Spotlight: ZuLiK

ZuLiK

Genre: Experimental/Art/Progressive Rock With Multiple Influences

Location: Mexico

MEMBERS

“Zulik” is integrated by:

Mintel Alonso –Composition, musical production, artistic direction & general concept
Diana Hernández –Photography & Artwork
Leonardo Fernández –Storyboard & Poetry
Nicole De la Mora –Cinematography
Al Vázquez –Animation & Programming
Lorena Vázquez-Graphic Design

Also great musicians and collaborators were involved. Check out our featured talent here:

http://www.zulikproject.com/credits.html

THE INTERVIEW (With Alonso Mintel (Composition, Musical Production, Artistic Direction & General Concept)

1. The music of the Zulik project is made to trigger a sort of catharsis or emotional release of ourselves through it's varied structure of soundscapes. In more blatant terms, it is supposed to initiate a journey of consciousness. Ok, so maybe that's not so blatant - but it's what I gathered from listening to the album. Perhaps I'm not so good with this, so could you explain exactly what this project is and it's purpose?

Zulik is an Art Collective gathering different creative areas such as music, visual arts and literary work.

Our first artistic proposal is called “Zulik Project” and it’s composed of a conceptual album featuring 52 minutes of a music continuum (15 tracks), containing original artwork and poems.

Zulik Project seeks a personal introspective through music. We aim to trigger different emotions and stages that mirror our own self just by letting thoughts flow with the music, creating an instrumental thinking trip, providing some poems and artwork as a guideline.

On any way you wish to experiment its contents, we’ve learned that the best experience is by listening to it continuously from starts to end. We took a great deal of care in the making of this project, and we´re hoping that it’ll work as intended.

2. Many musicians collaborated on this album in order to create it's unique sound. There are atmospheric pieces, jazz pieces, electronic pieces, metal pieces and so much more. Exactly how did all of this come together and how long did it take?

Well, it started as a small project and in time, it got a little out of hand. First we did some 47+ musical ideas in a computer, round up some close friends and played some samples for them, just to learn witch musical soundscapes really worked for some associated emotions. From that feedback we ended up working with nearly 20+ ideas that were tested as well with more listeners, ending in the 15 recorded tracks (or chapters), that now compose Zulik Project. Back then, there was a huge undertaking for refining the concept behind the music, analyzing and figuring out how we emotionally mesmerize our selves as life throws us some unexpected curves. We wanted to capture the real path of falling and rising in life. We considered that deep within us, there are always these voices that tells us what to do and what not to, guiding our will as problems and adversities appear. Once we got a hold on a few of these concepts, we stared creating a musical argument around that, which in time ended up taking us a from peaceful states of mind, through a chaos as we ignite this catastasis that embrace us as one gets to achieve evolution, mental growth, experience in life and in time, all in order to reach a peace of mind and then again closing the circle. Translating this concept to music inevitably led us to all this mesh of musical genres, but we tried hard to propose a unique sound for the project. Designing and consolidating that vibe took us some time dough. Musicians were introduced later on. Sequencing musical ideas “in the box” is easy! …but the sounding result just sucks!

(Is like comparing an internet chat VS real live conversation with someone).

There are so many sonic details lost by just sequencing music against what you can do with real recording, interacting directly with musicians, good instruments and amazing talent.

Things got bigger than we expected, when we realize that we wanted communicate very specific feelings with music; therefore it was inevitable to record it all for real.

We recorded as the studio hours were available, sadly there were huge gaps between recordings, since all the people involved in this project formally work professionally in our own respective areas of expertise, (you know… there are always other priorities, job deadlines to meet and other side projects to attend first, etc.), and finding time and availability was always an issue. But we were not too worried on how many time it might took more than sustaining a good quality on the content of the project, so instead of fighting it, we just let the project undertake its very own pulse and let the production flow as times favored us, that´s how we got around a few obstacles. (None the less there were moments we did thought we were not going to finish it ever).

The project itself took about 9 years in the making, started from just a project idea, then a first registry structure in 2005, all the way to our formal project release dated on March 7, 2012.

The recording sessions were amazing, everything was done at Estudio19 where we literary played with every single piece of gear they have there. We also got a few our dear friends to lend us a lot of their vintage instruments so that we could really get all the sound textures right. And of course, the joy of gathering amazing talented musicians who are best fitted for musically endeavoring in experimentation and up to creative collaborations throughout all this process.

(There are some cool pictures from the recording sessions in our Zulik Facebook Page: Check them out.)

3. Describe the recording process for the album. Where did you have difficulty, if any?

Early Project Ideas (2004)
First Registry Structure (2005)
Recordings (2007 -2009)
Mixing (2008 -2010)
Mastering (2011)
Zulik Project Release date on March 7, 2011

First we defined which musical ideas were worth recording, since the album concept was still in early stage; we just experimented, with these scratch recordings for drafting which instruments and diverse elements needed to be featured for certain moods. Then, as musical ideas were settled we started recording all rhythms, some stuff against sequences, creating the right drum sounds for every theme. After that it was a complex puzzle for future recordings, this was because of the interpretation arguments, there were some songs that needed certain other elements before we could record in an orderly fashion way, but eventually we got around that and moved on to the main elements of the project which are the first voices (Singers and lead guitars). We treated each voice as if it were a specific live character in a story. We had to design each single guitar sound to carry a specific mood and vibe in the right way which stays coherent in interpretation and sound against its assigned mood or argument in the concept.

Male and female voices had a great deal of acting involved since we had to tryout a lot of different ideas before even understanding what kind of singing really needed to be in the project. But we were very certain that all human voices needed to participate in and out of the themes in just the right moments or else we could loose the intended emotional flow.

A human voice immediately distracts attention to a musical soundscape, and in consequence lose track of a lingering thought you might have going on, so if we were up to apply voices, we needed to have them set in just the right places. Literary content was what defined these decisions.

Once we cleared all the recordings, we had to undertake the titanic editing job for all the music. When you work with talented musicians, editing is not much a matter of fixing anything at all, it’s more a matter of selecting the right take since each performance is executed nicely, imprinting different intentions, musical arguments and alternative playing techniques. When this is in your hands, picking the best take, ooh my, is complicated and requires a lot of time. Once all songs were ready for mixing, finally we had a better understanding of the project, but a little worried if everything was going work once all the songs were to be set in a playing continuum.

All Zulik’s written content was at that point better defined and some artwork was being already produced as well so we moved foreword and slowly the project started to get the right feel. Each song started to fit in a proper space and every sound had a reason to exist. By the time Mixing was concluded we still had to join everything together through the mastering process in a big master track of 52 minutes. After mastering we just had a few things to get by with the artwork, the CD manufacturing, legal stuff and getting ready for our release date, etc.

Zulik Project was finally released March 7, 2012

Once we cleared all the recordings, we had to undertake the titanic editing job for all the music. When you work with talented musicians, editing is not much a matter of fixing anything at all, it’s more a matter of selecting the right take since each performance is executed nicely, imprinting different intentions, musical arguments and alternative playing techniques. When this is in your hands, picking the best take, ooh my, is complicated and requires a lot of time.

Once all songs were ready for mixing, finally we had a better understanding of the project, but a little worried if everything was going work once all the songs were to be set in a playing continuum.

All Zulik’s written content was at that point better defined and some artwork was being already produced as well so we moved foreword and slowly the project started to get the right feel. Each song started to fit in a proper space and every sound had a reason to exist. By the time Mixing was concluded we still had to join everything together through the mastering process in a big master track of 52 minutes. After mastering we just had a few things to get by with the artwork, the CD manufacturing, legal stuff and getting ready for our release date, etc.

Zulik Project was finally released March 7, 2012.

4. All of the track names on the album are foreign, so I'm not quite sure what they mean (if you could provide an English translation of the track titles, it would be appreciated) but I noticed that the album opens with "Nesfa Ra" and closes with "Nesfa Rithu." In addition to that, I've noticed that the band's moniker of ZuLik also appears in the album. What exactly does ZuLiK mean or refer to?

Behind the music of this album there´s a lot of literary work who defined and designed each stage of Zulik´s concept. The project is arranged like a play consisting of a prologue and 3 acts.

Prologue
01 Nesfa Rah (Nightfall 4:48)

02 Di Kú (Search 4:50)

I act

 03 Tai Kut Sil (Deception 6:21)

04 Kilu Praí (The price 6:35)

05 Nesfa Lipá (Next Day 0:52)

06 Alú Kutré (Control 1:48)

II act

07 Aika (Denial 2:22)

08 Hare K (Realization 1:46)

09 Alú Kutré de Faz (Trial and error 0:58)

10 Kiva (Confrontation 2:05)

11 Lin Gox (Ascendant spiral 3:52)

III act

12 ZuguZ (The mirror 2:49)

13 Nis Pas Kiva (Becoming 6:12)

14 Zulik (Chrysalid 4:27)

15 Nesfa Rithu (Dawn 1:37)

About the language and its literary content. We wanted to be consistent with our objectives in the all aspects of the concept. So at some point we were researching some psychology topics, drafting some poems and integrating some conceptual arguments, that’s when we had to take a decision about the language to use (English, Spanish, French… ancient tongues, you name it).

The thing is: we felt that we didn´t wanted to draw much attention to what is actually said, but more of what its felt. Our songs just flow better if there’s just an emotion but not a formal idea sang within it. Taking all the literary work and written poetry in mind, we developed some phonetic work around it, for us to create a “soul language” (sort of speak), with these ideas, we got back to the studio and started experimenting with our featured singers over the songs, finding a way to make it work. (There were some sessions on which we might have to stop in a middle of a take, to call out to some friends just to ask them if we were not using already existing words in other languages like German, Japanese or who knows maybe using curse words in Finnish. (We laughed a lot in a few sessions trying to sing in tongues).

As the music started to come together, the jigsaw puzzle with written content also started to fall in the right places, poems were enhanced and all the hidden words got a real meaning behind the music which we felt we wanted to leave as a free will as possible, for any one listening to make their own interpretation. (But these ideas are there! We think, hidden somewhere in our very own language)

For us, the word “Zulik” stands for something very similar to a Nirvana, is a feeling of joy and personal satisfaction, a stage that can only be reached by overcoming any emotional adversity. Stepping up, earning personal growth and learning experience. Some times we just look back on our past and see how we’ve outgrown all our problems and fears. It is a good feeling that comes from within. Changing one self and evolving requires hard work, but when we get to that place “Zulik” you realize that without a beginning or an end, all in your life is worth it.

