Witchrist Interview

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!

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?

The majority of the tracks on the album relate to the ancient tale and also the murals contained at Wat Phra Kaew. Once again this is Witchrist's interpretation of the epic and the lyrics have been released with the album for this purpose.

Examples of murals contained at Wat Phra Kaew

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?

Having members of Asian hertiage does play some part in this decision, yes this will continue.

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.

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. 

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.

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?

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. 

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.

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.

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?

If you listen to Diocletian and Witchrist you have a glimpse at what Doom Cult is. We don't take applications.

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?

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.

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' (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 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?

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.

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?

Yes you could say we are organized chaos. As for expansion... Why not? This is only the beginning. 

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. 

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?

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.

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?

Beware...

Doom Cult /// www.doomcult.net

Goat Gear /// www.goatgear.net

Osmose Productions /// www.osmoseproductions.com/

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...

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?

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.

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.

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?

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. 

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?

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/DB Think Tank. 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.

4) What are your favorite pieces of your own artwork? Ultimately where would you like to go with your art long term? 

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.

5) What should people do if they would like to get you to do art work for them? Any last comments?

Don't go looking for snakes, you might find them;

alexander.brownn@gmail.com

http://www.badnewsbrown.blogspot.co.nz/

www.facebook.com/bnb888

Alex has these available for sale.  Email him if interested.

2012 International Roundup part 2 - Sanguinary Misanthropia, WaterWays, Sons of Alpha Centauri, Hotel Wrecking City Traders and Bonehunter

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...

Sanguinary Misanthropia - Loathe Over Will ( Supremacy Through Intolerance)

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.

‘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. 

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.

WaterWays / Sons of Alpha Centauri / Hotel Wrecking City Traders - 3 way Split (Bro Fidelity)

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. 

American release

WaterWays, from Southern Calafornia, 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’:

European release

Sons of Alpha Centauri, 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. 

‘27’ is the first of two remaining instrumental songs on the album, the second being from ‘Hotel Wrecking City Traders’.

Australian release

Hotel Wrecking City Traders, 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.

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. 

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. 

Bonehunter - Turn up the Evil (Hell’s Vomit) 

“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:

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. 

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.

For fans of the aforementioned, Atomizer, Gospel of the Horns, Venom, Midnight and recent Darkthrone.

2012 International Roundup part 1 - Swans

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 (Mathew Hall had just been murdered and the Christchurch earthquake 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 email interview  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 GC 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, Young God Records, he always signs the releases and even writes notes like “Thank you for your support” on the outside packaging. 

Anyway, here is a rundown of that show by way of reviews of the two Swans albums that were released in 2012.

The version I got

Swans - Live - We Rose From Your Bed With The Sun In Our Head
2xCD (Young God Records)

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*.

The version you'll get

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’: 

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...”

Completely fucking different!!!

Second track is a stabbing percussive version of ‘Jim’. Once again it’s quite a variation to the mellower almost folk studio version.

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.

Orginal version:

Current live version:

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.

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...”

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.

 

Swans - The Seer - 2xCD (Young God Records)

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.....

‘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 Low). 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”. 

“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. 

“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.

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. 

“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.

‘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.

Disc one ends.

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.

‘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....”

‘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 

‘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’. 

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.

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.

Conclusion, 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.

* - 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.

2012 New Zealand Roundup - BulletBelt, Nullifier, Blood of the Moon, Bölzer and Forsaken Age

Following are New Zealand Metal releases from 2012 that have left a mark on me. For one reason or another I haven’t had the opportunity to write proper reviews for during the year, so here are brief notes and reasons for you to get excited about them. I will do another 2012 roundup for international releases in the early days of 2013, but as local releases get priority around here you get this on new years eve!

BulletBelt - Down In The Cold Of The Grave

I’d describe the music of ‘BulletBelt’ as ‘Stadium Black Metal’ with the attitude of Motorhead, or as being the opposite of what Dark Throne stated black metal should and should not be in the early 90s i.e. BulletBelt are a fun live black metal band that you can jump around and have good time to. 

BulletBelt have gone all out with ‘Down in the Cold of the Grave’! The production is clean, powerful and punchy. The songs all kick ass both in their writing and performance. And of course you can’t go past the incredible cover art by the highly talented Nick Keller. In other words it’s a solid kiwi metal release that you have no excuse not to own.

