Beyond The Morninglight/Lifelines/WormHoleDeathRecords/2014 EP Review

  Beyond  The  Morninglight  are  a  band  from  Norway  that  plays  a  psychedelic  form  of  gloomy  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "Lifelines"  which  was  released  by  WormHoleDeath  Records.

  A  very  dark  drone  soundscape  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  acoustic  guitar s  a  few  seconds  later  which  also    a  psychedelic  musical  direction  and  when  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  they  bring  a  60's  folk  rock  feeling  to  the  bands  musical  style  as  well  as  bringing  in  a  very  old  school  organ  sound.

  You  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  melletron's  throughout  the  recording  and  they  also  take  the  more  modern  neo-folk  sound  and  mixes  it  with  their  retro  60's  style  approach  as  well  as  bringing  in  some  influences  from  Pink  Floyd  in  the melodic  electric  guitar  leads  and  the  band  also  has  a  bit  of  a  Black  Sabbath  influence  in  the  bass  guitars  and  the  metal  influence  has  a  very  powerful  sounding  presence  on  the  last  track.

  Beyond  The  Morninglight  takes  the  60's  and  70's  style  of  psychedelic  and  folk  rock  and  mixes  it  with  goth  rock  and  neo-folk  to  create  a  dark  and  doomy  form  of  gloom  rock,  the  production  has  a  very  dark  and  powerful  sound  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  poetic  and  pot  smoking  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Beyond  The  Morninglight  are  a  very  great  sounding  psychedelic  gloom  rock  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "A  Moment  In  Time"  and  "You  Twisted  Angel".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/Beyondthemorninglight/           

Encoffination/III - Hear Me, O Death(Sing Thou Wretched Choirs)/Selfmadegod Records/2014 CD Review

  Encoffination  are  a  band  from  the  United  States  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this zine  and  plays a  very  heavy,  dark  and  occult  form  of  funeral  doom/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "III -  Hear  Me,  O  Death(Sing  Thou  Wretched  Choirs)"  which  will  be  released  in  October  by  Selfmadegod  Records.

  Melodic  and  ritualistic  chants  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  organ  and  bell  noises  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  slow,  dark  and  heavy  doom/death  metal  sound  while  also  maintaining  and  atmospheric  background  as  well  as  having  a  small  amount  of  melody  in  their  music  at  times.

  When  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  they  are  very  deep,  dark  and  guttural  sounding  death  metal  growls  along  with  a  few  seconds  of  spoken  word  parts  being  used  on  a  couple  of  the  tracks  and  most  of  the  songs  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  all  of  the  music  except  for  the  intro  remains  true  to  a  very  slow  and  heavy  doom/death  metal  direction  and  never  speeding  up  to  create  some  dark  funeral  dirges.

  Encoffination  creates  another  recording  that  displays  the  heaviest  and  darkest  style  of  funeral doom/death  metal  while  also  adding  a  very  ritualistic  sounding  felling  into  some  of  the  heaviest  music  that  could  possibly  be  made,  the  production  sound s very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  occultism  and  the  celebration  of  death.

  In  my  opinion  this  is another  great sounding  recording  from  Encoffination  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Charnel  Bowels  Of  a  Putrescent  Earth"  "Rotting  Immemorail"  and  "Mould  Of  Abadonment".  8  out  of  10.  

https://www.facebook.com/templeofencoffinment

Shikabala Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before can you tell us a little bit about the project?
1- Shikabala is a project that I started recently with the goal of producing harsh, relentless sounds. There is pretty much no order, it's all chaos x chaos, in a battle where we all loose.

2.Recently you have released your first ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
2- Well, the music on the debut album, "Calor do Desert" (something like "Desert Heat", translated from portuguese to english) is pretty much noisy,chaotic drones. In my other projects I tend to explore genres like ambient, drone...but on this one I decided to create the most relentless, uncomfortable experience I could. Everything improvised on the spot, of course. That's the way to do it. The idea is to test the limits of endurance and what noise can be, and how far from traditional music it can be. It seems all very conceptual and abstract but it's actually not.

3.The music on the ep is all in the harsh noise direction, do you feel this style is making a comeback or will ever reach the same amount of popularity it had in the 90's when Merzbow and some of the Japanese artists where starting to get very well known?
3- That is a very good question. I dunno if there is ever going to be a comeback, the thing is that underground genres never really go away. We live in strange days ( generally speaking, not in the Kathryn Bigelow movie ), there are black metal bands headlining pop festivals and artists like Pharmakon all over Pitchfork and Stereogum and the like. Then again, she has much nicer legs than I do, so that might help...

4.What are some of the themes and images you bring out with your musical sound?
4- The themes are mostly confusion and, again, chaos.You know the scene from "Antichrist" were that fox comes up and growls "Chaos reigns" to Willem Dafoe? Well, that fox was talking about "Calor do Deserto".

