UNHOLY DOMAIN

The Demo's Rebirth

noreply@blogger.com (annihilus) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 05:03:00 +0000

I am going to be totally honest for a minute: despite owning literally hundreds of actual demos (not mp3's), and even more if you count dubbed demos from the days of actual tape trading, I've never really been that keen on the cassette format, for a number of reasons. For starters, I can't even begin to count the number of awesome demos I've lost due to a shitty tape player over the years, and there is really no way to repair a broken cassette. Secondly, I wish I could begin to count the number of times I spent good money on quality chrome high-bias cassettes with painstakingly written track lists sent off to what I thought would be reliable traders only to get back in the mail some shitty-ass dollar store generic tape with track lists scribbled out in some chicken-scratch-ass-hieroglyphics that even a Rosetta Stone couldn't help me decipher in reciprocity. And let's not forget sending off some well-hidden cash stuffed between ads from the Sunday paper only to receive some poorly-dubbed demo from some obscure-ass band with a shitty "looks like Jim forgot to replace the toner cartridge at Kinko's again" xerox cover.

Overall, I just got burned, and since vinyl has always been my preferred format, I just kind of forgot about them over the years. Plus, who could forget the magical 1995 era revolution wherein bands just dropped doing demos altogether in favor of the shitty first release/self-released Cd by where the time-honored conventions of quality control where abandoned completely. This was compounded a few years later by the widespread availability of Cd burners and downloaded cracked programs, which meant ANY band could record ANY shitty ass song and slap that shit onto a sharpie-scribed Cd-r and BOOM! a widespread hit. With the advent of high-speed internet this phenomena only got worse. It simply became too easy to give in to the morass of mediocrity, and besides, EVERYONE is doing it, so why not your piece of shit band? I mean, who could ever forget the stunning impression a Memorex Cd-r with a band name scrawled out in marker, tucked away in a shitty plastic bag, could ever bequeath?

Fast forward to about a year ago: I thought that my venerable receiver with its dual tape decks was out of commission. As stated before, I have always given my listening priority to records, and given my years-long disdain of tapes, I never cared to verify this "fact." Well, one day, I decided to put in a tape just to see how bad it sounded through my system, as some sort of BDSM ritual. It turns out the shit played fine on deck a, it was only deck b that was fucked. So I unearthed all the jewels from years gone by: Demigod, Headrot, Phlegm, Corpse Molestation, Disgrace, Paineater, Traumatic, BloodDuster, Impetigo, Necrony, Rottrevore, Disembowelment, Exit 13, Asystole, Splattereah, Eternal Darkness, Bloodsoaked, Shub Niggurath, Exulceration, Warsore, Magus, Funebre, Church of Misery (Illinoize, NOT Japan), CopOut, Gasp, Altar, Matrikhore, Embrionic Death, et al...FUCK! So many years of thinking I didn't have the capability to play a decent chunk of my music collection and now I could! Oh joyful day, oh sweet mystery of life!

Realizing I had regained a seemingly lost ability, I set about finding more demo cassettes from the modern age, only to find that the aforementioned proclivity towards self-released Cd albums, demo Cd-rs, and such still pervaded. But in that search, more and more jewels turned up eventually, and with that over-arching rubric in mind, I present you with three finds most worthy of your attention. That's right, three actual, factual, demo cassettes from mind-blowing bands for you to snack on and chew.

Let's get this party started with Australia's own Grave Upheaval. Members of the venerable Portal and Impetuous Ritual (who, by the way, released one of my top 3 fave records of last year in the form of their Relentless Execution of Ceremonial Excrescence full-length) playing insane death metal that plays out like a more stripped-down IR. Raw, restless, blasting as fuck, and a general slap in the face to all that is modern, weak, and false. Those of you who found a correlation between older Bestial Warlust in the IR sound will find it even further refined on this 4 song outing of absolute musical nihilism. Any student of ancestral death metal knows that Australia has always had such an angular take on the style, and its statesmen serve up such blasphemous and hedonist takes on the genre. Perhaps it is the inordinate amount of anti-human life plaguing this former leper colony (piranha? check. barracuda? check. more poisonous genus of snake than any other continent? check. sea wasp jellyfish? check. salt water crocs that thrive on the taste of human flesh? check. irukandji? check. ad infinum.), or perhaps it is their geographical isolation, I don't know. But every great Aussie band has possessed such a violent and scathing assault (ever heard of Rupture?) that you can't help but NOT want to ever go there. These 4 songs serve as a primal discourse in all that was ever great about death metal to begin with, and that they are a new band, releasing one of the freshest-looking pro-duped demo cassettes instead of a half-assed self-released album or something equally vacuous speaks tomes of their character. I can't wait for a full length from this band, and upon one listen, you will most likely feel the same. Until then, order their demo with your hard-earned Obama-bucks here, and thank us later. No downloads, because fuck man, you can't have everything for free, can you?

Exhibit B in the state's case of the power of modern-day demos lay in the hands of some Portland, Oregon freaks with the nomenclature of Ritual Necromancy. Jesus titty-fucking christ, does this band do the goddamn thing with their 4 song assault upon the face of all that is decent, law-abiding, and trend-hopping. Released by Parasitic Records, who you simply MUST be aware of as one of the best and most underground labels releasing all that is relevant in the U$ scene, this demo is no fucking joke. Perhaps my favorite of the 3 demos discussed in this missive, this is ferocious death metal played with some doom metal and even some black-ish stylings that simply cannot be ignored. Their cover of some obscure band from Brazil that no one has ever, ever, EVER heard of's Troops Of Doom outclasses and outshines the original by leaps and bounds, but it is in their original compositions that we are treated to some truly down-trodden, death-laden hymns of pure and utter fucking depravity. This is one that is most assuredly NOT recommended for those weegro slam riff and technical death metal minded dickheads that call themselves "celebrants": no, this is for those of you who steal, shoplift, and vandalize everything in sight, and who "pray" for the downfall of decency. THIS is a deathcry from the throat of the fallen christ as nailed for the final time, and for the ones that wish to set the "good" on fucking fire, and piss upon it's flames. Again, no download link, because even in these difficult post-Bush Reich U$ times, this merits the purchase via space bucks.

The last entry in this missive of mass destruction is dedicated to the Polish horde known as Doombringer. Sharing members from the aptly-named Bestial Raids, this is more thrash-oriented than the previous mentions in this digital a(n)nal, but the fact remains: THIS IS DEATH. 5 songs of pure aural blasphemy that annihilates all in its path, leaving the weak'n'meek to wonder how they ever found out about such chaos consecrated to tape. Recently re-released by Bird Of Ill Omen, this demo seriously should make you want to go arsonize the nearest building to your domicile, and then go and desecrate the most proximally-located place of holy standing. For as much as Australia as mired in deadly surroundings, Poland must indeed be a place of bleak and utter despair, if for no other reason than it's long standing tradition of economic futility. When you have mouths to feed, your own or otherwise, and you fail, you come to a plateau of understanding: fuck EVERYMOTHERFUCKER alive. When I listen to this demo (as I have uneasily multiple, MULTIPLE, times) I get the feeling that these dudes want to jack off on my tombstone and fuck my mother. Goat bless them for that. Strong drumming, excellent guitar work, and vocals from the very depths of Utumno itself, this thing reeks of brimstone and graveyards. Very highly recommended, and I can't wait to see what tricks they have up their collective sleeve for a full-length. Only 300 of this bad dude has been pressed, so don't fucking hesitate and order this masterpiece. And yes, there is no download link, so suck my taint.

On sludge...

noreply@blogger.com (annihilus) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 06:04:00 +0000

If you don't worship EyeHateGod, not only do you need to question and reestablish your entire world-view, but you are also at the exact opposite of what we consider a "friend." If you don't agree, feel free to download my fucking balls into your fat mammy's mouth.

Finland, again, shows us how it's done

noreply@blogger.com (annihilus) — Thu, 13 May 2010 05:24:00 +0000

It's funny how entire countries can follow musical trends, especially in the underground scene. Example: Sweden discovered Kiss, far too late in the game, and the entire populace followed suit. If this were not the case, Entombed's triumphant return with original vocalist LG Petrov wouldn't have been Wolverine Blues. And Dismember would have never recorded Massive Killing Capacity. And don't get me started on Disharmonization and Screaming Machines. Quit making excuses for em, these records all fucking sucked. As did tons of other releases from their statesmen around the same time, and the following years. Death n roll equals a giant "no fucking thanks" from me.

