Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Pain Tank/97,901,726 Confirmed Kills/Edgewood Arsenal Records/2017 CD Review


  Pain  Tank  are  a  band  from  Washington  D.C  that  plays  a  mixture  of  hardcore  and  grind  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "97,901,726  Confirmed  Kills"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Edgewood  Arsenal  Records.

  Distorted  amp  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  drum  beats  a  few  seconds  later  awhich  also  leads  up  to  vocals  that  bring  in  a  mixture  of  hardcore  shouts  and  grindcore  screams  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  as  well  as  some  death  metal  growls.

  When  the  music  speeds  up a   great  amount  of  brutal  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  none  of  the  songs  ever  use  any  solos  and  leads  and  the  music  always  sticks  to a  heavy  direction  and  they  close  the  album  with  a  track  that  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Pain  Tank  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  hardcore  and  grind  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  very  heavy  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyric  cover  war  and  violence  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Pain  Tank  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  hardcore  and  grind  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dollar  Sign  Suicide"  "Driving  Back  the  Occupier"  "When  Integrity  Means  Death"  and  "Barcodes  And  Byproducts".  8  out  of  10.

Friday, February 24, 2017

Abuse/Nothing Is Safe/Comatose Music/2017 CD Review

 
  Abuse  are  a  band  from  Vancouver  B.C,  Canada  that  plays  a  brutal  mixture  of  death  metal,  noise.  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their 2017  album  "Nothing  Is  Safe"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Comatose  Music.

  Crowd  noises  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  spoken  word  samples  a  few  seconds  later  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  along  with  the  vocals  being  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  short  in  length.

  At  times  the  vocals  can  get  very  guttural  along  with  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  spoken  word  parts  are  also  used  at  times  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  and  some  of  the  mid  tempo  sections  also  mix  in  elements  of  slam  while  some  of  the  faster  sections mix  in  the  raw  energy  of  noisecore  and  as  the  album  progresses  some  of  the  riffing  starts  incorporating  more  melody  and  guitar  leads  are  added  onto  the  last  track.

  Abuse  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  a  very  brutal,  guttural  and  slamming  form  of  death  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  some  noise  and  grindcore  influences  to  create  a  very  heavy  sounding  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  rape,  killing,  and  misogyny  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Abuse  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  brutal  death  metal,  noise,  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Gibbeted"  "I'm  So  Horny"  "Swine"  and  "Bitchkabob".  8  out  of  10.   

Kriegszittern/Minenfeld/Caligari Records/2017 Split Cassette Review


  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  Germany's  Kriegszittern  and  Minenfeld  which  was  released  by  Caligari  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Kriegszittern  a  band  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  crust  and  death  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  distorted  drones  along  with  some  dark  and  melodic  guitar  riffing  a  few  seconds  later  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on their  side  of  the  recording  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  to  bring  in  elements  of  crust  and  d  beat  along  with  90's  death  metal  influences.

  Most  of  the  vocals  are  death  metal  growls  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  riffs  also b ring  in  a  great  amount  of r aw  and  primitive  aggression  and  throughout  their side  of  the  recording  you  can  hear a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  fashion  and  high  pitched  screams  are  used  briefly  along  with  the  music  always  remaining  heavy,  the  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  war,  death,  loss  and  sacrifice  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Kriegszittern  and  if  you re  a  fan  of  crust  and  death  metal,   you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split. RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Green  Hell"  and  "Dance  Of  Death".

  Next  up  is  Minenfeld  a  band  that  plays  a  war  themed  style  of  death  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  music  and  commericial  samples  form  the  world  war  era  before  going  into  a  darker  yet  heavy  musical  direction  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on their side  of  the  recording  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of raw  and  primitive  elements.

  Most  of  their  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  small  amount  of  melody  and  the  fast  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo picking,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  a mixture  of  English  and  German  cover  war  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Minenfeld  are  a  very   great  sounding  war  themed   death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Assault"  and  "On  Gruesome  Pathways".

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  crust  and  death  metal.  8  out  of  10.  

    

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Cancelled Interview


1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?

