Following are New Zealand Metal releases from 2012 that have left a mark on me. For one reason or another I haven’t had the opportunity to write proper reviews for during the year, so here are brief notes and reasons for you to get excited about them. I will do another 2012 roundup for international releases in the early days of 2013, but as local releases get priority around here you get this on new years eve!
BulletBelt - Down In The Cold Of The Grave
I’d describe the music of ‘BulletBelt’ as ‘Stadium Black Metal’ with the attitude of Motorhead, or as being the opposite of what Dark Throne stated black metal should and should not be in the early 90s i.e. BulletBelt are a fun live black metal band that you can jump around and have good time to.
BulletBelt have gone all out with ‘Down in the Cold of the Grave’! The production is clean, powerful and punchy. The songs all kick ass both in their writing and performance. And of course you can’t go past the incredible cover art by the highly talented Nick Keller. In other words it’s a solid kiwi metal release that you have no excuse not to own.
If I were to give some constructive criticism on what I though could strengthen the album even more, it would be to suggest that the rest of the back consider providing backing vocals to accent or reinforce choruses such as in the title track and the cover of 80s kiwi anthem ‘Mistaken Identity’ by ‘No Tag’.
‘Down in the Cold of the Grave’ really deserves a much more in depth review than what I’m giving it here, but I’ll make up for that soon with a detailed interview with the band.
‘Down in the Cold of the Grave’ can be obtained directly from BulletBelt’s own label ‘Headless Horseman’
Nullifier - Silent Destruction
Nullifier have been around the traps in Auckland for a while playing their well executed style of technical Death Thrash. ‘Silent Destruction’ is their no frills raw debut recording. It captures the band how they are and lets their music shines through. The songs ‘Species to be Regretted’ and ‘Desire And Torment’ stand out to me particularly because of their interesting melodies and unique sounding choruses. The are a direction which I hope Nullifier continues to head in. My only gripe about this recording is that the production sounds quite rough and rushed which is something I actually normally like. For a technical thrash band like Nullifier though they would benefit from a clearer production that would allow all of the flourishes to shine through. Still this is a solid debut!
Black Metal intense as balls being crushed in a high speed concrete mixer. MMXII contains three tracks, an instrumental ‘Intro’, ‘Conquered and Forgotten’ and ‘Desecrate Upon Thee’. All are fused together to create the illusion of them being one piece of continuous music. The pro-production from Jason Hislop give the release rounded clear but raw sound with one of the best bass tones and powerful drums. Well worth obtaining! I think this is completely sold out, but you can try your luck by contacting the band directly HERE
Bölzer - Roman Acupuncture - demo
Cassette version of 'Roman Acupuncture'
Bölzer are the honourary New Zealanders here. They are the new Swiss band of ex-pat New Zealander Okoi Jones (or ‘KzR’ as he’s known here), who was the former mainman of anti-Christchurch band ‘Aphelon’(of which also spawned Diocletian and Witchrist drummer Cam Sinclair). The 3 ‘Roman Acupuncture’ has already gained the band a decent amount of international underground exposure. Listening to the demo it’s not hard to see why. Bölzer have created their own original form of Black Frost Death Metal! With only two members (KzR on Gat and Vox and HzR on drums) the Bölzer sound features some of the most unique and dark rhythms and chord tones I’ve heard in metal to date. What’s even more exciting is that since this recording has been released they have put out this incredible new advanced track from an upcoming EP:
Forsaken Age are one of a growing number of bands appearing around New Zealand that play old school 80s style Heavy Metal. ‘Back from Extinction’ their debut, is nothing short of a rocking and fun listen full of anthemic homages to the gods of Heavy Metal. My preference is to see them in the live environment with a few brews under my belt as they play alongside scene mates Stormforge, Hedonic and Stone Monarch. ‘Back from Extinction’ is the ideal souvenir to take from a Forsaken Age show. But you still need to be there.
Note: There have also been 2012 releases from Open Tomb, Meth Drinker, Anno Domini Mortus and Razorwyre. I will be featuring reviews of these along with interviews with said bands in early 2013.
A few months ago I wrote this review of an advanced copy of the 'Sacrifice, Perish & Demise' EP by Auckland black death thrash band Exordum Mors. That EP has since been officially released by NZ based label Hells Vomit Productions so I thought is would be time to send some interview questions that band's way. They quickly responded with the following...
1) For the benefit of those who don’t know about Exordium Mors could you please give a brief rundown of the bands history.