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Shikabala'?
5- There is no real inspiration nor meaning behind Shikabala, I just like the name, I like the way it sounds. Shi-ka-bala. It sounds somewhat exotic, I dig it. Plus, it's the name of a soccer player from Sporting Lisbon. The first time the media spoke of the guy I just thought "now that's a great name for a noise band".  He's a talented guy, with a knack for getting into trouble,my man.

6.Have you done any live shows with this project or is this strictly a studio project?
6- Until now,no live shows, and probably never will. I'll probably keep this as a studio project only. And by studio I mean my computer and midi. So yeah, this is a "midi+computer project only".

7.The ep was released by Sirona Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
7- Sirona is a french netlabel, and a good one, to boot. They have been active for a couple of years now, and released like 666 records, so they really know what they are doing. I'm already writing a new album for them, but more on that later. They are an awesome place to start this noisy journey, I'm grateful to release my debut on such an esteemed label.

8.On  a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of harsh noise?
8- The feedback was almost non-existent, as you might imagine. It's hard to promote an album like this one here in Portugal, there's not a blog scene dedicated to noise and the like, at least that I am aware of. There are a couple of reviews out besides yours, but I'll probably do another round of promotion for this album before releasing a new one.

9.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see this project heading into musically during the future?
9- Well, I'll probably never record a proper full-length, not as Shikabala. Very much like the soccer player with whom I share my name, I'm good for a solid 10,15 minutes, then it gets out of control real quick. You know that cliché, "good things come in small packages"? They were thinking of Shikabala (me,not the soccer player) when they came up with that one. Like I said, I'm working something up for Sirona, but it's way to soon to talk about. I have also a draft of an Ep, but I dunno when it will be released, not until next year, I guess. Whatever I do in the future, the artwork will always be pink, you can count on that.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on this project?
10- There aren't a lot of bands that inspired me on this record. This one is more inspired by images than sounds. Bleak, post-apocalyptic images, under a scorching, unforgiving sun.  Hence the name, "Calor do Deserto". The new record is more inspired by nights out in decadent bars. And "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!". A teacher of mine used to quote John Cage every now and then, something like "some artists have something to say, I don't". I'm with Cage on that one.

11.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
11- Thanks for taking the time to listen to the record and to talk with me about it. Those interested in 15 minutes of uber-noise, can check it out here :
https://casaamarela.bandcamp.com/album/calor-do-deserto

It's free!

Der Blaue Reiter/Le Paradis Funebre II L' Adieu Silence/Neuropa/2014 CD Review

  Der Blaue Reiter   are  a  musical  project  from  Spain  that  plays  a  mixture  of  neo-classical  and  darkwave  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Le Paradis Funebre II L' Adieu Silence"  which  was  released  by  Neuropa.

  A  very  dark  and  operatic sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  female  vocals  and  a  classical  symphony  in  the  background  and  the  band  also  brings  in  more  of  an  avant  garde  soundscapes  and  combines  them  with  a  neo-classical  sound  and  after  awhile  you  can  hear  traces  of  martial  in  the  drum  programming.

  On  the  second  tacks spoken  word  male  and  female  parts  are  added  into the  music  and  bring  a  more  ritualistic  feeling  to  the  recording  as  well  as  being  uses  on  some  of  the  later  songs as  well  which  also  show  Gregorian  chants  being  utilized  at  times  as  well  as  violins  becoming  a  huge  part  of  the  projects  musical  style.

  Every  song  on  the  album  has  a  different  sound  to  it  with  most  of  the  music  remaining  true  to  a  neo  classical  musical  direction   and  on  one  of  the  later  songs  the  band  brings  in  some  traces  of  1920's  music  before  adding  some  loops  and  making  the  music  more  experimental  and  they  also  bring  in  more  of  a  militant  industrial  and  neo  folk  sound  on  on  of  the  later  songs.

  Der  Blaue  Reiter  takes  a  darkwave  orientated  style  of  neo  classical  and  also  ads  in  elements  of  industrial,  ambient  and  martial  to  create  some  very  dark,  symphonic  and  ritualistic  sounding  music,  the  production  sound s very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  secret  societies,  warfare,  disease  and  the  last  day  of  mankind.

  In  my  opinion  Der  Blaue  Reiter  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  darkwave  and  neo-classical  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Anthem  For  Dead  Youth"  "The  Beginning  Of  The  End"  "The  New  World  Order"  and  "Conspiracy".  8/5  out of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/Der-Blaue-Reiter-325530834177620/      

Roses Never Fade/Devil Dust/Neuropa/2014 CD Review

  Roses  Never  Fade  are  a  band  from  the  United  States  with  members  of  integrity,  Ancient  Vvisdom, The  Way  to  Light,  and  Pale  Creation  that  plays  dark  gothic  acoustic  neo  folk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Devil  Dust"  which  was  released  by  Neuropa.