Cancelled is a project that I started a few years back while on tour with Fuck the Facts. During long drives I would tinker away with lyrics and ideas on my computer and eventually pull them all together when I get home. TO this day I am always finding myself writing music and wanted to try doing something completely on my own which was, and is, very different from any other band I’ve been in. I very much enjoy the collaboration between different individuals yet also relish the chance and the challenge to make something with only my own critical faculties to work with. It’s definitely a lot harder not having some other people to bounce ideas off of but it’s been a rewarding process so far.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?

It’s mainly a bass driven sound with all programmed drums with some synth layers added here and there. It turned out better than I expected and I feel that having Kurt (Ballou) mix it had a huge hand in that.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with your music?

Mostly personal shit that I deal with on a day-to-day basis. This one is mainly focused on the darkness that we all bring out of each other and how we disguise the worst sides of ourselves. Writing is always about self-exploration and growth for me and I find myself in bad places if I don’t purge some music and words out of myself regularly.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Cancelled'?

Honestly, I thought it would funny on a poster. That being said I may never do it in a live environment. Funny, right?

5.With this project you record everything by yourself, do you feel this adds to the creativity of the music?

It’s different for sure. It’s truly made me appreciate all the other musicians that I write with. Just having one additional opinion does wonders for squashing self-doubt about something. This one was difficult to release and I even toyed with the idea of scrapping it because I felt as though it was too personal and I felt overly vulnerable releasing it. All in all I think it’s made me grow as a musician and a songwriter.

6.I have read that you are also looking for musicians for a live line up, have you had any luck with it?

Haven’t even asked anyone yet and I may never. If someone is interested in collaborating or helping me out I’d definitely be interested but as it stands right now it’s all just on record.

7.On a worldwide level ho has the feedback been to your recordings by fans of experimental and underground music?

Not sure about a worldwide level but for those I’ve showed it to it’s been a positive reaction. I want people to enjoy it but I’m not going to be bummed if not that many people end up hearing it. Curious to see what happens.

8.What is going on with the other band these days that you are a part of?

Greber is in the process of finishing a full length LP which we plan to release this year. I’ve also recently started a band with Matt Fleming and Nick Daleo of the late Hoosier Poet (Hamilton, ON) who are both heroes of mine so needless to say I’m pretty stoked for both those things. (Look up Hoosier Poet if you get a chance)

9.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?

Just writing more. I really enjoy picking apart songs and asking people how they write which inevitably gets me more stoked and drives me to write more. Hopefully I’ll be heading into the future as a better musician than I was in the past. We’ll see.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I really like bands that are fearless and don’t care how others will take what they do. I take a lot of inspiration from visual artists. I feel as though it takes a ton of heart to commit to making something that most people either won’t get or think is brainless. I love that. I’ve been listening to Toronto, ON’s “Ayahuasca” a ton. Their last album “Yin” is a fucking masterpiece. THAT’s some fearless shit.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Fuck. Not much. I think I need to get into some other shit. I like to read a fair amount and skateboard in the summer. This dude needs some fucking hobbies eh?

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thanks a ton for the interview and for giving the EP an opened-eared listen. These questions were great! Much appreciate friend!!

UK Hate Grind Interview


1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

UKHATEGRIND are still doing the same thing really. Chilling up at chucks, getting as high as possible and writing brutal shit and that's that.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?

Brutal, aggressive, fast, yet catchy and full of wonderful grooves to dance with the family to.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

(merv) I write about anything whether it be animals gathering together and farting cum over one another, somebody being an utter twonk and getting brutally fisted against they're will and the list go's on and on. Can be real events or fictional but as long as it either makes people laugh, get pissed off or just generally offensive in any way, jobs a good'n.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'U.K Hate Grind'?

It was just a play on words from UKHC. In school '98 I was pissing around, jotted down UKHG in one of my books and it just stuck. Sounds aggressive and to the point we reckon.

5.Currently there are only 2 members in the band are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to remain a duo?

We'd be up for working with others I reckon, but I do like the fact it's just us two fucktards doing what we like when we like. If say, Adam Jarvis or Dave Witt wanted to drum We wouldn't say no.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Never played live but if we did it would be absolutely nuts and extremely sexual, hehe.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

No touring or shows planned.

