tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2870842876679014632024-03-13T12:13:37.688-07:00Subcide WebzineAll music dark, noisy, brutal and/or abrasiveSubcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-33778034073417239522019-08-29T13:47:00.000-07:002019-08-30T18:18:32.759-07:00Review: Diocletian - 'Amongst The Flames Of A Burning God' <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fhfe24RZSxY/XWgxlTSNTnI/AAAAAAAAJlE/Xv7meOTawEwTus2_s1fOkgghx55C03OdgCLcBGAs/s1600/a3330775844_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1199" data-original-width="1200" height="319" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fhfe24RZSxY/XWgxlTSNTnI/AAAAAAAAJlE/Xv7meOTawEwTus2_s1fOkgghx55C03OdgCLcBGAs/s320/a3330775844_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
(Profound Lore Records 2019)<br />
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‘Amongst The Flames Of A Burning God’ is the first Diocletian album after its near death and then resurrection due to an 80% lineup transplant. Unlike previous albums, which crushed you by surprise under their monstrous treads, this Diocletian is a feral one which fills you with dread while it stalks you in full view then rips you apart with its huge predatory razor sharp teeth. Its nature pronounces itself through well crafted ‘tension and attack’ sections, sharpened by angry divebomb guitar solos along with dual high and low rhythmic lead vocals from R.W (ex Dawn of Azazel) and Impurath (ex Black Witchery). <br />
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At 27 minutes ‘Amongst The Flames’ is also the shortest Diocletian album. Far less polished than its predecessor, ‘Gesundrian’. Its production is closer to the raw filth of debut, ‘Doom Cult’. But with less emphasis on low end or prominence of drums in its mix. Something which enhances its aggressive nature.<br />
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The first of three standout tracks ‘Nuclear Wolves’ opens ‘Amongst The Flames’, setting the album’s tone in its full fierce impact. ‘Degenerate Swarm’ continues the theme before arriving at the king hitter of the album, ‘Repel the Attack’. “Repel...’ in my opinion is the strongest Diocletian composition to date. Its introduction to the album of descending riffs using either minor harmonies, chords, scales or a combination (I can’t tell for sure under the chaos) make it stand out along with it’s rhythmic chanted chorus. Something else that’s prominent on this album. On ‘Berserker Rites’ descending riff theme continues into ‘Invincibility through Strife’ and then ‘Procreate Strength’. ‘Plundered By Hyenas’ for some reason I can’t put my finger on, I’m brought back to reality and reminded that I’m listening to a band of human musicians recorded and mixed onto audio files. This is only a brief interlude however as album closer and final standout ‘Restart Civilisation’ drags us back into the post apocalyptic world of the hunter and the hunted with it’s opening doom and late appearance of Penderecki’s ‘Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima’ (Google it) which also bids our existence goodbye in it’s dying screech.</div>
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A secret is in the hidden groove.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Much thought has gone into the presentation of 'Amongst The Flames Of A Burning God' Which sees the return of simplified imagery, also reminiscent of 'Doom Cult'</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Each format has been made unique. Including the CD edition which is not featured here.</td></tr>
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Critics could ask, is this a different Diocletian using the same name? To which I answer, no, it’s a different chapter of the same concept. A chapter which is in an intermediary stage. Building toward the brilliance of it’s final crescendo, which I hope leaves off from ‘Repel the Attack’. <br />
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Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-54627554600498081642017-08-21T01:55:00.001-07:002017-08-21T02:07:47.195-07:00Obituary: Cleary West 1972 - 2017<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jYNWeGqLyOM/WZqd9Ga0fII/AAAAAAAAJGo/WZpfMuWc6MY_5caWZMyF2PexDhdvsDUwwCEwYBhgL/s1600/Cleary02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jYNWeGqLyOM/WZqd9Ga0fII/AAAAAAAAJGo/WZpfMuWc6MY_5caWZMyF2PexDhdvsDUwwCEwYBhgL/s640/Cleary02.jpg" width="614" /></a></div>
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Friday 18 August 2017, sadly saw the sudden passing of Cleary West, "Warfare Pulse Controller"of the Invercargill death metal band 'Hatred', of which he'd been bashing the drums for since it's formation in 1992.</div>
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I've had quite a bit to do with Cleary and his bandmates over the last 20 or so years. Particularly when I was bringing bands to tour NZ and would get Hatred open on the Invercargill or Dunedin dates. These included Brutal Truth, Pungent Stench (twice), Atomizer, Sticky Filth and numerous local bands.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hatred in Wellington on their 2014 'Hikoi of Hatred' tour. L to R Robbie, Cleary, Brady and Sam (RIP)</td></tr>
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I, as well as the many who knew him, will miss him for his hardcase personality and hilarious grasp of Southland self-depreciating humour.</div>
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My fondest memory of Cleary though, was not so much a funny one, but a more of a heart warming moment. Pungent Stench were playing the first night of their 2003 New Zealand tour in Invercargill at Tillermans. The show was packed with an enthusiastic audience who were stoked that an international underground metal band like them would come to play their town. So much so was the disbelief, that the bar had been receiving calls to ask if it was the real Pungent Stench and not just a tribute band using the same name. Stench blew the roof off that night and after about their second encore, I recall seeing Cleary jump up on the stage, grab the microphone and announce something along the lines of "Hey everyone, these guys have come all the way from the other side of the world to play this kick ass show for us. Let show them a big Invercargill round of appreciation!!!". Which of course it was followed by, leading on to yet another encore and one of the longest (and best) sets Pungent Stench played on that tour. I know that Martin, Alex & Mario from that line up of Pungent Stench, also felt this show to be a special stand out from all their years of touring and will be ensuring they get to read this. </div>
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At the time of writing, the remaining members of Hatred, Robbie and Brady (Sadly bass player Sam also passed away from cancer in 2016), are feeling pretty broken up at the loss of their mate and have agreed that yours truly should write the initial version of Cleary's obituary for the New Zealand metal community. As I'm sure many of you who knew Cleary will have lots entertaining stories to tell to about him, I'd like to make this post a live document that can be added to over time as his friends and whanau remember or feel ready to share. If you have something you'd like to add, leave it in the comments or pass it onto me via Brady or Robbie. </div>
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Haere ra e hoa, kua haere ki tua o te ārai - Farewell to my friend, he's gone to the other side of the veil</div>
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Chris Rigby<br />
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Following is Cleary's death notice as it appeared in the 19 August 2017 edition of the Southland Times:<br />
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WEST, Cleary James:<br />
2.3.1972 - 17.8.2017<br />
"Warfare Pulse Controller". It is with a broken heart and a touch of anger that we have to announce the sudden passing of Cleary. Loved son of Westy, brother of Bert, Rhondda, Nikki, Mary, Paul, and Darren. Father of Araya and birth father of Khellsey-Anna, Kaytlin and Shayla Rose, step dad of Zhan'e, Annekea, and Jacob. "A Hatred Mate" of Rob Dog, Brady, and Sam. Loved uncle of Crofty, dear friend of Keita, a lover of all things music and our heart and a laugh for any and all. Funeral arrangements to be announced.<br />
\../ BRUTAL HAILS \../No flowers please but Araya likes chocolate! Messages to 64 Price Street, Invercargill.<br />
Avenal Park Funeral Home, Invercargill<br />
03 2189021<br />
F.D.A.N.Z.</blockquote>
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WHERE TO GET HELP (Within New Zealand)<br />
<ul>
<li>Lifeline (open 24/7) - 0800 543 354</li>
<li>Depression Helpline (open 24/7) - 0800 111 757</li>
<li>Healthline (open 24/7) - 0800 611 116</li>
<li>Samaritans (open 24/7) - 0800 726 666</li>
<li>Suicide Crisis Helpline (open 24/7) - 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO). This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends.</li>
<li>Youthline (open 24/7) - 0800 376 633. You can also text 234 for free between 8am and midnight, or email <a href="mailto:talk@youthline.co.nz">talk@youthline.co.nz</a></li>
<li>0800 WHATSUP children's helpline - phone 0800 9428 787 between 1pm and 10pm on weekdays and from 3pm to 10pm on weekends. Online chat is available from 7pm to 10pm every day at <a href="http://www.whatsup.co.nz/">www.whatsup.co.nz</a>.</li>
<li>Kidsline (open 24/7) - 0800 543 754. This service is for children aged 5 to 18. Those who ring between 4pm and 9pm on weekdays will speak to a Kidsline buddy. These are specially trained teenage telephone counsellors.</li>
<li>Your local Rural Support Trust - 0800 787 254 (0800 RURAL HELP)</li>
<li>Alcohol Drug Helpline (open 24/7) - 0800 787 797. You can also text 8691 for free.</li>
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<li>For further information, contact the Mental Health Foundation's free Resource and Information Service (09 623 4812).</li>
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Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-41213736477666395682017-08-07T03:22:00.003-07:002017-08-07T03:26:01.544-07:00Lock Up vocalist, Kevin Sharp passes brutal-as-fuck kidney stone!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>In 1998, around the time details of Bill Clinton's cigar escapades were coming out, I found myself promoting a New Zealand tour for Brutal Truth. It was the first time I'd ever done anything like that, so although the tour went pretty well, I didn't really know what I was doing and there were a few minor fuck ups along the way. One said fuck up involved not properly organising accommodation in Palmerston North, resulting in us all having to sleep on the floor of the venue (The Stomach). The next morning I recall looking over to see drummer, Rich Hoak waking up from under a bed he'd made from tour shirts he'd got out of the merch. Then becoming uncomfortably aware that, as some perverse form of punishment, Kevin Sharp's bare ass and balls were squatted, hovering less than two inches above my head from where I was lying! </b></div>
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<b>This morning I checked facebook to see his over night birth announcement (see above).</b></div>
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<b>Being once so horribly close to the origin of the offending giblet, I pulled no punches in asking the hard questions in the post comments.</b></div>
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<b>Subcide Webzine: Congratulations. Did that come out through the eye of your dick?</b><br />
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<b>Kevin Sharp: </b>It sure did... wonderful feeling<br />
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<b>Subcide: How big? (The stone)</b><br />
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<b>Kevin Sharp:</b> 3/8"<br />
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<b>Subcide: What does it smell like?</b><br />
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<b>Kevin Sharp:</b> to be honest - you've asked some pretty fucked up questions... but sort of that new stone smell<br />
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<b>Subcide: Was there blood when you pissed it out?</b><br />
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<b>Kevin Sharp:</b> no.. when these things bang around on the inside... you bleed a little bit every time... I was half asleep when it launched... barely noticed... just heard it bounce in the bowl... stuck to the side... didn't even have to dig it out... got any more questions asshat?<br />
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<b>Subcide: why yes I do, scrotum face. When it stuck to the side of the bowl, did you have to put your hand in with all your piss or did it stick above the waterline?</b></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100014872695485"></a><b>Kevin Sharp:</b> above waterline</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100014872695485"></a>Subcide: what do you think it stuck to? How heavy is it?</b></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100014872695485"></a><b>Kevin Sharp:</b> fuk my life you're annoying... no idea.. not heavy... sorta like coral</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100014872695485"></a>Subcide: Thank you. That will be all.</b></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100014872695485"></a><b>Kevin Sharp:</b> you sure... I'm here all night wise guy</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100014872695485"></a>Subcide: Can I publish this as an interview on my blog?</b></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100014872695485"></a><b>Kevin Sharp:</b> Chris Rigby, you really don't give up - tenacious twat</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100014872695485"></a>Subcide: I take that as a yes?</b></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100014872695485"></a><b>Kevin Sharp:</b> of course... now fuck off...</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100014872695485"></a>Subcide: Good night and Thank you.</b></div>
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<b>Kevin is currently lead vocalist for 'Lock Up', who will be touring Australia and New Zealand with Napalm Death and Brujeria this October. You can find details for the Auckland show, Listen to the new Lock Up album 'Demonization' and see a close up of Quasimodo, all below. </b></div>
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<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2515211745/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 470px; width: 350px;"><a href="http://listenable-records.bandcamp.com/album/demonization">Demonization by LOCK UP</a></iframe><br />
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Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-27980586712743351202016-10-20T03:58:00.001-07:002016-10-20T19:45:19.712-07:00Heresiarch interview<div>
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<b>There hasn't been a new post here since May 2015 and I've been hassling N.H from Wellington New Zealand's Heresiarch to do an interview here since at least 2011. So it's only appropriate that he gets to break the drought....</b></div>
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1) It’s been awhile since your 2014 Wælwulf ep. What’s been happening with Heresiarch since then?</b></div>
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After Wælwulf, we did shows in NZ and Black Conjuration IV Fest in Australia, at the time I was also doing drums and then bass for Vesicant. For 2015 we were inactive.</div>
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This year we recruited N.O on drums, now have J.B back in the lineup and for the first time have a lineup with all members in the same city. We've been working on new material for our full length since. Recently we recorded our track for the split with Genocide Shrines, Trepanation and Serpents Athirst which will be out on Dark Descent and Cyclopean Eye in 2017.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Wælwulf 7" cover</span></td></tr>
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<b>2) Having your line up all in the same city must be a significant change for you. What aspects do you think that does to enhance Heresiarch? If any, what were the advantages of the previous two lines ups that were national and then trans tasman?</b></div>
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Being able to regularly rehearse as a full band has further developed our music, the writing process and presentation of live material.</div>
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There were definite advantages in the previous recording lineups but they were independent of location... Each individual involved to date has made important contributions to the band with commitment, experience and musicianship.</div>
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<b>3) How did this 4 way split come about? What was the deciding factor for the combination of bands? Tell us about your contribution toward it.</b></div>
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I've been in contact with Genocide Shrines before the "Devanation Monumentemples" EP was released in 2012, we have mutual respect for each other’s music and ideology.</div>
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I was in Sri Lanka recently and discussed with Genocide Shrines and Serpents Athirst members, we all agreed on the bands involved and labels to work with. Trepanation are also on board which are one of the best NZ band's today, the track they’ve recorded is pure savagery.</div>
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Each band will be contributing one new song to this release, our track represents how the new material for the coming album will sound.</div>
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/284537291&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe>
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Preview of the Heresiarch contribution to the split</div>
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<b>4) Looking ahead from the split, what else is on the horizon for Heresiarch at the moment?</b></div>
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The priority for this year has been working on new material, we’re working on the last songs currently.</div>
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We recently played with Immolation at Valhalla in Wellington which was our first live appearance in over 2 years. In November/December we have gigs lined up with Trepanation in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch alongside some newer bands such as Desolation Horns and Exaltation. We’re discussing opportunities for next year but our focus is towards building the foundations for the new era of Heresiarch.</div>
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<b>5) Tell us about this album. Please give an idea about lyrical and musical themes, titles, intended release date and anything else we could expect. </b></div>
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The title is Death Ordinance, it is being composed with a lyrical and musical narrative, similar to what was done with Wælwulf but further expanded.</div>
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Each song has a specific place in the album and is written accordingly, it’s important that the full length album is complete, rather than a collection of songs. Release dates will be given by Dark Descent when it is time to, our focus is on composing the material to reflect the vision rather than meeting an arbitrary deadline. One of the tracks features on the coming split and will give an indication<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "calibri" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">.</span></div>
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<b>6) So with ‘Death Ordinance’ being consistent with what we heard on the Wælwulf ep, can we expect to hear more of the dynamic, complex song writing such as that on the track ‘Endethraest’? Also will we see the artwork of Nick Keller again? If so what concept might that take</b>?</div>
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The songs composed are more developed than previous material. The addition of C.S has contributed a new element of song writing which still reflects the sound or Heresiarch. The concept, theme and structure of the album is all planned, referenced and we are ensuring that each song composed reflects this.</div>
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We are likely to be working with a different artist for the album, our music and lyrics are very visual so the suitable artist will have plenty to draw influence from.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nick Keller's gatefold inside cover art for the 2011 '<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Hammer of Intransigence' ep</span></td></tr>
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<b> 7) Could you please expand on some of the lyrical themes contained on the Wælwulf ep and how they may be developing on future material?</b></div>
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Wælwulf took a different turn compositionally and lyrically to the previous releases, at the time I was the only member composing material and I drew on a lot more of my personal influences rather than musical.</div>
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There’s an atavistic narrative through the piece balancing primitivism and a more reflective underpinning philosophy. The lyrics draw influence from Germanic, specifically Anglo-Saxon historic and literary texts such as Brunaburh and Maldon. There’s allusions to Ragnarök\ Götterdämmerung, with an Anti-Theistic approach (murder of gods, rejection of hope, destiny and fate) as well as implications to the present.</div>
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That theme will be expanded on later as a "saga”, but won't be on the album. The album expands on the composition and flow found in Wælwulf, with each track having a specific purpose in the scheme of the album. This is why the Obsecrating, Hammer and Wælwulf were individual demos and EP's rather than recorded together as an album.</div>
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<b>8) I guess that leads to a few questions. In your view, how do you see pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon history having implications in the present day? Where did you become interested in these things? Does this suggest that ideas for future Heresiarch EPs might be in their embryonic form?</b><br />
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Numerous historic texts are still applied to the present day which multitudes adhere to with mindless devotion. The lyrical content can draw influence from an event or text without specifically referring to it, there are parallels with multiple cultures and eras throughout history.<br />
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There’s no suggestion to foster spurious relationships with old gods and tribes, or escape reality and romanticise the past. Wælwulf recounts multiple references whilst having an application to the present, in mind, attitude and will.<br />
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The follow up to the album is already taking form. It will feature previous and unreleased material recorded as a cohesive release.<br />
<b>9) Tell us about the process or processes you use to write your music. What is working particularly well at the moment?</b><br />
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C.S and I consistently work on new material together as well as separately. We focus on each track\section of the album specifically, if something is more fitting elsewhere it will be designated so.<br />
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Each tracks place in the overall composition is specific and if it doesn’t reflect this, it is discarded, writing with a greater context in mind has worked well.<br />
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<b>10) What aesthetic theme are you considering for your future live shows?</b></div>
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We will be building on what we’ve used previously with smoke, lighting and minimal “crowd pleasing” interaction. Creating an inclusive atmosphere does not reflect our music, in a live setting the listener should be able to experience this, rather than participate in a group activity. The audience should feel as though they are being watched just as much as the band.</div>
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<b><b>11) You say you want "minimal crowd pleasing" in your live show and that you want the audience "to feel though they are being watched". How do you see your audience? If you don't want them to be pleased, for what reason should they come to see Heresiarch play live? </b></b></div>
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Those familiar with our sound and releases should know what to expect, we’re not going to strike up conversations and share anecdotes between songs. The live atmosphere is a representation of the sound and vision of the band.</div>
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<b><b>12) Do you have a set idea of what you’re aiming for with Heresiarch’s music? I mean, do you feel like you’re making that music right now? Or are you still exploring the path towards your end goal?</b></b></div>
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Yes, we are very specific with what we are working towards. The new material written is the best representation of the band musically and thematically and is the most purposeful manifestation of Heresiarch. Throughout each release the music and ideas have evolved while maintaining the underpinning identity of the band, the end goal is likely to evolve with time as well.</div>
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<b><b>13) You’ve talked about influences, be they personal or musical, but what inspires you to keep pushing ahead with Heresiarch today?</b> </b></div>
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We will continue forwards until there is nothing more to say/do, at this stage there is no conclusive end in sight. Even during periods of inactivity we have used the time to formulate and develop ideas for the future, those ideas give purpose and become the motive for continuing. If this changes, the band will cease.</div>
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<b>Special thanks to Craig Hayes of <a href="http://sixnoises.com/" target="_blank">Six Noises</a> for his assistance with this interview.</b></div>
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Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-38735336623035081652015-05-04T19:27:00.002-07:002015-05-04T19:29:02.169-07:00Review: Malevolence - Relentless Entropy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I haven't felt much like writing over the past year or so. Something I promised myself when I started this blog in 2010, was that I wouldn't allow it to become a burden like the old print version of 'Subcide Zine' did. As it happens, right now I'm feeling quite creative and motivated. There are a number of releases that have inspired me in the last while that I'd like to tell you all about. They may not be new as such, so if you have already heard them I encourage you to take another listen. I've particularly enjoyed listening to and writing about this one.</div>
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<b>Malevolence - Relentless Entropy (Self released)</b><br />
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Not so long ago I was checking out an old album by ‘Groinchurn’ called ‘Sixtimesnine'. ‘Groinchurn’ were a kick ass grindcore band from South Africa in the late 90s. When listening to it I thought "Man that was a great era for grindcore. Bands had started to develop musically. They were incorporating new diverse, intricate, interesting and engaging concepts into their music. The results being really enjoyable listening experiences." Brutal Truth were pioneers of this concept. Napalm Death had started to go down the same path and Nasum had just appeared on the scene. But where was this sound these days? Sure Napalm Death are still here and kicking ass. But Brutal Truth are over, as are Nasum, but why is there no one new doing this or developing it further?</div>
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As synchronicity would have it, after their 20+ years of existence 'Malevolence' come along with 'Relentless Entropy' to fill that gap. From start to finish it’s a consistent piece of modern grind art. It kicks off with 'Approaching Monster', an instrumental climbing intro which is later complimented by the album outro 'Retreating Monster', assumedly sequels to 'Passing Monster' from the 2007 EP ‘Eyes to See, Ears to Hear, Wrists to Slit’. ‘Approaching Monster’ leads directly into 'Digitize', a 1 min 49 second grinder focusing on our unavoidable existence of having our entire lives documented and tracked on line. Opening and closing with “Welcome unit, to the machine”, within Digitize we are issued with our serial number “3-4-4-4-8-4-9-3” which I’m pretty sure is also a clever reference to the guitar fret numbers of the riff beneath it. Then in the same tone we have 'Legalize', which talks about a dystopian future where food no longer grows and in order to survive, humanity must turn to cannibalism. Feeding on the vegetarians first, before farming thy neighbour. “The Adversary’ breaks the 3 minute mark for the first of only 2 times on ‘Relentless Entropy’. It also introduces the first section that could possibly be described as slower. The Adversary appears to be a character who is the “Anti-theist”, neither Christ nor Anti-Christ, they have come to free earth from the shackles of religion and to encourage humanity to “Think God out of existence”. ‘Transparent’, with its animosity toward the shallow nature of mainstream society, is the only song on the album where the music isn’t written by main man Daryl Tapsell, but by former second guitarist Nich Cunningham. Despite the different composer it still sits perfectly along with what sounds like a subtle nod to brutal truth played in reverse. The next 2 are short sub 1 minute grinders. The first is “Property of Satan” inspired by Daryl's tattoo.</div>
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Then we have the 23 second 'Butchered', which if I hadn’t read they lyric sheet I wouldn’t know was a personal tribute to the late Matt Hall, former vocalist of ‘Backyard Burial’, who in 2011 was “Butchered by a cunt!”</div>
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“Home brew Memories</div>
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BBQ smoking weed</div>
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Long nights of philosophy</div>
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Techniques of the scream</div>
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Mushroom recipes</div>
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Pros and cons of LSD</div>
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Some of what you were to me</div>
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Metal brother rest in piece”</div>
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'Bleed' tackles class warfare and highlights the fact that tory scum still bleed the same as you and I when you take their heads off. ‘Nothing and Nowhere’ reminds us that we’re all insignificant in the grand scheme of everything and explores the experimental grind style to a deeper level with its discordant chords riffs, before fading out slowly with various samples of scientific facts. 'Chased through the woods (with a rhyming dictionary)’ takes the piss out of immature gore themed death metal lyrics. All of which are of course rhymed. Track 11 '99942 Apophis' hits with a super heavy chaotic barrage, not unlike its namesake asteroid which is due to collide with earth on April 13, 2029. Apophis 99942 also is closest comparison to the war metal chaos that's currently coming out of New Zealand, and it comes nicely garnished with a sprig of vintage Morbid Angel. 'Human Suit’ has the most coherent lyrics/vocal and memorable chorus of the album, also the most catchy musically. It follows the life of a protagonist who becomes so disgusted with the human race they decide to murder it, finishing with themselves. ‘Idle hands' begins with a voice sample from the 1990/1 Ice T album ‘OG’ where Ice is introducing us to his new metal band ‘Body Count’. The song itself, the most straight forward metal tune, is a misanthropic view of someone who has sold their soul to their corporate job at the expense of everything else important. 'Life Machines’ is the album’s slowest and at 3:46min, longest tune. It begins with a creeping not-quite-doom riff, before ramping up the grind and death combo and Dives into slowness again briefly before finishing on an increasingly speed up War Pigs meets grindcore ending. ‘Life Machines’ spells out most directly the theme that’s been running right through ‘Relentless Entropy’ i.e. nothing we do in our lives will ever amount to anything of significance, we’re all getting older and we’re all going to die one day before eventually being forgotten. …Then the monster finally retreats wrapping up ‘Relentless Entropy’.</div>
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Malevolence have been around for over 20 years now, and constantly get better every time I hear them. ‘Relentless Entropy’ is testament to that. It has a simple Black and white cover - Just like the best grindcore albums. It’s held together with trade off vocals from rock solid ass player Julian (I’ve known this guy since 1998 and I still have no idea what his last name is), intense drumming from Ben (also skin pounder for Vassafor) and of course the stellar guitar work of Daryl. </div>
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‘Relentless Entropy’ is modern technical grindcore at its best. It survives and grows upon multiple listens. It will be a treat to hear what level Malevolence elevate themselves to next!</div>
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It’s a grind album you should invest in! You can do that by going to <a href="http://www.malevolencenz.com/">www.malevolencenz.com</a> and purchasing it in CD, Vinyl or digital form.</div>
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Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-67227926585988773162015-04-20T11:49:00.002-07:002015-04-20T11:49:41.237-07:00Carcass - An audio interview with Bill Steer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Carcass are about to play New Zealand for the third time since 1993 (the second time was in 2008). This time with Napalm Death. Thanks to Soundworks touring I was able to interview guitarist Bill Steer, via Skype. Rather than transcribing the conversation, I've decided to let you hear the full audio complete with my baritone mumbling contrasted against Bill's clear english accent. </div>
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This was actually the second time I've interviewed Bill. You can read my first interview with him, which took place in Wellington late 1993, here: <a href="https://mega.co.nz/#!xAxVSJrD!L3sVuAbvbeUVRkFyvWJmOQo8hOMb1NohB40R_tGuIS8" target="_blank">Subcide Zine #1</a></div>
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<br />Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-57255897410659834802014-10-21T22:51:00.000-07:002014-10-21T22:51:35.394-07:00Review: Bulletbelt - Rise of the Banshee<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-size: large;"><b>Album Review: Bulletbelt - Rise of the Banshee (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/HeadlessHorsemannz" target="_blank">Headless Horseman</a>)</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">by Mark Brooks</span><br />
