MUFA Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
1 - Well, we are MUFA, from São Paulo, Brazil, the band started in 2008, we were friends that used to smoke weed together and listen to metal and hardcore music. At this point we decided to start a band because we have this musical affinity. Some changes of members along the time, but the band still on this same lineup since 2011. Last year 2015 we recorded our debut album Brutality Show and for us was a great experience to record our original songs after this long time with the band. It was something that we used to dream about and then we finally got it. And the result was awesome for us about our first album.
2.How would you describe your musical sound?
2 - It's hard for us describe how is our sound. I think that is something between death, thrash and hardcore styles, at least is what we can hear when we stop together to listen our music. But we just do our music without thinking in how it will sound or what genre it will englobe.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
3 - I think that our music is a reflect of society which we live. We talk about drugs, violence, corruption, crimes, with a few of humour. But all of them have meanings behind. Like "Junkie Pride" for example, this song explores how society judge someone about his addictions or the way that people looks like. You know, a kind of judgement just because your way of living is different of others. One of our favorite lyrics is "Gold", this one have no meaning behind, it's just saying that we love weed, the name came from the type of weed we buy in our hometown it's called gold weed, hahaha.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'MUFA'?
4 - The name is a slang that means weed, haha. Some people think it's a anagram for "fuma" word that means "smoking" in portuguese, but isn't.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
5 - Our first gig was very memorable, we played with Nervochaos a great band here from Brazil. Other gig that we liked was with Test and Nuclëar Fröst in the same venue. Sometimes we play in great places and other times in small places, but it's always awesome to play and meet other persons and bands.
I think our stage perfomance is very heavy, at least our vocalist is a heavyweight frontman, and with his growls and the other instruments together people really enjoy the sound. And in ours gigs we play a version of Antichrist song of Sepultura, it's awesome, people really like old stuff.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
6 - At the moment we have some gigs here in our hometown São Paulo, and we are looking for more venues to play and spread our sound. Our plans to future are share and spread a lot our sound, play a lot, release some new material and try to tour in others countries.

7.Currently you are unsigned are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
7 - Yes, we are sending our album to labels around the world, but we haven't received offers yet. Here in Brazil we have few labels interested in that kind of sound and it's hard to the undergrounds bands get a sign.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal and hardcore?
8 - It's a great surprise for us, we are sharing our music with people of different countries and is amazing that people got interested.
I guess we're having a great feedback of people from other countries.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
9 - We hope get a sign with some label to record a new album, we have a lot of new songs ready to be done. Our plans are touring in different countries and meet new bands and friends, new cultures. I guess we want to have a lot a fun with the band, hahaha.

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?
10 - Our songs are very influenced by metal, hardcore and some brazilian music. There are some bands that was very important at the beginning of our sound, like Cannibal Corpse, Sepultura and Hatebreed. Nowadays we have listened to a lot of different genres of music and bands.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
11 - Well, we work a lot, hahaha.
Everyone in the band dedicates a lot of time in ours personal jobs to pay our bills and studying, some of us are teachers, it's a great job. In our free time, we like to drink some beers together and talk a lot of bullshit, hahaha.

12.before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
12 - We want to thank you a lot for this interview, it was a pleasure for us.
And for everyone who wants to get more infos about the band, can enter in our website: http://www.mufa666.com/
Cheers from Brazil to The True Bringer of Death Zine!

Terrordome/Chaos Synopsis/Intoxicunts/Defense Records/2016 Split CD Review

 This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  Poland's  Terrordome  and  Brazil's  Chaos  Synopsis  called  "Intoxicunts"  which  was  released  by  Defense  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  split  with  Terrordome  a  band  that  plays  a  brutal  form  of  crossover/thrash.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  heavy  and  brutal  old  school  thrash  metal  sound  along  with  all  of t he  musical  instruments  sounding  powerful  while t he  faster  sections  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  you  can  also  hear  melodies  in  the  riffing  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  hardcore  punk  style  yells.

  Back  up  gang  shouts  can  be  heard  in  the  music  at  times  at  times  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  one  track  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  guitar  leads,  the  production  on  their  side  of  the  recording  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  social  issues,  pathologie's and  booze  themes.  

  In  my  opinion  Terrordome  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  mixture  of  crossover  and  thrash  and  if  you are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Nothing  Else  Fuckers"  and  "Beerbong  Party".

  Next  up  is  Chaos  Synopsis  continuing  their  mixture  of  death  metal  and thrash.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts out  with  a  very  heard  and  heavy  thrash  metal  sound  that also  uses  a  small  amount  of  melodies  while  the  solos  and  leads  also bring  in  more  of  a  mid 80's  extreme  metal  style  which  also  leads  to  understandable  death  metal  growls  being  added  into  the  music  and  the  leads  also  have  a  very  technical  feeling  at  times.