Finland didn't fare much better. Once Xysma discovered The Doors, everygoddamnone of their contemporaries followed suit. Convulse, Disgrace, Amorphis: you should all be ashamed. You released cutting edge demos and Lps, and then turned around and snowballed us all with a mouthful of psychedelic-influenced nut, when we just wanted to kiss and cuddle. Fuck you. And to the members of Pakeni: if I ever find you, I will beat all of you into a coma for that bullshit you released and tried to piggy-back on the success of the formerly mighty folks from the land of a thousand lakes. Which brings us to this...

The creative nucleus of Amorphis, before they resided under said moniker, first started making noise under the name Abhorrence, and what a sweet, sweet cacophony it was. First deathcalls were initiated with the Vulgar Necrolatry demo, and then they signed an ill-fated (who could have guessed it?) deal with Seraphic Decay records. The results? 4 blasts of Carcass-influenced death metal that reeked of foul atmosphere and morbid darkness. Yes, folks, the self-titled 7" is indeed a relic of a day long, long gone, with reverence for chainsaw guitars, blasting drums, and an overall aura of depravity. This is an undeniable classic of Scandinavian death metal, and a true testimonial to the power and fastidious nature of young Finns, locked up in the practice space, and left to their own devices.

This is death metal, played the way it should be, by dudes who didn't know better and who didn't care. This was also way before they got the text message from Lee Dorian giving the okay to flannel shirts and bell bottoms. Don't just take my word for it, get caught in a vortex of the holy laws of pain by downloading this bitch and blasting it immediately.

For you quality purists, this is ripped from the Seraphic Decay Records sampler Cd, into FLAC, then transcoded to V0 using dbpoweramp. Sure, I could have ripped the original 7", but why? The Cd sounds better, and there is less room for ripper error by bringing it to you this way. Besides, you don't own the original 7", and you sure as shit don't own the Cd sampler, so lick my taint, this is free and on my dime. Enjoy bastards.

mother, mother, MOTHERFUCK Attila Csihar AND Maniac

noreply@blogger.com (annihilus) — Tue, 11 May 2010 06:08:00 +0000

You know, as someone who loved Mayhem well before the whole 2nd wave of black metal cash-in and pre-Grishnack bitch move, I really, really, REALLY fucking hate the whole persona of this band post-Euronymous. Burzum can suck my taint in hell, and so can the rest of Aarseth's former homies-turned-assholes. Mayhem minus Euronymous equals zero. Maniac wasn't that cool when he was singing "Eighteen and Life" and "Youth Gone Wild" the first go-round, and Attila? Um, yeah, I love Too Dark Park as much as anyone, but it wasn't a black metal album, so no I won't Fire Walk With You, Laura Palmer, or anyone else. And why in the fuck are you croaking like Alice The Goon on a fucking Mayhem record? Seriously? Why did you fuck up The Freezing Moon for us? WE DEMAND ANSWERS!

But to take it back a step further, let's be completely honest: Mayhem died with Dead. Sure, Morbid were awesome, but Mayhem was the band Dead was birthed to join, and their material with him stands as a true testimonial to one of the most blasphemous unions ever to walk the material plane. If you've heard the only 2 studio tracks that Dead graces with his supra-ethereal vocal presence (originally on the Cd version of Projections of a Stained Mind compilation: the Lp only has Carnage, The Freezing Moon is exclusive to the Cd) you already know the infernal majesty he was capable of conjuring with his vocal incantations. He was THE definitive Mayhem vocalist. Fuck, he buried his drawers until they were overwrought with maggots, and then wore them, and he huffed dead creatures fumes from a brown paper bag. He cut his wrists and THEN blew his domepiece off with a shotgun. His suicide note read "Please excuse the mess." You? You check facebook 10 times a day or more. Do the math.

So fellow filth celebrants, if you worship at the altar of Dead-fronted Mayhem, then you are seriously fucking up right now if you don't go to Hell's Headbangers or your preferred metal retailer and buy either the Cd or the Lp of Of Lord Satan's Mysteries. This is a rehearsal with Dead on vocals that was sent out to only a handful of contacts and has remained buried (by time and dust) ever since. This was recently issued on Cd and Lp with exclusive drawings, photos, and artwork that Per "Dead" Ohlin did, and it's fucking incredible. Featuring (then) new and classic tracks from the Mayhem catalog, these 7 tracks are well, well, WELL worth your money if you are an older Mayhem fan. The Lp has a poster the size of Hellhammer's hair/ego/musical affiliations, and the whole package is presented with the justice and the care that it merits. This one, unlike the glut of other non-official Mayhem garbage-ass releases, is worth the loot.

And don't worry: you haven't heard this before. I own no less than 12 Mayhem rehearsals from this time frame, and none of them are this one. There are no copies of this floating around on a message board or someone else's blog unless they are taken from this release. It sounds really, really, REALLY fucking good for what is obviously a live rehearsal recorded to analog tape. A/B the version of any of these tracks with their respective studio counterparts, and you cannot possibly say that modern Mayhem is better unless you are a Trivium fan. So if you are an old Mayhem fanatic, you cannot allow yourself to expire without owning and banging this release non-stop.

We won't be uploading this one yet as it's still in print, and well worth your scarce discretionary income to purchase. Follow the fucking freezing moon and cop this one before it's too late, and your paypal account is overdrawn on Ebay.

Divine Eve-As The Angels Weep

noreply@blogger.com (annihilus) — Tue, 11 May 2010 05:06:00 +0000

In a time where domestic (ie-United States) death metal was busy ripping off Baphomet, then Cannibal Corpse, then Suffocation ad infinum, comes a true gem that any fan of the true school Scandinavian style could easily back. Hailing from the infernal wastes of Plano, Texas, Divine Eve roared out of obscurity with a deathcall to all things ghey in the form of their 4 song attack The Last of the Sunset Faded. With the exception of Splattereah and Crucifix, there weren't a whole lot of bands doing shit from Texas at the same time frame, and Divine Eve couldn't have been more different from their statesmen, or the rest of pretty much the entire US scene, with this release.

Steeped heavily in Hellhammer/Frost style attack, with a guitar sound straight out of Sunlight Studios, and with equal amounts of fast blasting and slow lumbering doom, Divine Eve were for sure an anomaly. These days tons of bands blend a myriad of styles to devastating effect, but they were for sure one of the first to do it so seemlessly, and so lethally. They were first made known to be when I did an interview for a zine I was running at the time with Lars Rosenberg from Entombed, and I asked him what bands he could mention that folks should check out. His answers: Merciless, Furbowl, and Divine Eve. Pretty good company, if you ask me. So you know the drill: a letter was composed, cash stuffed inside of colored paper, and I waited and waited until it arrived. And when it did: jesus titty-fucking christ, did my jaw ever-drop.

Apparently the demo had the same effect on Nuclear Blast, who reissued the demo, albeit with a different title, track order and cover, on a MCd within a few months of its release. This new release was dubbed As The Angels Weep, which brings us to this fine, fine upload. Expect nothing but unrelenting death, played at alternate breakneck and dying grasp tempos, with pure power, fury, and conviction that only death was real. And it's true. These 4 songs have yet to be surpassed by many and most bands, and it's doubtful they ever will. DE went on to record a handful of other promos and some cover songs, and then changed their lineup and name to Crimson Relic. That Cd, also hard to find these days, was pretty fucking good, but nowhere near the Kraken-like intensity these 4 jewels held. And while they have since reformed, and have a decent-ish new MCd out, well, this may very well have been the last of the sunset faded. They were just so ahead of their time, that after an almost 15 year break some might consider them to be an anachronism. I still think they show promise, and back fully their new outing, but this demo will always hold a special place in my heart, and also many a Scandideath maniac, I presume. So without further adieu, I present you with the As The Angels Weep, ripped first into FLAC and then into 320 using dbpoweramp. Enjoy!

