to say about the music an want to hear more from the band

8.Are there any other musical projects besides this band?

8. No there are no other projects.

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

9. a more deep sound with lyrics everyone will be able to relate to about life, love, the quest for happyness we all seek but have yet to find

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

10. necrophagist, obscura, beyond creation, gorguts, death , control denied, cynic, atheist, carcass

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

 hanging out with close friends and smoking marijuana

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

12. thank you for sharing your interest in derogatory and hopefully you will enjoy the album once its released

Agony Face/CLX Stormy Quibblings/My Kingdom Music/`2013 CD Review

  Agony  Face  are a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  musical  style  they  describe  as  being  surrealistic  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "CLX  Stormy  Quiblings"  which  was  released  by  My  Kingdom  Music.

  "XVI  -  The  Sublimation" which  is  also  the  first  song  on  the  album  starts  up  with  nature  sounds  before  adding  in  drums  and  melodic  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  along  with  blast  beats  and  deep  growls  as   well  as  technical  guitar  riffing  and  halfway  through  the  song  there  are  some  heavy  bass  guitars  and  guitar  leads  being  utilized  as  well  as  more  blast  beats.

  "XVIII  -  Into The  Keyhole"  starts  up  with  clock  noises    before  adding  in blast  beats,  melodic  guitar  and  bass  riffs  along  with  screams  and  a  few  seconds  alter  blast  beats  kick  in  along  with  progressive  metal  guitar  leads  which  also  lead  up  to  growls  being  utilized.

  "XIV  -  Ice,  Smoke  And  Horses"  begins  with  blast  beats,  deep  growls  and  blast  beats  before  adding  in  brutal  guitar  riffs  which  also  utilize  melody  and  technical  elements  and  a  few  seconds  alter  the  music  starts  adding   in  mid  paced  sections  along  with  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  you  can  also  heat  the  bass  guitars  which  also  leads  to  the  music  getting  heavy  again  along  with  guitar  solos  and  leads  and  halfway  through  the  song  there  is  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  for  a  few  seconds  as  well  as  coming  in  and  out  and  psychedelic  sounds  are  also  added  in  for  a  few  seconds.

 "XV  -  What?  Chimera!"  opens  up  with  heavy  and  technical  sounding  guitar  and  bass  riffs  along  with  drums  and  high  pitched  screams  and  a  few  seconds  alter  blast  beats  start  coming  in  and  out  before  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  pianos  for  only  a  couple  of  seconds  before  getting  heavy  again  along  with  growls  and  guitar  solos  and  the  song  alternates  between  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  psychedelic  elements.

  "CLX  _  Quibblings"  comes  in  with  avant  garde  sound  effects  and  a  few  seconds  alter  acoustic  guitars  and  synths  kick  in  along  with  bass  guitars  which  also  leads  up  to  drums  a  few  seconds  later  and  towards  the  end  distorted  spoken  word  parts  come  in  as  well  as  a  guitar  solo.

  'XI  -  Sophisticated  Telescopes"  kicks  in  with  melodic  guitar  leads  before  adding  in  drums,  bass  and  rhythm  guitars  which  also  bring  in  technical  and  progressive  elements  and  after  a  minute  growls,  screams  and  blast  beats  kick  in.

  "XVII  -  Golden  Waterfalls  part  IX"  makes  it  way  in  with  synths,  drums  and  screams  before  adding  into  technical  and  heavy  guitar  and  bass  riffs  as  well  as  blast  beats  an d   a  few  seconds  alter  guitar  solos  start  coming  in  and  out.

  "XVII  -  Golden  Waterfalls  Part  Vi"  is  introduced  with  blast  beats,  heavy  and  technical  guitar  riffs  along  with  screams  before  going  into  a  faster  direction  and  also  utilizes  a  small  amount  of  mid  paced  sections  at  times.