5. Where did the inspiration from this music come from? What artists influenced the work of Zulik? Would you say that there is anything here that came from another realm?

For us, the idea in making a conceptual album definitely came from our passion on listening music, especially with so many cool albums out there that do have an integrated concept within them. Is just a wishful intent on our behalf, trying to deliver that same “drive” that you can feel by listening to cool music… Oh but, better said than done, that’s for sure.

Listening closely to music is nice habit, regardless the musical genre, is always a joy and a deferent level of satisfaction if your attention is 100% focused on it.
I think there’s a hidden key in thousands of amazing legendary conceptual albums such as “The dark side of the moon”, (to mention the obvious). Somehow there’s always an amazing sonic world going on deep inside the music.

As far as influences go, we can deny our love to rock, a big share of it to progressive rock as well, but to be completely honest, it wasn’t our intent from the beginning to do it in those genres since original ideas were done by looking into emotive soundscapes. It was a happy accident that every step of the way things slowly took us to sound in all these mesh genres inclining to progressive rock; it always was more like defending the concept and its objectives before composing on a more musically oriented view, like a normal music band would.

I think there are very strong influences of each of our featured talent in their performances, but in the ending result there´s a fair share of Jeff Beck, Terry Bozzio, Daniel Lanois, Trent Reznor and even some Brian Eno just to mention some. Along many; David Bowie´s “Outside”, Allan Willder´s “Recoil” or Peter Gabriel´s “Up” had a great deal of influence on how things sound around the project too.

As it goes for the literary concept, photography and designed artwork, it’s a completely different story, influences came for just too many stuff, especially in the poetry part, but just like the music we got everything from scratch, slowly creating all its content including the typography used for Zulik Language.

Regardless any influence there might’ve been; As long as Zulik Project seeks out for this musical communication, and somehow, succeeds interacting with the listener, I think the magic will happen by its own.

Someone may or may not associate it with feelings but we really wish somehow to be part of their very own favorite music. The whole idea is to travel with it and it’s a nice liberty you can consent yourself. Also a liberty for us in making a studio project, by not being attached to any creative restriction, you let yourself add any alignment of instruments and sounds to a theme and you don’t have to worry about how the heck you’re going to sound it on stage or if it is out of context with an established band´s trajectory.

6. What do you believe in? How does that reflect in the music? I'm assuming that all of the members have different beliefs so that would collaborate into a project that sees itself as an amalgamate of all human ideas.

Even dough the project concept is inclined for a little soul searching, or maybe a soundtrack for the mind, we didn’t intend any of its contents to incline to any religion or personal faith believes. When creating the concept, we’ve got a chance to mesh our respective personal experiences, flash back to some old learning lessons of life, and we had a clear understanding that religion is always a sensible topic for anyone. So we preferred to leave religion out of the plate, but yes we did have to consider it at some point.

In the other hand, we think there is a nice common ground for everyone which embraces positive thinking, and useful ideas interacting with each other, after all, the project does intends to unlock feelings, and there’s a lot of people out there who likes to open themselves only through music.

During some recording sessions we had a lot of great chats about beliefs since all interpretations were worked through feelings and musical arguments, more than dealing with techniques and strict musical notation, all our attention was focused on capturing a real emotion, for example; recalling on what one felt at a time he got deceived and with that in mind, play the guitar tweaking interpretation one way or the other, or maybe could be of a time breaking on a relationship, or even pulling out some painful memories. Oh.. some parts were very very intense, especially recording Tk 3 “Tai Kut Sil” (Deception) and Tk 4 “Kilu Prai” (The price), since we had to bring in chaotic emotions such as anxiety, self destruction, aggressiveness, etc. In contrast, for other songs it was more of joy, optimistic and wishful thinking, visualizing nice warm places in our life, spiritual moments maybe with nature or walking in the great outdoors gazing at the stars, etc.

I think that in the ending result, musicians’ interpretations came out to be a nice blend of honest feelings regardless if they got to be coherent to a specific feeling or not, as long as a musical story gets communicated, then the artwork and literary content could give some guidelines on what’s going on.

7. When one listens to the music of Zulik, what do you expect to occur? What should be happening to them?

Ohh my! Well… what can I tell you; Zulik Project it’s a wild ride, that’s for sure!
As long as it helps the listener to linger in thought… who knows, maybe make some introspection or a little soul searching along the way that’ll be awesome. But at the end of the day maybe it’s all abut communicating positively through an artistic expression and it’s completely up to anyone’s interpretation. We really think that is up to the listener to give it its very own meaning to this project.
Funny to learn new things dough, once we putted Zulik Project out there for everyone to listen, it’s been our grate pleasure to receive great feedback and to be amazed of what people gathers from it, so many places that psyche can take you through music, at times, so unexpected things happen that music is the only key to make us get in the right state of mind. How sweet it is to provide that, we can’t ask for more. As long as we can deliver a “ticket to mind travel” through experiencing Zulik Project, I think we´re good.
…and if we do, please do let us know! ;)

contact@zulikproject.com

8. I likened the album to a joyously exciting drug trip of sorts, the very concrete statement that music can and does open heightened states of pleasure like the kind experienced during great satisfaction or the use of hypnotic substances. Was that your intention?

Yes, it was our intention straight on! The thing was that when we proposed that in the beginning, we really didn’t knew even where to start or if we were ever going to achieve that. As the project evolved, there was always this uncertainty of how the ending result was going to be, and in top of that, add up that we had to record all in a complete disorder, even the mixes were all scrambled having to imagine all the time how everything was going to stitch together.

In the end I think the resulting flow of the songs in a continuum was what turned out to be the real vessel to reach these states of mind. And we also learned that these sensations don’t translate as well when one just listens to a few separate tracks, that´s exactly the reason why we recommend it to be heard all in one piece.

9. Let's talk tech. What kind of instruments and programs were used in the creation of this art? There's some amazing guitar work on this one. What kind of guitars do you use? What kind of drums?

There was a great deal of geeky tech behind it all. Everything was processed and down mixed through analog gear. We did however recorded and edited in a digital format. At some point in Mastering we also printed straight to analog tape with a very cared technical process on every stage, so; for those quality lovers out there, we hope you like that result as well.

Working at Estudio 19 at Mexico City has been my privilege and joy, there’s just so many sweet microphones and gear there to create real sound, depth within sonic textures in every single instrument, this allowed me to use the entire studio as another creative instrument directly introducing a synergy roll in the music. So much fun!

The mastering was done with Michel Romanowski at San Francisco, CA. (also a very creative process as well), since I ended up with 18 final mixes there was a very complex puzzle of how to stitch everything together, Michel had to make it work as a whole program. There were a few tech issues to get by to make everything organically breathe and flow as each song passed by, loudness issues, odd times in crossfades, etc. (Hard to know now, in sound, that at some point some of those final mixes were done several months apart from each other). Tweaking sound was always very tricky, but that’s what made all the magic happen.

As for all the toys: there´s just so much gear involve that I could mention here, but we had somewhere around 12 vintage original guitars to record, no re-issues, ranging from Les Paul 64, Telecaster (with and without Hum Bukers), Stratocasters, Custom Shop, Les Paul 63, Gibson, Steinberg, etc.

Eight different guitar amps Fender, Mazerati Dr Z, Carvin, Marshall, Alamo, some things even went through a Pig Nose and a Gorilla Amp, not to mention all sorts of combinations with microphone setups, preamps at the studio such as the Neve´s 1073, 1272 and 3015/A models. A little army of stump boxes and Off board gear to play with. Reverbs and time processors at the studio such as Lexicon 480´s , Analog and digital EMTs, AKG Spring reverbs, Roland Tape Space Echo and Chorus units, etc.

Three different drum sets, DW Drums & 2 Yamahas custom lines, 7 different snare drums in different sizes, 4 different cymbal sets including 2 gongs, some 28+ tracks in microphone drum settings, using mainly Neuman, AKG and AEA microphones using Neves, TLA, Studer and GML preamps.

We had a great deal of experimentation and tons of fun. There was one particular session that we really got insane experimenting with guitar sounds, immerse in it so much, sounding so much awesome stuff, but sadly with absolutely nowhere to be used along the project. We learned that too much variables can open a very dangerous Pandora ’s Box for creativity, you can get lost very easily on your recording objectives and lose track of time.

10. Some say that we are beginning the Age Of Aquarius. Not the hippie movement of the 70's, but the actual 100% Age Of Aquarius. It doesn't seem so off base to tell you the truth, since more people seem to be getting in touch with their consciousness and are relying less on religions for advice. It seems like an age of metaphysics and self-awareness, but also an age of great turmoil at the same time. What are your views on this?

Even dough the project had its great deal of time in the making, for some reason we did wanted to release it no later than 2012. Mayan prophesy was no concern, but just in case, we didn´t wanted the world to end without Zulik in it. (Ha ha ha ha).

But yes, I think one way or the other, all this positive vibe around 2012 does have a change in consciousness in the world and it´s now a good time to have around a proposal like Zuik and may others like it. In a very subtle way, everyone here that was involved in the project feels that Zulik has a better chance to be heard now a day, than it would’ve done just a few years back.

Either way, it did helped us to have a dead-line or else we could´ve still be on and on still producing till today.

11. Will there be any more material from this project in the future, or is this it? Do you feel that you've finally set in stone that which you've wanted to create for years now?

At the moment we’re creating visual content for the project and hopefully will have it done very soon, it’s all aimed to present it as an art installation and also some stuff of it through interactions in a more complex website than the one we have now. Also, we’re looking forward for new and exiting collaborations with other artists and creators out there, who wish to develop derivative work out from Zulik.

As long as the Project still keeps us pushing foreword, we’ll keep it ongoing to all its ramifications.

Since Zulik is an Arts Collective, we also hope this is one of many new projects to come. After all we are all joined by the same passions and we like to create stuff all the time, either for work or just for fun, so if we proceed in a new venture, the only thing we have to make sure, is that we don´t take another 9 years in making it this time. Ha ha ha.

12. Apparently, you're offering this material for free to the masses? That really is a bold statement. You've worked on this material for many years, just so that you could freely share it with the entire world. What are your thoughts about this? What do you think about file sharing? Should musicians want to share their music with others simply for the joy of sharing it?

Since this is a studio project, it’s all a little deferent as it would for a formal band. We are more into sharing our project, maybe because we aim into communicating our proposal through the concept. We look at it more like a useful musical tool to have in your music collection. We don´t expect to be the top ten most wanted, neither the “must have” on a playlist. But, just like a good wine, we would like to be that special album that gets played in a special moment or in its own right time. Somehow, the best music always gets hand out to you by your best friends, so sharing Zulik lets this vibe ongoing by its own.