8.You have a split coming out with 'Black Skies Burn', what are your thought on the other band that had participated on the recording?

We've know those twerps for several years now through playing shows etc with previous bands and they are a bunch of mongoose molesting pig fisters so yea, they're good dudes for sure.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of grindcore?

Only ever had good feedback tbh. For example "Your music makes me want to rape and kill everyone including myself" that was a good phrase so that's a positive in the UKHG book. There's always going to be haters though and I bloody love it, so keep the hate coming people.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We'll never change our style that's for sure, it'll only get more aggressive and better or worse, depending on your outlook on things. If we decide to play live then hopefully we'll get to destroy the world with our cocks.....I mean music.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

We take influence from many genres of music but for UKHG some bands to name would be Dying Fetus, Discordance Axis, Demolition hammer, agoraphobic nosebleed/Pig destroyer/ Enemy soil to the real brutal extreme bands such as Spineshank, Kittie and even Radish. Generally keep it old school, ain't no school like the old school.

12.What are some of your non
musical interests? (Merv) personal training, getting high and part time duck bashing. (Chuck) other than music production I train kick boxing, get high and participate in door to door cat fisting.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? PISS!!!.

Friday, February 10, 2017

Mordbrand/Wilt/Carnal Records/2017 CD Review


  Sweden's  Mordbrand  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  d  beat  influenced  style  of  old  school  Swedish  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Wilt"  which  will  be  released  on  February  24th  by  Carnal  Records.

  A  very  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  and  after  a  few  seconds  death  metal  growls  and  melodic  riffing  makes  their  presence  known  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  A  great  amount  of  d  beat  elements  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  the  music  is  also  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  while  having  a  more  modern  production  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  a  couple  of  tracks  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length  and  there  is  also  a  brief  synth  instrumental  before  closing  the  album  with  a  heavier  tune.

  Mordbrand  creates  another  recording  that  is  heavily  rooted  in  the  d  beat  style  of  old  school  death  metal  that  was  established  on  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Mordbrand  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  d  beat  and  old  school  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Delivering  The  Gods"  "Thrones  Of  Glorious  Death"  and  "Give  In  Into  Oblivion".  8  out  of  10.

    

   

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Black Skies Burn Interview


1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the split?

We have been very lucky since the recording of Brian Blessed Are The Sick, BSB have recently been announced for the holy grail of Grind Festivals “Obscene Extreme” In the Czech Republic, we also play Incineration Festival in London, Slam Fest in Leeds and 3 dates across Ireland with Napalm Death, keep em peeled for more announcements


2.You have a split coming out in March, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on your side of the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Personally I feel with each release we have improved, and I also think this is relevant in our live shows. Definitely pushing ourselves within our abilities to find to new extremes. It gets harder with so much great music about at the moment but we feel there is a huge improvement with this one.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
For this split we continue with very similar themes as before, this one includes the Iron Sheik, Our “boss” Vince not paying us, a song about our vocalist worms state after a heavy session and plenty more debauchery and foulness


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Black Skies Burn'?

We formed in 2005 and really Chris and Lee (old drummer) liked the track Skies Grow Black by Cataract as well as the band Burning Skies so was a combination of the two. It tricks people now into expecting metalcore , a nice shock when it isn’t haha

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We have been very lucky over the years, favourites for us would include opening for Sepultura in Dublin, touring with Extreme Noise Terror, playing at the Willemeen in Arnhem Holland for XL Grindfeast, also shows with Gojira, General Surgery, Burning Skies, Benediction, Vader, Cerebral Bore, Warpath, Desecration, Raging Speedhorn and loads more.
Over the years our stage show has grown with confidence, we definitely move around a lot more, blast more, pull stupid faces and make pointless comments, check us out if you can.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Check www.blackskiesburn.co.uk for the full listings but highlights include Obscene Extreme Festival, Incineration Fest, UK Slam Fest, 3 shows with Napalm Death and also North West Gargle Fest with Crepitation.


7.You have a split album coming out with 'U.K Hate Grind', what are your thoughts on the other band that had participated on the recording?