   You  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that are  present  on  their  side  of  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a great  mixture  of slow, mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  touch  of  modern  thrash  and  they  also  close  their  side  of  the  split  with a  cover of  Metallica's  "Damage  Inc",  the  production  sounds very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  chaos  and  serial  killer  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Chaos  Synopsis  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  death  and  thrash  metal,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Fire  On  babylon".

  In  conclusion  i  feel this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  crossover, thrash  and  death  metal.  8  out  of  10.   

         

Chaos Synopsis/Seasons Of Red/Black Legion/2015 CD Review

  Chaos  Synopsis  are  a  band  from  Brazil that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Seasons  of  Red"  which  was  released  by  Black  Legion.

  Acoustic  guitars  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  more  distorted  and  melodic sounding  leads  making t heir  presence  known  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  leads  up  to  a  heavier  thrash metal  direction  which  is  more  closer  to  the  modern  side  of t he  genre  while  still  having  a  bit  of  the  old  school  aggression.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  vocals  are  mid  80's  style  death  metal  growls  that  have  have  are  understandable  enough  for  the  thrash  crowd  and  some  of  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  melody  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  tribal  music and  exotic  female  vocals  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  music using  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  after  awhile  solos  and  leads  return  on  some  of  the  songs  and  also  gives  the  music  even  more  of  an  old  school  death  metal  style.

  Chaos  Synopsis  plays  a  style  of  death/thrash  that  is  more  rooted  in  the  mid  80's  while  also  having  more  of  a  modern  take  on  the  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  chaos  and  serial killers  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Chaos  Synopsis  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Gods  Upon  Mankind"  "Brave  New  Gold"  "State  Of  Blood"  and  "Four  Corners  Of  The  World".  8  out  of  10.

   

   

Rotten Repugnancy/Harbringers Of The Last Judgemenet/CDN Records/2015 CD Review

  Rotting  Repugnancy  are  a  band from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  brutal  form  of death  metal  with  a  touch  of thrash  and this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Harbringers Of The Last Judgemenet"  which  was  released  by  CDN  Records.

  Distorted  guitar  solos  and  leads  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording.

  A  lot  of  old  school  death  and  thrash  metal  elements  can  be  hear d in  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and fast  parts  and  high  pitched s creams  can  be  heard  in some  parts  of t he  songs  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  while  the  music  is  rooted  in  the  mid  80's  and early  80's  it  still  mixes  in  a  lot  of  the  more  modern  and  brutal  sound  and  on  the  last  track  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  and  spoken  words  are  added  into  the  music

  Rotting  Repugnancy  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  mixes  both  the  old  school  and  more  modern  brutal  style  together  with  a  touch  of  thrash  which  makes  the  music  stand  out  a  lot  more,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  doom,  blasphemy and  gore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Rotten Repugnancy  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  brutal  and  old  school  death  metal  with  a  touch  of  thrash  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Desert  Storm"  "Hollowed  Beast"  and  "Godless  World". 8  out  of  10.   

 

Slave One/Disclosed Diotropic Principles/Dolerum Records/2016CD Review

  Slave  One  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  very  progressive  and  technical  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2016  album  "Disclosed  Dioptropic  Principles"  which  will  be  released  on  March  25th  by  Dolorem  Records.

  Melodic chants, atmospheric sounds,  tribal  beats  and  exotic  female  vocals  start  off  the  album  and  also mix  in  with  the  heavier  sound  a  few  seconds  later  along  with  all  of t he  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful  and  you  can  also h ear  a  lot  of  prog  elements  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls.

 Spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  briefly  while  some  of  the  riffs  get  very  melodic  at  times  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music  they  bring  in  more  of  a  technical  style  to the  bands  musical  style  and  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  when the  music  speeds  up  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  clean  playing  and  some  songs  also  shows  the  music  getting  a  little bit  more  experimental  while  also  adding in  some  traces  of  Hindu  music  and  spoken  word  parts.

  Slave  One  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  progressive  and  technical  sounding  while  the  band  also  has  more  of  an  original  approach  to  the  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while t he  lyrics  cover  philosophical,  esoteric  and  metaphysical  themes.

 In  my  opinion  Slave  One  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  and  technical  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Antikythera  Mechanism"  "For  Shiva  Whispered the  Universe"  and  "Degenesis".  8  out  of  10.

  

  

   

Ferium/Behind The Black Eyes/2016 CD Review

  Ferium  are  a  band  from  Israel  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  death,  groove  metal and  metalcore  and  this  is  a  review of  their  self  released  2016  album  "Behind  The  Black  Eyes".

  Clean yet  distorted  playing  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful  and  thy  also  add  in  metalcore  style  aggressive  vocals  and  death  metal  growls  and  you can  also  hear  some  melodies  being  mixed  in  with  the  guitar  riffing  and  they  alos  add  in  more  of  a  modern  groove  metal  style  at  times.