  Dark  sounding  drones  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  elements  of  ambient  and  spoken  word  samples  and  on  the  second  tracks  acoustic  guitars  which  use  both  finger  picking  and  full  chords  become  a  huge  part  of  the  music  along  with  some  spoken  word  style  singing  and  you  can  also  hear  some  melodic  chants  being  used  in  the  background  at  times.

  After  awhile  the  vocals  start  adding  in  clean  singing  and  you  can  also  hear  a  little  bit  of  old  country  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  band  manages  to  keep  a  very  dark,  haunting  and  depressive  atmosphere  throughout  the  recording  and  every  track  has  a  very  different  sound  to  it  while  you  can  still  tell  it  is  the  same  band  on  all  of  them  as  well  as  some  of  the  songs  bringing  in  a  small  amount  of  whispers  which  also  adds  a  more  black  metal  feeling  to  the  bands  acoustic  folk  style.

  Roses  Never  Fade  creates  a  very  dark  and  haunting  acoustic,  gothic  neo  folk  sound  with  their  musical  style  and  all  of  the  music  has  a  very  depressive  sound  to  it,  the  production  sound s very  dark  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  depressive  and  melancholic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Roses  Never  Fade  are  a  very  great  sounding  dark,  acoustic,  gothic  neo-folk  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Vanishing  Twilight"  "Hope  has  Left  Today"  "Your  Life  to  Take"  and  "Devil  Dust".  8/5  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/Roses-Never-Fade-165331503620181/?fref=nf

    

Shikabala/Calor do Deserto/Sirona Records/2014 EP Review

  Shikabala  are  a  musical  project  from  Portugal  that  plays  a  very  experimental  and  harsh  form  of  noise  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "Calor  do  Deserto"  which  was  released  by  Sirona  Records.

  A  very  harsh  sounding  noise  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  brutal  power  electronics  and  the  music  is  very  primitive  in  sound  and  after  awhile  the  noises  get  more  diverse  as  well  as  having  a  song  that  is  10  minutes  in  length  and  all  3  of  the  tracks  are instrumental.

  On  the  second  track  the  music  starts  incorporating  more  ambient  drones  and  minimal  noises  while  style  having  a  very  harsh  sound  to  them  and  the  music  also  brings  a  very  experimental  approach  to  this  musical  genre.

  Shikabala  creates  a  very  diverse  style  of  harsh  noise  that  experiments  a  little  bit  with  ambient  drones  and  minimalism  while  also  keeping  everything  in  a  raw,  primitive  and  brutal  musical  direction  as  well  as  staying  away  from  traditional  musical  instruments  and  making  all  3  tracks  instrumental  and  the  production  sounds  very  raw,  dark,  primitive  and  brutal.    

  In  my  opinion  Shikabala  are  a  very  great  sounding  harsh  noise  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Dizola".  8  out  of  10.

https://casaamarela.bandcamp.com/album/calor-do-deserto

Aires/Rui P. Andrade/Earthly Beasts/Enough Records/2014 Split Album Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  3  way  split  between  Portugal's  Aires,  Rui  P.  Andrade  and  Earthly  Beasts  which  was  released  by  Enough  Records  in  2014  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Aires  a 1  man  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  drone,  ambient  and  field  recordings.

  His  side  of  the  split  starts  off  with  very  dark  sounding  field  recordings  and  drones  and  after  awhile  atmospheric  sounding  ambient  effects  start  finding  their  way  into  the  music  with  the  song  being  over  10  minutes  in  length  and  all  instrumental  and  after  awhile  synths  start  having  more  of  a  powerful  presence  on  the  track.and  it  also  sounds  like  there  are  some  voices  in  the  background  at  times  that  are  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix.

  Next  up  is  Rui  P.  Andrade  a  solos  artist  that  plays  filed  recordings  based  around  guitars.

  His  side  of  the  split  starts  off  with  distorted  sounding  drones  which  also  have  an  avant  garde  feeling  to  them  and  the  song  is  also  another  instrumental  track  that  is  over  10  minutes  long  and  as  the  song  progresses  more  elements  of  ambient  and  noise  are  brought  into  the  track  and  as  the  song  progresses  the  guitars  start  adding  in  more  of  a  heavy  drone  metal  sound.

  Closing  the  split  is  Earthly  Beasts  a  solo  project  that  plays  a  mixture  of  ambient,  drone  and  field  recordings.    

  His  side  of  the  split  starts  off  with  a  very  dark  sounding  ambient  drone  mixed  in  with  some  distorted  parts  that  come  in  and  out  and  the  song  starts  getting  more  louder  and  adds  in  elements  of  noise  which  are  done  on  natural  objects  and  the  track  also  has  an  industrial  feeling  at  times  as  well  as  being  all  instrumental  and  9  minutes  in  length.

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  ambient,  drone  and  field  recordings.  8  out  of  10.  

https://aires.bandcamp.com/

The Dead/Deathsteps To Oblivion/Transcending Obscurity/2014 CD Review

  The  Dead  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  doom,  sludge  and  death  metal  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Deathsteps  To  Oblivion"  which  was  released  by  Transcending  Obscurity.