On the legal side;
We’re sharing Zulik Project under Creative Commons License:
Attribution-Non commercial – Sharealike CC BY-NC-SA

This license allows us to nurture this creative environment of artistic collaborations with others. Also allows anyone out there to make derivative work using it freely as long as they do give proper credit and in the eventuality that anyone does get to make some money out of his work and we´re featured on it, then with the right legal agreement, we can all win money through royalties, opportunities that this joint collaborations might bring and so on and so forth.

Now a days “Free” is a very complex word; something is worth nothing until you create a value for it. (Regardless of it cost). So we strongly think in the real value of just creating art. The value of honest creation through ideas and artistic collaborations witch in time, if they are really worth Dee, they’ll just bounce back on its own in a form of work, money, opportunities, new collaborations or maybe through complex retributions like endorsements that can allow us to keep on creating.

Producing music is very expensive, visual artwork even more, but when you set your mind in a project and you believe in it and its value, somehow things just flow and carry a cool vive on them. Retribution always comes back! So investing on them is always worth it.

Of Course, a little help from our friends is always very welcome, even dough Zulik Project is available online; we also have it on sale in digital stores for anyone who wishes to help out for the cause. And we are always on the look out for any opportunity that lets us keep pushing this project foreword. (Like you mention earlier, maybe being in a video game or a movie soundtrack, could be awesome).

As for my opinion in other musicians out there releasing new material and sharing it:
I think each case is different, but as long as you are playing gigs and money income can flow from other sources, you definitely have to share some of your music. Digital media is now all about file sharing and networking, so as long as the content is good, there will be a word of mouth and we´ve learned that the rest slowly follows by its own.

13. What are the symbols on the front and back of the album artwork? What do they mean? Who created them?

The front Symbol is designed by us, and it is the Zulik´s Logo. It is made out of a mesh of an infinity symbol at the top, a letter “K”, then the letter “L”, the letter “Z” in script writing and implying the dot for the “i”

We start the booklet with this symbol as an opening prologue for Tk 1- Nesfa Rah (Night fall.) The journey begins.

At the end of the booklet we close the project with the “PHI” symbol (Greek alphabet). Its illustrated with our own typography used for the Zulik Language.

PHI is an important math number for fractals and Fibonacci numbers (φ =1.618033…) we use it as a metaphor as a key symbol to unlock how real life makes his recurrent cycles, they behave more like a constant ongoing fractal even dough there’s an apparent beginning and end, they keep on going to infinity. Tk 15 Nesfá Rithu (Dawn)

-If you have the “repeat album playback option” in ON, it’ll loop musically and a new cycle starts again, and again just like life does.

By the way, we use the image of a moth on several places as a metaphor on how, just like moths, we are always looking on the search of light; sometimes chasing the moon, and some others falling for illusions like a light bulb, either we fall or keep going, life is a trip.

All art design is original and just like the music; it contains a lot of cool stuff as well.

14. Finally, if you were able to look ahead ten or twenty years in the future; what is it that you think you would see? What is it that you would like to see?

Reaching people through music is a very strong feeling. Of course it would be a sweet dream to foresee lots cool projects that far in the future and sill have them ongoing, each time making one even better than the one before. But then again; if we could just reach a few people by this single project, for us it’s all worth the wile. And who knows, time will tell how far this gets.

So for now, if anyone is up for trying it out… step inside the Zulik Project!

Thank you for making such intriguing music and I hope that your vision receives plenty of respect throughout the world.

Thank you Eric! Were so grateful for lending us some space at The Grim Tower, and helping us share this project with your audience, we hope everyone finds it this project interesting and enjoys listening to it. If you haven't heard the ZuLiK project yet, then you can go and check it out here:All the Zulik Project is online at:

http://www.zulikproject.com/

(Also check us out on Facebook, Sound Cloud, iTunes, Amazon, Youtube, Twitter, Grooveshark, last.fm, etc)

Also, please send us some feedback! We really appreciate it!

contact@zulikproject.com

THE REVIEW 

Zulik - Zulik Project (2012 Band Request) - The Zulik project consists of an amalgamation of musicians that have come together to make music that triggers a state of emotional catharsis; music that makes you let go of all your feelings and drift off into the stars. It is heavily recommended that this album be listened to with a set of headphones or earbuds, and at night or in a darkened room. This is the kind of music that one could close their eyes and meditate to in some instances. The band recommends that you give yourself some time and space to listen to the album from beginning to end and I stand by that recommendation. It is not a metal album, obviously consisting of a variety of instruments and styles in an effort to make an experience that is truly electrifying. Parts of the album consist of some awesome guitar work, while others take more electronic and even tribal approaches. Every track on this disc is different and every track is meant to be one part of the big picture that it Zulik. The disc is close to an hour, but it is certainly an hour that you won't forget if you're in the mood to really travel. The disc says 2005-2011, which means that this is five years of work in all honesty and it's definitely recommended for everyone. I don't care what kind of music you listen to, whether it's rock, electronica, jazz, atmospheres, even pop - you can find something to like here. The whole idea of this project was to create amazing atmospheres and they've done it. This isn't just an album I could listen to once; it's an album that I could listen to many times because it's got so much different material to offer. I also recommend that fans of electronic video game soundtracks check this one out, because I definitely heard some music that reminds me of some of the work done on the Xenosaga titles, which contain some awesome electronic and atmospheric pieces if you haven't heard them. Zulik transcends you, it transcends me - it transcends the boundaries that we put on music as a society... if you believe that the concept of God is the connection of everything in existence; then we could certainly classify this album as the voice of God ourselves - Deus Inceptus to Deus Exitus.

But to be as blunt as is acceptable in reviews: It's really fucking good.

Highlights: All. Nefsa Rah - Nesfa Rithu (15 Tracks, 51:00)

10/10

Week 72 (February 5th, 2013)

NADER SADEK
Living Flesh
Independent

Nader Sadek is an amazing supergroup of musicians, consisting of Flo Mounier of Cryptopsy; Rune Eriksen of Aura Noir, Ava Inferi, and formerly of Mayhem; Novy, formerly of Behemoth and Vader; and Steve Tucker, formerly of Morbid Angel. They put out one record, "In The Flesh" which took the metal world by storm and had many singing it's praises - me included. But I think what the fans really wanted this time around was a new disc of material and for some odd reason they seemed to be upset (at least from the facebook comments) by a live CD/DVD package, which makes me think that some people are just plain fucking ungrateful. Many of us probably couldn't attend that show anyway; so the least that they could do is to make it available to everyone with the DVD and CD format which are included in this package as they have done here. On this live album, the original lineup for the album has been reassembled for one live night of chaos, including Steven Tucker in his first and last live appearance. Sean Frey also guests as live guitar with Carmen Simoes on backing vocals which would explain the female ritual chants. The disc itself is uncompromisingly brutal with tracks like "Sulffer" and "Soulless" sounding even better than they ever have. The vocals are ferocious, feral even - with the guitar melodies and solos shining through each and every moment of the thick black fog that surrounds this beast. The progressive moments of the original have also been captured by this performance, leaving everything the experience to sound like a well-oiled machine with every instrument discernible and as far as I can tell, there are no live slip-ups. That's pretty damned good considering the intricacy of this material. Though the performance is short, it's an incredible one that you'll wind up re-watching or re-listening to over and over again just to hear some of metal's very best performing the almost inhuman calculations that comprise such striking and uncompromisational art as has been recorded here. Consider Flo Mounier's captivating drum solo to be just the icing on this extreme metal cake. If you buy one metal DVD a year, this performance is worth every penny and then some. (Eric May)

(10/10)



SEPTIC FLESH
Mystic Places Of Dawn (Remastered)
Season Of Mist

This remaster of SEPTIC FLESH'S Mystic Places Of Dawn debut album shows us that the technology of this modern age is certainly capable of wonders, as the disc sounds like it has been given new life - the already remarkable melodies on the album are much clearer, the drums can be heard in their full glory and the demonic growls from the band's frontman "Spiros "Seth" Antoniou, are just as audible as they would have been if this album had just been released. But even though this release has aged over twenty years, the unique style of death metal featured on this album has certainly aged well. The opener "Mystic Places Of Dawn" is still as wonderous and brutal as it always was, "Crescent Moon" is still just as epic, "The Underwater Garden" will still leave one breathless; and the almost blackened assault of "Behind The Iron Mask" is still able to showcase what the band would later become with Communion. Even the atmospheric majesty of "Morpheus (The Dreamlord)" and the original closer "Mythos" leave one fully satisfied in an orgasmic sort of fashion. This is definitely one of the most unique and impressive death metal releases of the human age and it was well worth it to bring it back to the masses; some of those who've never gotten the chance - I daresay privilege; to hear it before. Sandwiched on at the end of the album is a remastering of the band's EP Temple Of The Lost Race as an added bonus. Though I'm not sure if this the original, or the re-recorded version that accompanied A Fallen Temple in 1998. These extra tracks showcase the band in it's infancy, much more aligned with the forces of traditional death metal; but still daring to experiment while shredding the living hell out of their guitars. If you'll take one trip back into the annals of heavy metal history this year, Mystic Places Of Dawn is a journey that fully reaps it's rewards. It's pure mesmerization from start to finish.

E. May

(10/10 and I'd give it higher if I could!)