  When  guitar  leads  are  added  into  the  music  they  give  the  songs  more  of a  technical  edge  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  clean  playing  also  makes  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  one  of  the  tracks  being  all  instrumental  while  a  couple  of songs  also  bring  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  musical  direction  and  the  last  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Ferium  creates  another  recording  that  takes  groove  and  metalcore  and  mixes  it  in with  the  heaviness  of  death  metal  while  also  being  very  modern  at  the  same  time,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  personal  relationships.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Ferium  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  death, groove  metal  and  metalcore,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Power  Is  All  That  Matters"  "Losing  The  Grip"  and  "A  Free  Man".  7/5  out  of  10.

 

Valgrind Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording  and release of the new album?
"Speech of the Flame" is finally out, so we only have to concentrate on promoting it in the best way possible. We already played at the "Speech of the the Flame" release party and tested the new songs on stage. We are now looking forward to play more gigs to present the new album properly.


2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
Of course we did not change the main characteristics of our sound, but this time we approached the songwriting in a different way. The first album was written solely by Massimiliano, while "Speech of the Flame" has been a more collective effort. The songs have more impact and the structures are a little bit more straightforward. At the same time we created more complex solos and harmonies, I think Massimo and Massimiliano really did their best on this one.


3.This is your first album in 4 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?
We were forced to make some line-up changes, Massimo and Gianmarco were recruited just after the release of "Morning will come no more" and they had to learn the old tracks in order to be ready for the live performances. Once we stabilized the band we started working on the new material. After we created and recorded it we had some problems with the previous label and everything was delayed. We were lucky to enter in the Lord of the Flies recs rooster, Cristian was a fan of the band and immediately showed the will to release the album as soon as he could.


4.The lyrics cover the darkest side of ancient Mediterranean civilities, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in those topics?
This time we wanted a main lyrical  theme and Massimiliano suggested the ancient Greek and Mikenes cultures. These civilities were part of our history and their myths permeated all the Mediterranean cultures. We are Italian so we can still breath this legacy, specially in the south where the band was founded 20 years ago. Me and Massimiliano wrote all the lyrics, I think they fit the music perfectly.


5.The bands name from Norse Mythology, are the band members also interested in Paganism?
Not really, the band name has been chosen in 1995 by a guy who is not even in the band anymore. I think it represents the power of the band's sound very well but it's not really related to our thematic anymore.


6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
To be honest I would say that the most recent shows are the best. We have improved dramatically in terms of cohesion and our live performances are getting better all the times. Our shows are definitely simple and based only on the brutality and darkness of the music.


7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We have a couple of show in italy planned on may, we will confirm them as soon as possible. It would be great to visit some European countries again, we played in Germany and Sweden in the past and it was a blast. Anyone who is interested in arranging something can contact us at paintingtheabyss@gmail.com


8.The album was released 'Lord Of The Flies Records' can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
It is a new label runned by scene veteran Cristian Colonna. He released only quality material so far and we trusted him immediately. He was a fan of the band since the release of our first album, it's great when you find a label where you are not only a number among others.


9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal?
So far our music has been well reviewed and received everywhere. Anyway "Speech of the flame" has just been released, so we are curious to read the comments. I hope that we can build a bigger fan base and start making some serious tour to bring our music everywhere.


10.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the other band members are a part of?
Me and Massimo play in Hateful, a Death Metal band with a more Technical twist. We have played For the first time outside of Italy this year in January. We are currently working on a third album and trying to organize another minitour in Europe. Gianmarco, the drummer is busy with the hardcore Italian legends Raw Power and also Massimiliano works with a couple of local bands. We are busy guys eheh.



11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We definitely don't want to repeat ourselves. With this new album you can hear a strong progression in terms of songwriting and with the next album we hope to do the same. I think it will be a balanced mix of killer riffs and dark, majestic melodies.  We already have a couple of new songs to rehearse and I am sure we are going in the right direction!


12.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?
Since day one we were voracious listeners of the early nineties Florida Death Metal. Massimiliano is a Morbid Angel, Pestilence and Death addicted (just like myself) and we grew up with that sounds in our mind. Having said that there are more external influences like Classic metal, Doom and some Black Metal stuff here and there. Vocally speaking I tried to make "Speech of the Flame" more diverse  using different vocal styles from song to song. I always loved "Blessed are the Sick" vocal approach, where each song has it's own "pitch".




13.What are some of your non musical interests?
I am a painter and decorator, so I'd say everything related to visual arts is my main interest together with music. You can check a selection of my works at www.facebook.com/danielelupidiartist .


14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks for the interview! We recently released a video clip for "Tyrants" , you can check our facebook page www.facebook.com/valgrindband. We can't wait to see you guys on the road. Thanks for the support!!!