  A  very  dark,  and  ritualistic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  demonic  vocals  that  have  a  black  metal  tinge  to t hem  which  leads  up  to  a  very  heavy  doom  metal  sound  along  with  some  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  and  a  few  seconds  later  deep  death  metal  growls  start  to  make  their  presence  known  along  with  some  grim  screams.

  All  5  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  they  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  which  also  sets  up  the  mood  for  some  melodic  guitar  leads  and  on  the  third  track  the  music  starts  to  speed  up  to  more  of  a  melodic  black  metal  direction  before  returning  back  to  a  slower  direction.

  After  awhile  the  bands  starts  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  melodic  female  vocals  while  the  4th  track  starts  out  with  some  tribal  beats  before  making  a  return  back  to  a  doom/death  metal  direction  as  well  as  adding  more  elements  of  sludge  and  spoken  word  parts  into  their  musical  style.

  The  Dead  creates  another  very  heavy  album  that  remains  true  to  their  mixture  of  doom,  sludge  and  death  metal  while  also  adding  in  a  bit  of  melody  at  times,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  mythological  themes. .

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  The  Dead  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of doom,  sludge  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  God  Beyond"  and  "Deathsteps  TO  Oblivion".  8  out  of  10.


https://transcendingobscurity.bandcamp.com/album/ritual-executions-groundbreaking-doom-sludge-influenced-death-metal



        

Veraopop/Self Ttled/Etched Traumas/2014 EP Review

  Veraopop  are  a  band  from  Portugal  that  plays  a  very  dark  and  experimental  form  of  ambient  drone  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2014  ep  which  was  released  by  Etched  Traumas.

  Static  style  sounds  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  drones  and  you  can  also  hear  some  ambient  and  experimental  soundscapes  in  the  background  and  there  are  also  a  great  amount  of  atmospheric  synths  in  the  music  being  utilized  as  well  as  the  whole  recording  being  in  an  all  instrumental  musical  direction.

  Al  3  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  on   the  second  song  the  music  starts  utilizing  more  theremin's  which  also  gives  the  recording  more  of  an  avant  garde  and  experimental  sound  and  there  are  also  more  elements  of  noise  being  added  into  the  bands  musical  style  while  they  are  closer  to  the  ambient  instead  of  the  harsher  style  of  this  genre  while  the  last  track  displays  more of  an  ambient  style.    

  Veraopop  creates  a  style  of  ambient  drone  that  is  very  experimental  and  avant  garde  sounding  and  all  3  of  the  songs  are  instrumental  and  have  a  minimalist  and  ritualistic  feeling  and  the  production  is  very  raw  with  all  of  the  songs  being  improved  and  recorded  live.

  In  my  opinion  Veraopop  are  a  very  great  sounding  dark  and  experimental,  ambient  drone  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "02".  8  out  of  10.    

 https://casaamarela.bandcamp.com/album/ver-opop 

Pornostroika Dadaifi Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?
In a music way?  Nothing. But, as all the politicized person all over the world, we try to fight the political and cultural domination of neoliberals and nazi in many ways. These days we are living the collapse of the world and the rise of the new totalitariasm. Music is a way to fight but not the only one. There are also other ways as demonstrations, disobedience, cultural war (as making revolutionary movies, releasing political magazines etc).We try to be part of all this

2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
I think that it is a little bit more “straight” and easier than the previous albums. There are still a lot of noise and dadacore elements. But it is more punk (and less dada) than our previous works. And the lyrics are more political (or lets say better straight political) and not so surrealistic and scifi than in the past

3.This is the first album to be released in 3 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time?

Well we don’t give concerts. Our last concert was 5 years ago…We aren’t interesting in concerts, we are interesting only to release our albums. All these years we try to make music for this album. I also wrote three scifi dystopia novels about a dystopia future of the E.E.
We are also members of ZERO ARTISTIC MOVEMENT which is releasing  a political  zine, the Zero Geographic.We contribute to this zine with articles about geopolitics, class war and art.

4.The new album is available for free download, what was the decision behind releasing in this format as opposed to releasing it as a physical copy or a paid download?
We supported FREE ART from our begging back in 1999.Then alternative music was another way for some groups to earn money. But we are against capitalism and even alternative (and sometimes underground) is a form of capitalism.On the othe other hand,i have to mendion that even in the music industry there are some real artists that make art not for money and fame (there aren't all the same)!
But anyway,we didn't want in any way to become part member of the art industry.
One anarchist group then in Greece released their album for free so we found that this was a good idea and against the SOCIETY OF SPECTACLE. We gave for free 1000  copies (cds) of our  first album “LYKANTHROPOS” (2000). A lot of people start to hear our music even it was too noise and political incorrect. Music industry always is looking for new changes to earn money. So later we rejected an offer to release an album in an alternative company.We never regret for our free art policy.
Now that industry music is dyeing all the pseudounderground artists are giving their work for free through internet. But this is a joke. They just want to promote their music (nobody is buying anymore anyway), to become by this a little bit famous so they can take your money from the concerts and selling their t shirts. It is just a capitalist  manoveure (manager planning). In the contrast,I think we are part of the real thing. We are doing this before it became another hipster fashion! DEATH TO THE SOCIETY OF SPECTACLE!