Both lads are from the Band Burning Skies who were heroes of ours back in the day, Chuck actually recorded our second demo, the poor bastard haha , so overall Pair of bellends that we have a lot of time for hahaha

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal and grindcore?

We seem to be doing ok at the present time, I don’t want to blow our own trumpet in any way but we have been very lucky with what we have been booked on and have made great friends along the way.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Hopefully we continue to improve and create faster ,nastier Grindcore with a bit of Death Metal thrown in.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

So many too mention,
Unsu were a band that kicked our ass live, they are a great influence due to the energy they have. Others would include Wormrot, ENT, Magrudergrind, Dying Fetus, Cannibal Corpse, Disrupt, Pig Destroyer. This would also be what we are listening too, at the moment we are checking out the acts we will be sharing the stage with at OEF.


11.I have also read in another interview that you had an interest in conspiracy theories, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?

Not a huge interest but there has to be more to scenarios presented to us in life that actually meets the eye, we have a song called Mass Hallucination and also Fuck The Corrupt that are on this topic. Not huge conspiracy theorists  but certain scenarios in the world definitely make you think outside the bubble we are presented in the media

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Support your scene, thanks for the support everyone has shown us over the years, hope to catch you at a show soon, get tanked !

Monday, February 6, 2017

Cyclocosmia Interview


1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?

Cyclocosmia is a studio-based symphonic doom metal project, with a lot of death metal and progressive influences. It started as my solo project in about 2011 but really kicked off in late 2014 when we started working with a permanent vocalist and began work on the first album. The music is all very personal to the people involved, and we cover some quite difficult lyrical subjects. I think people who have had difficult life experiences often get drawn to heavy music, and that was certainly the case for both Aliki and me. If you feel a certain way, it's more cathartic to scream about it at the top of your voice than just mumble about it gently, that's what this music is about.

2.So far you have released a full length and an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings?

One thing I have noticed from the reviews that we have received, both for the recent EP and the album we put out last year, is that they each compare us to different bands every time! So I guess I'd describe our sound as female-fronted symphonic metal, but much darker and more doom influenced than most bands in the genre, with extreme vocals, extreme dynamics, and an emphasis on emotional expression. Don't get em wrong, I love Nightwish and all that stuff, but I wanted to see the music taken in a different direction, more like what Draconian are doing, but with some more of my own prog and other influences. The album, "Deadwood" was a little more conventional than our more recent material, but still had its progressive influences (especially my tendency to write rather long songs with unusual structures), and that's something I wanted to take much further on this EP, and on a personal level I'm very satisfied with the music we created on "Immured". I want to make the music weirder and darker, and I think we managed that on this EP.

3.The lyrics on the ep have a concept to them, can you tell us a little bit more about the songwriting?

Yes, the EP is a concept about the live burial of Vestal Virgins in ancient Rome. The priestesses of the Goddess Vesta were so holy that it was taboo to spill their blood, so if one of them broke her vow of chastity, they just buried her alive. Can't fault that for efficiency I guess. I was drawn, as was Aliki, to the political and feminist ideas that these stories created - even now, women are punished for expressing their sexuality in many ways, and this story can highlight that. The EP is designed as one continuous song, split into four movements, and that's how we wrote and recorded it. I wrote it in order, from beginning to end, with a rough idea of how I wanted each movement to go but in terms of note-to-note songwriting I went from beginning to end, to make sure that each section flowed into the next. I would write a section, listen to it, then think "where does this need to go now?"

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Cyclocosmia'?

The name comes from a genus of trapdoor spider found in Central America, it's Greek for "Adorned with the Circle". The spiders have a very unusual shape, their abdomens end in a hard, circular plate that they use to plug their burrows from attack, and they have this amazing, beautiful pattern on them - that's the band's logo. These spiders are predated by parasitic wasps, who paralyse them with their stings and lay their eggs in them, eating the spiders alive from the inside out. So those circular plates are a defence. I was struck by how something so unpleasant and brutal could result in something so beautiful, and that's a kind of metaphor for our music, and maybe metal music in general.

5.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you planning on expanding the line up in the future or do you chose to remain a duo?

