Skelethal/Inisans/Caligari Records/2012 Demos Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  France's  Skelethal  and  Sweden's  Inisans  called  '2012  Demos"  which  was  released  by  Caligari  Records  and  we  will start  off  the  review  with  Skelethal  a  band  that  plays  an  old  school form  of  death  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  some  dark  sounding  synths  and  spoken  word  parts  and  a  few  seconds  later  it  goes  into  some  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  leads  along  with  some  drums  and  a  minute  later  it  goes  into  a  faster  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  growls.

  As  their  side  of  the  split  progresses  their  music  starts  to  get  more  brutal  in  an  early  90's  direction  and  when  they  use  guitar  leads  it  brings  back  memories  of  the  old  Florida  bands  while  the  slower  side  of  their  music  is  very  dark  and  heavy  sounding.

  Skelethal  are  another  band  that  goes  back  to  the  old  school  death  metal  sound  instead  of  sounding  modern  and  this  sounds  like  it  could  of  been  recorded  and  released  in  1991  and  while  it  is  not  original  it  is  still  very  good quality  OSDM.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  and  morbid  themes,  while  the  production h as  a  very  dark,  raw,  heavy  and  old  school  sound  along  with  the  bass  guitars  being  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix.  

  In  my  opinion  Skelethal  are  a  very  great  sounding  dark,  old  school  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Death  Returns"  and  "Show  Me  the  Wrath".  8  out  of  10.  

  Next  up  is  Inisans  another  band  that  plays  an  old  school  form  of  death  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  opens  up  with  human  torture  sounds  before  going  into  a  more  fast  and  raw  and  old  school  death  metal  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  growls  and  after  awhile  they  start  mixing  slow  and  fast  parts  together  as  well  as  adding  high  pitched  screams  to  the  music.

  When t hey  go  into the   other  songs  the  music  starts  getting  more  dark  and  morbid  sounding  along  with  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  bringing  in  some  evil  sounding  old  school  guitar  solos.

   Inisans  play  some  well  executed  old  school  death  metal  on their  side  of  the  recording  and  they  bring  in  the  best  elements  of  the  mid  80's  and  early  90's  and  you  can  also  hear  a  small  amount  of  thrash  influences  in  their  music.
 

  Song  lyrics  cover  darkness,  gore  and  death  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark,  heavy,  raw  and  old  school  sound  to  it  in  an  early  90's  tradition.

  In  my  opinion  Inisans  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Welcome  To  Hell"  and  "Morbid  Visions  Of  Death".  8  out  of  10.

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  old  school  death  metal.  RECOMMENDED  BUY.  

Anarchos/Descent Into The Maelstrom/Vic Records/2014 MCD Review

  Anarchos  are  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  plays  an  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "Descent  Into  The  Maelstrom"  which  was  released  by  Vic  Records.

   The  ep  starts  out  with  some  death  metal  guitar  riffs,  drums  and  growls  and  a  few  seconds  later  it  starts  adding  in  fast  parts  and  melody  and  a  few  minutes  later  solos  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  music  sticks  to  an  old  school  death  metal  formula  on  other  songs  and  stick  to  a  more  90's  direction  and  at  times  they  also  add  blast  beats  to  the  music.

  As  the  ep  progresses  the  guitar  leads  start  utilizing  more  melody  which  reminds  me  of  the  early  90's  death  metal  sound  while  the  rhythm  guitars  are  in  the  more  old  school  Dutch  Direction  along  with  some  German  influences  and  when  they  bring  in  a  mixture  of  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  the  music  starts  getting  more  brutal.

  On  these  5  songs  that  are  present  on  this  ep,  the  band  shows  that  they  know  there  death  metal  very  well  and  you  can  these  guys  are  veterans  with  more  than  20  years  of  experience  and  while  this  is  the  most  original  sounding  recording  it  is  still  very  good  quality  old  school  death  metal.

  Song  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  gore  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  old  school  sound  along  with  the  bass  guitars  being  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix.

  In  my  opinion  Anarchos  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  mini  album>  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Morbid  Ways  to  Decay"  and  "Tales  Of  the  Mutilated  Remains".  8  out  of  10.

  

Chaos Plague Interview

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

Well...We're now facing a difficult situation: we're trying to fix a new solid and durable line-up and this kind of adjustement needs time.
We know that it's only a matter of time but we need to find the right people for this band.




2.How would you describe the musical sound that is present on the ep and also how do you feel it stands out from other progressive death metal bands?

Our first EP sounds a little bit "rough", it cannot represent the sound of Chaos Plague anymore!
I think we can only make a "declaration of intent": with the album we want to create a mix that will be a perfect mix of Death and Progressive sounds, trying to be as original as possible.




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

We always had the aim to talk about meaningful topics like life, existance and inner sensations, everything that can be found in Human Nature.
There's a lot of evil and hate, rage, fury...but also meditation, heavy existentialist questions, a great space for contemplate the human being.




4.I know that the band names comes out of the writings of Nietzsche,  can you tell us a little bit more about your interests in this German philosopher?

