Solinaris Interview

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

The project started out a couple of years ago when Bernard and I were thinking about getting back together to write music. We wanted to make something different, by mixing up a lot of musical styles, many different influences, etc. It started really slowly. We wrote a lot of stuff, and finally decided to approach some musicians, well known on the Quebec musical scene to collaborate in the confection of "Deranged".

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

Different, we hope. In the sense that we just didn't want to just copy/paste any specific musical genre. Instead, we wanted to "create" something new, or at least, try to make something original and hard to categorize while staying fluid and musical. And that's why we don't really want to stick to one particular style. I guess Avant-garde and progressive would be good categories encompassing the major part of our sound.

3.The band has been around since 2012 but waited until 2016 to release an album, can you tell us a little bit more about the first 4 years?

Writing music, recording music, drinking scotch while writing music, moving, having kids, all other members also have bands and musical projects so it took quiet a while to complete the album. But, the next one will come out sooner than in 4 years (we hope so).

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

It's a conceptual album telling the journey of a serial killer, placing the action in the last seconds of his life , remembering his life as a killer. It's about the hatred of human kind.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Solinaris'?

Solinaris is a derivation of "Solaris" which is pertaining to the sun, or solar. We wanted something to evoke the power and the essence of life and death. This is where Solinaris comes from.

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

No shows, Solinaris is a studio project!

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

No.

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

So far, quiet good. People seems to be responsive to our style. There will be people who hate us, others who like us. We make music first for us, then we share it to everyone with great pleasure and pride, no matter what people say.

9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?

They are all pretty active. Even if some are disbanded, or more on a stand-by mode, Lucas, our drummer, is involved in a lot of other projects, same with Jonathan, our bassist, who plays in a Pink Floyd tribute band called Dedicated Sound. J-D's band Deviant Process is pretty active too.

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

In my studio, chilling and making music, drinking scotch, smoking cigars and enjoying life.

11.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?

There are many bands, and I wouldn't want miss one, you know. We listen to a lot of stuff, from classical music to the most extreme metal, to blues and jazz, funk, redneck music, movie scores, etc.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

I think I spoke about Scotch and cigars, right? Enjoying life would be the best description we could give. Hiking, hunting, shooting stuff, listening to movies, hanging out with friends, etc.

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

Of course. We would like to thank everybody who supported us. Thank you! It's more than appreciated!

Chaos Plague/Existence Through Annihilation/Revalve Records/2015 CD Review

  Chaos  Plague  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  progressive  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Extinction  through  Annihilation"  which  was  released  by  Revalve  Records.

  A  very  dark  sounding  violin  starts  off  the  album  bringing  in  elements  of  classical  music  onto  the  recording  as  well  as  adding  in  an  orchestra  and  after  the  intro  the  music  gets  more  heavy  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  melodic  guitar  leads  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  All  of  the musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them and  the  songs  also  mix  in  a  lot  of  technical,  progressive  and  jazz  structures  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow, mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  also  mixing  in  acoustic  guitars  at  times  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  melodic  vocals  and  whispers.

  A  great  portion  of  the tracks  are  very long  and  epic  in  length  and  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  also  mixes  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  as  the  albums  progresses  elements  of  electronic  music  can  be  heard  at  times  while  later  tracks  also  incorporate  high pitched  screams  and  they  also  bring  in  an  instrumental  before  returning  back  to  vocal  tracks  as  well  as  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples. 

  Chaos  Plague  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  on  this  recording  that has  its  brutal  moments  while  focusing  more  on  technical  and  progressive  elements  and  adding  in  a  touch  of  jazz  to  create  a  recording  that  is  more  different  than  most  bands  of  this  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Nietzscheism,  Existence,  Death  and  Mind  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Chaos  Plague  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  progressive  death  metal,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Coil"  "Chirality"  "Fall  Of  Reason"  and  "Sinner's  Regret".  8  out  of  10. 

Abscendent/Decaying Human Condition/Revalve Records/2016 CD Review

  Abscendent  are  a band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  both  the  modern  and  old  school  styles  of  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Decaying  Human  Condition"  which  was  released  by  Revalve  Records.