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Author Disclaimer: I don’t normally write reviews on a regular basis, mostly due to the fact that I don’t have enough spare time to sit down and write them out. However, as soon as I heard the new BulletBelt album in its entirety, I knew that I had to review it. I hope that through my writing you can understand why.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">The sound of a storm fast approaching, ominous hooves gallop in the distance - a rider fast approaches, bringing good news or ill omens? Before one can find out, their head is chopped off in a flurry of tight bass chops, caustic guitar licks, and pounding drums. Before the body does its last convulsion within death's grip, sepulchral acidic voices are heard announcing humanity's final doom.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">This is the opening image that BulletBelt's second full-length album Rise of the Black Banshee invokes. A rip-roaring ride of first wave black thrash punk rock that should have plenty of cross-over appeal and is a strong contender for album of the year. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">For those who are unfamiliar with BulletBelt, they are a 5-piece "black-thrash" metal band from Wellington, New Zealand. The band features a slew of talented NZMetal musicians from other legendary NZMetal bands such as Backyard Burial, Demoniac, Karnage and Pervertor. The line-up is as follows: Steve Francis (drums), Ross Mallon (guitars), Tim Mekalick (bass), Ryan O’Leary (guitars) and newest addition Jolene Tempest (vocals).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">I put “black-thrash” in quotation marks earlier because this album is not strictly “black-thrash.” BulletBelt have incorporated far more musical influences on this album than their last album Down in the Cold of the Grave, which sounded like a perfect hybrid of 80’s punk and thrash with early-mid 90’s Scandinavian black metal. They went in favour of a more first wave black metal sound like Venom or look to ‘modern’ bands like Midnight for example. The more rock or heavy metal influences come to the fore with tracks like ‘Deathgasm’ and ‘Murderer’s Collar.’ If the No Tag (NZ hardcore punk) ‘Mistaken Identity’ cover was an ode to the band’s punk roots on the last album, then The Nod (NZ heavy/thrash metal) cover of ‘Sniper’ fits in perfectly here to represent the band’s approach on the current album. Although the punk and strictly black metal roots of the band have been dialled down in favour of a wider heavy metal sound, these haven’t completely eroded away. Tracks like ‘Death Tinted Red’ and ‘Numbered Tomb’ feature a heavy dose of icy, blood-curdling Scandinavian black metal and the aforementioned ‘Deathgasm’ also features a healthy dose of punk-rock stomp. These influences, although reduced, turn up in other places, like the artwork.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">In terms of the actual music itself, BulletBelt have shown a marked and more cohesive song-writing effort on this album in comparison to their previous work. It’s not as if the band has completely changed their sound, but rather has tinkered with it to get the songs to be at their tightest. Razor-sharp guitar riffs from Ross and Ryan not only bring the icy cold wrath accustomed to black metal’s overall sound but also add catchy hooks that get stuck in your head for days. This accompanied by Steve’s well timed cymbal work and chop blasts really add more punch to the already catchy guitar licks. Songs like ‘Tarawera (Burnt Spear)’ and the aforementioned ‘Numbered Tomb’ feature these techniques heavily. For me the real star of the album is Tim on bass; he really shows that just because you’re playing bass, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to just follow what the guitars are doing. Tracks like ‘Minnie Dean´, ‘Murderer’s Collar,’ and 'Death Tinted Red' really showcase Tim’s prominent bass work, adding that something extra. That extra layer really makes the songs great pieces of music to listen to.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">If I had any criticisms about the music side of things, it would be the lack of guitar solos. Don't get me wrong, The Nod cover features a mind-blowing guitar solo from the original guitarist (of The Nod) and ‘Deathgasm’ also features a great solo but I feel that this type of music calls for more solos. In saying that however, these songs do have extremely catchy leads in place of solos like in 'Tarawera (Burnt Spear)' so it is an altogether minor quibble. Perhaps on their next album, at the song-writing stage they could find parts where a solo (or three) could be slotted in. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Regarding the vocals, I was saddened to hear that Fergus (vocalist on Writhe and Ascend EP through to Down in the Cold of the Grave) had left and was curious to hear his replacement. Those that are familiar with Fergus' ear-splitting vocals will know it would be a hard task to match that impenetrable scream. Has Jolene effectively replaced Fergus? For me, the answer is yes and no. I have been a fan of Fergus’ ironclad vocals from the minute I heard them. However, there was not much dynamism or range to them – the only quality it lacked. Jolene’s vocals make up for this deficiency by adding flair, going into low snarls, attacking mid-range and screeching highs. The only issue is that they’re not quite as powerful as Fergus’. Then again, Fergus was a freak of nature.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Jolene's voice however, adds a venomous, acidic bite to the songs on the album rather than a skull-crushing tone like Fergus’ voice would. Instead of having your skull smashed apart with a sledgehammer you have the (more painful) acid flung in your face, slowly corroding through your skin, melting the bone until nothing remains but a smouldering pus-sack of flesh. It is hard to imagine how the album would have sounded if Fergus had remained. In any case, Jolene does a damn fine job of stamping her own mark onto BulletBelt’s carefully crafted and honed sound.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Another nice addition was the inclusion of guest vocalist Rigel Walshe, of Dawn of Azazel fame, on the track 'Numbered Tomb'. At first I wasn't sure if his vocals worked here as I'm not a fan of Shining (SWE) or Silencer and the guest vocal lines were definitely in this vein (they are interesting to hear at the very least if you're familiar with Dawn of Azazel’s usual vocal style). It has since grown on me and has become one of my favourite parts on the album. Furthermore, the inclusion of more backing vocals/gang vocals on the album, especially on the track 'Deathgasm,' was a welcome addition and one that was lacking in previous albums. I hope that these trends continue in their future material.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">On the lyrical side of things, Rise of the Banshee could almost be considered a concept album of sorts. The album features a lot of lyrics focused on the dark, seedy underbelly in New Zealand’s culture/history. For those who don’t know, ‘Minnie Dean’ is about the child-killing woman of the same name who was the only woman to be given the death penalty in this country. ‘Tarawera (Burnt Spear)’ is about the volcanic eruption which claimed many lives and destroyed a cultural landmark, ‘The Pink and White Terraces,’ in 1886. ‘Deathgasm’ is the title song for an upcoming NZ horror/comedy film and so, I assume, the lyrics are based around the movie and its concepts. The other lyrics are more subtle in their meaning but still convey the inner dark nature of mankind. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">BulletBelt have decided not to use Nick Keller’s highly stylised art like in Down in the Cold of the Grave but instead have used the almost cartoonish art style from Scarecrowoven, who also did Steve’s heavy/power metal’s band Red Dawn’s latest EP ‘Ironhead.’ The result is a mixture of classic Mercyful Fate/King Diamond mixed with early AFI (back when if you were into hardcore, it was cool to like AFI) art. The result is analogous to their roots from punk through to heavy metal/first wave black metal and perfectly encompasses the album’s musical outlook and approach. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">The band recorded at STL where they have previously before, but this time they recorded and mixed on a vintage SSL 4000G board - the board itself coming from Peter Gabriel's 'Real World Studios' and has been used for bands like: King Crimson, The Cars, Robert Plant, etc. The result was then mastered overseas at 'The Boiler Room', Chicago. That alone should speak for itself. If not, this album has an excellent clarity to it where everything sounds perfectly balanced. My only comment would be if the guitars were a bit rougher sounding in tone. But what do I know, I’m just a filthy vocalist. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">In summary, this is an excellent album and the band should be proud of the amount of hard work and effort that has been put into making a great album filled with excellent musicianship. They’ve made an album that from the artwork through to the lyrics captured the intended approach and outlook of the band. They have once again set the bar high for themselves and for the NZMetal community and I am eager to see how they will overcome it with their future work.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">For fans of the band already, you will love to hear the development and cohesiveness that the band has honed in on for this album. If you're new to the band, then it is a hell of an introduction that you're in for! Don't let Rise of the Black Banshee pass you by this year and get the album immediately. You will not be disappointed.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">For fans of: Venom, Midnight, Nifelheim and first wave black metal/thrash metal.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Favourite track(s): Sniper (The Nod cover), Deathgasm</span></div>
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Rating: 9.8/10</span></div>
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<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">To listen to and purchase 'Rise of the Banshee' explore the panel below</span></div>
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Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-9666572376227572702014-10-10T19:10:00.001-07:002014-10-10T20:05:31.549-07:00BulletBelt Interview<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">BulletBelt, from Wellington NZ, have been kicking about in different forms since 2009, playing their own unique brand of Black Heavy Metal. They have just released their second album '</span><span style="color: #38761d; text-align: justify;">Rise of the Banshee</span><span style="color: #38761d;">'. Let drummer Steve Francis tell the rest...</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">1) Could you please give a rundown of why you started BulletBelt and what the driving force behind it is? Why should people check you out?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Bulletbelt started as a 'bedroom' project between Ross and I. Initially there were never any thoughts of even playing live. Just keeping it as a 2 person project and work on it with no stress at our own pace. The first first few months were very much like this. The early material being 2nd wave BM influenced. But over time this beast we created gradually took on a life of it's own and is now very much it's own entity. We've had members come and go but Ross and I are the constants. Hopefully with the line up we have in 2014, Jolene, Ryan, Tim, Ross and I we have the 5 people to keep moving the band forward. We feel that we are blazing our own path and not being swayed by scene or "kvlt". </span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">2) Before we start talking about BulletBelt as such, Lets talk a bit more your own history in New Zealand Metal? Give us a rundown of where you came from. Ross, Ryan and Jolene also have interesting and different back grounds in the same scene. Tell us about those. I Remember Ross writing to me back in the early 90s when I was in my first band ‘Convulsion’.</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Like most people I became 'infected' with metal through having older brothers who had a decent record collection of punk and early metal/rock. Once I heard Eddie Van Halen play eruption on Van Halen 1 it was game over on my pop tape collection. So you get heavier Van Halen - Twisted Sister - WASP - Megadeth - Slayer - Napalm Death. So in college it was time to start a band.. None of us could really play. Karnage was born. We played about a dozen gigs between 90-93 ending with supporting Carcass in Wellington. Incidentally they came up to our flat before and after drinking and their touring Guitarist Mike Hickey (who played on Venom calm before the storm) ending up 'scoring' Totmans girlfriend that night. Around the end of Karnage Sam and myself met up with Lindsay Dawson and formed Demoniac. Hidee Beast came a little later. I played on the 93 Rehersal demo. I left after that and didn't really play a lot again until 2009! Must have been a mid life Crisis. Although I didn't play in bands during that period I still was every much a metal fanatic consuming as many albums as I could get my hands on.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Ryan is obviously a scene stalwart having played in Backyard Burial for many years plus he played in Monsterworks and Bile Suction. Jolene played in Zirconium, Pariah and Majera. Ross also plays drums in local perverts Pervertor and Tim plays in Intergracia</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">So yeh, too old too cold!</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">3) You’re in the process of recording a new album. Tell us everything!</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">The recording is in the bag. Rise of the Banshee is released October 1st, the same day we open for Sepultura! We feel that we've spread our wings a lot on this one. There's some different things going on for sure. The battle cry from day one had been NZBM, but this time around probably NZHM would be a better description. Influences from BM to Motörhead to DM to Thrash. So more diverse, but certainly feels like Bulletbelt. Another big difference this time around is the tunes haven't been road tested. So it's been interesting hearing them really come to life in the studio. Jolene has fucking nailed it too. Obviously practicing the tunes in the rehearsal room at volume it's hard to really pick up on the vocals, so we were going into the studio a bit blind. We know she sounds great but didn't know how it would equate to the studio. Her vocals are going to blow people away. We have made a really strong album, a big step forward for us and I can't wait for people to hear it! The concept of the album was to base it around NZ's dark past. We like to promote ourselves to the rest of the world as this safe, clean green paradise but some evil shit has happened in Aeoteroa. I don't want to give too much away yet but some of the subject matter is Minnie Dean who was only woman hung in NZ. One tune is about the gallows that used to be on the Terrace in Wellington and there's a song about Mount Tarawera erupting and fucking everything up. And like the first album we cover an old NZ song Bulletbelt style. We've revved up 'Sniper' from New Plymouth's The NOD</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>4) Speaking of Jolene, not so long ago she joined the band after Fergus exited. What happened there with Fergus, and how did you come to pick Jolene to replace him?</b> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">As you know yourself Chris from being in bands for a long time sometimes people just decide their time is up. There was no bad dealings or drama at all, Ferg just let us know he was opting out. We respected his decision and although we were bummed to see him go it was exciting to launch a new</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">chapter for Bulletbelt. Ferg was never really a 'metal guy'. He would be the first to tell you that. He's now in a 'noise' band and still creating and still a great friend of ours.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Jolene actually did some backing vocals on the first album and told me at the time that if Ferg ever leaves to hit her up which i did! She came and tried out and within a couple of practices we knew she was it. It was a baptism of fire for her as we had a whole bunch of gigs lined up. Ferg had actually offered to do them before he left but we figured once you're gone your'e gone. So we threw her in head first. She played our vinyl release gig after about 3 practices then played with Primate the next week, She did a great job, mainly trying to remember the lyrics! I think it's a relief for her now that we are moving onto new material and it's her lyrics.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><b>5) Lets talk about your current/previous album ‘Down In The Cold Of The Grave’. How do you view that now that you have new material recorded? In your view how was the album received? You self released both vinyl, cassette and CD versions through your own label. How did you find doing that in this post download pirate world?</b> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">I'm really proud of it. We recorded it 2 years ago and some of those tunes are 3 years old. It's a perfect representation of where we were in 2012. The</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">album was received really well. The only thing I would change is how widely we promoted it. We certainly could've done a lot more. But that's how you learn. Everything we've learnt since our inception in 2009 will be used to push the new album hard. We have a</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">plan of attack in place to really get it out there. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Yes we self released on Headless Horseman, Trading and selling to other labels/distros has been the key to getting it out there. The negative of doing it yourself is $ and the positive is total control over everything. In this day and age it's hard work doing tape/CD/Vinyl releases but WELL WORTH the hassle. Ross and I are old school collectors and know the feelings of holding an awesome metal album in your hands and looking at the art work, reading the credits, lyrics and being taking away to that special place that great metal albums can do to you. There is no better sound than the crackle of</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">vinyl. I know i'm in a minority these days but downloading just doesn't compare. We always have been in this for the long haul so we know that it takes time to sell a batch of CD's or vinyl. </span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">6) Continuing on with ‘Down In The Cold Of The Grave’. On that Album you had the cover art and logo done by the incredibly talented Nick Keller. What are you looking to do with the visual presentation of the new album?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">I was really keen for this one to have a classic heavy metal feel like those great covers from the 80's.. The great old days of walking into a music store and buying a record unheard because of the cover art. Scarecrowoven is doing the art. I stumbled across him in Thrasher magazine and was blown away by his stuff. I contacted him to do my other band Red Dawn's cover art and he nailed it. This time around around I showed him King Diamond Abigail cover as a reference point. He's really captured the vibe and it represents the feel of the album perfectly.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://bulletbeltnz.bandcamp.com/album/down-in-the-cold-of-the-grave" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CcURd4yM9yw/UOEmf2QOXCI/AAAAAAAAAwI/Hu52GoqKKcI/s1600/65083_10151359412502803_603177792_n.jpg" height="640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://bulletbeltnz.bandcamp.com/album/down-in-the-cold-of-the-grave" target="_blank">Click the image to purchase and listen to 'Down in the cold of the grave' </a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://bulletbeltnz.bandcamp.com/album/down-in-the-cold-of-the-grave" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://bulletbeltnz.bandcamp.com/album/down-in-the-cold-of-the-grave</span></a></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">7) You were recently interviewed for Radio New Zealand’s 2 part ‘South of Heaven: A History of New Zealand Extreme Metal’ documentary. Tell us why you think that is important to the people reading this.</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">NZ metal has a great history and it's awesome that Craig Hayes has documented it. A lot of those bands broke up 20 years ago so it's important that they are remembered. I was a bit player back in the day, but attended many shows as a punter so was happy to be interviewed and give my perspective on what went down. Now</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">we just need someone to do an awesome vinyl compilation on THONZEM!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Click <a href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/south-of-heaven"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">HERE</span></b></a> listen to 'South of Heaven: A History of New Zealand Extreme Metal' as well as complete unedited interviews.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">8) You’ve been pretty prolific in your touring around New Zealand. What benefits has this brought to BulletBelt? I understand you’re going to be playing off shore soon? </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Yes we are a busy band and like touring and getting our music out to as many people as possible. If anything it has made us a much better live band. We also like the idea of taking the music to the smaller towns around NZ. As a teenager getting into metal I can still recall the magic of the first gigs I attended. We hope to go to these places hopefully inspire someone to start there own band. 3 shows in Aussie this time around. Getting across the ditch is easy to do but also exciting to play new ground. Brisbane, Melbourne then playing the Bendigoat festival in Bendigo. We have plans to travel further abroad in the future.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">9) What is ‘Headless Horseman’? What can we expect from it in the near future?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Headless Horseman is the label and distro that Ross and I formed to get our music out and help fund what we do. Ross handles the distro and I lead the touring side of things. We have brought Impiety/Goatwhore (with Chaos), Midnight, Primate and Krisiun next month to NZ. We both work together on the album releases which have so far been Bulletbelt, Red</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Dawn and Pervertor. "The futures uncertain and the end is always near".</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Check out the 'Headless Horseman' facebook page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HeadlessHorsemannz" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">HERE</span></b></a></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">10) Who the fuck are 'The Skull'? Why? What the fuck are they doing?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Haha The Skull are 4 ugly fuckers who have made Chinese Democracy part 2, except it's a 12 minute gang beating rather than a wankfest. And it's hopefully coming your way soon!</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">11) Cheers for answering this interview Steve! Now is the bit where you get to wrap things up and plug any products or shows you would like readers to be aware of. </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Thanks for the interview Chris. Go and get our album Rise of the Banshee now. You can buy it off the <a href="http://bulletbeltnz.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">Bulletbelt Bandcamp</span></a>, at a record store near you or on iTunes. Cheers!</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://bulletbeltnz.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hCNXduw2ItI/VDiLjrF1JZI/AAAAAAAAC_A/iF10_fHxtxY/s1600/a3189256850_10.jpg" height="620" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://bulletbeltnz.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">Click the image to purchase and listen to 'Rise of the Banshee' </span></a></td></tr>
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Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-46699775842421845592014-05-30T20:40:00.000-07:002014-05-30T20:42:28.605-07:00Review: Domains - Sinister Ceremonies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Another fine review from Mr. Mark Brooks...</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XF1Vdci0De4/U4lCOvQhA9I/AAAAAAAACm0/HHfzwhn3GVk/s1600/a3597857246_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XF1Vdci0De4/U4lCOvQhA9I/AAAAAAAACm0/HHfzwhn3GVk/s1600/a3597857246_10.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Review: Domains - Sinister Ceremonies (<a href="http://www.thesinisterflame.com/">The Sinister Flame</a>)</span></b></div>
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It's unusual for me to write about any bands that aren't from New Zealand in an 'official' capacity but this band gave me an email and when they said they were from Spain, it piqued my interest. A country which has an enduring legacy around the world (using an example from my Filipeno ancestry where the Philippines was named after King Phillip II of Spain and I myself, retain some Spanish 'blood' especially with my mother's maiden name being 'Roxas' and all), yet their metal scene is practically unknown with only a handful of known bands (the gore-splattered Avulsed, the excellent but Swedish sounding Graveyard, the bestial Teitanblood and Blasphemy clones Proclamation being the only ones that seemed to have made some leeway globally). When I finally heard the CD though none of this mattered, I knew that I had to review this.</div>
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To start with, Domains are a relatively new death metal band. According to their Metal-archives, they've been around since 2005 but have just released their full-length 'Sinister Ceremonies' earlier this year. I for one, am glad that they didn't rush recording if this is the result.</div>
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I'll start with the music itself. Although this is a death metal record, it does borrow a lot of elements from black metal. This serves as an undercurrent to the 'brutal' (and I mean that as an adjective, not as a genre) death metal riffs and gives the riffs an edge of dark melody. This builds up the atmosphere to the songs that gives off a chilly, obscure and all together 'evil' sound to them (for instance check out the track 'Mastery' and those ending riffs, feel like you are sinking slowly into the pits of Hell). I know that it was seen 'in vogue' to bring evil atmosphere into a death metal record by either ripping off Incantation or doing the 'bestial' thing (much like their compatriots Teitanblood). You will find this isn't the case with Domains. This is a 'fresh' outlook on how to add atmosphere into your music and although it isn't completely reinventing the wheel or shattering conventions; it nevertheless feels like a breath of fresh air within the mortuary of extreme metal.</div>
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The band focuses on more tight mid-paced passages in their music, rather than complete doom, with some occasions that lead into fast parts, reminding me of Immolation. As expected from that statement, you get your blastbeats but these are used to accentuate the carefully honed song structure. The transitions between fast and mid-paced aren't 'unnatural' but flow smoothly, like destructive lava oozing from Earth's mantle. I mentioned earlier that the band uses black metal elements to accentuate their riffs but combining this with death metal riffage also brings about a level of melody and catchiness to the riffs; which the drums do well to also instil this in your mind by adding well-timed cymbal work, rolls and catchy beats to these riffs. It is easy to start humming the tune to 'Raped by Darkness', 'Eucharist of Relevance' or 'Crowned at Dusk' something that they share elements with German death metallers Necros Christos yet far less doomier.</div>
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Another thing they share with the aforementioned band is the lyrical themes and general philosophical outlook of the band. This isn't Occultism for Occultism's sake, but something that comes from a deep seated belief in the dark arts. The lyrics are well-written and well conceived. They aren't overly complex but not simple either, they are dark but not coming across as cheesy or non-genuine. You will have to buy the CD to read the lyrics since they don't seem to be up online (at least yet) but I feel as if they are an integral part to this band's vision and are ones that are just as well crafted and thought-out as their music.</div>
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The production is a little murky and dense but again this adds to the atmosphere of the album, rather than detract from it. The drums sound fantastic here with great reverb on the snare to really accentuate the atmospheric guitar riffs. The guitar riffs and bass sit well in the mix, neither clouding each other. Likewise, I like where the vocals sit - above the music and they did well with his voice to give it enough reverb without losing its bite. There may be some complaints that the guitar levels could be more 'bright' but I think that would be a foolish thought considering the obvious intentions of this album. It is meant to sound a little obscure, a little hidden...it gives the album an ambience that it has been recorded in a crypt rather than at a studio. </div>
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Lastly, I will speak about the artwork and general layout of the CD. The artwork is killer in my mind, but then again I'm a sucker for the old school death metal art of old. It reminds me of the Finnish death legends like Demigod or early Sentenced. It works well to invoke in the listener's mind what the music is all about and the band's vision through their music. The inner layout is simple, curiously without a single band photo, but this aids to visual clarity rather than looking at a dense piece of work. </div>
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Finally, there is not much I can fault this album on although as mentioned earlier - this debut album isn't likely to shatter conventions or reinvent the wheel. In saying that it is a very solid album which deserves to be on many 'top albums of the year' lists. I especially look forward to seeing what they come up with next and if it is even possible to top such a strong album. It'll be interesting to see what the next trend in death metal will be; we've had the Incantation death-doom trend and we've had countless Suffocation imitators, I sense the next trend will be a bunch of Immolation clones. Don't, under any circumstances, count Domains as one of them - their music is done with far more genuine purpose than those that will surely follow. If you're a fan of Immolation, Ascension, Necros Christos, Sonne Adam, Mortuary Drape or other dark, evil death/black metal bands (the way it should be really) then do not hesitate in picking this album up immediately. It will not disappoint. </div>
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Standout track(s): Crowned at Dusk is a particular favorite but really this whole album is stellar.</div>
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Rating: 4.8/5<br />
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Contact info:<br />
<a href="http://domainsofdeath.bandcamp.com/">http://domainsofdeath.bandcamp.com/</a><br />
<a href="http://www.domainsoftheendless.com/">http://www.domainsoftheendless.com/</a><br />
domainsofdeath(at)gmail.comSubcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-18801752437046796912014-05-25T04:07:00.001-07:002014-05-25T04:08:28.319-07:00Review: Invertia - Another Scheme of the Wicked (Ohm Resistance)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_z0wmqUxQLU/U4HIdstoejI/AAAAAAAACio/3591wVxgVCc/s1600/artworks-000075607411-2cbn3p-t500x500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_z0wmqUxQLU/U4HIdstoejI/AAAAAAAACio/3591wVxgVCc/s1600/artworks-000075607411-2cbn3p-t500x500.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>Invertia - Another Scheme of the Wicked (<a href="http://www.ohmresistance.com/">Ohm Resistance</a>) </b></h3>
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Invertia label themselves as Industrial/Black Metal, from New England, USA. Although an accurate title, I don’t think that description does them justice. There’s more to them than a pigeonhole marketing tag. Let this review speak to that.</div>
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‘Another Scheme of the Wicked’ is a five song mini album, with each track remixed at the end, bringing it to full album length. The music contained within could be described as bleak, angular shades of black and grey. Not unlike the creature on the cover art, which captures the feel of and almost describes the music of Invertia perfectly. </div>
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This is particularly relevant in the opener 'The Sidewinder'. Which delves between moody discordant guitar strings, to black metal chaos and then industrial pulses. All laced together with misanthropic satanic voice samples.</div>
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Noticeable in the second track "Cross Eyed Christ" and again in the third "Void of Community", are angular, discordant rhythms that lock down with the programmed drums. In both of these songs, the main riffs smack you like a whip as it lashes out in time with the snare.</div>
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Track four "Hourglass Without Sand" starts out in a consistent tone to those previous, before being treated to a mid song interlude, which sounds like something off Beherit's "Drawing Down the Moon", performed after a nuclear apocalypse, in an abandoned power station.</div>
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The fifth and final non-remixed tune is "They're everywhere". It kicks in at an insane suffocating speed, before a vacuum briefly draws you up into the stratosphere only to drop you straight back into the blender to the manic chant of "jesus christ will set you free".</div>
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Now I’d like to throw in a thought. Whether Invertia choose to take it on board of course is up to them. Programmed drums/drum machines can do a whole raft things that a real drummer can't. By saying that I mean other that going inhumanly fast. There are is a limitless range of percussive sounds available that go way beyond that of a standard drum kit. I’d love for Invertia to embrace and explore that concept on their future recordings.</div>
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Now we get on to the remixes. First up is Justin Broadrick’s melodic ‘Jesu’ treatment of 'The Sidewinding'. A welcome oasis (the kind you find when lost in a desert, not the brit-pop band) like relief after the previous onslaught of harsh darkness. Justin really takes this somewhere else and turns it into his own song. He's done this and yet made it fit in comfortably with the rest of 'Another Scheme of the Wicked'. Good job!</div>
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This is followed by the ‘End.User’ remix of 'Chris Eyed Christ'. Opening with a fazed grinding bass sample, then layered with ominous floating keyboard and then Irregular off time percussion. Like the previous JKB remix, this takes the tune somewhere completely new. This track reminds me of the disjointed unorthodox feel of Mayhem’s ‘Ordo Ad Chao’.</div>
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The ‘TranZi3nT’ remix of 'Lack of Community' continues in a similar vein to the End.User mix, if not a tad less inspired. It does have some interesting hypnotic drone passages though.</div>
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The ‘Submerged’ remix feels less inspired, using predictable techno beats and sample loops from the song 'Hourglass Without Sand'. It would be my least favourite track on the album, but yet it still fits in consistently with everything around it.</div>
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Lastly, ‘R3TRD’ remix 'They're Everywhere' with pulsating rhythmic power-electronic style noise with bonus distortion on everything, accompanied by a slow simple hypnotic beat.</div>
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While all the remixes aren't perfect, they do display enough variety to make you feel as though you aren't listening to the original five songs over again. This of course serves the release well, as it sounds like a full album's worth of material.</div>
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Overall ‘Another Scheme of the Wicked’ is a fresh and rewarding listen. In my view, it explores new ground within the realms of extreme metal. If you enjoy metal that isn’t afraid to explore the territory of industrial electronics, this could be for you.