5.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
In the past we made some dystopian and scifi albums.In 2006 we release “CITIES OF THE RED NIGHT” based on the book of W.Burroughs.In 2007 we released “WEREWOLVES AGAINST THE MINOTAURS”. Actually this is a dystopia album talking about a future war between minotaurs and werewolves. There is no place for humans in this future…In 2009 we released “UNDERGROUND DOMINION” in the same style. Even if these albums had a strong cyberpunk and scifi feeling, I assume them as politic acts. We believe that scifi is another way to talk about political  matters of today.
Our last two albums are strongly and straight political in the way anarchopunk used to be. This is because of the economic crisis that had destroyed the Greek society. We are living in a new world totalitarian state. We call it Neoliberal totalitariasm. We oppose it, as we oppose both the rise of new fascism. So the lyrics in the last albums have to do with anti-state, anticapitalist and antinazi matters.
Finally all these years we have set to music works of William Blake, Berlort Brecht, Antonio Gramsci, Dylan Thomas, Burroughs, Proudhon and Guy Debord

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Pornostroika Dadaifi'?
Dadaifi comes from dada. Pornostroika is a joke for perestroika. Back then, it was the biggest hit and victory for the new liberals (the collapse of the eastern blog) and it led to the rise of mafia, crime and prostitution in the eastern countries (wild 90s). Now we live the same thing in Greece: The rise of Neoliberal totalitariasm.

7.Has the band done any live shows or is this strictly a studio project?
Is more a studio project but is relating to other activities as the release of the fanzine i already mentioned.

8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
We don’t care about the music industry.DIY is a way of life.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to the new album by fans of underground music?
Very good, if someone assumes that the majority of the lyrics are in Greeks. The majority of our fans are from the eastern blog and USA. I want to thank them very much

10. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
The next album maybe will be in the same way. But I’m not sure because experimental was always the main motivation behind the pornostroika project.

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?
I grow up listening to the legends of industrial and dark music: Laibach, Front line assembly, KMFDM, Skinny puppy, Sisters of mercy, Fields of the nephilim, Bauhaus,Cristian Death etc. All this music had a great impact in my personality. I also heard a lot of  punk (especially Greek punk) and electropunk. The other two members are more in metal (black, thrash, classic metal etc).
Now I’m listening a lot to postblack bands. Also I like some of the martial bands. But still I’m great fan of industrial music scene.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Writing, reading and watching cinema (horror, scifi etc).

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank your interesting webzine for this interview. Longlive the underground!Death to the Society of Spectacle

https://www.facebook.com/PORNOSTROIKA-DADAIFI-127302647885/

Poisoned By Life Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
1. Hello, I'm Vincent, guitarist and songwriter for Poisoned By Life, which is a doom metal trio from Syracuse, New York. It's a small and poor city, and it's usually hard to find people with the same musical ideas as you. This is the first fleshed out project any of us have been a part of, so we made sure to take our time and not sound like amateurs. We didn't want any unacceptable or inappropriate work on our debut, so we made an album that we would be pleased with first and foremost.

2.Recently you have released your first album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
2. The album is a slightly evolved form of traditional doom. There's a clear aim to smoke radar on everyone's metal gauges, but at the same time, having engaging musical developments and atmosphere were also really important. I wanted to incorporate a couple things you don't hear enough of in metal like clean tones and some whispering. I think it's music designed to latch onto metalheads universally more than anything else though.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
3. Many dark things, fear especially. I'm currently not a theist, but I remember being a kid and being awed by concepts such as God and the afterlife. I remember the anxiety of not being in control of your own destiny. There's a certain atmosphere you can tap into when you dwell on the unknown, the future, and the untold, especially when you consider the future could consist of suffering, torment, or bleak emptiness.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Poisoned By Life'?
4. I don't remember the initial moment coming up with it, but the name Poisoned By Life was thought of around a time when a lot of people I knew were either depressed or drinking themselves into depression. I have a friend who's father commit suicide in his childhood, and being told that made me think about the subject for a while. At some point I connected everything and realized that negative approaches people can have usually end up perpetuating their own depression, so much so that people will sacrifice their relationships, their ambitions, and ultimately their lives just because of this spiraling habitual process. It was then that I wrote the lyric: "it wasn't lust or alcohol, you were poisoned by life". I thought the term Poisoned By Life fit so well as a doom band name, so it stuck. It also resonates that unsteadiness that comes with knowing about your own mortality.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
5. Poisoned By Life does not currently perform live.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
6. I expect to one day play shows long into the future. We are all students with busy schedules, and I don't foresee it happening until school is finished for good. By that time though, we may have all gone on our separate ways, so it is likely that the other two members -Sarah and Glendon- will not be a part of the recording process for the next album, and that a live Poisoned By Life would consist of mostly new people.

