Ashen Epitaph/The Formed Filth Enigma/Grom Records/2017 CD Review

  Ashen  Epitaph  are  a  band  from  Serbia  that  plays  an  old  school  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  The  Formed  Filth  Enigma"  which  will  be  released  in  October  by  Grom  Records.

  Dark  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  heavier  direction  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  melodic  guitar  leads  while  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  start  to  make  their  presence  known.

  Most  of  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  along  with  some  screams  being  utilized,  when  solos  and  leads  are utilized  they  stick  to an  old  school  style  as  well  as  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and fast  parts  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  riffs  start  incorporating  more  elements  of  thrash.  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Ashen  Epitaph  plays  a  style  of  death  metal t hat  is  very  old  school  and  traditional  sounding  along  with  some  elements  of  thrash,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  hate,  anger  and  death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Ashen  Epitaph  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  "The  Forming"  "The  Wounds"  "Error  In  Evolution"  and  "Shadow  Of  The  Grey  Sun".  8  out  of  10.

   

Trauma/Comedy Is Over/Deformeathing Productions/2017 CD Re-Issue Review

  Trauma  are  a  band  from  Poland  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  traditional  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  1996  album  "Comedy  Is  Over"  which  will  be  re-issued  on  September  22nd  by  Deformeathing  Productions.

  An  atmospheric intro  along  with  some  epic  synths  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  where  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  A  small  amount  of  melody  and  thrash  influences  can  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  screams  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  they  also  mix  synths  in  with  the  heavier  sections  briefly,  there  is  also a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic in  length  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard.  

 On  this  recording  Trauma  kept  the  death  metal  style  while  also  getting  more  experimental  and  creating an  album  that  was  very  different  for  the  genre  during  the  time  it  was  released,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  serial  killers,  violence  and  anti  religion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  was  a  very  great  sounding  recording from  Trauma  and  if  you  are  into  death  metal  that  is  different  from  the  norm,  you  should  check  out  this  re-issue.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Incertitude"  "Perfection"  and  "Naked  Truth".  8  out  of  10.

    

Terror Empire/Obscurity Rising/Mosher Records/2017 CD Review

 

Terror  Empire  are  a  band  from  Portugal  that  has  been  featured  before in  this  zine and  plays  an  old  school  mixture  of  death  and  thrash  metal  on  this  recording  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album "Obscurity  Rising"  which will  be  released  on  September  23rd  by  Mosher  Records.

  Soundscapes  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  thrash  metal  direction  while  clean  playing  can  also be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  bringing  in  a  very  melodic  old  school  style  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  80's.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to them  while t he  vocals  are  mostly  aggressive  thrash  screams  and  screams  that  also  have  a  melodic  edge  at  times  along  with  some  back  up  gang  shouts  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  the  riffs  also bring  in a  decent  amount  of  melody.

  Elements  of  death  metal  can  also  be  heard  at  times  with  the  vocals  adding  in growls  along  with  the  songs  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  spoken  word  samples  can  also be  heard  briefly and  there is  also  a  brief  instrumental  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction.

  On  this  recording  Terror  Empire  goes  for  more  of  an  old  school  thrash metal  style  while  still  mixing  in  elements  of  death  metal  at  times,  the production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  political  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording from  Terror  Empire  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  old  school  death  and  thrash  metal,  you  should  check out this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "You'll  Never  See  Us  Coming"  "Holy  Greed"  and  "New  Dictators".  8  out  of  10.   

Necrofulgarate/Putrid Veil/Caverna Abismal/2017 Compilation Cassette Review

  Necrofulgurate  where  a  solo  project  from  the  United  States  that  played  a  very  raw  and  old  school  style  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  cassette  compilation  "Putrid  Veil"  which  will  be  released  in  October  and  consists  of  both  of  his  demo's.

  A  very  fast  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  compilation  along  with  some  blast  beats  before  adding  in  very  deep  sounding  death  metal  growls  and  the  music  is  heavily  rooted  in t he  early  90's  while  also  using  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  as  well  as  using  a  great  amount  of  raw  aggression.

  Throughout  the  compilation  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  songs  also  sound  like  they  could  of  easily  been  recorded  and  released  more  than  20  years  ago  while  only  one  of  the  songs  brings  use  any  solos  or  leads  which  are  also  done  in  a  very  raw  and  chaotic  fashion  and  the  music  always  remains  heavy.

  Necrofulgurate  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  raw  and  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  era  of  the  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  violence,  war  and  hatred  for  mankind  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Necrofulgarite  where  a  very  great  sounding  raw  and  old  school  death  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  cassette.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Chalice  Of  Bloodfire"  and  "Ripping  Putrid  Mortality".  8  out  of  10.

  

Neck of the Woods Interview

Words by Jeff Radomsky

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

We're a 5 piece progressive death metal band from Vancouver, B.C. We formed the framework for the band in 2013 and are now releasing our first full length record titled The Passenger on September 15th via Basick Records.

2. You have an album coming out in September, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from your previous demo and EP?