If I were to give some constructive criticism on what I though could strengthen the album even more, it would be to suggest that the rest of the back consider providing backing vocals to accent or reinforce choruses such as in the title track and the cover of 80s kiwi anthem ‘Mistaken Identity’ by ‘No Tag’. 

‘Down in the Cold of the Grave’ really deserves a much more in depth review than what I’m giving it here, but I’ll make up for that soon with a detailed interview with the band. 

‘Down in the Cold of the Grave’ can be obtained directly from BulletBelt’s own label ‘Headless Horseman’ 

Nullifier - Silent Destruction

Nullifier have been around the traps in Auckland for a while playing their well executed style of technical Death Thrash. ‘Silent Destruction’ is their no frills raw debut recording. It captures the band how they are and lets their music shines through. The songs ‘Species to be Regretted’ and ‘Desire And Torment’ stand out to me particularly because of their interesting melodies and unique sounding choruses. The are a direction which I hope Nullifier continues to head in. My only gripe about this recording is that the production sounds quite rough and rushed which is something I actually normally like. For a technical thrash band like Nullifier though they would benefit from a clearer production that would allow all of the flourishes to shine through. Still this is a solid debut!  

‘Silent Destruction’ is available through Headless Horseman.

Blood of the Moon - MMXII demo

Black Metal intense as balls being crushed in a high speed concrete mixer. MMXII contains three tracks, an instrumental ‘Intro’, ‘Conquered and Forgotten’ and ‘Desecrate Upon Thee’. All are fused together to create the illusion of them being one piece of continuous music. The pro-production from Jason Hislop give the release rounded clear but raw sound with one of the best bass tones and powerful drums. Well worth obtaining! I think this is completely sold out, but you can try your luck by contacting the band directly HERE

Bölzer - Roman Acupuncture - demo

Cassette version of 'Roman Acupuncture'

Bölzer are the honourary New Zealanders here. They are the new Swiss band of ex-pat New Zealander Okoi Jones (or ‘KzR’ as he’s known here), who was the former mainman of anti-Christchurch band ‘Aphelon’(of which also spawned Diocletian and Witchrist drummer Cam Sinclair). The 3 ‘Roman Acupuncture’ has already gained the band a decent amount of international underground exposure. Listening to the demo it’s not hard to see why. Bölzer have created their own original form of Black Frost Death Metal! With only two members (KzR on Gat and Vox and HzR on drums) the Bölzer sound features some of the most unique and dark rhythms and chord tones I’ve heard in metal to date. What’s even more exciting is that since this recording has been released they have put out this incredible new advanced track from an upcoming EP:

Go to the bands facebook page to keep up to date with them.

Headless Horseman still has CD and Cassette copies of ‘Roman Acupuncture’ for sale but get in now: https://www.facebook.com/HeadlessHorsemannz

Forsaken Age - Back from Extinction

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.

Contact he band here for copies.

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.

ALSO COMING IN 2013 - 'SUBCIDE ZINE #4'

Exordium Mors Interview

A few months ago I wrote this review of an advanced copy of  the 'Sacrifice, Perish & Demise' EP by Auckland black death thrash band Exordum Mors. That EP has since been officially released by NZ based label Hells Vomit Productions so I thought is would be time to send some interview questions that band's way.  They quickly responded with the following...

1) For the benefit of those who don’t know about Exordium Mors could you please give a brief rundown of the bands history.

Black Mortum: Exordium Mors was formed in 2004. Me and Santi were introduced at a underground metal gig out in a garage in South Auckland by our first bass player Adam (RIP). That was a pretty awesome show with about 8 bands headlined by Dawn of Azazel back in their brutal war metal days.

We jammed and it clicked from the very beginning that we were going to be fast and violent metal that would rip faces off. That is what Exordium Mors is and always will be.

We recruited Martin Cavanagh (ex-Dawn of Azazel, ex-Forced to Submit and ex-Skuldom) who drummed for us for about 6 months. But once he joined Dawn he had to leave as they had quite a lot on their plates with touring / recording.

We recruited Adam and Pete in 2004 on drums and bass respectively. I was jamming with them at the time as a separate band “Apokalyptik Goat Messiah”. They had heard me and Santi jam one day and in a couple of weeks they asked to join. We recruited Scourge shortly after in 2005. This was the initial full line up of Exordium Mors and so the whirlwind of lineup changes begins. 

Adam and Pete left after Serva Ad Mors (our first demo recording) in 2006 - 2007, we then recruited Pierre and Kurt after some years of looking around for musicians. This lineup recorded the Verus Hostis – A Hymn to Fire 7” EP in 2009. Pierre and Kurt left after a year or so.

