Human Fate/Part One/Doweet Records/2014 CD Re-Issue Review

  Human  Fate  are  a  band  from  France  that plays  a  mixture  of  world  music,  experimental  and   extreme  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2009  album  "Part  One"  which  was  re-issued  by  Doweet  Records  in  the  year  of  2014.

  Folk  instruments  and  ethnic  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  multi-cultured  female  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  the  intro  death  metal  vocals  find  their  way  into  the  music  and  the  music  starts  mixing  the  ethnic  sounds  with  a  more  melodic  and  extreme  groove  metal  sound  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts.

  Acoustic  guitars  find  their  way  into  the  music  constantly  during  the  album  and  also  mix  in  with  the  heavy  parts  on  a  regular  basis  along  with  a  good  amount  of  female  vocals  being  mixed  in  with  the  death  metal  growls  and  screams  and  you  can  hear  a  good  amount  of  new  age,  middle  eastern  and  hindi  folk  music  elements  throughout  all  of  the  tracks  while  the  main  focus  is  on  a  death/groove  metal  sound.

  On  some  of  the  later  tracks  melodic  male  vocals  and  hardcore  style  screams  are  added into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well  as  the  music  adding  in  more  metalcore  influences  into  their  musical  style  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  album  have  a  very  heavy  powerful  sound  to  them  and  as  the  album  progresses  blast  beats  are  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Human  Fate  takes  the  heaviness  of  death  metal,  groove  and  metalcore  and  mixes  it  in  with  progressive,  folk,  ethnic  and  world  music  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  life,  death  and  mankind.

  In  my  opinion  Human  Fate  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  world  music,  experimental  and  extreme  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Unify  Mankind"  "Seed  Of  Creation"  and  "Pariah".  8  out  of  10.        

Aposento/Self Titled/Xtreem Music/2014 CD Review

  Aposento  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2014  album  which  was  released  by  Xtreem  Music.

  A  very heavy  and  skull  crushing  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  a  few  seconds  later  and  the  band  also  uses  some  melody  and  early  90's  style  technical  playing  long  before  it  was  considered  a  genre  which  leads  up  to  fast  parts  and  blast  beats  becoming  a  part  of  the  music.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  dominant  sound  in  all  of  the  tracks  that  are  presented  on  the  album  and  the  lead  guitars  are  very  old  school  sounding  death  metal  solos  and  on  some  of  the  later  songs  high  pitched  screams  start  mixing  in  with  the  deep  growls  along  with  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  band  seems  to  be  heavily  influenced  by  the  early  Florida  death  metal  bands  with  some  of  the  tracks    sounding  like  some  of  the  more  famous  bands  of  that  scene  and  era.  and  the  blast  beats  they  utilize  have  a  very  brutal  sounding  feeling  to  them  at  times.

  Aposento  go  back  to  the  early  90's  Florida  death  metal  sound  with  their  music  ignoring  all  modern  trends  and  bringing  in  a  more  raw  and  simple  approach  to  this  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  old  school  yet  professional  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Spanish  and  cover  darkness,  gore,  occult  and  ufo  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Aposento  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  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Aliens  -  Seres  del  Mas  Alla"  "La  Valla"  and  "Alma  Condenada".  8  out  of  10.

 

  

Insense/De: Evolution/Mas-Kina Recordings/Indie Recordings/2014 CD Review

  Insense  are  a  band  from  Norway  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal,  thrash,  groove,  and  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "De:  Evolution"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Mas-Kina  Recordings  and  Indie  Recordings.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  groove  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  aggressive  screams  which  have  a  death  metal  edge  to  them  as  well  as  mixing  in  growls  and  melodic  vocals  and  after  the  intro  the  music  continues  in  this  tradition  but  having  a  more  structured  and  organized  sound.

  After  awhile  the  music  starts  mixing  in  more  alternative,  emo  and  mainstream  rock  sounds  along  with  a  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  band  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  their  sound  as  well  as  having  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  only  having  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  being  utilized.

  As  the  album  progresses  hardcore  style  breakdowns  start  becoming  a  huge  part  of  the  bands  musical  sound  and  they  also  bring  in  a  brief  use  of  pianos  on  one  of  the  tracks  and  on  some  of  the  later  songs  a  small  amount  of  melodic  guitar  solos  are  utilized  at  times  along  with  some  elements  of  djent  being  added  into  their  musical  sound.