CENTURIAN
Contra Rationem
Listenable Records

Arisen from the “dead but dreaming” slumber that encompasses our almighty dread lord Cthulhu; CENTURIAN has awoken to destroy all that stands in it’s way with a wrathful vengeance unlike any the human race has experienced in several years. Rob Oorthuis formerly of NOX, put that project on ice back in 2010, where new creative energy could be put forth into the impressive monolith known as Contra Rationem. The result is nothing less of spectacular, creating some of the most bludgeoning and complex material that I’ve heard in recent memory. It doesn’t matter if the song is a little over two minutes “Judas Among Twelve” or reaches the heights of five with “Feast Of The Cross” this band is fully primed and ready to bash you over the head with a kit that never stops in it’s assault, guitars that are scathing with the agony and fury of hatred for man’s religion, ravenous vocal tones that sound like they’re coming from a full legion of demonic hordes and an overall atmosphere that reminds us greatly of early MORBID ANGEL, DEICIDE, KATAKLYSM, KRISIUN, UNLEASHED, DIVINE EMPIRE, and even THE MONOLITH DEATHCULT. This album is filled to the brim with sheer bubbling hatred and ill will towards all living things, making it an unstoppable force of negativity that will warrant constant plays. It doesn’t get much more venomous than this. Definitely one of the best death metal releases of this year, hands down. I urge you to pick this one up. (Eric May)

10/10



Coldsteel - America Idle (PR2013) - COLDSTEEL originally formed in 1986, during the movement of modern thrash, but had a bevy of problems in subsequent years, only being able to release a two demos in the form of “Dead By Dawn” and “Perfect Peace” and full album, “Freakboy” in 1992. The band disbanded in 1993 and has reformed almost two decades later to record a short EP consisting of five tracks which showcase the simple fact that after all of these years, these guys have still got it. Opener “America Idle” is an extremely catchy number with a sing along chorus that reminds of the The Glorious Burden era of ICED EARTH. “Ashes To Ashes” reminds me more of classic thrash in the vein of mid-era ANTHRAX replete with flying guitar solo. But “Blink Of An Eye” and “Blood Secrets” don’t hit as hard, with the former sounding like a nu-metal track and the latter sounding like a confused mix between hardcore and classic era ANTHRAX. However, the album does end on a good note with “You Lose” a powerful reminder that this band does still have some merit and hopefully will have better luck in the years to follow than they’ve had in the past. Certainly worth checking out for fans of both classic thrash (especially ANTHRAX) and hardcore. (Eric May)

6/10



Yayla - Nihaihayat (PR2013) - Yayla is an atmospheric blackened death metal project by Emir Togrul and is a completely handmade ordeal. All of the music featured here was completely composed by Emir as well as the artwork and all other materials. As for the music, it is a low-fi sort of blackened metal that should appeal to most fans of kvlt nature; but offers much more than the bare essentials. Emir’s vocal tone is certainly demonic sounding, reminding me of a fog that seeps into the walls while the sounds of some unknown ritual could most certainly be occurring in the background. Little is known about just what Emir is doing, and as far as I know “Through The Sigil Of Hate 12:55” might actually be a real connection with entities from beyond our realm of thinking with intentions unknown. The occult breathes through this release, it is definitely full of unrecognizable energy with black metal atmospheres that are for the most part, truly appealing. The tracks are quite lengthy and I’m under the impression that they had to be, because the rituals that encompass them more than likely took that long to reach their completion. I’m almost expecting a tall gentleman in a top hat to appear behind me and offer a small contract for my soul. At any rate, there is a certain art here that one can easily discern and will miss if they are just taking this as pure occult laden material (which it probably is.) I would certainly like this to Burzum’s Filosofem as it reminds me greatly of the same vibe but on a slightly different and more demonic, less Odinic level; which is probably what some of you are looking for. The album begins with an almost beautiful intro called “Integumental Grasp” and ends with a sullen closer called “In Senility 5:07” which seems to be the chilling end to the tale that is weaved on this album. In truth, I really wish that I knew what “Through The Sigil Of Hate, Immortalizing The Nine, and Disguises Of Evil” were about, but only Emir would know that. At any rate, I’d certainly recommend this as the polar opposite to Filosofem as it’s much more demonic but certainly reminds me of Varg’s work, especially on “Disguises Of Evil 15:08.”

But who I am to say that it’s demonic? It only seems that way. Whatever the case, it’s a work of art that comes handmade and hand-packaged. So if you purchase a copy of this, know that the hands who made it physically mailed it off to you. It’s a truly independent work from the artist to you, regardless if you understood the vision. This strengthens the bond between musician and fan that popular music labels will never understand. If you bought a CD of Metallica or the Rolling Stones today, what is the chance that the album would’ve been physically produced by them along with their signatures or a note of thanks in their own handwriting?

You already know the answer to that question. This is the polar opposite where that statement is true. Not only will you get powerful atmospheres, but it’s all coming straight from the artist. Doesn’t get much better than that.

Highlights: All (Intended to be one piece) (5 tracks, 51:00)

8/10



Mothership - Mothership (PR2013) - Before you think about putting this album in, I want you to do something for me. The first thing I want you to do, is to go down to the tobacco store and get some wrapping papers. Plenty of them. Next, I want to you to go find your buddy; you know which one - and start rolling some joints with those wrapping papers that you bought. Damn. You should’ve gotten some beer too, but you’ll probably be too high to drive (eh, like there’s a such thing) and it’s not going to be worth getting a ticket. So at any rate, just put in the disc and begin your journey... yes, your journey that begins while you toke and listen to the cosmic sounds of the Sabbath influenced “Hallucination 5:16” that continues on (through antics that modern bands like The Sword capitalize on) with “Cosmic Rain.” I guarantee that while you’re reaching the very heights of cloud fucking nine; you’ll appreciate this album a whole hell of a lot more. Though I may not know much about bands like UFO, Orange Goblin and Blue Cheer (who I just heard about yesterday - apparently those guys were so fucking loud that a dog wandered onto the stage and died during one of their shows) I do know that I was jamming around the whole time I was opening up boxes to this shit (which composes the majority of my meager day job if anyone cares) and I I think I could just put this one on and start jamming out no matter what fucking time of day it was.

Damn. I’m hearing shit that reminds me of old rock, fucking Hendrix style solos and apparently other bands I need to check out from the days of old. I guess I’ll say that if it wasn’t for Guitar Hero I wouldn’t know who a lot of these earlier bands were and that the old shit that your parents listened to is actually good shit - it’s a hell of a lot better than the shit they play now. I bet these guys are as good live as they are on this album and that’s saying something. I’ll just quote the PR info on this one and say that Ripple Music considers these guys essential for fans of UFO, Orange Goblin, Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath, Grifter, Rory Gallagher, Foghat and Stone Axe. Of course, I’m also hearing The Sword, but that’s because those guys play very close to the same style of metal that these guys also excel in. It’s definitely stoner metal, and it’s from Dallas where they know a thing or two about getting stoned. Shit, these guys were probably high when they made it. But so was Carl Sagan - don’t tell your parents that.

Obviously, this review is as unprofessional as possible - but that’s because it’s hard as hell to compare these guys to any of their influences because I haven’t heard them, but I’ve got the strange urge to check them out now. One last thing I’ll say about this album is that you absolutely have to check out the closer, “Lunar Master 8:23” as that is the sound of the universe in orgasm. Some absolutely fantastic things going on with this one and I’d certainly recommend it to ALL fans of classic/psychedelic rock/metal. But I really don’t hear the ACDC influences that everyone else is talking about. As far as I’m concerned, Mothership is one of the best stoner/classic/70’s inspired metal releases I’ve heard this year and I’d happily smoke to it. If I had any weed, that is.

This comes out two days before V-Day, so it’ll make a good gift... for your dealer.

Highlights: All - Esp. Hallucination and Lunar Master (8 Tracks 46:00)

9/10

Sacred Steel - The Bloodshed Summoning (PR2013) - The new album from German power/thrashers Sacred Steel is by far one of my personal favorite classic metal releases this year. It reminds me of Destruction at their peak era, with fierce German vocals that open up into clean singing portions. But it also includes some harsher death metal vocal influence which works perfectly well with the rest of the album. Not only does this album thrash, but there are some worthwhile melodies and instances of slight prog that help to further sweeten the deal. Not since the days of classic Iced Earth has a band ever interested me as much as these guys have. While doing something as completely non-metal as cleaning the kitchen, these guys made the task much more enjoyable. "Storm Of Fire 1913" is a great opener to the disc and the band thinks so too, so they're giving it to you for free to check out. Trust me, it's a good appetizer to the main course that you're sure to love.

To be brutally honest, it doesn't matter whether it's the catchy "No God/No Religion" the epic "The Bloodshed Summoning" or the even more fucking epic "Journey Into Purgatory " these guys succeed in each and every way shape and form. Let's not forget about the short "Under The Banner Of Blasphemy" which still proves it's point despite the length, and "Black Towers" which make me think of both Iron Maiden and Conan. As in Conan is riding his horse and he's got his mp3 player/i-pod device on with a small pair of earbuds underneath his mighty helmet (because he's fucking Conan, so everything is mighty) and he sees these coal-black towers arise from seemingly out of nowhere. But then there's this awesome part where he pulls out his guitar (because Conan can totally play guitar, and probably much better than you) and battles the lord of the towers until he falls to his death. Yeah, it's that kind of thing.

The band really sounds like they're ready to take on anything with this album (is that a cowbell I hear?) and the wonderful thing about it, is that they seem to conquer each and every track on this one, even the Misfits cover which is a bonus. Some of the songs are more doom-laden "Crypts Of The Fallen" (but there's some prog solo stuff going on there too, because it just fucking works) and some are just plain out bashers like "Darkness Of Angels." But it's all preformed as efficiently as possible. When I saw how many tracks were on this disc, I began to expect filler but found none. This is literally a reviewer's dream "All killer, no filler" situation and I loved every damned minute of it. The sheer fact that there's a three part epic on the disc which begins with "Join The Congregation" goes into "Journey Into Purgatory" and culminates with "Doomed To Eternal Hell" is truly the best part of this experience, with plenty to offer to fans of power/thrash and I'll probably be playing the hell out of it for weeks.

Bonus Tracks

Perversion Of The Scriptures - This one is a great song, it sounds in the vein of most of the material here and is just as good as all the rest. No idea why it was omitted.

Unbinding The Chains - Anyone who doesn't have this death metal influenced thrasher on their disc should be severely upset and I'm curious as to why this one got taken off of the original. It's one of the best songs on this disc and should have been considered for the original album. Not only that, it's got a nice atmospheric piece and a great solo. Who's idea was it to junk this one?

Dig Up Her Bones (Misfits Cover) - Though I've never heard the original and can't compare, I certainly like the version that these guys present. It's definitely punk and sort of carries the same vocal tone and style that I'd expect from the Misfits. Probably not everyone's bag, but worth checking out.

Highlights: All (Not a bad one here, really.) (15 Tracks, 61:00)

10/10



Juggernaught - Bring The Meat Back (PR2013) - Juggernaught are South Africa's version of Clutch alright, but they're so much more. These guys bring what they've dubbed "Man-Rock" with a definite does of blues rock and some metal moments too. While it's definitely not the kind of black or death metal that I usually get, I openly welcome stuff like this as I'm a big fan of blues rock and classic rock that comes along with living in the quiet country all these years. It's definitely music that you can sit back and relax to, but it's got some messages strewn about that you'll catch on to like "Beef Or Chicken 3:44" which is about the group's confusion on modern religion, and "One Of Them Days 4:50" which might sound like the happiest and campiest country influenced rock track you've heard all year, but it's got a worthwhile message about the "elite" that you might not expect. One of the lyrics in particular caught me "So tell me Mr. Banker, just what do I have to do? Do I have to learn your secret handshake or dance just like a fool for you?" Obviously, there are plenty of people who are doing just that.