Our rhythm section constantly changed. Many came and left as you can see in the bio on our website but the ones above were the notable members.

It is very difficult to find musicians in NZ who play this sort of music and are committed enough to carry the flame.

We always wrote music (us being Me, Scourge and Santi) but due to line up changes it took awhile to get the music we were writing recorded and out for all metal maniacs to listen to - hence why our new EP “Sacrifice Perish and Demise” has tracks that were written in 2004! It wasn’t till Assailant (who was a friend from the legendary thrash / heavy metal band Heavy Artillery) and Hades (who we saw playing with death metal destroyers Hackmessah) were recruited that we have had a stable line up.

Hades - Photographer / Editing: Cerulean Sin — at The Kings Arms

This is the line up that we had longed for all these years! Solid musicians with experience, skill and dedication to their craft and to the band. Each bringing in their own creative input to the band.

Watch out for the next year as we will finally be recording and releasing material that has been in the making for many years. Parts that have been rewritten countless times to make sure it flowed the right way. Many rich melodies yet not losing the over the top violence of real extreme music. The Apotheosis of Death will rip your face off. 

The live arena is where I believe we shine the most! You will see that we will be doing more shows internationally in the coming years so watch out! Exordium Mors may be decimating the stage in your country soon. 

Black Mortum - Photographer / Editing: Cerulean Sin — at The Kings Arms.

2) For your forthcoming debut album you have a 30 minute long song called The Apotheosis of Death. Could you please tell us a bit about that?

Scourge: Firstly, the song is divided into 6 'parts' which can be played stand-alone (we have done this live on several occasions) or as one (which we did for the Auckland show when we supported Impiety on their 2012 tour in NZ). This was intentional as we wanted the songs to sound good on their own but stronger as an overall piece. 

Lyrically, as always I write my songs with two-fold, sometimes even three-fold meanings but I would like the audience to interpret them however which way they'd like. Suffice to say, it's a savage track with themes of vengeance, iconoclasm, chaos (and the order thereof) and immortality.

Santi: Aside from being a Metalhead, I'm also a fan of 70s prog rock and the idea of creating a song comprised of 6 separate songs (that as Scourge said are songs in their own right and can be played on their own) that form into one was inspired by hymns like "Supper's Ready" by Genesis, "Tarkus" by ELP, "2112" by Rush and on the Metal side of things "Conqueror of Fear" by Order From Chaos.

Those first 3 songs that I mentioned each clock in at about the 20 min. mark and have certain melodies / themes that are central to the song which recurs every now and again. Once we record "Apotheosis of Death" in its entirety and you have a listen, you'll notice that there are certain riffs that are repeated in various parts of the song - sometimes instantly recognizable and at other times in a slightly different arrangement.

I wanted to do something similar, albeit in a Metal context, with all the complexities and continuity that those great 70s prog songs had.

Now just to make it clear, it wasn't just myself who wrote this. We all contributed riffs, ideas and arrangements.’

Assailant and Santi -Photographer / Editing: Cerulean Sin — at The Kings Arms.

3) Could you tell us a bit more about the album itself? What else will be on it? How will the music compare to the “Sacrifice...” ep? When can we expect to see it released? Will it have bad assed cover art again? If so what?

Scourge: The album will have 3-4 other tracks on there. We are still in the process of writing these, with one recently being completed. The music will likely be more technical than the 'Sacrifice, Perish and Demise' EP - mainly due to the fact that two of the songs on that EP were written at an early stage of the band. We are looking to record and have it released next year. The artwork will have continuality and only rough ideas have been formed at this stage but if you have seen Nick Keller's other work (http://nickbkeller.blogspot.co.nz/), it will be nothing short of astounding. 

Black Mortum: The album will be huge step up for us musically and recording it is going to be quite a task but we are all looking forward to it. We will have Alex who recorded our last 2 releases working with us again at his new studio. 

It will have a range of material that we have written over the years and also brand new tracks that are still being worked on at the moment. We tend to write long songs so I would say the release will have to be on a double LP as we’re already at the point where it’s passing 40 minutes.

If you would like a sample of what's to come, we have a live video online from a local show we played recently where we play “Primordial Inversion Evolution” from the “Serva Ad Mors” demo and the second half being “Unto the Lightning Swords of Conquest” which is one of the songs in the Apotheosis of Death epic.