  Sci  fi  sounds  starts  off  the  album  before  adding  in  death  metal  growls  which  also  takes  the  music  into  more  of  a  modern  thrash  metal  direction  that  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  melodic  riffing  and  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  and  technical  musical  direction  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the y also  mix  both  the  classic  and  modern  styles  of  metal  together  and the  last  couple  of  tracks  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing.

  Abscendent  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  90's  style  of  death/thrash  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  the  more  modern  and  technical  side  of t he  genre  along  with  a  touch  of  groove  metal  to  create  a  sound  of t heir  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  sorrow,  mental  illness  and psychology  themes.     

  In  my  opinion  Abscendent  are  a  very  great  sounding  modern  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  "Solipsa"  and  "Nausea".  8  out  of  10. 

Godless Angel/The Conjuring Of Four/2016 EP Review

  Godless  Angel  are  a  solo  project  from  Kansas  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  death,  groove  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2016  ep  "The  Conjuring  Of  Four".

  melodic  guitar  leads  and  horror  movie  soundtrack  music  starts  off  the  ep  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  adding  in  more  of  a  thrash  influenced  sound  where  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  as  well  as  adding  in  melodic  riffing  and  a  touch  of  groove  metal  while  also  keeping  the  leads.

  Vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls  and  screams  that  are  more  closer  to  the  mid  80's  style  and  are  very  easy  to  understand  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  they  have  an  intro  before  each  song  while  also  bringing  in  clean  playing  at  time and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  last  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Godless  Angel  creates  a  recording t hat  takes  the  heaviness of  death,  thrash  and  groove  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  horror  movie  style  intros  to  create  a  recording  that  stands  out,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  horror,  death  and  occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Godless  Angel  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  death,  thrash  and  groove  metal,  you  should  check  out this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Worms  Are  Eating  Him  Now"  and  "jawZ'.  8  out  of  10.

Devilz By Definition/The Devilution/CDN Records/2016 CD Review

  Devilz  by  Definition  are  a  band  from  Windsor,  Ontario,  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death,  thrash  and  modern  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "The  Devilution"  which  was  released  by  CDN  Records.

  Acoustic  guitars  and  thunder  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  spoken  word  samples  and  after  the  intro the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melodic  musical  direction  along  with  death  metal  growls  being  added  onto  the  recording  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  utilize  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  High  pitched  screams  can  be  heard   quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  riffs  also  mix  in  a  great  amount  of  modern  thrash  elements  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  samples  along  with spoken  word  parts  also  return  at  times.

  Devilz  By  Definition  plays  a  musical  style  that takes  death.  thrash  and  modern  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  very  heavy  sounding  recording,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent,  angry  and political  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Devilz  by  Definition  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death,  thrash  and  modern  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Pledge  Project"  "Rise  And  Fall" and  "Know  Thyne  Enemy".  8  out  of  10. 

Solinaris/Deranged/Cimmerian Shade Recordings/2016 CD Review

  Solinaris  are  a band  from  Quebec,  Canada  that  plays  an  experimental,  progressive  and  technical  form  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Deranged"  which  will be  released  on  April  8th  by  Cimmerian  Shade  Recordings.

  Clock  sounds  start  off  the  album   along  with  some  radio  stations  and  avant  garde  music  elements  being  added  onto  the  recording  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavier  musical  direction  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  making their  presence  known  on  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Melodies  can  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  at  times  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  utilizing  more  progressive  and  technical  structures  while  also  adding  acoustic  guitars  and  melodic  guitar  leads  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well  as  adding  synths  in  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  symphonic  feeling.

  High  pitched  screams  are  used  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  violins  and  clean  singing  and  a  great  amount  of  diversity  can  be  heard  throughout  the  recording  and  while  a  couple  of  songs  are  long  and  epic  in  length  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  slide  guitars  and  psychedelic  sounds.as  well  as  one  of t he  songs  being  an  instrumental  and  there  is  also  a  few  seconds of  blast  beats  towards  the  end  of  the  recordign  which  also  adds  more  brutality  to the  recording while  also a dding  in  saxophones  which  brings  in  the  influence  of  jazz  music.

