Mordbrand/Necropsycotic/DeathGasm Records/2011 CD Review

 Mordbrand  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  old  school   d  beat,  crusty death  metal  in  the  classic  Swedish  death  metal  vein  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2011  album  "Necropsychotic"  which  was  released  by  DeathGasm.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  midpaced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  thrown  in  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  is  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  they  sound  very  powerful.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  midpaced  to  fast  Swedish  death  metal  riffs  that  are  very  raw  at  times  with  some  melodies  being  thrown  in,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  chaotic  sounding  death  metal  guitar  solos.

  Vocals  are  all  deep  death  metal  growls,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  gory  themes  with  alot  of  death  related  topics  being  thrown  in  the  songwriting,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  heavy  sound  to  it.


  In  my  opinion  Mordbrand  are  a  very  good  Swedish  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  style,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECEMMONDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Graveyard  revisted'  and  "The  Fall  Of  Flesh".  RECEMMONDED  BUY.

Abaddon Incarnate Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band, what your goals were when you first started, and what you are doing nowadays?

When we started out we wanted to play fast death metal, no body was doing it here in Ireland or the UK really. There was so much peaceville influenced stuff around. You the type of Death metal with doomy bits and mid paced drumming? we didn't understand why no one wanted to play blast beats so we set up the band in that vein. Also we were certain to sing about the occult etc because everyone is singing about either gore and porn or loosing their girlfriends to some goth suicide so we wanted to emulate greats like Immolation, Morbid Angel, Deicide except to be more brutal. Nowadays we still are focused on this aim but are using a Swedish sound we developed from recording our 2nd and 3rd album in Sweden. We love the crushing guitar tone and we are really taking in a lot of grind influence now, like nasum, rotten sound, napalm death but also bands who are not grind, guys like entombed are also influencing our sound. But we still have our hyper blasts and double pedal heavy metal edge you know? We definitely are a metal band first and foremost, a death grind metal band.

2. Were did you come up with the name for the band?

Well after we folded Bereaved in 1994 and reshuffled the line up we were getting drunk and smoking dope in Olans Apartment ( Old drummer ) And we had a list of about 50 names in a brainstorming session and Abaddon Incarnate was the only one everyone was comfortable with, Its taken form the christian bible, where "Abaddon" is the leader of Satan's Armies on earth when the apocolypse comes, "Incarnate" means he has taken human form, so we are, in a esoteric sense, a manifestation of anti human,anti social, anti life apocalyptic militarism, The abaddon incarnate. Sometimes people accuse us of taking the name from Warhammer games/ fiction, but we existed before the fictional Warhammer character,

3. How would you describe your musical style?

Death Grind

4. What releases have you put out so far?

1999 The last supper, 2001 nadir, 2004 dark crusade, 2009 cascade

5. What are some of the best gigs that you have played so far and how would you describe your shows?

My favourite in my memory and being the best gig was probably supporting Morbid angel in 1999 in Dublin, we opened the show and only played 3 songs but we were playing as the doors opened and 600 people filled the room and immediately started going crazy for us. Amazing show. Our shows are pretty straight up death metal shows we play tight and fast, lots of headbanging and some in between song banter with the audience.

6. Are there any plans for a U.S tour?

We would love to hit the US, we just need a promoter to handle the tour, we have been offered some shit before in the past but unfortunately the guys offering to organise it would be too inexperienced. But we are definitely always looking into making it happen

7. How would you describe your muscal progress over the years?

We started as a pretty bestial death metal band, got some grind parts and basically transformed into a death grind band, we kinda sound like mid nineties napalm death with a Swedish guitar sound and some slayer solos. People also mention Deranged when describing us, I cant hear it though.

8. What direction do you see the music heading into during the future/

Well we have some songs written and they are pretty much at the moment straight up grindcore, so I have some plans for slower parts, maybe some dark melody and maybe some nastier production. I think the production is too clean at the moment so the next stuff will be dirtier.

9. What are some of your influences as a musician and what influences do you have that are not music related?

Ive been influenced by terrorizor, morbid angel, entombed, brutal truth, napalm death, then some mainstream shit like Led Zep, hawkwind, Iron maiden.But I doubt you will ever hear the mainstream shit in our sound. I read a shit load of books and anything occult related I eat up and regurgitate into the music, especially anything Satanic. Also I read, ahem, a lot of warhammer fantasy ( but Ive never read the abaddon stuff haha ) Its pretty dark and grim stuff, magick related. Moorcock, Lovecraft anything dark and trippy. Ive taken alot of acid when I was a teenager so it kinds of colours any creativity I have too. I also write alot about nature, I do a shit load of hillwalking and mountain climbing and see alot of dark natural forces in the landscapes I visit so I try and put that in lyrics too.