You can watch this here:- 

4) You played the Siamese True Metal Fest 2011 in Thailand? How did that go for you? How do Thai audiences compare to NZ ones?

Scourge: Fucking great! The crowd, the atmosphere - everything about it was Metal in it’s fanatically glory. Besides the obvious population difference between audiences, they were just as rabid as NZ ones - I would say even more so. Every attendee was a diehard and only there for the music and not there for some pathetic scene points or just because their friend was playing there. We look forward to playing there and the rest of Southeast Asia in future.

Black Mortum: This gig was an honour for us to play and a great experience in Thailand! Playing with bands that we have been fans of for years! The Mighty Impiety and Surrender of Divinity! And further gaining allies in destruction by meeting other bands who were playing/attending the show like Draconis Infernum and the Battlestorm / Imperial Tyrants legions! It was a truly Metal as fuck show just the way we like it!

5) Tell us everything you think we need to know about your ‘Sacrifice, Perish and Demise’ EP, including the artwork, label release, the music featured any who should obtain it.

Scourge: The artwork was done by the masterful Nick Keller. It represents the lyrics in full and foreshadows what to expect in the 'Apotheosis of Death' both lyrically and art-wise. Hells' Vomit has released the CD version and the Cassette version will be available soon through Iron, Blood & Death Corp. There are also iTunes, Amazon and a whole host of other websites to download it from. You can also listen to it for free through Spotify.

The music featured on it is nothing less than explosive, vicious Black/Thrash. Lyrically it represents the title of the EP with various themes of 'Sacrifice, Perish and Demise'. Anybody that likes fast, rabid, non-trendy Metal should hear this and own it - especially before the 'Apotheosis of Death' is unleashed. 

6) What’s happening in this picture?

Band: Rape.

7) Of the 5 members of Exordium Mors; Black Mortum is Malaysian Indian, Santi is Filipino, Scourge is Part NZ European/part Filipino, whilst Assailant and Hades are pure NZ Palangi. Was this intentional or coincidental? How do you think each band member’s ethnic and cultural background contributes to the creativity and energy of the band?

Scourge: With New Zealand, Auckland especially being a melting pot of different cultures it was purely coincidental that this line-up was obtained. I don't believe it plays much of a part in our music other than us being more open-minded when looking at various Metal bands from around the world. I think that it can be easy for people just to focus on the American or European centres for Metal but South East Asia, South America and other obscure countries have great Metal bands/scenes. 

8) What are the lyrical themes covered in the music of Exordium Mors? Why have you chosen these? Give us some key examples from songs.

Scourge: At the time that I joined the band I did not see or hear of any bands that had a strong Hellenistic/Ancient Roman themes and being strongly influenced by a time where Judeo-Christianity either a) didn’t exist or b) was outlawed, persecuted or ridiculed; I gravitated to building lyrics around this period.

The music is very complex, so in order to make up for my musically inability I decided to make this up lyrically and hence why my lyrics are also quite deep and complex. I tend to blend Nietzsche philosophy, Satanism, Ancient Roman/Pagan themes with my own personal philosophies and emotions. This is why the lyrics are so complex and can be read in more than one way. It also separates us from bands like Kawir or Nile who focus purely on the historical/mythological times of this period. Not that there is anything wrong with that (being a big fan of both bands) however I believe it is important to have your own philosophies and outlook portrayed in your lyrics and for your lyrics to have some meaning to yourself as well as to your audience.

Scourge - Photographer / Editing: Cerulean Sin — at The Kings Arms.

Although I like the reader to interpret their own vision of my lyrics I will give you two key examples of this:

Firstly the song 'Unleash Prometheus' taken from the 7" EP 'Verus Hostis - A Hymn to Fire'. This song can be related to the Titan Prometheus who defied the Gods and brought fire to mankind and therefore knowledge and self-sufficiency and of course was duly (and unfairly) punished. In this I relate Prometheus to myself and extend it to all others who have felt downtrodden, defeated and betrayed. The song goes on to say that through eternal struggle, one can break the chains of servitude, rise above and defeat those who seek to keep you down. This can be metaphysically or physically through one's own demons or literally other persons. This is true strength and for those that attain it should be forever hailed. Furthermore, it can be related to those who seek true knowledge and will not let society or any particular person keep them in the dark even if it means punishment and being the outcast, the rebel. "Better to die on your feet, than live on your knees" comes to mind.