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
7. We are unsigned. I talked to some guy with his own doom/drone/noise label who wanted to do another 50 copies of the album, and the deal was to just let him sell half and give the other half to me, which I was actually okay with, but I just stopped talking to him for some reason. I'm satisfied with the results of my own presses so I'm not looking to do much else.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of doom metal that have heard it so far?
8. Immensely positive. I've shipped copies internationally and to the west coast. The name of the band isn't very big, but the personal addresses to me from fans about the quality of the music mean so much. Considering zero promotion or live performing has been done, I'd say the impact of the music alone is impressive.

9.Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects?
9. None are, except for me. I finished recording instrumentals for a solo grindcore project called Psychological Regurgitation, which will feature either numerous guest vocalists or another member as a single vocalist. I expect to have everything done by next year, with a release probably early in January. I also have a technical thrash demo under the name Bulletface.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
10. Poisoned By Life will remain doom metal. When we release more music, I expect it to be different though. I can anticipate at least a few segments of heavy doom riffing, but I want it to be more creative and detached from the genre norms.

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?
11. Serpentcult and Valborg provided very unique inspirations because of their distinct styles, but more well known names like Reverend Bizarre, Warning, Pallbearer and even Electric Wizard made me focus more on traditional doom as a template. I think Celtic Frost's Monotheist deserves a mention, because as a kid it was my favorite album. Along with that, I love the late 90's era Candlemass, which doesn't get nearly enough attention.

My diet today is much lighter. It's all either very jolly alt rock, or very eerie alt rock. You know, stuff ranging from Dino Jr, Mandate of Heaven, and Screaming Females on one side of the spectrum, to Sparklehorse, Dax Riggs, Blood Sun Circle, etc. on the other.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
12. I exercise often, and I read a lot about history. Sarah writes for the school's newspaper. Glen is the weird art friend.


13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
13. Thanks to all our killer fans! I hope to see much more in the future between us!

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Pornostroika Dadaifi/Weimar Helldisco/2014 Full Length Review

 

   Pornostroika Dadaifi  are  a  band  from  Greece  that  plays  a  mixture  of  industrial,  metal,  hardcore  and  cyber  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Weimar  Helldisco".

  Military  style  marching  music  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  more  modern  atmosphere  which  leads  up  to  epic  sounding  synths  and  spoken  word  parts  being  added  onto  the  recording  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  distorted  yet  melodic  guitars  are  added  into  the  music  and  on  the  second  track  industrial  starts  becoming  more  of  a  part  of  the  bands  musical  style.

  The  music  on  the  recording  is  very  experimental  and  the  industrial  elements  are  the  main  focus  of  the  bands  musical  style  and  at  times  you  can  hear  small  amounts  of  melodic  singing  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  on  the  title  track  elements  of  metal  are  finally  added  into  the  music  along  with  one  of  the tracks  bringing  in  a  black  metal  scream  and  towards  the  end  you  can  hear  some  neo  classical  influenced  synths  being  used  on  one  of  the  songs.

  Pornostroika Dadaifi  creates  a  very  militant  approach  to  industrial/cyber  punk  as  will  as  adding  in  some  metal  influences  to  create  a  very  original  song,  the  production  has  a  very  dark  sound  to  it  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Greek  and  cover  Dadaism,  Science  Fiction  and  Class  War  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Pornostroika Dadaifi  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  industrial,  cyber  punk,  hardcore  and  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band  and  the  album  is  available  for  free  download.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Weimar  Helldisco"  "Der  Marsch  Ins  Drittle  Reich"  and  "March  In  Line".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.mediafire.com/?r79fhnh09hq349k

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1g_LyDQQ3r-S0ZqeHF6MDBBV28/edit?usp=sharing  
     

Abysmal Growls Of Despair/Lovecraftian Drone/2014 Full Length Review

  France's  Abysmal  Growls  Of  Despair  returns  with  a  new  album which  shows  him  mixing  funeral  doom  metal  with  drone  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  titled 2014  album  "Lovecraftian  Drone".

  A  very  dark  and  distorted  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  drones  and  noises  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  doom  metal  style  guitars  are  added  into  the  music  utilizing  mostly  open  notes  along  with  a  few  chords,  after  6  minutes  vocals  finally  find  their  way  into  the  music  and  they  are  mostly  done  in  a  growling  style.