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<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1269383299/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 470px; width: 350px;"><a href="http://ohmresistance.bandcamp.com/album/another-scheme-of-the-wicked">Another Scheme of the Wicked by Invertia</a></iframe></div>
Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-38792741462810482014-05-18T05:01:00.000-07:002014-05-18T05:05:23.613-07:00NWONZHM Reviews: Fallen Order, Red Dawn and Stormforge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Posts here have become fewer and further between these past 12 to 18 months. This has been mainly due to life getting in the way. I've bought my own house, am enjoying spending more time with my daughter and have been working through some other quite serious self inflicted turmoil. Things are stabilizing now though and there are a bits and pieces in the works. These include interviews with Impaled Nazarene, Diocletian, a bunch of reviews and of course the forever postponed Subcide Zine #4. To tide you over until those things eventuate, Mark Brooks (aka Scourge Witchfvkker from Exordium Mors) has been good enough to pen the following reviews of recent releases by 3 New Zealand Heavy Metal bands, who play what he has labeled as NWONZHM.</div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">FALLEN ORDER:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wrote once that </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Red Dawn</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (featured below) could possibly be NZ's answer to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">'Iced Earth'</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ; how crushingly wrong I was once I heard </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fallen Order</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fallen Order</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are a 5-piece Heavy/Power Metal band from Wellington, New Zealand and have self-released a brand new EP entitled '</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Age of Kings</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">' (although </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stormspell Records</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are releasing their own version for worldwide distribution). What you have here is not a band or release that is 'finding their sound' or 'learning the ropes' so to speak. They have stormed ahead with a fiery blaze of catchy infectious melodic metal that you can raise a fist (and beer) to. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was immediately impressed by the solid quality of the production and the thought and creativity to make the songs flow well. If you don't believe me, listen for yourself on their bandcamp (link provided below) especially on tracks </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">'Stand Together' </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">'Falling Down’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The band focuses on making solid anthem-esque 'call to arms' tracks and this I think is their secret and separates them from the rest of the bands in the NWONZHM movement. You can't help but sing along and feel the urge to pound your fist along to the beat. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hamish Murray </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is one damn impressive vocalist and you can hear this from the get-go of the EP. Singing mainly in the baritone range that would make </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Matt Barlow</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> blush and then having the control over his voice to burst into powerful </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Halford </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">screams - incredible. This is a vocalist who has a masterful control over his voice and it is hard to find anything negative about it. The leads are both tasteful, not overly 'wanky' and show the prowess of the guitarists involved. The bass and drums are both ever-present and sit nicely in the mix, neither of which over-powering the other instruments.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The presentation of the CD itself is simple but effective. This is after all, an EP showcasing the band's wares and not a full-blown full-length where I would expect a lot more effort on the layout. I do really like the artwork as simple as it is, it is eye-catching and whoever designed the layout/art for this EP should be commended. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My only criticism of this EP, is that it is an EP. I crave for more after it's finished, but of course this is a stepping stone to bigger and better things; and this can be assured of once this band gets more distribution on the international stage. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> All of them are great but for me '</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Age of Kings' </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">really stands out and represents the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">band's outlook and sound.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For fans of: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Iced Earth, Manowar, Judas Priest etc.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">contact(at)fallenorderband.com</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://fallenorderband.bandcamp.com/">http://fallenorderband.bandcamp.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A7ucp_vnzUM/U3h75MsRotI/AAAAAAAAChs/zDCs1zLU_v0/s1600/1459121_10151799166886313_1010861453_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A7ucp_vnzUM/U3h75MsRotI/AAAAAAAAChs/zDCs1zLU_v0/s1600/1459121_10151799166886313_1010861453_n.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">RED DAWN:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Again, Wellington (New Zealand)'s 5 piece band, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Red Dawn</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> have unleashed another extremely professional-sounding EP (entitled '</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ironhead</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">') of Thrashy Power/Heavy Metal for the masses to gorge on. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span style="color: white;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you're familiar with </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Red Dawn's </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">previous EP '</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">World Eater</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">' you know what to expect and the style of song-writing here is nothing too drastically different (in that it's Power/Heavy Metal with a definite thrash edge), however the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">'Ironhead'</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> EP differs not just in line-up changes but in the quality of song-writing and production.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The EP opens with the cranking of a motorcycle engine (which I suspect is the vocalist's </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ed Hintz</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) and then the opening riffs of the title track. It is almost a signature of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Red Dawn</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to have dual galloping guitar riffs and you can hear this throughout the EP. The song-writing has definitely become more tighter in comparison with the first EP and shows that the band have found 'their feet' in regards to song composition. The soaring vocals of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ed</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> penetrate the listener and focuses on lyrics that are down-to-earth and give an element of realism to the band. I know it's 'kosher' that if you're in a Power Metal band you have to have fantasy lyrics, but I'm glad that </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Red Dawn</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> have avoided this for the most part (although there is a song about the excellent Welsh TV series '</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Prisoner'</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ed </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is a competent and strong vocalist especially with his mid-range and he can hold notes quite well; my only criticism would be that his falsetto screams are the weakest out of the three bands reviewed here. It's not a big deal when listening to the EP on its own but when in comparison with the other EPs, it is noticeable. The leads produced by </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Andrew McGregor</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dan Hayston</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are simply put incredible. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Red Dawn</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are a guitarists wet dream and if that is your thing, then I wouldn't hesitate in picking up this EP immediately. The production on here is a lot less 'dense' in comparison with the first EP, allowing room for the guitars to 'breathe' in amongst the ferocious bass licks and pounding drums. Lastly, the bass and drum sound on this EP are also fantastic - I can only assume this is because the mastering was done offshore in New York at </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Masterdisk</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The artwork is incredible and was done by </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Scarecrowoven </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(http://scarecrowoven.com/). It's definitely a 'modern' looking piece of art but also feels like it could have come from the 80's also. I think that pretty much sums up </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Red Dawn</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> succinctly both musically and visually. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span style="color: white;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Apart from the falsetto screams, my only other criticism would be the song '</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Prisoner</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">' which I feel doesn't quite work as well as the other songs. I understand that it is customary for a Power or Heavy Metal band to have a slow song or a ballad and sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. I feel as if </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">'Prisoner'</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> almost hits the mark but it isn't quite there yet. The fast galloping bits are great though and I'm anxious to hear a full-length with new material. Have a listen on their bandcamp below and let them know your thoughts!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Standout track(s):</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are some killer tracks on this but I have to say </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">'Death March of Bataan'</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> sticks out for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">me I guess because it hails to my Filipino ancestry. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For fans of: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Iced Earth, Iron Maiden, Anthrax etc.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating: 4.5/5</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contact info:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/RedDawnNZ"><span style="color: white;">https://www.facebook.com/RedDawnNZ</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">info(at)reddawn.co.nz</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://reddawnnz.bandcamp.com/">http://reddawnnz.bandcamp.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Epic Power Metal band '</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stormforge'</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> come from Auckland, New Zealand and are a 5-piece band featuring past and present members of a myriad of NZMetal bands too numerous to go into in any depth here. Their debut EP '</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sea of Stone'</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was released earlier this year to those that have been begging for a release since their inception.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unlike </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fallen Order</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> or </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Red Dawn, Stormforge</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> write epic songs usually around 6-9 minutes long. One may find this a problem, to maintain an audience's attention span (unless you're a Doom/Sludge listener where even 9 minutes is too short!) yet these songs are so well-composed, so majestic sounding that you don't want it to end once it hits the last track (which consequently, is also the title track). </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Courtney O'Leary</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is no doubt the best clean vocalist this country has to offer, and this is proven time and time again on this EP. From soaring, searing wails to deadly falsetto screams and everything in between - he is an inspiration to a lowly Black/Death vocalist such as myself. You can tell that there has been endless hours of recording and mixing to get the vocal parts absolutely perfect for the CD. Speaking of inspiration earlier, if you're a budding guitarist then these guitar solos are pure masturbatory material. If you're </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yngwie Malmsteen</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, then these solos are masturbatory material! They are executed flawlessly yet they melt your brain at how complex and technical they are. The drums have similarly been captured quite well in the mix and are a highlight of the recording. I know that the drums in Power/Heavy Metal are often over-looked, they are usually used to provide the beat and not much else more. You will find that </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Antony</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mifsud-Houghton</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is not one such drummer, providing an aggressive edge to his drumming not often seen in Power Metal. You can especially hear this on tracks </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">'As the Nightsky Burns' </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">as well as the title track. The bass also sits nicely in the mix, although not as prominent as say </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Red Dawn's </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">EP reviewed earlier. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The artwork for this is outstanding, I am of the understanding that it is digital but it looks hand painted! I hope to see even more epic artwork for a full-length album. The lyrics for this album also feature themes tied in with the epic artwork and ones that I can instantly gravitate towards. I know that I stated earlier that fantasy lyrics in Power Metal are a cliché but </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stormforge's</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> delivery of such subject matter are what stands-out. Tales of vengeance, retribution and battle-glory are interwoven with dark fantasy to make them both engaging and entertaining to the audience.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are but a couple of criticisms I have with this EP, firstly - the additional vocals and leads/solos should be more prominent in the mix and lastly, that is it only an EP! I know that's it's almost 30 minutes long, but it is simply not long enough. A full length is definitely what is needed from such an incredible act. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I know that I may be bias as I know the members personally, played bands with them, lived together etc. however out of all the bands of the NWONZHM, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stormforge</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are my favourite. I can only put this down to my taste in epic metal as a whole regardless of sub-genre. If you're a fan of more straight forward, fist-pounding metal than by all means check out the other bands reviewed here or </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Forsaken Age</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (another NWONZHM band not included in these series of reviews). </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Really all of these songs rule but the ballad '</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Death Sings</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">in the Night</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">' strikes a particular </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">chord (and I usually hate metal ballads!). Whether I'm getting sappy as I get older or the fact </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">that it features one of the best vocal performances I have ever heard out of Australasia (and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">maybe the world?) and jaw-dropping guitar solos, I'll let you be the judge. Take a listen of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">their bandcamp (link below) and let the band know which is your favourite!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For fans of: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blind Guardian, Iron Maiden, Helloween etc.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating: 4.7/5</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contact info:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/stormforgemetal">https://www.facebook.com/stormforgemetal</a></span></span></div>
stormforgenz(at)gmail.com<br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://stormforge.bandcamp.com/" style="text-decoration: none;">http://stormforge.bandcamp.com/</a></span></span></div>
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Thank you again to Mark Brooks for authoring these fine reviews. I would now like to close this article with the following personal message to the review subjects:</div>
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<i>I want all 3 of you bands to look at me like I'm your wise old granddad. I want you to imagine I'm sitting in front of you in a throne like armchair, and you are all gathered around. Fallen Order to the right, Stormforge at the centre and Red Dawn to the left. Now imagine me saying this "I'm very proud of you all, and you've all done a wonderful job. But I want you to understand one thing - No matter how hard you try, you'll never be as good as Iron Maiden! That doesn't mean I want you to stop attempting to excel though! NO! I want you to keep trying to improve your selves! ...then and only then... ... Yes I'm looking at you in particular Courtney O'leary... Then you might just get to be as good as SAXON!"</i>Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-70484515115474323552014-01-18T15:44:00.000-08:002014-01-18T15:47:01.050-08:00Malevolence interview<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7Noj5BEL22A/Utcvy9LWuSI/AAAAAAAACZM/DfWJn3W-Iy4/s1600/12+Malev+Promo+1+2012_WEB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7Noj5BEL22A/Utcvy9LWuSI/AAAAAAAACZM/DfWJn3W-Iy4/s1600/12+Malev+Promo+1+2012_WEB.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>Malevolence have been a part of the Auckland and New Zealand underground Metal scene for over 20 years now. Playing a style which incorporates Death Metal, Grindcore and crusty punk, they have remained a strong and consistent throughout their existence. This interview is with Daryl Tapsell, the man who has been around since the beginning.</b></div>
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<b>This interview has also been published at: <a href="http://13thfloor.co.nz/2014/01/19/a-night-with-malevolence/">www.13thfloor.co.nz</a> </b></div>
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<b><b>1) Apart from yourself, what things have remained consistent in Malevolence since it's formation in 1992? What has changed since then that you didn't expect or intend for it to?</b></b></div>
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I think it has all changed since then. I started writing for Malevolence straight after Blackmass imploded (becoming Spine), and after 3 years of death metal, I wanted to do something with clean vox - kind of the heavy riffing and "tremming" of grind/death but with lyrics you could understand. Initially, (being young :)</div>
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I had this concept of extremely challenging and offensive lyrics that people would hear, rather than read on a lyric sheet. Unfortunately (being young :) I drifted off into other areas of lyrical content (naive metal style story-ish lyrics) so that concept never really saw the light of day. The band kind of fell apart in early 94 after a few gigs as the lead guitarist started getting into jazz and the bass player wanted to be more like Sepultura (as was the fashion at the time).</div>
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Julian joined in 1994 (answering a misprint ad in the Trade & Exchange for "Ass Player wanted") and brought the crusty punk side in to our sound, and I started reverting to my roots vocally - death growls and screams. It was an odd time in the Auckland scene (1994-98) as there were few (if any) active death metal bands - just a lot of Sepultura/Pantera style death/thrash. I joined a crust/grind band - Diswomble - which Julian was forming with some others guys, at the same time as he joined Malevolence, and the most active extreme scene was the punk scene at the time, so we ended up playing heaps of punk shows. There was a lot of cross over as heaps of the crust punks got were into grind (called "hardcore" back then before basketball shirt wearing straight edge breakdown fools took over the term :) and early death/black`metal (in fact the people I knew with the best collections of metal vinyl were punks!) This was the "Fuck The Lord" era for us - many ciders ago now :)</div>
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Members came and went, but I think everyone added to the evolution of the band. The core of Julian and myself is the constant throughout. When a guitarist left we became a 3 piece until a guitarist came along that we thought would add something, and when a drummer left we usually had a replacement within weeks, so the constant for me has been Malevolence in my life instead of the other way around. We have seldom had any downtime in the last 18 years :)</div>
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The lineup at the moment is the strongest by far with Ben joining in mid-late 2005. His approach to drumming is very complementary to the songs - relentless - and it drives us forward. I mentioned evolution earlier and I think that really typifies Malevolence. It has been a process of evolution - some mutations and evolutionary dead ends, but natural selection has pared it down to what it is now and we are stronger for it. We're about to release a new album and I think it captures that perfectly. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0lSvIZf4BmE/UtcwR1bLrnI/AAAAAAAACZU/Xek6g6upG7Q/s1600/12+Daryl+Promo+2012_WEB.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0lSvIZf4BmE/UtcwR1bLrnI/AAAAAAAACZU/Xek6g6upG7Q/s1600/12+Daryl+Promo+2012_WEB.jpg" /></a></div>
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Daryl - guitar and vocals</div>
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<b><b>2) Which conveniently leads to the next question: Tell us about this new Album. What should people expect? What will it be called? How will people be able to get hold of it? Could you please name and describe a few of it's key tracks?</b></b></div>
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Well the new album has been in production since late 2010. It would have been out earlier but we recorded the first 8 tracks and it turned out to be 15 minutes long (first world grind problems). We had released 2 EPs prior to this so I wanted to do something that broke the 30 minute barrier. That meant writing new material and, due to our process, road-testing new material. I think its important to get the songs thoroughly "broken in" before recording - we are predominantly a live band after all, and to capture that sound we need to have played and developed those songs on stage. So it was all recorded in 3 sessions over late 2010 - Early 2012 and has ended up being 15 tracks and hitting the 30 min target. Mixing took more time to gel the 3 different sessions together sound-wise - it was recorded live to analogue tape so the basic rhythm tracks were slightly different for each session, depending on what mics I wanted to use on the day, but it has been completed for a while now and (at time of writing) we're just waiting on Grindhead in Sydney to release it. I've been a bit picky about the sound as I don't want a plastic "modern" sound to it, and I want dynamics in the recording (remember those albums that you could play on 10 and it didn't sound flat and crushed)</div>
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People should expect a recorded experience that captures our live sound - relentless, crushing and bleak. As one punter put it ..."like being attacked by a jaguar while someone throws drums at you" Key tracks eh... There are a range of songs on here mostly written since 2008. All first recordings except for "Bleed" which was originally on our Fuck the Lord re-release demo CD in 1999. It weirdly fits in well today though, being about global economic tyranny. The album opens with Digitize - our live opener after the intro "Approaching Monster" fades up. I guess I like the newer tracks on the album (don't you always though). "The Adversary" I am pretty happy with as it contains one of my favourite lines to sing "an anti-theist the antithesis of everything that you believe" - as you might guess it is a call to atheists to be more proactive and intolerant instead of reasonable. "Butchered" is a remembrance to Matt from Backyard Burial. I wrote it on the plane to his funeral. Chased Through The Woods (By a Rhyming Dictionary) is a piss-take of paint-by -numbers, juvenile Gore/Grind, which contains another favourite lyric "...Taped a glock, to my cock, nine millimetres in her box".</div>
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Mostly it is about futility in many forms. It's called Relentless Entropy which is a lyric from the penultimate song - "Life Machines".</div>
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It's out through Grindhead at some stage so I'm guessing it will be available through the online store <a href="http://www.grindheadrecords.com/">www.grindheadrecords.com</a>. Obviously at our shows as well on CD and I'm guessing other media as well. We'll probably hit the road on this one too depending on when it is released</div>
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<b><b>3) You mentioned the late Matt "Blaps Warmonger" Hall and his band Backyard Burial, of whom Malevolence released a split album with. What would you like to tell us about Matt, your involvement with him and Backyard Burial? </b></b></div>
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We had a pretty long involvement - Malevolence started doing the annual Punkfest in Wellington around 1996 so we became regular visitors to the Wellington scene. Ryan (from Backyard) was in a few punk bands as well, so I knew him through that scene (got to know him better when he hitched around the entire country for the Brutal Truth tour in 1998 - so did you I guess :). I have video footage of the first Backyard show I saw (in 1999 I think) at Thistle Hall on Cuba St in Wellington. I talked to Matt after the show and we kept in touch ever since. Obviously Backyard and Malevolence played a heap of shows together over the years. Matt and I also shared similar interests such as home brewing, recreational substance abuse and screaming, - he was generally a GC. He had a depth of character often missing in the metal scene. Just before his untimely demise he was coming up to Auckland regularly for work training so we'd always have catch up. You mentioned the Split CD which was pretty much his idea - 3 original songs + a live track + a cover each, and he thought of the image too - a grinder chewing into Aotearoa. The other members of Backyard are doing various projects at the moment too - well worth looking out for from what I've seen so far...</div>
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<b><b>4) On your website (<a href="http://www.malevolencenz.com/">www.malevolencenz.com</a>) you’ve made the entire Malevolence back catalogue available for download. If someone reading this who had never heard you before where to go there, what would you recommend they download first and why?</b></b></div>
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I recommend they download it all and decide what they like - I like it all but hear the parts that aren't quite where we wanted to be (if that makes sense). As i said earlier it has been evolving slowly over time, so if you want to hear us now, I'd recommend the new album (there are rough mixes of about half of it available on the site). We do resurrect the odd song from other albums live every now and then but we're not quite ready for the greatest hits tour :) We're still writing (in fact working on another EP right now) so we play the current stuff more than the back catalogue. I put the catalogue up after finding pirated copies of our stuff out there - I figure you might as well get it from us. Immediately after I did it I saw 3-4 blogs linking directly to it rather than going to some tedious download site.</div>
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We have always had a DIY attitude, probably fromour connection with the punk scene. I'm an audio engineer so the recording part just takes my time, Julz is a printer, and taught me to screen print back in the day so even before piracy we were giving away our product. To this day at shows/online our merch and cds are cheap - we don't have the same overheads as other bands so we generally have older CDs for $5 & T's for $25. We often play for expenses only and any profit simply goes back into the band - I read Fenriz explaining why they he still works at the Post Office in Oslo and he said he didn't want to live off music because he felt it would make him start writing for popularity and money rather than just doing what the fuck he wanted. I've always thought that was very cool.</div>
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Besides which it's almost impossible to live off original music in any genre in New Zealand - too small a population base. I've probably ranted way outside the bounds of where you were going with that question eh :)</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xIAvrxlq6w4/UtcwioPOn2I/AAAAAAAACZo/JqxWy8nd4S0/s1600/12+Ben+Promo+2012_WEB.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xIAvrxlq6w4/UtcwioPOn2I/AAAAAAAACZo/JqxWy8nd4S0/s1600/12+Ben+Promo+2012_WEB.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben - Drums</td></tr>
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<b><b>5) Lets talk about your role as an Audio Engineer. You have your own “Back Door Studios” where you have recorded the like of Witchrist and Diocletian. You are also a tutor at an Audio engineering school and have been abused by Glen Benton from that shitty fuckin band Deicide. Tell us a bit about these things and any others worth speaking of. </b></b></div>
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Well it is "Blackdoor Studio" - not quite ready for that name change yet :)</div>
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It harks back to the DIY ethic really - can't afford to go to a studio? I'll just do it myself and that's how it started. Blackdoor is my project studio (where all my money goes to die). I do tracking, mixing and mastering for various projects. The nice thing about having a project studio is I can pick and choose projects I want to work on rather than running a commercial operation. I do stuff outside the metal/punk genre but the majority of the projects I work on are in that vein. As an added bonus Malevolence use it for our practice space. I do work at a polytechnic running an audio engineering course by day and while I haven't personally been abused by Glen Benton (apart from having his awful bass playing inflicted on me:) I was abused along with every other sound tech on Deicide's tour through Australia and NZ. Apparently it's part of his act - like hating Christians - He doesn't really mean any of it :) It’s probably a metaphor...</div>
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<b><b>6) When I first met you when Malevolence played support on the 98 NZ Brutal truth Tour, you were wearing Nuns habits and womens underwear on stage. What happened there? What are you stand out memories from that tour?</b></b></div>
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The nun's habit started as a drunken tour joke (that potentially went too far :)</div>
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On tour at Punkfest around 1996, a couple of us ended up drunk in a toy shop (as you do) on a Saturday afternoon (if I remember rightly there was a nephew's birthday or some such excuse). Weirdly we found two lycra costumes - a nun and a french maid. There was no other choice for us - we wore them out of the store and played in them for the rest of the tour - it just kind of escalated from there :) I liked the confusing imagery of a nun playing grind, and a guy playing extreme metal in drag :) and the softness of women's underwear :)</div>