Secondly the song 'Ancestors' Call' taken from our latest EP 'Sacrifice, Perish and Demise'. This song relates to the Ancient Roman practice of Ancestor Worship but also it is a song about how I view the dead if they were able to see the living (I do not believe in an afterlife), how they would react seeing their descendants waste their lives. This song is very much rooted in today's society in which I see my generation waste their lives in endless pursuits of hedonism rather than pursuing a path of knowledge. Let me be clear though, I am not advocating a life of straight-edgeism or holiness or even academic pursuits. I am merely stating that people are more concerned with partying rather than with seeking ways to benefit themselves, society and indeed the future. We are given one life to make our mark on history and I feel that my generation has wasted their opportunity. 

9) Scourge has recently put out the “Axiom of the Elite” ‘zine and compilation CD. For those that don’t know what is this? Why did you decide to put it out? How can people get hold of it? 

Scourge: This is a ‘zine dedicated to the New Zealand Underground Metal scene featuring bands that are lesser known/unknown on the international stage. The reasons for putting this out are outlined in the foreword of the 'zine but basically it was to give opportunity for these bands to be better promoted/heard overseas. I am currently out of stock for now, but check the Facebook link as all distributors will be updated there shortly.

10) What is Chaos NZ? How are Exordium Mors connected to it?

Black Mortum: Chaos NZ is a Metal promotions company that Santi and I along with Lee and Chrissy from Forsaken Age started with the sole purpose of getting more metal shows happening in NZ. At the moment there are four of us: Me, Santi, Lee and Allan from Nullifier. We have been bringing over some great metal acts in the last 2 years! Some of the more well-known ones being Absu, Impiety and Inquisition so far. Alongside Marduk in January, 2013 will see a lot more international Metal bands reaching our shores so keep your eyes peeled! We also put on many underground shows here with our local acts. 

11) Any last comments?

Band: Be forewarned as this pestilent plague of violence is set to raze, ruin and conquer the globe. We will triumphantly stand ablaze upon the corpse of your cities within the coming year and beyond! Abandon all hope before the Apotheosis of Death! 666!

Photographer / Editing: Cerulean Sin — at The Kings Arms.

Review: Drug Honkey - Ghost in the Fire

Wherever possible, I aim to avoid using genres and bands to try and describe the music that I review. Instead, I attempt to use descriptive wording to try and recreate a mental picture of what the band or artist’s music might sound like. In the case of 'Drug Honkey - Ghost in the Fire' two thoughts initially came to mind:

1) A few years ago I took some acid that, unknown to me, had been quadruple dipped i.e. it was insanely strong! The result was an experience that I would compare to having my brain put in a washing machine, whilst struggling to make sense of my thoughts and surroundings for the best part of 12 hours. Conversations would go off on tangents mid-stream, never returning to their point of origin, as it couldn't be recalled. Unknown sounds and noises manifested from places beyond would randomly appear and disappear never to be repeated. It was a total head fuck! This experience is probably why I am the way I am now!

2) When I was a kid I used to have recurring nightmares of creatures with razor sharp teeth biting into my rib cage and legs. I also had similar dreams where instead of teeth they were machines with 6-inch metal spikes doing the same thing. The sensation was so real that I’d often feel the physical pain fading away once I woke up.

Now, if you can imagine both of those things slowed by 90%, thrown together in a concrete mixer, along with even measures of sludge and distortion, you’ll get a pretty good idea of what to expect from Drug Honkey - ‘Ghost in the Fire’.

Notable points on this album include the band’s organic take on “Twitcher” by Scorn, and the third track ‘Weight of the World’ with it’s chorus chant of “This knowledge makes you strong...”

If there was something I’d like to hear Drug Honkey do to enhance their sound, it would be for them to create more twisted, disturbing lyrics and then deliver them as manic yet decipherable as possible. This would compliment the music perfectly.

In saying that, the vocals on ‘Ghost in the Fire’ do compliment the music in a different way. That is, they are varied and come from a smorgasbord of different voices throughout the album - much like the sounds and instrumentation. There is always something going on in the music that you can’t quite identify, making the music of ‘Drug Honkey’ all the more interesting to listen to.

Check out Drug Honkey on Facebook to find out how to get hold of 'Ghost in the Fire'.

Cineploit Records

Cineploit is a new label by former Pungent Stench drummer Alex Wank, who while pummeling the skins in that band for the past two decades has also been a movie and soundtrack collector. The focus of Cineploit is to release music (on 180g vinyl and CD) inspired by and for lovers of soundtrack music especially Italian and European Cinema of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. 