Aliki is a guest on this EP, I've started auditioning for a permanent replacement for when I relocate the band from London to the Midlands later this year. At the moment there aren't any plans to create a full live lineup because it would limit what we can create in the studio and that's my main interest for this project. But we may well add more permanent members, both musical and non-musical, to the studio lineup should the right people present themselves.

6.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

We've had a couple of expressions of interest, at the moment we really do enjoy the freedom, musical and otherwise, that being independent gives us. That's not to say we're not listening though, and whilst we're not currently actively looking for a label we certainly wouldn't dismiss the idea out of hand.

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of symphonic and  doom metal?

I've been really taken aback by how positive the reception has been to "Immured". "Deadwood", the album we released last April, got good reviews, and a handful of very good ones, but it seems that the move in a more prog direction was what people wanted to hear - I guess not a lot of bands have this particular sound. We do sit in the middle of a few different genres, and people who get obsessed with classifying bands sometimes react negatively because we're not "real" doom or "real" symphonic metal because we don't sound like Cathedral or Evanescence or whatever, but I'm not interested in making music for those sorts of people anyway - for me the ideas and emotions that I want to express come first, and metal is diverse enough as a genre that all the tools you need are in the toolkit and you can use as many as you need - the reviews for "Immured" have really understood that this was the thinking behind how the music was put together, and I'm really gratified that they've picked up on that.

8.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects?

Yes - Aliki and I are members of the alt-metal band Eight Lives Down (https://eightlivesdown. bandcamp.com/releases), she has also recently contributed vocals to another Doom project in Greece called Tattered Pages. I'm a producer myself and she is a vocal coach and session vocalist, so we both contribute to a lot of other people's music as well.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Well in the short term I've started work on an EP of cover versions with more guest vocalists - I'm not going to recruit permanently until after I relocate the project to the Midlands later this year. Once that's done, we'll be recording a second full-length album that will take the more progressive sound of "Immured" in the longer format - that's going to be a really interesting musical challenge for me, to keep that sound varied and exciting over an hour or so, and it's also really exciting to have the longer format to try more ideas - I'm really looking forward to it.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that  have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Judging by the reviews, I'm apparently influenced by every musical style since Beethoven! But I have had a long musical journey to get where I am - I wasn't really a metalhead until my early twenties, I listened to a lot of alternative rock and prog as a teenager - Radiohead, Skunk Anansie, Pink Floyd, also my dad's music like Eric Clapton and Dire Straits. A lot of that influence really changes how I think as a producer and I always want to incorporate non-metal ideas into metal, to mix it up and keep it interesting. I absolutely love Opeth and the way they do that too so effortlessly, I've got "Sorceress" in the car at the moment, I think it's the best of their prog-rock albums. Similarly, I'm working my way through Porcupine Tree's back catalogue at the moment too. Other direct influences for Cylocosmia include Draconian, who are probably the biggest single inspiration, especially for the first album, also a Chilean folk-doom duo called Uaral - they're amazing and very inspirational - just two people in a studio creating exactly what they want to create, and it's utterly heartbreaking music.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Like any producer or mix engineer these days, I'm a massive computer geek - I love gaming, silly internet things, programming and any activity where I get to press loads of buttons. I also write, I have a couple of music-related e-books out, and I've recently done a couple of voice acting gigs which I really enjoyed - definitely something I want to do more of in future.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

I'd just like to thank everyone who bought the album, watched the video or gave us feedback on the music. Whilst the music of Cyclocosmia is largely very personal to me, I make it and release it because I hope that other people will understand where I'm coming from and enjoy it - it's really great to know that so many people "get" what Cyclocosmia is about, and I can promise them that there's more where that came from in the future!

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Cancelled/Tenebrific/2017 EP Review


  Cancelled  are  a  solo  project  from  Southern  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of  experimental, ambient,  and  power  violence  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2017  ep  "Tenebrific"  which  will  be  released  in  March.