10. What are you listening to nowadays new or old?

I got Macabre -Murder metal and dahmer on my MP3 player and Im ALLWAYS listening to Luciferion, great swedish death metal band. Ive also been listening to Nephridium - The great wave, Morphosis - rise of bastard deities and Putrefy - One nation under gore ( all Irish Bands ) Chilling out I listen to old Clannad ( Irish traditional ) and also Ive been wimping out on some Viking metal Enslaved and Bathory. Napalm deaths Diatribes is getting a lot of time too. Early the other Morning I had on Hellbastard to piss Steve F off, doubt he noticed though.

11. Does Paganism, Satanism or Occultism play a role in the music?

Yes it does, All songs I write are from a satanic viewpoint, So traditional European Satanism is a big factor in the music also I dabbled in the Seven Fold Sinister way and failed ( look it up ) so alot is to with the Initiation and failure of that particular quest. A couple of years ago I shared a Apartment with a phycotic Hindu ( Hi Dev ! ) who taught me all there is to know as a westerner about Vamachara and also about the Goddess Kali. So I wrote some songs about that. Also we are singing about the medieval witches, the remnants of paganism which survived through the dark age of christianity, we sing about the ancient solar cults, the original sun gods who are still shining away in the sky and one day will nova and swallow us all. And Luciferionism, the worship of pride - ambition - ego. Abaddon Incarnates Lyrics is heavily embroiled in the sinister and the occult.

12. What are some good films or literature that you would recommend?

I'm reading lots of non fiction war books at the moment which people are either into or not, some mountaineering shit too and also the epic "shogun"
But I guess as a influence on Abaddon Incarnates Atmosphere or personality, I would ask people to watch "Excalibur" "Dog Soldiers" the "Evil Dead 1 and 2" read a book called "Red Thirst" by pringle, " Nine Billion names of god" by Arthur C Clarke, Might is right by red beard, "Naos" by Thorald West.

13. How would you describe the extreme metal scene in Ireland?

Rich and varied, Primordial are the biggest, playing a kind of romantic pagan metal, also we have some real awesome death metal here too, for example, Putrefy, Morphosis, Warpath, nephridium. Also Check out Altar of plagues, as our Drummer johnny is playing with them at the moment on a European tour. They paly a kind of Post Black metal thing, like nuerosis mixed with primordial.

14. Any final words?

yes guys, you can get our new album directly from us abaddonincarnate@gmail.com or from red stream USA. Buy it, it wont disappoint.

15. Thanks for the interview?

Thanks for the interview. Much appreciated and good to hear from the USA.

Apostate Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never
heard of you before?
1. (Alexander - bass) Apostate is a death/doom metal band, formed in 1993 in Lviv, Ukraine. The nineties were a hard time for a musician here in Ukraine, so by 1997 we had only one demo and one EP released, then we split up in 1998. In 2007 I decided to release a compilation "Apostate Story" which contained our stuff from the 90s. That CD had a surprisingly good feedback and that was the main reason why I decided to gather a new line-up and reanimate Apostate in 2009. So, however strange it may sound, our debut LP was released only in 2010.

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album?
2. (Bohdan - vocals) Musically "Trapped in a Sleep" is a cross between traditional doom and death/doom metal genres. The songs are based on trad doom guitar riffs, backgrounded by subtle keys, vocals are mainly harsh. The sound is dark, atmospheric, but at the same time songs are pretty "rocking". We would like to think we've managed to do a modern album that carries that old-school spirit of honesty, sincerity and straightforwardness which was inherent to death/doom metal music of the 90s.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics the new release explores?
3. (Bohdan) Lyrically part of the songs focuses on outer aspects of life - "what eyes can see" - and explores such topics as the rotting world, hopeless mankind, multiplication of emptiness and other life-affirming stuff :) While other part of the lyrics is more personal, introspective reflections (the title track for example), and deals with psychological, existential issues. What unites both parts is they are all appropriately pessimistic.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
4. (Alexander) When we came up with this name in 1993, we didn't put some specific meaning in it, we liked it might be interpreted in many ways. The main thing about the word "apostate" is it has some kind of protest, disagreement, it's rebellious, which, by the way, should be natural for a metal or rock band! I think it would be not far from the truth to say that such dark, heavy music we play cannot be very popular and understood by large number of people, so in this sense we might be called apostates :)