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Actually I took the nun's habit out of the cupboard for Antichristchurch's Satanfest in 2003. In my defense - Birdflesh :) Speaking of which, if anyone has a copy of "Demo of Hell" I'd be keen for a copy - Had one courtesy of Kra'zine in the early 90's and someone nicked it - awesome demo…</div>
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Ahh the Brutal Truth tour - so many good memories. Good guys. They stayed at our house when we returned to Auckland and hung out having BBQ/booze times. I remember playing Palmerston North (at Stomach) and this crazy motherfucker in a wheelchair who spent the night rolling at full speed at the stage and diving at us while we played ,then launching himself back on to his chair in the pit amongst everyone else going crazy - I remember worrying at the time that he would get trampled to death - but he was invincible. I think we gave him a t-shirt after the show. </div>
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I got the whole band to autograph odd things. I still have a copy of the book "deliverance" that is signed by Rich Hoak - I found out he was from Georgia so it seemed appropriate - he wrote "nice panties dude" - I was hoping for "squeal like a pig :) Dan lilker signed a poster I had of him just wearing cut offs on stage with Nuclear Assault (from "Power Metal" magazine) - everyone was giving him shit for it. I got Gurn to sign a toy plastic guitar that made really annoying sounds - but I ended up giving it to him to take home to his kids - I suspect he played it too much on the plane because the band split after that :) Speaking of autographs - Half of them couldn't be bothered doing signings so we all too turns pretending to be in Brutal Truth and signing shit randomly. Kevin was signing everything with "I (heart) cock - Bob Dylan" so that's a genuine Kevin Sharp. The funniest time was at Real Groovy where I was signing albums with Kevin (I think the rest of the band was in a van getting stoned as shit) and he signed someone's album and the guy said "What the fuck - you're not in Brutal Truth" to him. We just cracked up. </div>
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There are a few photos on their" last" release "Goodbye Cruel World" - of course they have reformed now (no Gurn - might have been that plastic guitar)</div>
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That was a great tour...</div>
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<b><b>7) There were a few other international tours where you played support after Brutal Truth. Care to mention a few low and highlights from those?</b></b></div>
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Well… Straight after Brutal Truth we toured the country again for the release of the first full length, "Almost Like Something Completely Sinister". Soon after that we toured with Impaled Nazarene. Again we wound up the tour at my house and several hours of brutal drinking occurred. Not too many memories of that tour worth sharing as it was very quick, - 2 shows really if I recollect correctly. I remember Mika, was involved in a car accident which soured his experience somewhat. After that we toured with Atomizer - (PS Caught up with Saundies in Melbourne last time we played there) which was a barrel of laughs through the country. We toured with Pungent Stench in 2003 as well, which was amazing for me - being a fan for so long and then getting to see them for a heap of shows. I think around that time we decided that other bands needed a chance to play shows :), and to be honest as much as I love touring and catching up with people on the road, there are only so many times you can tour NZ on the bones of your arse and see it as a good idea. So we scaled back the frequency of shows and tours. When Ben joined at the end of 2005, it gave us the chance to hold back and write some new material - we had gotten to the point where we were playing all the time, and maybe learning a new song every 3 months or so which gets very boring for us - I have quite a short attention span :). So not really answering your question - that is a lot of ground to cover. The "low-lights" are mostly forgotten (and as the old Tremeloes song says "even the bad times are good") and the highlights of touring is the process itself and the people you meet along the way - In fact the highlights would definitely be the people - We've made some good friends on the road.</div>
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What most people don't realize about touring is it has long periods of boredom - the show is 45 mins out of each 24 hour period. You just get up early, wait to get to the next venue, wait for soundcheck, wait to play, pack down, sleep, repeat. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Te5wxLfF3s0/Utcwi6NSYCI/AAAAAAAACZk/UN1PPRuTyDQ/s1600/12+Julz+Promo+2012_WEB.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Te5wxLfF3s0/Utcwi6NSYCI/AAAAAAAACZk/UN1PPRuTyDQ/s1600/12+Julz+Promo+2012_WEB.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julian - Ass player</td></tr>
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<b><b>8) You’ve played in a few other projects including Masters Of Metal, Black Metal Sabbath, and Diswomble. Can you please tell us about those. Are there any others to tell about?</b></b></div>
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Diswomble was the first side project, which happened soon after Julian joined the band, so round 1994. It was Julian's crust-grind band really, but at the time we were just thrashing around writing punk and drinking to much :) - Good times! At the time I was also in a band called Lagerwerfer, which was me and Spencer from "The Warners" doing some drunken drum machine stuff. Malevolence, Diswomble, Pig Benis and Lagerwerfer (or a combination of them) would often play shows together and we all knew each other and hung out so it was a cool little scene. There were other side projects like "2 Days Old" and "Jesus Fucked & The Latter Day Sluts" that lasted only a few shows. </div>
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Prior to Masters of Metal, Spencer, Zakk and I were in a little holiday project band called "The Lucky Book Club" which was an idea that Devon from "All You Can Eat" came up with. Basically he was on holiday, and wanted to form a band and record a 7" in every country he was in. We wrote and recorded 4 songs but I don't know if they ever saw the light of day - I have a copy on cassette somewhere. After that the Book Club went back to our normal bands for a few years until 2003 when Spencer got in touch with me about drumming in Masters Of Metal - As it turned out Zakk was in it too so it was a bit like a reunion. Masters of Metal is really just a bunch of us playing 70's and 80's rock and metal - It's part comedy - as we dress up and act like we are playing arena shows, but we are quite serious about performing the music well and making sure people have a good time. We have pretty much limited it to a single show per year around Xmas.</div>
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Around 2003 Nich asked me to sing in his band, Prisondethfux, which at the time was him and Nathan (then of Backyard Burial), and programmed drums on a laptop. We only played a few sporadic shows, and put out an album "Drink It Down" as well as a few compilation appearances. Nich joined Malevolence on second guitar around then too. </div>
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Black Metal Sabbath is an idea that Heath (Skuldom) had been talking about for a few years as a concept: Black Sabbath songs in the style of Norwegian Black Metal. Originally it consisted of me, Heath & Will from Skuldom, and Phil from Vassafor and we did one show and one rehearsal demo. Phil buggered off overseas, and we wanted to keep it going so we eventually recruited Kimball from Anno Domini Mortus, to take over on bass. We're thinking of putting together a show at the moment. </div>
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I'm also currently in a punk rock "supergroup" called Scumbeat, which is me and Bev from Garagefodder on Guitars, Dave from Missing Teeth/ the murderchord on bass, and Boot from Sticky Filth on drums. </div>
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I'm not the only one in side projects though - Ben is also in Vassafor. </div>
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Julian may be the only sensible one among us these days - sticking to the one band :) </div>
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<b><b>9) A while ago you talked to me about the idea of re-recording some of your older tunes which are still crowd favorites in your live set. Could you tell us a bit about that and when we might see it? What other ideas or plans you have down the pipeline that we could look forward to? </b></b></div>
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I have often thought that there are a few songs that developed further after we recorded them and it might be cool to re-record those songs but I am also wary of revisiting the past. We are always working on new material and it is always fun to record something fresh. So I think about it from time to time but I don’t know when or if it will happen. The latest incarnation of this idea is just choosing 2 or 3 songs to round out an EP.</div>
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Things in the pipeline? We are self-releasing “Relentless Entropy” on limited edition vinyl (just waiting on the test-pressing now) which is a nice way to end 2013. We are playing a festival in Wellington (Beyond The Black) for New Years, and opening for Primate at the end of January 2014. So more of the same really - more recording - more shows...</div>
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<b><b>10) Any last comments?</b></b></div>
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Thanks for the interview and supporting the underground scene. See you on the road!</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ji4RQpWYBCc/UnXzUS1sLKI/AAAAAAAACUA/NG6ju23Iy8A/s1600/206955_208472979181017_3740843_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ji4RQpWYBCc/UnXzUS1sLKI/AAAAAAAACUA/NG6ju23Iy8A/s1600/206955_208472979181017_3740843_n.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b>Chris Pervelis of INTERNAL BLEEDING was the first person I sent a questionnaire interview* to for Subcide Zine #1, along with a US $5 note for a copy of their 'Invocation Of Evil' demo tape, 20 years ago. With the band recently reforming, it seemed only proper that I interview him again!</b></span></div>
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<b style="color: red;">As I post this the band have just kicked off on a European tour. If you're in that part of the world and reading this see the tour dates later in the article and see em if you can!</b></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b>1) 20 years ago in 1993, almost to the week, I sent you the very first set of interview questions for Subcide Zine #1. 20 years later things seem to have gone full circle i.e. Internal Bleeding has recently been reformed and I relaunched Subcide as an online blog a couple of years back. Why do you think this has happened? What key things have happened in that time? What do you think we'll both be doing 20 years from now?</b></span></div>
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20 years Chris? Really? Wow, it's been that long. Amazing. I remember when we first made contact, it was really exciting because you were one of the the first from New Zealand to contact the band. Seems like no big deal today with the internet and Facebook, but back in 1993, it was a pretty big deal since everything was done through the mail. I think we both know the answer as to why this has happened 20 years later: we both just love heavy music, and no matter what we do, we can't escape it. Extreme and heavy music is like Heroin. Once it's in your veins, it's real tough to kick. 20 years from now, when you do the Subcide 40th anniversary issue We'll both be celebrating our retirement from the working world and sitting on our respective front porches watching our grandkids play in the front yard. Christ, I'll be 65 in 20 years. I don't even want to contemplate that.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;">Click on the above and below images to read the original Internal Bleeding interview from Subcide Zine #1</span></td></tr>
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<b>2) And I’ll be 60.... What do you think has changed about Internal Bleeding since the first time around?</b></div>
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Oh jesus a lot has changed since the first time around! There are so many different life experiences that you go through over the years that change you as a person. </div>
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Anyway, I think we've grown tremendously as musicians. Both our technical skills and our musical palates have expanded greatly. This, I believe has helped us take our music to an even higher level of intensity and creativity. We don't feel locked in a box or shackled down because we are limited by our ability and knowledge.</div>
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Also, this time around we are far more of a team when it comes to the writing process. It used to be that me or the other guitarist in the band would write all the riffs, present them to the band, then arrange things. Now it is a very collaborative effort. Everyone pitches in and writes riffs. Even our drummer, who cannot play a lick of guitar will hum or tap out something he hears in his head, and I will turn it into a riff. It's very gratifying to see everyone being do damn productive.</div>
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We're also a lot more mature as people, which I think makes for more interesting road trips. Now instead of scrounging money for beer and gas, when we go out on the road, we have some money in our pockets and are usually looking around for a place to smoke a cigar, relax and enjoy each other's company.</div>
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<b>3) You’ve just been recording a brand new Album. What should people expect from that? What will it be called? How will people be able to get hold of it? Could you please name and describe a few of it's key tracks?</b></div>
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Well, we finished recording, but it wasn't an album, it was more like 1/2 an album. We're using the 5 songs we recorded as a demo of sorts to shop the material to labels. Once we secure a deal with a good label, we will go back into the studio and finish recording the other four songs. Then, we'll finally release an album. It's a bit of a drawn out process, I know, but this is what our management has asked us to do. Anyway, Some of the tracks on this release are songs we've been playing live for the past year or so. These include "The Visitant", "In the Absence of Soul" and "The Pageantry of Savagery". Then there are two more that we recorded that we do not plan on playing out live until after we put out an album.</div>
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As for this material that is on "demo", it's the most mature Internal Bleeding to date. Full of the groove and slam that people expect from us, but with twists and turns that will take things a bit further musically. The production is really good too, so we're happy with that as well.</div>
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<b>4) How do audiences react to Internal Bleeding in 2013 compared to say 1993?</b></div>
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Well, it's definitely a new experience. There's still a lot of hardcore IB fans at the shows who know our material and rage right along with us. But there are also a lot of younger people who may or may not have heard of us, which makes it exciting because we are playing in front of new people. When some people hear that some of the songs we are playing are 20+ years old, they completely freak out -- I think that is one of the coolest feelings ever. To know we're still relevant, we're gaining new fans and people still dig what we're doing is a truly humbling experience.</div>
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<b>5) That leads to a topical question of the modern underground Metal scene. What do you see as being it’s pros and cons?</b></div>
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Well, the digital revolution I think is the biggest change in the past 20 years and it's definitely a double-edged sword and has changed the way bands have approached promotion. On one hand all the Facebook, twitter and email is great. It keeps us connected and makes communication simple and easy. On the other hand, it takes far less commitment by both the bands and the fans because every type of communication is so easy. I miss handwritten letters, photocopied flyers and waiting every day for the postman to deliver something. But other than my lamentation of a time that has past, I think the core of everything has stayed the same and it's still going strong. People are still into it, there's definitely a brotherhood that cannot be broken and the enthusiasm for discovering new bands is driving people to seek out and explore. All good things!</div>
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<b>6) What new and exciting bands have you seen lately that you would recommend readers check out? Why?</b></div>
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Two bands who I have totally been diggin lately are The MERCILESS CONCEPT and TENTACLES. I dig the Merciless concept because not only do I like their music a lot, but I think they have a really great attitude and really go out of their way to put on a killer show and treat their fans right. Tentacles is just flat out insanity. Total brutal death, with some groove, plus some really cool melodic parts that are creepy as hell and really stick in your head. I find them to be pretty refreshing. </div>
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<b>7) While we’ve been doing this interview you have released a music video for a new song "Castigo Corpus Meum". As a first insight to new IB material, this tune is intriguing as it goes through a number of interesting musical transitions over it’s 5+ minutes. Could you please tell us about the thought processes that went into creating the song? Is it indicative of your other new material? Could you please explain the concept behind the lyrics and video?</b></div>
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Well, I think it was a natural progression for us. We know our core sound, which is constant catchy grooves and slam riffs but we wanted to expand that a bit and push our music into some different dimensions, so it would be fuller, more interesting and more diverse. I think we achieved our goals, because a song such as Castigo Corpus Meum has all the hallmarks of the Internal Bleeding sound, just expanded and opened up. It is definitely indicative of the new material. Lyrically, the song is about a chapter from the book "The DaVinci Code." It's where the antagonist of the book lashes and tortures himself. At the end of the chapter he mutters the words "Castigo Corpus Meum". It was something that Keith (DeVito Vocalist) and I found very interesting and we discussed it for a while. Finally we sat down one night and wrote the lyrics together. As for the video, we just tried to recreate that scene a little bit and mix it in with some live action stuff.</div>
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<b>8) what else is inspiring the subject matter of Internal Bleeding lyrics these days?</b></div>
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We've moved our lyrical focus quite a bit. I wouldn't say that they are necessarily reality based, but I would say they are 'near' reality based. Many of the lyrics we are writing today usually focus on a single person and his interactions with the world around him. Common themes are mental exhaustion and breakdown, supernatural experiences, the effect society's violence has on the young, etc. Basically, every song lyric is a story about an individual. The current song we are working on, "Fabricating Bliss" is about a person suffering from Symphorophilia, which is a basically sexual arousal through watching accidents and other misfortunes. He goes around setting up disasters for so he can get his rocks off. Fun stuff.</div>
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<b>9) Lets talk about you for a bit. In the late 90s/early 2000s you left Internal Bleeding to Focus on your Job/Business in Graphic Design. Care to tell us about this part of your life? Feel free to throw in a plug!</b> </div>
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Well, I had always done graphic design and advertising every since I graduated college. In the late 90s, I had a really great job as a creative director and partner at an advertising agency. It was a great gig. I had plenty of time off to play in the band, made lots of money, etc. However, the advertising business is brutal as hell and very volatile and it was taking a toll on me, working 15-16 hours a day, constant traveling, etc. I made the decision to leave the high-powered job behind and start my own company so I could have more time for the things I love, be captain of my own ship so to speak and to make my own future. It took a lot of effort and hard work, but it's paid off. I now have 3 employees, the same income I had when I was a creative director, and much more free time for my family, the band, etc. If you'd like to learn more about my business, feel free to visit <a href="http://www.cgpcreative.com/">www.cgpcreative.com</a>. You'll see I do a variety of work from web, to print advertising and beyond.</div>
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<b>10) I see you’re about to head off on a tour of Europe. Tell us about that? Could a trip to the southern hemisphere be on the cards at some stage?</b></div>
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Yeah, cannot wait. Us, Disgorge and Beheaded. Should be a killer tour. We're going out for 12 days. That's about the most we can do since we all have jobs, etc. Would I ever love to hit the Southern Hemisphere. That, my friend, would be an absolute dream come true for the band. You never know. We've been offered some pretty cool stuff in Indonesia, etc., just kind of fell through though. Let's hope one of these offers works.</div>
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<b>11) Thanks for the Interview Chris. In closing, could you please tell readers who haven’t heard Internal Bleeding before, why they should check you out. Is there anything else you would like to add?</b></div>
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Well, basically, if you want to hear where the 'slam' genre in Deathmetal started, you should check us out. If you like your Deathmetal heavy, groovy as hell and well played, then by all means check out Internal Bleeding. You can visit us on Facebook at:<a href="http://facebook.com/internalbleeding">Facebook.com/internalbleeding</a> and visit our website to learn more at <a href="http://www.internal-bleeding.com/">www.internal-bleeding.com</a> Thanks Chris!!!</div>
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<i>* The actual first interview I did for Subcide Zine #1 was an in person recorded interview with Tom Larkin from Shihad. Internal Bleeding was the first band I had actual letter writing contact with. </i></div>
</span>Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-36841660834230470742013-06-28T18:31:00.002-07:002013-06-28T18:31:30.605-07:00Vánargandr interview part 2<div>
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<b><span style="color: #666666; font-size: large;"><a href="http://subcide-webzine.blogspot.co.nz/2013/06/vanargandr-interview-part-1.html" target="_blank">...Continued from part one</a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #666666;">7. Going back to the first question and also referring to a theme that seems to be running through this interview. You've talked about people and organisations that have been involved with and then moved on from. Satanism is supposed to be about an individual practitioners journey through life where they strive to excel to be the best/strongest they can be on which ever path they are on. Does this not then contradict the existence of Satanic groups and organisations which are in fact a collective group? Why/why not?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Good question, and one that will have an interesting response.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Organisations are, in essence, just a tool and platform to work with, and to re-slot an old coin, a means to an end. At some stage along the way, there needs to be some type of cohesion with certain aims and activities to make their enactment useful and as widespread as possible, with the greatest impact, and this includes both Magickal and practical aims; Gestalt. This goes hand in hand with some of the activities required at an early stage as well, i.e. forming and leading a temple – which ultimately, most of the time at least, becomes part of leading those that need to be lead, whether the people involved are aware of this or not. This means as well that you are able to have a larger impact with activities and practical actions, rituals and so forth, regardless that the outcome is often purely personal. They are, in the end however, a means as above and elsewhere, and once their usefulness has served its purpose, they are moved on from and discarded; their usefulness, what has been achieved by both their successes and failures, is assimilated, learnt and grown from. An Order does, obviously, continue on after this, as it should, and again stemming from the same idea of Gestalt once more.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Orders are useful for the point that they demand participation and dedication, the meeting of “minimum standards” etc, in addition to the fact that they can also provide access to things which are a valuable resource and enable the discussion and fleshing out of ideas. Additionally, they also provide the ability to contribute to and augment certain traditions and ideas, to ensure they remain organic and dynamic and are genuinely HERETICAL – i.e. ossified ideas and forms are destroyed, out-dated means are discarded, synthesis is possible, contagion is progressively active and fluid, and indeed Machiavellian, as is the Realpolitik, as is the Sinister Dialectic, and Satanism itself… Hence the nature, and relevance, for example of, “The Mass of Heresy” as a genuine Black Mass.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Of course, there are some that will never participate in an Order of group, who will never contribute to anything greater than themselves, or recognise the transcendent. The individual is an illusion, and realistically speaking, there are few that are genuine individuals irrespective, which is a difficult and harsh reality to acknowledge – one must BECOME an individual in every definition of the term. One can make excuses about why an Order is not necessary, but this often also involves making excuses about everything else as well – i.e. it’s great to theorise that you can run a marathon in less than 4hours, just as much as you can theorise that blood stained hands are easy to live with, but both require a certain nature to be attained and actualised, to endure the accompanying ordeals and trials, and to achieve a practical and tangible outcome. “Self-overcoming” is a not a work of theory. A mirrored statement can be made in respect to those that make assertions in relation to being “elite” – which is a definition and reflection which by, again its very nature, is something which should defined by someone who is worthy of rendering the title by their own virtue. The members of a particular “elite military squad” with whom I have met do not define themselves as being elite for example, but it is those around them, who by seeing their abilities and their possibilities, render this title and honour to them.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">In saying the above however, Orders can sometimes provide guidance for those that need to be guided, albeit that this is often a process of planting and cultivating seeds. Those Orders, groups, fraternities that offer guidance, insulation, and assurance via dogma however, are largely irrelevant and purposeless, when often they are nothing more than a cult of personality (i.e. Church of Satan, Temple of Set), which fall apart when the leadership is removed, especially when their founding ideas decay beyond relevance, and they cease to represent any type of heresy or purpose. Being part of a group like CoS requires nothing more than a monetary payment, which seems a step into irrelevance. Hence the reason why, for example, there is no “official” membership of O9A. It seems at odds also with the idea of Satanism to cultivate a group of drooling and proselyting sycophants who cannot think for themselves; albeit the skill lies in the façade that is created by making them think that they do. But worse still are those whose “Satanism” is nothing more than paper thin inverted crosses, playful pentagrams and the worn arms of anti-christianity, humanism and dualism. Dead aeon relics also shall remain the forte of those that live in a dead aeon ethos.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Of course, Satanism is in essence about the individual journey, but when we understand that in order to best actualise this, and for it to have greater meaning, and that the individual is irrelevant, things take a slightly different turn. The goals that I see Satanism as having are transpersonal, and indeed I do not have personal regard for myself in this context – i.e. I see myself as a vessel and means, but not an end by any account. What I do can have meaning, but to limit it purely to myself is a waste of potential.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Naturally, this is not to cast the individual into irrelevance, albeit most of the “individuals” that I have met along the way have had such a rabble of philosophy and goals, that they themselves have not achieved anything. To set one’s own goals in the first place is something which most people are unable to do, let alone persevere with, but there are always exceptions, as there should be – those that are possessed of a Promethean/Faustian Fire, those that are willing to live their lives without regard, to live as a scythe of Falcifer… In this regard, ties to an Order are problematic, given that they can act as more of a hindrance to progression, but indeed, these individuals are very few and far between. I have had the fortune to encounter a few such people – possessed of an admirable resilience, a genuine creative and defiant fire and Will – and to their benefit, they did not place themselves in positions of authority or leadership, because there was no need to do so; by their very nature they attract people of similar minds and ethos, because those that need to be led and supported, who seek assurance and comfort, do not fit within that particular network.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Orders however should not be seen as a place for the weak, or a cradle for the needy. They are not support structures, nor are they places which give counselling guidance or to provide assistance in failures or short comings. If an individual undertakes a task or ordeal, they do so on their own admonition. If they fail, and are, for example given, subsequently investigated by police or other organisations, the Order stands apart, as it always does, and lets the individual face and accept any responsibility therefrom, there is no interest, no concern, no attachment, no counsel. This is just the same if one is working with a group on an activity, e.g. such as infiltrating a structure and working to bring it down from the inside. It is done because it has been deemed that doing so is useful and aids the Sinister Dialectic, but the participants are alone to complete what needs to be done. It is a similar situation if creating an action group which will challenge the status quo. There is no search for personal glory in these activities, especially as they need to be done via clandestine means. This does of course make things perilous and arduous, but this is also part of the definition of what Satanism IS. Part of this may be elaborated on in the possible “Satanism, Crime and the Black Mass” article for The Sinister Flame IV.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Ultimately, above all, Satanism seeks to create a new, higher, type of (true) individual; a genuine Elite, a new stage of evolution. Means and methods are dialectic, and may involve agitating for various, seemingly paradoxical, causes; albeit, as I have stated before, there are no paradoxes in the Sinister Dialectic…</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">And to quote at length:</span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #666666;">"It is of fundamental importance - to evolution both individual and otherwise - that what is Dark, Sinister or Satanic is made real in a practical way, over and over again. That is, that what is dangerous, awesome, numinous, tragic, deadly, terrible, terrifying and beyond the power of ordinary mortals, laws or governments to control is made manifest. In effect, non-Initiates (and even Initiates) need constantly reminding that such things still exist; they need constantly to be brought "face-to-face", and touched, with what is, or appears to be, inexplicable, uncontrollable, powerful and "evil". They need reminding of their own mortality - of the unforeseen, inexplicable "powers of Fate", of the powerful force of "Nature".</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">If this means killing, wars, suffering, sacrifice, terror, disease. tragedy and disruption, then such things must be - for it is one of the duties of a Satanic Initiate to so presence the dark, and prepare the way for, or initiate, the change and evolution which always result from such things. Such things as these must be, and always will be, because the majority of people are or will remain, inert and sub-human unless changed. The majority is - and always will be until it evolves to become something else - raw material to be used, moulded, cut-away and shaped to create what must be. There is no such thing as an innocent person because everyone who exists is part of the whole, the change, the evolution, the presencing of life itself, which is beyond them, and their life only has meaning through the change, development and evolution of life. Their importance is what they can become, or what can be achieved through their death, their tragedy, their living - their importance does not lie in their individual happiness or their individual desires or whatever."</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #666666;">8. Could you give some examples of what "Magickal and practical aims" an order or occult organisation might look to achieve?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">My answer to this question will be both broad and narrow, as there is sometimes information which it is unwise to disseminate in a “public forum” such as the internet, but see, for example “ONA Strategy and Tactics”, “Hysteron Proteron”, “The Practice of Evil: In Context” etc. Satanism does not seek any form of official recognition as it does not seek to become respectable or accessible to the majority. Even most that would profess to be, are simply failures or grossly deluded. One can fill oneself with as much externally acquired theory as one wishes, but without application, assimilation, experience, and practical application, it is worthless.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">The Magickal and practical aims which are sought, and progressed, essentially are manifold, as one influences and enables the other to be undertaken.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">I.e. one of the aims which is sought is to usher in a “New Aeon” (i.e. the Galactic Aeon), which requires the number of genuine Adepts to be forthwith increased. Obviously, the path to Adeptship is perilous and hard, and this, along the way, includes the Initiate participating in certain acts and activities along the way. This goes hand in hand with both Magick and the practical aims. The use of Magick is to increase certain presences in the causal plane, by creating a rent to the Acausal… As I have indicated elsewhere, it must be understood that the “New Aeon” will not occur within our causal lifetimes, but this also, is irrelevant.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">An Initiate might, on their own, feel that the achievement of a practical step will aid the unfolding of the Sinister Dialectic, though it is important to add that they are not instructed on what an appropriate step might be – because there is no need to. This, ultimately, is what it means to be an Initiate.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Often, as with the Black Order of Pan-Europa, the “aims” are presented in a manner in which the intent is underscored therein – i.e. if we look at, for example given, the Articles of Faith of TBO:</span></div>