It’s first two releases, which I’ve had the fortune to listen to are by THELEMA and MALABIMBA.

Effectively these albums are soundtracks to movies that exist only in the artists heads and by listening to them you are left to interpret what those movies might in your own. I’ll therefore attempt to review Cineploit Records first two releases by describing the movies that appear in my mind when I listen to them.

MALABIMBA - MalaBimba

A quick google search shows that “MalaBimba” is the title of a 1979 Italian horror/soft porn movie. I haven’t seen it so I’m going to go with my imagined version. The album cover features a small child stabbing a teddy bear through the top of the head with a bread knife. This sets the scene for a twisted B grade slasher/cannibal flick with a minimalist score featuring drums and 70s style analogue keyboards. Like a stripped back Goblin without guitars.

The film kicks off with the creepy laid back jingle of “Meta Strada 1” which is followed by the 70’s cop show theme styled “Meta Strada 2”. Both of which allow us to establish that MalaBimba is set during 1974 in an isolated country town somewhere in Italy, where there is only one remaining cop. 

I did find the scene, set to the goofy ‘Addormentato’ (then leading into the more dramatic tones of ‘Addormentato 2’) to be very effective. In his teenage years, our main character seeks revenge on his over domineering grandmother by graphically forcing, base first, an entire dial telephone up her ass. However, I think that the director and producer should have chosen clever editing and sound effects to replicate this, rather than blowing a good chunk of the movie’s budget to hire an Anal Contortionist to carry out the stunt. As he grows up, our lead antagonist then goes on his sick and twisted psycho sexual rampage through the small Italian town, whilst evading (and eventually beheading) the local cop to the sounds of ‘Diventare Adulto’, ‘L’Ultimo Poliziotto’ and ‘La Violenza’ among others.

This is a solid first effort, but I would like to hear this duo expand instrumentally. Funk bass, jazz trumpets and the odd gong or kettle drum wouldn’t go amiss here. Perhaps in future movies, if the director and producer channel their budgets towards the soundtrack (rather than international casting calls for practitioners in the dark arts of Anal Contortion), it will allow them to expand musically into these and ‘other’ areas.

For now though this stripped back approach works to the movie’s stark advantage. Particularly in the final scene, where in what we assume (hope?) is a dream sequence, the lead gets his just deserts when a giant replica of his tortured childhood Teddy bear gets his revenge by ramming a fence post through the top of his skull. All of which is set to the sound of the rather groovy and up tempo ‘Senza Disciplinare (Qui Finisce Male)’.

THELEMA - Hearing the Light

“Hearing the Light” is the lost David Lynch movie where all the dialogue was spoken by the actors backward in German. All of its Characters are unlikeable and fortunately die slow & agonising, well deserved deaths. That is, except for the faceless antagonist featured on the album cover, who whilst appearing nasty, seems to be more human and likeable than any of his victims.

From the brooding hypnotic nightmare opening sequence of “Close your eyes and See”, “Hearing the Light” is almost entirely cold and grey. However, “You will not get that so fast” brings about a slightly lighter tone with a female vocal being introduced to signify springtime and the main character’s new love interest. This soon becomes pointless though, as she is slowly frozen to death whilst ice skating naked the following winter (after a summer that never arrived) during a lovemaking scene gone wrong. This is depicted in the track “Grey evening” with it’s morbid rock lead guitar tones and hammond grimness. Later, there are dying hints of warmth attempting to push through, as her isolated, trapped and fading ghost returns during the track “Still hearing the Light” and for one last gasp in the epilogue “A light reprise”.

“Hearing the Light” is the sound of 1950s Film Noir, blended amongst modern ambient lounge music trappings. It comes from a world where there are always dark clouds blocking out the sun, no one ever smiles yet can seek the courage to slit their own wrists. 

Next from Cineploit 

Three more albums from Cineploit have already been released. They are ZOLTAN – “First Stage Zoltan” ORGASMO SONORE – Revisiting obscure film music vol. 2 and SOSPETTO – Segni Misteriosi, con il sangue dipinto sul muro. Also released are two limited edition splatter vinyl 7”s by ‘Omaggio’ (Alain Leonard and Alex Wank) which are tributes to ‘Lucio Fulci’ and ‘Joe D’Amato’ You can go and check out all of these including the albums reviewed here by going to http://www.cineploit.com