5. Have you had any oppurtunities to do any live shows yet, if so what are
some of the best shows that he band has played so far and how would you
describe your stage performance?
5. (Alexander) We try to play gigs as often as possible. Until now we had only Ukrainian booking agent, so our performances did not go beyond Ukraine, apart from our mini-tour with Therion in the Baltic States, these shows can be described as the most successful.
At present, we have added another guitarist to the band, also we're trying to work with another singer, and we want to slightly change the band's image, and change a bit the concept of a live performance, to introduce new elements of the show, and perhaps a little theatrics.
We are now working with the booking agency Craneo Metal (Germany/Costa Rica), in this year we're planning to do some tours, maybe in Europe and Central America, hope it goes well, so that we have the opportunity to bring our music to listeners in those countries.

6. Currently you are signed to Black Art Records, how did you get in contact
with this label and how would you describe the support that they have given
you so far
6. (Alexander) To tell the truth, Black Art is my own label, and we decided to release the album on it, because we could not find a suitable contract on other label. Black Art helps at its best, as much as possible, but in fact it is very small, and its possibilities are very limited. Anyway, the label is trying to spread the word about our release all around the world, and the album is already available to buy in the United States and some European countries.

7. You guys split up for a while, what caused the breakup and what made you decide t reform the band?
7. (Alexander) Yes, in the late 90s we broke up, the reason was disagreement in the vision of the band's future, but to restore Apostate was the idea which haunted me for a few years and which I was able to carry out with help of present members in 2009.

8. Do any of the band members have side projects or is this a ful time band?
8. (Alexander) I have a death/black metal project called Goliard (black/death), Vova (guitar) and Ihor (drums) play also in a thrash metal band called Disarm.

9. On a worldwide level, how has your music been recieved by doom/death metal fans?
9. (Alexander) On a worldwide level our album has been perceived very warmly and we got a lot of cheerful feedback from the fans of this style all over the world, as well as enough positive reviews from magazines.

10. How would you describe your musical progress over the years and what
direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?
10. (Alexander) Stuff on the latest album has been more dynamic than ever before, we have focused more on guitar riffs base in our music. In a future release, of course, the genre will remain the same, but with getting on board two new members, we hope they will bring into our music something new, well, so I think we will carry out experimentation with the sound, with instruments, and with vocals.

11. What are some band or musical styles that have influenced your music and
also what are you listening to nowadays?
11. (Alexander) Bands that have influenced us are plenty, but basically we are influenced by Black Sabbath, Candlemass, My Dying Bride, etc. As for musical style, every style that has a word "doom" in its description :) And we listen to the entire world metal, and not only, scene, ranging from old hard rock bands to modern genres, but except for nu metal, emo, etc.

12. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
12. (Alexander) Outside of music we have quite a lot of interests, we are engaged in sports, love fishing, hiking, reading, and so on. The problem is we have a little time for all of this, because we all have full-time jobs.

13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
13. (Alexander) Thank you for your interest in us, we wish you best of luck and a lot readers for your magazine. To everyone, thanks for your time and reading this interview. Buy our new album, if you like our music, follow our news on our pages:

myspace.com/apostateua
facebook.com/pages/Apostate/151640094883406
apostate.com.ua/?artid=1238711909&lang=eng

See you at the gigs! Stay doom!

Apostate/Trap In A Sleep/Black Art Records/2010 CD Review

Apostate are a band from Ukraine that plans an epic form of doom/death metal and this is a review of their 2010 album "Trap In A Sleep" which was released by Black Art Records.

Drums range fom slow to midpaced playing with not much in the way of fast drumming or blast beats, while the keyboards have a very dark and tragic sound to them in addition to the last song having a symphonic edge, with a violin being used on a couple of songs, as for the bass playing it has a very strong and very powerful tone to it and it is very easy to hear.

Rhythm guitars range from slow to midpaced doom/death guitar riffs that also take influences from traditional epic doom with some ocassional slow soft playing which is only used breifly, while the lead guitars are very slow sounding doom metal guitar solos that also have influences from classic metal/rock.

Vocals are mostly deep death metal growls with some ocassional clean singing being thrown in at times, while  the lyrics cover sorrow, darkness and loneliness, as for the production it has a very strong powerful and professional sound to it with all of the musical instruments having a good and heavy sound.