It's "only" a good starting point: Nietzsche identify himslef, in one of his letters, as the "Writer of Chaos" and we have extended this concept, bounded to this ancient force, to represent the inner strenght of that minority of humans that can strive for the Ubermensch status.
It's like an ambivalent and potent force that can annihilate everything or create something totally firm and lead the over man to the Ubermensch condition, but to be a man with this inner spark makes you a reject, a plagued.
This is, as I said, a starting point, we don't put frontiers to our lyrics with the exception that we want deep subjects!




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

I think we can mention the "FullMoon Fest" at the Fico d'India Live Club when we were headliner of an intense Metal bill, a great day for the band, the live at the Blue Rose Saloon, when we opened the show for Italian Death Metal legend Faust, that's a great honor for us!
Last but not least we've to count also the Mozzate Metal Drone gig, last year, we were REALLY broken before gettin' on stage but that was a great day!
As we've always said, we prefer a "Cannibal Corpse aptitude": get on the stage, kill people with Music and nothing else, tear down the walls, THEN get off. End.




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

We're recording our first album (Abviously with a lot of delays because of line-up's matter) so, for now, we're not accepting shows or searching for live gigs. Untill album will be ready, we want to focus our energies on it.




7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

Yes, there's something moving but I cannot tell more about this matter.




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

This is a totally full time Line-Up: being part of a band that wants to create something new and personal it's a great responsability and this genre is quite hard, so it would be nearly impossible to manage other bands or projects!
Besides that many of us are still studyig at University....so the time is really little and present situation in Italy isn't a great one...live with Music is always been impossible here...now now more than ever.




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

I think that we are a band that has a typical signature but we've quite a distance to make. We want to mantain our Prog/Death aptitude and increase both this aspect. But this is what we are and what we will be.




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

I cannot answer this question without sayng Cynic, Illogicist and a lot of Death Metal from all over the world!!
When I've this kind of Music in my head THEN I've hear the first preview of Obscura's Cosmogenesis (1 year before the official Release if I remember properly, Anticosmic Overload was presented in a promo-Disc) and that was something that drives me in the right direction for our Music. But we are NOT a clone-band, sure as hell, we have our own personality.
Nowadays I'm listening to Obscura a lot, Cynic (Focus and Traced in Air), Gordian Knot and a lot of Death Metal like Pestilence, Martyr, Cannibal Corpse, Necrophagist, Faust, Illogicist...recentely I've recovered Avantasia 's first album..I like to listen to a lot of Music!!
....I don't like the new Djent wave, I dont' appreciate at all band like Born of Osiris or Periphery.
I'm not that kind of Metal listener that does not appreciate experimental metal, I like In Flames ('till Come Clarity), UneXpect, Animals as Leaders, Exivious....etc..etc..
I'm listening a lot of Prog also, like Spiral Architect, Twisted into Form...and something from Fusion: Uzeb, Pastorius, Gambale..




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

Well I like to read a lot, but I've no so much time...University, home, family and Music drain a lot of my day
We're really attached to a Metal Festival that we've created some yeas ago, called Mozzate Metal Drone, and it's very important to us. It's an annual event that allow metal bands of our country to show their art and play on a stage immersed into greenery inside a beautiful park, here in our town, Mozzate. An event for Musicians created by Musicians, free entry and great respect for art and Metal Music from our country!




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

We believe in this project with all our passion, strenght and total commitment. Our music comes from that feelings and we're very proud of our work! We're very impatient for this album because we want to see our strain, blood and art materialized in this first, important step of our career! Because we have great ambition and passion for music.
There's a lot of people who support us, some of them are from country far from Italy..and this is great, it's a big pleasure from us, we want to continue to do art that can mean something to this people and for other that will listen to it!!

And, as usual, "CHAOS UPON US ALL"!!! Support Metal Music all over the World!


Thanks a lot for you interest in CHAOS PLAGUE project!!!

Existential Symmetry/Self Titled/2010 EP Review

  Existential  Symmetry  are  a  duo  from  Florida  that  plays  an  instrumental  and  progressive  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  and  self  released  2010  ep.

  The  ep  starts  out  with  some  bass  guitars  and  psychedelic  sounds  before  adding  in  heavy  and  melodic  sounding  guitar  riffs  and  drums  along  with  some  solos as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  synths  and  the  music  also  adds  in  spoken  word  samples.

  As  the  ep  progresses  it  starts  mixing  in  more  brutal  elements  along  with  some  Nintendo  music  which  also  add  more  strength  to  the  progressive  nature  of  the  music  and  the  music  also  adds  in  some  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  at  times  as  well  as  some  jazz  influences  and  on  the  last  song  there  is  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars.

  On  these  5  songs  that  the  band  displays  on  this  ep  have  a  lot  of  variety  to  them,  one  minute  the  music  will  be  very  heavy  sounding  death  metal  one  second,  progressive  guitar  leads  the  next  second  and  then  the  band  goes  into  an  avant  garde  jazz  direction,  with  all  of  these  musical  styles  mixed  it  makes  it  hard  to  put  the  band  in  a  particular  category.