Demigod-Unholy Domain demo

noreply@blogger.com (annihilus) — Tue, 11 May 2010 04:36:00 +0000

What better way to introduce myself, as well as the new name and title of this very blog, to the digital ether than with one of, if not the best, Death Metal demos of all eternity right here. Yes, folks, this is Demigod, with their classic Unholy Domain demo.

I first heard these dudes in late 1991 from a local tape trading buddy who assured me this would be my new favorite band. He was correct. In a time when demos were still the order of the day, not the hastily recorded/packaged/released full-length Cd that became the rage a few years later, or the overnight myspace success stories of today, Demigod stood head and shoulders above their competition. Upon first listen, I immediately hit him up for their contact address and mail-ordered this masterpiece for myself, and wore this thing down to nothing. So what made these dudes so special for their time, and helped them to solidify their place in history?

I assure you it wasn't the cover. No, it was the music. These dudes were all pretty young when they recorded this, mean age being around 17. For a 3 piece, they were very tight, and had a very direct style of playing. Imagine a more musically adept Boltthrower with a Scandinavian style guitar tone, as well as a drummer who knew more than 3 beats, and you are getting close. Esa's vocals are also a real treat, as they are deep and heavy but still being intelligible. Plus Demigod just evoke darkness, not relying upon imagery, gimmick, or crafty photography to swathe their lacking music in a cloak of illusory brutality: they were the legitimate article.

Sure the playing on Slumber of Sullen Eyes, their first full-length record released on Drowned Records in late 1992, was much more polished and rehearsed, and the sound much cleaner. But this is fucking death metal, played the way only some young and hungry cats could do it, and they certainly did the damn thing. All these years later this is still one demo I will reach for above and beyond damn near anything else, and in my opinion it has yet to be topped. Slumber of Sullen Eyes is one of my all-time fave records, but the rest of their recorded non-demo/reh output doesn't do a goddamn thing for me.

3 notes regarding this demo. 1-they sold almost 2,000 copies of this. How many bands could dare to do that now? 2-they wrote (in my opinion) the best track Succumb to Dark literally the day before they went into the studio. 3-this was also released as a split Lp with Necropsy by the legendary (and rip-off to all get out) Seraphic Decay Records. If you are a fan of old school death metal, that name surely rings a bell. In fact label owner Steve O'bannon still owns the master tapes to this, so if you find him snag the tape from his crib and send it to me.

Being a fan of quality, first and foremost, this is ripped from the Xtreem Music reissue, which contained a remastered version of Unholy Domain, and it is by far the best sounding version of this you will find. I ripped that shit to FLAC, transcoded it into V0 using dbpoweramp, and voila. Enjoy friends, and allow yourself to Succumb to Dark.

changes coming soon...

noreply@blogger.com (Carl) — Tue, 11 May 2010 02:57:00 +0000

This blog has been dead for awhile, but is in the process of being revamped. Expect interviews and some reviews, as well as some rare metal gems. Keep checking back for updates and sign up to follow 'UNHOLY DOMAIN'.

Tunguska interview & download

noreply@blogger.com (Carl) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:41:00 +0000

The following is an interview with Kyle Shaw, vocalist for Indianapolis sludge metalers, Tunguska. The band released a 3-song demo in 2008 and have been slaying live since.

1. Who are the members of Tunguska and when (and under what circumstances) did the band form?

Tunguska are myself on vox, Justin Rea on guitar, Roy Hayes on bass, and Eric Unger on drums. It looks like we will be adding this dude, Damon, on second guitar now.

Tunguska was actually birthed from tragedy. Unger had been doing vox for a death/grind band called Means of Terrorism. It was basically Blokhed with a more grindcore approach/aesthetic and a better name. Anyways, their guitarist/main songwriter Shane Barnett had passed away due to a heat stroke in the summer of '07, thus disbanding the band.

I had met Roy just by going to shows. I remember booking a show for Merciless Death at Rippy's house, he thought it was pretty rad, and wanted to help get the word out. Which, I thought was cool. Justin is a good friend of Roy's, and was kinda just hanging out with the guy. Eric and I have been friends for roughly 8-9 years now, and I had always wanted to do something with him. Eric had people over one night at his house, and Roy and Justin were there. Which was funny to me, because at the time, I had no idea they even knew each other. This was all when Shane was still alive, and MOT were working on material. By late winter of '07/early '08, Justin, Roy, and Eric were all working on doing something doomy/sludgy. I always wanted to do vocals for some sort of band, usually in the sludge/grind/HC realm, and figured this was as good as an opportunity as any. So I asked if I could at least try out, and I've been with the band ever since.

2. Although the similarities to such sludge greats as Eyehategod and Iron Monkey are obvious in your songs there's a fresh quality to the writing and execution. Sometimes I hear it as an undercurrent of "darkness" in addition to the usual "turn it up, get fucked up" ethos of the genre. Do you agree and could you talk a bit about how you guys honed your sound, as well as the musical and non-musical elements that shaped it?

Yeah, it's good to call a spade a spade. We are all fans of bands like EHG, Iron Monkey, Sleep, Dystopia, and honestly, we have a lot of similarities to these bands. When we recorded the demo we were only a band for a few months and were generally excited, enthused, and confident about recording and playing shows.

The "darkness" that you speak of is by no means accidental. We all love a lot of death/black metal, and want to incorporate some of those influences in our sound. On the demo, I think there are hints of it, but it's more pronounced on some of the newer material we are working on. I also like a lot of hc/punk and try to convey some of that in our work. Since I'm not really a musician, explaining some things can be difficult, but luckily Justin is a great guitarist and understands stuff like Minor Threat, Discharge, and Misfits.

A lot of compliments we hear is Justin's tone. He can tell you a bit more about it, but he doesn't use pedals. I tried to talk him into using a Boss HM-2 for the buzzsaw tone, but was only into it for a few practices and a show. The distortion is coming straight from the guitar amp! He just used a Hughes and Ketner head, and was using a Sunn beta lead as well. I don't think he's using the Sunn anymore, but using a Laney instead. Roy just uses a big muff pedal, and if I remember right, turns the treble on the amp off, and the bass all the way up. Not sure what he does with the mids.

3. Since the demo didn't include a lyric sheet, what is the nature of the lyrical content? I know you pay attention to politics, both domestically and globally. What role do the vocals take in the band (are your lyrics specific to any particular ideas throughout your songs, ala a unifying theme)?

Well, the main reason why there isn't a lyric sheet is because we didn't want to pay extra money, haha. On the demo, I wrote 2 out of 3 songs. Eric wrote All That is Wrong With This World. All That is Wrong has a strong conspiratorial vibe, whereas mine was more politically charged. Almost everything I have written has had some sort of political undercurrent. Some of it is painfully obvious, some more subtle.

Lately, I've been wanting to go into a more interpretive style. I feel art should be up to whomever is digesting said piece, and can come up with their own conclusions. More and more, I get really bored when listening to a band with an "agenda" be it political, satanic, sXe/vegan, gore, drug/alcohol abuse issues. I'm more interested in lyricists/songwriters with more esoteric ideas. I love films from directors like Lynch, Cronenberg, Park Chan-wook, Miike, where contents aren't so obvious, and the audience is challenged to do some critical thinking. So, while there may be a politcal undercurrent regarding newer material, I don't want to preach, I want people to think.

4. Expanding on the topic of lyrical content, I was wondering if you could give an explanation of each song on the demo?

Sure. With newer material, I probably won't explain what each song's lyrical theme is or will be. Since there is no lyric sheet with the demo, and there's been a bit of a shift in this department regarding content, I feel like it's owed.

Psychocivilized Society-I got this idea from a Spanish physiology professor in the 50's, who more or less introduced the idea of neuroelectronics and brain chips. He called this the idea of a "psychocivilized society". Since then we have seen this idea evolve into RFID chips and ubiquitous camera surveillance which I think is a very scary thing.

All That is Wrong With This World-Again, this is Eric's baby, and my favorite song on the demo. Which is funny, because it used to be my least favorite. We've been talking about scrapping all the '08 demos from our setlists, but I still want this to be a part of it. Here's to fighting, ha! Anyways, it's basically a lot of conspiratoral ideas, and how, well, it's all that is wrong with the world. Everything from masonic rites to illuminati dealings are included in this. It's really a fun song to perform.