But that's what these guys do. They make some good points, but in a manner that people will be able to chew a little easier. I think the closer "Paint It Brown 3:27" sums the whole thing up pretty well as far as the lyrics go and I'd pay attention to them. But let me tell you something, this is music with a message that you can play in your truck with a hunch of buddies and they're gonna enjoy every damned minute of it, because these guys can play, whether they're trying to be funny with the extremely catchy "Booty Call 2:57" and the title track "Bring The Meat Back 5:11" or serious as I've already described. As far as production value goes, this thing is a juggernaut in all respects sounding full of force and fire and it's just as dirty as you'd want it to sound. The beer soaked vocals of Herman Le Roux help the package to go down just as smooth; and I don't think they could've found a better frontman. This band has played 300 shows since their inception 4 years ago and that's quite a lot. They promise to play anywhere and everywhere they can. If somebody's having a barbeque, they'll be there. But only if you live in South Africa. For now, anyway. I think these guys would be more than welcome here in the southern US and well received too.

If you're looking for something meaty, then I'll definitely tell you that these guys sure as hell brought the meat back. Be careful playing this around women though, as I've heard some stories that it has the amazing ability to make clothes disappear...

Highlights: Bad Idea, Train, Beef Or Chicken, Back Door Woman, Booty Call, Bring The Meat Back, One Of Them Days, Paint It Brown (11 Tracks, 42:00)

8/10



Ruins - Place Of No Pity (PR2013) - I'm going to start this review out by saying thanks to Listenable for getting these guys out to the international masses. I'm not sure about their other material, but when I hear who's actually in the fucking band, I now know why it sounds so fucking great. Alex Pope is the guitarist/vocalist of the band, formerly of the post/punk noise rockers Sea Scouts and you can hear that punk energy in his vocals. Dave Haley who also drums in tech-deathers Psycroptic plays in fucking Pestilence and Blood Duster also does the skins for this band. Not only that, but both of these guys have recorded and performed with The Amenta and various other bands and projects over the last decade with my promo sheet is vague about, but I'm sure that a quick name search in Metal Archives will give you a list of damn near all of those.

So go ahead and check. I'll wait.

Now that we know who's in the band, let's talk about how it sounds. The promo information says that fans of Satyricon, Triptykon and Celtic Frost would enjoy this band, but I've never been a big fan of Triptykon and still get shit for it. Yes, I know that it's Tom G. Warrior, I just thought that some of it was repetitive. Damn it, fucking crucify me already! Maybe they'll come out with something I dig this year. Who knows. The EP was decent. At any rate, I'm gonna throw in one of the bands that these guys also toured with in Australia: Goatwhore. Yes, I'm definitely hearing Goatwhore influence on this one and not near as much influence from Satyricon as they claim. Fuck, I even hear some death metal portions on "Death Lends The Ultimate Touch 8:37" one of my personal favorite tracks. But these guys can balance out atmospheres and brutality together which makes them really gel for me along with the stern wrath that Alex puts into his vocal work. There are also some incredible leads on this one that creep up where you least expect. It's an album that doesn't necessarily show the entirety of it's cellular makeup in the very beginning, rather it reveals itself with each layer. There's definite black metal and definite punk influence and definite atmosphere. But the way in which those processes are revealed is highly structured and seeps in through time. Oddly enough, this is black metal that might appeal to fans of very technical metal bands like the one that Dave is also drumming for (Psycroptic) in all regards.

Some might feel that the album drags on a bit too much however and latter songs like "Let Them Perish 6:23" and "Oath 6:29" are a bit more than we need. After the album has fully revealed it's makeup, we find that there is little left to showcase and it would seem that the band begins to lose steam. Definitely worth checking out, but there's just something about it that gets overbearing after awhile. Perhaps that's the same problem I had with Triptikon though, so you can once again crucify me for it.

Highlights: Inhabit The Twilight, A Lesson In Ruthlessness, Death Lends The Ultimate Touch, Place Of No Pity, Merciless(9 Tracks, 58:00)

7/10



Okular - Sexforce (PR2013) - Okular is a Norwegian technical death metal band that Oystein G. Brun of Borknagar parallels to his own band. According to one reviewer in Scream magazine, it measures up to acts like Gojira and Obscura - which would certainly be right. From the very start of "House Full Of Colors 4:11" see the four piece experimenting with the same sort of atmospheres that one might expect from Borknagar but in a completely other realm. Andreas Aubert's death metal growls and grunts comprise most of the album's vocal nature, as he fiddles away on all sorts of odd compositions that he's made in Guitar Pro (which reminds me of another musician I know who's a real good friend of mine) which will most certainly dazzle even the most dedicated listener of technical death metal. The disc thrashes in some areas, deviates between heavy and clean vocals in others, plays around with a piano and even features Vintersorg on "The Greatest Offender 6:11" one of the album's standout tracks.

There's a few tracks on this one that I don't care for though, and that's the title track "Sexforce" which I consider to be some kind of a joke in terms of vocal play and "The King Of Life 2:41" which is supposed to be some sort of aggressive acoustic thing that doesn't work well for me at all. Maybe death/black metal never was meant to be played with acoustic guitars after all? At any rate, this one's certainly one of the big tech death releases of the year and I'm certain that more than just a few people will be checking it out (but even more downloading, as you just can't prevent that anymore) but in any case, let's just hope that the band gets further recognition for these interesting and unique attempt to an already oversaturated genre such as technical death metal. I think they've definitely got the same amount of skill that bands like Obscura and Gojira have for sure and should make high marks regardless.

Now go check it out, won't you? I'm sure you don't need me to tell you to, but it's definitely one that will be noteworthy this year. I also think that some of the things I personally didn't like (like the acoustic death metal track) will be highly regarded as "awesome and unheard of" by the fans. Hopefully they're right and I'm wrong. These guys put a lot of time and energy into this record, so I hope that the effort doesn't go unaccounted for and passed over by a bigger name act. While not the best tech-death album I've ever heard, it's not the worst; and the experimenting most certainly helps this band's art to be recognized ten-fold.

Highlights: House Full Of Colors, The Greatest Offender, Ride The Waves Of Emotion, Rest In Chaos, Exposing The Good Citizens, Feast Upon The Illusory, Birth Through Loss, Educated For Enslavement (13 Tracks, 60:00)

7/10



Gruesome Stuff Relish - Sempiternal Death Grind (PR2013) - At first glance, I expected these guys to be some sort of gore-grind act and was proven wrong in an instant. As a matter of fact, these guys have more in common with bands like Demonical and Revolting, then bands like the late great Anal Cunt. Sound clip intros and effect-laden Swedish death metal grooves in the most traditional sense accompany a just as traditional (but still vicious) drumming approach coupled with vocals that literally sound like they're coming from the odd experiment of a beast made from relish. Yes, relish. Like the kind you buy at the store. If you were able to give a jar of relish the microphone, it would most likely sound as such. If I went to see these guys live, I'd almost expect to see the guitarist, drummer and bassist walk onto the stage; but all of a sudden there's this guy that pushes a large stool out and sits an economy sized bottle of relish on top of it. As soon as the band started to play, some unholy relish monster grabs the mic and just belts out tunes that just sound well, like gore lyrics sung by a jar of relish. Gruesome stuff and relish.

But in all honesty, these guys and their jar of relish are fucking great. I usually don't care for his kind of metal at all, but there's something about the slimy vocals that just put a bright smile on my face. Apparently the band incorporates a lot of early Carcass worship. Unfortunately, I'm not very familiar with early Carcass despite their Heartwork album being one of my personal favorite metal discs of all time (as it well fucking should be) and will now be checking out the early material to hear some of the original greatness that spawned this greatness.

These songs aren't long, but they sure kick ass and go great with almost any occasion. One of the tracks I'm going to mention first off is "SOS 3:26" which sounds so fucking creepy that a tear almost rolled down my cheek. I like things to sound as eerily demented as possible and this track captured that. Of course, I could talk about many of the other tracks on here like "Gruesome Stuff Relish 3:26" the band's namesake song which certainly lives up to it's title.

The band does play some worthwhile melodies which echo in the same uneasy greatness as horror/death bands like Revolting, and many of you are already aware that I'm a bit biased and like shit that sounds evil and foreboding... but if you're listening to fucking death metal, are you really listening to it for the fucking pianos and the female vocals? Nope. You're listening to it because it sounds eerie, depraved, fierce and demented. The music is extreme because the films that inspire it are also eerie, depraved, fierce and demented. Gruesome Stuff Relish literally sounds like the soundtrack to a horror film, sung by the fucking monster.

If there's anyone out there who wants to hear what Jason Voorhees or a monstrous jar of demon relish might actually sound like when given a microphone and put into a death metal band, well this is your chance. If you're a fan of gore and groove, then there is no possible fucking way in hell that you can go wrong with this one. It's catchy, it's based in the traditional routes of Swedish death metal and it's got some of the most unique vocals I've ever heard. Why sound like a dying pig, when you can really sound like something that came out of the abyss? Essential.

By the way, "sempiternal" means never-ending. So it's never-ending death grind. Which it can be, if you leave it on repeat.

Highlights: Everything on this disc is worth checking out; but I really like SOS, Gruesome Stuff Relish, Sex, Drugs and Grind and more. (10 Tracks 37:00)

9/10



Overtorture - At The End The Dead Await (PR2013) - Unfortunately, I don't have much information about these death metallers, suffice it to say that the album is a truly well crafted process. Quite obviously, it's death metal; but it's been done right. This five-piece makes groove-laden and catchy death metal that isn't afraid to toy around with technicality or change structures. One couldn't call it traditional, as it's got a more modern approach; but I'm definitely okay with that and the sheer ability of these guys to play their instruments is astounding. The guitarists (I'm assuming that there are two because there are five guys in the band and I'm not hearing any keyboards) definitely seem to feed off each others energy and help to put the meat into the riffs when needed, along with the well-oiled approach to drumming that really seems to keep these songs going and keep them going. The fact that these tracks are anything but one dimensional keeps them fresh in my mind, but they aren't so over the goddamned top with technicality that you can't even tell it's death metal anymore. You're going to hear Grave, Unleashed, At The Gates and the usual lot of death metal influences; but you're also going to hear some influence from bands like Decapitated, Obscura and the gamut of tech-death that 99.9% of metal fans are more than familiar with.