   Electronic  and  avant  garde  sounds  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  bass  guitars  which  is  also  used  as  a  lead  instrument  and  aggressive  power  violence  style  vocals a  few  seconds  later  and  clean  singing  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  synths  are  also  a very  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  also  add  in  touches  of  ambient  and  all  3  of the  tracks  sound  different  from  each  other  and  all  of  the  songs  tick  to  a  slow  musical  direction.

  Cancelled  plays  a musical  style  that  takes  experimental  rock and  ambient  and  mixes  it  with  aggressive  power  violence  style vocals  to  create  a  sound  oh  his  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  real  life  themes.

  In  my opinion  Cancelled  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  experimental,  ambient,  and  power  violence  and  if  you  are  a fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Head  Over  Handlebars".  8  out  of  10.

    

Friday, February 3, 2017

Mindful Of Pripyat/Stench Of Profit/New Doomsday Orchestration/Everlasting Spew Records/2017 Split EP Review


  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  Mindful  Of  Pripyat  and  Stench  Of  Profit  called  "New Doomsday  Orchestration"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Everlasting  Spew  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Mindful  of  Pripyat  a  band  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal,  grind  and  noisecore.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  harsh  noises  before  going  into  a  fast  grindcore  direction  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  guttural  death  metal  growls  and  high  pitched  screams  and  most  of  their  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  A  small  amount  of  melody  can  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  and  none  of  the  songs  ever  use  solos  and  leads  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  their  side  of  the  recording  along  with  all  of  the  music  always  being  brutal  and  they  also  bring  in  an  Assuck  cover,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  nuclear  disasters  and  dystopian  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  MIndful  Of  Pripyat  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  death  metal,  grind  and  noisecore,  you  should  check  out t heir  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "State  Of  Dominion"  and  "Hostage".

  Next  up  is  Stench  Of  Profit  a  band  that  plays  a mixture  of  grind,  crust,  and  noisecore.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  heavy  guitar  sound  along  with  some  melodic  leads  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  awhile  the  music  goes  into  a  very  fast  grindcore  direction  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  high  pitched  screams  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  after  awhile  death  metal  growls  are  added  onto  their  side  of  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  stick  to  either  a  mid  paced  or  fast  musical  direction  while  also  always  remaining  brutal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Stench  Of  Profit  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  grind,  crust,  and  noisecore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Divine  Education"  and  "Torture  Bliss".

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  grind  sounding  split  and  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  death  metal,  grind  and  noisecore.  8  out  of  10.

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Sword Suicide/Beyond Recognition/Grey Matter Productions/2016 Cassette Review


  Sword  Suicide  are  a  solo  project  from  California  that  plays  a  mixture  of  grind  and  noisecore  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2016  album  "Beyond  Recognition"  which  was  released  on  cassette  by  grey  Matter  Productions.

  Harsh  noises  and  40's  music  samples  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  noise/grind  direction  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  death  metal  growls  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  can  be  heard  in  the  faster  riffing  and  the  music  also  slows  down  briefly.

  As  the  album  progresses  some  songs  start  bringing  in  high  pitched  grindcore  screams  along  with  some  tracks  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  all  of  the musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  none  of  the  songs  ever  use  any  melodies  or  guitar  leads  and  the  songs  always  remain  brutal.

  Sword  Suicide  plays  a  mixture  of g rind  and  noisecore  that  is  very  heavy,  raw  and  brutal  sounding,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  violence,  gore  and  hateful  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sword  Suicide  are  a  very  great  sounding  brutal  mixture  of  grind  and  noisecore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Body  Bags  At  The  Sawmill" "Hostages  Mutilated  On  Live  Tv"  "Impaled  On  A  Fence  Post"  and  "Shooter  in  The  Office  Department".  8  out  of 10.    


Swarn/Self Titled/Wulfrune Worxx/2017 EP Review

 
  Swarn  are  an  international  band  with  members  from  Canada  and  Estonia  that  play  a  mixture  of  crust  and  d  beat  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2017  cassette  which  was  released by  Wulfrune  Worxx.