Arm Thy Adversary-This is really about how western governments, most notably the US, has no problem arming dictatorships, guerilla factions, only to go to war with the very same people who were propped up with US tax dollars in the first place.

5. What plans do you have for future releases?

We plan on recording for another demo this year. Might be as soon as this month when we start recording. We also plan on doing a split with Coffinworm. It's been talked about for almost a year, but it will happen eventually. After we get those two out of the way, we want to record a full-length, hoping a decent respectable label will put it out.

6. You guys have been rather quiet lately on the live front. Awhile ago there was mention of Tunguska possibly adding a second guitar player to the lineup. Any truth to this, and if so why the decision to add another guitar in the mix?

The reason why we haven't been playing live a lot lately is just to concentrate on newer material. Eric is getting married in the fall, and that has been occupying a lot of time and energy on his end as well. I think we're adding Damon on second guitar. He lives with Justin, and has been friends for a long time. I really wasn't asked about including the guy in the band, I don't even know his last name. It just kinda..happened? We'll see where it goes. He's written some riffs, come up with some ideas that work pretty well, imo. I think the reason to add another guitarist was for more wattage, more ideas, and another rifffinder general.

7. Finally, how can someone outside of Indianapolis get a copy of your demo?

We have a few demos left, like less than 10. If someone would feel so inclined, they can just get in contact with us. We don't have a paypal account made yet for the band, but someone wants to send me/any of the other dudes, a check, money order, or even paypal, to just send us a message via myspace or an email.

******

Tunguska can be reached via email at tunguskaband@gmail.com, or through Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/tunguska317. With the band's permission I've posted a link to download their demo. Enjoy!

Tunguska - Demo 2008: http://www.mediafire.com/?nziqmojmiym

Update - 1/20/08

noreply@blogger.com (Carl) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 05:56:00 +0000

I have been extremely busy with many things over the last couple of months, which has prevented me from adding new content on a regular basis. Back on track now, though. In light of the lapse of updates, I wanted to thank Chris at Profound Lore Records for being kind enough to send me a few record to review and Dave at Earsplit PR for always keeping new records coming my way.

More reviews to be posted over this next week including some more recent releases from Southern Lord Records, Crucial Blast, Hydrahead, and At a Loss.

Also in the works is a post-studio interview with Karl Simon of The Gates of Slumber, who recently completed work on their upcoming full-length 'Conqueror', set to be released in North America by Profound Lore Records. Look for that to post in the next month or so.

Portal - Outre

noreply@blogger.com (Carl) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 05:29:00 +0000

Portal – Outre
Profound Lore Records

Strange personalities and extreme ideas are not in any shortage from within portions of the metal community. However, it in the case of Brisbane, Australia’s death metal unit Portal, mystery and weirdness are taken to another level.

Upon hearing their previous full-length, 2003’s Seepia, I was floored. Portal has managed to capture concentrated ugliness and coupled it with brute force, forging their sound into a very original style of death metal. Trying to find out any information about the band in particular is just as mysterious…nothing seems to be revealed, which makes their music all the more intriguing. The imagery used both for their records and live performances play out in a cinematic fashion, exposing horrific visions in black and white and emphasizing the feel of the music quite effectively.

Portal’s latest release, entitled Outre, takes all the horror-like feel of their previous releases and concentrates on a more focused version of itself. The swirling, manic guitar lines are still present and the drumming is still just as incredible, but the arrangements hold a bit more clarity and repetition. This approach works well, as Outre sounds darker and more fucked up than Seepia and gives more of a platform for vocalist The Curator’s growls and raspy lines. The effect sounds like a series of invocations given over a death march. While the production is maybe even less crisp than Seepia, I can’t say this is a bad thing. Overall, I’d say this is Portal’s best effort to date and by far worthy of picking up (as well as the re-issue of Seepia, also on Profound Lore Records). Those with adventurous tastes or a need for real brutality will not be disappointed.

Atavist - II: Ruined

noreply@blogger.com (Carl) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 04:12:00 +0000

Atavist – II: Ruined
Profound Lore Records

The sludge and doom genres hold a slippery slope in the realm of talent and personal style. Any asshole can write slow riffs or stand in front of a full stack, shoving a guitar into the speakers and ‘utilizing’ feedback. With the increase in popularity of slow arts (just like with any sub-genre or musical faction), every now and then there’s an equalizer that sets the bar. Crushes the bullshit. Pulls all the punches there are to pull. Ave Manchester, England’s Atavist.

II: Ruined boasts some of the most fucking painful sounding guitar that it’s hard to imagine what it’s like to stand in front of these guys in a live setting. Each note might as well be like having rocks thrown into your face, over and over again. The bass drives the lows so heavy that the mix seems to clip at times. The vocals are a throaty scream that don’t sound contrived, nor do they provide a huge contrast with the sounds of the instruments – all of the elements utilized are very well placed and effective. Within II: Ruined’s duration the band also incorporates acoustic guitar passages accompanied by piano, crawling tempos, effective use of feedback, and plenty of space to let atmosphere build before incorporating vocals. By far, my favorite track is 'V.' (total running time of 16:53), which begins with a short build that sounds like a His Hero Is Gone riff before suddenly crawling through a long dirge and continuing to evolve through mid-tempo grooves and haunting passages, all before crushing your ass and ending with a staccato guitar piece.

The North American version released via Profound Lore Records boasts six original compositions, simply titled in roman numerals, of depressive and extremely slow sludge/doom metal. Also included is a bonus track, a cover of Grief’s ‘I Hate The Human Race’. This record is solid from start to finish and if it sits filed away after a few listens that’s your own goddamn fault. Atavist has conjured up something worthy of continued listening without having to rely on antics, the ex-members/former bands ‘thing’, or incorporating anything unnecessary into this slab of heaviness. Hails!

The Howling Wind - Pestilence & Peril

noreply@blogger.com (Carl) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 03:25:00 +0000

The Howling Wind – Pestilence & Peril
Profound Lore Records

This is the first release for this post-Thralldom project from guitarist/vokillist Killusion and drummer Parasitic Nex. My expectations prior to receiving this disc for review were shattered upon first listen, as this effort is much more raw than I had expected!

Pestilence & Peril begins with Projections, a darkened and gloomy track of churning noise, cavernous whispers, and massive atmosphere before you’re hit with the first riffs of Sin Continuum. The guitars kick out a very old school, straightforward fast progression with Parasitic Nex furiously bashing away behind the drum kit. Killusion has definitely carried over much of the Thralldom atmosphere/vibe to this new project, however the music is far more to the point and less experimental. The riffs are very focused and generally-speaking the arrangements are more of a traditional approach, but the execution seems much more venomous than Thralldom to me. The sound is pure hate distilled and laid to tape! Virulence 33 continues the journey with a more doom-influenced main riff before suddenly switching the tempo up with a battery of blast beats. There is no shortage of dynamics within the album, yet each scream, riff, and beat are focused and voracious.

Pestilence & Peril contains much to be desired and doesn’t seem to limit itself to one particular persuasion. The music is blackened, yet not strictly or necessarily black metal. It’s doomy, yet not necessarily doom or sludge metal. In that respect, Killusion and Parasitic Nex have succeeded in not only creating a potent collection of aural violence, but kept from limiting The Howling Wind to falling in line within trends or genres. Fans of Killusion’s work in Unearthly Trance and Thralldom will find just as much delight in The Howling Wind as newcomers searching for a new and original slab of darkness. Kudos, gentlemen, and please keep it up.

Every track upon this album is a highlight. To give more than a small taste of what you would hear when listening to this record would be to spoil it. Get it immediately and listen to it in its entirety under the influence of your choice. Darkness only improves the experience.