We've all progressed as musicians and writers since the release of our EP, we all come from very different musical backgrounds and harbour drastically different tastes - I feel the diversity of what inspires us as individuals has lead us to a sound that is uniquely ours. The Passenger is a strong representation of where we're at and where we're going with our music.

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

‘The Passenger’  speaks of personal development, relationships, and flawed leaders while directing the bulk of the albums lyrics towards extending support to my sister who suffers from brain cancer.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Neck Of The Woods'

We wanted something ambiguous that didn't pigeonhole us as a death metal band while representing our fondness for our home in the pacific northwest.

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 recently performed as direct support for the band Every Time I Die, that was a really good one. We tend to jump around quite a bit, during our shows its clear that we love playing live, the goal is always to direct the crowd to an attentive and involved state - to let go of everything around themselves and lose themselves in the music.

6. Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

We will be doing a run of western Canada in September while we plan to begin touring the states in early 2018

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

We are actually signed to Basick Records within Europe while we remain unsigned in North America.

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

So far so good! Seems like quite a few people are comparing our sound to early Opeth which is a pretty huge compliment as all of us in NOTW love their work.

9. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

I see us further refining the sound we're currently working with while drawing some new lines based on new influences.

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?

Our guitarist Dave is heavily inspired by bands like Between the Buried and Me, Opeth and Gojira, our bassist is quite fond of more classic sounding heavy metal, our guitarist Travis has a sweet spot for pop punk while our drummer is hooked on bands like Fallujah, Intervals and some EDM. Im all over the map but lately have been hooked on soul and swing.

11. What are some of your non-musical interests?

Skateboarding, lake swimming, camping, hiking, dirt biking, sunny days in the park, drawing, design, film, disc gold, the list goes on, there are too many interesting things in the world and not nearly enough time to do it all!

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

I hope people enjoy our new record, we're proud of it and can't wait to play your city!

Repaid In Blood Interview

Repaid In Blood
Interview Questions: Extreme MetalZine 2017
Responses by Jake Burrmann (Guitarist/Founder)

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new ep?



Absolutely, we released the new EP back in May this year. Since then we hit the road for 4 weeks, a full U.S. tour with Bury The Rod, Casket Robbery and our Australian brothers in In Death. After getting back home, I’ve been working on new material, almost have a full albums worth for the next one now. Other than that, its been a lot of behind the scenes stuff. Getting music videos together, and just sent out promo packs to labels and agencies. So trying to keep busy and keep momentum going.



2.In May you had released a new ep, 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?



This is always tough, genre labels, I mean. Though we do self-describe ourselves as Geek Metal. As far as the music goes, I am big into heavy, melodic, groovy styles. Which is featured predominately on the new EP. I like a good mix of things, and the band reflects that with our songs sometimes taking a weird or different turn. As far as our older music, it doesn’t really differ too much. We’ve gotten a bit more technical over the years, but the groove has stayed.



3.You refer to your music as 'geek metal', can you tell us a little bit more about this term?



Sure. As I mentioned above, genre labels are tough, and a lot of people will judge you based on what you’ve been labelled. We write about some weird stuff at times, one older song is called She Used My Face As A Pregnancy Test, nerdy things, and mix styles of metal as well. So instead of putting off people that don’t like death metal, or metalcore, progressive or grind or whatever, we decided to make our own label. Hoping it would spark interest rather than put any one person off. We utilize a variety of metal genres, and in the end, its just metal. Heavy music.



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



We took a new approach to this EP, and actually have a theme, or “concept” behind it. The title is “Terra Mourning”, which I came up with while driving home from work. I had terra forming in my brain for some reason, more, weird nerdy shit. And we needed to get an album title. The world is going to hell in a hand basket, quicker now it seems. I thought of the loss of the planet, and there came mourning. So, the album is focused on man, our hubris, our eventual fall, and the desolation of the earth and those few who survive. We decided to geek it up a bit more and include Cthulhu, to act as a catalyst for the story, and wipe the world clean. The songs aren’t out right political, but the lyrics can be interpreted many ways, depending on where the listener is coming from. Which I find is the best, gives each fan a way of discovering the meaning for themselves.



5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Repaid In Blood’?



We are big Black Dahlia Murder fans. And off their first album “Unhollowed” in the track Funeral Thirst the lyric is “my penance with blood be repaid. Repaid!” We took from that and came up with Repaid In Blood. 11 years ago, using the internet, and trying to come up with a single word band name was impossible. So, when we picked out that line, we loved it, searched online to see if it was taken, and now here we are.



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?



We always love playing our home town of San Jose at our favorite local dive bar, the Caravan Lounge. But as far as highlights? We’ve played a handful of local showcases/ Metal Fests that were pretty awesome. Opened for All Shall Perish way back in the day, a favorite band of mine. Austin, Texas is always a blast, great metal out there. Madison, Wisconsin can throw down as well.



As far as stage performance? Sweaty, we get sweaty up there lol. We like to have fun, groove and move around. Our singer Darrell is very theatrical, likes to bring a visual to what he is screaming, and interacts with the crowd. We feed off the crowd’s energy for sure, and love to interact with them.