  "XII -  To  (t)rust  the  T(rust)"  which  is  also  the  last  song  begins  with  blast  beats,  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  screams  and  sticking  to  a  mid  paced  direction along  with  a  small  amount  of  growls  before  adding  in  technical  guitar  leads  and  you  can  also  hear  bass  guitars  in  certain  sections  and  the  song  ads  in  progressive  rock  elements  towards  the  end

  Song  lyrics  cover  surrealism  and  philosophy  themes,  while  the  production  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  Agony  Face  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive,  technical  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "XVI  -  The  Sublimation"  "XV  -  What?  Chimera!"  "XI  -  Sophisticated  Telescopes"  and  "XII -  To  (t)rust  the  T(rust).  RECOMMENDED  BUY.  



       

Disfigurement Interview

1. For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

We're a five piece death metal band from Atlanta, Georgia.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is present on the recordings?

I think this EP really captures the essence of Disfigurement, it's aggressive, bleak, and powerful. We have a very precise sound, but I feel that we maintained the organic feel of the band. We are very pleased with the crushing tones that we obtained with all aspects of the sound on this record.

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

The name of the EP is Soul Rot, which is an expression about the destruction of the inner self. We write about hate, isolation, anger, and the manifestation of these things. Much of our music is about these things, and the effects upon the person, the soul.

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

Disfigurement is a name that Adam had in mind for some time upon assembling the band. I think it represents different things to each of us. To me, it’s the separation of self, disfiguring the body from the soul.

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

Some of the very best shows that we’ve played are definitely ones where we were playing with bands that have inspired us. We played one of our earliest shows with Inquisition and that was incredible. We’ve also played with Nile, Deicide, Kreator, and Cruciamentum which was phenomenal. One of our most recent shows that was very powerful was the Boris Records Showcase we played with all of the bands on Boris, the crowd was incredible and the energy of the show really fueled the performance. I see the live show as the chance to truly expel the emotions that we write about, and I fell that comes across in the performances from everyone.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Currently we’re trying to set up some killer shows, but nothing we can release at the moment. Touring is difficult, and we’re hoping that the support from the EP will help to get us out there more. 

7.The new album came out on Boris Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Absolutely, Boris is a label started by a local guy here in Atlanta that recognized what all was going on and wanted to put out some of the incredible stuff that’s going on. So far he’s done a killer job and is doing something that no one else is really doing.  Boris is doing everything from Death Metal to Hard Rock. It’s really been a catalyst for a lot of things, and hopefully more people begin to pay attention to the bands that are coming out of this area right now.

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

We’ve had a great response so far in the US and of course locally, but we’ve been seeing our stuff come up a lot on Eastern-European sites, and been getting great response from Spain.

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

Several of us are in other projects, Vaedis is currently doing very well with Hellgoat and his brain-child Vimur. Adam and I have been working on a release for our rock project Gunpowder Gray.

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

I believe the sound and focus that we achieved with Soul Rot is the direction that we would be taking a full length release.

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

The bands that have been the biggest influence on what Disfigurement is are the classic American, Polish, and Swedish bands. If bands such as Deicide, Vader and Necrophobic didn’t exist, death metal, and certainly Disfigurement would be different animals. I’ve been listening to a lot of Panzerchrist and Revel in Flesh lately along with MGLA, as well as going back through old Priest, Cooper and Pentagram. I know that everyone has been listening to the new Carcass album a lot lately.

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

I think that music really permeates all that we do. I study Architecture, with a focus on acoustics, but am usually doing something musically related. We all have to work a lot to make things happen, so mostly we end up drinking and talking about feces when we are just relaxing.  

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

Thank you for interviewing us, and we hope everyone will check out the album and hear it for themselves.