Glorior Belli - Manifesting The Raging Beast

noreply@blogger.com (Carl) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 03:48:00 +0000

Glorior Belli – Manifesting the Raging Beast
Southern Lord

I’ve been sitting on this record for quite awhile (long past it’s actual release), listening carefully and intently to the masterpiece that vocalist/guitarist/composer Infestvvs, bassist Dispater, and drummer M:A Fog have created. I was struck by the huge leap in maturity and originality Manifesting the Raging Beast has been crafted with in comparison to Glorior Belli’s first full-length, O Laudate Dominvs. Earlier Glorior Belli material is by no stretch of poor quality regarding musicianship or writing (on the contrary, the band has always slayed), but when listening to O Laudate Dominvs it’s not hard to liken the album to other’s in the ‘orthodox black metal’ genre. However, Manifesting the Raging Beast bursts through the speakers like a blackened punch to God’s dick, and all done with no shortage of well-honed dynamics and melodic guitar parts. This record smokes their previous effort easily, and anyone even remotely sympathetic to this style of black metal (or appreciators of metal in general) will most likely find themselves pressing the play button again on the cd player after the last track is over.

Opening the album is “From Darkness There Springs Light.” Beginning with a few moments of silence and swelling noise, a crawling guitar riffs drops out of the speakers before Infestvvs snarls “Light is sour blood spilled from pregnant skies. Frothing and turning, ignoring dead wings as they drift by, it reveals blood and rust from twisted faces,” then later “And now, from darkness there springs light.” The lyrics are written in an almost wholly poetic form over the course of the album, shrouded in cryptic personal meanings but all pointing to Him.

To give a song-by-song breakdown and description of the rest of the eight hymns contained on Manifesting the Raging Beast would be pointless. This is a work that should be heard in order to truly understand the feeling and craftsmanship. This is black art of the highest order and absolutely essential.

Monarch! - Dead Men Tell No Tales

noreply@blogger.com (Carl) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 03:13:00 +0000

Monarch! – Dead Men Tell No Tales
Crucial Blast

Dead Men Tell No Tales is a 2xCD collection of France’s noise/drone/sludge terrorists, Monarch!, the songs originally released as two separate full-lengths: 2006’s Speak of the Sea and 2007’s Die Tonight.

Fans of crawling, suffocating heaviness should take note. Monarch! tread the waters of previous greats like Khanate, Burning Witch, and Corrupted, but with a much more blackened and desolate atmosphere. The majority of the space in these sprawling 5 songs is constructed of droning guitar and bass chords. Vocals are sparse, alternating between soft whispers and wretching, powerful screams. Emilie’s vocal talents are vast and she fits the mood perfectly with each drawn breath or scream. Songs stretch anywhere from 11 to 26 minutes in length and sound like the apocalypse in slow motion. Ruling, and highly recommended!!!

Weedeater - God Luck and Good Speed

noreply@blogger.com (Carl) — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 05:26:00 +0000

Weedeater – God Luck and Good Speed
Southern Lord Records

There’s a fine line that sludge and doom bands seemingly always have to be mindful of, which is a balance within the use of repetition and the simplicity of the riffs. Used correctly and the intent of playing slowly is effective and with purpose. Weedeater’s latest record, God Luck and Good Speed, seems ‘over the line’ to me.

The riffy ‘stoner’ portion of the genre gets boring and very quickly, and God Luck and Good Speed did nothing to hold my attention. While the music is heavy, there’s a definite lack of originality contained within this collection of songs (not counting ‘Alone’, a 2 minute track of banjo and low, clean vocals). The riffs don’t seem to go anywhere and vocalist/bassist Dixie’s throaty rasp just doesn’t do it for me.

I miss Buzzov*en…

Bergraven - Dödsvisioner

noreply@blogger.com (Carl) — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 05:22:00 +0000

Bergraven – Dödsvisioner
Hydrahead Records/Total Holocaust Records

2007 has been a year that produced many essential recordings from the trenches of darkness, doom, and death. Bergraven’s second full-length entitled Dödsvisioner is by far one of the best surprises of the year. I heard multiple descriptions prior to the release of what this one-man project was like, but none of them were even close to encompassing the sound or feeling contained within the record’s eight songs. Bergraven refuses to be backed into a niche corner like the hordes of many shitty extreme metal bands, playing off their image or making bold statements about nothing. The music speaks loudly and says much, none of which I can even begin to convey within the space of a review. Get this record immediately.

Striborg - Nefaria/A Tragic Journey Towards the Light

noreply@blogger.com (Carl) — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:21:00 +0000

Striborg – Nefaria/A Tragic Journey Towards the Light
Southern Lord Records

Nefaria

Lone member Sin Nanna creates lo-fi ‘depressive black metal’ with inaudible vocals and few refinements in structure or otherwise. Some may find it difficult to continue listening past the first few minutes of the first track (“Nefaria”). Honestly, I am no snob in regards to production values, but rarely have I heard anything this poor. The instruments are separated so much in the mix that it sounds as if there are multiple songs playing at the same time, and they do not mix well. This may be an extension of disjointed song writing, but whatever the cause it’s hardly listenable to my ears…just somewhat boring. Next comes the haunting keyboard instrumental track titled “Permafrost Forest,” followed by “Somnambulistic Nightmares.” The atmosphere changes here, introducing a doomy vibe and more coherent instrumentation/production. Thankfully, the much of Nefaria is an extension of this and finds it’s feet somewhere in the realm of Xasthur territory and the shadows of Darkthrone’s Transilvanian Hunger on the blast parts. It’s nothing new or special, but those who crave the noisier side of darkness will be appeased.

A Tragic Journey Towards the Light

Striborg’s 1995 demo material begins with a dramatic intro and promptly falls flat on its face. Reverb-soaked vocals overpower the fuzzy guitar parts, the programmed drums even sound off time, and I’m not sure as a whole what’s even happening here. Why it’s been preserved is beyond me, but that’s just my opinion.

Year of No Light - Nord

noreply@blogger.com (Carl) — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:07:00 +0000

Year of No Light – Nord
Crucial Blast

The sludge/shoegaze mixture has unfortunately become the newest in a line of ‘hot shit’ trends that cross genres and attempt to make metal ‘safe’ for hipsters to be into. I have to admit there are a few bands that do it well, but France’s Year of No Light misses the mark. The opening track, “Sélénite” sounds like a lost cut from Cult of Luna’s second full-length, Salvation. However, the band quickly fall flat after this opening instrumental piece. There are several other instrumental moments on Nord that revisit the potential of “Sélénite,” but they are quickly overshadowed by unnecessary modern hardcore tinges and screamy vocals that just aren't burly enough and don’t fit.

Unleashed - Midvinterblot

noreply@blogger.com (Carl) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 23:45:00 +0000

Unleashed – Midvinterblot
SPV/Steamhammer

Although this is not a ‘new’ release at the time of this writing, Midvinterblot certainly warrants attention and some words of praise. Unleashed is no strange entity to many death metalers, but I think they often get brushed aside for the more celebrated sons of the classic Swedish death metal scene. This boggles my mind, as their debut full-length, Where No Life Dwells (1991), is nothing short of a masterpiece.

Midvinterblot is a slab of classic Unleashed, although the brute force is much more melodic than I would have expected. I haven’t given any attention to the past few records so maybe this isn’t a new development, but it took me by surprise. The production is solid and thick, although the guitars could’ve used a small boost in the mix. My first exposure to underground metal was through Swedish death metal bands and that style almost always satiates me. Unleashed have produced a solid record with Midvinterblot, but I will say that it’s almost too slick and too melodic at times for my taste. It seems out of place to hear Johnny Hedlund’s raspy growl over the top of constant noodling, lead guitar wails.

Choice tracks include “In Victory Or Defeat,” “I Have Sworn Allegiance,” and the epic closing track “Valhalla Awaits.”

Euroboy Interview Podcast

noreply@blogger.com (Carl) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 03:15:00 +0000

Below is a link to download the podcast interview with Euroboy of Turbonegro. The interview was conducted at the Metro in Chicago, Ill., before the first show of their 2007 US tour. Thanks to Euroboy and Kit Young at JLM PR, Inc.

A written transcript of this interview will appear on Left Hand Path at a later date for those who would prefer to read instead of listen to the interview.