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



Yes, definitely, but not until next year. Working on getting the new material put together, and looking into getting some representation in the industry.





8.On the ep you had done a cover of Salt'N'Peppa's "Push It", what was the decision behind doing a death metal version of this song?



In late 2015, we had a friend, Jerry of Apothesary, covering vocal duties for us between singers. We were in the rehearsal studio with him working on the set for a few shows we were doing, and our then lead guitarist Tyler, was messing around with a funky riff. He just so happened to do the main riff for “Push It”. We all laughed, and Jerry said we should do the cover. We did just that. As it happens, the breakdown in the original song, perfectly translates to an 8-string guitar, so it just made sense to follow through with it. Also, the video was shot live with puppets I made of all of us. So, doing a silly cover was a perfect reason to finally make a music video featuring us as puppets. I had been wanting to do that for years, so got to cross that off my band bucket list lol. I did mention it being silly, we certainly did the cover jokingly. Anyone taking us being serious about that song, shouldn't do so, it was done for a laugh lol.



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



Yes, just dropped off the promo pack in the mail this morning actually, so off they go!



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



Had to go check our Tunecore to answer this, and surprised to say, our most foreign streams come from Russia. So that’s pretty cool, had no idea. But as far as feedback, pretty positive. We have fans in Australia, Britain, and Indonesia that are into us. Haven’t had the chance to play out of the U.S. yet, but we are exploring the chance to tour Europe, possibly next year.



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



If all goes well, a full length could surface by late next year. The band consists of members spread out across the U.S. so getting together is difficult. Luckily our drummer Juan lives only about twenty minutes away from me, so a lot of our rehearsals consist of him and I. As soon as we can hammer out the new songs, we can send them off to the rest of the guys and get production going.



As far as the music goes, the cliché of “it’s the heaviest, most melodic material to date” comes to mind. I know a lot of people throw that and similar statements out there when describing their new music, but it rings true here as well lol. I’ve been trying to refine what we do, keep things groovy, just enough chaos, and always keep things heavy. I try to write fun things to play, keeps me interested in what my fingers are doing, and also keep the audience entertained.



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



Some of my all-time favorite heavy bands consist of The Red Chord, All Shall Perish, After The Burial, Cannibal Corpse, The Acacia Strain, Meshuggah, Deftones, and of course The Black Dahlia Murder. I draw inspiration from all these bands, and strive to create a metal tapestry of my musical influences. I like to push myself during the writing process. As I mentioned above, I like to write riffs that are fun to play, but also a bit of a challenge as well. Keeps me striving to do better and push myself as a musician. I’ve been listening to all of the above lately, but also enjoy other things than metal. Some classic rock/ pop from the 70’s is fun. Some Bowie, or Parliament, to funk things up a bit. I can appreciate most genres of music, and it’s always good to cleanse your musical pallet from time to time. Take a step back from heavy music for some time, then come back and appreciate how brutal metal is. Variety is the spice of life.



13.What are some of your nonmusical interests?



Movies, reading, comics, science, travel and anything Star Wars of the above mentioned lol. I’m a huge Star Wars fan, and it’s a great time for geekdom right now with the resurgence of SW and all things Marvel. Lots of great entertainment out there to be found. Oh, and dogs, if there is a dog at the party, I’ll for sure be saying hello to the pup lol.



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



Yeah, thanks for the interview, and support! We are on most streaming services, so feel free to stream us on your favorite one. Spotify and iTunes being the most popular I guess. Also, check out our YouTube page, we have lots of original, fun videos up there featuring our music and the weird things we do to keep us entertained.



On a more serious note, there is a lot of hate out there in the world. Have fun be safe, tell your loved ones you love them, and try to be kind to the random people you meet in your life. We play loud aggressive music, it’s an outlet for sure. Go to a show and let out that negativity that builds up daily. But otherwise, keep an open mind, listen to others, don’t just react. Most of all, respect each other. And in the immortal words of Rick Sanchez, “Wubba lubba dub dub!”

Ditheist/Eternity Of Nothingness/Heathen Tribes/2017 CD Re-Issue Review

 Ditheist  are  a  band  from  Chicago,  Illinois  that  plays  a  very  brutal  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Eternity  Of  Nothingness"  which  will  be  re-issued  in  autumn  by  Heathen  Tribes.

  Atmospheric  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  along  with  a  decent  amount  of  melody  before  adding  in  technical  guitar  leads  and  death  metal  growls  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful.

  A great  amount  of  90's  influences  can  be  heard  in  the  bands  musical  style  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  riffing  having  its  technical  moments  and  the  music  always  sticks  to  a  very  heavy  and  brutal  musical  direction.

  Ditheist  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  brutal  and  traditional  in  the  old  school  form  of t he  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  social  concerns  and  black  humor  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Ditheist  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  re-issue.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Plague  Doctor"  "Eternity  Of  Nothingness"  and  "Crippling  Vexation".  8  out  of  10.