<ol>
<li><span style="color: #666666;">We believe in Uralten - the Original or Ancient One of the Germanics as representative of the creative/destructive force that permeates the cosmos.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;">Our creed is therefore based on the laws of nature, as revealed by science.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;">Feelings of oneness and attunement with nature and the cosmos as manifestations of the Uralten-Force are "good." That which weakens is “evil".</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;">Our morality is that which strengthens the individual is "good." That which weakens is "evil".</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;">We hold that nature, and therefore history, is cyclic, governed by cycles of life/death/renewal, and that these principles govern the rise and fall of civilizations.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;">The cosmos operates on the basis of polarities, and that the interaction of these polarities causes evolution.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;">Man need not be a passive spectator or victim of the 'gods' or 'Fate', but by understanding the laws of the cosmos can, through his will, be an active agent in the evolutionary process.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;">Those attuned to the Uralten Force flowing through nature have the essence of the Force within, and are links in an evolutionary chain toward the Nizetzschean Over Man.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;">Man's destiny is to play amongst the stars; the destiny of his evolution into the foreseeable future: <b>Homo Galactica.</b></span></li>
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<span style="color: #666666;">The above, when properly read, indeed contains a great amount of information, both exoterically and esoterically. The main indication is that it requires, and indeed demands, practical application. There are already enough theorists and book worms in the world, amongst, and over, the deluded, that have never stepped out into either the cold of night, or experienced anything remotely dangerous, or performed anything that is genuinely Evil… Once again, as above, there is no victory without sacrifice, and no sacrifice without bloodshed. War breeds and reveals character – in combat, there is nowhere to hide, and there are no gods to give you the guts… There is no birth without blood.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Archived ONA flyer</td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #666666;">8.1) Specifically how would those "Magickal and practical aims" be achieved?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">The answer to this will begin with a quote, which, with some synchronicity, was already culled:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">The reality is that there are no easy, idealistic options. A genuine insight and understanding of aeonic matters means certain judgements have to be made: certain tactics have to be employed in order to achieve anything. Satanism is concerned with real, meaningful changes in the real world: it is not concerned with mystical or pseudo-mystical world-views and impractical idealisms. In a fundamental sense, Satanism is pragmatic – aeonically.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">The present reality is as stated above – no amount of wishful thinking or idealism or sentiment will change this. One either aids aeonic change and thus contributes towards evolutionary change, or one does not.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">The first thing which must be understood is that there are both long and short term aims. The present Western Aeon still has several hundred years to go, so when we talk “long term”, this means change which is effected to culminate in approx. 350-500 years. Both the short and long term aims however are designed to dis-stabilise the current distortion which is presented as “Western Civilisation” and its predominant ideas and follies, its disease and contagion, its illness of Spirit as it stands in its death throes, in its danse macabre enshrouded within the Winter, qv Spengler, of this age.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">There are a variety of means and methods which one is able to employ in order to effect change. Some of them, to state the obvious, are regarded by society at large as being “illegal”, but Satanism, as it should be, has no concern with the inherent “legality” or “illegality” of certain acts – what matters is what they produce and what they achieve. For the initiate or neophyte, what matters also is the understanding that such activity provides, Aeonically, especially when undertaking things as an insight role. The perseverance which is demanded by an insight role in the first place, the pre-planning, the execution, the after effects, are on their own character building – they are not for the weak, the “hobbyist” nor the “dabbler”.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">There are large degrees of what could be called “entryism” and subterfuge which can be involved at any stage, which can involve entering key organisations for the purpose of information gathering, or destabilising, and utilisation of their resources, or even gaining skills which can in turn aid the individual to help enact the Sinister Dialectic, so e.g., obtaining information about police tactics and responses, is useful, just as much as learning military tactics and drills are as well. It is useful to, for example also, work within certain organisations which hold great deals of information that cover entire nations, with special interest in those that provide, for example, social services. If one were able to, for example, influence policy change within said type of organisation, the effect and impact can be wide-spread – i.e. making it more difficult for people to obtain certain services or assistance, creating as a flow on effect suicide, murder, homelessness, illness within certain groups, and the eventual societal collapse that this can culminate in.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">The increased reliance on the internet, or at least computer/electronic based things, both individually and for most countries provides a salient opportunity, albeit my personal interest is moreso towards EMP warfare, however impossible that may seem.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Drug dealing, agitating for extremist groups of both the Left and the Right, sometimes even simultaneously, and even minor actions to create chaos and disorder are also supported and encouraged. It may appear contradictory and paradoxical to support extremes of both the Left and Right, but this is a Realpolitik approach in action, as much as it is the Sinister Dialectic. Drug dealing, and manufacturing, obviously speak for themselves.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Additionally, the selection of Opfers can, and do, aid change when properly selected, albeit most do already, by their very character. There are no such things as “innocent people” (see quote from question 7), they are, and must be considered as, tools and material for a means to an end.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">It must be understood, especially in the current political climate, that there is the propensity for some ideas, actions and aims, to be considered as possible “acts of terrorism”. In effect, anything that challenges the status quo, especially when emanating from the idea of a greater purpose is. The West itself has become so enthralled by the idea of the individual in decline that anything beyond the self meets with a lack of comprehension – be that a Japanese Kamikaze pilot during WWII, or an Islamic suicide bomber.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Ultimately, nothing is sacred.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #666666;">9. Lets go back to Vánargandr for a bit. I am interested to know what technology, instruments and objects you use and have used to create your sound. Could you please give an insight into this?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">An apology will be offered at the commencement of this question, in that it won’t really “reveal” anything “new” or “original”. The answers also, to me, are disinteresting. People, bands, projects, can all have the most amazing resources available to them through studio hardware, software, musical instruments, effects etc, but still create nothing of value, nor express anything remotely awe-inspiring or numinous. The sound, for example, of cracking and breaking bones, or a skull being ground by hand for making incense, can just be noise, or can be something else totally. The difference is the inspiration, the intent, the purpose, the Nexion and the vessel. The same is true of any instrument, or even voice.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">The methodology which has been used by Vánargandr has changed and developed over the years, and the origin of some of these methods goes back even further.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Basically, between 1997 to 2002, various analogue methods were used. Everything was recorded to cassette, and where necessary mixed using some very “lo-fi” means. No effects units were used at this time. Keyboards were first used in 1999, and the ones employed between then and up to 2002 were very much of the “vintage” variety – certainly not by design, and a matter of just using what became available by fortune.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Around mid-2002 things started being recorded direct to computer. Initially, and for the first several years, via some pretty shitty means, creating ways to work around the limitations encountered. This is the period which is alluded to in Question 2, in that since this time, no musickal instruments have been used. While there are sometimes “normal” instruments employed during rehearsals, they are moreso utilised to achieve or augment a certain frame of mind and consciousness – they don’t find their place into any completed recording, perhaps with the exception of the odd feedback squeal here and there.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Effects units, pedals etc were not introduced until around 2006, with an especial appreciation for rack reverbs. Spending time to custom patches has proven greatly worthwhile, as has experimenting with pedal/rack placements in chains.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">When material started being recorded direct to computer, this enabled various programmes and plug-ins to be used to craft the finished result. The processing on files differs a great deal – and can be minor things such as removing background noise and hiss, to almost absurd amounts where it bears no resemblance to the original. This ties in with the “management” of the recording sessions and the pre-planning and mapping involved. Things do appear chaotic and messy, and to an extent they are, but this is how the Acausal acts, ebbs and flows.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">A number of things have been used during recordings, as indicated above; but beside that various mundane objects, such as sheet metal, knives, hammers, whips, ritual bells to name a few. Once again, as stated in question 3, neither midi software, nor stolen samples (including the generic “library” kind) are used. The latter, especially, is loathed with a vengeance.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #666666;">10. I've listened to a good cross section of your material, with the latest being 'Tenebris IV'. Which seems to have developed itself into a nihilistic mediation soundtrack for an apocalyptic death ritual. It seems to have advanced itself to the point of sounding dynamic and seeming to sound if so there has been no human input in its creation. Was this intentional? Where do you intend to take it next? </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">The progression and dynamism of Vánargandr remains as a core element, sometimes profound, sometimes not. There is no particular “conscious design”, other than that which is reflective of our own Occult experiences and development. A large difference may be that there is no attention paid to what others are doing – we are not part of a “scene”, nor is there any particular “camaraderie” apart from a literal couple of individuals. We don’t listen to a significant amount of music anymore either – and haven’t done so for several years now, maybe an album or two a year, sometimes less.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">The diachronic movement and development is considered a natural progression. Future recordings will further elaborate on what has been laid out on the releases of the past several years to a “natural conclusion” as this parallels the Ideals which lay our foundation. As has been stated in prior interviews, and elsewhere in this interview, the formula of relevance is Incipit VITRIOL…</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #666666;">11. Thanks for your time and hopefully enlightening readers on the subject matter we've discussed. Is there anything you would like to add in closing?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Again, as has been stated in prior interviews, there is nothing new said herein, period. Thank you for persevering with us in getting this completed.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">The only way to contact Vánargandr is – fenrirsson@gmail.com</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Please note in advance that there is reply guaranteed.</span><br />
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Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-41862445988131673172013-06-26T02:33:00.000-07:002013-06-28T18:33:37.429-07:00Vánargandr interview part 1<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="color: #666666;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/V%C3%A1nargandr/119633034787376" target="_blank">Vánargandr</a>, </span></b><b><span style="color: #666666;"><a href="http://subcide-webzine.blogspot.co.nz/2012/02/review-vanargandr-uralten-todgeist.html" target="_blank">previously reviewed in these pages</a>, </span></b><b><span style="color: #666666;">is the avantgarde occult noise project of one 'Draco Fenrirsson'. Who, in addition to </span></b><b><span style="color: #666666;">Vánargandr,</span></b><b><span style="color: #666666;"> also has a vast knowledge and experience of Satanism. In particular, it's history in New Zealand. This interview goes into depth on both these topics.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #666666;">Note that this is a pretty heavy read, so I recommend opening Google and Wikipedia tabs in your browser so that you can research some of the names and terminology as you go. It's also the longest interview ever published on Subcide Webzine. So much so that it's test the size limits of 'Blogger' and meant I have to post it in two parts. ...I'll post part 2 in a few days, but in the meantime get your head around this!</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: #666666;">1. I understand you have been involved in various Occult groups in NZ over the years and are quite knowledgeable in the history of such things here. Could you please give a run down of your involvement in this and an over view of where you are now personally?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">I have been involved with various things over the past 20+ years or so, and levels of involvement have differed greatly during that time. I will keep this rather brief, but also advise that there are some details that I will be purposefully laconic on, or exclude entirely. The groups and individuals which I have been involved with have largely reflected the ethos which I have held and sought to develop over time; they have been, and are, consonant with the continuing goals which are held, especially as it is realised that we seek to establish something not on sand, but rock, and build not for now, but for eternity, and we must acknowledge also that the goals which we have will not occur within our own causal timeframe – hence, we are the sowers, and cultivators, of seeds, and indeed the term “Aeonic Seeding” has been utilised with just cause previously.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Initially, domestically based, I had some involvement with the then Order of the Left Hand Path (OLHP), which certainly had an influence on the nascent ideas that I had already been formulating prior to contact. The Magister, Faustus Scorpius, became a good friend of mine, albeit we ultimately ending up moving in drastically different directions, as reflective of what we each felt were most important to the aims and goals that we each had and have.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">I contributed to a large number of issues of the quarterly journal “The Nexus”/“Western Destiny” between around 1997 to 2002, which was originally a vehicle for OLHP and then to some extent (early on) Ordo Sinistra Vivendi (OSV). FS and I, alongside another comrade, also provided a Western Occult axis to a local occult journal by the name of “Circlecaster” as well, which was pretty much a representation of the quagmire of the NZ Occult Movement and its morbid fascination with those things non-Western, and Magian, in origin. This in particular ended up causing something of a furore, with the usual myopic accusations of being “intolerant” etc etc, albeit the points that were raised and put forward for debate were never acknowledged by those they were directed towards, and that particular journal finished when we were only just getting started.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">At the time that The Black Order of Pan-Europa (TBO) was active, I was involved in other activities of my own, and wasn’t able to sacrifice the time that this demanded, which I was already dedicating in short supply elsewhere. In 2000 however, I did edit a compilation of articles culled from the internal, members only, journal called “The Flaming Sword”, which as I recall was around 60 pages or so in length. This was done in conspiracy with the original founder of TBO, Wulf Grimwald, and published by Black Axis Productions in collaboration with Realist Publications, with forewords written by WG and I. There were a limited release of these also with black covers and an embossed silver wolf hook cross. This particular publication will not be reissued, and somewhat disappointingly, it is also on floppy disc, which is “somewhere”, given that the HD files have long been deleted.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Around this time I produced a sole copy of a journal entitled “Black Axis”, which proposed to explore the European Psyche, and also featured lengthy interviews with a handful of “metal” bands/labels (Animae Immortalitas, Kristallnacht, Donar’s Krieg, AMSG Productions), although the articles therein were the main focus (material featured articles by 2 Grand Masters of TBO and a leading member of the White Order of Thule). I then moved onto Ansuz Transmissions (AT), which reproduced the Order of Nine Angles (O9A) archives in facsimile from the original MSS, including reproductions of “The Self Immolation Rite”, “Eorthe”, and also the exclusive production of “Sappho: Fragments” from the master tape which I still have, somewhere. AT was closed because new opportunities and possibilities were beginning to evolve which I wished to focus on, and it had become a full time job at that time which I was unable to continue to any logical conclusion.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Somewhere along the way I was also involved in the revived Church of Odin, although it folded before I was able to activate the Sinister Division that I had envisioned, but in saying that, again, I was involved in another, more “political”, group then as well with people that lived in my area, which was more of a priority, although it subsequently collapsed when I declined leadership of it.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Externally, I have been involved with, and collaborated with, members of OSV/Order of the Deorc Fyre also, as I lived quite close to a couple of them. Contacts along the way in New Zealand also lead to contacts with various other groups, e.g. O9A, the White Order of Thule (WOT), the Corona Borealis Foundation (CBF – post WOT), OJB to name a few. Interestingly, I was asked to become the editor of WOT’s journal, “Crossing the Abyss”, as I was in regular contact with one of the founders, although I had to pass due to lack of facilities, and was also asked to head CBF for Australasia, who also used a slightly revised version of TBO’s “Articles of Faith”.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">At the time of writing, there is continued discussion about the resurrection and re-invigorating of The Black Order of Pan-Europa, which may make an external presence again in the near future. This is partially because the outer Order was destroyed by internal schism before it managed to achieve any of its aims, and because the vitality of the Order and its ethos remains. Some of the old ideas of the Order will be discarded, although the original mission statement, in large, remains relevant. I would envision that this would accordingly include a deeper dynamic, i.e. with a specific Arts Division, which already has a vehicle in the Order of the Black Sun, and accordingly, the Temple of the Dark Earth will perform something else…</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Currently, and briefly, I am something of a Drecc, and Vánargandr represents one facet of this by which the Sinister Numen is presented. Importantly, Vánargandr also only represents one part of what I am involved in, and what I undertake, and there are still other activities, including physical and practical ones – be that via experiences or ordeals.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #666666;">2. Leading on, how have those things influenced Vánargandr? What do you try to convey through its sound and imagery? Why have you chosen to work with sound/noise scapes as opposed to a more musical approach?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Vánargandr seeks to convey, communicate, cultivate and promulgate Sinister Numen and Black Magick. As has been stated from the start, Vánargandr is, and always will be, a Satanic work, influenced by the Acausal, and the above experiences, influences, amalgamations, integrations and developments have worked with this, whether conscious or unconsciously, exoteric or esoteric. As ever, the formula is: Incipit VITRIOL…</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">The form employed is moreso representative of the Acausal, which by its very nature appears chaotic, albeit also limitless in its delivery and execution. The essence is that we wished to present something beyond the limits of the current forms of popular musicology, to add a more ritual aspect, and to also transcend the limitations of verbal communication (“uerbis fallantibus, loquitur musica”). I dislike most modern forms of music nowadays irrespective, especially since most are nothing more, but often quite less, than entertainment, and not works of art, nor swords of death and do no re-presence anything whatsoever.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">A couple of the first releases by Vánargandr could have been considered more “musical” in their delivery (e.g. “Ok Vigs Fotum Ver Skiptum” and “Under Twilight Skies”), but this has been abandoned since 2002, although there are a number of unreleased and unfinished recordings from this particular era. It would also be convenience and ease to employ a more musical approach, or to use instruments to try and communicate the Sinister essence, so the challenge is to create something from the mouth and flesh of the living Nexion.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #666666;">3. Could you please give a run-down of the Vánargandr discography with a brief description of each release. Also including forthcoming titles and what can be expected of them. How can these (all releases) be obtained?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Throughout all recordings that we have made, there have been enduring ideas and themes – that being, in part, to “forge not works of art, but Swords of Death, for therein lies Great Art”. There has been consistently a Sinister essence to all works, a consideration of musick within the Western Ethos, the use of Sinister Chant on several works, and “poetic” renderings of track titles to encompass a consistency of Spirit and focus within. In relation to presentation, there has been no conscious effort to be “unique” per se, but congruent again, with the enduring ethos behind. Thus, of course, the incrementing usage of images of Death Worship and indeed, Aeonic Death Magick on the whole. That such is not evident to some, is merely an indication of their lack of cognition, and lack of comprehension of such things for the greater part. Contagion. Veiled insidious poisons. There is no compromise, no alignment to fluctuating trends, no search for vacuous vainglory, just as there is no desire to cultivate proselyting vassals and the vicarious… Hence the reason also, for the absence of a “logo”, self-indulgent “promotional pictures” and other things – because this simply does not matter. The essence here also is that Vánargandr is a work which doesn’t seek the glory of “the self”, especially as it is acknowledged that in sowing such works of Death, that the causal being is irrelevant.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">That which causes expression of itself via the implementation or provocation of acts which in their design achieve long-term aims beyond the causal death of an individual; changing aspects of a society by significant creations and thus changing a whole race of people - fulfilling the Destiny or Wyrd of the ethos of a civilization. Acts that inaugurate a New Aeon. The causal nature that is dictated by the essence of things - “fate”, etc.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">While there has been no active effort to do so, there has been an avoidance and disdain for some of the “commonalities” of the attendant genres and milieu, even if such we don’t consider that Vánargandr fits within a specific genre per se – i.e. we don’t use samples, midi software or other “orthodoxies”, because again, it is more of a challenge to create something from the mouth and flesh of the living Nexion – to imbue the Sinister Numen, the Dark and genuinely Evil.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">And again, if it is not clear, there is no desire to create “music for entertainment” the transient trend, the “consumer” and even the misnomer of “art for art’s sake”. Suchlike already is the rule, disappointingly, and not the exception.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">The following discography should be considered incomplete, as the full discography of Vánargandr hasn’t been recorded previously as it’s again regarded as unimportant on the whole. Essentially, what which was, has been, and will not be again. The synchronic and diachronic should be considered… The dates of some releases might be “slightly” incorrect…</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Promo Rehearsal 1997: The “founding” 2 track rehearsal tape, featuring “Age of Fire” and “Luciferian”. Very rough improvised recordings, using anachronistic techniques, layered vocals, and lots of tape hiss. The methodology employed herein was developed over a number of preceding years, and the recording was purposefully rushed in order to retain a sense of the raw and “bestial”. Following this release, there was the proposal that we do a split demo with a French project with whom we had a philosophical connection, however this was cancelled due to issues on our side. Said project dissolved soon thereafter regardless.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><b>Promo Rehearsal II 1999</b>: A rough and harsh stab in a more Abruptum/Burzum (neo-classical era) vein. 2 untitled tracks recorded on keyboards. “Droning” and “avant-garde” are two words that come to mind. Never properly released, although bootlegged by someone that it was sent to in Hellas.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><b>Rehearsal 9 July 1999</b>: A continuation of the above direction, also including a rough initial version of the “Blood Dream” track which would be formalized in the guise of the 1999 Promotrack.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><b>Promotrack 1999</b>: Recorded in a more “ambient” direction using keys and an improvised studio set up. Sent to some fucker in Belgium who signed Vánargandr for a cassette release and an appearance on a compilation CD, but who promptly disappeared and changed direction. This particular track also laid foundation for one of the tracks on “Ok Vigs Fotum Ver Skiptum” in 2001/02.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><b>Promotrack II 200</b>1: Initially recorded under a different project name, which was subsequently amalgamated into Vánargandr’s broadening raison d'être. Further work was completed on said track, “Traversing the Abyss”, with versions featuring elsewhere in both live and studio forms. Incidentally even “hailed” by one of Brian Lustmord’s former collaborators.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><b>Ok Vigs Fotum Ver Skiptum CD-R I 2001/02</b>: Debut full length album, recorded using keyboards in a more “musickal” direction. Very rushed recording completed in a matter of hours. Basically 3 really fucking long tracks, plus intro/outro and interludes which came to about 70mins. Came with booklet, and the first 20 copies in handmade black sleeves.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><b>Promo Rehearsal III 2002</b>: Rehearsal tape(s) recorded and disseminated when Vánargandr was first contemplating live performances. Various versions exist, none with the same (improvised) material. Mostly recorded using harsh effects, keyboards and a limited sampler (self-made samples).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><b>Under Twilight Skies CD-R 2002</b>: The final work of Vánargandr utilizing keyboards and a “musickal” approach. Was to have been released by a French label that disappeared after being sent the master. Recording started immediately following “Ok Vigs…”, with around 90minutes of material created – so it ended up being a 70+minute CD with 2 tracks left over. This album elaborated a lot on some of the promise which was indicated in “Ok Vigs…” and it was felt that, ultimately, this particular direction had run its course. The recording itself was completed over several months, requiring the appropriate “frame of mind” to be maintained throughout this period.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><b>Valtivar CD-R 2005</b>: A “compilation” album of sorts – 2 tracks from our live debut in 2002, 2 exclusive tracks, the full version of “From Within the Great Void” (which featured in an edited form on “Tests for the Sensory Impaired” compilation released via Club Bizarre) and a couple of remixes from the stalled “Kozmos Rost” album. This was to have been issued by another French label, which also disappeared. Handmade black covers with black text. One of the few releases also to feature the Vánargandr logo drawn by Rexor of Altar of Perversion.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><b>Unofficial Promo 2006</b>: 2 advance tracks from “Praeparet Bellum” in original form plus a special recording of “Traversing the Abyss”.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><b>Praeparet Bellum MCD-R 2007</b>: Somewhere between black ambient and harsh noise. Original design of the “Praeparet Bellum” series was to craft harsh tracks under, or in the vicinity of, the 5 minute mark, especially as previously track lengths were normally around 10 minutes or more.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><b>Spirit of the Dark Gate, Guide of the Black Sun CD-R 2007</b>: First of 2 albums recorded under the thema of the Black Sun. Rough atmospheric album consisting of 1 track at 30 minutes+. 10 copies were to have been issued, but I minimized this to much less because I was heavily involved in another activity at that time.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><b>Kozmos Rost CD-R 2007</b>: Was to have been released through Sonic Tyranny (GoatoWaRex sublabel) but Dani disappeared in the interim. This was considered at that time to have been the apex of Vánargandr works, given that it was worked on for several years, but still remains unfinished to this day. There are some versions of the rough, un-mastered, mixes floating around.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><b>Praeparet Bellum II MCD-R 2008</b>: The second in the envisioned series of three. More harsh than the first, but again with tracks all around the 5minute mark.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><b>Uralten Todgeist Promo 2011</b>: 3 advance tracks in 2 different forms – original recordings and Oppression Remixes. 5 official copies made with translucent covers and insert card. Some other copies made with standard covers, omitting the remixes.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><b>Tenebris I – III 2012, IV 2013</b>: The first steps in a planned 9 part series encompassing the arduous Occult journey of the Abyss. First 2 rituals released on cassette only, although from Ritual III onwards it is likely that the CD-R medium will be employed due to the scarcity of cassettes and the unreliability of suppliers. Ritual III came in a black metal tin with embossed Vánargandr symbol and maggots (the maggots were used as a simple suggestion for death, given that carrion larvae are a generalised sign of death and decay, especially in (formerly) living matter such as flesh). Someone even got a live 5.52mm bullet in theirs… All Tenebris Rituals are accompanied by an original text which is relevant to that particular recording. It is possible that the complete Tenebris series may be re-issued as a complete set in the future, with individual art pieces.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WQFay6C3JKQ/UcUHZ8XESdI/AAAAAAAACJk/H3YMEdJoLyo/s1600/175444_361804037236940_1819899162_o.jpg"><span style="color: #666666;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WQFay6C3JKQ/UcUHZ8XESdI/AAAAAAAACJk/H3YMEdJoLyo/s640/175444_361804037236940_1819899162_o.jpg" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><b>Uralten Todgeist CD-R 2012</b>: Death monument which has been in the works since 2010. 1 track originally recorded for VK/Vassafor for the “Obsidian Codex” DLP. Contrasted to earlier works, this one has a more focused and Death Industrial approach, which will be augmented in the future. Much more complex tracks than previously, and a solid foundation upon which further works will be built.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">The following have also been recorded but remain unreleased:</span></div>