Black Mortum: Exordium Mors was formed in 2004. Me and Santi were introduced at a underground metal gig out in a garage in South Auckland by our first bass player Adam (RIP). That was a pretty awesome show with about 8 bands headlined by Dawn of Azazel back in their brutal war metal days.
We jammed and it clicked from the very beginning that we were going to be fast and violent metal that would rip faces off. That is what Exordium Mors is and always will be.
We recruited Martin Cavanagh (ex-Dawn of Azazel, ex-Forced to Submit and ex-Skuldom) who drummed for us for about 6 months. But once he joined Dawn he had to leave as they had quite a lot on their plates with touring / recording.
We recruited Adam and Pete in 2004 on drums and bass respectively. I was jamming with them at the time as a separate band “Apokalyptik Goat Messiah”. They had heard me and Santi jam one day and in a couple of weeks they asked to join. We recruited Scourge shortly after in 2005. This was the initial full line up of Exordium Mors and so the whirlwind of lineup changes begins.
Adam and Pete left after Serva Ad Mors (our first demo recording) in 2006 - 2007, we then recruited Pierre and Kurt after some years of looking around for musicians. This lineup recorded the Verus Hostis – A Hymn to Fire 7” EP in 2009. Pierre and Kurt left after a year or so.
Our rhythm section constantly changed. Many came and left as you can see in the bio on our website but the ones above were the notable members.
It is very difficult to find musicians in NZ who play this sort of music and are committed enough to carry the flame.
We always wrote music (us being Me, Scourge and Santi) but due to line up changes it took awhile to get the music we were writing recorded and out for all metal maniacs to listen to - hence why our new EP “Sacrifice Perish and Demise” has tracks that were written in 2004! It wasn’t till Assailant (who was a friend from the legendary thrash / heavy metal band Heavy Artillery) and Hades (who we saw playing with death metal destroyers Hackmessah) were recruited that we have had a stable line up.
This is the line up that we had longed for all these years! Solid musicians with experience, skill and dedication to their craft and to the band. Each bringing in their own creative input to the band.
Watch out for the next year as we will finally be recording and releasing material that has been in the making for many years. Parts that have been rewritten countless times to make sure it flowed the right way. Many rich melodies yet not losing the over the top violence of real extreme music. The Apotheosis of Death will rip your face off.
The live arena is where I believe we shine the most! You will see that we will be doing more shows internationally in the coming years so watch out! Exordium Mors may be decimating the stage in your country soon.
2) For your forthcoming debut album you have a 30 minute long song called The Apotheosis of Death. Could you please tell us a bit about that?
Scourge: Firstly, the song is divided into 6 'parts' which can be played stand-alone (we have done this live on several occasions) or as one (which we did for the Auckland show when we supported Impiety on their 2012 tour in NZ). This was intentional as we wanted the songs to sound good on their own but stronger as an overall piece.
Lyrically, as always I write my songs with two-fold, sometimes even three-fold meanings but I would like the audience to interpret them however which way they'd like. Suffice to say, it's a savage track with themes of vengeance, iconoclasm, chaos (and the order thereof) and immortality.
Santi: Aside from being a Metalhead, I'm also a fan of 70s prog rock and the idea of creating a song comprised of 6 separate songs (that as Scourge said are songs in their own right and can be played on their own) that form into one was inspired by hymns like "Supper's Ready" by Genesis, "Tarkus" by ELP, "2112" by Rush and on the Metal side of things "Conqueror of Fear" by Order From Chaos.
Those first 3 songs that I mentioned each clock in at about the 20 min. mark and have certain melodies / themes that are central to the song which recurs every now and again. Once we record "Apotheosis of Death" in its entirety and you have a listen, you'll notice that there are certain riffs that are repeated in various parts of the song - sometimes instantly recognizable and at other times in a slightly different arrangement.
I wanted to do something similar, albeit in a Metal context, with all the complexities and continuity that those great 70s prog songs had.
Now just to make it clear, it wasn't just myself who wrote this. We all contributed riffs, ideas and arrangements.’
3) Could you tell us a bit more about the album itself? What else will be on it? How will the music compare to the “Sacrifice...” ep? When can we expect to see it released? Will it have bad assed cover art again? If so what?
Scourge: The album will have 3-4 other tracks on there. We are still in the process of writing these, with one recently being completed. The music will likely be more technical than the 'Sacrifice, Perish and Demise' EP - mainly due to the fact that two of the songs on that EP were written at an early stage of the band. We are looking to record and have it released next year. The artwork will have continuality and only rough ideas have been formed at this stage but if you have seen Nick Keller's other work (http://nickbkeller.blogspot.co.nz/), it will be nothing short of astounding.