  All  6  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  drones  have  a  very  dominant  sound  throughout  the  recording  as  well  as  making  the  music  have  more  of  an  experimental  approach  as  well  as  bring  very  atmospheric  at  times  and  the  album  also  remains  true  to  a  slower  musical  direction  throughout  all  of  the  tracks  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  having  more  of  a  ritualistic  and  occult  feeling  being  evoked  in  certain sections  of  the  recording  and  at  time s the  vocals  also  have  some  screams  that  are  close  to  black  metal.

  Abysmal  Growls  Of  Despair   create  a  very  slow  and  dark  sound  that  is  closer  to  drone  on  this  recording  while  also  having  the  heaviness  and  riffing  of  funeral  doom  metal  and  all  of  the  songs  have  a  very  evil  and  ritualistic  atmosphere,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  lyrics  are  based  mostly  on  the  writings  of  H.P  Lovecraft.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Abysmal  Growls  Of  Despair  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  drone  and  funeral  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Great  Old  Ones"  and  "Yog  Sothoth".  8  out  of  10.

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Poisoned By Life/The End/2014 CD Review

  Poisoned  By  Life  are  a  band  from  New  York  that  plays  a  mixture of  epic  and  funeral doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "The  End".

  A  very  dark  and  melodic  doom  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  after  a  few  minutes  melodic  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  and  they  bring  in  80's  epic  doom  metal  feeling  to  the  recording   and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  melody  being  utilized  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  the  solos  and  leads  that  are  used  have  a  very  heavy  Dio  era  Black  Sabbath  influence  to  them.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  on  the  second  track  the  music  starts  out with  the  bass  guitar  being  in  the  background  along  with  a  brief  psychedelic  sound  before  making  a  return  back  to  a  heaver  musical  direction  and  you  can  also  hear  a  good  amount  of  70's  doom  in  the  music  while  the  heaviness  is  closer  to  the  doom/death  and  funeral  doom  genres.

  After  awhile  clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  a  brief  instrumental  before  returning  back  to  a  very  heavy  direction  on  the  following  song  which  also  sees  the  band  mixing  in  a  small  amount  of  the  clean  parts  with  a  a  skull crushing  doom  metal  sound  and  you  can  hear  a  small  amount  of  evil  vocals  and  whispers  being  utilized  in  the  background  while  most  of  the  song  is  more  of  a  heavier  instrumental  and  there  are  some  chants  towards  the  end  of  the  track,  and  on  the  last  song  the  melodic  vocals  make  a  return  to  the  music  an d the  whispers  that  are  utilized  briefly  bring  almost  a  black  metal  feeling  to  the  bands  musical  sound  and  the  album  closes  with  a  70's  style  organ.

  Poisoned  By  Life  plays  a  style  of  doom  metal  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  the  70's  and  80's  era  of  this  genre  while  they  also  make  their  music  sound  more  modern  by  adding  in  elements  of  doom/death  and  funeral  doom  in  the  guitar  riffing  which  also  gives  this  album  more  of  a  heavy  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  dying  and  gloomy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Poisoned  By  Life  are  a  very  great  sounding  doom  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Burning"  and  "For  A  Dying  Man".  8  out  of  10.    

http://poisonedbylife.bandcamp.com 

Planning For Burial/Liar in Wait/Broken Limbs Recordings/2014 Split 7 Inch Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  between  New  Jersey's  Planning  For  Burial  and  Illinois's  Liar  In  Wait  which  was  released  by  Broken  Limb  Records  in  2014  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Planning  For  Burial  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  slowcore,  post  rock  and  shoegaze  with  elements  of  black  and  doom  metal.

  A  very  dark,  distorted  and  heavy  post  metal  sound  starts  off  their  side  of  the  split  along  with  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  being  utilized  in  the  background  and  a  few  minutes  later  melodic  gothic  rock  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  and  after  a  few  minutes  more  reverb  and   a  guitar  lead  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark  with  the  lyrics  covering  gloomy  themes.

  Next  up  is  Liar  In  Wait  a  band  that  contains  members  of  Nachtmystium,  and  Wolvhammer  and  plays  a  mixture  of  gothic,  dark  wave  and  post  punk.

  A  powerful  sounding bass  guitar  starts  off  their  sound  before  going  into  more  of  an  80's  style  dark  wave/gothic  rock  direction  along  with  some  melodic  vocals  and  a  few  seconds  later  post  rock  style  guitar  leads  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  production  gives  the  music  more  of  an  old  school  feeling  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes  and  you  can  also  hear  a  touch  of  ambient  in  the  track    

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  goth,  post  rock  and  shoegaze.  8  out  of  10.


PLANNING FOR BURIAL:
BANDCAMP
FACEBOOK

LIAR IN WAIT:
BANDCAMP
FACEBOOK

Thanks For Your Pain/Anywhere Is Everytime/Metal Scrap Records/2014 CD Review

  Thanks  For  The  Pain  are  a  band  from  Ukraine  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  deathcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Anywhere  Is  Everytime"  which  was  released  by  Metal  Scrap  Records.