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<li><span style="color: #666666;">Lost in the Bloodred Eyes of Wyrd CD</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;">Spectres of Light Fast Fading CD</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;">Vánargandr MCD</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;">Incipit VITRIOL MCD</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;">In Entropy Enfolded (Spirit of the Dark Gate… Part II)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;">Celebrating the Black Herald CD</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666;">“The Air Thick with the Mist of Venom and Blood” (Track for split 12” with Altar of Perversion)</span></li>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Early on, some material was also made available on-line through the late mp3.com, which provided at least a platform to present some ideas for digestion – i.e. the early version of “Somewhere Beyond the Stars” and the first working version of “Lost in Black Waters”.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Apart from this, intros/outros have also been recorded for several bands, i.e. Altar of Perversion (“<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Altar_of_Perversion/Adgnosco_Veteris_Vestigia_Flammae/103011">Adgnosco Veteris Vestigia Flammae</a>” 10” (which was actually dedicated to myself), and the forthcoming “Intra Naos” LP), Vassafor (“Obsidian Codex” DLP), Heresiarch (“Hammer of Intransigence” MLP) are the only ones of importance however.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">There is presently only the Black Sun Cult edition of “Valtivar” available. A couple of copies of Tenebris III and IV and Uralten Todgeist may be available from a selected distributer.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">At this time, there are several planned releases inclusive of the 2 split 12”’s with Vassafor, although it is hoped that the split with Altar of Perversion will finally come out, especially since it’s been in the works since 2003… Obviously there is a stark difference of musickal direction for both, especially since they come from “transition stages”. A theme, and title, has already been found for the next full length release, but details will not be disclosed at this juncture. The seeds of the fifth Tenebris Ritual have also been sown already. “Kozmos Rost” will be reworked and completed as well.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Contrasting to this, there is also another couple of more “orthodox” projects presently in genesis, one of which will utilize a more “primitive metal” approach, although this will be distanced, and act separately, to Vánargandr. It is planned, although it has been for some time now, to release a “metal” demo sometime during 2013 – this will be more of a Black/Death hybrid, however inspired by bands like Bestial Summoning in that it will be entirely “impromptu” and there will be no prior rehearsals of material, just one take recordings of instruments (i.e. guitar and (real) drums) and vocals, with no re-recording thereafter. Nowadays “metal” scene seems too over-rehearsed, too practiced and polished and less feral and cruel than it used to be. This is not to imply however that said project will necessarily be particularly “good”, however that misses the point also.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">In the future there will also be a “return” to the roots of Vánargandr via cassette methodologies, however this will be utilized with “digital” forms and methods as well – in essence, although not the intended application is thesis + antithesis = synthesis, which provides a way forward (albeit the philosophical application is far more interesting and complex!). There remain a large number of hours of recordings archived on cassette which may also be resurrected and incorporated in “new” releases.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #666666;">4. In November 2011 I saw you performing in support of Vassafor. As a back drop to this you had graphic vomit and piss porn projected on the back wall. What were you intending to convey with this? What else have you used or intend to use as an aesthetic to your live performance? </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Displays of material haven’t been consistent with our live performances, albeit this is also due to a lack of facilities for such things. The film used in Auckland was again one of Lucifer Valentine’s, as it was at the preceding show in Wellington in May. The design and intent was really to demonstrate the contempt of life on the whole, and the degradation of humanity… It is understood that at said Wellington show the audience was reviled by the screening, which again is more characteristic of those that profess but do not adhere.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Ideally however, this would not be a film, but part of the performance itself. Finding suitable persons to participate however is difficult, mainly due to the pain and suffering that is inflicted. Even locating people into receiving relentless sadism outside of a live performance is problematic (although not impossible), because most of those into it still like to maintain control of the circumstances. It’s hard for someone to scream out for help with a mouth full of their own shit, being choked with chains, with their ribs being stomped on however…</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">In saying that, we do wish to try and introduce a more ceremonial and ritual aspect to live performances, which is hinted at already via the use of ritual robes. There are several issues with this however, not least that this would require the addition of others to the Vánargandr live line up, which we are loathe to do. Currently we are wishing to try and recruit a particular person for live performances, although they are, unfortunately, not living on these shores at the time of writing (and were living in a different part of the country regardless), however it is envisioned that they would be an active participant, rather than a passive vessel, and thus ensuring that the current of Vánargandr is maintained and continued, rather than diluted and skewed away from. All things change however.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">The final live performance of Vánargandr will occur in July 2013, having served its purpose at this point in time.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #666666;">5. Could you talk bit about the material that will be included on the Altar of Perversion and Vassafor splits? What can listeners expect? How would you describe them?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">The original version of the track which will feature on the split with Altar of Perversion was captured back in 2003 as indicated above, and is entitled “The Air Thick with the Mist of Blood and Venom”. At that particular stage, it marked a progression in the nascent development of Vánargandr away from a “musickal” approach, and more into what could be loosely termed “Black Ambient”. Part of this, and this development on the whole, was due to the disgust of the so-called “Dark Ambient” scene; it’s attendant romanticism, nostalgia and idea fixes which, vis-à-vis, Vánargandr, are redundant fragments of old Aeon spirit. Key parts in this particular track is the partial use of percussion for the first time, high pitched feedback, “dissonant” voices and a thick, oppressive, heavy atmosphere. The track itself is in a constant form of flux and development, and still provides a fitting accompaniment to Altar of Perversion. Given the age of the track however, it will be updated and partially re-recorded in the near future. It is still to be released via Ajna Offensive. We have, with some admittance, not listened to this track for several years now, although having recently done so it is felt that there is still a foundation to build upon and augment, rather than commence a new recording from scratch. This is due to the ethos captured within said track, its attendant atmosphere and the vitriol with which it was recorded, which continues to lie consonant with the founding and prevailing idea.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">There are 2 splits to be completed with Vassafor, the first on Parasitic Records, and the second through Psychedelic Lotus Order. Both should be out in 2013 or early 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">The title of the track for the former betrays its content and direction – “Death and the Black Work”. This particular piece, again, marks a definitive progression and difference from other works – formative use of percussion and order disintegrating noise and vocals. The key, as with any split release, is to compliment and honour those on the other sides, to create work that is worthy of being considered in the same breath, rather than a pitiful ride on the power of their virtue and name. In part, this track also reflects some of the “older” influences on Vánargandr which have not been made evident previously – i.e. parts of acts like MZ.412, Brighter Death Now, Lustmord, Megaptera, Archon Satani etc but also of other ones like Arvo Part, Chopin, Ravel, Arca Funebris, Mordor (Swi), Mental Destruction, IRM, Novatron, Equimanthorn and so forth. The distinction is however that I haven’t listened to any of these acts or composers for a number of years now, so it will be more of a “reflective” influence than anything else.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">We have, at the time of writing, yet to progress to the recording stage of the second split, albeit the thema has been found in Chaos Dissolution/Aeonic Death Magick. The intent will be to create something harsh and fittingly cruel and draconian; to contrast different facets and Acausal influences.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Key Of Alocer zine collection care of Kris Stanley</td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #666666;">6. Going back to questions of the Occult, during my 20+ year involvement in NZ underground Metal, there have been two prominent characters who have shown up. One being Abaaner Incendium of 'Key of Alocer' Zine (93 - 95?) who later seemed to alienate a lot of people. The other being Kerry Bolton who was behind 'Order of the Left Hand Path' in the early 90s but later showed up as national secretary of the National Front (around 2004) and has apparently been involved in Christian groups at times. What has your take been on these things?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">I used to regularly meet with both Abaaner and Kerry for several years, although severed contact with them some time ago.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Much like a lot of other people, I was in early contact with Abaaner during the initial Key of Alocer days (living as I was in a different part of the country), but found that there were a lot of flaws in his presented persona – kind of the erring feeling that there were things which weren't really there, which I confirmed with contact with a few other people at that time, and consolidated when I met him. The core is that he never got beyond his Christian upbringing, but failed to recognise it, and fell into the murky waters of the Abyss, becoming transfixed by his reflection therein; in Jungian terms his Shadow overpowered him rather than became integrated, and he failed to achieve even the early stages of Individuation, despite his insistence otherwise. Abaaner in the end was/is nothing more than a loser, a hollow shell for the wind to blow through; someone that thought that they were much more than they could ever be – but the same goes for all the self-proclaimed “elite” who never test nor prove themselves in the real world. The poor in spirit will always be the poor in spirit. Abaaner, in the end, also destroyed a perfectly good working Order by his incessant desire to alienate people, but even if he hadn’t, he would have led it to become a quiet tea party rather than an active, dynamic and resilient movement because he had neither the insight into, nor the understanding of, Aeonic Magick and the application required and demanded. Such things are difficult to ken when you don’t leave the house or similarly don’t want to go outside because the weather is inclement. There is no victory without sacrifice, and no sacrifice without bloodshed. This is even more so true, when one doesn't even have the courage to wield the sword at the start, let alone the strength the carry it.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">In closing, Abaaner was also filled with</span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #666666;">“…A kind of ‘Euphorie’ (Euphoria), in which the person over-rates himself, and imagines he has reached a phase of development which has only been stolen by way of an unconscious identification”</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">This is something that someone else identified in part, having completed a number of psychological studies.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">Kerry’s name is one that seems to pop up constantly for some reason, although I have no issue in saying that I regarded him as a good friend for some time, and I used to visit him quite often because we shared so many ideas. His wife and I used to joke that Kerry was cultivating me as his prodigy as well, which felt like an honour at the time. My view at this juncture is that my relationship with him served a purpose, and nothing beyond that. Kerry is, and will always be to my mind, a torrid and tempestuous individual who oscillates in seemingly paradoxical ways, but always from a key foundation. A lot of people may be confused by the shifts that have occurred over time, but for those that know him, there is nothing to be confused about – especially if we draw some parallels to, for example given, a figure like David Myatt. One thing that should be understood through these seeming paradoxes is that Kerry has little tolerance for losers, time wasters and other vacuous beings – because there’s nothing to be gained in doing so; simply put, some people are, and always will be, disposable – there to be used until an end is met, and discarded as they should be afterwards, and without mercy or regret. I did end up working on a few things with Kerry, and wasn’t afraid to critique him when I felt that it was needed, but the same goes both ways as well.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">I haven’t paid a great deal of attention to what Kerry has done in recent years, mainly because at the end of our contact we were moving in drastically different directions; i.e. our contact had served its purpose and will not be revisited again. Ultimately, there is no nostalgia, no warm memories to be reflected on; that which was, shall never again be, and shall not be mourned.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666;">There was no surprise to see Kerry “pop up” as the secretary of NF, and much has been documented previously about his political involvements. See, for example “The Politics of Nostalgia” (1987) which documents things prior to OLHP, and includes the first presentation of the Church of Odin circa 1980.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://subcide-webzine.blogspot.co.nz/2013/06/vanargandr-interview-part-2.html" target="_blank">Continued in part two...</a></b></span></div>
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Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-68880194569032913462013-04-20T14:24:00.001-07:002013-04-20T14:24:33.017-07:00Rituals Of The Oak interview<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Not so long ago I reviewed </b><b> <a href="http://subcide-webzine.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/3-flavours-of-doom-reviews-of-rituals.html" target="_blank">'Come Taste The Doom'</a> by Australia, NSW based </b><b>'</b><b>Rituals Of The Oak'. I was put on to this kick ass Doom outfit thanks to </b><b>an old friend from the print days of Subcide Zine, Jodi Jarrett formally of 'Season Decay Zine'. Jodi also put me</b><b> in touch with the </b></span><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> lead vocalist Sabine Hamad-Linfoot, who kindly agreed to answer the following questions.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">1)You were born in Beirut, Lebanon and moved to Australia around 2004. My childhood memories of Beirut on the TV news was that it was war zone. In recent years my perception has been of the Israeli invasion of Beirut/1982 Lebanon War as featured on the movie “waltz with bashir”. How accurate is this impression? Does any of this inspire the music and lyrics of Rituals of the Oak? If so how? Are there any tour dates of Lebanon on the cards?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">My memories of the civil war will haunt me till the day I kick the bucket. My family went through hell and back. We had several deaths among family and friends. I remember the bombs flying off and landing in front of our building (several times), the underground shelters where we couldn’t even light candles because that’s where we happened to store gas for the whole building, the days we couldn’t leave to buy food or water. Shit was pretty fucked up! And I believe all those crazy memories do pop up in my lyrics at times. They’re a big part of who I am! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sabra and Chatila was one of the biggest massacres in the country around that time. It is said to be an act of retaliation for other massacres committed by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) against Lebanese people as well as a consequence of the murder of Lebanon’s president at the time. I wasn’t born then (I was born in 1983) but I heard some accounts from people who were in the camps during the massacres and the stories I heard were absolutely horrific. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Waltz with Bashir depicts the events pretty accurately. There are no excuses for such acts and those events constitute a stain on the conscience of every Lebanese humanist. It is just shameful what we all did to each other, fighting for Gods who never bother showing up!</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">2) Please give us a brief rundown of the History and formation of the band. What were your original intentions for it and how have they played out in reality?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">The band was formed in 2008 by Shane and Matt. Our former Bass player Nathaniel happened to be playing with both of them in another band and joined Rituals, followed by yours truly! We initially really just wanted to play doom metal. More on the traditional side of the spectrum. We recorded a 2 song demo which scored us a deal with Eyes Like Snow; and so far we have released 2 albums and a split with ELS. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Today we are opening our minds to all sorts of creative ideas. We are hoping to break a few barriers between genres and write what comes naturally to us. So while we might no longer be strictly a trad doom band, doom is still very essential to all of us. We just fucking love the slow heaviness!</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">3) Palestine or Israel? Why?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">We all acknowledge the horrors the Jewish people experienced over the last couple of millennia, but Israel is now doing to the Palestinians what was done to them by the Nazis. But the bottom line is: At this day and age, why do we need nationalism? We now know better. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">So. Why not have both cultures under one secular roof?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">But I guess my thoughts on this issue are too utopic considering the reality of things in the Middle East. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.worldpressphoto.org/content/swedish-photographer-paul-hansen-wins-premier-photo-contest-award" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">World Press Photo of the Year 2012 by Paul Hansen. </span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">The picture shows a group of men carrying the bodies of two dead children through a street in Gaza City. They are being taken to a mosque for the burial ceremony while their father’s body is carried behind on a stretcher. Two-year-old Suhaib Hijazi and his older brother Muhammad were killed when their house was destroyed by an Israeli missile strike. Their mother was put in intensive care. The picture was made on 20 November 2012 in Gaza City, Palestinian Territories.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">4) You have recently toured the US on the back of your “Come taste the Doom” album (which we’ll talk about next). How did this come about and how was it? How has it benefited the band? Name a few highlights from your experiences there?.</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">The US was fucking fun! We were initially meant to play Days of the Doomed in Wisconsin and decided to hit up our contacts over there to organise a few gigs around America and make a mini tour out of the trip over there – which was partly a long awaited holiday for most of us. But unfortunately the festival had to change dates and venues and we were unable to change our flights. So with the help of a few people we know through networking, we organised 8 gigs; we toured for 2 weeks and gallivanted around the country, holidaying, for two more weeks! We met so many mad people on the way and played alongside amazing bands! We had killer fish tacos and smoked legal ganja in San Diego! (Damn I miss those $3 beers!!!!) We met Ron Holzner (former trouble), now in Earthern Grave when we played with them in Aurora, Illinois, home of Wayne’s World! We played a BASEMENT in Appleton, Wisconsin where Tragedy apparently played the year before! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">My memories of the tour are pretty hazy. Chunks of blurred amazing times! Thank technologies for bloody cameras! </span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">5) Your latest album “Come Taste the Doom” is fairly solid piece of music. How has it been received in the wide world of critics, music buyers, fans and downloaders? How do you view it now that it is nearly a year old?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">We have had some solid reviews come back, some favouring the album, a few not so much. But that’s like all other music. It’s all very relative! But personally, I like what we did on that record. So do the boys. And that’s the bottom line! </span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">6) I note from your facebook posts that your political views seem to be fairly left leaning. As opposed to the more right wing/ conservative views that seems to be common among the Metal fraternity. Could please tell us why you view the world in this way? Why do you think that a majority of people involved with Metal seem to lean to the Right?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">The whole left/right stuff makes me cringe. I’m above all a humanist. This means I pro-actively defend human rights. Growing up docking shrapnel might have had something to do with it! But honestly, I think the metal scene is evolving from that image you painted, I mean, check out Halford! Gay and more metal than anyone I know! And as far as Australia goes, no one I know would want Abbott for PM. So. Evolution. It’s where it’s at! </span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">7) You are married to ‘Rituals’ guitarist <a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/artists/Shane_Linfoot/29616">Shane Linfoot</a> - which came first, your marrage or the band? How did the first lead to the second? Who wins most of the arguments? How does the dynamic of your marriage work with the music of Rituals of the Oak?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Shane and I were married when I joined Rituals. He knew my voice and recognised the potential in joining forces with me, even though at first we hesitated a bit. But everything seems to work out just fine! I honestly really love his songs and can’t wait to see where we end up musically.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZnXIKrI0LRU/UWUoD9GuXSI/AAAAAAAAB2Y/t7Hjz8LScbs/s1600/IMG_3635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZnXIKrI0LRU/UWUoD9GuXSI/AAAAAAAAB2Y/t7Hjz8LScbs/s640/IMG_3635.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">8) You have quite a strong singing voice. Have you had any training? If so what? Who are your vocal influences? </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Nope. No professional training. I just figured out some techniques with the help of Rob Halford, John Arch, Coverdale, Dio and many others! </span></div>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/_6GtVqLObbM/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/_6GtVqLObbM&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/_6GtVqLObbM&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">9) What’s Next for Rituals of the Oak? Also what direction will your future music be taking?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">We are now finalising the songs for our next album. We’ll hopefully start recording in a few months. For now, all we know is that this album is shaping up to be different with the possibility of a cover. And I might just leave it at that! </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-piYBZNwKFgU/UWVdBWiz1_I/AAAAAAAAB24/IZ9np2UA7Jc/s1600/DSR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-piYBZNwKFgU/UWVdBWiz1_I/AAAAAAAAB24/IZ9np2UA7Jc/s640/DSR.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">10) Any Last comments? (You may wish to mention how people can get hold of your releases and merch) </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Thank you for these very interesting questions! I quite enjoy political ranting!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">For anyone interested in our music, visit our page on Blogspot: <a href="http://ritualsoftheoak.blogspot.com.au/">http://ritualsoftheoak.blogspot.com.au/</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">We have videos and shit!</span><br />
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Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-90371011066446674902013-03-13T02:46:00.000-07:002013-03-13T02:49:44.637-07:00Rotten Sound interview<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k_aKUGxlJ0Y/UTxOSHLeQtI/AAAAAAAABiI/7lyL-dJmLrw/s1600/424321_10150582618933754_442495127_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k_aKUGxlJ0Y/UTxOSHLeQtI/AAAAAAAABiI/7lyL-dJmLrw/s640/424321_10150582618933754_442495127_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><b>Thanks again to Ami from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/themightyscooppresents">The Mighty Scoop</a> for hooking up this interview with Keijo Niinimaa, vocalist for Rotten Sound. Rotten Sound will be playing two New Zealand Shows on April 11th and 12th. You can find out more about these shows <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/147821325370579/?fref=ts" target="_blank">here</a>. If you live in either Wellington or Auckland, keep an eye out for a free special edition of 'Subcide Zine' containing this interview. Copies will be available in all the usual places. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"><b>In the meantime read what </b><b>Keijo has to say...</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><b><br /></b><b><b>1) You are playing in New Zealand for the first time this April. What can the audience expect from </b><b>your Live performance? </b></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;">Well, I was in there last August with Nasum and it was really a huge surprise how similar NZ-crowd was to Finnish people. What to expect? Well, loud and furious grind-core with groove and insanity in front of us by everyone who is brave enough to enter the moshpit. Afterwards we will enjoy some fine alcoholic beverages together and laugh our asses off, because of all the good times. Having Ulcerate to play with us is going to be a huge honour and we’re actually a bit worried about the fact, that they’ll be really hard to follow in front of their home crowd… But we’ll do our best to grind your faces off.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: cyan;"><b>2) Of course this is actually your second visit to New Zealand. In September last year you were here </b><b>as front mate for the Nasum farewell tour. What are your recollections of that experience. What were </b><b>some of the high points of that world tour as a whole? </b></span></b><br />