  Drum  beats  and  heavy  guitar  riffing  starts  off  the  ep  before  going  into  a  very  fast  crust  punk  direction  that  uses  aggressive  vocals  and  d  beats  and all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  some  of  the  distortion  adds  in a   touch  of  noise  and  th e music  also  mixes  in  a  a  lot  of  crust  elements.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  raw  yet  melodic  style  and  some  of  the  riffing  adds  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  black  metal  screams  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  heavy  style  while  also  adding  in  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Swarn  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  crust  and  d  beat  and  mixes  it  in  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  hateful  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Swarn  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  crust  and  d  beat  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Brave  Bastard"  and  "Dead  Path". 8  out  of  10.  

Restos Humanos/Self Titled/Grindfather Records/2017 CD Review


  Restos  Humanos  are  an  international  band  with  members  from  Columbia  and  Italy  that h as  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  death  metal,  crust  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  f  their  self  titled  2017  album  which  will  be  released  on  February  12th  by  Grindfather  Records.

 Avant  garde  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into a   very  fast  and  brutal  grindcore  direction  that  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  small  amount  of  melody  along  with  elements  of  crust.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  fashion  and  horror  movie  samples  are  also  used  at  times  and  they  close  the  recording  with  an  instrumental  track.

  Restos  Humanos  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  death  metal,  crust  and  grindcore  mixture  of  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Italian  and  cover  horror,  death,  murder  and  zombies  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Restos  Humanos and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  death  metal,  crust  and  grindcore,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Aquel  Ojo"  "Histrion  Asesino"  and  "Black  Sunday".  8  out  of  10. 

Black Army Jacket/Closed Casket/Magic Bullet Records/2017 Compilation Album Review


  This  is  a review  of  a  compilation  album  from  New  York's  Black  Army  Jacket  which  consists  of  cassettes,  split's  and  7  inches  that  where  released  in  the  90's  while  also  being  in  a  power  vilence  and  grindcore  style  and  the  compilation  is  called  "Closed  Casket"  and  will  be  released  on  February  22nd  by Magic  Bullet  Records.

  A  heavy  guitar  sound  and  hardcore  style  vocals  start  off  the  compilation  before  adding  in  more  growls  and  crust  influences  and  elements  of  grindcore  can  be  heard  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  high  pitched  screams  while  the  mid  tempo  sections  are  heavily  influenced  by  power  violence.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  compilation  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  songs  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  of  the  riffing  brings  in a  decent  amount  of  melody  while  a great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  and  as  the  compilation  progresses  spoken  word  samples  are  added  onto  the  album  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  guitar  leads  and  all  of  the  tracks  stick  to  a  very  heavy  musical  direction.

  Black  Army  played  a  style  that  was  always  a  mixture  of  grindcore  and  power  violence  on  all  of  the  recordings  presented  on t he  compilation,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  collection  from  Black  Army  Jacket  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  grindcore  and  power  violence,  you  should  check  out  this  compilation.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Pathogen"  "The  Power  And  The  Plan"  "Slaves  Of  Destruction"  and  "Fire  in  The  Universe".  8  out  of  10. 

Black Army Jacket/222/Magic Bullet Records/2017 CD Re-Issue Review


  Black  Army  Jacket  where  a  band  from  New  York  that  played  a  mixture  of  power  violence  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  1999  album  "222"  which  will  be  re-issued  on  February  22nd  by  Magic  Bullet  Records.

  A  very  fast  and  heavy  crust  punk  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  aggressive  screams  and  d  beats  before  adding  in  growling  vocals  and  grindcore  screams  and  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  while t he  mid  tempo  sections  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  hardcore.

  A  great  portion of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  great  amount  of  power  violence  elements  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  a  small  amount  of  melody  can  also  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  spoken  word  samples  and  traditional  punk  style  vocals  and  one  of  the  tracks  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  heavy  musical  direction  without  ever  using  any  guitar  solos  or  leads.

  Black  Army  Jacket  played  a musical  style  that  took  an  aggressive  form  of  grindcore  and  mixed  it  with  crust  and  power  violence  to  create  a  very  heavy  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Black  Army  Jacket  where  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  grindcore  and  power  violence  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Lightswitch"  "Of  Competing  Importance"  "I  Object"  and  "olive  branch".  8  out  of  10.  