In my opinion Apostate are a very good doom/death metal band, and if you are a fan of this style, you should  check out this band. RECEMMONDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Earth Escape Plan" "Trapped In A Sleep" and "Eternal Return". RECEMMONDED BUY

Cathedral/Forest Of Equilibrum/Earache Records/1991 CD Review

Cathedral are a band from England that later evolved into a doom rock band but where pure doom/death in the beginning and this is a review of their classic debut "Forest Of Equilibrum" which was released by Earache Records during the year of 1991.

Drums are mostly slow with no fast playing or blast beats, and at times there is are flute's and keyboards being used that gives the music a dark and medeivel feel, as for the bass playing it follows the riffs coming out of the guitars and at times there are some very powerful bass lines that have a 70's metal feel.

Rhythm guitars are very deep sounding slow doom metal riffs that have a good amount of melody and some midpaced riffing that has a thrash feel, while the lead guitars have alot of 70's rock influences in the solos that give this band a stoner rock feel which was not a huge trend when this album came out, and there is a small amount of accoustic guitars that give the music a dark atmospheric feel.

Vocals are mostly deep death metal growls that are very easy to understand with some clean singing, while the lyrics are very dark with a gnostic feel and some depressing themes, as for the production on this recording which was recorded and mixed at Workshop Studios during the months of July and August of 1991 has a very heavy sound that captures all of the instruments that are present on this album.

In my opinion Cathedral where a great band and this was their heaviest album and if you are a fan of doom/death metal you probably already have this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Ebony Tears" "Serpent Eve" and "Reaching Hapiness Touching Pain". RECOMMENDED BUY

Saturnus/Paradise Belongs To You/Euphonious Records/1997 CD Review

Saturnus are an atmospheric doom/death metal band from Denmark and this is a review of their 1997 album "Paradise Belongs To You" which was released by Euponious Records.

Drums are mostly slow beats with no fast playing or blast beats, while the keyboars are very atmospheric sounding with some flutes and cellos being used on certain songs which gives a new age feel, as for the bass playing has a very dark and powerful tone that is easy to hear on this album.

Rhythm guitars are mostly slow melodic doom/death riffs that utilize alot of harmonics, while the guitar leads are very melodic with no fast playing, as for the accoustic guitars when they are utilized include alot of open chords and fingerpicking classical licks that gives the music a very dark atmosphere.

Vocals are mostly deep death metal grwls that are very easy to understand with some clean singing and spoken word passages, while the lyrics are very poetic mixed with some anti christian and depressing themes in addition to being influenced by the writings of William Blake,
as for the production on this recording which was recorded at Soundscape Studio during August of 1996 sounds ver professional and you can hear all of the musical instruments that are present on this album.

In my opinion Saturnus are a very good atmospheric doom/death metal band and if you area fan of this style you should check this band out.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Christ Goodbye" "Pilgramage Of Sorrow" "I Love Thee" and "The Underworld". RECOMMENDED BUY.

Amorphis/Elegy/Relapse Records/1996 CD Review

Amorphis are a band from Finland that plays atmospheric doom/death metal with a progressive rock and folk music feel and this is a review of their classic 1996 album "Elegy" which was released by Relapse Records.

Drums are a mixture between slow and midpaced drumming with no fast parts or blast beats being utilized, while the keyboards are very atmospheric sounding with alot of progressive rock influences and an ocassional industrial sounding part, also there are a variety of instruments being used such as tambourine, Electric Sitar, chordian, and kantelle which gives the music a folk music feel which is good mixed with the pagan lyrics.

Bas playing is all rhythm bass that follows the riffs coming out of the guitars and at times there are bass leads, while the Rhythm guitars mix slow and fast riffs that are influenced by death and doom metal with a melodic edge, as for the lead guitars they bring out alot of melodic guitar leads that are influenced by 70's progressive rock with alot of wah wah pedal being used, acoustic guitars when they are utilized use alot of open chords and give the music a folk rock feel with some finger picking parts being added.

Vocals are a mixture between deep death metal growls that are very easy to understand mixed in with some clean singer, while the lyrics are based on The Kanteler which was the companion to the Kalevala and there are alot of poetic songs that have alot of Finish mythology in them, as for the production on this album which was recorded at Sunlight Studio in Stockholm, Sweden, MD Studio in Helesinki, Finland and Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, Finland sounds very professional and you can hear all of the musical instruments.

In my opinion Amorphis are a very talented band and this is one of their best albums. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Better Unborn" "Of Rich And Poor" "My Kantelle" and "Song Of The Troubled One". RECOMMENDED BUY.