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<span style="color: cyan;">Yeah, just like I said already… That experience was really short because we spent only 17 hours in your exotic country, but the way we were welcomed to the venue, to the stage and to the afterparties (which we unfortunately could not do because of early flights to Japan the next morning) were simply amazing. Once again, I felt actually more home than in pretty much any other country of the Nasum tour – except for Finland, obviously..</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: cyan;">3) A while ago I saw a Rotten Sound T-shirt which featured a picture of the “Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal” with the secret setting on its dials. What does this pedal and setting mean to ‘Rotten Sound”? What will you do when you can no longer find these guitar pedals?</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: cyan;">Ahh, well, those are the old settings (everything set to max), nowadays Mika has let off with few knobs… We have tried a lot of different things with our sound, but somehow the HM-2 and the way Mika uses it with his A-tuned guitar (darker than average HM-2 sounds, I think) seems to really work well. But that’s not all, Kristian’s Big Muff bass really adds a lot to it too and actually our bass feels like a 2nd guitar in the overall mix. Lastly, Sami is not using any triggers and tunes his drums quite low, which means that we’re playing grind with aggressive stoner-doom sound.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-exUFuFl4E1Q/UTxSHUMSY1I/AAAAAAAABic/vjKGU0T74ks/s1600/7000308-159618.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: cyan;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-exUFuFl4E1Q/UTxSHUMSY1I/AAAAAAAABic/vjKGU0T74ks/s1600/7000308-159618.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<b><b><span style="color: cyan;">4) You’re touring on the back of a 8+ minute, 6 track EP titled “Species at War” EP. Could you tell us about that EP and why people should check it out?</span></b></b><br />
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<span style="color: cyan;">It’s pretty much the best sounding release we have done and it shows how we sound today in studio and on stage. It’s almost like one long song. I’m pretty bad at “selling” ourselves, so, I think it’s better for you to go and check-out at least the lyric video for “Salvation”-track to hear how the EP feels.</span></div>
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<b><b><span style="color: cyan;">5) “Species at War” is being touted as a stopgap EP before the follow up to your 2011 Album “Cursed”. Are you able to give any insight as to what to expect from the next album? Are there any titles or indications of musical direction you can tell us about?</span></b></b><br />
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<span style="color: cyan;">We have about 20 new songs, but I haven’t started writing lyrics to them yet… It’s going to be a grind-core album, but probably a bit more diverse again than Cursed or SAW is… Probably we’ll use the rest of this year to write more songs and to pre-produce all of them before we decide which ones will be on the next album. So, it’s way too early at the moment to say anything that concrete.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o-vmupyDfuA/UTxU00vaanI/AAAAAAAABjA/__7JacRiRX4/s1600/Rotten-Sound-album-art-604x604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: cyan;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o-vmupyDfuA/UTxU00vaanI/AAAAAAAABjA/__7JacRiRX4/s1600/Rotten-Sound-album-art-604x604.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<b><b><span style="color: cyan;">6) For 2013 you’re embarking on a pretty intense World tour. Could you please tell us why youhave chosen to do this. What are you hoping to do that you haven’t on previous tours?</span></b></b></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;">We didn't have a chance to tour that much last year and there seems to be quite a lot of possibilities for us to play shows now. We also like touring a lot and this somehow fits our 20 year anniversary.</span><br />
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<b><b><span style="color: cyan;">7) Word association time. What do the following things mean to Rotten sound:</span></b></b><br />
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<span style="color: cyan;"><b style="font-weight: bold;">- Napalm Death</b><b> - </b>Influence</span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><b style="font-weight: bold;">- Obscene Extreme</b><b> – </b>Best party in the world</span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><b style="font-weight: bold;">- War</b><b> - </b>Wrong</span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><b style="font-weight: bold;">- 99%</b><b> - </b>Not done</span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><b style="font-weight: bold;">- Veggieburgers</b><b> – </b>Once a week treat</span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><b style="font-weight: bold;">- <a href="http://youtu.be/YgMWLJXcbrI?t=4m42s" target="_blank">Stereo Drinking</a></b><b> – </b>Fun as hell</span></div>
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<b><b><span style="color: cyan;">The next 4 questions are from Rotten Sound Fans who were asked to contribute to this interview via the punkas.com forum and Subcide webzine facebook page:</span></b></b></div>
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<b><b><span style="color: cyan;">8) What are your thoughts on <a href="http://www.scionav.com/blog/tag/grindcore/" target="_blank">Scion A/V</a> and corporate involvement in grindcore? [Tim Punkas]</span></b></b><br />
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<span style="color: cyan;">Well, one could think that Toyota corporation is not the coolest companion to work with, but when they help bands to tour and they also made it possible for us to support Carcass back in 2008 by sponsoring us, we are the wrong people to criticize them in any possible way. I also think that Scion is good at bringing cool ecological vehicles to US, where most of the people need a car.</span></div>
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<b><b><span style="color: cyan;">9) Why does the guy on the cover and video for 'Exit' wear a paper bag on his head? It seems pretty impractical, considering a paper bag could just fly off at any time - for instance if he had to make a run from the police - and in any case he kills himself with a shotgun, why did he bother concealing his identity if they're going to find his body and eventually be able to identify it via DNA testing or distinguishing marks if too much of his face is missing? Had he previously committed a crime he had every intention of getting away with or was he suicidal in the first place?. [Logan Muir]</span></b></b><br />
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<span style="color: cyan;">Haha, good thinking in there… The bag represents the way that society and some corporations treat human beings as faceless, expendable resources. This poor fellow has realized, that his only way out from his misery is this “Exit” at his office.</span></div>
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<b><b><span style="color: cyan;">10) Why do most of your song titles only contain one word? [Dan Birrell]</span></b></b><br />
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<span style="color: cyan;">My English is too broken to have longer titles on stage… More seriously: I started to think about song titles a lot more when we did Murderworks album and my process has been pretty straight-forward since that album: I write the lyrics and pick up one word, that describes the song in a best possible way. I've done a few exceptions over the years, like “Sell Your Soul”, “Western Cancer” and I've even invented fake words like “Corponation”, but otherwise this seems to work pretty well as long as I remember to avoid the words I've already used.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NicIy_tbnx4/UTxU0DjOKPI/AAAAAAAABi8/JeYORjwAzkQ/s1600/2984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: cyan;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NicIy_tbnx4/UTxU0DjOKPI/AAAAAAAABi8/JeYORjwAzkQ/s1600/2984.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<b><b><span style="color: cyan;">11) What was behind the decision to move from Relapse to Season Of Mist? [Craig Hayes]</span></b></b><br />
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<span style="color: cyan;">We didn't move, we wanted to change our label in Europe. Relapse is still doing the rest of the world and this same setup is going to continue with the next album too. Main reason was that Relapse was lacking distribution and promotion in few major European territories, which have been pretty good for us before when we still were with Spinefarm. But Relapse is doing really great job in North America and they can also keep our releases available for all other places. Season of Mist has been already really impressive with “Species at War”, but I believe that the next full-length will be a lot better way to measure their success over here.</span><br />
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<b><b><span style="color: cyan;">12) Thank you for your time. Any last comments?</span></b></b></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;">See you at the shows!</span></div>
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Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-15284568415518414002013-02-02T15:18:00.001-08:002013-02-02T22:23:06.793-08:00Meth Drinker interview + Open Tomb split review<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Uk9UACmiKpA/UQw4PYseloI/AAAAAAAABcA/cl1lQ3dSvTk/s1600/Methdrinker_photo_logo_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Uk9UACmiKpA/UQw4PYseloI/AAAAAAAABcA/cl1lQ3dSvTk/s1600/Methdrinker_photo_logo_web.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>A few words from Sam Thurston of Wellington's filthiest sludge merchants METH DRINKER!</b></div>
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<b>1- The music and name of Meth Drinker creates a mental image of the band being a bunch of filthy, derelict, glue sniffing, methylated spirits drinking drop kicks. How close is this to the truth? Who would you actually describe yourselves personally (not musically)?</b></div>
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Picture a scummy flat in Newtown that hasn't seen a vacuum cleaner in 15 years. There is assorted crap strewn everywhere, used plates with dried crusted floor all over the floor. The occupants are unconscious... occasionally coming out of their drugged out methylated spirits haze to start jamming on the various instruments set up around the room. Nah seriously we're some of the most cleanest, tidiest civilized people Lance knows.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption"><a href="http://forums.punkas.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=60136&start=15#p1232538" target="_blank">Lance - "sam, tony and james are probably the most cleanest/tidiest/civilized people that i know of "</a></td></tr>
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<b style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><span style="font-size: small;">2- You released your Self titled on Vinyl and CD in early 2011 through AlwaysNeverFun Records to what seemed like a huge underground response internationally.This included a rave review in Terrorizer magazine and my review on Subcide Webzine has attracted more than double the amount of hits of any other article I've posted. What do think has attributed to this level of attention being paid to Meth Drinker?</span></b><br />
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We just tried to write music that we wanted to hear and didn't think there were all that many bands these days doing sludge that wasn't 10 minute long self-indulgent wanky boring shit. Trying to write nasty shit as heavy as possible. So we're not surprised that other people may be into it.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meth Drinker s/t album reissue cover</td></tr>
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<b>3 -Still on the subject of the debut s/t Album. It’s been re-released for Europe by Raw Birth Records. How did this come about? For those that missed the original release how can they get this version? Why should people get the album?</b></div>
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We were compared to Bottom Feeder from Denmark on a blog review and one of the members co-runs Raw Birth Records so they liked us and wanted to repress the 12" and got in contact. So we're stoked about that and they're gunna help out large with a Europe tour in May next year. People can get the album off Raw Birth Records blog. Why should people get the record...? Why not? </div>
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<b>4) Going back to the first question, you say that your music doesn't reflect the members of Meth Drinker as people. Yet it's (your music) up there with some of the most dark, sick and twisted sludge there is. Where exactly do you draw your creative inspiration from for these dark musical and lyrical themes?</b></div>
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We never said our music doesn't reflect us personally but it's not hard to draw influence from the ongoing pain and suffering endured in this world.</div>
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<b>5 - You own and run “AlwaysNeverFun Records” (and Zine?) that released the Meth Drinker debut. Tell us abit about the label,it’s focus, what it’s released and going to release. How can people check out your catalogue and make orders? Additionally, Tony does a blog and label called Drug Violence. What can you tell us about these?</b></div>
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I just started Always Never Fun to release records on my own terms and there were no labels in NZ I wanted to be on. I've released mostly our own shit with the exceptions of a 12" NZ comp and the Electric Mayhem /Numbskull split cause they're good cunts. Tony started Drug violence to make local NZ demos available to local friends but there has been subsequent international interest.</div>
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<b>6 - You have just released a split album coming out with Hamilton band ‘Open Tomb’. How did this come about? What can we expect from it? Musically how does it compare to the debut? How can it be obtained?</b></div>
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We're friends with the old cunts from Open Tomb so it was natural to do a split with them. It was originally gunna be a Gawj / Drug Problem 12" but both bands broke up. Musically, it's more of the same. It's available for not much longer stunsmas@yahoo.co.nz and opentomb666@gmail.com </div>
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<b>Note: See the end of this article for a review of this release</b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Open Tomb split cover art</td></tr>
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<b>7- Meth Drinker members are also involved in a number of other bands including Scab, Shortlived, Influence, Rogernomix, Invertebrate, Drug Problem and Baboon King. Could you please give a brief description of each band including styles, which members are involved, current status and any links or releases that readers can check out.</b></div>
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Too many bands to go into. Just search them and you can easily figure it out or check <a href="http://drugviolence.blogspot.com/">drugviolence.blogspot.com</a></div>
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<b>8 - You’ve made a pretty unsettling music video for the song ‘731’ off of the Open Tomb split. Who put this together and where did the footage come from? What was the intent of it?</b></div>
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We got the footage from Doctors of Death (Killer in a White Coat). It's basically about the history of humans testing on humans. </div>
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<b>9- You played a gig a short while ago at ‘Strathmore Gun Placement’. What was that all about?</b></div>
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There is a lack of decent AA venues in Wellington and we got sick of playing at the shitty bars so we decided to release the 12" in a bunker on generator power. Keeping it punk as fuck. DIY. There will be more generator shows in Wellington to come so stayed tuned. Illegal shows are the best shows.</div>
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<b>10 - What is next for Meth Drinker? Any last comments?</b></div>
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The future for Meth Drinker is a European tour in May/June of 2013. The first two weeks are with US sludge band Graves at Sea and then one week with Danish Grind band Dead Instrument. Then we head to Ireland to play three shows over there. Hopefully coinciding with the tour will be another repress of the s/t 12" on Raw Birth Records(Denmark) a new 7" on crucificados records (Germany)and Raw Birth records, a split 12" with UK sludge band Moloch on crucificados records and Feast of Tentacles (UK) and we're also working on something new which may or may not be ready by then too, we'll see. For info on the tour dates with Graves at Sea check<a href="http://killtownbookings.com/?page_id=6">http://killtownbookings.com/?page_id=6</a> and for the rest of the tour details will be posted on <a href="http://alwaysneverfunrecords.wordpress.com/">http://alwaysneverfunrecords.wordpress.com/</a></div>
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Meth Drinker/Open Tomb split 12” (<a href="http://alwaysneverfunrecords.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Alwaysneverfun</a>/<a href="http://www.unitedblasphemy.com/main.html" target="_blank">United Blasphemy Music</a>)</b></span><br />
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This split vinyl 12” contains two tones of filthy sludge doom. One ‘Open Tomb’, a dark grey sewage silt with streaks of darker grey effluent. The other, ‘Meth Drinker’, a disgusting dark green bile with curdles of brighter green pus. Both are improvements, particularly in the area of songwriting, from each band’s previous recordings.</div>
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First we get three Meth Drinker tunes. ‘Dehumanize’ continues in the vein of the dirty sludge we heard on the s/t album. ‘Beyond The Grate’ starts moving into new territory with creeping climbing riffs, rising into an aggressive peak which includes samples of suffering, torture and insanity. Both of these songs seem to build up toward the ultra disturbing, and most musically diverse, epic that is ‘731’. Despite the lack of visuals from the music video, I still find the level of unease in ‘731’ to be up there with a rare few things I’ve ever heard in recorded music. Those include the ‘Khanate ‘Things Viral’’ album and the first time I heard ‘Altar of Sacrifice’ while listening to ‘Slayer - Reign In Blood’ aged fifteen in the dark through walkman headphones. A quick Google search shows that the theme of this song is based around the WWII Japanese biological warfare and human testing ‘<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_731" target="_blank">Unit 731</a>’. I think Meth Drinker have succeeded in capturing the horror of that place accurately. </div>
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The two song ‘Open Tomb’ contribution (‘Off with his Hands’ and ‘Hostile Womb’) for some reason reminds me of the atmosphere that is projected the first ‘Grief’ album ‘Dismal’ (The really good album they did in ‘93 before all their albums started to sound exactly the same and kind of boring) i.e. a kind of grind sludge that is engaging rather than a wash that plays as droning background music. My observation over the past 20+ years of bands with Sean Carmichael (and associated musicians) in them is that they seem to last a couple of years, start getting really good and then end before they get a chance to develop into something really awesome. Therefore I’m going to be an optimist here and hope that they stick with Open Tomb and see where it goes. In the meantime I can tell you that the material on this split is some of the best and most engaging music I’ve heard from the Sean Carmichael collective in the last almost quarter century....... Jesus we’re a bunch of fuckin’ old cunts! </div>
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Get it if you still can. Beg for a re-press if you can’t.</div>
Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-75126618570206922692013-01-27T01:58:00.002-08:002013-01-27T02:18:41.185-08:00Witchrist Interview<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>After over a year of trying to nail this down, I can finally present to you the following in-depth interview with Shawn/Abomination and Alex/Occultorture "Bad News Brown" on the subject of all things WITCHRIST!</b></div>
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<b>1) The latest Witchrist album 'The Grand Tormentor' has been heavily influenced by the eastern myth known as The Ramayana or Ramakien. Can you please give us a break down of how you have represented this story in the music and Lyrics of the album? For example what songs represent what parts of the Ramayana and how?</b></div>
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The majority of the tracks on the album relate to the ancient tale and also the murals contained at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Phra_Kaew" target="_blank">Wat Phra Kaew</a>. Once again this is Witchrist's interpretation of the epic and the lyrics have been released with the album for this purpose.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: small;">Examples of murals contained at Wat Phra Kaew</span></td></tr>
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<b>2) On both 'The Grand Tormentor' and your previous album 'Beheaded Ouroboros ' a dark Hindu theme has featured in the art work, lyrics and even Sanskrit translations of the lyrics. Why have you chosen this theme? Is it something that Witchrist will continue with?</b></div>
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Having members of Asian hertiage does play some part in this decision, yes this will continue.</div>
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<b>3) I'm aware that you have been working on new material. Could you please give some indications of what lyrical and musical directions this is headed in? Perhaps some titles if they exist yet? I'm interested to find out what other parts of eastern mythology you might be covering.</b></div>
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New material is currently being completed for the Antediluvian split 7" and perhaps another EP. The lyrical concepts are of a similar direction as the song "The Grand Tormentor" - ie. centred around a number of deities and their infliction of doom upon mankind. We will explore sources in the Puranas and certain sects of Buddhism to compile our most sinister material to date. No titles can be revealed as of yet as we are awaiting the finalisation of the material. </div>
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<b>Note: While no description of the new music was given in this answer, I was given the privilege of hearing an untitled work in progress 6 minute track. What I can tell you is that it sounded like a more developed and epic version of the music music on 'The Grand Tormentor'. If this track is anything to go by, future Witchrist will top the current material and be something to get excited about.</b></div>
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<b>4) Despite the eastern themes, the music of Witchrist is generally rooted in western death metal using traditional instruments. Although it was briefly touched on with the intro of "Adoration Of Black Messiah" on the 'Headless Oroborus' album, Have you considered utitlising eastern instruments, rhythms and or/melodies in the music of Witchrist? If not why? If so how and when will we hear it?</b></div>
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That is our way of presenting Witchrist, we use our own weapons and what we have ingrained in us. I listen to a select amount of Indian music and there is a depth to it which goes beyond simply playing an instrument and scale, you could describe this as Occult. Attempting to add these melodies to metal can result in mediocrity if not done correctly or without proper thought. We will use segments of Eastern music sparingly and with relation to that which is contained in the song. </div>
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<b>5) One last question on the eastern occult theme. Obviously you have spent time researching the darker side of side of eastern religions. Have you at any time been a practitioner of any of these? for inspiration or otherwise? If so please elaborate.</b></div>
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I was raised in a traditional Hindu household, however as I grew older I was on a different path and stepped away from the more mainstream thought of Hinduism. Though the theory is a strong base for Witchrist I believe the traditional practices are best left to certain groups who follow the religion as a cultural aspect of society. The music of Witchrist will always be our ritual of darkness.</div>
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<b>6) Witchrist is part of a group of bands self labeled as ‘Doom cult’. It currently only involves yourselves and Diocletian, but has included Vassafor and Sinistrous Diabolus. How did the 'Doom Cult' concept come about and why? What defines a ‘Doom Cult’ band? Are there likely to be any new edition to it’s fold in the future? If so who/what?</b></div>
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If you listen to Diocletian and Witchrist you have a glimpse at what Doom Cult is. We don't take applications.</div>
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<b>7) That leads into a technical question about the 'Doom Cult' sound. Through frequenting the same rehearsal studio that both Witchrist and Diocletian use, I've noticed that between both bands you have a sizable collection of old NZ made 'Holden' amps. Why is that you have chosen to use these? What is it that they do that other Amplifiers don't? Are there any specific models of 'Holden' that you use? Why? Is there any other musical equipment (strings, speakers, pedals, guitars, drums etc) that is important to your sound? If so what and why?</b></div>
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The death tone achieved through these Holden valves are key factors in our choice, it is characteristic of Witchrist's sound. Both me and Occultorture have been using Holden in rehearsal for a long time, they are indestructible and noisy. Ultimately, the attitude dictates the direction of which the equipment is used.</div>
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<b>8) Your recent video for 'Wasteland of Thataka' shows the band performing with images of skulls, smoke and a mysterious masked figure. After some brief research I have learned that 'Thataka' </b><b>(Tatakā or Taraka (ताड़का) or Tadaka) is a 'Crow Demoness' in the Ramayana. She was cursed the loss of her beautiful physique and transformed hideous demonic creatures with a cruel, cannibalistic </b><b>nature (Rakshasas). Thataka then inhabited a forest near the river Ganges that became known as the 'Forest of Thataka'. There she terrorized the people, devouring anyone who dared to set foot in that forest. After reading the lyrics to the song, my assumption is that the video symbolises 'Thataka' as the masked figure, her reign in the forest or 'wasteland' being depicted in the smoke and darkness, with the skull representing her many victims. How close am I?</b></div>
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Though the concept of the track may have a foundation with the Tataka demoness, the video and music should transcend thought. Therefore, the exact meaning behind the video is not easily described in words and it is best for the audience to interpret it on their own accord like you have done.</div>
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<b>9) Witchrist and Doom Cult seem to have become quite a self sufficient working machine. Alex does all your artwork (Read a short interview with him on this subject at the end of this article), Cam does all the mixing, mastering and I believe soon the engineering of your recordings, Brendan directed your video and (as I understand) does all the managerial stuff and you run your own distro label 'Goat Gear' where among other things, your releases are available in NZ. Is there anything I've missed out? Was this something that was intended or has it come about naturally over time? What else would you take control of if you had the opportunity? Why?</b></div>
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Yes you could say we are organized chaos. As for expansion... Why not? This is only the beginning. </div>
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As you have mentioned we all contribute certain characteristics to the Cult, I still believe it is essential to place the individual aside for the bigger picture, greater purpose. in the case of Doom Cult our intentions are to invest in what we truly believe is worthy of our time and energy. </div>
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<b>10) Witchrist have an interesting stage aesthetic consisting of minimal lighting, smoke, covered faces and hoods. What mood or feeling are you intending to evoke with this? What was the original inspiration of the the hoods? Is their anything that you'd like to add to your stage presentation that you haven't yet, or would if their were no parameters restricting you? If so what?</b></div>
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We embody the spirit of our music, its a permanent mindset and our intensity does not waiver in anything we do. We do not NEED to have particular clothing in order to do this.. if we discover the hoods are unsuitable we will discard them.... The music should be the ultimate component of the RITUAL. Though at the same time bands with weak stage presence only degregate themselves., perhaps this means they should not be creating that type of music.</div>
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<b><b>11) Thanks Shawn for an enlightening interview into the world of Witchrist. Is there anything else you'd like to say in closing? Perhaps a plug for 'Goat Gear' if you want?</b></b></div>
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Beware...</div>
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Doom Cult /// <a href="http://www.doomcult.net/">www.doomcult.net</a></div>
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Goat Gear /// <a href="http://www.goatgear.net/">www.goatgear.net</a></div>
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Osmose Productions /// <a href="http://www.osmoseproductions.com/">www.osmoseproductions.com/</a></div>
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<b>I chose to ask Alex/Occultorture "Bad News Brown" the following questions so as to get a first hand insight into Witchrist cover art, but also to explore his art as a whole. Continue reading...</b></div>
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<b>1) Could you please give us a brief rundown on how you started out as an artist, leading up to becoming the well known underground metal cover artist you are now? What were some of your key influences that lead to you developing the unique style you have now?</b></div>
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I've been drawing since I can remember, but never studied art formally. Only after studying graphic design did I realize that a 9-5 job wasn't for me. I followed my own path and somehow arrived where I am now.</div>
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Influences are infinite, but the seed for it all was seeing stippling for the first time (probably on a Metallica or Napalm Death record) and thinking it was such a painstakingly detailed technique, more extreme than simple hatching. I had to learn how to do it. Other than this I don't think much about having a particular style.</div>
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<b>2) Obviously being a member of Witchrist, the band gets to be in the privileged position of having lots of highly detailed, quality internal and external album art. What research have you done into the eastern and hindu imagery that adorns Witchrist album covers? How long did it take you to complete all of the art work for “The Grand Tormentor” and particularly “Beheaded Ouroboros”? What techniques and tools do you use in your art?</b></div>
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Each album would've taken somewhere between 6 and 12 months each whilst also working on commissions. I read several important 'eastern' texts in research for the art but really only really took base concepts to make my/our own. Traditional depictions were perverted and combined with other ideas related or otherwise. As mentioned above stippling is the main technique, although more line work and black ink washes have come into play as of late. </div>
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<b>3) You recently traveled to the US to take part in an art exhibition “Invocation I”. Which along with your self featured the work of AntiChrist Kramer and a number of other Metal cover artists. How did it come about? Tell us about how it went and what the highlights were. What did you gain from it?</b></div>
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Invocation was my first exhibition as well as my first time visiting the States so it was an all round amazing experience. Eternal gratitude to Rick/<a href="http://www.dbthinktank.com/" target="_blank">DB Think Tank</a>. It was a great insight in Hollywood and connectivity of it all. I met a lot of great people, saw a lot of great art and ate a lot of great food, but it was still just a taste. I'll be back.</div>
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<b>4) What are your favorite pieces of your own artwork? Ultimately where would you like to go with your art long term? </b></div>
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I aim to work on bigger and more diverse projects in terms of size, audience and medium. It doesn't matter if it involves metal or even music at all, as long as I'm able to create. And as for favourites it's hard to say but the Mitochondrion art is up there as well as The Grand Tormentor. I see every new drawing as a step forward mind you and 2013 will hold the biggest steps yet.</div>
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<b>5) What should people do if they would like to get you to do art work for them? Any last comments?</b></div>
</b>Don't go looking for snakes, you might find them;</div>