To download the file, right-click and choose the 'Save Link As' option: Euroboy Podcast

Turbonegro interview & more.

noreply@blogger.com (Carl) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 12:49:00 +0000

Upcoming LHP features include an interview & downloadable podcast with Euroboy, guitar god of Norway's Turbonegro. A forth-coming interview with Infestvvs of Glorior Belli, Obscurus Advocam, and Wolfe is also planned.

More reviews on the way for new releases from Glorior Belli, Weedeater, OM, Tangorodrim, Trelldom, Bewitched, Wolves in the Throne Room, Striborg, Monarch!, and others.

Bands, labels, and PR folks interested in having their materials reviewed or interviews please get in touch: carlbyers@gmail.com.

Blake Judd Interview (Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Carl) — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 22:18:00 +0000

LHP: You also do Battle Kommand Records, which has released quite a few records covering various underground metal genres. What was your motivation for starting BKR and what does the label have planned currently?

I started BKR for a couple reasons. The most important reason being that I always wanted to own my own record label and be able to have the opportunity to work with bands I love and also to help out new bands that I’d discover in the future (which I’ve done thus far). It’s great that I’m able to make a decent living between the label and the band. It really allows my entire life to be completely revolving around music, which was always a dream of mine.

As for current plans, we just released a new record for our great friends Zoroaster (Atlanta’s godz of doom metal!) called ‘Dog Magic’, which is an outstanding album that we’re all very pumped about. Also just released a record from a killer Chicago band we’ve known for years called Exalted. Their debut ‘We Are The Grim Throng’ is out now. Total thrashing black metal madness. Really killer record and the band’s debut, so we hope to use this record to develop them a bit and ‘put them on the map’ so to speak. Releases to come in the near future include Lurker of Chalice ‘Perverse Calculus’ (new album), Godless North 2xCD collection (the band’s entire discography compiled into one release), Gloria Diaboli ‘Gate to Sheol’ CD/LP (ex-members of Godless North’s new orthodox black metal project), and there’s a few others in the pipeline at the moment, but these three are the most current priorities.

LHP: What artists/bands have you not worked with yet that you'd really like to?

Can’t really say. I’ve never gone after a band and not been able to do something with them. If there was an active band right now that I could release something for, it would be Necros Christos because I’m totally obsessed with their sick occult death metal purity. Really great German band, but I’m pretty sure that we won’t be working together as a band-to-label thing because they’ve got a deal in place already. This would be the #1 band for me right now, though, if I could ‘sign anyone’.

LHP: Has Nachtmystium's increase in activity put BKR in the back seat of your priorities?

Not at all. When I tour it slows down things around here. We take our distro offline, etc., but it’s always good to be out on the road and reach Nachtmystium fans that might not be aware of the label or the bands on it. I always sell BKR titles at the merch table and often times people get their first dose of BKR that way, which is very cool as we’re killing two birds with one stone…haha.

LHP: Finally, what records have you been listening to lately (metal and non-metal)?

Current playlist…

V/A – Heavy Metal Dub LP (old dub comp. LP…great stuff)
Necros Christos – Triune Impurity Rites CD
Lurker of Chalice – Perverse Calculus CD advance
OM – Conference of the Birds (obsessed with this record since the day I got it…)
Tom Waits – Real Gone LP
Dawnbringer - ALL

Check out currently available titles and news of upcoming releases at the Battle Kommand Records site: http://www.battlekommand.com.

Blake Judd Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Carl) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 19:39:00 +0000

The first time Nachtmystium was brought to my attention was by my friend Jeff Wilson, who mentioned he was trying out to play second guitar for them. It was the day after my 25th birthday and we were in his basement before a party to celebrate my b-day and the house resident's moving out. I checked out Instinct:Decay and thought it was great from the first impression, but some of the elements were hard to place. The more I listened to it the more I liked it, and it's grown into one of those records that will always stay in my collection and on my turntable. They also rule live. Nachtmystium's founder and singer/guitarist Blake Judd sat down and talked with me in the basement of the Empty Bottle in Chicago on May 10th during the Antichrist Vanguards tour. Jeff also joined in on the conversation.

LHP: With the release of Instinct:Decay, it's apparent there have been some big changes with Nachtmystium. The album boasts many elements that were hinted at on the Eulogy IV EP, the production has been stepped up, and more experimental elements have been incorporated into the song writing. There are acoustic passages, soaring leads drowned in delay, and some wah pedal usage. How have these elements brought you closer to your vision for the band?

It’s kind of a way to be more free within black metal, if that makes sense. I love pure black metal music, but I got bored with it. There’s a lot of bands doing it right now, some doing it very well and some don’t, but there’s enough of it. I like a lot of other music. I like a lot of psychedelic music, which I’ve said many times before. We (Nachtmystium) have a big Pink Floyd influence and in a way it’s cool, because you can almost be a pioneer within this type of music because nobody’s really walked that path. It’s not really a conscious decision to try to be different, it’s honestly more of what I really want to do and what I really want to hear.

LHP: Has the execution on record and live met your expectations?

Yeah, I wish we hadn’t recorded (Instinct:Decay) in someone’s living room on 16 tracks of ADAT. We just recorded again for the Leviathan split, but we took the ADAT tapes to a studio where we were able to drop it in track-by-track and mix it in ProTools. We didn’t ‘cheat’ with it, but we did take advantage of being able to clean up the sound a little bit and with the drums and the microphones we were able to make it sound crisp. There’s a lot less noise and bullshit.

LHP: Given that Nachtmystium has had a rotating lineup over the years, have you found it hard to find musicians who share the same ethos and direction for the music, or has it been more of a personal vehicle, finding players to play the different parts?

A little bit of everything…I think we have the most solid lineup right now. Zion has been playing with us for a couple years, Jeff our second guitar player has been with us for about a year, and we all get along really well. Our biggest problem has been people will get a little greedy. When we go on tour I sell our old records. They weren’t on our old records, and it’s my label’s release. The problem that has existed with the ‘rotating door’ has been I bring my business on the road, my label and my distro. A Nachtmystium CD that someone with us didn’t play on might as well not be a Nachtmystium CD for that person. It’s for my business, so there’s been some conflict with people not really understanding that. I do my best to make sure everything is very fair and very even, and anything that anyone plays on is all split percentage-wise by how many people we’re dividing it up between. I’m no exception to that, but there have been issues with that. It’s not so much finding people who do or don’t get it, but I do need people who get it. I don’t want to play with super evil black metal guys who get dressed up and have to have a front to prove something to people.

LHP: Like you have to coax them out of their mom’s basement?

Yeah! Exactly, and there’s so many people out there like that. To me that’s weakness. I want people who aren’t afraid of experimentation and the idea of freedom within music, because true music has no boundaries. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing whether you’re a country musician, a black metal guitarist, or you play a drum in a tribal band…if you want to really express yourself you can’t be withheld by the confines of scenes, genres, or cliques. I think it’s best that people have an open mind. You don’t have to be a Satanist or some evil guy…we don’t have to share any political or religious ideologies with each other. Just a group understanding that we’re trying to create something that’s very much our own, and I want people in the band that don’t have egos, that don’t have some agenda with black metal. There’s so much of this elitism bullshit that I don’t understand, it’s not my thing. I understood it, but when I was 19 years old. I’m a grown man now. (Lo-fi recording) works for some bands, but other times it’s just tired-sounding. There’s a lot of bands that shouldn’t be recording or releasing music. Anybody can rehash Darkthrone and anyone can find some kid that wants to start a label that has $1,000 to press a CD to do it. We (Nachtmystium) did it, and I feel we made a mediocre attempt at doing the Darkthrone black metal thing. I was really young and for the time I’m really proud of it, but I know damn well that those albums aren’t landmarks for anybody. Maybe somebody from that time who was there with us might have some nostalgia tied to it. I mean, I don’t have some desire to become a ‘rock star’, but I’m releasing music and working hard…I want to be heard and I don’t want to be a sheep amongst the flock. We want to be the wolf, so that’s why Nachtmystium has taken the direction it has. I have a vision and I want people to listen to my music and experience something unique.

LHP: What changes has the band gone through since the release of Instinct:Decay and how has that evolved the band?