But the mix of horror-themed death ant slight technicality makes a great mix, as well as the frontman's growls which seem more than stable for the act. Again, the fact that these songs have so much fucking structure and uniqueness makes them interesting and well worth listening to, even more so than other bands who use over-bloated technicality to prove their points. No offense, but I don't want hear how many weird and unnatural things you can do with your guitars; I just want you to be able to play proper death metal and not be afraid to experiment while still keeping that sound. Not only is Overtorture catchy, with strong hooks and grooves; but they're able to keep things interesting. It doesn't matter what track on this record you listen to, there's always a unique approach to what might sound by other bands as too traditional or way to over the fucking top. Not that I don't mind traditional death metal, but when you change song structure as much as these guys do in one song and don't manage to lose the nature of the original track, then you've got something going.

Let's also talk about the solos on this one. Yes, there are real ripping guitar solos in addition to the already wonderful structural nature of the act. These solos sound exactly like you should expect them to sound and they work in the context of the music. What we've got here is a band with major potential to knock down some of death metal's major contenders, and if you're not hearing it - no offense to other reviewers out there checking out the grim tower; but you're deaf. When I first got this record, I wasn't really sure what to expect. It looked like it would be a basic death metal album, until I pushed the play button. After that, I suddenly realized how great it would be to listen to this album not just once, but several times; and to tell others how great of a fucking album this is.

Yes, I know that Obscura is coming out with a new album this year. Yes, that's all well and good and their production will be better. Yes, I really liked the band's last album too. But I don't think they're going to be able to top something like this that keeps things not only technical but true to the nature of death metal. I guess because they sing about shit like the universe and such; and these guys sing about horror and death, so I'll probably never get true grim death metal from those guys. At any rate, at least I know that I can get some technicality with the sullen grimness that made bands like Hypocrisy so great. And even though I've heard "End Of Disclosure" from that one and it's anti NWO with a strong chorus; I still think that these guys can challenge them with this album.

Seriously, give Overtorture a chance. These Swedes not only make great death metal, they redefine it. Worth more than one spin and there's no filler to be had. One of my favorite death metal discs this year, certainly.

Highlights: Check it all out, but I like The Outer Limits, Targets, The Coming Doom, At The End, The Dead Await (10 Tracks, 41:00)

10/10



Pathogen - Miscreants Of Bloodlusting Aberrations (PR2013) - These Philippines death metallers have everything it takes to make classic death metal that sounds like every death metal band you've ever heard, but to be brutally honest and I have to be; even though I respect that bands like this do put hard work into their music, it's just not that interesting. It's not bad metal, it's just not anything really that new or different. These guys have released a lot of material and this seems like just another death metal record. It's a little raw with a drum assault, a growl vocal and traditional melodies backed with screaming guitar solos, where the band excels. But to be brutally honest, there's nothing here that I would recommend, other than to someone who has never really heard any death metal in their life. Pathogen does do a good job with the music, despite a few slip ups, (what happened at the end of "Atrocity Exhibit 4:40" guys? It sounds like all the melodies went south for some reason.)

But I'll admit that the latter tracks on the album are actually pretty interesting like "Leviathan 6:01" which has some grim melodies that I seem to like as well as the intro and outro piece. There's also a Sacrifice cover of "Afterlife 4:45" which I think the band does a good job with. Finally, the melodies at the end of "Uranium Messiah 6:38" are also done quite well (and remind me a bit of Maiden in all honesty.)

I just think that the majority of metalheads have heard all of this before. But I am certain that there are fans who will appreciate this band's raw approach to death metal and I will assure you that this has not changed. It was just very basic for me is all and I cannot recommend it. But if you like your death metal to sound very archaic in nature with screaming guitar solos, maybe you will find something in Pathogen. Best of luck on future albums, guys.

Highlights: Leviathan, Afterlife (Sacrifice Cover) Uranium Messiah (8 Tracks, 39:00)

5/10



Rotting Christ - Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy (PR 2013) - Rotting Christ's new disc sees the band continuing the evolution made from the ritualistic Theogonia and AEALO albums, further metamorphosing the band's sound into something that resembles a kind of dark ritual. Gone are the 300 style Grecian overtones of battle and in their place is something which truly embodies the term, "dark metal." This is a term that the band themselves have coined and differentiates them heavily from the black metal days of the past. This album is also a sort of "trip around the world" if you will, consisting of water spirits, ancient Incan hymns, Romanian folk classics, the Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh, the pre-Christian myths of Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu and a bonus track that takes us into the Nordic underworld of Hel. Surprisingly, all of these tracks are also sung in what would be their native languages; making the trip even more authentic.

The band (or label) chose to release the album's first track "In Yumen - Xibalba 6:24" as a preview and free download, but I feel that even though the black metal kit blasting is prevalent here, it is structurally not strong enough as a track and I don't care for Sakis' vocals on it. If you've heard this track and are immediately disheartened by it, I would certainly recommend listening to the rest of the disc, which will be out soon enough. On "P'unchaw Kachun - Tuta Kachun 4:44" the feel of being in an ancient Incan temple is evident, with a definite tribal feel invoked throughout - but what really sets this song off is Sakis' guitar, which plays some absolutely fantastic fucking melodies that remind me of some of their most hailed work. The chanting and the guitar couples together perfectly, making something that I would expect from Therion, (expect that name to come up a lot in this review) rather than Rotting Christ. But I can deal with that.

The next track "Grandis Spiritus Diavolos 5:52" starts out with a dark rock melody from the start, backed by Themis' drumming which sounds more like the classic rock, then something you'd expect from metal. But when Saki's starts playing that intro riff and screaming along with the classically trained vocalist who is emphasizing his screams with traditional chants; it does seem to work well together. Again, this sounds like Therion and I'm okay with that. "Kata Ton Demona Eaftou 4:52" comes next, bringing us more of that tribal black metal feel of Theogonia. Upon listening to this one, you might be wondering why it sounds structurally very similar to the album's opener "In Yumen - Xibalba" and you are not wrong with that statement. However, Sakis finds his melody again and adds tribal flute to the track, which already makes me want to strip myself of all clothing and dance around in a fire somewhere. But what's this? Yes, it's a solo; and a damned good one at that! The chorus portion comes back with emphasized flute and just really kills at the end. Why couldn't this have been the single, guys? It's much stronger than the disc's opener. As a matter of fact, the album could have (and should have) opened with this track.

Piano opens up our next track, "Cine Iubeste Si Lasa 5:58" which sounds like a ritual opera of sorts. Out of all of this album's tracks,. it is my personal least favorite and probably won't appeal to many metalheads. A female vocalist chants along to the piano for about two minutes and thirty seconds before you even hear the first guitar riffs. Once the song begins at a rockier pace, (but it does make good for headbanging) Sakis accents the female vocalist with his harsh vocals for a bit, while the gallops go into something that just sounds quite odd, (and there's some shakers in this one.) The riffs come back and the drums power back into this track which in all honesty sounds like a ritual chant put to music and not an actual "hail Satan with heavy metal lyrics track." I mean, if anything is being hailed here, it is being really hailed in the traditional format of ritual - just with the added guitars. Again, like Therion.

"Iwa Voodoo 4:36" is my personal favorite track on the album, reminding me of some of the band's greatest melody work from their mid era (before any evolution was made in the music) Tribal chants follow wonderful fucking melodies for a bit which at two minutes in, begins to really heat up. As some background chants continue, you can't help but listen to the guitar. Sakis is definitely trying to show off here, but I'm just glad he decided to put more forefront into the guitar and unleash a powerful solo that reiterates the crushing chorus again. This should be a single. Look into that.

Next comes a track that hearkens back to the earliest of myths known to mankind, the Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh (Gilgames 4:02.) Parts of the Old Testament in the modern Bible owe their existence to this poem, making parts of the Old Testament plagiarism. As for the track itself, black metal creeps back into the mix along with some well thought melodies and tribal chants that certainly make me want to dance around naked (as like most of the tracks on this album.) "Rusalka 4:33" is next, also continuing the tribal black metal feel of the last track (you'd never even noticed the break if not for the short silence between tracks) and then there's a slight lighten in Themis' drums as parts of the track are highlighted with strong melodies and Sakis' scowls. Eventually, some slowdown occurs and bells ring for a bit as a furious solo portion comes in to add some meat to a song that isn't necessarily as good as the others.

"Ahura Mazda-Anra Mainiuu 4:44" comes in next, which is obviously reference to the pre-Zoroastrian ideas of Ancient Persia. (Christianity's eldest roots.) The track of course features the same tribal nature as the rest of the album which might make it good for naked rituals and no doubt there will people who might use it for that, but that it their own business. At any rate, the song is highlighted with it's strong guitar choral melodies and there's a portion where some Melechesh style black metal-riffing comes in, but stop abruptly for more chanting. It's actually not as good as I once thought, even with the flute. The chorus has a hook, but little else to keep it going.

"666 5:46" ends the original version of the album. Despite that the band's been everywhere in the world with these beliefs and has even unearthed where the concept of Lucifer/Satan came from (Angra Mainyu) they still seem to want to praise that manmade ideal. But if we think of it in those terms, it becomes that the concept of Lucifer/Satan is equal to that of individuality and forward thinking. So perhaps that idea should be praised and respected. This song is actually much lighter and doesn't kick in until around (you guessed it) the two minute mark. The riffs finally come in backed by Sakis scowls and Themis's slow-paced drumming which works well with this and many songs. Of course, you'll hear more chanting (as you've heard chanting throughout every single song on the album) as the guitar starts to warm up for what you think is going to be a solo (and should have been, nothing more metal than to end an album with an impressive solo) but instead, we get a sort of backwards vocal manipulation that is made to sound like everyone expects a demonic entity to sound. Then it ends on a very weak note of silence.

BONUS TRACK

"Welcome To Hel 4:27" is NOT a Venom cover, like I had hoped, but it is a good enough song that should have been on the fucking album to begin with. The damn thing starts out with a solo from the get-go! Hey! That's the solo that should have been at the end of "666!" Chanting takes place for a while and then Sakis begins his vocal scowls. But there's the odd sound of things in the background. Are people clinking wine glasses together in the underworld or something? There's a portion on the end where the drums beat furiously and Sakis really loses it. We're treated to even more good riffs and gallops and some more great guitar tinkering as Sakis goes back into a great chorus and then the choir (yes, choir) continues chanting (in English.) Highly recommended.