  Insense  have  a  musical  sound  that  has  the  heaviness  of  death,  thrash,  groove  metal  and  hardcore  while  also  having  the  melody  and  mainstream  feeling  of  emo  and  alternative  and  while  this  is  not  something  I  listen  to  on  a  regular  basis  I  still  feel  the  songs  are  very  well  executed,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  th e lyrics  are  divided  into  4  different  concepts  and  cover  dark  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Insense  are  a very  decent  sounding  mixture  of  alternative,  death  metal,  thrash,  groove  and  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Meandering"  "What  Life"  "Sick  Is  the  Will"  and  "Some  Holy  Thing".  7/2  out  of  10.

  

Monumentomb Interview

 

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

Sure. We formed just under a year ago and we’re all based in Kent in the garden of England (So to speak). Myself, Alex and Lee all met at separate occasions in a pub and were all looking to form a band that’s playing a style that’s not even been done before by other bands from the area. Gaius joined later after the EP was recorded and we met in my local Metal pub previous months beforehand.

2.Recently you have released a new ep, can you tell us a little bit more about your musical sound and what are some of the things that you have been able to bring out with your newer band that you wear not able to do with the groups that you where a part of in the past?

The primary focal point for us is the Old-School late 80’s and early 90’s Death Metal. Essentially taking all the foundations of that time period and replicating the sound with a modern touch, like the production on the recording was all created via modern hardware. With Monumentomb there is far more scope and options in terms of the style, riffs and structures, whereas in previous bands I’ve played for there were limitations when it came to trying to adopt a different approach. All the ideas from over the years I couldn’t use are being vented now, the autonomy now is totally ideal. 

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

To state the obvious: Death! Also taking inspiration from topics of Necromancy, The Monk by Matthew Lewis, The Necronomicon, Lovecraft and his associated grimoires. A lot of cult horror movies from the 80’s play a huge part in inspiring the atmosphere that the lyrics attempt to portray. 

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Monumentomb'?

The name itself was the name of an album by a terrific band called Nominon from Sweden. The name always stood-out for me and encapsulated the essence of what I wanted. A monumental name that ties in with the morbid themes. After asking Nominon, they kindly gave me permission to use it.

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

We’ve only played 4 shows in total this year, we started playing live in March 2014. In light of that, 2 particular shows in Sheerness and Gillingham in Kent have been the best so far. The reasons for this are that the crowd responses were killer, very encouraging to see that kind of energy on stage. Our live shows are always kept as aggressive, furious and as active as possible. We always prefer to keep mobile and engage the crowd. 

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

Yes, we do. We’re playing a headlining one in Kent on Friday 13th June (auspicious!) and one in October with Gravecrusher which is our first London date of the year. As for touring, it’s something we want to pursue for sure but don’t have anything confirmed yet. 

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

We are currently dealing with a label at the moment, but at this stage it’s all waiting to be set-in-stone and establishing a release date. I can say that it will be out on CD only at the moment, and the booklet inlay design is almost nearing completion. It will all be announced as soon as possible!

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

It’s been all extremely positive so far, from all over the globe such as USA, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Spain and the rest of Europe, Thailand and India to name a few. We have had a decent amount of people getting in touch outside of the UK, it’s always great to see that, especially as we’re hoping to play overseas in future. A few of these guys have said that we’ve managed to capture a sound which is very close to Bolt Thrower’s, which wasn’t entirely intentional!

9.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

New material is still being written at the moment. Within the next year is the ideal goal to have a full-length released for us. As for where we’re heading musically, sticking to our main roots and influences always gears the musical direction, we also draw influences/inspiration from recent releases as well. 

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

To name a few there is early Death, Morbid Angel, Carcass and Entombed, Autopsy, Unleashed, Dismember, Repugnant, Grave, Nominon, Bolt Thrower and Asphyx. I’m currently listening to the recently released Dead Congregation, mind-blowing is an understatement for it! From another aspect there's a lot of neo-classical and 80's virtuoso in the mix too like Malmsteen, Jason Becker, Steve Vai up to some recent shredders as well.

11.How would you describe your views on Satanism and Occultism?

I have friends that practice Luciferianism, and others that gear towards the more Crowley perception of Satanism. Luciferianism as opposed to Satanism, for me, makes a lot more sense. My reason for this is that Luciferianism is a belief structure that contains theistic denominations. It’s also influenced by various personal experiences. Some say it’s not a religion, but a lifestyle or code to follow. Occultism in itself has always intrigued me, as necromancy and black art rituals are frequently referred to in the lyrical content.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Reading into Scandinavian and Indo European history/WWI recently, museums, as I said about the lyrics I tend to watch movies. I like to maintain personal balance with an active social life with sight-seeing, country walks, and of course seeing mates down the pub etc. 

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Many thanks for getting in touch and hails from the tomb!

Sinister/The Post Apocalyptic Servant/Massacre Records/2014 CD Review

  Sinister  are  a  band  from  the  Netherlands  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  that  plays  a  very  brutal  and  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "The  Post  Apocalyptic  Servant"  which  was  released  by  Massacre  Records.