Well, we went to from kinda being nobodies to being something…what level that’s at kind of depends on the person reading about it and judging. I can really assess where we’re at. We’ve got a little international press coverage and we’ve got a lot of opportunities arising for us, and that’s very cool. I’m glad that the album was effective…it did what I wanted it to. I wanted it to touch people, which surprised us. We recorded with Chris Black, who has done our stuff for years, and he looked right at me and said “I don’t think you should release this record, I think it’s too weird and I think the recording suffers. The mix is muddy, and there’s too much going on with too little engineering capabilities.” It wasn’t that we didn’t know what to do, it’s that we didn’t have the equipment to make it more audible. I didn’t like the record at first, but it grew on me, and even though it is under-produced so are all our other records. That’s kind of our charm. The fact that there were all these new elements on the record, I decided to go for it. It would kind of suck for Battle Kommand, for my business, if it flopped, but at the same time we didn’t spend a ton of money on it…that album cost us $600 or something. We probably had $1,000 to spend, about $500-600 on actual record and the rest was on beer and pot. We recorded at my friend’s house in their living room.

LHP: Well, it sounds awesome. The first time I heard it I really didn’t know what to think and it really grew on me. Most of the records I’ve come to really connect with have been like that, though, where at first I don’t know what to think. You listen to those records again and again and get more out of it each time.

That’s been the general reaction and it’s totally understandable, because at first that was all of our reactions, too. What I thought was that it jumped around too much, that was my problem with it at first, but the noise tracks between the songs were the things that kind of melted it all together. I wanted it to start and stop…there are very few points on that CD where there’s any silence. That was intentional, and I wanted it to be one whole vision. In doing that and fusing it all together, and the mastering helping to clean it up…you should have heard it before it was mastered! It was a nightmare. We sent it to Hydrahead and they said no, then sent it back to Hydrahead after it’d been mastered and released and Aaron (Turner) said he really wish he’d released the record. It made that big of a difference.

LHP: In September of last year you did a string of dates with Pelican and Daughters. What can you tell me of the experience?

I loved it. I love those guys. I used to work at Metal Haven years ago and I know Laurent (Lebec) and Larry (Herweg) from then when they’d come in to shop. At that time they were just getting on their feet, I was just getting on my feet. We talked a lot and kept in touch, we all read about each other’s bands over the years. Then they just emailed me one day saying, “You wanna come on tour with us? We read an interview with you saying you wanted to go on tour with bands that weren’t metal, so we’re gonna give you that opportunity.” I was like, fuck yes! I don’t listen to Daughters on CD, but live it was amazing! Their whole persona is so obnoxious and they execute it beautifully. We bonded with them through an arm wrestling match on the same day we crashed our van! That was a fun night.
(Jeff Wilson joins the interview at this point)

LHP: You have an upcoming split release with Leviathan for Southern Lord Records. Will this be comprised of all new material?

Blake: Two new songs. I think they’re the best Nachtmystium songs yet, wouldn’t you agree (to Jeff)?

Jeff: Yes, and they’re complete opposites.

Blake: Yeah, they’re complete opposites. One has Moog synthesizers…we call it ‘Hammerheart-era Bathory getting butt-fucked by Burzum on a Spaceship’.

LHP: Hell yeah!

There’s that and then a more aggressive song…we stripped it way down, didn’t put a lot of solo shit in it because we wanted to be able to recreate it live. It’s more of an angry thing. Instinct:Decay was so weird and had so much mellow stuff that I wanted to do something really aggressive this time. We re-recorded the first song from the Demise LP, ‘Solitary Voyage’, it’s a little more tripped-out…it doesn’t have the feeling of the original, but it’s cool. Then we did a Goatsnake cover…we did ‘IV’, and then we did a cover of Death in June’s ‘Rose Clouds of Holocaust’. It’s pretty strange, man, but it’ll be cool I think. The Leviathan material is cool, he’s doing a Today Is The Day cover and a Christian Death cover.

LHP: It was recently announced that Nachtmystium has signed a 2-album deal with Century Media, they’ll be re-releasing the Eulogy IV EP, and you’ll also be doing a DVD.

Yeah, a DVD and two new records with them.

LHP: Did you have other offers from other larger metal labels, and if so why did you choose to sign with Century Media?

Simultaneously we had Earache, SPV, Candlelight, Century Media, and Metal Blade all gave us written, full on offers. Someone got paid to draw up a contract from all those labels. We weren’t trying to be cocky or rock stars about it, but the thing is I own a label and have good distribution. We didn’t need them…at this level I don’t work another job, we can afford to go on tour and don’t need a big label. The idea behind it was to score some cash to buy ourselves a better vehicle to tour in and they can offer us bigger studio budgets. All the other labels wanted 4-6 albums, but we told Century Media “You can have one or two, you can have the re-release, and the video. If not, that’s fine and no hard feelings, we’ll just put it out ourselves.” When we started playing hardball like that, we got what we wanted, and I’m psyched about it. I like Steve Joh a lot, he’s the A&R guy at Century Media. He left (Century Media) for a couple of years and then came back when they wanted to become a real metal label again. It’s great and we’ve got a lot of freedom in our contract. It took about 4 months to negotiate our contract. For instance, any advertisement…they can’t advertise Nachtmystium next to God Forbid, for example. Our deal was, we choose who we tour with, who we’re advertised with, they have no control over our artwork at all, they have no control over our lyrical content within reason, obviously. I mean, we’re not gonna turn into a (racist) band or whatever. The thing that’s cool is that the guy that wanted us the most, Steve Joh from Century Media, that’s what he wanted. He wanted a band to come in and be this ‘loose’ kinda thing, and add something that wasn’t so cheesy and intentionally borderline mainstream at Century Media. They’ve done really well with bands like God Forbid and Lacuna Coil, but they’ve also invested in 30 bands that sound like God Forbid and Lacuna Coil, that you’ve never heard of, and they’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on these bands. Steve had told me that the company was basically at a point where they were just barely breaking even despite having the best selling records they’ve every had on their label right now. They’ve dropped a lot of bands and are digging back into the underground a little bit. They didn’t start off as a (commercial) label, they were an underground metal label. They’re a lot bigger now and have more cash, but…they put out ‘Blood Ritual’ by Samael, they put out fucking Unleashed ‘Across the Open Seas’, they put out the first Grave records, all the Eyehategod records! They licensed Mayhem and Emperor…if it wasn’t for Century Media we wouldn’t be sitting here right now, because that’s what I heard first when I was 13 years old. I also wanted to sign to Century Media because Nachtmystium has gotten to the point that since I run Battle Kommand Records almost exclusively alone I have a really hard time focusing on other bands on my label. Nachtmystium demands a lot of my attention, especially in pressing and releasing the record. When stuff sells quickly and I sell out of it that causes me to delay the releases of bands that I want to work with. I didn’t think that was very fair to those bands. I’m trying to develop a lot of bands that I really like, but if I’m worried about pressing Nachtmystium so we can tour and I can’t push the other records that doesn’t help anyone. The reason that Battle Kommand exists is because there are a lot of shit labels out there that walk all over little bands that might have a little buzz. They get fucked over or taken advantage of in some way and I’m here to try to be a person to help at least a few of those bands that I really like.

LHP: What do you have planned for the next Nachtmystium full-length release?

Blake: I don’t know yet (laughs).

Jeff: We’re gonna move closer to each other and then figure that out.

Blake: Me and Jeff need to live near each other so we can write music better. (laughs) I don’t really know. If you asked me what I was gonna be doing tomorrow the only thing I could tell you is that I’ll be at a Watain show. If I wasn’t on tour I’d probably wake up, make coffee, smoke pot, and maybe play my guitar. The only thing that sucks about this record deal is I’m sure somebody is gonna put some kind of time limit on when they need the record. That’s good, though.

LHP: With more funding at your disposal via Century Media will you be entering a 'proper' studio for the new album?

Jeff: Maybe. For part of it.

Blake: Maybe. Probably just for the mixing like we just did.

Jeff: The Leviathan split sounds 10 times better than any other Nachtmystium release.

Blake: I don’t like going to a studio. I don’t like feeling like the clock is ticking, but the guy we mixed it with was really great to work with because he’s very patient and he’s a metal head. He’s in November’s Doom and he’s played in Jungle Rot and some other bands over the years. He gets ‘the metal’.