The EP can be heard and bought at www.Boris-Records.com,http://borisrecords.bandcamp.com, and http://Disfigurement.bandcamp.com. Our shows and videos are all updated on https://www.facebook.com/DisfigurementMetaland http://www.reverbnation.com/disfigurement

Cheers,

Nate-Disfigurement

Derogatory/Above All Else/FDA Rekotz/2013 CD Review

  Derogatory  are  a  band  from  California  that  plays  an old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Above  All  Else"  which  was  released  by  FDA  Rekotz.

  "Intro'  opens  up  the  album  with  acoustic  guitar  playing  before  going  into  heavy  and  melodic guitar  riffs  along  with  some  drums  and  serves  as  an  introduction  for  the  album.

  "Into  The  Depth  Of Time"  which  is  the  first  actual  song  on  the  album  starts  off  with  heavy  death  metal  guitar  riffs  and  drums  before  getting  fast  and  adding  in  blast  beats  along  with  some  growls  and  then  the  song  adds  in  a  mixture  of  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  melodic  riffing  and  high  pitched  screams  and  halfway  through  the  song  there  is  a  brief  use  of  guitar  leads.

  "Cryopreservation"  kicks  off  with  some  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  blast  beats  before  adding  in  some  growls  before  going  into  a  more  mid  paced  direction  while  still  having  some  fast  parts  along  with  some  thrash  elements  and  after  awhile  guitar  leads  start coming  in  and  out  of  the  song.

  "Above  All  Else"  begins  with  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  drums  and  a  minute  later  growls  kick  in  and  the  song  sticks  to  an  old  school  death  metal  formula  and  halfway  through  the  song  there  is  a  brief  use  of  Florida  style  death  metal  guitar  leads  which  also  utilize  some  melody.  

  "Immortal  Divine"  starts off  with  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  drums  before  getting  fast  and  adding  in  blast  beats  which  also  leads  up  to  some  growls  before  adding  in  a  mixture  of  slow  and  fast  parts and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  there  is  a  brief  use  of  guitar solos  being  added  in  with  the  riffing  and  vocals.

  "Foretold  In  My  House  Of  Seance"  hits  off  with  some  heavy  90's  style  death  metal  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  drums  that  utilize  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  then  the growls  kick  in  and  a  minute  later  guitar  solos  start  coming  in  and  out  of  the  song  as  well  as  the  music  going  into  a  more  fast  and  brutal  direction before  returning  to  its  normal  pace  and  towards  the  end  there is  a  brief  bass  lead  before  going  into  normal  guitar  solos  as  well  as  the  music  going  back  to  a  faster  direction  for  a  few  seconds.

  "Cenotoph"  has  its  start  with  heavy  guitar  riffs  before  adding  in  some  drums  and  blast  beats  and  then  a  mixture  of  screams  and  growls  come  into  the  song  as  well  as  a  mixture  of  slow  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  guitar  leads  that  come  in  and  out  of  the  song.and  you  can  also  hear  the  bass  guitars  in  certain  sections  and  towards  the  end  there  is  a  brief  use  of  melodies.

  "Twisted  Aeons  Of  Burning  Galaxy"  has  its  beginnings with  heavy  death  metal  guitar riffs  and  drums  and  a  minute  later  growls  kick  in  along  with  a  small  amount  of  fast  parts  and  there  are  no  guitar  leads  on  the  song.

  "To  Escape  What  Is  Now"  which  is  also  the  last  song  on  the  album  starts  with  heavy  guitar  riffs  that  utilize  some  melody  along  with  some  drums  and  a  few  seconds  later  growls  start  coming  in  and  the  song  sticks  to a  mid  paced  death  metal  direction  and  halfway  through  the  song  there  is  a  brief  use  of  guitar  leads  and  towards  the  end  acoustic  guitars  start  coming  into  the  song.

  Song  lyrics  cover  live,  reality,  space,  lucid  dreaming  and  moving  forward,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Derogatory  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  death  metal  ban  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording. RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Into  The  Depth  Of Time"  Foretold  In  My  House  Of  Seance" and  "Twisted  Aeons  Of  Burning  Galaxy".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.