Black Mortum: The album will be huge step up for us musically and recording it is going to be quite a task but we are all looking forward to it. We will have Alex who recorded our last 2 releases working with us again at his new studio.
It will have a range of material that we have written over the years and also brand new tracks that are still being worked on at the moment. We tend to write long songs so I would say the release will have to be on a double LP as we’re already at the point where it’s passing 40 minutes.
If you would like a sample of what's to come, we have a live video online from a local show we played recently where we play “Primordial Inversion Evolution” from the “Serva Ad Mors” demo and the second half being “Unto the Lightning Swords of Conquest” which is one of the songs in the Apotheosis of Death epic.
You can watch this here:-
4) You played the Siamese True Metal Fest 2011 in Thailand? How did that go for you? How do Thai audiences compare to NZ ones?
Scourge: Fucking great! The crowd, the atmosphere - everything about it was Metal in it’s fanatically glory. Besides the obvious population difference between audiences, they were just as rabid as NZ ones - I would say even more so. Every attendee was a diehard and only there for the music and not there for some pathetic scene points or just because their friend was playing there. We look forward to playing there and the rest of Southeast Asia in future.
Black Mortum: This gig was an honour for us to play and a great experience in Thailand! Playing with bands that we have been fans of for years! The Mighty Impiety and Surrender of Divinity! And further gaining allies in destruction by meeting other bands who were playing/attending the show like Draconis Infernum and the Battlestorm / Imperial Tyrants legions! It was a truly Metal as fuck show just the way we like it!
5) Tell us everything you think we need to know about your ‘Sacrifice, Perish and Demise’ EP, including the artwork, label release, the music featured any who should obtain it.
Scourge: The artwork was done by the masterful Nick Keller. It represents the lyrics in full and foreshadows what to expect in the 'Apotheosis of Death' both lyrically and art-wise. Hells' Vomit has released the CD version and the Cassette version will be available soon through Iron, Blood & Death Corp. There are also iTunes, Amazon and a whole host of other websites to download it from. You can also listen to it for free through Spotify.
The music featured on it is nothing less than explosive, vicious Black/Thrash. Lyrically it represents the title of the EP with various themes of 'Sacrifice, Perish and Demise'. Anybody that likes fast, rabid, non-trendy Metal should hear this and own it - especially before the 'Apotheosis of Death' is unleashed.
6) What’s happening in this picture?
Band: Rape.
7) Of the 5 members of Exordium Mors; Black Mortum is Malaysian Indian, Santi is Filipino, Scourge is Part NZ European/part Filipino, whilst Assailant and Hades are pure NZ Palangi. Was this intentional or coincidental? How do you think each band member’s ethnic and cultural background contributes to the creativity and energy of the band?
Scourge: With New Zealand, Auckland especially being a melting pot of different cultures it was purely coincidental that this line-up was obtained. I don't believe it plays much of a part in our music other than us being more open-minded when looking at various Metal bands from around the world. I think that it can be easy for people just to focus on the American or European centres for Metal but South East Asia, South America and other obscure countries have great Metal bands/scenes.
8) What are the lyrical themes covered in the music of Exordium Mors? Why have you chosen these? Give us some key examples from songs.
Scourge: At the time that I joined the band I did not see or hear of any bands that had a strong Hellenistic/Ancient Roman themes and being strongly influenced by a time where Judeo-Christianity either a) didn’t exist or b) was outlawed, persecuted or ridiculed; I gravitated to building lyrics around this period.
The music is very complex, so in order to make up for my musically inability I decided to make this up lyrically and hence why my lyrics are also quite deep and complex. I tend to blend Nietzsche philosophy, Satanism, Ancient Roman/Pagan themes with my own personal philosophies and emotions. This is why the lyrics are so complex and can be read in more than one way. It also separates us from bands like Kawir or Nile who focus purely on the historical/mythological times of this period. Not that there is anything wrong with that (being a big fan of both bands) however I believe it is important to have your own philosophies and outlook portrayed in your lyrics and for your lyrics to have some meaning to yourself as well as to your audience.
Although I like the reader to interpret their own vision of my lyrics I will give you two key examples of this:
Firstly the song 'Unleash Prometheus' taken from the 7" EP 'Verus Hostis - A Hymn to Fire'. This song can be related to the Titan Prometheus who defied the Gods and brought fire to mankind and therefore knowledge and self-sufficiency and of course was duly (and unfairly) punished. In this I relate Prometheus to myself and extend it to all others who have felt downtrodden, defeated and betrayed. The song goes on to say that through eternal struggle, one can break the chains of servitude, rise above and defeat those who seek to keep you down. This can be metaphysically or physically through one's own demons or literally other persons. This is true strength and for those that attain it should be forever hailed. Furthermore, it can be related to those who seek true knowledge and will not let society or any particular person keep them in the dark even if it means punishment and being the outcast, the rebel. "Better to die on your feet, than live on your knees" comes to mind.