  Solinaris  plays  a  style  of  death  metal  that  is  very  progressive  and  technical  while  also  experimenting  with  many  other  musical  styles  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  a  voyage  through  the  mind  of  a  serial  killer  living  his  last  few  seconds.

  In  my  opinion  Solinaris  are  a  very  great  sounding  experimental,  technical  and  progressive  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Deranged"  "Murder"  "Field  of  trees"  and  "Red  Rain".  8  out  of  10.

 

Revolted Masses 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?

We released our official video clip for the track "Waltz for the Fallen", for which we collaborated with the director Jim Evgenidis (Icon Filmworx), and a music video for "Bloodshed in Eden". Both tracks are featured in our new album. Also, we gave a very succesful release live show in Athens, together with other local bands that also released their records the same day.

2.In November you had 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?

We would describe our sound as extreme metal derived from a mixture of thrash and death metal, featuring oriental melodies and groovy passages. In our new album, we tried to experiment more with new elements that appeared in our debut in embryonic form: progressive rhythms, melodic solos, oriental scales and vocal variety. Perhaps "Age of Descent" is more inclined to death metal than its predecessor, with more extreme drumming.

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

We stay focused on socio-political topics, from a radical, anti-capitalist view. To be more specific, in the new album we deal with topics such as working class exploitation, media control and mass surveilance, imperialism, ecology, human trafficking and others.

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

The name refers to the people that are moving beyond their familiar ideology and practices, revolting against a rotting and expoiting system. In this sense, masses stop acting like a "mob", as each person stands up for themselves and their fellow people.

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?

We have performed in many special places all over Greece,including a tour with some great greek bands (Chronosphere and Vermilion Days, to name a few). We believe that one of our best shows we have ever given is our release live for "Age of Descent". In our shows we try to deliver our best, both musically and regarding our stage presence. Also, we touch the current political issues that we think are of interest.

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

Currently, two of the band's members serve  their obligatory (for Greek male citizens) army duty, so unfortunately live shows are suspended for the moment. But don't worry, we will be back soon, and hopefully our performance will be even better!

7.On the album cover you had a picture of Kali and your music does incorporate oriental elements, does the band have a huge interest in eastern culture?

Nice remark! The figure in our cover is indeed a variation of Indian goddess Kali and other religious and political symbols. As a band we have a great interest in eastern music, and more specifically to its mediterrenean variations. It appears pretty natural to us, since Greek traditional and folk music is very popular in our country, and it is full of such elements.

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

Our new album was given a great feedback, from the press and fans alike. We are glad that our new material is often described as of high quality, both regarding the music and the production, which was also done by us. Finally, another important fact is that many reviews find our sound distinctive and personal, which we believe is very important for a new band.

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

We have already began working on the material for our third album. Everyone is composing music in the band so you can understand that the ideas are really flowing and we can't predict where this will take us. The only thing that is for sure is that we want to raise our standards even more with each release.

10.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?

Although we always try to shape a personal sound, we cannot deny that there are some bands that have influenced us a lot, either consciously or unconsciously. We could name Metallica, Sepultura, Pantera, Arch Enemy, Iced Earth and Orphaned Land as our basic influences. Perhaps there are more influences from Lamb of God in the new album.  We are listening to many stuff, from Ghost to David Bowie, but some really interesting releases that we are listening to nowadays are “Titan” by Septicflesh, or “VII : Sturm und Drang” by Lamb of God.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Our band has a strong political message, so it makes sense that we are also politically active as persons. Apart from that, each member has its own personal interests. One activity we do in our free time is hanging out with each other, since we are not only bandmates, but also a company of friends.

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

Thank you very much for the interview! We hope that this year will bring the best for everyone. Perhaps it will give us a chance to reconsider things and make the personal and political revolution that is really needed nowadays.