    

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

The Brood Interview


1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Hi, I’m Senen and together with Nando we make those chainsaw noises with our guitars, Donnie’s is the rumbling bass machine, Thibaut screams, shouts and grunts and Aitor bashes the crap out of the drumkit.

We formed around early 2014 in London and are mixed bag of nationalities from England, Spain and France. A few months after getting together we released a demo, a couple of singles via bandcamp and some video clips on youtube, all DIY.


2.How would you describe your musical sound?

We wanted to make a real heavy and extreme sound, but not to the point where is just is just a succession of blast beats or a chain of dissonant riffs glued together. Our main drive is to write songs that will make people want to jump in the pit and mosh.

Style wise, we started with a mix that was mostly harcore-grind with a touch of blackened death metal and some crust punk. Nowadays we are shifting towards an even more aggressive sound that’s more focused on grindcore, but we like to experiment and we always add something extra to the songs.



3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?



Our lyrics are a mixture of political topics, mixed with the occasional nonsensical horror movie stuff. It ranges from denouncing the exploitation of the working class (“Reign of the Leeches”) and shitty TV culture (“Lobotomized”) to slasher movies (“Barbie Voorhees”) and the invasion of the planet by HP Lovecraft’s Great Ancients (“Descending into madness”).


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'The Brood'?

When we initially formed the band we weren’t too serious about it. We just wanted to do a sort of a tribute to the movies we used to love when we were teenagers, in particular horror movies. David Cronenberg’s The Brood is one of those films and we also liked the sound of it. Later on, we got more committed as a band, which caused it to become more serious and politically involved, but we kept the name as we loved it. In a way it can also describe a kind of feeling we have, which is like, we (young lads at heart) actually are the brood of the anti establishment, the ones who can change it.


5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

So far the best show was in Tenerife. It was the first time we played there and the crowd were crazy as fuck. We finished the show with over 20 people moshing on the stage with us. Another killer show was in Nottingham, they really know how to have fun over there. Everyone were crowd surfing, moshing, slamming, circle pits, you name it. At one point they managed to do a human pyramid!

I think our gigs are full of energy and we really try to engage with the audience. We don’t care if there are 1,000 or 10 people seeing us, we always try to give our best and have fun.


6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Our next show will be on the 25th of Feb at the Black heart in London to help promote the release of our album. Besides other UK shows, we are also working to finalize a mini tour in european countries like Germany, Spain, Czech Republic and possibly others.


7.Currently the band is signed to 'Give Praise Records', are you happy with the support that they have given you so far?

It is great to be on a label that has such a quality roster and we are honoured to be part of it. It has delayed the release of the album, which was a bit unfortunate, but now they are being really helpful and are doing a great job with regards of exposure. We’re really looking forward to see this beast out!


8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal, grindcore, and punk?

Besides here in the UK, we have a quite a fan base in Russia, Ukraine and Moldavia, which is actually curious because we didn't focus on those countries specially, but it seems they like us. And we like them. We also have followers in Malaysia and Singapore, which again wasn’t expected. Lately the US thanks to Give Praise Records efforts is starting to pick up too.


9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Probably going more into grindcore and punk hardcore than death metal. The new songs we wrote for a split we will release with Kittengrinda from NZ are a lot more Grind.


10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

We all are very different. I listen mostly to death metal, hardcore and some grind. Nando is into stoner rock and classic swedish death metal, Thibaut is a grindcore dude, almost only grindcore bands, Donnie listens to bands like Thy Art Is Murder or Despised Icon, Aitor is into prog, Meshuggah, Monuments etc but also into Grindcore and Hardcore, Napalm Death, Strife and similar.


11.What are some of your non musical interests?

I’m obsessed with martial arts and combat sports. Whenever I have some spare time I’ll go to the gym and train Muay Thai or MMA. Thibaut does nerdy research in infectious disease epidemiology, and also trains Muay Thai. Aitor is a tattoo artist and is into horror films. He is the one that has done the artwork for the band. Nando works for a screen printing company and he’s preparing some designs that we’ll used our upcoming merch. Finally, Donnie is an avid video gamer, Warhammer board games and biscuits.


12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Nazi Trump Fuck Off!