Secondly the song 'Ancestors' Call' taken from our latest EP 'Sacrifice, Perish and Demise'. This song relates to the Ancient Roman practice of Ancestor Worship but also it is a song about how I view the dead if they were able to see the living (I do not believe in an afterlife), how they would react seeing their descendants waste their lives. This song is very much rooted in today's society in which I see my generation waste their lives in endless pursuits of hedonism rather than pursuing a path of knowledge. Let me be clear though, I am not advocating a life of straight-edgeism or holiness or even academic pursuits. I am merely stating that people are more concerned with partying rather than with seeking ways to benefit themselves, society and indeed the future. We are given one life to make our mark on history and I feel that my generation has wasted their opportunity.
9) Scourge has recently put out the “Axiom of the Elite” ‘zine and compilation CD. For those that don’t know what is this? Why did you decide to put it out? How can people get hold of it?
Scourge: This is a ‘zine dedicated to the New Zealand Underground Metal scene featuring bands that are lesser known/unknown on the international stage. The reasons for putting this out are outlined in the foreword of the 'zine but basically it was to give opportunity for these bands to be better promoted/heard overseas. I am currently out of stock for now, but check the Facebook link as all distributors will be updated there shortly.
10) What is Chaos NZ? How are Exordium Mors connected to it?
Black Mortum: Chaos NZ is a Metal promotions company that Santi and I along with Lee and Chrissy from Forsaken Age started with the sole purpose of getting more metal shows happening in NZ. At the moment there are four of us: Me, Santi, Lee and Allan from Nullifier. We have been bringing over some great metal acts in the last 2 years! Some of the more well-known ones being Absu, Impiety and Inquisition so far. Alongside Marduk in January, 2013 will see a lot more international Metal bands reaching our shores so keep your eyes peeled! We also put on many underground shows here with our local acts.
11) Any last comments?
Band: Be forewarned as this pestilent plague of violence is set to raze, ruin and conquer the globe. We will triumphantly stand ablaze upon the corpse of your cities within the coming year and beyond! Abandon all hope before the Apotheosis of Death! 666!
Wherever possible, I aim to avoid using genres and bands to try and describe the music that I review. Instead, I attempt to use descriptive wording to try and recreate a mental picture of what the band or artist’s music might sound like. In the case of 'Drug Honkey - Ghost in the Fire' two thoughts initially came to mind:
1) A few years ago I took some acid that, unknown to me, had been quadruple dipped i.e. it was insanely strong! The result was an experience that I would compare to having my brain put in a washing machine, whilst struggling to make sense of my thoughts and surroundings for the best part of 12 hours. Conversations would go off on tangents mid-stream, never returning to their point of origin, as it couldn't be recalled. Unknown sounds and noises manifested from places beyond would randomly appear and disappear never to be repeated. It was a total head fuck! This experience is probably why I am the way I am now!
2) When I was a kid I used to have recurring nightmares of creatures with razor sharp teeth biting into my rib cage and legs. I also had similar dreams where instead of teeth they were machines with 6-inch metal spikes doing the same thing. The sensation was so real that I’d often feel the physical pain fading away once I woke up.
Now, if you can imagine both of those things slowed by 90%, thrown together in a concrete mixer, along with even measures of sludge and distortion, you’ll get a pretty good idea of what to expect from Drug Honkey - ‘Ghost in the Fire’.
Notable points on this album include the band’s organic take on “Twitcher” by Scorn, and the third track ‘Weight of the World’ with it’s chorus chant of “This knowledge makes you strong...”
If there was something I’d like to hear Drug Honkey do to enhance their sound, it would be for them to create more twisted, disturbing lyrics and then deliver them as manic yet decipherable as possible. This would compliment the music perfectly.
In saying that, the vocals on ‘Ghost in the Fire’ do compliment the music in a different way. That is, they are varied and come from a smorgasbord of different voices throughout the album - much like the sounds and instrumentation. There is always something going on in the music that you can’t quite identify, making the music of ‘Drug Honkey’ all the more interesting to listen to.
Check out Drug Honkey on Facebook to find out how to get hold of 'Ghost in the Fire'.