Since this album won't be out for a while yet, I thought I would do what some reviewers who have already got their hands on it haven't done; and give you a song by song of what to expect from the album. Black metal purists will not like this album unless they don't mind chanting and rituals. But this ISN'T black metal anymore either and most of those purists would consider Rotting Christ only to be important during the years of Thy Mighty Contract. However, the guitar is once again at the forefront of this band and the solos are great when they are used. A few misses, but definitely worth picking up. I'm not sure what I gave AEALO at the moment, but I can assure you that I like this one more or just as much as that album. Again, I wasn't impressed AT ALL with the sample track that Season Of Mist gave us and wouldn't consider it even close to the strongest song on this one. So if anything else surfaces before this thing releases, I would recommended checking it out.

While more along the lines of black metal than the band's previous albums have been, and definitely drawing from death metal in areas; it also invokes the aura of Therion, which is a difficult task that few other bands have been able to emulate. Perhaps we can jokingly say that Rotting Christ have made the best Therion album in years. But we'd be right.

Highlights: P'unchaw Kachun - Tuta Kachun, Kata Ton Demona Eaftou, Iwa Voodoo, Gilgames, Welcome To Hel (Bonus Track) (11 Tracks, 55:00)

8/10



Eternal Solstice/Mourning (Split 1991 Remastered PR2012) - I was much to young to have remembered this when it came out back in 1991, but I can say that the re-release and remaster of this material has proves successful. Eternal Solstice plays for around eighteen minutes and their material is certainly strong death metal in the most analog sense that one might remember. However, hearing the kit and the thrash riffs and the growls coming out of the shadows might just be what some of you were looking for. Some of the songs feature more doom influence, while others certainly remind me of acts like Sepultura, classic Metallica and other thrash natives of that time. This is still the very birth of death metal and you can hear the thrash/speed metal evolution happening, the guitars still blazing with high speed solos. But "Melancholic Characters 5:38" really adds the element of doom into the band, making a monumental shift of sorts. Remember that Paradise Lost's Gothic had come out around this time as well. The thrash stuff is nice, but the meat of the split is on this final closing track.

Mourning plays for eighteen minutes also and really took me by surprise with their use of saxophone in metal. This predates avant-garde by a few fucking years and "Free Evil 2:46" had my mouth dropping open saying "they did it before Solefald, Ulver and Arcturus!" As for the band, they definitely have that sense of thrash death with a worthy scowl backing up the riffs. These guys also have that sense of punk that evolved into thrash and later into death and black metal. However, "Necrodrama 2:11" opens the band into doom, but even though you'll hear it; it's done in an unconventional sense which really interests me. This was 91, and these guys of whom I've never fucking heard were doing some grand experimenting. Two longer tracks by this band follow at the end, which convince me that these guys can really do no wrong. Before the days of vocal effects, it really took a lot to sound evil and their frontman really manages that with his unique vocal style. Take "You're Sold 5:59" for instance. Yes, it plays around with doom, but there's such a structure and unique sense about this material that it makes me very curious about their material and I'd at least like hear some more of it. There's a goddamned treasure hunt - but it'll be worth it. The very last track "The Mourning After 5:23" creates atmosphere with the damned cymbals themselves. Count how many times you've heard that lately. Then there's the saxophone, which still boggles my mind. It wasn't as you well know, the most likely of rock or metal music instruments. There's also a really great solo piece that steps up into some great drum work. The whole band spasms the end of the song, in traditional style - when everything just goes haywire until the end.

Eternal Solstice and Mourning both deliver great efforts on this one, but my mind is completely shattered by Mourning and their use of unconventional and experimental doom/death antics. Remember, this is still when the genre was new, when My Dying Bride, Anathema and Paradise Lost hadn't even considered clean vocals and the electronics of the later material hadn't even been considered yet. This is an analog effort which sounds greatly remastered and deservingly so. I recommend that most, if not all metalheads check out this relic because there's some really great shit on here from Mourning. I like the Eternal Solstice stuff too, but am hearing more death thrash than doom/death.

Check it out and learn some history about metal.

Highlights: Melancholic Characters, Free Evil, Abundance, Necrodrama, You're Sold, The Mourning After (9 Tracks, 37:00)

Eternal Solstice : 6/10

Mourning: 10/10



Phil Anselmo & Warbeast - War Of The Gargantuas (2013 EP) - Whew, this is short. It's a short 18 minute sampling of what we can expect from the forthcoming Phil Anselmo and Warbeast albums. I'm highly awaiting the self-titled Phil Anselmo, due to the fact that it is routed in extreme metal; so that should be fucking interested. The death metal semblances of "Conflict 4:18" hint at that, sounding like a fiercer Superjoint Ritual with Phil screaming in the vein that we'd expect from him. The guitar and drum work on this one is killer and you'll hear a rather fucked up sounding solo that's completely unconventional in every way, shape and form.

"Birth Of A Psycho 5:42" sees the southern thrashers Warbeast continuing on in their thrash riff fueled Gwar-ish vocal assault but with some kickier drums. Thankfully, this drumming keeps the track afloat. The middle portion of the track really makes me think of Oderus as far as vocals go and I think the real Gwar might have some competition here as far as musically. Personally, it is my personal opinion that he do something about these vocals, because they sound too damned much like David Brockie and even take the hilarity factor almost making it sound like a copy/paste affair.

Phil's next track is "Family, Friends And Associates 3:32" which sounds much different from any of the work I've heard him do. The vocal style and the Primus meets Pantera riff style have me puzzled and the song itself just seems like an oddity, despite the traditional guitar solo. But maybe that's a good thing. Oh, and it does has some thrash points.

Finally, Warbeast takes the reigns for the last track "IT 4:29" which is literally written like it is on Stephen King's novel, in direct capitals. As far as the song; I like the fact that this one sounds like more of a thrasher despite the Brockie-vocal. You guys need to realize that it is going to be very hard for me to overcome the similarities to Brockie here, because they are so genuine to his band. I will admit that the drumming is top-notch, the riffs aren't stale and the solo's great. it's definitely what a thrash band should sound like, despite again - the Brockie vocal resemblance. When I review the new Warbeast, I will probably feel the same. However, I can't deny that this band has something, Phil saw something in them and he's been playing in more bands than most of you are even aware of and has a plethora of playing experience and overall knowledge in metal music. I'll trust his judgment with these guys.

At just 18 minutes, War Of The Gargantuas is just a sample. Do you need it? No. But if you can't hold out another few months for the finished products from both of these bands, this little disc will hold you over.

4 Tracks, 18:00

8/10



Akem Manah - Beneath (2012 EP) - Continuing with our doom/death theme, I have the recent EP from Akem Manah. This consists of only one long track called "Beneath 21:10." of which is accompanied with a full set of lyrics that unravel a sort of gothic horror tale, maybe one of the weird fictions of H.P. Lovecraft, or Stephen King at his most frightening. Perhaps even Poe at his dreariest can be recalled here. The track starts off with the eerie combination of a piano and violin that leads way into dreadful guitar riffs and growling vocals coupled with clean singing. Then the drums really come in and start the thrashing portion of the track as the vocals come back into place with clean and harsh accentuating each other. But the beginning melodies are kind of muffled. Then the clean vocals remind me a bit too much of My Dying Bride. Actually the whole feel of the track does - until the thrashing comes back again. Clean vocals come back in, I can hear the melodies a little better now but don't care for the clean. Why are they trying to be My Drying Bride? Atmospheres come in then a tasteful guitar solo comes into play. Doesn't sound very unpleasant by any means, it's actually thing of beauty; something one might expect to hear in the heaven realms. then another guitar riff comes in (it's a little fuzzy) as the clean vocals don't do much for me again. But the little melodies on the guitar do manage to do something for me and now they do accentuate the vocals. Took a while for that to happen. The next portion of the song continues with the My Dying Bride style clean vocals, and then the violins come in and the growls come back. I just read the lyrics to this thing and I'm kind of confused to be honest. What in the hell happened? Darkness of self? Reach the black star? What in the hell are they talking about? At any rate, the drums warm up with some actual stuff that one can bang their head to and the bass riffs jump and gallop while the melodies play a nice (but over-repeated) melody. And yes, the vocals are still on the cusp of My Dying Bride style croon. I hear some ominous riffs as death metal vocals finally creep back up (finally) and then there's some guitar fiddling which goes into a melody that does work well with the clean vocals - which are the same merit. The ending clean vocals do work well with this, I will say and that melody in the background does repeat - but it works here. I also like the duet between harsh and clean at this point. More guitar fiddling follows as the vocals continue. The emphasis is really put into these end vocals (is this another vocalist, I like this guy) and then the death come back to duet (with the little fiddling going on throughout) and the song ends with the sound of violins and atmosphere which makes it sound really fucking dreadful.

While not as good as the band's 2010 release, this EP does have it's moments. I particularly like the middle point, where things open to beauty; but then quickly close to despair. My only qualm is the over-use of My Dying Bride style clean vocals. Is this the same vocalist on the band's 2010 album? I don't believe so. What happened to him? The new guy bores me to tears. It was very hard for me to get into some of My Dying Bride's material and I'm feeling that same notion here. Hopefully, we might get a new album from these guys in 2013 that will showcase more than just this. I've heard My Dying Bride style doom ten million times over and expected much more than this from the band. I'm highly disappointed and am now not sure if the band's debut can be topped. As I said before that I was highly awaiting future material and am keeping my eye on the band, this song proves to me that perhaps I spoke too soon.

(1 Track, 21:00)

5/10

Week 71.5 (Band Requests) February 1, 2013

PAVILLON ROUGE
Solmeth Pervitine
Post Apocalyptic Music

The French metal scene certainly lives up to the name of avant-garde, a word taken from it's own dialect and not surprisingly so. One of their latest exports is a band by the name of PAVILLON ROUGE, a group who seems to revel in the unconventional mixture of techno, black metal and 80's new wave; culminating in a genre that they've simply coined as "Tekno Black Wave." The result of this interesting concoction is just as you would expect; with hard driving dance beats, unholy riffs and a mix between both a rough and traditional approach to black metal. Tracks like "Exhuberance/Exaltation" and "Le Grand Tout S'effondre" remind me heavily of acts like ABORYM, BLACK LODGE and THE KOVENANT but with a certain extra quality that differentiates the band's sound from these other acts almost completely. This is actually black metal that you could dance to if you wanted and could actually be spun in clubs among other such electronic mainstays. Surprisingly, there is no use of wretched dub-step on this album and I am ever thankful. The melodies on the disc are strong, the beats are catchy, and Kra Cillag's (CRYSTALIUM) vocals are just as fierce as one might expect for a common black metal release. If you removed the dance beats and added a bludgeoning drum kit, all of these songs would translate perfectly into black metal. The effects help to further mechanize the experience, cementing the band's ability to make a dent among several other electronic black metal acts. A cover of CINEMA STRANGE'S "Sadist Sagittarius" also appears on this album as a tribute to the band's love for the 80's new wave music that helped to inspire them. It's French, different and worth listening to for both the clubbers and the more adventurous metalheads out there. Count me in.