  Electronic  music  sounds  start  off  the  album  before  adding  in  a  more  heavy  and  melodic  sound  along  with  some  clean  singing  vocals  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  continue  the  melodic  tradition  of  the  bands  musical  style.

  There  is  a  good  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  throughout  the  recording  and  after  awhile  the  band  starts  bringing  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  after  awhile  acoustic  guitars  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording   along  with  a  few  power  ballads  being  utilized  at  times.

  While  all  the  vocals  are  in  a  clean  singing  direction  you  can  hear  some  black  metal,  melodic  death  metal  and  deathcore  in  the  heavier  sections  of  their  musical  sound  and  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  electronic  music  elements  make  a  return  and  you  can  also  hear  traits  of  power  metal  and  mainstream  rock  in  their  musical  sound  and  they  also  bring  in  an  instrumental  before  making  a  return  to  vocal  tracks.

  Thanks  For  The  Pain  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  rock  that  takes  the  catchy  parts  o  mainstream  rock  and  the  heaviness  of  black/death  metal  and  deathcore  to  create  their  own  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  th e lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Thanks  For  your  Pain  are  a  very  decent  sounding  melodic  deathcore   band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Anywhere  Is  Everytime"  "Deja  Vu"  "I  Hate  You"  and  "Rise".  7/5  out  of  10.  

http://www.thanksforyourpain.com
http://vk.com/tfyp_official
http://www.reverbnation.com/thanksforyourpain 

Abysmal Growls Of Despair Interview

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

Abysmal is a solo project of funeral/drone doom metal from France. With influences like illness, madness, sorrow and despair. No love theme.

2.In August you had released a new album how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from your previous recordings?

In this album I wanted to do something more drone, with deeper sound. But always keep the ambient elements, viola, piano and clean guitars.

3.On the new album, you had a couple of classical pieces mixed in a couple of your songs, can you tell us a little bit more about the decision behind adding this elements into a couple of your songs?

Once I wander on youtube I found a video which mix a song of khanate and Ave Maria. I found this mix so interesting and decide to do same idea on my songs. So I choose tow of my favorites classical songs, Pie Jesu from the Requiem of Gabriel Fauré and Moonlight Sonata from Beethoven.

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

I suffer from schizophrenia (since a long time) and my music is done to externalize my pain, hallucinations, and despair. I don't want to do lyrics about love and broken hearts.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name ;Abysmal Growls Of Despair'?

I've heard many critic about this name … But I've wanted to say in one name the despair and the use of deep natural growls.

6.With this project you do everything solo, do you have this helps makes your music sound a lot more creative?

My friend Ben from Modern Funeral Art helps me a lot to become better sound engineer for my records and mixing. And I think I'll ask his help on mastering my future works.

7.Le Crepuscule du Soir Productions and Satanath Records re going to be re-issuing  'Dark Days', can you tell us a little bit more about this release?

Unfortunately there is a problem with the man behind Le Crépuscule Du Soir Production. Satanath records and I have lost the contact with him. We don't know what happened to him. We hope all is ok and wait.
So for the moment there is no date for the release.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of funeral doom metal?

I'm not really known but I think and hope there are more and more people in the time who like my works. And I'm still hope to comment and point of view to do better music in the future.

9.Are you involved with any other musical projects?

Yes, I have a solo project of brutal death metal Ursus Horribilis, and with this one I do also dark folk. I have a solo project of dark ambient Caelum Natus Ex Mortuus with many inspiration and help from my friend Mike.
I'm the growl singer in Ancient Lament, a new project of funeral doom. All the music, ideas and lyrics are by a serbian friend, Borgion Kron from Meskalith. An album will soon be released.

And growl singer and FX with bass player Dymetrodrone Extinct, friend from croatia, band named Morimus Funereus. Dymetrodrone Extinct is involved in many solo project as Dymetrodrone.

And finally I'm bass player, and FX in a very particular project Deth Desbromb, with a french friend. Not on the net yet.

10.According to the fb page you have a new album called 'Lovecraftian Drone' that you are working on, what can we expect musically once the album is released?

In deed, and this new one is done. I search a label which can be interested. It's a heavy drone album, with some little ambient element added. All lyrics are inspired by Lovecraft and there are some quote from his book. The growls change compare to the other album. There are 6 songs for a total of 1h30.
For now you can listen it on my youtube channel. Soon on bandcamp.

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?

Of course lots of funeral doom band. But also many genre of metal, in particular metal extreme. Lots of Neo folk, classical, dark ambient. And also blues, and jazz.

For the bands : Funeralium, Shape Of Despair, too many funeral/drone band, Sunn O))), Vàli, Empyrium, The Gathering, Ufomammut, Denez Prigent, Howard Shore, Sigur Ros, ...

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Nature, books, writing, walks, middle age.

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

Thanks man for your interest, and all reader and listener.

And thanks my dear psychiatrist, haha ...

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