LHP: Nachtmystium has several exciting tours lined up currently, including this one with Angelcorpse and Watain. I've also heard talk of a European tour with Celtic Frost?

That may or may not happen. Tom Warrior is here tonight…I’ll have to go ask him what he thought. (laughs) He had a lot of good things to say to me about what we’ve been doing, which was not provoked by us, so that was really cool. It’s such a compliment that he would acknowledge us, much less have respect for it. As far as the touring goes, I have no idea about Europe. We will go eventually. It used to be a priority for me. I still want to go, but it’ll happen when the time and the money are right.

LHP: Do you feel that Nachtmystium is a black metal band?

No. I consider Watain a black metal band. When you see Watain you’ll understand why I don’t consider us a black metal band. I think we’re intense, honest, and genuine. I think we have our own thing going on and we’re extreme, but black metal to me is the music of Satan when it’s the real thing. Watain is one of three bands that are the real thing in my opinion. I know it’s the real deal because I watched them drink animal blood and vomit and pray to the dark lord himself last night! That’s not my trip…I’m a Satanist kinda by default, but I don’t consider us a black metal band because that’s a very restricting title. I’ve got respect for Dimmu Borgir because they do what they do and they do it well. They make a lot of money and they’re doing what they want, but that style or something of that ilk that’s cheesy is not black metal. It’s not dangerous, it’s not intimidating. I watched Watain last night and I had to walk outside because I couldn’t take it anymore or I was going to fucking kill someone. I started losing it…it brought that much out of me. That’s what differentiates us from them, because I don’t see anything we do inspiring people to kill anyone, cut themselves, or whatever. I like to think of Nachtmystium as a band that is very black metal at our core that has evolved beyond that. I don’t think it’s fair to tag us with a genre because we like everything. That’s why we jokingly call ourselves psychedelic black metal, because there’s no other way to describe it. So, we’re the pioneers. (laughs)

LHP: Are there any other changes or influences in that realm that you’d like to make?

Not really. The cool think about the Nachtmystium sound is that I’ve never really had an agenda or a vision for it. I think we’ll get weirder, hopefully, and I think you’ll see more different kinds of music come through. I buy a lot of records…I listen to everything from roots reggae to gore metal, and everything in-between like old country. I like it all and if there’s something that I can relate to and can find a way for those influences to seep into the music then it might happen. That’s what I like about Nachtmystium, there’s freedom. There’s no direction, there’s no path with it. The agenda is just to keep busy and to always be doing what I want to be doing. I want the people who also want to share that same vision and experience to be there as well, and those are the people who are here tonight.

LHP: Would you mind talking about Twilight for a minute?

Sure.

LHP: In regards to the Twilight project, there have been some changes to the project since the first release. Malefic is no longer a part of the band. How did Aaron Turn (ISIS) get involved with the band?

I love Aaron, man. I’ve known him for a few years now. He’s a really cool guy…we got in touch through the fusion of the scenes with the whole Hydrahead and Southern Lord crowd drifting into the black metal world and vice versa, for those of us that are into other music. It was cool to start hanging out with him and talking with him more, and I saw ISIS live one night. I’d never really heard them. Someone let me borrow Celestial years ago, but I wasn’t feeling it at the time. I listened to it for 30 seconds and then turned it off, because it wasn’t my thing and I wasn’t ready for it at the time. I went to see them and was blown away! Everyone shit on Panopticon I found out later, and that’s my favorite album by them. It’s very melancholy and depressing. In a way, if you sped those riffs up and put blast beats over them and some distortion a lot of it would be black metal. I like the way he sings, the overall attitude of it, and I like the fact that they sell out the Metro three nights in a row and don’t have a fucking ego. Not one of them. They’re the coolest, most down to earth guys and they tour with Tool. They’re just laid back guys doing what they do, but like any great band in any scene people have shit all over them because they’re the band doing it better than anyone else and nobody wants to hear that.

LHP: What can we expect with the forthcoming record as far as changes?

I don’t know. (laughs)

LHP: Has anything been written?

Kind of…we got together a few weeks ago and tried to do some shit together. It was an interesting week. We did a lot of drugs and didn’t do much of anything. (laughs) We wrote four songs…it was Wrest, myself, and Imperial from Krieg. We all collaborated, though. It wasn’t like, “Alright I wrote this riff…now you write the next one.” We were just all playing together, feed off of it, and just go with whatever sounded good. It’ll be a lot more of a group effort, Aaron Turner will be involved in writing as well, and we’re gonna take our sweet ass time with it. There’s no timeline for it.

At this point the interview had to be cut short and Blake left to help setup and prepare the stage for Watain’s performance. The remaining questions may be answered at a later time, so check back for the continuation. A huge thank you to Blake (and Jeff) for this interview. Nachtmystium are poised to destroy the west coast soon with thrashers Skeletonwitch.

For more information, merchandise, and show dates check out the Battle Kommand Records web site or Nachtmystium's Myspace site.

Zweizz - The Yawn Of The New Age

noreply@blogger.com (Carl) — Tue, 22 May 2007 13:27:00 +0000

Zweizz - The Yawn Of The New Age
Vendlus Records

Former DHG-collaborator Svein Hatlevik has been doing Zweizz since 2003 (although in the liner notes the music on Yawn... is credited as being recorded between 2000-2006), after leaving the keyboard position of DHG for a more noise-based mixture of black metal elements, noise, and 'intelligent dance music' (or IDM).

Yawn Of The New Age is a headfuck. The majority of it's content is not traditionally musical, but that is not a criticism. On the contrary, Zweizz has succeeded at producing the equivalent of a 1,000 foot tall (bright pink) middle-finger. The tracks are electronic madness incorporating synth blast-beats, somber tones, occasional inaudible vocals, and tons of atmosphere. Layer all that with what sounds like bombs dropping and countless other bit-crushed ambient noise and you've got a slight idea of what you're in for with Yawn Of The New Age.

'Thank You In The Face' is 3:58 of ambient noise (sounding much like bugs and bats) and vocals being delivered through what sounds like a Speak & Spell. During the occasional breaks in vocals a collage of what sounds like fair ride jingles (think the tune played on carousels), chopped up and played backwards, serve as a 'chorus'. This is speculation, of course, as most of the sounds on Yawn Of The New Age are unidentifiable to my ears.

Zweizz is adept at creating chilling atmosphere, for instance 'Catacomb'. Beginning with a disjointed synth line and falling off into a sample loop of echoing bells and pulsing distorted sounds that sound like a child's toy piano in a cave. There is much to absorb, despite the minimalist approach used here (as opposed to tracks like 'Nowadays Only The Boring Is So Frustrating' which are a brain bomb).

There are many sides to Zweizz on Yawn Of The New Age, all of which may turn the unadventurous to run and hide. A few tracks in I found my 'sea legs' and was hooked.

Throne of Katarsis - An Eternal Dark Horizon

noreply@blogger.com (Carl) — Mon, 21 May 2007 16:01:00 +0000

Throne of Katarsis - An Eternal Dark Horizon
Candlelight Records

Cold and grim, Throne of Katarsis delivers an EP's worth of tracks at an LP's length with An Eternal Dark Horizon. The vein is occult, early 90's Norwegian Black Metal here, with the music taking the shape of a more mid-tempo version of Mayhem or Darkthrone. Also included are classical acoustic guitar passages, melodic leads, and some subtle guitar effects. The vocals have a slight echo effect and sometimes are doubled. At times vocalist/guitarist/bassist Grimnisse utilizes an enunciated scream or some De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas-era Attila Csihar groaning vocals, which he pulls off quite well.

Despite the hefty song lengths (3 of the tracks average around 12 minutes each and the other 2 fall just under the 10 minute mark), Grimnisse and drummer Vardalv keep it interesting. There are tasteful tempo changes, constantly moving chord progressions, the occasional break only to be followed up by a passage of venomous blasting, and (again) the varying vocals keep An Enternal Dark Horizon from growing stale.

Fiends take note! Throne of Katarsis' first full-length release will surely fit nicely between spins of the classics or amongst the current crop of orthodox black metal in your stereo.