E. May

(9/10)



Fear The Aftermath - On The Shoulders Of A Giant (2012 Band Request) - I've got a good friend who plays in this band, so keep all your "three word band" comments aside. While the band is definitely a type of core music, you won't be getting completely pummeled with emo-laden clean vocal choruses (ala Periphery) here. Rather this is hard-driving technical metalcore with hints of prog and wonderful melodies. It's certainly modern and it definitely has it's breakdown moments but it's much heavier than you'd think. The frontman does a bit of what they call "the bree vocal" and even though that can get on the nerves of some older heads, I can think of other things to worry about like what comes after bronies and dubstep. Can it get any worse?

As I've said, the band does do some interesting things and the guitar work on the disc is certainly strong. Djent riffs play along with melodies and solos, while the bass comes in with some interesting ideas as well. Even though you might not be a fan of the vocal style and it turns you off, it's really hard to deny some of the playing on this one. The drum work on this album is definitely powerful, this guy pummels the fuck out of and certainly knows his way around the kit as he seems to be able to perform a good balancing act around the sporadic nature of the other instruments. They've certainly got structure despite the core elements that you're just going to have to expect on this one. My friend listens to some very unique shit and you can see how it inspired him, as there are plenty of unconventional moments and plenty of death metal influence in the musicality of this band. The vocalist was certainly trained in death metal and you'll hear his growls accentuate the deathcore vocals a bit which definitely makes at least some bit of a difference.

Being not familiar with this genre, I'm glad to hear that Fear The Aftermath are incorporating worthwhile melodies, unconventional ideas and some definite death/black metal drum work in sections. Again, it's not going to win you over if you hate three word bands and "breecore" but it's much heavier than some of the more popular bands of this genre and they do fucking experiment. I'd prefer it over the last Periphery album by far, John Petrucci or no John Petrucci. This actually does sound like a metal disc for the most part, so thank fuck for that!

I'd really like to see the band experiment with more metal influences though, maybe taking true death metal and true black metal approaches and mixing them with the core nature to create something very unique and intriguing. Fear The Aftermath have already showed me that they paint outside the lines and I'd really like to see more paint on the outside of the canvas - paint all over the fucking walls, floors and ceiling. I want to hear some truly weird shit that I know this band is capable of; because I know their architect and can hear some of those influences creeping up. I want this fucking band to creep out of those chains of "breecore" like when people start to change their genre classifications when a band is no longer considered to be metalcore. If anyone, these guys have the ability to mature and become something that people might just fucking shake their goddamned heads and put a question mark under a genre tag, or they'll get the avant-garde title that the experimental Texans, Urizen now have. I want to hear black metal scowls, death metal growls, female vocals, chimpanzees, lions, tigers, bears, dolphins, gongs, xylophones, horns, trumpets, violins, a full orchestra, chiptunes, saxophones, wood blocks, clogs, bells, power tools - something really fucking genre defying.

This is just a debut, so I'm offering that challenge to the second LP. These guys can knock the metalcore scene on it's ass by doing something altogether unique. I want to hear it. But this is a step in the right direction.

Highlights: Desertion, The Inventorment, Year Of The Lion, A Glitch In The Machine (6 Tracks, 30:00)

7/10



Haut&Court - La Vie (2012 Band Request) - These guys recorded this EP in just two days, considering themselves to be a mathcrust and citing Converge, Gaza, Trap Them, Dillinger Escape Plan and War From A Harlot's Mouth as influences. Though only 11 minutes long, this appetizer from the band offers a platter that will leave one with a severe case of tinnitus and a stomachache quite easily. Be lucky that you still have all of your teeth after the onslaught, as these guys don't let up for a minute - but if they do happen to let up, it's just to give you time enough to breathe before you receive another beating. The drums are ferocious, the riffs scathing, and the vocals full of malice. This is a band that you might have to check out if you're really fucking pissed at the way things in your life are going right now. This is the kind of band that might help you to channel all of that energy that you really want to put into strangling your boss into something that won't put you behind thick steel bars.

If you're looking for something more brutal and pummeling than even some death metal, these guys definitely offer it. There are also some guitar fiddlings on the album that hint at the potential of more great things to come from these French pulverizers. To get the same effect of this album in real life, you'd have to go into a bad part of France during the middle of the night, where you'd get the hell beaten out of you.

But let's talk about the post-metal influence of the closer, "Wasted Time For Wasted Minds 3:27." It comes after one of my favorite songs of all time, "Life 0:14" which I think is a perfect representation of the subject. This closer is much slower and mechanical than the rest of the disc and the fade-out with static fits the image of this band perfectly. Though it's just a little over ten minutes of material, (that ends with cymbal tap - "bing!")

I really think that Haut&Court has some major potential to not only impress their influences, but to rise far above them. If this is what they can produce in two days, I'd like to hear what comes out in a week or in a whole month of work. Definitely recommended.

Highlights: The disc (6 Tracks, 11:00)

8/10



Eastfrisian Terror - Leever Dod As Slaav EP (2013 Band Request) - Eastfrisian Terror is a German death metal group composed of members and ex-members of Tears Of Decay, Anasarca, Meatknife, Truth Of Blood, Blixxem, Necrobiosis and Butenhagen. The band plays a type of death grind with elements of doom and groove metal that comes off as an extremely intriguing and brutal fucking act that's well worth checking out for fans of the most brutal death metal out bands out there. When Daniel isn't frantically bashing the kit to death and Michael isn't scathing about like an escaped inmate from an asylum, the band also has the ability to bring about some rather crushing moments of slow and melancholic misanthropy that I would liken to a slow gutting with a knife. For the majority of the disc, the band does exactly what they're good at - bashing your skull in with ten ton hammers. If this isn't quite what you're looking for - or if you can't stand that "Lever Doot 3:35" contains the squeals of a genetically engineered pig monster, then you'll have to look elsewhere. But for those looking for the heaviest of the heaviest metal out there, or just a definition to show people "how fucking heavy" this style of music gets; it is there that Eastfrisian Terror deliver.

Remember that the soft portions on the disc, like always; are just there to give you a moment to breathe, to examine the savage butchery that you've received from these German bludgeoners... but just enough so that you can be aware of the pain, before it's brought back tenfold. If Haut&Court wasn't enough to vent all of the anger and frustration that life can bring, Eastfrisian Terror will finish the job. Use it like a drug to get over all the bullshit depression you may be facing.

(3 Tracks, 10:00)

7/10



Shadowgrave - Shadowgrave/Fog/Silence The Earth Split EP (2012 Band Request) - Though it was Shadowgrave who told me about this split EP, it just seems wrong not to do a review for all three of the bands featured on this disc.

The first band Silence The Earth, is on the symphonic side of things and offer a more gothic laden approach akin to early Cradle Of Filth and Hecate Enthroned, which is definitely a compliment as those bands excelled heavily (Cradle still does some wonderful goth-laden symphs) in creating gothic atmospheres. The band's first track, "C'est La Fin 3:46" sees them proving exactly this point, and continuing it with what sounds like a 96' approach to gothic black metal replete with keyboards and scowls that remind me of Dani in the early days of Cradle, (which is still to this day, one of my favorite bands) yet the vocals at some points seem rather demonic, as to say "inhuman." It doesn't even sound like a human is capable of these sounds, like they've summoned an entity from the nether realm to sing god only knows what to them. Certainly something out of Clive Barker, and I'll have to keep my eye on these guys... things, whatever they are.

Fog is the second band in the compilation and their offering comes off as a sort of post-black metal with a bit of static and drone that comes off rather vile and unsettling. The vocals from the frontman sound like they're coming out of some burned out speaker that still managed to sputter electricity after a nuclear warhead damaged most of their hometown. "The Promise Of Suicide 5:51" seems like the perfect post-apocalyptic noise that any humans who can still find working electronic equipment will try to create. "Buried Beneath The Winter Sun 6:04" continues the same atmosphere where guitar is almost non-existent to effects and drums, where only a tongue of venom is left to tell the story of the future wastelands...

The final band on this album is Shadowgrave, who offers two tracks just as the other bands, but a full fifteen minutes of music. Shadowgrave offer a black/doom approach with some actual death metal growls bringing the only death metal to a disc that is soaked in the grim atmospheres of black metal. "Ashes Under The Grave 6:15" is a great way to open their showcase, witch includes a rather nice solo and dark but catchy, lead riffs. As for the closer, let's just call it the main dish of their performance. "The Omen 9:00" is almost a fucking masterpiece as far as I'm concerned, with more emphasis on the doom/death portion of the band where they seem to excel much more than with black metal. Being a man who absolutely loves death/doom, (and is pining in anticipation of listening to the new The Fall Of Every Season) I'm definitely hearing some formidable death doom in this band, which while in their infancy - still have proven to me that they have what it takes to cut the mustard (however the fuck you do that.) But I think that the clean vocal portion of the track still needs a little bit of work. Of course, the gentlemen on gravel control comes in and makes things better again, making me realize once again why I like these guys. You guys can do whatever you want, it's not my band or anything; but I really feel that you're much more proficient as a doom/death act and should really move in that direction. Again, you're talking to a guy that absolutely loves doom/death and I'm finding some fucking wonderful things here. It greatly reminds me of early November's Doom, My Dying Bride, Swallow The Sun, The Fall Of Every Season, and Saturnus as well as many others who I just cannot think of right now. Chances are, that if you like slow, melodic doom with the deepest of growls; you'll fucking like this one.

All three of the bands on this disc are different, unique and worth checking out. They're all in their early stages here, but I hope to hear more from every one of these bands. Thanks for bringing this to my attention and I am privileged to promote it. This compilation is available on bandcamp as a Name Your Price release. I recommend that you get your hands on it.

Highlights: Go check them all out. (6 tracks 32:00)

8/10