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<a href="mailto:alexander.brownn@gmail.com">alexander.brownn@gmail.com</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.badnewsbrown.blogspot.co.nz/">http://www.badnewsbrown.blogspot.co.nz/</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/bnb888">www.facebook.com/bnb888</a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex has these available for sale. Email him if interested.</td></tr>
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Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-43878275598112310802013-01-25T03:28:00.005-08:002013-01-25T03:33:12.888-08:002012 International Roundup part 2 - Sanguinary Misanthropia, WaterWays, Sons of Alpha Centauri, Hotel Wrecking City Traders and Bonehunter<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is the last of the 2012 round ups. The longer I’ve worked on them the more I’ve realised could be included. But I’ve got to stop somewhere and I’m sure those other releases will find their place around here at the appropriate time...</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Sanguinary Misanthropia - Loathe Over Will ( <a href="http://www.supremacy-through-intolerance.org/" target="_blank">Supremacy Through Intolerance</a>)</span></b><br />
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At the time of writing, I will be getting to see these guys play tomorrow tonight at “APOCRYPHAL CONGREGATION OF RITUAL DEATH” where I’m expecting to be pulverized by an impressive performance of intense dark and rhythmic Black Metal. But I’ll talk more about that later.</div>
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‘Loathe over Will’ is a slow but rewarding grower of an album. It’s full of interesting percussion, rhythmic changes and subtle melodies both in the music and vocals. This, of course is all flavoured with aggressive energy and dark hatred of everything. The title track, ‘Bellum ad Internecionem’ and opening tune ‘Revelations 16:4 - 6 (Ritual Opening)’ are particular stand out tracks for me. Both of which reflect the previous description very well. </div>
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The thing I believe could make ‘Loathe Over Will’ a better listen however, is neither to do with the bands performance nor song writing ability. In fact both of those things are brilliant. It’s actually in the production, which is oddly also solid. It’s something in the production that I can’t quite put my finger on. I think it’s either that the guitars are slightly too dominant in the mix and don’t allow the drums and vocals to breathe as much as they should, or it’s because the recording has been pushed slightly too hot during the mastering process, resulting in the music’s natural dynamics being flattened. It may even be a combination of both or neither of those things. Whatever it is, it makes the album a more arduous listen than it really should be, and I say that knowing that this music isn’t supposed to be easy to listen to. This is where I can tell though, through repetitive listens, that none of this will be a problem live. In fact I know that this is where the music of Sanguinary Misanthropia will shine! Perhaps they could sort this out for the vinyl release, which “Loathe Over Will” is destined for.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">WaterWays / Sons of Alpha Centauri / Hotel Wrecking City Traders - 3 way Split (<a href="http://www.brofidelity.blogspot.co.nz/" target="_blank">Bro Fidelity</a>)</span></b><br />
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I want this record! It’s a work of art. I mean look at the cover(s) and of course I’ll now tell you about the music contained within. (Which by the way, isn’t what you’d normally expect to be reviewed here but for some reason seems to belong all the same) It’s also the first time I've reviewed a digital promo copy. More of which I know are to come. </div>
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<b>WaterWays, f</b>rom Southern Calafornia<b>,</b> play gothic guitar pop in the vein of ‘Fields of the Nephilim’, but with almost celtic styled female vocal and a Portishead smoothness. Of the 4 songs here all are varied, dark and beautiful in their own right. Check out ‘The Blacksmith’:</div>
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<b>Sons of Alpha Centauri, </b>from the UK, provide a single eight and a half minute track ‘27’. ‘27’ leads on perfectly from WaterWays, with it’s clean guitar opening which ebbs and flows through a journey of different rhythms, riffs and in and out of distorted highs and clean lows. </div>
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‘27’ is the first of two remaining instrumental songs on the album, the second being from ‘Hotel Wrecking City Traders’.</div>
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<b>Hotel Wrecking City Traders</b>, from Melbourne, continue on the path where ‘27’ finished and ‘WaterWays’ started with 'Pulmo Victus'. 'Pulmo Victus' which sees acoustic guitars, reverbed and delayed strings floating on top of their sub ten minute journey across a mist of looped guitar fuzz. It’s the Noisy climax of the album and the perfect closer.</div>
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Both ‘Sons of Alpha Centauri’ and ‘Hotel Wrecking City Traders’ do exactly what that shitty over hyped emperor's new clothing excuse for a band ‘Earth’ don’t. They create lively and interesting guitar driven instrumental rock which transports your mind to another place, and not boring half paced country/blues songs that really should have vocals but don’t. ‘Earth’ should really take a lesson from these guys or split up immediately! By the way I fucking hate ‘Earth’ if you didn’t pick up on that. </div>
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This is the album you put on, on a warm Sunday afternoon, while you’re sitting out in the back yard and recovering from a hangover caused by the excesses of a Sanguinary Misanthropia gig you attended the night before. It goes well with a strong coffee, fruit juice or perhaps the hair of the dog that bit you. Definitely not pot though, that shit makes me insanely paranoid and want to curl up into the fetal position. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Bonehunter - Turn up the Evil (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/HVP666?fref=ts" target="_blank">Hell’s Vomit</a>) </span></b><br />
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“Turn up the Evil” by Finland’s ‘Bonehunter’ is the second release on New Zealand underground Metal label “Hell’s Vomit”. ‘Bonehunter’are self described ‘Street Metal Punk’. In my mind however, the best way to describe “Bonehunter - Turn up the Evil” is to get you to imagine what a Bathory EP would have sounded like if Quathorn had written and recorded six sexually suggestive/crass songs (seven if you include the intro) in the style of this:</div>
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Yes ‘Turn up the Evil’ is a fun 15 Minutes of catchy, dirty, rockin black metal. If that sounds like your thing you won’t go wrong with adding it to your collection. </div>
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A suggestion for improvement on this release would be for the tracks to be widened and more bass to be brought out in the mastering. Something I noticed upon first listening was that after the attention grabbing (and dynamic sounding) occult porno intro of “Summoning...” The music seems to shrink down in contrast. Just a minor gripe though.</div>
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For fans of the aforementioned, Atomizer, Gospel of the Horns, Venom, Midnight and recent Darkthrone.</div>
Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-49061549522680071342013-01-10T18:25:00.001-08:002013-01-10T18:28:08.167-08:002012 International Roundup part 1 - Swans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q-41uojPQV8/UO9z76_QlxI/AAAAAAAAA3s/28QQCJor66g/s1600/poster-Swans2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q-41uojPQV8/UO9z76_QlxI/AAAAAAAAA3s/28QQCJor66g/s640/poster-Swans2012.jpg" width="470" /></a></div>
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This is a long overdue way of me making up for the live review I never wrote after I witnessed Swans play live in Auckland way back on 6 March 2011. I’m not sure why I didn’t review it at the time. It was truly one of the most impressive and sonically intense live performances I’ve ever seen. Probably only matched by seeing Thorr’s Hammer at Supersonic in 09. Maybe it was general procrastination (most likely), all the bad shit going on back then (<a href="http://subcide-webzine.blogspot.co.nz/2011/02/rip-matt-blaps-warmonger-hall.html" target="_blank">Mathew Hall had just been murdered</a> and the <a href="http://subcide-webzine.blogspot.co.nz/2011/12/sinistrous-diabolus-interview.html" target="_blank">Christchurch earthquake</a> had both happened in the last month) or maybe I was put off by the rushed and almost flippant answers Michael Gira gave to the <a href="http://subcide-webzine.blogspot.co.nz/2011/02/swans-interview.html" target="_blank">email interview</a> I had sent him (which was arranged via the local promoter). He did apologise for that in the accompanying email (due to the fact he had limited time to answer it while on tour) though and lets face it he’s a total <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=good%20cunt" target="_blank">GC</a> in person. I got to meet him briefly after the show and whenever you order anything by Swans (or one of his other projects) from his label, <a href="http://younggodrecords.com/" target="_blank">Young God Records</a>, he always signs the releases and even writes notes like “Thank you for your support” on the outside packaging. </div>
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Anyway, here is a rundown of that show by way of reviews of the two Swans albums that were released in 2012.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The version I got</td></tr>
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<b>Swans - Live - We Rose From Your Bed With The Sun In Our Head<br />2xCD (Young God Records)</b><br />
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I got the pre ordered limited edition of 1000 hand printed, coloured and signed version with bonus demo songs for ‘The Seer’. It was sold (out in less than half a day) by pre-order directly from the Young God Records website in order to raise the funds to record ‘The Seer’ studio album. But because the general version is the one that’s readily available I’ll focus on the live tracks that are contained on both versions in this review*.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The version you'll get</td></tr>
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Like my live experience ‘We Rose From Your Bed With The Sun In Our Head’ opens with a 23 minute track, which after a slow building 10 minute feedback drone intro, crashes down into a crushing rendition of ‘No words No thoughts’, the opening song from the ‘My father will guide me up a rope to the sky’ album. This sets the tone for further alternate versions of songs from that and other albums throughout. And they really are different. For example here is the “My father will guide me up a rope to the sky” version of ‘Eden Prision’: </div>
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This is the version they played at the Powerstation, in Auckland. Which is close to the version which appears as the second to last track on ‘We Rose...”</div>
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Completely fucking different!!!</div>
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Second track is a stabbing percussive version of ‘Jim’. Once again it’s quite a variation to the mellower almost folk studio version.</div>
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Next, finishing off the first disk are three adaptations of early Swans songs. The first being ‘Beautiful Child’ originally from the 1987 ‘Children of God’ album. Unlike the original grandiose orchestral version, this one is made to sound like it’s an old wringer washing machine with throat cancer, that has been turned on to full so as to hypnotize you and draw you into it. This is followed by ‘Your Property’ from ‘Cop’ which is a mellow version that builds up in intensity throughout. Again it’s very different to the original metallic monolith of sound that it came from<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></b></div>
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Orginal version:</div>
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Current live version:</div>
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Lastly we have “Sex God Sex” from ‘Children of God’. Surprisingly this is the most loyal adaptation on ‘We Rose..’ as it’s very close to it’s studio version.</div>
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Disc 2 opens with a 30+ minute version of ‘I crawled’ with a differently structured ‘The Seer’ as it’s Intro. But more about that in the next review. That’s followed by the version of ‘Eden Prison’ discussed earlier. The album closer is another tune from ‘The Seer’ - ‘93 Ave. B.Blues’, a strange unstructured but building composition of instrument noises which finishes with Michael Gira performing a solo vocal only version of “Little Mouth” from “My father...”</div>
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Whilst being practically the same set as the live show I saw, and despite it being a highly satisfying recommended listen, one thing that the album doesn’t capture (and most likely never could capture), is the enveloping intensity and dynamics of being in the same room as all six Swans. Hammering out their art with the intensity of a blacksmith bashing out his life’s masterwork against an Anvil.</div>
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<b>Swans - The Seer - 2xCD (Young God Records)</b></div>
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The highly anticipated album that had been hinted at throughout the ‘My father will guide me up a Rope’ tour and it’s succeeding live album. Lets take a ride through it.....</div>
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‘The Seer’ opens with the beautifully grandiose and melodic ‘Lunacy’. One of my 3 favourite songs on the album. It builds gently with it’s repetitive title chant (chorus /choir backing vocals by Al and Mimi from <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaSVkb_XLt4&feature=share&list=AL94UKMTqg-9A7nsPpe4WeRbghwwuwCSQp" target="_blank">Low</a>). As it unfolds, subtle tensions are introduced in the form of discordant notes and chords. The chant then seems to become a scream, but cleverly, it’s only given a more direct delivery which creates the illusion of it being more. At this point the song breaks into it’s darker second section, with a haunting repetitive chant of “Your childhood is over”. </div>
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“Mother of the World” plays with repetitive, almost annoying rhythms at the beginning before breaking into the main body of the song “In and out and in and out...” A good track but probably my least favourite on the album. </div>
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“The wolf” a short 90 second folk ballad which sits nicely as an interlude before the imminent epic onslaught that’s about to happen. The only thing giving any indication of which, is the strangely placed bed of Pink noise that cuts in halfway through.</div>
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Forth is the title track, a 32 minute growing soundscape of layers and rhythms that twist and turn taking you on a voyage to places unknown and unexpected. Whereas the live version on “We rose from your bed..” culminated in a reinterpretation of “I crawled” this version is structured differently to the live album and contains new and entirely different sections. It builds up to the rather odd composition of which I assume is “The Seer” itself. What is “The Seer” exactly? Is it the mysterious Mad Hatter cat-dog creature that appears in the album cover art? Whatever it is, it comes back in the next song. </div>
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“The Seer Returns” which would be the next in my 3 favourite tunes on the album. It’s an upbeat number with strange almost eastern harmonies and twisted poetic lyrics about a greasy beast in a field of sticky black mud. It’s almost like Lewis Carroll is being channeled through nightmare musical instruments from Wonderland. This interestingly is the first of two songs to feature Jarboe on backing vocals. Interesting in the fact that not so long ago (i.e. read my interview with Gira), Michael Gira was saying he had no interest in working with her again, and Jarboe herself had posted on facebook that she didn’t believe the new line up was the Swans without her. I’m not sure, but I think there might have been a change in feelings between the parties once she witnessed the new Swans live.</div>
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‘93 Ave. B blues’ is an unstructured droning discordant attack on the emotions, by way of creating an uneasy atmosphere which then leads into the acoustic ‘The Daughter Brings the Water’. This has a subtle underlying bed of what sounds like someone going insane screaming.</div>
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Disc one ends.</div>
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Disk two opens with the other of my 3 favourites, the beautiful female vocal (by Karen O) folk tune ‘Song for a Warrior’. This could be considered the odd tune, yet it seems to shine like a beacon of hope in the insane darkness that is ‘The Seer’. I’m sure if Gira were to make a video and promote this as a single to commercial radio (or whatever the fuck it is the mainstream music industry does these days), it would be a massive hit. I’m also certain that this is some sort of commentary or anti-War anthem aimed at the current conflict in the Middle East. The closing chorus of “Send them home” definitely points that way. But what the fuck do I know.</div>
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‘Avatar’ starts off with an industrial grating noise which is then layered by a chorus of church bells. The band kicks in with a pulsating rhythm which as you guessed it, builds in intensity before dropping back to the core of the song “Your life is in my hands....”</div>
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‘A piece of the Sky’, a 19 minute track, opens with what sounds like a fire burning and then cuts to the second contribution from Jarboe, a looped section of whaling. Other sound loops begin to layer themselves upon this, developing quite an interesting texture, until the point it starts to create an uneasy stomach churning mood. This all turns out to be a long intro, as when the final song section of “A Piece of the Sky” kicks in, becoming quite a beautiful melodic number. Creating a sense of relief, much like what happens in the earlier transition from </div>
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‘93 Ave. B blues’ to ‘The Daughter Brings The Water’. I’d actually have to add this as my 4th favourite tune on ‘The Seer’. </div>
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The final 23 minute closer ‘The Apostate’ is much like the title track in that it builds and builds until breaking into the core of the song, a driven pulsating hypnotic bass line. This gradually fades into almost nothing, when you get hit by an aggressive barrage of percussion and screaming before an abrupt stop. Then it’s over.</div>
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The Seer is a magical dark and mysterious journey, woven by the magician that Is Michael Gira and his incredibly talented band of Swans. It captures elements from each part of the Swans history, from the early monolithic grinding slabs of distortion to the mid era folk albums and then takes it to new uncharted places. Not only that, but it does all those things on a new level. A master work so to speak. If there is a theme here it would have to be around dark slow building tensions releasing into beauty and light . Reviewers aren’t exaggerating when they say that this is the album that Gira has been working toward throughout his 30 years of SWANS. That’s definitely what this is.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E4wUIaKkHCM/UO92SRTwYpI/AAAAAAAAA4w/PDX0t3rXoxA/s1600/Swans_8x10_band_w_stars_horiz_bw_v2_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E4wUIaKkHCM/UO92SRTwYpI/AAAAAAAAA4w/PDX0t3rXoxA/s400/Swans_8x10_band_w_stars_horiz_bw_v2_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><u>Conclusion</u></b>, In order to get a fully rounded feel of the ‘Swans’ experience, you should listen to Swans studio albums to hear how the music was intended (at that particular point in time). You should listen to the live albums to hear how those songs, along with older ones, are reproduced and sometimes developed further. Also so that you can hear developing new music being performed prior to it’s studio recording. Lastly you should take any and every opportunity you can to see them live so that you can experience the full enveloping sonic experience that you can’t get from either live or studio recordings.</div>
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* - I will say one thing regarding the extra demo tracks, all performed Solo acoustic by Gira. They give you an insight into the skeletons of SWANS music and where they evolve from to their final form or forms. It’s definitely another factor that is worth exploring if solo acoustic folk music is of your liking. If you are interested in exploring this side of his music I recommend checking out “The Milk of Michael Gira” which features solo originals, demo versions of songs from ‘My Father...’ and acoustic versions of ‘Angels of the Light’ tunes.</div>
Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-79939096992916619042012-12-30T22:06:00.000-08:002013-01-01T17:21:44.729-08:002012 New Zealand Roundup - BulletBelt, Nullifier, Blood of the Moon, Bölzer and Forsaken Age<div style="text-align: justify;">
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!</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">BulletBelt - Down In The Cold Of The Grave</span></b><br />
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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. </div>
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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.</div>
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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 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koqMpyz-Gdw" target="_blank">‘No Tag’</a>. </div>
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‘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. </div>
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‘Down in the Cold of the Grave’ can be obtained directly from BulletBelt’s own label <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HeadlessHorsemannz" target="_blank">‘Headless Horseman’</a> </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Nullifier - Silent Destruction</span></b></div>
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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!
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‘Silent Destruction’ is available through <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HeadlessHorsemannz" target="_blank">Headless Horseman</a>.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Blood of the Moon - MMXII demo</span></b></div>
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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 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BloodOfTheMoonNZ" target="_blank">HERE</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Bölzer - Roman Acupuncture - demo</span></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cassette version of 'Roman Acupuncture'</td></tr>
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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:<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F71766246&color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true" width="100%"></iframe>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/B%C3%96LZER/108657105834227?fref=ts" target="_blank">Go to the bands facebook page to keep up to date with them</a>.</div>
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Headless Horseman still has CD and Cassette copies of ‘Roman Acupuncture’ for sale but get in now: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HeadlessHorsemannz">https://www.facebook.com/HeadlessHorsemannz</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Forsaken Age - Back from Extinction</span></b></div>
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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.</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ForsakenAge?fref=ts" target="_blank">Contact he band here for copies.</a></div>
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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.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">ALSO COMING IN 2013 - 'SUBCIDE ZINE #4'</span></b></div>
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Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-63100159722961595492012-12-21T13:44:00.000-08:002012-12-27T00:56:28.002-08:00Exordium Mors Interview<b id="internal-source-marker_0.7152103187981993" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
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<b><b><span style="color: orange;">A few months ago I wrote <a href="http://subcide-webzine.blogspot.co.nz/2012/06/reviews-winter-deluge-exordium-mors.html">this review</a> 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 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HVP666?fref=ts" target="_blank">Hells Vomit Productions</a> so I thought is would be time to send some interview questions that band's way. They quickly responded with the following...</span></b></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">1) For the benefit of those who don’t know about Exordium Mors could you please give a brief rundown of the bands history.</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">It is very difficult to find musicians in NZ who play this sort of music and are committed enough to carry the flame.</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--QI5uW8OmZs/UNTOkdn4K_I/AAAAAAAAAvI/yuC-GXxejd0/s1600/407602_10152134629240942_2043985260_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--QI5uW8OmZs/UNTOkdn4K_I/AAAAAAAAAvI/yuC-GXxejd0/s400/407602_10152134629240942_2043985260_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hades - Photographer / Editing: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cerulean.sin?group_id=0">Cerulean Sin</a> — at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kings-Arms/130862626985208?ref=stream">The Kings Arms</a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: orange;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LiBna32hKLY/UNTLTzQNzgI/AAAAAAAAAus/_XZHY4vG3tM/s1600/76609_10152134627950942_850546422_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LiBna32hKLY/UNTLTzQNzgI/AAAAAAAAAus/_XZHY4vG3tM/s640/76609_10152134627950942_850546422_n.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Mortum - Photographer / Editing: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cerulean.sin?group_id=0">Cerulean Sin</a> — at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kings-Arms/130862626985208?ref=stream">The Kings Arms</a>.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">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?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">I wanted to do something similar, albeit in a Metal context, with all the complexities and continuity that those great 70s prog songs had.</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">Now just to make it clear, it wasn't just myself who wrote this. We all contributed riffs, ideas and arrangements.’</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y9Ah-BPzS-4/UNTLkkVc8LI/AAAAAAAAAu0/cW0ZvMEv2cU/s1600/60672_10152134628445942_1328882202_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y9Ah-BPzS-4/UNTLkkVc8LI/AAAAAAAAAu0/cW0ZvMEv2cU/s640/60672_10152134628445942_1328882202_n.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Assailant and Santi -Photographer / Editing: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cerulean.sin?group_id=0">Cerulean Sin</a> — at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kings-Arms/130862626985208?ref=stream">The Kings Arms</a>.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">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?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">You can watch this here:- </span></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">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?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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!</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">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.</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HVP666?fref=ts" target="_blank">Hells' Vomit</a> has released the CD version and the Cassette version will be available soon through <a href="http://ibdcorplabel.blogspot.co.nz/" target="_blank">Iron, Blood & Death Corp</a>. 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.</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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. </span></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">6) What’s happening in this picture?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">Band: Rape.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">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?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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. </span></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">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.</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scourge - Photographer / Editing: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cerulean.sin?group_id=0">Cerulean Sin</a> — at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kings-Arms/130862626985208?ref=stream">The Kings Arms</a>.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: orange;">Although I like the reader to interpret their own vision of my lyrics I will give you two key examples of this:</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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. </span></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">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? </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Axiom-of-the-Elite-NZMetal-Zine/242371095880284?fref=ts" target="_blank">Facebook link</a> as all distributors will be updated there shortly.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">10) What is Chaos NZ? How are Exordium Mors connected to it?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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. </span></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">11) Any last comments?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">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!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption">Photographer / Editing: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cerulean.sin?group_id=0">Cerulean Sin</a> — at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kings-Arms/130862626985208?ref=stream">The Kings Arms</a>.</td></tr>
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Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-6617756692230811182012-12-18T22:03:00.000-08:002012-12-18T22:05:00.380-08:00Review: Drug Honkey - Ghost in the Fire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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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:</div>
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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!</div>
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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.</div>
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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’.</div>
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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...”</div>
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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.</div>
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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.</div>
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Check out Drug Honkey on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/drughonkey" target="_blank">Facebook</a> to find out how to get hold of 'Ghost in the Fire'.</div>
Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287084287667901463.post-107132547774735952012-12-13T03:41:00.001-08:002012-12-13T03:43:32.465-08:00Cineploit Records<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s first two releases, which I’ve had the fortune to listen to are by THELEMA and MALABIMBA.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>MALABIMBA - MalaBimba</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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)’.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">THELEMA - Hearing the Light</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“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. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Next from Cineploit </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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 ‘<a href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/lucio-fulci">Lucio Fulci</a>’ and ‘Joe D’Amato’ You can go and check out all of these including the albums reviewed here by going to <a href="http://www.cineploit.com/">http://www.cineploit.com</a></span></div>
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Subcide Webzinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04821457428658394378noreply@blogger.com1