Cineploit is a new label by former Pungent Stench drummer Alex Wank, who while pummeling the skins in that band for the past two decades has also been a movie and soundtrack collector. The focus of Cineploit is to release music (on 180g vinyl and CD) inspired by and for lovers of soundtrack music especially Italian and European Cinema of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.
It’s first two releases, which I’ve had the fortune to listen to are by THELEMA and MALABIMBA.
Effectively these albums are soundtracks to movies that exist only in the artists heads and by listening to them you are left to interpret what those movies might in your own. I’ll therefore attempt to review Cineploit Records first two releases by describing the movies that appear in my mind when I listen to them.
MALABIMBA - MalaBimba
A quick google search shows that “MalaBimba” is the title of a 1979 Italian horror/soft porn movie. I haven’t seen it so I’m going to go with my imagined version. The album cover features a small child stabbing a teddy bear through the top of the head with a bread knife. This sets the scene for a twisted B grade slasher/cannibal flick with a minimalist score featuring drums and 70s style analogue keyboards. Like a stripped back Goblin without guitars.
The film kicks off with the creepy laid back jingle of “Meta Strada 1” which is followed by the 70’s cop show theme styled “Meta Strada 2”. Both of which allow us to establish that MalaBimba is set during 1974 in an isolated country town somewhere in Italy, where there is only one remaining cop.
I did find the scene, set to the goofy ‘Addormentato’ (then leading into the more dramatic tones of ‘Addormentato 2’) to be very effective. In his teenage years, our main character seeks revenge on his over domineering grandmother by graphically forcing, base first, an entire dial telephone up her ass. However, I think that the director and producer should have chosen clever editing and sound effects to replicate this, rather than blowing a good chunk of the movie’s budget to hire an Anal Contortionist to carry out the stunt. As he grows up, our lead antagonist then goes on his sick and twisted psycho sexual rampage through the small Italian town, whilst evading (and eventually beheading) the local cop to the sounds of ‘Diventare Adulto’, ‘L’Ultimo Poliziotto’ and ‘La Violenza’ among others.
This is a solid first effort, but I would like to hear this duo expand instrumentally. Funk bass, jazz trumpets and the odd gong or kettle drum wouldn’t go amiss here. Perhaps in future movies, if the director and producer channel their budgets towards the soundtrack (rather than international casting calls for practitioners in the dark arts of Anal Contortion), it will allow them to expand musically into these and ‘other’ areas.
For now though this stripped back approach works to the movie’s stark advantage. Particularly in the final scene, where in what we assume (hope?) is a dream sequence, the lead gets his just deserts when a giant replica of his tortured childhood Teddy bear gets his revenge by ramming a fence post through the top of his skull. All of which is set to the sound of the rather groovy and up tempo ‘Senza Disciplinare (Qui Finisce Male)’.
THELEMA - Hearing the Light
“Hearing the Light” is the lost David Lynch movie where all the dialogue was spoken by the actors backward in German. All of its Characters are unlikeable and fortunately die slow & agonising, well deserved deaths. That is, except for the faceless antagonist featured on the album cover, who whilst appearing nasty, seems to be more human and likeable than any of his victims.
From the brooding hypnotic nightmare opening sequence of “Close your eyes and See”, “Hearing the Light” is almost entirely cold and grey. However, “You will not get that so fast” brings about a slightly lighter tone with a female vocal being introduced to signify springtime and the main character’s new love interest. This soon becomes pointless though, as she is slowly frozen to death whilst ice skating naked the following winter (after a summer that never arrived) during a lovemaking scene gone wrong. This is depicted in the track “Grey evening” with it’s morbid rock lead guitar tones and hammond grimness. Later, there are dying hints of warmth attempting to push through, as her isolated, trapped and fading ghost returns during the track “Still hearing the Light” and for one last gasp in the epilogue “A light reprise”.
“Hearing the Light” is the sound of 1950s Film Noir, blended amongst modern ambient lounge music trappings. It comes from a world where there are always dark clouds blocking out the sun, no one ever smiles yet can seek the courage to slit their own wrists.
Next from Cineploit
Three more albums from Cineploit have already been released. They are ZOLTAN – “First Stage Zoltan” ORGASMO SONORE – Revisiting obscure film music vol. 2 and SOSPETTO – Segni Misteriosi, con il sangue dipinto sul muro. Also released are two limited edition splatter vinyl 7”s by ‘Omaggio’ (Alain Leonard and Alex Wank) which are tributes to ‘Lucio Fulci’ and ‘Joe D’Amato’ You can go and check out all of these including the albums reviewed here by going to http://www.cineploit.com