  Melodic  guitars  and  spoken  word  parts  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  brutal  death  metal  sound  along  with  some  growls  and  blast  beats  as  well  as  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  after  awhile  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music  and  they  also  have  a  melodic  tone  to  them  at  times.

  You  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  in  the  bands  music  and  they  also  sound  very  dark  after  all  of  these  years  as  well  as  mixing  a  good  amount  of  melody  in  with  the  more  brutal  sections  of  their  musical  sound  and  they  also  have  an  atmosphere  edge  being  utilized  on  a  few  of  the  songs  along  with  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  which  never  take  away  from  the  heaviness  the  band  brings  in  with  their  musical  attack  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  last  3  tracks a re  Morbid  Angel,  Paradise  Lost  and  Agent  Steel  cover's.

  Sinister  remain  true  to  their  death  metal  sound  that  they  have  had  for  more  than  20  years  and  still  sound  very  dark,  heavy,  and  brutal  after  all  of  these  years,  the  production  is  very  professional  sounding  and  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  occult  and  anti  religion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Sinister  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Science  Of  Prophecy"  "The  Masquerade  Of  An  Angel"  "The  Art  Of  Skin  Declaration"  and  "The  Burden  Of  Mayhem".  8  out  of  10.

Gravecrusher/Morbid Black Oath/Xtreem Muisc/2014 EP Review

  Gravecrusher  are  a  band  from  Hungary  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "Morbid  Black  Oath"  which  was  released  by  Xtreem  Music>

  A  heavy  bass  line  and  drum b eats  start  off  the  ep  before  going  into  a  more  heavier  direction  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  melodies  and  the  music  also  starts  to  speed  up  and  add  in  blast  beats  and  the music  takes  influences  from  both  the  Finnish  and  Swedish  scenes  of  the  early  90's.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music  they  add  a  more  raw  approach  to  the  old  school  death  metal  sound  as  well  as  utilizing  a  great  amount  of  melody  this  band  creates  and  they  also  bring  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  into  their  songs  as  well  as  a  small  amount  of  high  pitched  screams  and  the  last  3  songs  are  bonus  tracks  which  shows  a  more  raw  approach  to  their  old  school  death  metal  sound.

  Gravecrusher  are  another  band  that  plays  a  90's  style  of  death  metal  but  they  add  in  more  raw  elements  and  take  influences  from t he  Finnish  which  makes  them  stand  out  among  all  of  the  old  school  revival  death  metal  acts,  the  production   sounds  very  professional  yet  old  school  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  Darkness,  Occultism,  Death  and  Horror  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Gravecrusher  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should c heck  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Necromantic  Perversion" "Worship  The  Impaler"  and  "Cryptic  Butchery".  8  out  of  10.

  

Pillory/Evolutionary Miscarriage/Unique Leader Records/2014 CD Review

  Pillory  are  a  band  from  Boston,  Massachusetts  that  plays  a  very  brutal  and  technical  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Evolutionary  Miscarriage"  which  will  be  released  by  Unique  Leader  Records.

  Sound  effects  and  harsh  noises  start  off  the  album  before  adding  in  guitars  which  takes  the  music  into  a  more  fast,  technical  and  brutal  death  metal  direction  along  with  blast  beats,  growls,  screams  and  guitar  leads  and  the band  also  brings  in  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  elements  of  groove  and  modern  metal.

  On  some  of  the  later t racks  clean  playing  is  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  they  add  more  to  the  technical  sound  this  album  proudly  showcases  as  well  as  adding  in  prog  metal  elements  to  the  heavier  death  metal  material  and  a  good  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  As  the  album  progresses  the  vocals  also  start  adding  in  elements  of  groove  and  hardcore  as  well  as  remaining  true  to  a  technical  death  metal  sound  and  symphonic  elements  are  added on  one  of  the  instrumentals  and  they  also  bring  in  small  amounts  of  pig  squells  without  having  any  elements  of  deathcore  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  the  bass  guitars  also  have  a  very  powerful  presence  on  the  tracks  throughout  the  recording  and  the  last  song  brings  a  psychedelic  feeling  to t heir  technical  death  metal  approach.

  Pillory  bring  a  very  original  sound  to  the  technical  and  brutal  forms  of  death  metal  having  more  groove  and  prog  elements  than  most  bands  of  those  2  different  sub  genres,  the  production  is  very  professional  sounding  and  the  lyrics  cover  scientific  and  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Pillory  are  a  very  great  sounding  technical  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Mass  Enmity"  "Phantasmagorical  Beasts"  "Nihilarian"  and  "Bipedal  Prosecution".  8  out  of  10.