  Song  themes  cover  Existentialism,  while  the  production  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  ep  as  well  as  the  last  song  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Existential  Symmetry  are  a  very  great  sounding  instrumental,  progressive  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Imposed  Nadir"  and  Teaching  your  Shadow  to  Be  Still".  7/5  out  of  10.

Perversity/Infamy Divine/Lavadome Productions/2014 MCD Review

  Perversity  are  a  band  from  Slovakia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical  style  i  would  describe  as  being  dark  and  blasphemous  sounding  brutal  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  mini  cd  "Infamy  Divine"  which  was  released  by  Lavodome  Productions.

  The  music  starts  out  with  some  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  drums  along  with  some  dark  sounding  melodies  and  the  music  starts  adding  in  faster  parts  and  death  metal  growls  while  also  utilizing  a  good  amount  of  mid  paced  sections  and  high  pitched  screams  and  you  can  hear  the  bass  guitars  on  the  record  and  then  the  music  starts  incorporating  blast  beats  in  certain  parts  of  the  music  along  with  old  school  death  metal  guitar  solos.

  When  we  get  more  into  the  ep  you  can  hear  traits  of  both  Polish  and  Florida  death  metal  influences  being  added  into  the  music  and  the  album  sticks  to  a  true  death  metal  sound  and  does  not  utilize  much  in  the  way  of  modern  influences  which  leads  to  an  all  out  old  school  death  metal  assault  that  pays  homage  to  the  ancient  ones  of  this  musical  genre  and  on  the  second  song  there  is  a  brief  use  of  pianos  which  enhance  the  darkness  this  music  produces  and  then  the  band  goes  into  a  more  brutal  direction  with  the  next  song  and  remains  in  the  same  direction  until  the  outro  which  closes  the  album  with  a  very  dark  sounding  orchestra  piece.  

  Song  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Darkness  and  Blasphemous  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  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  perversity  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  blasphemous  old  school  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  mini  cd.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Angel  Of  Prostitution"  and  "Incest  Of  Flesh".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Amon Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days? Hello my friends!!! we are working on a set list for a tour. Also Brian is building guitars and Jechael is working in a few bands, Mike has been working hard at drums.

2.How would you describe the musical sound of the new album , and also how does it differ from previous albums that you where a  part of in the past? The new album is allot more complex than some of the old albums. We have some killer arpeggios in the rhythms and some killer bomb blast beats on the drums, a bit more complex solos and some kick ass vocal lines.

3.The song lyrics cover a lot of Occult and Conspiracy theory themes, van you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics? yes government conspiracy, and also alien life, how humans are controlled by the Draconian's and grays and how they control the planet and many others, also feasting on humans. 

4.I know that the band was name after an ancient goetic/egyptian demon, what was it that interested you about this diety before you named your band after him? Well it was Carnage at the time, Glen actually came up with that name for the band we liked it and we then changed it to AMON.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance? Russia was amazing, they had lasers and an awesome light show. The stage performance was awesome!!! it was packed, one fan got thrown off the stage from the security and he almost broke his neck brutal!!! 

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future? Yes we will do Florida first then the world in 2014 I am saving some $ to tour my friends

7.Recently FDA Rekotz have re-issued your album on vinyl, what are your thoughts on the final product? AWESOME!!!TOTALLY KILLER!!! very professional 

8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to the new album by fans of extreme metal? The fans love it, they enjoy some new music, it has been a long time.

9.What is going on with the bass player and singer's other musical project these days? He jams in a few bands, he is on the road right now doing some shows with one of his bands, very active person, he is awesome!!!

10.What direction do you see your music headign into on future releases? it will get better and more atmospheric larger sound, more complex and more killer solos!!!

11.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays? we enjoy all the bands out today to many to name they are just getting better and better

12.Outside of music what are some of your interests? science studying astronomy, lifting weights and some painting.

13.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview? I would like to thank the fans for their endless support, you rule!!!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/AMON/737062752977944

Bleeding Gods/Blood Symphony/2013 EP Review

  Bleeding  Gods  are  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  ep  "Blood  Symphony".

  The  ep  starts  out  with  some  slow,  dark  and  heavy  guitar  riffs  along  with  some  drums  and  melody  and  then  spoken  word  parts  start  to  kick  in  which  also  leads  to  the  music  taking  a  faster  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  deep  death  metal  growls  and  then  the  music  starts  mixing  slow  and  fast  parts  together  along  with  some  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  and  once  guitar  solos  are  added  into  the  music,  the  ep  starts  going  for  more  of  a  brutal  sound.

  By  the  time  the  music  goes  into  the  second  song  old  school  thrash  influences  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  band  really  knows  how  to  take  the  early  90's  brutal  death  metal  sound  and  mix  it  in  with  thrash  and  make  it  sound  very  powerful  and  heavy  sounding  and  this  band  really  knows  its  old  school  death  metal  very  well  and  are  very  talented  and  utilize  a  great  amount  of  skill  to  create  their  own  brand  of  death  metal.

  Song  lyrics  cover  ancient  gods  and  war,  while  the  production  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  ep.

  In  my  opinion  Bleeding  Gods  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Empire  of  the  Immortals"  and  "Into  The  Depth  Of  Misery".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.